The Devil's Betrothed

Everyone looked at the tall muscular guy who was standing some distance away,glaring at them in warning.

"Luke, don't meddle in this. This skinny herbalist hurt Frank first!" one boy from the group yelled.

Luke ignored him and looked at Oriana. "Don't you want to go hunting?" His voice was firm and commanding.

'Hunt?' Oriana looked at him in surprise, but then understood. "Ah, I was coming to you after I dropped stuff at home, but these people kept pestering me."

"Let's go, or we'll be late," he told her while helping her pick the bread and herbs on the ground.

However, the group of boys stormed towards the more imposing Luke. Though they were younger and not as strong as Luke, they were brave with their number advantage of eight versus two.

"Luke, he hurt our friend. You cannot take him away without letting him pay for it," one of the boys said.

Luke didn't even turn to look at them, as he spoke in a low, deep voice.

"Do you dare stop me?"

Among the young men in the village, Luke was initially criticized by his peers because of his withdrawn nature, prompting others to think he was just a uselessly big idiot who could barely speak. However, this perception changed in a matter of days. Not only did Luke have the strength of a bear, he was also a great archer. He and his father would barely receive injuries but always bring back lots of prey in their hunts.

He was not like Frank and his friends who loved wasting time and troubling others, causing the adults of the village to always compare Luke with his peers, further aggravating the boys' anger towards him. However, Luke only focused on his own things and paid no attention to them.

Just like Oriana, he helped those in need and stayed away from nuisance. He hardly had any friends his age in this village as he was different from them.

Provoked by Luke's attitude, Frank shouted, "Luke, why are you poking your nose into others' business, huh? Don't tell me you are like those filthy nobles who like pretty-looking boys?"

"What the—" Oriana cursed under her breath as she turned around, intending to squash Frank's ugly face with a kick, but Luke held her hand to stop her.

"Ignore them."

Oriana glared at them but didn't want to go against Luke's word. Luke was the only friend of her age she had in this village.

Just as they turned to leave, the other freckled boy shouted, "Hey, Orian, why stick with that bear? I can introduce you to some nobles. Trust me, a night with them will earn more than you earn from selling herbs."

This time, even before Oriana could react, Luke had turned around and punched the other boy in the face. The freckled boy crumpled in pain on the ground.

"Luke, you bastard!" the boy cursed.

The muscles on Luke's arms weren't for decoration. He never idled around but worked hard which made his body stronger than his peers.

Luke glared down at the others. "Anyone else?"

Seeing their friend's bloody nose, the rest of the boys backed away and no one dared come forward. There was something in him which made them wary of him.

Oriana was stunned. Luke often acted like an old man who weathered many storms, and she had never seen him losing his temper ever in the past three months since they met. His unsociable nature was enough for others to stay out of his way, but today, even she felt somewhat frightened of him.

Unable to deal with Luke, Frank and his friends could only glare at Oriana.

Luke returned to her side and instructed, "Let's go."

Just as they took steps forward, Frank shouted, "You will pay for this, Orian. I will make you pay!"

"Who is making who pay?!" one of the grandmothers nearby began to rebuke with a broom in hand. "You better scram back—"

One after another, the neighbors began to appear. With the fuss they caused, it was impossible for those in their village to not hear Frank causing trouble. The thing was, those in the village were the elderly, the women and the children, who were mostly the beneficiaries of Orian's herbal remedies.

Luke was about to turn back as well, but Oriana held his hand to stop him. "Don't. Let's just go."

She didn't want to cause more trouble for Luke. She would disappear from this village soon, but that was not the case for Luke and his family. She could not let Luke suffer because of her and be targeted by these boys.

Luke looked at the small calloused hands grabbing his large ones, and then looked at that pretty begging face. He sighed and freed his hand from hers before walking ahead. Oriana felt relieved.

To escape the nagging of the adults, Frank and his boys also went about their way and left the village, not without glaring at the direction of Oriana's cabin.

"That Luke is so protective of that Orian. What's going on between them?"

------

With the lead from the spy, Arlan began issuing instructions to his knights to coordinate with Duke Wimark's men.

Though the men under him were elites, they were few in numbers; coordination with the territory lord would yield the most efficient and accurate investigation results.

Returning to the mansion, Arlan went to see the Duke, but he was informed that his brother-in-law was speaking with his vassals regarding matters of the estate. The Crown Prince was led by the butler to the Duke's lavish study and entertained him with high-quality tea.

It did not take long before Duke Rhys Wimark entered, an exhausted look on his face.

"You look worried, Duke Rhys," Arlan commented.

Rhys sat opposite him, "I got to know about the use of those wild rats. I assume you know best the things that worry me."

Arlan didn't deny it and went straight to the point. "Merchant Fionn, I heard he is a close friend of yours."

"As the territory lord of the north, I have dealings with all sorts of merchants who have benefits to offer, but as you have mentioned him, I have something for Your Highness."

The personal aide of the Duke received a signal from his master and brought one log book from the stack placed in one of the shelves.

"This is the record tracking what Merchant Fionn has been doing these days."

"I worry about your friendships, Duke Rhys," Arlan commented as he looked into the log book.

"There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests, Your Highness."

Arlan flipped through the latest accounts. "The record is quite comprehensive. Are these provided by a high noble from the south?"

"Most came from Duke Maxil, the territory lord of Selve himself. He was concerned about the sudden influx of banned herbs arriving via ships in his port city, and he asked me to coordinate with him to find out where the smuggled goods were headed. We lost track of the herbs, but the traces show they are being imported in large quantities. Duke Maxil and I are waiting to catch Fionn red-handed in their next shipment."

Arlan closed the log book.

"I will take over the investigation, Duke Rhys."

"Since the royal family wishes to deal with this affair, then I look forward to the outcome," the Duke said with a knowing smile on his lips. He was aware of the way Arlan worked—the Crown Prince never liked to waste time. He would not hesitate to shed blood to wrap up things faster.

The Duke handed over some more information to Arlan.

"Fionn is sitting in Selve. To get him, it is most effective that we first meet this man who is said to be his right hand and takes care of the land route of the smuggled goods. You are fortunate, Your Highness. He happened to have arrived in Jerusha a few days ago, the merchant named Oisin."

Arlan went through the documents, "After dealing with this Oisin, I will deal with Fionn in Selve."

The Duke of Wimark recalled, "I remember Your Highness also happens to be heading to Selve to receive the guests from Megaris. Fionn would never be suspicious of your arrival to the South."

After discussing few more things with the Duke, Arlan left for the further investigation. His senses were telling him that more blood was going to spill today.