Catina stared at the Grand Duke with a slight surprised expression on her face. Grand Duke Arthur titled his head while waiting for her response. Yet, there was none, so he called his name.
"Sir. Baron?"
Luckily, it was enough for her to come to her senses. She stood up and greeted him politely. The Grand Duke was pleased and repeated his question. Catina replied to him with a nod then admired the two roses. Grand Duke Arthur shared a few things about him and his bond while looking at those roses as well.
"Catina likes those pink roses, especially when they haven't bloomed yet. And I like those white roses because it reminded me of her. Whenever she wears her favorite white dress that goes well with her beautiful honey brown eyes and silky hair, this white rose is what I imagine of her, like an angel smiling down upon me."
"That's why I requested for these two roses to be together. And no one is allowed to touch it except me. However, I might make an exemption for you." He added.
Catina was dumbfounded and an emotion she continuously tried to forget, surfaced once again. She wanted to hug him and tell him that she's Catina he's been searching for right in front of him. But he momentarily stops when she is suddenly reminded of her brother and parent's deaths.
She held her chest and exhaled slightly to calm herself. She looked at him and was silently happy because he still remembers everything about her, even her favorite flower. She complimented the vampire that surprises the Grand Duke.
"She is definitely pleased to hear that, your Highness."
"What made you say that? I failed her, you know. She died because I wasn't there when she needed me and I couldn't protect her."
"Just by having her in your thoughts and continuing searching for her. I can vouch that she is definitely happy, your Highness."
"..."
Catina subconsciously smiled at him genuinely that caught him off guard. She doesn't particularly hate the Adonis Brothers. The reason why she can't swallow the fact of being in the same room or place with them is because of their father. The dream she constantly has was about the former emperor who abducted her cousin and killed her brother.
She loved the Grand Duke and still continues to love him in spite of what his father did towards her and her family. She knows it wasn't his fault and he had nothing to do with it. However, those silver hair is what keeps her away from them. Because they are too much alike to their father which haunts her every now and then. And if he knows what she had been doing all along then surely he would have a hard time accepting her is what she had been thinking all along. So, it was better not to tell him the truth about her.
Grand Duke Arthur turned away from her which made her confused. He was suddenly flustered and couldn't understand the reason for him feeling this way. He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh then faced him. He asked him why she's out here alone and she immediately explained to him what happened. A loud laugh escaped from his mouth at the same time he tried to hold back as hard as he could. However, no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't.
Catina felt insulted and wanted to kick him but at the same time tried to refrain herself. While she continued watching the Grand Duke laugh at her, she felt an immense presence getting closer to them. She pulled the Grand Duke which surprised him and hid among the field of roses.
Catina covered his mouth when he was about to say something and he was once again caught off guard as their faces began to grow closer until they're one inch apart. It took a while for Catina to realize this but the moment she noticed, she forgot the presence and was frozen with the situation. They both stared at one another until a voice interrupted their moment.
"I see, you must be playing hide and seek in here."
Catina jolted and looked up to see Emperor Charles staring down at them with a smile on his face. Catina quickly removed her hand and stood up upon realizing the position they were in. Grand Duke Arthur felt somewhat disappointed then stared angrily at his brother. The emperor was dumbfounded by his brother's glare because he didn't know why he's mad.
The Grand Duke slightly smirked while looking at her as he reminisced about what happened just now. But soon a shiver came down his spine upon realizing that Hans is a guy (who unknowingly is Catina) and he shouldn't feel such emotion towards a man. He then told his brother.
"I wanted to tell him that it was just you but he seems so eager to hide which isn't bad."
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I didn't mean to—" -Catina
"It's alright. No harsh feelings. It was actually a good call. No matter how trustworthy a person can be, if the world is full of lies and deception. Then, no one is to be trusted." - Charles
"You seem to be speaking with experience, Your Majesty."- Catina
"Do I appear that way?"- Charles
"Forgive me, Your Majesty."
"As I said, no need for an apology. You are free to express however you want."
Emperor Charles smiled at her to reassure him that he wasn't even an inch felt offended by her words. He immediately changed the topic to avoid it getting deeper.
"So? What happened here? Why are you two alone and hiding?"
Once again, with the explanation but this time it was the Grand Duke who explained it all. As always, brothers. They both burst into laughter after he explained to him the situation while trying to hold it in. Catina didn't know what to do and just stared at them while thinking of some ways to quietly get back at them. But while pondering to herself, a hand patted her head which caught her by surprise.
She looks up to see Emperor Charles gently patting him with a gentle smile. As soon as she saw those smiles, she wanted to burst into tears. She is so confused with her feelings. Anger, pain, disappointment, joy, relief, and nostalgia were battling inside her.
However, another hand separated her from him. Head Benjamin was furious and pulled her closer to him then backed away from the two brothers. In pursuit, the others arrived just in time. Sheryl quickly checked to see if she was fine and a huge sigh of relief escaped from her lips.
"Where have you been all this time? You disappeared in a blink of an eye, you should've at least called us and you didn't even answer your phone!"- Sheryl
"I forgot to bring it. I was distracted by the butterflies a while ago. I'm sorry."- Catina
"You better be! I thought we lost you, I was so worried!" - Head Benjamin
"You were worried? To me?" - Catina
Catina felt somewhat happy to hear her childhood friend whom she considered her big brother to be worried about her. And yet, she had to pretend that they were no longer friends. It was hard for her but she had to. The Head coughs and lies to her.
"I'm not worried about you. What I'm worried about is that the director might kill me."
"Oh."- Catina
She felt disappointment surging inside her but she decided to ignore it then went to explain the situation. Fortunately, everything went well and no one started any fight. The Empress then urges them to have dinner with them as a form of celebration for the successful collaborative mission they had just made.
The moment Grand Duke Arthur heard the word 'mission', a memory surfaced in his mind. It was when Catina fell unconscious after the attack from one of the Catalyst Circle, Moscard, he thought that she was dead with how cold and pale she got. And yet, here she is, standing before him with a light smile on her face.
He gazed at her intently while pondering the possibilities running through his mind. He also noted the fact that the paleness of her body is unlikely to be the same like living human bodies have. Some living humans do have pale skin and yet you can differentiate them from the dead.
However, her body is as likely as dead with how low and cold her body temperature is. Although, one thing for sure Grand Duke Arthur has failed to notice, is that Catina was using her dead brother's body which explains everything.
Catina seemed to notice the stare that Grand Duke Arthur had been giving her which made her stare back at him. When the royal realized they had been staring at each other for too long, he avoided her gaze and shrugged off those useless thoughts. They all went inside and enjoyed the graceful supper in front of them.
After the evening meal, their day ended with the hunters staying in the vampire's villa. Whereas, the moon ascended with a deadly hue above them.
...