Tyrant's Obsession With The Heiress-Chapter 63: Like A Prey Caught Under A Hunter’s Gaze

When Lyall had fulfilled his remaining share of the work, burying the Moonveil knights by the dozen, he immediately set out in search of Lady Karina.

While he agreed with the other Van Merikh knights that the lady was a distraction and obstacle to their liege's ambitions, he knew Orpheus would raise hell if he suddenly decided to visit his angel's chambers only to discover she was gone.

If he had to use force to recapture Lady Karina, then so be it, since initially her escape was due to an error in his judgement.

Lyall didn't expect his liege would tear down the poles and bury the Moonveil knights; hence, he had no way of knowing Orpheus would not be asleep in the solar as usual.

Thus, he did the only thing he could do and that was to search the entirety of Moonveil before the night faded into morning.

Cloaked in the stench of corpses, Lyall roamed every inch of the castle in search of the lady, yet she was nowhere to be found.

And upon passing by the kitchen, he heard Siegmund and Caelum's voice, knowing the two must have been drinking themselves into a stupor that would bring about a hangover the following morning.

He shook his head and headed down to the first floor, making his way to the stables.

If the lady was nowhere to be found on castle grounds, then the only other conclusion was that she must have taken a horse and fled, but that was unlikely considering there were guards at the gates.

So, did she perhaps sneak out on foot?

If that was the case, she could not have gone far.

And speaking of the angel, nearly an hour later, Lady Karina had exited the beast sanctuary and returned to the solar.

Her nerves had been on high alert since she had no way of knowing whether anyone would be in the solar at this time of night, especially since the window was open when she first came in.

That could only mean that someone was indeed there before her arrival.

Yet, when she returned, she found the solar empty, watching as the night breeze blew in from the window.

The change in atmosphere was almost unreal; the moment she stepped foot back in Moonveil, it was as if darkness had clung to her.

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She could feel the unsettling presence of something ominous at hand for the air of death had never left the castle since the day of Orpheus Van Merikh's invasion.

It was a stark contrast to the tranquillity of the beast sanctuary, but the lady would have to make do with what she could.

She knew she had to leave the solar quickly so that her absence would go unnoticed; hence, she made straight for the door.

However, she was startled when the door suddenly swung open, making all the colour in her beautiful face drain

The devil himself stood towering at the threshold, his dual-coloured eyes glinting in the darkness and stunning her like a prey caught in a hunter's gaze.

Lady Karina had no way of explaining her way out of this one, especially when she was caught off guard.

Orpheus remained unmoving, standing in the darkness of the threshold, his eyes pinning her where she stood but he made no effort to immediately punish her.

And after a moment, just as he had stepped forward with the intention of saying something, he was interrupted by Lyall, who suddenly appeared behind him.

The man was completely out of breath, gasping for air as he seemed somewhat hysterical about something.

Lyall knew Orpheus would not pardon him easily, but it was better that he informed the man of his angel's escape so that they could order a search party to recapture her.

"My Lord," Lyall said breathlessly, making Orpheus turn around sharply. "The lady, she is miss—" He withheld from completing his report when Orpheus shifted slightly, revealing Lady Karina standing in the distance inside the solar.

Lyall fell silent, nearly breathing a sigh of relief, but he also had many questions brewing in his mind.

He had searched every inch of the castle, the bailey outside, the chapel, and every other area of the castle grounds, yet there wasn't even a sign of her anymore.

He rode out and surveyed the fields outside Moonveil's walls and returned unsuccessful.

How was the lady in the solar? Did Orpheus recapture her somehow?

"You were saying?" Orpheus arched a brow, his patience wearing thin as he tried to make sense of the situation and connect the dots.

There were only two things to conclude: one, Lady Karina had managed to sneak past every knight on patrol, which would mean they had failed their duties and two, Lyall was perhaps responsible for it and perhaps he had been frantically searching for the lady.

Lyall had never shown fear before Orpheus, nor did he now. He only took a moment to catch his breath, but his liege didn't give him an opportunity to speak.

"Would you care to explain why the lady is out of her bedchambers at this hour of night?" Orpheus interrogated, the frustration evident in his voice. "And explain to me how exactly she manages to go unnoticed by every person on patrol?"

Lady Karina stood with her heart hammering in her chest and she knew it was only a matter of time before Orpheus would be done with Lyall and then focus on her punishment.

While she despised the Van Merikh knights, she couldn't help but feel apologetic that she'd caused trouble for Lyall.

He'd undoubtedly seen her earlier behind the crates, so why didn't he drag her back to her chambers and report to Orpheus immediately?

Was the man somehow covering for her? But why would he do that?

"I left through the window," Lady Karina suddenly blurted, not understanding why she was being so reckless and trying to save Lyall's skin. "I made a rope with a few old scarves of mine and climbed out... and buried the rope somewhere by the chapel so I wouldn't be found."

Lyall couldn't believe his ears.

Why was the lady lying to cover his mistakes?

Orpheus turned around and made straight for her.

She felt intimidated by his stride, considering the anger was clear in his eyes and only God knew what he would do to her.

She swallowed thickly and took a few steps back but her rear hit the edge of the desk, not allowing her to move any further.

Orpheus towered over her, his eyes holding something dangerous and unknown.

"When I give you orders, I expect you to obey them," Orpheus warned, his jaw twitching. "I believe I told you that you were never to leave your chambers unless I requested it for you. Yet, you would have the audacity to sneak out."

Lady Karina was somewhat unsettled by his tone, for she could see the crimson brand mark flare like it wanted to unleash its flames.

A lie would have to be told, and a proper one at that so that the man wouldn't suspect anything of her.