Chapter 64: Chapter 61: Night of the Chimera’s Cry – Masked Monster (Part 2)

What Lucius was doing may seem cold-blooded at first, but his Knights understood that it was his way of protecting them. 

If war broke out, and the Neutral Kingdoms took this chance to make an alliance with the Tamriel Empire, many soldiers will die. The Tamriel Empire has a bad history with the Epheria Empire, and the Neutral Kingdoms have always sought to unite the different powers into one, claiming such a ridiculous notion as "world peace".

The families of the soldiers who die will turn their attention to the highest authority in the Empire, the Emperor. With no choice, the Emperor will have to give them an answer. And he will denounce the entire Rizar Knights as the criminals who caused the war to happen, calling for their execution while sparing the Duke due to him having a Sacred Familiar.

Lucius sighed.

How did things come to this?

If only he joined the investigation from the start.

The only thing he can do for now is pray that little Princess is safe, and if not, find the murderer and present them to the Kingdom to appease their anger.

Lucius did not fear entering the battlefield once again.

Instead, he feared losing his people, especially for such ridiculous things.

The Duke glanced at Raya, who was struggling to breathe.

If it was his Father, Alphonse Rizar, for the sake of the others, he would have surely killed the Captain. His Father believed that sacrifices were necessary to protect everyone. But what was the point if you had to cut your emotions off so deeply to the point that you can kill that which you were supposed to protect with such ease?

“That's enough," Lucius said. "It is also my fault for not stepping in and believing you will be able to handle everything.”

Hearing this, Raya opened his mouth and then closed it again. He clenched his fists. Raya knew. Just now, he lost the Duke’s trust. As the Captain of the Rizar, it was the one thing that shouldn’t have happened. If it were his younger brother…if it was Halon, he would have done better…

Before anyone could stop him, Lucius took the dagger and plunged it deep into his skin. He grimaced as he cut a gash from his shoulder to his hand, almost splitting his arm apart.

Splash.

His blood started pouring out like a fountain. The sight was enough to give anyone who saw it chills.

“Your Grace!!!”

“Your Grace!!!”

The Priest covered his mouth in shock, while his Shadow Knights called out and approached him. 

“Your Excellency!” Favion stepped forward.

Lucius held up his other hand to stop them. He looked at Raya, who turned pale from the sight of the Duke cutting himself. “This is my penance.”

Raya’s eyes widened.

What?

Fie quickly prompted Lyle to take his shirt off.

"Why me?" The shadow Knight complained. "Why don't you rip some cloth from that long cloak of yours!"

Fie urged him with a glare. "Hurry!"

Seeing Fie's sharp red eyes, Lyle mumbled under his breath as he took off his shirt and threw it towards them Fie, who quickly wrapped the cloth around Lucius' arm and applied pressure to staunch the bleeding. "Hey, you!" Fie called out to the Priest. "Hurry up and start healing my master!"

"Ah? Yes, yes, yes, of course!" The Priest hurriedly ran towards the Duke as Fie said, but Lucius rejected him.

"No need. Raya, when the Priest finishes, get some rest. Doctor Jarvick will check on you later. I need my Captain back on his feet before Aurora's birthday."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Lucius turned to Favion. "Continue searching for the Princess without making a fuss and alerting others. Let me know if you find anything. Right. I'm sure I told you to not to call me "Excellency" again, Favion."

Favion's hands shook as he placed them in front and bowed. "Please forgive me for my impertinence."

The Duke stared at him for a while. "Even though you say that now, it's not like you'll stop doing so." When Favion didn't give a reply, Lucius smirked. "Forget it. Just make sure you pay attention to your surroundings when you do so and not to let anything else slip out that mouth of yours."

"Yes, your Grace."

Lucius turned around and left the courtyard with his Shadow Knights following.

Raya watched Lucius' back in a daze as he left.

Right, this was the kind of man the Duke is. It was the reason he swore his loyalty to him. Raya understood the reason Lucius cut himself. The punishment wasn't for failing to handle the situation; it was to repay the wounds he inflicted on Raya.

