The Duke's Passion

"It makes me want to see it, Your Grace. I mean, you, losing your patience."

Yulis' eyes nearly popped out from his socket when she stood on her toes and claimed his lips. Only after a few seconds, he managed to step back, staring back at her in dismay. Yet, the side of Beatrice's lips had this lopsided smirk while she wiped it with her fingers.

"Taste like..." Beatrice paused with her eyes glimmering with different emotions. "... someone else."

"Beatrice..." he called under his breath, balling his hand into a fist as he felt... violated. Even so, he didn't want to ruin the party by fighting Beatrice. Knowing her, giving in to rage was what she wanted. Yulis will never give that to her.

The latter arched her brows as she stepped up, chin up, and unaffected. "My god, my duke! Just how important is this banquet to you to suppress yourself from slitting my throat when it is already ruined?"

"Ruined? Tch. Beatrice, whatever you are planning..."

"I'm not planning anything, my love. By now, the emperor must've heard about it already." She cut him off as her tone grew solemn, dropping her mischievous act as she locked eyes with him. "I wouldn't go to a place I wasn't invited or needed for no reason, darling. I came here because I care about you, Yulis, and the last thing I want is for everything you built to go down the drain."

"To go down the drain..." Yulis ground his teeth and before he could think, he already leapt forward, grabbed her by the neck, and pinned her against the wall. "Beatrice, I care about myself enough and I don't need yours. Do you want to see me lose it? Sure."

His grip around her neck tightened, hitting the last straw of his patience. And yet, Beatrice, although gasping for air, still managed to let a weak laugh.

"Shut up," he warned under his breath, eyes coloring in dark red as he wanted to see her bleed. 

"Grimsbanne... is... in dan... ger." Yulis brows furrowed, staring at her beet-red face before loosening his grip. As soon as he did, Beatrice collapsed to the floor, groping her neck while gasping for air. 

"Beatrice, what did you mean by that?" he asked, squatting down in front of her. "What did you mean by Grimsbanne is in danger?"

Beatrice didn't answer immediately as she tried to settle her breathing. When she did, she gaze up at him and simpered.

"Ask Rufus. I'm sure he already heard about it too." She slapped his shoulder, clutching her skirt as assisted herself up. "I already fulfill my goal, so I'm leaving."

Beatrice let out a sharp breath as she held her chin up, jaw tightening. "You're welcome."

As soon as those words left her lips, she marched away with a dead expression. But just when she was at a good distance from him, Beatrice halted and turned around to face him.

"Anyway, if I were you, ask Fabian's help to solve your problem. This may sound ridiculous, but he is the best person in this situation. Or if you want to stay stubborn, you can always come to me. I'll solve it for you." 

After Beatrice spewed all that, she resumed her steps, only to stop once again when he asked.

"Just what did you see in me, Beatrice? What did you see in me you're doing all this?" Yulis stared at her back while clutching his fist tightly. He always wanted to ask her why she kept bothering him, upsetting him, but sometimes, she would also sound like she genuinely cared. He just couldn't understand what was on this woman's mind, the reasons behind her actions, and her drive.

Surely, this had nothing to do with love. She wasn't that type of person, or at least what he believed. 

"What did I see in you?" she repeated in a quiet voice, smiling subtly as she refrained herself from looking back. "Nothing, Yul. That's what I saw in you, nothing."

Beatrice resumed in her steps, eyes glimmering with longing. 'Nothing to like, nothing to admire, boring, and yet... I like this nothing.'

Little did the two know Silvia was just hiding around the corner, listening in silence. She glanced at where Yul was standing, pressing her lips into a thin line before she walked away on her own. As she did, her eyes sharpened as they glinted.

******

"I thank you all for coming in to celebrate my son's special day with us and made it memorable. I hope you are all enjoying tonight as much as we enjoyed your presence on this auspicious occasion." Sam raised his glass of wine, a gesture for a toast to everyone who was listening to his brief speech. "Our family will remember all of you."

A round of applause resonated across the entire banquet hall after Sam's brief speech. I smiled brightly when he looked in our direction. Sam shrugged, and we got down on the small podium. Since we already greeted everyone and Law accepted all the gifts from different houses, the orchestra played a merry tune to liven up the mood even more. 

"Mother." 

Just as we got down, Law tugged my hand, which made me gaze down. My brows elevated while keeping the smile on my face. 

"Can we dance?" he asked in anticipation with eyes flickering with innocence. My eyes softened seeing how adorable he was, but before I could answer, I shifted my eyes to Sam.

"We will dance first," I said, knowing Sam would protest as this would be my first dance tonight. To my surprise, Sam smiled, closed-lipped, and nodded.

"Sure, my love." Sam squatted down to meet Law's eyes level. "My son, take care of your mother, alright."

"I know..." Law frowned, but he was rather obedient to his father. Well, there were times that Law would listen to his father. I still hadn't grasped Law and Sam's pattern, but their relationship was always like this. Unpredictable.

"Then, off you go!" Sam grinned before he gazed up at me, springing back up with his eyes on me. "I will join you later, alright?"

"Alright." I smiled, refraining from asking what was the matter. I was married to Sam for a long time that I somehow felt that something came up. Whatever it was, I was certain Sam would rather deal with it himself instead of making me worry. So I pretended not to notice as I headed to the dance area with Law.

******

As Lilou and Law walked away, the smile on Samael's face faded before he marched to the corner. With a glass of wine in his hand, he leaned his back on one of the pillars. His eyes remained on the crowd, arms-cross, twirling the wine elegantly.

"Dominique, I don't like how you turned up in the middle of my son's birthday," he muttered menacingly as the corner of his eyes sharpened. "Since you are here... tell me, how bad is it?"

Behind the pillar was a man in a cloak with his back leaning against it.

"Terrible."