Demon's Protégé

Apology

“Thank you, Nari.”

Soon after being taken care of, I had decided to go back to the motel just to clean myself up and check everything else. I was still feeling all sorts of pain all over my face and my upper body. I had a hard time trying to settle myself inside the driver’s seat of my car, grunting as I endure every jolt I get when I moved. Nari was standing behind me the whole struggle and I partially looked back at her with a small smile, silently appreciating her presence.

“You sure you’re feeling okay, now?” she asked me, and I could even note the sound of worry from her voice. I actually felt relieved that she was beginning to soften a bit towards me and I responded back to her with a wider grin.

“I’ll be back for our date so you’ll be hearing from me soon again,” I told her and she just silently nodded back at me as she stepped back before I closed the door of the car. I rolled the window down for one more time and reached my hand outside towards her to touch the side of her face.

“I love you,” I uttered before I started the engine, not even minding to wait for her answer. She just went quiet as I pulled away with my foot slowly stepping on the gas. I took a few glances at the side mirror to check her reflection and caught her just standing by the side of the road as I got further and further away from their house. I tried to imprint that picture of her as I sped down the road and finally went back to focus my eyes towards the windshield when she eventually disappeared from the mirror. I sighed loudly for a moment. This was a little strange for our development.

My mind was filled with so many thoughts of sorts until I have finally reached the motel and parked on the driveway. Just then, I noticed another car on the empty lot and frowned at the unusual scene when I turned the engine off. When I got out of the car and started walking towards the motel’s entrance, I saw another person standing in front of the counter through the glass doors. When I walked in, Henry turned towards my direction and the person who was in front of him did the same. I stopped on my tracks, slightly confused as to how to assess the situation. The person gave a look of familiarity but I could not recognize the person at all.

It was a woman.

The sophisticated-looking woman wearing a bland gray suit and a pencil skirt looked like she was already past her forties and she stood so straightly with elegance and superiority as she met my eyes with a cold demeaning expression. Her lips were pursed and she slowly took her time as she skimmed her eyes from my face down to my feet with a subtle raise of her brow. I felt chills as she regarded me so blatantly like that and I paused on my tracks by the entrance.

"Taiyo Takagi. You must be him," She said this coolly and I gulped as I hesitated to answer her back. I really had no idea who she was and hearing that she already knew who I was put me to a slightly defenseless position.

"Who are you?" I inquired with a look of mistrust.

I took that chance to give Henry a glance but I only caught him darting his eyes back and forth from me and the woman as if he did not really want to see this as he tried to blend in the background. I bravely took another step forward as I calculated my next words while the woman just kept observing me from where she stood.

"Should I know who you are?"

"Oh don't worry," the woman replied so casually, her lips curving into a misleading smile and I started to feel even more suspicious. "I know your father. We've been business partners for years now. I just didn't expect that you would actually be visiting this place. Does he even know you're here?"

"My father?" I frowned and the woman just smirked back as if it was an affirmative response. Business partners? For years? How come I hadn’t met her not even once before?

"Didn't he tell you?" She teasingly remarked as if she just heard my thoughts and she clicked her tongue at me. "I've heard about you actually. You must have been so naive all this time. But allow me to introduce myself, just for formality sakes."

I kept silent as I waited.

"I'm Katherine Lincoln," she explained, "People call me Madamme Lincoln for short. And I'm this town's mayor."

"Madamme Lincoln?" I repeated, feeling totally confused. "This town's mayor?"

The woman laughed at my frowned expression as she started to approach me with a few lazy steps. She took her time as I watched her with utter disbelief and anxiety and when she stopped a mere meter away, she gave me a shake of her head with a smug smirk on her face.

"I must be really a shock to you," she told me as she gave a raise of her brow and only then did she took note of my bruised look. "You got into a fight, huh? How did you mess your face up that way?"

I suddenly felt a little bit self-conscious when she said that and I stumbled a step back, only remembering that my face had been partly covered with bandages.

"It's nothing..."

"You think I'd believe that?" She said and the sharp insinuating sound of her words instantly had me looking up to meet her eyes. "Who do you think made me show myself up here to meet you?"

Ren? She knows Ren? Just who is that guy?

"If I caused a small trouble then I apologize, Madamme Lincoln," I forcibly said out of courtesy, gritting my teeth as I spoke. It might be a wrong move if I get into this person's bad side and I need to keep track of the words I will speak from this point. "I won't do it again. Things just got out of hand a while ago but I’ll be careful now. So pardon my intrusion, I need to go back to my room."

"No you won't," she suddenly stepped in front of me, blocking my way all of a sudden and preventing me from even taking a step forward. I paused and looked her way again, almost giving away a scowl as we stared at each other.