The Duke's Passion

Chapter 754  Show you something amazing

"Take care. I heard a lot of things about that empire. Don't run amok there."

Fabian chortled with his lips closed. "I'm looking forward to this person you think I would get along with."

"If he was, indeed, a Grimsbanne, don't put the young miss in danger." Rufus let out a deep exhale. Although Fabian's eyes were squinting into mere slits, Rufus could see the excitement swirling underneath those eyelids. "He is an unpredictable man, and there's no telling what he can do. Master will kill you… no, I will end you if you put the young miss in danger, whatever the reason was."

"Don't worry, Sir Knight. The young miss is like a daughter to me." Fabian gazed at Rufus from head to toe, keeping his polite smile. "Why don't we spar, Sir Knight? Since I assume I would wield Maleficent more than I had ever in the following months."

Rufus remained silent, sizing up Fabian's figure. The latter was standing at an arm's length; still pretty close. When another second passed, Rufus instinctively kicked the dirt off the ground to slow down Fabian's attack as the latter suddenly called forth his dark spear. Rufus jumped several steps back, holding a wooden sword. His eyes glinted dangerously, staring at the silhouette behind the thin dust from Rufus's action and Fabian's assault. "Well… I don't think a spar with you isn't a bad idea," Rufus muttered, gripping the wooden sword, unfazed by the fact he was wielding a wooden sword and not his actual sword. "Fighting you as a warm-up will immediately set a higher standard. The rest… were easier to deal with."

His breathing slowed down, keeping his focus on Fabian's figure. As the smoke thinned out, all Rufus saw was Fabian's ear-to-ear smile, with dark mist shrouding his grip around his dark spear Maleficent.

"It will be the same for me, Sir knight," Fabian mused, raising his arm to the side. "Having you as my warm-up… the rest who will come after will be just as vulnerable as ants."

CLASH!

The second the last syllables slipped past Fabian's lips, both of them lurched forward. Despite using a wooden sword, Rufus went head to head with Fabian's Maleficent. And thus, the start of a fierce sparring battle between the Barrett brothers before they parted ways.

******

Meanwhile, as the night fell deeper, Claude stayed on the rooftop of the mansion. He was staring at his hand, holding this pocket watch since an hour ago. Claude had watched Stefan and Klaus leave the mansion. He had nothing to say to Stefan, who was his adoptive father in papers. But he had many things he wanted to tell Klaus. However, the latter had been busy sparring with Rufus the second they agreed to part ways. Not that Klaus was intentionally ignoring his nephew, but Klaus was never this focused in the past. He wanted to do his task flawlessly, using his little time asking the Barret Brothers to spar with him. Therefore, Claude didn't want to ruin Klaus's rhythm and stayed away even when his uncle left. "He wanted to correct it," Claude whispered, staring at his own divine weapon, Auron. "I wish he doesn't do something crazy."

Claude raised his head at the night sky. The moon hid from the thick clouds, only to peek out a tiny silver a moment later. From his vantage point, he could still hear the clash resonating from the backyard where Fabian and Rufus were sparring. "Mister Fabian is amazing," he muttered. "There are only a few hours left before he would depart, and yet, he was still sparring with Sir Rufus."

A subtle smile dominated Claude's face as his eyes softened. Suddenly, his brows elevated as he heard a faint thud on the side. He turned his head, only to see Samael and Tilly standing on the corner of the roof.

"Uncle?" he called, and then shifted his attention to Tilly. "Tilly? What are you doing here?"

"Tilly said she would show me something spectacular," explained Samael nonchalantly as he approached Claude's vantage point. The latter rose to his feet on instinct, tilting his head to the side.

"Something amazing?" Claude's brows furrowed, darting his eyes between Samael and Tilly as the two stopped at arm's length. Samael shrugged, tipping his head at Tilly. "Come on, Tilly. You told me we can fly," urged Samael. "And that Claude and I had a higher chance of doing it."

"Fly?" Question marks hovered over Claude's head as he tried to make sense of his uncle's remarks. "You mean… jump high?"

Samael scrunched his nose up and cast Claude a look. The latter pressed his lips and shrugged at the insulting look cast upon him. "This is Tilly, Uncle," explained Claude in a knowing tone. "She tends to exaggerate things. No offense."

Samael's mouth opened, and then he frowned. "By flying, did you mean… jumping so high you feel like flying? Tilly, don't waste my precious time. I would rather cheer on Rufus to lacerate Fabian than learn how to jump high. I can jump high. It is almost like I'm flying."

"Me too." Claude agreed as he might've felt useless the past half a year, but he was still a skilled knight in his own right. "You two break my heart." Tilly blinked, showing zero sign of emotion to back up her claim. "What makes the Grimsbanne different is because of many things."

She peeled her eyes away from them, setting them ahead. She looked up at the sky, waiting for the thick clouds to move until the moon was glowing on them. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on ɴovelꜰɪre.ɴet

"Aside from the immeasurable power of the Grimsbanne, what makes them different from the rest was… we had wings." Her eyelids drooped as her naturally dull crimson eyes glowed soothingly. What Samael and Claude heard next was the sound of bones breaking. Both of them instinctively gazed at Tilly's back, only to see something from under her clothes bulge. They gulped, eyes wide open, watching something gnaw a portion of Tilly's dress until two featherless wings spread wide.

"Holy shit…" Samael's jaw dropped, eyes studying the wings that grew directly from Tilly's back. Not just him, but Claude was also dumbfounded at the size of her wings which were even bigger than Tilly's.