Chapter Six

The Manor was finally perfect.

Onice walks around and loves how the decor and the art fill the room. He greets all of Aheli's maids as they are cleaning the leaders' living space. There are about thirty new people that work under the leaders. Onice is quite impressed as to how fast the leaders manage to sustain employees. Everyone has their place and position in the Manor. Because of that, he knows that the plan is going to be even more successful.

James and Andrew are in charge of the medical force. James is actually a graduate of one of the most pristine medical universities in England; because of this, his ability to heal Diamante when she almost died in the circus makes Onice more loyal towards him.

James also knows how to make concoctions, not just for medical purposes, but for leisure. Diamante doesn't know this, but Onice can imagine how much more profit he will have by selling this on the streets. He knows for a fact that Diamanté won't approve, but she doesn't have to know.

The sound of a porcelain plate breaking springs Onice back to reality. He runs into the meeting hall, and the sight in front of him is irritating, to say the least. Diamante is having another fit and is throwing plates at the workers. By the way that they are quivering, he can tell that their daily collections have become compromised.

Diamante is about to throw another plate at them, but Onice storms up and grabs her hand. He takes the plate from her hands. He turns her around and sees it, the fire in her eyes.

The workers have encountered him.

"They saw them. HE was there!!!" Diamante screams in her mother's tongue. Onice knows that she is in an unstable state. He dismisses the terrified workers and sits Diamante down. Her hair is a mess, and she can't keep still. The nightmares of the fire pursue in her mind, and it isn't helping. He almost feels bad as to how angry, sad, and miserable his cousin is right now.

Almost.

"What do you mean, Diamond?" Onice questions. These outbursts have frequently been happening; installing fear is great for the loyalty of the organization. But she is taking it a bit too far.

"The twins are part of the police force. They collaborated with Frontenac and have increased security in their campaigns." Onice swears to himself. Both Onice and Diamante are going to infiltrate the upcoming masquerade ball tonight. Those disgusting men are finally going to get what they deserve. The woman and men who work under them are finally going to taste freedom, even if said freedom will arrive on a plate of death and destruction.

It all happens so fast. Onice's strike brings Diamante back to reality, and she snaps out of it. She holds her stinging cheek in shock as Onice glares at her. On the one hand, he just slapped his cousin. But to be fair, she needs it.

"We're going to the masquerade. Jancy and the builders have prepared the weapons. They won't stop us." Onice reassures with a firm voice. Diamante nods in understanding. She is still afraid of the twins, but she is going to kill Alexandre and Arthur Legrand. Diamante will rest, though; throwing a violent tantrum can take a lot out of someone.

Two hours later. It is time to prepare. Diamante wears her corset and checks the dress for any retouching. She keeps looking at herself in the vanity and cringes as one of the maids applies the lead makeup on her face. Honestly, Diamante thinks that the heavy makeup is pointless since she is going to wear a mask. But apparently, her job is to try and seduce Arthur.

Thinking about the geezer touching her almost makes her gag.

Diamante has to admit that the gown is gorgeous. It goes all the way to the ground. The dark ruby color exaggerates her silhouette, and she adores it. And it doesn't have a massive rump like the average dress.

Diamante remembers being able to convince Aheli that she cannot have it as it will need space to hide the weapons. Diamante has to bury two knives, garrot wire, and a veil of a poisonous concoction; made by James himself.

But the one thing that she cannot get keep her eyes off of is the mask. The black mask covers the top half of her face. Its lacy material looks almost crystalline. But that isn't what catches her attention. What does catch Diamante's attention is how it is the same mask that the fire and ice twins wore in their first performance. Somehow, Onice has a hold of it when he and the others find Diamanté that faithful day.

She doesn't want to admit it, but she remembers looking up to the twins. The memory of the traveling circus coming to Milan is something that she'll never forget. She specifically remembers how she will beg her mother and father to take her. So, she went with the entire family. The performance that the fire and ice twins presented was one that she would never forget.

The elegance of the fire twin has put Diamante in a magnificent spell. The strength that he holds fuels her to this day.

But what he did to her is something that she can never forget.

After the retouching session, the dress is a bit snug. But it is still lovely. Diamante sees herself in the tall mirror and is full of surprise. The makeup makes her face a little itchy, but she looks just like a princess. All that she has to do is wear the preposterous wig.

After adding the wig, she walks out of the bedroom and waits for Onice. He finally comes out wearing a beautiful iolite suit, with a matching top hat. He is also wearing the white mask that Saphir had on his first performance. When they look at each other's eyes, Onice can see the look of determination in Diamante's empty, soulless eyes.

They walk outside, where Marcus opens the door to Onice's carriage. They sit inside with Marcus and three other workers, all of whom use to work for Frontenac.

