Kill
1607 Words
“Ugh…”
Theron groaned from where he lay flat on the garden grass. His back hurt, and he could feel a weight on top of him. Thankfully, his glasses were still sitting perfectly on his nose. That was the only good thing at the moment.
“What is that smell…” he muttered to himself, his nose wrinkling in discomfort.
He opened his eyes slowly and found long, messy hair in his face. A person—no, a girl—was sitting on top of him. As she sat up and brushed her hair back, he got a full view of her face.
It was her.
The young lady of the mansion.
Maeve Elisse Lim.
They both blinked in shock, and then, as if by instinct, scrambled away from each other like two cats after a sudden collision.
“W-Who are you?!” Maeve asked, her voice both scared and angry.
But Theron didn’t answer. He wasn’t listening—he was still trying to figure out where the awful smell was coming from. Then Ivy’s earlier words echoed in his head:
“The young lady refuses to bathe.”
Bathe…
Bathe…
Suddenly it clicked.
Theron pointed at Maeve, eyes wide. “So that foul smell… it was coming from you?!”
Even though it was night and the only light was from the moon, he could clearly see Maeve’s face turning red from embarrassment.
“Ack…” Theron realized what he had just said. “W-Wait, I didn’t mean it like that!”
Maeve, red-faced, stood up and picked up a fallen tree branch from the ground, pointing it at him like a sword.
“Who are you?!” she shouted again, her voice louder now.
Theron raised his hands slowly, trying to calm her down. “Woah, woah! Relax! I’m not a bad guy, I promise. I’m Theron Harper, your new bodyguard. I arrived earlier today.”
“...Bodyguard?” she repeated, eyes narrowing.
“Yeah,” Theron nodded. “I’m not alone either. I’ve got two teammates here with me. They’re in their rooms right now, probably already asleep.”
Maeve stared at him for a moment. “Is this the work of Mr. Lim?”
Theron blinked. Mr. Lim? What an oddly formal way to talk about your own father, he thought.
“Yeah, yeah,” Theron replied, trying not to sound too confused. “He’s the one who hired us.”
Maeve let out a scoff. “He actually did it… That fucker.”
Theron nearly choked on air. “What? No! It’s father, not fucker. Don’t you know the difference, little girl?”
The moment he said little girl, Maeve’s eyes widened with rage.
“Who are you calling little girl?!”
“H-Huh?! I mean… Aren’t you, like, 13?” Theron said hesitantly. That was honestly how she looked to him.
“I’m sixteen!” she shouted, stomping her foot.
Theron’s jaw dropped. S-Sixteen?! That means she's six years younger than me!
“What’s with that face, huh?!” Maeve snapped.
“I-I just didn’t expect that, okay?” Theron said. “But still! Even if you’re sixteen, it’s no excuse to call your father something like that. That’s really bad manners.”
Maeve crossed her arms tightly. “Hah! For someone who doesn’t know a thing, you sure love sticking your nose into other people’s lives.”
What the hell?! Theron thought. This is the first time someone has spoken to me like this. I’m used to being respected, pampered even! What is this brat’s deal?
Maeve stepped forward confidently and said, “I’ll double whatever salary that man offered you and your friends. Just leave. Get out of this place. Name your price.”
Theron blinked at her in disbelief. “Why would I do that? You won’t even take a bath! And you don’t act like a young lady at all!”
He didn’t know why, but something about this girl made him want to keep arguing. Maybe because she was so full of attitude, or maybe because she didn’t treat him like other people did. Either way, he wasn’t backing down.
“Wha—? For an old man like you, you sure talk a lot!” Maeve snapped. “I’m a young lady who could buy you, you peasant!”
“O-Old man?!” Theron shouted. “I’m only twenty-two! And buy me?! Who do you think you are, you spoiled brat?!”
Maeve pointed the stick at his hair now. “Then why is your hair like that?! You look like an old farmer!”
