Chapter 37: Tragic Bloodshed

After Gaunt wiped away his tears, he did not walk on his own. His feet carried him inside the dilapidated maze garden. That place, reminiscent of the painful and bloody tragedy that happened in his life. He raised his right hand and touched the dry plants. He continued walking until he reached the center of the maze. Tears welled up in his eyes again as he saw the magnificent mausoleum there. To this day, the rose vines he planted around then are still very much alive. White-flowers bloom vividly around the building. Like those roses, the love he felt never died. Only, he hid it very deep in his heart and locked it. And over a very long period of time, it is digging again and in danger of being opened.

He went inside the mausoleum and saw the tomb covered with red roses. Those roses turned red when they were stained with Kristine's blood. Dark red, reminiscent of a bitter event. He picked a red rose and smelled it. His heartbeat quickened. There is pure love.

"This time, I will be able to defend you. Nothing can stop the two of us. I am ready to face Belphegor and this time, I will win. No one can take you away from me. We will bring everything back..."

Gaunt took a deep breath. He will never forget that day... To lose everything. To lose the only the woman he loved so much and also loved him so much. The memory was killing him every time he remembers... The past keeps coming back to him as he stays in that place...

Kristine blinked a few times as she stared at Gaunt. He was eating lunch with her next to the garden. She looked at the food served in front of her. Since her childhood, she has not eaten that kind of food. She was the only daughter of her mother and she raised her alone. The life she lived was hard and simple. But happy. Everything just changed when her mother died of a disease due to a chronic illness and she was buried in debt to her aunt. That is why it has reached the point of selling her to the robbers. She took a deep breath.

"Don't you like food?"

She hesitated to look at Gaunt's face.

"It's not like that. I just don't understand why I have to eat with you now. What does this mean?"

The man smiled sparingly at her. He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. It stared intently at her face and she saw it focus all his eyes on her lips. She was overwhelmed by what it did. Her eyebrows met.

"Stop that. I'm irritated. What do you really need?" her irritated language.

The guy laughs softly. It only emphasized the sight on her lips. She already loves to walk out so she just promises here that she will be kind and obedient. That's why it's too much to tease. Looks like he's really trying her temperament.

"I really like that expression of yours, Kristine. You just make me look better and I get even crazier with you."

Her eyes widened and she was disgusted and pushed softly.

"Stop me. I don't need flattery. I know very well what I am in your life." she said softly.

But despite that, she was a bit skeptical of what she really was in his life. In recent days, he has been personally serving her and she looks more like a boss. Sometimes, she wonders what Gaunt really intends for her. Because honestly, her whole being is slowly giving in to it.

"Don't be too rude to me. I just want the two of us to talk." began by Gaunt.

Kristine shook her head and rubbed her forehead. She laughed softly.

"And what are we going to talk about, huh?"

Gaunt played with his fingers on the table. That made a faint noise.

"I want us to talk about ourselves. I want the two of us to know each other. I want to know everything about you and what you like. And I, I will also let you know who I really am so be prepared." Gaunt warned firmly in his last words.

He was ready to introduce himself to Kristine but he decided not to surprise her. He will make the introduction in such a way that it will not be intimidated and will be very surprised. He could not understand, but now he felt very nervous. He was afraid of Kristine's possible reaction when she found out who he really was.

"In that case, I will be the first to tell the story. My life is not that interesting..." Kristine began.

Gaunt sat up and focused his full attention on his companion.

"I am a child of my Mother's virginity. I have never seen my father. I do not even know what his name is and who he really is. We are just poor and live a simple life. We were happy when it was just the two of us. Until my Mother lost her life because she was stricken with a serious illness. Because of that, I had to work hard and I even got into a lot of debt to my aunt. That's why she got to the point where he sold me to the robbers but I ran away from them and here it is... I met you."

Gaunt grinned. He wanted to thank her aunt because this is why Kristine came to him.

"As for me... I'll tell you later when it's night." he said suddenly.

Kristine was annoyed by what she said.

"Very deceptive." She commented.

She was stunned by Gaunt's serious face and stared hard at her face. A frugal smile flashed across his beautiful lips.

"Tell me Kristine... What is your desire? I will grant it. Anything, everything... Just tell me, what is your desire?"

Kristine looked shyly at Gaunt's face and a simple smile flashed on her lips.

