Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 99: Friction In The Courtyard

Chapter 99: Friction In The Courtyard

"It’s- it’s...gone?" Samantha’s eyebrows creased in bewilderment, "I swear I saw vines growing against the walls, it was right there and they kept stretching - it looked so real, I’m not lying to you–"

"Does it look like I’m here to listen to your excuses? Quit trying to make up impossible scenarios cause I won’t fall for your tricks." Ivy cut her off with a dismissive tone "Tell me, what did you do to Lord Ivan? I knew the very moment I laid eyes on you, you would bring nothing but trouble into his life, and it is unlike him to settle for someone less, unless you must have done something to him which I presume is correct."

"Listen, I get that you must have a problem with my existence but I have no idea what you’re talking about, and that is the least one of my worries." Samantha looked in the direction where she had seen the vines since that was more important, and she knew she couldn’t have hallucinated its presence. She had blinked severally, she cleaned her eyes several times too, but it was still there, and suddenly...it’s gone?

No, if it’s coming from the inner part of the Palace then it surely must still be there.

Samantha’s expression held one of intense curiosity as she had plans of going to check out the walls that led to the inner part of the Palace, but then her wrist was unceremoniously grabbed by Ivy who noticed she was about to leave, but mistook her actions as the servant trying to dodge her question.

"I never gave you permission to leave, so where do you think you’re going?"

"Ouch! Let go of my wrist!" Turns out, the wrist Ivy had grabbed was the same wrist that had Samantha’s injury, but despite knowing it, Ivy refused to free her hand and held it tighter.

"Are you trying to run away?"

"You’re hurting me I said let go!" Samantha, out of her own vexation, forcefully freed her wrist from Ivy’s grip, but then Ivy’s nails had accidentally torn her bandage. Samantha’s face twisted into slight agony after being hurt for the second time today, and she noticed her wrist was starting to bleed all over again.

"I didn’t even touch you." Ivy let out a huff, thinking the servant was being dramatic to gain sympathy, and when she tried to grab Samantha once again since seeing her in pain made her feel quite better, someone had grabbed her wrist, and when she turned to see who it was, Herbert was now standing in front of her, and he let go off Ivy’s wrist after sensing she wasn’t going to hurt Samantha before his presence.

"Herbert?"

"If she says let go, then you have to let go, My Princess." Herbert said with an unsmiling demeanor, and Ivy’s lips twisted in disdain when she saw Herbert was standing up for a lowly maid.

"Why are you defending her?"

"I am only following My Lord’s command, if you touch her again, then I have to apologize in advance cause I won’t be responsible for my actions." He bowed his head, but Ivy knew deep down that he meant every word just said to her.

The fact Ivan had left his personal bodyguard for a servant baffled Ivy more than words could. There were times Ivan had suggested a few guards to escort her back to her kingdom, but never once had he offered his personal guard to escort her anywhere, but he left her in the hands of his blood servant? Claire didn’t know if she should laugh or act out her disbelief as her hostile gaze raked the servant who was now monitoring her bleeding wrist.

"I heard you were a Courtesan that was put up for a sale, but I never believed you would use that immoral skill of yours to woo and deceive My Ivan!"

"If he’s really ’your Ivan’ then I need you to tell him to stop coming to me, and I also need you to tell him that I want to leave and he should never look for me. Can you do that?" Samantha, who had had enough of all these foolish princesses testing her nerves finally allowed her voice to be heard. "I don’t want your Lord Ivan, so go and tell him to stop coming to me, let’s see who he listens to! If you’re having trouble controlling your feelings then don’t pour it on me, cause I never snatched your husband, neither am I the cause of your one-sided love."

"How dare you!" Infuriated by the servant’s audacity, Ivy raised her hand to hit Sam in the face, but once again, her wrist was caught by Herbert whose steely eyes narrowed into a warning slit.

"If you lay a finger on Lord Ivan’s woman, then you will have his wrath to contend with. If you do not want to bring problems and ruin the friendship you have with Lord Ivan, then I advise you to keep your hands to yourself." He released Ivy’s hand while standing in front of Samantha like he was her protective shield, and Ivy, who was left stunned could not deal with the embarrassment that filled her whole, and her cheeks were turning red in fury.

"Are you really being logical?" She questioned Herbert, the pitch of her voice rising at her own ire. "Didn’t you listen to all the things she said to me, or are you going to ignore her own wrongdoing?!!"

"I admit that I may have spoken out of tone," Samantha simply added, "but unlike you, I have some acumen of sense when it comes to realizing my mistake and accepting my fault."

