Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 39: Saving His Little Lamb

Chapter 39: Saving His Little Lamb

"C... confess?" Samantha’s pupils dilated for a split second, and her chest heaved delicately when Ivan took a step closer to where she stood. His movement was so quick-witted, Samantha stumbled back in her steps when she failed to keep up.

"Are you trying to play dumb?" He kept moving, his arms folded while his eyes narrowed into an accusatory slit. Everytime, he kept reminding her who the predator was, and he never failed to make her out as the prey who was at the mercy of its predator. But how did he know she was responsible?

"Lord Ivan...." Samantha could feel her heart palpitate in her chest. She tried to speak, but the impatient sound of someone knocking on the surface of Ivan’s door disrupted them. Their gazes shifted to the door at the same time, and the next thing they heard was Claire’s angry voice.

"Ivan, I need to speak with your servant!" Demanded Claire, and for the first time, the tone of her voice came out slightly hoarse, like someone who had screamed for too long and had lost the ability to speak properly. Knowing Claire and her raging temper, Ivan’s gaze shifted from Samantha, and he walked right past the human who nervously bit at her nails, as if seeing her doom waiting to be unlocked by the man who frustrated her the most.

"Lord Ivan! Wait!" Sprinting to where the Vampire Lord had reached, Samantha stood in front of him with her arms spread out, and she shook her head. "You can’t open the door for her, she’ll kill me if you do. Who knows if I’ll be bedridden this time??" The slight panic in her voice, and the way her round eyes held vulnerability made Ivan roll his eyes.

"She will only kill you if you’ve done something wrong." Ivan quipped. "Start confessing."

"I promise I only dropped two velvet beans on her dress. Just TWO!" She emphasized by raising her index and middle finger in the air, stating how minimum it was. When Ivan’s eyebrows wrinkled together, Samantha smiled nervously, her lips widening sheepishly, and then she folded her arms behind her back before saying. "You... you’re my Master, a master wouldn’t want to see his pet punished by others, am I right? Master? You won’t let her harm me, RIGHT???"

"Foolish woman." Ivan flicked her forehead sharply, eliciting a short wince from his little lamb, but his expression remained unamused.

"How many of them did I tell you to avoid?"

Rubbing her innocent forehead that had been flicked without any remorse, she answered. "Eight."

"And is Claire one of them?"

"Yes." She answered in a much lower tone, realizing her own fault in this matter, and Ivan’s lips twitched in displeasure. Noticing his displeased look, the worried Samantha tried to think of an escape. She knew confessing her crime to Ivan would land her in trouble, but she would be in bigger trouble if the princess were to get her hands on her. Prince Alistair also warned her about how many servants had died in the hands of Princess Claire, but she had been blinded by her own rage, she didn’t think things through.

Another round of constant knocking on the door startled Samantha, and she had the expression of a mouse that had been caught in a trap.

Ivan clicked his tongue, irked by the disturbing sound, but when his gaze settled on the panicking Samantha, he knew she was someone who needed protection. When she mentioned velvet beans, he had succeeded in hiding his amusement, and he wondered how someone so demure knew about the Devil beans, but then, he was reminded of where she came from, and the large difference they both shared when it came to power and title.

Pinching the space between his eyebrows, Ivan had something to say, but he had barely gotten the words out when the door to his room suddenly opened. Without thinking, Samantha immediately seeked protection behind Ivan, using him as a shield to save her from the raging Princess Claire.

When she scurried behind him, Ivan arched a brow at her timidness, but he didn’t push her away. There were many people who frustrated him in this life he was brought into, but this little lamb, she keeps surprising him everyday.

"Ivan." Claire’s voice rang out in his room, and her crimson eyes steamed with boiling anger as she approached her brother. Standing in front of him, her gaze drifted to the meek Samantha who stood behind him. The sight of the lowly human only added fuel to Claire’s burning rage, and her fist clenched.

"You! I swear I’m going to--" before Claire could grab a hold on Samantha, Ivan stretched his right hand to the side, blocking Claire from going anywhere near his little lamb. The look in his eyes signified a clear warning, one that Claire could not ignore no matter how furious she felt she was, and she wisely took a step back.

Shock-stricken by her brother’s protective actions, her glaring gaze shifted to him, and she demanded. "Do not get in my way this time, I told you I wanted to see her!" Claire’s glowering gaze was unflinching, but it couldn’t beat the intimidation in Ivan’s crimson orbs.

