《She Belongs To The Devil》


 Chapter 1锛歄nce Upon a Time

    Once upon a time, there was a powerful and prosperous kingdom called Wyverndale. It was a very beautiful kingdom where deities, demons, humans, and other supernatural beings lived together in harmony.


    The kingdom was surrounded by beautiful mountains and hills from one side which acted as a natural barrier to another equally powerful kingdom, Mihir. And on the other three sides, Wyverndale had three small kingdoms that were its allies. And they were called Tarrin, Aberdeen, and Frostford.


    King Dragomir of Wyverndale was a very tactful King. It was because of his political tactfulness that his kingdom was able to have a strong foothold among the neighboring kingdoms. He would opt for political marriages instead of war whenever it was possible. He believed that war would inflict pain and death while political marriages would spread happiness and save lives. It would not only bring two people together but also would bring two nations together.


    Thanks to this ideal of his, King Dragomir had a very large family. He had three wives, each from his neighboring kingdoms. He also had 12 concubines; most of them were from powerful families while some were just beautiful commoners. And children? Even the King did not remember everyone''s names. He just knew that he had 14 princes and 10 princesses.


    However, out of all those children, one was particularly his favorite. That was Princess Adeline. She just turned three years old but she already started to resemble her mother, Auvera, in terms of appearance. She had silver hair that was as soft and smooth as silk. Her sapphire blue eyes radiated in her pale skin. And her dimples sat well on her baby cheeks. She looked like a walking doll when she wore her fluffy pink skirt.


    Princess Adeline''s mother Auvera was one of the concubines of the King and was also his first love. The King fell in love with a beautiful commoner when he was just a teenager. After he was chosen as the King among all his brothers and sisters, he got busy with his royal duties. To prevent any outbreaks of wars, he had taken many wives and concubines. But he could never forget his first love.


    When he became powerful enough and when no one could raise voice against him, he finally took Auvera as one of his concubines. But he only got to spend a few years with his lover. Auvera passed away mysteriously when Adeline was just one years old. As Adeline was the only reminder of his true love, Princess Adeline was very dear to the King.


    The King had appointed two maids, Hawisa and Osanna, just to take care of baby Adeline. And whenever he got free time after performing his duty to the Kingdom, he would spend time with his beloved daughter. Adeline was also very fond of her father and would be happy when she got to play with her father.


    At just one glance, the life inside the palace seemed very happy and fulfilling. However, this was definitely not the case. Greed and jealousy are deeply embedded in human''s heart and when there are enough of those inside a human, they can easily do things that only an evil demon could do.


    Lillian was the first wife of King Dragomir. She was the princess of Frostford before she was married off to King Dragomir by her parents. She was very well behaved and had every quality that a queen needed to have. She had given birth to two handsome princes Edwin and Alan.


    But when the King kept on marrying and taking concubines, Lillian''s heart changed. And when she saw the King growing fonder of Adeline, she feared that her sons would be deprived of their right to the throne.


    "I will have to do something before the King gets completely bewitched by that filthy love child of his and hands over the whole kingdom to her", Lillian thought to herself. She was sitting in her own chamber and was brewing a plan in her head, a plan to make one of her son the future King.


    Lillian got up swiftly and headed towards the King''s study. Two of her personal maids immediately followed behind her and waited outside the King''s study while the Queen entered the room.


    Lillian bowed her head to the King and said, "Greetings Your Majesty! If you are not busy I would like to discuss something with you."


    The King was sitting on his normal chair and was going through some papers that were on his desk. He glanced at the Queen and gestured with his hand, "Go ahead."


    "As a queen of Wyverndale you should have understood by now that we do not have the culture of declaring the Crown Prince." King Dragomir replied in a calm tone.


    "I understand that. But there is no harm in doing so. I did not want to say this but he would be able to assume your role if something unthinkable was to happen to you. At least that way our Kingdom will be safe from the outsiders." Lillian kept her gaze low when she was saying this so as not to seem hostile.


    The King raised his brows and replied, "Queen Lillian, are you planning to do something unthinkable to me?"


    Lillian immediately bowed her head, "I did not mean it offend you, my King."


    "I have repeatedly told you that declaring a Crown Prince or Princess is not an option. To make it impartial, when all of my children will be of age, I will have to send them to our deity. Our deity will decide who will be the future King or Queen of Wyverndale." The King started to go through the papers on his desk and without even glancing at his wife, he said, "Now if you don''t have anything else to say, you''re dismissed."


    Lillian grabbed the sides of her down and clenched both of her fists in anger. After glaring at the King for a few seconds, she bowed and then stormed away to her own quarter. Her eyes fell on little Adeline who was playing in a small garden in front of her own quarter, which was previously her mother''s. Adeline''s quarter was nearest to the King''s quarter and Lillian had always despised that.


    A sinister sneer appeared on Lillian''s face when she saw Princess Adeline. She pointed her jaw at the maids who were with Adeline and ordered her own maids, "Say to those two flies that Queen Claricia has asked to see them. And offer them that you will look after Adeline for the time being."


    Claricia was the third wife of the King. Claricia and Lillian did not see eye to eye with each other and Lillian thought of a perfect trap for Claricia.


    One of her maids went to the garden and delivered the false message. As her queen had asked her, she stayed back to look after Adeline.


    Lillian slowly walked towards the garden where Adeline was playing with flowers and leaves. She said with a smirk on her face, "Hello Little Princess!"

 Chapter 2锛欸eneral Osmond

    "Do you know who I am?" Lillian asked the child who was playing in front of her.


    Adeline never had any personal interaction with Queen Lillian so she shook her head innocently, "No."


    Lillian fixed her eyes on the child and said with an unfading grin, "Perfect! We can get to know each other. Come." Lillian offered her hand to the Princess and she held the hand after some hesitance.


    "You are really beautiful. If only you were not the daughter of Auvera, I would have raised you like my own." Lillian said this and closed her eyes. Then she started to wave her hand in the air while murmuring something.


    People of Frostford were gifted in the art of magic. Witchcraft was the pride of that Kingdom. Of course, performance of black magic was prohibited and punishable, not only in Frostford but in other Kingdoms as well. But performing witchcraft for a good cause was allowed. It was a defense that humans could use against the demons and evil spirits that lurked in the dark.


    Being the Princess of Frostford, Lillian was highly skilled in the art of magic. Lillian chanted some mantra and cast an invisibility spell on Adeline. Then she started to lead the Princess towards her quarter. No one saw the little Princess walking along with the Queen. Lillian was the only one who could see her right now.


    After reaching her private chamber, Lillian asked the Princess, "Would you like to eat something?"


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "I like apples."


    Lillian led the Princess towards another room which was inside the chamber. There was a table where a food basket was kept on display. Then she picked up Adeline and made her sit on the chair that was in front of the table. "Choose any apple from here. I''ll be right back."


    Adeline did what Lillian asked her to do. She chose a big red apple which seemed very juicy. The apple was too big for her little hand so she held the apple with both of her hands. Then she started to munch on the juicy apple, unaware of everything else.


    Lillian called one of her faithful soldier, General Osmond. He was very skilled in combat and had led many wars on behalf of the King. He was capable of taking down a 100 men by himself, which was why he was known as the devil incarnate by the soldiers.


    The reason why he was faithful to Queen Lillian was because his daughter Eleanor was really sick once and was on the verge of death. But the Queen had saved his daughter''s life with the help of some magic. And he felt indebted to the Queen since then.


    General Osmond entered the Queen''s chamber and fell on his one knee to greet the Queen, "Your Majesty, you called for me?"


    The Queen said with a wicked smile on her face, "Yes. I have a very important task for you. You know where the infamous Devil''s cave is?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty. It is in one of the hills of our Northern Border. But we cannot afford to offend the Devil in any way and face its wrath." Osmond warned the Queen thinking she was trying to provoke the Devil in some way.


    The Queen chuckled and explained, "I don''t want to offend the Devil, but rather it is the opposite. I want to offer something to the Devil."


    Osmond bowed his head and asked, "How may I be of your help, Your Majesty?"


    Lillian sat down on her chair with elaborate design and said, "I want you to take Princess Adeline and leave her outside the Devil''s cave. I have heard many stories saying the Devil likes human flesh. I want to check if it''s true."


    Osmond''s eyes were wide open when he heard the Queen''s request. How can a Queen who was kind enough to save his daughter be so cruel, he thought. He lowered his gaze and dared to speak against the Queen, "Your Majesty, she is one of the Princess of this Kingdom. I''ll be a traitor of Wyverndale if I do that."


    "Would you like it to be your daughter instead then?" Lillian said in a very stern voice that sounded very threatening. She was a Queen after all; she could easily do that if she wished to.


    After getting no answer from the General, Lillian said, "I thought so. You would not want that to be your daughter now, would you? Come closer, I''ll perform an invisibility spell on you. No one will be able to see both of you. You don''t have to worry about being thrown out of the army."


    Osmond clenched his hand and went closer like a helpless puppy. Lillian closed her eyes and waved her hand in several directions while chanting the mantra. After finishing the spell she said, "Come to me after returning from there. I''m the only one who can break this spell."


    She got up from her chair and went to the room where Adeline was happily munching on the apple. With her small mouth, she had not even finished a quarter of that apple by now.


    Lillian asked the Princess, "Little Princess, would you like to go outside the palace and play?"


    "Father says I should not go outside the palace", Adeline said this and kept on munching the apple.


    "Your father is waiting for you outside the palace. He said he wants to play with you." Lillian said in a very soft voice. Anyone who heard her talk in this voice would have believed whatever she said.


    Adeline''s sapphire blue eyes twinkled when she heard this. She smiled and raised her both hands for Lillian to carry her and said, "I want to go and play." But even if she had said no, the outcome would not have been any different. Lillian would have sent her forcefully.


    She carried Adeline and went towards Osmond, "This nice man will take you to your father. And you can play with him as much as you want." Then she handed the Princess to the General.


    With a heavy heart, General Osmond carried the Princess and set off for the journey to the Devil''s cave.

 Chapter 3锛歍he Hill of Grimmer Death

    The Devil''s cave was on the top of the hill called "The Hill of Grimmer Death". This particular hill was very steep and was made up of stratified rocks. There were no traces of single plants on that hill. It was rumored to be that way because of the curse of the Devil that lived on top of that hill.


    A small road was carved all the way to the top of the hill. And as the name suggested, the roads of that hill were extremely dangerous. The roads were just wide enough for a carriage to pass through. And if the wheels of the carriage were to get side tracked by even a few inches, the carriage would fall several hundred meters down the steep cliff.


    General Osmond carried the Princess and they got out of the Palace undetected by any guards. Then they started to walk towards the Northern Border to find the Devil''s Cave. It would normally take two hours in the carriage to reach the top of the hill from the outer village of Wyverndale; that was if the carriage and the people inside it were lucky enough to survive.


    But General Osmond could not take any carriage for this journey because the guards of the palace would block the carriage even though they could see no one inside. So, the first option that was available to him was to walk for at least 12 hours, which might even take longer due to the scorching summer heat. The second option would be to get out of the palace and steal someone''s horse at the edge of the outer town so that less people will see a horse running away on its own.


    Osmond had only walked for about 15 minutes after getting out of the palace. The Princess was quietly eating a chocolate and watching the beautiful village around them. She had not seen any villagers till now. The view of small children like her running around on the road and laughing and playing made her want to play with them, but she could not tell this to the person who was carrying her. She was intimidated by the stern look on that man''s face.


    Adeline''s sapphire eyes looked around for her father but he was nowhere in the view. She was very eager to see her father and play with him so she asked General Osmond, "Is my father still far away? When will I see him?"


    This question from the Princess pinched Osmond right in the heart. He hated what he was going to do and he hated that he was so helpless. With a heavy heart he lied to the little Princess, "I''m sorry Your Highness. The King is still far away. You will have to wait some more."


    Adeline was a perceptive child. She noticed that the man was unhappy with something and she asked him, "Are you also sad because he is far away?"


    Osmond was surprised that even the Princess was able to see through him right now. "No, Your Highness. I am not sad."


    Rather than accepting he was not sad the Princess instead gave him a reply which pierced General Osmond''s heart even more. "You don''t have to be sad. We will meet him soon."


    He felt that he was as cruel as the rumored Devil. Even though the Princess was just a child, she was considerate enough to care about the man who she had never met before. And he, on the other hand, was going to abandon the same Princess to be devoured by the Devil.


    When the two of them were walking, the palace had already turned upside down. The situation was very chaotic. Everyone was running here and there in the search of Princess Adeline. King Dragomir was giving orders to the palace guards to close the main gate of the palace and not to let anyone leave or enter the palace until the Princess was found.


    Then he called Hawisa and Osanna, personal maids of Princess Adeline, for the inquiry. The maids entered the King''s Court "Your Majesty!" and bowed to the King. Both of them were scared for their life.


    The King hit his hand hard on the table in front of him and roared, "Why did you two leave the Princess alone? I''ll behead both of you if I do not find the Princess by the nightfall."


    Both of them fell to the ground immediately and asked for an apology, "Please forgive us Your Majesty." Hawisa further tried to shed light on what had happened, "We were told by a maid that Queen Claricia demanded to see us. That maid offered to look after the Princess while we were gone. But by the time we were back, the maid was lying on the ground and crying. She said that some masked men came and kidnapped the Princess. She even said that they threatened to kill the Princess if she made a single sound."


    "Call that maid here immediately." The King ordered to a Court guard. Hawisa followed the guard outside while Osanna was still bowing in front of the King and was starting to tremble.


    The King was losing his patience as he was waiting for that other maid they were talking about. He was starting to resemble a fire-breathing dragon that would destroy anything and everything that lay in the path. He looked at another Court guard and ordered "What is taking such a long time? Ask them to come here right away." The guard immediately went to call the others.


    After some time the two Court guards entered the King''s Court along with Hawisa. Hawisa was terrified right now, her eyes were filled with tears and she was trembling as she walked. One of the Court guard bowed and said to the King, "Your Majesty, we could not find the maid that she was talking about. She must have already fled from the Palace."


    The King got up from his seat and shouted at the maids, "What was her name? Which quarter did she work for?"


    Both Hawisa and Osanna had no idea who that maid was and who she worked for. Osanna mustered up some courage and replied to the King, "We don''t know that, Your Majesty. She must have been a new maid; we have never seen her before."


    The King''s eyes were burning like fire with rage. He thought that the maids wasted his time. "Was it a new maid or are the two of you spewing lies to me? I cannot tolerate liars." He looked at the Court guards and ordered, "Drag both of them out of my sight and throw them in the dungeon."


    Both the maids started to cry and plead, "We are not guilty, Your Majesty. We also love Princess Adeline with all our heart. We would not dare hurt Her Highness."


    But those pleadings fell into deaf ears and they were dragged away from the Court.

 Chapter 4锛欰rrival

    King Dragomir had ordered the Chief General to dispatch a squad of his best armies to search for the Princess outside of the palace. Although the King doubted that his heavily guarded palace could have been breached by a few masked men, who then kidnapped the Princess right under his nose, he did not want to leave anything to chances.


    The sun was setting down and now soft breeze was starting to blow. Without the heat from scorching summer sun and soft breeze cooling them down, General Osmond was starting to move at a faster pace. At this pace, Osmond and the Princess would soon reach the outer village.


    After walking for another half an hour, General Osmond finally arrived at the outer village. He looked towards the northern border; the hills were still very far away. Princess Adeline was tired and was sound asleep on the General''s arm. He started to quietly look around for some food for the Princess and also a horse. After looking around for a while he found a small local shop which sold bread.


    He patiently waited for the shopkeeper to be distracted. And when he got a chance, he took a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk. He was carrying coins in his pocket. The coins of Wyverndale had holes in the middle to make it easier to weave them in a string and carry around without losing them. The General carefully opened the knot in the string and then left two bronze coins on the counter. He hid the bread and bottle inside his cloth and started to walk away.


    The sound of the hooves was getting closer and closer. And Osmond was having second thoughts if he really wanted to carry on what he was going to do. "I''ll just get found, let them attack me and let them take the Princess. I cannot take an innocent child''s life to save my own daughter."


    But then he remembered that both of them were invisible. The spell could only be broken by Queen Lillian. How was he going to get found when no one could see him and the Princess?


    The squad came closer and closer and passed by. They were asking the villagers if they had seen a girl child dressed in royal garments being taken by some men. But they could not get any lead as no one had seen the child that the squad had described.


    Finally, the squad kept on moving further away and was out from the General''s sight. The General then slowly dragged his feet to a secluded area and woke the Princess up, "Princess Adeline, are you hungry?" The Princess slowly fluttered her long eyelashes and then rubbed her eyes. She opened her blue eyes and then nodded her head.


    Osmond took out the items that he had "purchased" earlier and placed them in front of the Princess. "I''ve got some bread and milk for you. I''m sorry I couldn''t find anything else which would be more suitable to your taste."


    Adeline didn''t complain. She took a piece of bread and started to bite it with her small teeth. She looked at the General who was sitting in front of her. "Why are you not eating? Are you not hungry?" Adeline asked innocently to the General because he was not eating anything.


    "How could a soldier like me eat together with Her Highness? I will eat later." He smiled at the Princess and looked away. He was not able to meet the eyes of the innocent Princess.


    But the Princess did not understand why he could not eat with her. So she grabbed another piece of bread and offered it to the General. "Here, now you can eat with me."


    This gesture from the Princess made Osmond feel very sad. His heart started to feel very heavy and his eyes were filled with tears. He accepted the bread from the Princess and started to bite it. He was swallowing the bread along with his tears. He was trying hard not to break down in front of the Princess.


    After finishing the food, General Osmond carried the Princess once again and started to look around to see if he can find a horse. It was already getting dark. They had to be extra careful from the creatures that lurked around in the night. He was hoping that the invisibility spell of the Queen would also make them invisible from such creatures.


    He finally found a strong and healthy looking horse in one of the stables of the villagers. He untied the rope and then patted the horse for some time so that it won''t be scared anymore. "Are we going on this horse?" The Princess was curious to know why the General was patting the horse.


    "Yes, Your Highness. I don''t want you to feel tired. We''ll reach there in no time if we take this horse." General Osmond replied to the Princess as he shifted her to his back.


    He tied the Princess on his back with the help of a cloth that he was wearing so that she would not fall from the horse even if she fell asleep. He took a lantern and then climbed on the back of the horse. Then he immediately set off on their journey towards the Hill of Grimmer Death.


    After riding on the horse for around two hours, they finally reached on the top of the Hill, to the Devil''s Cave. Both of them reached safely to the top without any harm befalling them. General Osmond got off from the horse along with the Princess.


    Adeline was woken up from her sweet dreams. She could see the entrance of the cave which was well lit with lanterns. Adeline asked to the General, "Is my father inside there?"


    Osmond clenched his fists and hated what he was going to say, but still he lied, "Yes, he is waiting for you inside. I''m afraid I cannot lead you in there, you have to find your father on your own."


    Princess smiled and simply said, "Okay." And then she trotted towards the cave.


    General Osmond decided to leave the grim place before he had a change of heart and before he could think of going inside to look for the Princess. He immediately got on the horse and stormed off, leaving the Princess on her own.


    The Devil''s Cave looked very grim from the outside, as if death itself was looming inside that Cave. However, upon entering the cave, there were beautiful rooms carved inside of that cave with all kinds of luxury and facility that one could think of.


    The cave was a very happening place with guards and maids walking or flying around, performing their duty. But not a single one of them noticed a child walking inside in awe.

 Chapter 5锛欼nside the Devils Cave

    Adeline kept on trotting inside the cave while looking at all the marvelous creatures that she had never seen before. Some had wings, some had tails, and some had completely different appearances.


    She walked down the corridors searching for her father but he was nowhere to be seen. When she reached the end of the corridor, she came across a large wooden door which had several carvings of the devil. The door was slightly open. Adeline pushed the door and went inside.


    Adeline was amazed to see a large garden inside that room. Moonlight fell from the dome-shaped glass placed above that garden. Beautiful flowers of all colors were blooming. There were small trees that bore variety of fruits. And right in the middle there was a beautiful fountain, glistening in the moonlight.


    And across that garden there was yet another door. The door was wide open and the place was well-lit. "Father must be there." Little Adeline mumbled and then made her way towards that room.


    Inside that room a tall man was standing below a beautiful chandelier which had almost 50 candles lit on it. He was holding a book in front of his face with his one hand while the other was resting on his back. He was wearing a long black robe and a matching pajama made out of silk.


    Adeline was now standing right in front of that man. But he didn''t seem to notice her as she was too small.


    But soon his attention was caught by a small voice, "Hello! Have you seen my father?"


    The man moved the book away from his face and looked down to see a toddler. He narrowed his eyes as he was confused by how a child was able to make it to his room. But then he noticed an invisibility spell on that child, which explained how she walked past the guards.


    He pulled the corners of his perfectly proportioned lips to form a devilish smile and said, "I''ve not seen anyone called ''father'' here. Are you lost, little human?"


    Adeline shook her head and innocently said, "He said my father is here. So I came here to play with him."


    Adeline started to walk around the room looking at different things like vase and statues that were kept for decoration purpose. The man started to follow her; concerned that Adeline would break something. He was not used to having anyone roaming around his room.


    "Who said you could find your father here?" He wanted to make sure that she was not a child of one of his human servants.


    "The man who brought me here" Adeline replied in her baby voice as she kept on scanning the room.


    He understood that she was abandoned by somebody else. This had happened a few times before as well. Few of his human servants were found this way and he had decided to let them stay there rather than send them back to their cruel family.


    His defined brows knitted in a tune when he mumbled to himself, "Have humans become so evil that they abandon a child in front of my cave, even when they hear rumors saying I''ll devour them?"


    All of a sudden Adeline turned around to face the man. "You are so beautiful. What is your name?" Adeline asked in her curious baby voice.


    This remark from the toddler in front of him made him chuckle. Yes, he was very handsome but he never expected to hear praise for his looks from a child.


    He gave a playful smile and said, "I''m Theodore. May I also know your name?"


    "I''m Princess Adeline. I live in the palace." Adeline''s dimples could be seen prominently when she smiled at the beautiful man.


    "What a coincidence! I am also a Prince." Talking with a child brought out Theodore''s mischievous side. In an attempt to scare Adeline, he looked at her with smoldering eyes and said in a deep voice, "A Devil Prince."


    Adeline was never taught that there were evil beings in their Kingdom. And she did not know what ''Devil'' meant. But she knew the meaning of Prince and Princess. So she was happy to hear that he was also a Prince and asked naturally, "My father said I can be friends with a Prince. Can I play with you?"


    Before Theodore could protest, Adeline walked near to him and reached out her small hand. Then she grabbed his index finger, her hand looked very tiny when she did so. She pulled Theodore and started to walk towards a carpet that had a pattern of dragon on it.


    No one ever dared to touch Theodore. To speak the truth, he hated physical touch. And when Adeline held his hand he felt like he was ambushed, "Oh! We are holding hands already."


    If anyone else had dared to touch him without his permission first, then he would have already punished that person. But he could not do anything to the unsuspecting toddler and quietly followed her.


    Both of them sat on the luxurious carpet. Adeline was a very imaginative child and she immediately began to create her imaginary world. "I am the Queen and you are the King." She gestured to the carpet they were sitting on and said, "And this is our Kingdom." She pointed to one of the corner and continued, "We have been attacked. We have to save our people."


    Theodore was amazed by the way Adeline was talking. He was now sure that she really was a Princess. "Okay, what do you want me to do?" He played along.


    "We have to stop the fights. Come." Then she crawled to the corner that she had pointed and pretended to hit the enemy by swinging an imaginary sword. Theodore copied Adeline and pretended to fight the unseen enemy.


    When the two of them were goofing around, two maids came to the room with a small dinner table and appetizing dinner. But they were confused when they saw Theodore frantically swinging his arm in the air. They could not see Adeline, so they thought their master was sick.


    One of the maids cleared her throat and asked, "Master, are you not feeling well?"


    Theodore instantly maintained his poise and turned towards the door to see the maids. "Set the table and leave."


    The maids were afraid to ask any further questions so they quickly set the dinner table and left the room.


    Theodore glanced at Adeline with a smile and asked, "I hope you are hungry, little Princess."


    Adeline had eaten a few pieces of bread and milk about three hours ago. And looking at the dinner table which had delicious foods, she felt hungry. So, she nodded.


    "Come, let''s eat then." Theodore sat on a cushion laid in front of the table and patted on another cushion next to him. Adeline obediently sat beside him and kept on staring at the food in front of her.


    Theodore was already eating but he noticed that Adeline was not touching anything. "What happened? Why aren''t you eating?"


    "I don''t know how to use the knife. Hawisa and Osanna used to cut the food for me." Then she looked at Theodore with puppy eyes which almost melt his heart.


    Theodore smirked and mumbled, "Definitely a Princess." Then he cut the piece of meat into small bite-sized pieces and placed the plate in front of Adeline. "I''ve never done this for anyone else. You''re very lucky, little human."


    Adeline glanced at Theodore and smiled very sweetly. Then she picked up a fork and started to eat.


    Theodore kept glancing at Adeline and thought, "I''m not sure if I can make her one of my servants."

 Chapter 6锛欰 New Friend

    Theodore kept glancing at Adeline and thought, "I''m not sure if I can make her one of my servants. At this rate, I think she will end up making me her servant, and not the way around." A soft chuckle left his mouth.


    Theodore was intrigued by the way Adeline was eating. The fork was too big for her small hand so she was holding it very awkwardly using her whole fist. Then she would pick the piece of meat and put it in her small mouth. And with each piece that went in her mouth, she would shake her tiny body as if the taste of the tender meat was making her dance.


    And once in a while Adeline would glance at Theodore and smile to show off her cute baby teeth and dimples. It was clear that she liked him. After all, babies aren''t that hard to please. All you need to do is feed them and play with them.


    "Are you that happy to eat the meat?" Theodore was trying to understand the actions of the little human beside him.


    Adeline nodded her head while chewing the food. "Yes. It is very tasty."


    Theodore forgot to eat. His golden eyes were just following each and every little detail of the Princess and analyzing her actions. He was never this interested to watch a toddler before.


    Adeline continued eating until she cleared the plate. Then she turned towards Theodore and said politely, "Thank you for food, Prince Theodore." And she didn''t forget to smile and bow softly.


    Theodore was amazed by how well-mannered she was "How interesting!" The corners of his lips slowly curled up to form a smile. "You even remember my name."


    "Who would want to abandon such a lovely child? From her talks it sounds like she is very close to her father." He thought to himself.


    Suddenly an idea came across his mind. "I would have loved to keep her here but I think I should investigate her family myself. I need to find out more about her, which Kingdom she is from. If she is a Princess then there''s a high chance that the King''s enemy might have kidnapped her and left her here."


    Then he turned towards Adeline and asked her, "Do you know what your father''s name is?"


    But Adeline didn''t know her father also had another name so she replied, "His name is ''father''."


    Theodore wasn''t expecting to hear this so he pursed his lips and asked again, "Yes, I know he is your father. But do you remember what others call him?"


    Adeline thought for a while and tried to recall what the people around her would call her father. Then she proudly replied, "Others call him ''Your Majesty''."


    Theodore couldn''t help but laugh at the little Princess''s innocence. Then he thought of another way to figure out what Kingdom she was from. He decided to figure it out from the kind of dress the King wore. He was unable to do that by looking at the Princess''s dress alone because the children didn''t wear elaborate dresses, they looked pretty much the same in several Kingdoms.


    "Can you tell me what kind of clothes your father wears?" Theodore''s golden eyes lingered at Adeline with hopeful look. He hoped that this time Adeline would give at least a hint to him. He didn''t want to waste his energy checking each and every Kingdom.


    "He wears dragon clothes." She pointed at the carpet where they had played earlier and said, "Like that."


    He turned his gaze to where the Princess pointed her little finger at, "Oh! You mean his clothes have painting of dragon on them?"


    Adeline nodded to confirm what he just said. Theodore''s eyes twinkled because he got a hint that he needed. He knew at once that her father was King Dragomir of Wyverndale. King Dragomir always wore a long red robe made out of silk with a golden painting of fire-breathing dragon on it.


    Adeline started to rub her sapphire blue eyes and yawned. She was too sleepy and tired from the rough horse ride.


    Seeing the sleepy look on Adeline''s face, Theodore picked her up and walked towards his bed. He lay her down and then he carefully tucked her in the soft blanket. He had not even imagined in his dreams that he would allow someone to actually sleep on his bed.


    He then smiled at the Princess who was looking at him and said, "Get some sleep. I have some place to go."


    Theodore turned around and was about to get up from the bed when he felt a tug on his robe. He turned back at Adeline and saw that she was tightly clenching his robe. "What is it, little human?"


    She hesitated for a while but eventually spoke to the Devil Prince. "I am scared. Will you please sit with me for some time?"


    Theodore''s eyes glistened in the candle light. A devilish grin appeared on his lips while he said, "You are a weird one. Others are scared when I''m around. But you are saying that you want me to stay with you because you will get scared without me?"


    Adeline didn''t understand the speech he just gave so she just kept on staring at him, her hand not leaving his robe.


    Theodore felt defeated in front of Adeline''s request. He felt like he was being held by a very strong hand that he could not get out of that easily.


    So he chuckled and then tucked himself inside the blanket, right next to Adeline. He rested his head on his palm and looked at the toddler who had called him beautiful. Now that he thought about it, he couldn''t help but smile. "Am I that happy to hear a compliment from a toddler?"


    When Theodore was lost in his thoughts, Adeline wriggled closer to him. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Will you tell me a story?"


    Theodore hummed for a while. But he didn''t have the heart to reject this request from his new friend so he replied, "Sure. What kind of story do you like?"


    Adeline whispered back with her eyes still closed, "Tell me a story about you."


    He had not expected this answer. The toddler never ceased to amaze him. "Where shall we begin? Let''s see." He pursed his lips for a while and thought for some time. Then he started to tell his story to the little human who seemed to be interested in him.


    "Once upon a time, in a Palace far far away, there lived an Almighty God. The Palace was also called Heaven by the mortals. He had many sons and daughters in the Palace. And he had given certain tasks to each of his children."


    Unknowingly, Theodore had now begun to caress the silver hair of Adeline. And Adeline was slowly travelling to the dreamland while sleeping close to the Devil Prince.


    "But not all of his children were obedient to him. So the Almighty cut the wings of all those children who disobeyed him and threw them out of the Palace. Some of them fell to the place called Hell and some fell on Earth."


    After a while, he slowly slid out of the bed, trying not to wake Adeline up. He then locked the door of his room to prevent Adeline waking up from her sleep and wandering around the cave full of mystical beings. He waved his hand around him and in an instant he vanished into thin air.

 Chapter 7锛欳haos in the Palace

    Within a few seconds, Theodore appeared in front of the Palace of Wyverndale. He noticed that the gate of the Palace was very heavily guarded. He had to be invisible if he was to enter the Palace and roam around freely.


    In order to be invisible, he performed some sort of hand gestures which looked very elegant as he performed it with his long fingers. First he touched the tip of his ring fingers with his thumbs to form a type of hand gesture, placed both of his hands in front of his chest to form a cross, and pulled the hands away from each other.


    And that was it. His body was surrounded by a dark aura making him invisible to human eyes. He rested his hands on his back and then slowly started to move forward, making his way inside to the Palace. He walked right through the heavy metal gates.


    There were no doors that could restrict him from entering, of course except the heaven''s door because he was banished from there. Other than that, he could practically enter anywhere in the two worlds - Earth and Hell.


    He walked inside the Palace to find it in chaos. The maids and guards were frantically running here and there. He kept on walking further and he saw that a section of soldiers were getting ready and gearing up as if they were going to head out for a battle.


    Theodore''s keen golden eyes were carefully analyzing the chaos in the Palace. He was almost certain that those who were running around were looking for the Princess and those getting ready were preparing to go out on a search.


    But Theodore wanted to be certain that all of it was not just a fa?ade and that Princess Adeline was really wanted in the Palace. Only then he would bring the Princess back to where she belonged. Else he was determined to let the Princess stay with him for the rest of her life.


    Theodore looked around and he quickly found the place he was looking for, the King''s Court. "The King must still be inside considering how all these people are running in and out of that place." He thought to himself and quickly made his way there.


    The Palace guards were on high alert for any signs of intruders. And the King, as Theodore had suspected, was very worried that he was still unable to find any clue regarding his daughter''s disappearance.


    Theodore furrowed his brows and thought, "It seems that the King is worried about his daughter. But let''s wait for some more time. I want to see and hear him when he is alone. That is when people show their true colors."


    After waiting in the corner for some time, the King was finally alone. Theodore was closely inspecting the expression on the King''s face. He was actually very troubled.


    King Dragomir slammed his fist on the table in front of him in his outrage. He was frustrated that even after personally interrogating the maids and guards in the Palace, he still had no clue about his beloved daughter''s disappearance.


    "How can Adeline vanish just like that from the Palace? Was it really Queen Claricia? No it can''t be her. She never showed any hatred or jealousy towards Adeline."


    The King rested his jaw on his hand and narrowed his gaze, "But then again, none of the other Queens or Concubines explicitly showed any hatred towards her. Everyone keeps their mask on while I''m around them. Who knows what''s really inside their heart?"


    King Dragomir called a Court Guard and ordered, "Ask Queen Claricia to come here. I want to interrogate her as well."


    After getting the order, the Guard bowed to the King and left the room.


    The King was in a deep sorrow now. He had already lost his lover, the one person whom he married because he had actually loved her and not because of some political reason. And now, the only living symbol of their love that Auvera left behind for him was missing.


    King Dragomir turned his gaze up as if he was looking for his dead lover, "I''m sorry Auvera. I could not take care of our beloved daughter. And now I don''t have a single clue. I don''t know where she is and how she is."


    He joined his palms and repeated, "I''m sorry. But I''ll make sure to find our daughter. I''ll search Heaven and Hell if I have to. And I''ll punish whoever it is that tried to harm our child."


    A smirk appeared on Theodore''s face, who was silently watching and hearing the King. This was enough proof for him that Adeline was not abandoned but kidnapped by the King''s enemy. And in the next moment, he waved his hand around him and vanished from the King''s Court.


    Queen Claricia rushed in to the King''s Court and bowed to the King, "You called me, Your Majesty?" She already knew that Princess Adeline was missing from the Palace and that everyone was looking for her. But what she didn''t know was that she was being called in to the Court as a suspect.


    The King narrowed his eyes to show anger towards Queen Claricia and then asked in a loud voice, "Is this your doing, Queen Claricia?"


    The Queen didn''t understand what the King was referring to so she was confused by the question. She furrowed her brows and asked, "I don''t understand what you are referring to, My King."


    The King turned his gaze away from the Queen and asked sternly, "Was there your hand in the disappearance of the Princess?" He could not look her in her eyes because deep down he felt that he was barking the wrong tree.


    The Queen was shocked to hear such accusation from the King. A soft gasp was heard and she immediately fell to the ground to kneel before the King, "I would never even think about causing such harm to our Princess."


    She looked towards the King with pitiful eyes and continued, "Your Majesty, I never bore a daughter of my own so I have always considered Princess Adeline as my own daughter. Prince Nigel also loves her like his own sibling. What would I gain by harming her?"


    The King inquired again, "Then why did you call her personal maids to your quarter just when she went missing?"


    The Queen understood why he suspected her. "Your Majesty, someone had given wrong information to those maids. My maid told me that they came to see me. But when I asked them why they were at my place instead of looking after the Princess, they told me that they came because I had requested them to see me. And I immediately saw them off."


    The King folded his hands and went into deep thoughts trying to make some sense out of the whole interrogation. Then he reached a conclusion in his mind, "If it was not Claricia then someone must have deliberately tried to frame her. If only I could find that maid who had given the wrong information to Adeline''s personal maids. I think those two maids were not lying after all."


    "Okay, you may leave now." The King finally relieved Queen Claricia from the Court.


    Outside the court, the soldiers were all set to move out of the Palace in search of the Princess. The squad that previously went in search of Adeline in the outer village had already returned and they confirmed that the Princess was not seen by any villagers. So this section of 40 soldiers was going to search in other areas.


    Just before the soldiers set off in their search, a maid came running to the King''s Court and shouted, "Your Majesty! We found the Princess."

 Chapter 8锛欱ack to the Palace

    General Osmond was slowly riding downhill towards the Palace in the horse that he stole. The dangerous road of the Hill of Grimmer Death was about to come to an end and he would soon reach the outer village.


    However, the closer he rode towards the Palace, the heavy his guilty conscience was becoming. "How am I going to enter the Palace after the crime that I''ve just committed? How am I going to face the King? How am I going to face my own family after committing such a horrible crime?" Several thoughts like these were already rooted deep down in his heart by now.


    At one point he even felt like rushing back to the Devil''s Cave to get back the Princess. But he resisted this urge by thinking about his own daughter, who would be killed by Queen Lillian if he did not follow her order.


    After riding for some time, General Osmond arrived at the outer village. The village was now silent, everyone asleep in their own humble houses. The lantern that he took with him earlier was already out of fire. But the moonlight that shone through the clear night led him forward.


    Osmond went back to the stable from where he had stolen the horse. He quietly tied the horse in its own place, and patted and thanked the horse for safely bringing him back from the dangerous trip. He then walked towards the Palace, unaware of what destiny awaited for him there.


    Theodore was teleported to his own room within a few seconds. Princess Adeline was still deep in her dreamland, tired from her long journey. Theodore ran his gaze towards his little friend and then inched his steps forward to the Princess who was lying on his bed.


    He sat down on the soft quilt of his bed facing towards Adeline. The Princess still had invisibility spell on her. Theodore placed his palm on Adeline''s forehead. Suddenly, his golden eyes turned red while he absorbed the invisibility spell''s power, ultimately breaking the spell.


    "That was enough power to last the spell for weeks. The one who cast this spell must be a powerful witch or wizard. I wonder who that might be and if that person is still inside the Palace." Theodore mumbled to himself.


    If only he had given some interest in the affairs of the human world or at the very least the Kingdom where his cave lied, then he would have known who the culprit was. There was only one powerful witch who resided in the Palace.


    He had transferred a smallest ounce of his demonic power inside of Adeline. The Princess squinted her eyes in her sleep when such great power flowed inside of her. Theodore caressed her silver hair with his other hand to calm her down.


    The presence of such power inside a human''s body would not only make the human stronger, it would also protect that human from the effect of other magic, regardless of the source.


    Theodore had never been this generous to anyone else before. Sharing his power with others also meant that it would create a kind of unbreakable bond between him and the other party. And he didn''t want to bear the burden. But in order to prevent something like this happening again to his friend in the future, he didn''t hesitate to share his power.


    After the transfer was complete, Theodore slowly removed the blanket that was covering the Princess and then softly carried her in his arm.


    He took one last look at the little human who had intrigued him and then whispered, "Until we meet again, little human." Then he waved his hand around and immediately teleported to the Palace. He reappeared in Adeline''s own chamber because it was the only empty place right now.


    Theodore placed the Princess in her own bed and tucked her in the blanket. He performed the hand gesture to make himself invisible and then waited for someone to find the Princess.


    He waited patiently for about a minute but then he was agitated. "Why isn''t anyone here already?" He mumbled in irritation and then decided to make some noise. He looked to his side and found a large vase.


    "What''s the point in keeping a vase in a toddler''s room? It is going to break anyway." He glanced towards the Princess who was sleeping very soundly and said, "Sorry little Princess." And then he picked up the vase only to crash it loudly on the floor.


    Adeline woke up from her dreamland because she was scared from the loud noise in her room. She immediately started to cry very loudly.


    Theodore felt bad for making his favorite human cry. But he wanted to get back to his room as soon as possible. In a few seconds, a maid who was nearby came running to the room when she heard the loud crash followed by a child crying.


    When she peeked inside the room, she was shocked to see that the Princess was in her own bed, crying. She was shocked because several maids, including her, had checked each and every corner of the Princess''s room already and had confirmed that the Princess was not in her room.


    The maid didn''t waste any seconds to go inside the room and calm down the Princess. She immediately dashed off towards the King''s Court. She knew that the King had bad temper. She thought that if she was the one to give him the good news, then maybe he would not punish her for not finding the Princess in her own room earlier when they searched.


    The King had a sense of defeat on his face. He was sitting on his golden throne that was placed on an elevated stage in the front of the King''s Court. The throne had designs of dragon carved on it. Heads of dragon were protruding from each arm rests. The seat was covered with soft red quilt to make it comfortable.


    And in front of the throne was a golden table with similar designs as that of the throne. The table would be placed in front of the throne only when the King had to look after some paper works. At the moment, he was writing an official search order. It was to be given to the section of his soldiers who were ready to go out on a search.


    Right when the King was about to place his seal on the order, the maid reached in front of the King''s Court and shouted, "Your Majesty! We found the Princess."


    The King immediately got up from his elaborate throne and climbed down the steps. He moved his feet quickly to reach in front of the maid and ordered, "Where is she? Take me there immediately."

 Chapter 9锛欳atching Up

    The maid quickly moved her feet and led the King towards the one place where no one thought that the Princess would be found, in her own chamber. Seeing the maid leading him to Adeline''s room, the King furrowed his brows and asked, "Where exactly did you find the Princess?"


    The maid was quick to give a reply, "I found the Princess in her own chamber, Your Majesty." Her heart rate was escalating when she gave the answer. She feared that the King would immediately lash out on her for not checking the room properly before.


    As the King approached the Princess''s room, he could hear his beloved daughter crying. His heart stung when he heard that and moved at a faster pace. Soon he was inside the Princess''s chamber and he could see the pieces of vase that was scattered all over the floor. He shifted his gaze towards the Princess who was now starting to calm down after seeing her father, whom she was longing to meet.


    The King quickly picked up the Princess and lovingly held her in his arms. She was lost for a few hours and he was ready to ransack heaven and hell for her. And now that he could finally hold his daughter, his happiness knew no bounds.


    A drop of tear made its way down the King''s cheek. The King dismissed the maid who was standing behind him with the wave of his hand. He didn''t want anyone to see him getting emotional and consider him to be weak.


    The maid understood the hand gesture of the King and locked the door as she went away.


    Theodore, who was watching this father-daughter reunion from one of the corners of the room, also thought that he should give them some privacy. He took one last look of Adeline who was clinging onto her father before teleporting back to his humble abode. And then he vanished from the room.


    Adeline was loosely hugging her father around his neck with her small hands while resting her head on his shoulder. The King caressed his daughter''s soft hair and finally spoke, "Where were you Adeline?"


    "I was looking for you but I found Prince Theodore. He was very nice to me. He even told me a story and let me sleep on his bed." Adeline replied while still laying her head on her father''s shoulder.


    The King did not recall having any son named Theodore. So in confusion he asked, "Who is Prince Theodore? Is he one of your brothers?"


    "No! He is not my brother." Princess Adeline chuckled after saying this and continued, "He said he is a Devil Prince. He lives on top of the hill."


    A cold shiver ran down King Dragomir''s spine upon hearing the words ''Devil Prince''. He knew that if the Devil Prince wanted to take over his Kingdom, he could do so in an instant. That was why no one dared to go to the Hill of Grimmer Death and annoy the Devil Prince.


