Chapter 17. The Prettiest Flower of Them All

Lucilline whipped out a needle. He skilfully inserted it into the school's double doors, twisted it, then a click resounded through the air.

"Wow!" Daphnne's eyes were bright. "Lucilline, you're so skilled!"

The double doors swung open with a resounding croak. The shadows of the night seemed to chase after the three figures, who bravely (other than Percival) entered inside the academy. The double doors shut behind them, like a bird trapped in a cage.

Inside the hallway, candles were automatically lit.

"Now we just need to get to the laboratory room." Lucilline said willfully. Behind him, Daphnne followed like a baby duck following her mother hen. Meanwhile, Percival was shivering like a leaf on the wind.

Their footsteps echoed down the hallway, seeming to bounce off the marble walls and dissipating into thin air.

Daphnne sighed, "So far, I don't sense anything wrong. There are no ghost activities. Are you sure that you didn't hear wrong, Young Master Delta?"

They turned to look at Percival, who coughed slightly, feigning ignorance. He knew that there were no ghosts in S Academy. After all, that was merely something he made up. At that moment, Percival wanted to say, "maybe I did mishear it. How about we turn back and forget all about this?"

However, just before he was about to make up more boloney, something went up.

The sound of creaking metal echoed down the hallway. It was an ominous sound, like chains clanging against chains...

"You're right!" Daphnne tensed up in excitement. "There are ghosts! Like what Young Master Delta said... there were the sounds of chains clanking! This must be a premonition! We're getting closer to discovering the ghosts!"

She turned back to look at the only son of Duke Delta.

Instead of seeing an almighty nobleman, she instead saw a shrivelled up boy in fear.

Percival felt like he was about to faint at any moment. His skin of a healthy colour had paled to look like a piece of napkin. His hazel brown pupils quaked, as if the earth was shaking underneath his feet. All in all, the only son of Duke Delta appeared like a poor child stranded in the wilderness.

"Look at you, you're scaring yourself." Lucilline patted the nobleman, bringing him back to consciousness.

Subconsciously, Percival grabbed onto the black-haired nobleman's sleeves. His knuckles were tainted in ghostly white, and held on tight.

Lucilline didn't force his hand off. He just chuckled, "Then don't let go."

He shared a glance with Daphnne, then the three of them began to walk down the hallway. The sound of their footsteps mingled with the sound of chains. As time passed, the sound of babies wailing began to resound.

Upon hearing that, Percival shuddered. There's actual ghosts!?!

It turned out that his lie had turned into the truth. He clung onto Lucilline's sleeves even more tight. His knuckles appeared like they might pop out any time.

"The ghosts should be friendly, right?" For once, Daphnne hesitated.

Lucilline huffed. "Even if they aren't friendly, we could just run away." His words did not reassure the panicking son of Duke Delta.

Percival became more scared by the second.

When he was a child, he learned three things about himself. First, he was afraid of the dark. Second, he was afraid of ghosts. Third, he mustn't let anyone know about those two fears. Otherwise, he would bring dishonour to the Duke Delta family.

However, being by Lucilline and Daphnne's side, he felt like he could set the third rule aside. After all, Lucilline and Daphnne were kind people.

Percival tightly embraced Lucilline's whole arm. The mutual feeling of warmth had calmed down his violent senses, making the son of Duke Delta feel more at ease.

Lucilline just let the nobleman hug his arm.

The three students walked past several doors, until finally, they stopped in front of the laboratory room. It was the Experiments Lab, the room where the sounds originated from. The sound of children and women wailing had grown louder, as if they were stuck right beside the students' eardrums.

"Do you think that there's a ghost behind this door?" Daphnne naively asked.

Percival hugged Lucilline's arm tighter. Because of his tall height, Percival had to bend down in order to fully hug the black-haired nobleman's arm. Thus, his chest pressed against Lucilline's arm, unaware of how close he was at the moment.

Lucilline gave a small laugh, "We'll just have to see."

He reached out to the doorknob, with the copper bell hung across his wrist jingling twice. Without hesitation, Lucilline turned the doorknob, and opened the door-

"AHHHHH!!!" Percival seemed to have lost control of himself. He buried his face into Lucilline's arms, while wrapping his arms around the latter's waist. I'm scared... so scared...! Percival whimpered softly, as his masculine figure burrowed into Lucilline's smaller figure.

Lucilline tensed up. Out of nowhere, this older nobleman had suddenly jumped onto him!

