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Standing in front of Europe’s most beautiful Baroque complexes, Vienna’s Schoenbrunn Palace. He, the devil gazes upon the place that once was. Memories flooded into his mind, reminding him that this was the place where it taught him that some lies were necessary, some truths were meant to be.
Centuries ago, he made a promise to himself to never step foot into that palace ever again.
Yet here he was, breaking that inner promise to infiltrate the palace under his master’s command. Tonight, he’d be in the same ballroom he once held, danced, and drank. He cannot deny the hurt that’s been slowly seeping into his heart—if he ever grew another one—whenever he was reminded of this place.
His mission in Schoenbrunn Palace was simple: gather intel, secure the evidence toward Marquis Everdeen, the man behind one of the biggest smuggling rings in London, and deliver the information safely back to his master’s home.
It was a night that was meant to be a swift operation.
However, the moment he caught a wisp of that familiar silhouette, the mission was cast away into a mere afterthought. This figure, a familiar, nostalgic feeling, has become his immediate focus.
He couldn’t explain how his body moved on its own, to follow the trail back home.
His home.
Sauntering across the crowd, he made way to where the silhouette strode. Without wasting any more minutes, he took the opportunity to take the empty spot beside her.
Naturally, she noticed him, eyes once downcast turn to gaze at him.
“Devil.” She slowly grinned at him, a smile so pure.
He found himself rendered speechless by the woman’s casual familiarity despite being the same woman who left him hanging in the gutters.
She was similar to a ghost, he thought.
Deciding to simply play along, “.. Angel.” To his reluctance, dread followed. Regardless of his body’s initial reaction, there was a sense of relief that swirled within him despite the unfamiliarity from years of separation.
Maybe estranged was a better word.
Although for him, no matter the word, the pain it brought was all the same.
After all, he was always the one first to break composure with a bitter snide, “I didn’t know ghosts could exist.”
Instead of replying, she only laughed at his remark.
Squinting her eyes at him, she replied, “.. Look at that, weren’t you groveling once for this ghost to come back?”
“You can’t fool me.” She leaned onto the balcony railings to really look at him. “Admit it, you missed me.”
“.. I don’t, I don’t miss a stranger, much less a ghost.” He stubbornly insisted, and yet despite his claims, he couldn’t even look her in the eye in the first place.
The devil, so human under the scrutiny of an angel.
“Come on, even I can’t keep on laughing at your futile deflection, devil.” Rolling her eyes, she propped herself on her elbow.
With a scowl, he slowly looked at her, at his.
And.. Oh, there he goes again, falling in love in ways he can’t help himself.
His head demanded him to be logical, to be a bit more cynical.
But his heart will always betray him.
“Flustered, are we?” Reaching to capture his face, “Is the devil finally going to admit it?”
He pulls away as soon as the palm of her hand touches his jaw.
“No.” A firm denial, he deliberately took a step back. “No one is going to fall for your petty tricks.”
The movement bewildered her. The tension simmered between them, silence spoke volumes in ways that begged for nimble answers.
Taking a deep breath, “Tell me, why are you here?” He jabbed. “What’s the motive?”
“It’s simple.” She says.
In his eyes, all he saw was whatever they had before. It hurt him, yes. From the moment he followed her here, all of his coherence flipped over into a gush of wind.
“I missed you.”
Ah.
“I doubt that.”
“Don’t doubt me.” She went even closer, this time without a warning, she grabbed his shoulders. “I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”
“Shall we catch up?”
He wished.
“It’s not as easy as you think.”
Coaxing him, “Then we’ll start again.”
He wished that he could believe her, hoping it was not a whim. Please, never leave me again. The devil would let this ghost possess him if it meant having a soul to keep for the rest of his existence.
The devil, so hopelessly in love.
Fin.