The Duke's Passion

787  Lala

[ SPADE KINGDOM ]

A round of applause exploded in the theater as the audience slowly rose to their feet. From their beautifully sewed dresses to their meticulously crafted suits, one could tell each of them came from well-off houses. A mask was covering each of the audience for tonight's show, but the smile on their faces were apparent. Everyone had their eyes on the stage where a woman was posing after her enchanting dance. The performer had this bright hazel hair, the lower half of her face was covered with a veil, but her beautiful green eyes were enough to give the audience an idea of her beauty. Lilou gazed around the crowd in satisfaction. It was yet again a standing ovation. She slowly pulled her hand from the air, curtsying to return the applause, as tonight's guests were an amazing crowd. As Lilou paid attention to each row, whistles chorused with the applause began to crescendo.

The side of her lips curled up, bowing to the last row before straightening her back. She waved gracefully once again before the curtains closed before her. The moment the crowd was out of sight, her smile instantly disappeared. Lilou turned on her heel as she walked away from the stage to the people operating this entire play. "You did a good job again, Lala," said someone from the group Lilou had joined a month ago. "The audience tonight was very satisfied with your performance."

Lilou let the woman follow her to her dressing room without responding to any of the praises the latter gave. Once they were inside, Lilou sat down on the divan to rest. "Lala, do you want any beverage?" Lilou raised her head at the woman standing near her vantage point, noticing the latter's exceptionally bright smile. "Yes. Of course, you need one. You were exhausted."

Lilou just watched the woman walk over to the stand in the corner of the dressing room which had become Lilou's private room. It might be too early for Lilou to reach such success in this field, but because of her performances that had been just as popular as the usual sport in the colosseum, the group she joined had enough funds to give her such luxury. "Here you go!" the woman, in charge of Lilou's all needs, Freya, served Lilou a glass of fruit juice to freshen her up. "You've been performing for the past month without break, and everyone just wanted to see you."

"Anyone tried to meet me?" asked Lilou as she reached for the glass of juice. "That is inevitable." Freya chuckled. "The numbers of your admirers had significantly every performance. Some of them were so devoted they wanted to buy some of your stuff."

"Goodness…" Lilou gulped down, shaking her head as she leaned back. "Can people get any weirder?"

"They like you so much. Even the noble ladies, who were said to be vicious to other ladies, adore you."

'Of course,' Lilou thought, casting Freya a sidelong glance. 'I made sure they'd love me. I wouldn't be titled the most desirable woman in the Heart's for nothing.'  Two months ago, Lilou had stepped foot in the land of Spade. Her husband wanted to outright taunt Zero, which was not surprising. Samael had always faced his problems head-on, and there was only one time he actually made a plan. It wasn't like Samael's plans were bad. Matter of fact, Samael's way of planning was meticulous, thorough, and genius. However, they were mostly risky and put a lot of people in danger before he get things done.

So the person who was left in charge of their planning was Lilou and Rufus. Samael and Claude added ideas here and there. It was Claude's idea to get their own careers in this land to get to know more about this place and their way of living. Rufus and Claude set their eyes on the colosseum out of personal interest. Samael associated himself with the black market since he had no patience to become a warrior. Tilly and Law had become common citizens and were getting enough money to live in peace and follow the trend in the kingdom from Lilou, Rufus, Claude, and Samael. Lilou chose this. To become a performer. And she had a good reason for that; a reason just as good as Rufus and Claude and Samael. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Ah, right!" Lilou quirked a brow when Freya pounded the bottom of her first against her palm. "You received a letter today!"

Freya hurriedly went to one of the drawers and glided to Lilou's side. Her smile was brighter this time, handing Lilou a letter with both of her hands. Lilou immediately understood what made Freya so happy when her eyes fell on the letter.

"Lala, isn't this a seal from the royal palace?" asked Freya, as Lilou accepted the letter elegantly and slowly. She linked her hands together, watching Lilou in anticipation. "Hmm…" Lilou assessed the envelope, flipping it around to check the back of the envelope. "Maybe?"

Of course, Lilou knew this seal. She had seen it many times back when she was the Duchess of Grimsbanne. Zero used to be her pen pal, although their exchange was mostly about politics and the state of affairs. The only reason she was feigning ignorance was that she wasn't as elated as Freya; at least, she wasn't elated for the same reason as Freya. As Lilou opened the letter, she glanced at Freya.

"Ah, right?" Freya cleared her throat, creating a distance from Lilou so she wouldn't be able to peek at the letter. She could only watch Lilou open the letter carefully, waiting for good news with bated breaths. Getting even the slightest attention from the royal palace was big for the entire crew. Hence, Freya was silently praying for good news. When she saw the corner of Lilou's lips curl up, her eyes lit up. "So?" Freya inquired when Lilou leaned back. "What did it say?"

Lilou kept her smile and looked back at Freya, clipping the letter in between her middle finger and index to Freya. "It's an invitation," said Lilou while Freya accepted it, watching the latter lift her dilated eyes back to her. "His Majesty wants to invite me to the royal banquet he would host."

"Really?!" Freya gasped in excitement, reading the letter immediately to confirm Lilou's news. "Oh, my goodness! This is big and will bring honor to everyone one of us."

  "Indeed." Lilou smiled as she looked away, eyes glinting with malice. "This is, indeed, big, and will bring honor to all of us."