After those words, Lilith could only look at the ground.
Her fingers intertwined with each other. Her thumbs circling around each other. She didn't lift her gaze.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Well... it was just an idea."
"I think..." Lilith raised her eyes. "It should have stayed as an idea."
The master lowered his shoulders. His head too. His whole body seemed to shrink.
"I understand."
"Let's go back to the shop," he said, disheartened.
Lilith obeyed.
On the way back, she only saw the back of the man's neck. She couldn't explain it, but she felt the atmosphere very light. As if a weight she didn't know was there had disappeared.
The streets were empty. The lanterns flickered. Their footsteps sounded on the cobblestones, but she barely heard them.
---
In the shop, each went up to their room in silence.
The steps creaked under their feet. His door closed first. Hers, after.
Lilith lay down. She pulled the covers up to her chin. A smile formed on her lips. Just thinking about how close she was to the library.
She closed her eyes.
She slept.
---
The next day, she tended the business as usual.
More people were coming in because of the new variety of products. Ladies asking about soaps. Men looking for oils. Children pointing at the colorful bottles. But Lilith couldn't have cared less.
She was bored.
She balanced a coin between her fingers.
Something felt strange to her.
She looked at the staircase.
The master hadn't come down. Even for him, it was too late to even take a look. The sun was already high. The shadows were already short.
She left the coin on the counter.
She went to his room.
She opened the door.
Dark as always. The curtains closed. The air still. And there was the master. Asleep in his bed. Face down. One arm hanging out of the sheets.
"Master?"
Silence.
"Eugenio?"
Nothing.
Lilith entered. The atmosphere was strangely familiar. Cold. Heavy. Like certain nights in Elionor.
The master had his back to her. She began to circle the bed. Going around. Step by step.
As she did, a grimace formed on her face.
Her lips stretched sideways. She slowly opened her mouth. Her long fangs came into view. White. Sharp. The dim light from the window made them gleam.
It didn't matter anymore.
Eugenio was dead.
Lilith saw a syringe near his pale hand. On the nightstand, a bottle of ammonia. Empty. The stopper was on the floor.
She turned him over so he was face up. The body was heavy. His arms fell to his sides like logs. His head tilted.
She began to examine him.
She pulled up his sleeves. His wrists. That's where he injected himself. Small red dots on the bluish skin.
Anger was not hidden on her face. Her eyes lit up. Her lips pressed together.
She took the bottle. Spoke to the corpse.
"Are you really going to run away like that? From your life?"
She dropped it. The bottle shattered on the floor. Shards of glass gleamed between the floorboards.
She turned around. Went back to the door of the room. Stopped. Her hands on her hips. Thinking.
"Damn it!"
She kicked the wall. The impact echoed in the empty room. The corpse didn't move.
---
She went down to the shop counter.
She pulled at her hair out of nervousness. Tangled it in her fingers. Let it go. Tangled it again.
*If I declare his death, they will distribute his belongings. And I am one of them. Where would I end up?*
She bit her lip.
*And if I don't declare it, I couldn't use him to get into gatherings. A slave... cannot represent her master.*
She collapsed on the counter. Her forehead against the wood. Her arms crossed beneath it. Lost in her thoughts.
Fortunately, no one else came.
The sun moved from window to window. Hours passed. Lilith didn't move.
---
At night, she took the master.
She put him in a sack. The rough fabric covered the body. The tips of his fingers stuck out through a tear. She pushed them back in.
She went out to the back garden.
There was a small woodshed.
There, she removed the wooden floor. The planks were loose. She lifted them one by one. Beneath, the dark earth. Damp. Fresh.
She dug.
The shovel entered the earth with a dull sound. The moon illuminated her movements.
She dug until the hole was deep. Until sweat ran down her forehead.
She buried the master.
The earth fell over the sack. First large shovelfuls. Then small ones. Then just dust.
She replaced the wooden floor. The planks fit poorly. It didn't matter.
She returned to her room.
She saw how it was. Messy. Clothes on the floor. The bed unmade. Papers on the table. She never let anyone tidy it. And she wouldn't do it now.
She left it as it was.
She went to sleep. The pillow cold. The window open.
The wind came in. Moved the curtains. Lilith closed her eyes.
Tomorrow would be another day.