The Villain's Redemption

Since the Duke started staying in Lucinia's castle, the rumors about their relationship had been one of the hot topics of the noble families. Many started inquiring about the Duke and his interests while the others have been questioning the timing of this relationship to the time that Lucinia had shown what she was capable of.

This brought the King and Queen a lot of headaches as the two started receiving guests and other nobilities who wanted to know more about Lucinia and her capability to subdue a normal vampire.

"The Princess had been deemed harmless for years now. She does not involve herself in any political schemes and just stayed at her own castle or attend some events that she had been invited. The last time that she visited the palace was twenty years ago." The King frowned at the Queen and her ministers.

"Your majesty, please don't take it the wrong way. It's just that the princess was a very powerful entity, capable of harming his majesty. We are only concern about her safety. Thus, we are requesting that you transfer her to the palace where she can be protected and taken care of." The Queen's voice was calm, as always. Her brows were slightly furrowed as she lowered her head.

"The Queen had a point, your majesty. Please consider asking the princess to come back to the palace. By now, the witches must have heard about her. We are afraid that they would launch an attack soon. To protect the princess, we must send some knights and perhaps older vampires. We can't have the witches take advantage of her abilities to deal with us." An older minister added. Just like the Queen, his head was slightly lowered as he spoke to the King.

The King pursed his lips when he saw the other ministers nod their heads. "I already made a deal to the Duke. He will be protecting the Princess from now on." His words immediately created some gasps and whispering among the men in the long rectangular table inside the meeting hall of the palace. The King sneered inwardly.

He was aware that the Queen had been looking for ways to know about the real relationship between the Princess and the Duke. Aside from this, she was blatantly trying to marry the Princess into a knight whose family had been working for her. However, the King was not anxious. He smiled and looked at everyone, enjoying their reactions as they murmured words towards each other.

He knew that these people wanted to involve Lucinia in their political game. After all, it was obvious that Lucinia's ability could easily subdue the King himself.

"Your highness, the Duke and the Princess are both strong individuals. If they— "

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there." The King smiled gently. If Mo Li had the intention to take the kingdom away from him, he would have done so, a long time ago. The King was well aware that the Duke was more powerful than him. He was, after all, one of the ancients.

If Duke Mo wanted to take this empire, the King wouldn't be able to stop him. However, the Duke never wanted responsibility or things that would complicate his silent lifestyle. As someone who had known the man for hundreds of years, the King knew that Mo Li doesn't have any interest in things such as this.

"Your highness!" the Queen immediately stood from her seat and suddenly kneeled in front of him. This created a lot of buzz inside the hall. "I beg you to reconsider. The Duke is a thrust worthy person, but absolute power corrupts. We can't let him get too close to the Princess and risk him influencing the Princess' decision. I suggest we have let the Princess come back to the palace where she would be safe from the people who wanted to manipulate her."

The King's face turned dark. The only person who wanted to manipulate Lucinia was the people inside this room. Even he, the King, was tempted to try and use his daughter against his enemies. But who was he to refuse Mo Li's requests? "There is no need to reconsider these things. I already made up my mind. Lucinia would stay in her castle with the Duke. This— " Before the King could finish his sentence, the door of the hall burst open, revealing a smiling Duke Mo.

"Your highness!" On the outside, Duke Mo's personality was always like this. His face always contained a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He strode towards the King and bowed before he nodded to the Queen, who was still kneeling on the floor — an action that didn't surprise anyone in the hall. "Please forgive my sudden intrusion. I just thought that this would be the perfect time to come in here and announce my marriage to Princess Lucinia de Carinus." He looked at the flabbergasted appearance of everyone, the smile on his face didn't falter. "We are not doing any huge wedding ceremonies. However, the Princess and I would come here and asked the King's blessings. I would be expecting a gift from everyone as this is the one and only time that I will get married."

"…"

"Duke Mo— I — " The Queen stuttered as she looked at Mo Li's smiling face. She was never that close to this Duke but she was aware that the King seemed afraid of Duke Mo. Because of this, the Queen was treading carefully and would not want to offend the man. However, this sudden request was just absurd. How could she allow a powerful vampire like Lucinia to marry another vampire? "The Princess is… already engaged to someone. If— "

"Dead." Mo Li's eyes sparkled as he stared at the Queen. "The person passed away a couple of nights ago."

He then watched as everyone on the table turned silent. Some lowered their heads while some stared at the Duke, fear apparent in their eyes. "Alright. I won't interrupt you further. I would get my bride and see his Highness, the King after the assembly." Then he turned his head to everyone in the room. "I would be expecting a gift. Make it sparkly and bright." Excitement shone in his eyes as he bowed at the speechless King and left.