Alaric didn't speak at first.
He just looked at Eline who looked at him. Like he was trying to decide whether this was real or just a particularly amusing hallucination before sunrise.
Eline stayed frozen. His mind went blank in the most literal way. No excuses. No lies. Not even panic. Just a hollow, stunned quiet, as if his thoughts had stepped out for a moment and forgotten to come back.
Alaric tilted his head slightly, studying him with open curiosity rather than anger.
"Well," he said at last, calm, almost conversational, "I didn't expect this."
Elin's fingers curled unconsciously at his sides.
"But why would you run away from the house?" Alaric continued, voice smooth, measured. "I thought you were having a rather comfortable life there."
His gaze flicked—brief, sharp—over Eline's rumpled clothes, bare feet, the faint scrape on his arm.
"Or," Alaric added lightly, "did you not enjoy sleeping with Lucian?"
Elin's breath caught.
"I thought the two of you had quite a night," Alaric went on, unhurried. "My brother's reactions afterward were… interesting."
A pause. Just long enough to feel deliberate.
"And quite rare."
Alaric leaned back against the bench, unbothered, almost amused.
"Well," he said casually, "you do have options. Five of them, to be precise. You'll have to choose eventually. Or"—his lips curved faintly—"if you'd like, you could have them all."
Elin stared at him.
"What…?"
None of that made sense. Not a single word.
Alaric didn't seem surprised by the confusion. If anything, he expected it.
"Don't worry," he added.
Elin's thoughts twisted inward, dark and frantic.
Five options.
Five ways to die.
That was all his mind could hear.
The word lingered between them, heavy with something Elin didn't understand—but instinctively feared.
Alaric's eyes narrowed a fraction, not cruel, not amused—simply intent.
"So," he said softly, "I'm curious."
Elin swallowed.
"Which part of it made you run?"
"No, it's not that," Eline said quickly. "I didn't run away because of that. What are you even saying?"
He shook his head, words coming out too fast.
"That incident happened because… because I don't know what's wrong with my body. It happens every night. You already know that. So why are you even asking me?"
Alaric didn't interrupt. He just looked at him.
"And I didn't run away because of that," Eline said again, firmer now. "I ran away because of—"
He stopped.
The sentence broke in half.
Alaric tilted his head slightly.
"Because of?"
The way he stressed the word made Eline's chest tighten.
Eline went silent.
Two seconds passed. Three.
I know you're trying to kill me, he thought.
But he didn't say it out loud.
Instead, something else slipped out.
"You know killing people for witchcraft is illegal, right?" Eline said suddenly. "Those offering-to-the-devil things don't work. They really don't."
Alaric's brow lifted just a little.
"And if you're doing it for money," Eline added quickly, panicking now, "you already have Penoli. I don't even have a thousand dollars."
He laughed, but it came out wrong.
"I mean— I'm just saying— killing people is illegal. Without their consent. You should already know that."
Alaric stared at him for a moment.
"Who," he asked calmly, "is killing whom?"
Eline's eyes widened.
"Stop pretending," he blurted out. "I already know."
Alaric stayed silent.
"You're trying to offer me to the devil, aren't you?" Eline continued, voice shaking.
"That's why Mr. Carlson moved me to that room. That weird room. With that strange tree and that diamond-like fruit."
His breathing grew uneven.
"You're going to offer me. As an offering. I know it."
Alaric didn't respond.
"You don't have to kill me," Eline rushed on. "I'm young. I haven't even—"
He stopped, embarrassed and scared at the same time.
"I mean— I haven't lived my life yet," he corrected himself. "You can find someone else. Someone older. There are so many people in the world."
His words started to overlap.
"You already have everything. Money. Power. Whatever this place is. I only have my life."
His voice dropped.
"Please don't take that away from me."
Alaric exhaled slowly.
There was a trace of amusement on his face — faint, restrained — but no shock.
If anything, he looked like someone who had expected a misunderstanding.
Just not this extreme.
Alaric finally spoke.
"Nobody is trying to kill you."
Eline frowned, not relieved—just more confused.
"You are the most important thing right now for us," Alaric continued. "Not just for us. For anyone. No one on this planet would dare lay a single finger on you."
Eline's stomach twisted.
"At least not for a few years," Alaric added calmly. "For those years, you'll be the most precious thing there is. Protected. With our lives, if needed."
Protected.
That word didn't feel comforting.
"Because—" Alaric paused.
He frowned slightly, like he'd stepped too close to a line.
"Because… well," he sighed, "Mr. Carlson said I shouldn't tell you. You're supposed to know in due time. Not now."
That didn't help. At all.
Alaric straightened. "Let's go back home. Nobody is trying to kill you. You're safe there."
Eline let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
"And Lucian was quite worried about you," Alaric added, almost casually. "You know. He was."
Worried?
Eline blinked. Why would he be worried about me?
"Really?" Eline asked slowly. "And you expect me to believe that?"
Alaric looked at him.
"Because I don't," Eline said. "Not even a little. If this is a trap to get me back into that house and then slaughter me, I'm not falling for it."
Alaric smirked faintly.
"Well," he said, "that depends on you."
Eline stiffened.
"You could either resist, Struggle and Make things harder," Alaric continued. "Or you could go with the flow and live a life like a queen."
"A queen?" Eline snapped. "I'm a man. At least make me a prince."
Alaric raised an eyebrow.
"Well," he said lightly, "demanding aren't you but i never heard prince giving....."
Alaric looked like he was about to say something else.
He stopped himself.
Then he smiled, sharp but unreadable.
"Alright," he said. "Come on, prince. Get in the car. We're going home."
Eline glanced around.
The road. The empty street. The bus stop behind him.
He searched for a way out. Any opening. Any chance to run.
There wasn't one.
Alaric was alone—no guards, no weapons—but Eline knew better. Running wouldn't get him far. Not even close.
So he swallowed.
And followed the rules.
For now.