Tyrant's Obsession With The Heiress

Moonveil was a large keep that was built four stories high, five if one counted the tower rooms on each corner turret of the roof. The first floor accommodated the basement with stores, the kitchen, and the well.

The second floor could be reached by an iron staircase, leading up to a small entry, an equally small solar, and an enormous hall with a gallery above it.

The third floor was cut in half by the Great Hall's gallery and held two large chambers with a medium one in the middle, which served as the servants' sleeping quarters.

And the fourth floor held two more large chambers along with a secondary servants' quarters, a small library with an attached study.

This was the floor in which Lady Karina stayed.

As for the supposed sanctuary that was rumoured to withhold wild beasts since centuries ago, there was no indication of its location anywhere within Moonveil.

Not yet at least.

Van Merikh had taken Lady Karina to her enormous bower with its views of the north, south, and east through the window. It was meant to be her father's chamber, but the garrison commander had graciously granted it to his daughter while he had sufficed with a smaller chamber on the third floor.

The first thing Lady Karina had noticed when she entered the chamber was how cold the air had become, especially since a gelid man with frosty magic like Van Merikh had accompanied her.

Usually the hearth would be brimming to life with a fire in its hold, but the hearth was now dark and cold, reminding Lady Karina that she had not seen a single female servant out and about since she was released from the vault.

In fact, she hadn't seen any woman at all, let alone the servants.

She inhaled a deep breath to summon her courage to ask about their whereabouts.

"The servants," Lady Karina stated, turning to Van Merikh, his bulky frame eating up the space of the doorway as he stood there. "Where are they? Where have they gone?"

Van Merikh regarded her for a moment, arching up a dark brow. "There are no women in my castles," he replied firmly.

Lady Karina's eyebrows flew up in surprise. "Does that mean you have killed them?" Her hand followed suit and flew to her mouth. "Have you...you strung them up on poles like my father's knights? My God…am I to see them there when I look out my window?"

Van Merikh was no stranger to the horror in Lady Karina's eyes. The way the splash of emerald wavered, becoming glossy, stirred a strange feeling within him; it urged him to tell her the truth.

"You will not find them strung up on poles," he stated in his deep baritone. "They were confined to the chapel as I've not yet decided what their fate will be."

Van Merikh was suddenly startled when Lady Karina rushed towards him and plummeted to her knees near his feet, forcing him to gaze down at her with his intense dual-coloured gaze.

"Please, my Lord," Lady Karina addressed him, being one of the only few times she titled him formally with respect. "I beg that you do not hurt them. They are my servants and some are even of old friendship. I was raised with these women."

Van Merikh did not bat an eye just yet.

"I swear it on my life that I will obey and do as you command if you show them mercy," Lady Karina continued, her hands clasped tightly together.

Never in her life did she believe she would ever have to grovel before a ruthless man and plead for her loved ones' lives to be pardoned.

Van Merikh stared at her, recalling the last time he had seen her in such a pitiful state, begging for her father's life to be spared.

He realised he wasn't fond of seeing her on her knees, submissive and begging.

No, he didn't like it at all.

It made something within him churn.

Van Merikh reached down and took her by the arm, pulling the lady to her feet.

"Get up," he commanded softly, his voice a little less intimidating than before. Then he walked away from her, inspecting the chamber for something. "Is there no wine in this chamber?"

He could already sense a throbbing headache well on its way.

The question was so far off of the subject that it took Lady Karina a moment to realise what he had asked.

Confused, she turned around to the wall where there was a small table holding a pitcher with what she assumed, after taking a sniff, was mead that was several days old. For a man like Van Merikh, it should suffice.

Lady Karina picked up a cup and the pitcher, bringing them over to the brooding man.

Van Merikh disregarded the cup completely and drank straight from the pitcher like the savage he was. He downed it in two large gulps, not bothering to savour it for its taste but rather for its purpose.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand when he was done and regarded Lady Karina again, tossing the pitcher to the floor.

Lady Karina watched him with a growing frown but did not speak.

"Do you understand nothing of war, Lady?" Van Merikh asked quietly.

Lady Karina considered his words for a moment before she shrugged.

"As I have told you before, we do not see much war at Moonveil," she repeated. "The Caelthians do not intervene and leave us alone for the most part. I have never even been a part of a siege."

She was honest to a fault.

Van Merikh was somewhat intrigued by the fact that no other had come to tear down Moonveil's walls for its secrets.

Were other lords not vying for the strengths of beasts to raise the morale of their army ranks?

"Then Moonveil is a complete rarity," Van Merikh replied, his dual-coloured eyes still fixed on her. "War surrounds every land, yet Moonveil is untouched and lies safe in a world of its own."

"That is true," Lady Karina agreed, nodding.

Something in his tone hardened. "But it is true no more. Now that Moonveil is under my command, much of it will change. It is now a military garrison."

Lady Karina shook her head, deeply puzzled. Why did her home have to become a warzone?

"But why? Why must this be the outcome?" Her eyes had shone with something like sorrow, but not quite.

"Because Moonveil is mine."

Lady Karina had yet to fully understand such concepts. 

For most of her life, she remained ignorant of such things, convinced that she would never see the darkness of war but she should have known that sooner or later, someone who believed the myths to be true would come for its secrets.

Lady Karina bit her lips as she considered her next words and the action brought a glint of interest to Van Merikh's eyes.

"What of the women in the chapel, my Lord? Why are you obligated to put them to death? Would it not be better to release them to the keep and allow them to resume their regular duties?" She attempted to bargain, testing his limits. "They are not a threat."

"All manner of conquered people are threats, Lady." He folded his arms over his chest.

"Then you consider me a threat as well?"

He lifted a dark eyebrow. "You most of all."