Lord Renfield

"A-Achoo! I feel like someone is calling my name arbitrarily."

"You're always like that, Lord Renfield."

"Well, it's hard work being the Duchess's assistant. I thought I would only have to work in that stuffy office but who knew she would send me to defend the line?!"

"The Duchess was excited about meeting her husband today. Who's excited about meeting a cripple anyway?"

"Careful now. You don't want to say that in front of the Duchess. You know how she gets when she's annoyed."

The head knight shivered. It was easy for one to look down on the Duchess because she was quiet and compared to her other siblings, she was much smaller. In the past, her presence was almost nonexistent. But after the war, anyone that dared to look down on her regretted such a decision.

"But Lord Renfield, you are more suited to be her husband than a cripple?"

"With just the title of a Baron, it's impossible. Besides, there's just no way we can be a couple. Duchess Aretha is…"

Flashbacks of the dangerous and scaring situations Aretha put him through went through his head. He shivered as well and it was not because of the cold.

Because of his height, he looked more like a knight than a scholar. He stood a head taller than everyone constantly and his hardened face gave the impression that he was arrogant in his skills. His deep purple eyes made it worse and often had him shunned because there is a certain type of demon that possessed purple eyes. It was one of the most powerful demon type that could easily disguise itself as human, a demon king. Many speculated he was either a demon or a demon spawn but if he was asked, he couldn't answer.

"Are we almost done with the cleanup? Just staring at this pit makes me gag," he complained, covering his nose with a pink handkerchief. The Head Knight sighed defeatedly. Unfortunately, Lord Renfield was a scholar at heart. He had no combat skills and the only reason the head knight wasn't participating was because he was there to protect the Duchess's assistant.

"We should be right on schedule after cleaning up the area. She said she would have my neck if I let one slip past the pit."

They both shivered this time. Finishing up the pit, they had horses waiting at the very bottom of the hill to take them back to the castle on the hill.

"How do you think he would be like?"

"I haven't met him before. The lady keeps harping on and on about him after she went to spy on him. Never mind her risking our lives when the demon king went loose."

"But she got rid of the demon king and his legion in less than an hour."

"It was still annoying. I just hope she won't care more about her husband than the territory. She isn't the type to be submissive but she really likes Count Aderam. Well, we will get to see him when we get back to the castle. Call back the soldiers."

"Of course, Lord Renfield."

They made the ride back to the castle, cutting across the territory towns. It used to be atrocious in the past, with demons ravaging the towns and leaving dead bodies in their wake. It was basically a ghost town the knights used as a base. But now, the territory was vibrant and boasted of a rich population.

It was an absolute irony that the blood of the demons made the land fertile. It was the same way a volcano produced precious stones after an eruption.

They made it to the castle before evening. The servants were finishing up their decorations as they made their way in so they divided into two groups, the rest of the knights going to the station to change out of their armor, the head knight and Lord Renfield going to Aretha's office.

"Milady, Lord Renfield is here."

"Right on schedule, as always. Bring him in."

The door opened and they walked in. Fabian saw that huge pile of documents he would've spent the evening dealing with was not present. His place on the table was replaced by a particularly handsome looking young man. It looked like a painting come to life and it freaked him out more than seeing demons for the first time.

"Husband of mine, meet Fabian, my assistant. Fabian, this is Count Caspian Aderam, my husband."

The man finally looked up and smiled tiredly. Even though there were circles around his eyes, he still looked hauntingly handsome. Fabian felt the Duchess's eyes on him so he cleared his throat.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, my lord. I am Baron Fabian Renfield. I'm thankful to the lady for my title but it feels like I exchanged my life for it. Don't fall for her smile. It's a trap."

"Fabian, are you dishonoring me in front of my husband?"

"No, Milady. I'm simply telling him that there's more to you than meets the eyes."

"Fabian, your hands look pristine. Why don't I assign you more work before the banquet starts?"

"I would rather you ran a knife through my heart, Milady."

The handsome man looked back and forth between them, flustered. Seeing how close Fabian and the lady were from the outside, one would think they had some sort of special relationship. The truth remained…they just tolerated each other's presence.

"I thought we were doing this together, Duchess. Am I not enough?"

Caspian intervened just in time. The tense atmosphere was almost immediately gone and Aretha turned to him with a smile.

"If you call me by my name, I'll release Fabian at your behest."

Fabian rolled his eyes. He was already used to her games, Caspian was not. He felt like he needed to save Fabian. He really did not. He already warned the Count. There was more to Duchess Aretha than met the eyes.

"A…Aretha."

Fabian felt if the Duchess smiled even more, her face would split. She shooed him away with a hand, forgetting about him after using him. He would take his leave…but the poor head knight was still next to him, yet to give his report. He wanted to leave too.

"Wren, don't leave without telling me if you cleared the pits. You don't want me to leave my party to defend the territory when it's your job for the day, do you?"

"Of course not, Milady. The pits are all cleared and accounted for. Just as you requested, there isn't a single demon lining the Crimson Divide.

"Perfect. My husband couldn't be ushered in with a shitty welcome to this shitt…I mean, lovely place. You two can leave. Don't ruin the atmosphere."

They left, closing the door quietly. They made sure to be a safe distance from the office before giving their thoughts.

"Poor Count Aderam," Wren said, shaking his head.

"Poor him indeed," Fabian echoed.