"You little slut!" Ivy’s fist clenched at her side at the second insult she was receiving from the maid, and unfortunately, she could not reciprocate since she knew Herbert would definitely report her actions to Lord Ivan, but since when did Lord Ivan’s servant become so sharp-mouthed?? Her unyielding retaliation had stunned her nonetheless.

"You.." she pointed a finger at Samantha, "you’re going to pay for what you just said to me. Wait and see, when Lord Ivan returns, I’ll make sure he’s aware of how you’ve acted towards me." Exchanging glances between Herbert and the lowly maid, she stormed off in the opposite direction.

"Mad woman." Samantha quietly uttered as she watched Ivy’s figure exit the courtyard.

When a moment to peace returned to the courtyard as if a bad cloud had just passed by, Samantha looked at her wrist where her bandage had been completely ruined. Rather than feeling concerned for her wound that was starting to bleed all over again, Samantha was more worried about the bandage - she knew how careful Lord Ivan had acted when he placed the bandages around her wrist, and now his hard work was all ruined by that mad woman.

"Let me see, you should cover this up quickly since it is not safe to bleed in a Palace filled with creatures that feast on blood." Herbert, whose steely gaze had softened upon noticing how poignant the servant looked, but as if reminded of his presence, Samantha immediately turned to him and shook her head, but she bowed her head in appreciation since Herbert held a higher position than her.

"I’ll be fine, thank you for intervening on time, I think everyone besides you and a few servants are the only normal ones left in the Palace." Samantha said with a faint smile, and Herbert shook his head slightly before taking hold of her hand so he could have a better look at her bleeding wrist.

"It’s bleeding again. It’s quite rare to see the Princess lose her cool, but how did you get hurt?"

"Just another royalty trouble." She sighed, and Herbert, who seemed to understand what she meant, quietly led her to one of the benches in the courtyard, and Samantha simply sat down. When he made an attempt to loosen the ruined bandages, Samantha had stopped him from doing so.

"Just bandage it over the top."

"Are you sure? I’m quite concerned about the weight it would hold on your wrist."

"I’m sure." Samantha nodded her head, and maybe she was a bit hesitant to let go of the bandage because it was one of those rare times Lord Ivan ever attended to her wounds with concern in his eyes.

Herbert, who could only nod at her strange request, had left and returned a minute later with a new bandage. Since Samantha has refused to take off the old one, he decided to wrap the new one over the old bandage.

"You’re not a vampire, are you?" Samantha, who was watching him with keen eyes as he attended to her wound, felt compelled to ask the stoic bodyguard.

"Indeed I’m not, but how can you tell?"

"You’re not showing any reaction to the sight of my blood, and that is not a trait vampires tend to possess." She stated conclusively, "what are you?"

"What else could I be? I’m human." He answered her rather obvious question, and for some reason, he noticed the way her big eyes widened in surprise.

"You’re human? Humans like me?!" She whispered in disbelief, and Herbert, who found her reaction to be a little cute nodded after he finished tying up her wrist.

"But if you’re human, how did you end up becoming Lord Ivan’s personal bodyguard?"

"It’s a long story, but if you’re wondering, I’m doing this because I owe Lord Ivan my loyalty and my life." He stated, to Samantha’s surprise. "I’ve been by his side for seven years, and I can confidently tell you that Lord Ivan is not someone who deserves the hate he’s getting, yes he acts out of manners atimes, he’s unforgiving and ruthless, but he is prone to be that way. The only person I knew truly loved My Lordship was the Queen Mother, but for everyone else, I don’t trust their affections, not even a tiny bit, which is why I’m hoping that I can trust yours."

He met Samantha eyes that flickered with slight hesitation at his word, whilst she looked elsewhere, and he was done bandaging her wrist. For some reason, Samantha didn’t know why his last statement hit her with a heavy pang on her chest, maybe because she doesn’t trust herself or what she might do.

"You seem to be heading somewhere before the little argument. Tell me where you’re heading, and I’ll escort you there."

At the mention of this, Samantha immediately recalled the vines she had seen and chose to share it with Herbert instead. "Yes, actually I was heading somewhere. Did you see that wall? I noticed green vines growing against it, it’s fine if you don’t believe me, I didn’t believe it either until now, but still, I wanted to check it out but got stopped by the princess. Is it okay if you escort me to have a look?"

"What you are saying sounds impossible, but I promised Lord Ivan I’d watch you till he returns, so let’s have a quick look."

They exchanged smiles before Samantha led the way. Meanwhile, a group of maidens who passed by had caught sight of the bodyguard and the female servant wandering into the lonely part of the Palace.