"...What will you do for me in return...?" Ace asked as he leaned his body over mine.

"...?" I sat silently in confusion as a small humorous chuckle passed through Ace's lips.

"Do you really think I'd risk letting you get into danger without getting anything in return...?"

"Danger...? But, if you go with me, I highly doubt that—"

"No. It's still much too risky," Ace said as he gave a blindingly bright smile.

This man...he was definitely trying to scam me...!

His dazzling smile was so bright that it forced me to squint my eyes a little and hope for the best that I wouldn't fall for any of his tricks.

"Well...What do you want...?" I asked slowly, careful to not make any promises that I wouldn't be able to keep.

"Hmm...What do you think...?" Ace asked.

I stared blankly at him, confused by what in the world he would possibly want from me.

"...I don't really have anything I can give you though..." I mumbled as I thought of my options.

Should I give him...

Money...?

No...

Power...?

No...

Food...?

No...

"There is though," Ace said.

"Hmm? What is it?" I asked.

Ace was silent for a moment as he contemplated what words to choose and, eventually, he opened his mouth and said, "Your time."

"My time...?"

"Yes...if I help you escape the dukedom tonight, I'd like to request for a bit of your time," Ace smiled.

"Um...And what would you like to do with my time...?" I asked slowly.

"May I...take you out on a date tonight, Cordelia?" Ace asked a bit shyly as he gave his signature glimmering smile that blew my rationality away.

A...

A d-d-d-date...?!?!?!

"I...um...well...I mean...if I have time...then...I guess..." I stuttered as my gaze naturally lowered away from Ace's eyes.

I was too embarrassed to even look at him straight in the eye...!

In my whole total thirty years of life, I had accumulated almost zero experience regarding love affairs...

So that's why I forgot that "dates" were even a thing to begin with...

Ace gave a small chuckle and then gave me a gentle pat on the head.

"Thank you, Cordelia. I feel like the happiest man alive now," Ace said as his red lips curved upwards into the shape of a crescent moon.

I slapped my own cheeks to stop myself from blushing too much but it didn't work.

Without a doubt, I was beet red now.

"W-Well...a-anyways...does that mean I get to go outside now...?" I asked as I avoided his humorous gaze.

Agh...this man was definitely teasing me right now...

Right?!

"Mhm...I'll escort you outside of the dukedom tonight...and only tonight," Ace smiled as he enunciated the word 'tonight' very clearly.

"Huh?! Wait...no— There are things that I need to do in a few days as well—" I protested but the smile on Ace's face never went away.

"I'm sorry, Cordelia, but this is only a one-time deal...I won't make it again. You are only allowed to go tonight," Ace chuckled.

I was right...

He really did scam me!!!

And it was all because I was distracted by that stupid smile of his...

"Wait...but..." I said in as pitiful of a voice as I could muster.

Ace froze for a second but then he quickly turned his eyes to a random corner of the room as if he were trying to distract himself from my pleading.

"Ace..." I mumbled as I reached out to grab his arm.

For a moment, his eyes glanced back at mine and I took the chance to bat my eyelashes and pout as if I were just an innocent little puppy wanting to go out to play...

Yes...just like an innocent little puppy...

"Cordelia...are you trying to seduce me right now...?" Ace asked.

Unfortunately, the words that left Ace's lips weren't equally as innocent at all.

Ace placed his hands over my hands that wrapped around his arms and cocked his head at me as if he were genuinely wondering if I were trying to seduce him at that moment.

His eyes were glazed with something...burning...and he wasn't smiling anymore either.

I blushed.

"O-Of course, not!!!" I yelled in reply as I immediately released my hold on him.

"..."

Ace gave a slight sigh and ruffled his hair a bit with his hands before giving me a shy smile.

"Well then, if that's the case, the deal will remain exactly as it is. I won't be so lenient the next time I see you trying to escape, Cordelia," Ace said as he brushed his hand across my cheek.

"...Okay," I said, completely defeated and disappointed.

Dang it...

Really...

But if I only have permission to leave tonight then...

The only day I can carry out my revenge is...

Father's wedding.

"Ughhhhhhhh..." I groaned and threw a mini tantrum as if I were a child.

.

.

A while later, Ace and I had finished changing into casual clothing, similar to what commoners would wear, and were finally ready to run away in the middle of the night.

Throughout the entire time, I was beet red as I tried to imagine what we would do.

What do people even do on dates...?!

They definitely eat food, right?

Food is probably the most important part, right?

"Um...before we explore the city for our d-d-d-d-date...there's somewhere I'd like to go first..." I mumbled with a slight stutter.

"Where?" Ace asked as he finished tying his shoelaces.

"The Scott Marquisate."

Ace froze before tilting his head toward me with a dark expression on his face.

"Why would you want to go there...?" Ace asked me with a frown.

