Chapter 99 - Last Chance

"What makes you think I should forgive him?"  Duke Kleo squeaked in disbelief while devouring the flesh in his mouth.  He repeatedly shook his head, as a form of disappointment he directed at Lyra.  Why did she ask him to forgive a criminal?  'Moreover, he is her former mistress,' he thought wryly.

"Because you have a lot of work to do."  Excuses are inappropriate and too compelling.  "I told you, didn't I?"  Shrug as naturally as possible.  "I don't want you to do and think about unimportant things."

"This is important to me!"  Sticking the tip of the knife into the meat sadistically, as if to represent it as her.  "I can't let someone who trapped me and implicated me in an incident get away with it.  His actions are not even unforgivable."

"Does it make you want to regret what happened between us?"

"I didn't say that," he shook his head in disbelief.  "I never said I regret what happened between us."

"Then why do you say that Baron Jason's actions were more than an unforgivable mortal sin?  Why can't you forget what he did?"

Silently, Duke Kleo looked very deeply at Lyra, as if to take out a shovel and dig into the bottom of her beaded eyes, finding the deepest bottom to retrieve a very precious piece of diamond, which represents honesty.

"I don't care how hard you try to defend him, I'll still execute him," he said, more firmly than before.  "I know maybe you expect me to pardon like the previous case.  But sadly not this time."

"Why not?"  She wanted to get up from the chair and then approached him, grabbed his hand, and rubbed along his jaw.  Maybe it would melt him even faster.  "Why do you distinguish two problems that have the same essence?"

"Different!"  He insisted.

"I don't understand, if someone removes one of my legs, but it makes me meet someone I love, then I have no one to blame.  Instead, I will be grateful.  But you don't, at all."  Glancing at him.  "Maybe you don't like our meeting.  Maybe you want to be in a time where we haven't met."

Her body got up, not having any more appetite.  "Yeah, I can understand that."  Her steps stopped right under a luxurious lamp.  "You used to have no blemish.  You used to be able to do whatever you wanted.  You used to be perfect without having any weaknesses.  You can kill everyone you want.  But not this time.  It was all possible because of me, because of my presence that you never wanted."

"You know very well I never had such thoughts."

She shrugged.  "I don't know, but that's what I'm seeing right now."  Turned to him.  "That you don't want me."

"Do I want to marry a girl I don't even want?"

Once again shrug.  "You have a promise to your mother.  That's the important point."  Seeing him mute, she thought she had won this debate.  "So you never really wanted me.  You only do it because you have to."

Her heartbeat seemed to have doubled after seeing Duke Kleo shoot a death glare at her, displaying darkness creeping horribly from the corner of the room, absorbed and collected on his face.  Lightning may seem to grab and destroy whatever is in front of them.

Choking, Lyra almost apologized or at least looked for another topic of discussion.  Things like this didn't occur to her, so there was no diversion she found, at all.

"Kle-Kleo," she hissed, not daring to look up.  Her face was down with her fingers moving restlessly, as restless as her endless heart.  Seeing the frozen one seemed to indicate the apocalypse had hit her life, messing everything up in the form of invisible pieces.  "W-why are you….why…"

"Once again I assure you."  He put his head forward, looking not kidding.  Remembering the jealousy that had overtaken him for weeks had only exacerbated his temper.  All this time he had given her a lot of leeways, even suppressing what he should have done just because she wanted to.

His world had been turned upside down suddenly, to the extreme, and now it seemed like he couldn't do that.  Some boundaries take place quite clearly in his life, about which principles are starting to become clear.

"I will still execute him even if you beg with blood and tears," he continued without blinking, exploding in exasperation.  "I don't care what you do to help her.  He had involved me in something dirty.  I have the right to punish him in any way, just like you."

There wasn't any conversation after that, even though Lyra tried.  Several times she tried to open the conversation, took random topics that were not important, and sometimes didn't make sense.

Maybe it's because he doesn't like the topic, or because he is adamant not to open the slightest gap for her to change his stance.  Everything seems final, absolute, irreversible.

When she got up and walked out of the dining hall, all her confidence was completely gone, replaced with a sense of loss like a coward.  "I'm going to be a murderer," she whispered, as her body exited the dining hall, meeting the maids serving her.

He returned to the study to finish some work.  Meanwhile, she went around the palace while soothing digestion.  Shortly after that, she went to her room to get ready for bed.  Makeup has been removed and clothes have been replaced with pajamas.

Her body slumped on the bed, her face buried in the pillow, her hair scattered, her eyes closed in frustration.  Several maids accompanied her at that time, like statues that kept lurking.

Turning to the other side, there was a clear and beautiful sky spread out, like a screen full of ink and diamond trinkets.  The clouds billowed, coiling up to form several recognizable objects.  Some of them evoke memories from the past, memories chasing each other.

"I miss Gery and Tiny," she whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks.  "And also Baron Jason," she continued, taken aback by the words that came out of his mouth.

Suddenly a voice startled her, making her turn her head and body.  Her eyes widened when she saw Duke Kleo standing sternly at the end of the bed, staring at her expressionlessly.

"Kleo!"  she called along with the maids who gradually came out of the room, lined up neatly like a flock of geese.  "What are you doing here?"

"Did you forget?"  Crossing his arms in front of your chest, squealing from being too irritated.  Even though it was just this afternoon that he said that they should sleep together.  "Did you forget or do you not want to remember?"

"It is not like that."  She suddenly got up, clutching his fingers pleadingly.  "I… I just forgot… really.  I have no intentions whatsoever."

No answer from him, like she never said anything.  This made her even more confused, dragging her feet to approach him, then hugging his body very tightly, hoping to have the slightest gap to seduce.  "I am not lying."

It seems he is judging, really judging.  After making sure he muttered, "Do it right if you really want to!"

And that gave her one of the clearest signs, that that night they would pass the long night together.  'Maybe this is my chance to beg him to forgive Baron Jason,' she thought.

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