Chapter 48 - Weak And Almost Dead

"I don't want you to use her to attack me in the future.  Therefore I should kill her so that there is no significant threat in the future."

Marquess Helmut raised his eyebrows, glancing at the furthest end of the Wereal as if digging for something.  The sun's rays stung his honey-like skin, casting shadows on his beautiful body.  "Though I thought you could trust me just this once, Cousin," he said somewhat regretfully.  "I like her, especially when she is so experienced in bed.  You won't understand because you don't have a single girl in your life."  His shoulders twitched.  "But if that's your decision then just do it.  I can find other girls out there."

His ships swayed, falling gently on the horse's back.  His royal clothes fluttered in the wind, blending with the scent of a hot day.  Before he left, his eyes briefly roamed the Wereal again until they completely left after jerking the horse's reins, out through the closed gate behind his back.

Several guards and spies quickly caught up with him, aligning their positions after stopping at a quiet and safe spot.

"Keep reconnaissance!"  he ordered his hired spies.  "I knew that girl would never be executed.  Report every slightest development."  His soft hands immediately jerked the horse's reins back, leaving the spies nodding obediently as they turned to take another look at the Wereal.

A guard approached him, filling the air with the hooves of the horse he was riding.  "My Lord, why do you insist that girl will not be executed?  Didn't Lord Kleo already say he would kill her?  After all, she was dragged into prison by the guards earlier."

Marquess Helmut's back swayed as he shook lightly, his eyes narrowed against the scorching sun, directing the horse away from the settlement in front of him.  "A prisoner cannot possibly have a personal maid and also an expensive and luxurious dress on her body.  Now, do you understand?"

Marquess Helmut's bodyguards instantly widened their eyes, realizing Duke Kleo's first carelessness.

"Besides, I can see another look in his eyes when he looks at her.  A duke who always executes a woman who accidentally touches him suddenly keeps a girl in his palace," continued Marquess Helmut.  "That should have been a strange thing," he muttered again.  "I will find the answer.  I'll find out how far their relationship goes."

"What if it turns out that they do have a special relationship, My Lord?"

"Then I'll do something extreme," replied Marquess Helmut, grinning happily.

…

Ella and Gena trembled when they saw Lyra being dragged away by two guards in Wereal.  They gossiped as Duke Kleo's screams echoed around them, dropping a mandate.  All they remembered was that the two guards at the door suddenly entered the hall, then came out dragging Lyra in their arms, dragging their beautiful and graceful lady.

"What are you doing?  Why did you drag Miss Lyra?"  Ella asked, both surprised and confused.  Her hands tried to free Lyra's slender arms from the guards' grasp but to no avail.

Gena stumbled a few times while trying to join the mess.  "You will be punished by His Grace!  Let go of Miss Lyra!  Did you hear me!"  A useless threat, even more, useless than the most useless thing.

Their footsteps seemed to fill the entire Wereal, as several bends of the prison passages began to be seen from a distance.  Lyra screamed as she cried, her feet kicked in empty air, her expression heart-wrenching.

It became a spectacle for many people, leading them to start creating various interesting and dirty speculations.

"Please let me go!  I beg, please!"  Lyra screamed, wide-eyed in terror as the flames of the torches began to fill her vision.  Her body and legs had stumbled between the stone steps, giving various scratches and wounds that were quite a lot.

Even if she was to be imprisoned and executed, did she deserve to be treated like that?

Her body was thrown into the dungeon, accompanied by the door of the bar being closed and locked.  The gloomy and damp conditions surrounded her from all sides, fading the color of her bright and beautiful dress.  The musty smell tormented her nostrils, the insufficient ventilation stifled her breath.

"We are only carrying out His Grace's orders, Lady.  Forgive us."  Then the two guards left while dragging Ella and Gena along, leaving Lyra alone with several prison guards in the distance.

Crawling, Lyra tried to open the prison door, pressing a few inches of her face for help.  "Get me out! Please!  Let me talk to Duke Kleo!  I beg!  Ella!  Gena!  Don't leave me!"  She burst into tears, spilled, and flowed, drowning out her voice that now sounded like a whisper, "I'm scared."

