Ink: Living Life as Serena Gleis

XXXII: Devil on a Saint's Skin

The journey back to the capital was long and tiring. Luca held the cold corpse of Serena close. There's a weird aching in his chest that he couldn't explain. The cold breeze from the forest were long gone as the warm atmosphere of the the capital enveloped him.

“We have arrived.” Luca whispered to no one. He did not know what to do. He knew that if ever he brought Serena's corpse to the Imperial palace or to Gleis, he'll never see Serena's beautiful face again. He chased the thought to just ran away with her corpse, he is the commanding general of the Imperial knights after all.

Luca and all of his men entered the Imperial palace. They were welcomed by no one. The halls were empty, not even one servant can be seen.

“Go back to the quarters.” He commanded. His knights bowed and left him with Serena's corpse, which they found really weird.

Serena's sudden death was still a mystery to him. On his mind, he did not hit her too hard nor his knights laid a finger even on one strand of her hair. He doesn't know what happened but there's no question that what he had on his arms was indeed, Serena.

Luca walked towards the crown prince's office but was stopped by a butler guarding the door. “Greetings, Sire.” The butler greeted formally. “I was instructed to tell you that the crown prince is in the imperial office.” He added. Luca did not bother to respond and just walked towards the Imperial office.

He felt empty, he felt emotionless. He can't even look at the corpse on his arms. Everything that he did to Serena came flashing on his mind. A deep pang stroke his chest.

Why did he do all of that?

He remembered all the moments that Serena and him spent when they were a lot younger. The nights on their secret lake, her gentle touch and her kindness.

Why did he hurt the girl he loved so much?

His knees wanted to collapse right where he stood. He wanted to cry, hug Serena and never let go but he must fulfill his duty as a knight of this empire.

Just before he reached the Imperial Office, a familiar figure came in sight, Celine. She slowly walked towards Luca, eyeing the corpse on his hand. When she was infront of him, a huge smile formed onto her lips.

She cupped Luca's cheeks on her hand as she laughed like a maniac who just won the lottery. “You did it! You did it Luca!” She cheered.

“What?” Luca asked, confused.

“You've done your part.” Celine's smile turned into a smirk. With a wave of her hand, a black mist evaporated through Luca's body.

A surge of memories flew on his mind, the night after the test of courage. Luca was over the moon when he was given the chance to be closer to Serena. He worked and trained hard just to be deserving to be on her side and he finally did it. After years of hardwork, it finally happened.

That night, his childhood friend, the one that he grew up with and he treated as his own sister asked to meet him so he did. They met on their favorite spot when they were kids.

He went there, excited to tell Celine the good news as she was the only one who knows how much he adored the only daughter of the Duke of Gleis but the Celine he met there was different.

Her lavender eyes that once so pure, gentle and kind were now dull and lifeless. He fell unconscious after that encounter and when he woke up, all he felt was hatred towards the crown prince and his lust and  desire to make Serena his, and only his.

“Y-You—” Luca said, as he finally realized what happened.

“Yes, It's all me, dear Luca.” Celine's smirk was terrifying, terrifying enough to send shivers down to a spine of a seasoned knight who went to numerous war already.