    But he gathered his composure thinking that the Princess might have just heard some maids talk about the Devil Prince and where he lives, and she might have dreamt about it.


    The news that Princess Adeline was found spread inside the Palace like wildfire. The maid of Queen Lillian rushed inside the private chamber of the Queen. The Queen was lying down on her comfortable bed, thinking that now she had one less problem to take care of. She was imagining the Devil devouring the love child of her husband.


    Her imagination was interrupted by her maid who had just dashed into the room and was huffing and puffing while trying to speak. "Your Majesty, I�� I just�� just heard that they found Princess Adeline."


    The queen sat straight up on her bed after she heard the ''bad news''. And she growled in her anger, "What did you just say? They found that child? Where?"


    The maid was now bowing before the Queen fearing that Lillian might take out the anger on her. Then she started to stammer, "I hea�� heard that�� that they found her in her own room."


    Lillian slammed both her fists on her bed and shouted, "How is that even possible? Where is General Osmond?" Lillian gave a dead stare to the maid. If the maid was looking directly in her eyes, she might have fainted out of fear.


    The maid flinched when she heard the Queen slamming her fist and growling. No one liked being around Lillian when she was in her fury because they were scared of her witchcraft. Who knew what she might do to the person in front of her when she was furious.


    The maid whimpered in a low voice, "I don''t think he is back in the Palace yet, Your Majesty. If he had then he would have come straight to you to break the spell."


    "If he is not back in the Palace yet then how is the Princess here already? And just who was able to break her invisibility spell? I had cast the most powerful spell on her." It was a good thing that her quarter was almost in a secluded area. Else others might have heard her shouting at the poor maid.


    "Once the General arrives in the Palace, bring him to me immediately. I want to know why he failed. And if he thought that he could trick me in any way, I will make sure that he will repay for angering me." Lillian gritted her teeth and her eyes were full of rage. She was the female embodiment of evil.


    Her maid bowed and quickly ran out of the room. She did not want to endanger her life by staying for more time than what was necessary.


    The King and the Princess were now sitting on the bed chatting and laughing occasionally.


    "Prince Theodore was really beautiful. And he smiled at me and played with me. I want to play with him again." The Princess praised Theodore a lot when she was explaining about her tiring but wonderful journey.


    The King laughed and said, "Is that so? Sure, if you meet him again then you can play with him." Dragomir spoke very softly with his daughter, unlike how he spoke to everyone else.


    The Princess had already told the King everything in detail. But the King did not know which part to believe and which part to avoid. Children tend to have wild imagination and story-telling ability. So he was confused about her daughter''s story about her adventure to the Devil''s Cave.


    Dragomir ended up assuming that a man had kidnapped her from the Palace but returned her back again, maybe fearing the punishment from him. And everything else that the Princess said was just her dream or her over-active imagination.

 Chapter 10锛歍he Culprits

    He never asked questions like, "Who took you away from the garden?" or "Where did you go when Hawisa and Osanna went away from the garden?" And because of this, Queen Lillian was never mentioned in Adeline''s story.


    The King directly started his inquiry from questions like where she was and who Prince Theodore was. And after that his next question was "Who took you to the hill?"


    And all Princess Adeline told him was that a nice man had taken her there. Adeline regarded General Osmond as a nice man because he had promised her to take her to her father and he had carried her, fed her, and took her to her new friend''s home. Osmond had never assaulted her neither did anything to scare her.


    After hearing how the ''nice man'' took her to the hill, King Dragomir never asked another important question, "What was the nice man wearing?"


    King Dragomir had just assumed that the man who kidnapped her was wearing a mask and black cloth. He had this pre-set perception about the kidnapper because that was what Hawisa, Adeline''s personal maid, had told him while he was interrogating her.


    And from the maid''s description, he had presumed that the kidnapper was either a bandit, or a trained soldier from their neighboring Kingdom called Mihir.


    Wyverndale and Mihir were both equally powerful Kingdoms and they were in a constant power struggle with each other, a cold war. The only thing that was stopping the two Kingdoms from war was the natural barrier between them, which was the sky high mountains and hills.


    It would be difficult for thousands of soldiers to march to either Kingdom from a small pass between the two Kingdoms called the Jhom la pass. And these Kingdoms relied on petty tactics to get on the nerves of each other. This led King Dragomir to believe that the kidnapping might have been one of such tactics.


    However, after her daughter was returned back to the Palace safely, the King believed that the kidnapping was done by a bandit. Mihir would have never returned a hostage if they really were behind Adeline''s kidnapping.


    If only King Dragomir had inquired about the nice man''s dress or just the color of the dress, then maybe, he could have figured out that the kidnapper was none other than one of his own soldiers.


    The soldiers of Wyverndale wore navy blue colored attire with black borders. Their attire included trouser, a knee length fitting robe, black long boots, and finally a metal armor on their chest. Their look was completed by a black hat and a double edged sword around their waist.


    The man who was wearing the similar attire finally arrived at the Palace. He quietly entered the palace, careful not to bump into anyone. And then he headed towards Queen Lillian''s quarter which was located at the South-West corner of the Palace.


    It would take 25 minutes on foot to reach Lillian''s quarter from the main gate. The area of the Palace was very large and the Queens and Concubines could use their personal carriages if they wanted to travel from one corner of the Palace to another.


    The personal maid of Lillian was standing outside the Queen''s personal chamber waiting for General Osmond to arrive. Inside the chamber, the Queen was pacing back and forth; she was desperate to hear about what had happened or rather tell what happened.


    Osmond arrived in front of Lillian''s chamber and stopped. He leaned towards the maid and whispered, "Announce to the Queen that I have returned from my mission."


    The maid was unable to sense General''s presence and when he spoke near her ear, she was spooked. She felt as if her soul left her body for a fraction of seconds. She calmed herself down by taking in deep breath and went inside the room, "Your Majesty, General Osmond has arrived."


    Queen Lillian stopped pacing and quickly sat down on her elaborate chair. "Let him in."


    After the maid left the chamber, General Osmond entered the room and bent down on one of his knees and bowed to the Queen. "Your Majesty, I''ve returned back from the Devil''s Cave."


    The Queen''s dark eyes were filled with rage. She believed that the General had played a nasty trick on her. She gritted from between her teeth, "What took you so long? The Princess arrived more than an hour ago."


    She rested her hands on the arm rest and asked in a stern voice, "So, tell me, what took you so long?"


    General Osmond had no idea that the Princess was already back in the Palace. Though the talk of the night in the Palace was the Princess, Osmond was too busy trying not to bump on anyone for him to listen to what they were talking about.


    Osmond was visibly confused to see Lillian in rage. He furrowed his brows and asked the Queen, "I''m sorry Your Majesty, but I don''t understand what you are implying."


    Lillian let out an evil laughter, scary enough to spook the maid who was standing outside. And then gave General Osmond a cold and piercing look, "So you have no idea how the Princess is back in the Palace?"


    General Osmond was shocked to hear that. "She is back in the Palace? But how is that even possible. I took her to the Devil''s Cave and watched her enter the Cave with my own eyes. And I immediately left the cave after leaving her there."


    Osmond knew that the Queen was telling the truth by the way she was behaving. A part of his heart wanted to thank the God for protecting the Princess and lifting his huge burden of guilt. But at the same time, another part of his heart was scared for the repercussion of his failure.


    Technically, he was successful in the mission that was assigned to him by the Queen. However, nobody had seen him leave the Princess in front of the Devil''s Cave. And without any proof and witness to back him, he realized that he was doomed.


    The Queen got up from her chair and mockingly asked, "Are you sure that you didn''t trick me?"


    A grim sneer appeared on her face. Then she started to pace back and forth with her hands behind her back.


    "I have a theory of what you actually did. You took that little brat to another powerful witch or wizard and made them break the invisibility spell, but only the spell on the Princess. Then somehow you smuggled her back in her own room and waited for another hour before coming here. And then you came to me claiming to have left her in front of the Devil''s Cave."


    Her feet stopped right in front of General Osmond. Although he himself was famous as the Devil incarnate and was one of the strongest soldiers of Wyverndale, he felt powerless in front of The Evil Queen. He didn''t dare to look her in the eyes and was kneeling down and bowing.


    The Queen continued her accusation, "And you thought that I would just forgive you? After I had a taste of victory only to realize later that it was actually a defeat?"


    Her eyes were now filled with scalding fury. A strange power could be felt around her.


    A cold shiver ran down the spine of General Osmond, he knew that something very bad was about to happen.


    The Queen continued speaking in a shrilling voice, "I had high expectations from you General Osmond, but you greatly disappointed me... No, disappointment would be an understatement; you insulted me by not following my orders."


    General Osmond immediately fell on both of his knees and deeply bowed to the Queen. "Please forgive me for my incompetence, Your Majesty. But I would never dare to go against your order or even think about insulting you."


    Lillian narrowed her gaze at the powerless man bowing for her forgiveness. She scoffed and said, "You are no longer of any use to me."


    Then Lillian faced towards her another room and shouted, "Bring out the girl."

 Chapter 11锛欰n Evil Witch

    In an instant, a girl who was roughly 10 years old was presented in front of the Queen. The girl''s mouth and hands were tied by long piece of cloth. Her hair was ruffled and she even had some bruises on her face, probably left by someone when slapping the poor girl.


    The General felt piercing pain in his heart when he raised his head to see the girl who was standing beside the Queen. It was Eleanor, his beloved daughter.


    Lillian lifted her heavy royal gown and languidly walked behind Eleanor. Then she rested her hands on the girl''s shoulder. Her shrill voice pierced the silence in the room, "She was only 6 years old when she was fighting for her life. And look at her now, outlived her fated years by four more year."


    Lillian''s long and pointed fingernails approached the girl''s thin neck. With a flick of her finger, Lillian made a small cut at the side of Eleanor''s neck.


    Eleanor let out a muffled sobbing through the fabric covering her mouth. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. She was just a child and this cruel behavior from the Queen frightened her to her core. She was shaking like a leaf.


    General Osmond was witnessing the Queen''s cruel actions on his daughter. He wanted to leap forward and separate the Queen''s hand from her body which had dared to wound his daughter. But he knew that it would just take a flick of her hand for Lillian to knock him down. She was one of the most powerful witches in the land.


    Osmond would not stand a chance in front of the Queen. And with his daughter standing right in between him and the Queen, his chances of landing an attack on Lillian was even low. He knew that she wouldn''t hesitate one bit to hurt his daughter.


    General Osmond had never felt this helpless and powerless in his life. He bowed to the Queen, his head touching the floor and his palms resting on the floor beside his head.


    He begged to the Queen, "Please Your Highness, have mercy on me and my daughter. I don''t know how the Princess was able to return back to the Palace but I swear upon my daughter''s life that I did not try to trick you. I took her to the Devil''s Cave and watched her enter the cave."


    "Enough with the same old lies! Are you suggesting that the Princess had wings and flew back to the Palace?" The Queen asked with an unyielding voice while also tightening her grip on Eleanor''s shoulder. Eleanor''s muffled cries could be heard even more.


    The General lifted his head to look at Lillian with pitiful eyes, "I''m not suggesting anything Your Majesty. I''m just asserting that I do not have the answer."


    General Osmond did not like what he was going to say next but he was desperate to take his daughter away from the witch, "Please give me another chance Your Majesty. Or at the very least let me investigate how the Princess was able to escape from the Devil."


    She stared at the General with scalding fury and gritted between her teeth, "You''ve lost all your chances, you ungrateful bastard."


    And in another split second, Lillian waved her hand at the speed of lightening and slammed it on the chest of Eleanor. A dark aura engulfed the room as a dark gust of smoke started to swirl above Lillian and Eleanor.


    Eleanor had a stunned look on her face, her eyes wide open and unflinching. The dark smoke was sizzling out of Eleanor''s chest. It was dark magic, a prohibited magic, which Lillian had just performed.


    General Osmond flung himself towards his daughter after realizing what just happened in front of his eyes. But he was too late. Eleanor fell down on his arms, lifeless.


    Osmond felt a burning sensation in his heart, everything around him went blurry and mute. Streams of tears were voluntarily dripping down from his brown eyes and landing on the cold face of his daughter.


    He softly shook his daughter''s face in an attempt to wake her up, still hoping that she was not dead. He softly mumbled in a weak voice full of sorrow, "Eleanor�� Eleanor�� Please wake up! Don''t leave your father like this. Wake up�� Eleanor��"


    After his futile effort at waking up his daughter, the General hugged the body of his daughter very tightly and started to cry very loudly. He could not contain his grief anymore.


    Lillian left General Osmond alone in the room and went outside to find her maid. The maid bowed to the Queen.


    "Ida, prepare the carriage to take those two out of the Palace. And make sure the guards stay quiet." She handed two strings of coins to Ida, each with 100 bronze coins tied together. The maid slipped the coins in the pocket of her apron, bowed to the Queen and quickly went away.


    Lillian went inside her chamber and stopped in front of Osmond who was still crying his heart out. Then she chanted some mantra and waved her hands at the General. General Osmond was too sorrowed to notice anything that the Queen was doing to him.


    Lillian cleared her throat to get Osmond''s attention and spoke, "I have lifted your invisibility spell. If you are asked where you were when the Princess was kidnapped, tell them that your daughter was on the verge of death and you could not attend your duty."


    Ida came back inside the room and whispered to the Queen that the carriage was ready. "I have arranged a secret carriage. Go home and arrange a funeral for your daughter."


    Then she narrowed her gaze as a warning and threatened the General, "And don''t you dare think that you can get revenge. If any soul, living or dead, knows about our little secret, then I will make sure that your whole clan is massacred."


    Then she quickly turned around and made her way into her private chamber.


    The Queen''s threat fueled the already burning rage inside the General''s heart. He didn''t get a chance to say anything to the Queen but he made a mental oath with himself that he would take his revenge by bringing the downfall of the Queen. What greater punishment would there be for a power hungry Queen?


    Ida led General Osmond outside the chamber and to the carriage. He got inside the carriage while holding his beloved daughter''s body in his arms. As soon as they got inside, the carriage took off.


    Queen Lillian was already brewing another evil plan in her wicked mind.


    "I did not want to get my hands dirty with the Princess, but now I guess I have no choice other than dealing with her myself." An evil smirk slipped out Lillian''s mouth.

 Chapter 12锛欰nother Attack

    Behind the Palace of Wyverndale, a large area was covered by a forest. Initially, the forest was not a dense one. It was a man-made one and thus, it was exempt of dangerous predators. The only animals found in that forest were the harmless ones that were brought in like spotted deer, four horned antelopes, wild rabbits, pheasants, and peacocks.


    The forest was used as a hunting ground by the King and his armies. The forest also served as a survival training field for new recruits. However, overtime, the forest started to embrace its natural power and started to become dense. And with that other animals started to migrate to the forest, some of which were predators.


    There was another specialty of that forest. Underneath the forest, there was a natural cave that spanned around half a kilometer in area. And King Dragomir had utilized that cave to build prison cells, which he referred to as the dungeon.


    The dungeon had a capacity to imprison around five hundred people. As it was underground, the place was mostly dark. The only light source inside the prison came from the wooden torches that the guards carried around with them, when they came for their occasional checks.


    And in two of the adjacent cells in the dungeon, Hawisa and Osanna were imprisoned. They were lying down on the cold floor. Both of them had swollen face due to excessive crying and some beatings from the guards. They had no idea how long it had been since they were inside the cell.


    They were praying for the Princess to be found. The King had threatened them that they would be beheaded if she was not found by the nightfall. And they did not want to die.


    "Hawisa, who do you think kidnapped the Princess?" Osanna asked to her friend in a feeble voice.


    Hawisa had no energy left in her body to even turn around and face Osanna through the prison bar that was in between them. She whispered in a frail voice, "This is the Palace, Osanna. And you never know a friend from foe. Someone who was threatened by her existence must have kidnapped her. But I don''t know who."


    "I hope they find her. I don''t want to die so soon." A muffled sobbing was heard from Osanna''s cell.


    Both of them had a chill shiver run down their spine when they heard howls of the wolves. Wolves only howled during the night, staring at the moon. Hawisa and Osanna were reminded that it was already nightfall and they got goose bumps all over their body.


    Hawisa gulped with fear and whispered, "I think it is already late for us to wish for our lives. It seems like we don''t have a choice other than dying."


    Of course, the Princess had already returned back to the Palace by this time. But no one had informed them that she was found. Everyone was busy celebrating the return of the Princess that they completely forgot about these two poor souls.


    King Dragomir wanted to spend some more time with his daughter who he thought he had lost. But the Princess was continuously yawning and was drowsy. So he tucked her in her thin and soft blanket, closed the doors to her room, and then headed towards his own chamber.


    King Dragomir stopped in front of the Sergeant who was standing guard at the entrance of Adeline''s quarter and ordered, "I do not want any living soul to enter the Princess''s quarter. Keep a sharp eye on the Princess."


    The Sergeant straightened his back and said, "Yes Your Majesty. I will protect the Princess with my life."


    The King had increased the number of guards around the Princess''s quarter to prevent something similar from happening again.


    However, Lillian had some other plans. Queen Lillian didn''t want to wait any longer to get rid of the thorn in her son''s path to the throne. She was tapping her fingernails on her chair''s arm rest and making a plan to take out the Princess once and for all.


    "If I kill the Princess tonight, then I can direct the investigation away from me. I will make them believe that the Princess was already poisoned when she was brought back to the Palace." Then all of a sudden Lillian broke into evil laughter, satisfied with her own plan.


    "After I kill her with my dark magic, I''ll make sure to leave traces of poison in her mouth." She clasped her hands together in excitement and sneered, "It''s a perfect plan."


    It was around midnight and everyone in the Palace was asleep by now, except the guards and Queen Lillian. The Queen put an invisibility spell on herself and then strolled towards Adeline''s quarter. With footsteps as light as that of a cat, she quietly snuck past all the guards who were guarding the little Princess''s quarter.


    The guards were all on high alert. They did not want to get any punishment from the King, if something was to happen to the Princess. However, the increase in number of guards was useless in front of Queen Lillian''s invisibility spell. No one noticed that an evil soul was already lurking inside the Princess''s room.


    After watching the innocent Princess for some time, Lillian had a malicious sneer dancing on her lips. She could feel her victory very close to her. She leaned in closer to Adeline and whispered, "Goodbye little Princess."


    Then at a lightning speed Lillian waved her hand around. The dark gust of smoke swirled above the two of them. Then she slammed her hand on Adeline''s chest, or let''s say she tried to do so.


    As she tried to hit her hand on Adeline''s chest, some kind of power repelled her hand so hard that the Queen flew a few feet away and crash landed on the floor. And a loud scream slipped out of her mouth.


    Lillian was furious for not being able to kill the Princess. She gritted through her teeth and snarled, "Who dared to clash with my power? Show yourself before I burn down this room." She could not even comprehend that such great power was coming from Adeline''s own body.


    The guards who were standing outside heard the loud cry coming out of the Princess''s room. They quickly ran toward Adeline''s room to check on her. But they could not see anyone else other than the Princess, who was sleeping very soundly on her own bed.


    Seeing all the guards coming in the room, Lillian quickly got up and fled out of the room. She did not want anyone to stumble upon her and find her out.


    She could not take any chances of being caught and presented to the King. Even though she could easily overpower the guards and take them all out, that would still reveal her; and her position as a Queen might be in danger. After all, she had to be in power if she wanted her son to be a King someday.

 Chapter 13锛歍raining Ground

    Princess Adeline was now five years old. Hawisa and Osanna woke Adeline up when the sun was not even up yet. They helped her take a bath with warm water inside the bath house of her own quarter.


    Hawisa wrapped the Princess in a large towel and then carried her to her room. In the meantime Osanna took out the new dress that had arrived just yesterday for the Princess.


    "Your Highness, look what we have here�� oh! It''s a nice uniform. Don''t you think so?" Osanna displayed the dress to Adeline.


    Adeline nodded very energetically as she had been waiting so long to wear that kind of dress. "I love it! Dress me up quickly." And then she giggled happily.


    They were going to dress her up in a combat dress which was similar to that of the soldiers. The only difference was the color. Prince and Princess''s combat dresses were of dark grey in color. They were required to wear that uniform when they attended the training classes.


    Adeline''s personal maid Hawisa and Osanna were pardoned the day after the Princess was found. The King had concluded that they were also victimized by the kidnapper.


    Also he had personally selected the two of them to take care of the Princess after carefully checking their personality and background. So they were returned back to their position when they swore an oath to never leave the Princess''s side.


    Today was the first day of Adeline''s combat training class, and her personal maids were preparing her for the hard day ahead.


    While Osanna dressed up the Princess, Hawisa worked on Adeline''s silver hair. She braided the Princess''s hair tightly so that it would not get in the way of her training.


    Hawisa carefully moved her gaze over the Princess and then declared, "And�� all done."


    "Take me to the mirror." Adeline commanded to her maids. Hawisa carried her in front of a huge mirror which was at the corner of the room.


    Adeline could not contain her excitement so she did a little dance by shaking her hips and said, "I look like a soldier. Arghhhhhh..." And she giggled again.


    "Okay let''s eat the breakfast and your tummy will also be happy." Hawisa carried the Princess again and led her to another room where a small table was set up with several delicious dishes.


    Adeline was served a heavy breakfast so that she would not faint in the training ground. It was Princess''s first day so the maids were also excited for the Princess.


    After the Princess finished eating Hawisa and Osanna escorted her towards the combat class.


    Every Prince and Princess was required to go through tough combat trainings and many other training to prepare them for the future. Adeline was the youngest one among the 24 children of the King. So she was the last one to enter the training. Others had already gained some level of expertise by now.


    The training ground for the Princes and Princesses was located at the North-West part of the Palace, just behind of the Armory. The area was large so that it could easily accommodate the training of around 50 people.


    The royal children were taught several kinds of skills like archery, horse riding, spear fighting, sword fighting, hand to hand combat, survival skill, etc. And the training ground had separate section where each kind of skills would be taught by experienced generals or lieutenant generals.


    As the Kingdoms were not at war, soldiers spent most of their time in trainings. And generals and lieutenant generals would look after the trainings of soldiers that were under their command along with the training of royal children.


    The Princes and Princesses those who were above the age of 14 were also required to take theoretical classes. They would be taught topics like leadership, devising battle plans, battle strategies, tactics, diplomacy, etc.


    After around 20 minutes, Adeline reached to the training ground, escorted by her personal maids. Though Adeline had to wake up very early in the morning, she was also excited that she would finally get to see all of her half-brothers and half-sisters.


    Adeline would rarely get to see her brothers and sisters because they would be busy with their trainings and classes. And even though they would have free time, it was not like they were allowed to see each other whenever they wanted to. There would have to be some special occasion like festivals or family gathering for them to meet each other.


    The only brother who she was close to was Nigel. Nigel was now 12 years old and he was the only son of Queen Claricia.


    Claricia was the Princess of Aberdeen Kingdom. And like most people from Aberdeen, she was also very kind-hearted. She would easily place trust in others and would care for people other than her.


    In the past two years, Claricia had grown even fonder of Princess Adeline, ever since Adeline''s life was in danger. She felt obliged to take care of the Princess even more after the kidnapping incident. She would frequently visit Adeline''s quarter along with Prince Nigel. And Prince Nigel also loved Adeline like she was his own sibling.


    And aside from Prince Nigel, Adeline had not interacted that much with other brothers and sisters. When she was told that all of her brothers and sisters would be there in the training, she had danced with excitement thinking she would now get to play with other brothers and sisters.


    Almost all of the Princes and Princesses had already gathered in the training ground when Princess Adeline reached there. When Nigel saw that Adeline was there all dressed up in her battle uniform, he immediately rushed towards her and carried her in his arms.


    The maids left the Princess on the ground and went near the gate of the ground from where they would be able to keep an eye on the Princess.


    "Hi! Adeline, you look so tough in this dress." Nigel complimented his pampered sister while squeezing her baby cheeks.


    Adeline''s blue eyes were sparkling with delight. She giggled and then said to her brother, "I look just like you."


    Nigel placed his sister on the ground and grinned, "Of course you look like me. You are my little sister after all." But the only attribute that was common between Nigel and Adeline was their sapphire blue eyes that they inherited from the King.


    All the other Princes and Princesses also noticed that the youngest Princess was joining the training from today. However, before they could take a proper glance of Adeline or strike up a conversation with her, their teacher had appeared in front of the ground.


    Princess Adeline immediately recognized who it was and she whispered to Nigel, "I know that man. He is that nice man I saw in my dream when I was small."


    Nigel scrunched his brows in confusion and whispered back, "You saw him in your dream? How is that even possible without seeing him in real life?" Nigel then thought to himself, "Maybe she just saw him somewhere else."

 Chapter 14锛歋omeone is Getting Hurt!

    Like all the other Generals and Lieutenants, General Osmond also had to devote a few hours of his time every day to teach the future rulers of the Kingdom.


    Osmond walked to the front of the training ground and then spoke in a very loud voice so that he would be audible to everyone, "Gather up everyone! I have a special announcement to make."


    General Osmond gestured his hand towards the direction of Adeline and continued in his loud voice, "Princess Adeline will be joining the training classes from today. I hope every one of you will be kind to her and will be supportive to her."


    Little chatter was going around from the other Princes and Princesses. Some looked at her with curiosity, some looked at her envy, while some didn''t seem to care.


    "All right, please be quiet everyone. We will begin with our usual warm up routine. And after that we will practice sword fighting." Osmond took a pause and then shouted, "I don''t want any one of you slacking. Everyone must run around the ground for 15 times. You may begin."


    With that order from General Osmond, everyone started to get in position and run around the ground.


    General Osmond went near to Adeline who was about to hop around and bowed to her, "Princess Adeline, since today is your first day of your training, you can take it slow. You will be able to catch up with the others after some more days."


    "Okay" Princess Adeline smiled at the General and asked him, "What is your name teacher?"


    "I''m Osmond, Your Highness." General smiled back at the Princess.


    "I had seen you in my dream once. But after that I never saw you. But I''m happy to see you now." Adeline innocently smiled at the General and took off with Nigel.


    These words from the Princess reminded the General of horrible incidents that happened two years ago. The sight of his daughter dying on his arms flashed vividly before his eyes. He was frozen at the spot for quite some time. But slowly the grief in his eyes turned into determination, determination to take his revenge on Queen Lillian.


    General Osmond also started to run alongside all the royal children. He caught up with Adeline and Nigel who were running at the end of the line and started to run beside them.


    Slowly the speed of everyone was wearing off after taking 10 laps around the large training ground. General Osmond had thought that since it was her first day, Princess Adeline would give up after 2-3 laps.


    However, to the General''s disbelief, Adeline was not showing any sign of tiredness. She was not sweating, nor was she slowing down. Even her breathing was still normal.


    Adeline was rather excited that she was allowed to run freely. If she had ran around like this back in her quarter then Hawisa or Osanna would catch her and ask her not to run around.


    After 12 laps Prince Nigel finally broke his silence and spoke with heavy breathing, "Adeline, aren''t you tired? You can tell me if you are tired." Nigel glanced at Osmond who was still running beside them and whispered to Adeline, "You don''t have to be afraid of General Osmond."


    "No I''m not tired. How many times do we need to go around now?" Adeline directed the question at Nigel.


    Nigel had hoped that he would also be able to get out of doing warm ups if Adeline said that she was tired. But he was disappointed when he heard her answer.


    "We have 2 and a half round left. Are you sure you can keep on running?" Prince Nigel tried one more time to get a chance to skip running.


    But her answer was the same, "Yes I am sure I can run. Don''t worry."


    General Osmond was listening to the conversation that was going on beside him. He raised his brows in surprise when he heard the Princess talking without showing any sign of gasping or heavy breathing.


    "I didn''t know the Princess had such a good stamina." Osmond thought to himself. By now, even he was starting to take deep breaths.


    After everyone completed 15 laps around the ground, all of them gathered in the middle of the ground to practice sword fighting.


    "Why don''t you form a pair among yourselves and practice yesterday''s moves?" General Osmond suggested his students. Before today, Osmond would often pair with one of the Prince or Princess so that everyone could have a pair. Now, finally everyone would have a pair.


    Several types of waster (wooden sword) were kept on display on an elevated platform that was in front of the children. Some resembled double edged arming sword with single handed grip, some resembled double edged longsword with two handed grip, and some resembled single edged falchion with single handed grip.


    Everyone went forward to grab their waster from the display and that was when General Osmond suddenly remembered that those wooden swords would be too long and heavy for Princess Adeline to handle.


    Osmond went towards Adeline who was waiting for her turn to pick a sword and leaned down to whisper, "I''m sorry Your Highness. The wasters that are here will not suit you. I''ll quickly grab something for you. Why don''t you wait with Prince Nigel till then?"


    Osmond then looked at Nigel who was standing beside the Princess and said to him, "Prince Nigel, I think you should pair up with Princess Adeline. I''ll be right back."


    General Osmond saw how much Prince Nigel cared for his sister so he thought it would be best if he left her with him. He knew that the others were waiting for their chance to pick on the young Princess, and he didn''t want anything bad to happen to her, not again.


    Prince Nigel picked the one which resembled an arming sword and led Adeline back to the ground with him. "Now you and I can practice fighting against each other. Isn''t that wonderful?"


    Princess Adeline was too happy to hear that and she clapped and laughed. "It is wonderful. I will also get a toy like yours right?"


    Nigel giggled when he heard her calling the sword a toy, "Yes, the General will get you one."


    Meanwhile the twins Margery and Muriel were glaring at Adeline with envy. They were the daughters of the second wife of the King, Queen Vultrada, who used to be a Princess from Tarrin Kingdom. The twins were 9 years old and were inseparable from each other.


    Muriel had a disgusted look on her face. She stared at Adeline from the corner of her eyes and said to her sister, "Look at her all happy and satisfied. Why does she get to spend time with father but we don''t. What is so special about her anyway?"


    Both of them looked at each other and nodded with an evil look on their face. Then they made their way towards Nigel and Adeline.


    As Margery and Muriel walked towards their prey, they had a cunning sneer on their face. And they said in unison, "Someone is getting seriously hurt today."

 Chapter 15锛欶irst Fight

    As planned, Muriel approached Nigel and struck up a conversation with him, "Hey Nigel, why don''t you pair with me today?"


    Nigel didn''t really like the twins. In fact he didn''t really get along with other Princes or Princesses. He was glad that Adeline was finally five years old and would accompany him every day from now on.


    Now that Adeline was here, Nigel didn''t want to pair up with anyone else. To add to that, General Osmond had directly ordered him to pair with Adeline. So he refused the offer of Muriel, "No thanks! General Osmond has ordered me to pair up with Adeline."


    What Nigel didn''t realize was that Muriel was just trying to distract him to give chance for Margery to lure Adeline away.


    The moment Nigel turned his back on Adeline to face Muriel, Margery had snuck past him and was whispering in Adeline''s ear, "Come and play with me. If you play with me, I''ll give you a strawberry."


    "I don''t like strawberry." Adeline had just spoken the truth about her dislike but it immediately triggered Margery who hated Adeline for being father''s favorite.


    "How dare you speak down on me? Well I don''t like YOU, you little brat." Margery didn''t care about the gazes that were coming towards her and kept on shouting, "Do you think you are so special just because father visits you every day? Guess what? You don''t even have a mother but we do."


    Hearing such harsh words made Adeline''s heart sour and she started to cry. Adeline didn''t remember her mother''s face but would often daydream about her mother. Though King Dragomir tried his best not to make Adeline feel lonely, he was unable to fill the void. And when Adeline was reminded that she did not have a mother, she felt extremely unhappy.


    Nigel quickly ran over to Adeline and hugged her. "You also have a mother Adeline. Don''t listen to her. Isn''t my mother your mother as well? She loves us both equally."


    But Muriel interjected immediately and shouted in a piercing voice, "If she really was her mother then why doesn''t this brat live with you guys?"


    Adeline started to cry even louder. No one had ever talked to her like this and hurt her.


    Nigel was now really furious with the ill-mannered girls in front of him. He stared at them and shouted, "Just go away both of you. You don''t have to be so mean to everyone. The two of you are not the only Princess around."


    Nigel turned his back at the twins and bend down on his knees to wipe the tears of Adeline, "They are always mean like that. Don''t ever listen to them."


    But the twins were still in a mood for some battle. Margery went near Nigel and pushed him from the side. Nigel fell down on the ground and hurt his elbow.


    Adeline, who was crying until now could not stand what she just saw. She didn''t like the way the twins pushed her dear brother and bruised him.


    And to everyone''s surprise, the tiny girl was not only able to push Margery but she was also able to make her crash with a thump on the ground. Seeing Margery on the ground, Muriel dashed towards Adeline in anger and tried to push her. But Adeline resisted. And in another second, Muriel was the one who had crashed on the ground.


    Adeline didn''t feel bad for pushing the twins at all. She felt a sense of empowerment. She felt like she was able to protect her brother and was proud of herself.


    Now it was the twin''s turn to cry. Because of the force they were pushed with, they had few bruises on their back and for a few seconds they had difficulty while breathing.


    Meanwhile, General Osmond was returning with two waster sword which was of the same size as the roundel dagger. It would be of perfect size for the little Princess.


    But that was when the General witnessed Margery pushing Nigel to the ground. He started to walk faster to stop them from fighting with each other but he witnessed something very interesting. Princess Adeline was able to push two girls to the ground. They were bigger than her but Adeline managed to take them down, that also with a great force.


    "This is getting more and more interesting. I wonder where such energy comes from in that little body." Seeing Princess Adeline capable of defending herself from other''s attack, Osmond decided to hide and watch how the situation would unfold from a distance.


    Osmond pondered upon his strategy to take the revenge with Queen Lillian, "My decision to take my revenge through Princess Adeline was not wrong after all. She has great potentials, I can already tell." Osmond also wanted to know the friends and foes of Princess Adeline so he kept on watching.


    Edwin, the oldest among the royal children, was also watching the fight that was going on. He was getting ready to practice with his younger brother Alan but he decided to go towards the fight scene instead.


    Edwin helped Margery and Muriel get up from the dusty ground and narrowed his gaze at Adeline. "Are you that spoiled that you are picking fights on the first day of your training? My mother was right, the King has pampered you a lot and turned you into a horse without a lease."


    Princess Adeline did not understand what her brother said to her but she knew that he was speaking badly of her. His expression was saying it all.


    Adeline was about to cry again but Nigel immediately protested and spoke on behalf of his sister, "Edwin, it was not Adeline who started all this. These twins came to us and started picking fight with us for no reason. If you want to shout at someone then shout at the ones who made a mistake."


    Edwin gritted his teeth and walked closer to Nigel to intimidate him. "Don''t you dare teach me what to do, you mama''s boy. You are no better than this little brat. All you do is follow your mother around and skip your training sessions."


    Both Edwin and Nigel were clenching their fists and giving each other a cold piercing look, ready to break into a fight. Adeline tugged Nigel''s uniform because she didn''t want him to get hurt again. But the twins were smiling slyly and were enjoying the chaos they brought.


    Alan saw what was about to happen and he rushed in the middle of the two boys and tried to calm them down. "Whoa! What are you guys doing? Osmond will arrive any minute now. He will punish everyone if we fight while training. You guys don''t want to take another 15 laps around the ground now, do you?"


    On top of the Hill of Grimmer Death, inside the Devil''s Cave, Theodore was sleeping soundly on his warm bed. But he was woken up with sourness in his heart.


    "What is this feeling? Why do I feel sad for no reason?" Theodore got up from his bed and rubbed his chest. But the feeling didn''t go away.


    Theodore''s eyes opened wide with a hunch. A thought crossed his mind, "Could it be��?"

 Chapter 16 - Theodore

    Theodore thought that the only possible reason of why he was feeling that way was because of his connection with Princess Adeline. Theodore thought to himself "Maybe someone is trying to hurt her again. I should go and check." and he waved his hand around to teleport himself to the Palace.


    And within a few seconds, Theodore was in Princess Adeline''s room. He looked around but did not see the Princess anywhere. He went to another room and then to another. He searched frantically for his little human to no avail.


    "Did something already happen to her again?" Theodore narrowed his gaze and mumbled in a deep voice. "But I can still feel her presence. I have to find her before anything bad happens."


    Then he folded his legs and sat down on the floor to find Adeline by using his Divine Vision. A long time ago, when Theodore was able to please his father by successfully completing a task that was assigned to him, his father had bestowed him with the gift of the Divine eyes.


    And by using the power of his Divine Vision, he was able to see the past as well as the future. He was also able to use it to find anything or anyone in the present.


    However, this Divine Vision also became a curse to Theodore. After getting the gift from his father, he was curious to see his own future. He sat down beneath a large tree in the garden of Heaven and closed his eyes to test his gift. But he saw that in the future he was banished to an unknown land by his father.


    Furious with what he saw, he waited for a chance to take revenge with his father, for the action that his father was yet to take. He waited patiently for thousands of years, watching everything that his father was doing.


    His father was finally able to create supreme creatures, a man and a woman. The almighty sent them down to the land that was full of his creations. It was called Earth.


    Finally, for taking his home away in the future, Theodore decided to ruin his father''s supreme creation till date. And coincidently, one of his brothers, Samael was also thinking the same. He had his eyes on the beautiful woman that his father had created, named Lillith.


    After talking with his brother, Theodore descended down to Earth and poisoned Lillith''s mind with lust. Lillith left Adam, her husband, and went along with Samael.


    The Almighty was enraged when he realized that his creation and his sons had defied him.


    And the future that Theodore had seen became true. Because he tampered with his father''s prized creation, he was banished from Heaven and fell down on Earth.


    After that incident, Theodore realized that his rash action was the main cause behind shaping the future that he saw. And from that time, he never used his Divine Vision to see into the future again.


    But today''s issue was different. He was not using his power to see into the future but he was using it to navigate a person in the present.


    Theodore hummed for a while and thought, "Maybe it is a normal banter between the kids. I was anxious for no reason. But now that I''m already here, maybe I should see my little human before I go."


    He got up from the floor and performed his hand gestures to make him invisible to humans. Then he slowly strolled around the Palace making his way towards the training ground.


    When he reached the training ground to see Adeline, he was happy that he decided to go there because he got to witness something very interesting. He saw that the na?ve Princess was now able to defend herself and take a stand for herself. And he also noticed that the bond between Adeline and a young boy who was beside her seemed to be strong.


    He could not help but become curious, and not to mention a little jealous of their bond, "Now who might that young boy be?" But what he did not know was that every girls and boys present in that ground were brothers and sisters.


    Edwin and Nigel were now gritting their teeth and were ready for a fist fight. Even though Alan had come in between them and tried to calm them down, he was not successful. Adeline was still holding the rim of Nigel''s uniform, not sure what to do.


    Theodore walked nearer and stood quietly beside Adeline. In case a fight broke out, he wanted to protect Adeline from any harm.


    General Osmond noticed that the situation was about to become worse. He already knew what he had wanted to know, so he came out of his hiding and walked over to the place where another fight was about to start.


    Osmond narrowed his gaze and shouted in a stern voice, "Why are you gathered here instead of practicing? Do I need to remind you what happens when you try to skip your practice?"


    When General Osmond stood in front of his students, Theodore took a deep breath. "Oh! I recognize this sweet smell�� the smell of a desire for revenge." Then an evil smirk lurked on Theodore''s lips.


    The Princes and Princesses immediately understood what General Osmond meant by that - two extra hours of practice. They did not want to stay back for two more hours instead of returning to their respective quarters. So they ran away from the General''s sight and started to practice some hand movements.


    Nigel and Adeline were the only ones who were in front of General Osmond; and of course Theodore was also still there because he wanted to know more about the General. He liked the aura that surrounded vengeful people and he would thrive in such auras. He would nudge and push such people with his trickery, and would make them get their revenge.


    Princess Adeline was still feeling hurt from the words of her brothers and sisters. She was still holding Nigel and was staring sadly on the ground. General Osmond kneeled down to see Adeline''s face clearly and smiled at the Princess.


    General Osmond handed one of the swords to Adeline and spoke to her in a softer voice than before, "Your Highness, I hope the others didn''t bother you that much."


    But the Princess was not the kind to suppress her feelings or filter while speaking because she was still a child. So she immediately complained, "They hurt me. They said so many mean things to me and brother Nigel."


    "So he is her brother�� good!" Theodore thought to himself and smiled.


    On the other hand, Adeline''s lips started to curve downwards and she was about to cry. Osmond caringly stroked her silver hair and said, "Princess Adeline, always remember one thing. Crying only makes you weak. If you do not want them to hurt you then you have to be stronger than everyone. That way, no one can ever talk down to you or hurt you. Do you understand?"


    Princess Adeline somehow understood what the General was trying to say so she nodded. She gave a determined expression and said, "I have to be a King like my father. No one can talk bad to him."


    Nigel laughed and corrected his sister, "You mean Queen." Adeline gleefully smiled and examined her small sword.


    General Osmond felt a sense of achievement when he heard what the Princess just said. He had successfully planted the seed of his revenge.


    "You will no doubt become a powerful Queen someday." Osmond said with a huge grin.


    Theodore also had a huge smile on his face when he heard Adeline announcing to become a Queen someday. "I have never met such an interesting human in my long life. But right now, this gentleman also interests me greatly. Alright! Let''s know your life story."


    Theodore then walked closer to Osmond and touched Osmond with his fingertip while closing his eyes. He wanted to know everything about him and wanted to know "whom" and "why" of his revenge. He closed his eyes and then used his Divine Vision to look at the General''s past.


    Osmond''s life story started to dance in front of Theodore''s eyes. He saw that he was the one to take Adeline to his cave and he also saw how he was punished by Lillian when Theodore had brought back the Princess.


    Theodore removed his finger from Osmond and when he opened his golden eyes, they were burning with rage towards Lillian. He now knew who the main culprit behind the abduction of the Princess was.


    "This revenge just got personal. Now it''s not just his revenge, it is mine as well. She dared to harm my little human. And she shall pay the price. But not just yet, I will savor this revenge when the time is right."

 Chapter 17 - Feel The Heat

    Theodore decided to give a little visit to Queen Lillian and strolled away from the training ground. "So her name is Lillian? The name itself brings back a particular memory that I hate." Theodore narrowed his honey colored eyes as he remembered his own past that he was not proud of.


    Osmond felt overwhelmed after Theodore used his Divine Eyes on him to look through at his past. He also felt as if his life was played in front of his eyes in super-fast motion. And with that his heart was very uneasy like it was being tormented by his past.


    The General blinked his eyes hardly to see what was in front of him. He was still kneeling down and Nigel was teaching Adeline to hold the sword.


    Osmond had no idea what came over him and why he was feeling so much pain. And he thought, "What just happened to me? They say one''s whole life flashes in front of their eyes when they are about to die. Was I about to die? Wait�� am I already dead?"


    Osmond''s mind was unable to think straight after what had just happened to him. His heart was thumping so loudly that he could clearly hear his own heartbeat. But he was unsure that his heartbeat was even real.


    Adeline and Nigel were giggling and were now pretending to fight with the wooden sword. General Osmond cleared his throat and called loudly, "Your Highness."


    Both Adeline and Nigel immediately turned their heads towards General Osmond.


    "They can see me. Oh thank god! I''m still alive." General Osmond thought to himself and let out a sigh of relief as he got up from the ground.


