A/N: I must say I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter. It was the hardest to write, and it's probably not what you expected it to be. I had a lot of fun writing Natalia, though, and I regret that I couldn't expand on her and Lovino's life as a couple.

– CHAPTER 3 –

The Worst and the Best Nights

The wedding was a rather awkward affair. The Russos had invited a bunch of nobles Lovino had never seen before. All those eyes on him, judging him, would have been enough for him to wish the floor would open up and swallow him whole. On the groom's side of the church, the young women kept bursting into tears and sobs that, together, could be heard throughout the church. Whether they were just touched by the sheer beauty of the ceremony or mourning their chances with Lovino, no one knew. Antonio only made things worse by constantly lamenting that Feliciano wasn't here to witness his own brother's wedding. Lovino couldn't even punch him this time, lest he caused a scene.

On top of all that, the bride was late to arrive – much, much later than was normal for any bride – and Lovino feared that she had changed her mind about obeying her father and would not be coming after all. Then, when she finally arrived, he almost wished she hadn't. She didn't even try to disguise her anger; even Father Vinicius was taken aback when a vicious "yes, I do" was snarled from under her veil at the traditional question. Lovino was very glad when it was all over.

The worst part, however, came exactly that night. The ceremony had really been a breeze compared to their honeymoon, when they were supposed to consummate their marriage. Lovino was honestly trying to make the best out of it. Avoiding her murderous eyes, he began to undress her in an almost business-like fashion. He was a little bit daunted when she responded by literally tearing his clothes off, looking as though she were tearing his skin off.

"All right, let's get this over with," she said through gritted teeth, tensing and recoiling when he touched her as if he were a leper.

"Try to relax, then," he muttered, appraising her bare body. Maybe he was biased, influenced by her disagreeable personality, but she didn't look as attractive under those pretty clothes as he had expected. He closed his eyes for a moment.

Suddenly, he caught a glint out of the corner of his eye and, next thing he knew, something very sharp and cold was touching his inner thigh. He froze. Either he had been more ignorant of female anatomy than he had ever thought possible, or...

His gaze slid down her body and saw the very sharp knife.

"What the fuck?" he burst out and just stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

"Hurt me and I'll cut them off," said Natalia tonelessly.

"What—You can't—I mean, that's not—Where did you—" Natalia seemed to specially proficient at rendering Lovino incoherent. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the threat below. "Look," he began in what he believed was a sufficiently reasonable tone, "I swear to God I'll try to be gentle, but if I'm quite honest, I've never—never really done this before—" these words came out a little choked "—and I'm pretty sure that the first time usually hurts no matter how careful—"

"I don't think you understood this very simple thing," said Natalia. Then, very slowly, she repeated, "Hurt me... and I'll cut – them – off."

Lovino began to sweat, and not in a pleasant, aroused way at all. "Look, if you do that, we'll never have any heirs—"

"That is your problem, not mine. You are the man of the family now. It is your duty to make sure your family's legacy is passed on."

"I don't think that's—"

"Did I ask for your opinion? Now, get on with it. I'm tired, and I want this horrible day to be over."

"Okay... okay, okay, fine. Can you—can you just please put that knife away? I don't think I can concentrate like that."

"No. I'm not an idiot, you know. Deal with it. Oh, and don't even think of doing anything stupid like try to wrestle it out of my hand, or I will kill you."

In the end, they couldn't do it.

oOo

Several days passed, and every night ended in frustration. Even when Lovino finally convinced Natalia not to bring any sharp objects to the bed, they still couldn't finish what they had started. Even when Natalia was in a relatively good mood and spouted no insults or threats and didn't glare at him too much, even when she was actually in the mood, after a good dose of liquor, it did them no good. Frustration quickly turned into worry and then finally evolved into full-blown panic. Natalia had already become willing, so the problem had to be him. There was no other explanation.

"You're being too hard on yourself, Lovino," Antonio told him when they both met at the local inn once again.

"I'm telling you, there has got to be something very wrong with me!" Lovino beckoned at his friend to lean in closer and whispered, "It's just that I—I don't feel anything when I look at her. I mean, she isn't ugly. I thought that just by looking at her and touching her I'd feel at least something! Isn't that how it works? But I feel nothing. That—that can't be a good sign, Antonio! I-I'm beginning to question my nature. D'you—I mean, honestly, do you think I'm a—" he choked up, so frightened he was by his own thoughts.

