The Duchess and the Devil - Chapter 90.1

– I didn’t want this.

Lucas followed Derrick because he believed in his qualities as a King. High bloodline, one of the most powerful demons, excellent mastery of magic that can even immobilize other devils, leadership guts. All this made him an ideal candidate to be the next King.

“Then… Has the magic finally succeeded?”

“Yes,” Liam answered without hesitation as Lucas touched his forehead with his hand, about to turn away. – I transform the curse.

But Derrick was someone too valuable to just let go. Lucas thought it was too late to change anything. He shouldn’t have let Derrick fall in love with a human woman who had such a huge impact on him. If the demon only knew how everything would turn out, he would definitely kill her. With a sad heart and bloody thoughts, Lucas raised his head nonchalantly and licked his lips several times, as if about to say something.

“If you want to see the King, you can go to the human world,” said a sad voice.

“Just shut your mouth,” Lucas snapped.

Liam just shrugged. The young demon, despite his years, still seemed too hot-tempered and playful to him. But now the advisor understood exactly why Lucas had turned down the agent position in the past. He values ​​the demon realm more than anything else. Liam slowly peered out of the castle. Unlike the dharma floating in the sky, where there was only darkness, the place where their King was heading was infinitely bright.

***

Judith looked at the two invitations lying on the table for several tens of minutes. One of them was decorated with gold leaf on a white background – dazzling and magnificent. The other was black and red, in which something strange, but extremely seductive, was hidden. Two completely different invitations pointed to the same date and time.

-Who the hell are you?

No matter how much the Duchess thought about it, she could not find any way to find out who put this letter in the carriage. And, in the end, to find out the authenticity of the black invitation, she had no choice but to attend a banquet at the Imperial Palace.

But with every thought about it, the feeling of denial grew. Her throat tightened, as if Judith was suffocating when she imagined a room full of onlookers who would try to bite her. The Marchioness of Dyer was worried about the Duchess all this time. And Judith didn’t know whether she should tell her about her appearance or not. After the funeral, the woman regularly visited the Ducal Mansion to find out how her friend was feeling.

However, at that time, Judith was not ready for the meeting, either mentally or physically. Therefore, the butler skillfully sent the Marquise back. And when the Duchess returned to her father’s house, the connection was completely interrupted. Judith continued to think about this, after which she decided to send a letter with a small gift – a beautiful diary for daily entries.

The key to continuing communication was attending the banquet. And if the Marchioness was angry, the Duchess, of course, could not do anything about it. However, in the case where Madame Dyer is ready to continue communication, this would be a great help.

The day after sending the letter, the Marchioness came to the Marquis’s mansion.

– My God, Madame!

Confronted with Judith, whom she had not spoken to for six months, she could not help but be surprised.

– How are you?

The Duchess smiled softly and was extremely grateful to the Marchioness for the visit. After all, even without communicating for months, she did not want to lose their strong friendship.

– Fine. And you? And I don’t think you can call me Madam now.

– Oh, right, then…

– You can simply call me by name – this would mean an extreme degree of close relationship between people.

After a moment’s hesitation, the Marquise said, as if she had made an important decision for herself:

“Then could you also call me by my name?” My name is Mila Dyer.

– Of course, Mila.

Despite the long separation, the conversation between them flowed like a stream. The Marquise’s concern for Judith did not go away, but she simply decided to give in to the moment that day.

– You’ve lost so much weight. Are you eating well? It is important to eat a lot so as not to lose energy.

– I would like to, but I have no appetite…

The Marquise looked at Judith silently. Although the Duchess had said this, she looked a little better now than at the funeral. Then her sharp bones stuck out, ready to pierce everyone around. But still, Judith did not look as good and happy as she did with Derrick. The slightly curved corners of her lips depicted a slightly bitter smile. The warmth of the spring sunlight disappeared, and the eyes, which sparkled like elaborate jewels, somehow seemed atrophied and faded.

— You also said that you want to attend the banquet. Are you okay?

Judith, who grabbed the cup, could not immediately answer this question. After all, she was not at all okay. Now it was extremely difficult to appear in society, because of this, her heart was heavy. After all, the Duchess decided to come not in order to return as a noble noblewoman, but in order to understand from whom the strange black invitation came.

– Actually… I’m very scared. I only recently came to my senses, so I’m afraid to return to high society.

However, more than judging people, Judith was afraid that her hopes would be in vain. Then she really didn’t know what to do.

“Judith,” said the Marquise, looking straight into her eyes. — The incident that happened six months ago… Are the rumors true?