Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Under His Roof

"It is my fault."

Ruelle’s chest tightened. Lucian offered Edward a polite bow, his demeanour composed as ever, while the prince stared at the pureblooded vampire for a single beat before rage flooded his face.

Edward strode forward, fists clenched. He looked one second away from throwing a punch, while Ruelle’s heart leapt to her throat.

"If Ruelle had not attended the celebration at the Slater Mansion," Lucian continued, "she wouldn’t have crossed paths with Minister Maverick Griswold."

Ruelle’s eyes snapped back at Lucian, his expression nonchalant compared to the furious prince. He had admitted his involvement, yet gently turned the blame toward the minister.

"Maverick Griswold?" Edward lowered his raised hand slightly, frowning. "Who is that?"

Hermes answered at once, "Minister Griswold is a first-rank minister of the Royal Courthouse, Your Highness. His position is overseeing civil enforcement and human registry matters."

Edward’s jaw tightened. His gaze snapped back to Lucian. "Then why did you make it sound like you were the one who did it?"

Because he did, Ruelle thought, her heart beginning to race.

Lucian didn’t flinch. He responded,

"She is under my roof. That makes her my responsibility. She returns to my side at the end of the day," he paused coolly, before adding, "My room. And the details of what I heard would not please you. He came looking for her again this morning."

Edward continued to stare at Lucian, as if he wanted to get into a brawl but at the same time worried about his interest. His gaze shifted to Ruelle and the fury in his eyes made her fingers curl at her sides. The prince demanded, "Is that true?"

She nodded. "He came to my class earlier—"

"How dare he," Edward hissed. His hands trembled with anger. He ordered, "Hermes, I want his position stripped."

The attendant wore a weary look as he answered, "That is not within your direct authority, Your Highness. It requires the King’s seal..."

Edward waved him off, snapping, "My authority is not nonexistent. There is nothing I cannot do." He then turned to Ruelle and added, "Nothing."

"You don’t need to go that far, Your Highness," Ruelle said quietly.

"Why not? He has sullied your reputation."

"I believe," Lucian interrupted smoothly, "she is not worried about what he did. She is worried about what he will do if this matter is handled poorly."

For a moment the prince simply stared at Lucian, jaw tight. He then asked coldly, "Is that what she is saying or what you are suggesting, Slater?"

Lucian met Edward’s gaze, responding to him in the same tone that barely rose or dropped, "I’m suggesting she should not suffer for someone else’s mistake."

Edward’s nostrils flared and he ordered, "Hermes. My carriage. Now," and he strode down the corridor without another word.

Ruelle stood frozen as everything spiralled too fast before her. She turned to Lucian, who watched Edward disappear around the corner. When he was about to step back inside the dining room, she whispered,

"You sent him after the minister... What if Edward learns the truth?"

Lucian looked utterly unruffled and he answered,

"The prince will not return until he has made a spectacle of protecting you. Removing a nuisance while hoping you’ll look at him like a hero."

Ruelle, on the other hand, was worried about what if things went wrong. She asked, "How did you know...?"

"You aren’t very good at hiding your emotions," Lucian pointed out, watching her doe-like eyes look up to meet his eyes. There was something sweet in there that drew unnecessary bees to the flower. "You were hiding from him in the Slater Mansion’s garden."

Ruelle’s eyes widened as she remembered it. She murmured, "I didn’t expect you to see it..."

"Hm," Lucian made a low sound of acknowledgement before saying, "Get back in and eat."

"Won’t you be eating?" Ruelle asked him politely.

"Later. I have something to do," Lucian answered. Ruelle gave a nod before she disappeared inside the dining room.

He made his way down the corridor and stairs. When he reached the area where the carriages were parked, his coachman, who was sitting idly, stood up at the sight of him.

"Mr. Slater," the coachman, Claude, offered a bow.

"Find out who bought siren bone powder in the last sixty days," Lucian ordered. Having meddled with several potions since he was young, he was aware of the ingredients used and their symptoms. And last night, someone had drugged him. There were only a handful of ingredients that were capable of supressing memory.

"Didn’t all the ingredients belonging to the merfolk turn extinct, Sire?" Claude enquired.

"All but the bone," Lucian replied, before adding, "Look for the merchants in the East Harbour. They usually deal with things that are hard to find." He then pulled out a rolled parchment from his coat before extending it, which the coachman took swiftly. "Hand this to the register after a week to distribute it. The papers are attached along with the evidence."

"Of course, Sire," the coachman obliged with a bow.

The prince would not return to Sexton until the deed was completed and the procedure of removing a minister from the courthouse was a long one, something Lucian was quite familiar with. As for Griswold, he had been warned but the man had reached too far.

Lucian wasn’t someone who enjoyed meddling in other people’s affairs. He preferred distance. But when someone crossed a line, he ruined them. Slowly and carefully, until misery pressed in from all sides and the person was nowhere left to breathe.

Returning to the dining room, Lucian took a seat at the table when Dane came to join them.

"A little birdy told me you had been breaking test tubes and beakers before you stormed out without a word," Dane chimed, picking up a fork and putting the meat into his mouth.

"Pssh. I would definitely like to dream on that," Hailey replied. "But not something a Groundling gets to have. Right, Kevin?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

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