Chapter 2: Betrayal
Chapter 2: Betrayal
The flickering light from the fireplace caused Lucifer to wake up slowly. As he barely opened his eyes and felt the soft and comfy sofa beneath him, he recollected the events and realized he had fainted earlier.
Wanting to announce his awakening to Hendolff and Vineca, he hesitated and decided to feign sleep, for he overheard something disturbing.
"But sir, can't we just protect him like the rest?" Vineca's voice was soft yet filled with concern, and a loud thud followed, presumably when she stood up from her chair.
Lucifer kept his eyes shut, curious about the conversation that followed. He listened intently, trying to understand the situation.
"We can, but we must know how much the curse has progressed," Hendolff's husky voice echoed.
"Please tell me you won't treat him like a slave if the curse is above fifty. Like the others?" Vineca's concern was evident.
"I'm afraid he has to be shackled, for you know who might return if we let him loose," Hendolff justified.
'Fifty? Slave?'
'What?' Lucifer was startled by the information, his mind racing with confusion and questions about the possibilities.
'Heck, no one is trustworthy. They might as well kill me if things go wrong. I must make the right decisions to survive,' Lucifer concluded, realizing that trusting Vineca and the old man Hendolff wasn't an ideal situation.
'Trust me, if they try to go after my life, I might as well struggle and inflict a damage or two before dying…'
'I'm not the one to cry and beg if someone comes to kill me…', he just remembered what he did previously when one of the Enforcers had made it's way close to him.
'Ahem, that was just an acting. My dream is to be an Actor.', he said to himself, as if justifying to absolutely no one.
Hendolff and Vineca, both of them remained quiet for about two or three minutes, having no more talks. Understanding that halting for any more time would be a waste, he acted as if he just regained his consciousness.
Slowly opening his eyes, he stretched and yawned, pretending to wake up naturally, keeping a close eye on their reactions.
"Ah... What? Where? Who am I?" Lucifer asked, pulling himself up with a jolt, feigning confusion while scanning his surroundings.
Hendolff and Vineca rushed to his aid, startled by his sudden awakening. Vineca was particularly quick to reach his side, while the old man took his time.
"Calm down. Listen, take deep breaths," Vineca instructed, trying to help him relax.
'Kek, I'm the best at acting. See how she fell right into it,' Lucifer praised himself inwardly, maintaining an innocent expression as he looked at Vineca.
"Ack," he then winced, holding his head, pretending to experience a sudden pain.
"Ah... Right. I'm Lucifer," he said.
"You are..."
"The one who saved you back then," she said with a smile, glad that he had regained consciousness and decided to help him fill in the blanks but...
"The violent and crazy girl," Lucifer playfully teased.
Bang!
A powerful punch from Vineca's left fist nearly knocked Lucifer off the sofa.
"Dear, he might faint again," Hendolff chuckled, observing the amusing situation.
"Ark, stop hitting me, will you!" Lucifer protested, rubbing his sore cheek.
"Hmph, call me violent and you'll get punched again. Next time, two punches," she warned.
"Eh? Why? You can call me poor, swine, idiot, and an orphan, but I can't call you any names? Not fair," Lucifer protested further.
"Ho ho," Hendolff chuckled again, saying, "Fair enough."
"Sir, I merely told the truth," Vineca pointed out, referring to her previous violent tendencies.
"Same here," Lucifer replied, only to be interrupted by another punch, but this time, it didn't reach him.
Vineca stopped midway, retracting her fist, and said, "My bad. Sorry."
Lucifer was taken aback. 'That was unexpected! I didn't think she would apologize all of a sudden. Maybe she isn't all bad,' he thought to himself.
"But look, you never thanked me for saving you," Vineca said.
"I was trying to, but you kicked me before I could say it. Look closely, I think the mark of your kick is still imprinted on my face," Lucifer teased, stretching his cheeks in an exaggerated manner, almost making a fool of himself.
"Pfft. Ahem," Vineca chuckled cutely but quickly regained her composure.
"Hey, don't smile. You apologize," Lucifer insisted.
"I just did," Vineca protested.
"Then do it again."
