In fairness to Lucius, he would not have been able to walk properly even without the threat of what would likely be a gruesome death. His previously pierced leg had no desire to support him yet, and everything that had gone down at the Hydrina orphanage had left his already aching head in a dizzy turmoil.

Derek did not feel the need to slow down however and Lucius' feet could barely touch the street for every step he took before he was half thrown forward instead.

"I can't walk like this," he mumbled, as if he expected Derek to care. "Wherever it is you are staying now it probably isn't near here, so if you're really set on this a carriage would be better."

Derek's lips quirked for just a second.

"It's not that far."

The longer they walked, the more people around them started looking, and whispering. No one came to Lucius' aid though. Whether it was the reluctance to interact with the man next to him or a sudden relapse into distrusting Lucia was unclear, but Lucius was disappointed nonetheless.

"You realise I had no choice." It was futile, but he still had to try. "Damien's been tormenting him for centuries and then threatened to kill me when I tried to change that. I had to do something."

"I told you early on that you needed to stay away from the Hargreaveses." Derek gave him a reprimanding look. "For a reason."

Lucius made a pointless effort to yank his arm out of the man's grip.

"You can't agree with him! No one should watch what's been happening and think it's fair!"

"Think whatever you want." Derek shrugged. "You won't have to watch for much longer anyway."

An icy wave surged through Lucius and he clenched his jaw for it not to show. Whatever torture Damien had in mind for him, he would endure it. Anthony would come save him eventually, or someone else. Ethan, or Samueli, or Eliza. Perhaps even Tom or Richard.

But how likely was it really?

They made another turn, and Lucius was surprised to find that he'd been led to the town square. Even with people being scared of Derek there had to be someone who would speak up about the mistreatment of a town chief.

His heart sank as they made their way through the unusually large crowd. Had Damien taken over the town hall? Was that where they were heading? Perhaps he'd simply overthrown Lucia already.

But Derek forced him in another direction, and Lucius got plenty disoriented by the people around them.

"Why are we here?" he hissed at Derek. "This has to be the worst possible way to get through town. People are looking!"

"As they should," an unfortunately familiar voice said, and Lucius' face turned into a scowl even before turning to face Damien.

"Why—"

It was like being stabbed in the chest. Blood drained from Lucius' face as he noticed where his enemy was standing, and his scowl disappeared in an instant.

"Because it would be strange if Lucia just disappeared after everyone's been told she's still alive," Damien explained as he took a step down from the gallows. "And people deserve to know exactly who she is before that happens."

Images from the Hydrina execution invaded Lucius' mind, heartbeat speeding up to block out the voices around him as his knees wished to collapse on the spot. Not him too. He couldn't have escaped that day only to end up there anyway.

"You know you deserved it." He tried to keep his composure, gaze still avoiding the steps leading up to the platform. "I won't regret it no matter what happens, but you know you'll only be hurting him further if you go through with this."

He locked eyes with Damien.

"But I guess you love being hated by your sons."

Damien didn't acknowledge the statement, instead pushing Lucius forward with the help of Derek, and Lucius had to turn all his effort into keeping from fainting. The steps up to the platform were few, but they still made him dizzy, and his shallow breathing forced his vision to sway.

Before Damien could address the audience however, someone else spoke first, and a glimmer of hope appeared in the crowd.

"Lord Hargreaves, what is the meaning of this!?" Bahman shouted through the murmurs of others, looking more infuriated than ever. "Lady Cromwell is still recovering, why would you force her—"

"Not 'her', Mr. Featherstone," Damien cut him off. "Which is one of the reasons."

Lucius saw his chance. The only, small possibility for him to get away unharmed was winning over the people again, and that meant giving them the kind of sob story they'd want to hear. The kind Anthony had suggested for him to make up.

"Haven't you put me through enough, Lord Hargreaves?" he asked with a trembling, whimpering voice he fortunately didn't have to fake much. His nerves were already in shambles. "After everything you've done to me, and after everything that happened at the party, can't you please just... Stop?"

