How long has it been...?

At first, his attention was focused on each passing day, counting each morning how many moons were left before the end of a new month. Again and again... Months turned into semesters, then into years.

After two or three years, he had stopped counting, like the hourglass of time that had stopped when he entered the manor.

Life was monotonous, but he was provided with room and board if you forget the one hitch in the exhausting games he had to play. Life wasn't so bad, it wasn't horrible or amazing but passable.

Sometimes he thought about her. Her golden curls shining in the sunlight in the wheat fields and her green eyes sparkling like two emeralds. He missed her. She was his world, but now they belonged to two parallel dimensions and the flame in his heart that hoped to find her one day, was slowly dying out.

But to be honest, he had expected it. He had come here of his own free will and was now paying for his sins within these four walls.

And then, one day, a newcomer appeared at the manor. This happened from time to time and he never really paid attention until now, but this time things were different. The young man who entered the manor was not like the others.

His gray eyes and hair matched with the color of his outfit made him look like a black and white painting, devoid of emotions. This monochrome face attracted him for some reason and for the first time he decided to approach the embalmer, in an attempt to get out of his boredom.

The man's name was Aesop Carl.

When it came to communicating with others, nothing was easier than to smile and be sympathetic to others. To get to the point with honesty while remaining upright so that the other person could not imagine that he had ulterior motives.

However, it did not go quite as the seer had hoped and breaking the shell of the embalmer was more complicated than it seemed.

The male avoided him at every possible opportunity and it was almost to wonder if the two men had not launched into a game of cat and mouse without saying anything.

Finally, it took him more effort than he intended to invest in the beginning but even against all odds, Eli did not give up and continued to attack Aesop unceasingly with his friendly approaches then as a reward for his affliction, the one with the anthracite eyes started to open his heart slowly.

Yet the seer could never have imagined the turn of events affected by his actions. Without him realizing it, Aesop seemed to be bringing up any other feelings in his heart towards him that Eli was not ready to receive.

Seeing the embalmer so infatuated with him was strange enough but now that he had already stepped in, he couldn't back down.

Guilt crept into him every time he saw the male's eyes crinkle with bliss or a few other times, the red rising slightly to his ears.

His affection was as clear as day but he continued to pretend he hadn't noticed even though everyone else in the manor was surely already aware of the thoughts floating around in the embalmer's mind.

And then...

"Eli... I think that... I have feelings for you." His eyes showed anxiety but his determination did not waver, his electric gaze freezing the seer in place. "Not as a friend, more than that."

It was at that very moment that the full weight of his lies crashed down on him.

Nevertheless, the outcome of the problem drew its source elsewhere from where he thought it did and he wondered, when had things changed?

When had he stopped acting, wearing a mask in front of him to get closer to the man, all to realize one thing.

He placed his fingers on the blindfold around his eyes and removed it with a bitter smile, the blue of his pupils twisting with complicated emotions.

"I didn't plan to fall for you..." The words struggled to leave his lips but it was too late to back down. He took a step toward the other and gently placed his hand against his cheek, sketching a weak smile. "I didn't mean to. I had only approached you for my own selfish interests and used you for that purpose. But now... I don't know. I feel like I don't deserve your feelings because of that and yet my heart only wants you now after repressing itself so much."

Eli looked straight into Aesop's eyes, preparing to receive his venom, but against all expectations, Aesop sketched a sad smile before taking his hand in his.

"I knew it, from the beginning actually. That's why I was reluctant to your moves but after getting to know you, my opinion changed before becoming what it is now and that's why... I forgive you because I love you."

Eli widened his eyes, this couldn't be the truth, it would be too beautiful to believe, wasn't he supposed to repent? Then why, how was Aesop not angry with him? How could he continue to love him despite his wicked deeds?

"Won't you regret it...?" he asked doubtfully.

"For what? For loving someone who gave his all just to get my attention?"

A low chuckle escaped the embalmer's mouth and he then intertwined their two hands, their chests almost touching from the closeness between their two bodies.

"Aesop, I... I love you too."

"I'm glad to hear that, Eli."

Finally, the seer returned his smile, before leaning in his direction until their noses brushed. He longed for only one thing now that his feelings were made clear and his being screamed for that one desire. The embalmer blushed slightly and gave his consent with a nod, to which the blue-eyed male hurriedly sealed his lips with a kiss.

Somewhere there was a mansion called Oletus. There, the seer Eli Clark met the embalmer Aesop Carl and spoke to him. And in that same mansion, Eli fell in love with Aesop just as Aesop was already infatuated with him.