Chapter 12

5.1K 192 8
                                    

Nikolaidis feels a complete sense of tranquility whenever he watches Estelle sleeping. It's become a habit of his to linger in bed for a couple of minutes, just gazing at his wife, before getting up for his morning training with the Knights of the Black Order. It compensates for her avoidance of him throughout the rest of the day.

This morning he can look at his wife longer than usual. It's all thanks to the excuse of giving her birthday present first thing in the morning. He smiles as she stirs, still deep asleep. She's adorable just being like this.

He gently brushes away a few strands of dark hair that have fallen on her face. Unknowingly, Estelle grabs his hand and pulls it towards her face. With her eyes still closed, she rubs his hand against her cheek. Her skin feels warm on his palm.

"Niko..." She mumbles. Is she dreaming about me? How cute...

"Yes, it's me," he chuckles a little, trying not to wake her.

"You make me want to stay..." She continues sleep talking.

"This is your home, you can stay for as long as you like," he softly says.

"No, mmm not from here," she loosens her grip on him.

"What do you mean, Estelle?"

"Mmm not from h-here..." 

She lets go of his hand. She rustles and moves to him. He furrows his brows. She must be having a strange dream. He opens his arms and pulls her closer. But, it makes me happy that she's dreaming of me. He plants a light kiss on her forehead as he lets her continue sleeping in his embrace.

~~▪~~  ~~▪~~  ~~▪~~  ~~▪~~ ~~▪~~

Estelle wakes up, feeling very cozy. I don't think heated blankets exist in this world but why does the blanket feel unusually warm? She slowly opens her eyes and sees Nikolaidis looking right at her. Why is he so close? Wait, he has his arms around me?!

She pushes the Duke out of shock, "y-you scared me!"

"Good morning Estelle," Nikolaidis greets her with a smile. He seems to be in a really good mood that he didn't seem offended when I pushed him away. I wonder why?

"Good morning..." She awkwardly greets him in return.

"Did you sleep well?" He asks.

She nods as she looks at him. His sandy brown hair is slightly tousled and there's a languid look on his ocean blue eyes. So this is Nikolaidis' 'I woke up like this appearance'. He should be punished for how criminally sexy he looks.

He gets up from the bed and pulls a small yellow box from the bedside table drawer. It has a shiny white ribbon tied around it. He gives it to her, "as promised, my gift for you."

"Thank you," she unties the ribbon, trying to hide her excitement. I have to keep up my cold act towards Nikolaidis, she reminds herself. She pops open the box and is surprised to see a plain silver ring set in the middle of the red velvet interior. 

"It's an enchanted ring," he takes a seat beside her on bed. 

He gets the ring out of the box, "may I put it on for you?"

Estelle could feel her cheeks heating up, "sure..." 

The duke puts it on her ring finger. It fits her perfectly. This gesture feels so intimate, like how a groom puts on the wedding ring for his bride. Estelle bites her lip, trying to control the butterflies in her stomach. The Duke doesn't let go of her hand. This situation is not good!

"If you look closely, there's a tiny button on the side of the ring," he shows a little part protruding. 

"If you push it," he clicks on the button and the ring suddenly transforms into a small silver dagger with a strange violet tinge at its tip.

"It becomes a weapon," he carefully hands it to her. 

"Amazing!" She couldn't stop herself from exclaiming. Estelle's so fascinated by what she just witnessed that she can't peel her eyes away from the dagger. So magic really exists in this world!

"It's not just that but I can also track you if needed. When the dagger gets activated, a compass that I have will guide me to your location," Nikolaidis gets a silver compass out of the drawer. It's directly pointing towards the ring. 

"Do you notice the violet tint? The dagger is also laced with poison," Nikolaidis shows the sharp edge.

"What?!" This thing is extremely dangerous!

Nikolaidis laughs a little, "don't worry, Estelle. The poison won't kill, it's only going to cause temporary paralysis for a few hours."

He looks at her seriously before continuing, "enough time for you to escape from whoever will try to hurt you."

"If you click on the bottom, that's what you call the pommel of the dagger, it will return to its original form," he clicks on a button and the dagger becomes a ring on her finger again. 

"Wow..." I've never seen anything like this before!

"Do you like it?" The Duke sounds a little nervous.

She looks up at him, "I love it!" I'm not picky with gifts but this is such a practical and unique present that I feel truly grateful to receive it. It's even more special because Nikolaidis gave it to me.

He smiles widely, not letting go of her hand. What did I do to deserve becoming the wife of this amazing handsome man? He really makes me not wish to return to my own world. It makes feel sad that if I do manage to go back to my old life, I wouldn't get to be with Nikolaidis anymore.

"Is something wrong?" He asks. He gives a light tap on the corner of her mouth, "you're frowning."

She pulls her hand out of his grasp, "no... But, thank you for the gift. I really like it."

Nikolaidis studies her, he seems to not buy her words but lets it go, "we should get ready for breakfast; we're eating together with your family before they leave."

She nods and rings the bell to call for her maids. I'll just continue surviving through this story and not dwell on a possibility that might not even occur. I don't have a single idea on how I'll be able to go back home anyway.

~~▪~~ ~~▪~~ ~~▪~~ ~~▪~~ ~~▪~~

A week later...

"Are all the luggage in the carrier carriage?" Abenant asks Delia.

"Yes, Mister Brossard."

"Good. Let me call his grace," the butler leaves to pick up the Duke.

I don't want to make a fuss and say an emotional goodbye to Nikolaidis. I admit I am going to miss him but we won't be apart for too long. I'm only going away to the capital and I'll be back within a week. Besides, I'm not allowed to show him that I'll miss him. I'm still determined to keep both of us away from our demise by not letting him fall in love with me.

Abenant returns with Nikolaidis behind him. The aide opens the door of the carriage Estelle is seated in. She shows the Duke a small indifferent smile. She's confused when he gets inside and takes the seat opposite to her. What is he doing?

"Have a safe trip, my lord and my lady," Abenant bows and shuts the carriage door.

The vehicle starts moving and Estelle looks at Nikolaidis with a puzzled expression. He smiles and says, "I'm coming with you to the Capital."

Married to the Villainous DukeWhere stories live. Discover now