Chapter 269: Friction In The Library
"My blood?"
"Yes." Answered Duncan, and he let go off her wrist when he sensed she wasn’t going to walk out on him. Her attitude towards him was noticeably different from everyone else, so did her heart race differently when he was near, though he could never fathom why her presence and everything about her had inexplicably piqued his slight interest. It was rare for him to have long conversations with someone who wasn’t Ivan or his bodyguard, but he was here, freely speaking with a decisive woman who turned out to be the key to ending his suffering.
He assumed their interaction was ’forced’ from the start. He’s never had too many people around him to understand how their emotions worked, and the only reason she was able to grasp his attention was because of the language she had unknowingly spilled. At the end of it, he realizes she’s the same princess he has been searching for; the one who got rejected and sold by her parents due to a scandalous rumor she never defended.
He’s heard of her story from the priest, how the rumor gave her Father the opportunity to finally kick her out of his kingdom, as he never wanted a prodigal daughter. None of that sad tale was his business anyway, what mattered to him was getting the elixir from her blood that was capable of healing him. He didn’t mind offering her anything in return for her blood, and he was serious about it.
"What has my blood got to do with your illness?" Lucy couldn’t hold back the question, her hand subconsciously touching her neck as her eyebrows creased in perplexity. Her cluelessness didn’t go unnoticed, but before Duncan could answer her question, a knock on the door had disrupted their conversation.
When it opened to reveal Atticus, the bodyguard quickly bowed his head and said, "forgive my intrusion, your Majesty, but there is an important matter I must share with you... ’in private.’" He emphasized that particular phrase, conveying the seriousness of the matter to Duncan.
Duncan’s crimson eyes lingered on his bodyguard for a moment, then he shifted his gaze to Lucy who had also turned her head to meet his stare.
"We shall finish this conversation tonight." He curtly said and gestured for Lucy to take her leave from his piano chamber. Lucy opened her mouth to firmly disagree, she wanted to understand why he needed the blood of a woman like her, she was still stupefied to her nerves, but the words didn’t dare to spill from her parted lips.
"Of course, Your Majesty." Lucy lowered her head respectfully and exited the piano room. When she was out of sight, and the door had closed to give the men some privacy, Atticus proceeded to say,
"It is an order from the Queen, Your Majesty." Atticus informed him, and he moved forward to hand the envelope to Duncan. Duncan opened the letter to read what was written, and there was silence, until a flicker of anger displayed in his eyes. He crumpled the letter in his hand and looked at Atticus whose gaze remained politely fixed to the ground.
"I see how it is." He tossed the crumpled paper at Atticus who skillfully caught it, "find somewhere safe and burn it. If anyone asks, I didn’t receive a letter. It’s about time I see to what extent Mother is willing to go in order to keep me wrapped around her fingers. You may leave." And Duncan took his seat before the piano, leaving Atticus startled, but all the more concerned by his ignorance lately.
Was he going to defy his Mother again?