Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 120: Revealed Identity

Chapter 120: Revealed Identity

"W-what?" Was all Samantha could say above a breath. Her brain hardly found the time to comprehend the reason for his brusque orders as she had not expected it at all.

At his command, two guards stepped inside the orb room, seizing Samantha whose arms were now harshly twisted behind her back as she was forced to drop to her knees. A short gasp escaped her lips, and it was laced with a mixture of shock and apprehension as she obediently stayed in the position she had been rendered in, not for once, daring to raise her head up and look into the hostile eyes of Lord Draven.

Her gaze was leveled to the ground, but she could feel the eyes of Draven boring holes into her skin.

"I asked you a simple question, yet you stutter like you have been caught doing something you shouldn’t?" Inquired Lord Draven as he made way for the remaining three Lords to step inside. Upon entering the orb room, the Three Lords were more than bewildered when the owner of that blood that had been perceived turned out to be the same human girl Ivan had announced earlier on to be his bride.... The woman he unshakably wanted to get married to, was the one whose blood revived the Orb room, regardless of the Orb’s absence.

"It’s her?" Lord Damien’s voice didn’t hide his astonishment as he had never bothered to pay that much attention to the human girl, whilst his gaze turned judgemental. "Hmm... it is true when they say appearances can often be misleading. To be sincere, it’s surprisingly hard to believe but if the blood on the pedestal was yours, that could only mean that you’re a clear suspect to the Orbs mysterious awakening."

"I... I don’t know what you’re talking about." Samantha truthfully said to the four Lords with her gaze frantically fixed on the ground. She had only come here to get proof of what she had seen but from the way they spoke, it sounded as though she was being unfairly accused of something she was still unaware of.

"You don’t know?" Draven’s voice dripped with an amused derision as he stepped in.

He simply moved forward to where she was forced to kneel as he circled her like a helpless prey that had been caught in his web. "Then what are you doing here? This part of the Palace had been kept under prohibition till further notice. Weren’t you aware of that? Or did you just make up your mind on a Saturday morning that you were going to disrespect the rules that had been laid within this particular room...and for what reason?"

Standing in front of her, Draven crouched down to her level and grabbed her chin firmly in his grip. With a sharp glint gleaming in his crimson eyes, he lifted her head up so he could look into her mysterious green eyes that currently stared right back at him. As focused as he was on why her eye color appeared so distinct from a normal human, the sound of her drumming heartbeat prompted him to further lay out his one suspicion about her background.

"Who else would have the ability to bestow such rarity if it isn’t the daughter of late Mr Dufort?" He uttered with a slight tilt of his head, and he didn’t miss the way her body froze in reaction like a liar who had been caught in his/her own game. Pupils contracting at the mere thought of being caught by no one else but the Four Lords, Samantha’s eyes dilated as the color on her face gradually drained in trepidation.

"You’re his daughter, aren’t you?" Lucius demanded from Samantha whose agitated eyes moved to his direction, and she could see their expression contorting into one of disgust, shame, and worst of all, disappointment. Her heart was drumming so fast, so loudly that she could hear nothing within the confines except the thumping sound of her heartbeat beating against her eardrums.

How did.... How did they know about her true identity? How was that even possible???

"Your tongue is suddenly heavy for you?" Questioned Draven who finally released her jaw from his clutches. "I had my suspicions when I first laid eyes on you. That night when I sent Ivan to fetch your Father, unfortunately he didn’t complete the task that was handed to him since the children escaped. If it was intentional or not, I can’t say, but I know Lord Ivan quite well, he has been under my strict rules as a growing Prince, he’s not dumb to not have fished out your real identity.... unless he’s... don’t tell me he’s a part of this abomination?!!" Draven’s eyes flashed in contempt.

"He’s not." Samantha quickly answered, shocking herself as she covered up for him without thinking twice. "He’s... he’s nowhere a part of this, I did this on my own accord!" She swallowed in-between her defense as the growing lump in her throat made it uncomfortable for her to speak properly. The tension was weighing down heavily on soul, she could feel a cold sweat run down her back and into the fabric of her dress, and in Ivan’s absence, there was nothing she could do.

