The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 190: A Lone Wolf

Chapter 190: A Lone Wolf

Watching Elijah’s retreating figure disappear into the darkness, Elian couldn’t accept the fact that his deceitful brother visited the palace occasionally for Cas’s sake alone. He knew this because Elijah’s presence signaled trouble wherever he went, and if possible by the end of tomorrow night when they meet again, Elijah would be long gone for him to no longer worry about his intentions.

Getting Elijah out of the way is the only possible option he could come up with to reach the monster who ruined his life and that of Elijah’s. If they hadn’t been abducted all those miserable years ago and turned into the freaks they were today, maybe life would have been different for the both of them, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to cut ties with his family and build an uncanny hatred for his own blood brother.

That monster! The vampire behind everything, he’s the cause of everything!! But finding him was the problem since he never comes out and gets all sorts of Fiends and minions like Elijah to do his dirty work.

All the Fiends he’s caught so far refused to reveal the location of his hideout and Elijah, Elijah would never tell.

If it wasn’t for his pet bird who keeps receiving the wrong letters from strangers, he never would have known about Cassian and Madeline, and the reason he chose to come find them was because the letter he received was adamant on figuring out what blacksmith made the twin blade.

He practically used the letter to his advantage.

Taking in a deep concentrated breath and pulling his thoughts together, Elian’s silent footsteps led him to another narrow dim corridor of the dungeon, the two dead bodies resting on each side of his shoulders as he followed the secret route he was still very much familiar with in the palace.

Just as he planned, he discarded the bodies before the soul of a Fiend takes over. He felt relieved to know Madeline and Cassian were able to escape before dawn. With their journey to Whitebrige city’s capital, he hoped luck would find them there, and Madeline’s relatives would recognize her the minute they saw her.

Stepping out of the palace courtyard, Elian’s gaze caught a glimpse of Inna who was sitting close to the small pond not too far from the trimmed carpeted grasses. As he silently approached her, he noticed Inna tossing pebbles into the still water of the pond, the brightness of the day making her face appear more vulnerable and.....

"Pretty?" He uttered the last one out loud while tilting his head to the side, silently wondering if he had the right to think of her in that manner.

The sound of the tiny ripples spreading across the surface was mesmerizing, and he took notice of the rhythmic sound it made each time each pebble was tossed into the water, generating a unique musical tune that left him genuinely impressed.

He didn’t know she was into music.

Unaware of how his attention had been grabbed, he watched her in silence for a moment, thinking of the best way to approach her without striking the angry chord in her system, but before he could take his plans into action, Orson beat him to it as he joined Inna by the pond, taking his seat beside her, and Elian’s feet instantly glued themselves to the ground.

"Hey, what are you doing here by yourself?" Elian could hear Orson ask the minute he sat down to watch the rippling waters with Inna, and the young lady stopped.

Inna looked at Orson, a small smile gracing her lips as she looked back at the pond again. "I could ask you the same thing, why are you here?"

Orson shrugged, "well, the execution ended the way we hoped for, Maddie and Cas were able to leave on time." He sighed, "I was taking a walk actually, then I saw you sitting all by yourself, and I thought, why not join Cas’s female version so I don’t miss the real Cas." He joked, but Inna rolled her eyes at his statement before pressing her lips into a thin line and heaving out in relief.

"I’ve been feeling a bit down today, that’s all." She remembered the words of the women and tried to shake off the irritation it brought to her skin. If only Isabella didn’t get in her way.

"What’s on your mind?"

"So many things." She answered with a soft, weak laughter. "The situation is just overwhelming for me, it’s like I can’t get a moment of peace even if I want to. My brother won’t get executed today, I won’t see him die, but I am still worried."

Orson nodded, understanding exactly what she felt, and he patted the top of her head lovingly. "I know what you mean, it’s hard to balance everything sometimes. But remember, you don’t have to do it alone, I can be annoying, I agree, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here for you."

Inna looked up at him again, her eyes brightening. "Thank you, that means a lot."

Orson smiled at her, feeling his heart swell with warmth. They sat together for a while, watching the pond and talking about everything and nothing, genuinely enjoying each other’s company.

Elian, who had been watching silently and unintentionally listening to their conversation, felt something within the left side of his chest clenched tightly, almost painfully as though a part of him had been shattered from the inside, yet he couldn’t make out what.

What he knew presently was that he didn’t like seeing those two together.

The way she laughed and smiled when she was with Orson differed from the way she treated him, and now, she probably hates him since she still suspects he has something to do with her brother’s predicament. Although connected, his hands were clean, but her distrust won’t let her see the truth in his words.

’I’ll try my best to keep myself out of your hair’ this was the promise he made during their last argument, so what was he thinking trying to go over to her in the first place?

He shook his head, finding it crazy how much he was dealing with his inner turmoil. He didn’t like this feeling.

"Fuck it!" He cursed and walked in another direction, hoping to clear his head and knock some senses into his brain.

The moment he left, Inna suddenly looked back as though she had sensed a presence there, cutting her conversation with Orson short as he noticed how quickly she looked over her shoulders, like she was expecting to see someone.

"Is something wrong? Are you looking for someone?" He asked, and Inna looked at him before shaking her head slightly.

"No, it’s just.... I haven’t seen Elian today, have you seen him? I mean, did he come for the execution?" She asked, suddenly taking note of Elian’s absence.

"The courtyard was occupied, if he came or not, I can’t tell." Orson shrugged, "that Vampire likes to keep to himself anyway, he reminds me of a lone wolf."