Letters and Schemes
739 Words
**Chapter 4: Letters and Schemes**
"I-I'm sweaty!" Suzine stammered as she tried to wriggle free.
Oh? She's worried about being sweaty, not that I'm licking her? Dian thought, holding her tighter.
"But you taste sweet… what can I do?" he murmured in her ear, his voice teasing, each word sending a tremor down her spine.
"Y-Young L-Lord, it's not righ—!" Suzine’s protest died in her throat the moment she felt something hard press up from beneath her.
Her entire face flushed crimson. Her thoughts scattered, and before she realized it, she shifted on his lap—grinding ever so slightly.
A low groan escaped Dian. His muscles tensed, the heat between them rising fast.
The sound brought Suzine back to her senses. She gasped and jumped from his lap.
"I-I'm sorry, Young Lord!" she squeaked, shielding her face with trembling hands before bolting out of the room.
Now alone, Dian exhaled and glanced down. Well, me and my rod, he mused dryly.
"She's shy," he muttered. "But I like shy ones."
He rose, stretched, and made his way down the corridor, lost in thought.
...
**Skyster Family Castle, Silia Town**
Two figures sat in heavy silence.
"Mother," Kyle finally said, "I think he knows."
Massy’s face twisted into a grimace.
"No," she replied after a pause. "If he knew, our heads would already be on pikes."
She clenched her fists. "We stay quiet. The secret guards are watching everything. One wrong move... and it’s over."
But deep down, unease gnawed at her. Why did he exile us to Silia? If he knew the truth, why let us live?
She had spent years crafting the plan—poisoning him, faking affection, twisting loyalty—all so Kyle could become the next Young Lord of the Skyster Family.
The plan should have worked. And in a way, it had.
What she didn’t know... was that the original Dian was gone. And in his place stood someone far more dangerous.
...
**Windsor Town, Skyster Main Castle**
Dian stood before a massive door.
This was no ordinary room. It belonged to the Lord of the Skyster Family.
The heavy wooden doors creaked open as if sensing his presence.
Magnificent, he thought as he stepped inside.
The room was vast, with enchanted chandeliers casting a warm, golden glow. Ornate walls shimmered with embedded runes. A massive desk stood at the center, flanked by towering bookshelves. Two velvet couches faced the desk.
A butler sat reading documents. He stood immediately upon seeing Dian.
"Young Lord," he said with a respectful bow.
Dian nodded and walked to the desk. The moment he sat, a surge of power welled up within him—like the chair itself acknowledged his authority.
He glanced at the paperwork.
"Family finances," the butler explained. "You needn’t worry about it now."
"No, I want to understand everything," Dian replied, flipping through the pages.
*Knock knock.*
A guard entered, bowed, and handed over a sealed letter.
"Young Lord. A message from the Blazing Wood Family."
Dian accepted it and dismissed the guard. The butler stayed beside him, silent and composed.
The envelope bore the emblem of a bird wreathed in flame. He broke the seal and read.
His expression darkened by the end.
Without a word, he handed the letter to the butler.
The older man’s face contorted with disbelief. "They… they can’t be serious."
"They are," Dian replied.
The letter opened with hollow apologies, then moved to annul the engagement between their families. It didn’t name Dian directly, but the excuses were thinly veiled. A compensation offer sat at the end like a rotten cherry on top.
The butler’s hands shook. "They dare—"
"Now, now," Dian interrupted. "Don’t crush the letter."
"Young Lord, let me go speak to them. They can’t humiliate us like this!"
Dian leaned back in the chair. "I was dying, Butler. Who wants to marry off their daughter to a corpse?"
The Blazing Wood Family—one of the Kingdom’s strongest—had formed an engagement pact with the Skysters when Dian was ten. It was meant as an alliance, a fusion of power.
But now?
They had withdrawn, fearing weakness.
Still, Dian wasn’t angry. No… not yet.
Because he remembered something else—someone else.
A girl’s face emerged from his inherited memories. Beautiful, untamed… and very important.
*It seems the story’s finally starting,* Dian thought, a dangerous glint flickering in his eyes.
- Writer