    He was still holding a wooden sword that was similar in size as that of Adeline''s sword. "Princess Adeline, I am going to explain few things about the sword. Prince Nigel, you can also listen to me for now."


    Both Adeline and Nigel were now paying close attention to their teacher.


    Osmond pointed at the handle of the sword and said, "This part right here is called a hilt. This is where you use your hand to grab the sword. Princess Adeline, did you notice before that there were different types of swords on display?"


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "Yes. There were long ones as well."


    General Osmond nodded and continued, "Yes, there are long ones as well as short ones. For now you will be using this short one. And as I was saying, the hilts are different in different kinds of swords."


    He again pointed at the hilt of the sword that he was holding and said, "Some have short hilt like this one, and some have long hilt. We hold the ones with short hilt with our one hand only, and we hold the ones with longer hilt with both of our hands."


    Adeline proudly held her sword with her right hand but she held by sticking it very close to her chest.


    General Osmond pointed at the horizontally placed piece of wood just above the hilt and continued, "And this thing right here is called cross. It is here so that your hand won''t slip towards the sharp part right here."


    He pointed at the blade and continued with his explanation, "Of course, this is made out of wood so it is not sharp. This long part is also called blade. And this pointy part is called tip. When you use a real sword, you can use this tip to pierce through things."


    Osmond shifted his gaze from the sword to the Princess and asked her, "Princess Adeline, will you tell me the names of the parts of this sword?"


    Adeline pointed at her own small sword and started to recite the names. "This is called hilt, this is cross, this is blade and this is tip."


    "Very good." General Osmond appreciated the Princess and moved on, "Now, I am going to teach you how to properly hold this sword."


    Then he gripped the wooden sword with his right hand and started to explain, "Watch me closely and copy me alright. First of all, you need to wrap all of your fingers around the hilt of the sword like you are holding a hammer."


    Adeline copied the General and waited for his next instruction.


    Osmond placed his left palm below the wrist of his right hand and said, "And after that you need to move this part, wrist, of your hand downwards so that the tip of your sword is facing the person in front of you. It should not be facing towards the sky."


    He then swung around his hand to the left and to the right and said, "And you use your hand like this to swing it around." He glanced towards Nigel who was now staring at the shapes of clouds and said to him, "Prince Nigel, why don''t you practice this strike motion with your sister?"


    Prince Nigel was jerked back to reality when he heard the General calling his name and hastily replied, "Ye�� Yes General�� sir"


    Then Nigel and Adeline faced towards each other and started to strike their sword.


    "Go easy on your sister okay? I''ll go and check everyone else." After that the General left them and went to the other corner of the ground where some of the Princes and Princesses had gathered around and were talking about something, most likely about the youngest Princess.


    Queen Lillian was lying on her large bed inside her private chamber. Ida was giving her a face massage. Lillian cared very deeply about her beauty and would dedicate at least one hour a day to take care of her face.


    She was enjoying the face massage with a peaceful environment. However, her peace was interrupted by the presence of a powerful demonic energy inside her room. Lillian straightaway sprung open her eyes and waved her maid off.


    Then the Queen got up from her bed and shouted angrily, "Who dared to come inside my room without my permission? Show yourself!"


    Theodore sneered and replied to the Queen under his breath, inaudible to the Queen, "As if that lame dialogue will provoke me to show myself." Theodore was standing in one corner of the Queen''s room and was enjoying the panicked expression of the so called powerful witch.


    Lillian glared around the room with furious eyes in an attempt to scare whatever was present in her room. Then she roared in a loud voice, "I am the Queen of this Kingdom and you cannot disrespect me like this. Whoever you are I demand you to show yourself."


    Theodore pretended to be bored by the Queen''s meaningless threats and yawned. Then he gave his soliloquy again, "Yeah yeah, you are the Queen of this Kingdom. But I am the Devil Prince. So, I win you feeble Queen."


    The Queen then tried using a counter spell to reveal the power that was lurking inside her room. She closed her eyes and chanted some mantra but nothing�� All she could do was feel the insurmountable power.


    Lillian tried few other mantras but to no avail. She had a dazed look of bewilderment on her face and thought, "I have never felt such a great power till now. What could it be? Is it some kind of a powerful spirit?" She still tried a few more spells to see if anything works against that power.


    Theodore brooded over the countless futile spells that the Queen used, "Puny human! Trying to break my superior invisibility spell with some weak counter spell�� how pathetic."


    Then he snapped his fingers and waited for the reaction of the Queen.


    Lillian could see that her room was on fire. She tried to use her magic to extinguish the fire but her magic didn''t seem to work. It was because, the fire was not real. Theodore was just using hypnosis and was showing some illusion to Lillian just to get back at her.


    The fire soon engulfed the room and Lillian could even feel the heat. The fire even caught her beautiful gown. Lillian felt scared for her life and she shouted for help, "Help�� Is someone outside? Help��" She coughed and shouted again, "Fire! There''s a fire in my room."


    After a few seconds Ida and few other maids rushed inside the Queen''s room with buckets full of water. Ida had taken the Queen''s word on face value and as soon as she entered the Queen''s chamber, she instantly splashed a bucket of water right on the Queen''s face. She was so focused on extinguishing the fire that she didn''t even use her eyes to see if there was any fire in the room in the first place.


    Theodore chuckled and he immediately clasped his mouth with his hand so as not to let out any sound.


    The other maids were also ready to empty their buckets but restrained themselves when they saw that there was no fire.


    Lillian was now out of the hypnosis of Theodore and she looked around to see that there was no fire in her room. The furniture which she saw burning were now back in their original state. Lillian wiped her face and pushed the wet strands of hair away from her face. She was flaring her nostrils and giving a cold stare to Ida.


    Ida realized her mistake and she dropped down on her knees and bowed her head to ask for the Queen''s forgiveness. "Please forgive me Your Majesty. I am sorry."


    Ida was scared for her life. She started to remember how the maid that had delivered the false message to Hawisa and Osanna was never found again. And right now, Ida felt like her life was about to end. Her eyes were filled with tears.


    Lillian slowly raised her right hand and pointed it towards Ida intending to punish her by using magic.. Her face really looked like that of an evil witch right now. She gritted her teeth and spoke through her breath, "I''m going to kill you!"

 Chapter 18 - Aura Of Revenge

    "I''m going to kill you!"


    Lillian glared at Ida with furious dark eyes and started to flick her fingers around while chanting a spell. However, before she could complete her spell, Theodore waved his hand towards Ida and made her look like a fire-breathing dragon, but only the Queen could see the dragon instead of Ida.


    The Queen was greatly shocked at the sight of a deadly dragon. She instinctively took several steps back while shouting at the top of her lungs. While doing so, she stumbled upon her bed and almost fell down.


    The other maids had no idea why the Queen was acting this way but they were even more scared by this strange behavior of the Queen. They kept their gaze low and waited for their chance to run out of this dangerous room.


    Lillian closed her eyes and put her hand on her chest to calm herself down. The Queen murmured to herself, "Whatever is inside my room, it appears to be very powerful. I better get out of here and stop embarrassing myself in front of these maids."


    Then Lillian pretended to regain her composure and said, "Maids, clean my room. I''ll be outside till then." Then she gathered the long gown that she was wearing with her hands and walked out of her room in a hurry.


    Theodore stretched his arms and thought, "Okay, my job here is done for now. I should go back to Adeline''s room and wait for her. I would love to play with her before I go."


    He languidly walked out of the Queen''s room and started to walk towards Adeline''s room. "But how will I introduce myself to her? She might have already forgotten me." He contemplated for a while and then came up with an answer, "I will just tell her that I am her guardian angel. That might work."


    After he reached inside the Princess''s room, he slowly inspected everything that was in her room. He went through the expensive decorations which were most probably gifts from the King.


    Then Theodore came across a notebook that was sitting on a small desk. On top of that notebook a name was written - Adeline. The handwriting looked like it was written by the Princess herself. Theodore grabbed the notebook and mumbled to himself, "Look at that�� She already knows how to write. Back then she didn''t even know how to use a knife and fork."


    He sat on Adeline''s bed comfortably and went through the pages of Adeline''s notebook. Some pages had scribbling of her name and some had drawings on them. After going through a few pages, he suddenly stopped.


    His brows were lifted and a smirk appeared on his face. There was a drawing of a matchstick man and on top of that a name was written - Theodore. And by the side of that man there was a drawing of a smiling girl and on top of that was written - Adeline.


    "She still remembers me�� And here I was, worried about how to introduce myself to her."


    He carefully tore that piece of drawing from the notebook and kept it safely inside his pocket. "This masterpiece deserved to be framed in my room. I wonder if there are some more." Then he resumed flipping through the pages of the notebook one by one.


    There was another drawing that caught his eyes. A man and a child were sleeping on a bed. He noticed that the design of the bed in that drawing looked very similar to that of his own bed. And even though no names were written on this sheet of paper, he recognized that it was him and Adeline.


    Theodore thought of tearing this drawing as well but decided to leave it for the Princess. He got up from the bed and looked around for something to write with. He found a quill and ink on the table and sat down to write. He wrote his name as well as Adeline''s name on that drawing.


    "This is for you to remember me with, my little human." He put down the quill and stared at the drawing with their names on it. A genuine smile appeared on Theodore''s perfectly proportioned lips.


    Sounds of footsteps could be heard outside Adeline''s room. Theodore quickly put back the notebook in its place and waited in one corner for the Princess to enter the room.


    The door to the room was unlocked and opened. Princess Adeline entered the room along with Hawisa and Osanna. "Princess Adeline, would you like to eat first or would you like to take a bath first?" Hawisa asked the Princess as she walked in.


    Theodore rolled his eyes and thought, "Why does she always have to be with other people? At this rate, I will have to return back without even getting a chance to talk to her."


    "I am tired. I would like to sleep first. I will eat and bath later. Please close the door behind." Princess Adeline took a long breath and walked towards her bed.


    "Of course, Your Highness." Hawisa and Osanna thought that after a long day of training the Princess must have been really tired. So they bowed to the Princess and closed the door behind as they walked out of the room.


    As soon as the door to her room was locked, Princess Adeline walked towards the corner where Theodore was quietly standing. She looked up and smiled, "Hello! Prince Theodore."


    Theodore was surprised by those words of Adeline. He raised his brows and asked, "You can see me?"


    Princess Adeline gave her sweet smile to Theodore and innocently replied, "Of course I can. You came to visit me in the training ground, didn''t you?"


    Theodore gave the Princess a smoldering look and asked, "So you could see me all along huh? Then why didn''t you say anything in the ground?" Theodore didn''t understand why Adeline didn''t say anything when he did so many weird things when he was on the training ground.


    "I wanted to talk to you but I was too sad at first and after some time I realized that the others could not see you. So I stayed quiet." Adeline grinned and kept on staring at the handsome Devil who was standing in front of her.


    Theodore raised one of his brows and smiled in admiration. Then he asked again, "Did you send your maids out because you saw me in here and you wanted to talk to me?"


    Adeline nodded her head and started to sway her body.


    Theodore got down on one of his knees to see Adeline''s beautiful face and tousled her silver hair, "How can someone so small think so big? You never cease to amaze me."


    Their eyes met for a fraction of seconds and Adeline jumped forward to give Theodore a tight hug.


    Theodore was startled when he was hugged out of nowhere. "Oh! We hug each other now. Well this is a step up from before." He nervously chuckled and tried to brush off his nervousness with a joke.


    But Adeline complained in a sad voice, "Why didn''t you visit me for so long? I had started to believe that I saw you in my dreams and that you were not real."


    Theodore finally hugged her back. Her words made him feel sad as well. Why didn''t he visit her? It was maybe because he never had someone who cared enough about him visiting them and the thought of visiting someone just never occurred to him.


    Theodore picked Adeline up in his arms and apologized to her, "I am sorry my little Princess. But I came now, didn''t I? You know now that I am real and not just a dream."


    Adeline looked into Theodore''s eyes and said, "Promise me that you will visit me frequently."


    A playful smirk appeared on Theodore''s face. He stared back into Adeline''s sapphire eyes and said, "I promise."


    Adeline gave a wide smile and hugged Theodore again. Theodore patted Adeline lovingly and he felt that the bond between them was growing deeper.


    "I wish I could keep you with me forever, my little human." Theodore silently whispered under his breath.


    "Theodore, tell me a story." Adeline glanced at Theodore with a wide puppy eyes. "I would love to hear about what you do."


    Theodore placed Adeline on her bed and he also sat down beside her in a relaxed posture. "You always want to know more about me, don''t you? Sorry to disappoint you but I don''t think you will like what I do."


    But Adeline kept on glancing at Theodore with expecting look. So he hummed for quite some time contemplating whether or not to tell Adeline about his work. But he finally gave in and said, "I look after the gambling houses in the court of Hell."


    Adeline blinked her eyes and then asked, "What is a gambling house?"


    Theodore mumbled to himself, "Of course you don''t know what that is. It does not make sense for a child to know about such places." He pursed his lips and said in an audible voice, "It is a place where people play games by placing money."


    Adeline''s eyes twinkled when she heard the word ''game''. Then she excitedly said, "Play games? I also want to go there."


    He declined the Princess with a smile. "It is a bad place where only bad people go. A small girl like you cannot go there."


    "Then why do you work in such a bad place?" Adeline did not buy what he said and looked at him with questioning eyes.


    The Devil gave a devilish smirk and said in a deep and low voice, "Because the gambling houses are filled with people who emit just the aura that I desire�� the aura of revenge."

 Chapter 19 - The Waiting

    Theodore and Adeline talked for another full hour. They talked about Adeline''s mother and father. Adeline told Theodore how her father loved his mother very dearly but her mother was called by heaven too soon. Adeline would often hear this from her father and she shared what she knew with Theodore.


    Theodore felt that it was unfair for Adeline for losing her mother at such a young age. He felt like fate had robbed her of happiness by depriving her of her mother. "Is that why you were sad today, because you don''t have a mother?" Theodore tried to know the reason behind the pain that he felt in the morning.


    Adeline shook her head and replied, "It was not because of that. It was because my other brothers and sisters were mean to me. No one had ever talked to me like that." She looked down and started to fidget her fingers.


    Theodore ran his hand down Adeline''s silver hair and said to her lovingly, "Your teacher was right. You need to be stronger than everyone else so that they will never be able to dominate you or talk down to you."


    He paused for a while to remember about his own experience and continued, "You have to be the strongest and you have to be the most feared person. Then and only then will no one be able to hurt you like they did today. Do you understand?"


    Adeline''s young mind picked up few words like ''be the strongest'' so she nodded her head.


    The duo talked further about Nigel and Queen Claricia, how they were very kind to her; and many other things about Adeline like her favorite food, color, etc. Adeline had already asked questions about Theodore so many times, so this time Theodore wanted to know more about Adeline.


    But the two of them were interrupted by Osanna who had come to wake up the Princess and take her to the bath house, which was right beside Adeline''s private chamber. However, she was surprised to see that the Princess was awake and was talking to someone.


    As Theodore was still invisible to the other human''s eyes, Osanna thought that the Princess was talking with her imaginary friend and playing alone. She thought that way because she had often seen Adeline talking with her imaginary play mates when she was alone.


    "Princess Adeline, would you like to take a bath now? It is starting to get late and you must be hungry by now." Osanna asked the Princess very politely.


    Adeline nodded her head and ordered Osanna, "Okay. Prepare the bath for me."


    Osanna bowed her head to the Princess and said, "Yes Your Highness." Then she went to the bath house to prepare lukewarm water for the Princess.


    Adeline then turned towards Theodore and looked at him with sad pair of eyes. She didn''t want to say goodbye to him yet but she knew that it was time for him to go. "Keep visiting me okay?" Her sapphire eyes were hopefully staring at Theodore''s lips for his answer.


    Adeline could see Theodore''s lips slowly curving up to form a bewitching smile and he parted his lips to say, "Okay my little human. I will keep coming to see you."


    Adeline was very happy to hear that so she also gave him her cutest smile.


    Theodore took Adeline''s cute little hand and then placed a kiss on the knuckles of her hand. Then in his deep voice he said, "Goodbye, Princess Adeline. Until we meet again."


    Before Adeline could say her goodbyes, he waved his hand around him to disappear into thin air right in front of Adeline''s eyes. Adeline felt sad when he vanished but she was happy to know that Theodore would be visiting her more often. Or so she thought��


    Several days passed but there was no sign of Theodore. Apart from her normal routine to go to the training ground to take her classes, waiting for Theodore also became her normal routine. She would try to be alone in her room thinking Theodore would only appear if she was alone. But that didn''t seem to be the case.


    Then slowly days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. But there was no news from Theodore.


    Adeline used several ways to divert her mind from Theodore. She tried to forget about him by trying to make herself believe that Theodore was no more than a character in her dream. She tried spending more time with her father but he was a busy man.


    It didn''t take long for the waiting to turn from months to years. And yet, there was no sign of Theodore.


    The expectation that Adeline had about Theodore turning up in front of her, slowly started to wither away. She then tried to spend more time with her beloved brother Nigel. Nigel was a good company for her but he was still unable to fill the void in Adeline''s heart that was left by Theodore.


    Not being able to bear the pain of waiting any longer, Adeline even thought of running away from the Palace to go to the Devil''s Cave. But there was no way she could get out of the Palace undetected, without the invisibility spell like the last time it was not an option.


    Adeline started to hate Theodore for lying to her. He had promised to her saying that he would come by often to visit her. But that was just a big lie. She thought of Theodore as a very good friend but she felt like that was just a one way road.


    With time, she started to believe that she had never meant anything to Theodore other than a weak human with fleeting life. And with that she started to hate him for making her feel so miserable.


    And the demonic power that was loaned by Theodore without her knowledge didn''t help her that much. It multiplied her desire to be near Theodore even more.


    Finally, after a few years, Adeline decided to focus all her energy on her trainings instead of Theodore. She started to be very attentive in her trainings. She would take every sparring session very seriously and try to win each of them. She even started to practice for extra hours.


    This helped her to focus her mind on something else. General Osmond was happy with the dedication that Adeline was showing in all of her trainings. She was above average in all of the trainings and was even exceling in a few like sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat. Osmond fully supported Adeline through this journey and was dedicated to make a strongest warrior out of her.


    Day by day, Adeline was putting an extra effort on her trainings and after few more years, she was exceling in almost all of her classes. General Osmond would often report to the King about Adeline''s accelerated progress. After hearing how Adeline was progressing, he could not help but be proud of his daughter. He always had high hopes for her.


    However, out of all of the people, General Osmond was the happiest to see the progress of Adeline. After all, his revenge on Queen Lillian depended on how strong Princess Adeline was.


    Osmond would often think to himself, "Princess Adeline will be turning 16 years old soon. By then, I will have to prepare her. I will have to help her to become the strongest one out of all the Princes and Princesses."


    But the General was not the only one who was eagerly waiting for Princess Adeline to turn 16, everyone else in the Palace were also waiting for the same. For that was when all the Princes and Princesses would be allowed to take a test in front of the deity of Wyverndale Kingdom.


    The Wyverndale Kingdom had a tradition of sending all the Princes and Princesses to face the deity after all of them crossed 16 years. The deity would test all of them and finally would select the future King or Queen of Wyverndale. The deity''s decision was binding and was never questioned.


    And every Queens and Concubines were eager for their children to take the test and be pronounced the future King/Queen of Wyverndale. As all mothers, each one of them believed their own children to be the best and they were eagerly waiting for Adeline to turn 16 so that their children could finally take the test, and subsequently the Kingdom.


    The years passed by and Adeline''s birthday was only a few months away. King Dragomir had announced to hold a huge banquet on the auspicious day of Princess Adeline''s birthday. The preparations had already begun.


    Invitations were sent out to all three neighboring Kingdoms as well as the families of the Royal Concubines. All of the invited families were powerful and influential ones. They too were eagerly waiting for that day, not because they were happy for Princess Adeline, but because they thought that Wyverndale would finally come into their hands with their grandchildren being announced as future ruler soon.


    Varieties of high quality grains like rice, wheat, millet, corn, red beans, kidney beans, etc. were being stockpiled in the Royal Granary. The Royal Farm was also full with animals and varieties of eggs. The Royal Food Storage was full of preserved fruits and vegetables, dried meat, pickles, and spices.


    The whole Palace had an upbeat vibe with every maids, servants, and workers enthusiastically preparing for the upcoming banquet. They all were eagerly waiting for the Princess''s birthday to arrive.


    And as for other Royal members, they had a completely different reason to be happy about. They could not care less about Princess Adeline. All they were preparing was their elaborate and flashy dresses to wear in the banquet as all powerful people would be attending it. And it was a place to show off one''s power by wearing extravagant dresses and jewelries.


    Finally, the day arrived.. It was Adeline''s 16th birthday, the most anticipated birthday by everyone in the Palace.

 Chapter 20 - Sweet Sixteen

    Adeline woke up very early in the morning as usual. She was in her white night gown made up of soft silk. Even when she had just woken up from her bed, she looked as pretty as a full moon. Her silver hair was ruffled a bit but that didn''t stop her from looking effortlessly beautiful.


    The fact that it was her birthday had little to no effect on her. She didn''t care much about celebrating her birthday. She only agreed to have the banquet because her father was very persistent about it. Else she would have rather preferred to spend her time in the training than spending it to please all the people that she didn''t even know.


    Adeline was now sitting in front of her desk which was about a foot tall. She was sitting on a comfortable cushion and was going through the scroll that her father had sent her to wish her a happy birthday. She would occasionally smile while she was reading the scroll. This was the only part that she liked about her birthday.


    This had become a tradition between the father and daughter. King Dragomir would always personally write a sweet birthday message to his beloved daughter and send it to her on every birthday. Adeline had collected all the scrolls from her father and had kept them safely like treasures.


    When Adeline was about to finish reading the lovely birthday wish from her father, there was a knock on her door. She did not have to guess who they were because Hawisa and Osanna would always come exactly at this time to prepare a warm bath for her.


    Adeline glanced towards the door and said, "Come in!"


    Hawisa and Osanna entered the Princess''s personal chamber. They bowed to the Princess and greeted her, "Good morning Your Highness."


    It was no surprise for them to see Adeline up and about because Adeline would always be busy going through her books early in the morning. They would prepare a bath for her. And after taking a bath she would leave for an early morning sparring session with Prince Nigel. She would return back, have heavy breakfast, and would leave again to the training ground.


    Adeline would return back to have lunch and then again leave for her special training session with General Osmond. Prince Nigel would also accompany her but rather than being actively involved in the training, he would just sit down and cheer up for his sister.


    The other Princes and Princesses had their own private teacher from their own clan for extra practice. So, they would just pity Adeline for not having her own clan to back her up. Her mother did not come from a wealthy family so they could not support Adeline. However, what they did not realize was that she was making far better progress than them.


    "Good Morning! And how many times do I have to tell you that you two can just call me ''Adeline'' when no one is around?" Adeline complained to her trusted maids whom she regarded more like friends.


    "Oh! We didn''t want to forget how to address you properly because we have to do that in front of the others." Hawisa giggled and came closer to Adeline. Then she hugged the Princess tightly and wished her, "Happy birthday my dear Adeline."


    Osanna ran towards both of them and pushed Hawisa to the side, "Come on! How much time are you going to take? Let me hug her as well."


    Hawisa got off from Adeline and scorned at Osanna, "Tch�� you always do this. Can''t you wait for a second?"


    Adeline was giggling at the side seeing the two of them fighting. They always made her laugh with their silly fights.


    Osanna turned towards Adeline and flung herself forward to hug her Princess, "Happiest birthday Adeline. May all your wishes come true."


    Adeline smiled at those two and thanked them, "Thank you Hawisa, Osanna. You two have always taken care of me and loved me dearly. What more could I wish for? I have you two, which is enough for me."


    "Are you going to make us cry by talking so highly of us?" Hawisa looked at the Princess with watery eyes.


    Osanna was already wiping the tears off her face. Small praise from Adeline meant a lot to them and made their day.


    Hawisa cleared her sour throat and said, "Osanna, come on. We have to prepare a warm bath for our not-so-little Princess." She looked at Adeline with loving eyes and said softly, "Can''t believe our Princess is already sixteen."


    Osanna also smiled and added, "It only seems like yesterday when we came to look after you. You were such a little bundle of joy. Now look at you, you have already grown up so much."


    "Yes, our Princess has grown up to be a beautiful and strong lady." Hawisa caressed Adeline''s beautiful face and smiled.


    Adeline covered her face and giggled, "Don''t praise me so much. You two are making me blush."


    Hawisa and Osanna both laughed. Osanna got up and said, "Okay let''s go for real now. We don''t want our Princess to be late for her own banquet. We have so many preparations to do."


    Adeline was confused by this remark from Osanna. "What are you talking about? The banquet only starts at the dusk. And there are hours left for dusk."


    Hawisa also quickly got up on her feet and exclaimed, "Exactly! There is so little time left and so much to be done. We have to make you look your prettiest self."


    Then both of them rushed towards the bath house to prepare the bath, while the Princess got back to her precious scroll.


    Hawisa and Osanna scrubbed the huge bath tub and cleaned it. Then they half-filled it with cold water which was stored in the bath house.


    After that, Osanna went outside and walked to the Royal Kitchen to order the workers to boil water. The other maids of the Kitchen transferred the hot water into wooden buckets and walked towards Adeline''s quarter accompanied closely by Osanna.


    After the hot water arrived, Hawisa was standing inside the bath house, keeping an eye on everyone so that they would not drop some unwanted herbs or something that would harm the Princess.


    After making sure that the temperature was right, Hawisa and Osanna grabbed the basket of herbs and dried flower petals from the drawer that was inside the bath house itself. They mixed the right amount of herbs and flowers to give Adeline a beauty bath. This was their usual morning routine.


    After making sure everything was just right, Hawisa went to the Princess''s personal chamber with a bathing gown made up of thin cotton. Then she called the Princess for the bath. "Adeline, the bath is ready."


    Adeline got up from her cushion and took the bathing gown from Hawisa. Hawisa turned around to give the Princess some privacy. Then Adeline slipped out of her night gown and put on her bathing gown.


    After Adeline entered inside the bath house, Hawisa and Osanna got out of the room and locked it behind her. They used to give her a bath until she was twelve years old. But Adeline denied being attended by them after she was twelve saying she felt shy now that her feminine features were showing up.


    Adeline slowly got inside the bathtub and soaked herself in the beauty bath that was prepared by her maids. When she entered into the water, her thin bathing gown did not hide her exquisite body shape anymore. With lots and lots of training and sparring sessions, her muscles were tight and toned. Her body looked tough but at the same time looked very beautiful.


    Adeline started to take the water on her palm and pour it on her hands and face. She loved playing in the water. She splashed the water with her legs and smiled happily as she was listening to the sound of water.


    After enjoying the warm bath for quite some time, Adeline got out of the bathtub. But something unexpected happened. Someone barged into the bath house without even knocking.


    Adeline gasped at the sight of a tall man with a chiseled jaw who stood in front of her. She quickly covered her chest by crossing both of her hands in front of her body. And she shouted at that man with enraged eyes, "Why the hell are you here?"


    A devilish smirk appeared on Theodore''s face when Adeline shouted at him. He could not take his eyes off of the beautiful lady who was standing in front of him. She was all soaked up in water; colorful flower petals sticking here and there on her body.


    The thin bath gown that she was wearing barely covered her curvy figure. Theodore could clearly see the outline of Adeline''s beautiful body.


    Her face was no less than that of an angel that dwelled in Heaven. Water droplets were dripping from her silver locks of hair, down to her chest and her waist. Theodore''s golden eyes involuntarily followed a few droplets of water down to her thin waist and broad hips.


    His keen eye movements were stopped by Adeline''s stern voice, "Stop looking! And get out of here."


    Theodore protested in his hypnotizing voice, "But I just came in.." The devilish smirk never left his face.

 Chapter 21 - Embracing Each Other

    Theodore still looked just like he used to look a decade ago, as if he never aged a day. He was wearing a black outfit like he always used to. And he had this playful look on his handsome face, which was almost impossible to resist falling for.


    Though Adeline was giving a glare to Theodore and was shouting at him, she could still feel her heart flutter when the Devil Prince stood in front of her. For she had waited for more than a decade to look at that face, and now he was finally standing in front of her eyes. And her heart was involuntarily thumping really loudly at the sight of the young gentleman.


    Adeline wanted to run towards Theodore and embrace him very tightly. But she controlled her urge to do that. She could not forget how he had ghosted her for more than a decade and hurt her. So she was determined to make him feel sorry for what he did and how he made her feel. She was determined to not forgive him that easily.


    Adeline did feel uncomfortable though, having Theodore watching her without even blinking. Theodore''s golden eyes were observing at her youthful body, from her head to toe and back. She wanted to grab the towel to cover herself but it was hanging right behind of Theodore. So she shouted instead, "Stop looking! And get out of here."


    But these words from Adeline made him want to stare at her for even longer. He was thinking how his little human had turned into a feisty lioness. "But I just came in. Won''t you even say how happy you are to finally see me?"


    "Why would I be happy to see you? I don''t even know you." Adeline turned her gaze away from Theodore and started to stare at the blank wall of her bath house instead.


    Theodore banged his hand over his heart and complained, "Ouch! Why do you have to hurt me by saying you don''t even know me. Are you really that angry towards me, my little human?"


    She turned her head abruptly to look at Theodore and fumed, "Then what else did you expect when you didn''t uphold your promise? Did you expect me to come running at you? I am not that na?ve child anymore who was spellbound by your kindness."


    Adeline was still crossing her hands in front of her chest to hide her feminine figure. She wanted to get out of the bath house and wrap herself with something that was not see through.


    Theodore noticed Adeline constantly eyeing towards the door. But he was not going to let her run away so easily. So he moved his feet to bring him closer to Adeline and towered in front of the petite Princess. It was not the Princess who was tiny though, it was Theodore who was taller than average.


    Theodore gave a smirk and said, "Oh! But I beg to differ, you still are that na?ve little human to me."


    Theodore moved his hand towards Adeline''s face and removed the wet locks of her silver hair away from her face. Just that slight touch from Theodore made Adeline gasp softly. Theodore gave a whimsical grin when she did that because he knew she still had soft spot for him. She was just denying to show it.


    Theodore leaned closer to Adeline''s face. But Adeline quickly turned her head away from Theodore''s face that was coming right in front of her. Seeing her turn away, he got even closer to touch her ear with his lips and then whispered, "Happy sixteenth birthday, my dear Adeline."


    Adeline instinctively tilted her head away and closed her eyes when she felt his lips on her ear. His whisper reverberated through her skin and the Princess could feel goose bumps all over her body.


    "So you do remember." Adeline didn''t mean to whisper back but she felt as if she was not in control of her own body and her body was acting on its own accord.


    In order to stop embarrassing herself further, Adeline pushed Theodore to the side and managed to run out of the bath house and into her own private chamber.


    But before she could do anything else, she felt a little pull backwards and Theodore was now hugging her very tightly from behind. She tried to fight him and free herself from his grasp but her power was nothing when compared to that of the Devil.


    After a while, Adeline stopped fighting and remained calm. She could feel the warmth of Theodore''s body. But the warmth was a bit excessive. "Is he having a fever? Or was he always this hot?" Adeline thought to herself as Theodore was still hugging her tightly.


    Theodore leaned his head down to touch Adeline''s face with his. Then he finally spoke again in his hypnotizing voice, "Did you really think that I didn''t keep my promise to you? Did you really think that I never visited you? I visited you everyday Adeline. Every single day."


    "Do you really think that I will buy your lies? At least you could have come up with a better lie if you really had to lie." Adeline complained with a sad voice.


    But Theodore immediately protested what Adeline had said and tried to make her understand what he meant by he visited her. "I am not lying, Adeline. I would never lie to you. I just cloaked myself when I visited you. Years ago, I promised that I would keep coming here to see you, but I didn''t promise to show myself to you."


    Adeline could not believe what she just heard. She scrunched her brows and tried to free herself from him but Theodore gripped her even tightly. She gave up fighting him again and shouted at him, "Don''t you dare play the word game with me! And why would you do that if you really came here every day? Why hide yourself from me?"


    Theodore exhaled sharply and Adeline could feel his breath over her almost bare skin. Theodore defended himself in his bewitching voice, "Trust me, I did what I did for your sake. There are some things which I know more about you."


    Adeline sneered and asked immediately, "For example?"


    "I don''t want to go into details right now and ruin your mood in your birthday. Why don''t we talk about this some other time? Maybe tomorrow?" Theodore placed his right hand on Adeline''s neck and slowly ran his fingers on her neck, moving up to her jaw, trying to tickle her and make her laugh.


    Adeline bit her soft and pink lips, trying to control her emotions. She wanted to happily scream and say ''yes'' to him but she controlled her urge and instead said, "And why would I even trust you? How can I believe that you will really come?"


    Theodore took a deep breath in and blurted out her almost exact daily routine, "You wake up at 4 AM every morning, read your books, take a bath, then you meet with Nigel to practice with him, then training, then private training with Osmond, and then only you return back to your quarter."


    He paused to exhale and then continued again, "You pretend to be tough when you are around others but when you are alone, you still remember me and cry. Did I answer your question for now?"


    Adeline''s face lightened up when he heard him reciting her daily routine. The rims of her sapphire eyes were filled with tears of joy. She wanted to turn around and hug him back. But she felt like he still deserved some punishment.


    She finally managed to free herself from Theodore''s grip around her small waist and pretended to not care about what he had just said. She decided to do what he did to her, to watch but not to speak. She went towards her wardrobe to take out another towel and she started to dry herself.


    Theodore quickly went in front of Adeline and grabbed her towel, "Adeline! Are you going to be grumpy all day? I am sorry. Will you please forgive me for not appearing before you�� all these years?"


    But Adeline didn''t say a word. She forcefully pulled the towel and turned to the other side. Then she started to dry her silver hair.


    Theodore stomped his feet on the ground and then shouted, "Ahhhhhhh�� Please don''t give this silent treatment to me. I will die within a day if you keep doing this to me."


    Adeline was smiling when she heard those words, but Theodore didn''t see it as Adeline was still facing the other way. She felt a little bit happy seeing him like that.


    Adeline finished drying herself up. Then she slipped her night gown on top of her bath robe so that she would not show much of her skin. Then she started to completely ignore Theodore and look inside her huge wardrobe as if she was busy picking an outfit.


    But Theodore could not take that silence anymore. So he grabbed Adeline''s hand and pulled her towards him. Her small body thudded against his tall and sturdy body. There was not enough space between the two of them for even air to pass through.


    Theodore leaned closer to Adeline as if he was about to kiss her. Adeline felt like her cheeks would pop because she could feel it getting really hot. She could feel her heart pounding at an excessively high rate, so much so that she felt like Theodore could hear her heart beat as well.


    Adeline panicked when she saw him coming close to her like that.. So she retaliated by shouting out to her maids who were waiting for her to finish bathing, outside of her chamber, "Hawisa, Osanna, where are you two? I am waiting since such a long time."

 Chapter 22 - A Mosquito

    Theodore immediately let Adeline out of his grasp when she called out for her personal maids. He had not expected her to do that at all. But he could not get angry at her either. He was rather intrigued by how defiant she was of him right now.


    Hawisa and Osanna immediately entered the room when they heard the Princess calling for them. They could not see Theodore because of his invisibility spell that would block him out from human''s view. Theodore had used the superior invisibility spell all these years while visiting Adeline, which would not just block him from humans but also from other mystical beings.


    Theodore theorized that as a part of his demonic energy was flowing inside of Adeline, the normal invisibility spell had not worked on her the last time he visited her when she was five years old. Thus, she was able to see him that time.


    Hawisa knitted her eyebrow because she was confused to see the Princess in her night gown. "Adeline, why are you wearing your night gown again? You are not thinking of going to sleep again, are you?"


    Adeline chuckled out of nervousness and said, "Well, I am not going to my training today, so wearing the training uniform was not an option. And I didn''t know what else to wear so I slipped into these."


    Hawisa gently slapped her forehead with her hand and apologized, "I am sorry Your Highness, I forgot to prepare another comfortable dress for you to wear when we worked on you." Then she stormed towards the wardrobe where Theodore was leaning on his back with folded arms.


    Seeing Hawisa walking towards Theodore, she almost shouted at her to stop. Her hands were already trying to grab Hawisa but she stopped midways. "Not being found out is his problem, not mine." Adeline thought to herself and remained quiet.


    Theodore''s light feet quickly carried him away from the way of Hawisa. He then chose to stay in one of the corner of the room. He was determined to persuade Adeline even if he needed to stand quietly for the whole day.


    Osanna noticed that Adeline was still wearing her wet bath gown inside of her night gown so she complained to the Princess, "Adeline! Why are you still wearing your wet bath gown? You don''t want to catch cold on your birthday, do you?"


    Osanna then offered her hand to the Princess to take off her clothes. "Come on, I will help you take it off."


    But Adeline pushed away her hand and said, "No! I have told you so many times that I don''t feel comfortable when you two still treat me like a baby. I can do it myself."


    "Tch�� don''t act like we have not seen any of those." Osanna teased Adeline for being so shy even in front of them, those who have been looking after her since she was a child.


    Hawisa presented comfortable and simple gown to Adeline. "Change yourself into this gown. And then we will start by giving you a massage on your face."


    Adeline took the gown from Hawisa and reluctantly spoke, "Do we really have to prepare for the banquet immediately? Can''t I just rest or something?"


    Hawisa immediately denied the request from the Princess. "I am afraid we will have to start immediately. We don''t want you to look anything less than the other Princesses."


    Adeline puckered her lips and spoke unenthusiastically, "Alright�� give me some space, will you?" To be honest, she did not have any interest in all these charades of trying to look beautiful to please others'' eyes. But she had no choice other than participating in it.


    Hawisa and Osanna turned around so that Adeline could change into her warm and comfortable gown.


    But Theodore was leaning on the wall and still staring at Adeline. Adeline stared back at him hoping he would turn around but he just kept staring at her. Then Adeline gestured Theodore to turn around by using her hand.


    And finally Theodore smirked and obliged. "This is a progress. She is at least talking in sign language." Theodore thought to himself and was proud of the improvement in the situation.


    After Adeline changed her cloth, Osanna went out of the room while Hawisa asked Adeline to lie down on her bed. Adeline did as she was asked and waited for her maids to start preparing her for her day.


    But Adeline felt a bit uncomfortable to lie down with Theodore still inside the room, eyeing her very passionately. She was hoping that he would teleport away when the maids entered the room, but he was still lingering around. But a part of her was happy because she did not want him to ghost her again.


    When all this was happening inside Adeline''s room, the whole Palace was already very lively. All the maids and servants were extremely busy, running here and there to tend to their masters. The Kitchen staffs were the busiest ones because they had to prepare a feast for almost 250 people.


    All the other members of the royal family - King, Queens, Concubines, Princes, and Princesses were also awake by now. Though it was not their special day, they still wanted to make sure that they looked their best for tonight''s banquet.


    The Princes and Princesses were obsessed with looking perfect for tonight''s banquet because they wanted the Kings, Queens, Nobleman, and Noblewomen to look at them as their future King/Queen. So they had already begun their preparations.


    Some were busy taking a bath, some were already starting their face massages, some were soaking their body in rose water, while some were already trying on the outfits and jewelry to see how they would look in them.


    Prince Edwin just came out of his bath and he was standing in front of a huge mirror. He was wearing a black trouser with golden rim and he was not wearing any cloth on his upper body. Water droplets were still all over his toned muscles.


    Edwin had dark eyes like that of his mother Lillian. His curly black hair was shorter in the front and longer in the back, which came up to his shoulder. He was staring intensely at himself and was lost in his own thoughts. Edwin was clutching his fists and narrowing his gaze as he was muttering under his breath.


    "Finally, after years and years of waiting and preparing myself, the time for me to sit on the throne has come. After taking that test, I will finally be declared the future King of Wyverndale. And after the current King dies, no one can take the throne away from me."


    Out of every Princes and Princesses, Prince Edwin was the one who had to wait the longest for this day to arrive. He was already 29 years old and he could wait no longer to give that test in order to sit on the throne in the near future.


    Edwin had always despised his father and his way of thinking. "My stupid father and his stupid traditions!" he used to think.


    "He is nothing more than a coward, too scared to go for a war. All he did in his life was get married to countless women in the name of diplomacy and produced children like a swine. Because of that, I had to wait so long just to get a chance to give that stupid test of worthiness."


    He banged his fist on the wall just beside the mirror and shouted in anger, "I have already lived one quarter of my life but all I did other than training myself was run his errands and nothing more. And he still does not appreciate my efforts. Damn that King!"


    Osanna returned back to Adeline''s private chamber with two baskets of items that were to be used to beautify the Princess. The items included gold dust, fullers'' earth, coconut oil, molten sugar and honey, rose water, Aloe Vera gel, flower extract, cotton, and several other items.


    Then Hawisa went on to sit on Adeline''s bed. She placed a pillow on her lap and asked Adeline to place her head on her lap. After Adeline did that she said, "Okay, close your eyes Princess. You will glow after this even more."


    Osanna also sat beside Adeline and assisted Hawisa. Hawisa spread her palm in front of Osanna and said, "Pass me the cotton and rose water." Osanna did as she asked.


    Hawisa started by cleaning Adeline''s face with rose water. As she was doing that, she asked Osanna to mix fullers'' earth, gold dust and water in a bowl.


    Theodore did not understand why the maids were insisting on doing all that to Adeline''s face when she already looked like an angel. But still, he was keen to look for the outcome and quietly hovered over them.


    After cleansing Adeline''s face, Hawisa took the mix that Osanna had prepared and spread it thinly and evenly on Adeline''s face. Then she left that to dry on her face.


    Theodore was bored out of his mind when the maids were doing nothing and were just waiting for that greyish-golden thing that they put on her face to dry. He sat on the floor and was staring at the tiny feet of Adeline. And unintentionally, he lifted his hand and started to touch Adeline''s feet.


    Suddenly Adeline could feel a tickle on her foot. She wanted to chuckle but she was unable to move any muscle on her face due to the beauty mask. She knew that it was Theodore who was playing with her feet but she did not want to do anything suspicious and give away his presence in the room.


    So she parted her lips and tried to speak when she could not even move her lips properly, "I think a osquuito�� mossquiito just iit�� biiit me on my left leg, will you ake�� make it go away?"

 Chapter 23 - Beauty Treatment

    Theodore realized that he was the mosquito that Adeline was referring to so he stopped tickling the Princess.


    Hawisa and Osanna both giggled because of how hard Adeline was struggling to speak with the dry mud on her face.


    "Stough laahing!" Adeline tried to make them stop their giggling but that was counterproductive. They started to laugh even more loudly. Even Theodore was finding it difficult to control his laughter when Adeline was struggling to speak.


    After having a good laugh, the face mask was ready to be removed. Osanna handed a soft washcloth and a bowl of warm water to Hawisa. Then Hawisa soaked the washcloth in warm water and started to wipe the fullers'' earth mixed with gold dust off of Adeline''s face.


    "Will you prepare the moisturizer while I wash this off?" Hawisa kindly ordered Osanna, to which Osanna immediately obliged. She took a small ceramic plate and poured a spoon of wild honey on it. Then she added few drops of grape seed oil and a spoon of shea butter.


