Citadel of Desire - Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – The Blue Rose (2)

“Please give up.”

She looked up and looked confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“If you give up this one thing, then we would make a good couple.”

A couple. Did she hear that right? He wanted her to be his lover? Her jaw dropped wide open as she realized the meaning behind his words. Watching her blank expression, Clodan misinterpreted her reaction.

“You don’t like that?”

It was then that Rei shot up from the bed and wrapped her arms around him. He stood still, too astonished to react as she hid her face in his chest.

“You were behaving so coldly, I thought you were angry with me! I wanted to believe you weren’t, but I was so scared. That you would never—”

Clodan lifted his hands and returned the hug. As he enjoyed her tight embrace, he dropped his head and whispered into her ear.

“This is what I don’t like about you.”

“W-what?”

“You always make me out to be the villain.”

“Clodan, I—”

“Haven’t you noticed?”

His gaze travelled downwards, causing Rei to finally notice the strange object around her ankle. It was a silver anklet shaped like a grapevine with a bell woven in between. But what stood the most was the processed amethyst at its center. Rei was speechless. She gently turned her foot to admire it and heard the soft jingle from the bell.

“It’s beautiful…”

“I made it.”

“You did?” She raised her leg and stroked the amethyst. “How exquisite!”

Suddenly, the thought of how Heish ran away with Clodan’s money and her own uselessness popped up in her mind.

“I wish I could do something for you too.”

“You can.”

“What is it?”

“I will ask you to give up few things for me.”

Rei’s brows furrowed, “I reckon that would not be difficult. I’m indebted to you, you know?”

“Not difficult? Do you even know what I’m asking you to give up?” Clodan scoffed and burst into laughter. Rei carefully pondered over the meaning of his words and chose her words, not wanting to make a mistake.

“Uh… If we go to a restaurant, I can always give up the most delicious dish for you.”

“What?” Clodan held his hand up to his face, attempting to hide his amused smile. “And?

“Um… If we get into an argument, I’ll come speak to you first. I apologize quite well. Yeah, I’ll give up on this too…”

“And?”

“Can’t I tell you later? If I tell you everything now, then we won’t—”

With a swift movement, Clodan raised her chin and pressed his lips against her. He used his tongue to ravage her, leaving her weak in the knees. There was no battle for dominance. There was no way she could match his ferocity.

He bit her bottom lip, causing her to grab his shoulder in surprise. His eyes narrowed as he noticed her reaction. He slowed down to give her a chance.

The amethyst on her anklet twinkled in the afternoon sunlight as the two officially sealed their relationship as a couple with a kiss.

* * *

Philip walked towards the basement, blowing on the candlestick to brush the dust off of it. In his other hand, he carried a basket filled with freshly baked bread and wine. Not a single ray of light could enter the basement. It was so dark that you couldn’t even see your hand in front of you. Any normal person would’ve been quaking in fear, but Philip walked in without a care in the world.

“It’s you today?”

On his way, he met the gardener. He was a peculiar person. He barely spoke, so much so that others would often mistake him for a mute. It was impossible to figure out what the gardener was thinking. Even now, he only acknowledged Philip’s presence with his eyes.

“Go then.”

Feeling the dull pain of a headache rising in his head, Philip quickly walked past him. But suddenly, the gardener stopped him and signalled that he wanted to talk to him. Philip brought the candlestick close to his face and nodded.

“What is it?”

“That…”

Philip hadn’t heard his voice in the past fifty years. The nostalgia hit him like a sudden wave. So, despite his hurry, Philip didn’t rush the man to speak.”

“Woman.”

“What woman?” Suddenly, the face of a young lady came to his mind. “Are you talking about Rei Lisburn?”

“She…”

“What about her?”

“She wants to see the blue rose.”

Rei Lisburn loved the sun and often took walks in the manor’s garden. Although his master had allowed her to do that, Philip always felt nervous whenever she went out. He didn’t have any complaints, but he was well-aware of the dark expression that would form on his master’s face whenever he saw her enjoying the sunlight.

Philip knew that the shy girl would never outright ask the gardener. So, he probably overheard her while she was talking to herself. And that in itself was a problem.

“So? Why do you care?”

“She wanted to see it.”

The sound of Philip clicking his tongue in annoyance filled the basement. “Do you want to meet the same fate as him?”

Philip jerked his chin towards the corner, gesturing towards the figure wrapped in chains as it lay on the floor.

The gardener shook his hand in surprise. “No, that’s not it.”

“Don’t pay her even an ounce of attention. After all the time you’ve spent here, haven’t you already learnt that our master doesn’t know mercy?”

Philip patted the gardener’s shoulder in comfort. “I’ll take care of the stuff here from now on. You go do your work.”

The gardener swallowed the rest of his words and left with a perfunctory farewell. Philip gazed at his back and sensed the frustration building inside the gardener. He wrinkled his nose and muttered to himself.

“That one isn’t going to live for long.”

He let out a sigh and continued down his path. Never covet anything owned by the master if you want to survive. That was one of the first things Philip learnt after coming to this cursed manor.