However, Antonio simply laughed in that good-natured way of his and slapped Lovino's back. "Lovino, my friend, just calm down! There is nothing wrong with you! I mean, except maybe that foul temper of yours – you really shouldn't swear so much, you know – and you really should learn to see the good side of things, and maybe you could be a little nicer to people who aren't pretty girls, and sure, you might be a little too violent sometimes," he babbled. "But that aside, there's nothing wrong with you! You were just turned off by your wife's personality and threats. Who wouldn't be, really?"

"How can you be so sure? I bet you don't even believe your own words! You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?"

"I'll prove it to you!" Antonio leant back on his chair, utterly undisturbed. "I'll prove to you that this is Natalia's fault and that there's nothing wrong with you."

At first, Lovino was doubtful. Then, when Antonio dragged him out of the inn and led him to a more remote, shady part of the town, he felt progressively wary.

"Antonio? Just where the hell are you taking me, Antonio?" he demanded to know.

"You'll know when we get there," replied Antonio in a sing-song tone.

"This place looks a little dangerous. I feel as though someone is going to jump us from a corner at any moment now and rob us. I'm rich now, I'm an easy target!"

"It's okay. I'll protect you," Antonio reassured him – rather condescendingly, in Lovino's opinion – and patted him on the head as if he were a little kid. Lovino would have kicked him where it really hurt right then, if only Antonio hadn't suddenly announced, "Ah, here we are!"

They stood before a small, run-down building that Lovino would have never even dreamt of approaching under any other circumstances. In fact, he still had a very bad feeling about all this, but before he could voice an objection, Antonio pushed the door open and pulled Lovino inside.

The abrupt change in the air was almost overwhelming. Lovino felt his eyes water and his throat close up at the bitter smell of tobacco mixed in with cheap, sickly sweet perfume and God knew what else. There appeared to be a layer of smoke around that made everything look slightly blurry.

"What is this place?" he quietly asked, although he thought he had an idea and one look at his surroundings would have made it quite obvious. He dared not take his eyes off the floor, though. "Have you been here before?"

"Of course! This is where I've been coming almost every night while you were with Natalia. I'll introduce you a certain someone. She's amazing. Valentina!" she shouted out suddenly, startling Lovino. "Hey, Valentina! C'mere! I want you to meet my friend!"

Approaching steps.

"He's cute," said the voice in a quiet, almost awed tone.

Lovino could no longer resist his curiosity and lifted his gaze off the floor to look at the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen in his life. She was the fiancée he had envisioned before actually meeting Natalia Russo. Her skin had a slight, healthy tan and her jet-black hair fell in wavy locks around her shoulders, just the way Lovino liked and in stark contrast to Natalia's ghostly complexion and dull, almost white hair which hung straight down from her head.

She also did something that Natalia had never done in his presence; she smiled. And it wasn't the dreamy, too-wide grin that most girls in town often gave him. It was just a pleasant, relaxed smile that one would wear upon meeting an old childhood friend. For some reason, this kind of smile felt a hundred times more flattering than the silly grins he was used to.

However, none of that changed the fact that this woman was a whore.

At this point, his face must have been red as a tomato – especially if the way he felt like a human torch was anything to go by – because even his eternally oblivious friend seemed to noticed it. Antonio took one look at him and laughed before leaning closer and whispering, "You like her, don't you? I knew you would!"

Trying his best to ignore Valentina's presence, Lovino turned to glare at Antonio and struggled to get the words out. "Antonio. This has got to be the stupidest idea you have ever had, which, considering it's you, is saying something!"

"Aww, don't be like that," said Antonio. "Valentina is a very nice girl. Trust me, you're going to love her. She will make this the best night of your entirely life." He began to gently push Lovino towards the patiently waiting Valentina, but didn't make much progress when Lovino planted his heels on the floor and refused to budge. Unfortunately for Lovino, though, Antonio was a lot stronger than him and won out in the end.

"Didn't you want me to prove to you that there's nothing wrong with you?" insisted Antonio.

"No, no, this a horrible idea!"

"You're being silly. Just go, don't be so stubborn."

This might have developed into a (rather one-sided) brawl, had Valentina not stepped in between both men right then to hold Lovino's arm and gently coax him to accompany her.

