Chapter 25

Chapter 25

* * *

With Jeremy still in tow, the servants eventually reached Maria, who had been waiting for them to return. She was standing in the middle of a sea of scarlet blooms that were swaying in the breeze to form waves of blood.

“Hey old lady!”

Maria turned her head slightly to see who had called her. While a few of her servants made a face at Jeremy’s use of an overtly rude moniker, those who had been in Maria’s service for some time already just took it in stride.

“Jeremy!”

Maria answered him with a warm and welcoming smile; seemingly oblivious to what Jeremy had called her. She was a woman who took a fascination in any and everything attractive, be it people, animals, or objects. That’s why among the Agreces, she was especially fond of Sierra, Roxana, and even Jeremy since his good looks made it easy for her to overlook his impishness.

“Did you come here to see me? How nice of you.”

It was obvious that he had gone there to see her. He had no other reason for following her servants there like some abandoned dog.

“I see you’re back at your bad habits again, old lady.”

Jeremy was openly trying to goad her. Whatever his aim was, he definitely wasn’t trying to win any sort of congeniality award.

“What’s the big idea of killing off one of your servants for no damn good reason?! You keep that up and one of these days those demons might mistake you for one of their caretakers.”

“Oh, but you misjudge me, Jeremy. I only punish those who step out of line. My, my... Even the way you make false assumptions is adorable.”

Blargh.

Instead of responding, Jeremy pretended he was about to vomit. No matter what he said or how he acted, Maria continued to smile at him as if she saw him as a darling little child who was prone to babbling.

“Whatever. More importantly, where do you think you’re going looking like that? Don’t you know you reek of blood? It’s awful.”

Objectively speaking, seeking out Maria just to berate her like that was far from normal behavior as well. Besides, having been drenched from head to toe in slime back at the demon farm, Jeremy wasn’t exactly a pretty picture himself.

“It appears you went to the demon farm, Jeremy. I can barely make out your cute face with all that black goo.”

Jeremy just snorted at Maria’s lament.

Perhaps getting covered in all this toxic slime wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

But her mention of it did remind him of its putrid taste of rotting fish once again. He grimaced at the memory. Then grabbing a handful of the scarlet flowers nearest to him, he began to munch on the petals. The flowers possessed drug-like properties which the Agreces had cultivated to suit their own purposes. Most of their toxic properties did however still remain in their leaves and stems. The petals were also slightly toxic and could cause maladies such as migraines, but to Jeremy, who was pretty much immune to low-level poisons, they could do no harm.

“Xana seemed awfully busy as well. You children really must take it easy. Working too hard can take a toll on the body.”

“Don’t worry your little head ove—Wait, you’re saying you saw Roxana today?”

Jeremy was so taken aback that he stopped munching on one of the flowers for a moment.

“Yes, I just happened to run into her earlier. I had hoped to have tea with her and Deon, but supposedly he’s away, and she said she was busy as well.”

Jeremy’s face immediately twisted like a pretzel.

“What did you just say? Why in the world would you ask that jerk Deon to come around?”

The aromatic scent of the flowers had suddenly turned rank inside Jeremy’s mouth. Since he knew that Roxana despised both Deon and Maria, he had made it his duty to hate both of them as well. But it wasn’t just because of Roxana that he did. Deon alone was simply the sort of young man who others found impossible to like. And along that vein, so was his mother with her multitude of idiosyncrasies. That was why giving Deon and Maria trouble had become a sort of pastime for Jeremy.

Unfortunately, his efforts were hardly noticed by either of them. In the end, Jeremy was always the one who returned frowning woefully and frustrated all the more by their blithe natures. Still, he wasn’t ready to give up. On the contrary, he continued his regular assaults in hopes of upsetting them somehow one day. However, Maria remained several degrees his superior in these imaginary skirmishes, so answered without a hitch.

“You’re absolutely right, of course. Although he’s my son, he really isn’t very lovable.”

“And didn’t I warn you about trying to get Roxana and Deon together?!”

Jeremy came close to baring his teeth as he roared at her.

Maria tilted her head sideways as if puzzled by his question.

“Did you? But what’s wrong with ensuring two siblings get along?”

“‘Siblings’? Did you actually call them ‘sib... lings’?!”

Ugh! This old lady really is off her rocker.

Everyone knows we Agrece siblings are worse than enemies. Where the hell did she all this sibling nonsense?

And what’s worse, she wants Xana to think of Deon as a brother?!

“Listen up, old lady. Open those earholes of yours wide and really pay attention this time, okay?” Jeremy’s mocking tone was rich with sarcasm. “There’s only one person in the entire world who deserves to be called Roxana’s sibling or brother and that’s me! Understand?”

It was a bold declaration he said as if it were an everlasting, self-evident truth. Maria made a pacifying gesture as she answered him.

“I hear you loud and clear, dear. Next time I invite Xana and Deon to tea, I’ll be sure to include you as well. It was my fault for forgetting you, Jeremy.”

“Ugh! That’s not what I meant!”

He was even more incensed than when he had first arrived. Maria’s skull was of a thickness that even a modern-day bulldozer would have struggled to break through.

“Anyway, Roxana doesn’t have time these days for idle chats, so forget about your freaking tea parties.”

Jeremy was so angry that he imagined he could have torched that crimson field Maria had so carefully tended to. He spat as he continued. “She’s busy enough with that damn toy of hers that she barely even has time to play with me.”

“A toy?”

“Yeah, you know, that Blue Pedelian punk. Roxana chose him...”

At the mention of a toy, Maria’s expression suddenly changed. She became the most alert Jeremy imagined he had ever seen. Suspicious of her sudden wide-eyed expression, Jeremy chanced the obvious question.

“What? Do you honestly mean to tell me that you didn’t know?”

The fact that Roxana had taken a toy for the first time was pretty big news at the mansion. His assumption that Maria already knew had been Jeremy’s only reason for even bringing up the unhappy subject. But on the other hand, she was such a clueless person that she hadn’t even realized her own son was away. Thus, the likelihood was high that her surprise at this latest revelation was indeed genuine.

“You should learn to open your ears more, old lady. How is it that we all live in the same house, yet you didn’t even know about that? What were you so busy doing? Making another one of those stupid doll things?”

He tsked at her for good measure. However, none of his scolding seemed to be making any sort of impression on her.

“I see... So Xana has a new toy... I wonder just what sort of child he is.”

Jeremy seemed to think Maria’s mumbling required an answer.

“He’s an ass just like Deon. A real piece of work.”

But no matter what he said, Maria barely seemed to register his words. Her eyes simply twinkled with anticipation.

“Someone go fetch Louelle. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me about such an interesting event. How naughty of her.”

But before one of her servants could take a step, Maria rescinded her order.

“No, no. I better go myself. Jeremy, would you like to come play in my chambers for a bit? I have an array of yummy snacks.”

“Not a chance. I’m not one of your freaky dolls.”

He glared furiously at Maria as if he knew what her real agenda was, then turned away from her to leave. Maria watched Jeremy disappear in earnest sadness, but almost immediately reverted back to her perky self once he was out of sight. She was filled to the brim with curiosity as she wondered what the next chapter held.

“I’ll have to send Xana an invitation as soon as possible. What a lovely tea party it would be if we could have the new toy there as well.”

The crimson field swayed languidly along to the tune of Maria’s excited high note.