The Duke's Passion

Chapter 738  Where is Sunny?

Another two hours had gone by before Lilou and Samael finally collapsed on the landscape. They were already catching up to their breathing, staring at the starless night sky. Law and Tilly had already gone inside the manor an hour ago so the boy could rest properly on the bed. But the rest remained until the two lovebirds collapse.

"Ah, goodness!" Samael breathed out, patting his chest as if that would help him calm his racing heart. "I think I'm growing old. How am I out of breath just after five hours of blocking my wife's attacks?"

Lilou closed her eyes, slacked jaw. Just like Samael, she couldn't believe she was out of breath after just five hours of fighting. They used to fight their enemies all the time; sometimes, each battle would last overnight. As for Samael, it would last for days. "Lilove," Samael called in between his ragged breathing, glancing to where she was lying flat on her back. "Did you calm down now?"

"No." Her voice was cold, casting him a side-eye. "I can't believe you."

"Oh, come on."

"Sam."

"I'm sorry." Samael zipped his mouth and focused on recovering his strength. His wife had gone all out and if he had lowered his guard, he would've lost a limb. Worse. His life. Surely, his wife had always been so intense and her anger wasn't easily quenched.

Lilou remained silent, keeping her eyes on the darkness enveloping the world. She licked her drying lips, gulping to bring moisture to her parched throat. Just moments ago, she knew nothing, and then... after the pain of being suffocated to death, her mind welcomed memories she wasn't ready to recover. She recalled everything, and when everything, she meant from start to finish. The last memory she recalled was rolling with Samael on the grass, making out with him, smiling and laughing as if they were the only people in the world. It was a moment they usually cherished, but also the time they were the most vulnerable to the outside world. And then, in a blink of an eye, she was back to her shack, knowing nothing but the dread of crashing someone's skulls. Deep in Lilou's heart, she was aware she wasn't just angry at Samael for letting her suffocate to death. She was angry at many things, and Samael was there to allow her to release that anger without Lilou running amok, killing everyone in sight. "When Lakresha went inside me, it was painful, Sam," she muttered, breathing out heavily. "I was scared, watching you look down on me and not reach back when I stretched out my hand. I know the reason why you didn't reach your hand out... somehow."

She paused, picturing the image of them back in his room. Lilou, indeed, reached out and called for help. However, the more she thought about it, the reflection she had in his eyes. Lilou wasn't reaching out for help but rather raised her hand to stop him. Her mind wasn't ready to remember the lost memories, but her heart was more than ready to deal with it. Even so, she didn't know which part of her was the dominant one. Because right now, all she could feel was anger toward whoever did this to them and the high emotion to end them all once and for all. "I feel like I'm being torn, Sam. Am I angry? Or relieved? The guilt of taking the lives we had taken and the sacrifices we had made while gritting our teeth... are we supposed to go through all that once again?" she continued with a dry scoff. "But above all that, the first thing that came into my head when I retrieved my memories was... is this retribution?"

Lilou swallowed a mouthful of air as her eyes, which bore a different color of olive and red, shone with mixed emotions. "What did my children do to deserve such punishments?"

Samael glanced at her side profile before setting them back at the night sky. He had the same sentiments as his wife. If they were going to be punished, he would happily accept this world's verdict for as long as his family wasn't involved. But their situation involved not just him, but the damned blood he passed on to his children. His anger was beyond words. Not just to his enemies, but especially to himself. "I'm sorry," he whispered, balling his hand into a tight fist. "I'm sorry you have to go through this."

Lilou remained silent, pursing her lips into a thin line. Normally, she would tell him it wasn't his fault, but her voice was stuck in her throat. "We... failed, Sam," she uttered under her breath after a minute of silence. "We failed to meet Marsella or Abel and things went downhill. Tilly had told us to seek them, but we... we shouldn't have made a stop in the Heart's Kingdom. It's my fault."

"No. The situation would still be the same even if we didn't make a stop."

"You don't have to make me feel better."

"I'm not. Trust me, Lilou. I'm not." His eyes went solemn while staring at the night sky. "I know no matter what I say, words will not make you feel better. Neither it will make me feel better."

Lilou pressed her lips into a thin line, biting her lips out of habit. "Everything already happened and we can only try to regain control over our lives," Samael continued with a deep exhale. "You can wield Lakresha and Catharsis is still responding to you. But I have to borrow Catharsis, for now, to send some motherfuckers back to hell where they belong."

"Catharsis had been yours, to begin with." Her eyes bore melancholy, but an underlying danger lurked within. She gripped the scythe that was still within her grasp as it slowly turned back into a necklace. "Using this necklace... I will surely choke them all to death. How dare they mess with my family?"

Samael let out a low chuckle and cast her a look. His eyes softened, staring at her sharp side profile. His wife was back, and he had mixed emotions about it. Would he feel relieved now? Or would he prefer if she was that naive, innocent Lilou? He couldn't know for sure, but what he was certain was that he would miss that version of her one way or another. "Lilove, I miss..." he trailed off when Lilou suddenly murmured Sunny's name. His eyes slowly dilated, watching Lilou face him with genuine wonder in her eyes. "By the way, where is Sunny?" 'I'm dead...' Samael carefully moved away, making Lilou's eyes narrow.

"Sam?" she called, propping her shoulder against the ground. "Where is my daughter?"

"I'm..." he laughed awkwardly before hopping away like a grasshopper. "... sorry!!" "Samael La Crox!!!" Lilou roared as her eyes lit up once more, jumping from her spot. She ground her teeth, calling Lakresha, to kill her husband for real this time. Meanwhile, as Lilou disappeared from her position in a blink of an eye to catch Samael, their audience could not help but shake their heads. "Seriously… just when I thought we can discuss this properly." Klaus let out a deep breath, shaking his head in dismay. "I don't think they can sort it out until the morning."

With that being said, Klaus dragged his body up and dusted off his trousers, heading back inside without care if Samael die. As he returned inside, he glanced at Claude's figure, only to sigh once more.

'Whatever… I'll talk to him tomorrow.'

When Klaus left to rest, the individuals who were left behind also returned to rest for tonight. And yet, no one prayed for Samael's safety, nor did they ever think he would even come back tomorrow in one piece.