    Osanna gently mixed all the highly valuable ingredients and placed the mixture by the side of Hawisa. "Hawisa, the moisturizer is ready. What do you want me to do next?"


    Hawisa glanced at the moisturizer and checked for the quality. And she gave another task to Osanna, "Light up the coals and start melting the sugar and honey."


    Hawisa took some moisturizer in her finger and rubbed it all over her palms. Then she started to give gentle face massage to the Princess.


    This was the first time Adeline was getting such excessive beauty treatment.


    Even though Adeline was a Princess, she never desired a royal treatment like all other Princesses. All she had ever cared about was going to the training and getting stronger. And even in her previous birthdays, she was never given this kind of treatment because she never asked for it.


    But this year, in her sixteenth birthday, Hawisa and Osanna were persistent about following all the beauty procedures. They wanted to make sure to give Adeline the royal treatment that she deserved.


    And Adeline also could not deny that she was feeling good when she was being pampered like this. She was closing her eyes and was enjoying the massage. She felt so relaxed that she wanted to sleep for real. And she was even considering getting the beauty treatment every day.


    Another process of the beauty treatment was now ready. Osanna had melted the honey and sugar in a pot. She placed the pot beside Hawisa, along with wooden spatula and a long sheet of cotton cloth.


    Hawisa glanced at Osanna and said, "Osanna, I need you to hold Adeline''s hand."


    Osanna did as she was asked and gently held Adeline''s hand. Adeline didn''t protest thinking they were now going to give her a body massage as well.


    Hawisa spread the hot liquid of sugar and honey on a part of Adeline''s hand. The warmth was bearable. After that, Hawisa covered that part with the sheet of cotton cloth, gave a gentle tap, and then pulled the cloth with a jerk.


    "Ahhhhhhhhh��" Adeline opened her eyes wide and shouted on top of her voice. "Why did you pull that cloth like that? That hurt a lot."


    While Adeline was busy shouting, Theodore thought that the maids were trying to hurt his little human and he immediately lifted his hand to attack the maids. A dark aura was gathered on his palm. But luckily Adeline saw that in time and she shouted at Theodore, "Noooooo��"


    Thankfully, Theodore stopped mid-attack and a great disaster was avoided.


    Hawisa thought that Adeline was shouting because she did not want her body hairs to be pulled anymore. So she tried to calm her down, "It will not hurt that bad the next time, trust me."


    Then Hawisa dipped the wooden spatula in the liquid again and brought it closer to Adeline. But Adeline had not forgotten the pain just yet so she flinched.


    Seeing the Princess''s reaction, Osanna mocked her, "You are a strong warrior Adeline. You are not even afraid of sharp swords but now why are you so afraid of this tiny wooden spatula?"


    Osanna had just hurt the ego of Adeline by saying that she was afraid of a piece of wood. So she took a deep breath in and said to Hawisa, "Well what are you waiting for? Just dip me in that sugar already."


    Theodore suddenly had a capricious smirk on his face. He was literally imagining Adeline coated in melted sugar, her body shining in the light. "I wonder how her soft lips would taste�� well if she is dipped in sugar then obviously she would taste sweet." Theodore''s thoughts were running wild and free like untamed horses.


    Then Hawisa repeated the previous process on another part of her hand and pulled the cloth off again. Adeline grunted a little because it hurt the same.


    Adeline complained to Hawisa, "You said that it would not hurt that bad again. But it hurt just the same. Just when I thought that this beauty treatment was good and was thinking about getting it done everyday... Argh! It stings!"


    On one of the quarters of the Palace, Margery and Muriel were also getting ready for tonight''s banquet. Their maternal grandmother from the Tarrin Kingdom had sent them several diamond jewelries for them.


    Tarrin Kingdom had vast diamond mines and was the richest Kingdom out of the four Neighboring Kingdoms.


    Queen Vultrada, the mother of the twins, was a very proud Queen because of this same reason. She would always boast about Tarrin''s riches here in Wyverndale, and would most of the time do so by wearing huge diamond necklaces and tiara. She would not miss a chance to belittle other Queens and Concubines.


    And Margery and Muriel had inherited their mother''s proud behavior as well. They also loved wearing lots and lots of jewelry and boasting them to other Princesses. And when they saw the diamond gifts sent by their grandmother, they could not contain their happiness.


    The twins were frantically trying on the new diamond jewelry sets and were trying to snatch the best one from the other.


    Margery was sitting in front of a dressing table, and was trying on a necklace which had a design of a peacock on it. Muriel saw that it looked good on her identical twin, which meant it would also look good on her.


    So, Muriel tried to get that piece from her twin, "Marge! I had my eye on that piece of necklace first. So just hand it over to me before I snatch it off of your neck."


    "Having an eye on it first does not count. If that is to work then I already eyed all of them. See��" Margery rolled her eyes all over the jewelry boxes that were spread on the table.


    Muriel was now trying to grab that necklace out of Margery''s neck and was shouting, "Stop that nonsense and just hand it over."


    As both of them pulled the necklace using all their force, the necklace broke into two pieces. Each of the twins had half a piece in their hand.


    Margery was furious because the push and pull had made a small scratch on her neck. She threw the piece that she had in her hand on the floor and shouted, "Great! You not only ruined the best necklace but also scarred my neck."


    "Oh please, it''s just a scratch. It won''t leave a scar you idiot!" Muriel also started to shout at her sister.


    Margery had had enough. She dashed forward towards Muriel and grabbed her by her hair. And Muriel was not the one to stand down. She also grabbed Margery with both of her hands and started to pull her twin by her hair. Both of them started to curse and shout at each other and were fighting instead of getting ready.


    Though they were already 20 years old, they still behaved like little kids and fought over little things. But if they were to pick on some other Prince or Princess, then they would act as if their two bodies had a single soul.


    Their personal maids tried to stop the fight but they were unsuccessful. So one of the maids ran towards the Queen Vultrada''s quarter as fast as she could.


    When the maid reached to the Queen''s quarter, the queen was in her bath house. The bath tub was filled with a mix of milk and warm water. And the mixture was covered with fresh rose petals. The Queen was soaking herself in the tub, and was relaxing and enjoying her bath.


    But she could not enjoy her peaceful environment as the maid knocked on her door and started to complain to her about her daughters.


    The maid was panting when she reached in front of the Queen. But still she managed to speak. "Your Majesty, I am sorry to interrupt. But the Princesses are fighting and won''t let each other off of their grip. We tried to stop but they won''t listen to us."


    Vultrada was angry at the maid for disturbing her when she was in her relaxation time. "Can''t you people break their fight off by yourself? Why do you always have to come running to me whenever they fight? What is the use of employing you people if you can''t even handle such trivial issues by yourself?"


    "I am extremely sorry Your Majesty. But they won''t listen to anyone else except you." The maid was starting to shiver as she was afraid that the Queen might punish her.


    Vultrada was furious and she slapped her fist on the water. The maid jumped a little as she was startled by the Queen. The maid even peed a little.


    Vultrada got up from her bath tub and her maids quickly brought her a maroon robe with elaborate design of roses.. The Queen wrapped herself in the robe and stormed off towards her daughters'' quarter.

 Chapter 24 - The Devil Is Out

    Margery and Muriel were still pulling each other''s blonde hair and were cursing and shouting at each other when Vultrada reached inside their chamber.


    Vultrada looked around with her furious brown eyes and saw that the Princesses'' room was a mess. There was a broken necklace on the floor. Several decorations like flower vase and ceramic pots were broken into pieces and were spread all over the floor.


    Margery''s gown was torn on the shoulder while Muriel''s face was smeared with black eye makeup. And yet they were not leaving each other from their grip.


    "Enough!" Vultrada roared like a tigress and was giving a piercing look to her daughters. "I will take all of your jewelries if you continue this. Do you want to attend today''s feast without wearing any jewelry?"


    Margery and Muriel immediately left each other''s hair and stood in front of their mother with their head down.


    Margery immediately complained to their mother, "It was Mur who started it. She snatched the necklace I was wearing from my neck and even hurt me."


    Muriel also defended herself, "No it was Marge who started it. She wore the necklace that I liked."


    Vultrada clenched her fists and spoke while gritting her teeth. "I don''t care who started it and I don''t care who did what. All I care about is that you two stop embarrassing me in front of the maids. And I definitely won''t forgive you if you two embarrass me further in the banquet. Gather your acts together and quietly prepare for today."


    Queen Vultrada snapped her fingers and a maid came running towards her. "Clean all this mess up and make sure the Princesses are groomed and well dressed for tonight."


    The maid bowed her head low and said, "Yes Your Majesty."


    Vultrada turned towards her daughters and warned them, "Behave well for the rest of the evening. I don''t want to hear another complaint about you two." Then she swiftly turned around, flipping her wet blonde hair, and left towards her own quarter to groom herself.


    Hawisa finished waxing Adeline''s body. She dipped the soft washcloth in warm water and wiped all the excess sugar and honey off of Adeline''s body. Then she dried the Princess using a clean towel.


    Adeline ran her palm over her hand and was amazed with the result. "The texture of my hand changed! It is so smooth, and shiny."


    Theodore was gazing at the Princess when she commented on how smooth her skin felt. He wanted to feel the difference by himself. But he resisted the impulse to touch Adeline because the maids were still by her side.


    Theodore put his hand on his chin and thought about a way to get the maids out of the room, even if it was for a brief time. An evil smile appeared on his face; he got a brilliant idea.


    "Then are you considering of getting this process done frequently in the future?" Hawisa asked the Princess after seeing her smiling.


    But Adeline straightaway denied the offer. "No thank you�� I am not going through this pain again. I am good."


    Hawisa and Osanna were preparing the materials for the next beauty treatment. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge green snake slithered inside the chamber. It hissed and moved its body and climbed on the bed that the three of them were on.


    Osanna could feel a cold thing on her thigh and when she saw what it was, she almost fainted on the spot. "S-snake��" Osanna stammered softly so as not to spook the snake and make it attack her.


    Hawisa and Adeline also noticed the huge snake which was now slithering towards Hawisa. But Hawisa was not going to just stay still and let the snake crawl on her body. She was too afraid of snakes. Instead, she jumped out of the bed, making Adeline''s head jolt and land on the bed with a thud.


    Adeline aggressively whispered at Hawisa, "Hey, watch out! Stop screaming Hawisa, you are scaring the snake." Adeline sat up on her bed and was rubbing her head. Adeline was not afraid of the snake, and she believed that if the maids did not create a fuss, it would slither away on its own.


    But Hawisa didn''t just jump out of the bed, she was screaming and crying and jumping. "Make it go away!" She screamed at Osanna but Osanna was not so brave either to catch a snake.


    Theodore was enjoying the scene greatly. He was standing in one corner of the room, with one of his hands folded across his waist while the other hand was constantly waving and flicking, controlling the snake. His lips were giving off a devilish smile.


    The snake made a circle around Adeline and headed again towards where Osanna was still sitting. This time Osanna also got off from the bed and went near Hawisa. "Stop screaming!" She tried to calm Hawisa down but it was useless.


    The snake didn''t do anything to Adeline; it also slithered off the bed and went in the direction of the maids, chasing them. Both of the maids now shouted with fear and made their way out of the room.


    Their screams were now being heard further and further away from Adeline''s chamber. Adeline was now left in her room, alone with Theodore.


    Adeline sighed and spoke under her breath, "All they needed to do was keep quiet."


    "It would not have worked even if they were quiet." Theodore whispered near Adeline''s ear, making her flinch.


    Adeline turned around to see Theodore lying comfortably on her bed. He was resting his head on his palm and was gazing at Adeline with passionate eyes.


    She forgot that she was not in speaking terms with Theodore and she scolded him, "You startled me!" And what Theodore just said to her, sunk inside her head. She gasped and shouted, "Was that snake your doing?"


    "Of course it was. I am a Devil, remember? I can control many things and make them dance with my fingertips." Theodore flicked his fingers proudly and then stretched his arm to dip his finger in a jar of wild honey that was on the bed.


    "And why would you do that?" Adeline folded her arms and frowned at Theodore.


    Theodore ignored Adeline''s question and was now bringing his honey-dipped finger closer to his mouth. He softly parted his perfect lips and licked the honey from his finger. Adeline was trying her best to be angry at Theodore but there was something bewitching about him.


    When Theodore was licking the honey, Adeline could feel a sudden rush of energy inside her body. Something was telling her to move closer to him, there was something in the air that was attracting her towards the Devil.


    "Devil! Yes he is the Devil. Has he done some enchantment on me? Is that why I am getting attracted to someone who is�� not just old but�� ancient?" Adeline wanted to snap out of the pull that she was feeling but she was lost again, "But he still looks like he is in his early twenties. He once said that he is a son of the God. No wonder he looks so perfect."


    Theodore was also studying the look on Adeline''s face from the corner of his golden eyes. He could tell that the bond between them was growing stronger and stronger.


    Theodore got up abruptly, bringing his face right before Adeline. "Because I was bored out of my mind and wanted to do something fun."


    Adeline was caught off-guard. "Huh?" Adeline was so lost in her thoughts that she didn''t understand what Theodore was talking about.


    "Didn''t you just ask why I brought that snake inside?" Theodore gave his most bright smile showing his beautiful teeth. Then he continued, "To be honest, I also wanted to feel your skin to check how much smoother it got; you know after all that pain those maids caused you."


    Adeline got a hold of her overflowing emotions and warned him, "Don''t you dare do anything of that sort. I am still angry with you."


    Theodore just smirked and carefully looked at Adeline''s face. He noticed that her face was now glowing than before. Then he slowly moved his gaze downwards, on her thin yet strong hand. It indeed looked smooth and was also glowing, and so was her whole body.


    But Theodore was not satisfied by just looking at her, he wanted to touch her. That was the whole point behind chasing away those maids, so that he could touch her.


    Theodore slowly raised his hand and approached Adeline. But Adeline subconsciously pulled back and shouted again, "I have already warned you, not to do anything like before. Or else I will��"


    Out of the blue, Theodore''s brows creased and his cheerful face turned grim. His golden eyes were now blood red and were staring very deeply at Adeline''s eyes. He was starting to emit a dark aura around him. Adeline had never seen his blood red eyes which made a chill shiver run down her spine.


    But before Adeline could react, in the very next moment, Theodore pushed Adeline flat on the bed and was on top of her. He pinned both of her hands down with his hands and whispered near her ear, "Or else you will what? You will shout for your maids again?"


    Theodore sniffed in the sweet aroma that Adeline was giving off and gave a wicked smile, "Oh! I want you to try. I want you to try calling for your maids again. But don''t be shocked when I seal your juicy and plump lips with my own lips."


    Adeline had never in her life expected to see this side of Theodore. Yes, she knew he was the Devil but he was always very sweet and kind to her. And right now, she could tell that this was not the same Theodore that she had met decades ago. He would never do something like this to her.


    Adeline tried her best to push Theodore away but she could not even make him move an inch. She was reminded again about just how powerful he was. "Theodore, get off of me now. You are hurting me."


    Theodore gave a smoldering look to Adeline and glared at her. Then he whispered in her ear again, "You told me yourself that you are not that na?ve little human anymore.. So I am going to treat you like a woman from now on�� my woman."

 Chapter 25 - My Woman

    "So I am going to treat you like a woman from now on�� my woman." Then Theodore moved a little away from Adeline so that his hot breath was not hitting her face anymore. "And of course, I won''t do anything more without your permission first."


    Adeline wanted to be angry at Theodore for behaving so harshly with her. But at the same time, her heart was telling her something else. Honestly, she liked it when he referred to her as ''my woman''. The Princess obviously had not heard it from any other men because she never really went outside of the Palace where she could have met other men.


    Adeline''s life had revolved around her training and the men she had met were her father, her brothers, and her teachers. She did meet Theodore when she was a child, but this was her first time meeting him after she grew up.


    If it was any other Kingdom, then by now, several suitors would have already approached the Princess. And most probably she would have already been married off to a Prince or a King.


    But Wyverndale Kingdom''s tradition had always been different from other Kingdoms. All Princesses would also get an equal chance of ruling the Kingdom, if they successfully pass the test of worthiness. And because of this reason, none of the Princesses would see any suitors and none were married till now.


    Of course, if the Princesses desired to get married like some of their brothers, then they could. But the only catch was that their husband would have to move inside the Wyverndale Palace until everyone took the test to decide the future ruler.


    And if they failed the test, they could choose to keep staying at the Palace or move to their husband''s place. However, because none of the other Kingdoms were this progressive, it was difficult to find a suitable groom for the Princesses.


    Adeline''s heart was pumping very loudly after Theodore had claimed her as his woman. She had never thought that someone claiming her as his own would have such effect on her body and mind. She could feel her cheeks and ears getting hotter. She was starting to breathe heavily even when she was not in her training, playing with her swords or fighting with her brother.


    The Princess was closely examining Theodore''s face. Even when she was a child she had thought that she had never met another beautiful man as him. And now, with her youthful eyes, she could not help but think that he must be God''s perfect creation.


    Even when Theodore was disclosing his blood red eyes to her and was trying to scare her, Adeline still thought that his look was very enticing.


    Adeline would have loved to stare at the handsome face of the Devil for some more time but her hands were starting to go numb because of how hard Theodore was holding her down. Adeline whispered softly to Theodore so as not to provoke him anymore, "Theodore, you are forgetting that you are stronger than me. Get off�� please!"


    Theodore''s eye colors finally changed back to its golden form. He was cheerful again with the change in demeanor of his little human. He gave a playful smile and said, "I will get off on two conditions, one that you will not give me your silent treatment anymore, and two that you will not push me away to the edge and unleash the Devil."


    Adeline stared at Theodore''s eyes and asked, "Will you leave my hands first?"


    Theodore narrowed his gaze at Adeline who was being stubborn again, "Who said you could bargain?


    Adeline felt like she would lose to Theodore if she just submitted to him. After all, she was also a Princess and she did not like losing. She turned her gaze towards the door and said, "I will just wait for my maids to arrive then."


    Theodore leaned down closer to Adeline and almost touched her ear with his lips. Then he whispered, "I can get rid of them permanently as well. If you don''t want that then I suggest you take my offer. And let me tell you this, I am not bluffing. They call me a Devil Prince for a reason."


    Adeline felt a chill in her heart and it spread all over her body when Theodore threatened to get rid of her maids. "Was he always like this? Or was I too little to notice anything evil about him?" She had horror in her eyes as she thought to herself quietly.


    The Princess''s heart was now split between liking him and hating him. One moment she would feel like running into his arms and the next she would feel like running away from him as far as possible.


    But she had no choice right now when he was coercing her into agreeing with his one sided offer. So Adeline agreed to him without even looking at him. "Fine, I agree to both of your conditions."


    "Look at me while you say that. And say it like you mean it." Theodore was enjoying the whole thing now that he had upper hand on Adeline, both literally and figuratively.


    Adeline sighed and looked into his hypnotizing eyes. Then she tried to speak as softly as possible, "I agree to your conditions Theodore. Please let my hands breathe now, will you? I can''t feel them anymore."


    After Adeline said those words, Theodore immediately left his grip and then lay down on her side. He had a whimsical grin on his face and said, "That was all I needed to hear. I forgive you for not talking to me for half of the day."


    Adeline swiftly turned her head to face Theodore and scoffed, "You forgave me for not talking to you for half of the day?" Then she shouted at Theodore, "I thought I was the one who was angry with you for not talking to me for a DECADE."


    Adeline sat up on her bed and she yelled at Theodore furiously, "You were this agitated with me when I ignored you for half a day. Try to think what I must have gone through when you ignored me for so many years." The rims of her blue eyes were now filled with tears, ready to roll down her cheeks.


    This time Theodore was the one to feel something in his heart. Was he feeling her pain? Or was it his own pain seeing his little human in this state? He got up as well and subconsciously gave Adeline a warm hug.


    He had wanted to do this before as well, when he used to see her crying in her room alone. Adeline used to stare at the drawing that she had made of them, and which had handwriting of Theodore. And she would cry, sometimes all night long, longing to meet him.


    This time Adeline did not protest or resist the warm embrace from Theodore. The rims of her sapphire eyes were glistening with tears and they eventually fell down like a waterfall. And she whispered softly, "I missed you Theodore. Why didn''t you show yourself sooner?"


    Theodore smiled and ran his fingers through Adeline''s silver hair. He rubbed her back to console her and replied in his husky voice, "I missed you too, my little human."


    Adeline was now crying even loudly, unable to hide her feelings towards Theodore any longer. Her shoulders were shaking up and down as she cried, resting her head on Theodore''s chest.


    Theodore ran his hand from Adeline''s head down to her waist and pulled her closer to him and hugged her even tightly. Then he planted a soft kiss on her head full of gorgeous silver hair.


    Adeline ran her hands upward to Theodore''s broad back and she also hugged Theodore back very tightly. After years and years of waiting, her Prince was finally with her.


    "I am sorry Adeline. I will never hurt you again or leave you waiting like that." Theodore sincerely asked for forgiveness from the Princess.


    "I am ready to forever stay by your side if your ask me to. But please don''t cry like this." Theodore added again, hoping to calm her little human. Though he did not appear in front of the Princess for her own sake, he was angry at himself for hurting her little angel.


    After some time of crying, Adeline seemed to have calmed down a bit because she stopped shaking. Then she broke off from the tight hug and was now feeling shy that she had shamelessly cried on the chest of the Prince. She noticed that there were even wet marks from her tears on his cloth. "I''m sorry I ruined your cloth." Adeline shyly said to Theodore.


    But Theodore did not mind that at all. He raised both of his hands and wiped the residue tears from Adeline''s cheeks. He glanced at Adeline and when their eyes met he said, "I hate to see tears on those beautiful eyes. And I hate it even more that I was the reason behind those tears."


    Adeline was now happy to have finally cried her heart out and to be with the person that she had been waiting for. It felt like a very beautiful dream to her. She lifted her hand and touched Theodore''s chiseled cheek to check if he was real.


    Theodore smiled at this gesture of the Princess and he pressed her hand on his cheek with his own hand.


    Adeline smiled brightly, showing her dimples, and asked Theodore, "Didn''t you hate being touched? I remember you being skeptical or nervous whenever I held your hand or hugged you. But you don''t seem to be bothered by physical touch any longer. What changed?"


    Theodore gave a devilish smirk and replied, "I guess you grew up to be a fine woman whom I could not resist touching."

 Chapter 26 - Have Something

    Prince Nigel was one of the genuinely happy people for Princess Adeline''s birthday. Like everyone else in the Palace, Nigel was also preparing for tonight''s banquet. He wanted to look fierce today so that he would not garner any criticism from people who would attend the banquet from all over the Kingdom as well as other neighboring Kingdoms.


    People from Aberdeen Kingdom had a reputation of being very soft and caring in nature. And because of this, people from other Kingdoms would look at them with pitiful eyes thinking they were weak. But they were anything but weak.


    And Nigel also wanted to look his best because he had promised his sister that he would have a dance with her in the ball that would take place after the feast.


    "She has already turned sixteen. Time sure do flies fast. I remember how she used to follow me everywhere, holding my hand. She still follows me, but now all she wants to do is spar with me. Not that I don''t like it but she always beats me. Who knew she would grow up to be such a powerful lady?" Nigel was talking to himself as he was checking his outfit for today.


    But then suddenly he felt a stinging pain in his heart. He gripped his hand over his chest and was trying to endure the pain as much as he could. "Aahhh! What is happening to me lately?" He groaned with pain.


    Nigel''s whole body was sweating. His long silky black hair was starting to drench in sweat. He gripped his bed post with both of his hands as the pain kept on growing. His breathing was starting to get heavy and when he stared at the wall in front of him, his sapphire blue eyes turned into amber color for a fraction of seconds.


    And slowly, the pain faded away. He returned back to normal. It had been a few months since he started to feel such excruciating pain. He had not seen any healers and shamans yet because even though the pain he felt was unbearable, it would pass on its own after a few seconds. And after that he would forget about it.


    Princess Adeline and Theodore were still staring at each other when Hawisa and Osanna finally returned back to the Princess''s chamber. A guard successfully managed to chase the snake away to the forest. After running around like wild cats for quite some time, both the maids were tired. So they returned back after calming their fear and resting for a while.


    "I am extremely sorry Princess. I made such a fuss earlier." Hawisa apologized to the Princess with a hint of embarrassment on her face.


    Osanna also immediately added while bowing her head down a little, "And I am sorry as well for leaving you and running away like that."


    Theodore was still on bed and he made sure that he did not move even an inch.


    Adeline turned towards her maids and tried to lighten the mood, "No it''s alright. You two protected me in a way. The snake just followed you two, didn''t it?"


    But the maids were even more embarrassed that at the face of a danger, they had left the Princess and ran away.


    As the beauty treatment was already over, Osanna went forward to gather all the ingredients and bowls from the bed. While she was doing so, she noticed that Adeline''s eyes were watery and red. "Is something bothering you Adeline? Were you crying?" she asked with a bit of a concern.


    Adeline moved her face away from Osanna''s direct view and lied, "No, why would I cry? It is my birthday after all. I was just yawning that''s all."


    Hawisa also noticed Adeline''s eyes by that time and felt that something was wrong. She thought that Adeline must have felt lonely without her mother being there in her birthday. She thought that it would be best to give the Princess some time to herself.


    "Adeline, why don''t you have breakfast now? Once we start dressing you, I''m afraid you will not get to eat anything until the banquet." Though Hawisa had lots of work to do on the Princess, and there was no time even for breakfast, she wanted to give some space to the Princess.


    Adeline nodded while still avoiding meeting her maid''s eyes.


    Hawisa swiftly moved out of the room to bring some hot meal to the Princess while Osanna also followed her shortly with the two baskets that she had brought in earlier in the morning.


    After the maids left the room, Theodore extended his long arm to touch Adeline''s smooth hand but his hand was left hanging midair when at the exact moment someone barged inside the room.


    "Hey sister, I wish you a very happiest birthday." Nigel came in shouting and his arms extended for a hug.


    Adeline quickly got off from her bed to avoid Nigel accidently jumping on Theodore. Then she hugged her brother and replied with a bright smile, "Thank you brother. What took you so long to come here? I thought you were too busy with yourself."


    A deep frown formed on Theodore''s face when he saw the two of them hugging. "Sure, she is your sister. But do you need to cling on to her like that? Impudent brat!" Theodore was cursing Nigel in his mind.


    "I apologize, my dear sister. I wanted to come earlier to personally wish you but my maids insisted that I get an herbal bath. And I accidently fell asleep in the water, so I became a little late." Nigel playfully walked around when he said so.


    But Nigel abruptly stopped walking when his eyes fell on Adeline''s bed.


    Adeline''s face dropped when Nigel stared right at Theodore. She feared that Nigel might have seen Theodore and stammered, "W-what''s wrong N-Nigel?"


    Nigel tilted his head and narrowed his gaze. He held his chin and kept on staring for some time. He inhaled sharply and then said with a skeptical tone, "I don''t know. I feel that something in this room is not right but I can''t pinpoint what is wrong."


    For a second, even Theodore thought that Nigel could actually see him because he was directly staring right where he was.


    "W-wrong? Nothing is wrong here." Adeline tried to brush off Nigel''s suspicion.


    But Nigel was not giving up, he glanced around and said, "There is something strange in the air. I can smell it."


    Adeline laughed nervously and said, "Oh! That? The maids gave me some strange beauty treatment today. Maybe it''s the smell of those rare herbs."


    Nigel was still getting this strange feeling that it was not the herbs that he had smelled. But he did not want to keep on insisting further. "Herbs, right. Maybe that is what it is I smelled."


    "Your Highness, I have brought some breakfast for you." Hawisa entered the room closely followed by two other maids. Then they laid down the food on the Princess''s table.


    Hawisa glanced at Nigel and asked him with a slight bow, "Would you also like to join the Princess for breakfast, Your Highness?"


    "Oh no, it''s alright. I was just visiting her to wish her a happy birthday." Nigel denied the request with a smile.


    The maids then bowed to the Prince and Princess and left the room.


    Nigel turned towards Adeline and smiled gleefully, "Enjoy your breakfast Adeline. I will meet you tonight."


    "Sure brother. Don''t be late."


    Theodore was holding his breath when Nigel was near him. And finally he let out a huge sigh of relief. "That brother of yours is very interesting. Something is different about him." He said to Adeline as she sat down to have her breakfast.


    "Well he always had a keen sense of smell." Adeline looked at Theodore and gestured to him, "Come, have some food with me."


    Theodore was not going to deny such an offer from Adeline so he jumped out of the bed and sat beside the Princess.


    Several dishes were laid out in front of them like juicy chicken breast, freshly baked bread, boiled potatoes, and green vegetables.


    Theodore grabbed a pair of knife and fork and then began cutting the large chicken breast. Adeline was enjoying the bread with some vegetables. Then she saw Theodore shifting the plate with chicken cut into bite-size pieces.


    Adeline stole a quick glance of Theodore and smiled at him. This gesture of him made her feel nostalgic. He had done the same thing when she had first met him in the Devil''s cave.


    She held a fork and then lifted a piece of chicken and put it inside her mouth. Theodore, just like before, watched Adeline eating. Before, he was intrigued by how her little hands were struggling to hold the fork. But now, he was enjoying the luscious lips of her moving softly as she chewed on her food.


    Adeline felt the deep stare that Theodore was giving at her and asked him, "Aren''t you going to have something?" She was feeling very conscious of her movements when he was watching her so closely.


    "I would love to have something but it''s not food.." Theodore gave a mischievous smile and then winked at Adeline.

 Chapter 27 - The Banquet

    The Palace was now starting to look livelier. Varieties of delicacies were being prepared for the feast in the Royal Kitchen. There were decorations all over the Palace. Red carpets were being laid down on the path to welcome the distinguished guests from all around the Kingdom as well as from outside.


    A large hall was prepared for the feast. The tables and chairs were already set in place. Three grand tables were set at the front of the hall for the guest of the three Kingdoms. And smaller tables were placed at the back for other noblemen and noblewomen, separately for each family.


    At the front of the hall, five separate thrones were laid down with tables in front of them. They were for the King, three Queens, and Adeline. Other Princes and Princesses would join their respective maternal family.


    Some of the guests were already starting to arrive to the Palace, especially those from the other Kingdoms who had to travel great distances in their carriages. They arrived early so that they could take some rest and freshen up for the gala event.


    Three guests from Aberdeen had also already arrived -Queen Mother Blevine, Queen Tasha, and Prince Fenris. The King and the Crown Prince were not coming to this gathering because they did not want to leave their Kingdom unprotected. This was mostly the case with other Kingdoms as well. The King and the Crown Prince would not leave the country unless it was some political matter.


    The three of them were led to the guest quarter and were assigned a room each. But Prince Fenris set out to meet his cousin, Prince Nigel, without even entering his room.


    As the day passed by, more and more guests were arriving to the Palace of Wyverndale to congratulate the youngest Princess on her birthday. Because of the number of guests and their importance, the Palace was being heavily guarded by best soldiers.


    After the clock stroke 5 in the evening, the guests were being led inside to the banquet hall. All of the guests were dressed in their best attires. Some of them were adorning blinding jewelries on their neck, hand, and head; while others were keeping it simple by wearing small yet expensive necklaces and earrings.


    All the three Queens were already seated on their thrones at the front of the banquet. Queen Lillian was sitting on the right side of the King''s throne. She was wearing a red gown with black feathers on the neck line and end of the sleeves.


    Queen Vultrada was sitting next to Queen Lillian. Vultrada was wearing a maroon colored gown which was embedded with hundreds of diamond crystals. She was also wearing a huge necklace, which would make the other people looking at her feel choked due to how heavy it looked.


    Queen Claricia was sitting at the left corner of the King''s throne, leaving the throne right next to the King''s for Adeline. She was wearing a light pink gown which had flower patterns embroidered on it.


    All of the Queens wore similar crown on their head which was presented to them by the King when they were crowned as the Queens of Wyverndale.


    Outside of the hall, Adeline was arguing with her father, "Father, why do I have to walk with you? I don''t like the attention I will get if I go in there with you. I don''t like when all the people stare at me like they are ready to pounce on me." Adeline was throwing a fit like a baby in front of the King.


    The King laughed and caressed his beloved daughter''s face, "Adeline, you deserve that attention once in a while. Why do you want to avoid the attention anyway? What if you become the queen in the future? What will you do then? Will you run away just because you want to avoid people staring at you? Or will you walk with your head held up high?"


    "Father, that is not fair. The two situations are not the same. I can totally avoid this one if you let me." Adeline was still whining like a child, trying to get away from all that unnecessary attention.


    The King pretended to be hurt by Adeline''s words and said in a sad voice, "I organized this grand feast just for you and you are not even ready to walk with me. Do I embarrass you that much?"


    Adeline dropped her jaw as she was impressed by her father''s acting, "My god! You do know how to emotionally blackmail me, don''t you father?" She took a deep breath in and said, "Alright, you win. Let''s go inside."


    King Dragomir immediately smiled when his daughter agreed to walk inside with him.


    By now, all of the guests were already seated in their designated seats. One of the guards entered inside the hall and announced to all the people in the hall, "His Majesty King Dragomir and Her Highness Princess Adeline are entering the hall."


    Following the announcement, everyone in the hall instantly stood up from their seat and when the two of them entered the hall, all of them bowed before the King and the Princess. King Dragomir was proudly holding Adeline''s arm as if he was walking her down the aisle.


    The King was wearing his royal outfit - an ankle length black surcoat with elaborate golden embroidery. He was wearing a pure gold belt on his waist. And outside of that, he was adorning his signature red cape with the dragon embroidery at the back. He was wearing a huge diamond embedded golden crown on his head. And he was carrying his trusty sword on his right hand.


    As the King and the Princess were passing by the side of the guests, they were spellbound by the beauty of the Princess. Although the other families used to despise the Princess because she was born from the commoner mother, right now they could not help but stare at the Princess with spellbound eyes.


    Princess Adeline was wearing an ocean blue gown which had pearls embedded on the neckline. The pearls were enhancing the beauty bones of the Princess. The sleeves of the gown were flowing loosely like waterfall from her smooth hands. And a golden belt designed to look like flower petals circled around her waist, making her waist more defined.


    The maids had loosely braided the top of her silver hair and the rest were freely floating down her shoulder. A small golden tiara sat on her head making her look like a moon which was hit by the golden rays of the sun.


    And with little bit of color on her eyes and lips, she looked as if the goddess of beauty herself was walking amongst the crowd.


    The King and the Princess reached the altar and sat on their respective thrones. The spellbound eyes were still lurking on the birthday girl. And the King finally announced, "Let the feast begin!"


    And with the order from the King, several maids and servants entered the hall with trays of delicacies on their hands. The food and wine arrived at the tables of Kings and Queens first. And after that it arrived at the other tables.


    When all of the tables were served, King Dragomir raised his glass of wine and made a toast his daughter, "I would like to thank all of you present here today for participating in this joyous occasion of my youngest daughter''s sixteenth birthday. I would like to wish her a happy and successful life ahead. To Princess Adeline."


    All of the guests raised their glasses and spoke simultaneously, "To Princess Adeline" and took a ship of their wine.


    Finally, the feast had begun. All the guests were having a fill of the dishes they liked. Some were diving into roasted chicken, some were slicing juicy steak and savoring it, while some were already devouring the sweet deserts.


    Princess Adeline was feeling a little nervous from all the eyes that were staring at her. Now that all of them were focused on their food, she felt a little relieved. She started to cut through the juicy steak and have them.


    Theodore was back in Adeline''s room, lying down on her bed, waiting for everyone to get drunk so that he could enter the hall unnoticed and enjoy the rest of the evening with the Princess.


    He was thinking about the Princess with a huge grin on his face. "Now I get it�� why those maids were adamant about giving Adeline a beauty treatment. She definitely looked like an angel�� no, not just angel, she looked like a divine goddess. I can''t wait to wrap her in my arms and dance with her."


    He rolled over on the bed and took a deep breath in. His brows scrunched when he mumbled to himself, "Those maids never left her side after they returned again. Maybe I should have brought in another snake or something."


    And just when he was lost in his sweet imagination, he suddenly noticed something lurking in the shadows outside of the Princess''s chamber. He could feel a strange energy which was not human. He swiftly got on his feet and tip-toed to see what it was.


    He could clearly see a pair of amber eyes glowing in the dark.. "Now this is interesting!" Theodore said with a smirk on his face.

 Chapter 28 - Howl In The Forest

    Adeline was the talk of the night among the guests because her beauty had enchanted everyone. They would glance at her once in a while when they were enjoying the lovely dinner.


    "Now I know why King Dragomir took a liking to a commoner. If the Princess looks this beautiful, then her mother definitely should have been a beauty." One of the guests whispered in the ear of another guest as he was chomping on a chicken drumstick.


    The other guest stole a lustful glance of the Princess and agreed, "If I was not already married, I would have agreed to shift to the Palace just so I could be her husband."


    And among the enchanted ones was Prince Fenris as well. Fenris was drinking his wine while constantly staring at the lovely Princess who sat right in front of him.


    Fenris seemed drunk, not because of the wine but because of Adeline''s pure beauty. "Nigel never told me that he had such a beautiful sister. If I knew her earlier I would have already courted her."


    Fenris had his head in the cloud but then he suddenly remembered something, "Where is Nigel?"


    He looked around at the other tables but Nigel was nowhere to be seen. "Shouldn''t he be here by now? It has been about half an hour since the feast started." He leaned towards his mother, Queen Tasha, and whispered, "Mother, have you seen Nigel around?"


    Queen Tasha was also itching to ask the same question to her son, "I was about to ask you the same question. Weren''t you with him all the afternoon? Why didn''t you two come together?"


    Fenris furrowed his brows and replied, "Well I was with him the whole afternoon. But then I left for my room to tidy up for the banquet. We agreed to meet here in the hall but he never came."


    Prince Fenris was now genuinely starting to get worried about his cousin. "Nothing weird happened to him right? No, it can''t happen�� or can it? Is it even possible after all these years?"


    Fenris shook his head and tried to focus on his dinner instead. "He just might be taking more time to get ready. He said that he wanted to look great." He started cutting his steak but he could not quite shake off the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, "But he used to say that his sense of smell is powerful."


    "Maybe I should go to his quarter and check on him." Fenris was about to put down his knife and fork but everyone were still seated in their seats. It was considered rude to get up before the King finished his dinner. So Fenris just forced himself to continue eating dinner, hoping that his brother was alright.


    However, right at that moment, a faint howl could be heard. But that was enough to startle Fenris. Not just him, Queen Mother Blevine and Queen Tasha also heard the howl and shot a quizzical look at one another.


    Then all of them glanced at Queen Claricia who was sitting not far from them. Queen Claricia noticed the concerned looks on their faces and then smiled and shook her head at them. Fenris let out a soft sigh and started to focus on his food.


    Behind the Palace, a little far away from the celebration, something was lurking in the shadows of the forest. It would come into the view for some brief seconds, when the full moon''s light that managed to enter past the dense trees would fall upon its body, and it would disappear into the shadows again.


    After running around freely for some time, the wolf looked up at the full moon and howled again. The deer and rabbits scurried away when they heard the predator''s howl. That wolf was very large which had a mix of grey and white fur. And its amber eyes were shining in the moon light.


    As it was making its way towards the Palace, that wolf caught a strange scent. Then it decided to follow the scent and kept on running until it finally reached to the source. It stopped just outside Adeline''s quarter and started to growl softly.


    When the wolf was walking softly towards the room, its amber eyes caught a sight of another pair of amber eyes. But soon those amber eyes that it saw turned red.


    "Now this is interesting!" The tall figure said with a smirk on his face.


    The wolf started to give a hostile glare at Theodore and started to growl aggressively. Theodore was unfazed and said playfully, "There, there puppy, you don''t want to die now, do you?"


    But the wolf pushed its legs from the ground and pounced at Theodore. However, all it took for Theodore to stop the wolf was his hand raised in midair. And the wolf was whimpering and was left dangling in the air.


    Theodore went to where the wolf was dangling and ran his fingers through its fur. When he touched the wolf, Theodore''s eyes twinkled. He instantly realized that the wolf in front of him was not a normal wolf but was a werewolf. And not just that, Theodore knew who he was.


    "Even more interesting... This was your first transformation I suppose. Or else, you would have seen me when you came to the room earlier." Theodore placed his hand on the wolf''s back and then closed his eyes and mumbled something.


    And when he opened his eyes, the wolf was transforming back to its human form. Theodore had performed an incantation to trap the beast back inside its original form.


    After the transformation was complete, Prince Nigel was lying on the floor, completely naked. It took some time for him to regain his consciousness.


    Nigel slowly fluttered his eyes and opened them. But he was seeing blur. He blinked his eyes hard and when he opened his sapphire eyes, he could see a tall man standing beside him with a smirk on his face.


    Nigel was confused as to what had happened to him. All he could remember was a throbbing pain in his heart and then nothing.


    Nigel slowly got back on his feet while holding his head with his hand. He was feeling a little pain in his head. He then looked around and realized that he was in Adeline''s room. He stared at the tall man by his side for some time to see if he could recognize him but he had never seen that man in his life.


    "Who are you? What are you doing in my sister''s room?" Nigel thought that he was either a kidnapper or a burglar who wanted to harm Adeline.


    "Er�� Those questions can wait. I thing you should look down first." Theodore pointed his finger below Nigel''s waist and looked away towards the walls.


    Nigel looked down and was shocked with the state he was in. "What the��" He looked around and saw a towel lying on the bed. He quickly grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his waist.


    Nigel was a bit embarrassed but he needed to find out the identity of the man who was there with him. He cleared his throat and asked again while fisting his hands on his hips, "Tell me who you are, or be ready to face the wrath of Prince of Wyverndale."


    But Theodore already knew that Nigel was a softie. So he jumped on Adeline''s bed and then lied down. "Don''t sweat so much Prince Nigel. Your sister must be waiting for you for that dance you promised. You should hurry up to the hall."


    Nigel had a bewildered look on his face. "How do you know my name? And how do you know that I have promised a dance to my sister? Why do you know about the hall? How do you know so much...?" And then something clicked on his brain.


    "Wait�� how did I end up naked with the man I don''t even know?" he was holding his head with both of his hands and now, the more he thought about the earlier situation, the more panicked he was becoming.


    After listening to all the rambling of Nigel, Theodore had an offended look on his face. "Don''t make me sound like a pervert, you insolent brat."


    Nigel glared at Theodore and raised his voice, "Hey who is the insolent one? You are the one who is disrespecting a Prince."


    Theodore sighed and then got up from the bed. He towered over Nigel and narrowed his gaze. Then he spoke in a stern voice, "Let me introduce myself to you, Prince Nigel. I am Prince Theodore. You might know me as the owner of the Devil''s Cave."


    Then he changed his eye color to red for a fraction of seconds, which was enough to scare Nigel.


    Nigel felt as though someone had hit him on his head with a hammer. He felt his knees growing weak when he heard the words ''owner of the Devil''s Cave''. He had heard many stories about the Devil that lived on top of a mountain when he was a child. And now the man in front of him was claiming to be the Devil!


    Theodore puckered his lips and thought, "Maybe I scared the kid a little too much." Then he smiled at Nigel and flung his arm around Nigel. Then he spoke in a cheery voice, "You don''t have to be so scared little puppy."