“Blah blah, I don’t care what you think,” Theron huffed. “I’m not leaving this place. In fact… now I’m kind of curious about you.”
Maeve recoiled and immediately used her arms to cover herself, like he had just said something creepy. “What are you, some kind of pedo, you piece of trash?!”
Theron’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. “What?! Hey! That is not something a proper young lady should say! And pedo?! Are you crazy?! Why the hell would I lust after a brat who smells like old garbage?!”
Maeve stomped her foot. “I’ll say what I want! And how dare you speak to me like that?!”
“You started it first!” Theron barked back.
The two of them stood there, breathing heavily, glaring at each other.
This man… He screams pain in the ass, Maeve thought.
This girl… She’s nothing but a spoiled brat with a rude mouth, Theron thought.
After a long pause, Theron suddenly relaxed and smirked. He extended his hand toward her.
“Hmph. Let’s get along. I’ll be in your care from now on, after all.”
Maeve looked down at his hand… and smacked it with the branch.
“Ow—hey! What was that for?!” Theron yelped.
Maeve looked at him, annoyed. “Call me Young Lady. Don’t forget your place, old man.”
Theron sighed, clearly annoyed. “Fine… Young Lady Maeve.”
Tsk… this guy really gets on my nerves… Maeve thought.
Then, with a fierce glare, she lifted the branch one last time and said:
“I’m warning you!” Maeve pointed the stick at him again, her eyes burning with fury. “Leave. This. Place. Or I’ll make your lives a living hell.”
With that, she spun around, stormed off toward the house, and disappeared inside, leaving Theron standing there under the moonlight, blinking and still processing what just happened.
“…What the hell was that?” he muttered.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached. He turned to see Ivy hurrying toward him in her pajamas, looking worried.
“Mr. Harper!” she called.
“Ms. Ivy,” he greeted, trying to hide how tired he felt.
“I saw the young lady running back to her room from the garden,” Ivy said, holding a branch in her hand. “I tried to ask her what happened, but she just threw this at me.”
Theron sighed. “Figures.”
“Mind telling me what’s going on?” Ivy continued, “ It’s extremely rare for her to be out of her room this late. Or… don’t tell me—did she jump off the balcony again?”
Theron blinked. “Again?”
“Based on that look on your face,” she said, sighing, “I guess she really did it again.”
She looked up at the balcony above, then frowned.
“She must have found a way to unlock the balcony door. I told the staff to make sure it was secure... I’ll have someone fix it again tomorrow.”
Theron crossed his arms. “If she’s done this before, why wasn’t anyone watching this area?”
“The last time she jumped was a year ago,” Ivy said quietly. “During that year, she tried it three times. After that, she stayed inside and didn’t act out again. We thought she was getting better. So we stopped watching her so closely.”
She paused, her voice filled with guilt. “I guess… we were wrong.”
Theron’s voice grew firm. “You were wrong.”
Ivy’s eyes widened at his tone.
“What if I didn’t happen to be here?” he said, stepping forward. “What if I wasn’t out here in the garden, just by chance? She could be dead right now.”
Ivy lowered her head. “I… I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to put her in danger. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
She bowed her head slightly, hands clenched nervously.
Theron sighed. The anger in his chest didn’t leave right away, but he could tell Ivy wasn’t lying. She looked genuinely worried. Genuinely sorry.
He stepped forward and gently patted her shoulder. “Make sure you do. Don’t worry—we’ll start guarding this place tomorrow. We just took today to settle in and familiarize ourselves with everything,” Theron added. “Also, thank you for showing us around the mansion earlier.”
Ivy gave a small, grateful smile. “Of course. It’s my duty, after all.”
With that, he walked past her.
It was already midnight.
He yawned as he climbed the stairs, before opening his door, he paused and turned his head.
Young Lady's room.
He stared at it for a while before whispering to himself.
“Maeve, huh... She’s got a mouth like fire and a face like trouble. But she’s not the only one who knows how to throw sass. Hmph.”
- Writer
