The Duke's Passion

"Congratulation on your pregnancy. But alas..." 

Beatrice and I failed to react in time, as Alphonse already sent her flying while my back hit the wall. I winced at the pain in my back, gripping Alphonse's arm on instinct.

I gazed down, only to realize half of his finger plunged into my chest. It wasn't that deep yet, so I mustered my remaining energy to stop his hand.

'Sam, I think I'm dead...' I muttered internally while gritting my teeth and glaring at the man before me.

"Duchess, I don't want to kill you, but this child..." Alphonse's eyes drooped as the sinister smirk on his lips sent a shiver down my spine. "... can't live."

As he said so, my feet gradually left the floor as he lifted me up. I clutched his arm even tighter while catching up to my breathing. The thought of being pregnant barely lingered in my head with my current situation. I was not even sure if he was telling me the truth.

"Kill him." 

The voice in my head chanted repeatedly. For once, I agreed with them as I needed to kill Alphonse, but how? The voices had been clouding my head, and they were inflicting pain on me until now. My desperation increased every passing second.

"Kill him..."

"Kill... the child..."

I was frozen in place as the voices grew distinct. What did they say? Kill who? My child? 

"No," I whispered through my gritted teeth. "Not my child."

"Your Grace, we are saving the child some slack by killing it. You don't want him to shoulder this burden you're carrying, right?" Alphonse crooned with a smirk on his lips. "I am saddened that we came to this point, but I've gone this far. I can't turn my back on my family now."

I felt his fingers going further inside my chest, slowly. If this continued, I would soon see my heart in his hands. 

'Help me,' I whispered in my heart, still holding on to his arm. 'Please... someone... Help me...'

"Child... come with us..."

"We are your family... we will take care of you and your child."

"We will protect you, child..."

"Alphonse." I breathed out heavily and my vision blurred. The voices in my head grew louder than before, but this time, I didn't stop them until they're all I could hear.

"You will be the first La Crox I will kill." 

His brow rose and saw his mouth move, but I couldn't understand what he was trying to say. I didn't even know what I told him. What I knew was that the voices in my head gave me impossible warmth and the coldness seeping deep into my bones. 

BOOGSH!

Suddenly, a loud noise penetrated the voices. Alphonse and I instinctively looked up. All we had seen was a figure falling along with the rubbles of the tile roof. I naturally felt relief in my heart even before my eyes could recognize the person. 

"Ah!" I yelped as soon as Alphonse withdrew his hand. I crashed to the floor, catching up to my breathing as the flatline noise in my ear subsided. 

"Love! Love! Lilou!" 

I raised my head, only to see the pair of worried eyes looking back at me. I reached to him, clutching his chest to see if he was truly my husband.

'I'm saved...' I mentally heaved a sigh of relief as a smile surfaced on my lips. 

"Sam," came out a relief whisper before I instinctive gaze down.

Blood was dripping on the floor as the hole in my chest streamed with blood. My feet felt cold while I clutched my chest to stop the bleeding.

"Lilou, I'm sorry I was late." Sam's worried voice made me look up at him. 

It was not Sam's fault. We had planned this, didn't we? I was the one who stubbornly wanted us to split the mission. It just so happened Alphonse had also prepared just like us.

"I'm al..." My heart suddenly throbbed strongly as I froze. The next thing I knew was the view of the throne hall tilted, and his voice fading.

'Yes, we are saved, child.' those words were the last thing I had heard before succumbing to the peaceful darkness.

******

"I'm al... right."

Samael instinctively caught her in his arms as she lost consciousness. His pupils constricting and dilating at the pitiful sight of his wife. Littered with wounds, bruises, and blood, Lilou was strong enough to avoid this. 

Just what the hell happened in this place?

"Before you blame me, I didn't do that to her. The only wound I gave her is the one that was on her chest," Alphonse explained while Samael studied his wife's condition. "Blame her for refusing the voices."

He gazed down at his hand, spreading his fingers evenly. If he was a second later, he had already lost a limb.

"Also, welcome back from hell! You never ceased to amaze me with your antics, my brother!" 

"Alphonse..." Samael gripped Lilou's shoulder lightly before letting it loose. He carefully put her down and then planted his palm on her chest. With one brief push, the blood stopped dripping from her wound.

"I've seen Dyrroth," He muttered as he slowly stood and faced his brother. 

Alphonse raised his brows as the corner of his lips curled up into a smile. "Well, no wonder you look a little sentimental."

"This... is what you want?" Samael ignored his brother's playful remarks with his hand clenched into a fist. "You want her to kill us just so we can all start over?"

"Hell, isn't this what you also hoped for? That we can all start over outside the responsibility of being a La Crox?" Alphonse tilted his head with a misplaced innocence in his eyes. "I told you, Caecilius. If you want to save the children, you have to take out the root of the problem."

"And that root is not just our father, the king, but our blood," Alphonse continued solemnly.. "I am saving my siblings in a way I know and that is to give them salvation."