    Nigel slowly lifted his hand and pushed Theodore''s hand off of his shoulder. Then he put up some courage and spoke in an undertone, "I am not a puppy, sir."


    "Oh! You don''t remember that�� I guess��" Theodore spoke under his breath and glanced at Nigel. He saw that Nigel was still trembling. "I am not a bad person, Nigel. I mean I am bad�� because of course I am the Devil�� but I''m not bad to those who are close to Adeline."


    "Why?" that was all Nigel could force himself to speak.


    Theodore hummed for a while and said, "Let''s just say for now that I am you sister''s guardian angel�� or devil." He paused for some time and said, "And as her guardian, I don''t want to see her disappointed in her own birthday, so please, get dressed and go enjoy."


    Nigel was not sure if he could enjoy himself after encountering the Devil.. But he wanted to get away from him as fast as he could, so he immediately ran out of the room.

 Chapter 29 - He Can See You?

    When Prince Nigel entered the hall, the King had already gotten up from his throne and other guests were also loitering around. So he did not attract much attention when he entered the banquet hall. He quietly moved his feet to the front of the hall where his maternal relatives were sitting.


    His mind was still lingering around in his previous encounter with the Devil. "Why did he say that he was Adeline''s guardian? Was he inside the room when I went to Adeline''s room to wish her? I could smell something�� powerful and I am definitely sure that it was him. Does Adeline even know that the Devil was inside her room?"


    Nigel was so lost in his thoughts that he did not even realize that he had already reached to the table and was sitting beside his cousin. He did not even greet his relatives. He just sat there, resting his chin on his palm, and thinking away.


    Queen Mother and Queen of Aberdeen were waiting for Prince Nigel to greet them. Queen Claricia had already joined them and she was trying to get the attention of her son "Nigel�� Nigel��" but there was no reply.


    Prince Fenris noticed the awkwardness going on in their table and straight off elbowed Nigel in the stomach.


    Prince Nigel gasped when he felt the elbow and he felt like he just came out of a deep trance. He looked to his side and saw Blevine and Tasha smiling at him. He quickly got up from his seat and then bowed to them. "Greetings, Queen Mother and Queen Tasha, I hope you are enjoying the dinner."


    Both Blevine and Tasha softly smiled to acknowledge the Prince''s greeting.


    "Yes, the dinner is very lovely." Queen Tasha replied in a soft and mesmerizing voice.


    However, Queen Mother said in a bit of a stern voice, "Why were you so late in joining the dinner? I believe there was nothing more important to you than your favorite sister''s birthday celebration."


    This statement from Queen Mother caught Nigel completely off-guard. He started to stammer while delivering lies to them, "Er�� I-I had some things to take care of b-before I came here."


    Queen Mother and Queen Tasha nodded and then continued drinking their wine and eating delicious food. They were sharing their stories with Queen Claricia and Claricia was also doing the same.


    Prince Fenris, however, did not buy his lies. He had this feeling in his gut telling him that there was definitely something wrong. He knew how much Adeline meant to Nigel and he knew that he would not miss such an important event of his favorite sister.


    Fenris also noticed that since Nigel had arrived, he had not stopped fidgeting his legs. And he constantly seemed to be spacing out. "Brother Nigel, are you sure you are alright? Is something bothering you?"


    Nigel mustered up a smile and then shook his head, "No, nothing is bothering me. I am fine."


    "You know you can share anything with me right? And I mean any...thing." Fenris was worried that the howls that he had heard earlier might have been from his cousin.


    But even if he wanted to share what was wrong, Nigel still had no memory of his transformation. He was still trying to figure out what was he doing in Adeline''s room, that also with the devil.


    A maid brought a tray full of food and wine to Prince Nigel and laid it in front of the Prince. If it was any other time, he would have already gorged into the delicious food items in front of him but right now, the food did not seem appetizing at all. So, he just pretended to eat.


    King Dragomir was entertaining some of the guests in another separate room with the game of poker. Queen Lillian and Queen Vultrada had also already headed outside to join their respective families and were sharing talks and laughs with them.


    Princess Adeline had maternal grandmother and grandfather but they were already too old to be able to travel in carriages. So Adeline really had no close family to talk to right now. She did not want to barge in to Nigel''s table and make them uncomfortable. Which was why, she was sitting in her throne and was playing with her food, wishing for the night to pass quickly so that she could sleep.


    She was so bored that she did not even notice Theodore sitting right behind her. Theodore leaned in closer to Adeline and then whispered in her ear "Boo".


    And he caused the unsuspecting Princess to jump a little, causing her to drop her fork on the ground. A few eyes fell on Adeline and she tried her best to act normal.


    Adeline pretended to put some food in her mouth and covered her lips with her hand. Then she whispered to Theodore who was, by now, sitting by her side, "Stop scaring me Theodore, people will think that I am crazy."


    Theodore leaned back on his chair and stared at the ceiling. He replied in melancholic voice, "Let them think what they want. We cannot stop people from thinking, can we?"


    "Shh�� people might hear you Theodore." Adeline was worried that people might find out about Theodore being present amidst them. That would be really bad because she knew by now that he did not have a good reputation among humans. They all feared him, even her father feared him.


    But that didn''t stop Theodore from talking. He turned his face to see Adeline and smiled seductively. And he spoke softly in his deep and hypnotizing voice, "So what if they hear me? Are you afraid about what they will do to me if they find me here, or are you afraid about what I will do to them?"


    Adeline just smiled and then shook her head. "I cannot make him stay quiet." She thought to herself. And she thought that if she just stayed quiet, Theodore might also keep quiet.


    But Theodore was not going to endure her silence once again. He was already bored when he was alone in her room. And now he wanted to talk with her and dance with her. He didn''t care about being heard by drunken people anyway. They would just think that they were too drunk and they were hearing voices.


    Theodore whispered in his low but deep voice, "Let''s pick up where we left earlier. As I was saying, I would love to have something." After saying this, his golden eyes were gazing at Adeline''s soft pink lips.


    Adeline felt this overwhelming sensation all over her body as if his voice had triggered something that was dormant in her body. She scratched her pale neck and then broke her gaze from Theodore''s face.


    Theodore was watching Adeline biting her lower lips softly and was enjoying the flustered look on her face.


    When Adeline was looking away, her eyes fell on Nigel who was staring towards her. She gave a smile to her brother but there was no response from his side.


    She kept on staring at Nigel for few more seconds and then she felt that Nigel was not staring at her but he was staring at Theodore. So she whispered to Theodore, "Umm, Theodore, don''t you feel like brother Nigel is staring at you?"


    Theodore turned away his gaze from Adeline to where Nigel was. Then he smiled and waved at him. Nigel immediately turned away as if he did not see anything.


    Adeline was seeing all that was happening around her. And she had a hunch that Nigel definitely saw Theodore. And she exclaimed, "He can see you!"


    "Oh! Yes he can." Theodore normally said as if that was not bothering him at all.


    "Wh��" Adeline almost shouted but she controlled herself and spoke softly, "What? How can he see you? And why are you being so calm about it?"


    Theodore gave a mysterious smile and whispered, "Something happened when I was sleeping in your room. But I will tell the story when we will be alone."


    But Adeline was too curious to know what had happened. She knew that Theodore was still veiling himself from the humans. And if Nigel could see him right now then�� she had no idea what to think of that. "Theodore, just tell me already. What happened to Nigel?"


    Theodore smirked and said, "I can''t right now." Theodore knew that Nigel had no memory of his turning into a werewolf. And by revealing that to him right now, he did not want to scare him or worse�� make him turn again. The full moon had still not passed yet, it was Theodore''s magic that was able to change him back to human form.


    "What do you mean you can''t? We are still far away from all the people. No one can hear you if you whisper. So what''s the problem?" Adeline blurted out with unfaltering curiosity in her deep blue eyes.


    Theodore signaled Adeline to watch Nigel closely and when she complied, he whispered, "You can hear me, can''t you Nigel?"


    When Theodore said those words, out of instinct, Nigel turned his head towards Theodore.


    A soft gasp escaped from Adeline''s mouth. She knew of some mystical beings which had sharp hearing abilities and strong sense of smell. And she guessed that her brother might have somehow turned into one of those beings.


    Then Theodore kept on whispering, "I will tell you both what I saw after the dance ends. Nigel, you should come to Adeline''s quarter if you want to know about what happened earlier. I am sure you are desperate to know the answer."


    Nigel took a deep breath and nodded at the two of them.

 Chapter 30 - The Promised Dance

    All of the guests, including the King and the Queens were now gathered in another hall. A melodious music could be heard throughout that hall. Few of the guests were already on the dance floor, paired up and swaying their hips and twirling. The whole atmosphere was fun and enjoyable.


    King Dragomir was dancing with his beloved daughter Adeline. One reason was because it was her birthday, and another reason was that he did not want his Queens to feel jealous and envious of each other. So in the end, he decided that it would be best if he did not dance with any of his wives but just the birthday girl.


    As the King was dancing with his daughter, he could not help but think about his beloved Auvera. He looked at Adeline with eyes full of love and whispered, "You look so much like your mother Adeline, except for your eyes of course. You remind me of her so much."


    Adeline smiled but behind her smile there was a hidden sadness. She wished that her mother was here with her, looking after her and sharing laughs with her. She wished that she could do everything with her mother that a mother and daughter would do together. But this birthday wish of her was an impossible one.


    "Father, how was mother like as a person?" Adeline asked her father with her curious eyes. She would ask this question a lot when she was still a kid but after she grew up, she had restrained herself from asking this question. Adeline did not want her father to feel that he was unable to give enough love to her. But tonight, for some reason, she was missing her mother very much.


    King Dragomir''s eyes started to dilute as he started to recall Auvera, the times he had spent together with her, and how he had fallen in love with her. "Your mother was a very kind hearted person Adeline. She was the most caring and loving person I had ever met in my life. She was my support, my hope, and my love."


    Dragomir took a deep breath in and then continued, "But I don''t know why God was so cruel with her. She had never ever harmed a living soul, and God was cruel enough to take her away from this world."


    "I am sorry that you had to live without a mother." King Dragomir caressed his daughter''s silver hair. Though Auvera''s death was not his fault, he felt like somehow it was because of him and felt guilty.


    "You don''t have to say sorry to me father. You also lost your love. We both lost someone dear to us. Hopefully, she is in a good place now." Adeline smiled at her father but her sapphire eyes were full of tears, ready to fall down any time.


    Nigel was standing a little further from the dance floor. He was standing with Prince Fenris. And both of them were constantly glancing in the direction where Adeline and the King were dancing, but for different reasons altogether.


    Nigel had questions for Adeline which was eating him up from the inside. While Fenris was spellbound by Adeline''s beauty and just wanted to have a dance with her.


    After dancing with Adeline for some time, King Dragomir was already exhausted. His stamina had dropped lately. He did not know why but he would feel exhausted really quickly these days.


    "I think I should go and rest for today. You should enjoy the dance." Dragomir kissed Adeline on her forehead and then stepped away from the dance floor.


    Nigel was waiting for his father to take a leave from the dance floor because he really had to ask a few things to Adeline. He did not have the patience to wait until the whole ceremony was over.


    Fenris noticed that there was an opening to dance with Princess Adeline. He smiled while gazing at Adeline and took steps towards her. However, Nigel had ran past him and reached in front of Adeline in a matter of few seconds.


    Prince Fenris was confused as to what just happened. "Why did he run like that? What? He is now dancing with Princess Adeline�� when I was going on and on about how much I wished to dance with her the whole time I was talking with him�� I''ll see him later." Fenris stomped his feet and returned back to where he was standing before.


    To others, it seemed like a normal dance between a brother and sister but the whole atmosphere around the two of them was tensed up. Nigel had so many questions for his sister, and Adeline did not know where and how to start explaining things to him.


    Finally, Nigel broke the silence and asked in a concerned voice, "Adeline, you can also see the Devil, am I right?"


    Adeline knew that this question was coming her way sooner or later. She puckered her lips and then nodded with a bit of guilt feeling. Nigel was the closest to her and yet she had chosen to hide something from him.


    "Since when can you see him? And why are we the only ones that can see him?" Nigel slowly started to open the pandora''s box, asking the questions that would change his life forever.


    This question from Nigel suddenly made a huge question click inside Adeline''s mind. "Wait�� why can I see him when I am a human? He said that he could perform a spell to hide himself from humans, but why can I see him?"


    Before, when she was a kid, she just took it for granted that she was the only one who could see him. He had not given any reasoning and she never really thought about it either. But today, she remembered him mentioning something about veiling himself from humans.


    And with all the preparations going on for the banquet, that sentence''s impact never really got inside her mind. Now that Nigel particularly asked that question, she felt an uneasy feeling in her heart. "What am I? And what is brother Nigel?"


    Nigel saw that Adeline was lost in her thought. But he wanted to know what was going on so he grabbed her attention, "Adeline, why are we the only ones that can see him? And what was he even doing in your room?"


    Adeline was a little embarrassed when Nigel asked her why he was in her room. But she decided to completely ignore that question and said, "Remember when we were kids I used to tell you a story about my strange dream? A dream where I had travelled to a mountain''s top and met a handsome Prince called Theodore?"


    "Yeah I do remember�� but what has that got to do with the question I am asking?" Nigel furrowed his brows and lines could be seen on his forehead. He was really confused.


    Princess Adeline took a deep breath before finally saying, "Well, it has everything to do with the question that you are asking. Because all of it was real and not a dream. And Prince Theodore is the Devil."


    The tensed face from Nigel''s face lifted and he felt like some things were starting to make sense now. "So you really were taken to the Devil''s Cave when you were kidnapped. And the kidnapper was none other than General Osmond�� Then why did you never say anything against him? Why are you still getting trainings from him?"


    Nigel could feel this strange feeling building up inside of him. It was anger, not just anger but fury, fury towards the kidnapper of his beloved sister.


    But Adeline calmly said, "Theodore told me that General Osmond was acting on someone else''s order. He told me to trust Osmond, so I put my trust in him."


    "Then who was the real kidnapper?" Nigel asked in a furious voice.


    Adeline could sense great changes in her brother. She had never seen her brother getting this angry. She felt like if she told a name, he would rip their throat apart right now. The aura that was coming off from him was very dangerous.


    But even Adeline did not know who the real kidnapper was. Theodore had not told her anything more when they had met the last time, which was decades ago. And they were yet to catch up on many things. "I don''t know who the real culprit was. I think Theodore knows but I have not got the chance to ask him."


    "He was in the room with you and you did not ask that one important question? How can you even be so calm when you know that the one who tried to hurt you is still walking freely?" Nigel was now angry at his own sister.


    "Whoever that is, they will not roam freely for much longer��" Adeline narrowed her eyes and spoke again, "And as for why we are the only ones who can see him, I have a hunch.... because we are not pure humans."

 Chapter 31 - Werewolf Gene

    The dance went on until midnight. After midnight, the guest slowly started to thin out. Those who were from Wyverndale were preparing their carriages to go to their own homes. And as for the guests from other Kingdoms, the maids and servants had prepared rooms for them and were leading them towards their rooms.


    Prince Fenris was trying to find his cousin Nigel but he was nowhere to be seen. And he also could not see Princess Adeline anywhere. He wanted to have a dance with her so badly but in the end, he did not even get to personally wish her a happy birthday. And with a heavy heart, he headed towards his room to rest for the night.


    As soon as it was midnight, Adeline and Nigel had headed towards Adeline''s room. Theodore was waiting for the two of them inside the room. He was lying on Adeline''s bed as if it was his own.


    "Why did you two take so long? I thought I would fall asleep waiting for you two." Theodore patted on the bed and gestured the two of them to sit beside him, while he was still lying down.


    Both Nigel and Adeline sat down a bit reluctantly. Nigel was still feeling uncomfortable because his first memory of the encounter with the Devil was very humiliating for him.


    Adeline broke the awkward silence and then asked to Theodore, "Theodore, you said that you are veiling yourself from humans right?"


    "Yes, I did say that. And now you want me to reveal why Nigel was able to see me right?" Theodore quickly interjected in between. He shifted his gaze from Adeline to look at Nigel. Then he asked the Prince, "Nigel, you don''t remember anything that happened to you before you saw me?"


    Nigel pressed his mind hard again in an attempt to remember how he had ended up in Adeline''s room but he remembered nothing. "All I remember is that I was about to get ready for the banquet. But I felt extreme pain in my chest. And the next thing I remember is that I woke up here and saw you. I don''t remember what happened in between."


    Adeline felt that she was a little out of loop here, but she decided to remain quiet.


    "The pain you mentioned, how long has it been since you first started to feel it?" Theodore looked at Nigel with inquisitive eyes.


    Nigel tried to remember when he felt such excruciating pain for the first time, but he could not exactly pinpoint the date. So he took a guess and replied, "It started a few months back, maybe since last 2-3 month."


    "You felt extreme pain? What kind of pain? And why did you never tell me?" Adeline wanted to ask all of these questions to Nigel. But she decided not to ask, at least not right now. She had also hidden several things from Nigel and she could not exactly call him out for hiding one thing from her.


    "And how old are you?" Theodore asked Nigel another question. He was acting like he was some sort of a detective.


    Nigel was not sure what his age had to do anything with what kind of creature he had turned into. But he still answered, "I am 23."


    Theodore was placing his fingers on his chin and was thinking something. "This is a little peculiar. Normally the werewolf side starts to manifest when they are still a teenager. But I guess there are some exceptions."


    Nigel was staring at Theodore, waiting for him to give an answer. He was dying to know what he was. Since Adeline told him that they were not pure humans, he feared the worst. He started to wonder if he was some sort of ghoul.


    Theodore abruptly sat up on the bed and then smiled at Nigel like he was his little pet. He ruffled Nigel''s long silky black hair and then said, "You don''t have to worry so much Nigel. You are a special kind of a human. Have you ever heard about a werewolf?"


    "A werewolf?" Both Nigel and Adeline exclaimed at the same time.


    "Yes, a werewolf. I believe that it was your first transformation. Firsts are always a blur, I heard." Theodore kept on staring at Nigel and said, "Earlier, you came inside this room in your wolf form. Maybe you sensed my presence, my distinct smell in this room and you followed the scent."


    "I came here as a wolf? But how can I be a werewolf? I swear I was never bitten by a wolf�� I don''t even go to the forest to be bitten by one." Nigel''s mind was in all places trying to figure out how that was even possible.


    Theodore face-palmed himself and he had a look of disappointment on him. "You don''t really know anything, do you? How can someone be so oblivious? You really are like an unaware little puppy."


    Nigel scorned at Theodore and shouted, "Don''t call me that Mr. Devil. I am not your little puppy."


    After finishing that sentence Nigel immediately regretted saying it. Theodore was narrowing his gaze at Nigel. This sent goose bumps all over Nigel''s body. "What if I provoked the Devil?" he thought and he swiftly steered the conversation away.


    Nigel turned at Adeline with questioning eyes and asked softly, "We don''t become a werewolf when we are bitten by a wolf?"


    "I don''t know much but I definitely don''t think that that''s how it works." Adeline puckered her lips and then kept quiet.


    Theodore cleared his throat and straightened his back. Then he proudly began showering his vast knowledge to the kids. "You don''t become a werewolf by getting bitten by a wolf, Mr. Prince. You need to have it in your blood."


    "Have it in blood? Am I also a werewolf? Is that why I am also able to see you?" Adeline asked in a panicked voice. The last thing she wanted was to turn into a wolf like her brother.


    Theodore was not prepared to answer her question. He didn''t know how she would react when she would know the truth. And he did not want Adeline to give him the silent treatment again.


    So he completely ignored her question and continued his blabbering. "The population of werewolf is very low. A particular tribe inherited the werewolf curse long ago because of the mistake of one person of that tribe."


    Theodore waved his fingers in a spooky way and dimmed the brightness from lanterns that were lit in the room. He narrowed his gaze and then started to speak dramatically as though he was saying a horror story.


    "And till date, this curse manifests on that tribe''s descendent but very rarely. It is called a curse because you need to go through the shape shifting process every full moon which is painful in itself. And if you ever eat human flesh during that time, you will forever be stuck in the wolf''s body."


    Nigel could feel chill shiver running down his spine and to his fingertips. He started to feel lightheaded by thinking about the possibility of being stuck in the wolf''s body forever.


    When Nigel was lost in his fear, Adeline also could not help but share the same fear. "What if I have also inherited the curse?" this thought was lingering in her mind. "And what if I also turn into a wolf someday?"


    Adeline could not take the knot in her stomach anymore and she shouted her question again, "Theodore, am I or am I not a werewolf? Why can I see you even when you veil yourself from the humans?"


    Theodore would have loved to avoid this question right now but he did not find another excuse. He slightly slid back, a little away from Adeline and spoke very softly, "Umm�� you are not a werewolf Adeline. But you being able to see me through the incantation might be my fault."


    "Your fault?" There was a long pause after this. Adeline was trying to figure out what he could have done to her, to make her different from human.


    Nigel was waiting for Theodore to reveal what he had done to his sister. He was starting to bubble up with anger. Nigel asked in a very hoarse voice as if the wolf inside of him was ready to pounce, "What did you do to my sister?"


    Theodore wanted to teleport away in an instant because of the tension that was building up. So he spoke in his soft tone, "Calm down Nigel. No need to be angry. I know you are a good boy."


    However, it was Adeline who immediately shouted, "What did you do to me Theodore?"


    Theodore awkwardly started fidgeting his fingers and slowly said, "I infused a small part of my demonic power inside you when you came to my cave. That means you lean a little to my side, that''s all."


    "You made me a Devil?" Adeline gritted her teeth as she asked that.


    Theodore immediately denied the accusation. "No, no�� you are still a human�� but a powerful one. Trust me Adeline, I did that to protect you, not to cause you harm in any way."


    But Adeline still hated that Theodore had done so when she was a child and without her permission. Adeline clenched her fist so tightly that her knuckles were becoming white.


    She was trying hard not to scream at Theodore when Nigel was right beside her, full of anger. She did not want the two of them to get in a fight with each other because of her. Because she knew who would be the clear winner, and she did not want to see her brother getting hurt or worse... dead.


    Adeline gained her composure after some time and spoke without meeting the gaze with Theodore, "Theodore, I want to hear full explanation tomorrow. I want to rest for now."


    "Of course. I will see you tomorrow then." Theodore was glad that Adeline had asked to meet tomorrow. He was afraid that she might have denied meeting him forever. He knew how stubborn she had grown up to be.


    Theodore waved his hand around and then vanished from the room.. But for some time, Nigel could still see a dark mist lingering at the place where the Devil was sitting before.

 Chapter 32 - The First

    Hawisa and Osanna knocked on Adeline''s door at 5 AM. Normally, she would have been reading books when her maids would come knocking at her door. But today, Adeline was very exhausted from yesterday''s celebration and the late night talks with Nigel and Theodore. So she was still sleeping.


    When she heard the knock, she reluctantly opened her eyes and got up from her bed. She was able to get only a few hours of sleep before she had to wake up for her daily training routine. She dragged her legs lousily towards the door while yawning, and then opened the door for her maids to enter.


    "You were still sleeping Your Highness?" Hawisa asked with a surprised tone because the Princess had never overslept in years.


    Adeline yawned again and spoke drowsily, "Yes, I slept very late yesterday."


    Osanna elbowed Hawisa and gestured her to keep quiet. Then she looked at Adeline and said in a cheery voice, "Adeline if you are still feeling sleepy then you can sleep again. We will prepare the bath for you and wake you up."


    "Ah! That sounds good. I''m still feeling sleepy." Adeline went back to her bed and tucked herself inside the blanket.


    The maids went to the bathhouse to prepare the bath for the Princess.


    Adeline felt as if someone was tugging her blanket from behind her. She turned her head to see why her maids were disturbing her when she had just gotten inside her bed. But a soft gasp left her mouth when she saw Theodore lying by her side.


    Adeline shouted instinctively, "Theo��" but she immediately lowered her voice and whispered, "Theodore what are you��"


    "Shh�� let me sleep with you for a while." Theodore wriggled towards Adeline until his body was perfectly spooned with Adeline''s. He placed his arm around Adeline''s waist and closed his eyes.


    Adeline could feel Theodore''s breath brushing over her neck. Though she was angry with him a few hours ago, Adeline forgot all of it when Theodore embraced her. She did not bother throwing his hand away or getting up and causing a scene because she liked the warmth she was feeling. She lay down quietly. The only sound that could be heard by both of them was Adeline''s heart thumping rapidly.


    A smile appeared on Theodore''s handsome face. "I think your heart likes me very much. Every time I am close to you, it beats so melodiously" Theodore whispered in Adeline''s ear.


    He felt happy that Adeline did not protest at all. And above all that, he also loved the warmth and closeness with Adeline.


    Adeline would have loved to stay in that position with Theodore for a bit longer but she had so many questions for him. And she wanted to get the answers as soon as possible. She changed her side to face Theodore and kept on staring at the God''s beautiful creation for some time.


    Theodore''s eyes were still closed and he was still hugging Adeline. With his eyes closed, Adeline felt that he looked very serene. "How can someone who looks like this be the Devil?" Adeline thought to herself.


    Adeline softly touched Theodore''s face with her tiny hand and whispered "Theo".


    Theodore opened his eyelids to reveal his beautiful golden eyes and smiled at Adeline. "Did I just get a nickname from my woman?" he whispered back in his enchanting voice.


    Adeline could not help but blush when he called her his woman. There was something magical in those words. She took a deep breath to calm her untamed heart and then proceeded to ask him questions, "Theodore, what did you mean when you said you transferred some of your demonic power in me?"


    Theodore puckered his lips and completely disregarded her question, "I like it better when you call me ''Theo'', keep calling me that."


    Adeline smiled and said in a childish voice, "Theo, please, you promised me that you would tell me everything today."


    Theodore tucked away a few strands of silver hair that was on Adeline''s face and then grinned at her. "How can I deny it when you ask me so sweetly?"


    Theodore paused for a while as if he was remembering all the details and his face started to turn grim. He looked into Adeline''s sapphire eyes and asked, "You still remember that you were kidnapped when you were three years old right?"


    "Mhmm" Adeline nodded her head slightly.


    Theodore started to explain the reason behind why he had given her his powers, "Well you had an invisibility spell on you when you arrived inside my cave. And after I thought of returning you back to the Palace, I removed the invisibility spell.


    But the spell was too powerful for a normal human being. And if the person that was after you was that powerful, I could not just return back. I had already liked you by then and I did not want you to be harmed again.


    That was the reason why I transferred a very small amount of my power in you. It was done in order to keep you safe. When my power flows inside of you, no one''s magical powers can touch you, unless it is stronger than my own."


    Adeline nodded with a smile. She now knew that he had done so. He did it just because he was too worried about her safety.


    But she wanted to know more about the power that was flowing inside of her, "You said that this power that is inside of me makes me stronger right? And I can also see you through your veil. What other effects are there? Is there anything that I need to be worried about?"


    Theodore contemplated for some time as to whether or not he should be revealing other side effects. But he had already promised her that he would tell her everything that he knows, so he gave in.


    And so he started explaining, "As the power that is inside of you belongs to me, it wants to be closer to me and vice versa. In other words, a special bond has already been created between you and me. Because of that we will want to stay closer to each other. And I can also feel it in my heart if you are in trouble, I can feel your pain. I don''t think you need to be worried about it though. It''s not that bad."


    Adeline sprung up on her bed and whispered aggressively, "It''s not bad? It was bad for me Theodore. Do you even know how much pain I was in when you did not show up for a decade? And all of that pain was because of this power�� that created a bond between us?"


    Theodore also got up and towered in front of the Princess. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders to console her, "Adeline, we liked each other even before I had given you my powers. Weren''t you the one to hold my hand first? Didn''t you say that I was beautiful?"


    Adeline pushed Theodore''s hand away and took a step back. "I was a child back then. How can you bring that up right now?"


    Theodore had wished that it would not come to this. But it did. He took a deep breath in and said in a melancholic voice, "If you are so unsure about your true feelings then I can take my powers back. I will not visit you ever again if you don''t want me to. Back then I did that to protect you. And now, I am sure that you will be able to protect yourself from any harm that might befall you on your own."


    Adeline was devastated because of his words. "How can he say that so easily?" She thought.


    Adeline felt a throbbing pain in her heart when Theodore said that to her. And so did Theodore. But Theodore did not know whether he felt what Adeline was feeling or it was what he was feeling or both.


    Nonetheless, the pain that Theodore felt was a hundred times worse than what Adeline was feeling. He grabbed his chest and grunted in pain, his golden eyes had turned burning red.


    Adeline panicked when she saw Theodore that way. She was not afraid of Theodore like she was yesterday, when she saw his blood red eyes. But she was genuinely concerned for him. "Theodore, what is happening?"


    But Theodore did not say a word. He just kept on grunting and breathing heavily, his hand still gripping over his chest.


    Adeline''s eyes started to fill with tears. She had never seen Theodore in such a pain. She thought that as he was a Devil, he was invincible, but apparently even he could feel the pain.


    Adeline moved closer to Theodore, and held his hand and whimpered, "Theo, what is going on? Please say something�� I am sorry if I said things that hurt you."


    Adeline did not know what else she could do so she just hugged Theodore very tightly. She whispered while crying, "I don''t want you to vanish from my life again Theo. I just got you back. I''m sorry!"


    Theodore''s eyes slowly turned back to its original color. The pain in his heart started to lessen. And he also hugged Adeline back firmly.


    The pain that they both were feeling had now disappeared. Theodore pulled himself back to see Adeline''s moon-like face. He stared at her with longing eyes and slowly leaned towards the Princess.


    Theodore''s hungry lips pressed on Adeline''s soft lips. He started to kiss her very passionately. His hands were roaming freely around her waist and down to her voluptuous hips. Adeline could feel fireworks in her head and butterfly in her stomach. And so did Theodore, only a hundred times more.


    Theodore had never felt this ecstatic feeling in his long lifetime.. And that was true for Adeline as well.

 Chapter 33 - The Aftermath

    Osanna had entered inside Adeline''s room to wake her up for her bath. But she saw that Adeline was standing on her bed, her arms around air, and her eyes still closed.


    Osanna raised her brows and stared at Adeline for some time, not sure if the Princess was awake or not. She noticed that Adeline''s lips were moving. "Is she eating something in her dream?" Osanna thought to herself "Maybe I should prepare some food for her first."


    The maid cleared her throat and called Adeline softly so as not to scare her, "Adeline, are you awake?"


    Adeline gasped and opened her eyes when she heard Osanna calling her. She loosened her arms that were around Theodore and took a step back.


    Theodore quietly stood on his own spot. He glared at Osanna and was cursing her inside his head, "And of course, she had to ruin this beautiful moment. Maybe I should get rid of these maids for good."


    Osanna took a few steps towards Adeline and looked up at Adeline''s face, who was still standing on the bed as if she was dazed. "What were you doing?" Osanna asked the Princess.


    Adeline scratched her head and said a bit awkwardly, as if she was asking a question, "Er�� I guess I was sleep-standing��"


    If Adeline was still asleep while standing, Osanna thought that she must have been dreaming as well. "Were you dreaming about eating something?" Osanna asked innocently. No other thoughts crossed her mind as she had never experienced such things before.


    The personal maids of the Princesses and Queens were never allowed to get married and have their own family. The Palace was their life and other maids were their family.


    "Haha��" Adeline was really nervous because of the situation she was in. And Theodore was right beside her, clasping his mouth trying not to laugh out loud. That wasn''t helping her either. Adeline wiped the beads of sweat that were forming on her forehead and replied nervously, "umm�� I f-forgot as soon as you woke me up."


    "Oh! It looked like you were eating something. And I was going to prepare the same food for you if you remembered. Don''t mind that question then. Do you want to eat something in particular? What should I prepare for your breakfast?" Osanna was so oblivious to what was happening earlier in that room that she was unintentionally entertaining Theodore who was listening to her.


    Theodore was smiling ear to ear and was nodding and pointing at himself as if he was the ''food'' that Adeline wanted to eat.


    A smile slipped from Adeline''s lips when she saw Theodore acting all hyped. She immediately covered her mouth and as if she was clearing her throat. Then she replied to Osanna, "I will have some bread. And ask the chef to make Deviled eggs as well."


    Theodore pinched both his mouth and nose so as to stop himself from bursting into laughter. His shoulders were shaking vigorously though.


    But Adeline did not understand what was so funny that he was still laughing.


    "Yes Princess." Osanna bowed slightly to Adeline and was about to leave but she suddenly remembered why she came there in the first place. "Oh! The bath is already ready. You should head to the bath house before the water gets too cold."


    After Osanna left the room, Theodore finally laughed freely.


    Adeline slapped on Theodore''s sturdy arm and complained, "Stop laughing already. What''s so funny?"


    "No, it''s nothing." Theodore regained his composure and said, "You should go and take a bath first. I don''t want you to catch cold. I will see you in the evening."


    "You are leaving already?" Adeline asked a bit sadly. She wanted him to stay by her side for a bit longer.


    Theodore stroked Adeline''s hair lovingly and smiled. "I would have stayed with you for the whole day but today I have some matters to take care of. Don''t worry, I will pay you a visit in the evening, I will not disappear again."


    Adeline smiled back at Theodore and whispered, "I will wait for you."


    Theodore took a step forward and then held Adeline''s head with both of his hands. Then he planted a brief kiss on Adeline''s lips.


    After that he prepared himself to teleport to his destination. And before vanishing from Adeline''s room, he shouted, "Don''t forget to eat those Deviled eggs." He had a mischievous smile on his face and he vanished after he gave Adeline a wink.


    Adeline changed into her bath gown and then left for her bath house.


    After bathing, she had her energizing breakfast, got dressed in her usual uniform, and then left for the training ground to spar with Nigel.


    When she reached to the training ground, she noticed that there was another boy standing beside Prince Nigel. That boy looked younger than Nigel. And he also had long black hair that came up to his shoulder.


    The other boy was continuously staring at Adeline as she walked towards them. "Who is that? And why is he staring at me? Is he someone I should know?" Adeline could not tell who that person was but she wished that he would not stare at her like that.


    When Adeline reached close to the boys, Nigel introduced the other boy to Adeline, "Adeline, this is Prince Fenris of Aberdeen. And he is also my cousin." Then Nigel turned to glance at Fenris and said, "And you know my sister Adeline."


    "Of course" Nigel walked towards Adeline with a great confidence. He held Adeline''s hand and said "It is my honor to finally meet you Princess Adeline" then he kissed on Adeline''s knuckles.


    Adeline smiled at Fenris and softly bowed her head to show respect "Likewise, Prince Fenris".


    Prince Fenris was a very courageous and forward person. If he liked someone then he would go for them without any hesitation. This time, Princess Adeline had interested him greatly, which was why he had decided to stay at Wyverndale for a few more days.


    "I came here to watch you two practicing. I hope that you won''t mind." Prince Fenris said with a grin.


    "Why would I mind? You are Nigel''s brother, which means you are my brother as well. So��"


    But before Adeline spoke anything more, Prince Fenris''s facial expression changed dramatically.


    Prince Fenris slammed his chest with his fist and acted as if he was hurt by Adeline''s words, "I wish you had not said that. That''s not how it works Princess Adeline."


    "Did I say anything wrong?" Adeline was bewildered by how Fenris was acting.


    Fenris leaned a little towards Adeline and stared at her beautiful face. He had a playful smile on his face as he said, "I already have enough sisters Princess. I don''t want more. What I want is a lovely friend who can also be something more."


    Nigel realized where Fenris was going with this. Fenris had a reputation back at Aberdeen as the stealer of girls'' heart. And he did not like the advances that Fenris was making towards Adeline. So he immediately interjected in between and said, "Well let''s start the practice, shall we?"


    "Yes!" Adeline shouted and then ran to stand beside Nigel. She too was getting uncomfortable with what Fenris was saying and how he was looking at her.


    A little further, a circle was drawn on the ground. Adeline and Nigel stepped inside that circle and both of them started to do a few warm up moves. After stretching their body, both of them stood in the middle of the circle, facing each other. And then they took their fighting stance.


    Adeline would always start by charging straight at Nigel. She would choke him from the side, go behind him while still choke holding him and then push him to the ground.


    And today as well, she ran and charged at Nigel. However, Nigel quickly grabbed Adeline''s forearm and pushed her elbow upward to get out of the choke. He rotated his body away from Adeline while maintaining the grip of her forearm. He punched on her shoulder with his elbow and Adeline fell to the ground.


    Adeline quickly rolled over and lay on her back. She flung her legs and used the momentum to stand on her feet. She threw two punches at Nigel''s face but he blocked the attack with his elbows. Then she threw kicks but Nigel was able to block them as well.


    And Nigel threw a punch which was blocked by Adeline. He tried kicking her but she blocked it with her own kicks.


    Both of them were not able to land a single blow. They were continuously blocking each other''s attacks. It looked as if they were in perfect sync with each other and were able to tell where the other one would attack next.


    Finally, Adeline gave an opening for Nigel to land a punch on her stomach but then she immediately grabbed his arm shifted herself to his back and threw him on the ground and pinned him.


    Fenris clapped his hand and cheered Adeline''s victory, "Woohoo! And the victory belongs to the Princess." Then he murmured under his breath, "I did not think that the Princess was this strong."


    Both of them were panting and breathing heavily. Adeline could feel that all of a sudden, Nigel was good at the fight. Nigel was always good but he was not on par with Adeline. Normally he would have been choked by her or he would have given up way earlier.


    And Adeline was not the only one to feel the difference. Nigel felt as if his body was better than before. His agility had improved greatly. Before, Adeline''s motions were a bit too fast for him to see. But now, he was able to see where the attacks would come from and where it would land. He could also feel that his strength and stamina had also increased.


    "Is it because of the werewolf gene? Or am I just feeling a little more competitive today?" Nigel thought to himself.


    Both Nigel and Adeline got up from the ground and dusted their uniform.


    "How about a friendly match with me Princess Adeline?" Prince Fenris grinned at Adeline.


    Adeline smirked and replied, "If you are ready to be defeated then yes.." She could not wait to beat him to pulp.

 Chapter 34 - The Secret

    Adeline and Fenris went inside the circle and they were both getting ready for a hand to hand combat session.


    Nigel was still lost in his thoughts. He had so many unanswered questions. "The Devil said that I had the werewolf curse in my blood. But I have never seen or heard any of the other Prince and Princesses turning into a wolf. Does that mean I inherited the curse from my mother?"


    Prince Nigel tried to remember if his mother acted in strange way or mentioned to him about feeling throbbing pain in her heart. He tried to remember if she ever disappeared when it was a full moon. But he could not recall his mother displaying any of those odd behaviors.


    Then he tried to recall if any of his other half-siblings had displayed any peculiar behavior. Till he was 18 years old, he had attended the training classes, like all of his other half-siblings. He had been paired with most of them during the sword-fighting and combat lessons. But he did not remember anyone displaying extra strength like Adeline.


    He had always thought that Adeline was the most gifted among the 24 children of the King. And yesterday, he got to know the real reason why she had always been as strong as she was. The Devil himself was looking out for her.


    If none of the other Princes and Princesses were born with the werewolf curse then, he was quite sure that he inherited the curse from his mother. But he knew how his mother was always so calm and poised. And he recalled how he would be so easily angered after his curse manifested.


    He wanted to ask his mother if she knew anything about the werewolf curse. But he could not deny that at the back of his head, a whole different possibility was constantly bothering him. "What if King Dragomir is not my real father?" This particular thought had stopped him from approaching his mother with his newly discovered problem.


    Prince Nigel was brought back from his thoughts with a loud outcry.


    "Arghhh!!!" Prince Fenris was lying down on his back, his hand clenching the cloth that was on his chest, and his veins on his forehead bulging because of pain.


    "What happened?" Nigel ran towards Fenris and gave him a hand.


    Princess Adeline was brushing her uniform with a smile on her face. "What else, I grabbed him and knocked him down on the ground."


    Fenris was in a lot of pain and his eyes were filled with tears. "Oh, I feel like some of my bones of the ribcage are broken." Fenris coughed and then slowly sat on the ground. He started to breathe very slowly as if even breathing was hurting him.


    Nigel however thought that Fenris was exaggerating and then slapped him on his shoulder, "Come on, and stop acting as if you are that badly hurt."


    Fenris grunted in pain when Nigel hit him on his shoulder. And he spoke from between his grunting and heavy breathing, "Stop that, what are you trying to do by hitting me like that? Kill me?"


    "What? You are hurt by that slight tap on your shoulder? Are you trying to humor me or are you that bad at acting?" Nigel was seriously confused by Fenris''s words.


    Fenris did not move for quite a while. And even Adeline was worried that she might have broken the bones of the guest. Though she did not like him that much, she did not want to hurt him either.


    Prince Fenris closed his eyes and started to think everything that was happening. "I thought that they were good fighters when I watched them earlier. But what was that power�� the power of the Princess?"


    He pressed his temple with his fingers and tried to wrap his head around what he just went through. "It felt almost as if I was going against Wulfric. I did not even see the attack thrown by the Princess. And she even easily lifted me in the air before throwing me down."


    Without even realizing, Fenris was hitting his head and thinking hard, "Okay, let me assume that Princess is abnormally strong somehow but what about Nigel? How was he able to keep up with all the attacks from the Princess? Unless��"


    "�� unless he is a werewolf��" Fenris shouted loud enough for both Nigel and Adeline to hear.


    Adeline and Nigel were both shocked to hear Fenris mentioning about a werewolf. Both looked at each other with questioning eyes as if they were asking to each other "How did he know?"


    Nigel immediately crouched down in front of Fenris and asked, "What do you know about werewolves?"


    Fenris opened his eyes abruptly and asked in a monotone, "I said that out loud, didn''t I?"


    "Uh-huh" Nigel looked Fenris in the eyes and said in a bit eerie voice, "And now you are going to explain everything that you know about them."


    Fenris opened his mouth to say something and then closed again. He glanced at Adeline and glanced back at Nigel. Then he leaned towards Nigel''s ear and whispered, "First tell me one thing, why are you so interested to know about a werewolf?"


    "Apparently I am one. So I would like to know whatever there is to know about them." Nigel said in his normal voice.


    Fenris immediately covered Nigel''s mouth and then whispered, "Shhh�� keep your voice down." He pointed his brows at Adeline and reminded Nigel that they were not alone. Fenris was a bit reluctant to spill the secrets that he knew in front of Adeline. "Can we talk in private?" he whispered again to Nigel.


    But Nigel said in a loud voice, "She knows that I am a werewolf. You can tell whatever you know to the both of us."


    Fenris covered his mouth in horror as if Nigel had done a grave mistake. Then he whispered aggressively to Nigel, "How could you let others know about your transformation? Do you even know how tight-kept that secret is?"


    A frown appeared on Nigel''s face. "First thing, Adeline and I got to know about this werewolf thing that I turned into at the same time. And second thing, you knew about this werewolf curse all along? And what do you mean by a tight-kept secret? Whose secret are you talking about?"


    Adeline was also interested to know about the secret that they were going to talk about so she had come closer to the boys and was now listening very actively. She was looking at Fenris with curiosity and whispered at Fenris, "Yeah, what do you mean by a secret?"


