The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: Repeat until Death- Novo Amor

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Later that day, when night arrived in the castle, the celebration continued with the guests. But Lucy didn't stay there for long, and she went back to her room.

Lucy sat in front of the fireplace, not on the chair but the cold floor. She stared at the flames while she held her knees together, hugging them closely.

After knowing the possible feelings Ethan had for her, Lucy couldn't help but distance herself from him a little so that her actions wouldn't send any wrong message to him. On the other hand, Theodore hadn't come to speak to her after her little entanglement of her dress with her shoe.

She knew she had ordered Theodore to not speak to her and stay away from her, but at the same time, she couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. The last time she had seen him, he was dancing with a woman, not looking at her even once.

"I should stop thinking about him," whispered Lucy to herself.

She wondered what to do with her things in the Grivelle's mansion, and at that thought, she wondered if Samuel would be willing to send the maids to her new mansion as she liked them. For the years she had spent, she had formed a good relationship between them.

Letting go of her knees, she stood up, "I didn't do anything wrong. Why have I stuck myself in a room while everyone is being merry?" she questioned herself. Calhoun was her brother, and she was supposed to enjoy her brother's celebration more than others.

Unlocking her doors, her feet padded from her room to look for some enjoyment.

In the meantime, Theodore, who had been entertaining the guests, was stuck with one of the women named Lady Rebekah, who was drunk and was now clinging on to his arm.

"Theodoreee, I think I am going to be sick!" said the woman.

"I am sure you are, milady. Why don't you get back to your room and have some rest?" he suggested before calling two guards to escort her to her guest room.

Most of the men and women had turned drunk, and one of them was Ethan, who sat on a plush seat without talking to anyone but staring at his glass. The bride and the groom had disappeared, leaving the guests in his care. Theodore couldn't wait for people to leave the castle to go back to its former state.

"Mr. Moryett, would you like any help in getting back to your room?" inquired Theodore in a polite tone. At the same time, he looked around, his eyes searching for Lucy, but she was nowhere to be found.

"No, I will be fine," replied Ethan, and he placed his empty glass and stood up.

Before the man could take his leave, Theodore inquired, "Did you see Lady Lucy, Mr. Moryett?" The entire noon she had been with Ethan, and he was more than annoyed by it. He wondered if Lucy was trying to push his buttons.

Theodore knew he didn't have any right on her, but internally he was fuming, yet he couldn't do anything about it. When Lucy was with Samuel, it was a whole different matter as she was somebody's wife, but now it was different.

"I thought she was here a moment ago," Ethan responded to Theodore's words. Theodore frowned upon hearing this. It seemed like Mr. Moryett was drunk as the others. "She seemed like she wanted some time alone for herself."

Theodore, who was looking at the wide and big room, turned back to look at Ethan, "Why would you say that? Did something happen?" a small frown marred on his forehead.

"I am not sure. She must have been thinking about her marriage to that Samuel," whispered the man. "If I find that bastard, I will make sure to pay him back for breaking her heart!"

"Okay, time for you to go to bed," murmured Theodore, and he called the guards to see him to his room. He made sure the human guests were sent to their rooms first so that no vampire guests would turn them into their midnight snack.

Worried about Lucy, he decided to check her room. He was only going to check her room, and if she was asleep, he would not bother her, Theodore thought to himself. The clock had struck past twelve, and he wanted to make sure she was alright. Reaching her room, Theodore stood there for several minutes before placing his hand on the knob of the door and pushed it slowly to find the room empty.

Theodore's eyes narrowed, and he stepped into her room to catch sight of her clothes and trunk still in the room. It didn't seem like she had left the castle, which meant she was still in the castle.

But where did she go?

The corridors had turned deserted as the servants had gone back to the servant's quarters, and the guests had gone to their rooms to sleep. Theodore searched for Lucy in the halls and then in the garden. He continued to look for her until he went to the cellar room to find her sitting on the table with her legs folded while she hummed something under her breath.

What was she doing here all alone by herself?

The cellar had rock-like walls that were uneven, and it was much colder than the rest of the castle, holding bottles of liquor and wine that had been used to store here since the castle had been built.

When he walked around, moving closer to where she sat, he noticed Lucy in the company of an empty bottle and another one where the liquor was quarter gone.

Lucy didn't notice Theodore's presence, and she picked up the bottle of alcohol, pouring herself another glass before she drank it like it was blood.

"What are you doing here in the cellar?"

Theodore saw Lucy's bright red eyes looking up at him. "What do you think I am doing? I am drinking," she replied to him.

"You know that's not what I meant," said Theodore, walking to where she was sitting on top of the table.

Lucy raised her eyebrows in realization and said, "My apologies, would you like to have some?" When he didn't reply to her, she poured some more into her glass and took a sip.

"You're drinking the liquors that are made for vampires. You have a weak body, almost similar to the humans. You're going to have a bad headache," stated Theodore, and Lucy waved her hand in front of him. "You're intoxicated."

"I am perfectly wonderfly," replied Lucy, without the speech of slur, but her words were not right.

Theodore watched her relax, not caring if someone would enter the cellar to see her in her nightgown and glass of alcohol next to her. "I don't know about wonderfly but it would be wonderful if you could head back to your room now. It is rather late and you need to rest. We all had a long day."

"We did," Lucy agreed, her voice calmer than the last few days and her whole demeanour seemed relaxed. "What happened to others? They still alive?"

"Very much so I believe," replied Theodore, watching her closely. Her cheeks had turned pink, and so were her lips. Her eyes looked a little hazy. When his hands reached out for the bottle on the table, Lucy pulled it back.

Theodore doubted that Lucy was in the mood to return to her room, and he said, "Let me get a glass." He decided to give her company, and he went to pick up a glass and returned.

"Allow Lucy to pour the drink for you mansueer," said Lucy.

Monsieur corrected Theodore. It was a word used in one of the neighbouring lands.

Lucy's grip on the bottle was tight as she poured the alcohol into his glass before placing the bottle back on the table with a loud thud.

It seemed like she didn't mind his company, and he wondered why or if it had something to do with the alcohol.

She continued to hum something, and Theodore decided to ask, "What are you doing here?"

"You ask the same questions. I was drinking, but now you are drinking with me," at the end of her sentence, Lucy's serious face cracked into a grin. "I wanted to drink and I came here. I was bored in my room."

People often drank to either forget something or to sleep, thought Theodore to himself. Deciding to not touch upon the topic of wooing her, he let it rest for the time being. When silence filled the cellar again, Lucy looked at Theodore, looking at the glass in his hand.

"Did you come looking for me?" questioned Lucy.

"I was looking for thieves. Our guards are not good at guarding the castle," responded Theodore, not wanting to spark something that might not go well.

Lucy stared at him, "Then what are you doing sitting here? You should keep looking for thieves."

"I will once I see you off to your room," Theodore muttered under his breath.

"What?" asked Lucy.

"I was going to open another bottle, would you like to have some?" asked Theodore, getting up and walking towards the cupboard.

Lucy turned her head, "I will have it once I am finished drinking this one," she responded with a smile on her face.

Theodore took a while before he returned to the table where Lucy hadn't moved from her place. Leaving the glass, she now held the neck of the bottle close to her.