After their dinner, Rufus stayed in the dining hall alone. His eyes were on the other end of this long table where his empress usually sat.

‘Fail,’ he whispered in his head, reaching for the decanter to pour himself a glass of wine. 

Florence reminded him of Silvia. Yes. She was like the younger version of Silvia. Her eyes brimmed like the woman he fell in love with. Full of hope, expectations, and positivity. 

The main reason Rufus shut his heart instantly, giving no room for any development for this marriage. Why? Because deep down, he knew that if he fell in love with Florence, it wouldn’t be real. It would only mean he fell in love with his first love’s ghost.

That was unfair to Florence. Therefore, he immediately drew the line. If Florence stayed, then she stayed. If she wanted to go, then he wouldn’t hold her back.

“How pathetic,” he muttered mockingly, holding the glass of wine. ‘She’s already married and yet… I still secretly hold on to her. When, in fact, I am the one who pushes her away in the first place.’

Call it karma or whatever, but Rufus knew he didn’t have any right to love Silvia. Or rather, he could only love her secretly. Loving her could be his way of atonement or just helpless love. But what was for sure was that he wasn’t cut out for marriage. 

Unless it was Silvia, of course. But that was impossible now since she was deeply in love with Yulis. 

“I guess Heliot had seen this coming.” Rufus tilted his head back, eyes on the chandelier. “Since he told me he wouldn’t meddle in any of the empress’s affair and decision. I guess he is not a bad brother who simply sold his sister for benefits.”

A chuckle slipped past his lips, a bit amused by Heliot’s personality. “He always acts as if he doesn’t care about anything but his damn Karo Kingdom. But it seems he also cares about his family in his unique way.”

Rufus idled there, enjoying a drink, unable to distinguish if the drink was to celebrate Florence’s enlightenment. Or to wash down the sorrow of realizing how he was still madly in love with his first love. 

Either way, he didn’t dwell on it. He was married to the career he was passionate about. And he still had to track down Lena, who was still as elusive as ever.

‘Now that I think about it, how long is the time limit?’ he wondered, thinking that it was almost a year already since he received Stefan’s letter. At this point, he was unsure if Stefan was simply giving him a scare since nothing had happened yet. 

But Rufus couldn’t be complacent. So the search for Lena was still ongoing, with Dominique and Heliot leading the case. 

Just as Rufus was enjoying his drink, he suddenly paused. His eyes instantly sharpened upon sensing a very familiar aura. It was faint but very distinct. There were only a few people who could ring the bells in Rufus’s head. 

One of them was his brother dearest, Fabian. 

“What is he doing here?” his voice was brooding, putting down a glass of water before heading to where he could sense his brother’s presence.

******

“Who are you?”

Florence clutched her hand close to her chest, eyes on the person standing not far away from her. After her dinner with Rufus, she wanted to take a walk in the garden. Since she felt a little festive for speaking up, she told the servants to leave her alone. 

Who would have thought she would regret that? Now, no one was around to protect her if this person harm her.

She scrutinized the person several feet away from her. He wasn’t wearing a knight suit or foreign clothes. Instead, he was wearing a butler uniform.

Fabian tilted his head to the side with narrowed eyes. “Are you the empress?” he inquired as the side of his lips curled up wickedly. 

This alarmed her. “N — no. I mean, what if I am?” Her voice shook, taking a careful step back. 

She was a pureblooded vampire, and yet, this man’s presence could shake her to the core. He was dangerous, and she was certain he definitely was. Even the emperor couldn’t shake her spirit like this. 

But this man… who was ‘posing’ as a butler, could alarm her even without trying. He reeked of the scent of death.

To her surprise, when she blinked, Fabian was already in front of her. She stumbled back, only for Fabian to still her waist.

“I don’t mean to harm you, Your Majesty. Don’t be scared, I’m friendly.” Fabian smiled until his eyes squinted into slits. “His Majesty’s wife is so beautiful, especially up close. Will you take part in the research I am conducting?”

“Huh?”

His smile remained before he bent over and planted a peck on her lips. Florence’s eyes popped out of their socket. Her mind instantly went blank at his insolence and audacity.

“Well, thank you for your cooperation. That’s a very helpful data.” Fabian laughed as he drew his head back, keeping his signature smile. He slowly let the empress go, holding her shoulder until he was certain she wouldn’t fall from shock.

“What… why… you…” Florence blinked countless times, gazing up at him. Her unfinished questions caused his eyes to open a bit, revealing a pair of sharp eyes. Her breath hitched as soon as she locked eyes with him.

He was… hypnotizing. 

“Are you asking why I kissed you? I thought you were very beautiful and fit for the research I am conducting,” he explained in a light tone as if he didn’t do something to his brother’s wife. “You taste nice, don’t worry. It a pleasant experience.”

“…” 

Fabian laughed, seeing that it seemed that surely surprised her. “Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Your Majesty.” He tilted his head down before walking past her as if nothing happened. 

As he walked away, Florence blinked twice while recollecting her thoughts. Just now, someone kissed her, right? And his reason was that she was beautiful? How ridiculous was that?!

“Do you kiss every woman you think is beautiful?!” she turned around and raised her voice, fuming at this man’s audacity. She had never felt true anger until now. 

“Well, yes!” Fabian looked back with a misplaced innocence in his eyes. “I cannot gather enough research data to prove a certain point if I don’t conduct trial tests.” 

She scoffed in disbelief. “Test…?” Even Rufus didn’t insult her like this. At least, her husband knew to hold back.

“Oh, aside from that, it is also helpful for you, since my brother didn’t even flinch when I kissed you. You know what that means. He’s a bad husband and you should leave him.” Fabian laughed before he resumed with an evil smile plastered across his face. “Thank me later.”

Florence furrowed her brows while staring at his back. “Brother…?” she whispered. “Are you…!”

“Your brother-in-law!” he answered even from that distance, waving at her without looking back. “Let’s kiss again if you’re free. Got to go.”

“….” A gigantic question mark hovered over her head. Brother-in-law?? And did he just ask her to kiss again as if he was simply asking her to meet again?!