After holding the woman in his arms for a while, Mikel noticed that her body was slightly limp and when he peered closer, he saw that she had already fallen asleep.
He chuckled softly and brushed the loose silver strands on her face. "How are you able to fall asleep so easily? That too while standing?"
Sleep was something that often eluded him, so he was mesmerized by her peaceful innocent sleeping face.
He picked her up gently and walked over to his bed to put her to sleep properly, covering her with a blanket and tucking the sides in.
He saw that her eyebrows were slightly crinkled and knitted together, which made him place a small peck in between her eyes.
This unexpectedly relaxed her worried brows and made the woman smile a little. Mikel couldn't help but watch her with a dazed expression.
Being a part of the royal family, he had seen his fair share of beautiful women, but the girl in front of him was different. She had an allure and a charisma that was beyond reason and logic.
As he stared unblinkingly at her, an orange hue crept up on her face. The early dawn orange rays of sunlight were beginning to seep in through the curtains.
Was it already so late? Mikel shook his head helplessly. It looked like the two of them had ended up spending a sleepless night together.
He stood up to close the curtains on the windows, once again letting darkness prevail in the room, and then silently walked out.
He looked back at her for a few seconds before he closed the door, carefully and quietly.
Now that he had ruined her, he didn't know for how long she might be able to spend peaceful nights like this, so he just let her be.
Mikel walked down the stairs with a heavy heart, unable to shake off a feeling that he had done something terribly wrong.
He knew that it was selfish of him to drag her into his hell, but he was unable to restrain himself and now that he had gone and done it, all that he wanted to do was undo it.
As Mikel silently walked out to the courtyard, his mind a million miles away, suddenly an amused voice sounded behind him, jolting him back to reality.
"So... what happened? Did something change?"
His eyes immediately turned cold and frosty, and the warmth and love within them completely vanished as if they had never existed in the first place.
Mikel turned to Leol with an indifferent expression and his lips twisted. "Nothing will ever change."
He then coldly sat down, Jane soon appearing near him and serving him some tea and breakfast.
Leol saw his serious face and could only helplessly sigh and join him.
He had hoped that something might change because of Sylvia but it looked like even she was not enough to erase the hatred that had seeped inside Mikel's heart.
The dead had already found peace. However, the living still carried the burden. Such was the unfairness of the world.
As the two silently ate their breakfast, no one uttering a single word, Mikel finally cleared his throat and mumbled. "I told her everything."
Huh? Leol looked up in confusion. "What did you say?"
"I said I told her everything." Mikel finished the tea in the cup and placed it back onto the table, before pouring some more for himself.
His hands were calm and steady unlike Leol's which were currently shaking. "You are joking, right?"
"..."
"Please tell me you are joking?" Leol banged the cup and saucer on the table and stood up, the porcelain breaking apart and shattering into smaller pieces, making a mess on the floor.
However, Mikel only coldly reprimanded him. "Stop being dramatic."
Leol's eyes widened and the usually calm and composed man now looked like he was about to go crazy. He couldn't even bring himself to say anything.
Seeing the two of them locked in a weird stance, Theodore who strolled over towards them asked curiously. "What happened?"
"WHAT HAPPENED?"
"What more needs to happen?"
"Ask this damned lunatic!!!" Leol shouted in exasperation. "If you find the girl pretty, just fuck her for god's sake! What the hell are you doing messing around like this? Don't you know what's at stake?"
Leol's voice rose as he spoke, compelling Theodore to give him a hard look. "Can't you answer properly?"
"Damn it." Leol picked up a wooden chair and threw it, smashing it against a wall nearby. "Ask him yourself!" He shouted with a craze and sat back down, still blazing hot.
Mikel who was still calmly sitting as if nothing had happened, simply shook his head. He then slowly muttered looking at Theodore. "I told Sylvia about everything."
Hmmm? Theodore's eyes as well widened in surprise, his brows rising upwards. But before he could say anything, Mikel added. "I trust her."
He then placed his teacup down and stood up. "Even if she betrays me, who is going to believe someone like her." However, his words were not fooling anyone.
Theodore inhaled deeply and leaned back on the chair. "You really like her, don't you?"
"I do," Mikel replied to him as he turned around to walk away. "I intend to marry her."
"Heh? Is that so? Then did you tell her about everything?" Leol sneered which made Mikel pause his footsteps.
Seeing that he was standing speechless, Leol further taunted him, "Did you tell her about how she is not even a human being?"
"What are you trying to say?" Mikel snapped to look at him, his obsidian orbs staring him down.
"You know what I'm trying to say." Leol ran his fingers through his hair and continued, not intimidated by Mikel's anger. "Tell her Mikel. Why don't you truly tell her everything?"
"She doesn't need to know that." Mikel hummed.
"Or... maybe you are afraid of what she is really? Heh. Are you afraid, Mikel? Afraid of the beast within her?"
"Shut up," Mikel growled, stopping him from saying anything more.
"Don't yell at me. I am just making you face the reality. Don't you know what will happen if she gets found out? And now... as if this is not enough... you even told her the things that should have remained a secret."
"There is really no justification for what you have done. How many weeks have you even known her for? And you already trust her this much?"
"Forget about her. Let's say that we can indeed trust her, but what if she gets captured? Don't you know what they do to the beast clan members who get captured?"
"They will open her brain apart, inch by inch. They will dissect her and learn everything about her including us." Leol chuckled coldly and continued.
"So did you not think about this or is she somehow more important to you than what you are living for?"
"Hey don't mistake me. I don't have a problem with either."
"But damn it, just make a decision and let me know because what you are doing right now will only end up as another tragedy."
Leol placed his hands inside the pockets of his trousers and walked away.
He was far too agitated to continue this conversation any longer and decided to walk away.
Mikel as well silently let him go and did not say anything else. He knew and understood why Leol was so furious and frustrated, so he let him vent freely.
In all honesty, Mikel found himself agreeing with Leol on certain things and was perplexed at his own behavior.
Until yesterday, he didn't plan on letting her so close to him, let alone revealing everything to her, but he couldn't stop himself.
After Leol left, Theodore walked up to the man who was still standing frozen and silently patted him. "Don't mind him. That idiot is only worried about you."
"I know." Mikel nodded and sighed.
"So are we heading to the royal castle now?" Theo asked, changing the topic.
"Yes... In a little while..." Mikel blankly replied. "She is sleeping."
"Alright. I will get everything ready then."
After the knight walked away, Mikel as well stepped out of the courtyard and strolled to the library tower.
He fished out a set of keys from his spatial ring and opened a small door at the far corner of the library hall.
Inside this small room, there were no windows or openings. There was only one table and one chair and a single lantern.
Mikel muttered a few words to make the fire inside the lantern roar back to life and then his eyes gazed at the messily sprawled parchments on the table.
Surprisingly, there was even a book that looked similar to the Grimoire that Mikel had taken from Nicolas, one of his half-brothers.
This was obviously a copy as the real one rested safe and secure within the royal palace.
Mikel couldn't help but remember the petrified expression on the girl's face when he had used her as a target dummy in exchange for this same Grimoire.
His lips curving upwards, he wondered if she still held a grudge against him for the several things he had put her through.
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