Three o’clock in the morning and Solene was fast asleep. She was oblivious as to what was going on around her when Henri decided to leave the bed, still naked, and strode out of the room and into the balcony. Once outside, dark shadows enveloped him and in a blink of an eye, he was garbed from head to foot with a black robe. His right hand spread mid-air and suddenly his great scythe materialized. He grabbed it and then vanished on the spot, reappearing in the highest part of the manor’s roof in less than a second. Checking the surrounding area for any unusualities, he quickly noticed neon green orbs floating close to his newly built barrier. He gave them a scornful look and hissed between his teeth. “These fucking Elementals just don’t know how to quit,” he muttered under his breath. Unlike two days ago, lost spirits and demon-possessed humans now weren’t present.

For the next two days, the head cleaner, Mrs. Ingrid, and the manor’s chef, Chef Ressu, followed a routine. They would leave breakfast at seven in the morning in a dining area set up inside the sitting room of the Master and Mistress’s chamber. By ten, while the lovers were away for another horse ride, Mrs. Ingrid together with Tessa would come inside the room to clean and restock fresh towels and toiletries. At twelve, lunch would be served in the same dining area and they would only come and pick the dirty plates and empty bowls an hour later, taking considerable effort not to disturb the next room. Tea would be served sometime between three or four in the afternoon, while dinner would be prepared at seven. Solene noticed that she hadn’t seen the faces of the staff for three days in a row now since their brief introduction on the first day. She would have wanted to thank them for their great service and delicious cooking, but Henri’s in

WARNING: THIS IS A COPYRIGHTED BOOK UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES, OWNED BY JMFELIC. INFRINGERS WILL BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY. With her free hand, Solene rubbed her eyes and blinked many times before staring back at her husband. Her eyes were indeed playing tricks on her for this time, as Henri faced her, he looked like himself with the same short, raven hair. There was not a dark blue strand on his head and this relieved her...or at least for a bit. She couldn’t digest much about this information as the current situation demanded her attention. “I apologize you had to see that, Solene,” Henri stated as he approached her. The great scythe disappeared in a blink of an eye, much to her relief. Maybe, she could acquaint with such a weapon during her training, but for now, she preferred it out of her line of sight. “It is inevitable that you’d witness such a horrid sight, but I had hoped it would be at le

 “The shipwreck caused a great flood of souls into the gates, Your Highness. The grim reapers were overwhelmed. If they hadn’t sought your help, the sorting of souls would have been compromised. It was an unpre—” “Stop,” Henri abruptly said forcing his secretary to pause and look up at him across the mahogany table. There were stacks of papers and record books spread in front of them, a result of their earlier business meeting. Henri had been super patient this whole time while Mr. Reynold reported what he missed during the honeymoon and what caused his sudden return to Sattus, but when he suddenly felt a break in space and an entrance of a monstrous being inside the estate, he couldn’t help but stop his secretary. “Your Highness?” Mr. Reynold gulped as he watched the master’s attention diverted elsewhere, “You...you want me—”

Henri waited for her to answer, wondering how she would react. Although already married and had been sharing a bed more than once, he was aware she was still figuring out her feelings for him. He wanted to give her space and time, but since those three deadly words had been freed from his mouth, there was no backing out now. After a full minute, she didn’t reply, much less move and this informed him of the real situation he was in: his wife had actually fallen asleep and she definitely didn’t hear him say those words. Because of this, Henri felt relieved. Maybe then when the right time comes he’ll confess again and tell her just how much he meant to her. After brushing a rogue strand of hair off of her face, he observed her again and recalled the day when he decided to be her betrothed. He started spying on her and protecting her from the entities she couldn’t yet see. Solene