The Duke's Passion

"She smeared her blood on it so we know where she is." Rufus cast Fabian a look while crumpling the piece of paper attached to the arrow. "She's basically telling us to target her instead. Do you have any idea who is the person you shot the pebble to?"

Fabian shrugged indifferently. "I'm simply following His Grace's orders."

"There must be someone inside Grimsbanne with Her Grace." Rufus took a deep breath, throwing a pebble towards the guard towers. Unlike Fabian, Rufus' throws weren't as destructive. They were only enough to distract the people so Samael could enter Grimsbanne without a problem. 

"Whatever. I'll just taunt Her Grace." Fabian tossed and caught a pebbled midair, closing his eyes as he tried to detect where Lilou was. "Maybe if we do this, we don't need to approach her. She will go to us, instead."

"His Grace will kill you this time, Fabian."

"Or he will forgive me."

Rufus let out a deep sigh. "I don't think she will go to us herself. She is not the person who will play along and follow what her enemy wants. She is like how His Grace back then."

"You think so?" Fabian slowly opened his eyes, smirking as he finally detected Lilou's location. "From what I see things, playing along with her enemy is just what she will do and defeat them on the game her enemy chose."

Fabian blew at the pebble, pulling his arm back, and then threw it. His smirk stretched even wider.

"Please tell me no one will die in that throw."

"Brother, Sir Knight, do you only see me as a violent person? I care for His Grace's people as much as you do!" Fabian exclaimed, a bit offended at the doubt in Rufus' voice. "I am simply giving out our location!" 

"Stop playing around." Rufus cast him a look of disinterest and continued on throwing pebbles as if he was merely throwing rocks in a lake.

*****

Meanwhile, in the third squadron's hideout, Noah, who was busy mapping out the Capital, snapped his eyes when he heard Kristina's voice. He turned his head towards the door to see Kristina entering the room.

"You're back?" he asked, checking if Charlotte and Ramin were with her. "Where are Ra and Charlie?"

"Charlie went to the city to buy some chicken skewers and Ra is just somewhere training." Kristina shrugged as she walked towards the table, gazing down at the maps and plans scattered around the table.

"So, where do you think is the best place to stay in the Capital?" she asked, as they had been trying to figure out the best location they could stay once Lilou returns to the Capital. Although Lilou and Noah had a few places in mind, they still need to choose another place to be safe. 

Noah let out a deep sigh. "The capital is now filled with turned vampires, so it is safe to say that the king had his eyes on every corner of the Capital."

"That's why we're planning ahead of time, isn't it?"

"Apparently, that is easier said than done." Noah raised his brows briefly, shifting his focus on the map. "After all, it's not just us who will infiltrate the Capital, but her entire troop." 

Kristina didn't speak anymore because that made sense. If it was just the four of them, Noah wouldn't have this headache. However, Lilou planned on bringing half of her army to the Capital in secret, while the other half will march to the said place.

"Do you think Her Grace would let us talk to Baron Martin?" Noah asked after a long silence, raising his head back to her. "The aristocratic faction had been resisting the king's madness."

"I will pretend I didn't hear that." She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "The Duchess gave us a list of the people we should be wary about, and that Baron is one of them. He is an ally of the king of Spade kingdom, after all."

"I'm sorry. I might've lost my mind for a second." 

"You don't have to apologize. I know you've been trying." Kristina chuckled, winking at him. 

Noah let out another deep sigh, staring at Kristina. He was relieved that Kristina had recovered from Rufus' death and managed to continue without rushing to her own death.

"Don't look at me like that, my lord." She clicked her tongue, knowing that look Noah was giving her. "Living and getting stronger is the third squadron's way of honoring our captain's death."

Her eyes softened, gazing down with a bitter smile on her lips. "His wisdom and guidance will always be with us. Please don't mention him to Ramin and Charlotte for the time being, they were still healing until now."

"How about you?" asked Noah, arching his brow. "Are you done healing?"

Kristina smiled weakly, taking a deep inhale, and then exhaled it sharply. "Do you think Her Grace's heart is healed, my lord?"

"She had been doing great until now, but..." Noah trailed off, leaning back as he let out a heavy sigh. "We all know how Her Grace loved His Grace. She trusted him and his people, but their plan failed. Her Grace still blames herself for that."

"We all trusted them, my lord." Kristina corrected. "Just like what you said, her grace had been doing great until now, just like us. We'd been doing great so far, but aren't we all moving tirelessly because just like her, we blame ourselves for their deaths?"

"The series of What Ifs had been killing us all thinking we could've done better than that." She added, tapping her fingers against the table. "It's just... unacceptable."

"I understand your point..." Noah trailed off as he abruptly sprung up to his feet, slamming his palms against the table, wide-eyed.

"My lord? Is there something wrong?"

"Such strong and alarming presence..." Noah exclaimed, ignoring Kristina. "Someone... a monster entered Grimsbanne!"

"What...!" Kristina also stood up, alarmed, as she studied Noah's pale expression.

Noah's eyes sharpened, casting them to her. "Kristina, go with Ramin and see what is going on. There's an intruder... I never felt such intense aura cross my barrier before."