Lucien frowned, facing the girl. "You're safe, Lynda. Tell me what happened behind the stables." He spoke gently, offering the little girl his hand.
Lynda took the Duke's hand and stood, moving to hide behind his legs.
"He... he..." She paused, glancing at Elian.
Elian held her gaze.
Soft.
Pleading.
But he knew the little girl was frightened and couldn't control her emotions.
Lynda blinked away, clutching her dress tightly.
"He made my papa's eyes turn scary, and—and his eyes... they were crimson, like a monster..." She trailed off, biting her little lip.
Lucien's shoulders tensed, his eyes casting onto Elian's slouched shoulders.
The hall went quiet, the air instantly shifting into something unspeakable.
Elian's heart was beating like a drum, pulse dancing in his ears.
The silence stretched... too loud.
With sudden determination, he lifted his head and looked into Lucien's eyes.
"That is not the truth, Your Grace," Elian denied, his voice as steady as it could be under such pressure.
Lucien suddenly looked away from Elian.
"Take Lynda and her father to Soren. Fetch Ms. Beck," Lucien instructed, turning away from Elian.
"Yes, Your Grace," Edgar replied, nodding at the guards around him.
They lifted the unconscious man and led Lynda out of the grand hall.
"I will fetch Ms. Beck," Edgar announced and left.
Alone with Lucien, Elian thought it was the best time to explain himself before that horrendous man woke up and said exactly what he saw.
He could manoeuvre a little girl's words, but it would be harder to deny if the old man testified to the same thing.
"Your Grace..." Elian started, staring at Lucien's broad shoulders.
Lucien didn't move, didn't respond.
Elian chewed on his bottom lip, thinking of the best way to approach the situation.
"Your Grace, I only went to help Lynda when I heard her crying behind the stables. That man was taking advantage of her virtue..." He trailed off, watching for any reaction from Lucien.
None.
He had twisted the truth in his favor.
The incident might be a lie, but the accused act wasn't.
"Your Grace, Ms. Beck," Edgar announced.
"You called for me, Your Grace?" Ms. Beck asked softly, her hands crossed over her stomach.
"Take him," Lucien finally spoke.
And just like that, he walked away without sparing Elian another look.
"Follow me, young man," Ms. Beck appeared in front of Elian, her face neutral.
Elian stared at the short, stout woman, his eyes scanning her face.
He couldn't tell if she was stern or welcoming.
Her face gave nothing away—an attribute fit for someone who worked close to Lucien.
"Be careful with this one. He might be possessed," Edgar told the woman.
Ms. Beck nodded. "Thank you, Edgar," she said and faced Elian once more.
"Follow me." This time, she turned and started walking toward the exit.
Edgar sneered at Elian before leaving as well.
Elian sighed, glancing at Ms. Beck.
He could tell she was a maid from her clothing, but he couldn't understand why Lucien had assigned him to his maid.
Grunting, he stood.
If he wanted to find out what Lucien wanted from him, he'd have to follow the woman.
The sun had fully appeared as Elian stepped out of the building.
He followed Ms. Beck down the walkway that led to Soren's infirmary.
But they did not stop there.
They walked past the infirmary and headed for the three stairs that led them to a wooden door on the left.
Ms. Beck knocked once, and the door was immediately opened.
"Morning, milady," the guard at the door greeted, ignoring Elian as though he were invisible.
Ms. Beck nodded at the guard and stepped through the door.
Elian silently followed, his eyes darting around the place to take in his new environment.
They had entered a very long hallway, though the doors were closely placed—just a foot away from each other.
The air smelled of laundry and food, and most of the candles hanging on the wall were out or nearly burnt out.
Suddenly, a door in front of them burst open, and a slim woman stepped out, her eyes lighting up as she saw Ms. Beck.
"Beck, why have you been summoned by—" the slim woman trailed off as her eyes fell on Elian behind Ms. Beck.
Elian realized that he'd been brought to the servants' quarters, and that slim woman was a nosy maid.
"Oh..." she murmured.
Ms. Beck nodded. "Yes. Get to your duty, Rita," she said.
"Go to the royal kitchen and make sure the princess's favorite meal is ready before she awakes." She smiled at Rita and stepped aside.
"Yes," Rita nodded and walked away, staring at Elian with curiosity as she passed him.
"This way," Ms. Beck said and turned to her right, pushing in the door.
Elian didn't move. The room was dark, and he had been through enough to simply follow an order blindly.
These women were his mother's colleagues, but the way they looked at him told him they believed his father had done it.
Therefore, he wasn't trusting them blindly.
Ms. Beck saw that Elian hadn't moved from his spot and sighed.
She stood in front of the door and stared at him. "I knew your mother. However, I do not believe she raised a stubborn son," she said.
His mother.
That caught Elian's interest.
He took a step forward.
"You were close to her?" he asked.
Ms. Beck nodded. "Of course. I keep close watch over all my maids," she said.
"Then—"
"I said maids, Elian. I have no business with the men," she cut him off.
Elian's questions died in his throat.
Why couldn't anyone tell him one single thing they knew about his father?
"Now, enter," Ms. Beck ordered.
Elian felt helpless, hesitation locking his feet in place.
After a moment, he decided to move forward.
Ms. Beck stepped aside, letting him through.
The moment he stepped into the dark room, the scent of old candle wax and dust filled the air.
He coughed, reacting to the stuffy room.
"Ah, allergies... I have those too."
Elian felt Ms. Beck's arm graze against his as she walked past him.
Immediately, he laced his fingers together.
He could not risk touching another hand... not yet.
His head was still swirling with images from last night.
Horrible, inhumane images