The Duchess and the Devil - Chapter 72.1

Everything around was as if in a fog. It seemed as if someone had grabbed Judith by the hair and was shaking her head, causing the world to spin around her. Indescribable helplessness and strong pressure hit me like a bolt on the head. The Duchess felt the same way as Killard dragged the small, frail body into the corner of the basement.

Through the dark veil, only bright red eyes were visible, which charmed and frightened at the same time. It seemed as if the demon would immediately eat her, taking her life. Everything was ringing and boiling in my head. Someone squeezed Judith’s shoulder tightly, at that moment the Duchess’s consciousness returned to reality and became clearer.

Derrick looked down at his wife. His fox eyes, graceful nose and thick chin stood out against the background of everything around him.

– Derrick? – Judith asked carefully and coughed terribly.

Frames of visions still popped up in my head, and the trembling in my body did not subside. Derrick, who had noticeably calmed down when his wife woke up, immediately took the glass. He lifted Judith’s upper body, forcing her to lean on him and drink the water. It was slightly warm and soothing, which is why the Duchess began to gradually return to normal.

– Why are you… And hunting? – Judith looked at her husband.

The air around them became heavy, after which the demon looked around and asked:

– Do not you remember?

– What? No…What happened to the hunting competitions? Why am I here?

When Judith tried to remember something, a terrible, sharp pain appeared in her head, stabbing worse than ten thousand sharp needles.

Derrick immediately extended his hand to Duchess, who was curled up in pain, holding her head. Seeing the red eyes approaching, the girl accidentally pushed her husband away. But she immediately froze, realizing what she had done. Stuttering in surprise, Judith apologized.

What happened was strange and unexpected even for her. The Duchess did not want to reject the demon’s touch, but her body reacted unconsciously. Derrick looked at her for a while, acting a little awkwardly, but still said:

— The necklace I gave you. Have you been wearing it all this time?

“Yes, yes… I wore it,” Judith muttered, puzzled, clearing her throat, but suddenly remembered: “The stone broke.” Then I took it off.

– When did it break?

“I don’t know then… I almost didn’t check its integrity before.” But when I did it the last time, it was already broken.

“That’s it,” Derrick carefully sat down on the bed, fearing the same violent reaction from Judith.

As the red eyes got closer, the body began to tremble again. Judith, not understanding what was happening to her, simply pulled the blanket over herself.

“You can’t remember what happened during the hunt?”

Derrick’s eyes studied the Duchess’s reaction to every question and every word.

Judith bit her lip and suddenly remembered the terrible scene: all the people sitting in the hall, as one, rose from their seats and approached her. The eyes of each of them were filled with blood. And a terrible, terrifying shadow entered the hall. As red as a carpet of blood. And the tight straps around her throat were suffocating Judith.

“Suddenly, the eyes of all the women at the table changed. They turned red, – the Duchess did not even want to think about what had happened, these thoughts were so terrible.

The body still trembled treacherously, as if Judith had turned into a cold piece of ice. Pulling the blanket tighter, she looked at Derrick.

“According to the knights who protected you, you suddenly fell.”

Hearing her husband’s explanation, the Duchess blinked in surprise:

– What are you talking about? It wasn’t sudden at all. I remember exactly how the ladies at the table rushed towards me… This can’t be true.

“All five knights say so.” Servants and other ladies too.

This statement confused Judith. She remembered all the possible negative emotions she had experienced: anxiety, fear, horror. But why did all the servants, knights and people around, as one, deny what had happened?

– But I really remember…

– I know. Most likely, what you saw is not reality, but hallucinations.

— Hallucinations? Why did I see them?

Judith had never had any deviations or prerequisites for madness, so she did not understand at all why now, so unexpectedly, she saw something so terrible. That is why the Duchess asked her husband about what happened. Derrick’s usually relaxed grin was no longer on his face. On the contrary, every muscle was tense, which made it even more uncomfortable.

Derrick ruffled his hair and rubbed his chin, as if he didn’t know what to say. What she saw was too heavy and terrible. It seemed that for the first time in all time the demon hesitated so much.

— Has there been anything strange lately?

Unsure of the question, Judith tilted her head slightly.

– Something strange?

— I think about a month has passed.

– What are you talking about?

– Life is in your belly.

Judith’s eyes gradually widened when she heard Derrick’s words. The Duchess, without realizing it, gasped and touched her stomach, which was still thin and small. I couldn’t even believe that now there was new life in him.