Mischievous Devil

—Back to.

[ROTHNIA, DEMESNE EMPIRE, 456TH CENTURY, WINTER]

"So, you are saying that we are supposed to believe that?" one of the dukes stood up from his chair with an angry expression. "Do you think that we are some kind of joke here, miss?!" he continued.

Ophelia sighed, "I thought so, you would not believe me, even though I had my mouth bound— "suddenly, the torches lining the walls flickered, and a swirl of cold air sent shivers through the dukes' spines.

"—So, I brought him here," Ophelia continued as a man entered the room, creating an unsettling intensity.

His footsteps echoed inside the silenced room. The man walked towards Ophelia along with his powerful presence haunting the entire room.

"I shall introduce, Damien Lynx—"

" What kind of nonsense is this, miss Ophelia?!" Duke Alamos yelled as he slammed the table with his right hand.

In Damien's presence, the dukes whispered to one another.

Ophelia slightly rolled her eyes, "Disagreement, I see…" The lady then stood, facing Alamos. "I barely knew that you mocked me behind my back, Alamos…" She said calmly.

"I stood here as the only Abellone, trying to get my throne back, yet— I was entertained by such an ugly mockingbird— "

"Wha— How dare you?!" Before he could finish his sentence, Alamos choked. Damien's hand was up in the air as he cast a spell to choke the man's fatty neck.

"Nobody shall touch my lady…" Damien sharply said. Along with his suffocation, Alamos begged Ophelia for mercy.

The woman tapped Damien's shoulder as he released the unseen grip from the duke.

The old man fell onto the ground, gasping for air and all the people inside the room stopped talking upon seeing the terrifying event in front of their eyes.

Ophelia turned her head left and right, "Anybody consider to be against me or anything?" asking the men if they held any more disagreement towards her.

No one dared to even speak at the moment. "I see…" Ophelia continued.

The lady stood up as she walked away from her chair "…then, I shall announce my comeback to our people. I will be heading to the capital, tomorrow. Inform my arrival but do not gather the people, because—"

Ophelia halted in front of the door as she turned her head to the left, glancing towards the dukes, "It's freezing…". After the last sentence, Ophelia left the meeting room alongside Damien.

The meeting ended just like that. Everybody went home without saying a single word. The night fell quietly.

- - - - -

[In the darkness, from afar, a panting sound was heard. Followed by the slow appearance of trees, leaves, and branches along with the figure of a young girl running barefoot. Ophelia.

Her heart pounded like a drum with each fearful step she took. As she fled, she encountered a massive tree root, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

She attempted to stand, but her feet were already covered in wounds. Suddenly, a towering figure of a masked man materialized from the shadows, casting a fiery spell directly at Ophelia. In an instant, the world turned red]

- - - - -

<gasp > Ophelia gasped, awakening from her slumber. Her eyes darted wildly, and her body trembled as the world seemed to blur around her.

Slowly, her vision became clearer. Ophelia's eyes fixed on the walls that were adorned with rich, deep-hued tapestries featuring intricate patterns.

The wooden canopy bed was draped with sumptuous white silk. Candle sconces cast a warm, flickering glow, lending a romantic ambiance to the room.

Plush rugs covered the floor, a large stone fireplace provided both warmth and grandeur, a high-backed chair occupied one corner.

A vanity table adorned with a silver mirror reflected the wealth and power of the Abellones during that era.

Ophelia's sight returned to the huge bedroom as she tried to manage her breath. Suddenly, Damien entered the room with a glass of wine in his hand. His shocked face was evident when he saw Ophelia's entire body covered in sweat.

"My lady!" Damien hurriedly walked towards Ophelia. "A-are you okay?" Damien kneeled in front of the lady.

Then, a bitter smile appeared on the edge of Ophelia's lips. "Just like you care about me, Damien" Ophelia scoffed.

Damien lowered his head, and from under it, a smirk was revealed. Damien stood up, looking down at the lady. "I thought you would finally be fooled," he said, turning to a couch on the edge of the bedroom.

As he walked there, Ophelia threw a disgusted look until he sat on the couch. Ophelia sighed. "You are not fooling me, you know why?" she asked.

Damien sipped his wine glass, and Ophelia smiled. "Exactly," she said.

"You are not going to fool me by kneeling and acting all caring, but your hand was still holding the wine," Ophelia continued.

" You are not outsmarting me, note that, my lady…" Damien said, clearly a mix of annoyance. The room was silent for a while, until "What happened?" Damien asked, still arrogant.

"As always…"

"The same bad dreams?" he asked again.

Ophelia nodded and laid herself on the bed again. Damien put his glass on the floor and stood as he walked towards Ophelia.

"Us, devil. We think that nightmare is a very nice dream," he said. Ophelia did not answer and turned her body to the other side.

Damien glanced with a nasty look on his face, slowly, he climbed onto the bed and turned Ophelia's body back to his side.

"Wha—"

Ophelia halted upon the weird position where he could see Damien's chest peeking from inside his tunic. The lady then turned her gaze towards the man's eyes. A beautiful, carefully carved face like a Greek god statue.

"Hm? Why are you blushing, my lady?" Damien asked mischievously.

" How am I not going to blush if we are in this position?" Ophelia answered clearly, unlike anybody that would ever stutter if they were in her position.

"So, do you want to—"

"No."

<silence >

After a few seconds, Damien sighed and laid himself beside Ophelia. He glanced towards the lady, saying "How are you so strong?".

Ophelia glanced back. "I need to finish something first; I am not going to break our contract. It will disadvantage me…" she replied softly.

Damien sighed, accepting his loss. Then, he realized that Ophelia started to fall back into her slumber. Damien carefully looked upon the lady's face, a beautiful fair skin, long eyelashes, and her neat blonde hair. He smiled.

Damien stroked her hair softly as he approached a fragile, wounded bird. "Good night, my lady. You passed this time".

<kiss >

Damien left the room after a kiss on Ophelia's forehead.

When the door signed that it was closed, Ophelia immediately opened her eyes as a soft red color tinted her cheeks.

- - - - -

—to be continued.