"We've arrived."
I glanced out the window and noticed that no one was waiting for her.
Still, I didn't let it show on my face as I opened the carriage's door, letting her out. However, the moment I did so, I felt an heavy gaze land on me.
It came from the top of the Lix Estate, and it contained such strength that I no doubt who it could belonged to. It was the Lix Patriarch. The rumors about him were certainly true. He wasn't someone I could match. His gaze was dangerous, almost as if he could see right through me.
Nevertheless, I tried my best to hide my reaction, not even glancing in his direction, helping Amelia out of the carriage.
She had already mentioned that her family didn't care for her, but wasn't this too much?
I wasn't exactly sure, considering that I had never had a family of any kind. However, I had often watched nobles arriving at their respective estates, and they would always have countless servants waiting for them.
Actually, now that I looked again, there was only one person waiting.
Standing near the large iron gates was a single figure dressed in a maid's uniform. Behind her stretched the enormous Lix Estate — towering marble pillars supported a sprawling mansion surrounded by carefully maintained gardens, fountains, and long gravel pathways.
She seemed to be a maid based on her uniform.
There might be someone that cares for her, after all.
"It was about time you returned. If you had stayed in the Royal Capital any longer, then your family would have gotten rid of me."
"I-I'm sorry…"
Amelia was the one apologizing to the maid.
Did she not realize that she was the master here?
I already knew she was naive, but this is just too much. I could already tell why everyone looked down on her. She didn't have a backbone. She let everyone walk all over her. If a maid could do this much, then I couldn't imagine what her siblings might do.
"And who's this?" the maid said with a frown, looking me up and down with clear disdain. Her eyes lingered on my worn clothes as if I were some sort of stray animal. "Did you get engaged without the patriarch's approval?"
Amelia blushed once more, unable to meet the maid's eyes.
"T-That's not it. I just asked him to—"
"My name is Yike Vale. I asked your master to accompany her to the Lix Estate."
I cut Amelia off.
I didn't want her to say that she had invited me or some bullshit. She needed to keep her head up high. I wasn't sure why, but seeing her scared of speaking to her maid was seriously pissing me off.
Even if the Patriarch was watching, I wouldn't let Amelia get talked in such a way by her own maid.
"Mhm. Then, are you interested in Amelia?"
Again, she was being disrespectful.
Why would a powerless maid think that she was of equal standing with a member of the Lix Family?
"Amelia won't need you around anymore. I'll be the one taking care of her inside the Lix Estate."
The maid's eyes widened at my words.
"T-That's impossible! You would need the approval of the Patriarch to become the one in charge of her."
I sighed.
"I don't think that should be much of a problem, considering the way you blatantly disrespect her. Also, I'll make sure to mention your attitude to the patriarch. I'm sure he would be quite interested in knowing about this situation."
I smirked, expecting the maid to fall into a state of fear.
But the opposite happened.
As soon as I mentioned the patriarch, she grinned happily.
"Do as you wish. Until you receive the patriarch's permission, I will be the one in charge of this stupid girl."
Stupid girl? I gritted my teeth.
Ugh. Why am I so angry?
Just as I was about to make that maid eat her own words, I felt Amelia's soft hand grab my arm.
"I-It's fine. Felicia has been my maid since I was a little girl… W-We get along fine."
I gazed into her eyes filled with fear and just frowned, annoyed.
Just how much of a pushover are you? Don't you want to make her realize what her place is?
I pushed her arm away.
"Whatever, where can I meet with the Patriarch?"
I had already felt his presence, but meeting him was bound to be a completely different challenge.
I had planned on trying to win his favor by being a nice person, but depending on how he acted when I revealed how Amelia had been treated, my plan might change completely.
The maid scoffed.
"The Lix Patriarch isn't someone you can meet so easily."
I glanced at Amelia, making sure she wasn't paying attention, and decided to start her revenge, even if she hadn't asked for it.
I simply couldn't handle this attitude any longer.
My blue eyes suddenly turned into an endless pool of darkness as I stared directly into the maid's eyes.
[Eyes of Despair]
The confidence she had just shown vanished in the blink of an eye.
Her arms became limp, and soon after her legs did the same as she collapsed to her knees on the stone path, tears falling down her cheeks.
"D-Don't kill me, please… I-I didn't mean any of it," she muttered, her voice shaking with fear.
I hid my smirk as I watched her fall into despair.
Eyes of Despair was my Unique Darkness Attribute Skill — the one that had made it possible for me to survive all these years.
While the skill was active, every person who met my gaze would fall into a pit of despair, imagining their worst nightmare.
The skill's effects would only fail against those with stronger mental fortitude than mine.
So far, only three people had managed that.
[Felicia Parker has fallen into despair. From now on, every time she meets your eyes, she will be extremely scared for her life, and all of her stats will fall by 70%.]
This much should be enough.
"Felicia, are you okay?" Amelia immediately got on her knees beside her, genuinely worried. "Are you hurt anywhere? Should I call someone?"
It annoyed me even more to see her care about such a person.
Suddenly she looked at me.
"Let's take her to our family's infirmary. They'll take care of her."
"Sure," I replied with a grin.
As soon as I tried to touch Felicia, she violently pushed herself away from me, her entire body trembling as if I were some kind of monster.
"I-I'll be fine, Miss Lix. I-I think it's a result of missing you for all these months. My mind feels a little dizzy." Her voice shook with every word. "I will see you later."
Finally, her maid was starting to learn her place.
And I would make sure that by the time I left, she would be as docile as a dog.
I gave Amelia my hand and offered her a bright smile.
"Shall we head to your room?"
However, as I uttered those words, I felt the Patriarch's gaze change from anger to interest.