Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 155

Chapter 155: Nothing Without Consequences

A nervous sweat broke across Ruelle’s skin. The chain’s hook latched with a soft click. She schooled her expression, and as she pulled herself away, Lucian’s eyes followed her.

"The blood on your skirt wasn’t yours... was it?" She shook her head at his question. He watched her, as if dissecting her expression, before saying, "Mind if I check?" There was something in his eyes she couldn’t quite read.

"Check?" Ruelle repeated, feeling slightly nervous.

She then saw him lower himself onto one knee without breaking his gaze.

A gasp escaped from her lips when his hands slipped beneath the hem of her skirt, his cold fingers touching her ankles. His fingers brushed higher. Slow and careful, as if inspecting for a wound, and her breath faltered.

"Impressive," Lucian murmured, his touch lingering a moment longer before he dropped his hands. "You didn’t get hurt."

"I told you..." Ruelle breathed, her eyes turning unfocused. She hadn’t expected him to check himself.

Lucian rose slowly, towering over her and forcing her to look up. Ruelle knew what work he did for the courthouse. Lies didn’t last long around men like him. She revealed,

"There were things that happened. A pot inside one of the houses, it just... came back to life."

"And?" Lucian coaxed, his voice low, the softness of it wasn’t the same as the way he watched her.

"I have been hearing things. Voices" Ruelle confessed hesitantly, something she hadn’t told Hailey. "At first, I thought it was something to do with the fortune teller... but now that I think about it, it must be the ghosts from the abandoned house."

She had given him only half the truth.

The rest refused to leave her lips, caught somewhere between what she had witnessed the king could do... and what Lucian was capable of. It would not end without consequence.

Not to mention, Hermes didn’t look like he would stay quiet this time if he saw Lucian kiss or be around her. And she wasn’t going to pull him into it this time. Though she had agreed for the next two days, would she survive?

"Do you remember what the voices wanted?" Lucian straightened.

Ruelle tried to answer but the words didn’t come as easily as they should have. Her thoughts slipped, scattering somewhere between what she meant to say and the way he was looking at her, how he stood there unbothered with just a towel. And somewhere in the look in his eyes, it felt deliberate.

"It wasn’t just one. I did hear a name. Daisy," Ruelle said with a small frown. "But I don’t know anyone by that name. It was when I touched the peony pot."

A faint, awkward smile followed, and she said, "Perhaps I should visit the church. It has been a while."

Lucian didn’t respond and he went still at the mention of the flowers. Claude had said she remembered nothing. But there was a possibility.

"I should go change my clothes," Ruelle murmured and quickly walked to the other side of the divider while pressing the back of her hand on her forehead. Once she changed into a fresh set of clothes and stepped out of the divider, she turned to him and asked,

"Lucian... have you been to the castle?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Briefly," he replied, adjusting the sleeve of his black shirt. "Why?"

"There were a lot of books there on witches," Ruelle said, her brows drawing slightly as she thought back. "I didn’t get the chance to read them, but I kept wondering if there might be something on Belladonna. Or the mirror."

"I doubt you would have found anything useful," Lucian said, sitting on the edge of the desk, his gaze fixed on her. "No one has heard of the mirror. Things like that aren’t written down."

"Then where do I look for answers?" Ruelle asked him earnestly.

"If the small mirror you have can return to its original form every time it breaks, then the rest of the mirror should still exist somewhere. That’s where you start," he stated.

"I think I’ll go see Brother Dane," Ruelle said after a moment, making her way towards the door. "There’s something I need to give him."

Stepping out of the room, she walked slow and careful to avoid raising any suspicion because something told her that Lucian’s ears were attuned to her footsteps.

When she reached the building where the staff room was, she ran into Ezekiel and Caroline walking from the opposite side of the corridor. Ezekiel reached up to fix Caroline’s hair, smiling at something she said.

"It was the merchant’s fault. Else I would have shown you how capable I am," Caroline laughed, her hand looped through her husband’s arm. "When I used to—"

She stopped when she caught sight of Ruelle. Her grip tightened around her husband’s arm subconsciously without thinking.

Ezekiel only patted her back, then gave Ruelle a slight bow.

Ruelle was about to walk past them when Caroline spoke, her tone light, almost careless, "I’ll finally be returning to my old life. Ezekiel is the one buying me."

But Ruelle didn’t respond as she crossed them. Caroline glanced at her elder sister from the corner of her eye, she then added, "It must be difficult for you. Having no one to step in for you."

And when she didn’t get a response, her hands clenched, and she said, "But I suppose it isn’t your fault. Some people just carry misfortune with them. And it spills over."

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