Chapter 14

As they stepped into the shantytown, curious eyes bore into them from all angles. Odelliana couldn’t help but notice the children, of various ages, covertly observing them with a mix of surprise and suspicion. The murmurs swirling around them grew increasingly audible, and Odelliana slowly pieced together the situation.

“It’s a bride, he’s brought a bride,” someone whispered. 

“Looks like that fella’s snatched himself a pretty one,” another voice chimed in. 

“A new bride, a new bride!” echoed a third.

The scene before them was one all too familiar in this lawless slum. Late-night entrances of a young man and woman together often signaled an illicit union, often through the archaic practice of ‘bosam marriage,’ where a man would essentially wrap a woman he fancied in cloth and make off with her.

The assumptions were immediate and unrelenting. Matthias, with Odelliana in his arms, had inadvertently become the center of a misunderstanding.

Suddenly finding herself cast as the younger man’s bride, Odelliana attempted to defuse the situation. “Put me down, I can walk,” she insisted firmly, not wanting to perpetuate the misconception that her devoted disciple had a disabled wife.

However, Matthias remained resolute, his grip tightening as he continued to carry her with an air of nonchalance. “Just stay still; your leg is hurt,” he responded calmly.

“It’s okay, I can manage,” Odelliana countered, but her protests seemed to fall on deaf ears. 

“We’re almost there anyway.” 

Arriving at a ramshackle hut teetering on the brink of collapse, Matthias gently set Odelliana down, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she sensed the lingering gaze of the children following their every move.

“Sorry for the unnecessary misunderstanding,” she murmured, her cheeks flushed with discomfort.

“It’s better this way. They’ll leave us be for a while,” Matthias replied, his tone surprisingly nonchalant given the circumstances.

In this primitive marriage culture, certain unspoken rules prevailed. No one dared intrude upon the sanctity of a wedding night’s preparations, adhering to a belief, however lofty, that even the most uncivilized among them would respect the sanctity of such intimate moments.

Odelliana couldn’t shake the guilt that weighed upon her. She had unwittingly cast Matthias, who had hitherto treated women as nothing more than roadside stones, into the role of a bride abductor. Yet, Matthias appeared unfazed by the situation.

“Please wait here for a moment,” Matthias instructed before setting about the task of tidying up the cluttered interior of the hut. With a rough hand, he cleared a space, revealing a randomly spread mat before producing a conspicuously clean, new blanket from an unseen stash.

The stark contrast between the pristine blanket and the dilapidated surroundings was jarring. In a shantytown where everything bore the wear and tear of time, this new addition stood out like a diamond in the rough.

“That’s new. I’m fine with this mat; you use that,” Odelliana suggested, gesturing towards the worn bedding.

“Please use it. I wasn’t raised to offer guests anything less than the best,” Matthias insisted, his demeanor a far cry from the brusque mannerisms she had come to expect.

As Odelliana settled onto the fresh bedding, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being an unwelcome intruder receiving an undeserved hospitality. The uncomfortable contrast with their former lives left her mind reeling, struggling to reconcile the past with the present.

“Why are you sitting so far away? It’s making me self-conscious,” Odelliana remarked, breaking the uneasy silence that had settled between them.

“I thought it might make you uncomfortable,” Matthias replied.

“Me? It looks like you’re the one uncomfortable because of me,” she retorted, observing his uneasy demeanor.

“Well, you’re not entirely wrong,” Matthias admitted reluctantly.

Odelliana carefully adjusted herself on the pristine blanket before patting the spot beside her, gesturing for Matthias to join her. “Come over here,” she invited softly.

At her words, Matthias raised an eyebrow, his expression a mixture of surprise and apprehension. “Are you suggesting we sleep together?” 

“Why not? We’re just sleeping,” Odelliana responded casually, trying to diffuse the tension with a touch of humor.

“That sounds like a dangerous statement,” Matthias remarked.

“What do you mean by dangerous?” 

“Late at night, how can you be sure what I might do if you pull me onto the blanket?” Matthias teased, his lips quirking into a playful smile.

His comment caught Odelliana off guard, and she found herself laughing uncontrollably, her amusement evident in the tears that streamed down her cheeks. She paid little attention to Matthias’s growing sullenness, lost in the moment of hilarity.

After regaining her composure, Odelliana looked at Matthias with an amused smile. “What could you possibly do to me?” she quipped.

It was meant as a jest, but as she spoke, she noticed Matthias had already abandoned the mat and settled onto the white blanket beside her. His sudden proximity caught her off guard, their faces now mere inches apart.