"It's okay, don't worry, I'll make it worth your while," she kept reassuring him. If it had been a man daring to touch him and trying to break the fight apart, Lovino would have shrugged them off and maybe struck them in the gut for good measure, with the addition of yelling some choice words that would have made a pirate blush. However, when it was such a beautiful, delicate girl, smiling so softly at him, even if she didn't have a very respectable job, he just couldn't bring himself to be rude to her. Before he knew it, he was standing in a dark, secluded room, alone with Valentina. There was a bed in the room, he noted.

He stood there for a moment, speechless and unsure of what he should do. He still had half a mind to turn around and flee out of the door, and then kill Antonio in a slow and painful way for bringing him here.

"I never took you for the shy, prudish type," she said, with a quiet giggle, as she stood so close to him that he could feel the warmth of her breath. "Then again, I heard you used to be a novice, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised."

"Did Antonio tell you that?" he asked, scowling. "I'm a little disturbed that he has been talking about me while you two were doing—unmentionable things together."

She laughed again, a light, fluttering sound. "Antonio doesn't seek my company just for that. He's not that kind of man. Besides, the whole town has heard about the marriage of the mysterious count's daughter with the handsome novice." She looked at him for a moment, paused, and grinned. "You really look adorable when you pout like that, you know."

"What the hell? I do not pout!" he snapped.

He tried to stay angry, because he most definitely did not want to be here and thought this was a terrible idea, but it was difficult to focus on his anger when slender, warm hands touched the sides of his head and red, full lips whispered against his, "I don't usually do it like this, but I really like you, so you get special treatment."

Her hands slid down his body and took hold of his hands to guide them around her waist. That was when his hands seemingly began to move of their own accord to explore her body, savouring the curves of her figure and the smoothness of her skin, mirrored by the way his tongue was now exploring hers. Slowly, he began to relax. This was nothing strange to him; he had rather often done this with a few lucky girls whenever he'd known he could get away with it – and occasionally when there had been a risk of being caught.

At some point, her hands had also started roaming his body and removing his clothes. Or, perhaps more accurately, she removed only the more superfluous items of clothing and the first layer; when she stopped, he was still fully covered, whereas she had already been discharged of most of her clothes. Lovino only noticed all this when she pulled away from him, as if she were trying to show him something, or offer him a choice. He wasn't really in any condition to interpret her actions at the moment, though; all coherent thought had long vanished from his mind.

Seeing that he wasn't going anywhere, Valentina pulled him towards the bed, where she lay down and disposed of the last layer of clothing on her person. Lovino froze at the sight, his throat going dry. She really had to be the most gorgeous woman in the world, too perfect to be true. She was beauty personified. He would have believed this was all a delicious dream, but the burning sensation below his waist suddenly became too intense for this to be just a dream. All doubt and nervousness that had remained up to this point was now gone. Without thinking, he joined Valentina on the bed and for once allowed himself to stop worrying and enjoy the moment.

oOo

Although it was a indubitable fact that Lovino was lazy, he had always been an early bird, so to speak. Even before he had joined the order at the monastery as a novice and been expected to be up long before sunrise, even when he had been a little child, he would always wake up before anyone else. This morning was no different. However, just because he had the habit of waking up early did not mean he actually had to get up from bed. When he could, he would often spend some minutes – or even an entire hour – just lying on the bed and enjoying the bliss of that hazy state of mind between unconsciousness and wakefulness.

He spent a good while there, not thinking about anything at all, just revelling in this moment of pure bliss. He had no idea what time it was or how long he lay there; it could have been hours, as far as he was concerned. He only awoke fully and opened his eyes when Valentina stirred and rolled over next to him, making the mattress bounce a little. Lovino also shifted so he was lying on his side and facing Valentina. God, even when she was just awakening, before she had the chance to brush her hair and wash up, she still looked so beautiful.

"'Morning," she whispered at him sleepily, her eyes half-lidded. "You're up already? It's too early."

"'Morning," he responded with a smile, then frowned. "Say, is it... usual for your... clients to stay here till morning like this?" he asked slowly, hesitantly.

Valentina gave him a drowsy smile and shook her head vaguely. "I told you, you get special treatment."

He returned her smile and gently traced a finger down her cheek and around her chin; it was a bit like touching silk. Valentina blushed slightly at the gesture and scooted up closer to him, her slender arms snaking around his waist. Lovino then began to brush her hair, which was as soft and pleasant to the touch as her skin. She watched him for a moment, looking as though she wanted to say something but didn't know if she should.

"I think I love you," she finally confessed.

