Become The Duke's Wife Or Die

Duke Kleo immediately grabbed Lyra's arm, shielding her with his tall and reliable figure.  Following Stefanus, they were now outside his office, standing opposite each other.

"Go back to your room!"  he ordered while squeezing her fingers meaningfully.  "Don't come out until I tell you to!  Do you understand?"

There's a serious problem going on, she knows about it.

Finally, she nodded even though her brain was planning something else.

Ella and Gena were nowhere to be found, at least she couldn't see them anywhere.  The maids serving her were somewhere some distance away, who were not even aware of her current position.

Seeing this opportunity, she sneaked upon to follow Duke Kleo, in order to see and find out someone who had just been arrested.

'Is that person a spy?' Her mind wondered.

It was dark, the sun had completely fallen in its twilight, no longer peeking out like at dawn.  Even the mauve began to fade, replaced by black ink splatters that clumped up in the sky.

The breeze, as well as the grass turning dark, were suppressed by Lyra's settling steps to keep up with Duke Kleo and Stefanus.  Whenever she saw the maids seem to be approaching she would look for a place to hide, or else she would position herself as if she was waiting for Duke Kleo or enjoying the view.

Most importantly she had to do it with certainty, without looking hesitant and awkward, then everything would be fine.

It turned out that Duke Kleo and Stefanus went to the dungeon, which had previously been used to imprison Lyra when Marquess Helmut came offering freedom but had to be thwarted because of the selfishness and anger of a duke.

The steep stone steps she passed at this time, rubbed the hem of her skirt the same as before, which finally left long scars on her smooth and beautiful skin.  Torches flickered at several points, providing poor lighting.  The prison bars are cold and seem locked to lead her to her destination, a place where prisoners are being tied up and closely monitored.

"Damn it!"  Lyra's shriek stopped because of the tight guard.  "If I go deeper then I will be found out," she continued.  The dark and stuffy prison room surrounded her, one thing she would always recognize in her entire life.  There were several guards not far from her, who didn't seem to notice her presence at the moment.

There was Stefanus with Duke Kleo, then someone she didn't know, surrounded by a person dressed in all black who was tied up in the corner of the room, and was sitting on the floor helplessly.

Squinting, Lyra tried to hear their conversation.  But no matter how hard she tried to hear there wasn't a single meaningful piece of information she could get, except for the moans and attempts to attack the prisoner.

There were times when she wanted to go back to her room, feeling it was a waste of time.  Until suddenly she found an opening to get closer, as well as hide even better.

Sneaking carefully, she stooped into a small recess of the prison, sitting quietly listening.  Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, as was her hair which glowed in the darkness.

"So this is what he is doing?"  Duke Kleo sounded furious.  His voice was heavy and muffled, as if ready to blow up anything in its path.  A groan could be heard through it.  "He dares to hire scouts to spy on Wereal?"  he continued, more haughty than usual.

"My Lord, this could be just a trap," said Stefanus.  "We have to do some more investigation."

"I already knew that this was his doing," Duke Kleo growled.  "Jason."

Lyra stared, staggering from too much shock.  Even her body swayed, then collapsed on the dark and stuffy prison ground.

The chaos she caused caught the attention of several guards.  They immediately caught the odd thing, holding weapons in each hand, pointing it at Lyra.

"Who is that?"  shouted one of the guards, who had pushed his way through the darkness to ambush Lyra.  Stefanus and Duke Kleo looked up, then shook their heads when they saw her whimpering while begging for mercy.

"It's me!"  she shouted while covering her head and face, trying to ward off any attacks if there were any.  "It's me!  Don't attack me," she pleaded, looking down and peering at the pairs of legs that had surrounded her without gaps.

Slowly the guards lowered their weapons, then turned to Duke Kleo as if asking for further instructions.

Seeing her raise one hand, the guards nodded then returned to their original position.

"Crack and tie her up!"  Duke Kleo ordered Stefanus.  "We'll investigate again after dinner," he continued, then walked over to Lyra.  Looking down, he saw her who was still cowering in fear.

"Get up!"  he whispered as he helped her to stand up.  Seeing her scared like this broke his heart as if he failed to be her knight and protector.  "What are you doing here?"  he asked after she had stood up, though with a stagger.  "Didn't I ask you to go back to your room?  Why do you always rebel?"

There was no answer or response whatsoever from Lyra, except for the look of her who looked frightened when she saw the prisoner.  Her lips trembled, sometimes appearing to open as if she wanted to say something, but then stopped for reasons only she knew.

"Would you like to inquire about it?"  asked Duke Kleo, following her gaze.

She slowly nodded.

"Let's go up!"  He took a deep breath while guiding her to walk.  "I'll explain to you once you're upstairs."

The two of them walked hand in hand, walking through the dim prison with torchlight flickering against the frozen walls, like a parade where it shouldn't be.

The stone steps passed, bringing them to the surface of the prison as well as the side of the palace building.

Still not stopping, he took her to an open and airy place so that her breathing could be smoother than before.

"Now are you feeling better?"  he asked attentively, making sure she was okay by taking a close look at her expression, including her gestures which were now less shaky, though she was still tightly gripping his fingers.

She nodded, bringing relief to him.

"Thank God!"  he said loudly, gently rubbing her shoulder.  "Next time you don't have to be like that.  You can go back to the room and wait for me.  If you ask me directly you will get the answer from me."

She bit her lip, inwardly nodding her head.

"So what do you want to know?  What makes you curious?"

She was stunned for a long time, as if in awe.  The afternoon wind blew her beauty, and her skirt fluttered.

"Do you want to know who he is?"  His question immediately got a nod from her.  "Haven't you heard of it?  He's a spy, sent by Baron Jason."  His eyes turned frozen and tense.  "I already know everything."

***