Become The Duke's Wife Or Die

"Is she asleep?"  Duke Kleo asked Stefanus.  At that time he was outside, near a monument built to honor the ancestors, located not far from the prison.

Stefanus bowed and answered, "Not yet, My Lord."  He had just met a guard on duty to check on Lyra in prison.

Groaning, Duke Kleo pinched his temples in frustration.  "Ask Mr. Bertus to do as I have instructed him!"

Stefanus nodded then went to meet Mr. Bertus, conveying what Duke Kleo had told him.

Shortly after that Mr. Bertus was seen walking away into the kitchen, ordering several servants to prepare dinner for Lyra, with a menu that was quite inappropriate.  When all the maids looked up in protest, he could only say firmly while lifting his chin, "This is an order from His Grace!"  And it was able to stifle the protests of all the maids.

A few minutes later the dinner menu was ready, namely some tubers and a glass of water.  From his pocket, he took a bottle of sleeping pills and sprinkled it on the water.

His task after that was to find Ella and Gena, as the parties who might be able to persuade Lyra to finish her dinner menu presently, so that she fell asleep quickly.  Mr. Bertus had searched various corners until he found Ella, but not with Gena.

"Bring dinner for Miss Lyra!  Make sure she finishes it soon!"  Mr. Bertus ordered as naturally as possible.  "Since this afternoon she hasn't eaten anything, I'm afraid her health has dropped drastically.  Now that His Grace is starting to seem more stable, he asked me to prepare this.  Maybe tomorrow His Grace could be persuaded, and that could only be done by Miss Lyra herself.  Do you understand what I mean?"  His eyebrows rose.

Ella nodded, looking both happy and excited. She was already worried that if the conflict between Lyra and Duke Kleo really couldn't be resolved, Lyra would be executed.

"Very well, Mr. Bertus!"  she said cheerfully, as she received the tray containing the dinner menu.  "I'll take it to Miss Lyra and tell her about His Grace's mood."

After seeing Mr. Bertus nod, she immediately sped away towards the prison with hurried steps, sprinting so that she almost slipped repeatedly, considering the terrain leading to the dungeon was not too flat, many rocky stairs as well as terrible twists and turns, dark.

There should be a lot of prisoners.  However, after Duke Kleo re-evaluated the crimes they committed, he decided to give prisoners leniency and provide opportunities for prisoners who still want to change themselves for the better.  The rest, he executed them mercilessly.

He believed that normal humans deserved to be forgiven, while demonic humans with faults and stubbornness towards their bad behavior needed to be exterminated.  If only as a child he had had this much authority, perhaps he would never have lost his mother.

Ella rushed over to Lyra in prison, persuading her as best she could.  But she didn't succeed.

Until then came a guard claiming to be Duke Kleo's envoy.  "You should finish your dinner soon!"  which served as a whip to get Lyra to touch her dinner immediately.

The clatter of empty trays filled the prison in every corner, leaving Lyra lying hopelessly on the floor while Ella and the messenger guards left.

Ella repeatedly bit her lip while squeezing her fingers.  Her short figure seemed to sink into the gloom of the prison, following the guard leading the way.  Anxious embracing her, like imprisoning her in a hole the dimmest and darkest, gripping, dangerous.

Now and then she glanced back, confirming whether Lyra was poisoned by Duke Kleo, looking wildly at various corners as if she had prepared for the worst.  Looking at her hands trembling, finally, she couldn't stand to just stay still and speculate.

"Do you think His Grace is poisoning Miss Lyra?"  Her steps quickened to align herself with the long-legged guard.  "He couldn't have done that, could he?  Miss Lyra isn't going to die, is she?"  Her eyes narrowed, imagining herself being the suspect in Lyra's death.

The guard just snorted, glancing somewhat bored.  "If I answered your question would you want to date me?"

Glaring, Ella hit his muscular arm as hard as she could.  "Can you be serious just once?  This is why I always turn down your date requests."

He suddenly stopped, turned around, and squeezed her very romantically.  "I'm serious right now."  His face drew closer, looking deeply at her.

She pushed his chest area.  "Then quickly tell me what you know?"

"You have to accept to date me first!"

"I need to know what information you know first."

"Then you won't get it!" He was adamant, straightened his body, and folded his arms across his chest.  "Sigh, it's a shame even though this news is very interesting.  You'd be surprised what His Grace is planning."

Ella gasped upon hearing that, grabbed his arm then pleaded, "Tell me everything you know!"

"Say you'll date me first!"

"Argh!"  snapped Ella, annoyed, helpless.  "Okay, you won!  I'll date you.  Now tell me what you know!"

The guard whispered all the information he knew, causing Ella to widen her eyes, including making her gape.

"A-are you serious?"  This was the first time Ella stuttered in front of him, making him want to devour her out of excitement.

The guard nodded, not long after seeing Ella's figure darting and running to go somewhere.  Shaking his head, he immediately went to the ancestral monument area to meet Stefanus and provide the final information.  "Miss Lyra has finished her dinner, sir."

Stefanus nodded, immediately informing Duke Kleo of this.

Hearing that Duke Kleo rushed towards the prison, seeing Lyra still awake.  He waited a while, then approached after seeing her looking sleepy and barely conscious.

Her eyes closed as he opened the prison door, entered it, and checked her condition.

His hand wiped her face, brushed the strands of hair that covered it, then carried her to take her somewhere.

The prison guards looked at each other, seemingly giving each other complicated expressions.  They would never be able to guess what Duke Kleo was currently planning.

Why would he imprison the girl he likes and then take her out with his own hands?  Was he going to execute her that very night?

***