The Crown's Obsession (WN)

After seeing Madeline off to her room, Calhoun walked towards the East Wing of the castle, his footsteps quieter compared to the time in the morning against the cold floor of the corridor. With every step he took, the cold torch lit up with fire, and when he walked past the lit torch, it exhausted itself, turning that part of the corridor cold and dark again.

Reaching the doors that were painted inky hue, he pushed them to step inside the room. Not too long, the doors of the room opened again, this time it was Theodore who had entered the room.

"My King," Theodore bowed his head. He was no more in his nightclothes which he had been wearing in his room, he had changed into a regular shirt and trouser.

Calhoun was looking at the grounds of the castle through the closed glass window when Theodore arrived. He turned around to catch sight of the bruises that were on Theodore's face. He had heard about Theodore's and Samuel's fight over his half-sister, on what transpired in the evening.

"Why aren't your bruises healed yet?" asked Calhoun, his eyes narrowed at the red lines. A vampire took less than thirty minutes to heal bruises like this.

"I am not sure. I thought it would have healed by now," replied Theodore, but Calhoun didn't move his eyes away.

Calhoun's jaw ticked, "That bastard," he muttered under his breath, "Make sure that Samuel Greville never enters the castle again. And stays the fuck away from Lucy."

Theodore didn't have to be told as he would make sure to keep Samuel away from the vampiress. Lucy had openly declared on dissolving her and Samuel's marriage, "I wonder how we missed it," Theodore heard Calhoun say.

Seeing Theodore's questioning expression, Calhoun said, "Samuel is not just a vampire. He's a demon. If the wound is caused by a vampire or a human, the wound heals quicker, while the wound given by our own kind, it takes time to heal."

Calhoun ran his hand through his hair. It was possible that Samuel was not aware of his and Theodore's true identity. They had known Samuel for two decades, and neither of them had found out about each other being demons until now.

"It would have been helpful if I had gotten into a fight with him years ago," murmured Theodore in thought.

"How is Lucy doing?" questioned Calhoun. He hadn't seen her after he had broken the news about him being her parent's murderer. He wanted to make sure she was alright, and she wouldn't make any rash decision. He walked towards the table where the bottles of wine and other liquors were kept, pouring the liquid in two glasses before he offered one of them to Theodore. Something he didn't do with everyone.

Theodore took the glass from Calhoun, replying, "She's trying to hold up. I thought we decided to not tell her about it ever."

"Hm, we did, didn't we," said Calhoun, making his way towards the large window, "She would one day find out about it. Instead of her finding it from someone else, I thought it was better to tell it myself while not mentioning your involvement in it."

Years ago when Theodore and Calhoun had planned the King and the Queen's murder, they had agreed that it would be something that would be kept just between them while the rest could make up theories that would be nothing but baseless without any foundation of proof. That way, the High House who had risen in authority at that time would never find out the truth.

Now with a third person knowing it, Theodore wasn't sure if Lucy would be able to keep the truth within herself. For a vampiress, she was less of a vampire and more of a human, someone who was influenced by little things. As much as her parents used her as a pawn by getting her married to Samuel, Lucy had continued to love them. He had seen her breakdown when she had seen their bodies.

"I wonder if it is because of Madeline," said Calhoun, his eyes looking at the sky.

It was those damn brown eyes. The way they looked at him as if they were judging him sometimes and Calhoun chuckled. Though Madeline didn't say some things, her eyes were expressive enough for him to read her,

"With everything going on, I think it is time to let Lucy know the truth. I am sure she will come to understand it one day. Not to forget, now that Samuel is out of the picture, I am sure you will take good care of my little sister," said Calhoun, his eyes caught sight of Theodore's reflection on the window, seeing him bow in acknowledgement.

"Did you find out on who it was near the cave?" inquired Theodore, shifting the subject which Calhoun took note of, and he smiled.

"Found a white feather not too far away from the cave. Did you hear anything about the werewolf or the aunt? She doesn't live far away that the letter would be lost," Calhoun took a sip from his glass, "Madeline's grandparents took time in arriving at the castle, and now her aunt is taking time. Not to forget, even her parents had taken their own sweet time. If it was some other time, I would have assumed that they are a family who are always late, but evidently, there's something off about this family."

Theodore, who stood at the back, asked, "Would you like me to go take a look at the lady's residence?"

"Let's give it another day. I also have errands for you to run," stated Calhoun, emptying the entire glass he had been holding with one gulp, "Something tells me that she will be here tomorrow."

The ghost, Lady Ruth had told that the fallen angels were working with the demons. Dimwits, thought Calhoun to himself. There was a possibility that there would be some who come to hunt his sweet girl for a reason which was based on false information and for a reason, he would kill every one of them.

"But there is someone whom I would like you to check upon," Theodore heard Calhoun say when he was sipping the liquor from his glass, "The werewolf."