Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 101: The Vampire Lord’s Wrath

Chapter 101: The Vampire Lord’s Wrath

The two maids who shifted their scorned gazes from Lucy to Theresa, barely knew what to say or how to defend themselves from the accusations told, and their speechlessness was all the confirmation Theresa needed to know that the ones she called ’friends’ were the maidens responsible for spreading rumors about her in the Palace. She had a look of disgust etched to her face as she eyed them both, and that gave Lucy the satisfaction that she needed to stop them from talking.

"See? You aren’t a saint yourself, no one is. You’re not the only one who has a mouth to spread rumors, so next time, focus on saving on your skin from friends like them." Lucy simply gave Theresa a piece of advise, "for someone who just helped you speak evil about another person, don’t be completely surprised if you later find them speaking evil about you to another entirely different person, now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do since the guests from Vesunard will be joining the royal family soon."

Flipping her long black ponytail at their faces, Lucy turned away from them and was about to take the stairs down to the lower floor, but then she halted upon running into Lord Ivan who was heading up with Herbert, and from his icy demeanor when she had unexpectedly approached him, he did not seem happy in the slightest of ways.

"My Lordship?" With a gasp, the three maidens immediately lowered their heads in greeting as they stepped back, and their hearts raced frantically as they prayed he didn’t listen to the conversation they were having, but soon after that prayer point popped in their brains, their faces turned pale as a ghost when they heard him say.

"Summon every servant to the main hall, I have an important issue to address. Anyone who gets there after me will die at the entrance." Was his strict command to the three maidens before he walked out. Lucy glanced at Herbert who acknowledged her presence with a nod before he followed Ivan who was heading to his Chamber, and from what she had noticed despite his unruly countenance, she could guess the rumors had reached his ears.

Opening the door to his room, Ivan’s gaze moved to nowhere else but the bed of his little lamb, and a look of worry flickered in his eyes when he found her asleep. Herbert was about to utter something but Ivan raised a finger, silencing him, as though he didn’t want Herbert to wake his little lamb from her slumbers.

Taking quiet strides to her bedside, Ivan made it past the curtains that divided the room, and when he reached her bedside where he could see her properly, he sat at the edge and placed his palm to her forehead. Just like he had been informed, her temperature was feverishly increasing, and when he felt her pulse, it was mild, but that didn’t dismiss his worries as he gazed at her sickly-pale face.

Herbert, who remained still at the entrance, couldn’t help but find this reaction from his Lordship rare. When was the last time he ever saw Lord Ivan grow this concerned about someone else’s health? When he got notified that Samantha was feeling unwell by him and the butler, His Lordship had rushed back just to see how true and serious it was, but looking at him now, Herbert couldn’t decipher if the one in pain was the servant or his Lordship.

"Has someone called the physician?" Ivan softly asked without looking away from his little lamb, and Herbert, who didn’t have the strength to speak after seeing another shade of his Lordship, was saved when Lucy suddenly stepped in.

"None of that sort has happened." Lucy’s voice caught Ivan’s attention, and when he turned his head to see Lucy standing at the entrance with her head lowered, he gave her permission to step in. Offering an appreciative smile at his beckoning, Lucy quietly stepped inside, but she didn’t dare go too close and only came to a stop at the foot of Samantha’s bed. Looking at her friend who had fallen really sick only gave Lucy the courage to speak up, and she laid out what she knew to Lord Ivan.

"There were rumors about Samantha," she softly began, and when she stole a glance at Ivan’s handsome face to see his demeanor had changed again, that only meant he already knew what type of rumors she was referring to. "It hasn’t been long since I came to check on her, but her fever isn’t deteriorating. I’ve tried every method that I can think of to reduce her burning temperature, but it’s not working. I couldn’t send for the physician since I am not obliged to make contact with him."

"The rumors I heard, are you aware of who started it?" Questioned Ivan as he looked at Lucy once again, and she nodded her head.

"Yes."

Ivan’s concerned gaze shifted to Samantha who was presently stirring in her sleep as she turned the other way, and he took notice of how her eyebrows creased as though she was feeling uncomfortable. She turned yet again, murmuring something that was inaudible to grasp, but this time she had subconsciously grabbed Ivan’s arm and was hugging it like a pillow. Her body’s abnormal heat only made Ivan grow more worried, and her creased eyebrows gradually relaxed as she was back to sleeping again.

Stroking her hair with his other hand that hadn’t been turned into a hugging pillow, Ivan’s eyes momentarily darkened.

"What are their names?"

