Jealousy reared its ugly head in her, but Avice had to control it. Now wasn't the time. she had to defend herself and for that she was going to throw Emma under the carriage. Avice had to do something to save herself. If this was proven, then she would be hanged. Why were things going down when all she wanted was some happiness?
"I swear that she gave it to me!" she said in a shaky voice. "She insisted that I take it because she wants to give something to us and she is afraid that Lord Lazarus wouldn't give anything to us."
Yul took a step closer to her in an intimidating way. "How dumb can you be, Lady Avice?" Yul grated. "Lord Lazarus would give anything to Emma if she wishes. You very well know that he intends to marry her and he wouldn't give her such small things? Emma has the whole treasure lying at her feet. Haven't you seen how she dresses up? If she wishes to part with anything, and I mean any of that treasure, Lord Lazarus wouldn't lift a finger. I am sure you have already seen the necklace she gave to Angus. Did Lord Lazarus take it back from him?"
Avice's mouth opened as she tried to say something in her defense, but no words came out. Though Yul insulted her, Avice came to know one thing very nicely and that was that Emma had a lot of treasure. "I think— I think, you should ask Emma as to why she gave all those items to me," she said at last. She just couldn't agree to the theft. If she took the blame, she was scared that Lazarus would ban her from coming to the palace, or worse— the king would hang her.
"I knew you won't confess!" Yul said. "But Lady Avice, you forget that vampires have this uncanny sense of smell. This bag is yours and it doesn't smell of Emma at all. Even the artifacts have your distinct smell. How is it that Emma picked them up and they smell of you? Besides, Emma would give you jewelry, not these cheap items. How dare you lower Emma's status like this?" he growled. "It is proven that you are the one who stole the items and so it is up to the king to deal with it."
Ground slipped beneath her feet. "This is unfair!" she shouted. "I am telling you that I haven't stolen them. It was Emma who gave them to me!"
Yul narrowed his eyes. "What all is in the bag?"
Avice quickly blurted out whatever there was in the bag. "Emma gave me all those!"
Yul shook his head. "I am yet to see a woman like you."
"What do you mean?" Avice said, not sure of his attitude.
Yul traced away from there much to Avice's shock and within a minute came back with Emma. Emma clutched Yul hard not to fall down. When she regained her balance, he asked her, "Do you know what all items are missing from the palace?"
"How would I know, Yul?" she said and took a deep breath in. She left him and went to sit on the bed. Lately, she wasn't feeling well. She didn't know why.
"Come on, Emma. Why wouldn't you know?" Yul pushed her.
"Stop with this nonsense, Yul!' Emma chided her. "I don't know anything about the missing items and please send me back to my room. All this tracing makes me dizzy. I feel like vomiting. If you want to know so much about them, why don't you ask the guards? They will be in a better position to identify them."
Yul shifted his gaze to Avice who was clearly shaking out of fear. She rushed to Emma. "Emma!" she shook her. "What is wrong with you? Why can't you remember the items in the bag? It was you who gave them to me." This was Avice's last ditch effort to save herself. She hoped that Emma understood her predicament.
"What?" Emma said with a frown on her face. "Why will I give—" Before completing the sentence, she vomited all over Avice. Avice screamed with disgust as she rushed towards the bathroom to clean herself. This was getting messier.
"Emma!" Yul rushed to her. He picked her up and traced her back to her room where her maid took charge of her. Yul rushed to find Lazarus and called him. Healers were immediately summoned. Once Lazarus came to look after Emma, Yul left them and returned to Avice.
Avice, in the meanwhile, was plotting a way of escape. She climbed over the bathtub to reach the window. If she managed to get out of it, she would run away. The window was enough to wriggle out of it easily. Avice climbed the window and started wriggling out of it like a worm. With extreme difficulty she jutted her head out of it only to find that she was at least three stories high. If she jumped from here, she would kill herself. Whining, she slipped back in the bathroom, cursing her luck. She came out of it and saw Yul standing in the center of the room with his eyebrow raised.
"You can't escape," he growled. "You were trying to blame Emma. You see that Emma doesn't know that you have stolen the artifacts. All she knows is that some pieces from the palace are missing. She doesn't know which pieces. That was the reason I called her. Your lie is detected and you are at the king's mercy now."
"No!" Avice ran to him and sank on her knees. Her lie was caught. She hated Emma for not understanding her position. She was going to deal with her later. "I am so sorry!" she begged with her hands clasped. "I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have stolen the artifacts. But you see, Lord Yul, we are very poor. We hardly have money to live in luxury like you. I only did all this for my family, for my son. Please, please save me." She started crying and howling and then leaned over to hold his legs.
Yul moved back. "Finally, you have accepted your sin. I am sorry, but this is not in my hands anymore. The guard will escort you to your room and you will wait there until the king's judgment." Saying that Yul walked out even as Avice cried and sobbed.
The guards came to her with their spears and bared their fangs to intimidate her. She trembled seeing their fangs and got up, muttering curses. She wondered if she could bribe the guards and leave the palace quietly.
When she reached her room, she saw that Angus wasn't there. She asked the guards, "Where is my son?"
"He is with Lady Emma," he replied and started to close the door. "Don't think of escaping Lady Avice," he warned her. "There are guards all around this room." He closed the door on her pale face.
Avice walked inside with a heavy heart. Her feet felt like boulders were tied to them. Her gaze drifted under the bed where she had stashed the bag. It wasn't there. She sat down on her bed and started crying again. The king would surely behead her.
But what happened next was beyond her dreams.
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