"You know Gaunt, you don't have to ask me that thing. You've given me too many things even though I'm not asking you. I don't want anything. Thank you."

Gaunt frowned and could not believe what he heard. He did not think anyone would reject his offer. And all in all Kristine is still.

"Oh Kristine... You don't have to be ashamed of me. Tell me, what do you want?"

"I already said my answer to that question of yours. You know Gaunt, I grew up happy and content with the things I have no matter what. In the simple life I lived with my Mother, I was happy. Because being content is being happy. Another, I have seen that people who love to aspire too much, never become happy because they are not satisfied. There is no end to their desire. So anytime, those people, will not be happy."

Gaunt took a deep breath as he felt a deep admiration in front of him. Not only because of its physical appearance but also its whole personality. At that moment, he finally fell and sank into it. He was the slave...

"In that case, you are different from all the people I know. Usually people are easily dazzled by luxury and power. They are weak in those things so they are easily pushed to the call of evil because they will do everything... Just to get their goal."

Kristine sees in Gaunt's face the admiration and she likes that look.

"You know Gaunt, this is how I grew up because I have great faith in our God-Father who created the-"

Kristine could not continue what she was about to say because Gaunt suddenly punched the table hard and destroyed it. She was shocked and terrified of what it did. She held her breath as she saw its sharp gaze. She was stunned and could not speak.

"Never put that thing in the conversation! I strictly forbid mentioning it! Do you understand?!"

Kristine nodded nervously. A strange fear flashed through her whole being as she stared into Gaunt's eyes. It seems that they are not human eyes but the eyes of a strange creature. She was so scared that she cried. Trembling, she wiped away her tears and tried to stop crying but was swallowed up by the overwhelming fear... What exactly is Gaunt?!

Gaunt was shocked to see Kristine crying and trembling with fear. It tries to calm itself down but it cannot. There, he realized what he had done. He looked at the table he had destroyed. He quickly approached Kristine and hugged her. It tried to wrestle with him but he felt it did not do that thing because fear overcame it.

"I-I'm sorry, Kristine... I couldn't help myself. Please, don't be afraid of me. I will never hurt you. I can't do that to you. I was just carried away by the emotion. It's my fault, I didn't tell you about that thing... Sorry..."

He gently kissed her on the forehead. Kristine closed her eyes tightly and none of her own reciprocated the hug with Gaunt. The intense fear she felt was slowly disappearing. But not the doubt. Ordinary people can't do what Gaunt did before. She wants to know the answer and she needs to prepare herself for what she should know.

At night Kristine could not explain how she felt. As Gaunt said, it will introduce itself completely to her. She was wearing a pink dress over her knee. She braided her hair side-by-side and she let a few strands tilt a little over her face. She was not wearing any jewelry. She is currently facing the giant mirror in Gaunt's room. The door opened and she saw Gaunt enter inside. She saw in the reflection of the mirror the simple smile on his lips. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black jeans. It walked quickly towards her and as she expected it hugged her tightly from behind. It looked in the mirror and she also imitated it. She saw the reflection of the two of them.

"I really love this view... I hope this would last forever..." Gaunt said in a husky tone.

After that, he gently kissed her on the cheek. A smile spontaneously appeared on her lips. It loosened its grip on her and held out its right hand. She reached for it and was surprised to see it.

"Where will we go?"

"It's a surprise. Just follow me."

She just nodded here and obeyed. They walked holding-hands out. She was stunned to walk when she saw that they had gone to the maze garden and they were already at its opening. She backed away but Gaunt held her firmly in his hand. She was traumatized in that area because of Lucy.

"Nothing bad will happen to you. Do not be afraid, I am with you. We will not be lost here because I made this garden myself. You have nothing to fear." Gaunt's assurance.

Kristine took a deep breath to calm herself.

"All right, let's move on. Just, don't let go of my hand. "

She tightened her grip on Gaunt's hand.

"Sure, Kristine."

He also tightened his grip on her hand and even gave her a wink. They continued walking until they reached the very center of the garden. She held her breath as she saw what was there. She rubbed his lips and was very impressed when she saw the surroundings. White-pink petals are scattered on the lawn. And in the middle there is a soft comforter.

"It's good to watch the stars tonight because there are no clouds in the sky. I prepared it because I always see you on the terrace of the room that always looks at the sky when there are many stars. You can see more here."