"Umm..." Daphnne eyed the both of them. "Why is Young Master Delta over-exaggerating?"

"Huh?" Percival slowly lifted his head from Lucilline's body. He cautiously looked at what was behind the door, inside the Laboratory room.

Two pairs of eyes stared back at him. There were just two women. They weren't like ghosts—actually, they appeared like normal humans. One woman was tall, with long and slender legs. The other woman was younger, at least a young girl. She was wearing the girls' uniform for S Academy.

Thinking about it... these two women looked familiar...

"Miss A.?" The corners of Lucilline's mouth twitched.

Daphnne was also confused. "Who's Miss A.?" She wasn't in the same class as Azalea nor Lucilline.

Lucilline couldn't hide the dumbfounded expression in his eyes. "Miss A. is my homeroom teacher." He turned to look at the teacher, who was calm despite being caught in the act.

"Miss A., what are you doing?"

The said person, Miss A. had played with her strands of blonde hair, and stammered nervously. "You might not believe me if I told you this... Young Master Rubius." She turned to the girl beside her, "This is your classmate, November. November told me about how she heard some weird noise from a library book."

November, the girl nodded. Her hair was midnight purple, and her face was small. "It's true. I heard this really weird sound. There were chains clanking, and babies crying."

Percival shrunk. That sound was exactly what they just heard in the hallway!

"See!?!" November took out a book beside her. It had a strange pattern etched across the cover, with rust and dust eating it away. "This is what was causing the weird noises."

Miss A. nodded. "November asked for my help, so we decided to stay overnight in the laboratory room, and burn this book. Who knows what kind of... demonic energy is in here." When saying the last sentence, Miss A. made a weird face.

All of a sudden, her eyes widened.

Miss A. pointed at the three students, "Wait, what are you three doing in school this late at night?"

Daphnne shrunk in terror. "Um..."

Standing in front of her, Lucilline crossed his arms across his chest. He frowned, with his silky black hair laid on a shoulder. "Miss A." He raised an eyebrow. "Recently, Young Master Delta has also encountered the same as November." He emphasized on Percival's formal title.

"We've come to explore out of curiosity." Lucilline smiled. It totally isn't because I wanted to expose 'Young Master Delta''s lie, which turned out to actually not be a lie.

Miss A. understood. Right before her were two sons of two Grand Dukes! There was no way she could possibly offend them...!

She smiled, "Well, I suppose I'll oversee this."

Later on, Miss A. shooed them away. Children were still children. They shouldn't stay out late in school, and should return home. Thus, Lucilline and Percival walked Daphnne home. The transfer student lived in a rundown inn, which croaked occasionally to the wind.

Upon seeing the rickety inn, Lucilline frowned. What state will this inn be in during winter?

"Bye bye!" Daphnne waved goodbye. "It was fun hanging out! See you tomorrow at school!" She ran back into the inn, with her happy face disappearing.

Lucilline and Percival stood before the inn, unsure of what to say to each other. We should go on our separate ways now...

"Umm..." Percival coughed. His white suit was crinkled, due to the scare that he received inside S Academy. "Young Master Rubius, actually, I've heard those sounds of babies crying, and chains cackling, in real life. It was not a lie." Lucilline wasn't surprised to hear that. Otherwise, how could they encounter such a thing?

"I've read that in the past; commoners would be chained up, and the sound of babies crying would be everywhere in Lydia Kingdom." Percival explained. "I had panicked before, and used that story as a lie. However, I didn't expect to hear the real thing when sneaking in S Academy."

"I also apologize for any offence that I might've made." His face flushed red when remembering what'd happened. "I shouldn't have held onto you so tightly. It's just that... I was really scared of the dark."

As the only son of Duke Delta, Percival had gone through hardships and training. He alone carried all of the honour of the Delta household.

Percival remembered being locked in his bedroom. There was pure darkness, with not a single light. Percival reminisced; wishing for the sun to quickly rise up the horizon.

He shyly looked at Lucilline. "I hope that Young Master Rubius can keep my... phobia a secret from the public."

Lucilline just looked at him weirdly. "What makes you think that I would disclose such a thing?"

Percival was taken aback.

"If that's all you'd like to say, then I should get back to the manor." Lucilline said. "My parents should be worried about me." The last line was a lie.

Percival bowed his head. "Un."

Lucilline turned away, meaning to head to his separate path. His thoughts were sprawled across the night, like the blanket of breeze winding around his cheeks. In the wind, the copper bell strung across his wrist had rung twice.