"No, why should I?" Vineca folded her arms defiantly.
"You-" Lucifer was about to continue when he noticed Hendolff watching their chit-chat.
"Ho ho, being young is fun on its own," Hendolff muttered to himself, amused by their interaction.
"Nothing fun, sir. I almost died," Lucifer replied solemnly, the light-hearted atmosphere fading away.
Hendolff then inquired, "About that, do you now know how much your curse has spread?"
In the heat of the moment, Lucifer almost blurted out, "Ninety S-," but he quickly remembered the previous conversation and mentally scolded himself for being so careless with his words. It was as if he was throwing his life like he threw pebbles a few days ago.
"What? Ninety percent!?" Hendolff's voice thundered, causing the room to shake, his husky roar filling the air.
"Nineteen. Nineteen, sir," Vineca intervened, defending Lucifer.
When she did, relief washed over Lucifer as he gulped chunks of saliva altogther.
'An angel. You are an angel!', Lucifer thought to himself, his dumb decision almost killing him.
"Nineteen? Is that what you said, boy?" Hendolff's face displayed anger.
"Y-yes, sir. Nineteen, that's what I said," Lucifer exchanged a quick glance with Vineca as he spoke.
Silence clouded the room for a minute or two.
"Ho ho, pardon my ears. They are getting bad due to old age..." Hendolff's expression softened as he walked closer to Lucifer and sat down beside him on the sofa.
"Not at all, sir. It's fine," Lucifer said, though his heart was still racing.
Hendolff noticed Lucifer's sweating and said, "Sorry for the startle, let me get you something."
He stood up and then walked away to a distant room in the old house leaving Vineca and Lucifer alone.
As soon as Hendolff vanished from sight, Lucifer said, "Thanks."
Vineca lowered herself, sitting on the sofa, and replied, "Please, you need help."
She pointed her index finger at her forehead and continued, "Are you mad?"
"What?" Lucifer was taken aback by her question.
"Did you not notice when I told sir that anything above fifty is bad?" she said, as if stating an obvious fact.
It was only now that Lucifer realized Vineca knew about him waking up earlier and had tried her best to communicate that information to him. His heart softened a bit, but he couldn't shake off all his doubts about trusting her completely; after all, they had only spent about 10 minutes together.
Her brown hair tied back with a rubber band, with some strands cascading down to her lips that seemed slightly wet, made her look beautiful. She had fair, snow-white skin and mesmerizing blue eyes, resembling precious jewels.
He was definitely attracted to her.
"Are you hearing what I'm saying?" Vineca asked, noticing Lucifer's lack of reaction.
"Pardon, what?" Lucifer snapped out of his daydream, where he and Vineca were running together, holding hands, with flowers replacing the ground.
"You need help," she repeated, frowning.
"Don't worry, I won't reveal anything to anyone," Lucifer assured, thinking she was referring to his mental state. However, he soon realized she meant something else.
"No, you need help. Real quick!" she emphasized, pointing the wand at his chest.
"Huh?" Lucifer was taken aback.
"It's over ninety, isn't it?" she asked, concerned.
Lucifer hesitated for a moment and then shook his head. "Nope, it's nineteen."
Vineca realized that Lucifer didn't fully trust her, which wasn't surprising since they had just met. She understood that revealing such sensitive information would be unwise. However, she felt a pang of hurt, for reasons she couldn't quite comprehend.
She stood up and almost walked back to the chair where she had been sitting before, her gaze fixed on the floor.
Lucifer noticed her reaction and bit his lips, contemplating whether he should reveal the truth. But seeing how Vineca had defended him, not once but twice, he decided to take a leap of faith and said, "Ninety-seven."
When Vineca heard Lucifer's confession, she paused in her tracks. Swiftly turning back, her eyes widened in surprise. She raised her left hand, the one with which she held the wand, and pointed it at him. It was a similar position to earlier when she had pointed at his chest, but this time, something was different.
"Huh...?" Lucifer was taken aback as he saw small sparkles emanating from the wand.
"Vine-" he began, raising his left hand forward as if to inquire about her actions, when a loud roar echoed through the room. It was a spell all too familiar.
"Thundra!"