The Duke's Passion

Chapter 732  Your name is super long

"Everyone."

Heliot swallowed a mouthful of air at Tilly's answer. "Everyone?" "Everyone... yes." Tilly nodded, letting out a shallow breath. "What would they gain?" he threw another question to get clarity of this entire situation that could endanger their land and his people. "If the Grimsbannes are so powerful, aren't they afraid..."

Heliot trailed off as a realization crossed his head, watching Tilly nod as if to confirm what hadn't been spoken. His breathing grew heavy as his hand closed into a fist. "Just like what they did to Claude, they will exploit the power of Grimsbanne to their advantage. Samael, Law, and Claude hadn't had a grasp of what they can do. Samael might control it now, but he had a family to lose. Our enemy would stop at nothing and they will target his wife or children to push him to the abyss," Tilly explained without changing her tone. But alas, Heliot felt the weight of this information. "You had been associated with the mainland despite being traitors. Therefore, I presume you are also aware of my siblings," she added, but Heliot's brows furrowed.

"You are the last Grimsbanne."

"I am the last Grimsbanne who is on the mainland," Tilly corrected. "But you are not certain if those other Originals were alive," Heliot argued. "Do not misunderstand, my Lady. I am not saying I was hoping they were already dead, but the mother of the Duke of Grimsbanne, the late Queen of the Heart's kingdom, perished."

For the briefest second, anger and sadness flickered across Heliot's eyes. But Tilly caught it.

"You knew Ameria?" she asked.

"No, but I had heard about her. Our clan swore loyalty to her, and she had a significant relationship with our clan. Therefore, we, the Von Stein, respect her sincerely," Heliot explained. "It doesn't matter if we had met her or not. Her name alone rings a bell to every Von Stein, and we would be forever grateful to her, even when we do not know the reason. That is the vow the previous clan leader had passed down, which we would also pass down to our offspring."

Silence descended on them as the night breeze whispered in their ears. Tilly pursed her lips and smiled subtly. It was barely noticeable with the lack of practice in moving her facial muscle, but Heliot was keen enough to catch that faint smile. "Ameria had always good with people," she remarked. "I'm glad the Von Stein honors her even after her death."

"I assumed. Since we carry this affection for her despite not knowing her as a person."

"Ameria is good."

"I heard."

"And silly," she added, gazing heavenward. "She's the only one among us who made friends on the mainland. And then she and her friends left the mainland to follow Soran. I bet they had fun adventures together."

"Not knowing it'll all end in tragedy where they would eventually part ways."

Tilly pulled her head down until she was staring at him. "Mhm. Not knowing their friendship would end on a terrible note. I do not blame the La Crox for being greedy. I blame the blood that had sustained our lives and our kind."

"No one blames them. It was a mutual agreement, and the founding families found their homes like us. Karo is now our home and the only time we will have problems with the founding clans is if they barge into our homes without knocking on the door."

"Then that settles it." Tilly nodded. "You are now on our side."

Tilly had already agreed as if Heliot verbally did, but he didn't dwell on it. Not that he had too much of a choice, but to fight alongside them in the name of Karo and their proud Von Stein clan.

"How are you certain the rest of the Originals are still alive?" he queried, returning to their original subject. "And are they aware of the situation?"

"That is the reason Samael needed you. My siblings don't know about the situation and they weren't as easy to deal with. Marsella seemed to have lost control while my big brother..." Tilly looked in a certain direction and, for the first time in a long time, she genuinely frowned. "My big brother had gone mad."

"The bottom line?"

"They are unpredictable and they might join the enemy... for fun." Tilly set her eyes back to Heliot, telling him something she didn't tell Samael. His nephew would totally lose it. "We had lived longer than anyone, Eli. And death still sounds a reward."

"Eli?" Heliot blurted out, knowing he shouldn't dwell in that name she called her. "Your name is super long."

"And so was Samael."

"Eli." "..."

Tilly drew a breath before turning on her heel. Without a word, she planted her hand on the railing and hopped until she was standing on it. The wind continued to blow past her, making her silver hair illuminate the color of the moon. She closed her eyes for a moment and took another deep breath. When she reopened her eyes, they weren't the same as those doe crimson eyes that appeared so innocent like a child. "I'll protect Karo and preserve Ameria's memory the La Crox had erased from their memories." Her eyes were sharp, giving her a totally different look. But in them didn't bear sadness nor did they carry the slightest anger. "In turn, assist Samael and protect his family."

"If you were able to protect our land, can't you protect them as well?"

"I wish." Tilly locked her eyes in the thick darkness far away from her vantage point. "Once they had succeeded, I... am also a threat to them. I do not want to hurt my friends, and therefore, I would rather give them a safe place where we cannot touch them when the worse happens."

"What do you mean?"

Tilly didn't respond anymore, closing her eyes ever so slowly. Her lips moved, but her voice didn't come out. The next thing Heliot felt was this tug in his chest for just one second. Not just him, but every single person in Karo felt the sudden tightness in their chest that only lasted for a split second. "You…" Heliot was still clutching his chest, looking at her back, wide-eyed. "… what did you do?"

Tilly glanced over her shoulder. "A… protection spell. I will count on you, Eli." As soon as those words slipped past her lips, Tilly slowly fell over the railing. His eyes went huge ever so slowly, watching her fall until she was gone. Heliot instinctively took enormous steps towards the railing, gazing over it, but Tilly was gone. "She didn't even land," he whispered, seeing no trace of her anywhere.