The Duke's Passion

Chapter 750  This time, I will protect you.

"Fabian… can't come."

"What?" Klaus gasped while the rest of them knitted their brows. "My lady, may you explain the reason?" Fabian inquired with a misplaced innocence in his almost squinting eyes. "Are you worried I will mess things up?"

"No." Tilly's eyes fell on the skull ring around Fabian's finger. "As I've said, if there was darkness, there is light. However, I haven't mentioned one thing."

"Why can't you just say it in one go?!" Klaus harrumphed in distress.

Tilly paused while everyone somehow held their breaths to whatever bomb she was about to drop. Fabian's eyes slowly opened, rubbing his skull ring with his thumb. "Maleficent?" Fabian asked, and Tilly nodded.

"Your weapon, Maleficent, was created and named after a powerful witch. There weren't many records regarding Maleficent. But there were only two things we know about her: one was she had risen to power out of nowhere and died silently. And the other one is that her power can be passed on."

"And you want me to find the person who inherited it?"

"Yes," answered Tilly without a second hesitation. "You might not know where to start, but my brother might know a thing or two. Or maybe Marsella knows. They might give you a clue. After all, my brother had been searching to break the curse running in the Grimsbanne's blood for the obvious reasons."

"I hate to say this, but losing Fabian is a tremendous loss." Klaus tapped the table to get their attention. "He can be troublesome, but we all know he's capable of many things."

"However, sacrifices should be made, even if it might put you at a disadvantage." This time, Heliot also joined the discussion, since he was already involved, anyway. "Or are you not confident you can complete your tasks without him?"

"I am flattered." Fabian smiled, causing Klaus's face to flash red in anger. "We are not losing Fabian," Samael asserted, causing others to frown until they heard his explanation. "He's just going to focus on another task. It's also better to have someone look after Sunny."

"I agree with him. If Sunny was safe, she should be in Marsella or in Abel's care now." Lilou agreed, mentioning Tilly's siblings, which were also the people they were supposed to seek help from before the regression. "If we want to keep everyone safe and inflict as fewer casualties as possible, we have no choice but to do our best and succeed in our plans."

"Heliot will divert everyone's attention by having a dispute with Sam and His Majesty. Stefan and Klaus will return to the Heart's Kingdom using the same reason as Heliot's backing out," she continued without a second hesitation. "We need to make them believe the Grimsbanne was all on their own."

"Once their attention was all on us, Klaus and Stefan can gather the Divine Bearers while Heliot can avoid a problem that was coming to the land of Karo," Lilou added. "Once the Divine Bearers are completed, and we gathered enough people — strong and capable ones — we will strike."

Lilou's eyes glossed over the faces sitting around the table. They looked at each other before looking back at her, nodding in agreement. "Then we'll set off tomorrow night." Klaus clapped. "This is a better idea. Lilou, I missed your strategic decisions. Hell is just too straightforward and selfish. He'll use everyone as a scapegoat to reach his goal."

"My family is my priority." Samael shrugged, only to hear Heliot's scornful remarks. "Your family isn't the only precious thing in the world."

"They're the most precious to me." Samael rubbed his ear with his pinky inside his ear. "Others… they can all just die."

"But having to live, knowing tons of people died just for us to survive, is not the life I don't want our children to carry. My guilt for living after the sacrifice of my clan can't even let me die in peace," Lilou retorted calmly, while Law nodded in agreement. "I agree with Mother. Sunny might disagree with us, though."

"In any case, this plan might have a higher risk, but once executed properly, we can have the upper hand." Rufus chimed in before this conversation would get sidetracked. "Letting them think we're in a disadvantageous position will slightly make them lower their guards."

"Even if they don't, since we're talking about the Grimsbanne Clan, it's better to not let them know our next move," Stefan added solemnly.

And with that being said, the meeting — probably the last they will have — came to a conclusion. Tomorrow night, Stefan, Klaus, and Fabian would set off to their destinations to execute their mission. Meanwhile, Heliot would stay in the land of Karo while gathering a small unit of knights to be sent to assist those going to the Spade Kingdom in secret. He would also keep an eye on the people from the mainland that were roaming the land of Karo. Samael, Tilly, Claude, Lilou, Rufus, and Claude would also set off to the Spade Kingdom. *****

After the meeting, Heliot, although didn't have a good impression of them, still politely bid them farewell. As he left the meeting room first, he stopped in the hallway as Lilou's voice came from behind him. "Heliot," called Lilou, watching Heliot turn on his heel to face her. Heliot blinked twice, tilting his head to the side. Lilou cleared her throat and advanced in his direction, stopping three steps away from him. "Did I miss another important detail?" he asked when ten seconds had passed in silence. Lilou shook her head mildly, letting out a deep exhale. When she raised her head and looked at him straight in the eye, the side of her lips curled up.

"You always have my gratitude, Your Highness," she expressed as her eyes softened, pleased to see her dearest friend, who had always been a strong pillar of support. Even now that Heliot didn't remember a thing, he was still helping them despite that his reason was that Samael threatened him. "You might not remember it, but you've been a great friend to me," she continued sincerely. "Eli, I'm really glad to see you again. I might not know what you did, but I still remember every word you said in the last letter you sent me."

Her lips stretched, hiding the bitterness in her eyes at the possibility that Heliot lied to her for the first time and actually sacrificed his life for her. After all, Heliot had always told her he would make sure she was happy and safe. "This time, I will protect you," she affirmed softly before performing a short curtsy. "I promise. May you have a safe journey home."

Heliot could only stare at Lilou in silence before he nodded. "May you also have a safe journey, my lady."

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