Lovino paused in his ministrations, taken aback. His smile wavered, but did not disappear. Her words left him quite dismayed and at a bit of a loss. Honestly, women could say the silliest things. She couldn't possibly love him for real; it just didn't work that way. They had only known each other for a few hours, and even during most of those hours, they had barely talked to each other. She could certainly think he was an interesting, handsome man, someone she would like to be meet on a regular basis, and that relationship might eventually develop into something deeper. That was how these things happened, as far as he knew. There was certainly no such thing as love at first sight. Love in itself was a dubious thing to him, so love at first sight could certainly never be anything but a flimsy, passing fancy.

So, either her words were empty, meant for flattery, or she was infatuated with him, like so many girls before her. Whatever it was, Lovino couldn't take her words seriously. On the other hand, how was he supposed to respond to them? Did she actually expect him to reply with a sappy, "I love you, too"? Even if he had loved her, he doubt he could have said that with a straight face. Yet, at the same time, he didn't want to disappoint her.

"I... I really like you, too," he compromised, resuming his caresses and brushing locks of hair off her dark eyes. "I wish we could stay like this forever." This much was the pure truth. He didn't need to love her to want to stay with her and repeat last night's experience, after all. That was one of the reasons why he was disinclined to let her down; what if she got mad at him and said she didn't want to see him any more? That would be such a shame. Worse yet, what if, on top of that, she started to cry? One of the things Lovino hated the most was seeing a girl cry. It never failed to cut right through his heart.

The blush gracing Valentina's face became even pronounced at his words, her smile even more delighted. In a flash, as if she had been holding back for quite a while, she planted a kiss on his lips. Then, more calmly and passionately, she leant in for another, more prolonged one, which Lovino returned wholeheartedly. He really liked the way this was heading, as he had been looking forward to revisiting last night's paradise.

He was vaguely aware of some stomping and unintelligible yelling outside the room, but didn't pay it any mind until the yelling was coming from right the other side of the door, accompanied by insistent knocks. Now that the voice was close and loud enough, Lovino could recognise it as Antonio's voice, shouting his name.

"Lovino! Lovino! If you're here, please open the door! Lovino!"

"Our friend Antonio sounds very troubled," Valentina pointed out, a note of concern entering her voice.

Lovino, for his part, was too annoyed to be the least bit concerned. With a grunt, he fished for his clothes and hurriedly put them on. Once he was decent enough, he threw the door open and shouted, "What the hell do you want?"

"Lovino!" Antonio wasn't at all relieved to find his friend. If anything, he looked even more dismayed, as if he were the one who had been interrupted by Lovino. "So you did spend the night here! I—I was hoping you'd gone home on your own!"

"I don't see how that's any of your fucking business," Lovino snarled and prepared to slam the door on Antonio's face, but the older man stopped him.

"Listen, I was thinking—"

"Wow! No wonder you're so distressed! Pushing yourself so hard like that..."

"Something horrible occurred to me!" said Antonio, completely ignoring the sarcasm. "You have to go home as quickly as possible!"

Lovino faltered. "Why?" he asked in a more subdued tone as concern finally began to tug at him. "Did something happen?"

"Lovino, you can't afford to stay in a brothel for as long as you like! You're a married man! You have to be more careful from now on!"

For a moment, Lovino could only stare at his panicking friend blankly, unable to comprehend what he was talking about. Then, it all came back to him. That was right; he was married now. He had married a count's daughter. He had honestly completely forgotten about her. As realisation dawned on him, he could feel his blood draining at all of the implications this entailed.

"If they find out about this—" said Antonio, mirroring his panic and voicing his exact thoughts. He didn't even need to specify who were they. "If they even suspect—" he seemed to be having trouble finishing his sentences, which was only natural, for the rest of them was painfully obvious and too horrific to contemplate.

Oh, God! Oh, God, what had he done? He was going to die. He was a dead man. No, he was worse than dead. "Dead" would have been too simple. He was doomed.

"Goddammit, Antonio, this is all your fault!" he lashed out irrationally and hurried to pick up the rest of his clothes.

"Will you come back to see me again?" asked Valentina, who either didn't understand what was going on or just didn't care.

