The Duke's Passion

Chapter 747  The untold stories that were unfolding

Heliot remained silent as Lilou raised a new proposition regarding their plans. As she spoke, he couldn't help but wonder how come that lady just a few days ago and this woman was the same person? Not just the way Lilou speaks, but also the grasp of her understanding was different. "I know nothing about this order." Heliot abruptly cut Lilou off. "I received no order to kill anyone. No one will dare order that."

Lilou narrowed her eyes slightly. "Heliot, I understand we are years ahead and you might not have received the order yet."

"As I've said, no one will dare."

"Even if no one dares give you such an order, do you understand if I know you made that all up…" Lilou trailed off as the lines between her forehead deepened. She cast Samael a look, and he had also furrowed his brows. "It was strange for Prince Heliot to receive an order from someone. Even if it was an order from someone on the mainland, there was no reason for Prince Heliot to act on it without any deep reason." Fabian rubbed his chin mildly, standing behind Samael's chair, where he could see Heliot properly. The side of his lips curled up in amusement, jumping to an interesting conclusion. "Does that mean Karo was under a threat and Prince Heliot had no other choice but to accept this request?" Rufus chimed in, and just with the Barrett Brother's mumbling, made the rest realize there were still many things they didn't know about. "Even if that is the case, Heliot had let Lilou off back then. Karo was left untouched," Klaus mumbled, recalling their lives before the regression. He then pointed at Rufus. "You had worked with him when you were the emperor. Even married his sister as the empress."

"They were in the talks of divorce," Fabian happily added, warranting a glare from Klaus and Rufus. "Please do not misunderstand. I'm simply adding details lest we need them."

"That's right." Rufus ignored Fabian as he cleared his throat. "Prince Heliot and the Karo Kingdom were fine during my reign."

He then set his eyes back to Heliot. "There are only two reasons would Prince Heliot kill the Madam. One was he was lying for his personal reasons or… he somehow found leverage that will equal to the Madam's life."

"I was summoned here to plan the attack in the Spade. I don't appreciate how this somehow turned into an interrogation." Heliot voiced his thoughts monotonously. "Why would I want to kill her?"

Heliot glanced at Lilou and sized her up for a bit. "She might look and smell desirable with the blood of Bloodfang and Crawford running in her veins. However, that isn't enough for me to lie. Nor it was an enough reason for me to end her life."

"That's right." Heliot arched a brow as Lilou nodded, agreeing with him despite the slight sarcasm in his eyes. "You are not the person to lie on such menial things, and the purity of my blood isn't enough to entice you."

Lilou rested her arms over the table and pondered about it. "But it doesn't feel right. I can't shrug off this feeling there was something… we didn't catch the first time. Just what is it?"

There was a long silence that followed Lilou's distressed mumbling. Back then, Heliot and Lilou had an agreement. Believing Samael had perished along with Fabian and Rufus, Lilou wished to die after taking down Stefan with her. Obviously, Samael turned out alive. Hence, Lilou had to null her deal with Heliot, and thankfully, Heliot agreed since they became good friends over time. Heliot's reason back then was that he didn't want to kill Lilou if she didn't want to die anymore. But now that they thought about it, it was entirely strange. Heliot claimed he was doing this because it was an order from the mainland. If what Heliot claimed was true, then there was no way he got away from it unscathed. Was he truly lying? But why would he lie about that? Or was their initial guess correct? Karo was under a threat and Heliot had no choice? But how did he overcome that predicament?

There was something they all had in mind, but they just couldn't point out what it was exactly. "Did you see him?" The silence was once again shattered when Tilly's soft voice caressed their ears. She kept her unchanging countenance, watching everyone look in her direction, before she set her eyes on Rufus leaning in the corner. Rufus pressed his lips into a thin line and then glanced at Heliot's side profile. "No," he answered. "The last time I've seen him was when we finalized the wedding. We still "Did you see Eli after the wedding?" Tilly repeated, making Rufus' brows knit. "What do you mean…"

"After the wedding. Your wedding." Tilly cut him off abruptly. "Did you see Eli physically?"

"Tilly…" Lilou called under her breath, mouth falling open, grasping what Tilly was insinuating. Rufus pressed his lips into a thin line and then glanced at Heliot's side profile. "No," he answered. "The last time I've seen him was when we finalized the wedding. We still exchanged letters, though… although he stopped responding months after the wedding."

"How can you not think something was wrong if he stopped responding?" Klaus immediately raised a question, drawing a conclusion in his head.

"He told me." Rufus' reply was quick. "In his last letter, he told me he would be on an expedition. Hence, he might not respond to me until he returned to Karo."

Lilou let out a short and dry laugh as she lowered her eyes. She shook her head mildly, while everyone bore a grim expression. Even Fabian's smile lines faded, staring at Heliot with sharp eyes. "That made sense, then," said Fabian solemnly. "If he wasn't lying about it, then there's only one reason those on the mainland agreed to let the Madam go. A leverage that is equal to the Madam's death."

"His own life." Samael massaged his temple while Lilou looked at Heliot in disbelief. The latter tilted his head to the side, clueless at what they were saying despite having a vague idea of what it was. "Hah…" Lilou clasped her chest, recalling all the memories she shared with Heliot and the strange things he would tell her out of nowhere. Her eyes shook, staring back at Heliot with guilt and gratefulness dominating her heart. There were many mysteries Lilou had overlooked because, before the regression, the story centered around her and Samael, not knowing the silent sacrifice of those around her. Be it enemies or friends, Lilou had no idea about their sacrifices.