Chapter 243 - 243: Matter of Appearances

A month passed in a quiet blur since Lucian and Ruelle had spoken their vows.

And there were no signs of pushback against the treaty. Between Lord Azriel, Elder Minister Carnifex and King Septimus' rule, no one dared invite the wrath of these men.

Winter had begun to melt in the presence of the sun, clearing clouds from the sky.

The people had gradually settled back into their usual rhythm, yet they were not short of gossip. News had spread that the newlyweds had not returned to the capital yet, choosing instead to remain secluded at the summerhouse. The curious gossipers couldn't help but believe that it would only be a matter of time before the Slater family would announce about an heir.

Right now in the Slaters' summerhouse, Ruelle was blanketed in Lucian's arms, their clothes lying scattered on the room's floor. The late morning sun filtered lazily through the curtains.

Ruelle stirred, her bare shoulder brushing against the warm, solid plane of Lucian's chest and his arm tightened instinctively around her waist, pulling her flush against him.

"It's almost noon," she murmured, her fingertips tracing featherlight patterns across the back of his hand.

"Is it?" Lucian's low voice rumbled against the nape of her neck.

The summerhouse had become their private universe. Days blurred into nights and back into days, marked by insatiable hunger for each other that showed no signs of cooling. From the garden to the library to the dining room, where servants had hurried out to give them privacy.

"Should we tell the servants not to set the table for dinner?" Ruelle asked. It was because they had barely had meals there.

"We had a proper meal two nights ago," he pointed out, his voice dropping to a husky murmur as his hand slid slowly, possessively up the bare curve of her waist.

Ruelle laughed, turning in his arms to face him. The sheets pooled around her waist as she shifted and her hair tumbled over her bare shoulders. "That was—"

"Showing my appreciation for my wife." His dark hair fell across his forehead as he gazed down at her, his eyes burning with a raw, unrestrained adoration. "It was an exquisite meal that I would like to continue having."

Her fingertips traced the lines of his face, a smile lingering on her lips as she simply admired him. She said,

"I was talking about the food. I thought I could cook something."

Lucian's gaze remained fixed on her. "You could. But that would require you to leave this bed."

He rolled them smoothly until she was pinned gently beneath him, his weight settling over her in a way that made her thighs tighten instinctively around his hips. Leaning forward, he kissed her slow and deep, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips before she opened to him with a soft, willing sigh.

Outside, the ocean continued its endless murmur against the cliffs, while the sun climbed higher over the northern coast.

Far beyond the quiet summerhouse, that same sunlight stretched across the land where the courthouse and Slater house stood. In one of the towns near the merchant quarter, the alleys smelt of old coal and stagnant water.

Having taken up an official appointment as an officer of the courthouse partly out of boredom, Dane had just finished wrapping up a routine inspection near the merchant quarter.

Pulling out a cigar, Dane bit off one end before lighting it. He drew in a slow breath, smoke slipping lazily from between his lips. He murmured,

"What a terribly uneventful day."

He took another drag when his eyes caught a movement. In one of the alleys, two men stood, exchanging a small pouch. When his eyes fell on one of the men who wore a polite expression, the pureblooded vampire's eyes narrowed.

"I am going to need more than the current sum. Especially with your piling debt," said one of the humans, slipping the pouch into his coat.

"I will get it to you," the other one responded with gritted teeth. "I just need some more time. I will pay it all."

"Alright," said the first man, before walking in the other direction.

Dane watched the second man step out of the alley as he took another leisurely drag from his cigar, his expression remaining perfectly undisturbed. Who knew that the halfling would be born as a human.

Ezekiel's gaze briefly met Dane's as he passed. Two steps later, the human slowed.

Something had crawled along the back of Ezekiel's neck the moment he passed the pureblooded vampire. He glanced over his shoulder, his brows drawing together as he looked at the blond-haired man standing beneath the shadow of the building.

Ezekiel stared at him for several seconds longer and he questioned, "Have we met before?"

Dane lowered the cigar from his lips. "How unfortunate that you don't remember."

For reasons Ezekiel could not explain, his hand had shifted towards the inside of his coat, where the dagger was, only to find the pureblooded vampire already standing before him, the muzzle of a silver gun resting between his own eyes.

Ezekiel froze, his voice faltering, "W–What are you doing?"

"I've been waiting to collect a rather old debt," Dane smiled and he pulled the trigger.

The gunshot echoed, the sound reverberating off the narrow brick walls. The back of Ezekiel's skull exploded outward against the wall, dark blood and bone spraying as the corpse crumpled into the snow like a marionette with its strings severed.

At the same time, a sharp gasp came from above and when Dane looked upward, he caught sight of Lachlan standing on a second-story window of a building.

Lachlan had been summoned to the house that morning by a family convinced something was haunting their home. But the gunshot had drawn him to the window. His face paled when he looked down.

A man lay crumpled in the snow. Several feet away stood Dane Slater.

"What is he doing here..." Dane murmured at the timing.

He then saw Lachlan turn away from the window, and he could only assume that the human was making his way down the building. His eyes moved to Ezekiel's corpse and the blood, and he muttered, "Not a good look."

Dane had been building the delicate thread with the human for weeks and not wanting to disturb it, he pressed the gun to his thigh and pulled the trigger, leading to another gunshot. The hurried sound of boots climbing down the building was heard.

"Mr. Slater! What happened?" Lachlan asked with a look of deep worry.

"I was ambushed… He pulled a gun from his cloak. Shot me and I had to stop him. Unfortunately, his companion escaped," Dane explained, noticing Lachlan's eyebrows furrow as he stared at the scene. "It hurts…"

Lachlan hurried to Dane's side, his eyes immediately dropping to the blood soaking through his trousers. "You're bleeding terribly! Here, lean on me," he urged, helping the pureblooded vampire lean, who looked like he was in pain.

Dane closed his eyes, hiding the slow, dangerous smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He let his arm drape weakly around Lachlan's shoulders, burying his face deeper into the warm scent of soap and church incense that clung to the human's collar.

"Thank you..." Dane whispered, the words coated in honeyed vulnerability.

"It is good that I was nearby."

As Lachlan struggled beneath the pureblood's weight, guiding him towards the building, Dane's lips quietly curved into a fox-like smile where the human could not see it.