The Duke's Passion

"Please don't touch Yulis, Your Highness." I smiled as I put down my cutlery. "He is someone I will never share."

Beatrice smiled coyly as I felt the killing intent from Stefan's gaze. Forgive me, Yul. I would surely protect you in another way.

"Someone you will never share, huh?" Stefan muttered menacingly, chuckling.

I turned and faced Stefan squarely. "I will abide by any of Your Majesty's requests. However, if something happened to Yul, I will not simply sit still and mourn."

"You are threatening me because of him?" 

"It's not a threat, Your Majesty, it's my condition." I asserted with my eyes glinting. "Yulis is mine and I hate people touching what's mine."

"Are you his?" Stefan raised a brow as he leaned back with a wine in his hand.

"I'm... forever's Sam." I smiled, watching him nod. Alphonse snickered, enjoying this 'interesting' conversation between a married couple with their mistress, and his mistress protecting her lover.

What a twisted setup, but it wasn't surprising anymore. These people didn't care about relationships or family, after all. 

"Yulis understood that my heart will always belong to my late husband. That's why we got along." I explained casually, glancing at Yul as I winked at him. He didn't have a reaction, but getting a reaction from him wasn't the goal.

I returned my attention to Stefan and said, "I hope we will get along too, Your Majesty."

Stefan chortled until all we could hear was his soft, yet eerie laughter. We kept silent until he stopped, raising his chin up with a devious smirk.

"You asked to stay in Grimsbanne for a year. I approved it. And then, another request to keep Klaus, Yulis, and Silvia live. I kept my word with all the conditions you asked me to, Lilou." He slowly leaned forth, arms propping against the edge of the table and eyes glinting on me. 

"Do you think that now that you are here, we will still do it your way?" A shallow scoffed slipped past his lips as his eyes assessed me. "I can kill Yul right here and now, and can still keep you if I so wish. Do you want me to prove that?"

"Someone told me that proving yourself to people is an insult itself."

"I think I received enough insults tonight that I do not mind adding another one." 

The side of my lips stretched even broader. "It will be a shame if you can't kill Yulis now, just as you claim, Your Majesty."

We stared at each other in silence, pulling an aura as my brow raised briefly. 

*CLANG!*

A high-pitched noise made by metal striking together resonated in the air. My eyes remained at Stefan with a smirk on my lips.

"Don't even think about it, Dominique." Klaus's voice reached my ear, and I knew he had blocked an incoming attack coming at Yul.

Another loud thud followed Klaus' voice, then came Silvia's voice, pinning her saber on the table. "We are already enemies of the empire. We do not mind raising our weapons if you harm Her Grace or her people."

"Do you think, the..." Stefan trailed off as he broke his eye contact with me to count do a headcount."... the four of you are enough to stop me?"

"Your words, not mine." I shrugged, waving at them as a signal to drop their weapons. "Your Majesty, I don't think killing each other now is necessary. I'm certain you will rather keep me as your ally than have me as an enemy."

"You don't threaten me, Lilou."

"Are you certain?" I tilted my head to the side, raising both my brows innocently. "You love me so dearly, Your Majesty. Which tempts me to see how you will mourn for my death."

"Hah... I thought you can do more than threaten me with your life, sweetheart. I must've overestimated you." Stefan chuckled in ridicule, as my remarks were surely something a fool and a coward would say. It didn't matter, though. 

"Let's test it." I reached for my cross earring, rubbing my thumb against it. "Catharsis."

Catharsis immediately took form into a short dagger, and then I thrust it to my neck. My eyes snapped, gazing up at Stefan calmly despite the stinging pain in my jugular.

"Why did you stop me, Your Majesty?" I inquired as his hand dripped with blood, holding the blade with his bare hand. If he didn't stop me, I would've pierced my neck and lost my life. 

That wasn't a joke, and I would've literally lost my life. It was a gamble I had taken, and I won.

"Shame. I guess I get to live for another day." My grip relaxed as he let Catharsis go. I slowly stood up, facing him with my chin held high.

My eyes fell on his bleeding hand. So, I reached for it, holding both sides, and I gazed at his palm.

"As long as I mattered to you, I will always threaten you, Your Majesty." I pointed out under my breath, pressing the wound on my neck with my thumb. "Do you know what I realized during the past year I was in Grimsbanne? Your life mattered to me."

When I had enough blood on my thumb, I traced his wound. My blood mixing with his as I gazed up, staring straight into his eyes.

"Just like today, you will end up hurting yourself because of me. Fret not, I will heal you just like today because you can't die before me, Your Majesty." My eyes droop while I guided his hand to my cheek, not caring about the blood on it.

"You're the last person who I allow to die. I had taken a vow that for as long as I live, we will share this cursed fate together. We won't stop until we're both ruined, Your Majesty." My smile grew sweeter as I squeezed his hand lightly.

Stefan's eyes glinted before the side of his lips curled up approvingly. His wound had healed, brushing my cheek with his thumb.

"Welcome back to the Capital, sweetheart." He chortled with a vicious expression on his face. 

"I am back, indeed." I nodded approvingly, not caring about the watchful eyes on us.

Karma was back... to give you the taste of your own medicine before taking everything from you. I won't let you die until then.