"Yes, yes, of course, I'll come back as soon as I can," Lovino reassured her without really thinking, even as part of him cynically wondered if it was really worth the risk of castration and death by torture at the hands of an insane witch. He dared not even think about what said witch's father would do.

oOo

Some time after they left the brothel, the rush of panic began to fade and slowly give way for rationality to return. There was still a good chance no one would ever find out. The sun had already risen, but it was still quite early in the morning, and unlike Lovino, Natalia was no early bird. If he made it to the manor in time, she would never even suspect something was amiss. Even if she did find out, somehow, that Lovino had been absent during the night and had come into the manor early in the morning, he could come up with some excuse about how he couldn't sleep at night – easily believable, since she had often woken up in the middle of the night to find him wide awake or wandering the manor with a case of insomnia – and how, for that reason, he had decided to go outside for a stroll in that sorry excuse for a garden.

Indeed, there was no need to worry. No one would suspect a thing. Or so he kept telling himself during the journey home, though even his own reassurances didn't make him feel much better.

The manor was eerily quiet when he stepped inside. It looked like even the servants were still asleep, so it must have been even earlier in the morning than Lovino had thought. That was good. Tentatively, he began to make his way to their bedroom. He almost wished Antonio was with him – even if that man was mostly useless, his presence would be comforting – but Antonio had insisted that he should enter the manor through the back door. Lovino was quite convinced that Antonio didn't plan to enter the manor at all and had only come up with an excuse to run away and save his own skin, the stupid coward.

Thanks to his annoyance towards Antonio and the fact that it was completely quiet in the manor, Lovino had begun to feel a little more confident. He no longer expected to see a knife-wielding, possessed doll jump at him from around the corner or from behind the curtains. Which was why, when he opened the door across the main hall and found himself only two feet from Natalia's unamused face, he let out a very unmanly shriek and jumped out of his skin.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing here?" he panted, gripping his chest to prevent his hammering heart from breaking through.

"I live here," was her quiet answer as she stepped forward. That was when Lovino realised he had been backing away. Even after this realisation, he didn't stop moving backwards. His gaze immediately searched for her hands, which were both visible and thankfully empty.

"Oh, of course, I know that," he babbled and coughed to clear his throat. "I just meant, um, what are you doing, you know, right here?"

"I was waiting for you."

"Oh? Is there something you want to talk about with me?"

"Indeed. Well, not so much talk as ask you a simple question, really." Her features softened all of a sudden and she gave him a rather contemplative look. "It's something I am very curious to know, and I have been pondering it for quite a while now."

Lovino frowned, intrigued. "O-okay. Go ahead, then."

And in the blink of an eye, her features twisted again into a scowl, except this time it looked more vicious and hateful than any other time before. Her right hand reached behind her back and whipped out a gun, which she aimed right between his eyes and made him nearly jump out of his skin again. It was such a hellish sight that he half-expected her to breathe fire on him when she opened her mouth.

"Did you really think you could cheat on me and get away with it?" she asked in a snarl, grinding and twisting the words in her mouth so that they came out barely intelligible.

"What?" Lovino breathed out, too preoccupied with the gun aimed at his head to summon the words for a more intelligent reply. Outwardly, he was frozen, paralysed, but inwardly he was flailing in blind panic. She knows! How could she know? How did she find out? No, there's no way she can know for sure, she's just suspicious, she's bluffing, waiting for a confession, you can still get away with it, Lovino, come on, tell her the excuses you cooked up on your way here, come on, Lovino, say something, SAY SOMETHING, damn you!

Nothing came out of his mouth, though. He might have had better luck dealing with this woman if she had been threatening him with a knife as usual, but never had he expected her, such a delicate-looking young lady, to have a gun. This was very different from a knife, against which he would still have had a chance. One wrong move now and he was done for.

"Don't even try to deny it. I had spies follow your every step ever since we got married. They told me all about your little escapade last night," Natalia explained. "No one cheats on a Russo and gets away with it, do you hear me? No one!" she screeched, quickly losing her cool. The hand that held the gun began to shake. "God help me, I will make you pay! I will make you suffer, you son of a bitch! By the time I'm done with you, you will be begging me to send you straight to hell!"

"Wait—" he tried to say. An ominous click was heard, followed by an explosive sound, so loud that for one second Lovino thought his eardrums had burst and the entire house was collapsing on top of his dying form. When he gathered his wits again, the house was still firmly in place, he was lying on his back on the floor, shaken but uninjured, and he could hear the quick, rhythmic sound of Natalia's high heels coming closer.

All right, by some miracle he had dodged the first bullet, but he was sure he wouldn't be so lucky next time, and Natalia was already reloading her gun. Possibly, she hadn't been able to aim at him properly with a shaking hand, but now she had recovered her cool and wouldn't allow herself to miss her target a second time. Lovino crawled backwards and then managed to get on his feet. He wasn't even really thinking about what he was doing; he just trusted his legs to take him as far away from Natalia as possible while there was some time.

