Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 10

A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!

Percy headed to his chambers, exhausted by the multitude of people who came to congratulate the engagement but held ulterior motives inside.

A maid exiting his bedroom nearly dropped her load of laundry as he suddenly appeared.

"I apologize for startling you." He stopped her. "Has Annabeth gone to sleep yet?"

He had not seen her at the end of the party, and a maid informed him that Annabeth had gone to rest.

The maid's hair fell over her forehead, hiding her flushed expression.

 "Yes, Master. M-mistress has gone to sleep and asked that she not be disturbed."

The maid curtsied as he dismissed her and quickly exited.

Percy's hand paused as it touched the doorknob. For some reason, he felt a bit strange, as though a pair of eyes was watching him. Percy looked back to the corridor where the maid had exited. No one was there. Yet, his skin felt like something was crawling all over.

His nose crinkled. There seemed to be an odd and familiar smell exuding from the bottom of the door. Incense? Percy never had incense burned in his room before nor did he order for the incense to be burned. The woodsy smell made his head slightly dizzy.

Percy scowled but he made his choice and swung the door open. Instantly, the fragrance got stronger. There were at least four or five candles placed in his bedroom.

He tossed off his heavy outer coat onto his bed and opened a window to release some of the cloying stench. Just below the windowsill was a candle, which he picked up to inspect. Just as he suspected, the candles were infused with an aphrodisiac. Percy sighed and turned towards the door, which he had left wide open.

"Why don't you come out now?" He particularly disliked rats in hiding.

The young woman, who had no idea she was seen as a mere rodent in his eyes, stepped out from the door.

"Master." Her eyes glanced at Percy shyly. "Do you...do you remember who I am?"

It was the same maid who had told him that Annabeth had gone to sleep. Now that he had a clear look at her face, he recognized that it was the same maid who had came out of his bedroom earlier.

"Did you do this?" Percy asked quietly.

"Y-yes."

The maid looked at Percy with adoration. She was searching his countenance, as if wondering whether the aphrodisiac was working on him. In fact, the aphrodisiac's effect was working on the maid much more quickly than it did on her target. The maid's earlier flush had been a result of breathing in the stimulant when she was lighting the candles. Much like his royal cousins, Percy was used to many poisons including aphrodisiacs.

Now she watched as Percy's slim fingers slowly unbuttoned the top of his white shirt. One button slipped out of the buttonhole. Then the next. The maid was far too entranced and in heat to notice that a blade had been drawn underneath her throat. Percy always kept his blade sharpened every day, even when not in battle, and the point dug a small red line into the maid's throat.

"But, but Master!" The young woman was startled by Percy's actions.

In truth, Percy was just unbuttoning his shirt because the fragrance had made the room far too stuffy. Competing with the heat of the stimulant was the icy glare of Percy's green eyes. His wolf stare had been trained by many battles, and now that glare was trained on the maid.

"Why did you do this?" He simply asked.

The maid didn't notice him silently pull on a nearby rope with tassels. It was a rope connected to a bell elsewhere in the mansion that would alert his butlers or other servants to come.

"B-but doesn't Master have feelings for me?"

Percy frowned. He didn't even know who this maid was since he was always travelling for work and rarely at his city mansion. There was no way he had given any woman signals that he held affection for her.

The maid fell onto her knees, devastated. She looked up at him imploringly. 

"You saved me from those bandits! Do you remember? I was just a young girl in the town, and some dirty men were trying to take my money. That's when you stepped in and save me, just like a true knight! Surely you must remember and have feelings for me. I-I became a maid just to be closer to you. I know our statuses are different, but I am willing to be a concubine if I get just be close to you."

Now that she mentioned it, Percy did recall a similar incident. Four years ago, he and his knights were on a small mission where the townspeople reported increased attacks by bandits. The knights chanced on the bandits trying to rob a person. The bandits were quickly dispatched, but Percy didn't recall much about the young woman they had rescued. Apparently, the young female had managed to get a job at his mansion.

"There's no way you would have saved me if you didn't like me!" The woman said in desperation. "Right? You have to take on a wife for political reasons, that I understand. But I can help you with your other needs!"

Despite having a sword pointed at her throat, the maid dared to crawl closer. Percy easily side-stepped, ignoring the crestfallen expression on the maid. Due to the aphrodisiac, the maid's chest was heaving up and down. She had deliberately not worn a corset, so her bosom was clearly seen pushing against the top of her dress. There was no question as to what needs the maid was offering to fulfill.

But her efforts were to no avail as Percy didn't see the sight, as he was focused instead on her eyes. Her eyes were shiny, far too bright and dilated. Some drugs had that effect on people, but Percy had a suspicion that something more sinister was afoot.

Magic. To be more exact, fascination magic. It was a rare type of magic that caused victims to be fascinated with the magic user, as though hypnotized. In extremely strong users, the magic caster could hypnotize victims into committing certain acts, particularly if the victims already had a small inclination to commit this act. In this case, Percy judged that the maid had a small crush on him, and someone manipulated this poor girl's feelings into putting him into a compromising situation. His enemies were not few, but he couldn't think of anyone among his enemies who were able to use that type of magic.

Percy had a sinking feeling. "Where's Annabeth? She's not in her bedroom, is she?"

"What?" The maid looked confused. "What are you talking about? Why would you ask about her?"

The two head butlers, the Stoll brothers, came onto the scene, weapons drawn.

"Wait, don't stay inside my bedroom for long. Take the maid and lock her up, but don't let anyone come close to her. I will interrogate her later." Percy directed before exiting.

The Stoll brothers glanced at the candles and understood most of the situation. It wasn't the first time that some woman threw herself at Percy. A cloth was shoved into the maid's mouth before she could yell that the Duke and her were in a compromising situation. The butlers hustled the maid out of there, careful in case the aphrodisiac caused her to lunge at others. The mansion's servants were soon warned not to approach the Duke's bedroom. 

Meanwhile, Percy had already ascertained that Annabeth was not in her room. He cursed in his head. Where could she be?

A/N: Hehe, gotta wait until tomorrow to see what's up with Annabeth. See ya'll next chapter!