Her shoulders shook, she fell and curled up on the cold and damp prison floor, as if stabbing her to the bone.  Her blonde hair scattered pathetically, a stinging sensation spread throughout her body, especially around her legs. Crawling once again, her body stopped at a light source, finding several long, bloody lacerations.  Her eyes were tightly shut, dropping her hips on the floor while squeezing her head.

"I'm going to be executed," she whispered hoarsely.  "What did I do wrong?"

Meanwhile, Duke Kleo turned his back upon seeing the Wereal gates closed, indirectly sending Marquess Helmut away.  His eyes were fierce like those of a wild animal, his lips pursed in a fury, his hands clenched into fists ready to punch anything.

"I can find another girl out there," he growled following his cousin's words a moment ago.  "I can find another girl out there?"  he repeated as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.  "He doesn't even care about her, but why would she want to be his mistress instead of being my wife?  Is she crazy?  What's on her mind?"

From a distance, Ella and Gena seemed to be rushing towards him, with expressions of panic and helplessness.  Their skirts flashed and were almost pulled back, Gena even nearly fell a few times because of her messed up the balance.  Ella was the first to successfully stand before him, bowing while trembling.

They were the kind of servants who were very afraid of him.  This kind of reckless and irresponsible attitude is certainly for very strong reasons, even though he knows what their reasons are.

"My Lord!"  whispered Ella, both trembling and choking.  All the blood in her body seemed to have evaporated causing her skin to turn pale.  "Miss Lyra is imprisoned.  Shouldn't you be doing something?"

Gena hit Ella's back hard enough to make them stagger at the same time, though they managed to get back on their feet.

"My Lord, Miss Lyra has been imprisoned.  There must be a mistake!  You can't imprison her when you two enjoy each other's bodies."  Now it was Gena who spoke, panting and stammering.  As usual, she was too stupid to sift through what she said.  "You guys even moan rapidly, you 'hit' her  like a turbo."  That's overkill, it seems.  "So there's no way you could imprison Miss Lyra right?  You two seem to like each other."

"She likes another man," Duke Kleo replied, snapping Ella and Gena in an instant, at his unexpected response, as well as his willingness to answer them.  Never had this happened, Duke Kleo had never spoken to them.  This is like a dream.

"She likes other men, not even just one," he continued.  "So why do I keep her by my side?  I'd better just execute her."  His steps raced with the scorching wind, dragging his back, which was as strong and stiff as wood.  Anger had taken over his entire head, even causing him to explode so horribly.

The shadows of his body were like spouting fire, ready to scorch anything.

"But Miss Lyra likes you too, My Lord!"  Ella screamed with difficulty, struggling to walk because of Lyra's death sentence.  "She likes you!"

Duke Kleo's steps came to a sudden halt, his eyes shaking while his fists clenched tightly.

"Yes, My Lord!"  continued Gena, carrying Ella.  "And even her feet hurt from being scratched by the stone steps."  That is not important.  "Now Miss Lyra is crying in prison.  She must have been scared and confused.  Please save her, My Lord, she needs you."

"Need me?"  squeaked Duke Cleo.  "She needs her mistresses Helmut, Jason, and the others.  Let her mistress save him. She deserves it."  His feet stepped again, wanting to ignore the requests of his servants.

But once again he stopped when he saw Mr. Bertus and Stefanus standing not far from him.  The butler showed him a hair accessory that was broken in half, shattered miserably.  It was the gift he gave to Lyra, the one she had worn earlier.

"I found this, My Lord," muttered Mr. Bertus handing over the broken hair accessories.

"I can't imagine how Miss Lyra is currently in prison.  Seeing these shattered hair accessories, maybe her body also got a lot of injuries," commented Stefanus.  "Maybe she's dying in prison, bleeding out, and dying, and dying, and…. dying."

Duke Kleo suddenly glared at him, imagining Lyra in pain and weak from dying.

***