Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 177: The Whispers

Chapter 177: The Whispers

—-

Back in the royal Chevalier Palace, Lord Viktor stood outside the main entrance when Lord Damien and Draven approached him, their trunks carried by the male servants who took them to the awaiting regal carriage. Viktor’s glances at their presence were brief, whilst he returned his placid gaze to the bright blue sky, and he looked prepared to head for the event that was presently ongoing in the Fields. He had stayed behind to handle some crucial matters that abruptly came up, and since Lucius wasn’t here, he decided to see them off himself.

"We will be leaving for Vesunard." Damien uttered to Viktor who remained seemingly quiet about their departure, and when Lord Damien stole a side glance at Draven, he nudged the stubborn Lord to say something before they left. Draven simply averted his gaze with an underlying grudge, choosing to stay silent, but when he glanced at Viktor who continuously gazed at the blue sky with a serene gaze, his expression unfathomable, he was unable to suppress his frustration and expressed his chagrin with a bitter scoff.

"GreenHollow returned overnight during the full blood moon, everyone seemed happy to regain the Kingdom’s nature, happy smiles with opened teeths everywhere, but ’HOW’ she got those powers akin to that of the missing Orb remains neglected." Draven pointed it out as calmly as he could, "Let’s not ignore the obvious due to some silly infatuation His Majesty has for that girl– her presence will be nothing but detrimental to the Kingdom. Possessing powers relating to the Orb is impossible, deadly to say the least, and there is only one explanation for this which I’m sure you know by now what it is. If she possesses the Orbs’ good essence, then there is no doubt that the dark essence to the orb can also be re-awakened by her."

"She has a soulmate." Viktor dropped the news, lowering his gaze from the sky and shifting it to notice Draven’s stupefied, unblinking reaction. Damien’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing this, and Viktor nodded his head to their silent inquiries before averting his disturbed gaze. "She has a soulmate, I saw the string myself, and from what I know, the mystic Orb cannot bear a soulmate of its own. It is possible that she was gifted with similar powers, a descendant maybe?... I’ve asked someone to look into the background history of her family, and once my suspicions have been confirmed, I can be more aware of the step I’m meant to take. Mr Dufort taking the Mystic orb away must align with his daughter in one way or the other, but what? I can’t shake off the feeling that there was a hidden intention concerning what transpired between Muzan and his advisor before he died."

"But If she has a soulmate, and you saw the strings connecting them together, that clearly means she and Ivan are not destined to be." A new amusement sparkled in Draven’s eyes at the unforeseen news he just heard. Even if his ulterior motive was to break them apart before leaving, he didn’t know his request would be so easily offered to him on a gold platter. Now, if her soulmate eventually comes to claim what is rightfully his, there is a high chance Ivan would go ballistic, and if that happens, destruction is bound to fall upon GreenHollow once again.... the people will realize at a later point the mistake they made by picking Ivan to rule.

Now he felt tempted to stay.

Viktor exhaled through his nostrils after listening to Draven’s conclusion, he rubbed the space in-between his eyebrows and said. "It is not as simple as you make it sound, Draven. Ivan likes that maiden a little too much, disturbingly too much. It will not be easy for him to let her go considering the rate on how possessive he gets.... Besides that, he’s in love with this woman. I am more concerned for the soulmate than I am for Ivan.... If he dares to come here, there’s a high chance Ivan could waste him and leave his dead body to rot under the sun."

"There are consequences for ignoring the soulmate bond." Damien added, his expression cryptic as he clicked his tongue. "You will have to convince Ivan at some point to let that woman go. If she isn’t his to keep, then he should not act on his emotions. I say, remind him of his duties and the people who look up to him, he is a King now and he needs to be aware that his stubbornness can put everyone in harm’s way. That should sway him from doing anything seditious till you can figure out who the soulmate is."

"Lucius and I will remain for the meantime, but you two must return to Vesunard and foresee matters there." Viktor instructed them both, knowing nothing good ever came from leaving Vesunard for too long. Damien nodded in agreement, he glanced at Draven who seemed to be pondering deeply and frowned.

"We will be moving now." Grabbing Draven by his arm, he dragged him down to where the carriage awaited them, and Viktor didn’t move from where he stood until their carriage had left through the gate. Turning around, Viktor spotted Lady Agathe making her way past the vestibules, her eyes suspiciously staying alert like a thief, which was odd, and he noticed how she froze as if she wasn’t expecting to find him here.

"Lord Viktor?" She came to stand beside him, masking her earlier reaction with a smile. "You’re not attending the clash of valor?"

"I was just on my way there... but uhm.. What about you?"

