Chap 5: The Truth From Misunderstanding

Physician Josh comes again to the Ducal Palace. Outside Lucia's room, two guards stand at the door. When he enters the room, he sees Iry standing and crying, along with two knights near Lucia's bed. His worried expression instantly changes to fear after seeing a man's face. His eyes, which are supposed to be blue, are now red, looking so sharp and scary.

"I heard you came here this afternoon, checking up on my wife." His voice sounds like he is about to kill someone.

"Your... Your Grace! I... I just did what I was told." His words shatter. He is scared.

"Then, tell me. Why isn't she waking up now?" His voice is sharp and deep.

"I... I swear Her Grace was fine this afternoon. The result showed she was strong and healthy." He almost chokes as the surroundings feels thin.

"Is that so? Then I give you one last chance to examine her. I only want to hear good words coming from your mouth." He tries to calm his tone, but it still feels scary.

"Y... Yes. I'll do my best." Josh then carefully examines Lucia for a second time. This time, he does it with an uneasy mind and shivering hands. Totally scared.

"Pheww, Your Grace. The Duchess is fine. She's not waking up because she's exhausted. She must be tired from the walk this morning." Josh says in a calm tone. He is calm because he won't lose his head today.

"That must be true. But Her Grace never slept this long before, no matter how tired she was," Iry interrupts.

"Don't worry, she'll wake up soon. I'm sure of it." Josh sounds so confident, not like a few moments ago.

"I understand. You all may leave now," he orders them. He then kneels beside Lucia's bed.

He looks at her sleeping face with pleading eyes. He hopes Lucia will wake up soon. This time, he has to stay here because he needs to hear Lucia's voice to know if she is fine or not, even if it's an angry voice. He meditates for a long time until he doesn't realize he is sleeping by Lucia's side.

The sky is already dark. Lucia wakes up, sitting up from her sleep, sweating. She dreams of the tragedy that befell the real Lucia's family until the day Lucia's soul disappeared. The feeling is so real, fear begins to envelop her. However, as Elora, she already knows what really happened. So she tries to control her emotions so as not to act like real Lucia. Instantly, she sees a man sleeping next to her, on the floor. Her heart immediately knows who it is.

"You must be Lewis Greexen. My husband." Lucia brings her face closer to Lewis'. Scanning his entire face, she suddenly feels herself hit by an electric shock. She has fallen in love in just a second.

Lewis wakes up, as if he is being watched. He raises his head, surprised to see Lucia watching him. He jumps up and steps back. His behavior is like a mouse surprised by a cat. This makes Lucia also surprised.

"Did I startle you? I'm sorry." Lucia gathers the strength to ask him.

"Ahem. A little. Well, get enough rest, I'll leave now." Lewis clears his throat, his ears red, trying to hide his embarrassment. He can't believe that Lucia is talking to him.

"Wait! Please, don't leave me. Stay here." Lucia almost screams. She wants to be with him for longer. It is time for her to change their relationship.

"What? Are you sure you want me to stay?" Lewis can't believe what he just hears. He is even more surprised that she wants him to stay.

"I know it's weird but I do want you to stay. Let tonight be our day to clarify everything." Lucia sounds confident. She really means what she says.

Lewis crosses his arms and leans against the wall. The light of the candle on the table next to him highlights his face clearly. His hair is short dark brown, styled somewhat messily. His face is light-skinned with sharp features. His body looks athletic, his shoulders are broad, his arm veins clearly stand out, with the sleeves rolled up to just below the elbows revealing his forearms. He wears a white long-sleeved shirt made of a plain fabric, possibly linen or cotton. It has a high, gathered collar and very full sleeves that are tucked into his black trousers. His posture is open and inviting, with a direct gaze and serious expression. His blue eyes lock on Lucia. Their distance is only two steps, very close. He looks tempting in Lucia's eyes.

Lucia scans Lewis up and down. She swallows. Tempted. In her mind she just wants to jump up and kiss Lewis. However, part of herself tries to push that thought away.

"Enough?" Lewis speaks, his voice deep and tempting.

"No. Aaa... I mean yes." Lucia is initially honest with what she says, but quickly realizes and corrects herself. Her face begins to turn red from embarrassment at being caught staring at him.

"Well, what clarification do you want from me?" Lewis starts to get serious.

