67. Magic beast

She stayed in Kyden's arms even after her tears had gone away. The latter kept on combing her long black hair with one hand while the other was patting her back. It was so gentle, that she thought a little bit of rocking would put her to sleep.

The only thing that was keeping her awake was the loud beating of a heart. The sounds echoed in her ears, and she couldn't help but smile and feel warm.

She felt giddy and happy to know she was the reason for his drumming heart. She snuggled more to hear louder.

"It was beating like crazy because someone's sending daggers on me."

She heard him speak and felt embarrassed to know that he caught what she was thinking. And his voice was laced with tease and humor. But when all his words finally registered in her heart-filled brain, she pushed him lightly to look at his face.

With her brows furrowed in confusion, she asked the Grand Duke who stared at her with sparks in his eyes and a satisfied grin on his face, "W-What....a-again?"

Heat rose in her cheeks when she stuttered to speak. She was completely dazed in wonderland and muddled brain, too happy to the point of being dumb and stupid.

Kyden chuckled and hugged her again, hiding her face on his shoulders.

"The marquess is coming this way. With his frightening eyes."

"W-What? Then, let me go..."

"You wouldn't want to see his face. He's like a bull fuming on its nose."

Before she could react to his obvious insult to her own brother, the sound of heavy footsteps caught her attention. But due to the Grand Duke's embrace, turning around to witness his brother's angry face is impossible.

"A phoenix came into your office with a letter in its beak. It won't leave unless it was you who received it." Luven spat as soon as he reached them. His voice is filled with annoyance and impatience.

But Kyden only hugged her more and answered in a lax manner, "Then it means it can wait until I'm free."

"It seems important," Luven answered abruptly, emphasizing the last word.

She knew that the Grand Duke would keep irritating her brother until he exploded, so Mona immediately slipped down to free herself. Taking a step backward, she looked at Kyden telling him to attend to the matter quickly.

It seems that the letter must really be important since he no longer argued with her brother and nodded at her.

"I'll be back. Look out for your sister." He said to Luven and went on his way.

"Tsk. He doesn't need to tell me that." The latter replied sourly.

Mona's eyes followed the Grand Duke's retreating image until it disappeared from her sight.

"It's not like he's going somewhere."

She turned her head and found Luven showing an annoyed expression. She thought of a puppy sulking after being deceived of receiving treats, from his slightly pouted lips.

"Did he already propose?" He asked.

"Propose?" Asking him with confusion in her eyes.

"Marriage."

Hearing his answer, she couldn't help but gawk at him.

"Why would you think about marriage already?"

Luven stared at her for a minute, before he answered, "I don't think the Grand Duke is someone who would waste time dilly-dallying after discovering a precious gem."

Her chest swelled at the indirect compliment of his brother.

She responded with a sweet smile, "Maybe because he thinks the gem is still fragile, so he's being careful."

Marriage is still not on her mind. There are still many things she needs to do, before settling down. Before, she decided to leave the grand duchy once she was officially registered as a citizen and find a job to support herself.

She wasn't expecting that events would turn that way. If the dreamcatchers hadn't appeared, she would have probably gone on her initial plan. But now, many things started to confuse her, and she began questioning them. And she was lucky to have someone beside her to find answers.

"I want to oppose this, but right now...having someone strong behind your back will protect you."

She snapped from her reverie when Luven spoke again.

Tilting her head against him, she asked innocently, "Protect me from what? The knights of this place?"

"No." Her brother tugged her sleeves and pulled her to sit on the bench where she and the Grand Duke had been sitting before. "We're about to enter the capital. You have plenty of enemies there, you know? And the nobility surely wouldn't sit still if they heard about you coming back again."

"I thought the palace already cleared that issue?"

"They did. But right now, aside from exacting revenge, they are even curious as to what you are. You're a rare phenomenon to them." The hand that still clutching her sleeves clenched.

She could see the uneasiness on his face. Her brother is clearly afraid for her. She lifted her hand and shuffled his dark bluish hair while flashing him a genuine smile.

"Don't worry too much."

Luven sighed and let go. He slumped his body on the backseat and gazed at the sky lazily. She lifted his left arm and used it as a pillow, then she did the same posture, slumping while looking above.

"I have you and his grace. And the people with us, so it'll be fine."

She has to face the consequences of Luna's past, clear misunderstandings and establish a good reputation and identity. For her to be able to stand beside the Grand Duke with her head held high, she must become a woman worthy of him. So, nobody could question his decision to choose her.

The wind blew and they saw a reddish bird fly above them across the sky. It was the phoenix that delivered the letter.

It caught her curiosity, and so she asked her brother, "Is that phoenix the Grand Duke's messenger bird?"

Luven answered without looking at her, "No. The attendant owns it."

"Sir Marcus?"

"Yes. It's his magic beast." He answered nonchalantly.

Magic beast. Mona has heard them before. But she had never seen one. It is said that magic beasts rarely appear in a visible form, so she thought that they only appeared when they were summoned by their owners.

"I wonder what the Grand Duke's magic beast looks like." She mumbled unconsciously.

She heard a snort on her side, followed by a reply. "It looks like a horse."

If she hadn't quickly realized what his answer meant, she would think he was insulting the Grand Duke from the way he snorted and answered.

'A horse....', Mona thought of Frost. And how the attitude somehow resembles the Grand Duke sometimes.

"Wait...!" She sat straight and turned to Luven abruptly, "...if Frost is a magic beast, then how about Nyx?"

Luven looked at her and replied, "Obviously he is, too."

"What?! I have no idea?!" She slapped her brother's chest out of shock and it made him grunt.

"You're the owner, how come you don't know?"

"His grace never told me when he gifted Nyx to me!"

"Well...if he gave it to you, then he probably had caught it as his beast's playmate. Besides, catching a magic beast doesn't make him the owner, unless he named it." Luven explained while stretching his left arm which probably went numb from supporting her head.

She recalled how she accused the Grand Duke of playing favorite between the two horses, naming the white one while leaving the black one unnamed. He caught Nyx, but because she was the one who named it, Nyx saw her as its owner. And here she was, unaware that she already owned a magic beast.

"Magic beasts have their abilities too, right?" She asked when she remembered something she had read about them.

Luven nodded.

"I wonder what Nyx is capable of doing?"

Her brother stood suddenly and held out a hand to her, smiling like a good puppy to her, he responded, "I'm bored. So, let's go and find out."

The sparks in his eyes told her that he was up to something, so when she took longer to reply, Luven waved his hand in the air and she suddenly got lifted from the ground.

Before she could scream, her mischievous brother had covered her mouth already. Bewildered by what was happening, she tried to struggle, but when she caught the image of the Grand Duke, she realized everything.

His brother wants to play hide and seek and annoy the hell out of him.