Marquess Neil

In Dione's memory, Marquess Neil had always been a particularly greedy man.

Ever since she had come of age, his eyes trailed after her, a vile mixture of lust and greed. When the Late Emperor was alive he would have never dreamed of making his ambitions about her known but upon learning of her strained relationship with the current Emperor, he tried his luck.

Who could have foreseen that Emperor William's disdain for his younger sister ran so deep that he would willingly auction her off to the highest bidder?

His primary wife was strongly against this, but he cared not. His union with that woman had merely been a transaction, a means to secure influential alliances. Over time, he had amassed ample power, rendering her presence useless. She had aged into a withered relic who only knew how to nag him endlessly.

In that regard, Marquess Neil had really hit the jackpot. Not only was Princess Dione beautiful but she was young too. She had more than enough potential to birth him a son - a son that would have relations to the Emperor at that!

All he had to do was sling some money in the Emperor's direction and this beauty would be his for the taking. The Emperor had even been planning to set the wedding date as soon as possible!

Or so he had been led to believe.

In the end, he bore witness with a heavy heart as his promised bride was betrothed to the loathed Duke Devland Desperation drove him to implore and plead with the Emperor, offering ever-increasing sums. Did the Emperor require more wealth? Marquess Neil was more than willing to provide it, for he believed that nothing in this world was beyond the reach of a coin.

It seemed that the Marquess had truly forgotten that he was talking with the Emperor of the Salian Empire, one of the most prosperous nations in all the land. Why on Earth would he be short of money? He just wanted to be rid of that half-breed bastard, Princess Dione!

What did the Marquess expect the Emperor to do? Defy divine will itself? Outlandish!

The Marquess went home in a sulky mood. He even tried contacting Princess Dione herself but she refused to take any visitors, even if he was once her fiancé!

He believed that he had missed the opportunity to obtain a taste of a real princess. That was, until Princess Valerie contacted him in secret, offering him a proposal he could not refuse.

It all seemed too good to be true.

His only task was to wait for a signal from a mysterious young lady, and Princess Dione would fall into his grasp once more. Princess Valerie's sole condition: he must shatter the innocence of the younger princess right then and there. She aimed to make the Duke so repulsed by the idea of marrying Dione that he would inevitably seek solace in her arms, just as destiny had intended.

A man of noble character might have halted at this precipice. But for Marquess Neil, the allure of possessing Princess Dione, of sinking his teeth into her forbidden fruit, proved irresistible. After all, he had always been a man who gave into his lustful desires.

The garden lay in an eerie silence, devoid of any servants or witnesses. Princess Valerie had promised to ensure their privacy, and it appeared she had indeed held true to her word.

Marquess Neil, upon receiving the signal, walked through the wide array of flowers to the designated space where the plan would unfold. The baron's daughter darted past him, their eyes locking briefly, conveying a shared understanding. She hurried away, as though she couldn't bear the weight of what was about to transpire.

"Dione," he uttered in a hoarse, almost desperate voice as he rounded the corner and laid his eyes upon her.

Dione's heart shuddered in fear.

Dione's heart quivered with a mixture of dread and revulsion. How was this possible? Over the past week, she had tried her utmost to banish any thoughts of Marquess Neil from her mind. The way his lecherous gaze roamed over her form, laden with lustful intent, had disgusted her to no end. Whenever he looked at her, he'd lick his lips in a manner that implied sinister imaginings of depraved acts he might inflict upon her.

"Did you miss me, my beloved?" The Marquess did not notice her revulsion.

He was fully of the belief that despite being an old man twice her age, there was no woman that could resist him. It was purely his delusion. The only women that found him "irresistible" were those women who merely wanted to climb the ladder with an easy target.

"What are you doing here?" Despite her best attempts to sound composed, Dione's voice trembled. Her hands clenched the sides of her dress to keep them from shaking so obviously and her expression was guarded.

"Why are you acting so coldly?" He made an attempt to grab her but she moved back, her back hitting the wall of flower bushes behind her. His eyes darkened, "Is it because of him?"

Dione did not answer, her eyes scanning past him. It was clear that she was looking for an opportunity to escape.

Marquess Neil did not like this one bit. His anger erupted as he went forward, forcibly yanking her chin up so that she had no choice but to look at him. "You bitch!" He glowered, "You're just the same as your mother. This time will be different, I may not have been able to have that pretentious whore but I will have you whether you wish it so or not. Blame it on your luck for offending Princess Valerie."

Part of the reason that he had been so hellbent on obtaining Princess Dione was because of her mother. When he was a young lad, he had lusted after her mother who he believed was nothing more than a poor foreigner. Not only did she harshly reject him but she even got the Late Emperor to look upon him negatively!

Tears prickled in Dione's eyes.

She had been careless, too trusting. The palace had always been a treacherous labyrinth, its inhabitants more akin to vultures than courtiers. She had foolishly let her guard down, convinced that making an example of Lady Aisha would deter Valerie from launching another assault on her. She couldn't even muster resentment toward Lady Nadine; this was the consequence of her own reckless actions.

Marquess Neil's grip on her face was unyielding, forcing her to meet his gaze. His free hand roamed her body with deliberate slowness, a torturous pursuit.

"The Duke will never forgive you if you do not cease your actions!"

"After I've had my way with you, the Duke would rather meet his demise than lay a finger on you, even if it incurs the wrath of the gods," Marquess Neil sneered. A tear escaped Dione's eye, and he leaned forward, savoring its salty taste. This was his favorite part of toying with young women who believed themselves superior. "But fret not, Your Highness, I am not a wasteful man. I shall take responsibility for you, and we shall engage in such activities every day."

Dione's body trembled with silent cries. She was not naive enough to think that she would suddenly be saved by some knight in shining armor. In this palace, besides a handful of people, there was absolutely no one on her side. She had more enemies than she had allies.

Had she been too arrogant with the Duke's name and influence lately that she believed that Valerie would do nothing against her?

Just as she began to resign to her dreadful fate, a bloodcurdling wail ripped through the night air.

The hold on her chin loosened. Before she could properly gather her bearings she caught the bloody sight of the Marquess' hand, the one that had roamed her body, on the ground.

In an instant, her vision went black.