Angelus Carduus

Chapter 9: A Dream Or Nightmare

"The duchess went out?" Aelius asked Vincent, surprised, his working hands coming to a pause.

"Yes my lord, she just returned back as well." Vincent answered, pouring a cup of tea for him.

Aelius stared at the cup of tea before standing up and leaving his office. Vincent blinked, quite surprised by Aelius running off to see Valeria.

He walked across the hallway before stopping in front of a door which was Valeria's room. He knocked on the door before opening it.

"Duchess."

Valeria, who recently came out of the bath, was wearing only a bathrobe with her blonde wavy hair flowing down behind her back. She turned to him. Albeit, there wasn't much difference on her facial expressions but a hint of surprise flashed on her face.

"Duke?"

Her hair was still quite wet with strands of her hair sticking to her bare skin. Aelius realised how improper his actions were and quickly looked down to the floor.

"My apologies Duchess, I will wait outside." he turned around with his eyes still downcasted on the floor.

"It's fine. What is it?" Valeria spoke trying to stop him from going out but he shook his head and hurriedly left her room.

"...But I'm too lazy to change.." she gloomily murmured, looking down at her bathrobe.

In the end she changed out of her bathrobe and into a plain dress which was easy to slip in and out from. Aelius walked back into her room once he could confirm she wasn't in her bathrobe anymore.

Valeria noticed how his shoulders and back were extremely straight as they sat on the sofa. She was sitting on the two-seated sofa while Aelius sat on the single sofa opposite hers.

She wanted to tell him to relax but she felt there was no point in saying that when he won't.

"What is it duke?" Valeria asked, not wanting to drag this conversation any further.

"..." Aelius kept quiet which made the situation confusing to Valeria.

Aelius, who once heard that his wife that rarely leaves the mansion had gone out to town today, didn't know what to say as soon as he was in front of her. He impulsively went over to see her after he heard what Vincent had told him.

"Duke?"

"Did you go out today?" Aelius spoke once he heard Valeria calling him.

Valeria nodded with an aloof aura around her. She leaned back on the sofa with her legs crossed.

"Yes. Vincent suggested." she replied to him.

Aelius bobbed his head. Silence fell on them again.

He thought hard before opening his mouth again, wanting to say something but Valeria beat him to it.

"There was this noble." she started, blankly staring at the vase on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Noble?"

"He was annoying." she bluntly said, remembering what happened today.

Aelius kept his gaze on Valeria, letting her speak.

"He said he will destroy my whole family."

She brought her eyes from the vase to Aelius who didn't have a good look on his face.

She tilted her head and said, "But how can he?"

It wasn't a question and she spoke in a toneless voice. It sounded more like a provoke, a demand. It was confident as she knew that man had no chances of winning against her.