The Duke's Passion

"It's here, my lord," Noah announced as soon as he barged into the room in the estate they infiltrated. He turned his head to his right and went in when Samael walked towards him. 

Noah's eyes instantly landed on the coffin lying in the middle of the empty room. 

"My lord, this…" he looked back at Samael, who was by the door with furrowed brows.

Samael gazed at him with a complicated expression before setting his eyes on the coffin behind Noah.

"This feels wrong," Samael muttered, which alarmed Noah.

"Is there something wrong, Your Grace?"

"I don't know yet." 

Samael didn't waste a second as he marched towards the coffin and kicked it with all his might. The coffin didn't fly away despite the impact, but it left cracks on it until it shattered completely.

"Alphonse," he whispered, gazing down at the person inside the now shattered coffin. It only took him a few seconds to idle as he squatted down while his nails grew longer and sharper.

Even though he was certain this was Alphonse, he couldn't shrug off the restlessness in his heart. 

"Your Grace, shouldn't we —" 

The rest of Noah's words rolled back into his throat because Samael suddenly plunged his hand into Alphonse's chest.

Noah anticipated good news amidst their silence, but a large portion of his brain told him he shouldn't celebrate yet.

"Your Grace?" he called when he couldn't take the silence anymore. "Have you figured out the problem?"

"Yes." Samael finally withdrew his hand, revealing a beating heart in his hand. He slowly stood and let go of the heart, which rolled down on the floor. 

"Search this entire estate and find him. I will have to go to the palace." His eyes darkened as he pivoted on his heel to walk away. "I need to get her out of there."

"What…?" Baffled, Noah furrowed his brows while shifting his eyes from Samael to the heartless body. His confusion grew, even more, the second his eyes landed on him.

"Who… is that?" he wondered as Alphonse was gone and replaced with someone he hadn't seen before. He turned his head to Samael, but the latter continued to walk until he brushed past Noah.

"My lord." Noah's breath hitched, trying to collect his thoughts. If Samael knew who that person disguised as Alphonse was, he wouldn't have to rush to the palace.

This was a problem. 

Suddenly, Samael halted when he was by the door and turned around. His eyes narrowed as he studied the room.

"Your Grace?" called Noah, but Samael ignored him as he walked back inside.

"Noah, search this room and see if it had some secret passage," Samael ordered while he was already groping the walls. "I think there's something more in here."

It was a mystery that Samael felt the faint presence of Alphonse in this place. He could still feel it even now, so he had to make sure that that person in the coffin wasn't just a distraction. 

"Ye — yes, Your Grace." Noah cleared his throat and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't waste a second and searched the walls, knocking and kicking it and left no area unchecked.

THUD!

Noah turned his head to where the source of the sudden noise followed by a long eerie creak. There, a secret door came into sight while Samael stood in front of it.

"This doesn't look good," he murmured, following Samael's tracks going to the secret passage.

Just as he predicted, what was inside sent a chill down his spine. 

The two of them stopped near the entrance as they looked around. There were stone coffins lined up on either side, making a path for anyone who would walk in.

"One, two, three…" Noah counted the coffin while pointing his finger. "… eighteen, nineteen, twenty."

His brows furrowed as the number of the coffin matched the number of the La Crox siblings. Was it just a coincidence? But it didn't feel like it was just a coincidence.

To feed their curiosity, Samael approached the nearest coffin. He placed his foot on the lid and kicked it. The sound of stone grazing each other filled the soundless air for a while until it stopped.

"My lord, what is it?" asked Noah as he rushed to Samael's side and gazed down. As soon as he did, his eyes dilated in disbelief. 

"No…" He staggered back in shock. "How can the crown prince be here?" 

Samael clenched his hand into a tight fist while staring at Dyrroth. It had been a while since he had seen his older brother, so this unexpected event gave him mixed emotions.

"Check the rest of the coffin," he ordered under his breath, snapping Noah to his senses.

"Ye — yes." 

Noah didn't stay idle as he took off all the lids of each stone coffin with all his strength. Each time he opened the coffin, he couldn't help but feel shocked, especially when there was one for Samael.

"Your Grace…" he muttered as he looked back at Samael helplessly. "What do you think is this? Everyone is in here."

Samael gazed at the coffin, seeing his dead and still living brothers and sisters. What did he think about this?

"It's his plan." His voice came out as a whisper as he felt this heaviness in his heart. "I think I finally understand his goal."

"Goal?" Noah's brows knitted. For him, he could only assume that Alphonse wouldn't be satisfied with killing his siblings once. So, he planned to resurrect them to kill them once again. 

But… Samael's expression told him otherwise. Right now, Samael looked extremely heartbroken, which Noah couldn't understand.

"So this is what he meant back then…" Samael muttered before he took a deep breath while clenching his fist until his nails dug deep into his palm. When he opened his eyes, his grip loosened as his shoulder relaxed.

"Burn this place, Noah," he ordered, pivoting on his heel as he walked away. "That Alphonse over there is the real one."

He didn't look back at the coffins, despite wanting to. His steps felt heavy, but Samael had to walk away.

'Alphonse, my brother… forgive me for I will trample on this beautiful dream you've been planning to achieve.'