    Fenris gave up trying to hide the ''secret'' from Adeline and then started to tell the story. "I am talking about the secret of the Siccaldi clan. I don''t know how or why, but what I know is that our Siccaldi clan was cursed to shape-shift into a wolf on every full moon."


    Nigel let out a small sigh of relief when he heard that the curse that he inherited was actually from his mother''s side.


    Fenris kept on explaining the other things that he knew to his keen listeners, "With time, our clan started to accept it as a boon rather than a curse because those who inherited the so called curse were far stronger than a normal human being. Yes, they have to go through the painful process of breaking all their bone in their body and turning into a wolf. But their strength, hearing, eyesight and sense of smell were far superior."


    "And thus, only those who had inherited the werewolf gene would have the right to the throne. Because it is believed that they will be able to protect the Kingdom better than a normal human could."


    Fenris tried to smile after he had said that but Nigel noticed that he was unhappy, which would only mean one thing, "So, you are not a werewolf but Wulfric is? Is that why he was declared the Crown Prince even when you are the elder son?"


    Fenris puckered his lips and nodded. "Normally the werewolf curse will start to manifest before we are 16 years old. They waited for me till I was 17 but then I guess they gave up on me. I never turned, while Wulfric had already shape-shifted when he was only 14. And finally Wulfric was chosen as the Crown Prince."


    "That means your father is also a werewolf?" Adeline asked in an excited voice. She was finding it all quite amusing. She was a bit relieved when she found out that she was not the only peculiar human being around. There were others as well.


    Prince Fenris smiled and said, "Yes, my father is also a werewolf. There are only a handful of werewolves in our clan. Not everyone inherits the curse."


    Prince Nigel asked a bit reluctantly, "That means my mother is not a werewolf, is she?"


    "What? No�� she is too�� nice. You can always tell who is a werewolf in the clan by carefully studying the temper and over-confidence they display." Fenris gave Nigel the insider-information, a trick which he uses before deciding whether or not to get into a fight with a certain person. He would definitely not want to go against a werewolf.


    And now Fenris had a question of his own to Nigel, "Oh! By the way, when did you shape-shift for the first time? And why did you keep that a secret till now? I thought we were closer than that brother."


    "I told you as soon as I found out Fenris. I just turned yesterday." Nigel said a bit awkwardly because even though he had shape-shifted he had no memory of it.


    "You turned yesterday? What the��? And I''m just 19. That means even I still have a chance? Did those old wolves just crush my confidence because they were too impatient to wait?" Fenris had sprung up from the ground and was shouting and pacing back and forth while holding his head with his hands.


    "It means so much to him huh? And here I was thinking that I was cursed." Nigel uttered under his breath.


    Suddenly, Fenris turned around on his heels and then shot a question at Adeline, "How come you are as strong as a werewolf Adeline?"


    And in her nervousness Adeline blabbered, "Umm�� I-I eat f-f-four Deviled eggs d-daily."

 Chapter 35 - Rion

    Before Fenris could ask some more questions to Adeline, she dashed off from the training ground to her own quarter.


    Nigel had affairs assigned by the King that he would have to look after. So, Prince Fenris and Prince Nigel also started to head towards Nigel''s quarter.


    Nigel was walking in a very relaxed way with his hand behind his back when Fenris shot his unanswered question at Nigel. "Seriously Nigel, how is the Princess so strong? I even told our clan''s secret to her and she just ran away like that."


    Even though Nigel knew the real reason now, he thought that it was not his secret to tell. So he just brushed off the question by saying, "Adeline was the most gifted out of all the other half-siblings and she had always been this strong. Maybe the strongest gene of our father went to her. You know how strong the King is."


    Fenris nodded his head and a whimsical smirk appeared on his lips. He muttered under his breath, "Now she has garnered my attention even more. I will definitely make her mine."


    With a sensitive hearing, Prince Nigel was able to hear what his cousin had said even when he had just mumbled. So Nigel smacked Fenris at the back of his head.


    "Oww! What was that for?" Prince Fenris frowned as he rubbed where he was smacked.


    "I am warning you, don''t even think about it." Prince Nigel said with a straight face, without even sparing a look at Fenris. And he kept on walking with his new found confidence.


    Fenris was not the man to just give up. But he did not say anything to Nigel because he did not want another beating from the werewolf.


    After Adeline reached her room, she was served with another breakfast because she needed her power-packed diet to maintain such strong body. Osanna laid the table down while Hawisa laid down the food. At this time of the morning, the Princess was mostly served with glutinous rice and meat, with some green vegetables on the side.


    After eating and resting for some time, it was nearly 8 in the morning. Her trainings would be from 8 to 10 AM. The training session was to be attended by those who were 18 and below. And there were only five of the royal children who were under 18 years. As all of them had mostly learnt everything by now, the training duration was shortened.


    While the Princes and Princesses above 18 were assigned with the Royal Duties by the King, those who were still younger than that were free to do whatever they liked. But most of them would go for personal trainings just like Adeline.


    Adeline left once again for the training ground. But before she could reach to her training session, she was approached by two of the Royal Guards.


    The guards stood in front of the Princess and bowed to her. Then one of them spoke, "Your Highness, we just received a horse. And it seems like someone had sent it as your birthday gift." Then he handed a small note to the Princess.


    Adeline opened the note. And there it was written "Happy 16th birthday Adeline. I hope he will be a good companion to you. He is a rion."


    A huge smile appeared on Adeline''s face when she read the note. She knew whose handwriting that was. It was a gift from Theodore. "So that was the urgent matter that he had to tend to��" she thought.


    The Princess slipped the note in her pocket and looked at the guards. "Take me to the horse."


    "Yes Your Highness." Both of the guards bowed and then led her to the stable.


    When they reached the stable, Adeline immediately knew which one was the gift from Theodore. Because it stood out the most among all the other horses that were there in the stable. The horse was shiny black in color. Its shiny black mane was equally attractive; it looked as if it was flowing from the horse''s back. The horse looked very strong and sturdy.


    Adeline immediately fell in love with her new companion.


    As she was about to go near the horse, one of the guard tried to warn her that earlier, the horse was acting like it was untamed. But before he could ask the Princess to be careful, she was already by the horse''s side.


    Adeline ran her finger through the horse''s mane and the horse was standing very still as if it was the most obedient horse in the world. Adeline smiled and whispered to the horse, "It''s nice to meet you Rion. I hope we can be best friends."


    The horse gently neighed and nodded its head like it understood everything. Adeline smiled and hugged the horse.


    The two guards who were seeing this could not believe their eyes. It had taken around 7 stablemen to bring that horse in and tie it up. But here the Princess was hugging the horse and it was doing nothing to her.


    After patting the horse and talking with it for some time, Adeline asked the stablemen to take good care of Rion and left for her training.


    While Nigel was busy looking after several complaints from the people, Fenris was pacing back and forth in the room. Nigel was trying to focus on his work but he was being distracted by the constant tapping from Fenris.


    "Will you stop that?" Nigel shouted at Fenris and glared at him.


    "Ooh, there''s the anger again." Fenris stopped walking around and smiled at Nigel. Then he continued in his sarcastic tone, "You don''t have to be so rude just because you are a werewolf now."


    Nigel took a deep breath to calm himself down. After the transformation, he was finding it more difficult to control his anger. Then he spoke in a soft voice, "I am not trying to be rude. You know my hearing has become super-sensitive. And I am being distracted by your shoes constantly clacking here and there. So please just take a seat."


    Fenris sat down and kept quiet for some time but then he could not control his urge to speak. "Why can''t we go to the training ground and watch the Princess fight?"


    Fenris had already asked this question about a dozen times already. Nigel exhaled sharply and then gritted from between his teeth, "Because we are not needed there right now, that''s why."


    Fenris jumped up from his seat and shouted, "I think I should go alone."


    Nigel knew why Fenris was so adamant about going there, and he did not trust him enough to let him go alone and meet his sister. "Alright, alright, we will go when her personal training starts. Now be a Prince and take your seat."


    And after waiting for what felt like an eternity for Fenris, both the Princes finally headed towards the ground to watch Adeline''s training.


    When they reached the ground, both Adeline and General Osmond were in the sword fighting area. They were both drawing a double edged arming sword with one hand while on the other hand they had a metal shield. And they were fighting each other very seriously.


    The constant clanging sound of the swords could be heard as they would strike against each other. The Princess was aggressively attacking while the General was deflecting the attacks and was defending himself. While watching them, one would feel like they were the most brilliant swordsmen in the Kingdom.


    The practice went on for hours but Fenris was not complaining, he was not even saying a word. He was just too focused on Adeline''s flawless movements. If one was to take the General out of the picture then it would seem like the Princess was performing some divine dance with the sword and shield.


    Finally, the practice for the day was over. Osmond had the face of a proud teacher. He patted on Adeline''s shoulder and said with a smile, "Your skills have undoubtedly improved. Keep this up and you will be the strongest person in this Kingdom as you wanted."


    Adeline bowed to show respect to her teacher and spoke softly, "It is all thank to you General Osmond. If you were not here to guide me then this would not have been possible."


    "See you tomorrow at the same time Princess." General Osmond also bowed to the Princess and left. He would not bow to any other Princes and Princesses while at the training ground but Adeline had always been the exception.


    After the General had left, Princess Adeline ran towards the Princes and smiled. "Brother, I got a beautiful horse as a birthday gift. Let''s go, I had been dying to show him to you."


    Nigel exclaimed and raised his brows, "You got a horse as a gift?" Then he looked somewhat disappointed and said, "The most impressive gift I got for my 16th birthday was a surcoat with golden embroidery."


    Fenris laughed when he heard his cousin said that but immediately got silent when Nigel gave a piercing gaze to him.


    Nigel turned at Adeline and then asked again, "Who gave you such a gift?"


    Adeline half-shrugged her shoulders and then said, "You know who." And then she grinned at her brother who understood who it was.


    Adeline turned on her heels and then started heading out of the ground, "Let''s go! Let''s take Rion for a ride."

 Chapter 36 - The Race

    Princess Adeline ran towards the stable and Nigel and Fenris followed her. They were also interested to see how Rion looked like because of how enthusiastic Adeline looked.


    And when they reached the stable, both the Princes'' jaw dropped in awe. Rion looked like the King of the horses. He looked like a strongest beast.


    Adeline rubbed the horse''s back and then whispered, "Hey Rion, shall we go for a ride?"


    Rion softly neighed and tapped his front hooves.


    Adeline turned around to look at Nigel and gleefully asked, "Shall we take the horses for a race? I want to see how fast Rion is."


    Though the question was just meant for Nigel, Fenris was the first one to accept the offer. He happily rubbed his hands together and eyed at all the other horses that were at the stable. "Let''s see�� which one shall I take for the race?"


    Nigel sighed and shook his head seeing his cousin starting to get obsessed with his sister.


    "You can''t just take any horse that you like. Some of them belong to the King and��" Nigel pointed at a white horse and said "�� that one belongs to the first Prince."


    "Okay, choose one for me then." Fenris gave a big grin to his cousin.


    Nigel walked a bit further from where they were standing and then untied a sturdy brown horse from the hitching post. Then he handed the horse to Fenris. And he also got another sturdy horse for him.


    All three horses were prepared for the ride by the stablemen. They put the saddle on the horses and tightened the girth. And the horses were ready to go.


    All three of the Royals led their horses to the nearby grassy racecourse, which was especially made for the soldiers to practice horse riding.


    It was evening time and it was starting to drizzle when they reached the racecourse. But that did not stop them from going for the horse race. In fact, Adeline was enjoying the cool weather even more. With the light rain, she could smell the fresh earthy scent, which was very refreshing to say the least.


    All three of them lined up their horses at the start line. They mounted onto their horses'' back, and held the reins in their hands, ready to start the race.


    Nigel started the countdown, "Alright, in 3�� 2�� 1�� go!"


    All three horses raced forward in an instant. Fast galloping sound could be heard throughout the racecourse. They could all feel the fierce wind as the horses were running at a great speed.


    Within a few seconds it was apparent which horse would win the race. It was of course Rion. Rion and Adeline were leading the race with a huge difference in between them and the other two horses.


    They circled the whole racecourse and the race ended in about a minute with Adeline and Rion as the winners.


    Adeline got off from Rion happily and gave him a hug. "You are so fast Rion. I already like you very much. I hope you will also like me."


    Rion neighed softly and nodded his head like he understood and accepted to take Adeline as his friend.


    "He really runs like a beast. Don''t ever lose him." Nigel also came towards Rion and patted him. Rion was staying still, very obediently.


    But when Fenris approached closer and held his hand out to pet the horse, it lifted its hooves in the air and neighed very loudly.


    Fenris quickly took a few steps back and shouted, "Whoa buddy, now even you discriminate between Nigel and me?"


    Adeline had a huge smile seeing Fenris scared like that, and even Nigel had a smirk on his face.


    The three of them returned back the horses to the stable and walked back towards their quarter. They reached Nigel''s quarter first. Fenris was also staying with Nigel while he was here. So the Princes took a leave from the Princess.


    "Are you sure you don''t want me to walk you to your quarter?" Fenris stood in front of Adeline with his hand behind his back and a lopsided grin on his lips.


    Adeline stared at Fenris disapprovingly. "I can walk myself Prince Fenris" she said in a stern voice.


    Prince Fenris held Adeline''s hand on his palm and leaned to give a kiss on her hand. But Nigel grabbed him by his collar and pulled him behind before Fenris''s lips could touch Adeline''s knuckles. "Let''s go brother. We have so much to catch up on."


    Fenris walked languidly to regain his balance and shouted, "Really? But you didn''t have anything to talk about the whole afternoon that we were together."


    "But I was working in the afternoon." Nigel kept on dragging Fenris towards his quarter while Adeline was watching them go.


    Adeline was suddenly startled by a whisper near her ear. "I will have to thank Nigel for that. I don''t like that new brother of yours."


    Theodore was standing beside Adeline with a narrowed gaze and clenched fists.


    "Was he spying on me this whole time? And is he jealous of Fenris?" Adeline thought to herself and smiled.


    Adeline spoke with a playful look on her face. "He is not my brother. He is Nigel''s cousin, so he is��" She wanted to tease the Devil, which was a bad idea in itself.


    Theodore grabbed Adeline''s arm and teleported instantly.


    Adeline gasped and opened her eyes. The place was very familiar to her. They were inside Theodore''s room. His room had not changed a bit in these many years. But of course, it was not that long if we based it on Theodore''s lifetime.


    Theodore loomed closer to Adeline and cornered her by the wall. Then he placed both of his hands on the wall, trapping Adeline in between his arms. His warm breath was brushing Adeline''s neck and her heartbeat was escalating because his eyes were glowing red.


    "What did I do to unleash the Devil? I didn''t even say anything." the thought was lingering in her mind.


    "All other men, except me, are your brothers Adeline. Don''t you dare brew some weird fantasy for other men. You can only be mine." Theodore was not joking at all. His words were reverberating loudly throughout the room.


    But Adeline was again in the playful mood. "So I should start addressing my father and grandfather as my brothers?" She bit the inside of her lower lips to control her laughter.


    Theodore gripped Adeline''s thin waist and pulled her body close to him. His red eyes gave a deadly stare at Adeline and he sneered. "Do you think I am in the mood to joke?"


    But Adeline did not falter this time. Instead of being scared by his demeanor, she wrapped her arms around Theodore''s neck and lifted her heels. Then she inched forward towards Theodore''s lips and kissed him.


    Theodore did not open his lips for a second or two. But he could not resist the warm touch from Adeline''s lips for any longer and ultimately gave in. He softly moved his lips against hers in perfect motion.


    Then he lifted Adeline on his arms and Adeline wrapped her legs around Theodore''s waist. He pressed her body heatedly against the wall. Their breathing was starting to get heavier as their lips were locked together. They could feel each other''s heartbeat, pounding greatly.


    But this was not enough for Theodore.. The Devil wanted more.

 Chapter 37 - Tell Me Everything

    The Devil wanted more.


    The Devil''s hunger for Adeline''s body took over.


    Theodore carried Adeline to his bed and pushed her down. He climbed on top of her, his eyes red, and then started to kiss her neck. And bit by bit he moved upwards to her lips and kissed her vigorously. He placed his hand on Adeline''s smooth leg and slowly slid it upwards.


    But a soft moan left Adeline''s lips in between their kiss and she grasped his hand from trailing further up from her thigh.


    And in that anger he bit her lips, filling his mouth with a sudden metallic taste.


    Adeline gasped and shouted, "Aaah! Theo!"


    When Theodore heard Adeline''s voice, he stopped immediately. He blinked his eyes hard and when he opened them again, they were back to golden. He was out of his Devil-trance.


    He looked at her lips and there was a small cut. "I''m so sorry! I don''t know what came over me." Then he quickly got off from her and covered his face in disgrace.


    "What was I thinking pouncing on her like that? What is wrong with me recently? Why do I lose control when I am around her?" Theodore was scolding himself quietly when he felt Adeline''s hand on his shoulder.


    Adeline felt that he was regretting his behavior from earlier. She rubbed his shoulder and tried to console him, "Theo! I am not hurt that badly. Stop sulking!"


    Theodore looked at Adeline with guilty eyes and spoke in his deep voice, "What if I had hurt you more? I was just not myself."


    Adeline pressed both of her hands on his chiseled jaw and looked at him with a bright smile, "You did not. And that is the fact."


    She changed her position and then sat by facing Theodore. "Alright, forget about all this. Let''s pick up our conversation back to where we left it in the morning." The expression of her face turned serious, "Tell me everything that you know about my kidnapper."


    Theodore was not ready to have this talk, especially after some new pieces of information that he found out today. But he had already promised to Adeline that he would tell her everything that he knew.


    When waiting for Adeline earlier in the Palace, he happened to come across Lillian and was curious. Now, he just wished that he had not touched Queen Lillian today and looked at her past. But it was too late to wish that now.


    Nonetheless, Theodore took a deep breath in and then started with a question, "How much do you remember about the day that you were brought here?"


    Adeline tilted her head and pressed her lips together. She tried to think back her old memories and said, "I remember General Osmond bringing me to the mountain''s top in a horse. I was asleep most of the way here though. And after that I remember playing with you in this room. And maybe you took me back right? I woke up in my own room some time later."


    Theodore rested his chin on his hand and nodded his head. Then he started his narration, "Firstly, what I want to say is that I just came across the real kidnapper accidently. You need to know that, I feed off of the revengeful aura that any beings emit and grow stronger with that. And people tend to emit it the most; it is the reason why I live near the settlement of the livings."


    Adeline was pouting her lips and was nodding her head. Theodore would always have these interesting things to tell about himself. And the more she would learn about him, the more she would feel intrigued by the Devil.


    Theodore continued with his explanation, "And when I had visited you in the training ground when you were five years old, I could feel Osmond was emitting a very heavy dark aura. I was interested to know what made him so revengeful so I could boost his revenge even more."


    Adeline''s forehead creased and her lips puckered when she heard him talking about making a person even more revengeful.


    Theodore shrugged his shoulders as if nothing was wrong with that and kept on speaking in his deep voice, "I touched Osmond and saw through his past. That''s when it got personal, because I saw that he was the one to drop you in front of the cave and that he was ordered by someone to bring you here."


    Theodore had a hint of fury in his eyes. "And that person was none other than that witch, Lillian."


    Adeline was stunned when she heard the name. Though she had never really interacted with Queen Lillian and did not know her that well, she still did not want to believe that her kidnapper was none other than her father''s wife. She had to make sure again, "Lillian as in First Queen Lillian?"


    Theodore tightened his fists and gritted his teeth. Then he nodded. He had more reasons to be angry about than Adeline''s kidnapping.


    After learning about the name of the real kidnapper, Adeline racked her mind to know why she had the need to stoop so low. After all, she was a harmless child at that time. Then why? What would she gain when Adeline was lost?


    Adeline rubbed her forehead and whispered, "So, the invisibility spell that I had was casted by her�� Why would she have a need to kidnap me? I had heard that she was good in witchcraft and would occasionally help those who needed her help. But I had never imagined that she had such evil intentions as well."


    Theodore pursed his lips because that was not the only evil that she had done. And he could not even comprehend how Adeline would react when she would know each and every thing that Lillian had ever done to her and others.


    Adeline suddenly peered at Theodore with confusion, "But I still don''t understand one thing, why was the General so full of revenge? It can''t just be because he had to kidnap me against his will."


    Theodore''s expression turned grim. "Lillian took his beloved daughter''s life right in front of his eyes. Because I had returned you to the Palace and that witch did not get what she wanted... Your death�� So she took another innocent life instead."


    Adeline gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "She killed his daughter�� She KILLED?" Adeline''s heart was pure and the thought of someone killing a living person was just too much for her. Of course, she was also preparing herself since her childhood to fight in a war if it was to ever happen. But taking an innocent life just like that�� it was unacceptable for Adeline.


    "I will have a word with my father about this. I will make her pay for what she has done." Adeline stated with a determined tone. General Osmond had lost his daughter because of her and she wanted to at least help him get his revenge by punishing Lillian.


    She swiftly got off from the bed and asked Theodore "Take me back to the Palace."


    Theodore sighed and ran his hand through his black hair. He still had a lot more things to say. "I don''t think that will be a wise choice right now. You should not rush your decision."


    Adeline exclaimed, "Rush?" Her eyes were starting to be filled with anger. She pointed and jerked her hand towards the direction of her Palace and shouted, "She has been roaming freely for more than a decade already, after committing such a grave crime. And you are saying I am rushing my decision?"


    Theodore was also feeling as restless as the Princess. He could even kill Lillian just by snapping his fingers but the problem was that he was not allowed to. He was not allowed to interfere in the matters of humans like that. And he did not want to face another retribution from the almighty.


    Theodore calmed himself down and spoke in a low and deep tone, "There are few more things that you need to hear first. Please, I want you to sit down."


    But Adeline was one stubborn Princess. "I don''t have time to sit down Theodore; Lillian has been left unchecked for too long. She needs to be punished right away."


    Theodore spoke a bit sternly to make Adeline comply with his request, "Then punish her for all the crimes she has committed and all those that she is committing as we speak."


    Adeline scoffed in disbelief, "You mean there''s more?"


    He nodded and spoke in his soft voice, "Yes, and I am just going to tell you the ones that are relevant to you."


    Adeline felt a pang in her heart. "That is relevant to me? Just how much crimes has she committed? Tell me what else she has done to me?"


    Theodore clenched his jaw and his eyes started to glow. He slowly iterated everything that he saw in his vision, "The same night that she killed Osmond''s daughter, she also wanted to kill you using the forbidden magic on you. She was in your room and had cast a spell but fortunately my powers that are inside of you repelled her."


    After a chilling silence, he continued again, "And that is only the first time. Over the years, she has repeatedly tried to harm you one way or another�� but fortunately all her attempts were unsuccessful."


    Adeline felt blood rushing to her head. She was feeling strong hatred towards Lillian. She clenched her fist and shouted again, "That''s it, let''s go. She needs to be punished."


    Theodore took a deep breath in and gritted from between his teeth, "There''s more��"

 Chapter 38 - Killer

    Adeline lifted her brows and shouted, "There''s more? What else did that witch do?"


    Theodore was not sure how to break the news lightly, so that Adeline would not be affected severely. But the matter itself was so sensitive that no matter how he said it, Adeline would be hurt.


    After a lot of courage Theodore finally looked into Adeline''s sapphire eyes and spoke, "She was the one who��" but he could not utter any more words and he looked away.


    Adeline was now starting to get really worried. Was she trying to betray her father, the Kingdom? At this point she thought that Lillian was even capable of killing her own husband. "Just tell me Theodore, ''she was the one who��'' and then what?"


    "��who killed your mother" he whispered while avoiding making any eyes contact with the Princess.


    But the whisper was loud enough to be heard by Adeline. She gasped and held her breath in. That was not the answer that Adeline had expected, she had not even thought about that possibility, not even remotely.


    Adeline''s knees grew weak. Her lower lips were trembling and so were her hands. And her heart�� she felt as if thousands of needles were prickling her heart all at once. And she collapsed down to the floor on her knees.


    Theodore ran towards her and held her in his arms tightly. And he whispered in a melancholic voice, "I''m sorry that you were deprived of your mother''s love by that woman. And I am sorry that you found it out after so many years."


    He could feel what she was feeling. The pain in his heart was too agonizing and he could tell how devastated Adeline was feeling right now.


    Adeline''s eyes swarmed with tears as the pain in her heart kept on escalating. She had never cried for her mother''s death till now because she was an infant when her mother died. And she was already habituated to not have a mother around when she grew up.


    All these years she had blamed the God for taking away her mother when she was too young. And now that she found out her mother''s death was not a normal one but that it was a murder, she started to cry her heart out. "She killed my mother��" Adeline was screaming in between her cries.


    "How can someone kill another person so easily Theodore? Just tell me how can someone be so cruel? What did my mother ever do to her that she had to kill her? And what did I ever do, for her to want me dead so badly?" Adeline was bawling while clenching on Theodore''s robe.


    Theodore ran his hand through Adeline''s silver hair and tried to console her. Theodore knew all the answers to her questions, from the perspective of Lillian. However, he thought that giving the answers right now would be too cruel on Adeline. Adeline''s mother and she did not deserve that hate from Lillian. Lillian''s actions were unjustifiable.


    "You have to be strong Adeline, for your mother''s sake. You have to avenge the murder of your mother. How would your mother feel if she saw you crying like this?"


    Theodore definitely was not the kind of person who knew how to be soft with others and how to be sensitive around others. But his words seemed to have positive effect on Adeline, for she started to calm down.


    She wiped her tears with the rim of her dress and sniffed. "You are right. I have to be strong. I will have to punish her�� not just for my mother''s murder but for all of her evildoings." Adeline stated in a stern voice.


    Theodore was more than happy to see the determination on the Princess''s face. "This is what I expected from you Adeline. The main reason why I chose not to reveal myself to you for all those years was to make you strong, emotionally as well as physically."


    Theodore looked into her eyes and continued in his hoarse voice, "I didn''t want you to be distracted by my presence. And I wanted to you to focus on yourself. I wanted you to know that in the end, it is you who has to take care of yourself." He pursed his lips and said, "No one can be by your side forever."


    She bit the inside of her lower lips and nodded. She did not agree with Theodore''s method. He had abandoned her and made her feel lonelier. But she could not deny that she was now a good fighter, in fact much better than her half-siblings, and almost at par of the generals.


    Adeline took a long breath in and retorted, "So this is what you wanted to prepare me for then. I guess it would have been much easier to fight in a war than fight against the evil scheming of my father''s wife. But I have no choice now."


    Adeline lifted herself up from the floor and clenched her fist. "I will be the one to bring the downfall of Lillian." She shifted her gaze towards Theodore and demanded, "You are the master of taking revenge right? Tell me what to do. Help me get my revenge."


    Theodore also got up from the floor and had a big grin on his face because of the words of Adeline. He rubbed his palms together and spoke in a malicious tone, "There, there Princess, no need to rush it. Revenge is a dish that is best served cold and slow. You need to savor their pain like a cold dessert."


    A hint of mischief was lurking on his face. "First, focus on being selected as the future Queen of Wyverndale. Then I have all the bricks laid out for your sweet revenge."


    Adeline narrowed her gaze and said, "Queen huh! I have been targeting for that position my whole life. The only thing that is in between that position and me is the test."


    Though she had been practicing and studying for that position for her whole life, she could not help but feel a little nervous. Lots of thoughts started to dwell in her mind, "What if I fail that test? What if Edwin gets chosen as the future King and Lillian''s evildoings thrives even more? As far as I know Edwin, he is a very cunning man and if he is to be the King, there is no doubt that the mother and son will ruin the Kingdom."


    She closed her eyes and shook her head, "No, I can never let that happen�� not in this lifetime�� not in another."


    Meanwhile at the Palace, Queen Lillian was pacing back and forth in her private chamber. Her black and green gown was sweeping he floor as she was pacing restlessly. "What was that power? That power was too great. Whatever it was, it was able to subdue my consciousness."


    She turned on her heels and sat on her elaborate chair. She started tapping her feet and gripped the armrest of the chair so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "I will have to be more powerful. I cannot let what happened today to repeat again in the future. I have to be able to resist whatever that was."


    "But that presence felt so familiar as if I have felt that same presence before as well." She placed her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes.


    And after thinking for a while, her eyes flung open. "Yes, I felt that about a decade ago. It even gave me hallucinations. How can I forget that embarrassment?" Outraged, she slammed her fist on the armrest indignantly.


    Lillian glared and gritted from between her teeth, "I will increase my power and I promise I will catch you, you evil soul."


    Osanna knocked at the door of Adeline''s room several times but there was no answer. She thought that the Princess was asleep so she quietly entered the room to set Adeline''s dinner table. After entering the room, she looked around but Adeline was nowhere to be seen.


    "Maybe she is in the bath house" she murmured to herself and started setting the dinner. She laid down the plates from the tray and then got up and turned around.


    Osanna gasped and dropped the tray from her hand. Her eyes were wide open when Princess Adeline appearing in the room out of thin air.


    Seeing Osanna in her room, Adeline covered her mouth with her hand. She had been caught! The feats such appearing out of thin air was considered to be forbidden magic. She feared that Osanna would accuse her of using black magic.


    She inched her feet towards her maid and lifted her hand to stop her from running, "Osanna, I can explain."


    But Osanna was so stunned that she could not even speak properly, leave alone run out of the room. She pointed her finger at Adeline and stuttered, "J-just you n-n-now did��"


    And Osanna collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

 Chapter 39 - Ill Show You

    Seeing Osanna collapse on the floor, Adeline ran towards her and exclaimed, "Oh my God! Theodore, what do I do?"


    Adeline gave a worried look towards Theodore but he was fisting on his waist with a poker face on.


    "Theo!" she shouted again.


    And he replied in a monotone, "Don''t take my father''s name and my name in the same sentence. I''m still angry with my old man for banishing me from heaven, not that I don''t like it here but still..."


    Adeline face-palmed herself and wanted to laugh in this problematic situation. She pressed her lips together and calmly asked again, "Theo, will you help me out please? She saw me teleporting here and I''m afraid that she might tell others."


    Suddenly, sadness clouded her face again. "It''s not that I don''t trust her, in fact Osanna and Hawisa are the only ones that I confide in. But after what I learnt today, I don''t think that I will be able to trust other people as easily as I used to."


    Theodore stepped closer to Adeline and stroked her hair. "I understand how you are feeling. Don''t worry; I can help you fix this situation."


    Theodore pinched his ring fingers and thumbs together, then crossed his hands across his chest and pulled them outwards. He had removed his veil that would hide him from the human eyes.


    Then Theodore pointed his brows at Osanna who was still lying down on the floor and said, "Try to wake her up first."


    "Wake her up?" Adeline was naturally a little hesitant to do that because she just saw him removing his enchantment. "But she will see you if I wake her now."


    "Yes, but that won''t matter after I suppress her memories with the help of my compulsion." Theodore''s lips curved upwards as he was about to show some devilish action.


    With that, Adeline was convinced to wake her maid up. She sat down on the floor beside Osanna and shook her, "Osanna�� Osanna�� wake up!" She tried shaking her several times but that was of no use. Osanna must have been shocked to her core seeing Adeline appear like that earlier.


    Then Adeline looked around and saw water on her dinner table. She grabbed the glass and sprinkled some water on Osanna''s face.


    Osanna flinched and fluttered her eyelashes. Then she slowly opened her eyes and saw that Adeline was right by her side. She got up from the floor with a concerned look on her face. "Adeline�� what did I see before? I saw that you appeared in this room out of nowhere." She held Adeline''s hand and shouted, "Tell me that it was my dream, or that I imagined it."


    Theodore inched closer to the ladies and came into Osanna''s view. Osanna turned her head to see a handsome man in black dress. He was smirking at Osanna but there was something ominous behind that smile.


    A chill shiver ran down Osanna''s spine and down to her fingertips. Then she started stuttering, "W-who are y-you? H-how dare you come inside to the Princess''s chamber."


    But Theodore did not say a word. He just kept on stepping closer to Osanna. And out of instinct, with every step that Theodore took, Osanna would take a step back. And ultimately, her back was against the wall and there was nowhere to run.


    But even at this moment, Osanna was concerned about Adeline''s safety. She glanced at Adeline and shouted, "Princess, run! Run away from here and inform the guards about this intruder."


    Hearing this, Adeline felt very apologetic. "Maybe I should have just told her the truth." She thought to herself and kept on staring at Osanna without uttering a word.


    Seeing the look of pity in Adeline''s eyes, Osanna felt goose bumps all over her body. Several thoughts crossed her mind, "Has Adeline been corrupted by the evil powers for real? Who is this man? What is he going to do to me? Am I going to die? Is he going to kill me?"


    And all of a sudden, Osanna''s mind went completely numb as if she had no control over her thoughts. She stood there helplessly. The only thing that she could see was a pair of glowing red eyes.


    Theodore looked right into Osanna''s eyes and controlled her mind. "You never saw Adeline appearing in this room out of thin air. You never saw me. All you did was that you came into Adeline''s room and set the dinner table. Adeline was sleeping on her bed. You woke her up and after she sat for her dinner, you left the room. Do you understand?"


    "I understand" Osanna replied without any hint of emotion in her voice.


    Theodore smirked and ordered Osanna, "Good. Now leave this room quietly."


    After hearing this, Osanna turned to her side and walked over in the direction of the door. And eventually, she went out of the room, without uttering a word.


    Adeline took a deep breath in but she did not feel relieved at all. Instead, she felt awful for misusing Theodore''s power like that on a helpless woman. And she spoke under her breath, "I feel this bad for suppressing people''s memory and then there are other people who take lives as easily as they breathe."


    "Come on Adeline! Don''t feel bad over such petty issue. It is always better to be safe now than be sorry later." Theodore tried consoling the Princess.


    "But still, that was not right. We don''t have the right to play with other people''s mind like that." Adeline started to bite her cuticles out of nervousness.


    Theodore held Adeline by her shoulder and leaned forward to look at Adeline''s troubled face, "You will never be able to achieve bigger goals if you start worrying about such trivial issues. You will have to deal with several bigger problems hereafter. You will have to prepare yourself for matters worse than this."


    Theodore''s words had heavy weight in them. But right now, Adeline had no clue as to how worse the matters in the future could get. Yes, she was a strong fighter but if one was to look at her age, she still was just a teenager who had yet to find out several things. Things like how dangerous of a place the Palace really was and more than that, how dangerous it was outside of the Palace gates.


    Till now, she was under the protection of her father. She had not a single worry about Wyverndale and its relation with other neighboring Kingdoms. King Dragomir was like glue that was keeping all nations from going into war with each other. But what would happen if her father was suddenly taken out of the equation?


    Adeline''s mind was not even able to comprehend all this at such a young age. Right now, all that she had in her mind was her mother, Auvera.


    Even though Theodore had already given some major details like how her Lillian was the killer of her mother, Adeline still wanted to know the details. She wanted to know why and how Lillian had killed her mother. She also wanted to know why Lillian was after her.


    Adeline looked into Theodore''s eyes and asked him for a favor, "Theo, will you please tell me in detail about my mother''s murder. I want to know each and every detail. No�� I have to know if I am to take my revenge."


    Theodore was not hesitant at all at this request from the Princess. She had the right to know everything. So he asked Adeline to sit down and when both of them had settled down comfortably on the bed, Theodore placed his thumb and pinky on either side of Adeline''s temple and the remaining three on her forehead.


    "Close your eyes" Theodore ordered Adeline. And without any retaliation, Adeline complied with him. Slowly, the facial areas of Adeline that Theodore''s fingers were touching started to glow lightly.


    Then he said in his calm voice, "I think it will be better if I show it to you instead."

 Chapter 40 - Back To The Past - I

    Theodore was now showing the memories of Lillian to Adeline. Adeline''s mind was transported to Lillian''s memories. She was seeing and hearing, and doing everything else through the perspective of Lillian.


    Adeline opened her eyes to see that she sitting in front of the mirror but she did not see her reflection in the mirror. She was in an unfamiliar body.


    The woman whom Adeline was seeing in the mirror was around 25 years old. She was wearing a red gown with golden embroidery work. There were few maids working on her. Some were working on her beautiful black hair; some were putting lip color on her; while some were putting varieties of jewelry on her.


    Adeline tried to move and speak but she could not. She wanted to look around to see where she was but all she could do was look into the mirror. "Who is this lady?" Adeline tried to think if she had ever seen this woman in her life.


    Theodore had just said to close her eyes and had said nothing more as to what or who he was going to show. She had closed her eyes thinking that he was going to show her about her mother''s past.


    But she was sure that this lady was not her mother because she had heard her father mentioning several times that her mother also had silver hair, just like Adeline herself. So her mother was out of the question.


    Then it finally clicked on Adeline''s mind. "Of course, this is Lillian. Theodore had said that he had seen Lillian''s past."


    "So that means�� I am in the killer''s body right now?" Adeline wanted to shout out loud and ask Theodore to stop. She wanted to rip the neck of this woman right then and there. But unfortunately, she could not do any of those and she just had to see everything as they played out.


    Lillian was looking very happy. She would look at her red gown from time to time. She would glance at her reflection in the mirror and smile happily at herself.


    "Princess Lillian, you look so gorgeous." One of the maids placed her hand on Lillian''s shoulder and complimented her.


    Then the other maid added, "You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen in my life."


    And then another one also added while giggling and teasing Lillian, "I hope the King does not faint when he sees you walking down the aisle."


    Princess Lillian covered her face with both of her hands because her face was becoming red from the thought of seeing the King. "Stop it everyone. Stop teasing me!" Lillian spoke softly with her eyes looking down on the floor.


    "Oh! Don''t be so shy Princess. Weren''t you the one to say that you were willing to marry the King when His Majesty was still being reluctant?" The maid who was adjusting her hair into a beautiful bun poked her.


    Lillian tried to justify her action saying, "Well I am the Princess of this Kingdom. And I would do anything if my Kingdom will be saved from a war."


    "Uh-huh! Then why didn''t you agree to get married before the King personally gave a visit here? Why were you suddenly interested in the marriage after seeing him?" The maids were continuously trying to tease her and make her blush.


    "He is very handsome, isn''t he, Princess?" Another maid giggled again.


    The whole mood of the room was so light and fun that Adeline forgot for a while that this innocent looking Princess was the same evil witch that she knew.


    After some time, the maids had finally prepared the bride. Lillian had a thin red veil over her head that matched her gown. She was wearing a ruby and diamond studded tiara on her head. Her neck had a simple choker necklace. And she wore a large ruby ring on her right hand. She looked really beautiful.


    Then a maid came into the room saying that it was now time for the bride to enter the ceremony hall. Lillian stood from her chair and took a one last look in the mirror. Then she went outside of her room and to the direction of the hall. Five of her maids were following her closely. Now they were not so chatty or joking around because they were starting to feel sad that they would no longer be serving their dear Princess.


    Lillian stood in front of the hall and a maid handed her a bouquet of flowers. She looked at the guards at the door of the hall and nodded. Soon after, the guards announced of the Princess''s arrival and opened the huge wooden doors.


    Inside the hall, soft music was being played. Everyone in the hall was standing and was looking behind at the door to see the bride.


    Lillian took a deep breath and then entered inside the hall. Her heart was starting to thump very loudly as she was walking down the aisle. She was feeling butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to look at her husband-to-be but at the same time she was nervous to do so.


    Eventually when she was about to reach to the altar, she gave in and took a glance at King Dragomir. "Father" Adeline thought as she saw a young looking man in his late twenties who was wearing his Royal attire.


    Adeline was happy that she got to see the young version of her father. But she was about to regret it soon as Lillian and her father were about to kiss.


    Adeline wanted to get out of the body but she could not. So she distracted herself shouting random words, "Aaahhh�� lalalalalalalalala��"


    "I don''t like this at all Theodore��" Adeline screamed in her thoughts.


    After the marriage ceremony was over, Dragomir and Lillian got inside a decorated carriage. There were around 50 Royal Guards in the front and another 50 at the back. There were also two Generals on horse at the front. The heavily escorted carriage set its path from the Frostford''s Palace to the Palace of Wyverndale.


    Lillian had very high anticipation from her husband. On this long journey, she wanted to talk with the King and try to know more about him. She also wanted to tell many things about herself. But soon, all her expectations were crushed when Dragomir did not even bat an eye on her.


    For Lillian, it was love at first sight. But for some reason, her husband was not even looking at her. The sadness that she felt could also be felt by Adeline. But Adeline did not know what to feel about this situation. Was she to say that it serves her right? But she had not even done anything bad�� yet��


    Lillian still had some hope that maybe Dragomir would talk with her after reaching to the Palace. "Maybe he is just not used to talking while he is travelling" Lillian thought to console herself. The journey was tiring so she soon fell asleep.


    When she woke up, she was already on a bed. She abruptly got up and looked around and saw that the decorations were really good. She was in a huge room, all to herself. Lillian murmured to herself, "When did we arrive to the Palace? And where is the King?"


    Lillian looked outside and noticed that it was dark already. "Maybe he is with his soldiers" Lillian thought to herself and waited for the King to come inside the room.


    She waited for hours. She would pace around the room, try to peek outside of her window, and would wait for the footsteps to be heard. The darkness outside was slowly turning to light but the King did not come to see her at all.


    It was the first night of their marriage and yet he had not even come to greet her.


    She sat down on the bed and hugged her knees. She had not even changed to another cloth; she was still in her bridal gown. She took a deep breath and tried to contain her tears. She was feeling as if the King had just used her to keep peace among their Kingdoms.


    Her loneliness was somewhat lessened when a maid entered her chamber and bowed. "Your Majesty, Congratulations on your wedding. I am court lady Agnes. I will be attending you from today onwards."


    Lillian smiled at her court lady and replied, "Nice to meet you Agnes."


    "Would you like to take a bath? I will prepare herbal water for you." Agnes asked politely.


    "Yes, that would be lovely." Lillian wanted to ask Agnes about the King but did not know if it was considered an appropriate behavior to ask about the King.


    Seeing the sadness in Lillian''s face, Agnes informed her about the King, "His Majesty has a separate quarter at the center of the Palace area. He said he will visit you soon."


    Lillian smiled after hearing this.


    Then she waited for several days for the King to visit her. Her court lady had informed her that nobody was allowed to visit the King''s quarter without his invitation. So, she had no other choice than to wait for him. Even after about a week of their marriage, the King did not visit her. Nor did he hold a public announcement to declare Lillian as the Queen of the country.


    Lillian was going through the same routine every day. She would take a bath, eat breakfast, explore areas of the Palace that she was allowed to, and wait for the King. She was being broken day by day.


    And Adeline could also relate to this feeling, the feeling of abandonment.

 Chapter 41 - Back To The Past - II

    Finally, after the 9th day of their marriage, King Dragomir paid a visit to the Queen''s quarter. Lillian was pre-informed about his visit by Agnes. And she was very happy that finally her husband was coming to meet her.


    "Maybe he was just too busy with his duties. After all, he is the King of this huge nation. He cannot give more time to me, that is all." Lillian was trying to convince herself that the King was not deliberately avoiding her. She wanted to believe that she was wanted and loved.


    Agnes had assigned two personal maids to the Queen, Ida and Esther, to look after her everyday needs. Lillian asked her maids to make her look beautiful and presentable in front of the King.


