When Poppy opened her eyes again, the soft morning light filtered through the curtains, warm against her face.
Her head throbbed. For a moment, she didn't know where she was. Then everything crashed back into her memory. Lydia… the milk… the dizziness… the dark figure…
She sat up instantly.
But the sight before her froze her breath.
A man sat on the floor opposite her, leaning lazily against the wall. His tousled black hair fell messily over his eyes, his chest was bare, revealing a perfectly sculpted abs, and his black trousers hung loosely around his hips.
The morning light carved his features into perfection.
Regardless of her frozen state, Poppy was completely starstruck.
Waking up to this perfect man staring at her made her feel like she was in some sort of romantic novel, but something bothered her.
The way he stared at her made her slightly uneasy.
But, "H-hi..." she whispered, trying to sound calm.
A wild smile slowly grew on Alaric's lips.
"You parrot—!" His deep voice echoed in the room as he suddenly stood, pointing at her. "I will destroy you NOW!"
Poppy froze as he began crawling toward her. Her heart raced at the dangerous aura she felt, forcing her to retreat into the headboard. "W-what are you doing?"
"I've been watching you sleep," he chuckled. "You wouldn't wake up. I thought you were d—" "shshshshshshsh," he suddenly pressed a finger to his lips, shushing himself. Then he yelled: "I told you not to use the D word! No one is dying! Why are you trying to scare her?!"
Poppy fell into confusion. What the hell was going on? Was he talking to her or himself? Even worse, was there someone here she wasn't seeing?!
She looked around. It looked like he was speaking to himself.
Was this man okay?
When his eyes darted to her, she flinched.
His smile returned. "Don't worry, Parrot. I won't let him scare you. He would never use that word again! He knows I'll kill him if he does." He whispered to her.
Poppy's blood ran cold. Something was definitely wrong with this man! "Who—who are you?" Her voice trembled, even if she tried to act brave.
He tilted his head. "You don't know? HAHAHAHAHA! You fell on me last night. We—we had a wild night right there." He pointed to the bed and she instinctively lifted her hands to her chest. Only then did she discover she was half naked.
Did this man... Touch... Her? Her face was filled with dread.
When he reached the edge of the bed, he crouched, and his eyes gleamed with both mischief and madness. "You were very warm last night. Did you dream of me?"
Poppy swallowed hard, trying to steady her breathing. She shook her head in denial.
No! She couldn't have done anything with this man. She felt no pain. This may not be her body, but she knew this body was still untouched.
Last night, she had only seen a dark figure hovering over her. Was that him?
"What did you do to me?" Her eyes went wide.
"Hehehehehe!" He giggled meniacly.
"Orange is a sweet pie. Potato slapped him last week." Alaric muttered counting his fingers.
Poppy's heart dropped as she finally realized.
This man wasn't normal. He was insane!
She moved further into the headboard as he crawled to her. And when her back pressed against it and she realized there was no place to run to, tears began to well in her eyes.
Alaric kept crawling to her.
Terrified, Poppy screamed: "HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY—!"
Before she could finish, Alaric lunged, clamping his hand over her mouth.
Her entire body paralyzed with fear.
His smile vanished, and his eyes turned deadly serious as he leaned close. "Parrot! Hehehe."
"I told you he wasn't going to scare you..."
He leaned into her neck, inhaling her scent wildly before whispering into her ears: "But I can't guarantee your safety when you scream and scare him like that."
Poppy's tears spilled. "P-Please, Mr... madman..."
At that, Alaric paused.
Madman?
Was that the best name she could come up with? He had spent half his strength trying to scare her. Did she think it was easy acting this way?
He put on his character again.
Stepping back slowly, he pretended to hold his head like he was in pain. "You should run, Parrot!" He growled. "I can't hold him any longer. He's going to do something to you!"
Poppy's eyes widened. She didn't wait to hear anymore. She scrambled off the bed and ran to the door, almost tripping over her own feet.
A small smile appeared on Alaric's lips as he watched her. No one had ever run that fast from him.
But as his thoughts drifted to last night, it faded into a frown.
That Old woman... She'd crossed the line this time.
Drugging him and sending the girl she forced on him? He should've known she'd try something desperate again.
Luckily, he'd noticed his meal was tampered with before he took enough to completely overwhelm him. But it seemed the Highland girl had fallen for it.
As he replayed what happened at the garden yesterday, his gaze darkened.
He became skeptical as he thought of how naive and innocent Poppy had acted at the start of the dinner, yet she'd turned the entire conversation in her favor at the end.
It was hard to believe that someone that cunning could be easily drugged.
Was she in on it with his grandmother?
His fingers flexed as his mind dragged to the feel of her soft body against his, the warmth of her breath brushing his skin, the way she trembled beneath him...
He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. She did a fine job trying to seduce him, but he'd been strong enough to pull away.
Hopefully, that scare would keep her away.
So Alaric thought, but then—
"AAAAHHHHH!"
The scream made him turn just in time to see Poppy charging back into the room, holding a framed portrait above her head like a weapon.
Before Alaric could react, the painting came flying toward him.
"YOU CRAZY MAN!" She quickly grabbed the nearest pillow and attacked him with all her strength. "You think you can scare me? You lunatic!"
Her screams drew attention, and within seconds, several maids burst through the door.
"Young Master!" they gasped in horror at the sight.
Usually, they screamed at their Young Master to stop attacking people. But the scene they looked at froze them in place.
Why was their Madam attacking their Young Master instead?!
Summoning courage, "Mrs. Langford, please!" one shouted, rushing forward to grab the pillow.
Another maid threw herself between them. "Mrs. Langford, please stop! You're hurting him!"
Poppy was trembling and breathing hard, still holding the pillow. Her hair was messy and her face flushed from anger and fear. She pointed at him. "He—He's crazy! He—he tried to kill me! Why is there a madman in this house?!"
The maids froze, and their eyes widened. Even if they knew their Young Master's condition, no one had ever dared call him that aloud. That was equivalent to a death sentence!
That was when Lydia walked in with a frown.