I had expected Ace to be surprised but I didn't know that he would be so upset.

After all...Ace was there when Mattius died...so he knows exactly how disgusting the Marquis and Marquess are.

"I thought it was about time I wrapped things up and got rid of them," I said casually with an equally as dark expression on my face.

"Cordelia..." Ace murmured.

He reached his hand out to me and, for a moment, I thought he was going to give me a good whack for being so insolent but his hand gently plopped down on my head and he ran his fingers through my hair.

"How long have you been having such thoughts...?" Ace asked in a low, soft voice.

"...Would you be mad if I said it's been a few years...?" I laughed awkwardly.

"..."

Ace was quiet for a while and was clearly unhappy with my response.

"But in a few weeks, the deed will be done and I won't need to worry about them or anything anymore," I smiled as I reached out to touch his hand.

"Cordelia, it's never good to hold onto hatred like this..."

"Oh my...you're starting to sound like an old man, Ace. Don't worry, I won't somehow mess up my entire life by pursuing something unnecessary, I promise. Besides, you already promised to escort me out of the dukedom tonight and you can't take that back," I smiled.

"You promise...?" Ace asked.

"I promise," I nodded seriously.

Ace gave a long, heavy sigh before inevitably giving up and doing as I liked.

Haha~!

.

.

A Few Moments Later

.

.

Ace was like the angel of the night.

When he stood underneath the moonlight, his hair glimmered in some unknown glow and his bright green eyes gleamed.

I nearly drooled at the sight but I stopped myself.

"We're here, Ace," I whispered.

Well...technically, we were a good 10 miles from the marquisate but...

For some reason, there were guards stationed everywhere...even as far as where we were now.

"Haha...Security sure is tight these days...not even the dukedom has any need for so many guards..." I chuckled as I counted how many guards there were.

In total, there were 132 guards, each traveling in small groups of four.

"This is so strange...they are clearly trying to hide something. There's no way they'd ever need so many guards otherwise..." I muttered.

Ace nodded his head as if he was also trying to assess the situation.

"Well...the guards shouldn't be too much of an issue anyway," Ace murmured as he stared directly at the marquisate.

Even though we were standing so far away, I knew for a fact that Ace could see everything in clear detail.

As for me, my eyesight was definitely wasn't good as Ace's since human eyes weren't made that way but luckily...

I closed my eyes and, soon, I could "see" hundreds of miles away with ease.

But, even so, I couldn't find out where the Marquis and Marquess were at all...

"Are they not home today...?" I muttered with a heavy sigh.

Well, either way, it didn't matter...I didn't come all the way here to see them after all.

"Let's go, Cordelia," Ace said the moment a clear, straight path formed straight toward the marquisate without a single guard.

I nodded my head and we both ran as silently as predators of the night.

.

.

A Few Moments Later

.

.

(A/N: Trigger Warning - Gore)

I looked to Ace and pointed toward a door that led straight down to the lowest basements of the marquisate.

If there was anywhere I needed to go, it would be to the most heavily guarded and secret room in this entire place.

With a little flick of his finger, Ace opened the door quietly with his air magic and we glided down the staircase side by side.

Strangely, even though the entire aura of the marquisate was dark and ominous, having Ace by my side felt so comforting that I almost didn't even realize it.

Ace's face continually grew darker and darker the further we went down the staircase.

"Just like always...every inch of this place is covered with dark energy..." Ace said as his face twisted with disgust.

"Dark energy...?" I asked.

"It means something bad happened..." Ace answered but didn't elaborate.

I had a strange feeling of deja vu as if though we had already had a similar conversation in the past but I couldn't remember when.

But before I could even stop to think about it, I stopped dead in my tracks and covered my nose.

It was the disgusting, metallic smell of...blood.

How strange...

Surely, both Ace and I should have been able to notice the scent of blood much earlier before we even stepped foot on the staircase but...

For some reason, the smell was only noticeable now.

"Wait..." I muttered as I flicked my finger.

I was right.

Someone had cast air magic on this place so that the smell wouldn't spread higher up the staircase.

"Hide," Ace said sharply the moment he sensed someone coming.

Immediately, we both leaped down the rest of the horribly long staircase and entered the room at the very bottom, hiding ourselves and our presence within a shadow that Ace had conjured with his magic.

"...!"

I clasped my hand tightly around my nose.

The smell of blood was much more pungent in this room and, what was worse, was that there was the horrible, musty, and putrid smell of...rotting flesh.

Noticing my reaction, Ace also conjured a bit of air magic to create clean oxygen for us to breathe.

What the heck...is this place...?

Besides, if I focus my ears, I think I can hear the sounds of a dozen people breathin—

"Agh! Sweetie! How dare they!" a loud, nasally voice rang out, piercing both of my ears.

