CRIMSON LILY [To Be Published Under PAPERINK]

CHAPTER 16

And I only stared at his hand. I couldn't give the dagger right away. Master Vander gave this to me as a gift!

"Elisse. Give the dagger to your brother." Kaiser, too, wanted me to do it.

To hell with this.

"I can't," I muttered, looking up to him. "I can't give this to you."

I know he was surprised with my answer, but before they could force me, I quickly marched away from them and went ahead to the duke's office.

I'll surrender it to the duke instead of him so I can still get it back. But that guy. He's definitely a weird one. His eyes are very familiar.

I stood in front of the duke's office before knocking thrice. "Your Grace? This is Elisse," I called.

I heard a few rustling noises inside then a quick, heavy footstep before the door opened. "You're back early." He looked excited as he invited me inside.

He ordered his personal servant to serve tea and a couple of refreshments for us. We both sat on the couch of his office, and I sat across from him. Before I forgot everything, I quickly informed him about what happened earlier.

"Your Grace, I pointed a dagger at someone today," I started. A crease formed on his forehead as he looked at me. An awkward smile formed on my face as I told him the rest of what happened. In full detail.

The duke looked amazed that he ended up laughing. "That was the third prince. I didn't know that my daughter was braver than my sons. That is an achievement!"

I blinked. My throat was parched, and my heart pounded. Ah. So, he was a prince. But if the duke's reacting like this, then does that mean I won't die because of what I did?

I nervously held the teacup and took quick sips on my tea. Is this chamomile? Ah. So, refreshing. The duke must have noticed the nervousness I suddenly felt. He placed down his teacup then held my hand.

"Don't worry, child. You only did that as self-defense. If they ever punish you, I'll make sure to write a petition to punish the prince as well for creeping at you like that." He looked like he was ready to attack the imperial family if things went south.

That's great. I have someone who will back me up. But, I will apologize for my life.

In a flash of events, dinner happened right after a few chattering in father's office. The grin on his face never left him as we headed to the dining hall.

Meanwhile, my three brothers looked weird in all aspects, and as much as I'd love to discuss what happened together, I had to excuse myself.

I was doing fine just a while ago, but my stomach churned. I had to excuse myself at the dining hall since I was feeling nauseous again. I didn't feel anything aching in my head, but my chest kept on pounding.

I pursed my lips as I tried focusing on my way back to my room. It wasn't an urgent thing, so I refused it when they offered to escort me back.

I still don't understand what was happening to me. It's not like I used a lot of mana today, nor did I do something strenuous that will drain my body like this.

I saw Pandora and Ebony bickering on my bed when I entered my room. My breathing was heavy and loud, so I quickly got their attention. They immediately assisted me to rest. I couldn't hear what they were saying since I was slowly fainting on my bed.

I WOKE UP WITH both Marina and Scarlet watching over me. They both looked worried. I tried to push myself up, but Marina stopped me.

"My lady. Please take your time and take more rest. Your complexion looks bad already," Marina said worriedly.

"Yes. Please take a rest for now, my lady. Just give us your orders and we will do it for you," Scarlet agreed. I sighed softly as I lay back on the bed. I'm not that hard-headed.

I could now feel the pounding in my head, so I must listen to them. I contemplated for a few minutes whether I should tell them about my plans or not, but in the end, I still gave them my orders.

"Remember the other building that was being offered to us a month ago? Use the funds I've accumulated for the payment and have it registered under the guild's name," I said, my voice almost sounding a whisper.

"Do we have to make sure of a few things before we purchase the building?" Marina confirmed.

I tried to shake my head. "Just make sure that it will be possible to create a secret passage on any side of that building."

Marina smiled then she bowed her head. "As you request, my lady." She was the one who left to complete the task while Scarlet was left to take care of me.

Between the two, Marina has the most potential in terms of taking care of businesses, while Scarlet's advantage was like a protector for me. They were both different, but they complimented each other so well.

My body felt heavy once again, so I eventually fell asleep.

My heart pounded faster, as if it were about to burst. I quickly opened my eyes, so I could try to calm myself, but it was only darkness that welcomed me. I unconsciously bit my inner lip when I realized that I must be dreaming.

I pinched my arms to wake myself up, but I couldn't feel anything. A crease formed on my forehead as the anxiety of not seeing anything was starting to cloud my head. It felt as if something was preventing me from breathing because of how tight my chest felt.

I tried to scream and crawl, wanting to search for any light. Then I heard those familiar voices. My head initially turned from side to side to find where the voices were coming from.

I thought I would be safe, but the image of my father, Kaiser, Marina, and Scarlet suddenly appeared in my sight. I reached out to them, but all they did was stare down at me with cold eyes.

A shiver ran down my spine as I felt that same feeling from before, the feeling of being abandoned. I tried crawling again, but I couldn't get any closer to them.

Then a black shadow appeared behind me. It grabbed my feet and dragged me farther from them. I started shouting for help, but no voice came out of my mouth.

And when it felt like I was about to run out of breath, I suddenly woke up from the nightmare. The first thing I saw after waking up were those familiar faces from my dream.

"Father!" I blurted as I jumped up to hug him. My heart was still pounding like crazy. I couldn't calm down and I ended up crying in the duke's arms.

And I wasn't aware that the dream was a sign ofimpending chaos.