The Duke's Passion



868 His end

"How concerning" Lilou sighed, already aware of the other's realization even before they were uttered. 'Sam always disliked family" - this was already proven during their long time in the

Heart's Kingdom.

No matter how detestable the members of the La Crox clan, Samael never found joy in fighting them. The only reason he did this in the past was that he had no other choice.

"I guess that is what Lady Tilly wants him to overcome." Lilou cast Fabian a look at the latter's remarks. "If I remember correctly, Lady Tilly mentioned something about the curse of the Grimsbanne. Although there weren't any clear details about it, it surely has something to do with the family"

Fabian's squinting eyes slowly cracked open. "With the master's reluctance to fight his family. even for a good reason, puts everyone at risk. After all, if there was anyone in us who could stop us when we couldn't do it ourselves, that would be the Master."

Silence descended upon their shoulders. With Fabian's theory, Tilly's initiation for a spar made a lot more sense. They set their attention to the ridiculous duel and watched everything in silence, wanting to see the end of it.

The spar ended just like how everyone expected it; no one won or lost. After hours of playing cat-and-mouse, Tilly and Samael were utterly exhausted. They both lay flat on the training ground, catching up to their breathing.

Their audience - Lilou, Law, Sunny, Ramin, Charlotte, and Fabian - had to set up an outdoor dinner. The outcome of the long spar between the two didn't surprise them, giving both of them food to enjoy after an exhausting day.

Samael didn't have a good mood, berating Tilly for her fighting style. Meanwhile, Tilly was too tired to talk. All she did was chew her food like a cow, and when she gained a little bit of strength, she challenged him again for the next day.

This time, Samael warned her, he wouldn't hold back anymore.

And just like that, they set their second day of sparring over dinner.

Little did everyone know, today was only the first among the countless baffling sparring between Samael and Tilly.

Samael didn't spar with anyone else after his first spar with Tilly. He was dead set on having a proper duel with her, but. Tilly was just too ridiculous. Everyone in the mansion had already gotten used to the two and even lost interest in their sparring sessions, as they knew it would be just a repeat of the previous duel.

But even though the sparring was ridiculous and Samael never got to see Tilly's true skills, his body, mind, and soul adjusted to the unspoken lessons she was teaching him. Ile wasn't conscious about it; he was subconsciously learning.

Unfortunately, Samael only realized that seconds before his doom.

[PRESENT TIME]

Samael held his breath, watching the gigantic knuckle going straight in his direction with wide eyes. Right then and there, he realized this would be his grave. There was no way he would survive this attack.

'Lilou, Law, Sunny...' His heart sank when the faces of his family flashed before his eyes. Samacl clenched his teeth, welcoming the attack without shutting his eyes closed. If only he could move even a bit and dodge this attack; if only his body would listen to him, Samacl could find ways to escape this crisis. But alas, he could barely roll over.

That was all the strength he could muster. Even if he was certain he could regain a bit of strength if he rested for at least five minutes, that time frame was too long in this situation. This demon wouldn't wait for him to recover; this demon wasn't a generous lad.

The demon waited for the day of his resurrection; the day he would reclaim its freedom. There was no way it would give anyone a chance to sabotage its plans.

"This is it... For some reason, Samael's shoulder relaxed as the massive fist was a second away from him. ...this is pathetic. Lilou... my love, I might not be able to reunite with you. Please take care of the children.

Samacl slowly closed his eyes, accepting his death. Although this didn't bring peace in him at all, knowing his family would be in danger, he didn't have any choice. He accepted this was already his time, and he could only hope his family would manage to get away with the help of everyone.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

BOOOGSH!!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

*********

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Spade Kingdom.

"Ahhh!!!" Lilou knocked down the last undead in the area. Many undead were on the ground, unconscious.

Lilou huffed, swinging her scythe, Lakresha to the side. She then scanned her surrounding, a little satisfied that she managed to clear the area all on her own.

"This is still far too small, Lilou," she told herself, reminding herself she shouldn't be complacent. "You need to clear everything on the way. That would help Rufus focus on his task."

Lilou rocked her head, letting another sharp huff. Without wasting a second, she marched away to another town until she meet up with Rufus. It would be better if the Divine Order had already arrived. That would make things a lot easier.

But just as Lilou took a step forward, her heart thudded against her chest. She froze on the spot, placing a hand on her chest. Lilou slowly clasped her chest, feeling this inexplicable pain piercing through her chest. She couldn't understand this sudden pain and restlessness, but what she was certain was this feeling was not pleasant.

Lilou looked back with her hand still clasping her chest. 'Sam..." she whispered.

She didn't know the source of this gut feeling, but for some reason, she could feel it had

something to do with her husband.

This intense feeling did not only strike Lilou, but a certain man as well.

Rufus.

****

[Somewhere in the Spade Kingdom ]

The blinding light that had struck a small town faded, revealing the unconscious undead on the ground. Rufus, who cleansed the entire area, planted his hand on his chest. I lis brows knitted,

looking heavenward.

"Master," he whispered.

用"

Sund Gift