Tyrant's Obsession With The Heiress-Chapter 69: A Devil Who Keeps His Word

Orpheus didn't understand why Lady Karina had seemed so surprised by the whole affair; after all, wasn't that what she wanted? Wasn't it what she requested of him?

"That was your request, was it not, my lady? You wanted the corpses of all the knights gone," Orpheus stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Lady Karina pivoted on her heels, looking at him questioningly. "I know what I requested, but where are all of them? Do not tell me you have taken their corpses and dumped them outside the castle walls?"

Orpheus wasn't too pleased that the lady had assumed the worst possible scenario when it involved him, but who could blame her?

She had no reason to expect any noble acts from him.

His gaze moved to the north of the bailey wall as if to see through it. "Half were buried near the chapel; the other half were buried just outside the walls."

Lady Karina could hardly believe her ears. While she knew that Orpheus agreed to her request, she did not expect that the man would have gone to such great lengths to bury her fathers' knights.

And she imagined carrying burly knights over the wall was definitely no easy feat.

Her jaw nearly dropped. "But...there were hundreds of them. How...when did you do this?"

"Last night," Orpheus answered vaguely. The man was back to his usual self, who didn't give any more details than necessary, but that was only because his men were observing him closely like watchdogs.

"All of them last night?" Lady Karina's eyes widened further. The previous night when she returned from the sanctuary, she had no courage to look out any of the windows; hence, she hadn't noticed the work he accomplished.

Did he do it before or after her return?

To Lady Karina, the man seemed as though he was either being modest or he didn't particularly want to talk about the matter; she wasn't sure which but he was quite tight-lipped.

"You requested for all of them to be buried, so I simply ordered my knights to accomplish this task last night," he replied, gently perching his hand on her waist and guiding her towards the white palfrey horse that had been saddled for her. "It wasn't such a grand feat as you apparently think."

By the time they reached the white palfrey horse, Lady Karina still hadn't gotten over her surprise.

She brought a hand to her chest. "I cannot believe..." She let out a blustery sigh. "By the heavens above, you really did it."

"I am a man of my word and I have kept it," Orpheus said nonchalantly, checking her saddle to ensure that all was well and in order.

She noticed he was somewhat distant and aloof, but she suspected it must have been due to the presence of his men. He had repeatedly warned her to be mindful of her attitude towards him when they were around, so he must have wanted to uphold his reputation around them.

Lady Karina turned to him swiftly, her lovely, creamy face upturned in the weak morning light. "And what of my father?"

Orpheus crossed his arms over his chest. "I sent word to my stronghold last night, so he should be escorted here within the next few days or a week from now."

"And...Lady Drosera?" She asked quietly. Despite knowing her friend's condition, she wanted to hear it from Orpheus himself.

"Unharmed," came his vain reply.

Lady Karina stared at him, at a loss for words. And when she blinked, hot droplets of tears welled in her eyes and spilt onto her cheeks.

Orpheus' brows furrowed as he watched the tears roll down her cheeks.

He knew he had come to detest whenever she wept, especially if he was the reason behind it, and this time he didn't understand what he had done wrong.

Did he not accomplish what she requested of him?

There was an innate desire to bring her into his arms and wipe away at her tears, kiss them away even if he would be so bold, but the man was not one to show affection, especially with the hawk-like eyes of his men on him.

"Why do you cry, my lady?" He asked, his voice softer than before. He could feel a pang in his chest, not understanding what it was. "Was that not everything you requested of me? I have seen them through."

Lady Karina sniffled, nodded, and then burst into soft sobs. She withdrew her handkerchief from the pouch at her waist and gently wiped at her tears.

"I did not believe that you would truly fulfil what I had asked, but you did," she murmured.

With one hand on the palfrey's saddle and the other on his hip, Orpheus bent down a little so that he was at eye level with the lady, trying to understand the reason behind her tears.

"Of course, I have done it, Karina," he uttered her name sweetly. "I do not go back on my word when you give it; now please tell me why you are crying."

Please. He had used the word again and it sounded even more sincere than when he first used it.

Lady Karina smiled at him, still tearing up, to let him know it wasn't because of anger or hurt. And reaching out, her gloved hand touched his cheek under the flipped visor of his helmet.

"Because I am pleased," she sniffled, trying to dry up the tears again. "You do not know how much I value what you have done and I am so pleased that you have shown your mercy."

He was the enemy, but she could not discredit him for the good deeds he'd done and the fact that he willingly listened to reason even if he didn't understand remorse and forgiveness.

The gloved hand on his cheek felt so warm and like heaven, the corner of heaven that he once told her about. He wanted nothing more than to lean into her touch, to turn his head and kiss her palm, but doing so would entail weakness.

Hence, unwilling to show emotion in front of his men, Orpheus simply turned her towards the palfrey. He gently lifted her up from the waist to help her into the saddle.

Lady Karina didn't say anything further since she understood the man was in a dilemma to save face in front of his knights.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.

Orpheus then moved to his stark black warhorse, a menacing beast with large scars and gnashing teeth. With a horse of this nature, it was believed to have been descended from the ancient kelpie horses; hence, it was much larger and more intimidating than regular horses.

Mounting his warhorse, Orpheus made a hand gesture to Lyall, who bellowed the command to move out.

Lady Karina wiped away the remaining tears as they departed from the fortress and progressed onto the open road.

She was still in a great deal of shock over the morning's revelations, but it was elated shock.

And as the sun broke from the horizon and began its ascent, the world around them was born to life with insects, animals, and soft spring breezes.

Perhaps, it would be a far brighter day than the dark days she and her people had faced ever since the invasion.

The air of death she used to feel every time Lady Karina crossed the bailey was now gone. The grief was still fresh, but at least her father's knights had been honoured with a proper burial.

The lady had ridden by herself in nearly the centre of the escort party, while Orpheus was to the front of the column; she could see the horns of his helmet jutting out.

And glancing around, she noticed that Lyall was riding behind her by several feet. His visor was down, but she knew it was him for she recognised his helmet from the day of the invasion.

It was still a wonder why the man hadn't dragged her back to her chambers when he clearly saw her sneak out the previous night, and it seemed that upon her return he was about to report to Orpheus.

She spent more than an hour in the sanctuary, so why did Lyall wait that long to report to his liege?

"Good morning to you, my lord." Lady Karina greeted him, unsure of whether the man was looking at her but, just in case, she did not want to appear rude. "It is quite a fine day."

Lyall was indeed looking at the lady. In fact, he couldn't quite keep his eyes off her since there was a myriad of things going on in his mind.

He wondered if she had truly disappeared the previous night to meet Lady Drosera. He also wondered what she had said to his liege to not only spare her friend's life but also motivate Orpheus into burying her father's army.

The Walcian generals had been beyond their astonishment but had wisely kept their opinions to themselves, even as they had been roped into the burial party for Moonveil's troops.

Orpheus had ordered the others to join them for the burial part after Lyall, Siegmund, and Maleck brought down the men from the poles.

And whatever spell was lingering over Orpheus Van Merikh, they did not want to break or provoke it.

A/N: Hi all! Thank you for reading this far. I will be setting some milestones to achieve in exchange for bonus Chapters!

Milestone 1: 50 cumulative PARAGRAPH comments = 1 bonus Chapter

Milestone 2: Massage chair gift/Luxury car gift = 2 bonus Chapters

Milestone 3: Magic castle gift = 4 bonus Chapters + 2 regular Chapters