"Did he... live by himself all this time, even as a child?"

After a brief, heavy pause, Winston replied, "Yes, Madam."

"Then how did you come to work for him when there were no adults involved?" Aliana pressed curiously.

"I was called by Master Cillian’s family to look after the master," Winston replied seamlessly.

"Oh..." This was news to Aliana.

Suddenly, the puzzle pieces began falling into place, and she finally understood why Cillian was always so comfortable and casual around Gavriel.

’They must be childhood friends,’ she realised.

They resumed their walk, the silence returning until they stopped before a set of grand double doors.

Winston reached forward and opened them, revealing a massive dining room centred around a long table capable of hosting twenty people. Expansive windows lined one side of the room, while magnificent crystal chandeliers cast a warm, ambient glow across the space.

"We are here, Madam," Winston announced, stepping aside to allow Aliana to walk in and take in the room.

Her eyes immediately drifted toward the head of the table.

Finding the seat empty, she felt a sudden pang of disappointment. "Will Gavriel not be joining for dinner?"

"Master’s mealtime is not fixed, Madam. Sometimes he prefers to eat in his private quarters, and sometimes he dines quite late."

Checking the grandfather clock in the corner, she saw it was already seven-thirty.

She wondered if he was the type of person who considered nine or ten o’clock the normal time for dinner.

Deciding not to overthink his habits, she walked over to where Winston had already pulled out a chair directly to the right of the head seat.

"Please be seated, Madam," the butler said with a polite bow. "I will be right back with your meal."

"Okay," Aliana replied softly before taking her seat and watched Winston walk away, leaving her alone in the quietness of the enormous dining room.

Her eyes slowly wandered around the space once more before eventually settling on the seat at the head of the table.

The seat she assumed belonged to Gavriel.

Suddenly, the image of him sitting there alone in the silence of this massive room flashed through her mind, and something about it painfully tugged at her heart. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Her thoughts drifted back to what Winston had told her earlier, causing her expression to slowly turn solemn.

"Has he always been alone?" she whispered quietly to herself.

The thought alone made her release a soft sigh as a strange sinking feeling settled heavily within her chest.

Turning her head toward the windows, she looked out at the other side of the courtyard. Even under the cover of night, the dark crimson blooms were unmistakable.

"That is an unusual number of roses," she murmured to herself.

Before long, the soft rattle of wheels broke the silence as Winston returned with a silver trolley. As the butler lifted the lids from the dishes one by one, the rich aromas filled the air, and Aliana suddenly realised she was genuinely hungry.

The tension of the day had masked her appetite, but now her stomach hollowed completely.

Just as she picked up her fork, her eyes drifted back to the empty seat at the head of the table again before looking up at the butler, "Winston, when exactly will he eat?"

Winston raised his eyebrows in slight surprise at her question. "Master will dine in some time. Do not worry, Madam, I always ensure his meal is served before I leave for the day."

"Leave?" she asked.

She paused midway after sinking her fork into the meat. "You do not stay here in the main house?"

"No, Madam. Only the Master resides in this building. The chef and I leave for our quarters on the far side of the estate, near the tree line, once our duties are finished for the evening."

"Near the woods?" Aliana asked. "But didn’t you just say that wild animals wander through there? Is it... safe for the two of you to live out there alone?"

"Yes, Madam, I assure you it is perfectly safe where we live," Winston replied, his expression unchanging.

"There is a designated path we follow that leads straight to our cottage. However, Madam, if you should ever need anything during the night, I must insist that you never attempt to seek us out by yourself. You can simply use the intercoms located throughout the mansion. Dialling number nine will connect you directly to the cottage whenever I am not present in the main house."

"I see. I will do that," Aliana responded with a small nod before she turned her attention back to her plate and began eating quietly.

Once she was done, Winston stepped forward. "Would you like some dessert, Madam?"

"No, thank you. I do not eat sweets very often," she replied politely before suddenly pausing at the memory of Gavriel eating chocolate cake back at her penthouse.

At the recollection, a small smile curled the corners of her lips. "However, it seems your master loves them?"

At that, she noticed the butler give a proud, affectionate nod. "Yes, Master loves to try all kinds of desserts. That is why the chef never fails to prepare desserts for him every single day."

"Every day?" Ali mused softly, her smile widening slightly. "That’s quite a sweet tooth he has."

"Indeed, Madam," Winston nodded once again before politely asking, "Would you like to have a look around the property? If you are not too tired, I can give you a tour. Otherwise, I can prepare a bath for you, and we may continue the tour whenever you would prefer."

Aliana thought about it briefly before replying, "I think I’ll take the tour now since I’m already up and about. I can rest afterwards."

"Very well, Madam," Winston responded respectfully.

After that, Winston took her around the mansion, showcasing various grand rooms and elegant spaces, with the sole exception of a single door located at the far end of the ground-floor corridor.

Aliana had assumed that, just like with the other places, he would explain something about it as well, but instead, he simply said, "With this, we have covered the entire mansion."

"Wait," Aliana stopped him. "What about that room? You haven’t told me anything about it."

As she pointed towards the large closed door ahead.

"That is simply the master’s personal room, Madam. It remains locked, and only he possesses the key," Winston replied smoothly.

Aliana’s eyebrows rose slightly in curiosity. "I see... but what’s inside it?"

"It is just his private study, Madam," Winston informed her.

"But didn’t he already have a study on the first floor?" she questioned, recalling the room from earlier in the tour.

"Yes, Madam. That is where he prefers to handle business and receive guests. This particular room is one only he accesses."

Not wanting to blatantly invade Gavriel’s privacy, Aliana simply offered a nod. "Understood."

"Should I prepare a bath for you now, Madam?" the butler asked, shifting the subject.

Aliana had been planning to decline his assistance, as she was only in the mood for a quick shower before finally hitting the bed.

However, noticing how impeccably efficient Winston had been with every single detail regarding her comfort since the very moment she stepped into the mansion, a sudden, nagging suspicion pricked at her mind.

’Has he perfected this routine for other women in the past?’ The thought popped right back into her head, refusing to be ignored.

Unable to hold herself back, she looked at the butler and said, "That won’t be necessary, Winston, but thank you for all your help. You have been incredibly accommodating. Your efficiency makes me wonder... there must be quite a few guests who often visit this mansion, aren’t there?"