The Duke's Passion

"Get your neck in here! I will fucking kill you this time!" 

Samael's voice rang across the entire desolate estate, making someone in the courtyard take a deep breath. The man's pair of fiery eyes landed on the person inside the pit he had dug himself.

"Fabian, choose." Rufus's voice was alarmingly low, eyes glinting mercilessly. "Whose hands do you choose to kill you? Will you want to wait for His Grace or shall I end you now?"

Fabian, who was in the hollow, gazed at Rufus. His brother was holding a shovel, staring at him coldly as if they weren't brothers. 

"I… I'm sorry, brother." He let out a deep sigh, getting down and laid down. "Being buried alive is what I deserved. I didn't do the job properly."

"I don't know what is this 'properly' you are talking about. However, you will not get away from doing what you've done to me." Rufus' grip on the shovel tightened, lifting it up as he started shoving soil into the trench.

"Brother, will you really bury me alive?" Fabian frowned as soil rained down on him. "Won't you want to hear any explanation? His Grace will be too lazy to detail everything."

Rufus paused, shifting his eyes to Fabian. "You two schemed behind everyone, including me. Funny thing is, of all people, His Grace trusted a troublesome lad like you."

"I remember mourning for you, Ru."

"And I remembered dying, Fabian. I can still feel how my chest was ripped apart." Rufus gnashed his teeth, eyes bloodshot, seething in anger as he felt betrayed. 

His grip on the shovel trembled as his teeth produced a creaking sound as he ground them. Fabian and Samael had schemed with almost everyone. However, those two only gave everyone around them snippets of their entire plan. 

Only Samael and Fabian knew the actual plan — the original version.

What happened? Well, a week before they died, Samael had given Rufus a special order to be executed alone. Little did Rufus know he would meet an unexpected company: Fabian. That day, his brother Fabian 'betrayed' him by knocking him unconscious and abducting his body.

Yes, Fabian abducted Rufus to this estate. The latter had been sleeping since then. 

For how Rufus still returned to the Capital was part of a larger scheme concocted by the mastermind, Samael. As stated before, Samael had the ability of illusion, just like Hanz and Yul's ability. It was a complicated scheme.

Samael, the man behind this, had discreetly put a large-scale illusion around the entire capital three months prior to the founding week. For him to put up such a large illusion early, it was for it to grow stronger until the illusion became the reality. 

Still, his plan could be spoiled during the crucial moment. So, to avoid suspicion and to make his plans work, Samael had needed some help.

To begin with, Samael had needed someone who had the ability of a puppeteer who would make a believable proxy for them and… someone who could manipulate the time to stop it at the most 'critical moment'. With their help, Samael had transferred their consciousness to these 'puppets' a week before their 'deaths', while their actual living bodies were kept in the underground dungeon. 

In conclusion, Fabian, Samael, and Rufus, who were walking around the palace one week prior to their deaths, were mere stand-ins, with their consciousness in it. No one suspected them and their plan went smoothly. 

Until…

"Fabian…!" Suddenly, Samael's voice finally reached the courtyard. His eyes glowed, burning as the aura he exuded was so thick it could suffocate anyone who came close. He even arrived before the child could inform the two. Well, not that Fabian and Rufus didn't sense the stifling aura the second Samael opened his eyes.

"Brother, please bury me now." Fabian shut his eyes, hoping Rufus could finish burying him alive before Samael could reach him. 

Rufus stared at his brother before a smug smirk resurfaced on his lips. He tossed the shovel away before hopping inside the grave hollow. His brother snapped his eyes open upon sensing Rufus' presence over him. 

"Ru…?" There was this sudden ominous premonition Fabian felt as soon as he caught the evil smirk plastered on Rufus' lips. 

"Brother…" Rufus grabbed Fabian's collar, taking a deep breath. "Why don't you face His Grace and apologize, eh?" 

"Ru, I can't —" Before Fabian could finish his words, Rufus lifted him by the collar, and with just one hand, Rufus threw him out of the pit. 

Fabian instinctively landed on his feet, but froze the second he felt the terrifying aura before him. Slowly, he raised his head only to see the devil incarnate gaze down at him with eyes glowing in deep red, sending a shiver down his spine.

"My lord, hehe… you know her grace is a bit stubborn and —" Again, Fabian couldn't finish his sentence as Samael suddenly grabbed the lower half of his face.

"Fabian." Samael's tone was low and one could tell he was genuinely pissed. "You only have one job and that is to bring my wife here. I already apologized to her since I know we will be asleep for quite some time."

His grip tightened, about to crush Fabian's jaw with one hand. The latter held onto Samael's arm, but he wouldn't budge.

"She saw my fucking death, Fabian." Samael's voice shook as he recalled Lilou's face during his last moments. "Do you know what that means, Fabian? My wife… seeing my fucking head roll… do you have any idea how that hurt her?"

Samael took a deep breath as his eyes darkened with rage. If Fabian followed the plan, Lilou would also die, as they had placed a figurehead for her as well. They wouldn't be in this predicament and Lilou would only have to wait until they wake up in this place. 

Everything would be according to their plan if Fabian didn't stay long in the Capital while the illusion thickened by the darkfield. However, their plan had made an unexpected turn because of Fabian.

"I will fucking end you, Fabian."