I Choose The Villain Duke

"Do you know about the Gold Dragon?" Lucien asked.

Euphemia thought for a moment. It felt like a long time since she had last read the webnovel before she died.

"I don't remember. I think there was no mention of that," Euphemia said.

"The Gold Dragon is part of Aderlan's legend. It is said that each king has the power of the Gold Dragon within him and it is passed on to his heir when he dies," Lucien said.

Euphemia looked confused. "Did the legend come true or something? Does the prince have that power?"

Lucien chuckled. "No, he doesn't."

Euphemia's eyes widened. "Are you telling me that you . . . ?"

Lucien smiled. "I have inherited the power of the Gold Dragon."

Euphemia gasped. "How?! Did you always have that?"

"No. When the slave contract was placed on me, I was trapped in a dark place within my mind. In there, I met the Gold Dragon. It did not reveal itself at first. I could only hear its voice and it showed me the past," Lucien said.

Euphemia looked worried. "Are you all right?"

Lucien nodded. "It was terrible but I'm grateful to the Gold Dragon. It showed me the truth. My mother truly loved me. It wasn't her will that drove her to kill herself and all the servants."

"Then whose will was it?"

"The Queen. She must have been jealous because the King was attracted to my mother," Lucien said with a dark look.

"I'm not much help against the Queen but I'm here for you, Luci," Euphemia said, squeezing his hand. 

"Thank you, Euphee," Lucien said, squeezing her hand back gently. 

*

*

*

PLACK! 

Queen Celestinia slapped her son. His head turned to the side from the impact.

"You've let the Saintess escape. How could you?!" Celestinia screamed shrilly at Vincent. Gone was the melodic intonation she usually had while talking. 

The prince rubbed his throbbing cheek. "I don't know how she escaped but I'll find her. She's probably at the Duke's residence by now."

Celestinia glowered at him. "Such uselessness. I can't fathom how you can be king with that attitude of yours! You're a disgrace!" 

"My attitude?! I've been obedient to you, Mother! I'm doing everything you've told me yet you still won't declare me king!" Vincent shouted.

Celestinia looked disgusted. "Have you seen your eyes, son? They haven't turned to gold yet, have they? You have the nerve to call me out yet you haven't even been acknowledged as the heir. It's your fault for not buttering up your father before his demise."

"My fault?! It's your fault for always fighting with Father! He doesn't like me because he abhors you! He hates you so much he'd rather die than be with you!" Vincent shouted.

Celestinia gritted her teeth in rage. She was about to slap him again when a guard suddenly arrived.

"I beg your pardon for the interruption, Your Highnesses. Duke Ashburn and the Saintess have arrived. Shall we let them in?" The guard asked.

"What?! That's impossible! Unless . . . She must have healed him! Arghhh!" Celestinia screamed.

Vincent looked weary. "Shall we let them in, Mother?"

"Yes, let them in. Let them come to the throne room," Celestinia said, biting on her lip anxiously. 

"The Duke is probably no longer under your control, Mother. Your plan failed. Aren't you the useless one now?" Vincent said.

Celestinia glared at him. "If you weren't my son, I would have had you beheaded ages ago."

"If you weren't my mother, Father might have declared me as his heir," Vincent said with a shrug.

*

*

*

Queen Celestinia and Prince Vincent arrived in the throne room. Celestinia tried not to shiver from Lucien's intimidating gaze. He was looking at her like he was about to burn her alive. 

Before Celestinia could even begin to speak, Lucien's eyes suddenly turned to bright gold, and flames erupted from the sides of the throne.

WHOOSH!!! 

"Eeeeeekkkk!!!!!" 

"Aaaahhhhh!!!!!!" 

Celestinia and her son screamed.

The flames vanished and only a black burn mark remained on the ground.

"Y-you . . ." Celestinia stammered.

Lucien smiled in amusement. 

"I would like to re-introduce myself. I am Lucien Ashburn. I hold the title of duke and I am also the true heir to the throne, the rightful king of Aderlan," Lucien said, his eyes glowing.

"No way . . ." Vincent could only say.

"This can't be! Are you Reagan's illegitimate child?!" Celestinia screamed. 

"No, but the royal blood runs through my veins. I am his nephew, after all," Lucien said.

"But this has never happened before! The heir should be Vincent! The power of the Gold Dragon never skips!" Celestinia said.

Lucien smiled darkly. "The Gold Dragon must have not taken a liking to your son and chose to go to me instead."

"No! I don't allow this! Give it back! Give it to Vincent!" Celestinia screamed.

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

WHOOOSH!!! 

Flames erupted beside Celestinia.

"Eeeekkkk!!!"

She screamed again. The flames vanished.

"You do realize you cannot command me, right? Your disgusting slave power on me is gone and if people see my gold eyes, I'm sure you won't be living here anymore," Lucien said.

Celestinia and Vincent looked scared.

"Luci, do you wish to be king?" Euphemia asked, looking worried.

He was a legitimate heir of the throne. He did have the gold eyes as proof but did he actually want to be king?

Lucien's expression softened. "Do you want me to be king, Euphee?"

"I'm not sure. There's a lot to learn first on how to run a kingdom and you aren't that trusted yet by the citizens," Euphemia said.

