The Duke's Passion

"Cheer up, Your Grace. Here's a bitter drink to wash away the bitterness in your heart."

Fabian smiled, offering Yulis a glass of wine. After Tilly broke the 'good' news, it had a rather opposite effect on Yulis and Silvia. Why would they celebrate? Yulis was stuck in this mansion for two years, thinking he was still dying. Silvia had been crying herself to sleep because of her longing. And yet... Tilly didn't even lose a wink of sleep while keeping this information to herself.

"You've known all along, did you?" Yulis glared at the smiling Fabian.

"Lady Tilly only kept it since she knows you won't know what to do. Especially after leaving that letter to the Marchioness. She simply gave you a reason to stay until you muster enough courage to face Lady Silvia."

"I'll kill you." Yulis was stopped from standing up as Klaus placed a palm on his shoulder. "Don't stop me, Klaus. I'll really kill him today."

"That's pointless, Yul. Why are you even surprised by Fabian until now? Aren't you used to his evilness yet?" Klaus sighed, feeling a bit sorry for Yulis and Silvia. "Just enjoy the drink."

"Uncle Klaus is right, Uncle Yulis. Mister Fabian had been like this since the beginning. I'm more surprised that you lot are not used to him yet." Claude giggled, holding the other side of Yulis's shoulder to keep the latter still.

"It feels nice to be protected. I feel like a damsel in distress who is being saved by my knights in shining armor. It feels like a fairytale," Fabian commented, making Yulis tremble as he tried to stand once again, but then Klaus and Claude held him down.

"Calm down, calm down. Don't let him get through you, Yulis. He is doing that on purpose." Klaus, who was already numb at Fabian's shenanigans, sighed. Claude just chuckled while he was stopping Yulis just because he liked Fabian.

While Fabian was standing near the table, smiling from ear to ear. Rufus and Dominique shook their heads, enjoying their drinks as the night was began to fall. These two wanted nothing to do with these, honestly. They just wanted to enjoy their chaotic break because they planned to leave in two days.

Meanwhile, Kristina and Charlotte were comforting Silvia with Tilly. They ignored the different conversations around the table as they felt bad for her.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Tilly, tilting her head to the side. "If I only know that Yulis will be this angry, I shouldn't have told him."

Silvia sighed, glancing up at Tilly. She couldn't seem to get angry at Tilly, knowing her intention. She knew Yulis and knowing he broke up with her, he surely didn't have the heart to return as if nothing happened. If anything, Yulis actually just wished to die or not get cured since he already believed he wouldn't get cured.

"It's alright, Lady Tilly." Silvia breathed out, glancing at Charlotte and Kristina. "I'm relieved that he is not in harm's way anymore."

"Lady Tilly, how did you cure His Grace?" Kristina inquired after several seconds of silence in their small group.

"The Grimsbanne clan is one of the original vampires on the mainland and are believed to be direct descendants of the devil," Tilly explained like it was nothing. "Vampires and demons are related one way or another, and also witchcraft. So, I am quite adept at these things. Yulis's condition was a bit tricky, though. So it took me quite some time to recall what right course of action I had to take to heal him."

"Direct descendants of the devil?" Kristina furrowed her brows. She heard about little details of the said clan from Lilou, but these were new for her. Not just for Kristina, but also new to Silvia. Charlotte already knew this since she had been spending more time with Tilly.

Tilly nodded. "It was a long history, but to keep it short, the reason the Grimsbanne's are powerful is that of a certain deal with the devil. I forgot about the details, though, because I didn't think I need to pass the knowledge to the future generation."

"You're really like Fabian." Silvia sighed. "How can you forget about something so important?"

"I am the last pureblooded Grimsbanne on this land." Tilly shrugged. "But now, Samael is also here. Although he had that mixed blood of the good-for-nothing son of the La Crox, the blood of Grimsbanne still runs in his veins." She then glanced at Claude, the son of Lucia and Dyrroth, and Amara's grandchild.

"That young man also had the blood of Grimsbanne. How great. I'm not the only Grimsbanne in here. Samael, Claude, Law, Sunny, and their yet-to-be-born siblings." She peeled her eyes away from Claude and smiled at the ladies around her, clapping in excitement. "Now, I will have reasons to recall the curse in the Grimsbanne blood since my grandchildren might become devils."

"..."

Didn't just Tilly say the curse that might befall those who had the blood of Grimsbanne was to become devils? Kristina, Charlotte, and Silvia could only look at Tilly helplessly. They didn't know if this information would alarm them or not, since Tilly was too relaxed about it.

While they look at her, Tilly raised her head and set her eyes on Fabian. "Fabian, do you want to become a warlock? I am planning to refresh my memory and it will be fun if there's someone I can teach. It will help me remember easily since Yulis will be leaving soon."

"Sure, Lady Tilly."

"What?!" Klaus scrunched his nose up, gazing at Tilly with judgemental eyes. "Lady Tilly! Stop giving ideas to this demon!"

Just as her lips parted to invite Klaus as their guinea pig, Samael's voice caressed their ears. But Yulis instantly spoke, instigating the groom.

"Hell! Are you also into this?" Yulis glared at Samael while the latter raised a brow, strutting carefully to join them.

"Into, what?"

"Did you also know that I was already cured two years ago?"

Samael cocked his head, dragging a chair next to Rufus. "Oh? Are you?" he raised his brows and shrugged, smiling at Rufus when the latter offered him a drink.

"Hah... so you also know? Does Lilou know as well?"

"Oh, please, Yulis. It's not that I know. I just absolutely don't care whether or not you drop dead. Matter of fact, I don't care if you all just die now." Samael sassed arrogantly as he looked at the grumpy Yulis with disdain in his eyes. "After all, you take a space in my wife's heart that should only be mine and my children alone. Now, I have to leave my wife and children just because my wife is worried about you bunch of wastes while she watches over our children in their sleep!"

"Do me a favor, will you? Just go on and die." Samael then raised his glass of wine. "Cheers!"

"Lilou is blind!" Yulis spat out.

"My lord, that hurt. How can you break my heart like that?" Rufus murmured, casting Samael, who was sitting beside him while drinking some wine, a look.

"God, I hate him," Klaus whispered. "Just what did Lilou see in this abomination?"

Silvia clicked her tongue. "I hope he chokes and dies."

"Is he stupid?" Dominique scrunched his nose in dismay. "How can you say all that to your guests who came all the way here?"

"Crazy..." Claude whistled and chuckled, his lips stretching from ear to ear.

"No wonder everyone in here came solely because Lilou asked, not because of Samael," Tilly commented, looking up when Fabian refilled her glass of juice.. "Thank you, discipline of evil."