The Unmatched Beauty

Chapter 2

Archard Marcatto

It'd been days since he first laid eyes on the woman everyone-not only people from the east but literally almost everyone-was talking about. She was indeed strikingly beautiful, like a perfectly sculpted porcelain doll-lovely and fragile.

She was everything he expected her to be-no, she was beyond. What he didn't expect was the venomous calmness this lady displayed. She was known to be pampered and spoiled. A true little princess of a large house such as the Costello. But, he didn't see a trace of that part of the rumor when he met her. Instead, she was serene, collected and yet unyielding.

She could also immediately switch to being feisty. He liked that part about her. And she never cried, nor begged, for help. He was confused with that.

Normally girls would be screaming, flailing, crying and trying everything that they could just to try and escape. Yet, she was different. Very different.

"Archard." A voice snapped him out from spinning his pocket knife in his finger and immediately kept it in his pocket in one fluid movement.

"Yes, father?"

"How'd it go? Did you see her?" He asked, while taking a sip from his afternoon bitter green tea, casting him a brief glance.

A smirk crept on Archard's face as his father's question reminded him of a peculiar yet interesting little princess. He rose from his place and walked closer to his father before taking a seat opposite of him and grabbing a cup of the green tea his father was enjoying.

"Yes, father. She was lovely indeed. Lovelier than all those pretty ladies you bed every month."

A smirk. A loud guffaw. A hearty laugh escaped from the man's lips before swinging his free hand and slapping the back of his child full of mirth. Why, a few flings here and there wouldn't hurt right? Just a few illegitimate children here and there.

"That's good! Good! You better prepare then boy!" He beamed to which his son simply responded with a quiet smile before looking over in curiosity. "Next month I'm sending you over to her."

He raised a brow to this announcement. It wasn't that he had complaints. He was just astounded. He's sending me to the east? What's he planning?

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Well, don't play dumb! I know you're itching to rush to her side!" The man loudly spoke as he slapped Archard's back a few more times. "You'd been dying to see her again, right?"

"Well, I am dying to see her, indeed." Archard answered before placing down his tea spilled down to a half and wiped the wet stains on the table before adding. "Why not do it earlier instead then?"

His father once again laughed merrily and physically stating how proud he was to see how manly his son had become. Boasting how back in his teenage years, he was quite the lady-killer himself and how he'd sweep every girl off their feet and that not one has escaped his clutches. He was also assuring Archard that he was gonna be fine. After all, not one lady refuses a Marcatto.

"Old man, even if I'm strong, your hits still do me some damage." He joked and chuckled as he joined his father in his mirth. He remembered his father's words about sending him to her. He was not gonna let his princess wait any longer. He was gonna go there ahead of time.

Three days passed and Archard bid his father farewell. He was not down for waiting for a month. He wanted to see the princess of Costello the soonest as possible and maybe be lucky enough to finally gaze into those beautiful blue eyes of hers. Just thinking about it was making him feel giddy with excitement.

Just like a little kid finally getting to play with his new toy, a wide happy grin was plastered on Archard's face. He was gonna go and pay a visit to the patriarch of the Costello first and foremost. That was the formal thing to do.

Stepping out of his car, after grabbing the complementaries he asked his men to get for him, Archard went in after announcing his identity and was lead towards the lounge.

While waiting for another man to guide him towards the patriarch's audience chamber, he let his eyes roam around. It only need him to see a thing once to memorize the structure, words and whatnot. Kind of like a photographic memory. And partly, trying to sneak a glance for his princess.

"The master just arrived. I will guide you to the audience room now." A muscular man, dressed in black formal suit, came while extending his hand towards the direction of the chamber.

"There's not a lot of people around the manor. Why is that?" Out of curiosity, the words slipped out of Archard's lips that earned him a stern and distrustful glare from the man before the latter composed himself.

"The master accompanied the lady out for an excursion since she was being quite difficult for the last few days." The man answered. It wasn't necessarily a secret since they really went all out to ensure the princess' safety after what happened last time.

"Difficult?"

"Ah, yes. You do not belong to the east so you must've not heard." The words that followed were full of hatred and venom that oddly incited the killing instinct engraved within Archard's genome. "Some dirty bastard dared to kidnap the lady and traumatized her greatly. She locked herself up in her room and refused to go out for days. I swear when I find that fucking bastard I'll add a few more holes to his side!"

The venom. The desire for payback. The desire to kill someone for their master riled Archard. Ah, he'd been itching for a good fight for the last few days. No one's been a good sport back in the west. So he thought that maybe he'd find a good match here in the east.

Finally noticing Archard's silence, the man cleared his throat and quietly excused himself for the misconduct-for letting his anger get the best of him and act like that in front of a guest-and suppressed his bloodthirst.

He opened the door for Archard and invited him in, told him to wait for a while for the master to come before he vanished behind the closed door.

"Ho, she really is a pampered princess, huh? Everyone's dying to find who violated her little lips. Haha. Ah, I wonder if they'll kill me when they find out that it was me?" He muttered to himself cheerfully as he placed a hand on his chin in a contemplating manner.

Ahh~ I love the Costello. They're all so hot-blooded.

He thought with a slight chuckle and ran a hand across his chocolate tousled hair.

Shall we do this then?