The Duke's Passion

726  Not the right type of life he wants for his family

When Lilou returned to the mansion, she flinched at the figure leaning against the wall when she closed the door. "Goodness!" she patted her chest, looking to her side only to see Samael leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "Since when did you return and what are you doing here leaning behind the door?"

"I didn't return because I never left," he explained and then cocked his head to the side. "Are you alright?"

"Oh..." Lilou pressed her lips into a thin line, giving him a cautious look. She cleared her throat and raised her chin up, mustering her courage to ask him a question.

"Can you... tell me how this regression happened?" Samael blinked twice, ever so slowly. "Sure."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"You will tell me everything?"

"Of course. You hate it when I keep you in the dark and threatened to divorce me if I keep another secret from you," he explained in a knowing tone, drawing his side away from the wall. "Come. Let's find a place to talk."

Samael simply cast her a look and cocked his head, signaling her to follow him. She nodded in understanding, following closely from behind him. As they sauntered through the silent hallway, Lilou furrowed her brows.

'Wasn't this the way to his room?' she scrunched her nose up and looked at his back in dismay. But before she could voice out her thoughts, Samael spoke.

"As much as I want to grope your body, I won't." He tilted his head back and his eyes instantly landed on her. "Simply because I want you to recover first. You are straining your body too much, Love."

Lilou pouted as she lowered her gaze. "I was hungry."

"I know, and I apologize for not returning immediately." He smiled, which she caught after sneaking a glance at him. "Heliot came in like a storm, and Fabian didn't have a choice but to disembark immediately."

"It's alright. I don't need someone to serve me since I can do it myself. I'm not a cripple," she mumbled, while he rocked his head.

"You're not a cripple, but I still want to serve you properly and right." His eyes softened, looking ahead of the hallway. "I'm still adjusting a bit since I was used to what you are before, so I'll make mistakes here and there. You might find me annoying."

Lilou glanced at him and smiled subtly. "It's alright. I understand."

When the last syllable slipped past her lips, Samael returned her gaze and smiled gently. They didn't talk much on the way to his room, and as soon as they reached his chamber, he told her to lie down and rest. Lilou cautiously slipped under the sheet, still feeling a little exhausted from the activity last night and her search this morning. Meanwhile, Samael sat down on the armchair beside the bed, keeping his distance to refrain himself from pouncing on her and rolling under the sheet with her. "So." She smacked her lips, lying on her side to face Samael. "Can you tell me who is that bearded man and the one bound in the food storage? And how did this regression happen?"

Samael pressed his lips into a thin line as he hummed a long tune. When he smacked his lips, he tapped his fingers against the armrest before he started it from the beginning. As mentioned, someone injected Claude with a drug that made him hallucinate during the seizure of the Nightwalkers in the north, Monarey. And because of that, the death of Penelope, Claude's dearest friend, who had the same hazel hair, amplified his hallucinations and Claude mistook her for Lilou. Everyone knew Claude was so fond of Lilou that he wanted to marry her. But it was almost the same as a child confessing his love to his mother. Lilou was akin to Claude's mother, sister, and auntie figure. She was the first to show him warmth after his parents' execution and living within the strict palace rules forced him to mature faster than anyone. She was more than just an auntie to him; her role in his life was something even more special. Claude had said it before; that the only thing that could rattle him was if Lilou would be put in danger. And for Claude to see Lilou dead in his arm, or hallucinate of watching her life slip away from her eyes, meant his world crumbling down. Thus, with this perfectly concocted plan devised by a genius puppeteer, the world turned back and the people who had died once again walked the surface of the world.

The enemies they had already defeated were back to life with an added problem of some people on the mainland aiming for the Grimbanne Clan, who had been minding their own business all this time. Claude blamed himself for the situation getting more complicated. The more Claude sees how people like Lilou, Klaus, and Heliot didn't remember a single memory they had, the more this guilt ate his conscience. That was why Claude couldn't face Lilou and barely talked back to Klaus. It had been concerning, but Samael decided to focus on resolving things instead of comforting Claude. After all, he couldn't get through to Claude even if he tried to talk to him. Claude already blamed himself, and he already set his mind on that. Lilou pressed her lips into a thin line, now understanding why Claude was like that. She now understood the reason for his sudden outburst when she didn't do anything wrong. "I don't blame him," she whispered, and Samael rocked his head.

"No one blames him." He let out a shallow breath, resting his temple against his temple. "But with his personality, he will keep blaming himself. After all, not only did he reverse the time because of his hallucinations but also because his dearest friend died. He didn't even have time to grieve for his loss because he had to meet Rufus in the duchy."

"Why are they doing this...?" her voice shook as he looked at Samael with watery eyes. "We... you did nothing wrong. Why would they do this to us?"

Samael forced a smile as he shrug. "I don't know, Love. I don't fucking have no idea why they want us dead just because we fucking exist." He clutched the armrest tightly, clenching his teeth.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, looking back at her before bending over. Samael bent down on his knees beside the bed, reaching for her hand and placing it on his forehead. "I'm sorry for dragging you to this kind of mess."

His grip trembled. "This is not the type of life I want to give you and our children..."

"I know..." Lilou bit her lower lips, but she couldn't say anything further. All she could do was hold his trembling hand and keep silent. Although the two of them didn't shed a tear, their heart was burning in rage for those people who messed with their peace.