Ori's eyes fluttered open and her tired gaze fell on a silver head. It was rested over his pretty hands with long and slender fingers adorned by glistening rings. His silver locks curtained his face from her view, but Ori could spot long dark lashes and a pointy nose breathing elegantly.
After the awe of his beauty diminished a bit, Ori realised the familiar surroundings of the room.
The carved four-poster bed and cloudy mattresses that she was resting on, the velvet couch directly in her line of sight and the darkness of the room combated by one open window.
The window she had used to sneak inside the Duke's bedchamber.
She was on the Duke's bed?!
In the Duke's bedchamber?!
Her blue eyes widened as reality cut to chase the fantasy of his ethereal beauty away.
The chirping birds outside, the gleaming sunlight escaping into the room and glaring on his handsome face, made Ori's hands and feet go clammy.
She picked up one of the many pillows occupying the bedrest and placed it infront of the Duke's face, to stop the sunrays from hitting his eyes directly, before crawling out of the bed.
"Ah, you're awake."
A deep and husky voice caught her off guard. Her feet, which were about to hit the ground, retracted back up into the bed. Ori turned around to face him with wide blue eyes and a choked breath.
Why was she here of all places?!
Her heart skipped a beat as he carded his bejeweled hand through his silky locks and looked down at her with his dashing face, mentally attacking her so early in the morning.
His tired amythest eyes glared at her stance, full lips curved into an upside down smile. He exuded a menacing aura and, in fear, Ori couldn't help but throw out her hands and wiggle them.
"This is a dream!" She waved her hands, "You are asleep!" She looked at her nose and poked her tongue out. Her voice was low and whispy. "Nothing is real!" She finished, slowly backing away in as she set one foot on the ground. "I am a part of your imagination," she whispered, standing up— only for her legs to give in.
Though, before her butt could hit the floor, she found herself wrapped securely in his sturdy arms and was thrown over the bed again. His dead eyes bore into her in the most unamused manner possible.
"You were hurt, quite a lot. You have been asleep for two days," Duke Sirius informed, folding his hands against his chest as he stood against the edge of his bed.
Ori's big eyes widened excitedly. Her mind was quick to connect the dots.
"So was Duke the one riding the carriage? Did you see me fight? Were you very impressed? Did you take me in to make me a Knight?" Ori clapped tiny claps with her fingers as she inched closer to him with every word.
"Yes, I was the one riding the carriage. Yes, I saw you fight. It was the most amateurish stroke of luck one could possess. You'd be a lost cause in the name of Knightdom so, I'd rather you drop that thought for a loooong while," Sirius drawled, eyes moving pointedly over Ori's body as if making her realise something.
Confused and quite offended, Ori looked down at herself to spot a few glaring problems.
Her knitted dress was gone and replaced with a soft, silky navy robe that clung to her lanky figure. She swiftly rolled up her sleeves and pajamas to find bandaged hands and feet. Blood rushed to her face as she pressed her hands against her chest and looked up to glare him in the eye.
"Mister Duke! I expected better of you than to violate me like this!" She cried out, small chin jutting out and nostrils flared with emotion.
Sirius exhaled a breath before tilting his head, "I apologise, but it was Albert—"
"HOLY BREAD AND DAIRY! YOU MADE ALBERT THE OLD SLUG CHANGE MY CLOTHES?!"
"—who curated female attendents to serve you. It was a gesture of gratitude on my part," The Duke exhaled as blood rushed to Ori's face and doused her crimson with embarrassment.
"I-I, uh, I am sorry. I apologise. I should not have made my own conclusions," Ori coughed, shifting back in the centre of the bed and sitting like an obidient child.
"Yes, you shouldn't have."
The Duke nodded and so did Ori.
An awkward energy emanated through the air as they both existed in the plane of existence, leaving words unsaid.
That was, until, Ori remembered bigger problems.
"W-what of my stuff? The mats and the-the logs and—"
"Don't worry about it. I had the guards send the damaged goods to be mended and the good ones are right there," Sirius inched his chin towards a small wooden box placed in front of the bedside table. It's exterior was carved with ornate handiwork — a little too precious to be storing mere knitted mats and rugs.
"Oh- then- No! My parents! They would be so worried!"
"I had them reinstated on land and gave them newly registered identities. Your mother is now Lady Soreen Gregory and your father is now Lord Kamil Gregory. They live in the Ender Towne as nouveau riche textile merchants. Talking of your father, I have scheduled appointments with Evermire's best healers regarding his condition. Don't you worry, he will be pristine in no time."
Duke Sirius declared as casually as mentioning weather whilst having a spot of tea. Ori could see his shoulders physically raise up to the sky with all the pride his silent face exuded.
In a moment, he had spun Ori's bleak future into a paragraph of unemotional words, not knowing how deeply it impacted any and all of the future decisions she would make.
