Nobody expected Celine to show up so soon. Or at all.
The Commander widened his eyes while the Duke's face became grim. The rest of the soldiers were whispering to each other, trying to understand what was going on.
The Commander quickly ordered them to check the situation, and the soldiers ran inside the estate. It took them a few minutes to come back, carrying the bodies of their fallen comrades, who were all shot down by sleeping darts, courtesy of the Lady of the house.
Lucian was the first to approach her. "You are done already?" he asked.
Celine placed her hand over her forehead dramatically, "I'm tired," she said, and he caught her as she fell, "Take me somewhere safe to rest. I'm too weak to walk by myself."
"..." Lucian held in his laughter and picked her up, bridal style in his arms.
This was also why he needed to save his energy, expecting her to pull off another stunt like this once she was done. She was much lighter than he expected her to be without the dress and the corsets, and her head fit perfectly in the space between his chin and shoulder.
Lucian turned to the Duke and the Commander, who were still processing the situation, "If you'll excuse me, I will go put her to bed."
The Duke's eyes were twitching as he stared at his daughter, "Let her walk herself," he said.
"But she..."
"Put her down."
Lucian hesitated.
"Now."
'Is this some kind of a test?' Lucian looked at Celine, and she was pretending to be asleep. Nothing new there. "But..."
"Are you questioning my authority, Lord Arclight?"
Lucian held her tighter. What's the worst thing that could happen? The Duke would order his soldiers to shoot him down, or hang him, or send him to jail, or... okay, maybe he shouldn't be challenging his future father-in-law, "No, Your Grace." He really was bad at listening to orders, wasn't he?
The Duke's frown deepened. He approached Lucian, his hands outstretched, expecting him to hand her over, "Give her to me."
Lucian took a step backwards, holding her tighter, "How can I be sure that you will not drop her?"
"It's you." The Duke leaned lower and whispered, "The one who has been softening her like clay." He then raised his voice and spoke louder, "Accompany Lord Arclight to his room, and make sure that he keeps his hands off my daughter. A fiance he may be, a husband, he is not, yet. And until then, my daughter will remain untouched."
Two soldiers flanked Lucian's sides and escorted him to his room, while the Duke threw his daughter on the floor, forcing her to stand up by herself. She refused, of course, but when he ordered his men to drag her, she shot one in the leg and the other in the arm.
Groans of pain came from the two unlucky ones as she stood up. "Watch how you approach a lady next time, and learn some manners, or I'll use your body for target practice until every inch of your body is full of holes," she cursed and walked past her father, ordering Patch to fix their injuries as she did.
She no longer limped; her body language was that of a person who was fed up with the world and had nothing to lose. "Really, Father, I still can't believe you haven't yet taught your soldiers how to treat your own daughter," she said, "Do I have to do it myself, again? Should I teach them how to behave around me, the hard way?"
The Duke moved his hand, calming the rest of his men. He ordered Celine to follow him to the barracks, where she would continue her training with the knights and the Commander. They were quite careful with their approach this time, and made sure to address her properly before asking her to comply with her father's orders.
Lucian was prohibited from taking part in their training sessions, with spears pointed at him to remind him of that. He watched as they led Celine away while he was taken back to his room. The soldiers apologized before shutting the doors behind him, leaving him alone.
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Lucian opened the window and saw more guards posted around his room. He sighed and sat down, staring at the wall in front of him. He felt like an animal behind a golden cage. His room was spacious and luxurious, and yet, he felt trapped.
He had no idea what he was thinking, trying to challenge the duke like that. But something was telling him that it was only a matter of time before this would happen. They gave him face for now, but how long until he became nothing more than a puppet for them to use?
He stood up and paced around the room, his mind racing. Was it his fault? Did the Duke lure him in on purpose? Was he using him to make her do his bidding? To make Celine show her skills and abilities?
'You promised not to let others use you, and look at you now. You are getting played.'
Lucian widened his eyes and stopped in the middle of the room.
'You are becoming a slave to the wishes of others again. What are you going to do?'
He buried his face in his palms.
'What is the difference between you and a dog, Lucian?'
His nails dug into his scalp, and his fingers clenched and unclenched in his hair. He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. He flung his fist at the doors, making them tremble on their hinge, imagining he was punching the Duke's teeth out.
"Is everything alright in there, My Lord?" the guard asked.
"Just practicing my swing, Sir. No trouble." Lucian said, then raised his fist again and slammed it into the door, once, twice, thrice, and more. He kept going until his knuckles bled and his hand ached, "I will pay for the damages, don't worry. I wouldn't want to be tied up for property destruction on top of everything."
There was no staff in the estate, which meant he could use the secret passage to sneak out of his room. His men were also sent away to a spare mansion. But what about Celine? Should he just leave her behind?
'You don't owe her anything,' he said to himself and walked towards the bathroom, 'She is the reason for all of this. You don't need to get involved.'