The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 76: Hate?

Chapter 76: Hate?

Malika scrubbed the delicate fabric of the expensive dress with soap and water as she washed it thoroughly, earning a thick soapy lather.

She had changed out of the expensive emerald gown lord Zamiel had given to her, since she felt slightly uncomfortable wearing it around, especially when the maids would look at her with those side eyes and elicit unpleasing whispers amongst themselves.

Being fragile and innocent in a cruel world were there was constant fight for a higher hierarchy, she felt attacked given a dress by a vampire lord and she didn’t like the attention she was getting either, so she took a resort to give back the dress in the same condition he had given her, after changing into a befitting maid outfit.

Moreover, after hearing from lord Damien that the beautiful dress belonged to their sister, whom was presumably dead, her conscience pricked her to get out of it, making her feel even more uncomfortable as guilt overwhelmed her that she could be reminding them of their dead sister if they ever caught sight of her in the dress.

She let the dress dry under the bask of the sunlight as she spread it out on the wire, while carrying out other menial tasks in the castle.

She was assigned to take care of the garden at noon, so she proceeded with her work.

Tending to the garden was her favourite task yet, as a maid. It was a serene sight to drink in as it accommodated exquisite and ravishing flowers, leaving her dazed with their impeccable beauty everytime.

She hummed softly as she trimmed off the weeds sprouting out of the ground in the midst of the beautiful flowers. Her humming abruptly stopped when a stray thought fleeted across her head.

Her mood threatened to change, but she quickly shoved it aside as she flooded her head with happy memories, but those memories soon turned nostalgic, making her amber eyes glisten with unshed tears as she sniffed.

She was finally done tending to the plants, but it wasn’t night time yet, so she could rest for a while before feeding the wolves.

Oddly, even to her, the daily task of feeding the wolves wasn’t such a hassle, as the wolves were constantly locked in their cage during feeding, although she had heard the wolves were let loose to roam around the castle during midnight.

Although, she still had a tinge of fear whenever she looked into their bloodcurdling gaze, she comforted herself with the thought that it was caged and moreover, unlike the other maids whom were given different shifts to feed them, they had never tried attacking her or even growl at her, as they had nitpicked often.

By the time she was done tending to the garden, the dress had dried up and looked as good as new. She gathered it up in her small hands and folded it neatly as she proceeded to give it back.

She strode through the corridors, clutching the dress tightly in her hold with bated breath as she forcefully gulped down her anxiety that threatened to engulf her the closer she got to lord Zamiel’s chamber.

As much as she didn’t want to come across him again because of his intimidating demeanor, she didn’t want to keep the dress with her since it didn’t belong to her, so she’d give it back despite the warning bells ringing in her head.

She let out a deep sigh when she arrived in front of his door, she slightly hesitated before knocking, but there was no reply coming from within. She knocked louder again, making it echo in the hallway, but there was still no reply which wasn’t fully unanticipated as he was a vampire lord, so maybe he was busy.

She wanted to veer around and retreat, but she figured it was better to leave it there when he was absent than running into his intimidating sight.

She gulped softly before pushing the door open as she emerged into the room.

The room was empty with no sign of him in it, but still his dark presence still lingered heavily as it trailed with the soft wind.

She quickly scurried toward the bed and placed the neatly folded dress atop it, before veering around to leave.

"Ahh!"

A loud yelp subconsciously rolled off her lips, as crimson soul sucking eyes pierced right into hers the instant she turned around to leave.

Her palm flew to her mouth to prevent a scream from erupting and she swallowed it back before regaining her composure.

"Lord Zamiel." She breathed out in a faint whisper as she lowered her head in respect before lifting it up. She wondered where he appeared from, but she prayed inwardly he wouldn’t punish her for sneaking into his room.

He could hear her heart thumping hard against her ribcage in fright, until it slowly dwindled. Her lashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she fiddled with her dress nervously.

It was obvious how his dark, domineering presence intimidated the innocent girl in front of him, she was like a fragile flower in the midst of a brewing storm, the storm hadn’t ensued yet, but the flower was already flailing fiercely.

His gaze flickered at the dress on the bed before it dropped on her with a slightly arced brow skeptically.

"Uh...I-I came to return the d-dress, but I thought you weren’t in your chamber, so I..." She trailed off, biting down on her lower lip as her eyes darted around on the marble floor. His silence only made her more agitated as it intensified.

She frantically tucked a strand of golden ringlet behind her ear nervously.

Her subtle innocence and alluring charms seemed to stir his dark sides and provoke the demon within him, threatening to break loose and taint her innocence, devour her body and soul, he wanted to do wicked, bestial things to her, but his rational mind shoved his bestial thoughts aside, concealing his demon beneath a mask.

"What’s the point of returning it when I don’t wear dresses?" He queried sarcastically, but his stoic countenance didn’t falter as he peered his empty gaze at her.

She opened and closed her mouth hesitantly before speaking.

"I’m sorry my lord, I returned it because it’s not mine and it belongs to a lady of noble class, I shouldn’t be privileged to be clad in the same dress as her." Malika said in a low voice, keeping her gaze down.

"That noble lady has been rotting, I’m sure she won’t mind and it’s just a dress, since you’re done returning it, you can leave." Zamiel remarked in a dry tone, eager to get her out of his sight, because one more inhale of her rosy, womanly scent could deter the rationality of his mind.

She nodded meekly and moved past him, as she approached the door, but then at that moment, a wave of confidence hit her from the burning anger that she had tried to suppress, making her halt abruptly before veering around mechanically.

"Why do you hate me so much?" She suddenly blurted out, maintaining her gaze firmly with his, despite the rule she was given against making eye contact with a vampire lord.

His brows creased in an unfathomable way, which she couldn’t discern if he was perplexed by her abrupt choice of words or her impulsive confidence.

"Hate? I don’t care about you enough to hate you." He replied lazily in a halfhearted tone.

"But you cared enough to compel me." She stated with an unwavering voice, her anger intensifying the more he acted nonchalant. She hated the fact that he had tried to compel her and she hated it more that he tried to make her hate him.

She was oblivious of the reason his compulsion had failed to work, but at that moment, she wished it had worked, so she could hate him freely and relieve herself of the burden knowing she would one day be with him like the orb had displayed, unless it was only an hallucination which she doubted.

Meanwhile, Zamiel was a bit taken aback by her words, for a split moment his stoic expression turned into a confused one.

It was impossible for the compulsion to fail unless the person had a powerful mental strength, and seeing her as a fragile flower, he didn’t expect her willpower to be that strong and unshakeable by his compulsion, but how wrong had he been. It seemed the fragile flower might have weak petals, but her roots were quite strong after all.

He moved toward her with slow, daunting steps like a predator watching its prey, until he was standing barely an inch away from her, as she felt the heat emanating from his body.

"Then, would you want this instead?" His voice came out in a low growl whisking beneath his breath as he leaned his face against hers, his cold lips brushing the tip of her already reddened ear.

She swallowed frantically as she felt her cheeks flush red hot with a tinge of red crawling over her fair porcelain skin, she felt her body tingle with an alien sensation that left a lump stuck in her throat.

In the midst of their charged interaction, a tension-filled moment hung in the air, laden with unspoken desires and hidden intentions.