BLOODY LOVE'S
Episode 196's

Lady Chantall's hair forms damp curls down the shoulders, loosely spread over her milky white skin. The corner of his lips still lifted forming a satisfied smile. “I can call your first name right now?” whispered, leaning the cheek against Marco's shoulder. Not apparently, the man was back in full clothes, now buttoning the cuff.

“You've been calling my first name since,” Marco said. “Isn't it a little late just ask permission now?”

Lady Chantall laughed. His cheeks were still heating up when he remembered what they had just done. “You should also call me Jeanne,” he said in a sulking tone. “I don't want to be called my lady.”

“Chantall,” sahut Marco stubborn. “You better get dressed now. Stuart will be here soon.”

“Jeanne!”

“Milady, please dress.”

“Good, good. Chantall just doesn't matter,” grumbled the woman. “But Chantall is not my name, it is my clan name. You even called me that. Are you fucking the whole clan? Shitty!”

Marco laughed amusedly and that was all Lady Chantall wanted. He grabbed the man's face, reunited their lips with the heat. “How are you hurt?” tanyanya, a little panting. He had forgotten that Marco was injured, but his bandages were clearly visible. “Still sick? I was able to hit you, didn't I? The tires should be replaced, no? I can help.”

“No pain,” Marco replied honestly. He did not feel the slightest pain, just a bit sore and sleepy. “The flight is still tight, let Rolan replace it when he returns. He'll go berserk if he finds out you're interfering with my treatment.”

Lady Chantall had already put her dress back on and was currently tying a cape strap in front of her chest, weaving it into a tiny ribbon. His brown curly hair he tied high above the head. After making sure in the mirror that there were no strange folds or stains on her dress, she sat back on the long sofa where they had just been making out. His cheeks were placed on the man's shoulders, their hands clutched. “I want stop time,” whisper slowly.

Marco simply clasped more gently the hand of Lady Chantall, drowning her in the grasp. It will make the woman disappointed later, but it is useless to warn that this is a mistake. Lady Chantall would not listen, and she herself was also guilty of allowing herself to be dragged too far in that green-eye magic, which sucked her like a swamp.

“What are you thinking?” Lady Chantall turned her head, finding a new pleasure noticing the change in the lines of the man's face up close. “I love you,” whispered unconsciously.

“I know.”

“I know? Of course you know! It's strange that you don't know because I said it hundreds of times this morning.” Lady Chantall pinched with a scowl. He's a little disappointed. “How about you?”

Marco did not answer. What he feels is love? He's not even sure. If what he feels now is love, then what was it? What made him close himself and build a fort for thirty years? The two feelings he experienced felt different, both the one he felt for the girl then and the one he felt now with Lady Chantall. He mocked Lady Chantall this morning, deeming her clueless as to what love is. But now that Marco realized, he himself knew nothing.

“If you can't answer it yet, no problem,” Lady Chantall said gently, tightening her embrace on Marco's arm. “We still have plenty of time.”

Not that much for me. Marco stared out the window, observing the cloudless blue sky. “I'm not let down by someone,” he said quietly, answering Lady Chantall's question long before. “Instead, I let that guy down.”

“The girl who tested you was?”

“Yes. He did it often, trapping me just to see what choice I would make. Whether I will remain loyal to him or whether I will fight him. And the way is very ...,” Marco thought for a moment, looking for the right word equivalent. “Keji,” finally he chose the diction, which even still feels too generous in his ears. “Sometimes he's just joking, sometimes he's really serious about his threats.”

That woman sounds crazy and dangerous. Lady Chantall frowned, not understanding why Marco could like such a girl or could not subdue her. “Has fast,” muttered slowly, giving only a slight reaction to make room for Marco to tell a story. He was glad that man would open up to him. “And you love him.”

“Ya.”

That answer stabbed Lady Chantall so deeply, making him grimace in pain. He lowered his face, hiding his wet eyes. “Until now?” tanyakanya.

“Not again.” Marco shakes. His voice turned cold. “I left him when he asked me to choose which one he should lose: my family, or my status. He was very disappointed, but we still often correspond.”

Lady Chantall was silent. His head suddenly felt dizzy. He let go of Marco's arm slowly. “You mean your status as a Marquis or another status?”

