The Villainess Wants More

Part 8

Lucienne and her Father sat silently in the carriage. She was wearing one of her best gowns and she looked particularly ravishing. But that was not what she was thinking about. She looked outside the window as they approached the palace and her father helped her out of the carriage. They followed a familiar butler to a large room. The room was more tastefully decorated than the rest of the house, having snakes only incorporated more subtly. It looked like a study room. Lucienne sat and her father squeezed her hand to comfort her. Minutes passed and her nerves grew. All she could think about was her and Erno. That kiss they had shared had made her feel so relaxed that day, but it came with worries of its own. If she wished to pursue a relationship with Erno it just simply wouldn't be tolerated in her marriage to the prince. She recounted multiple of their conversations and almost began to cry. She reminded herself to stay composed. Lest she look a mess in front of her future husband, though it wouldn't be a bad thing if he was so repulsed by her that he ordered she be sent away. She heard footsteps approaching the door and she stood. Eline announced his royal highness and the doors opened. Lucienne bowed before she looked up. She heard him approaching and she shut her eyes tightly. She felt a hand on her chin as he lifted her face. She gasped in shock as the one before her was none other than the man she had just been thinking about. "Erno!" She cried. Her father looked up. "Erno what's going on? Why did they announce you as the second prince? Why are you here?" She frantically inspected him. He chuckled. "Luci. I am not a random noble, and my name is not Erno." He grabbed her waist and pulled her in. "My name is Ennox and my middle name is Erno. And I am the second prince." He tucked her hair behind her ear. Her face suddenly turned into an angry expression. "What? Why would you lie? Why have you asked for my hand in marriage? I-I came here today to accept but I- I just-" She shook her head. Ennox looked at her calmly. "But you said if you had a choice you'd marry me, Lucienne. Here's your choice. Marry me or marry Erno." He took a strand of her hair and held it to his lips. Lucienne's father grabbed her and angrily stared at Ennox. "What is this?! How do you know my daughter? How dare you touch her so carelessly?" He stood in front of Lucienne. Ennox glared at him before putting on a faux smile. "Ah sir, me and your daughter are very close. We're soulmates as you would say. I plan to wed her and spoil her in riches befitting her. We love each other, right Lucienne?" He peaked over her father's shoulder. "I thought I loved Erno." She clutched her dress. Her father clenched his fists and shook his head. "How can this be? This is who you were sneaking to meet? My sweet daughter, meeting this scoundrel? You deceived her!" It seemed he no longer cared that he was talking to someone so higher above him. Ennox stepped closer and walked past him. He grabbed Lucienne and caressed her face. "Luci. Please, come marry me. And we can be together forever. Just me and you. I'm still Erno. You can even still call me that! It's technically my name still. You could be comfortable for the rest of your life." He leaned closer to her ear. "We could rule together." He retreated and looked into her eyes. She stared at him in horror. He just basically confessed that he wanted to surpass his brother and become the emperor with her at his side. She searched his eyes for any sign of untruthfulness but she found none. "Lucienne!" Her father snapped her out of it. "What did he say to you? Don't be swayed! This man is a tyrant incapable of love!" He clutched his fists. Ennox kept his eyes trained on Lucienne and grabbed her waist. She looked back over to him. His eyes pleaded with her. "Please." He mouthed. She bit her lip. It seemed her mind was going blank as she unconsciously leaned in with him. Soon enough they were kissing. She retreated and Ennox smiled. It seemed even if she wanted to refuse, he was going to take that kiss as confirmation. She suddenly remembered her dad's presence and look over to find him with his mouth agape. "I'm sorry, Daddy..." She watched as he put his head in his hands. He suddenly burst out. "I refuse! Come now Lucienne! We're going home, now." He held out his hand for Lucienne. She attempted to reach for him before Ennox stopped her. "You are my fiancé now. Be prepared to be moved to my palace." He kissed her on the cheek as he let her go. She hurriedly ran to her dad as he looked as if he was going to lunge at the prince. She looked back at him as her father dragged her out of the palace. He mouthed "I love you" and smiled. She caught herself smiling before looking away and following her dad.

When they returned home, all of her brothers were waiting for her. Colvette opened the door for them. Her father stomped out of the carriage. Lucienne calmly exited and looked down. Colvette ran after their father as the twins stayed behind. "So Luci how did-" Rudnine was cut off. "What?!" They looked towards the door Colvette and their father had gone through as he came racing back towards them. "You kissed the prince?! Luci what- why- how could this have happened?" Colvette had his hand on his head in shock. She looked up at him and sighed. "I- I don't know." She tried to avoid the gazes of the twins. She knew they were definitely staring daggers at her. She heard Clara's voice calling her. "My lady please come!" Lucienne followed her to her room. Her father was in there, reading the letters between her and Erno. She realized that to anyone else the letters may look like love notes. "Daddy! What are you doing?!" He looked up from her desk and crumpled a piece of paper. "Why didn't I stop it sooner? I knew you were sneaking off to see someone. Why didn't I stop it?" He gathered the papers and turned to leave. "Daddy! Where are you taking them?" She followed him. He went to the main hall and swung the doors open. He threw the letters on the ground outside. Lucienne's brothers were still there. They looked up the stairs at them. "Lucienne you will NOT marry that scoundrel. I refuse!" He grumbled to himself. It seems he was conflicted on what he was going to say next. "Lucienne... you are grounded!" He finally said. She gasped and cried out. "Daddy! You can't ground me!" She grabbed his arm. He turned away from her. "Luci don't make this harder on me." He walked away, leaving her behind. She grunted in frustration and crouched down to start picking up the letters. Her brothers joined her and soon began reading the letters. She snatched them from them at first, in embarrassment. But the more they picked up the more she didn't care. Rudnine called the other two to read a particular letter. They gathered around it. Lucienne looked up. If she remembered the date correctly, it was a letter where Erno, or Ennox, spoke in great detail of how fond of her he was. She had taken it as a declaration of their friendship but looking back, she was very oblivious to his love. "Lucienne, do you love the second prince?" Kalin asked. She looked up and grabbed all the letters. She stood and looked away. " I suppose... I do." She snatched the letter from their hands and added it to the pile in her hands. They all shared glances. Colvette cleared his throat. "Accepting his proposal, sis, that was a big move. Are you sure you're ready?" He put his hand on her shoulder. She smiled. "Well ready or not, I've got to start somewhere." She started off towards her room.