Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 137: A Private Message

Chapter 137: A Private Message

Cautiously making her way through the labyrinth of paths that would lead her directly to Lord Ivan’s cell, Lucy was forced to come to a halt when one of the guards who stood alert at the main entrance, blocked her path with his dangerously-looking spear. Her almond-shaped eyes moved to meet the sinister glare of the guard that threatened her to wisely back away.

"No servants allowed." He said in a gruff tone, and Lucy candidly took a step back in order to avoid provoking the short-tempered guard. Judging by his glaring eyes, Lucy knew begging her way through would not get him to budge at all. In her years of staying under the roof of the Chevalier Palace, she had met more guards of his kind and knew exactly how to handle them– it was her one little secret that always made it easy for her to get through any small crimes she committed without having to undergo the necessary punishment.

"Why are you still standing here?" The guard’s rude voice had Lucy blinking in surprise. "Return to your duty if you have nothing meaningful to do with your time, little servant!" He warned, eyes glinting with a promise that made Lucy hesitate, but to her whim, she had a much stronger resolve and stubbornly didn’t move from where she stood.

Glancing around quickly to ensure no one was at sight, a sudden sparkle of white light mystifyingly danced around Lucy’s fingertips, and before the guard, who noticed the servant possessed magic powers could react, the white-sparkling light invaded his nostrils in a ticklish manner, forcing him to sneeze out, but when he recollected himself after that harsh sneeze, he was now smiling with ardor, his once glaring eyes gleaming with adoration as he fixed his gaze on Lucy.

"Let me through." Lucy quietly commanded the guard who immediately made way for her to pass as if he had been tranced. Smiling triumphantly to see she still had a grip on her magic, Lucy gave the guard a pat on his shoulder. "Good boy. Now I need you to keep watch and don’t let anyone into this place, not even your fellow guards till I return, Hmm?" Clarifying that part for the guard who obediently nodded, Lucy continued along the path that was now filled with several empty cells on each side, and when she made it to the last one, she successfully found Ivan who was slouching against the stone slab, looking oddly calm with his eyes hooked to a book... or a novel?

Wait.. why does the cover look familiar?

"My Lordship." Whispering his name so she could gain his attention, Ivan’s tremor gaze shifted slightly from the book to the cell door, and his eyebrows creased at the sight of Lucy before shooting up in surprise.

"Lucy?" He sat up properly, closing the book. His eyes instinctively darted towards the only path she would have taken to get here, as if expecting several guards to show up and drag her away since no one was permitted to be here. "How did you come here? You should leave, right now before the guards show up and find you here, it won’t be a funny experience if they do."

"I tend to have my way in dealing with Palace guards." She admitted with a nervous laugh before switching the topic. "I’m not here to impose, I’m here to confirm if Sam is safe... cause Prince Eamon and his brothers are making plans to go find her as we speak." Lucy informed Ivan, sounding worried. "He hinted at something peculiar concerning the missing orb and Samantha, so I thought of letting you know about it first since their plans didn’t feel right to me."

"He won’t find her." Ivan assured Lucy, his expression contorting into a subtle frown to know they were going after his little lamb. "Even if he does, he won’t be able to take her away after bearing in mind whom she’s with. She’s in a safe place."

"Really?" Lucy could feel her heart calm after hearing the assurance in Ivan’s tone, silently thanking the heavens, but her worries were still yet to dissipate. "But what about you? How are you going to free yourself from here? Is there anything I can do to assist your freedom from here?" Her eyes scanned the cell door, hoping to find any hole that would fit a key in, but strangely, there was none, which meant this particular door didn’t use a key.

When she tried to make her hand go through the spaces of the iron bars, she stopped mid-way upon noticing the invisible sigils that illuminated within Ivan’s cell for more than a second, and she didn’t need any further explanation to know why Ivan hasn’t been able to break out. Are they really that scared of him to the point they’d create a barrier in his cell?? How desperate are these people?

"An escape within these cells is impossible as long as I have these things on my wrist." Ivan raised his hand so she could see the chains that pulsated with raw energy around both his wrist. "These things were designed to cease any form of powers, and apparently, the only ones who are capable of getting me out of here are the four Lords. Nevermind that, do not concern yourself with my predicament, I need you to do something for me instead, and what I want you to do for me concerns one of the Four Lords, think you can handle it?"