Lucien nodded. That was true. He also felt that way. It wasn't his time to be king yet. The citizens of Aderlan believed that he had something to do with how his mother died in the fire and because of the queen, they're probably thinking that he's mad for burning his own mansion.

He would need to earn the trust of the people first. 

"I see. Then I won't claim the throne yet," Lucien said.

Celestinia and Vincent looked relieved. Lucien glared at them, his golden eyes flashed, and the two stiffened.

"I propose a truce," Lucien said.

"A truce?!" Celestinia said in disbelief.

"You shall no longer try to harm us or persuade my fiancée to be your son's wife. You shall leave us alone. In turn, I shall not yet claim the throne. For now, you shall declare King Reagan's death and hold a funeral befitting him. If you break these conditions, if you try to take my fiancée again, or use your disgusting slave power over us or over our friends, I shall reveal myself as the true heir to the throne sooner than you think," Lucien said.

"Mother, this is blackmail! You should not agree!" Vincent said.

WHOOOSH!!! 

Flames appeared again, but this time, it surrounded the queen and her son. The flames were higher than before. It was like a cage made of fire.

"Luci! Please don't kill them!" Euphemia said.

Lucien nodded.

"Yes, this is blackmail, I suppose. You don't have a choice but I am being generous already. If it weren't for my fiancée, I would have liked to see the two of you burning. Especially you, Queen," Lucien said.

He really wanted to see her burned to a crisp. He could still remember his mother's burned corpse. A flick of his finger and he could burn this disgusting queen too.

Euphemia squeezed his hand. 

He was her anchor. 

He shouldn't stoop to her level. 

He shall have her punished when he claims his throne and when he already has the trust and respect of the people. If he punished her now, he would just be labeled as a rebel. 

"I agree! I agree so please make this fire go away!" Celestinia said, looking like she was about to cry.

He narrowed his eyes at her. The flames began to lick the ends of her long golden hair. 

Celestinia screamed. 

The flames began to eat her hair going up and up until it reached her nape.

Lucien snapped his fingers. 

The flames vanished.

Celestinia's long golden hair was gone, her shining glory, leaving only tendrils of hair that almost didn't reach her nape. Her hair was so short now and it's ends were burned to black. 

She sobbed. She could still feel the heat that traveled up her hair. She thought she was going to die. 

"You shall not interfere with our matters. If your son makes a move again on my fiancé, I will make sure not only your hair is burned," Lucien said.

"Yes, yes, we agree. Just please. Please don't kill us," Celestinia pleaded. 

"And you, do you agree also?" Lucien asked with a steely gaze.

Vincent nodded uneasily. "Yes, I'll leave her alone."

"Then the truce shall begin now," Lucien said.

He was about to leave with Euphemia but then he remembered something.

"Prepare a mansion for us. The most beautiful one you can find. Get it from one your corrupt nobles if you need to. It is your fault that I no longer have my own mansion, right? Or maybe I should just live here instead?" Lucien said.

"No! I mean, yes! I shall give you the most beautiful mansion. I shall have it prepared right away. Thank you for your graciousness," Celestinia said in a panic.

Lucien and Euphemia left, while the queen and her son were still reeling from shock.

He did not get his revenge. Just as he said to the Gold Dragon. But he did get peace for himself and for Euphemia and for now, that was enough.

His mother wanted him to find happiness and with Euphemia by his side, he knew he would. 

*

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*

"My lady, it's not the proper place," Hansel said.

Rubiella arched an eyebrow. "You're making excuses and going back to your word."

"I mean, we are exposed here in the field in front of the burned mansion and we can't exactly do it here," Hansel said, his ears reddening.

Rubiella sighed. "Fine, you shall visit my room later instead."

"That's not . . .," Hansel began.

". . . proper. Of course, it isn't! But we won't get anywhere with you being all talk and being stiff when I'm asking for it!" Rubiella said, pointing her finger at him angrily. 

Hansel sighed and took Rubiella's hand. He began to walk and guided her behind the Ashburn mansion. The garden behind the mansion was miraculously untouched by the fire.

Rubiella's heart began to pound. Hansel was quiet and looked strangely determined. He guided her deeper in the garden where there were more trees. They arrived at an area where there was a marble bench under a tree. Hansel sat down and Rubiella sat beside him.

"Um, why did you bring me here? What if Euphee and the Duke arrive and they can't find us?" Rubiella asked.

"My lady, here is a place you can properly inspect me," Hansel said.

Rubiella's eyes widened. She bit her lip. She raised her hands to remove his eyeglasses slowly. His emerald green eyes shone brilliantly. She looked at his expression if he was against it but Hansel did not stop her. She removed his hair clasp and his light brown hair spilled down his shoulders.

She stared at him in awe for a while. He was so handsome. She wasn't even sure where to begin. 

"Have you finished looking, my lady? I feel that you have already finished inspecting me with your eyes," Hansel said with a mischievous smile, his face getting closer to hers.

Rubiella could not form an answer. What was she supposed to do again? His face was so close to hers. Her mind couldn't form a coherent thought. 

"Can I inspect you too, my lady?" Hansel asked as he brought down his lips to hers.