She was no longer putting on the dress that caused the itching, and from the teary look in her eyes, it proved she had scratched and cried all through the itching process before regaining half of her senses back. Samantha, who was half-delighted by Claire’s awful look, immediately masked her visage when Claire’s eyes returned to her, but the princess refused to be fooled by it.

"Stop with the pretense! I’m very aware of what you have done and I promise, you won’t get away with this!" She threatened without any slight hesitation, making the peeping Samantha feel anxiously cold from within.

"Get out of my way, I need to put your servant in her place." Claire firmly stated to her brother, "since you have no control over your property, as your sister, I shall help you rearrange."

"You seem to have no control over your tongue, and as your brother, I shall help you arrange." Came Ivan’s lucid retort, and he remained annoyingly calm despite listening to his sister’s tantrum. "Stepping into my room unannounced and going after my little lamb is breaching property. Should I believe my little lamb has made you throw away many years of descent etiquette?"

"You have no idea what she has done to me!" Claire refused to stand by this injustice. "Can’t you see my body? This marks!" She showed Ivan whose gaze boringly observed the red marks on her skin, which had been caused due to intense scratching. The Vampire Lord, who suddenly had the strangest urge to smile, immediately hid it whilst clearing his throat.

"What happened to you?"

"That contemptible human standing behind you placed velvet beans on my evening dress! I had it made for tonight’s soiree and she’s ruined my planned day!" Claire didn’t want to remember what wearing that dress had done to her, she was screaming like a mad woman since she never experienced such acute itch in her years of living.

"The two servants who were able to assist me, one of them experienced the same thing this morning, right after having a conversation with that human. She showed me the velvet bean that had dropped from her dress."

"You’re shouting," Ivan complained with a soft hiss, as though he was already getting a headache from listening to his half-sister yell out her accusation. "You’re in my room, and I dislike yelling, so let’s keep it low, shall we?"

"I’m being serious here."

"Little Lamb."

"Yes, Lord Ivan?" Samantha meekly answered to Ivan who looked at her from his shoulder. "Have you been to Claire’s chamber today?"

"No, My Lord." She shook her head truthfully.

"Where have you been all day?"

"Serving you, My Lord."

"See?" Ivan returned his unaltered attention to Claire. "She’s been with me all day, that makes me a testament to her presence. Case closed." Ivan simply brushed it aside, but that only made Claire’s eyes twitch.

"I’m not letting her get away with it. Ah! What are you doing?" Claire, who refused to let Samantha go scot-free, tried to act against Ivan’s will, but that led to her wrist being firmly caught before she could lay a hand on Samantha.

"Why do you make me do this?" His tone held his restraint, and with his fingers clasping tightly around her wrist, enough to make it snap, he dragged Claire out of his room, taking her out. "Two people can’t be mad at the same time, return to my Chambers when you’re sane again."

"You..!" And he slammed the door at her face, not bothering to waste his time hearing the things she had to say.

Samantha, who thought she was finally free, could feel her breath hitch when Ivan’s arm shot up to her neck. It wasn’t tight, but his hold was firm enough to pass his admonishment.

"Stay away from Claire, I won’t be saving you the next time you try something this insane."

"Lord Ivan, the soiree event." She reminded him in the hopes that he would release her and not snap her neck. When he did, Samantha could feel her heart return to its rightful position in her chest. Patting it softly, she heard the Vampire Lord say. "You haven’t studied the Palace enough to be playing such silly tricks. You will lose your head if you keep this up, best you listen to my advice and stay away from trouble."

Samantha nodded obediently without further arguments. Ivan looked at the woman briefly before averting his gaze. "Where are the rest?"

"Rest?"

"Velvet beans." He stretched his hand forward, demanding she gave it to him. Frowning at his order, Samantha left and returned with the small white sack containing the velvet beans.

"This is it."

"And you’re sure this is all of it?"

She nodded her head. Samantha, who assumed he was trying to help her get rid of the evidence, hardly knew that the Vampire Lord was doing this majorly to protect himself. The last thing he wanted was to end up looking like Claire, and for safety reasons, it was best to discard the remains.

An hour after Claire’s outburst, Gustav made his way to the Chambers of Lord Ivan. When the Vampire Lord stepped out of his chamber, the butler quickly whispered a few words into Ivan’s ears, and that brought a frown to his handsome mien