"Tell me the whole thing. Why you killed my parents and my cousin." Well, as Elora she already knows the truth but right now, she is Lucia, so she needs to act as if she doesn't know anything.

"I did kill your cousin. But not your parents. That day..." Lewis speaks in a deep but sad tone, and begins his story.

...****************...

Before the incident that made Lucia hate Lewis:

At the Royal Palace, Lucia's father, Lord Patriqe Fross, came out of the meeting hall after meeting the king. Lewis approached him.

"Good evening, Lord Fross." Lewis greeted Lucia's Father.

"Ohh, Lewis Greexen. Happy to meet you." Lucia's father replied.

"I have something to tell you. I want to marry your daughter, Lady Lucia." Lewis was serious.

"I'm happy to hear, but for marriage, I need you to meet my daughter first." He sounded agreeable, but still believed his daughter's answer was important.

"I'll take that as a yes. I'll come tomorrow." Lewis bowed slightly. Even though his title was much higher, he needed to show respect to the man who would soon be his father-in-law.

"That sounds good." He was happy, but still felt something unclear. How could lewis want to marry his daughter when they had only met once, when they were little?

The next day, Lewis came as promised. The maid opened the door, welcomed Lewis in and led him upstairs to the living room. However, their steps stopped when they heard a loud scream coming from the room. The smell of fresh blood reached their noses. Lewis ran in, shocked to see Lucia's parents lying on the floor along with the guards, covered in blood. The space was full of the guards holding bloody swords. At the end of the corner of the coffee table, Ray stood silently, also holding his bloody sword. Neil, Lewis first knight and the other guards were quick to restrain Ray and his guards. Lewis approached Lord Fross's body and knelt down. Lord Fross was still alive.

"Lewis, I hand over my daughter to you. Take good care of her." With those words, he died. His words were his last will.

Lewis got up, his face dark, his eyes turning red, showing that he was angry. He took the bloody sword and placed it on Ray's neck.

"Why did you kill them?" his tone was deep, frightening.

"Hahahaha. Why do you care? I'm his nephew. Not you!" Ray laughed at Lewis's action.

"They were supposed to be my in-laws. So tell me. Why did you kill them? Lewis remained patient.

"So you're the reason they rejected my proposal. You bastard!" Ray shouted, staring into Lewis's eyes with anger.

"I can't let you stay alive. "You should also die." Lewis looked at Ray with a sneer.

When Lewis was about to behead him, he heard the sound of people running towards the room. A girl appeared, with her breathing fast, her eyes wide, tears falling down her cheeks. It was Lucia. She witnessed Lewis behead her cousin. She fell on the floor, unable to believe what she just saw.

Lucia's mind went blank, her heart felt as if it had stopped beating. Her eyes scanned the whole room. She didn't have anything to say, All she could think was that she needed to be brave. Overwhelmed by horror and grief, Lucia grabbed a sword from the floor and rushed at Lewis, intending to kill him. But Neil quickly caught and stopped her.

"Lucia Fross. You'll come with me." Lewis didn't look at Lucia; his eyes were still glued to the man he had just killed.

Lucia wanted to speak, but her throat felt as if it was stuck. The fear that enveloped her made her voice not come out. Her eyes lost their shine. That day, Lucia had to follow Lewis, only being with Iry, her personal maid.

Upon arriving at the Ducal Palace, Lewis gave orders to all his servants to serve Lucia and begin all the preparations for their wedding. During Lucia's stay in the palace, she did not speak much, her face was cold, losing the sweetness that was always on her face. After getting married, Lucia gained some courage to show her anger and hatred to Lewis. She often forced Lewis to divorce her. She always looked at him with disgusted eyes. Lewis often asked for advice from his father and also from Neil and Austin, and even from his shadow knight.

Everyone forced Lewis to tell her the truth, but every time he tried to do that, Lucia would chase him out of the room. Sometimes, she would go crazy and throw things when she saw his face. That was why he always avoided her and began to act fierce and cold towards her. But he secrectly deeply cared about Lucia. He provided Lucia with the most luxurious life possible, often asked about Lucia's condition through Iry. He also gave Eriz, his shadow knight, the task of spying on Lucia. Every night he would secretly come into Lucia's room and see her sleeping face. That's all he could do.

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