The Duchess and the Devil

Chapter 34

Derrick sat in a chair with a very relaxed expression on his face and considered Carmen’s words. He was familiar with the situation in the world of devils, having learned everything from the raven – a kind of alter ego of a man, but still did not understand what to do. While he was sleeping, the Hundred Years ‘ War ended, and the King died.

And the absence of a head of state always leads to turmoil and unrest.

«Because we need a new King!»

People in the world of devils shouted, wanting to put an end to all this and wanting to find a worthy one.

The demonic world is divided into twelve parts, each of which had its own commander who directs everything that happens. And each of them was trying to put forward their candidacy for the position of the next Great Demon King. To become one, a person must prove skills and status. And each of the commanders was considered the commander-in-chief, which allowed him to claim the much-desired title.

And now, after such a long war, there was an internecine strife in which the regions were fighting – who would become the King. If one of the commanders takes this position, the zone will immediately rise above the others. Therefore, everything that was happening was more like a new fierce war.

And it was obvious that sooner or later his subjects would come to him with a request to nominate their candidacy for King. And this is not surprising, because Derrick had every right to do this, being an ideal find for this role. He didn’t hate his colleagues, but the new war couldn’t help but make him angry. In addition, the demon did not want and simply could not part with Judith right now. And if other demons come to this world to talk to Derrick, they will certainly smell her scent, which is too appetizing for everyone.

«And why do you smell like that?» – he wailed with displeasure.

Derrick had already asked Carmen to restrain himself, but this might not work with other subjects – who were more rude and impudent. And help couldn’t help but worry, because now he didn’t want to worry about it at all. Derrick wanted to focus all his skills on Hannibal.

Because of Judith’s investigations, the search area has noticeably narrowed. In fact, everyone she named was unfamiliar with the demon, but Derrick guessed that these were close people of the real Duke. After all, he judged by the serious face of his wife.

«It gives me a headache just thinking about it,» Derrick said to himself again, taking a cigarette in his mouth and exhaling acrid smoke, which immediately displaced Judith’s fragrance from the room, filling the space with itself.

The demon would never have thought that Hannibal himself would want to become a recluse, remaining in a human body for a while, because he hated people the most.

Of course, this is not uncommon among such creatures, but very often half-breeds or hybrids were born — from a combination of demons and other species, where humans are no exception. And Hannibal himself was born from just such a union.

Usually devils born from a human and not possessing magical abilities were classified as inferior beings, which is why Hannibal lived with this neglect from others all his life. The purebloods behaved around him as if he was nothing, an empty person that could not stand up for himself. No matter how well the hybrid coped with magic, it was always not enough in the opinion of others, because the label «half-blood» already hung on them like a shadow.

This was enough for Hannibal to grow up with a sense of inferiority. After all, his childhood, life and environment helped in this.

However, Derrick, even knowing that the guy is a half – breed, remained very loyal, seeing his abilities. This, as the demon now realized, was a fatal mistake. After all, this only provoked an internal conflict in Hannibal, developing great envy and darkness in his heart, accompanying hatred. Most likely, he regarded kindness as condescension.

Hannibal was very skilled with horses. And thanks to this, the guy has a reputation among hybrids who have never been considered powerful. Slowly, but surely, he developed, hoping to become a commander and flattering his own self-esteem.

Hannibal wanted to become a commander in order to change the attitude towards half-bloods in this rotten world. However, this place was given to Derrick – a strong pure-blooded demon. And only Hannibal could not accept this fact, which was taken for granted by others.

And during the war, when Derrick was busy with something completely different, the guy decided to start his actions, taking advantage of the situation. The duke crossed his arms over his chest, chewing on the bitter filter of a cigarette and watching the beautiful view of the garden through the window. However, this was not enough to weaken his anger. Judith’s face is much more refreshing, even gorgeous. Better than any landscape.

Derrick succumbed to the dirty desire in his thoughts again when he remembered his wife’s face. Amber eyes, looking with concern. According to Judith, the demon was completely not worried about the future and life, which could not help but make her nervous.

Derrick, on the other hand, was only firm and did not want to show his emotions when he imagined the punishment that would overtake Hannibal. In the world of demons, the legs, arms and head are separated from the torso, cut into small pieces and thrown into the abyss, where the culprit will burn in eternal fire. This is the punishment that Hannibal will receive for his offense.

«I will definitely make you suffer,» Derrick said, stretching his neck.

The treatment of the traitor completely depended on the commander himself, but this demon was categorical in such matters. Hannibal, in his opinion, is a hybrid who raised a rebellion, for which he will receive an appropriate punishment. This will be a shocking line in the history of demons – it will be a lesson for many.

«I definitely need to see this,» Derrick smiled suspiciously.

He understood the feelings of hybrids and half-breeds, but he never justified such actions, because betrayal will always remain the same.

Derrick did not want to reveal his anger and terrible thoughts to Judith, who could just be scared. Imagining the depressed and worried eyes of his wife, the demon shuddered. Of course, if she sees the calmness on the demon’s face, she also worries, but obviously not so much if she finds out about all the plans that Derrick is hatching in his mind.

And the demon decided for himself: it is better to see Judith’s anxiety, and not fear.

Derrick laughed, imagining how long this play could take. However, this was not something so bad. If you think about it, a lot of strange things happened after waking up. At the very least, he, being short-tempered and even aggressive in many matters, hesitated, thinking about Judith’s opinion about everything that was happening.

In addition, Derrick could have grabbed his wife a long time ago and forcibly replenished all the magic in just a few days, but he did not do this. He didn’t obey his instincts. Even Carmen noticed the oddities, which he did not forget to ask about. For Derrick, abstinence was like putting a delicious steak in front of a hungry dog. And the dog, salivating, waited.

«Your smell is getting stronger…» – Derrick said to himself.

Usually, when the demon satisfied himself, the smell became weaker, but in the situation with Judith, it was the opposite. With each passing day, the fragrance only intensified, becoming even more sweet and seductive.

The demon took another drag, filling his lungs with smoke and trying to turn off consciousness.

***

Judith, leaving the room, immediately asked what had happened:

«What’s the matter?»

Only

«Madam, invitations.»

«Invitations?»

Judith went downstairs with the butler and saw a lot of bright letters.

After studying several of them, the Duchess realized that many noble ladies would like to see her at tea parties in the near future. Usually their pretense was not hidden, but today a new stage of hypocrisy was passed. To sum up, there was something similar written in every letter:

«I’m interested to know about the recent events with your husband.»