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“H-have I?”

His lips curved in a smirk.

Drat. That only meant one thing. He had seen through her. Not wanting to give him a chance to ask her why she wanted to hide her thoughts from him, she said hurriedly, “I have a question, Master.”

He looked at her for a moment, as if debating whether to push the issue or not. Finally, he took her hand, making Zari silently breathe a sigh of relief. As they walked, Alexandru asked, “What is it?”

“Umm, Rhapsody. How did you know who she was?”

An odd glance was slanted towards her. “How would I not? She’s come to the place where you live. I had to make sure she wasn’t a potential threat to you.”

“B-but she’s just a student,” she sputtered.

“Her circumstances are mysterious. It aroused my curiosity.”

“Mysterious?”

“Her Master’s anonymous.”

Confusion clouded her tone as she asked, “Anonymous? Do you mean we don’t know who her Master is?”

“Not only that. She doesn’t know who he is either.”

“But how’s that possible?”

“If my information is correct, she only communicates with her Master through letters.”

“Oh.” She tried to understand how that would work but couldn’t. A pet was supposed to be the source of life for her Master, but if they only communicated through letters, what kind of duties was Rhapsody able to perform?

By the time they had reached his rooms, his pet still hadn’t said a word. Closing the door, he turned to find her looking at him seriously. “Why would a Master want to be anonymous?”

Zari didn’t know why it bothered her so much, but it did.

Alexandru said slowly, “I don’t know.” He wished he did, though. The circumstances bothered him as well. At Zari’s frown, he told her frankly, “Most Masters don’t really think they owe their pets any explanation.”

This had his pet glaring.

Soon, the claws would be out and she might even end up hissing at him. Zari in fighting form was always a cute sight. If it had been any other day, Alexandru would have deliberately provoked her.

But unfortunately, they had more important matters to discuss right now.

“Sit down, Zari.”

The tone had his pet frowning questioningly, but she did as asked, lowering herself on the couch.

“Won’t you ask me why I’ve come back earlier than planned?”

Zari froze.

He took out the notice from his pocket, something the school had sent. At the sight of it, his pet’s eyes widened. He asked grimly, “Why haven’t you been attending your classes, pet?”

Chapter Two

Walking back to the castle, she and Alexandru passed a vampire feeding on his pet. When they were out of earshot, she whispered to him, “It’s just not right. I really think this pet business is just a form of vampires taking advantage of humans.”

Alexandru only shook his head. “You always surprise me with how contradictory you are. It’s the way of the world.”

She didn’t say anything for a long time, but the silence wasn’t good. Just when he was about to ask what was wrong, she said something. So softly he wouldn’t have heard her if she didn’t own his heart.