Lucrecia's spirit broke before Cain's unusual behavior when their eyes met. He had never been cold to her before, not even during the first days at the mansion. Even more disturbing was seeing him continue to hold Delilah's hand, when he was supposed to be incapable of maintaining that kind of contact with a woman.
Among all the things she had expected to find upon returning to the mansion, that scene exceeded the unimaginable. Furthermore, upon looking into Eilith's crystalline eyes, she found no immediate explanation there either. It took her several seconds to emerge from her shock.
She walked toward the entrance almost unconscious of her own body. When she reached the stairs, she climbed the first step indecisively, but her balance suddenly failed and her foot slipped on the polished marble, causing her delicate pastel slippers to slide backward. Before she could fall, a firm hand encircled her waist. Raguel held her quickly, stopping her attempts to move forward.
—Let go of me!
Her trembling voice tried to impose authority, but her weak resistance only made it evident that she was acting without a plan. Raguel did not move.
—It seems you haven't realized that this is none of your business —he said coldly—. I cannot let you ruin it.
The words of the brown-haired beast were poisonous, but they had the immediate effect of keeping her still, if only for a second. The green eyes of the "glass doll" sparkled with a dangerous intensity, containing the desire to destroy everything in her path. Her heart raced violently as she felt Raguel's arm around her waist. They were too close. So close that Lucrecia believed that if she did not pull away immediately, something inside her chest would eventually burst.
—You know quite a bit about all this... don't you?
Leroy took a step forward when Lucrecia spoke, now using more force to try to free herself.
—If you're not going to tell me anything, then let go of me at once!
However, before Leroy could intervene, a dull thud echoed in the hall. Lucrecia's fist had struck Raguel's face. The impact was strong enough to force him to close his eyes for an instant. Even for someone expert at cornering people, that blow had been unexpected.
But his reaction came immediately. Instead of responding with violence, Raguel leaned his face forward and caught the young woman's perfect lips in a sudden kiss.
Lucrecia stopped moving instantly. The brusqueness of the gesture paralyzed her completely. Only then did she seem to realize how scandalous her reaction had been. Her face turned pale, although the irritation that hardened her features suggested that at any moment she would demand the head of the beast standing before her.
Leroy and Eilith remained motionless. For several seconds, they didn't even blink. They never imagined that Raguel would be capable of something like that against the "glass doll." It was far more dangerous than they had supposed, and their surprise did not vanish even when he finally pulled away, carefully releasing Lucrecia's slender figure.
With flushed cheeks, the young woman slowly brought the tips of her fingers to her lips. Her eyes shone with incredulity and shame, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
—What... is this?
Raguel observed her with an irritating calmness.
—A gift.
Although Lucrecia felt as if she had awakened from a strange and all-too-vivid dream, she needed to understand the meaning of such a brazen gesture.
—If you don't like it... you can return it.
The "glass doll" took a step back, covering her lips with the palm of her hand. Just imagining the possibility of being kissed again under that pretext sent a shiver through her entire body. Then, unexpectedly, Raguel spoke again.
—I'm sorry.
The tension filling the air seemed to break with that sudden apology. Lucrecia furrowed her brow. She had fallen into an obvious trap, and at that moment, all she wanted was to strike that pretentious and beautiful masculine face with all her might.
But something didn't make sense. Why was he apologizing? Was he... regretting it?
—Lucrecia, I've wanted to ask you this for a long time.
Raguel looked at her directly. This time there was no mockery in his expression nor provocation in his posture; even the serious tone of his voice tried to seem natural, as if he were truly formulating a question he had been holding onto for far too long.
—Why do you like Neil Bathory so much?
The brunette did not hide her displeasure. That question was uncomfortable, but it was even more so because she would have to answer it in front of Leroy and Eilith. Furthermore, there was no particularly deep or worthy answer to utter aloud.
She had always despised the power of certain ignorant and ill-mannered nobles—men who inherited privileges without possessing the intelligence or character necessary to sustain them. In that sense, it was not difficult to understand what made Neil so special. One only had to look at him. It was impossible to ignore his extraordinary physical attractiveness, the confidence with which he spoke, or the way he dominated any conversation without needing to raise his voice.
However, for Lucrecia, that was not what was truly important. Years ago, when it was decided who would be the heir to the Reines Viscounty, she was pushed aside without any consideration. It didn't matter that she surpassed all her brothers and sisters in capability; her talent was simply ignored.
On that day, her pride was deeply wounded. And it was then that she first heard Neil Bathory's voice.
"If only this new heir had the potential of this girl, I could say that we would work together in the future. But right now, I cannot truly guarantee it."
Those had been his words, directed at Viscount Reines during an aristocratic conversation in which no one expected a young Bathory to intervene with such frankness. At that time, he wasn't even officially recognized as the heir of his own house. The Viscount, however, was proud of his eldest son's ascent: Galba Reines. A young man who was only interested in wasting time and spending his family's money while delegating political affairs to trusted subordinates.
For Lucrecia, that was deeply offensive. She possessed a strong sense of honor and responsibility. She could not tolerate her older brother's mediocrity. Perhaps the Reines family would never fall into ruin under Galba's administration, but Lucrecia was convinced they would not achieve anything greater under his command either. The name would simply stagnate.
Years later, when Neil Bathory took the true power of his family into his hands, he closed the doors to the incompetent without showing the slightest hesitation. As expected, the Reines family disappeared from his book of relations.
Many tended to believe that Neil had been born with unimaginable power, as if his influence were something natural and inevitable. But Lucrecia knew it was not so. Bathory's true power resided in his way of creating relationships. Neil would never allow just anyone into his field of vision.
It wasn't just his beauty, nor his confidence, nor even his absolute lack of fear before other nobles. What truly thrilled Lucrecia was the strength that accompanied each of his words, the way his presence seemed to impose itself over everyone else. For her, Neil Bathory represented more than admiration.
That man was the best of them all. The only one in the world who had recognized her when others chose to despise her.
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