    And when King Dragomir arrived inside her chamber, Lillian greeted him looking her best. She lightly bowed her head and spoke softly, "Your Majesty! I have been waiting for you."


    "I''m sorry that I could not visit you a bit sooner. I had to make preparations for the announcement of the new Queen to the public." This was the first time that King Dragomir had laid eyes on the Queen.


    And this apology and one look from her husband was enough for Lillian to forgive him for not seeing her for so many days after the marriage. She smiled softly and said, "I understand, my King."


    Upon hearing her addressing him as ''my King'', Dragomir''s eyebrows twitched and he averted his gaze away from her.


    And Dragomir stated the true purpose of his visit. "Two days from now, I will be holding a public ceremony to instate you as the Queen of this Kingdom. I wanted to personally invite you to your crowning ceremony. I hope this political marriage will make the bond between our Kingdoms even stronger."


    "Of course, Your Majesty." Lillian slightly bowed down her head and put on a smile on her face.


    And without asking any personal questions like how she was doing in this new environment or if there was anything that she needed in particular, the King turned around and then left her all alone again.


    Lillian was quite fast to pick up his gestures and specific words that he used. He was still refusing to look at her directly as if he could not bring himself to face her. And he especially emphasized that this was a political marriage. It was clear to her like a day that he had no feelings for her. At the end, she had been used like a tool for his own personal gains.


    Time passed by but Lillian still tried her best to win the love from her husband. She thought that if she was persistent enough, then one day her stone-hearted husband might reciprocate her feelings.


    One year passed by, but the interaction between them would always be minimal and it would only happen when it was absolutely necessary. Other court members and power-houses of the Kingdom were starting to talk ill about Lillian, saying that she was incapable of producing any heir to the throne.


    But how could she, when she had not even spent a night together with her husband?


    ---


    The memory was fast forwarded about a year. Adeline could see Lillian in the mirror again. This time, her belly was huge. She was 8 months pregnant.


    It turned out that the night they spent together happened after the King was given immense pressure by his high ranking officials. And he was just fulfilling his ''duty'' of giving an heir to the Kingdom. There was no love whatsoever for the Queen. But Lillian had still hoped that their child would bring them closer together.


    When Lillian was resting in her room, Dragomir came to her room unannounced. He tried to smile at her but failed miserably.


    "How is your health?" Dragomir inquired in a monotone.


    Lillian smiled at him and replied in her soft tone as always, "I am good, Your Majesty."


    King Dragomir nodded and then kept quiet for quite a while. He was not able to look into her eyes properly.


    "You look troubled Your Majesty. Is there any problem?" Lillian noticed that he was trying to say something to her but he was, for some reason, unable to.


    Dragomir finally looked into her eyes and then started speaking in an apologetic tone, "After I married you, we were enjoying a period of peace in the Kingdom. There were no wars and people were living happily."


    The King held her hand in his hand and tried to flatter her, "It was all possible because of you. You agreed to marry me and brought peace between our people. But recently, the internal conflicts are rising. There are just too many powerful clans inside our Kingdom and they are continuously trying to stir up conflicts."


    "That is sad to hear Your Majesty. Do you need any type of assistance from me?" Lillian would be happy to help her husband if he was in any kind of trouble. She had always wanted her husband to open up to her and if there was something that she could help him with, she would.


    King Dragomir took a deep breath in and then spoke with an emotionless expression, "I have discussed with my council about the current problem. And we reached to a conclusion that this problem can be solved by taking three Royal Concubines from the larger clans."


    Lillian''s heart sunk when she heard the emotionless sentence coming out of the King''s mouth. She pulled her hand away from the King''s grip and clutched her gown trying to contain the overwhelming emotion that she was feeling.


    He just came and declared to his pregnant wife that he would be taking concubines. He did not even feel that it was necessary to discuss such sensitive issue with his wife first.


    Lillian felt a lump in her throat and her breathing became irregular as if she was about to choke. She tried hard not to break down but the pain was just too much for her to handle during the peak of her pregnancy.


    She looked into the King''s sapphire eyes with her eyes full of tears and screamed, "How can you be so heartless? Am I not enough to produce your heir? How can you be so casual about taking concubines, that also not just one but three?"


    Lillian had never raised her voice in front of the King. She had already accepted her fate that she would not get the love that she desired. But she was too distraught when he said that she would now be sharing her husband with other women.


    King Dragomir felt sorry for the Queen but he truly believed that taking concubines was the only peaceful solution to the rising conflict. "I am sorry that I broke the news so suddenly to you. But I am doing this for the wellbeing of my Kingdom and my people. You know I care a lot about my people."


    Lillian mockingly sneered and spoke in her sorrowful voice, "People�� then what about me and your child that is growing inside of me? Are we not your people? Do we not even deserve a drop of your love? And on top of that, I am 8 months pregnant. I will be giving birth to your child in a month and you are putting me through this hell��"


    The tears that Lillian was holding came rolling down her cheeks like a flowing stream of water. She could not hide the stinging pain in her heart anymore.


    But the King had already made up his mind and the tears from his wife could not shake his resolution.


    Tears rolled down from Adeline''s eyes as well. She could not even imagine seeing Theodore with any other woman. And she understood how Lillian was feeling. Until now, Adeline had never questioned her father''s strategy of resolving conflicts. Yes, by taking many wives and concubines he was able to maintain peace in his land. But what about the peace inside the Palace�� inside his own home?


    Within a week, Lillian went into her labor. The child was born prematurely because of the stress and sorrow that Lillian went through because of her unloving husband. And because the child was born in a stressful situation, he was�� not breathing.


    The midwife who was overseeing the childbirth took the child in her hand and tried to wake the child up. Lillian was in extreme pain but she was noticing that she had not yet heard her child crying. She looked over at the midwife and asked, "What''s wrong? Is my child okay?"


    The midwife had pitiful eyes and broke the news politely, "Your Majesty, the child is not breathing."


    Lillian felt like her heart was smashed into million pieces by a large boulder. But rather than crying, she immediately sat up and asked for her child, "Give my child to me."


    The midwife did not protest. She obediently handed over the child to the Queen.


    "I need a moment alone with my child." Lillian was shaking like a leaf but had determination in her eyes. She was not giving up on her first child like this.


    The midwife was however worried to see the Queen like that and did not think it would be a good idea to leave the Queen alone. "I will be staying with you Your Majesty" she insisted.


    Lillian had no strength to argue so she let her be. She placed her child on her lap and started to perform some healing spells. Lillian was already a prodigy in witchcraft. But how much ever she tried, whatever spell she tried, her child remained cold on her lap.


    And then something clicked in her mind.. There was a way; she could save her child if she tapped into the forbidden magic.

 Chapter 42 - Back To The Past - III

    Without giving any second thought about the possible consequences, Lillian placed her palm on her child''s chest and started to chant the spells.


    Soon enough, she could hear whisperings in her ears, whisperings from her dead ancestors to stop the madness. They were warning her that such dark magic always came with a price and that it would corrupt her soul.


    But Lillian did not stop. She could now sense the room turning darker as the black mist-like aura started to whirl around Lillian.


    The midwife who was still in the room was starting to tremble. "Your Highness, is everything alright? Is this what happens when one performs the spells? Should I call someone?" The midwife asked in a quivery voice because she was feeling chills down to her core.


    Lillian was still performing the incantation. She suddenly looked into the midwife''s eyes and held out her hand that was free. Then she gestured her to come closer.


    The midwife came closer even though she was scared. Then she did as Lillian asked; she placed her hand on Lillian''s palm.


    As soon as Lillian held the midwife''s hand, she was stunned and her life force started to travel through Lillian''s body and went to her son. The midwife was struggling in pain. She had watery eyes and was begging Lillian to leave her but to no avail.


    After some struggle, the midwife dropped dead on the floor. And at the same time, the child''s cry could be heard for the very first time.


    Lillian looked at her baby with eyes full of tears and she smiled. Her son was alive! She hugged her son and felt the body of the baby slowly warming up.


    The Queen stared at the lifeless body of the midwife and a sinister smile appeared on her face. "Thank you for offering yourself for the sake of my child. Your life will be used to the fullest, don''t worry."


    Her personal maids Ida and Esther came running inside the room when they heard the baby crying very loudly. They were very happy for firstborn and congratulated the Queen.


    But Esther noticed that the midwife was lying down on the floor and went near her, "Peggy�� why are you lying on the floor? Are you okay?" But there was no answer. Esther turned Peggy to see what was wrong but she was startled when she saw her bluish-grey lips and a pale body.


    She slid back on the floor and stammered, "S-s-she is d-d-dead."


    The happy expression faded away from the maids'' faces and they were in horror. They had no idea what to do or whom to ask. They were too afraid to ask the Queen about what had happened to her, thinking they might offend the queen.


    Still, Esther looked at Lillian with questioning eyes but there was no emotion, no pain in Lillian''s eyes for the dead. Something had already changed.


    ---


    After around two years, Lillian gave birth to her second son Alan. This time her child was born healthy.


    The King now had 7 concubines in total. And he had also married Vultrada, the second Queen. But none of this bothered Lillian anymore. She saw that the King was as indifferent with them as he was with her. And as long as the King was not giving his love to any other women, Lillian was unbothered. She still was his First wife and no one could change that fact.


    As time passed by, Lillian started to actively practice the forbidden magic. Her hunger for power kept on growing. She started becoming ruthless to her servants and maids, and everybody who angered her. The maids who used to be happy when they were serving her were now scared to face the Queen because of her temper tantrums.


    Esther could not take the Queen''s lashing out any longer and ran away from the Palace. And the Queen punished the court lady saying that she was not capable to keep the maids under her control and banished her from the Kingdom. Later, there were rumors in the Palace that Esther had been found dead in the nearby river.


    Day by day, the fear in those poor maids'' and servants'' heart kept on increasing. They were sure that if they tried to run away, they would be caught by the Queen and would be punished. And the remaining of the servants stayed put because of the fear for their dear life.


    ---


    Things started to change when King Dragomir took in his 12th and final concubine when he was 40 years old. The concubine''s name was Auvera. And she was the same age as Lillian; they were both 38 years old.


    At first, Lillian thought that Auvera was just another concubine whom the King took because of political issues. But later she got to know that Auvera was the exception, that she was the first love of the King.


    When the King and Auvera were sitting in the garden, looking at each other with eyes full of love, Lillian happened to see them.


    "Mother, Father��" Adeline was happy to see her mother. Just like her father had described, her mother had silver hair like hers. She had light brown eyes and also had dimples on her cheeks. She looked like an older version of the Princess.


    But at the same time, Adeline could also feel the burning jealousy felt by Lillian. Lillian clenched her fists and then stormed off.


    "No, wait�� I want to see my mother up-close��" Adeline wanted to shout to Lillian but that was not possible.


    The King openly started to shower Auvera with all his love, the love that he had not given to anyone else till now. He would constantly visit her quarter; sometimes he would visit her more than once in a day. The two would also go on hunting together. They would enjoy their time together, making others jealous of their love.


    Needless to say, out of all of them, Lillian was the one whose heart was crushed the most. She had tried so hard to win the King''s heart. She had spent more than 15 years of her life, waiting to get a drop of love from the King. And there he was, giving the ocean of his love to another woman.


    "You deprived me of your love and you almost made me lose my first child. I will never let your love sustain for long. I will take all of your happiness away right when you think that you have it all. I will take my revenge." Lillian clutched her fist and made a promise to herself.


    Lillian plotted her sinister plan and then waited for the right moment to take action.


    Two years later, Dragomir and Auvera gave birth to their child, Adeline. They were the happiest to have given birth to a cute baby girl.


    On the other side, Lillian was also happy, happy that it was the moment that she had been waiting for. She was letting the King live his happiest moments, only to snatch it all away.


    Lillian did not instantly kill Auvera. No. She wanted to torture the King as much as possible. So instead, she started to slip slow poison in Auvera''s food. She would use her invisibility spell to get the work done.


    Initially, Auvera would just feel nauseous from time to time. But with time, her health started to deteriorate day by day. She could not even breastfeed Adeline because her lactation had stopped months ago.


    Lillian had the plan of killing both Auvera and Adeline in one go. But that didn''t work out due to Auvera''s lactation problem. The poison did not get the chance to harm Adeline through her mother''s milk.


    King Dragomir was devastated to see the love of his life slowly withering away. He called the best of the best healers and shamans to treat his beloved. But no one seemed to be successful in finding out the real problem. He would carry baby Adeline in his arms and would sit beside Auvera with eyes full of tears.


    Lillian would often visit Auvera when the King was inside. She would express how sad she was and would also play with Adeline. She did this so that she could see the sorrow in the King''s eyes and relish in it.


    But Dragomir did not ever suspect that Lillian was the mastermind behind Auvera''s situation.


    The poison was taking a toll on Auvera. She was bedridden for about three months. And when Adeline crossed her first birthday, she finally took her last breath.


    Seeing her mother like that, Adeline''s heart was once again filled with hatred towards Lillian. A stream of tears rolled down from her cheeks. But before she could let her mother''s death sink in, she got traveled to the day that she was kidnapped by Lillian.


    Adeline could see her younger self playing in the garden with Hawisa and Osanna. Her glance turned to see a young maid, "Say to those two flies that Queen Claricia has asked to see them. And offer them that you will look after Adeline for the time being."


    Adeline saw how everything played out. She could not help but pity her na?ve younger self.


    After sending Osmond and Adeline away, the maid who had given false information to Hawisa and Osanna was called.


    "Sibyl, do you know how to read and write?" Lillian asked the maid who was bowing down to her. And in answer, Sibyl shook her head. "Good," Lillian said with an evil smirk.


    She went forward to clutch the mouth of Sibyl. Naturally, the maid was crying and begging her not to do anything to her, that she would keep her mouth shut. But her pleas didn''t work and Lillian carved the tongue out of her mouth. The whole scene that played out in front of Adeline''s eyes was so gruesome that she wanted to vomit.


    With a bloodied hand and a smile on her face, Lillian instructed the maid further, "You were useful to me, which is why I am leaving you alive as an appreciation for your work. Now sneak out of the Palace without the guards finding out."


    Then she glared at the maid and whispered, "Else, I will kill you myself."

 Chapter 43 - Soft-Hearted Fool

    Adeline also saw how heartlessly Lillian killed General Osmond''s daughter right in front of his eyes. And she also saw how the same day, Lillian went to attack her younger self when she was sleeping soundly.


    Theodore thought that this much memory revisit would be enough for now and stopped showing further memories. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted his hand away from Adeline''s forehead. He noticed that Adeline had been crying.


    Adeline also fluttered her eyes and slowly opened them. She could feel that her eyes were wet so she wiped her tears. Then she buried her face in her palms and stayed like that.


    Her heart and mind was a mess. She did not know how to react to all the information that she got to know. She practically lived as Lillian through her memories and for a while, Adeline could not help but feel like she was the one to do so many horrible things to those innocent people, including her mother.


    Lillian had so many deaths in her hand which Adeline came to know of. And she was sure that those were not all; she was sure that Theodore did not show the death of everyone that was instigated by Lillian.


    Adeline wanted to take the revenge with Lillian for murdering her mother. But she had killed so many other people. What was she supposed to do to Lillian? How was she supposed to avenge all those innocent lives taken by Lillian?


    Adeline thought that she could punish Lillian for her wrongdoings once she held superior position by becoming the Queen of Wyverndale. But what would be Lillian''s punishment? Dethronement? Banishment? Life imprisonment? No, these would all be too lenient considering those gruesome crimes that she had committed.


    However, Adeline knew that for all the crimes that she has committed till now, even killing her would be too lenient. But she also knew that even though Lillian''s crimes were horrible, she would not be able to take another person''s life.


    And there was always another possibility. What if Adeline will not be able to pass the test and be the next reigning Queen? What then? And worse, what if Prince Edwin or Alan became the King? She was sure that Lillian would be untouchable if that happened.


    Then there was another different question. Was Lillian really the culprit here? Was her father not to blame for, for the way he treated Lillian and turned her into a murderer?


    Adeline was so lost in her thoughts that she forgot about Theodore''s presence in her room.


    Theodore had also kept quiet because he was unsure about what to do? Should he leave Adeline in her own thoughts? Or should he try to talk to her? Finally, he thought that leaving her to drown in her thoughts would be a bad idea so he held Adeline''s hands and pulled them away from her face.


    Then he lifted her chin to see her face and spoke in his soft voice, "Adeline, talk to me. I didn''t show those memories to you so that you would be even more disheartened. I showed them to you so that you could build a strong resolve and make a wise decision."


    "I am so confused Theo. I don''t know how to feel and what to say." Adeline seemed like she would break down into tears at any moment now.


    Theodore gently pressed his thumb on Adeline''s knuckles and asked her, "What is so confusing? I just made everything clear by showing everything to you, I mean every major thing. So what is troubling you now?"


    Adeline exhaled sharply and scrunched her brows together. "Yes, you did show me everything. But that''s the problem. I don''t know what to think."


    Theodore had thought that by showing Adeline everything, it would boost her need for revenge. So what went wrong? He knitted his brows in tune and asked, "What do you mean by that?"


    Adeline half-shrugged and then puckered her lips. "I mean who is the real culprit here? Is it my father for not caring about Lillian and turning her into a cold-hearted witch that she is today, or is it Lillian for turning out that way, or is the fault with my mother for entering the Palace for a man who already had so many wives and concubines?"


    Theodore shook his head looking at the soft-hearted fool in front of him. For a split second, he wanted to shout at Adeline to remind her that Lillian is a cold-blooded murderer. But he gained his calm and spoke as softly as he could, "Adeline, everything is as clear as the dew. Lillian is the real culprit, not your father, not your mother."


    He looked Adeline in the eyes and tried to remind what Lillian had done. "Yes, your father should not have treated his wife like she was just some tool to achieve his dreams. Lillian''s happiness was his responsibility after all."


    Then he emphasized what he had to say. "But that does not give Lillian the right to go berserk and start killing and chewing everyone on her path. Your father has other wives and concubines as well. They might also have been jealous of your mother for getting the love from the King when they did not. But did the others stoop as low as Lillian? They definitely did not."


    Theodore looked at Adeline with serious eyes and said, "I know you have a very soft heart and you will even be ready to forgive the murderer. But just know this�� Lillian has repeatedly tried to kill you in the past. And if you show any mercy to her, the moment you turn your back, she will stab you instantly."


    He held her hand tightly with a worried look on his face. He knew that Lillian would try several other ways to kill Adeline just to satisfy the years old grudge against the King. "So you have to be careful not to forget what you saw today. You can never forget what she has done to all those innocent people including your own mother."


    Theodore was not the one to lie, and give false hope and consolation to others. He was the one to directly express his thoughts. "You will have to fight against Lillian, not just to avenge the dead but also for your own survival. And trust me when I say this, you will not be the one to strike first.. She will openly come at you, to finish what she has not finished yet. She will come at your life��"

 Chapter 44 - Summoning

    After hearing those confirming words from Theodore, Adeline nodded her head. There is always a choice available to everyone, how worse the situation is. It is in our own hand to make the right choice, to stay in the path of good. But the day Lillian took the life of an innocent servant to revive her son from the dead; she had chosen the path of evil.


    Adeline softly hit her own head with her fist and scolded herself, "How can I have soft corner for Lillian? Yes, she had to go through a lot because of my father. But the evils that she has committed are multiple folds greater than what she had faced."


    Adeline gritted her teeth and clenched her fist in fury. Her eyes were now full of determination. She looked at Theodore and spoke sternly, "I understand. It was Lillian''s choice to walk in the path of the evil. She has troubled, hurt, and killed so many innocent people. And she has to pay for what she has done. She is not above the law and she is definitely not allowed to play God by doing whatever she pleases."


    Theodore smiled and stroked Adeline''s hair, "Now that''s my woman. The day when Lillian comes at you with her full power to face you head on, I hope that you will be more than ready to face her."


    "I assure you, when time comes, I will be ready to take down that witch." Adeline declared with unwavering resolve.


    ---


    Lillian was getting overly conscious about her surrounding after Theodore had touched her and looked into her past. If it was any mere human then they would not have even noticed that someone was touching them. They would just think that they were recalling their memories on their own.


    However, Lillian was able to sense the power of Theodore when he was close to her. And she was fully aware that she was not in control of her mind.


    Until now, she had just used the negative energy from the world of dark spirits to power her forbidden magic. As there were no other witches inside the Palace to compare her growth with, she had thought that she was the most powerful witch and that no one could ever harm her.


    But the chance encounter with Theodore made her scared; she was scared of an unknown power after a long-long time. And because of this insecurity, she was going through her old scrolls and books to find something, anything that would increase her power. She didn''t care about the cost. She just knew that she had to be more powerful.


    While going through her old stuffs and her collection of rare books, she came across a heavy book with black leather cover. In the center of the cover of the book, there was a circle which was crossed with red ink, signifying that it was a book of forbidden magic.


    She always used to be a curious student of magic back when she was in her own Palace in Frostford. She would collect the rare books and go through every kind of magic spells.


    Lillian would promise herself that she would never in her life use the black magic. And while going through the black magic spells, she would convince herself that she was just going through it to know the difference between usual spells and forbidden spells, to know why they were forbidden in the first place.


    Now she was going through the same old collection which she promised was just for her research purposes. She was flipping through the pages to find out any magic that would give her more power.


    And then there it was. Lillian came across a page where it was written ''Summoning Spells'' in scary dark red font.


    Before today, she had never considered using this technique because it meant she would be depending on another entity for her power, and she did not want her power to manifest from something other than her.


    But today, she was seriously considering this option. "Maybe if I can summon an evil spirit like the one that touched me, that spirit might be able to see the other one and fight for me." Thinking this, she went through the description of the spell.


    It was written that before chanting the spells, the witch or wizard would have to draw a magic circle on the ground where they wish for the spirits to appear. Inside the circle, a triangle needs to be drawn, with its edges touching the circle. The triangle represents the three worlds - Heaven, Hell, and Earth.


    And after chanting the right spell for right spirit, the magic circle opens the door to the mystical beings. So within that circle, the mystical beings being summoned can travel from any of the three worlds and appear in front of the evoker.


    The book provided summoning spells for evil spirits like succubus, ghoul, faeries, and even vengeful spirits stuck on Earth. And if the spell user was powerful enough, they could even summon the demons from hell.


    And at the end of the page, a sentence was written in red "If the evoker wishes not to limit the mobility of the summoned by the magic circle then human sacrifice on the circle is necessary." Meaning, if the evoker wants the spirit to move freely, without being constrained by the circle, they had to do human sacrifices.


    Lillian went through all the spells and thoroughly memorized them all. She wanted to be able to summon every kind of evil beings.


    After memorizing the spells, she wanted to test the spells that she had learned on someone. She put on her trusty invisibility spell and then snuck off towards the forest.


    The Queen went to one of the place where she could experiment on human without raising any suspicion. She was in front of the dungeon. It was almost midnight, so the guards were slacking off and were drowsy. And when the right opportunity struck, Lillian stole the keys and swiftly went inside.


    She quietly walked past the prison cells, carefully looking for someone to be the victim of her magic test. She came across a healthy looking man in one of the prison, who was deep in his sleep. And a sinister smirk appeared on Lillian''s lips.


    Lillian quietly opened the cell''s door and went inside. She drew the magic circle around the man, by putting him in the middle of that circle. Then Lillian closed her eyes and started the incantations. The dark aura started to form around the circle and after the spell was complete a dark figure was looming right above the sleeping man.


    Lillian knew that the man was placed in the cell after he had murdered his wife. And Lillian had just called the vengeful spirit to see who appears. She wanted to check if the spirits from the other side could choose if they wanted to appear or would they just appear randomly.


    The spirit turned toward Lillian and gave a sinister smile, "Thank you for giving me a chance to take my revenge." And then the spirit proceeded to kill the man.


    Lillian immediately understood that the spirit was his wife.


    After the deed was done, Lillian chanted a spell to close the spirit door and wiped any signs of her presence. She silently closed the door and returned the keys to the guard.


    "I shall perform more tests in the coming days.." Lillian murmured to herself and then left the forest with her face exhibiting satisfaction.

 Chapter 45 - Proceeding Further

    The next morning, Adeline woke up early as usual and sat down to study. But she was constantly being distracted because of the memory from Lillian.


    So as not to be overwhelmed with all kinds of emotion, Adeline took out a white sheet of paper, ink and a brush. Then she tried to visualize her mother''s facial features and started to paint. With every little stroke of her brush, her mother''s portrait was coming to life.


    Adeline was enjoying the whole process of painting her mother. It was also helping her to restrain herself from having negative thoughts and instead she was able to focus her mind into something positive.


    After around half an hour, Adeline completed the portrait of Auvera. And when she looked at the final result, a huge smile appeared on her face. She had nothing to remember her mother by, no memories of her mother, and also no paintings or drawings. Now, at least she had something that would remind her of her mother.


    Before, whenever she would feel the absence of her mother, she would just grab a pillow and hug it imagining that it was her mother. She never really imagined a face or any other features. Now, she knew how her mother used to look like.


    And she was thankful to Theodore for letting her see her mother, though it was through Lillian''s memory.


    At usual time, there was a knock on her door from her personal maids. And Hawisa and Osanna entered her room and greeted her, "Good Morning Adeline."


    Hawisa noticed a drawing on her table and said, "I see that you were drawing today."


    Osanna walked closer to Adeline to get a better look at the portrait. She placed her hand on her jaw and kept on staring at the portrait very keenly. "The woman in this portrait looks like you. But she looks a little too old to be you. Were you trying to know how you would look like when you get old?"


    Hawisa also wanted to examine the portrait after hearing the comment from Osanna. So she went to the other side of Adeline and stared. "Yes, for the first time I agree with Osanna. It does look like you but at the same time it is not you."


    Adeline happily smiled that her work was good enough. Then she revealed to her maids, "You both are right. This portrait is not mine; I tried to draw my mother."


    "Oh! But you were too small when your mother d��" Before Osanna could complete her sentence Hawisa ran to her side and then stepped on her foot. "Aaaahh! What do you think you are doing Hawisa?" Osanna glared at Hawisa and snapped.


    But Adeline already knew what she was going to say. So she looked at Osanna and said, "My father always tells me that I look like my mother, except for my eyes. And I did not have anything to remember her by. So I decided to draw an older version of myself. I think this is how she looked like around the time when she gave birth to me."


    Adeline caressed the portrait of her mother and then smiled softly. Seeing Adeline happy, both of her maids were also happy for her.


    "Okay, let''s prepare the bath for our lovely Princess." Hawisa glanced at Osanna and asked her to follow her to the bath house.


    Both of them were heading towards the bath house when Adeline called Osanna. "Osanna, are you alright?"


    Osanna was a bit confused as to why she would not be alright. "Yes, Princess I am alright. Why do you ask?"


    "Oh no, it''s nothing. I wanted to know how you were doing. Carry on then." Adeline turned her gaze back to the portrait and let out a small sigh of relief. She wanted to know if removing her memory had any negative effect on her. But seeing her as cheery as always, she was glad that no harm had befallen her.


    After taking her warm bath and eating her nutritious breakfast, Adeline headed to the training ground to train with her brother Nigel. She was glad that Fenris was not there with Nigel today. Else she did not know whether she could restrain herself from putting a hole in his body. She was not in the mood for any type of jokes and his pesky advances on her.


    Nigel was much energized for the sparring match today. After discovering his newfound power, he wanted to test out several things like his stamina, his agility, and also his strength. And there was no one better to test it with, other than his beloved sister Adeline.


    "Hey Adeline, are you late or am I too fast? I have been waiting for you from so long." Nigel greeted his sister with excitement.


    Adeline smiled and replied, "I guess a bit of both."


    "Come on! Let''s not waste any more time. Let''s start the match immediately." Nigel shouted as he ran inside the marked area for sparring sessions.


    As Nigel was already involved in her secret about Theodore and some other things, she wanted to update Nigel on what she had found out before doing the fighting. But seeing Nigel that excited, she did not have the heart to deny him and she followed him inside the area.


    They both took their fighting stances and charged at each other. Adeline was immediately thrown down to the ground by Nigel. She got up again and tried charging at her brother but he easily avoided the attack and landed a painful blow on her.


    This went on for 4-5 matches and ultimately Nigel stopped because he was scared that he would hurt Adeline too much. "Sister, are you okay?" He asked to Adeline who was panting.


    "Yes, don''t worry, I am fine." Adeline tried to smile so that Nigel would not worry about her.


    Nigel sat beside her and scrunched his brows, "Am I getting too strong or were you not fighting at your full potential today?"


    Adeline chuckled and then pushed her brother with all her force to make him topple on ground. "Oh don''t think of yourself that highly brother. I am still stronger than you."


    Nigel got up from the ground and sat beside Adeline again. He would have loved to display his own strength but he was a little concerned for Adeline. "Then what was happening earlier? Is something bothering you?"


    Adeline took a deep breath in and puckered her lips. "Yes, actually I have a lot of things in my mind." She then looked at her brother and spoke in a sad tone, "You know that Theodore knew about my kidnapper right?"


    Nigel nodded, "He told you who that person is?"


    "Yes he told me. Actually ''showed me'' would be more appropriate words here." Adeline did not know where to start from and she blurted out, "It was Lillian. And she also killed my mother."


    Nigel stood straight from where he was sitting and he was in utter disbelief. "What?" Though the sentences that Adeline said were short, it was too vast to grasp just like that. So he slowly reiterated what Adeline had just said, "You mean first Queen Lillian? She was the one who kidnapped you? And she killed your mother?"


    Adeline explained everything that she saw in as much detail as she could. During the whole explanation, Nigel was on edge of his seat. As the story proceeded, Nigel would either cover his mouth, hold his head, slap his forehead, or clench his fists.


    The very name of Lillian was now enough to make Nigel feel repulsive. He never thought that he could get this angry on someone, but he was. His eyes turned golden in color and he roared in anger, "Let''s kill that witch. Come, we are killing her right now."


    Adeline was surprised by the outrage of Nigel. Usually, she was the hot-headed one and he was the calm one. But she could see that ever since he turned into a werewolf, he was becoming very hot-headed.


    She held her brother''s hand and tried to calm him, "Nigel, don''t say such stupid things. Killing her will not solve the problem; we are not killers like her. We have to take her down in other ways. First, we need a solid plan. We have to prepare everything beforehand so that she can be punished for her evil deeds."


    "But I say killing her will instantly solve the problem, once and for all. If she is no more, she cannot do any crimes. She is a criminal and she needs to die." Nigel was still furious and was not thinking clearly.


    Adeline sighed and tried to get through to her brother, "Nigel, how can you be so sure that she cannot harm anyone after she dies. She is a witch! And who is to tell that she won''t wander around taking a form of vengeful spirits and harming even more lives."


    Nigel exhaled deeply and tried to take control of his erratic emotions. Slowly, his eyes turned to their original sapphire color. "Yes, you are right. We need to be cautious while dealing with such dangerous person."


    He thought for a while and proposed an idea to his sister, "How about we include General Osmond in our plan. He is a very tactful person and I am sure he also wants to take revenge for his daughter. Maybe he can help us devise a proper plan."


    "You are right. We need some guidance from an experienced person. And he also knows Lillian more than us, so that will be an added point. But I will have to ask Theodore first.. To make General Osmond understand the depth of the problem, his identity has to be revealed and I don''t want to do that without his permission."

 Chapter 46 - A New Addition

    Though there were several other guest rooms in the Palace, Prince Fenris was adamant about staying with Prince Nigel. He said that he had a lot to talk about with Nigel when in reality he was just too worried about his cousin because he just had his first transformation. And he did not want to leave him unsupervised.


    In the morning, Fenris had woken up almost at the same time with Nigel. When Nigel was about to leave for the training ground to practice with Adeline, he turned around expecting Fenris to follow him. After all, Fenris had made it clear that he liked Adeline and had been trying his best to impress her.


    "Fenris, aren''t you coming along with me?" Nigel asked with a bit of suspicion as Fenris was just lying on bed and was not showing any eagerness whatsoever in joining him.


    Fenris waved his hand and dismissed him, "No, I won''t be coming today. I don''t think Adeline likes me that much. And if I come along, I will only distract you two from your practice. So I will just get some more sleep."


    Nigel''s lips curved upwards to form a smile. "I am glad that you are not a complete idiot. See you later then." Nigel turned around and walked away.


    However, Fenris was not being truthful. He still had not given up on Adeline. He was just saying that, so that he could separate himself from Nigel and carry out an important task.


    As soon as Fenris was left alone, he got up from the bed and got dressed in his nice outfit. Then he left Nigel''s personal quarter and headed towards the quarter of Queen Claricia. He was not sure if Claricia would be awake this early in the morning, but the matter he wanted to discuss was pretty serious that he wanted to see Claricia as soon as he could.


    After reaching to the quarter, he was greeted by a maid. "Good morning Your Highness!"


    Fenris politely smiled at the maid and put forth his request to the maid in a seductively deep voice. "Good morning dear. Will you be a lady and inform Queen Claricia that I am here to see her? The matter is of utmost importance and needs to be discussed immediately."


    The maid was quite young and she could not help but blush when Fenris spoke to her so politely. No one had ever shown that much respect to her.


    And Fenris was quite a gentleman; he knew how to sway the heart of the ladies. Even though that was not his intention right now, his demeanor would change automatically when talking to the ladies. It would be fair enough to say that it had become a habit of his.


    The maid stole a glance of Fenris and then gently bowed to him. "I will inform Her Majesty right away." And she went inside with a bright smile on her face.


    After about a minute, the maid returned back to where Fenris was waiting. "Your Highness, Her Majesty is waiting for you inside. I will lead you there. Please follow me." The maid slightly bowed again and then led the Prince towards the personal chamber of the Queen.


    Queen Claricia was still in bed and was in her night gown. But when the maid informed her that Prince Fenris wanted to talk about something urgent, she immediately called him in.


    The maid gestured her hand inside the room of Queen Claricia and then left them alone.


    Fenris bowed to the Queen and greeted, "Good Morning, Your Majesty. I want to ask for your forgiveness for disturbing your sleep."


    Claricia smiled gently and spoke in her gentle voice, "Oh you don''t have to ask for forgiveness Prince Fenris, it is alright." She gestured her hand towards a comfortable chair in the room and said, "Please take a seat."


    "What did you want to talk about?" Claricia asked with a curious voice. The way Fenris had made it sound urgent; she could not help but think that something bad might have happened to someone.


    After taking the seat, Fenris let out a deep sigh. His cheerful expression turned serious all of a sudden. "It is about Prince Nigel."


    Claricia instantly felt a slight pang in her heart at the mention of her son''s name. "What about Nigel?" She asked hastily.


    Seeing Claricia a little bit scared, Fenris tried to calm her down. "No, it''s not something bad. Umm�� I know that you were not ready to hear this now but, Nigel went through his first transformation in the last full moon. He activated his werewolf curse."


    This was the last thing that Queen Claricia had expected. So, she just stayed there, stunned. She did not know how to react to this news. Was she supposed to be happy that Nigel was among those who were able to activate the werewolf curse? Or was she supposed to be alarmed?


    The werewolf curse was a very well-kept secret of Siccaldi clan, so well-kept that even King Dragomir did not know anything about them. This was done so that the other Kingdoms would not attack Aberdeen just because they were too curious about werewolves or because they wanted to capture werewolves.


    "Your Majesty?" Fenris called her to get her attention. She seemed to be too lost in her own thoughts.


    Claricia''s attention was brought back to the room. "When did you get to know about his transformation? Did he tell you on his own or did you happen to find out the hard way?" And by hard way, Claricia meant to ask if Fenris was beaten up by Nigel or did he happen to see him in his wolf form.


    "Nigel told me about the transformation yesterday. Or rather, I found out when I sparred with him in the morning." Nigel did not tell the Queen that he found it out indirectly. He had fought Adeline, not Nigel. But he did not want to go into all that detail.


    "So he really has changed after all��" Claricia paused for some time to process that information about her son.


    The werewolf gene in the blood of Siccaldi clan had always kept Claricia on her toes when Nigel was a teenager. She used to constantly worry about the werewolf gene manifesting in Nigel. She would look out for him and keep an eye on him, especially during full moons, in case he turned into a werewolf.


    After Nigel had crossed the age of 20, Claricia was glad that her son had not triggered the curse. She thought that it would just make it hard to explain the situation to the King. But now, Fenris was telling her that Nigel had actually transformed.


    Yes, there were some positive sides to the curse. But she did not want her son to go through the pain during full moons. And she also did not know whether to inform the King about his son''s condition or not.


    And finally there was another problem. The Siccaldi clan had to be informed about the new addition of the werewolf. There were certain disciplines that Nigel would have to follow from now on. The werewolves were the creatures that were supposed to stay in a pack, following orders from their alpha, bonding with the other members of the pack. And this meant that Nigel''s life would be affected drastically.


    Queen Claricia took a deep breath in and then looked at Fenris, "When are you leaving for Aberdeen? I think it would be best if you personally delivered this news to the King as well as elders of the clan. I will write a letter to them from my behalf."


    Although Fenris would have loved to stay at Wyverndale at least for a few more days, he knew that the matter was serious. And he was also responsible to relay the news as technically he was the one to find out about the new werewolf.


    "I will make the preparations to leave today." Fenris stated with a bit of a heavy heart.


    Claricia nodded and said, "Then I will write one letter and have it sent to you before the breakfast."

 Chapter 47 - Starvation

    Princess Adeline was in her class with five of her half siblings. The class was being overseen by Councilman Gilbert who was teaching his students about the sacred duties of the Ruler of the Kingdom.


    The councilman was a simple man who has been in the King''s council for about 20 years. He looked older than the King and he was one of the person from whom King Dragomir would seek suggestions about the laws from.


    Gilbert was calmly sharing his knowledge with the kids, "The main duty of the ruler is towards the Kingdom and its people. The first thing that a ruler has to make sure is that their people are not suffering from poverty."


    "Poverty is the root cause of several human sufferings. If people are poor then they cannot feed themselves and their children properly. When people start starving, they will not think about right and wrong. They will try to earn some bread by whatever means possible. And this can lead them to be involved in criminal activities. This can even lead to a war."


    The councilman further boasted, "King Dragomir has been successful in eradicating the poverty of the Kingdom. Wyverndale is one of the most prosperous Kingdoms. The people are the happiest with food on their table and a roof over their head."


    Adeline interrupted the councilman by putting forth a question. "And what about the people inside the Palace? Does it not fall under the main duty of the ruler to make them happy as well?"


    Councilman Gilbert scrunched his brows at such question from the Princess. He folded his arms and defended, "What could possibly make the people inside of the Palace unhappy? They have access to education, training, maids and servants, good food and clothes, place to sleep�� I can keep on going."


    Adeline gritted her teeth when she heard her teacher. She thought that it was people like him who did not provide insights to her father saying that people inside the Palace also needed a little bit of attention from the King. "Does love fall under that list of yours councilman?"


    Adeline was the most loved and pampered daughter of King Dragomir, and such question coming from her made other kids give strange looks to her, unbeknownst to them the horrors that Adeline had come to know of.


    "Of course Princess, love also falls under that list. The King has provided all of you with comfortable life. Isn''t that a form of love?" Councilman tried to justify that King Dragomir loved everyone from inside the Palace as well.


    However, that was not the answer that Adeline was looking for. She had witnessed her father starving his wives and concubines of love and that had turned one of them into criminals; or maybe there were more who were equally successful like Lillian in hiding their true faces under a fa?ade.


    And seeing how clueless everyone were about the crimes that Lillian had committed, she wanted to travel back to past and ask her father to love everyone equally. But that was impossible of course.


    After the class was over, Adeline headed towards the stable instead of her quarter. She still had 3 hours left before her personal training with General Osmond. So she wanted to blow off her steam by spending some time with Rion.


    She reached the stable and the sight of Rion instantly brought a smile on her face. "Hey Rion, I hope you are doing okay here." Adeline softly whispered to Rion and then proceeded to give scratches and strokes on Rion''s neck.


    Adeline called a stableman and questioned him about Rion, "How was he behaving today? Has he gotten used to his new home and new caretakers yet?"


    The stableman lowered his head and said, "No Your Highness. Rion does not like anyone around him. The only person that can go anywhere near him is just Her Highness only. He has not even had any food yet. I tried throwing some hay from afar but he did not eat it."


    Adeline took a deep breath and stood in front of Rion. "Rion, why are you being so stubborn? If I had not come to check on you, would you have stayed hungry for a whole day?"


    And as if the horse understood what she said, it nodded its head.


    Adeline raised her brows and gave a suspicious look to her horse. "I don''t know if you just nod at the right time or do you actually understand what I am saying. But one thing is for sure, you are going to be personally pampered by me."


    She glanced at the stableman and said, "Bring his food to me. I will feed him."


    But the stableman was a little hesitant about that. He bowed his head and tried to politely refuse what the Princess had just ordered him to do. "But that is not your job Your Highness. How can I make you feed him?"


    Princess Adeline was, however, adamant about her order. "Do you have any other option then? Rion is obviously not letting you come close to him. So it would be best if I feed him rather than let him starve. After all, he is my horse, so I am responsible for him."


    After a while, the stableman returned with a basket full of green grass and handed the basket to the Princess.


    Adeline placed the basket in front of Rion and stroked his neck and said, "Come on Rion, you should eat something." But Rion kept on ignoring the food.


    Defeated, she took a handful of grass and placed it below Rion''s nose so he could smell it and so that she could hand feed him. And to her surprise, Rion started munching on the grass. So she kept on feeding him until he finished all the grass in the basket.


    "It was not that hard to eat now, was it?" Adeline smiled at Rion and looked proud of her work.


    After making sure Rion was well-fed, Adeline headed to her own quarter to have some food and rest for some time.


    Adeline was greeted by Osanna and Hawisa at her personal chamber with her nutritious diet. After eating, she sat on her bed and wondered how she would be able to face General Osmond after realizing how much he had suffered at the hand of Lillian. She could not help but feel apologetic towards Osmond because even though her dear father was not the one to hurt him, he was the indirect cause of it.


    So before facing General Osmond, she wanted to contact Theodore so that she could get permission from him to tell the General about Theodore and all the things that she was able to discover through him.


    And that was when it struck to her, "Wait, how am I supposed to contact Theodore? He has been visiting me so frequently that I forgot to ask the one thing that is important."


    Adeline face-palmed herself and shook her head at her sloppiness. "Why didn''t I think that sometimes I would have to initiate the meeting? And why didn''t Theodore tell me anything? He is so selfish. He comes to me when he wants to see me but does not give me the same option."


    Then Adeline racked her head to think of some way to make Theodore appear in front of her.


    "Maybe he will come if I just say his name." She called his name a bit cautiously so that others would not hear her. Though it was a long shot, she did that for 4-5 times hoping that it would work, of course it did not.


    She sighed and then mumbled, "What was I thinking by calling his name? He lives on the top of the mountain which is very very far from here. How can I be so stupid to believe that he can hear me from here?"


    When she was lost in her thoughts, there was a soft knock on the door and Osanna entered the room. "Adeline, Prince Fenris is outside and he says that he wants to see you."


    "What?" Adeline was furious when she heard the name of Fenris. "Now he even has the guts to come to my quarter? Tell him that I don''t want to meet anyone right now."


