"YOU CAN'T DIE!!!"

  Graham and Seb drew their weapons, shielding Maya and Patch against the other group. They rushed toward the carriage, desperate to reach Celine.

  With his back pressed against the carriage, Lucian held Celine tightly — one arm around her waist and the other gripping her shoulder.

  Currently, he looked no different from a rabid dog, staring murderously at anyone who dared to approach him.

  Maya lunged toward Lucian, her fist flying toward his face.

  Lucian's body reacted faster than his mind. His arm shot up, blocking her punch with his arm, and his leg kicked out, sending her crashing out. He was confused by Celine's unresponsive state, and almost thought that he killed her by some accident.

  Panic overtook him. He ignored his own wounds as he called out to her, "Come on, stop fooling around. You've had your revenge, now wake up, and we will talk like civilized adults... just open your eyes."

  "I'm Lady Celine's physician," Patch said, "Move out of the way, Lord Arclight. It's clearly you who is dying here."

  At the mention of "physician," Lucian grabbed Patch by the colr, pulling him closer.

  Patch’s eyes widened in surprise, Lucian’s intense gaze locking onto him.

  "Make her wake up," Lucian paused, breathing through clenched teeth. "I’ll... I'll pay you double to remove whatever spell or potion she's under. Triple if it works in a minute."

  The paranoia crept back into Lucian's mind. It was incredibly hard to trust anyone, especially after pcing his faith in the one person who had betrayed him so completely.

  Patch didn't move, buying enough time for Maya to sneak around and strike Lucian’s back through the carriage's window. The impact made him grunt in pain; his grip on Patch faltered, loosening just enough for the physician to break free.

  Maya wrapped her arm around Lucian's neck while Patch worked on Celine, checking her pulse and her breathing before pulling her away from Lucian, out of the carriage. "She's alright. There is no external damage," he informed.

  The Rochefort's soldiers kept their weapons up, sighing in relief. "On the ground! All of you, now! Hands behind your heads!" they commanded the other group. Their expressions remained grim, their bodies ready to jump into action at any moment.

  The men Lucian had hired, the ones he thought he could count on for these types of situations, surrendered without a fight at the face of a mightier opponent and the sight of his condition.

  There was no sting. Just a brutal, empty truth. It wasn’t a betrayal; it was a cruel confirmation: There was no one worth trusting. Not a single soul.

  He coughed a mouthful of blood, his hand holding the bleeding hole in his stomach. The adrenaline rush faded after he confirmed that Celine was alright.

  "Don't kill him, Maya," Seb ordered.

  "But—"

  "That's an order. Our Lady seems to want him alive."

  Maya clicked her tongue and released her grip around Lucian's neck, slowly dragging him towards Graham and Seb. She knew some first aid, and applied pressure on the wound, helping him slow down the bleeding.

  · · ─────── · ???· ─────── · ·

  Celine's servants set up a tent, and carried their master inside.

  Lucian groaned, his eyes squeezed shut, teeth grinding together.

  Maya kept watch outside while Graham and Seb y him on the ground inside the tent, removing his jacket and the vest.

  Their eyes widened when they saw the multiple whip marks on Lord Arclight's back and his chest. Keeping their opinion to themselves, they focused on bandaging him and stopping the blood loss.

  Patch soon appeared by their side, ready to remove the bullet and stitch up the wound, "The bullet didn't pierce a vital organ, but the amount of blood loss is worrisome."

  After being treated, Lucian stayed awake and alert the whole time, not uttering a single word or compining, his gaze fixed on the unconscious woman behind the curtains.

  Their second meeting, and she had fainted. Again. Conveniently.

  Even if it was fake, even if she was the best liar in the world, he still found himself worrying. Like she didn't do the same with the Crown Prince a thousand times before. And that was the most pathetic part of all.

  "You are all females, right?" Lucian asked when most of her attendants were present, his voice a little hoarse as he reached toward his shirt, but his wound protested and made him wince.

  The trio exchanged gnces and ughed.

  "Is it because of the way we look?" Seb asked, his expression amused, "We get that a lot."

  "You look like a man, but don't smell like one," Lucian said, and the three stopped ughing, "I wonder what injuries you are suffering from to bleed in between your legs."

  The silence that followed was deadly. They all leaped away from him like a frog would jump away from the fire.

  "Oh," Seb said, his voice was deep, realizing they just stepped into the bear trap, "Oh," he repeated.

  Graham was too shocked to react, sniffing the air. His nose wasn't that bad, and his sense of smell was pretty sharp. He needed to bend down and get closer to Patch's crotch to confirm it, "..."

  Patch was the first to recover, his lips pulled into a tight smile as he stepped on Graham's shoe, "I think the pain is getting into you, Lord Arclight. It's your mind pying tricks on you, and your delusions are—"

  "I can at least recognize the products I sell, and the customers who use them," Lucian cut in. He would only turn stupid around Celine, and didn't feel like a fool now, "It's a special fabric that would soak up and absorb the blood flow during the female cycle and it also creates a specific odor when it comes to contact with blood," he paused, "Female in close proximity often get their cycle synchronized─"

  "Shut up," Seb stuffed his mouth with a cloth.

  Lucian closed his eyes, spewing out the cloth. It would have been much easier to hate Celine if only she was touchy-feely with other men. But no, she just had to go out of her way to make him feel even more hopeful, only to have his hopes crushed and stomped ter on.

  The special way she treated him couldn't overcome the fear that rooted itself inside his heart. The pain was too much to handle. Just the thought of going through the same thing again was enough for his vision to bckout.

  The trio stared at each other, and then at the sleeping man, and then back at each other. They pnned to transfer him to a separate tent and let the guards keep an eye on him at first, but not anymore. Not until their Lady woke up.

  · · ─────── · ???· ─────── · ·

  Maya noticed Graham's grim expression when he came out of the tent, asking what was wrong without uttering a word.

  Graham gestured for her to walk with him. He waited until they were out of earshot, and said, "Search Lord Arclight's belongings, find something, anything. Any dirty little secret we can hold over him, and threaten him with."

  Maya nodded, turning around, but Graham's hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist, "Wait." He sniffed the air, and then leaned forward, making her freeze. "Make sure to wash yourself and change into fresh clothes."

  She gred at him, but Graham only let out a low chuckle, handing her some ointment for bruises, "No matter how weak he looks, remember that he is still a man twice your size. Be careful next time."

  Maya hit his chest, making him grunt and release her, then walked away.

  "Hey, that hurts!" Graham called after her, tackling her down. He tickled her, causing her to burst into ughter before groaning in pain.

  The kick from earlier had really done a number on Maya. She had narrowly avoided a serious injury, but it still hurt.

  Graham's hand slipped under her shirt, and his fingers pressed against a sore spot on her stomach.

  Maya winced, her voice ced with pain.

  Graham's eyes softened, "Sorry." He dipped his finger in the ointment, and gently spread it across the bruise, "I'm really good with my hands, huh? You won't need a physician's help," he teased.

  Maya rolled her eyes, her expression a little more rexed now, and a little more grateful, "How is Lady Celine? Why isn't she waking up?"

  Graham paused, and then resumed his task. When he spoke, his voice was barely a whisper, "We have to wait. Patch is keeping an eye on her."

  Maya took a moment to compose herself, and then got up.

  ╔═══ Author's note ════╗

  I'll be referring to Celine's attendants by the gender they are perceived by the public for a smoother reading experience. So if you have any woke opinions about a person's gender or pronouns, please keep them respectfully to yourself. This is just fiction, not a ptform for social justice. Thanks. ??????

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