Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 237

Chapter 237: The Minister Who Had to Go

In the inner garden of the courthouse, Ruelle stood in the same place where Lucian had left her. The winter garden was a quiet, walled courtyard, set apart from the courthouse’s busy corridors. The sky above was pale and grey, and the cold air carried the faint scent of flowers.

Ruelle didn’t know how many minutes had passed. She had stopped counting somewhere after the first twenty. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, then forced herself to stand still.

It’s going to be fine, she told herself, taking a deep breath before releasing it.

Lucian had already informed her that Minister Sylvan lacked the ability some of the pureblooded families possessed. It was probably one of the reasons his mother called him useless.

Then she heard footsteps and when she looked at the entrance, she caught sight of Minister Sylvan walking into the premise of the courtyard. He was exactly as she remembered him, just a little younger. He stopped when he saw her, his eyes narrowing, taking in the small girl standing alone beside the frozen fountain.

"What is a human doing here?" he muttered as his eyes swept over her, taking in her small frame, her braided hair, the modest dress that marked her as someone with no rank and no protection. His mouth curved into something cold and amused. "Did one of the ministers bring her here as lunch?"

"I am here to meet you, Master," Ruelle’s small voice drifted to where he stood.

He scoffed. Minister Sylvan turned away from her, his coat already swinging with the motion of departure, when she uttered,

"I have come from the future and have come to warn you about the future."

He abruptly came to a halt, turning around with his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who set you up to this nonsense?" His voice carried the particular edge. "All it will take is a single snap of your neck, little girl." His eyes skimmed the garden but there was no one.

Ruelle gingerly offered a bow. Her voice came out soft, "I was able to piece together the last part of the mirror that belonged to Belladonna before coming here. You were killed... and Lady Sylvan was injured terri—"

"Why did you call me, Master?" Minister Sylvan demanded, cutting her off.

Raising her head, Ruelle replied, "Because... you raised me, Master. I was an orphan before I met you. I am ever grateful for the life I have because of you," she lied through her teeth, the words sliding out smooth as ice, while she waited for Lucian’s cue. "I was only going to make the witch reverse the time before your death to help you, not realising how far I ended up at."

The garden was silent.

Minister Sylvan stared at her, his eyes narrowing still further, and Ruelle could see the calculation moving behind them. The weighing of this strange, impossible story against the facts he knew, the instinct that told him to dismiss her.

"Lady Sylvan wasn’t in the position to move, hence I used it—"

"Who killed me?" Minister Sylvan demanded.

"It was His Majesty... and his relatives," Ruelle answered. A faint sound of a bird twittering outside was heard.

A huff escaped from Minister Sylvan’s lips as if he found all of this absurd and he said, "You should go tell this story to another minister. The King and I have a good relationship. I have other important matters to take care of," he turned again this time, heading in the direction of the exit.

’Get close enough to Sylvan before you do it. This way the evidence will be on both of you,’ Lucian’s words rang in her ears.

Ruelle ran to Minister Sylvan, pulling him by his coat with one of her small hands, her fingers twisting into the expensive fabric.

"What audacity—" The minister turned with a glare, his hand rising as if to swat her away like an insect. "—you cannot be my underling. Spouting nonsense without sense and now touching me? You’re nothing but a—"

Ruelle threw the blood on herself from another hand.

She had been carrying it in a small leather flask, tucked against her side, kept warm by her body so it wouldn’t freeze in the cold. Before coming here, Lucian had picked it up from the court kitchen. The blood splattered more on her than him, which was when she had intended while Minister Sylvan looked at her as if she had gone crazy. Blood dripped from her neck down her collar of her dress and below it.

When Ruelle staggered, the dagger fell off her hand and near his feet, which carried traces of blood, before she fell flat on her back on the ground.

Closing her eyes, she did not move.

From the archway at the other end of the garden, there came a sound of footsteps and they belonged to the ministers, whom Lucian had written the envelopes to. Seeing Minister Sylvan standing near the blood-soaked child, expressions of shock and disbelief fell over their faces.

"What did you do, Minister Sylvan?" asked one of them with a deep frown.

"Me? I did nothing. She did that herself," Minister Sylvan huffed at the allegation. "I don’t even—"

"Wait, isn’t that the child who is involved in the treaty?" asked someone else, and this was enough for Minister Sylvan’s eyes to snap at her. "I thought she was kidnapped..."

"What is she doing here?" came the murmurs, while carrying a look of judgement that was directed at Minister Sylvan.

"He kidnapped her?" someone asked, who was more than happy to take out the minister, while Minister Sylvan glared.

"What absurdity are you all talking about? Why would I even—"

The footsteps came again, slower and heavier this time. And then the Elder Minister’s voice was heard loud with authority,

"What is going on here?"

The gathered ministers parted before him like a curtain being drawn. He stepped into the garden, his coat dark, his expression stern when his eyes fell on Ruelle covered in blood, he stopped dead in his tracks. It was hard to know where she had been injured and there laid the dagger near Sylvan.

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