Lucien sat alone in his room while the manor was in utter chaos, distant screams, the pounding of boots, yet here he was, untouched by it all.
A bottle of vintage red wine rested in his hand, the liquid glinting under the candlelight like blood in a goblet. A music box played softly from the table beside him, its delicate tune a cruel contrast to the madness outside.
Every note seemed to mock the tragedy. Lucien simply leaned back in his chair, swirling the wine in his glass, his expression unreadable.
The next moment, Lily walked in, without a word, the air in the room became oppressive, her eyes clouded with terror.
But regardless, she spoke up.
"One of Elizabeth's sons, the one you told me to tail...
"What of him". Lucien said, his horse voice making the wood in the room tremble.
...he's dead". Lily struggled to suppress the tremor that went through her thighs.
"Not just him, even his friend, they found his shrivelled corpse, and Elizabeth".
Lucien's dull grey eyes flashed sideways, not directly at Lily, but enough to see her blurry image.
"Elizabeth". He said expectantly.
Lily took a moment, but she still replied. "She lost the baby, she was so shocked and scared when she saw her youngest son's dead body, she had a miscarriage".
At this point, Lily's fist was locked, her chest heaving as she struggled to breath, she always knew Lucien was targeting Elizabeth.
From the moment he made her tail Nicholas, but she never would have guessed that he was planning to kill him, and use his death as the catalyst to murder Elizabeth's unborn child.
It sounds insane, almost nonsensical, but now that she stood before him once again, seeing the cold grin surface on his face, seeing his body shake with a near sense of euphoria, it was clear as day.
The evil young lord used her to commit this atrocity. The next moment, a tear drop fell from Lily's cheeks.
"How could you?... did you even want to help my family". Lily angrily retrieved the pouch of coins Lucien gave her earlier and without a second thought threw it at him.
She missed, but the sack of coins crashed into the glass mirror, shattering it into a million pieces.
Lucien's eyes were still indifferent and cold, he did not reply to her nor did he react. Lily was trembling, no-longer from fear, but from rage.
"You used me". She screamed hecticly, her chest rising and falling. "You wanted to kill Nicholas and his friend, you planned Elizabeth's arrival and made sure she would see her son's mutilated body, you wanted her baby to die, You killed an innocent child, it didn't even get to be born, to enjoy sweets, to make friends and grow... Why?... Why?...".
Lily fell to her knees, tears mixed with mucus muttered on her face. "Why are you so cruel?".
The room once more fell into silence, Lucien's dull grey eyes finally landed on Lily, she was exhausted and felt like a stranger in her own skin, Lucien could more or less relate.
In his previous life he also had no choice but to do things he never thought he was capable of, sure people have always called him the evil young lord behind his back, but it was only till later in his life that he earned the nickname, demon of dread, and when he resurrected, so did the demon.
Lily trembled as Lucien's hands clasped her shoulders, he wasn't harsh, nor was he particularly gentle, he helped her rise to her feet and even gave her his handkerchief.
He wasn't being kind, nor was he trying to console her, he simply needed her to listen to his next words, depending on the type of person she is, she will either follow him for the rest of her life, or leave and never return.
So he said evenly, his horse voice shaking her very core.
"I would rather walk into hell, than sit in heaven, for in hell I will find Kings, warriors, and men who shaped this world with unnerving power… meanwhile, heaven is filled with beggars, saints and commoners, what is life if it is empty of ambition… I refuse to seek a place where virtue is weakness and suffering is honour, I seek a place where desire is a force that moves the wheel of history…
I have made my choice, and it is left to history to decide which of us is the fool… do not allow yourself to be the fool, Lily".
Lily didn't move for a long while. Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to speak, but the words kept dying before they reached her tongue. She simply stood there, staring at him through a haze of disbelief, at the man she once thought she understood.
Her voice finally came, soft and trembling, "You speak of hell as if it's some noble kingdom… but you've never seen what hell does to ordinary people, have you?"
Her breath hitched. "You think strength justifies everything… That ambition makes monsters righteous, but all it really does is turn people like me into tools… and children like that one into sacrifices."
The air between them felt heavy enough to break, it was like with each step she took from him, an invisible wall was gradually forming between them.
She wiped her face, smearing tears across her cheeks, but her eyes no longer held fear. Just deep, exhausted sorrow, her throat felt sour from wailing, her eyes swelled from crying, her chest heaved from shortness of breath.
"If that's the world you wish to build, my lord… then maybe it deserves to burn."
Her back touched the door, but she still didn't turn, instead she used her shaky hand to twist the handle and used her body to push it open.
"Call me weak," she whispered as she reached the door, "but at least I'll never become what you are."
The door shut with a dull click.