The Duke's Passion

[ My lord, I am writing this letter to you in a hurry. Please forgive my penmanship.

Baron Martin had finally agreed to side with you and Her Grace. However, he had told me information that raised my concerns and this may alarm you the same. 

From my understanding, the Moriarty were the ones who gave the idea to the Bloodfang on how to make their sacrifice a success. However, there was a high probability that the Moriarty had also manipulated the clan's will.

Currently, Her Grace still had her clan's will under control whilst retaining hers. That was because it was incomplete, my lord. 

Her Grace mentioned the voices in her head, but Baron Martin told me that wasn't everything. The other half of the will was in another person's, waiting to return those voices to its rightful owner. 

Those voices will manifest into the duchess once she met certain requirements: such as having contact with this 'key' as what Baron Martin had called (but unsure what exactly), and... absorbing Prince Yulis.

The clans — I'm saying the Bloodfang's and the Mortiaty's — will be hers and she will be them. 

We can all be in danger, and so is Her Grace. We don't know how the Moriartys manipulated the Bloodfang and Lara, nor we can be sure where everything leads. 

We can't let that from happening, Your Grace. Prince Yulis is important to her. We can't let her kill Yulis in a moment of madness.

My lord, after knowing this, I begged you to save my kin. Please take Her Grace and Prince Yulis out of the palace immediately before it's too late.

Marquess Cameron Crawford ]

"You...!" Samael stormed his way on the estate's dungeon prison, kicking his way inside the cell. He grabbed their prisoner's hair, pulling it up to reveal the middle-aged man's mangled face.

"Where in hell is Zero?" he inquired with a shaking voice. "You better start talking now before Rufus' steed drags you across the kingdom by your foot, Mister Theodore Darkbridge."

[A/N: A review: Theodore Darkbridge appeared in CH 251 - Collecting the pieces]

"Heh..." Theodore let out a weak chuckle.

"Fucker..." Samael scoffed menacingly, sucking air through his gritted fangs.

"His Majesty never got in his position by being vicious alone. He is right when he said you might be alive." Theodore chortled and coughed out blood, unable to struggle with the torture they had done to him. "You might be strong, Your Grace... but you don't scheme, sadly."

Samael tightened his grip on the man's hair before letting it loose. "Sadly, you are quite right, but that is due to the fact that scheming is so fucking boring. I get what I want even if I don't do that."

"You can, Your Grace, but you can't just recklessly dive into madness because you now have people to protect." Theodore inhaled deeply as if he had been deprived of air. "It's not just you and those two monsters. You care now, Your Grace, and that had become your weakness."

"I never see my people as my weakness. It might be the opposite." Samael scoffed as he let his hair go and stood up. He didn't say a word as he turned around to leave.

Just when he was by the gates of the cell, he halted. "You are correct when you said scheming is never my style. My ways are far more entertaining, after all." Samael glanced over his shoulder and smirked. 

"I will keep you alive for as long as I can, like a mistress, Theodore. We have many years together, be sure to look forward to it."

Samael resumed in his strides after saying his piece. With him was Fabian, who remained outside the cell. Fabian turned his head to their captive and smiled.

"See you later, Lady Mistress." He bowed politely before following Samael's tracks.

The sound of chains clicking against each other as Theodore struggled resonated across the dungeon prison. He clenched his teeth, enraged at Fabian, the person who abducted him and tormented him out of boredom.

"Tch! That brat...!" 

Fabian's smile grew brighter as he heard Theodore's protests before leaving the dungeon. There was just something in a person's hateful remarks that uplifted his mood.

"Your Grace!" as soon as they exited the dungeon, Charlotte rushed towards them. "Are we really going to the palace? Tonight?"

Charlotte followed their tracks as Samael and Fabian didn't stop in their steps. 

"Yes. Why are you still here?" Samael inquired, glancing at Charlotte. "Rufus and the others had already left to join the hunt."

"Pardon? But I can shoot arrows from this distance!"

"How convenient." Fabian nodded in satisfaction. "I should master archery as well. It will save me some time in traveling."

"Mister Fabian, can you stick in close combat? I can't let anyone else surpass me in long-range." Charlotte pouted as it was clear to her that Fabian was just good at anything.

Suddenly, Samael stopped in his tracks and pivoted on his heel. Charlotte could not help but raised her brows, darting her eyes from Fabian to Samael.

"My lord?" she called under her breath.

"Charlie, I want you to do something for me." Samael's eyes glinted while his lips parted.

Charlotte furrowed her brows as she listened to Samael's orders. Her eyes slowly dilated as her mouth fell open.

"Good luck." Fabian smiled, patting her shoulder before leaving Charlotte in a daze.

"Oh, my goodness..." Charlotte trailed off, staring blankly at where the two left. "...is there no end to this?"

*******

Yul's scent and aura led me to the throne hall. I encountered a few who tried to stop me, but they're all high-fiving with Satan now. 

I gazed at the door leading to the throne room. This door I never gazed at properly before; the same door Klaus and I kicked a year ago, only to see my husband's head rolling down.

"It's been a year and yet..." I paused, using the end of my scythe to push it open. "... I still can't move on about that. This place doesn't give me anything but bad memories."

The loud creaking of the door as it opened echoed in my ear. I moved forth, throwing all the terrible memories at the back of my head as they were unnecessary now. 

"Yul." My steps stopped, seeing that Yul was lying on the floor near the step up leading to the throne. There was barely blood around him, telling me no grave injuries were inflicted.

"Yul," I called once again and resumed in my stride, squatting down when I approached him. I first checked his pulse and heaved a sigh of relief when it was still beating.

"Goodness." I smiled while shaking him awake. "Yul, wake up."

I shook him lightly, which grew violently over time. Before panic could creep into my heart, Yul grunted as he opened his eyes weakly.

"Your Grace?" Yul blinked while assisting himself to sit up. He looked around in confusion. 

"What the...? Why am I here?"

"It's fine now, Yul." My eyes softened, seeing him well. "Let's go back?"

Yul cast me a baffled look as if silently asking me for an explanation. But Yul knew to read the air, so he pressed his lips in a thin line and nodded.

"Come. Let me help you," I offered, after seeing him wince when he tried to stand. Yul didn't refuse my offer, placing his arm across my shoulder and after the count of three, we both stood.

"Gosh, you're so heavy." A teasing chuckle escaped my mouth while he rolled his eyes.

"You put this upon yourself."

Just as we were about to walk away, my eyes shifted on the throne. I paused and just stared at it, making the whispering voices in my head grow louder.

"Lilou? Are you alright?" Yul asked, but I ignored him.

"It's..." I murmured. "... calling for me."

"What?"

"Because it's yours, to begin with!" Suddenly, a familiar voice came from across the room. Even though I didn't turn my head in her direction, I recognized who it was.

Beatrice.