The Captain regretted thinking about how Lucius and the previous Duke are similar to each other. Lucius was nothing like his Father. When young, Lucius was a gentle child who experienced tragedy after tragedy. And eventually the Young Master was forced to burry his emotions due to the curse. That's why, when the Duke started revealing various expressions after Miss Aurora appeared, Raya was happy. But now...

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The Captain regretted...deeply regretted, that the Duke had to show such a cold expression due to his mistake.

With a frown deeply etched on his face, Lucius hurried to the one place he knew would be able to find the Ignis Kingdom's Crown Princess. Even though he hated that place his Father used to trust, Lucius swore he'd have nothing to do with those people.

And yet, to think this was the second time he'd have to seek their help in this past year. 

--:::------::-------------------O.O--------------------::------:::---

Sitting on the floor, a young woman wearing a white nightgown moaned in pain as she leaned against the wall while clutching her arm. “It hurts! It hurts...MAKE IT STOP!!” It felt as if her entire arm was being ripped apart and then dismembered.

A soft sound of a sigh came from the bed.

The figure of a man underneath a black cloak was sitting on the woman’s bed. While his face could not be seen clearly, two different colored eyes peered through the hood that covered his head.

“Did you take your medicine?” He asked her, nonchalantly.

The young woman fumbled for the bottle hidden in her pocket. It was a white bottle filled with round green pills. As she struggled to take one out, it spilled out all over the floor, rolling everywhere. She pathetically scrambled for one and was eventually able to take one pill.

As she swallowed it, the woman grabbed the pitcher of water and messily gulped it down, pouring water all over her clothes.

The medicine worked right away, and the pain in her arm started to fade.

Taking deep breaths, she looked at the man on her bed through her wet hair that stuck to her face. The nightgown outlined her body, revealing her breasts, but she didn't bother covering herself.

The man just sat there with a grin on his face as he watched her, finding her entertaining.

“…You…lied…” She said, her voice hoarse. “It’s not….working…at…all.” She grasped her arm, with a pained expression. "It's not working!!"

The man wearing the hood chuckled. “There may be things I haven’t told you, but I didn't lie to you at all. I warned you that you might not regain your skills without undergoing the phase two experiments."

“But…” She lowered her head. “I…I…don’t want to become a monster. I..." She covered her head as she sobbed.

With the phase two experiment, she will surely lose herself. She will end up killing the innocent people she once swore to protect.

She risked turning into a beast.

The corner of the man’s mouth lifted into a smile. “But at this rate, he will never want you again.”

She widened her eyes in horror at the thought of being completely abandoned by that person. “No! I don’t want that!”

“That’s right, don’t give up.” The man stood from the bed and walked towards her. “Even if you end up no longer being you, at least you will be by his side again.” He kneeled on one leg and took her hand in his. “If you don’t do anything, that woman will take your place. You’ll become useless to him.”

The man feigned concern and hugged her. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.” His soft tone made her tremble in his arms.

This man chose her because he cares for her. He took care of her while her family laughed behind her back. If he wasn’t here, she would have wasted away long ago. That is why she trusted him. She knew he would not do anything to hurt her.

She’ll prove them all, that they are wrong about her.

She is...not weak.

Grabbing on to his shoulders, she leaned her face against his chest and nodded her head. “T-then, I'll d-do it. But you have to p-promise to stop me f-from k-killing...”

The man licked his lips in excitement. “Hahaha, good. Good. Don’t worry, I promise you will not turn into a monster. I will stay by your side the entire time.”

“Mhmm.” See. She was special. Not only to this person, to that man as well. He just couldn’t see it yet.

It’s okay. 

It's okay.

She can do it.

She'll take back what belongs to her.

But the man's promise was useless. She has already killed a handful of people. And she'll kill even more in the future without her knowing until it was too late.

She had already long become a monster.

The man hid his true intentions behind the black hood. But when the flash of lightning lit his face for a split second, his twisted expression revealed itself.

'Let the hunting begin!'

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