That soft click again, and another bullet was cutting through the air. Lovino was fortunate that he managed to take a turn around the corner so that the wall shielded him from the bullet.

"Third time is the charm," said Natalia serenely. "I wouldn't bother trying to run away if I were you. Even if you can get out of this house alive – which you won't, just so you know – you still have my father and my family's private army to deal with. We will hunt you down like the dog you are. Even if I have to spend the family's entire fortune for it, I will continue to haunt you forever and ever. You will never get rid of me. You will never have a moment of peace in your shortened, miserable life. So why don't you just give up and let me kill you now?"

While Natalia was reloading her gun and making that little speech, Lovino was crossing the living room. He knew he wouldn't be able to reach the next door in time, so he decided to take cover behind some heavy piece of furniture, but he wasn't quick enough and the next shot hit him on the right shoulder. He gasped at the burning sensation and curled up behind the couch. He clamped his hand on his injured shoulder, feeling warm wetness spilling around his trembling fingers. This was it. He wouldn't be able to keep running with such an injury. All he could do now was wait for his fate here. He let go of his shoulder to reach for his rosary and began to pray.

"You disgust me," he heard her say when she caught up with him. He only spared her a brief glance. "You're not even man enough to face death with your head held high, standing proud on your feet. And you call yourself a nobleman! You were never worthy to be part of this family in the first place. Pathetic!" she spat.

Lovino paused in his praying, struck deep by her words because he knew – had always known, deep down – that he was a coward, that he had always been weak and useless. He was suddenly reminded of his grandfather. Even as a noble youth, his grandfather had been notable for his bravery and skill not only when facing noble rivals in politics, but also when facing thieves and assassins who came after him. He had been his own bodyguard, never having to rely on anyone else, which earned him the admiration and respect from everyone who had heard of him, even from his enemies. What would his grandfather, such a strong, proud man, think if he could see his grandson now, cowering on his knees before a woman?

The thought didn't give him strength to stand up and face this threat like his grandfather would certainly have done. Rather, it only made him sick to his stomach. Why should he even care what the old man would have thought of this humiliation, anyway? The old man was the one who had first brought disgrace to this family. His bloodline had been ruined long before Lovino had even been born. He was the one who had made his progeny weak.

"Damn you, Grandpa... It's your fault..." he whispered.

Natalia was grimacing down at him. "What is that? Are you crying? You really are—" whatever insult she was going to hurl at him was cut off short when one strong arm grabbed her from behind and one hand held her right wrist to point the gun away from Lovino and eventually make her drop it.

Natalia screamed in shock and rage and struggled against Antonio's grip. He was much stronger than her, but Natalia had agility and flexibility on her side and began to kick him with the sharp heels of her boots. He winced and loosened his grip on her just barely, but it was enough for her to turn around and try to wrestle him. Antonio still had the upper hand, however, and was able to shove her against the wall.

Maybe he was a little too forceful with that move, because Natalia's head knocked loudly on the wall and she suddenly went limp. Antonio was too surprised to properly hold her collapsing body and only managed to slow down her fall to the floor. His eyes widened in shock and a little bit of remorse.

"Oh, God! I-I didn't mean to—I hope she's not hurt too badly..." he babbled and turned to look at Lovino, who was still crouched behind the sofa, shaking like a leaf. "You're still here? Why didn't you run away while I held her off? Is something wrong?" He stepped closer and took a closer look at his friend. "Oh, God, you're bleeding! No wonder you look so pale! Are you okay?"

Even in such an extreme situation, Antonio was still an idiot. What kind of question was that? Lovino was not okay; wasn't that painfully obvious? Lovino wanted to snap at him for being so stupid, but he was still dazed, as if in a state of shock, and he felt that if he opened his mouth now, he might get sick.

"What's wrong?" Antonio asked in growing worry. "Can't you talk? Can you walk? Do you need me to help you?" Without really waiting for an answer – which wouldn't have been forthcoming, anyway – Antonio gently helped Lovino up and supported him. Lovino still had enough wits about him to gesture at the gun. He meant to tell Antonio to take it with him, but the words came out garbled. Antonio got the idea all the same, picked the gun up, and the both of them made their slow, staggering way out of the manor. Oddly enough, no servant had come to see what all the noise was all about and no one showed up to stop them from leaving.