Footsteps loudly stomped down each step of the staircase until they reached the pitch-black room where Ace and I were.

"It's okay, Fausselle...I'll find a way to fix it...so don't be mad, okay?" a deeper voice pleaded.

"Oh! Those idiots!! Ugh! I'm just so mad!!" the woman, named Fausselle, screeched.

Fausselle...?

Ah...

I remember now...

Fausselle is the name of the Marquess...

Which means the man next to her must be...the Marquis.

I clenched my fists into tight little balls.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wanted to leap out and slit their throats...but I calmed myself down and pulled out something that I had hidden carefully near the entrance of my mental storage...

I placed the object on the ground, in the corner of the room where no one would be able to see it, and gestured to Ace that we would be leaving soon.

"And because of that, all of our plans have to be delayed! I can't believe this!" the Marquess whined.

"Humph. I'm quite frustrated as well..." the Marquis responded.

"Hmm...At least that little girl is doing her job properly..."

"Which girl?"

"You know. That little prodigy or whatever?"

"Ah...you mean that little brat, Lilly," the Marquis grunted.

I froze in my spot.

Lilly...?!

That's right...the heroine of this game...Did they happen to know where she was?!

"But I can't believe that man took her away from us! Even though she was doing her work so efficiently for us!" the Marquess complained.

"Well, that little girl always belonged to that man, to begin with. It's not something we can control..."

Who is 'that man'...?

I took in a deep breath.

My heart began to thump erratically as if though I already knew exactly who that man was...

In fact, my heart was beating so strangely...

...that it began to hurt.

Hurt...a lot...

I let out a deep breath as I tried to calm my raging heartbeat and Ace, who noticed my pale expression, looped his arm around me to support me.

My heart was beating so much that it felt like it was about to explode...

...and I let out a small whimper because of it.

"Who was that?!" the Marquis called out.

I froze.

They heard me.

I gripped my arms around Ace's waist, trying to ignore the pain in my chest, and clamped my mouth shut so that no more sound would come out.

As if unconsciously, Ace gripped his arms around me too and rubbed my back shakily as if though he had no idea what was wrong with me either.

Haha...

For some reason, Ace had an extremely scary expression on his face...

It was almost as if though, by watching me, he was in equally as much pain.

"Hah...I thought I told you all to stay quiet!!!!" the Marquis roared as he lit a lamp in the corner of the room.

Soon, the entire room was lit and both Ace and I, who were hiding amongst the shadows, shifted our position so that they wouldn't notice us.

Huh...?

Wasn't the Marquis referring to me earlier...?

Who was he talking to...?

"I thought I told you what would happen if you didn't listen to me!!!!" the Marquis seethed as he pushed a hidden button located on the back wall of the room.

And, just like magic, the back wall opened up...

...revealing a long row of bloodied, experimental test subjects...all of which were human.

They were each tied to their individual chairs with tears and blood streaming down their faces.

And their faces were marred with burns and scars and were beaten so badly that their facial structures didn't even resemble that of a human's anymore.

And...

And their hands and feet were chopped roughly from their bodies and hung behind their original owners on hangers against the wall.

The flesh was so old...

And it smelled so bad...

I wanted to puke.

The smell of blood and rotten flesh was so much stronger now that, even with Ace creating clean air for us to breathe, the smell still managed to permeate through our noses, causing me to gag.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" the Marquis yelled into each of their faces.

H-Huh...?

"Which one of you was it?! Which one of you made that sound?! I told you before, toys are supposed to stay QUIET," the Marquis said as he picked up a chain whip from a hidden hanger.

I widened my eyes in horror as he began flicking his whip, causing a loud clanging sound to ring around the room.

"Didn't I say I would beat the hell out of anyone who made even a single peep...? Should I cut off all of your tongues next...?!" the Marquis asked threateningly.

But...

But the one who made that sound was...me...

With his hands, Ace pulled my face into his chest as if though he were trying to stop me from witnessing what the Marquis was doing.

But it was too late.

I had already seen the effects of what the Marquis had done.

And I doubt I would ever be the same again.

-------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Wow. So...aha...I doubt I even need to say this but uh...haha...Do you guys hate the Marquis as much as I do? I mean, I'm the one who created him, and yet I still want to kill him...

Also, do you guys have any clue as to why Cordelia's heart was going a bit wonky there? Well...who knows~? (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Anyways, haha~ I bet most of y'all were hoping to see Ace and Cordelia going on a cute little date by the end of this chapter but...NO!!!

AHAHAHA~ SCREW THAT SAPPY, SWEET ROMANCE STUFF!! LET'S REPLACE IT WITH GORE AND TRASHY CHARACTERS INSTEAD!! MWAHAHAHA~

Ahem. Thanks, again, to my readers/voters/commenters~ I love you guys! Hehe~

Stay safe, everyone~

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 2678