The Duke's Passion

"My sister-in-law?"

Words immediately clogged in my throat. Did he call me sister-in-law? Did that mean…

"I hope you find the Capital to your liking, my dear sister-in-law." He smirked before turning his back against me.

His footsteps clip clopped against the marbled floor, sounding overly loud in my ears. The sound faded until there's only silence.

Capital… sister-in-law… coffin…

For a moment, I couldn't move a muscle. I stared at the high ceiling blankly. 

"Just what happened?" I muttered under my breath, recalling my last memory.

All I could remember was buying some sweets for Claude. But then, I found myself in an alley and then nothing more. 

A scoff slipped past my lips. I bit my lower lip as hard as I could, hoping this was a terrible nightmare.

Alas, it wasn't. 

This was reality. And I got myself abducted to the Capital. My jaw tightened as I clenched my teeth.

'How can you be so pathetic, Lilou?' I asked internally, blaming myself for everything.

How could I walk on my own and step into an enemy's trap? I promised Sam it would never happen again. However… those were empty words now.

"Sam…" I whispered through my gritted teeth. My eyes stung, closing them as tears pooled behind my eyelids.

"I'm sorry." 

I stayed like that for as long as I could remember. To hold my funeral as a welcome, that guy was surely giving me a warning. Who was he? The king? The sixth prince? But that didn't matter for now.

Keeping my life until Sam could find me was my priority. I would apologize to him directly. So, I had to live until then.

I'm unsure what they wanted, but I believed they wouldn't kill me now because of Sam. It might be a foolish conclusion, but they wouldn't anger him to that extent, right?

Right…? Obviously, I'm being foolish right now.

They would kill me if they deem it right. 

"Sam… what should I do?" I whispered under my breath, pursing my lips in a thin line. 

But no answer came, only silence. The silence was too loud I could hear my deep breaths. 

Should I try escaping? But what if I got caught?

Well, I had lakresha, don't I? I should do something.

I pondered about my survival plans for a long time. In the end, I wanted to escape first. 

Slowly, I raised my head and peeked around. However, the light only granted me to see a considerable space around my vicinity. Ahead was just darkness.

'Nevertheless… I should try.' I convinced myself, determined to escape this hell hole by myself.

Thus, with that thought in mind, I carefully got out of the coffin. Alas, no matter how discreet I was, I ended up tumbling down along with the coffin.

"Ah —" I winced in pain, but gritted my teeth to avoid making more unnecessary noises. 

Again, I raised my head and looked around. I heaved a sigh of relief that no one came to me after that sudden noise. 

My body felt beat and heavy. The air in this place was too thick to bear. I had to get out of here as soon as possible.

I dragged myself up, enduring the pain from tumbling down. As I gritted my teeth, I dragged my feet towards the candelabra not far away from the coffin.

There were four; two on both near end of the coffin. It was fortunate that I didn't hit any of them. It'd create fire and attention for sure.

As I took one candelabra, I turned around. I extended my arms forward, giving light to my path.

'Where should I go, though? I don't know the exit.' My face scrunched up in distress as I clicked my tongue.

Deep down, I knew I'd fail. I didn't know this palace. This would be a mission impossible, but I had to try.

If I got caught, I'd just confront them? No. I'd hide or just figure it out.

This was stressing me more than I thought. It was upsetting.

Still, I treaded carefully, following the carpet's path. Why was it so dark in here? Sam's mansion and even the Remington's and Crawford's weren't as stingy in using candles at night.

For such an enormous place, the king surely like the dark, huh? I knew darkness didn't matter to them since vampires could see clearly in darkness.

But still, there's no harm in using more candles. Having an enormous castle with barely having lights just gave a more eerie atmosphere.

Suddenly, I heard a man's voice behind me, startling me out of my wits.

"My lady."

My hand trembled. Had he been here all this time? I didn't even hear his footsteps when he approached me. The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

"I'll escort you back to your quarters. Please follow me." He added.

Slowly, I turned around. I waited until the faint light of the candelabra hit his figure.

It was a tall middle-aged man wearing a butler suit. It was different from Fabian's uniform, but I could tell he's a butler in one glance by his demeanor.

"Quarters?" I asked, almost whispering.

"Yes. Since you're a guest of the king, we are told to take care of you until the third prince arrives." He explained in the same calm tone.

My breath hitched upon hearing his last remarks. If I remembered correctly, he was talking about Sam. Still, I remained vigilant. 

Who knew if that quarter he was talking about was actually a prison dungeon? Also, did he mean take care of me as in silencing me? 

I couldn't trust anyone here.

"Fret not, my lady. This is the palace. No one can harm you here." He reassured, offering a subtle smile.

That's why I'm even more concerned. This was the palace. No one could harm me here aside from the people in here. And that was far dreading than living in the streets!

First attempt of escaping failed, miserably. I had to know this place more to find the safe route.

However, I didn't know if I could even see dawn once again. Should I follow him? Or should I take out lakresha and force myself out of this place?

Either way, I'd die, right? I should at least fight and be wise until the bitter end.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Lead the way." 

"Yes." With that being said, he bowed lightly. He stared at me for a moment before snapping his fingers.

As soon as he did, the light came in. One after another, the candles on the ceiling fixtures and on the walls lightened up.

My mouth fell as my surrounding shrouded in darkness came clear to me. A lavishly ornate interior of gold and jewelry with a stately baroque style hall.

"Please, my lady. I will hold the candle for you." He said, snapping me back to the current lapse.

I shifted my eyes to his hand and then to the candelabra. "Oh, alright."

With that, I handed the candle holder to him. Since the initially dark hall brightened up, I had no reason to hold the candle.

"Follow me." He beckoned. I only nodded in silence and followed him.

My plan remained the same. If I sensed danger, I'd call out lakresha and march my way out of here. There's no reason to do it in reverse since there's a slim chance that they wouldn't harm because of Sam.

On our way, the butler paused. I halted several steps away from him. 

Instinctively, I tilted my head and tiptoed to see what made him stop. My brows furrowed upon seeing a beautiful woman with long ebony locks and sharp, deep azure eyes standing before us.

Just then, our eyes met. Out of instinct, I avoided her gaze and stood properly.

"Is that Hell's bride?" She asked. Her voice was pristine and soothing, but a little intimidating. 

"Yes, your royal highness." The butler answered politely.

Royal highness? My brows furrowed. I see… she's Sam's sister? But was she also the queen? I heard the king married two of his sisters.

I cringed at the thought. However, I couldn't really judge knowing the reason.

"Move aside." She ordered, and the butler did. 

My instinct told me I should move, too. Thus, I moved aside, making a way for her, standing next to the butler, mimicking him as I bowed.

"…"

Huh? Why were they too silent, and why was she not walking away? I wondered internally, raising my gaze a little to peek. To my surprise, both the butler and the royal highness were staring at me.

'Uhm… what now? Why are they staring at me? Didn't she ask us to move aside and make way?' I wondered internally.