Gaston leaned forward, all ears:

"She came, and... What happened next?"

"She offered herself in place of her father," Chip paused. "She stayed in the dungeon instead of the old man."

"The prince kept her in the dungeon?" Gaston was horrified. He remembered Maurice's cries at the tavern about a monster grabbing Belle and locking her in the castle.

"No, no," the boy shook his head. "The master immediately brought Belle to her room. The room was nice; my mom and I took tea there."

"And then? "

Chip was silent, then started speaking, not answering the question directly but more like talking to himself. He frowned, clenched his fists as if coaxing someone or maybe complaining about something:

"When she appeared in the castle, everything changed. Light, joy entered the castle. We children started laughing. The dark old curtains were drawn or removed, the maids started cleaning, living flowers appeared from somewhere unknown. The castle transformed, became different. Cheerful... It felt like a place you wanted to live in, even in the state we were in. Everything changed too… Instead of silence in the hallways, there were conversations, jokes. Lumiere was always cheerful but joked even more, my mother smiled more often, all the other servants did too. Hope arose in us. We all grew to love Bel... We loved Madame Gaston."

"And he loved her too, right? Your master?" the hunter asked softly. "What did they do together? Did they... engage in unpleasant girly things like kissing?"

He took a step closer and almost loomed over the boy.

Chip was silent, then lifted his head and with unexpected firmness, met his gaze directly:

"That's none of your business. If she didn't tell you, then I shouldn't tell you either."

"No, you will tell me!"Gaston forcefully hit the table with his belt, displaying his determination. "You will tell me!"

"You can beat me if you want," the boy said quietly but stubbornly. "I won't tell you anything."

Gaston clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. As he tried to contain his anger, Chip suddenly burst into tears, covering his face with his hands.

"Why are you crying, idiot? I haven't laid a finger on you yet!" the hunter was surprised. "Putting on a show, yet crying like a little girl. At your age, five of them would beat me, and couldn't get a single tear out."

"I'm not crying because of that, " Chip sniffled. "I'm not scared of you."

"Then why? " the man was puzzled.

The boy looked at him with defiance and hatred in his eyes:

"Because you're Belle's husband! You're terrible! Evil! You're just a monster!"

Gaston stepped back, taken aback, and Chip, seizing his confusion, sprang from the chair, unlocked the latch, and fled. Gaston watched him go. A monster? Him?

Somehow those words struck a nerve.

Automatically putting his belt back on, he heard Chip's voice again:

"Belle! Belle!"

Gaston leaned against the wall to remain hidden. Perhaps he could hear what they were saying?

"Belle! It's me, Chip!" the boy laughed happily.

"Chip!" Belle's voice was warm and tender. "How you've grown! I'm so glad to see you!"

They fell silent for a moment, and the hunter strained his ears.

"Belle," Chip asked sadly. "Why don't you come to us anymore? Don't you love us at all?"

"What are you talking about, Chip..." the girl sighed. "I love you all very much… It's just... You know, I have to go."

She suddenly appeared at the doorway, stepping noiselessly with her delicate feet. Gaston recoiled from the wall, but Belle realized he had been eavesdropping.

"Have you been to the castle?" she asked.

"No," he raised a hand to his face, and Belle saw a bloodied mark on the edge of his palm. She gasped:

"Were you interrogating Chip about me? Why are you doing this? Why are you making decisions behind my back instead of just asking me? Oh God! You make it so difficult. You're thinking and deciding things on your own instead of just talking to me. I'm here, I'm right beside you. If you want to know something about me - ask me."

Gaston gazed into her beautiful eyes, burning with fire inside.

"I don't ask you because I'm afraid of hearing your answer, " he finally answered and quickly left the house. Belle shouted after him, ran, but he easily broke away from her and disappeared into the forest.

He walked towards the castle, then turned onto a small path to the left leading to a forest lake where he could sit quietly.

Belle... She had always been too grand for him. She was the only one who didn't succumb to his charm, didn't laugh at his jokes, didn't touch his muscles. He had always been below her, never at her level. He couldn't understand some of the words she spoke; he could marry her, could hold her in his embrace, but he still felt she wasn't meant for him.

If there was anything good between them, it was because she was forced to be with him. Their wedding... Neither of them had sworn eternal love as other lovers do. She didn't wait for him in the evenings for dates, breathlessly... He didn't walk her home, gently kissing her in the predawn haze.

None of that existed.

Initially, he thought it unimportant, but now, sensing there was another man who captured her affection, everything felt different. What did they do together? Engage in interesting conversations? Read books? Dine in the exquisite dining room?

With such tenderness, Belle told the castle boy that she loved them. If she loved the prince's servants, then perhaps there was a place for him in her heart too.

How big was that place?

Belle would never say, though she says, ask. Worst of all, it might be that she pities him. Now everything he said to Prince Adam seemed different. Too grand. Too beautiful and ethereal for their provincial town. Too airy for his hunting lodge.

But envisioning her in new silky dresses amidst the castle's sophisticated atmosphere, Gaston found it all too easy to imagine. And perhaps there were more books in the castle. Maybe even an entire library, many times larger than their pitiful bookshop. And there could be dances, walks in a well-maintained park with a fountain, and no dirty boots. No laundry, cooking, cleaning.

And above all, this guileless lad, to whom she was attracted even when he was enchanted into something horrible. Sitting by the lake was a person, and as Gaston approached closer, he realized it was indeed Prince Adam.

Seeing him was the last thing he desired.