They were standing on the main path leading from the gate to the inner court. On the left and right sides of this path were some lawns, gardens, and courtyards for guests. Once they walked past the fountain, the family courtyards had started appearing. They were now a few hundred meters away from the inner court where lady Leanna held meetings with the women of her circle.
Since he had turned to look at the omega, his eyes went to his right, which was to the left of the inner court, where a beautiful courtyard stood almost deserted. The outer lawns of the courtyard were destroyed and so was the paint of the building. Despite its beautiful structure, the courtyard was in bad shape. Keeping in mind how this courtyard was near the inner court, it should have been maintained well because if not, that'd be a disgrace for the family.
Anyone who came to meet the Alpha duke or his wife, would definitely see this courtyard. How come no one paid attention to this courtyard? He couldn't help but be intrigued and started walking on the side path to reach the building. Rose, who had barely breathed, was horrified beyond her wits.
Several moments passed quickly with her glued to her spot and every moment taking him a step closer to the courtyard. "N..no my lord.. You should not go there… this courtyard is not safe for you…." She got over her fear with much difficulty before running after the alpha. If something happened to him, she could only think about her grave. She hadn't even found her mate yet.
This guest here was adamant on getting her killed. She cursed her fate while running after him. For a change, her words had caused the guard to be alert and follow her as well. She ran to come stand in front of sir Robert, unafraid of what punishment he might inflict upon her. "Please sir, this may damage your cultivation core, you should stay away from this courtyard". She was running backwards while facing him.
"Oh… why so?", came his nonchalant response. "I'm just curious as to why this courtyard is not well taken care of despite its beautiful building", he paused before inhaling suddenly, looking at her in a worried expression.
"Could it be…?", he paused again dramatically, giving Rose an impression that he had finally gotten what she was trying to say. She nodded frantically, fearing he might change his mind again,"this courtyard is haunted?"
'Huh… what?..' She went blank for a few seconds. The mirth in the older man's eyes was evident as he walked past her and stepped inside the courtyard.
The slow as ever Rose took a few more seconds to process the fact that she was treated as a joke. She was standing there, her back towards the courtyard door and arms spread open in an attempt to stop the person who had already entered the courtyard. He was now passing the small barren passages of land meant to be the lawns to enter the open door of the living area. When she raised her head, the expressionless guard was standing there, looking at her keenly.
She avoided his piercing gaze and turned back to run after the high alpha again. Watching him enter the living area she shouted, "That's not what I meant my lord… this courtyard is the living quarter of young miss...." Crash….
She was interrupted with a loud crash. Someone was kicked from inside and came flying towards where she and the guard were standing. Rose and the guard stepped to the sides of the pathway instinctively while Sir Robert flew past them and fell straight out of the courtyard door. He spat a few mouthfuls of blood before tiredly lying back down. 'What was that?'
Rose watched him lying at the door of the courtyard helplessly as the guard rushed to his master's side. Had it not been for her fear of death, she would have gone to him and given him a tight slap. 'That's what you get for not paying heed to a servant.' These powerful people never take the weaker ones seriously. Now that he had already poked the beehive, she didn't feel the need to go ask him if he was alright.
Sound of several rushing footsteps was heard accompanied by a shocked voice, "brother Robert!" the duchess gasped watching her mighty brother lie there on the ground spitting blood. She rushed to his side as her guards helped him up. "What happened here? How are you injured?" she asked him worriedly before realization dawned on her.
They were standing at the door of that wretched girl's courtyard, that means… she turned furiously, glaring at the building. Finding her looking towards the door of the living area, Rose immediately fixed her expressions of enjoyment and silently moved towards the wall. She wasn't noticed since the duchess was busy cursing the young miss for her brazen behavior.
"Come out you wretched monster! How dare you hurt a high alpha duke and my brother at that?" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Rose could trace smoke coming out of madam Leanna's ears even from her back. The duchess and young miss Aurelia didn't get along well to begin with. Now, she had totally lost her cool at her brother's disheveled state.
She was a beautiful woman around forty years but seemed to be in early thirties. She had a high bun decorated with lots of precious hair accessories. Her golden jewelry embedded with priceless stones shimmered in the light of torches. As she waited for the culprit to appear out of the worn out wooden door, her constricted pupils continued to spit fire in the living quarter's direction.
Robert Whitlock tried to stabilize himself by gathering his scattered aura around his cultivation core when someone spoke in a spoiled tone, "Awwww, mother dearest! Are you sure that uncle is a high alpha and deserving to be a duke when he can't even handle this lowly Omega's aura?" The sweet spoiled tone indicated that the speaker was unconditionally doted on by the duchess but the voice didn't belong to his niece.
The duchess sounded far beyond ignited as she snapped, "Don't call me that! I'm no monster's mother. Dare you call that to me again and I'll have your tongue pulled from the throat."