The Duke's Passion

811  No way...

[ Spade Kingdom ]

Lilou stood on top of the tallest church in the heart of the capital, looking over the land. Her crimson eyes shone as her heart thudded, seeing how terrible the occurrence outside the royal palace was. It was not like Lilou didn't expect this to happen. Matter of fact, she knew it would be bad for the people of Spade. However, she didn't expect it to be this bad. It was the worst. "Zero…" she clenched her teeth, grinding them in anger. "... you are no king."

A king's duty was to protect his people. It was the reason Samael abdicated his throne to live a normal life with his family. Samael might be capable if he wanted to and could be a sage ruler. However, governing a nation wasn't his heart's true desire. Samael was selfish, and he knew that. Everyone does. That was the reason he couldn't live a life ruling a king or an empire. He couldn't put his people's interest before his own, and there was no way in hell would he ever choose duty over his family. Forcing him into this duty was not only unfair to him but also the people. But Zero… Zero seemed to have a different understanding of what a king was. Instead of protecting his people and their lands, he sacrificed all these people to gain more power. It might sound hypocritical that these feelings were swelling up in Lilou's chest, knowing they were technically this kingdom's enemies. However, she couldn't stomach it. Even the vilest of the most wicked named Samael would never stomach this atrocity.

"Rufus…" she called under her breath, stretching her neck from one side to the other. It took a minute before Rufus's voice came through her head.

"Acheron," was all Rufus said, but Lilou understood all the unspoken remarks Rufus didn't say. Rufus was currently battling Acheron Roseberg, a member of the seance and also, the man who pledged to serve Zero for the rest of his life. This man was dangerous; Lilou knew that because she was the one who had slayed him in the past. Acheron Roseberg was aware that what Zero was doing or what he was planning to do was wrong. However, because he was a loyal knight of Zero, he would still abide by every order. He wasn't called Zero's terrifying hellhound for no reason. "The people…" Lilou breathed out, only to hear him reply calmly.

"I knocked them unconscious. However, I don't think that will stop them once they regained consciousness. My lady, this hell's gate is dangerous. The longer we are here, the smaller our chances of leaving this place are getting small. My sword reassures that."

Her expression turned more solemn, already aware of that. This was the first time Lilou was inside such power, but she knew there was something more in this place. Lilou wasn't sure what it was exactly, but she was certain there was more to this hell's gate that they hadn't figured out yet. "Keep Acheron busy," she mumbled, knowing she couldn't disturb Rufus any longer until his battle with Acheron ended. Hence, she cut her link with Rufus so he could focus and tried to reach for Claude. "Ugh…" Claude's grunt was the first sound she heard in her mind. "Claude, are you alright?" Lilou panicked slightly, knowing Claude was in a different place.

"I'm not." His breathy and exhausted voice caused her to look around in a hurry, ready to come to his rescue if he was ever injured gravely. "How can I be fine when I miss you so damn much?"

Lilou's expression instantly died. "Claude."

"Haha. Auntie Lilove, did you kill this guy named Tristan Willow in the past?" he asked, distracting her from his previous teasing. "He sure is a troublesome lad to fight."

"No. I captured him once, but after that, Zero just kept him somewhere safe." A light huff slipped past her lips. "He had a troublesome ability to blend in the shadow."

"Goodness. No wonder he just keeps appearing out of nowhere —" his voice suddenly cut off, and Lilou was certain he had suddenly engaged in a battle. "I guess he's fine." Lilou shook her head mildly, heaving a sigh of relief. Knowing Rufus and Claude were holding their ground was good enough for her. However, she couldn't ask for their help right now, since they were busy. She tried reaching out to Tilly, but to no avail, which was not surprising. "Tilly," she called under her breath, knowing Tilly was someone who wouldn't respond but listen. "Zero created clones of himself. Even though they were clones, they were still capable. Sam is battling with one or two. We need to find the original body of Zero and destroy it."

There was just nothing but silence that followed her remarks, making Lilou let out a sigh. "If you are done, help me find it. I don't think I can find him with just myself. It's better if others were looking for his body," she added, stressing each word so that Tilly would understand it clearly.

But just as Lilou was about to cut her link with Tilly and go on to search for Zero's original body, Tilly's monotonous tone suddenly came into her head. "He is not here," said Tilly calmly. "Quentin's original body is not in this place, Lilou."

"What?" Tilly didn't respond anymore, leaving Lilou with a myriad of question marks on her head. If Zero's original body wasn't in the Spade kingdom, then where was it? Her eyes slightly dilated at a realization that dawned on her. Mainland.

Zero was connected to the mainland. To protect his original body, there was only one place he would keep it safe in case Lilou and Samael figured out he had created clones. Still, another question rose in her head. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

If Zero's original body wasn't in the Spade Kingdom, then how could he unleash such destructive power like Hell's Gate? Lilou pondered about it for minutes before holding her breath and setting her eyes on the plaza. "No way…"