Chapter 443 - 443: Trap
"Think! Think and tell me where she could be. Because one thing I'm certain about is that she's inside the Royal Palace. Where in the Palace? That's the question."
"I don't know. From what I knew, she should be inside her room. Maybe she went for a walk outside? I can only guess at this point."
"Did she often go for walks at night?"
"I'm not sure.. I don't spend my might here, but I don't think I've seen her out the night before. I-i don't know what to say. I told you everything you asked, but from this point on, I'm not sure about anything! Please let me go."
The maid dropped to the ground as tears filled her beautiful eyes.
"I wish I could, but we didn't find Milena. There's a good chance we might not find her tonight. And that would mean that we'll go back empty handed tonight. Leaving you alive would only be a problem for us later since I don't want anyone to know we came here," Lucifer answered, shaking his head.
He slowly took off the black glove of his right hand and turned around.
"I swear I won't tell anyone about you!"
"If only swears worked..." Lucifer muttered, sighing. "I apologize in advance."
"You can still help us though. If you can help us find Milena in an hour, we won't have to kill you," he asked, stopping his fingers just a few inches away from her face. "So, now do you know where Milena might be?"
"S-she must have gone on a walk! Let's check the special garden in the palace. That's her favorite place. She might be there!" The maid let out, grasping at the last chance of life.
"Let's try that as well," Lucifer smiled, retracting his hand. Instead, he walked over to the bodies of the Nobles and Decayed them, leaving no trace behind them.
Watching the two Nobles being destroyed to the core, the woman understood what would have happened if Lucifer had touched her. Her heart started beating fast.
She pushed her body up and led the path to the garden.
The Royal Garden was a special place in the Palace, which was the favorite place of Milena. Everyone knew this fact. Even though there were no rare flowers in the garden, Milena still loved that place.
Milena didn't allow any person to enter the garden, but with her life in danger, the maid didn't care about anything else. She simply led Lucifer to the garden.
Milena had strictly told everyone to never enter the garden, and no one dared to break her commands. That's why there was no need for security in that place.
The only thing which protected the garden was a metallic door that could only be opened by the key, which only Milena possessed.
The maid brought Lucifer to the door and tried pushing it, finding it locked.
"It's locked. She isn't here either," She informed Lucifer. "I know; she might be on the balcony. I heard she loves the dark nights. Tonight is one; maybe she'll be there?"
The maid brought Lucifer to many places, which all led to failure. No matter where she brought them, they couldn't find Milena. In essence, they searched the entire palace for the most part, except checking the private rooms, but Milena was nowhere.
Searching for so long, even Salazar was starting to get tired. He looked at the time on his clock, sighing.
"It's already four. Soon, it'll be bright outside. We can't afford to stay here for long since Feronia would go to the Palace to bring us. I think we should leave," he informed Lucifer.
"I was thinking the same. We aren't going to find her tonight, it seems," Lucifer agreed. "Tonight was a failure. I wonder where Milena is hiding."
"I-i... can I try again? I think she might be in the painting room? We still didn't check that?" The maid let out, feeling scared. She could feel extremely close to death.
"Fine. Lead us to that place. But that will be the last time," Lucifer nodded.
He and Salazar followed the maid who stopped in front of a plain white door.
"Inside that room. You can go in," the maid told Lucifer, staying back.
She was petrified, but she also knew that it was her last chance. She couldn't give up. She needed to take Lucifer and Salazar out now since she knew she couldn't find Milena at this point.
"Go ahead," she told Lucifer. "It is also her favorite place since she loves to paint. I'm sure she'll be there."
Nodding, Lucifer pushed the door open and stepped inside. He went deep inside the dark hall, unable to find anyone.
"She's more here either," he muttered, shaking his hand. He turned back to leave.
Tuck!
As soon as Lucifer started going back, he felt like he had hit something. It was some kind of black barrier which appeared out of nowhere before him, blocking him.
"What is it?" He muttered, confused. "Why would the painting room have a barrier like that? Wait, did she scheme against me?"
"He hasn't come out yet; I think he might have found Her Majesty. But for him to still not come out? It seems like he should be caught," the maid told Salazar outside the hall.
Since the hall was so dark, even Salazar wasn't able to see inside safely.
"It's indeed odd that he hasn't returned. You stay here; I'll check inside," Salazar told the maid who sighed in the background.
She was relieved that the plan was working. Lucifer was trapped, and now Salazar was going to be trapped too. Then she could run away and bring the nobles here to help her.
She eagerly waited for Salazar to enter the place. Her heartbeat grew slightly faster as she waited for the moment he was inside.
"Tell me one thing though. Why would Milena be in a painting room which doesn't have any light? No one can paint in such darkness. Her presence here doesn't make sense. Why would she be here?" Salazar asked, frowning, turning around.
"Ah..."
"What happened? Why are you so stunned?"
"Ah, nothing. I was just thinking about how to say it correctly, but she has a power that helps her see in darkness. That's why she paints in a dark room," the maid replied.
"It might look dark to you, but to Her Majesty, it's a perfectly lit room. That must be why she managed to catch your friend so easily," she further added.
She didn't tell Salazar to go inside since she didn't want to make him suspicious. She wanted him to do it on his own here.