The Duke's Passion

Chapter 630  Only if you want to have fun

"... it's my Lord, girl." Those words sounded like a trumpet being horn right in Penny's ears. She was confused and shocked at the turn of events, unable to think straight or even raise questions in her head. She just stared at Claude blankly while the latter's countenance was cold. It wasn't the usual expression that was seen on his face. But in her eyes, it looked as though this distant look in his eyes had always been there. "Third! What are you doing — what is going on here?" Gai hollered through his gritted teeth.

"He is not that Third." Rowan, the leader of the Nightwalker, arched a brow as he stood to his stature. His remarks added more to the confusion of what was going on.

What did he mean he wasn't the Third he was looking for? And what did Klaus mean by 'my Lord?' Things that were too easy to put together seemed to be so hard to understand right now. Under this circumstance where all felons aimed their weapons at Klaus and Claude, and the guild members were all beaten, answers weren't what was important.

"Penny." The second Claude spoke, all vampires around felt his oppressing aura. "What the hell are you doing, Father? If you put yourself in danger, why would you drag your children with you?"

Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Before she could muster enough courage to overwhelm her guilt, Rowan already spoke. "As much as I hate to interrupt your little reunion, I am confused." He crooned with narrowed eyes. "You are not that person who stole that from us."

"Uh... fuck. I thought I'm already dumb in this story, but man... do you really have to snatch that title?" Klaus clicked his tongue in irritation, studying the man from head to toe. "Hey, look at me. Is this Third you are referring to have this smile that is just so annoying to look at?"

"..." Rowan's silence was enough for Klaus to confirm who shook these people up. The members of the guild at the pub explained to them what happened. They couldn't just attack without a single piece of information — even though they didn't need to. There, they summarized what happened and even Penny's announcement this morning. Klaus didn't know why Claude was pretending not to know and sound like he wanted to blame Penny. Not that it was part of his job. The real issue was Fabian's uncalled help! "Poor you," he continued after a few seconds of silence. "Whatever that person stole from you, you will never get it. Not that I will give you a chance to come after that person because I promised I will kill him someday. Anyway, Nightwalkers, if you surrender now, the Earl of Monarey will give you a proper trial."

"Earl of Monarey..." Penny whispered in disbelief, eyes on Claude. With his eyes holding her gaze, Claude spoke coldly. "Seize the estate. If the Nightwalkers surrendered, apprehend them. Kill them if they fight back. I will set them as an example for those who plan to bring disharmony in my land."

"Aye, aye, sir!" Klaus saluted as his eyes gloss over the vigilant felons. "Should I give them a fighting chance?"

"We didn't come here for fun, Sir Klaus," came out an unfriendly reply, peeling his eyes away from Penny to Rowan. "That person is mine."

BAM!

Just then, the door to the mansion opened. A pale man stood by the door, panting for air. He came to report the ambush but seeing the situation in the back lot of the mansion, he already knew he was late. "Sir... the Earl's knightage is outside..." the butler still announced, almost in a whisper, but Rowan was already staring at Claude. "I know. The Earl is already here." The side of his lips stretched into a ridiculing smirk. "I heard a lot about you, my Lord. Even back in our ruined Spade Kingdom, our late master mentioned the young La Crox a couple of times."

"Then I must be popular," Claude smirked, cocking his head to the side lazily. "You're just like Quentin, who likes to live in secret like a rat. I must commend you for giving me a hard time finding your hideout; there were so many of them. But... I don't have enough time to spare."

He paused as he spread his finger. "Auron."

*****

Meanwhile, far away from the Nightwalker's main hideout, Lilou and Samael stood on top of a castle. Even from this distance, they could see what was happening in the felon's den. "Uhm… are they… trying?" Samael's face distorted, seeing that the fight was one-sided. If Klaus and Claude were even more serious, this would've ended in a blink of an eye. This was what he meant when he said he was confident his brother and nephew could deal with it, even with their eyes closed. "Not everyone is that strong, Sam." Lilou cast her husband a dead look. "Stop being childish. Penny and everyone almost died."

"I'm not being childish, you are." Samael puckered his lips, pointing at the slingshot in her hand. "You snatched that from a random kid. I can imagine his cries already."

Lilou raised the slingshot. She was the one who broke that ax to buy Klaus and Claude just a few seconds. "I said I borrowed it." She rolled her eyes, frowning as she watched Claude pin down Rowan. She gazed over her shoulder when Samael stood closer to her, pulling her waist.

"You want to help?" he teased, embracing her from behind. "Should we?"

"You heard how angry Klaus was."

"My love, I know it's hard for us to completely let go of the action in our life. Sometimes, my body also seeks the thrill." Samael rested his chin over her shoulder, eyes on her side. "But we're not the same Sam and Lilou anymore."

Lilou let out a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. We survived this far. We should just focus on finding the solution for our children." Her eyes were fixed on Claude, narrowing it when Rowan injected something in her nephew's leg. "Claude was stabbed," she whispered, causing Samael to refocus his attention to where the Earl was. "He looked alright," he replied casually. "Just a drug to weaken him."

"Is that so?" "Not sure, but that's what it smells like. Claude looks alright, though. Anyway, we should go to the capital to fetch Fabian. It's not a bad detour."

Lilou pressed her lips and rocked her head lightly. "Sure. I also want to see what my daughter-in-law looks like."