The Duke's Passion

"... ten."

THUD!

"Ahh... I already know they are a lot but I didn't expect them to have an entire army in their enemy's territory. Just what the fuck is Lexx doing?!" I ground my teeth as I looked back.

The hallway I passed through was now trashed with piles of dead bodies and blood splattered messily. A sigh slipped past my lips as I turned my head towards the window on my side. It didn't take long when I saw my reflection in the transparent glass.

"It seems they were having fun outside," I mumbled, hearing the faint hissing and growls. "And they haven't found Yul."

I didn't have a certain destination. All I had done was search for Yul in this place and make a mess. My gut feeling told me Yul was just in here. I didn't know where exactly, though.

"There you are again," a whisper slipped past my lips while massaging my temple. "Tone it down, will you? No one is listening. Stop wasting your time and energy."

The voices in my head were getting louder by the second. It made my head throb, but unlike earlier, I didn't feel dizzy. 

"Hmm?" my brows furrowed as I set my eyes back on the window. I walked towards it and thrust Lakresha against it, which caused it to shatter. The glass shards that sprinkled down inside didn't bother me as I peeked my upper outside.

"Yul," I muttered.

I didn't hesitate to jump out of the window as I heard Yul's voice from somewhere. Alistair and Stefan finally found him! But alas... they would kill him. I knew that because I was the one who mobilize them to search for him.

It may not be the usual 'search for him and rescue him', but it was still the same. They searched for Yul so they could kill him and they found him; I met the goal.

"Now, the question is... which Yul is it?"

My eyes glinted, barely blinking despite the harsh and freezing breeze blowing past me. Soon, the middle ward came to my sight. I scoffed as I stopped on some random roof, studying the situation in the middle ward.

I narrowed my eyes, darting my gaze from the people standing around the courtyard. 

There were knights scattered around, with Stefan, Alistair, and Dominique's back facing my direction. The three of them were gazing at the person standing before them.

Yul.

"They really meant it when they said they will go hunting," I muttered coldly, assessing Yul's figure. There were several arrows plunged in his back and thigh, but that didn't hinder him from standing up against his enemies.

"They treated him as if he was some sort of animal." A deep breath escaped my mouth, stretching my neck from one side to another. 

"Really... I shouldn't use my head that much."

As soon as those words left my mouth, I jumped from where I was, landing on the bakehouse before hopping straight to the ground. I winced at the slight pain on my side, but that briefly stopped me from approaching the party.

When I came close, I drew out Lakresha and some knights instinctively backed away from my path. Dominique and Alistair turned their heads on me while Stefan barely glanced at me.

"How dare you treat him like an animal?" I asked in a low tone without stopping in my tracks, heading towards Yul. I stood a step away from Yul, assessing his wounds from head to toe.

"Your Grace, I know you are concerned about Yul, but —" Dominique was cut off when Stefan raised his hand. The latter's eyes fixed on me, keeping his silence.

We stared at each other without a word before I turned to face Yul once again. My eyes softened with regret before he wrapped his arms around me tightly.

"Where is Yul?" I asked in his ear, gripping the arrow on his leg and pressed it deeper. "Tell me now and I will end your sufferings without giving out your real identity."

He grunted and a second later, I felt something sting on my shoulder as he had sunk his fangs into me. That didn't bother me, despite hearing his loud gulps. 

"Do you think..." My hand reached for the back of his hand and tugged his head back. His fangs ripped across my flesh as blood dripped down on the side of his lips. 

"... you will get anything from my blood?" I smirked as an amused chuckle slipped past my lips. I spun Lakresha with my other hand and then hooked it around his nape, its tip pointing at the side of his neck.

"Sorry, but I had done a lot of experiments to kill boredom." 

Blood spurted on my cheek, causing me to shut my one eye. I could feel the intense gaze on my back, but no one broke the silence. It was so quiet that I even heard how many times the severed head bounced as it rolled on the grass.

"Are you crazy? Why did you kill him?!" the enthusiastic Jayden hollered while I pushed the body away from me. "Your Majesty, how are we supposed to track his other accomplices now?"

Jayden continued to berate Stefan as I turned around to face them. I wiped off the blood across my eye with my pinky and then to my lips for a taste.

There was this confusion in their eyes as I licked the blood off of my pinky. The only one who wasn't puzzled was Stefan.

"Bitter?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Bitter."

"You didn't have to kill him to taste, though," He scolded in a low and intimidating tone. 

"Well, no matter how you torture him, he won't talk." I shrugged nonchalantly and cast Jayden a look. "And if you sink your fangs into him, prepare to lose your fangs."

Jayden furrowed his brows and glanced at Stefan. Stefan had known this fact for sure since we spent a long time together; dissecting and experimenting with all sorts of vampires and humans. 

"You're welcome, Your Majesty." The corner of my lips stretched into a weak smile. "I didn't mean to ruin your hunting game. I'm off to pick up Yul."

I waved them goodbye as I scanned every single one of them. Before they could react, I left since I already figured where was Yul after killing his impostor.

*******

"... I'm off to pick up Yul."

"What —!" Jayden was cut short as his eyes followed Lilou's figure, which was leaping away like a shadow. "Are we going to let her go just like that?"

He turned his gaze to Stefan, furrowing his brows as a smirk appeared on the latter's lips. Stefan snapped his eyes and glanced at where she went off.

"Sadly, you're not the only one who thinks, sweetheart," Stefan whispered, as a devious glint flickered across his eyes.

*******

Meanwhile, in a private residence on the outskirts of the capital, Samael raised his brows and turned around as someone suddenly barged into the room. 

"My lord, someone from the Marquess is here to deliver a letter," Noah reported as he trudged towards Samael with a young man beside him.

"A letter?" Samael furrowed his brows, gazing down at the letter with the Crawford Clan seal on it. He accepted it, casting the young messenger a suspicious look.

"Why would he send me a letter all of a sudden?" he inquired while carefully opening the envelope.

"Marquess Cameron just told me to get this letter to you as fast as I can without being noticed, Your Grace." 

"Sounds urgent," Samael muttered, and then skimmed its content. 

After reading the letter, he crumpled it as the sound of his teeth grinding pierced Noah's ears. 

"Barron Martin finally talked..." Samael's fangs grew longer while his eyes glowed in deep crimson. ".... albeit a little fucking late!"