The Devil's Betrothed-Chapter 724: Cold Lucian

Everyone sensed the tension between Lucian and Rowan.

Rafal immediately stepped forward and said, "Rowan, it’s late, and it’s too cold out here. We should head inside."

But Rowan and Lucian didn’t break their gaze.

"Lucian, what did Erin say?" Rafal asked, hoping Lucian might respond and end the standoff with Rowan.

"What could our sister possibly say to him?" Rowan interjected, his gaze mocking and his tone bitter. "Maybe they were discussing her wedding plans, considering Lucian is Aaron’s cousin. Did you tell my sister she’d be happy with Aaron? That marrying him is the best decision she’s ever made? That you can’t wait to welcome her into the family as your brother’s wife—your sister-in-law?"

Lucian, who had been standing firm, finally showed a flicker of change in his cold gaze. Once more the unease crept over his heart.

"Just make sure not to be a nuisance to her," Rowan continued. "I expect you to be a good brother-in-law to her and a good uncle to her and Aaron’s children."

The others stood stunned, not knowing how to intervene, while Lucian took a step back and turned to leave, his mind swirling with conflicting emotions. As he walked away, he grabbed the glass of wine from Arthur’s hand, downed it in one gulp, and left.

"What are you doing, Rowan?" Rafal asked, watching Lucian’s retreating figure.

Rowan shrugged nonchalantly. "Revenge for my sister."

Rafal sighed. "We didn’t come here for that. Did you forget what Erin told you before we arrived?"

"I know, but that doesn’t mean he should follow our sister like this," Rowan muttered. "How can he, when he already rejected marrying her?"

"You’re drunk," Rafal sighed again.

"Wait, what’s going on here?" Arthur asked, looking perplexed.

"Nothing," Rafal replied quickly. "Rowan’s just had a bit too much to drink. It’s late, and I think we should all head to bed." With that, Rafal dragged a tipsy Rowan away, while the others, still puzzled, followed suit.

Lucian, who had returned to the lounge, was met by the butler. "Lord Rainier, would you like to retire to your room?"

Lucian nodded, picked up a pitcher of wine from the table, and followed the butler as he guided him to his quarters.

After entering the room, the butler bid him good night and left. Lucian stood by the window, staring out into the night, drinking straight from the pitcher. His gaze remained fixed outside, staring blankly into the darkness.

He had never felt this way before and with each passing day this unknown feeling was getting stronger.

----

The next morning at the breakfast table, Lucian was unusually quiet, his gaze frequently drifting toward Erin, who seemed intent on focusing solely on her meal and chatting with the young girl sitting next to her.

Since morning, he had spoken very little, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions he could not quite understand.

Erin, fully aware of his gaze on her, chose to ignore it and didn’t dare look at him.

"Lady Erin, do you know how to use a sword?" Rina asked curiously.

Erin hummed in response, and they heard Rowan say, "She’s very skilled. Rafal has been training her since she was young. At your age, she could already spar with a knight."

"Really?" Rina looked amazed. "My brother told me to learn as well. Will you teach me?" she asked eagerly. "Brother Aaron is busy, and my brother..." Rina glanced at Lucian, "He’s been growing colder lately. I feel scared of him sometimes. Look at his face, so serious, as if he’s preparing for war."

Erin glanced at Lucian, only to meet his intense gaze, which had been fixed on her all along.

"See?" Rina pressed on, "And since this morning, it feels like whatever gentleness was left in him has completely disappeared."

"It would be better if you used that mouth to eat," Lucian’s cold voice cut in, silencing her immediately.

Rina lowered her head at once, while Erin looked at Lucian with a hint of disapproval, as if asking whether that was really the way to speak to his sister. But Lucian didn’t waver; he continued to stare boldly at her.

Erin felt helpless, unsure of what was going through his mind or why he was behaving this way. She shifted her focus back to her meal.

"Lucian, she’s just a child," Arthur spoke up. "Don’t be so harsh with her."

Lucian remained silent, continuing to eat, his mind too preoccupied to process anything.

Once they were done eating, Erin decided to console Rina. "Do you want to learn how to use a sword?"

Rina nodded immediately.

"There’s an indoor training area," Nathaniel informed them. "You two can head there. I’m sure Erin will teach you well, Rina. And if there’s anything left to learn, you have plenty of brothers here to help."

"Yeah, we have the two best knights in the entire kingdom—Rafal and Imbert—who can teach you even better," Arthur added.

"I heard Rafal trained Oriana as well," Nathaniel remarked with a chuckle. "How did she do?"

"Better than my expectations," Rafal replied.

Only if Rafal knew he was training the invincible princess of demon realm who was infamous in all three realms for her exceptional sword skill, the owner of one of the most powerful sword in existence, so skilled and powerful that even gods were wary of her.

"More than sword training, the two of them were mostly training on how to curse each other," Imbert, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "I’m sure, thanks to his exceptional student, Rafal has now mastered the art of cursing in the most effective way."

"Must have been a sight to see," Nathaniel added.

"You people missed the best training session my vice captain had ever had," Imbert commented.

Rafal looked at Imbert, "When comes to the Crown Princess, captain is always so talkative or rest of the time, he is worse than even a mute people who at least tries to express themselves."

Imbert looked at him, "You are the same."

Arthur chuckled at the two and said. "But it’s the truth, no one can beat our Crown Princess when it comes to cursing. She can kill a person with her sharp words alone."

Imbert hummed, "Learning sword is just a spare addition to it."

"What a great source of entertainment Arlan has in his life. No wonder he fell for her. That arrogant Crown Prince needed a woman like her," Arthur added with a grin. "I wonder where they are wandering at this moment."

If only they knew, their friends were busy dealing with demons in the Demon Realm at that very moment.