"While I am grateful for your willingness to make a corpse out of anyone that touches me, it would be troublesome if you start your collection with the Crown Prince or my father," Celine said.
Lucian pushed her backwards until she hit the bedpost. Her fingers curled in his hair and tugged him away while he tugged her bottom lip harder, drawing a low groan from her.
"What's wrong with you? You think that I want to kiss you when I'm angry?! You are dead wrong! Dead!" she pried herself away with a quiet hiss, and he grabbed her chin.
"Did he hit you?" He asked, turning her head to the side and checking for the red spot on her cheek.
"So what if he did?" she snapped, slapping his hand away, "What are you going to do about it, huh? Slap him to death when an opportunity presents itself?"
He responded with another kiss, "Yes," then another kiss, "Yes I will," and one more for the sake of it, "A thousand times over," his voice trailed off, and he nipped at her lip, "What are you going to do about it, huh? Whip me raw?" He chuckled softly, "Punish me hard?" He pressed a chaste kiss to the edge of her mouth.
Celine raised her chin and stared down at him haughtily, her fingers clenching and unclenching around his shirt, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she rasped as her lips quivered, "Give me a reason to end your miserable existence. Go on, unleash your inner trash and prove to me what a waste of life you are."
Lucian blinked at her innocently and gave her his best smile, "Then what are you waiting for?" he leaned down and rubbed his lips across hers, "Hit me," grabbing her wrist and putting her hand over his cheek, "End me before I end you." He grinned and kissed her forehead, then nose, "Take responsibility for what you've done."
"I'm fainting," she closed her eyes and spread out comfortably, "Good luck with the explanation. Hope you choke on your words while you try to convince my father otherwise. Bye." Then she went limp.
His lips landed on hers again, and she didn't respond. He patted her cheeks a few times. She was really good at this fainting business. Like a pro. "..." He licked his lips and then gave hers another peck, and when she still didn't respond, he hugged her against his chest.
She kept playing dead.
"Why did they hurt you? If you give me a believable excuse, I might reconsider sparing them," Lucian said, tracing her jawline with the tip of his finger.
"Tought Love? Maybe? Or maybe it's the same reason as to why my right leg is wrapped in a bandage. I bruised their ego, so they needed to put me in my place. The usual human reaction to superior specimens."
"Are you saying that the name that shouldn't be named is superior to you?" Lucian asked, brushing the tip of his finger across her earlobe.
"That's leniency for you. Have mercy on those beneath you," she whispered, "Even bugs have their purpose in life, as disgusting as they may be."
"..." Lucian poked her head with his index finger, "You know you were supposed to cry at the injustice, not brag about being superior to a walking dung pile. Why are you so bad at getting sympathy?"
She didn't respond once again, pretending she was out cold.
Knocking on the door interrupted their moment, "My Lord, His Lordship requests your presence to discuss the business proposal."
"Tell him that I'll be there shortly," Lucian answered, and the voice outside the door retreated.
Celine cracked an eye open, "Sooo~oo..."
"See you at the dinner," he said, pressing his forehead against hers before letting her go, "Will you behave until then?"
"Nope," she said, closing her eyes and stretching like a cat on a rug. She then rolled around and hung by her waist from the side of the bed, staring at Lucian upside down, "I hereby solemnly swear that I won't change my ways, and shall continue my mischievous activities without mercy or consideration of my future husband. Amen," she clasped her hands together, "Father, bless my efforts to drive this young Lord insane, forever and ever."
"..." Lucian went to fix his clothes and walked past her, "In case it wasn't clear already," he squatted in front of her, and caressed her cheek with his thumb, "It wasn't a suggestion. Behave, or suffer the consequences." With that said, he left.
He took the key and locked the door from outside. Thump. Thump. His heart hammered inside his chest. One simply couldn't threaten Celine Rochefort and leave in peace. Did she even take him seriously? Did she even fear anything?
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Lucian joined the meeting with the Duke of Rochefort, who presented him with the deal papers. Or in other words, dirt accumulated on the two Houses who backed away from the trade deal with the Rocheforts. It regarded the weapon smithy in their region, and the mines where they dug for iron ore and coal.
The two Houses were responsible for supplying the Rochefort Army with weapons and armor. In return, they were granted the freedom to manage their region as they saw fit, as long as they met the requirements of the yearly production quota. They were allowed to sell the surplus to anyone they wanted, except the enemy, and they also enjoyed the protection and support from the Duke of Rochefort.
Now that they've decided to switch sides and supply the army of the Crown Prince instead, the Duke of Rochefort needed to find a new supplier.
The Duke also passed him a few new designs of weapons that he wanted to produce. Lucian gave the plans a quick look. Guns were unreliable and expensive to make. They took too much time to reload, and were inaccurate at a range longer than thirty yards. They could also backfire on the user if not properly maintained or used.
"They look like the ones Lady Celine shot me with," Lucian commented, "You say the designer has improved the mechanism, and made them easier to load and reload, but... I'm afraid that the price of these still won't be easy to swallow, Your Grace."