All of a sudden, a cry came out from behind him. "Um, Young Master Rubius!"

It was Percival.

Lucilline turned around, wide-eyed. He was stunned, What does the Young Master Delta want from him now...?

He faced Percival, whose figure shone brightly in the night, with the colour of prominent white. Percival's hair of chestnut brown had bounced in the night breeze. His cheeks were slightly flushed, as he cried out, "After going through everything together, do we count as... friends now, Young Master Rubius?"

Lucilline's golden eyes dilated. He bit his bottom lip, which reddened to the force. You're older than me, yet you're asking me such a childish question.

"Just call me Lucilline." The black-haired nobleman laughed.

Upon hearing that answer, Percival loosened up. He also laughed back, "Then you can just call me Percival."

*****

After returning back to the manor (Lucilline had to be carried by Willow across the traps again), the black-haired nobleman found a certain butler staring at himself.

Lucilline, "..." What does this butler want from me?

Augustine coughed, holding a hand to his mouth. "I've heard that you returned. Next time, you should tell me before going out. After all, I'm a reincarnator and knows all of the plot lines of the novel. I am also strong. I trained as an assassin before, so I can protect you..."

"You don't need to protect Young Master!" Willow cut in. She huffed like a pufferfish. "I am stronger! I alone can protect Young Master!"

Augustine's face darkened. "Why don't you shut up for once!"

Willow fought back. "You want to go?"

Lucilline left the two servants to argue by themselves. He climbed up the stairs, then paused at a grand door—behind that room was where his father laid in bed, ill. Lucilline hesitated. Should I open the door and check on Father?

All of a sudden, he seemed to remember something. No. I cannot see him. Father wouldn't want me to get distracted from... making friends.

At the thought of Azalea, Daphnne, and Percival, Lucilline's mood had improved.

He skipped back to his bedroom, and plopped himself on the fluffy king-sized bed. Quickly, Lucilline sunk into his sea of dreams.

*****

Lucilline dreamt of a field that reached beyond the horizons. The skies were a beautiful colour of cerulean blue, with no clouds in sight.

In the middle of the field, there was a round table.

Sitting across the round table were two women. They were both beautiful, laughing, and drinking tea. The shorter woman had smiled, crossing her legs over the other. "Oh dear, Rachelle. If we ever have time, we should introduce our children to each other. My daughter would certainly be happy."

The woman she was talking to was a beauty of inhumane sorts.

She had beautiful raven black hair, which contrasted against her pale white jade skin. Her thin yet plump lips had rose red lipstick applied, curving upwards in a beautiful smile. This woman—Rachelle, wore a one-piece crimson red dress, which had black roses sewn on the hem. Her eyes were golden, akin to a treasure.

Upon seeing this woman, Lucilline was mesmerized.

She was Rachelle—Duchess Rubius—Lucilline's mother.

"Rachelle," the other woman had short brown hair, with a friendly and cute face. "You're so pretty; the prettiest flower of them all. No wonder Grand Duke Rubius was so obsessed with you."

Rachelle laughed, "Don't say that."

Lucilline just watched the two women laugh and drink tea together. After a long time, a chorus had sung, floating in the field.

"Rachelle Rubius is the most beautiful of them all."

"She is the Duchess—the lover of Duke Rubius."

"Her beauty is unparalleled."

"Her kindness is out of the world."

"She saved over 500,000 commoner slaves. She is the saviour of them all."

The flowers in the field danced to the wind, with their petals fluttering to the soft sunlight. All of a sudden, Lucilline blinked. He felt something wet drop onto his cheek. Subconsciously, he touched it, then examined his finger—

It was blood.

The beautiful green field had drowned in disgusting blood, with flesh and gore weeping in the chorus' cries. Crimson red blossomed everywhere, draining the two women of their beauty.

"Too bad she died."

Lucilline looked up, meeting the hollow face of his mother. Her entire cheek was cut off, revealing the disgusting colours of veiny red and white underneath. Her muscles, tissues, and blood gushed out, falling onto Lucilline, and drowned the black-haired nobleman in nausea.

Rachelle opened her mouth, and tried to speak.

Only blood poured out.

Lucilline vaguely heard the sounds of, "You... gurlg... must live." The lukewarm blood splattered across the black-haired nobleman's face, then crawled into his mouth—

*****

Lucilline woke up to the sound of his copper bell.