Indeed, the practice of buying fake Class identities was a decade long practice but it was awfully hard to grab such an opportunity! They were as expensive as costing an arm and a leg just to get authorisation into a new class! Then there was fake backgrounds to create, fake family histories to maintain, fake households to buy—
Ori's hand slapped against her mouth — as all the numbers added up to a malfunctioned limit inside her head — lest she'd be gasping for air for the rest of her life. Tears overwhelmed her eyes and pooled out of its boundaries, claiming free real estate on her cheeks. Her parents would be living a comfortable life?
It felt unreal. It must be unreal.
"B-but," her voice broke, rasped and choked, "How do I trust you?" Her eyes searched for any tells of a sick-joke in his stance. His hands behind his back, his squared shoulders or his eyes that looked back into her with absolute confidence.
It was criminal to look that good and be honest at the same time.
Surely, like all rich folks, he must be lying.
"I had you followed, the last you visited me. It wasn't hard to find your little dungeon of secrets, for there aren't many to begin with. We can now call our favours equal now—"
"The sword," Ori cut in, wiping her tears on her bandaged arms, much to Duke Sirius' horror. He was quick to fetch a handkerchief out of his pocket and lend it to her. Ori took it with a grateful nod and blew her nose in it.
"Do continue," Sirius urged calmly.
"Yes," Ori coughed, her nose and throat felt much lighter now. It was time she clarified why the sword of a mere carriage driver felt like Arthur's magical weapon in her hand. "I believe you know magic? Considering Duke was travelling in a horseless carriage; but you did not come out. But you were helping me from the inside, weren't you?"
Sirius raised an amused brow, his cold face betraying hints of being impressed by her observation.
"It's a personal matter, but I can let you know, if you promise to answer a question of mine. With all honesty." The Duke proposed, eyes fixated in a glaring attack on the handkerchief that Ori had left on his bed, after blowing her nose in it.
"Sounds omnious, but fire away," the brunette shrugged. Her teeth gritted against eachother, awaiting the impending question. Her eyes followed the Duke's line of sight and landed on the silk handkerchief.
Ori pursed her lips together, muttering sheepish apologises, as she flicked the dirty handkerchief to the ground.
The Duke dusted a spot on his bed and sat on it with the elegance of a King. Ori's sucked in a long breath, upon having him so close to her. All of this felt like an elaborate dream. Only when she earns a hit from mother-supreme would she be able to decipher fantasy from reality.
"Why do you want to be a Knight? Was it to earn money because it the highest post a commoner can attain?" His back faced the open window, his face faced Ori. His eyes searched for any signs of discomfort or dishonesty.
But, the brunette's lips merely broke into a gummy smile with blue eyes sparkling so bright, any aristrocart might think she was advertising for belladonna eyedrops.
"Why of course, I want to be a Knight because it is my dream! Yes, our family has always been in desperate need of money but that is not why I wanted to be a Knight. I want to become as gallant as my father and using a sword is the only way I can be truly free. It's beautiful and I love it!" Her words were laced with a dreamy tone, her hands wandered around, gesticulating her excitement.
She was like a woman possessed with it came to Knightdom.
It was kind of odd, as Sirius' dark brows met in a frown. He had only considered her to be a passionate person and a stubborn, poor woman who wanted to make it big in life. He had, not for one moment, considered the fact that being a Knight could be someone's genuine dream.
Why would anyone want to be a Knight out of mere wish and not money?
Why would they want to protect this godforsaken empire by staking their lives on the line?
Surely, their heads were demented.
"Why...?" Was all Sirius could manage. The situation was too incomprehensible for him to make sense. "What good has the Nobelai Empire done for you? Just two days ago, you were living in a dungeon under the ground!" His tone raised involuntarily, out of choice and no reason, he got up and started pacing around his room.
"Just because," Ori shrugged, curling herself in a foetal position. "I don't want to be a Knight for the Empire. I want to be a Knight for myself," Ori mumbled, knowing it was blasphemy of the highest order that she just committed.
Even to think ill about the Empire would get your head chopped off, let alone to be putting yourself over service to the Empire. Ori was, indeed, a genuinely selfish person.
Yet, somehow, she wasn't scared to be honest in front of the Duke.
His pacing footsteps came to a halt. Ori pressed her eyes close. His feet brought him in front of the bed again. Ori's nails dug into her skin. His breath felt awfully close to her face. Goosebumps rose all over Ori's body.
"I can make you a Knight."
His tone was low, deep and omnious, but it did not stop the jerk with which Ori opened her eyes and raised her head.
Inches away from his. They were almost breathing over eachother's faces.
"Do you need something in return?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her curious, innocent and subtly excited face against his cold lips, blown pupils and subtly smirking lips.
"I need something significant in return. I need your life."
Her breath hitched. Silence reigned. Even the birds did not chirp anymore.
"What good would my blood look on your hands?"
A deep laugh reverberated in his throat.
"Oh it will look, quite, quite magnificent."