Surrendered To The Lord Of Sin-Chapter 74: Tea and chaos

Lucrezia was led down the corridors and into a familiar path leading her past a maze of other passages.

Finally, it opened up to a huge double door at the far end, and she couldn’t help but stare at the pictures carved on the arches of the ceiling. The one that looked like a complete fantasy world in its own, hauling her mind into the abode of its divine attraction.

How can such a plain thing that lacks beauty be so splendid to the sight?

She took a faltering breath when the servants, the ones meant to be her chaperones, walked with painfully loud footsteps despite their soft footsteps. Any normal person would barely hear a sound from their movement, but suddenly, Lucrezia didn’t feel normal.

She could hear even the slightest thing so miserably in her mind. From the sizzle of water boiling, to the sound of birds chirping, to sword against stone, and to overlapping voices coming from nowhere yet everywhere at the same time.

It echoed so fiercely inside her head she felt it would explode. That was all the more reason she refused to stay bedridden today. Lucrezia barely trusted herself well enough to overdose herself by taking another pill to dull the pain.

Although Miss Eldriselle never mentioned that the tonic had to do with her sudden predicament, she was awed at how it helped her the night before. Realizing how much it dulled it, not completely, but to a bearable state, she was suddenly lured to neglect the prescription.

If being greedy could get her out of this situation, she was willing to take the risk. Her fingers still trembled, and she clenched her fist to hide how bad it was.

On reaching the double doors before her, Lucrezia took a deep breath. Her pulse skittered in her chest, dreading to enter more than to walk away.

The last time she’d been here... well, except for the fact that she was surrounded by all Sins and their ruler for the first time. And the trial too. She thought that maybe those occasions would’ve made her get used to their presence, but it did nothing to her poor heart that trembled at the mere thought of not talking about the sight of them.

Realizing how terrible her idea was deciding to leave her room, and she took a slight step back. That wasn’t only the presence she felt... terrified to face. Eager, to be precise, and the distance between them was only five feet away from the door.

She was still afraid of him—on some level—but it was nothing compared to the sick terror she felt toward the Nameless King and his brothers.

Lucrezia repeated her retaliation, committing them to memory so she could say them to him the moment their eyes met. How are you, Milord? Are you... well? No, scratch that. It made her sound a bit too concerned. D-Did you survive all phase? Worse. Her curiosity shadowed her concern for a fleeting moment. Forgive me for my... and her thought paused over there.

For her what? Condition, she remembered the words of the maid earlier. In Veximoor, fainting wasn’t as much of a big deal as in other alignments. In all other kingdoms, she doubted it was as big a deal, except to high-born or royal blood.

Perhaps it was the fact that she was a mortal, another creature poorly different in the eyes of the gods. There was no better reason for that.

Before Lucrezia could gather them properly, the double doors opened before her and her breath faltered.

Unlike the other time, noises didn’t cease upon her arrival. There was not a single noise in the room, but silence, and it was that silence, she realized was far worse.

Taking a deep breath, she walked into the room. Lucrezia was greeted with the sight of the woman with candid eyes who beamed when her eyes met hers. The pressure she felt in her chest loosened a bit, and her steps became lighter to walk on.

Her eyes traveled to the remaining empty seats that raked across the huge long table aligned with delicacies beyond measure, adorned with burning candlelight. She could mention the ones that were familiar to her; fruits, roasted root, and chicken. The rest was something she knew she would get used to in time.

Lucrezia didn’t realize how her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach when the absence hollowed her inside out. None of them were present, leaving empty seats she recalled that belonged to the absentees she was familiar with.

Most especially the one at her far left.

She tensed, sensing the wrongness in the air. Something was wrong, and she could feel it to her bones.

She tore her gaze away, only to meet the faces of Vaeloria and the silver-haired by the name Rheonara. And now she thought about it, their names were as rare as their opulence.

Her legs almost wobbled but she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin instead, internally struggling to make it to her seat.

The moment she settled on it, Lucrezia could feel the weight of the room over her shoulder. The three of them sat dispersed away from each other, despite the empty seats that raked across the room. It only meant one thing; that each seat belonged explicitly to each one of them.

Lucrezia couldn’t tell if that was normal, but what she could tell was that the intimidation in this room was a sign of superiority over the less fortunate.

The hairs at the back of her neck rose when a familiar voice weighing an unending amusement but also a clear unhindered distaste broke the silence.

"What an unexpected recovery, Lady Anastasia. I had assumed your delicate condition would keep you confined for at least another week,"

Here we go with the condition, she thought, but it lasted only a second when her words settled deeply. Another week? Has she slept that long?

Meeting her gaze that was steady despite the tremor threatening her fingers beneath the table, "Your concerns honor me, Lady Vaeloria, but I have no intention of remaining absent for so long." She tried to smile despite the pain in the insides of her cheek. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

She’d bitten it a little too much last night, trying to inflict pain to get rid of the unbearable pain in her mind. And now, it attacked her in ways she couldn’t lift her cheeks properly without feeling the misery she inflicted upon herself.

A faint approving smile, perhaps merely entertaining, curved Vaeloria’s lips.

The woman with candid eyes let out a soft hum and reached for her cup. "It is good you joined us," She said warmly, as though smoothing the tension before it thickened. "Blackvale grows restless when routines are disrupted. Although we’re glad you managed and handled it well,"

The word restless made Lucrezia’s pulse flicker. She wondered how much worse her situation the other day must’ve made them think of her.

Servants moved in silence, pouring dark tea into porcelain cups so thin they seemed spun from frost. The scent rose from their action, something floral, something spiced, and something herbal, unfamiliar but not unpleasant.

The servants moved in afterward, straightening the plates and setting the silverware into perfect alignment.

Rheonara, the silver-haired one, began first, carving into a slice of fruit with languid precision. Vaeloria followed, tearing a piece of bread without ever glancing down.

Ensuring their attention was away from her, Lucrezia hesitated only a breath before lifting her own cup. The porcelain felt too fragile in her hands, or perhaps it was her hands that felt too fragile for it, shaking beyond measure.

Faint noises pressed over her ears, disrupting the sudden peace in her mind and she brought the cup to her lips, hoping the simple motion might anchor her and dull the intrusion of it all.

It did not.

She could hear the faint scrape of porcelain against polished wood as Rheonara adjusted her plate, though the movement had been no more than an inch. The quiet drag of silk over silk when Vaeloria shifted in her seat sounded like a sigh pressed directly against Lucrezia’s skin.

Somewhere far beyond the chamber doors, water hissed violently in a kettle, though it should have been nothing more than a distant simmer in the kitchens below.

A fork grazed a dish, and the metallic ring shuddered through her skull. Even breath had texture now. Lucrezia could distinguish the measured inhale of the candid-eyed woman from the slower, almost bored exhale of Vaeloria.

Beneath it all, the castle itself seemed to breathe with stone settling, distant footsteps along a corridor floors away, and the muted clank of armor being fastened somewhere beyond her sight.