The Duke's Passion

Chapter 656  That's a turn off

"Forget about Lilou. She's in good hands. We have a bigger problem. They're after us... the Grimsbanne."

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Samael fluttered his eyes, shifting to the side where Tilly was at. The latter didn't have much reaction upon hearing her nephew's first remarks.

"So it's part of the bigger scheme?" she inquired after a moment of silence. Samael peeled his eyes away from her to look at the dark concrete ceiling.

"Quentin. He... that damned man had worked with the people on the mainland, waiting for the perfect time to strike," he explained calmly, but one could tell he was simply containing himself. Thanks to Tilly, who paralyzed him from the inside, he couldn't spring out of this coffin and commit a massacre.

"Stefan had uncovered this, but since he had a blood agreement with Quentin and a vow of silence, he couldn't tell anyone directly," he continued, grinding his fangs with sharp eyes. "He left you a letter, did he?"

"Yes, he did."

"I didn't ask before because I respect your privacy. However, I need to know what he told you."

Tilly remained silent as she glanced at the confused Leo before shifting her eyes back to the man in the coffin. "It's a poem... with a warning behind it. A warning for the impending doom of the Grimsbanne Clan."

"Wait." Confused, Law jumped to Tilly's side, hands on the rims of the coffin. "Father, what do you mean forget about mother? And what is it about the on the mainland? Aren't we living in peace there?"

"There are people, my son, who still believes the existence of our clan shouldn't exist. Just our mere existence already poses a threat to them," Samael explained, glad to see his son after months of nothing but darkness. "Not just us, but also, they would come after Lilou, since she's the result of the Bloodfang's forbidden sacrifice. Hence, Stefan took her to the Karo Kingdom."

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Law took a minute to process his father's words before his eyes dilated as soon as realization kicked in. "Sunny!" he exclaimed in horror, turning his head at Tilly.

But Tilly's reaction didn't change. "Don't worry about Sunny. She will be fine."

"Sunny is just three!"

"Marsella ran from home while she was an infant. Sunny will be fine." Her eyelashes fluttered as she faced Law squarely. "Your sister is smart. Hence, I told her everything she needs to know and she will be fine."

"What..."

Samael watched Law's conflicted expression. "Do you really think your sister will agree to be left behind? You're just bossy, son, just like Yul. But Sunny takes after Fabian."

"Took after me?" Fabian pointed at himself with a smile. "Did I have a daughter?"

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"No, Fabian. Sunny is my daughter and, for fuck's sake, how do we retrieve this man's memory? I don't need this version of Fabian."

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"We can't. Unless there's a person whose expertise is to retrieve one's memory or counter a vampire's ability. The reversal of time is done by Claude. Hence, it still falls in that category." Tilly shrugged.

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"Someone whose expertise is to retrieve one's memory...?" Samael narrowed his eyes as that ability sounded so familiar. But before he could speak, Tilly spoke once again.

"Rufus. It seemed he also kept his memories. For how Rufus did, I am as well appalled. But it is good that there were more people who can be an ally. More hands for us." Tilly raised both her hands and wiggled her fingers. "And Leo, don't worry about the mainland. I already warned the king before we left."

"You did?" Leo furrowed his brows, still processing the information in his head.

"Yes. He is friends with me, but he is not my friend."

"Sounds like a one-sided friendship," Fabian commented, liking Tilly's personality more and more.

"In any case, our enemy is more troublesome than ever. It's a good thing that Stefan, that damn bastard, is not the enemy. But I will still kill him." Samael interrupted before the conversation get strayed, knowing how random Fabian and Tilly were. "Do you think Heliot remembered?"

"Even if he didn't, Stefan will find a way."

"He might not be the enemy, but don't put too much trust in that person."

"He loves Lilou, Samael." Tilly pointed out, bearing her usual relaxed expression. "That emotion is complicated. But it forces people to do the impossible... even if it kills them."

There was a long silence after Tilly's remarks. If this was before meeting them, Tilly wouldn't even trust Stefan completely. But after getting exposed to people and their emotions, after witnessing it with her own eyes, she could tell just by Stefan's subtle actions.

The man in question left letters and warnings. If Stefan meant harm, why would he even bother? They wouldn't be this calm if things caught them off guard. But she already expected something bad would happen.

Tilly might not know the details, but she was certain something bad would happen. The real question was, 'how bad?' and this was the answer;this bad.

"That's a turnoff," Fabian commented, cringing at Tilly's remarks.

She simply glanced back at him and smiled. She found it pointless too, but she said it anyway.

"Fabian, do you remember we did courtship too?" she inquired, making Fabian tilt his head.

"We did?"

"Yes."

"How far did we go then?"

Tilly pondered about it as she hummed. "As far as killing dead animals together to sacrifice for the development of science."

"Why hadn't we gotten married?" Fabian frowned as he knew himself. He would've married her if they got along well — although not out of love.

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As the two were still somehow getting close pretty fast, Samael just kept his gaze on the concrete ceiling.

"Law," he called, making Law peeked his head to see Samael. "Don't worry about your mother and Sunny. They're both scary species."

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"Mhm." Law pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded his head. The information that his father mentioned was shocking, but it was relieving in a way.

Because it seemed this time, Samael and Stefan… chose to be allies.

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