Prince Gavril slowly descended from the stairs, his eyes were focused towards Lucinia before his lips lifted into a twisted smile. Then without any warning, he arrived in front of Lucinia, towering over her small frame. "I hate it when people manipulate me."
"Is that so?" Unfazed, Lucinia returned his glare. For some reason, she had been a little addicted to making people angry. Was this her new hobby? "But that is not the answer to my question Elder brother. What do you think— "
A sudden gush of wind interrupted her words. Next thing she knew the Duke's heart was already on Prince Gavril's hands. Then he looked at Lucinia and smiled at her. "Would you like to keep his heart?"
Lucinia couldn't help but shiver from Prince Gavril's words. It was as if her world stopped as she stared at the black heart in his hands. Who would have thought that Prince Gavril, the Villain in this world would not even consider the friendship that he had with the Duke? He ruthlessly killed the man without even having second thoughts.
Lucinia gulped, but before she could say anything, Duke Mo already intervene. He too, vanished from her side and reappeared next to Prince Gavril, then he grabbed the heart and squeezed it. Lucinia watched as the heart slowly lost its colors before completely turning into black and breaking into smaller pieces like glass.
What was happening?
Just like Lucinia, everyone around them let out a gasp as Duke Mo turned the small pieces into dust then blew it towards the dead Duke's body. "Ah… everything is taken cared of." Duke Mo smiled at Prince Gavril, who was equally as stunned as everyone else. Then he went back to Lucinia's side. Smiling, Duke Mo just stood next to Lucinia as he rested his hands behind his back.
"I believe that settled it?" Lucinia smiled at Prince Gavril. "Thank you for upholding justice, Your Highness." She praised. "I hope we can work again soon." She beamed before her hand folded towards Mo Li's arm. Of course, her small statement made the Prince more irritated.
He wasn't particularly angry at her for doing this, he was angry at her for making it look like they were already working together! He didn't really voice out his intentions in acquiring her support, and Lucinia was already making everyone think that this was all planned by Pince Gavril! What a cunning little Devil!
Now, the queen would think that Prince Gavril is trying to kill the traitors that were pretending to be his friends while actually supporting the Queen! He wondered if Lucinia knew this because of Mo Li or… she only did this to antagonize him. He continued watching as Lucinia and Mo Li went inside and would probably stay on another balcony away from everyone again.
"Where is that maid?" he asked the servant that stood next to him. "Take me to see her." He uttered.
….
"Why are you trying to create more chaos?" Mo Li said when they went back to the balcony that they were staying earlier.
"I have no idea what you were talking about," she smiled. Of course, she did it to get back to that Queen for trying to poison her. Now that she mentioned working with Prince Gavril to everyone, she was certain that the Queen won't be able to sleep for a few nights thinking that they would soon ask the King to make Prince Gavril his successor.
"Tell me… why am I always helpless against you?" he held her waist and stood behind her.
"Don't worry, your grace, I can assure you that vampires will survive."
"Now that the Queen will think you are working with Gavril, she will start sending people to kill you." Mo Li sighed. "But you already know this. Was that deliberate?" She didn't miss the irritation in his voice.
"Are you angry that you would need to protect me from those people or…"
"I am angry that people will start disturbing us from now on." He interrupted her before her brains will start to swirl in the wrong direction again. "I know you can protect yourself even without me. But if you spend your time trying to kill assassins… then what about me?" All he wanted was to spend more time with her. Call him greedy, but Mo Li thinks he deserved more time with her.
"Oh…" she giggled. "Then… why don't you just kill the Queen?" Surely, killing a woman like that is going to be an easy task for someone like Mo Li, right?
"A King needs a Queen."
"Even if they are trying to kill each other?"
He nodded in response. "Every King needed their Queen."
She pursed her lips. Right now, she was about ninety-nine percent sure that Mo Li was someone like her with a mission. And if his mission was really making the vampires survive for whatever that is coming, then maybe a part of his job Is also to make sure that the King and Queen would survive for the next generation.
She sighed as she wondered why Mo Li still remembered things. Why was he unlike her? She couldn't remember anything from the previous worlds aside from the basic details like the plot. She turned silent. Her eyes drifted towards the vampires that were now back to interacting with each other as if they didn't just witness someone getting murdered in front of them.
What if one day… What if she would meet Mo Li again in another world, and this time, their mission would clash? What if her mission would be to save the transmigrated female lead while Mo Li would make sure to kill her? Wouldn't that be a problem for both of them?
Just the thought of it… is making her chest hurt.
"What are you thinking?"
"I want the Queen to assume that I was working with Gavril." She ignored his question and just voiced out something that he already knew. She wanted to Queen to be anxious and maybe reveal what was she hiding for her quest. "I want to see the Queen again." She uttered.
"Hm? Why?"
"Just to apologize."
"…" Mo Li knew that was a lie, but he nodded in response. He knew what kind of mind she had, and he was very confident in her skills. So, he wouldn't stop her from doing whatever it is that she needed to do in this world. As long as she is safe… then he would be happy to support her. "Alright… I will accompany you."
"No need." She blurted and immediately cursed herself for being so clumsy.
"You are planning something." That wasn't a question. He gave her a meaningful smile and nodded. It seems that she wasn't fully back to herself yet. After all, his wife was never clumsy. Smart and cunning, his wife would never let anyone knew that she was planning something sinister.
Of course, he was an exception.
"I— I am not. I just… I just thought that if the Queen sees you with me, she would raise all her guards against me."
"She wouldn't trust you either way. Just like me, you can kill her in a blink of an eye." Any vampire who has lived long enough would never trust anyone stronger than them. "In fact, she would be more suspicious of your real goal in visiting her."
"Hmmm." Lucinia nodded. "That made sense." She narrowed her eyes, she could feel her mind twisting and turning as it tried to come up with a new plan. She needed to know the secret of the Queen and even the source of that flower and earn some coins.
After all, her system was a money-grubber.
"Then… I want to stay in the palace." She said. "With you, of course," she added when she felt him stilled at her words.
"But the palace had thin walls."
"…" She turned towards him. "Is that the only thing that you were thinking?"
"Would it be bad if I say yes?"
She squinted before she playfully slapped his arms. "Of course. After all, you are a respected Noble. Who would have thought that you only thought of such things?"
"I am a noble who never married a woman before."
She froze at his words. "Ever?"
"Not in this world."
Lucinia looked at his blood-red eyes as she wondered if he was married in the other world that he was in. She badly wanted to ask him questions and more questions, but she knew he would never tell her the truth. He already told her that he wasn't allowed to say anything, and she was planning to respect that.
"How about you?" Mo Li looked at her, his gaze bored into her as if he was trying to ask her soul.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "I don't remember."
"Oh." He nodded and suddenly pulled her into his arms, then his hand stroked her back as if he was trying to comfort her. "What are you doing?"
"Just letting you feel my love."
Almost immediately, her face turned dark. She thought it was something emotional, turns out Mo Li only wanted her to feel his erection that pressed against her stomach despite the volume of her dress. "This man… is really…"
"So? Did you feel it?"
Helplessness flashed in Lucinia's eyes as she hugged him back. "No."