The plan is simple. Diamante will enter the household, find and seduce Arthur; while she distracts Arthur, the workers will put the concoction in all of the guests' drinks.

Onice will then go inside their vault; It is the only place that holds all of the custom artillery, made from gold and steel. With Marcus and the workers, they are going to steal them and return them. If anything is to backfire, they will retreat.

The personal coachman stops the carriage. Diamante looks out and is in awe to see the vast, marble columns that lead to a mansion. She sees wealthy women and men walk up the huge steps into the mansion, with their slaves behind them. Diamante never knows just how much she wants them all dead, but today proves that her thirst for blood is getting worst.

Diamante Stanzolio now enjoys the thrill of taking away someone else's life. There is no turning back now.

"You shall not ruin it for all of us, Diamante," Diamante nods at Onice's statement and walks up the steps. The moment that she enters, she can already hear how the posh aristocrats discuss the international affairs involving the country. France has been in war for almost two years with Prussia.

It turns out that the state is much more resilient than the aristocrats originally thought. They also snuck in a few remarks, here and there. Most of them are about how people in poverty are ruining the streets.

She cannot stand it anymore. Diamante walks around, looking for Arthur when she feels herself walk into a wall. Diamante looks up and realizes that the wall is actually Arthur.

"Hello, madam. You look magnificent tonight.' Arthur smirks, holds Diamante's hand, and kisses it. Diamante is so close to kicking him in the teeth. But she has to play the part.

"Why thank you, Mister Legrand." Arthur grins behind the golden mask. Something about this mysterious woman is different from his string of muses. She seems to be someone that is to die for.

"Please, Mister Legrand was my father's name. Call me, Arthur." Diamante smirks. This plan is going way better than originally thought.

"Arthur, for some reason, you are so alluring." She smiles innocently and tenderly rubs her hands up and down his chest. But he quickly grabs her hands from moving any higher. Diamante is full of confusion before she sees his pupils dilate.

"I would be careful if I were you. The reputation I maintain is the reputation that can ruin you. Do you want that?" Diamante's eyes shift, and she sees how Onice arrives with the workers. Onice gives Diamante a look before walking inside the eating space. Arthur is about to turn his head around, but Diamante holds his face and kisses him.

Diamante almost gags when she feels his tongue explore her mouth. They break off the kiss when Aurthur's butler tells them that it is time to eat. Diamante has to think fast; otherwise, she won't be able to quench the thirst.

"Why don't we continue upstairs," Diamante asks with a sultry voice. Arthur chuckles at her desperation. He isn't really into needy women who want to be with him. Today, he is willing to make an exception for this beauty.

"But the party is just beginning."

"I can't wait anymore," Arthur smirks at Diamante's seductive remark. He quickly stops stalling and takes Diamante into his chambers. Just waiting for any longer is suffocating for both of them. Diamante walks into his room and sees the lust in his eyes.

Arthur takes off his golden mask, immediately grabs Diamante's face, and kisses her. She kisses him back just as passionately and wraps her arms behind his shoulders. As Arthur drags his hands down her dress, he feels something firm. When he breaks the kiss to ask the woman, Diamante punches him in the face.

While Arthur is temporarily blind, Diamante takes the opportunity to take her knife out and stab him. Arthur sees this in time and manages to dodge the blade. He immediately knows that he is in danger and starts yelling for help. Diamante keeps attempting to give unexpected strikes to Arthur, only succeeding in cutting a gash into his chest.

Diamante hears the sound of footsteps entering the room; she is running out of time. So she quickly takes the garroting wire, jumps on his back, and wraps it around his neck. Arthur manages to strike Diamante a few times, but it's futile. Diamante smiles as the Casanova claws his throat as he's taking his last breath. Once he stops breathing, Diamante drops the body on the ground in triumph.

Arthur Legrand is finally dead.

Now all Diamante has to do is find Onice and leave.

But just as she is about to leave, two policemen storm in. They immediately grab on her arms and drag her downstairs. The aristocrats' bodies are scattered everywhere while being inspected by officers; Diamante cannot find Onice and the workers. Some are still convulsing from the bane. 

When they take her outside, her biggest nightmare comes true when she sees him.

The fire twin wears his uniform in pride, he keeps his hair in his cap, and his face is clean. He slowly strides up to Diamante and is surprised to see that she is wearing his first mask. When he takes the cover off her face, he smirks when he sees Diamante's is full of fear.

But Diamante isn't going to go down without a fight. So she lifts her leg and kicks the fire twin in the nose. The nose breaking beneath her feet gives her satisfaction, but it doesn't last. Pure rage oozes from his glowing red eyes. It is the last thing that Diamante sees before he grips her neck. As the black dots start consuming her sight, and she's losing her consciousness, Diamante realizes something.

He has been chasing her this entire time.