When did he get here?

Up close, Matthias’s eyes held a mesmerizing allure, sparkling like stars in the night sky, their radiance outshining any gemstone. Odelliana found herself entranced by their clarity, her gaze gradually drifting to his lips as he curled them into a soft smile.

“What could a man and a woman possibly do alone on a blanket late at night?” Matthias pondered rhetorically. Odelliana remained silent, uncertainty flickering in her eyes.

“There’s only one thing,” he continued, his tone suggestive yet strangely restrained.

His hand, much larger than hers, enveloped Odelliana’s with a gentle touch, holding her in a subtle yet undeniable grip. Though his grasp was light, she felt the stark contrast in strength, a reminder of the power he possessed.

At that moment, a surge of conflicting emotions washed over her—irritation mingled with a sense of being overpowered, her balance tipping under the weight of his presence.

As she shifted against the soft texture of the blanket, a shadow fell over her, prompting her to look up into Matthias’s piercing gaze.

“Are you capable of doing it?” she dared to ask, her voice laced with a hint of defiance. 

The one who recoiled at another’s touch as if it were repulsive, like a mere insect?

Matthias’s expression tightened slightly at her words. “That’s a rather rude remark to make to a perfectly healthy man,” he retorted, a flicker of annoyance flashing in his eyes.

“I didn’t mean to imply incapability,” Odelliana clarified. “Just that you weren’t the kind of scoundrel to entertain such thoughts.”

“How can you be so sure? You talk as if you know me well,” Matthias countered.

“I have a good eye for people,” Odelliana replied with quiet confidence, her mind drifting back to a shared history that spanned lifetimes.

I know you well. In our past lives, I was probably the person closest to you. Although our relationship wasn’t particularly affectionate, we were undeniably the closest of companions. Master and disciple, comrades serving the same lord, and eventually, lord and retainer. We spent a lot of time together, whether we liked it or not. 

“If you’re so confident, go ahead. What could you possibly do to me?” Odelliana challenged, her voice laced with defiance as she met Matthias’s gaze head-on.

“Should I undress first? Or will you do it?” Matthias retorted, his tone dripping with sarcasm, though a flicker of discomfort danced across his features.

As Odelliana observed Matthias’s reaction, she couldn’t help but notice the faint blush that colored his cheeks, a rare display of vulnerability that caught her off guard.

It was a stark departure from the composed facade he usually wore, and Odelliana found herself momentarily taken aback by the sight.

“See? You can’t do it, yet you’re putting on airs,” she remarked, her tone a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

Matthias’s expression hardened, his displeasure evident as he averted his gaze. “It’s not that I can’t; it’s that I won’t,” he muttered.

His attempt at correction only served to elicit a soft chuckle from Odelliana. “Is that so? How very well-behaved of you,” she quipped.

Matthias’s laughter mingled with hers, the tension between them momentarily diffused. “That’s the first time anyone’s called me well-behaved.” 

“Maybe you’ve only been surrounded by people who can’t judge character.” 

In this life, Matthias wasn’t the same violent, fierce, and cruel individual she had known in their past existence. There was a glimmer of something more, a potential for growth and redemption that she couldn’t help but feel hopeful about.

“Just so you know, never do anything this dangerous with other men,” Matthias cautioned.

“Dangerous?” Odelliana echoed, her brows furrowing in confusion. 

“Don’t pull just anyone onto a blanket with you,” he clarified, his words leaving Odelliana feeling defensive.

What does he think of me? she wondered, bristling at the implication that she would engage in such reckless behavior with anyone other than Matthias. “I just wanted you to sleep on a clean blanket instead of a dirty mat,” she explained hastily, her tone tinged with frustration. “After all, I’m an intruder, and it wouldn’t feel right to take the good blanket for myself. That’s all there was to it. Really.”

“Even so, you were careless,” Matthias replied, his sigh heavy with reproach as he turned away from her, his resolve to refrain from any untoward actions evident.

It seemed like he was showing off his self-control, signaling that she should be grateful for his restraint. “Go to sleep,” he added tersely.

It was indeed very late, and although Odelliana wanted to talk more and tend to Matthias’s wounds, she could sense his fatigue and decided to save it for tomorrow.

I need to ask him to come with me… 

Would he follow her quietly? With a resigned sigh, Odelliana turned her back to him and closed her eyes, the events of the day swirling in her mind.

Was it the sudden change in environment, or was it the fact that this was the first time she’d ever shared a blanket with her disciple in any of their lifetimes? Whatever the reason, it was clear that sleep would elude her on this night.