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Wriothesley sat at his desk, his worry growing more and more deeper as his stomach turned. Chronie sat in her usual spot on the couch, watching him shift in his seat.
"Come in." A knock had sounded at his door for the ninth time now. He was bringing people in from the infirmary for questioning.
He never would have thought that someone could simply dissolve into water within the depths of the Fortress under his nose.
"Ah, if it isn't the troublemaker herself." Wriothesley watched you enter, a blank expression on your face. You didn't laugh at him, which put him in an odd position as he normally expected a chuckle or smile to come from your mouth.
"And what makes me a troublemaker?" You responded dryly.
Wriothesley cleared his throat. "Just the fact that you were trying to steal my title."
You let out a small laugh, making Wriothesley hide his smile.
There she is.
He noticed how Chronie tensed at her presence, making him avert his attention to her.
"Leave." He spoke, sternly.
Chronie looked at him with a bit of surprise, standing up. "Why? I've been here the entire time."
"Do I have to repeat myself?" He said, glaring at her.
She scoffed, walking past you in the chair. It took everything in you to not turn around and lunge at her.
"Fine." Chronie stood on the stairway, pausing at the rail. "Oh, and Y/N..."
Your eye twitched when she spoke your name.
"I don't care if you sleep with every man in the Fortress. But you can't sleep with him. I already had done so for you."
Your body shook with anger. Smiling, your leg started jumping up and down as you dug your nails into your palm.
All you could do was laugh.
"Get out." Wriothesley's voice pounded against the office, its intensity causing the walls to vibrate. Chronie quickly walked off before he was to approach her.
Not realizing that he had jolted up, he sat back down and sighed.
He slowly looked at you with a sort of shameful face.
You were staring back at him, that same expression plastered upon you when you had first visited his office.
"...Ah, let me start with the...interrogation..." Wriothesley hesitantly picked up a piece of paper.
"Sure." You said through gritted teeth.
He felt your tone ring through his body, knowing that he wasn't going to get your usual behavior back.
"Tell me what you saw."
"I watched a man dissolve into water."
"Details?"
"He drank water and dissolved into water."
"...What were you doing?"
"Talking."
"With who?"
"Avice."
"What were you talking about?"
"Her."
"What did she say?"
"She ate something bad."
"Who else was in the room?"
"Patients."
"Do you know them?"
"Deakin."
"Deakin was there?"
"Yes."
"Why did you go to the infirmary?"
"Check up."
Wriothesley threw down the paper in frustration. Gripping the bridge of his nose, he looked back at you. Your expression never changed from its original state.
"...Do you want some tea?"
"Sure."
Wriothesley sighed and stood up, walking back over to the boiling station. Your leg shook violently as you waited to be handed the cup of tea.
Gulping it down, your throat throbbed in pain. You took heavy breaths, watching vapor come from your mouth.
"...Are you better now?" Wriothesley asked.
"...Yeah."
You couldn't help but feel... weird. Not because of him or the tea, but because Chronie's statement had gotten under your skin.
You tried to fight the feeling of jealousy while Wriothesley gazed at you.
"Can I get the old Y/N back now?"
You took another long sip of the tea, finishing it all. Placing the cup on his desk and unbarring your fist, you slowly made eye contact with him.
"She's here." You let out a small smile.
"Good." Wriothesley sighed with a bit of relief. "How are you feeling?"
"Right now? Like I need to punch a wall."
"I mean about the murder." He stated.
"Murder?" You asked. "That's what it is?"
"Yes..." Wriothesley's jaw shifted. "There are a lot of things you don't know about Fontaine."
"Enlighten me." You said.
"Asking for classified information again, are we?" He chuckled, making your skin tingle.
"Then at least tell me how it's possible for someone to dissolve into water." You argued.
"That's classified as well."
You rolled your eyes. "Guess I'll have to fight you again and steal your title as the Duke so I can learn for myself."
Wriothesley looked at you, not responding. His eyes laid into yours, a smile still lying on his lips. Your cheeks heated and you faced away from him, refusing to give into his gaze.
"Stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?"
"That." You emphasized, quickly looking at him and then away.
"I'm just making eye contact."
"No, you're not."
"Then what do you call this?"
Biting your lip, you tried to hold back a question that was pounding on your mind.
But your words were too fast to catch.
"...Did you really sleep with her?"
A pause was shared that made you immediately regret speaking. You quickly doubled back with a "Nevermind", trying to change the subject.
"...I did."
Wriothesley's response made your heart sink.
You breathed out, fighting your mind.
Get over it, Y/N. There is no reason you should even feel like this. You know he's not into you like that.
"Well, that's... something." You tried to force a laugh, but your mouth hung open instead.
"It is. And I regret it." He picked up his tea, closing his eyes as he sipped it.
"Huh?" You finally looked back at him, but this time, he wasn't looking at you.
"When we first met, I was more of a horrible person than I am now. Being locked away here for so long really does something to a man. She came here only for a month because of something she did on the surface. I acted on her in impulse, giving her the false impression that I was into her." Wriothesley said.
You felt yourself loosening the tension in your muscles. "So you led her on?"
"Yeah. Things just spiraled down from there."
You didn't want to question more, since your mind was already full of distasteful images. "Wow. I didn't know the Duke could be such a hornball."
Chuckling, Wriothesley looked at you. "Did she get to you with her slick comment?"
"Tch. Of course not." You lied. "I just don't like my name in her mouth."
He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms.
The look in his eyes gave you a sensation that made your thighs press together.
"Ah, apologies. I must have thought that you wished you were the one in my bed instead of her."