Marquess Helmut was increasingly convinced that something had happened to Duke Kleo, something pleasant.  It was obvious when he met him in Sirin although in a different context.  Strangeness after oddity he has collected.

"He shouldn\'t look calm and relaxed when dealing with the plague that has attacked Sirin, especially if it affects the harvest for tax payments," Marquess Helmut muttered on the way back to his residence.  "He\'s never been like this before.  Taxes were part of his commitment to the king, and he always put these first.  Then why did he suddenly change so drastically?"

His mind drifted, diving into the dark and untouched ocean trough, unknowingly spending a lot of time just daydreaming.  Various possibilities emerged in his mind, but all of them still sounded weak to be used as an excuse, so he buried them deeply.

Suddenly someone came to convey some important information.  Shortly after, he decided to rush towards Wereal, one thing that would be a sin to do.  But it is okay to transgress sin as long as victory is in his hands.  There he was, a greedy marquess.

Takes a few hours to get to Wereal.  Almost all the guards and servants there were shocked and almost fainted when seeing him, not out of admiration for his good looks but questioning his reason for visiting Wereal.

All nobles, and even commoners, had known of the conflict and his awful relationship with Duke Kleo.  It is not specific about what the reason is.  The only thing they know is to never put Duke Kleo and Marquess Helmut in the same room if you want your party to run smoothly.  Two important and influential nobles, who should be able to give you prestige and privilege will only be a terrible disaster.

Following a servant, Marquess Helmut stopped in a hall and sat on an available chair, nodding at the maid who had gone to serve him a banquet, surveying the palace building that he should have been able to occupy, but because of his cousin, he had to give up on that.

"Our spies reported that Duke Kleo has a girl in Wereal."  Marquess Helmut recalled the words of a guest who had come to him this morning when he was caught up in a ploy to bring down his cousin.  "And they seem to have a special relationship, My Lord."

"Does that girl have blonde hair with a pretty face?"  he asked for sure.  After seeing the guest nod, he instantly pulled his horse to rush over to Wereal.

Now he knew what he had to do.  Now he knew how to destroy Duke Kleo.

The hall door opened, followed by the figure of Duke Kleo as well as a maid who brought a banquet for the marquess.  A dense aura emanated from the duke\'s figure, which was tall and looked sharp at the sides, like a deadly blade.  His vicious gaze infiltrated the room, like water seeping through the pores of the soil.

The maid behind his body moved forward to place the dishes on the table, then backed away politely.

Marquess Helmut fixed his eyes on the banquet, then asked without hesitation, "You didn\'t put poison in this dish did you?"

The maid who brought the dish froze instantly, almost toppling over by her own feet.  \'What kind of conversation is that?\' She thought, shaking her head in disbelief, then hurried outside, impatient to spread this gossip to her other friends.

Duke Kleo snorted after hearing the hall doors close, obliterating the maids behind its threshold.  His body slumped to sit on the chair, feeling the embers that seemed to demand him to draw the dagger at his waist and then stab his cousin.  "If I wanted to kill you then I would have done it a long time ago," he said hatefully.  "I\'m not a fool who wants to contaminate my palace."

"That you get from something unfair," interrupted Marquess Helmut, taking a sip of the drink that was served to him.

"Did you come just for that?"

"No," the marquess shook.  "I am not unemployed.  Of course I came for something important."  Linked his fingers to the table.

"You\'d better say it quickly."

"You seem busy, Cousin.  Isn\'t it lunchtime?  Why do you act like you don\'t want to miss out on something fun?"

"I don\'t have time to play around."

"Are you able to finish the plague in Sirin?"

Duke Kleo\'s eyes narrowed suspiciously.  "I don\'t think you\'re a noble who cares about your cousin."

"Right," nodded Marquess Helmut without hesitation.  "I came because I wanted to meet someone."  After seeing one of his cousin\'s eyebrows rise, he said again, "A girl.  I heard you imprison a girl in Wereal.  Is she still here?"

Duke Kleo\'s expression grew colder, his once wide eyes now seemed to collapse and close, indicating how disgusted he was with the marquess this time.  Especially when it came to Lyra, the girl he should claim only his.

"We\'re acquaintances."  Marquess Helmut shrugged.  "I promised to send her a letter, but I can\'t find her anywhere."  His gaze sneered when he saw Duke Kleo\'s lips pursed in anger.  Snorted, "Then I heard that you imprisoned her in Wereal, because of a mistake she made."

"Who told you about that?"  Even Duke Kleo clenched his fists, seemingly ready to punch his relaxed-looking cousin in the face.

"I heard it somewhere," said Marquess Helmut, looking unconcerned.  "I\'ve been to a lot of places, and I clearly remember that you took Lyra to Wereal."

He called her name when only Duke Kleo could do that.

The fire was like burning the duke\'s back, stiff like wood, hard like steel, fierce like wild animals.  "She is right here."

"Oh," Marquess Helmut said quickly.  "Are you going to punish that beautiful girl?  I don\'t know what she\'s done to you, but I\'m ready to make up for her.  Aren\'t you looking for a substitute for the harvest for the tax deposit?  And aren\'t you looking for a gold mine?  I can provide all of that for you.  And even I can redeem it for a thousand gold coins, as long as you release her and hand her over to me."

Duke Kleo\'s anger was ignited even more.  The intimacy of the memory that he was holding tightly to now faded and even almost disappeared.  All those tight sensations, as well as the hard massaging that made him fly and satisfy, were all shattered in an instant, replaced with outbursts of anger and jealousy.

"Are you not letting her go just because you hate her so much?"  asked Marquess Helmut, angering Duke Kleo again.  "You don\'t have to worry, I\'ll lock her up in my palace so you\'ll never see her.  Aren\'t you tired of getting reprimands from all over the place just because you often execute someone?  I can help you."  Taking a deep breath, he looked out the window for a moment.

"She likes me too, Kleo," he said matter-of-factly.  "I could see that in her eyes. She wants me, and so do I.  You don\'t have to be afraid that I won\'t punish her.  Of course I will.  She will be one of my mistresses.  I can guarantee it for you.  So, you want to sell her to me right?"

***