"You speak of what I have done to you?" Damien had to laugh, though not at all amused. "As if you weren't behind all of it from the beginning, Lu—"

"Why would I do something like that!?" Lucius hurriedly interrupted. "The— The people there... They didn't deserve such a thing. There were so... So many innocent people. I would never put them in harm's way no matter how much you hurt me!"

The claim took effect, and Damien frowned as the spectators turned to each other for theories and taking sides.

"I've done you no harm. You're the one who schemed against me, just so you could avoid marriage and run this town without me."

It was Lucius' turn to have an empty laugh, and he pulled up the sleeve of his injured arm.

"Is this your idea of 'no harm', Lord Hargreaves? You let your henchman snap my shoulder just to intimidate me. To make me step down from my position, but if you think I'm going to run and hide and leave this town in the hands of someone like you, you're gravely mistaken!"

Damien gritted his teeth, and Lucius happily turned his gaze away from what had to be a spine-chilling glare in his direction.

"You got that from the explosion! And you have no claim to this town! You never had! You—"

"And did I get this from the explosion!?" Lucius threw away all his remorse as he turned around and pulled down his shirt to reveal his other shoulder. "Did it somehow burn your organisation's emblem into my back!?"

This proved very convincing to the audience, and Damien sent a brief, accusatory glance in Derek's direction while Lucius kept up his momentum.

"You've only been after my position from our very first meeting." His voice cracked at the right place, and he even threw in a clenched fist against his heart. "I thought perhaps we could make it work if we married, but you only grew more abusive, and I— I've been lost on what to do. And now someone's gone so far as to try getting rid of me by blowing me up."

He broke into low sobs, and Damien looked as though he could strangle him then and there.

"You were behind the explosion! If anyone tried to get rid of someone, it was you!"

"Then how come I'm standing here on a wounded leg and bruises all over my body while you and your henchman are standing over there with no injuries at all?" Lucius countered with a sniffle. "How convenient that you two of all people made it out so unscathed."

More people had joined in on the mortified mumbling that unmistakably had to do with Damien's apparently gruesome behaviour, and the man in question sucked in a breath.

"This lowlife isn't even a real town chief!" He strode over to Lucius, who put his hands up to keep Damien from pulling his wig off. "He's a—"

"Let go of my hair!" Lucius cried, high enough to drown Damien's voice again. "Stop hurting me!"

"This is not who you all think it is," Damien continued, still pulling Lucius' wig. "He's nothing but a filthy, lying criminal who's been fooling us all!"

To Lucius' horror, people had stopped speculating in order to turn their attention to the gallows again. No matter what Lucius tried, things would go south quickly if his identity was exposed. Sob stories could only get him so far. All the people wanted was drama, and a scandal like Lucia not being who she says she is would be more than enough. They'd even get an execution as a nice bonus.

Oh how they loved their executions.

"Do you remember what you said to me before, Damien?" Lucius then whispered. "When we last met at the gallows?"

Damien didn't let go, but he knitted his eyebrows in thought as Lucius stared up at him defiantly to give his reply.

"People want to see blood."

In an instant, quick enough to surprise even himself, Lucius had thrown his hand back to grab the largest hair pin he owned and proceeded to bury it deep into Damien's eye, only letting go in order to change his grip and carve the entirety out of its socket.

Damien cried out, gasping for air as he raised his hand to cover up the gushing wound, and the following reactions from the crowd were a blend of stunned silence and uncontrollable hysteria. People were fainting, retching, just standing there horror-struck, or calling for others to do something, but Lucius had no interest in that.

"You're calling me a liar!?" He turned to Damien. "I'm not the one lying to people about being an ordinary human while actually being a monster!"

"I—" Damien's voice failed him and he sent a distressed look towards Derek, who seemed to struggle between being shocked on his friend's behalf and having the time of his life on his chaotic mind's behalf.

Even at a distance it was hard to miss what happened next, and people retreated backwards as the blood around Damien faded into nothing.

"Show them," Lucius growled so only Damien could hear, and he grabbed the man's hand to pry it away from his face. "Show them what you are."

Gasps and cries of horror swept through the crowd as Damien's face was revealed without the slightest hint of being harmed before, and Lucius used it as a chance to move away from him.

