Ensnaring his Dark Moon-Chapter 289: You summoned me

Jeremiah paced back and forth in his room as he looked at the guards kneeling in front of him, ’’Did you find him?"

’’Lord Norwell is nowhere to be found. Some officials brought up the matter of his disappearance in the sea court but the King did not pay attention to it.’’

’’Does he have something to do with it?" the other guard voiced out his thoughts.

Jeremiah frowned. Even if Marcus offended Rezeph somehow, Rezeph is not the kind of man to play such games. He will execute Marcus in front of the whole kingdom while enjoying his wine.

Rezeph was a crazed monster disguised as a playful royal.

The reason he is not paying attention to the matter of Marcus Norwell’s disappearance must be that he was not just interested in it.

’’Keep looking for him. He can’t disappear,’’ he waved his hand and the guards looked at each other before they stood up to leave, ’’Even if he is useless, I’d rather kill him than let him disappear,’’ he knew too many secrets to be set free just like that. Not when he was about to acquire everything he had worked so hard for.

The men who heard Jeremiah’s words shivered. It was his own brother that he was talking about yet the man had no qualms about being so ruthless.

’’What about Esmeray?" Jeremiah poured himself a cup of wine as he asked, ’’Has she been obedient lately?"

The fire in the ballroom was still as vivid in his mind.

He was not an ordinary mer. It was impossible for him to feel restless just by ordinary fire.

But that inferno seemed to have the ability to swallow him whole. For a moment, he had felt fear.

For a split-second, he had thought that Esme was the one who caused the fire but then he remembered that she was powerless. He thought that she had someone else helping her in the dark.

But he never once assumed that it was Rezeph. Rezeph never once displayed his powers and Jeremiah had taken him as a useless vase like King with no value. But the fire proved that there was more to him than he showed.

Jeremiah’s frown loosened. Just based on his powers, Rezeph was no match for him.

But the Defire Kingdom had some rules. The throne could not be powerfully snatched. In every passing century, the ruling King would choose his heir who will take over the throne, and even if that heir successfully sat on the throne and became the new ruler, the previous King could still shake his position at will for as long as he was alive.

These rules were bound by the ancestors’ magic to ensure fairness in the sea. And these very rules were the bane of his existence, the reason why he had to lower himself in front of that pathetic King who was not even half as formidable as him.

He could not forget the humiliation over the years and the one he suffered today. Getting on his knees and begging a woman... he would never forget it and when the time came, Rezeph would be in the same position. If not, in a worse position, begging him for mercy.

Jeremiah downed the wine before looking at the guards’ hesitant faces, ’’Speak.’’

’’She has been mostly staying in her room these days but earlier, she went to Prince Aleister’s room.’’

’’Oh?" Jeremiah frowned, ’’Has she stopped avoiding him?"

’’They are not seen talking to each other in the castle,’’ one of the guards responded, ’’They don’t cross paths with each other at all.’’

’’Hmm, she is marrying me in a few days. It is only right that she is entirely dedicated to me,’’ Jeremiah paused for a moment.

Was it possible that they were playing games with him? A few days ago, she had rushed out of the dining room when Aleister left and now, they are not even talking to each other in the castle?

He tilted his head to the side. What about ’behind the closed walls’?

Were they talking or not talking behind closed doors?

Did Esme regain her memories? No... It would be impossible for her to still be breathing if she did remember her past.

Regardless of it, he did not want any undesired risks.

’’Send more men to Visteria. Ask them to keep an eye on that Duke. Starve him for days, torture him, feed him, and then do it over and over again. If he tries to take his life again, tell him that Esme will be killed here too. And torture that guard, Rowan along with him," Jeremiah tilted his chin, "Let them breathe and then snatch their breath again and again."

The men retreated.

Jeremiah sipped his wine, in a much better mood this time.

At this juncture, he would not allow anything to go wrong.

This territory was going to be his and he would not mind making any sacrifices on the way.

...

Luciana sat in the bathtub, breathing in the water as her body gradually transformed into her mermaid form.

After the words exchanged between her and Cardan the night before, he helped her in looking for Duke Maverick in the Daven Castle. They checked in every secret path and hidden dungeon but Duke Maverick was nowhere around.

Living in this castle with the memory of her mother’s vision in that huge mirror was a torment to her.

But finding Duke Maverick was essential.

Her thoughts trailed off when the scales on her skin moved a bit. A drop of blood prickled down her hand.

This...

Luciana pushed herself out of the bathtub and hurriedly got dressed before she left the castle.

Her steps faltered a bit when she stepped inside the enchantment forest. The forest was enshrouded in an aura of gloom and death, and the eeriness made one’s heart shake.

Knowing the countless innocents who were killed by Cardan and his mother, it was not hard to say that those souls’ grudges lingered in the air.

Luciana calmed herself and crossed the forest before she made her way towards the sea.

’’I know you summoned me,’’ she whispered.

A small head poked out from the water.

Luciana stepped inside the water and the seagull opened its mouth.

Luciana took a little thread from its mouth and the seagull disappeared.

The drop of blood told her that someone had dispatched a letter for her and she could only think of two people who would do that.

Her father, who was still waiting for her to capture Aleister’s weakness or Esme which was not very likely because Esme was not an impatient person unless... unless something happened.

Luciana swung the thread in the air and it drew an arc as it slid open, revealing a scroll.

A beautiful handwriting greeted her vision and she knew it was not her father’s.

A bad premonition rose in her heart as she started reading—

Lucy,

I was intent on not being a bother but there is something I must inform you about. I am set to marry Jeremiah in three days and there are rumors about your father’s disappearance inside the castle. Do not put yourself in danger and do not overtly trust the people with you.

Esme.

...

The words were vague. Esme never had a habit of exaggerating things. Luciana had a headache the moment she finished reading.

Things were not as simple as they looked.

’’Lucy...’’

Luciana turned to glance at Cardan who walked towards her, looking mortified.

’’How about you bring me along the next time you roam around?" he glared.

Luciana held his hand and pointed her chin towards the scroll in the air, which was being illuminated by the letters.

’’It takes a seagull almost over a day to come this far...’’ she sighed, ’’Esme is getting married in three days... no two days now. Then, we don’t have much time to find the Duke,’’ she paused for a moment before adding, ’’My father was always wary of Aleister but I am certain that his disappearance has nothing to do with Aleister or else Esme would have known about it.’’

Cardan stiffened, ’’Would you hate the person who abducted him?"

Luciana’s head snapped in his direction, ’’I mentioned his disappearance. I never said he was abducted.’’

Cardan’s lips thinned as he chastised himself for always being a fool around her.

Her lips parted, ’’It has something to do with you...’’

’’He beat you!" Cardan’s jaw ticked, ’’I saw your old scars too. I will break both of his hands and burn them. Or burn them before cutting them off. That’s what those hands deserve for touching the person who is a treasure in my heart. Do you not think that he deserves it?"

A treasure in his heart?

"I... Lucy, I won’t gouge out his eyes or I won’t burn his soul in the eternal fire considering that he brought you to this world. The only thing he must have done right throughout his dirty little life," Cardan scoffed.

When she remained silent, he panicked, "You don’t hate me again, do you?" he whispered.