"One of the Four Lords? What do you want me to do?" Lucy, who was more than ready to assist him, asked right away. Deep down, she had been scared that Lord Ivan would sense her magic, but fortunately he didn’t. If she hadn’t noticed the sigil and stopped herself on time from touching the barrier, Lord Ivan would figure out that she was not the normal servant she claimed to be.

Meanwhile, a conniving smile curved Ivan’s lips when he sensed her will to help, and Lucy, who had tilted her head up only to see him smiling and eyes twinkling with mischief, it made her more curious to know what he was plotting behind the confines of his cell. Not to brag but he looked more enchanting when he did evil.

—--

Later in the day, Eamon had returned from their first day of search, and unfortunately, finding that woman had been a lot more difficult than he predicted it to be. So far so good, he has sent drawings of the servant to be placed around every corner of EmptyHollow, just in case anyone spots her, and with the money reward he had added, there’s no way anyone would want to miss the opportunity of bringing her before his presence, considering the struggles their land was facing.

He knew going to Ivan would be futile, because no matter what he says or does, the stubborn being would not reveal her hideout to him. This new shade of Ivan that he was inevitably forced to reckon with was being a thorn in his path, he was sitting in a cell, powerless, but somehow, he still controlled the action of the Palace. What’s more important was the court of public opinion that will be held two days from now, the day he will be crowned King after the decree has been proven authentic, and then... he would make sure to decapitate all of Ivan’s limbs, one by one and watch him suffer in pure agony.

"Hey you!" Stopping in his tracks, he called at Lucy who was passing by with a tray containing fresh fermented blood.

Lucy, who was passing by with a fellow maid named Felicia, had to stop in her gait since she had been summoned by Prince Eamon. Approaching where he stood, she lowered her head in a deep bow, and after offering her greetings to him, she heard him say.

"Where are you taking those drinks to?" He queried, shrewd crimson eyes narrowing at Lucy who remained composed, and she answered. "The returned Princes requested for more of this in the winged Palace. There’s a conversation being held there with the Ministers, if his soon-to-be Majesty can permit me to attend to them?" Lucy wisely used the word she was sure would make her win his favor, and as expected, Eamon’s sour expression dropped due to how she referred to him.

"Did you say meeting with the Ministers?" He asked again, and Lucy politely nodded. Eamon’s brows creased dubiously as he was not informed of this ’meeting’ and he wondered why they had left him out.

"You can leave." He gave her his permission, and Lucy politely nodded her head in appreciation before leaving with Felicia who waited for her. Eamon’s gaze followed her as he watched her figure disappear when she turned to a corner, and he was only starting to realize that the maidens in his Palace were easy on the eyes.

"She’ll make a good concubine." He said to himself.

When Lucy finally made it to the winged Palace, she handed her tray to Felicia after spotting Lord Viktor step out from the drawing room.

"Can you go ahead? I’ll join you soon." After pleading with Felicia to cover up for her, the maid rolled her eyes in agreement and continued down the hallway while Lucy went after Lord Viktor. From his facial expression, he seemed quite troubled about something due to how his eyebrows were marred into a frown, his lips slightly downturn and his eyes distant.

It didn’t seem like a good time to bother him but if she doesn’t see him now, who knows when she might ever get the chance. Putting on her invisible brave helmet, Lucy quickened her strides so she could stand in front of him, and of course, her presence had thrown Lord Viktor off guard.

"My Lordship! Before you kill me please allow me to state my reasons for disturbing you at this moment in time!" Lucy quickly said as if she knew Lord Viktor would be angered, and truly, he was, but he made no attempt to hurt her.

"What do you want?"

Letting out a breath of relief as she hadn’t found herself dead yet, Lucy proceeded to say. "I have a message from Lord Ivan, if you can.. it’s a private matter and I would really appreciate it if we can talk about this somewhere else?"

She requested in a tiny voice that had Lord Viktor arching a brow at her, but his unsmiling demeanor hadn’t faded.