"Master?" Dinah tilted her head and looked at her master on the sofa.
No lights were on in the manor. The afterglow slanted in through the windows, slowly crawling across the expensive handwoven carpet and leaving behind warm patches of light. Bayonetta and Jeanne had taken Milia to London to shop for jewelry, bringing Rosa and Balder along as well. Ever since obtaining Kamar-Taj's contract, they had planned to leave and had no concerns whatsoever about their biological daughter's life. This time, Bayonetta and Jeanne were choosing gifts for Rosa while determining Milia's clothing and jewelry styles, and Rosa was also an important source of advice. Aside from the Sisterhood Artificial Human guards assigned to protect the Witch, only Dinah's maid security team remained in the manor.
The Emperor sat on a sofa untouched by the orange-red sunlight, placing himself within still shadows like water. Hearing Dinah's question, he nodded. The Artificial Human then approached quietly. Before stepping onto the carpet, she expertly slipped off her black high heels, walked barefoot in black stockings across the wool rug, and skillfully filled his empty glass with dark brown liquor.
Dinah noticed the dried brownish-red blood on the Emperor's fingers. Silently, she gestured for her subordinates to bring a towel, then wrapped ice from the bucket inside it. Sitting beside the Emperor, she pressed the towel against the back of his hand. Since her birth, Dinah had never seen the Emperor so angry. Even with rage blazing in his heart, he still kept his movements and expression under control. Even as he drank, he moved neither too quickly nor too slowly, looking less like someone drowning his sorrows than someone savoring fine liquor. Even expensive, mellow spirits could not loosen his heart in the slightest, nor could they make his cheeks flush.