"I— I know I've had a hard time with my position before, and I apologise for that." He turned to the audience, voice having grown appropriately thick. "But... I want what's best for us, and I— I know this man does not. I know he's nothing but dangerous. So— So please, don't make me marry him. Don't give him that power."

"But they're supposed to give it to you?" Damien hissed, straightening his back again with a glare. "A pathetic fraud whose uncontrollable emotions have cost hundreds of people their lives? You were never even entitled to your job. You're a sham, Lucius. A lying nobody who was never supposed to be in the position of power you currently are."

"Wh—" Lucius shook his head, hoping it looked more like confusion than nerve-wrecking anxiety. "L—Lucius? What are you even saying now? What does my cousin have to do with—"

"There is no cousin!" Damien grabbed Lucius' injured arm despite the latter's best effort to get away. "Because there is no Lucia! There's only you and your wretched disguise!"

"I don't understand what you're on about!" Lucius tried to bend up Damien's grip. "What disguise? Why are you bringing Lucius into this?"

"Because people need to know who's been deceiving them all this time! You're just disguising yourself as a woman called Lucia! That's why your face is always caked with makeup and why you always hide your chest behind shawls and high necklines, and that's not your real hair!"

A number of gasps escaped the crowd, and several in the front row looked utterly aghast.

"I... I just dress how I want to." Lucius was in all honesty quite hurt by the jabs at his looks, and he clutched an offended hand against his chest. "And while it's unfortunate you don't like it, I'm a little insulted that you think my appearance is so exaggerated that it would work as a disguise."

"It does work as a disguise." Damien's composure was strained, and his words escaped through gritted teeth. "It worked well enough, but now people know that it's all pretend. That 'Lucia' is just a faux appearance."

"But... We all know she wears wigs," a woman in the front row spoke up, immediately having second thoughts as Damien's icy stare turned in her direction. "I— I mean... It's never really been a secret. Her hair colour and length changes all the time."

"Doesn't mean she's trying to hide some secret identity behind it," another dared to chime in, and more opinions joined in from all around them.

"I think she looks nice!" a woman from the back yelled, and Bahman nodded his head where he stood.

"It is quite unbecoming to attack a lady's appearance like that."

"He's not a lady!" Damien tried, though already exasperated by the crowd.

"Would her voice not be unusually high for most men?" an older gentleman asked, and Lucius pursed his lips while Damien readied his retaliation.

"That's because he was ca—"

And then Lucius slapped him, hard.

"Will you please stop!?" His voice trembled, and the crowd fell silent at the sound of the impact. "I don't know what kind of ridiculous idea that's gotten into your head about who I am, or if it's just another of your ways to try to get rid of me, but this has gone too far."

"I have to agree, unsurprisingly," another voice from the crowd said, and Joshua was let forward to stand in front of the gallows. "I think Lord Hargreaves needs to let go of these far fetched conspiracies and instead consider his own reputation right now. Not only regarding the slandering of a town chief, but also the display we all just witnessed where his own identity should be questioned."

"Judge Crossfire." Damien's lip curled, ignoring the once again murmuring crowd that had almost forgotten about the eye gouging. "What an honour to have you here again."

"No need for pleasantries, Lord Hargreaves." Joshua sneered. "After Lady Cromwell informed me you didn't want me at the engagement party, I understood very well how you feel about me."

Damien gave Lucius a withering stare, which the latter reflected defiantly.

"I could just tear his clothes off," Derek finally suggested, and to Lucius' horror Damien didn't immediately reject the idea, but he ultimately sighed in defeat as he gave the increasingly dismayed gathering around them another look.

"No... I think we should get out of here for now."

It took all of Lucius' willpower not to look unflatteringly smug as Damien made one final attempt to murder him with a stare, but he somehow managed not to in case it would make Damien change his mind about retreating.

The crowd parted with haste as Damien descended the gallows. No one even dared to whisper as he walked, and it wasn't until he and Derek had disappeared that the voices of unsorted emotions rose again, having quite a lot to say on the matter.

Bahman met Lucius on his way down, trying to look relieved through what was clearly a face of distress.

