Chapter 31 - The Privilege Of A Servant

"Is there a reason you are just standing around in the hallway?" Raymond asked her, wanting his question answered first.

"Oh, no reason, just... basking in the sunlight." Lilith gestured to the window next to them where the noonday sun shone through.

The Duke hummed and walked around Lilith, his hands were placed behind his back and he had a knowing look on his face. Had he heard what the girls were talking about? If so, how long had been standing there? Was Lilith that absorbed in the conversation that she was unable to notice his domineering presence?

The thought of Raymond standing behind her all that time had her inflamed with embarrassment.

But quickly the mood changed. The girls in the room had to have realized that Raymond was just beyond the wall. Lilith did not want to upset Raymond with the conversation and so she lied about why she was in the hallway but he was too smart for that.

Looking into the room, Raymond saw the three girls that were talking about him. They were all young, probably closer to Lilith in age than him. All their eyes were blown wide as they stared at him. Clearly caught in something they should not be.

"Would you like to tell me what you were discussing just a moment ago?" He glared down at them. Lilith nearly flinched at the icy harshness of his tone. When he was talking to her he did not sound upset at all, but as soon as he laid eyes on the girls in the room, he immediately changed.

There was silence. Ten seconds passed. The longer the girls remained silent the more annoyed Raymond became. "Discussing such disgusting things. And in the light of day no less. Have you no shame?" The Duke turned to Lilith. "Make sure they are out of the house within the next ten minutes or I will have them... punished."

Before she could say anything, he walked away, back in the direction he came. As he passed, she could feel the waves of anger coming off of him. It seemed they brought back some bad memories.

One by one, the girls came out of the room and their eyes landed on Lilith. Raymond was long gone and they were left alone, and as soon as he was out of their sight, their demanders changed completely.

"Are we seriously getting thrown out just because of some simple comments?" The first one, a brunette, scoffed in disbelief.

"What exactly does he expect, looking like that. He's acting like it's our fault that-"

"Shut it." Lilith snapped at them. "Don't go speaking as if you know anything."

They were taken back and stumbled around for words before one of them spoke. "And you do? Just because you're the personal servant of-"

Lilith cringed and waved her hands. "Stop. Oh my goodness stop. Please. We are not doing this. You're going to say some bullshit like, just because I'm his personal servant I think I have some sort of entitlement or connection and then claim that I seduced him or I'm only doing it because I'm just like you. I've heard it a million times. I know how this nonsense goes. And I'm not for it. So just shut up."

Lilith walked up to the girls and turned them all around before she began to push them down the hallway. "The way you spoke of Mr. Cavill was out of place. You all deserve to be thrown out. So let's all make this easier on ourselves right now and comply. I would be more than happy to leave you guys here because I am curious about what punishment the Duke was talking about, but... I have more important things to do."

There was complaining and cries of protest but Lilith was able to get them out of the manor with the little they brought with them. She informed the guards about the situation and that they were not allowed back inside and then she quickly went to find Raymond.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that. I should not have listened, I should have stopped it," she said as she entered the room.

"There had a been an assassination attempt on the Third Prince's life." The Duke had his eyes on the window.

Lilith gasped. That wasn't in the books. "Is he ok?"

"He's alright. Just shaken up." Raymond rubbed the sparse stubble on his chin as he turned in his chair to look at her. "If the public is aware of this then they will start to ask questions as to why such a simple person was made a target of assassination. There is no proof but I suspect that it was Landon, although he is in jail, he still has people on the outside. People who are willing to do things for him."

Lilith nodded, he did make sense. "If your brother is... retaliating like this, then you could be in trouble. As well as your youngest brother."

"I know."

"Maybe this extra security is not a bad idea. There is a lot of land behind us and that can give someone perfect access to get in and maybe slip around the guards... maybe..."

There was a beat of silence. "Maybe what?" Raymond raised an eyebrow at her.

Lilith shook her head. "Umm, I just realized my statement would not have made sense, so..."

"What were you doing to say?"

She sighed, regretting that she opened her mouth. "I was going to say that you should have gone to the castle, but seeing as what happened... the castle isn't as impenetrable as I thought."

"It is not, unfortunately."

"I know that it would take a lot to get to where you sleep if someone were to come in through your window or try to find your room by entering through another place in the house, but I still think that you should move your room."

"Move my room," Raymond said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, without anyone knowing, sleep in a different room. Stuff your bed with pillows to make it seem like you're sleeping there but in reality, it's a trick!" she said enthusiastically. "Or maybe, we can go to Naulis and get some extra protection, do you think they've invented laser trip alarms yet? We can put them all around your room and then catch them in the act. And-"

"Lilith." he cut her off. "You're saying too much. Please, slow down."

Truth be told, Raymond did not understand anything she just said but he appreciated her will to try and protect him.

Reeling herself in, she spoke once more. "All that said, I think that it would be best if you slept somewhere else for the time being." Lilith had talked about things that she should not have and she was glad that Raymond did not ask her about it. How would she be able to explain something that was not even invented yet? If not invented, then thought of yet. But with Naulis, you could never know.

"There are multiple rooms on the third floor so I will find another one then." he nodded to her in agreement.

"Great,"

A silence settled over then and Lilith clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her feet for a moment. She had momentarily forgotten why she even left the office in the first place. Standing around and doing nothing was not really what she planned to do for the rest of the day. Raymond was busy and seeing as he had already eaten his lunch, she didn't have much to do unless he called for her.

"Your brother, Prince Rory, what's going to happen to him?" Lilith asked the first question that came to mind in order to quell the silence.

"Although the castle is not the safest place. It is safer than his house and so he will be moved there. Our mother was more than clear on that."

"And no part of you thinks that you should also follow along?"

"For my peace, I would gladly put my life in danger," Raymond said certainly. He had expected that Lilith would laugh at his sentence but she only stared at him with this look that told him that she was thinking the opposite.

"As the future King of this country, you should not think like that." Lilith frowned. "I'd rather have you upset than dead, Your Grace. And you should maybe think the same way. I will go and prepare another room for you."

With her heart hammering and her stomach in knots, Lilith left.