The Duke's Passion

Chapter 748  Penny's death

"I do not appreciate this look you in your eyes." Heliot expressed his thoughts as his eyes glossed over their solemn countenance. "If you summoned me to resolve the problem that had yet happened, and this great sacrifice I had done which none of you didn't know about, then I'll be on my way." Heliot planted his hands on the armrest, about to push himself up. But before he could do so, Lilou spoke. "Gather a small unit of elite knights." Lilou's voice was still shaky, but it was firmer. She raised her eyes at him, making his brows raise. "In today's gathering, Prince Heliot had walked out of this room after ending his agreement with us because of differing views and opinions."

Heliot furrowed his brows while Lilou recomposed herself. When she raised her chin, her eyes glinted, staring straight into his eyes. "Withdraw all the people you gathered to attack the Spade Kingdom and gather a small unit of knights you can trust and are capable of fighting powerful people," Lilou repeated. "We'll approach Zero as quietly as possible."

"You are planning to fight zero and his troops of undead with just a few people?" Stefan couldn't hold himself back from asking, shifting his eyes on Samael's side profile. Samael simply shrugged without saying anything. "Isn't that how like it was even before? You never won, though. Moreover, we are coming with them," Lilou replied, casting Samael a look and then at Stefan. The second their eyes met, the latter held his breath at the distant look in her eyes. "My husband and I, including Rufus, Fabian, Law, and Tilly, will come with them."

Stefan furrowed his brows upon not hearing his name. But before he could ask, Lilou continued.

"You and Klaus will have to return to the Heart's Kingdom."

"What?"

"As I've mentioned, my people might've retrieved their memories before the regression. Although Silvia, Yul, Kristina, and Noah will surely not act rashly, there were those two, Ramin and Charlotte, who act before thinking." Lilou huffed, tapping her index against the surface of the table. "You had gathered the divine order before. You should gather them again and explain things to them."

"They don't like you and see you as a threat. If you summon them, they will surely come to find some clues about the regression," she continued solemnly. "That's the easiest way to gather them. If you truly want to help us this time, you'll do it, Your Majesty."

Lilou balled her hands into a tight fist. "Also, send a letter to Beatrice."

"Her?"

"I need something from her." She breathed out, casting everyone a look. "As far as I know, she had connections with the wolves. She helped Yul back then. Among every one of us, she wants Zero's head more than anyone. We might as well give her that chance. If anyone disagrees with this, you may raise your suggestions lest Sam and I have overlooked other angles."

Klaus raised a hand. "I don't have any objections. I think splitting is a good and efficient way to catch up to whoever is responsible for this regression."

"I am the one responsible for this regression," Claude confessed while balling his hand under the table, watching Klaus cast him a cursory look.

"No," said Klaus while shaking his head. "Didn't you hear Tilly? You might have taken a part of it, but it's not only you."

Claude ground his teeth, assuming they were simply trying to make him feel better by denying this fact. "They killed Penny."

"But my lord, you were in delirium back then," Fabian argued. "You thought that woman named Penny was the Madam. Isn't that the reason you tried to reverse the time to save her? Was this guilt —"

"She's dead," Claude breathed out firmly. He then raised his eyes up at them. This was the first time Claude joined their gatherings, as he hadn't been himself for the past several months. With that being said, there were certain things he hadn't told them yet. Everyone furrowed their brows as they frowned, staring at Claude. The latter lowered his eyes, resting his arms over the table. "Even when I reversed the time, Penny didn't go back in time," Claude confessed. "I had to bury her body somewhere in Minowa. The members weren't there when I checked the guild house. I thought it was strange, but I was sure. I've seen it with my own two eyes and felt her body turn cold before burying her myself."

"Penny… she was never affected by my abilities," he continued under his breath. "Even during our first meeting, I reversed the time for a minute and it did not affect her. I almost forgot about it."

Silence followed Claude's confession, as it puzzled everyone. They never heard about this, and now that they did, their plans were once again put on pause to make reconsideration. "Tilly, do you know anything about this?" asked Samael after an entire minute of nothing but silence, casting her an inquiring look. "Tell us now, since shocking revelations are already storming us, one after another. We need to know every little detail to get some sort of clues so we can deal with this accordingly."

"That's right. After this, we'll be parting ways. Sending a word or news will take some time," Klaus backed up Samael's remarks, eyes fixed on Tilly. "Tell us anything — even if it was just a wild guess."

Tilly pressed her lips, glancing at the people around the table, who was looking back at her with intrigued in their eyes. A shallow breath slipped past her lips. "I am not fond of speaking with uncertainty," she remarked with her naturally quiet voice. "But to make it simple, to fight darkness, there is always light. Vampires… the Grimsbanne to be exact were the prophesied seeds born out of evilness. It was the same with Werewolves whose origin came from the cursed god turned into a wolf."

"For creatures of the night and dark to walk freely in the mortal realm, the existence of the chosen individuals by the light will balance it out," she added solemnly. "The Divine Order is a branch of light. Treat them as individuals equal to pureblooded vampires."