Chapter 166: First Night
They decided to make the farthest one the bedroom and the closer one into a study.
The two rooms were connected by an inner door and also shared access to a balcony that overlooked the courtyard. The other two houses nearby were built with the same structure.
The house was not large, but for two people living together, its facilities were more than enough, it was almost luxurious compared to ordinary life.
Dominic later learned that the other two houses had been reserved before being put up for sale and Lambard and the others had secured this one specifically for him.
While Dominic had remained blind and thoughtless, Jude, who had long served his father, had already anticipated everything and taken care of it all.
Just how much had he relied on Jude and the others until now without even realizing it?
The soft warm light of the candles wrapped the room in comfort.
Within that glow, even the cold food bought from street stalls seemed to taste special as the two of them sat and ate together.
The food was what Lambard had bought.
As always, it leaned heavily toward meat dishes.
Shiao Yi’s appetite was still small and he was eating the same way as usual, he chewing quietly on a sandwich made of a thin slice of hard black bread that was stuffed with scraps of vegetables and meat he had picked out from the piles of food.
By the time Shiao Yi finally managed to finish that sandwich, most of the grilled skewers and roasted meats that had covered the entire table had already found their way into Dominic’s stomach.
"Eat this too," Dominic said while pushing a plate of teriyaki-style meat toward him.
"I’m already full," Shiao Yi replied, pushing it back.
"You want to grow bigger, don’t you? If you do, then you have to eat more."
"What’s impossible is impossible. I already eat more than most, you know. You’re the one who eats too much. Like a bear or an elephant. Where does it all even go? It’s unbelievable."
With that, Shiao Yi gave Dominic a suspicious look, letting his eyes flick briefly toward Dominic’s stomach, then lifted his cup of tea and drank.
For a while, the two of them sat in silence while sipping their after-meal tea.
The silence felt strangely uncomfortable and heavy enough to make Dominic shift in his seat.
Shiao Yi seemed to feel the same way.
Hugging his empty cup, his face red, he kept glancing at Dominic from the corner of his eye.
"Um..."
"Ah, Shiao Yi..."
They spoke at the same time, then both fell quiet.
What was this strange, awkward moment?
"Shiao Yi."
"Dominic!"
Again, their voices overlapped.
The atmosphere became itchy, as if it scratched at Dominic’s skin and irritation began to stir in him.
Finally, he stood up firmly.
Shiao Yi looked up at him in surprise.
Yes. This was better.
"You must be tired today. Let’s rest."
In truth, Dominic’s plan was not simply to let him rest.
He had every intention of pulling him into the bed upstairs.
"I—I want to take a bath first!" Shiao Yi blurted out.
Right. The bath. Dominic had almost forgotten. That could work too. They would need to draw water from the well, and as for heating it, fire magic would be enough.
The bathtub was already filled with water.
It seemed Lambard had prepared it ahead of time.
Dominic couldn’t help but wonder when he had done it.
The man was more resourceful than he looked.
Dominic used magic to heat the water, but he quickly noticed that the tub was a little too small for two people to bathe together.
"Shiao Yi, you go in first."
"No, Dominic, you go first. I’ll tidy up the kitchen while you bathe."
Before Dominic could reply, Shiao Yi ran out of the room.
He must have had his own thoughts about it.
Dominic decided to accept the honor of being the first to use the bath.
The bed upstairs was simple but sturdy, it was large enough to hold them both.
The fresh white sheets were spread neatly over it and Dominic and Shiao Yi had put them in place together.
Since it was still early spring and the nights were cool, another cover had been layered over the top—an oversized feather-filled quilt, light but warm.
Both the sheets and the quilt had been provided by the furniture shop where Dominic had bought the bed.
Clearly, the shopkeeper was thoughtful enough to prepare bedding to match the size of the bed.
If someone bought a bed, then of course it was only natural to sell the bedding along with it.
There was no need to make the customer go elsewhere to find what they needed.
Dominic realized that he had almost no experience in this kind of shopping.
He had rarely set foot in the lively shopping streets before.
The only time he had gone out shopping like this was when he had searched for clothes for Shiao Yi.
He remembered that moment and laughed softly.
At that time, he had been surprised at how many clothing shops there were.
In the end, he had bought Shiao Yi’s clothes from a shop that sold children’s clothing.
He recalled the way the shopkeeper had smiled politely when asking about the size.
"Is this for your child?" the shopkeeper had asked cheerfully.
The man had completely misunderstood, believing that Shiao Yi was Dominic’s son rather than his lover—or even his younger brother.
Just what age had they imagined Shiao Yi to be? If Shiao Yi ever found out about it, he would definitely sulk.
Dominic pulled a towel from the chest and took a small bottle of scented oil from the drawer.
The chest fit perfectly in the bedroom, complementing the bed.
He placed the towel and oil neatly by the pillow on the bed, then nodded to himself, thinking that they would also need a small table or nightstand beside the bed.
It would be like this, he thought.