—-

In the grand ornate room that was draped in crimson velvet curtains, moonlight seeped in through the towering stained glass windows, casting an eerie glow on the opulent surroundings that felt terrifyingly chilly. The servants that had been told to wait in the room, could feel a cold air pierce through the fabric of their dress as they waited for Lord Ivan to eventually show up and address them concerning why he had asked for not just a few, but ’all of them.’

"Why do you think we’re summoned?" One of the servants whispered, obviously frightened to her bones, but no one dared speak since Lord Ivan could appear any minute, and just as they had predicted, the guards announced his presence, followed by the double doors swinging open, and Lady Agathe, who happened to be passing by with her sons had witnessed the main hall close after Ivan had gone in, whilst she sighed with evident apprehension in her eyes.

"Trouble in paradise." Tobias commented as he tilted his head to the side, but the look his Mother gave him clearly warned him to stay out of Ivan’s business, and her gaze returned to the double door.

Lady Agathe didn’t dare herself to intervene in Ivan’s affairs and took the stairs that led her to her chamber. Tobias and Alistair shared a knowing look before joining their Mother who had requested for both their presence.

Inside the grand ornate room, the servants held their breaths when Ivan stepped in with Herbert flanking right behind him. He walked past all the servants who greeted him, but he didn’t respond, and the only time he bothered to spare them a glance was after he had taken his seat on the royal seat Herbert had brought for him.

The air felt suffocating for the servants having to deal with their Lordship’s oppressive silence, and when Ivan eventually spoke, their bodies jolted in fear when he listed out a few names.

"Gwen, Anaïs, Mila and Amelia. I need you to step forward - all the servants bearing these four names. I don’t care if you’re up to twenty-five servants using these names, I need all of you to step forward, and trust me, it won’t end well if I’m forced to repeat myself for the second time." Ivan’s authoritative tone had the servants bearing these names step forward in fear, and his eyes raked the ten maidens that stepped out from the multiple servants that were left.

"Albert." Calling for his butler, the double doors opened to reveal a composed Albert who had stepped in with a few lists in his hand. Ivan pointed at the ten maidens before asking, "are there only ten maidens bearing the names I have mentioned?" He asked, and Albert, who felt weighed under Ivan’s gaze quickly went through the list in his hand, and he nodded.

"Yes, My Lord. It appears there are only ten of them."

"Good, that means I can proceed." The usual humor that tends to linger with his words were no longer there, and the servants could only sense the iciness that reminded them of his cavalier - an iceberg, but what made it worse was when he brought out his silver dagger, twirling it in front of their faces so they could see and understand how sharp the blades were.

"Nobody needs to act clueless, I’m pretty aware that you know why I summoned everyone to the hall, but since I’m talking to a bunch of vermin, then I shall make my reasons for this call quite clear. Someone has dared to spread false news about my little lamb, and that low-life amateur has tried to stain the reputation of my trusted bodyguard. Such insolence shall not be ignored when I’m here, and that is why...." His crimson eyes moved to the ten shivering maidens as he pointed his dagger at them. "I need each of you to speak, which one of you is responsible for this egregious deceit?"

Silence filled the room as the servants exchanged nervous glances, and a subtle but dark smile curled Ivan’s lips at their hesitation.

"If I have to fish you out, then you will face double the wrath I plan on unleashing, and by that I mean, your treacherous tongues shall suffer for your silence. When it comes to spreading rumors your mouths run like tap, but all I ask is the one responsible and everyone has forgotten how to use their tongue?"

Ivan’s eyes flashed red, igniting a hidden anger. His gaze pierced through the ten servants, one by one as they squirmed against his relentless scrutiny.

"My Lord." Albert, who had finished going through the list, quietly hurried to Ivan’s side. He whispered a few words into his ears, and everyone noticed Ivan’s demeanor growing more menacing, and they wondered what Albert had revealed to him for his gaze to grow that terrifying until the four servants he had mentioned suddenly dropped to their knees, and it happened without their knowledge, as if an invisible force had pressurized them into revealing themselves.

"Are you the servants responsible?" Ivan’s crimson eyes flickered with pure Insanity, a contrast to his rather composed countenance, and the servants, who were on their knees, immediately begged with their heads touching the ground, their bodies quivering with terror.

"Forgive us, My Lord! We don’t know what came over us."

"I see." Ivan muttered, his voice dripping with malevolence, "do you know what’s going to happen now?"

"M-my Lordship?"

"The four of you are going to hit yourselves continuously." He pointed his daggers at them. "You won’t hit yourselves by yourselves, you’ll help each other do the job the same way you help one another spread rumors. You are going to hit yourselves for everyone to see, and none of you will stop until my Little Lamb wakes up from her slumbers. If you end up dying before she comes down to forgive you, so be it." He reclined against his seat like a devil.

"Begin."