The Duke's Passion

Chapter 695  Gullible

Just as Tilly and Fabian promised, they led Lilou to where Rufus was training. As soon as Lilou asked Rufus about her request, her complexion turned pale at the sound of the sword being drawn.

"Please don't kill me," she mumbled immediately, seeing the large sword in Rufus' grasp. "Just say no if you don't like... hey..!"

Lilou staggered back and looked in Fabian and Tilly's direction, only for her heart to sink, seeing their unfazed expression. Fabian was smiling while Tilly was simply looking at her with no emotion.

Did she make a mistake by going with their suggestion? Just then, Lilou remembered what Stefan told her. Their guests were... bored as hell! Was this their way of entertainment? To watch her get herself killed?!

Her thoughts grew more negative the closer Rufus approached and when he towered over her, her mind entered a blank state. Lilou slowly raised her head to meet Rufus's dangerous eyes. In her perspective, Rufus looked like a giant while she was an ant he would crush easily.

Was this the end for her?

Lilou shut her eyes when Rufus moved his sword towards her. But the pain of getting slashed in half didn't come. She slowly opened one of her eyes, only to furrow her brows. When she opened both her eyes, she looked at Rufus with confusion as he was giving her his sword.

"My lady, if I offended you, I will accept any punishment." Her nose scrunched up at his serious remarks. "You do not have to go around in circles."

"What?" she nearly choked as soon as she realized what Rufus meant. Just like what Fabian said, her request was the literal translation of asking them to die.

Rufus kept his solemn front while holding his sword to surrender to her. Lilou cleared her throat and shook her head mildly, pushing his hand away slightly.

"It's not like that. Goodness... why are you all so extreme?" she mumbled with a deep exhale, glossing her eyes over at Tilly and Fabian before setting them back to Rufus. "I'm simply asking to be kissed to know if what I felt from getting my first kiss stolen is that..."

"Magical?"

"Yes —" Lilou bit her tongue and gazed at him cautiously. Fabian and Tilly had a different view of human intimacy, but Rufus surprisingly described it perfectly.

"My lady, it won't be the same with others." Rufus sighed quietly as he retrieved his sword and placed it back in its sheath. "Even if you kissed everyone in here, it will always feel different with that special person."

"How am I supposed to know that if I hadn't kissed anyone else?" she blurted out, covering her mouth when Rufus quirked a brow.

"That --" Rufus shrugged as he scratched his jaw. "That is not my problem. I'm just telling you what I know from my experience."

Lilou studied his expression before she rocked her head in understanding. It didn't seem he was trying to deceive her.

"My lady, if you do not mind me asking, may I know why are you so determined to prove it's nothing special?" asked Rufus out of plain curiosity, as he wanted to help to make up for their first meeting.

"Well..." Lilou bit her lower lip out of habit, as she also had to ask herself the same question. All the questions thrown at her were: "why was she doing this?" but only Rufus asked this particular question.

Why was she so determined to prove Samael's kiss wasn't special?

'I don't know,' she answered in her head as she hung her head low. She didn't really know the reason. Lilou was just simply doing this for the heck of it because Samael pissed her. It was more like an act of revenge — a petty one.

"Samael stole her first kiss." Tilly raised her hand to get their attention as she broke the silence that fell on them. "Although they used to make out at every corner of the mansion, she was in distress for this first kiss."

"Lady Tilly, the Madam couldn't remember that now." Fabian laughed when he noticed Lilou's beet-red face.

"And then Samael apologized for it," Tilly continued and blinked innocently. "Samael had been under too much stress he had lost brain cells. I will wear black tomorrow for the funeral."

"So it was more like an act of revenge?" Rufus furrowed his brows as he glanced at Lilou. The latter averted her eyes to avoid his gaze.

"Why was everyone has an asking price when I got mine stolen?" she mumbled as she was still bitter about that fact. But Rufus heard her loud and clear and put everything together to get a clearer picture of what happened.

If Lilou had gone to him, that meant she already asked others. Knowing Tilly and Fabian, they had probably asked for the impossible in return.

"My lady, why don't you collect His Grace's debt instead?" Lilou furrowed her brows as she looked back at him with confusion. "Instead of wallowing in getting your first kiss stolen and there's no way anyone in here will agree to kiss you, why don't you just get the benefit from it?"

"There's a benefit?"

"His Grace is wealthy and had vast connections," Rufus explained in a knowing tone. "He will surely pay for the damages for stealing your first kiss."

Tilly hammered the bottom of her fist against her palm. "Ah. You can ask for a hundred years of his life and pay it to me then."

"He will surely allow me to add or take out another organ from him." Fabian nodded in agreement, while Rufus and Lilou looked at the two in disbelief.

Now, Rufus finally understood their asking price just for a mere kiss. Did they think their lips were made of gold?!

"In any case, he will surely give you anything you want to compensate you." Rufus cleared his throat and ignored the two. He watched Lilou ponder about it in silence before the side of her lips curled up.

"I should do that." She giggled evilly before she looked at them, all smiles. "I got to go and collect debts!"

Lilou didn't even wait for their response as she rushed to meet Samael and collect the debt that he owed her. Just thinking about earning was enough to excite her. Little did she know, as she was skipping her steps away, Rufus's face contorted after hearing Tilly's and Fabian's comments.

"I didn't know Lilou was this gullible," Tilly commented while watching her skip away.

"Oh, good old days." Fabian smiled and faced Rufus. "You're very cunning, Sir Knight."

"That's right. Rufus is very cunning."

"I didn't —" Rufus halted as the two already started walking away. He sighed deeply. "I did it out of pure intention, but well... I think I gave the wrong advice. She will hate me this time for sure."