Marco smiled a small smile. “Do you think?”

Lady Chantall wondered why Marco would let a girl test him over and over again and tell him stories as if trapping someone's feelings were the only thing the girl could do, but if the guess was right, it was, if the girl Marco once loved is what he thought, then everything makes sense.

“You corresponded with him about what?” He dared to ask because he realized Marco was not being sentimental or romantic by telling his past. He realized that Marco was not that kind of person. The man will never give information for free or without purpose. There must always be a reason.

Marco got up from his seat and walked to the desk, opened the top drawer, then pulled out a fresh envelope from there. He confirmed the contents before handing the letter to Lady Chantall. “This kind of love letter comes once a month,” he said. “But lately so quite often due to missing person cases in Bjork.”

The envelope is made of high-quality paper. The red candle that dodged the lid of his letter was of imperial emblem.

Only one person in the Albion Kingdom could revoke the status of a Marquis. The emblem on the wax seal justifies Lady Chantall's guess, justifying the rumors circulating long ago about Marco. He had a special relationship with the royal family. With Her Majesty the Queen of Albion Kingdom.

Lady Chantall laughed long and bitterly as soon as she read the contents. He raised his face, his green eyes covered in sadness. “So this is what you did? Love letter?” He laughed from his nose. The content of the letter was an order poured in a subtle narrative. Orders that more closely resemble a push to address missing persons cases in Bjork. “What kind of love is this?”

“Yang drenched in blood.” Marco grinned. They were immediately silent when they heard the sound of the door being knocked. Just half an hour ago Rolan knocked from the outside, at that time the two people in the room were still sleeping lazily on the sofa and not dressed, so the two chose to stay still. This time it sounds different.

Jose, Marco guessed, poultice the way the young man knocked. His niece would have wanted to talk about Maria or ask for her permission to leave. He decided not to answer or open the door. As soon as there was no sound, Marco turned to Lady Chantall and said quietly, “If you have finished reading it, burn it. As our custom.”

“Your father used to do this too?” Lady Chantall is aware. “And my father before ..”

“No, only Argent will get such a letter. The Chantall family just happened to work with us.” His eyes looked at the woman earnestly. “There are upper and lower worlds in Albion, and both should be balanced. The Argent family was one of the few ancient nobles who were asked by the palace to guard Albion from below, overcoming the filthy things that ordinary law could not solve. There are several other families who are also doing the same with me, although I don't know for sure if they are dealing with demons as well or not. You know where I got the budget to do so many things in Bjork?” Marco smiled.

From the palace, Lady Chantall guesses. “And you told me all this because ...?”

“I'm asking you to help Jose after this.”

Lady Chantall shook her head firmly. His eyes feel hot. “I don't like it when you say that, the effect is like you want to leave me, and I don't like that.”

“Likes or dislikes, we have to admit that we are facing an uncertain thing.” Marco took a breath. “In addition to keeping the chains of the underworld together with some other nobles, my mission is to develop Bjork, develop it to be more educated, more dignified. This place used to be more like a rogues. Well, at first I thought I could solve this on my own, then free Edgar and his children from the family curse, they didn't have to go along to become imperial slaves. I didn't think there was even a lost demon up to here.”

“And you will defeat him. You have a way. You always have a way!”

A sweet smile rose on Marco's lips upon hearing the woman's conviction. “Ya.But even if it works, I think Jose will still be forced to finish the rest of the things I have not been able to fulfill. That's why I wanted to make sure you helped her. I'd be very grateful if you stayed with the Argent family after this, helping Jose.”

Lady Chantall shakes. Her lips opened the lid without a sound. Throat's choked. In the end he just growled low like a wounded animal, “I ... no. would ..”

“Jeanne ..."

“Fuck! I still won't even want to even if you call me that!” Lady Chantall squeezed the letter in her hand and threw it tight into the still-lit little fireplace. Her tears rolled without a sound. “I just want to help you, work for you. I just want you! I don't want to work for another Argent! I don't want it if there's no you!” He touched Marco's face with one hand. Her shoes were not yet worn, so Lady Chantall was on high tiptoes when picking up Marco's lips with her lips, kissing him gently and slowly, wanting to reassure the man that they had a lifetime to satisfy themselves, to love each other. No need to rush.

***