The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation novel Chapter 336

KATHERINE

"It was about an hour ago. The Duke carried you in his arms. Imagine my shock—I was scared, thinking you were hurt or something. What exactly happened?" she questioned me, looking worried.

"Wait, first tell me about the child. Is she okay? Did anything happen to her while I was gone? The butler…?"

"No, no. Lavinia is fine. She’s practicing with her piano teacher in the library. She’s been quite well-behaved—she’s not even asking about that awful governess anymore," Nana reassured me, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I threw off the covers and let my bare feet dangle off the bed.

It seemed Nana had removed my old, ragged clothes because now I was in pajamas.

"Well… where should I start?" I sighed and began telling her about the little adventure the Duke and I had just been through.

"Hmm, the Duke is a tough bone to crack. You almost had him, but he rejected you at the last moment. Looks like he favors you a little more, but that’s not enough," she said with a disappointed grimace.

She should have seen how I felt about it.

"Also, child… a woman came by one day. Very beautiful, burgundy hair, pale white skin—she looked refined, almost like a porcelain doll," she began to recount.

I could already imagine who it was.

"She came asking for the Duke. What caught my attention was how everyone treated her with such respect. She practically seemed more like the lady of the castle than you did when you first arrived pretending to be Rossella."

"She’s his mistress, isn’t she?"

"That’s what it seems," Nana said, frowning. "Katherine, you need to be on guard. I only saw her for a moment, but you could see the ambition in her eyes."

"Nana, just tell me already. I’ve made up my mind. What is it that you need to show me?" I asked directly.

She paused, then stood up and even walked over to the sitting area to check the door.

All this secrecy was making me nervous.

"Listen carefully, child. Your witch blood comes from your mother," she said, shaping the words with her mouth as if speaking a forbidden truth.

That was something I had already suspected.

"Your father… he knew. He discovered it and used some of her abilities to his advantage. But when she gave birth, I was there. I left her alone for just a moment to take you both to another room—you were born so weak…"

She delved into the past, her eyes clouding over, turning red with the ghosts of her memories.

"When I returned, I found her dead, a pool of blood spreading from between her legs. I was sure I had controlled the hemorrhaging… I was sure. I tried everything, but it was too late," she murmured, her hands trembling as she covered her face.

She glanced at the locked door once more, just to be sure.

Then, she placed a small book in my outstretched hand—it looked like a journal.

I carefully opened it. The pages were so old, yellowed, as if they would crumble at any moment.

"Nana, I can’t understand what it says. What is this?" I examined the scribbles, the strange symbols.

"Your mother knew the code to unlock it. Don’t ask me how—I don’t know. But inside, there are many useful magical spells. Look, look at this little note—it has the code. Memorize it and then destroy it, Kath," she whispered, leaning in, gesturing as we spoke.

It seemed so incredible and dangerous. I had no idea how Nana had the courage to keep something so incriminating.

"This particular spell," she pointed at a page, "I once helped your mother prepare it. It’s like a powder that induces a deep sleep. Whoever consumes it will fall into a trance for a while—you can do whatever you want with them, and when they wake up, they won’t remember a thing."

We exchanged glances, both well aware of just how useful that powder could be right now.

"Will… that still work if he’s in that state?" I asked, a little embarrassed, but my concern was genuine.

"Well, that’s for you to figure out. Don’t expect me to come help you, do you?" she scoffed mockingly, and I couldn’t help but let out a slightly nervous laugh.

"Here you go," she said, handing me a small pouch of dark fabric.