The Four Lords whose shoulders had tensed, felt quite relieved to know Ivan had no hand in this plot. As if timed, Carina and her daughter also showed up at the Orb room, including Lady Agathe when the news of the Orb room suddenly reviving had reached their ears, but upon arriving at the enclosed courtyard and stepping in, their gazes inadvertently landed on Samantha who was presently on her knees. Two guards stood behind her with their spears pointed at her incase she tried anything funny.

"What is happening here? Why is the Orb room so occupied?" Demanded Carina as she shifted her gaze to the Four Lords who hadn’t moved their eyes from the servant kneeling in front of them. Claire, who was rather thrilled, yet stunned, was also curious to know why Samantha was on her knees.

"Carina.." Draven drawled her name without looking in her direction. "It appears you have been harboring a traitor in your own home. This servant you see isn’t only a slave, or a Courtesan, but she’s the daughter of the man who murdered your husband right here in this very room. A coincidental reunion is what I call this."

"What did you say?" Carina’s expression vividly dropped at Draven’s words, as if she just heard someone tell her about a bomb that was in the middle of exploding.

"My Father murdered no one. It’s all lies!" Samantha dared to defend him, and all eyes shifted to her figure as the murmurs quieted down. Since she had already been caught, even though she had never planned for her revelation to be like this, what was the use of keeping shut since they might kill her anyway?

"My Father didn’t kill him, you’re the ones who wronged him and my Father." She forced the words out, and she could feel tears prick the corner of her eyes while her gaze remained fixed to the ground. "You killed him without proof!! None of you gave him a chance to explain! You did what you did merely on assumptions!"

"You dirty low-life bitch!" Claire didn’t hesitate to reign curses on Samantha, her voice dripping with pure resentment. "No wonder I developed a strong dislike towards your revolting presence, so you’re the daughter of the man who thinks he can murder my Father and get away with the punishment?! You deceived the royal family into believing you were a mere slave that my brother had bought, and you probably deceived Ivan too. Did you do this to get revenge? Are you marrying Ivan for revenge??"

"I can’t believe you were that brave to step foot into this Palace." Carina pointed a finger at her before shaking her head in disdain. "It is true when they say do not judge a book by its cover! Who knew a fragile being like yourself would dare to do something as despicable as deceiving the royal family?! Guards! Why are you keeping her here?! Take her to the dungeon! This instant!"

Without letting Samantha defend herself or say anything else, the guards dragged her up to her feet by her arm before taking her away. Stepping out of the Orb room, Samantha was stunned to find the servants whispering to oneself as they filled the pathway, and Lucy, who had heard the news of the Orb reviving and had come to also get more information from the rest of the servants, had frozen at the sight of Samantha who was being harshly taking away by the guards.

"Sam?!" Lucy gasped out her shock when she met Samantha’s wavering gaze, but there was nothing she could say or do as she watched her friend get dragged away.

What did she do??

Stepping into the main courtyard that had two paths leading to the maids quarters and the hall, Samantha spotted an unfamiliar noble who passed her by, but not after his crimson eyes met her green ones for a splitting moment.

Eamon, who was also heading to where his family had gathered, had stopped in his gait to watch the servant he had never seen before get dragged away by the guards. When he made it to the orb room were everyone of the royal family was presently gathered, he wanted to ask about the servant that was being taken away only to lose his voice at the sight of greenness of nature that now occupied the Orb room, but looking at at the pedestal, expecting to find the mystic orb back in its place, he saw nothing, but then.... How is this happening??

"Mother."

Carina glanced at her son whose presence had gained her attention. "Eamon?"

"What happened here?"

"It’ll be explained later." She assured him before glancing at Lord Viktor who seemed to be in deep thoughts. "What are you going to do? I do not care about your plans but one thing is certain and that is the fact I want her head to be among the collections of those who betray the Kingdom."

"She will die." Draven uttered, "but first, she has to tell us how she got the orb to give her most of its divine powers."