"Oh me? The weather has been a bit harsh today hasn’t it? Actually I caught a fever this morning and was unable to make it. Beats me, but health is wealth." She chuckled nervously, but Viktor didn’t have that time to question the woman on why she was here and not in bed instead. Averting his gaze, one of the royal carriage pulled over as he went down the steps.

When he left the Palace in the carriage, the smile on Lady Agathe’s lips dropped.

—-

Beads of sweat trickled down Maurice’s forehead as his opponent lunged forward, unleashing a barrage of heavy fists that seemed too fast, even for a Human to possess. Thanks to Herbert’s teaching, avoiding the blows wasn’t too much of a problem since he had learned to quicken his stances in a defensive mechanism. Controlling his breath, he continuously retreated like the vampire Prince had told him, practically staying on the defensive side, whilst avoiding any direct confrontation by a streak of luck.

Samantha couldn’t help but peek through her fingers, and Lucy quietly murmured encouraging praises to Maurice who was doing well so far. Ivan’s gaze drifted to the hourglass that was almost running out of sand, and once the sand’s are out completely, the first round will be over for them, yet, none of them were able to deliver a good strike within the passing minutes. If it continues like this, they would both be out with no winner on their part.

"Come on...."

Maurice’s opponent grew frustrated with each blow he sent, only to have them evaded by this new combatant. The lads’ movements were naturally fluid, and it saved him from ending up with all sorts of broken jaws as he kept avoiding each powerful strike.

Knowing he couldn’t outrun his opponent when the time given to them was limited, Maurice’s calculated gaze diverted to his opponents footwork, taking note of the occasional stumble in his aggressive approach.

’Don’t focus on your opponent’s strength, but his weakness. When you find it, that’s when you strike!" These were the words the vampire prince had left him with. A realization dawned on his visage, and he recalled his training with the vampire King who, for some reason, didn’t use a sword during their duel. Did he indirectly train him for this?

With a sudden surge of agility, Maurice swiftly side steps the man who moved with force, evading his fierce attack, and before his mind could register which action he needed to take to pull this off, he landed a swift kick to his opponent’s targeted leg, weakening it from the impact of his kick. His opponent’s leg immediately gave way as he dropped to the ground while groaning in slight pain, unable to rise as he hadn’t foreseen such a move, and at the same time the hourglass ran out of sand.

The crowds gasped at the quick turn of events, and the field erupted into a mix of bewilderment and appreciation. The awed silence that lingered in the air was broken by the voice of the Herald who announced,

"And the first combatant who has succeeded in making it to the Second round is..... Maurice Dufort!" A thunderous applause was heard next, and Maurice stepped back as he was announced winner of the first round, his heart pounded so fast he could hardly believe it.

"I won!" He mused.

Samantha and Lucy exclaimed happily the minute Maurice’s name was mentioned, and when Ivan noticed her smile, it felt real, pure unlike any other, and he was unable to keep a straight face seeing her smile like that.

In the end, Samantha excused herself to go get some water to drink. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was until after her brother had emerged unharmed. Emptying the cup and offering some water to Alain who had been by her side, Samantha turned around to leave when an unwelcome presence blocked her path.

Her happy demeanor fell upon seeing Nichole blocking her path, and he wasn’t smiling as he slowly approached her, a condescending look reflecting on his features. "I see what this is about, because Ivan made you feel undeservingly special by having you sit next to him, you feel like the world revolves around you now. How did it feel to test royalty?"

"Forgive me but I need to return–"

"Did you see that woman whom I held hands with?" He blocked her path yet again, and Samantha exhaled deeply before saying.

"Whom you hold hands with is none of my concern...I need to leave...!!.. what are you doing?!" Samantha’s eyes snapped wide when her back met the wall, her wrist pinned above her head, and little Alain suddenly scurried off.

"No! Alain, wait! You’ll get lost! Let go of me!" She struggled to free herself, but he just smirked as though he enjoyed watching her struggle. "I swear I’m going to scream at the top of my lungs if you don’t release me this instant! Were you trained without manners?"

"Go ahead then." He challenged, "go ahead and scream, I want to see you try..."

"Please st-"

"Kill him." And the whispers she believed had left her suddenly returned, cutting her off guard.

"Kill. Him." The whispers commanded.

As if controlled, Samantha’s vines swiftly slithered out of nowhere only to wrap Nichole’s throat, choking him. The vines tightened their hold, squeezing the life out of Nichole who was forced to release Samantha and fight for his own life instead.

When he met her eyes, the color on his face drained to see she was the one controlling the vines that presently choked him.

Was she going to kill him?!!