Chapter Two: The Lord Who Does Not Look

The lords of the house rarely mingled with the servants. When they did, they spoke like wind through reeds—sharp, fleeting, and never to be caught.

But Lord Kaito was different. He didn’t just keep his distance; he kept his gaze. He gave no one the dignity of being seen.

Melissa noticed it first at the morning procession. But with only for her that's her guessing and claimed.

She had been refilling ink stones in the study wing when he passed, flanked by attendants. He moved like a shadow that had learned the discipline of a blade—every step measured, every breath silent. His eyes swept the hall, never resting on anyone. Not even those who bowed deeply as he passed.

He doesn’t look at people, she thought.

Not truly. He looked through them. As if they were ghosts.

“Cold man,” one of the older maids whispered that evening over pickled daikon. “Sharp as his father's blade, they say. And twice as hollow.” She doesn't even know the father of the Lord yet from the other lips, she can figure out of who he is.

They spoke in hushes. As if the house had ears.

Melissa said nothing. But the memory of his voice—its strange stillness, the way he’d finished her sentence—sat beneath her skin like a bruise that hadn’t bloomed.

That night, she dreamt of camellias blooming beneath snow. Of eyes that never looked, and a mouth that said her name like it shouldn’t have known how.

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The next time she saw him, she wasn’t ready.

She was kneeling near the koi pond, trimming the frost-bitten lilies. The stone path was slick with meltwater, the winter sun reflecting in pale bursts across the surface. It was quiet enough to hear the fish breathe.

Then she felt it—the shift in air. A stillness, heavy and full of expectation.

He was there. Watching her moves.

Not in a leering way. Not with interest, even. Just... watching. As if trying to place her in a puzzle he didn’t remember starting.

She looked up. Their eyes met.

And for a moment, he didn’t look through her. He looked at her.

Like a man seeing something unexpected in a mirror.

She didn’t bow. Not right away. She wanted to see how long he would hold it.

He was the one to look away.

The spell broke.

“My lord,” she said, inclining her head just enough.

He said nothing. Just turned and walked down the stone path, slower than usual.

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