Blood drained from her face. "What?" she cried as she looked at her son. "This is ludicrous!" she spat. "You can't keep my son away from me!" She ran to Angus and grabbed his wrist. She dragged him away from Emma. "I will not give my son to you, Lord Lazarus!" She tried to make a show of it so as to gain sympathy from other ladies.
The ladies turned their gaze to Avice with confusion on their faces. They had questions on the faces, but they were the last ones to ask the prince about it. It was a matter that didn't concern them even if they sympathized with Avice.
Lazarus raised his brow. "That is not your decision to make, Lady Avice. Angus is the property of the kingdom and he will be brought up with the royals because eventually he will be included in the army of the royal kingdom."
Avice grasped her son tightly in her embrace. "You are using coercion! This is not done. You have no right to take my son from me. He will never be a part of the army of the royals! He is going to stay with me and I can't part with him." She was shaking with fear and anger.
Lazarus crossed his legs over his knee and removed a piece of invisible lint from his impeccable cape as if meant to state that she was nothing but a lint in his eyes. He glanced at Yul. Yul nodded at the servant who stepped forward and removed the cloth from the second tray. On it were the items that she had stolen from the palace.
Avice stared at them as dread blasted in her chest. What was Lazarus up to? What was his game? Was he going to expose her after he had announced that Emma would be his advisor? This would be so contradictory. She couldn't remove her eyes from the tray. She clenched her jaws, tightening her hold over Angus.
"Mother," Angus said, feeling very uncomfortable. "Leave me."
But Avice didn't leave him. Her gaze went to Lazarus who had cocked his head and was waiting patiently for her to make a decision. She felt like crying, but there were no tears. She felt like yelling at him, but she had cotton in her throat. She felt like running away with her son, but her legs felt like they were boulders.
Lazarus's red eyes were focused on her as the main hall shrouded in uncanny silence. The other ladies gazed at the items that were on the tray and they realized that there wasn't a single piece of jewelry in them. They were bric-a-brac that they saw decorating the palace. It made them think as to why Lord Lazarus would present these artifacts to Avice. They looked from Avice to Lazarus and back to Avice. And from her expression they knew what happened even though no words came out from either of the two. One of them couldn't suppress her giggle. But the moment she giggled she slapped her hand on her mouth.
Avice gulped her saliva down her throat along with the silent humiliation she received. Lazarus didn't say a word about her stealing it. When her eyes went to Emma, she found her head lowered. She was looking in her lap with a pale blush which meant that she was embarrassed of her mother's deeds. Even Angus was embarrassed and he was struggling to step away from her.
Avice was in a dilemma as silence hung in the air along with tension so thick that it could be cut by a knife. The way Lazarus glared at her with his red eyes, she knew that she had to make a decision. Soon. She wondered if this incident even went to the king or not because the way it was unfolding, it looked like Prince Lazarus's conspiracy against her. For the first time she realized what a shrewd and cunning vampire he was. He had taken care of the rebel in one subtle action and all because of her foolishness. He took the best advantage of her presence in the palace. He hit many birds with one stone.
Lazarus was giving her the artifacts that she had stolen but he was using them to blackmail her. If she didn't give up her son, he would blame her for stealing them and put her in the dungeons. Yul, who was standing next to him, had already interrogated her about it and she had admitted to her crime. If she gave up her son, Lazarus would present her with the artifacts and send her away. Who knew when he would allow her to come back and visit Angus? At the same time, if she took those items to the village, the ladies who were watching her and who had surely understood what was going on, would spread the rumor in the village about how she stole from the palace when all Lord Lazarus did was to make Emma his village advisor. Basically, whatever she did, she was doomed. All she had to choose was which action would lead to lesser doom.
Tears slipped from her eyes as her hold on Angus loosened. Angus looked up at her and wiped her tears. "Why are you crying, mother?" he said in a low voice. He knew that the items on the tray were the ones she had stolen, but the boy didn't say anything, feeling too shy about it.
Avice shook her head as she smiled at him, defeat on her face. "Lord Lazarus is right, Angus. You must stay in the palace. You will have better education and will have a better life. I hope that your sister Emma takes good care of you."
Angus's lips downturned. "Are you sad, mother? Because I will come with you in that case."
Avice let out a sob. If she took Angus with him, Lazarus would expose her. She had way too many things to take care of back in the village because a scandal was awaiting her. "No Angus. Stay here and make your parents proud, okay?"
Angus hugged his mother. "I will come to meet you and father soon."
She stroked his back. "That would be wonderful."
Angus went to Emma and stood with her with a smile on his face. "Emma, will you show me the aviary?"
"Of course!" Emma beamed. "I will also introduce your new tutors."
Angus's eyes became wide with excitement as if he couldn't wait to start his new life.
Lazarus smirked. "Lady Avice, these artifacts are for you from the palace. Please consider them as gifts from the royals."
Avice looked at the artifacts that brought her downfall. She hated them because they were not worth the deal that Lazarus struck with her. Artifacts against her son. She wondered if Angus would ever return to her. "I don't want them," she said. At the same time, she was forced to say, "I am happy that both my son and daughter are under your protection and patronage, Lord Lazarus." If she had taken the items, she was sure that the ladies of the village would brand her as a thief.
"My pleasure," Lazarus replied. "You have wonderful children."
Avice bowed to him along with other women and they were escorted out of the main hall. A carriage was waiting for them to take them to the village. All the way, Avice was gearing herself up to face Drogo and how to avenge Lord Lazarus.
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