"I won't lie, I thought he was going to do something all too horrible up there."

"He was certainly about to try." Lucius had a similar look of poorly masked horror. "But... At least now people know about him. That should make him think twice before trying anything, right?"

The corner of Bahman's mouth twitched, and he sucked air through his teeth.

"Well... Most of us have known for a long time."

Lucius blinked.

"Beg your pardon?"

"He's lived in this town for longer than most." Bahman rubbed his neck. "No one knows how but being the man he is, no one's dared to question it either. For what it's worth, priests have assured us that since he can walk inside a sanctuary, he's not of unholy roots."

"He can be as holy as he wants. Still doesn't make him less dangerous than unholy creatures," Lucius muttered, but soon jumped as Joshua appeared through the crowd. "J— Judge Crossfire."

"I'm so terribly sorry about what he put you through, Lady Cromwell." Joshua looked genuinely frustrated, and he scowled in the direction Damien had gone. "But I'm happy you're still here unharmed."

Lucius nodded, but had to swallow in discomfort at the same time.

"So... About what he said, I don't—"

"I don't need to know." Joshua held up a hand to stop him, giving him a warm smile in reassurance. "Might be better if I don't."

"No, I..." Lucius looked for words. The fact that Joshua had already considered the possibility of Lucia not being who she claimed to be made it hard to say anything that wouldn't sound suspicious. Then again staying silent would not work in his favour either. "... I'm really not..."

"Whichever is true, the Cromwells already have my support." Joshua gave Lucius a light pat on the shoulder. "Both of them. So it doesn't matter."

No matter how hard he seemed to try though, Bahman failed his struggle to not give Lucius an inquiring stare and as Joshua turned away to be bombarded with questions from confused townspeople, he finally gave in.

"It does make me recall the first time I saw a Cromwell here in town. He was accompanying the younger Lord Hargreaves, but I haven't seen him around much since then."

"Well, the older Lord Hargreaves didn't exactly approve of him much either and acted accordingly, so..." Lucius straightened his jacket. "... He's keeping his head down."

Bahman made a tired 'ah' face before thankfully dropping the subject. Even if he wasn't convinced, it was a sore topic no matter what. In fact from the looks of it most people seemed too busy discussing the newly confirmed immortality of certain humans to care about any accusations towards Lucia.

Lucius wished it had been a bigger comfort than it was. There were only so many options left for Damien and if he couldn't get the town on his side through regular means, there was nothing stopping him from cold blooded murder.

"Should we perhaps assign some guards to escort you to places from now on?" Bahman asked as if he'd read Lucius' mind. "And... Maybe even outside your living quarters?"

Lucius quietly let his gaze sink to the ground.

"Doubt it would matter. If Derek wants to kill me there's no number of guards that would be enough. I'm almost surprised he hasn't already."

The thought made Lucius' throat dry and while he tried to ignore the goosebumps prickling his skin, his smile was far from genuine as he slowly made his way through the crowd.

"I just have to find some place where he won't find me for now. Wherever that would be..." he mumbled as he noticed Bahman was still following him, cautiously looking around.

"Well... That might be tough," Bahman disagreed, making Lucius arch his eyebrows. "Like you say, it would be a near impossible task, and if Mr. Kilgrave really wants to come after you there aren't many places you could go where you would be safe."

Lucius clenched his jaw. So he was just a sitting duck. He could pull any tricks or plan any scheme, and win a hundred times over but it wouldn't make a difference. In the end, they only had to win once. It didn't matter if he had the entire town on his side anymore. The Scourge pact had proven pointless after all. He would just perish like all the other unhallowed people Damien had gotten his hands on.

A frown appeared on Lucius' forehead, and he slowly reached into his pocket.

"Maybe there is a place," he whispered, mostly to himself. "Not for hiding, but maybe for surviving."

Bahman tilted his head in confusion as Lucius brought out the wooden necklace to look at it.

"What place?"

Lucius hesitated before putting on Catherine's wooden necklace, seeing no other option than a deadly gamble.

"The one place where not even Damien nor Derek would dare to do any harm."