    Osanna puckered her lips as she thought that it would be rude to outright deny meeting the Prince from another nation. "Umm�� he is our guest so I don''t think it would be appropriate to turn him away. At least see him for five minutes."


    Adeline rolled her eyes and said in an agitated tone, "Fine. Bring him to the outer chamber. But inform him that I am extremely busy so that he leaves from my room within 5 minutes."


    "Sure" Osanna bowed slightly and then went outside to fetch the Prince.


    And Adeline went to her outer chamber which had nice chairs fit for meetings.


    Soon, Fenris entered the room led by Osanna. And he spoke in his captivating voice, "Good Afternoon Princess Adeline."


    Adeline tried to sound as polite as possible and said, "Good afternoon. Please take a seat." Then she gestured Osanna to leave the room.


    As soon as Osanna left, Fenris''s face turned serious. And he spoke in his somber voice, "I am leaving for Aberdeen in an hour. And before I go, I had a favor to ask to you since I found you to be closest to Nigel."


    Adeline''s face lit up when she heard that he was leaving.. "Finally" she thought. And then she asked in her polite tone, "Sure, what favor?"

 Chapter 48 - A Favor

    Prince Fenris looked at Adeline and then asked in his polite voice, "Please look after Nigel for me, will you?"


    His gentle voice and friendly demeanor would have enchanted many woman but not Adeline.


    "I was planning to do that even without you telling me." Adeline''s brows twitched as she answered somewhat coldly. She just thought that Fenris had come to her quarter with some ulterior motive and was using Nigel for ice-breaking.


    But Fenris did not falter from Adeline''s coldness. He genuinely cared about Nigel''s safety and after seeing Adeline''s bond with Nigel as well as her strength, he thought that only Adeline could handle her brother in his wolf form if he was to go berserk. "That is why I am asking you and trusting you for this task."


    Fenris continued to explain what he meant by looking after Nigel. "You have noticed that Nigel has grown a lot stronger than before. But the downside is that he will go through a transformation on every full moon. And even though I have not transformed myself, I have seen the people transform and I know how much painful the process is."


    Adeline had wanted to ask Fenris about the pain that he said he felt when he was explaining his transformation to Theodore but she had forgotten about it until now. She wanted to know what her brother was going through. "The pain that you mentioned, how bad is it?" Adeline asked in her concerned voice.


    Fenris took a deep breath and started fidgeting his legs because the thought of his own brother going through such pain crossed his mind. He remembered how Wulfric would scream in pain during the full moon. Sometimes the pain would be so bad that he would act rabidly to get rid of the agony. And he would have to be held down by four strong men or chained in the dungeon so that he would not cause trouble.


    Then he answered in a melancholic tone, "Imagine every bones in your body breaking and twisting to change you completely into another being''s form�� the pain is unimaginable. Nigel will go through that excruciating pain on every full moon to come, for the rest of his life."


    Adeline''s heart sank when Fenris told her how much pain Nigel would have to go through from now on. She felt goose bumps all over her body and she rubbed her arms to calm herself down.


    Making Adeline sad was not the intention of Fenris. Seeing Adeline so worried about her brother, he tried to console her. "But the pain will gradually decrease over time. With more experience, he will be able to swiftly transform into a wolf in the near future. Unlike right now, how it can take up to hours for him to transform into a wolf."


    Prince Fenris asked her again with anticipation, "That is why I wanted you to keep an eye on him during full moons. Nigel also said that he does not remember anything that he did in his wolf form and it is dangerous to leave him alone with no consciousness and control over his body. It will take some time and practice for him to remain conscious even in his wolf form. Until then, please don''t let him do anything stupid and attract unwanted attention."


    Princess Adeline understood what he meant by that. She remembered Theodore mentioning to them that eating human flesh when Nigel was in his wolf form could make the transformation permanent, turning him into a wolf forever.


    And Adeline definitely did not want to lose her brother like that. So she nodded her head and accepted what Fenris had asked of her. "I understand. I will take care of Brother Nigel. I will always remain by his side during his transformations and won''t let any harm befall him or the others."


    Prince Fenris scratched his forehead as something was still bothering him.


    Adeline saw some hesitation on Fenris and asked him, "Is there something more that you want to tell me?"


    After getting asked, he finally gave a warning to Adeline, "Yes, I have one last thing to tell you. Please don''t reveal our secret to anyone. And don''t let anyone else from our clan to find out that you know of our secret. Else they will always be keeping an eye on you to make sure that you don''t spill our secret to the outsiders."


    Princess Adeline was a little taken aback by this comment. She thought that the Palace was extremely safe place, so how could they keep an eye on her? Yes, she was kidnapped from inside the Palace but that was done by Lillian who was already inside the Palace. So she raised her brows in astonishment and asked, "They can keep an eye on me while I am still inside the Palace?"


    Fenris seemed like he also did not agree with the ways of the elders in his clan. His pupils dilated as he was remembering some terrible things that the elders had done to some innocent people just because they happened to cross path with a werewolf. "Trust me, you don''t want to know. They can go to extreme extent to protect our secret. Even your father does not know about it."


    Fenris gave a stern look as if to warn her and said, "And I am saying that they will just keep an eye on you because you are a Princess of a powerful Kingdom. If it was anyone else who had found out about the werewolves, that person would already have been silenced forever."


    This came as a shock for Adeline. She could not believe that she was somehow intertwined with the secret of Siccaldi clan and the burden was huge.


    She sprung up from her seat in disbelief. She had a disgusted look on her face as if everyone''s sick mentality was making her feel sick to her core. She shouted while holding her head, "Argh! What is wrong with people everywhere? Killing comes so easily to them."


    There were some other things that Fenris originally wanted to say to Adeline to warn her beforehand. But seeing the sudden outburst from Adeline, he chose not to share it. It would have been too much of a shock to Adeline, but mainly to Nigel.


    And he did not want to alarm Nigel as of yet. He wanted to wait for the things to play out naturally. That way he thought that Nigel would have some more time to understand about the rules of Siccaldi clan. And he hoped that Nigel would be less affected by what was to come.


    "Why would they do such a thing as to kill the people who find out? Why can''t they just find another solution?" Adeline was still shouting while pacing back and forth in the room.


    "Fear�� the answer is simple. They fear that if the words spread out regarding the Siccaldi clan to be the one to inherit the werewolf gene, the Kingdom might attract unwanted attention. Fear is a dangerous thing Princess. It can make you do things, far greater or worse, that you would not have been able to do elsewise." Fenris spoke in a monotone while he stared at the wall blankly.


    Adeline had no idea how true his words were. She had no idea that the fear had already engulfed Lillian and she was starting to do things that were ten folds evil than before.


    For a while, there was a deafening silence in the room as both of them were lost deep in their own thoughts.


    Finally, Prince Fenris gathered his composure and looked at Adeline with appreciation. He smiled at the Princess and said while appreciating her, "Thank you for being someone whom I can rely on."


    Princess Adeline just gave a smile to him.


    And after some awkward silence again, Fenris shot a question at her. "One question has been bugging me. How are you as strong as a werewolf?"


    Adeline shrugged her shoulders and said as if she was being sarcastic, "Who knows? Maybe a Devil is looking out for me."


    Fenris chuckled not knowing that Adeline had just told him the truth. He simply thought that Adeline was cracking a joke and went with the flow, "Damn! Then maybe I should be afraid of you. What if the Devil gets angry with me?"


    Adeline narrowed her eyes and looked dead serious, "Oh he is already angry with you."


    But Fenris laughed even more. "Has anyone told you that you are really funny as well? You are just perfect."


    Then he got up from the seat and inched closer to where Adeline was standing. Before Adeline could react or take a step back, he took her hand in his palm and then kissed her on the knuckles. And then he stared at Adeline''s sapphire blue eyes and said in his playful tone, "I still have not given up on you yet. I think you and I will make a great couple so I will keep on pursuing you."


    Adeline abruptly pulled her hand back and furrowed her brows. She glanced back at Fenris to scold him but she could see that his eyes were not lying; he meant what he said. But she was not going to fall for his sweet talks. She sneered at him and then dismissed him, "Keep dreaming."


    "Oh that I will��" Fenris gave a whimsical grin and then winked at her before leaving the room.


    "That brat!" Adeline stomped her feet on the floor and sat down on her chair with a spoilt mood.

 Chapter 49 - The Mystic Coven

    Far away from the direct eyes of the Palace, there was a peaceful forest. The forest was near the outer village of Wyverndale but not so near that people would know what was going on in that seemingly peaceful forest.


    There was a covenstead in that forest and because of that, the forest was also a home to a coven of witches. That coven consisted of a total of 13 witches. Among them, 12 were the members while one of them was the leader of the coven, also known by the term High Priestess.


    The witches called their coven as ''The Mystic Coven''. And their High Priestess''s name was Tabitha. She was well-respected by all the members of her coven and also by other covens who knew of her several good deeds and how powerful she was.


    These witches considered themselves as the servants of the nature and dedicated themselves in serving the God''s beautiful creations.


    Almost every coven, including the Mystic Coven, had spiritual connection with the nature and they drew their powers from positive energy of the nature itself. They believed that every life was important and never did anything to intentionally harm the living beings that roamed on Earth.


    The community of witches and wizards were very respectable in all of the Kingdoms. They would often be invited from Frostford to other Kingdoms to ward off the evil lurking there. And some covens would settle in the places they had been invited to, so that they could look after the people who needed their protection.


    Originally, the Mystic Coven had come to Wyverndale a long time ago, before Lillian was married off to King Dragomir. Lillian''s father, King Savaric, had sent a coven of his trusted witches to Wyverndale beforehand and had asked them to look after Lillian in any way they could.


    After all, King Savaric was a father and he was about to send his daughter to the Kingdom which was previously his enemy. He just could not send her there alone and wanted some of his own people, who were powerful enough, to look out for her. Of course, Savaric did this without the knowledge of Dragomir or Lillian.


    Tabitha was not just a witch but she was also a very tactical person. As soon as the coven arrived at Wyverndale, she planned that five of the witches under her coven would disguise themselves as the subject of Wyverndale and get inside the Palace as maids.


    However, the remaining 8 witches, including Tabitha, were not a part of this plan because she wanted them to be able to move freely without any bounds of the Palace.


    Among the five of the witches, only two of them were selected as the maids inside the Palace because there were enough maids and servants already inside the Palace.


    So the 11 of the witches settled on the village which was the closest to the Palace. They took on jobs like grain suppliers, clothes suppliers, healers, etc. so that they could still visit the Palace from time to time even though they were outsiders.


    The two witches who were selected were Agnes and Esther.


    The two of them would frequently report to Tabitha about what was happening inside the Palace and how Lillian was doing in her new home. And in turn, Tabitha would send messages to King Savaric stating how his daughter was doing.


    Tabitha would get message from Agnes and Esther that Lillian was getting lonely day by day and was not as cheerful as she used to be. But Tabitha did not report this to her King, not wanting to worry Lillian''s parents about their daughter''s wellbeing.


    One day, on the day that the first Prince was born, Esther asked Agnes to cover for her and then she secretly went to meet with Tabitha.


    Esther was growing very restless when she was waiting for Tabitha to arrive at their secret destination in the forest behind the Palace.


    As soon as she saw Tabitha, she fell down on her knees and began to cry. "I am sorry High Priestess. I could not look after the Queen as promised. Please forgive me."


    Tabitha felt a chill in her heart as she thought the worse. "Did something happen to the Queen?"


    Esther nodded her head and mumbled between her cries, "I think the Queen has been corrupted. I suspect that she used the forbidden magic."


    Tabitha looked around once again to make sure that no one had followed them to the forest. Use of forbidden magic was a grave crime that could be punished severely; sometimes the punishment was to take that witch''s life.


    "Do you just suspect or are you sure? You know that we cannot just accuse people of using forbidden magic without knowing for sure." Tabitha whispered to Esther and she demanded to know about what she saw in detail.


    Esther described what she had seen in the Queen''s room in detail, how the midwife was lying dead on the floor, how Lillian did not even had a strand of sympathy for the dead, and how Lillian''s behavior had turned cold ever since then.


    But because Esther had not witnessed Lillian using the forbidden magic, and because she did not see any reason as to why Lillian would kill a midwife who had helped her deliver her baby, she could not outright accuse Lillian of using dark magic.


    Tabitha just asked Esther to keep an eye on the Queen and try to find out the truth.


    Years passed and all Esther could say was that the Queen had turned into a completely different person who would punish her maids and servants for every little mistakes. She would say that Lillian was not the innocent Princess that she used to be anymore.


    And one day, a villager had come across a dead body of a woman in the river bank. And to Tabitha''s horror, it was Esther. She had scars and purple marks all over her body as if she had been tortured severely before her death.


    Agnes was furious when she came to know about the death of her coven member. In an outrage, she confronted the Queen regarding the death of Esther and claimed that she had used forbidden magic to kill her.


    But Lillian lashed out on Agnes and shouted to her, "I know about your little coven hiding in the village. I don''t know why you are after me but I will destroy your coven and every other coven who will try to interfere with me."


    Lillian glared at Agnes furiously and kept on screaming, "And I will sacrifice each of your family and relatives if you ever try to spread the rumor about me using the forbidden magic. If you want to live another day, get lost from here before I kill each and every one of you."


    Agnes was scared by the aura that Lillian was emitting. And she did not think that she could take her on if a fight was to break out between the two. So she left the Palace and met with the rest of the coven members. She explained how Lillian threatened to kill all of them, and that she did not even flinch while saying so.


    Esther had already died and Tabitha was sure that the Lillian that they knew was long gone. So the coven decided to retreat to the forest that they were living in now and settled there.


    Tabitha informed the King that they had been discovered by Lillian and she lied that Lillian did not need their protection anymore so they were retreating from the Palace. When in reality she was trying to protect her coven and other innocent people''s lives from the harm of Lillian. If one had already been corrupted by dark magic, then she knew that they would kill without even blinking.


    Years later, when roaming around the outer village to get some food supply, Agnes came across an unconscious woman who was wearing the Palace maid''s clothes. She and another witch brought her to their place and tended to her wounds. That woman had blood all over her mouth and when they checked, her tongue was missing.


    Later on, even though that woman did not know any magic, the coven took her in to make the number of members to 13 again, making it whole. With the help of the witches, who were also natural healers, she quickly recovered. However, her voice was lost forever.


    Nonetheless, the coven did not give up on her. They started to teach her how to read and write so that they could communicate with her. She was a quick learner and the coven got to know that her name was Sibyl.


    Sibyl started picking up the incantations when the witches would practice their spells. She would watch them closely as they interested her greatly. And one day, all of the witches had gone somewhere leaving Sibyl alone at home. When she was busy cleaning the ground, their hut suddenly caught fire. She looked around to see that the wildfire was spreading throughout the forest.


    Seeing the forest burning and their home starting to burn along with it, Sybil started to panic. Even if she was to run, she knew that the fire would catch her pretty soon. As a desperate move, she faced the forest, pointed her palms towards the fire and chanted a spell in her heart. And to her surprise the wildfire started to smolder and after a while it died down.


    When all the others returned home, they found Sibyl crying on the ground. They later found out that Sibyl had managed to control the fire using a spell. Surprised by how she was able to perform such a complex spell in her first try, the coven went through her ancestry. And they later found out that Sibyl''s mother was from Frostford; all along, she had a witch''s blood flowing through her.


    Ever since then, the coven actively began to teach witchcraft to Sibyl. She was also happy to learn. She remembered how powerless she felt in front of Lillian and she wanted to be able to defend herself.


    The Mystic Coven kept on protecting the nearby villages from any evil forces and dark creatures. They wanted to be useful to at least some people. And even though none of the villagers knew of their existence, they continued to do their best to keep the outer village safe from the harm of any evil.


    With time, all of their powers had improved significantly and the coven was counted as one of the most powerful coven to ever exist. Most of them were motivated to be powerful because somewhere in their heart, they knew that they would have to protect hundreds of people from Lillian.


    Today, there was a fuss going on among the witches because last night they had sensed a breach in the natural barrier which separates the three worlds - Heaven, Hell, and Earth.. They sensed that the gate was opened.

 Chapter 50 - A Ring That Connects

    It was already late at night. Adeline already had her dinner and she was waiting impatiently for Theodore to visit her. While waiting for him to arrive, Adeline had gone to check up on Rion and also to feed him.


    She was able to control her restlessness while she was busy feeding and talking with Rion. And after spending some time with Rion, she returned back to her room to check if Theodore was waiting for her there. But to her disappointment, he was not there.


    "What is he so busy with today that he has not visited me yet?" Adeline was pacing back and forth in her personal chamber. She was already in her night gown. She thought that he would not be visiting her today and thus, she had already prepared to go to sleep. But she could not fall asleep without seeing Theodore''s charming face.


    Then she got an idea to curb her restlessness. She sat down in front of her study desk. And she took out a white sheet of paper, ink and a brush. "Why didn''t I think of this before?" she mumbled to herself. She was going to paint a portrait of Theodore so that she would not feel so terrible when she missed him. She could at least stare at his portrait when she missed him badly.


    In order to start painting the Devil, she recalled his well-proportioned facial features. With the very thought of Theodore''s strikingly attractive face, she was smiling like a fool.


    She dipped her brush in the ink and started to make soft strokes on the white sheet of paper. While painting, Adeline was lost in her concentration. Her hand movements and the brush strokes that she made looked really elegant to watch. If only there was someone to watch her, they would have instantly fallen for Adeline.


    After an hour or so, she completed the portrait of Theodore. She was holding the portrait in her one hand and with another hand she was still holding the brush. She was able to accurately depict Theodore''s facial features in her painting. And she herself was drooling over the portrait in front of her. She could not help but grin widely at the final result.


    Unbeknownst to Adeline, Theodore was gawking at his own portrait from behind her. He could not believe how impressive the painting was. He was playing with his long hair while praising himself silently, "Of course, the painting turned out this great because I have a very good-looking face."


    Theodore noticed from behind that Adeline''s cheeks rose up as she stared at his portrait in admiration. Theodore could not help but smile and he finally spoke, "Did you miss me so much, little human?"


    Adeline was so lost in his portrait that she was startled by his voice, causing her to jerk her hand. She threw the brush in the air, almost ruining the beautiful portrait that she had just completed. She had not even sensed Theodore''s presence in her room.


    "Theo! What do you think you are doing by scaring me like that? You nearly ruined my portrait�� I mean your portrait. And since when were you standing behind me?" Adeline complained in her soft tone. Though she wanted to be mad at Theodore for making her wait so long and for scaring her like that, she was happy that he was finally here to see her.


    Theodore leaned downwards to kiss Adeline on her head full of silver hair. And then he whispered near her ear, "Sorry to keep you waiting dear. I had some matters to tend to. I did not think that it would go on for this long."


    Adeline carefully placed Theodore''s portrait on the desk and then got up from the chair. Then she flung her arms around Theodore and hugged him tightly.


    Theodore also hugged her back and whispered, "You really did miss me that much huh..."


    After breaking off from the hug, Adeline fisted her hips and then scowled at Theodore. "This is not fair Theo." She spoke in a pampered tone.


    Theodore pressed his lips together and blinked, not knowing what she meant by that. "What is not fair? Me being way taller than you?"


    Adeline could not help but chuckle when Theodore said that. "Obviously not that, my Prince. I am talking about how you get to visit me when you please but I don''t get to do the same. That is so unfair. I had something important to talk with you today and I was on edge for the whole day, waiting for you to come by."


    Theodore did not say anything. He just stared at Adeline and kept on smiling. Adeline was looking at him as if she was a small puppy who was waiting to get a treat. On top of that, Adeline was wearing a white night gown, and this made Theodore think that she really resembled a white little puppy.


    "Why are you just smiling like that? Can you not do something about it? Maybe you can also make me able to teleport wherever I like, just like you." Adeline was swaying side to side as she kept forth her demands. She was thinking that if Theodore was able to transfer some of his power to her, then maybe he could also teach her some of his tricks like teleporting.


    Theodore puckered his lips and shook his head. "I am sorry Adeline. That I cannot teach you, one needs to be a Devil or God to be able to teleport."


    Adeline''s face dropped when she heard Theodore say that. Then she glanced back at the portrait and threw a satire at him, "I will just satisfy myself by looking at your portrait then. I will kiss the portrait whenever I miss you."


    Theodore raised his brows in amusement and then gave a bewitching smile to Adeline. "Are you trying to make me submit to you? When did my woman turn into a trickster?"


    Adeline folded her arms and defended herself, "A trickster? I am just asking you to make it fair, how is that tricking you?"


    Theodore hummed for a while and then came up with an idea. "Though I cannot make you able to teleport, I can at least make you able to call me whenever you miss me. And I can teleport to wherever you are."


    "See, I knew you would have some kind of solution." Adeline clapped and smiled happily.


    Theodore plucked a strand of his raven black hair and then rolled it at the tip of his finger. And he did a hand movement which transformed that strand of hair into a ring. The ring looked like it was made out of gold. In the middle of the ring, a thin black line went around it.


    Then he elegantly held out his palm and asked in his enchanting voice, "Will you give me your hand, my Princess?"


    After Adeline presented her hand to Theodore, he slipped the ring in her ring finger.


    "Now, whenever you miss me, kiss this ring instead of the portrait. And I will know when and where to appear. But there is a limit; you can only use this once in a day." Theodore explained to her what she was supposed to do if she wanted to call him.


    Adeline was happy to get the ring. Even though it had a limit of one use per day, it was all she needed. She looked at her hand and examined the ring with a wide grin on her face. "Thank you! I will use it well."


    "I hope you do�� after all this fuss that you made." Theodore said sarcastically and jumped on Adeline''s bed to lie down.


    Adeline also sat down on her bed, still looking at the ring that she was wearing.


    "So, what was the important thing that you had to talk to me about?" Theodore was now looking at Adeline with inquisitive eyes.


    Adeline was so immersed in the fact that she now had a way to call Theodore to her whenever she wanted to; she had totally forgotten about the one thing that she wanted to ask to Theodore for the whole day. "Oh yes, I almost forgot about that."


    All of a sudden, the cheerful face of Adeline turned into a serious one. "I and Nigel were thinking that if we are able to get General Osmond on our side, then in the future he might be able to guide us to take down Lillian. After all, he was also one of the victims of Lillian. And he knows about Lillian more than us. So I was wondering if I could reveal your identity to the General so as to make him aware of the whole extent of Lillian''s crime."


    Without even thinking Theodore immediately replied, "If it is General Osmond then I trust him that he will help you get your revenge. So, yes, you can tell him about me. If he still does not believe you then I can directly appear in front of him and make him aware of Lillian''s crime just like I did to you."


    Adeline smiled and nodded. All day she was thinking of reasons that she thought she would need to give to Theodore to make him agree with her, to make him believe that Osmond would be a great ally. But he just agreed like that.


    Then she looked at the ring again. She bit her lower lip and thought to herself, "Let''s see how this ring works.. I have to make sure that he did not fool me."

 Chapter 51 - What To Do?

    Adeline glanced at Theodore who was busy playing with his hair while lying down beside her. She had this mischievous look on her face and Theodore immediately understood what she was going to do.


    But before Theodore could say anything to her, she brought her hand closer to her lips and then kissed the ring. And right in front of her eyes, a dark mist covered Theodore and he vanished from there.


    "Er�� Theodore?" Adeline''s brows furrowed together with confusion. She looked to her sides but there was no sign of him. And she mumbled to herself in disappointment, "I thought this ring would bring you to me. But it did the opposite."


    And right then she felt a poke in her back. She turned around to see Theodore lying down behind her and let out a sigh of relief. "I thought I made you go away."


    "Were you just testing me, my woman?" Theodore was giving a smoldering look to Adeline.


    Others would have been intimidated by the way he was staring but Adeline smiled at him, showing off her dimples. "I was not testing you, I was testing the ring. I wanted to see how it works." She replied while still grinning.


    Theodore wanted to be angry at her for not trusting him but how could he be angry when she was smiling so cutely.


    "Well in that case, you got your little demonstration then. I will teleport to your side almost in an instance after you kiss your ring, no matter where I am or what I am doing." Theodore explained further to her but then narrowed his eyes as if he came to realize something.


    And after a short pause, he added again, "I just hope that you won''t call me when I am in the middle of odd jobs�� like when I am using a bathroom."


    Adeline almost choked on her saliva as she had pinched her nose to restrain from laughing. When Theodore mentioned him doing ''odd jobs'' the visual automatically played out in her mind making it hard for her to control her laughter. And after a little coughing fit, she finally managed to speak a few words, "I will try not to do that."


    Adeline''s cheeks had turned red and her eyes were watery from laughing. Theodore''s golden eyes were focused on her rosy cheeks.


    He lifted his hand to caress her cheeks and his deep voice echoed throughout the room, "You should laugh more Adeline. Your cheeks look very lively, like ripe apples, when you laugh." He softly pinched her blushed cheek and whispered, "I am almost tempted to take a bite of your red cheeks."


    Adeline started to blush even harder because Theodore was giving off this enticing aura. She did not know if it was him trying to seduce her or if it was her who was being pulled towards him. But either way, her body was heating up.


    She fanned her face with her palms and said, "It''s getting hot in here, isn''t it?" Then she tried to steer the conversation in another direction so that she would not feel so nervous. "By the way, where did you get Rion from?"


    Theodore raised his brows and asked, "Rion?"


    Adeline looked puzzled by his question and tried to confirm something "Weren''t you the one who gifted me that horse for my birthday?"


    "Oh, he is��" Theodore wanted to say something but then stopped in the middle and said something else, "Yes, of course I was the one to gift that horse to you. I got him from a very special place. Why do you ask?"


    Adeline pressed her lips together and then explained how Rion was behaving. "I don''t know why but he does not even let the stableman to come near him. Not just stableman but he behaves like an untamed horse with everyone else, except me and Nigel. And he does not even eat or drink from anyone else but me. I thought that maybe he was behaving like that because he misses his old place."


    Theodore gave a devilish smirk and replied, "Trust me on this, he does not miss his old place. He must be very happy that I got him out of that place. He is just behaving like that because I told him not to trust anyone except you and Nigel."


    "He understands what we say?" Adeline exclaimed with her eyes wide open.


    Theodore shrugged his shoulder a little and replied, "I have my ways with every animal and other being, not just humans. I can make them understand what I say."


    Adeline nodded her head and thought that she finally knew why Rion was not letting anyone else touch him or even come near him.


    And Theodore gave her some more information about Rion. "Also, he is one proud horse. Don''t ever hurt his ego. You should pamper him as much as you can."


    "I think I am doing that already." Adeline replied back immediately. She was a Princess after all and she had never fed someone before; she had never looked after any living being before. Now, she was feeding and cleaning Rion as if he was her baby. If that was not pampering then what was?


    ---


    The next day, when Adeline met with General Osmond at the same time as usual for her personal training, she decided to tell him about Theodore first. She had decided to tell him everything that she knew about Lillian and wanted to ask him what she could do to punish her for her crimes.


    Adeline would normally pick her sword and then enter into the fighting arena as soon as she would enter the training hall. But today, she did not pick any sword. She just stared at the General and spoke, "General Osmond, I have many things to share with you. You might be reminded of horrible things that happened to you in the past so I suggest we better sit down for this session."


    Adeline was being very direct with her teacher rather than beating around the bush. She had many things to share and she wanted to share it within their daily practice hours.


    General Osmond noticed the rage that was building up inside of the Princess. He could not help but think if she knew that he was the one who had kidnapped her. But she said that he might be reminded of something horrible that happened to him, so it could not be that. "What does she mean by horrible past? Does she know something about me?"


    Adeline''s eyes had a hint of anger in them. Seeing how serious Adeline looked, he instantly sat down on a chair at the side and said, "I am all ears Princess."


    Adeline also sat beside the General and took a deep breath in. Then she blurted out, "I know that Lillian forced you to drop me at the Devil''s Cave by threatening to kill your daughter. And I also know that she killed your daughter afterwards when I was found inside the Palace."


    The General suddenly felt dizzy. His breathing got heavier and his eyes were filled with tears. He was reminded of how Lillian had killed his daughter. He thought that when Adeline said he would be reminded of his horrible past, she was not joking. "You knew that I was your kidnapper? Then why didn''t you say anything to your father and got me punished?"


    "Because you were also a victim of the real perpetrator. How could I just pin that crime on you when you were also victimized?"


    Adeline then went on and told the General about how she had actually met the Devil that day inside the cave and how he returned her back. Then she told him how she came to know about his daughter''s death. She also told him how Lillian was the one to kill her mother and she wanted to avenge the death of every innocent people that Lillian had caused.


    Adeline did not have to make any effort to make Osmond believe of the Devil''s existence because he was already aware that a Devil residing inside the Cave was not just a myth. And he felt sorry for Adeline that she also had lost someone close to her because of Lillian.


    "Have you told these things to the King?" Osmond asked curiously. Because if she had then he feared that things might get worse.


    Adeline shook her head and said, "No, I have not. The only people that know of it are you, Nigel, and me. I know how hot-headed my father is. And if he was to know that she was responsible for the death of my mother, then I cannot even imagine what he would do in rage. I don''t want to turn him into a killer."


    But General Osmond had different thought. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists and stated in anger, "That is not what I was afraid of. I know Lillian. It wouldn''t have been your father killing Lillian but the way around. She would have been the one to kill your father if he tried to give any punishment to her."


    Adeline''s heart sank when she heard that from Osmond. Yes, her father was a powerful ruler but so was Lillian, with her witchcraft to back her up.


    Osmond kept on speaking with disgust, "Of course, she would not kill him directly but she would be the one to give out order and make the others to do her bidding; then covering it up by saying that was an attack from the enemy state."


    Osmond was being brutally honest with the Princess because he wanted to make Adeline understand just how low Lillian could stoop.


    "And if the King was to die when Lillian is still the first Queen of Wyverndale, the reigning power would fall on her until the future ruler was to be selected. But knowing her, she might even bend the laws to her favor and rule the Kingdom until her last breath.. So it would be better if we wait for the test and let the deity choose the future ruler first."

 Chapter 52 - Royal Astrologer

    King Dragomir was sitting on his throne inside the King''s Court. He was wearing his royal outfit and red cape with the dragon emblem as usual. The golden crown was sitting very proudly on his head. A sense of superiority and power was being reflected from the King.


    Inside the Court, all of the King''s 7 councilmen were present in front of him. They all bowed to the King and the meeting had officially commenced.


    One of the councilmen stepped forward and then put forth his concern, "Your Majesty, our youngest Princess has also already turned sixteen years. So we all believe that without any further delay, we should choose an auspicious date for the test of worthiness. The faster we choose the future ruler of this Kingdom, the easier it will be for you."


    It was not that the King was not thinking about the test at all. It was just that he was worried about his youngest daughter. The older children had more time to learn about the ways the world works, they were more seasoned and more experienced in every aspect than Adeline.


    And King Dragomir was worried that it would be unfair for Adeline and other younger children as well. In a way, their elder brothers and sisters had an edge, a competitive advantage, over the younger ones.


    The King stroked his beard and replied calmly, "Can''t we postpone the test for a year or two? The younger ones will at least get some time to prepare for the test of worthiness. They have not even been sent out on any missions of the Kingdom yet. They have so much more to learn about the world outside of this Palace."


    Another councilman stepped forward and then spoke firmly, "With all due respect Your Majesty, you should not postpone the test any further. Yes, I agree that the younger ones have a lot to learn. But they can keep on doing so even after the test is completed."


    The councilmen were mostly all prejudiced regarding the Royal Children. They believed that the best fit future ruler of Wyverndale was either Prince Edwin or Prince Alan. And they had this thought that those born from the concubines were not worthy of the title of future ruler. After all, the concubines came from comparatively less powerful clans than the Queens. And the younger Royal children were all born from the concubines.


    Thus, in their eyes, all the strong contenders for the title of future ruler were already well-prepared to take the test. And they did not want to postpone the test just for the sake of the younger ones.


    However, the King was still adamant about postponing the test. "All I am saying is that we have to fairly prepare all the Princes and Princesses to make the test unbiased. And it''s not like I will die within the next two years to make it harder on all of you. I am just 58 years old, and I am still healthy and capable of ruling the Kingdom for few more years to come."


    The councilman bowed to the King apologetically but continued to persuade the King, "I am sorry Your Majesty that is not why we are trying to rush things. We are just trying to rush things because you need to teach everything about this Kingdom and its ways to whoever gets selected."


    And then Councilman Gilbert stepped forward to put forth his own view "Your Majesty, if we are to talk about fairness then we also have to be fair with the older Princes and Princesses. Some of them are already approaching their 30s. Now, is it fair to them to make them wait any longer? Their youth and their energy will dry down, while waiting for the test."


    Then another councilman immediately added, "Yes Your Majesty, if we are to be fair, then we have to be fair with every one of them."


    Even with the immense power that the King had, he was not able to do whatever he pleased. The council was there for the very reason, to keep check and balance on the ruler.


    After the pressure from his councilmen, the King finally sighed and agreed to what they had said. "Very well then, call the Royal Astrologer and set an auspicious date for the test. I will then make an announcement to everyone in the Palace."


    The King looked at everyone and asked, "Is there anything else to discuss?"


    "No Your Majesty that was the main issue that we wanted to bring to your attention today." One of the councilmen replied.


    The King nodded and then said, "If so this meeting has ended. Inform me when the date is fixed."


    All of the councilmen bowed to the King and then left the court.


    After they left, King Dragomir glanced at the court guard and then asked, "Is there any news from the prison guards about the death of that Prisoner?"


    The guard slightly bowed his head to the King and answered, "Your Majesty, the guards said that body was taken for examination to the healer. And according to the healer the death was caused because of suffocation. However, there were no marks on the body''s neck. And there was also not a single scratch on the body."


    King Dragomir rested his hand on his jaw and inquired again, "Hmm�� then what have they concluded? Was it a natural death or was there a different reason behind it?"


    "Since there were no marks on the body, they concluded that the death was natural." The guard replied.


    The King did not ask any further questions. From the examination of the body, nothing suspicious was found and the King also trusted the judgment of the healer and the prison guards. He looked at the court guard and then ordered him, "Ask the soldiers to inform that man''s family about his death and hand over the body to them."


    "Yes Your Majesty" The court guard bowed to the King and immediately went out of the King''s Court to carry out his order.


    All of the councilmen handed the task of calling the Royal Astrologer to Councilman Gilbert. He gladly accepted the task as he was one of the junior councilmen and then he sent a messenger to the Astrologer''s home.


    The Royal Astrologer was from the Guju clan who lived at the outskirts of the village. The first born son from the Guju clan would automatically be selected in that position. And that clan had been serving to the Palace since a long time.


    The duty of Royal Astrologer was to predict the possible future events of the Kingdom, look at the stars of the Royal Family and tell them about their future, foresee any possible disasters or wars and help to minimize the damage, etc.


    However, King Dragomir was not really a believer of the astrology and never really consulted that much with the Royal Astrologer. And seeing that his work was not much appreciated, Royal Astrologer Kai Guju also distanced himself from the Palace.


    The messenger arrived in front of Kai''s home. He got off from his horse and then knocked on the door. "Mr. Kai, I have a message from the Palace."


    A middle aged man opened the door and greeted the messenger. "I thought I would never get a message from the Palace in my lifetime."


    The messenger handed a scroll to the Royal Astrologer and then bowed to him before dashing off towards the Palace.


    Kai opened the scroll and read the message out loud, "Respected Royal Astrologer, you are invited to the Palace by the council under the order from His Majesty. You are expected to see for the auspicious date to conduct the test of the Princes and Princesses. You are to be present at the Palace tomorrow at 10 AM."


    Kai rolled back the scroll and sneered. "They didn''t even remember me for years and now they want my help. Turns out I am not that useless after all."


    ---


    The next day, Kai arrived at the Palace with his astrology books and lunar calendar. The guards led him towards one of the meeting hall which was close to the King''s Court.


    Inside that hall, all of the councilmen were already present, waiting for the Royal Astrologer to arrive. More than the King, and the Princes and Princesses, it seemed as if the councilmen were in a hurry for that event.


    As soon as Kai stepped inside of that hall, all of the councilmen greeted him. All of them were sitting on the cushion on the floor and Gilbert gestured towards the empty cushion at the front and said, "Please take your seat Mr. Kai."


    Kai gracefully sat down on the huge cushion and took out all of his required material from his bag. He arranged the books and calendar by his side. And he also took out a chalk made out of rice flour mixed with red color. Then he started to draw some boxes and symbols on the floor.


    After drawing, he looked at the lunar calendar and then started to write numbers inside the small boxes that he had drawn.


    After doing some careful calculations, Kai looked at all the councilmen who were watching him closely and then puckered his lips.


    One of the councilmen noticed the hesitation in Kai''s eyes and asked, "What happened Royal Astrologer? Is there any problem?"


    Kai sighed and then spoke, "The auspicious day to hold the test of worthiness for the selection of the future ruler would be on the second day after the next full moon. I urge all of you to hold the test on that day no matter what. If you miss that day then there is a chance that no new ruler will be selected in the next 30 years.. You all are lucky that you called me in time."

 Chapter 53 - The Announcement

    When the councilmen heard such a prophecy from the Royal Astrologer, they all looked at each other with a hint of fear lingering in their eyes.


    One of the eldest councilmen, Vincent, was the most worried out of all. He had been looking after King Dragomir since he was still a Prince and was very young. He had been providing insights to the King, teaching him peaceful ways of uniting with several other Kingdoms, and many more. He was proud that under his guidance, Wyverndale had become a peaceful and prosperous Kingdom.


    And now, the Astrologer was telling them that if they were to miss the upcoming auspicious date to conduct the test, there was a chance that no new ruler would be selected for three decades.


    Several thoughts crossed Vincent''s mind. "Is King Dragomir not planning to conduct the test at all? Was that why he was making several excuses yesterday saying that he wanted to postpone the test? Or is it something completely different? Is one of the Royal Children plotting to overthrow King Dragomir and rule over the Kingdom without having to go through the test of worthiness?"


    Councilman Gilbert''s thoughts were also running wild after hearing the prophecy. "Is some catastrophe going to befall on Wyverndale? Is one of our neighboring nations trying to attack on Wyverndale�� maybe Mihir? They have been quiet lately but who know what they are secretly planning to do? Maybe they have found a secret path to deploy their soldiers into our Kingdom."


    Every one of them was making their own speculations and their own bets regarding what disaster would fall upon their Kingdom. That one sentence from Astrologer Kai had stung all the councilmen very badly.


    The Royal Astrologer was however, hoping that no one would ask him what he meant by ''no new ruler would be selected in the next 30 years''. Because he would not dare to answer that question as he felt that it would make the King despise him and his prophecies even more.


    Kai was thankful that everyone was taking their time to process that prophecy in the first place. And they were not asking him to elaborate on that. Now he just wished that the councilmen would greet him goodbye and they would not contact him for another decade or so. He would be happy if they would not contact him in his lifetime.


    Kai was getting restless while waiting for them to say to him that he could now return back to his home, so he himself started to speak, "I know that this prophecy might have come as a shock to you all. But you do not have to worry too much."


    He continued to reassure them so that they would leave him alone, "I just said that there is a possibility of it happening if you were to miss the upcoming auspicious day. Now that you know how badly it will affect the Kingdom, I am sure you all will manage everything and conduct the test on that day."


    Though Kai reassured them that the bad prophecy would not happen unless they were to fail to conduct the test, the councilmen could not help but think what or who would be the main reason behind it. They needed to be cautious and ready for whatever was to come; they wanted to be prepared for it even though the possibility of that prophecy being fulfilled was very minimum.


    Councilman Vincent looked at Kai with inquisitive eyes and put forth his question, "Royal Astrologer, if you would not mind, would you please elaborate why you said that no new ruler will be selected if we were to miss out that particular day?"


    Kai had purposefully not given the reason as to why he had said that. At first, he was even contemplating about whether or not he should mention it. But he thought that it was his duty to warn them of the possible disaster and at last, he had warned them.


    Kai was now in a great dilemma. He had already mentioned the prophecy so it was now his duty to answer other questions related to it. But on the other hand, if he answered their question, he was afraid that the King would punish him for what he was going to say.


    Kai thought for a while and then he looked at Vincent and spoke in a serious tone, "As a Royal Astrologer, it is my duty to warn you all about the possible future. But you all know that His Majesty does not have good terms with me. So, I will only answer you if you all agree on keeping what I am going to say next a secret."


    Seeing how cautious Kai was behaving, Vincent was even more worried about what he was going to say. He glanced at all the other councilmen and then nodded to them, signaling them to keep Kai''s secret.


    And Vincent looked at Kai and spoke as calmly as he could, "We give you our words that we will keep it a secret. So please, tell us the reason behind your prophecy."


    Kai took a deep breath and then said in a melancholic voice, "The King''s life is in danger��"


    ---


    Councilman Vincent was in the King''s Court. He would have given this simple task of informing the King about the date to someone else. But after hearing what Kai had said to them in detail, he thought that he should not be taking any chances and he went to the King to make sure that the test would be conducted on the set date, no matter what.


    "So the auspicious day is less than a month away then?" King Dragomir asked to Vincent to reconfirm.


    Vincent politely bowed his head and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. But you do not have to worry too much. If you make the announcement to the Palace today, the council will prepare the rest."


    Even though it was King''s job to personally oversee the test, Vincent wanted to lift the burden off of the King so that he would not start insisting again that the test should be postponed.


    King Dragomir nodded his head and spoke in his stern voice, "Okay, I will make the announcement in a while then. After that, you can start making the necessary preparations."


    Vincent bowed to the King "I will take a leave for now Your Majesty" and then turned around to leave the King''s Court.


    But King Dragomir stopped him with a question, "Councilman Vincent, are you not feeling well? You are looking very pale."


    Vincent turned back to face the King and tried to smile, "I am fine Your Majesty. I am just a little tired, that is all."


    "You should take a few days off if you are not feeling well." Dragomir was genuinely concerned about Vincent as he was like a father figure to him.


    "I will definitely take leave if I feel unwell. Your Majesty should also care about your own health. Do not just spend too much time here in the Court." Vincent kept on bowing his head to hide his eyes which were full of tears.


    Dragomir smiled and replied, "I will keep that in mind."


    After Vincent left the room, the King spread a white sheet of paper in front of him and then started to scribble on it.


    "This is to notify to all of you that the test of worthiness is scheduled on the second day after the next full moon. All of you are expected to prepare for the test from your side. The location and time of the test will be revealed to you one day prior to the test. All the best to you all!"


    After writing the announcement, King Dragomir stamped his seal on the paper and then rolled it. He then gestured the court guard to take the scroll and ordered, "Give this to the messenger and ask him to visit each and every Prince and Princess personally and deliver this announcement to them."


    He paused for a while and then added, "And after he is done informing the Princes and Princesses, ask him to announce the date to their mothers as well. I am sure they would also want to know."


    "As you wish Your Majesty", the guard bowed to the King and left the hall with the scroll.


    The messenger received the scroll from the court guard and immediately went ahead to fulfill the task. He decided to start delivering the message from the eldest Prince and then thought of moving gradually to the younger ones so that he would not forget to deliver the message to anyone.


    He went to the quarter of the first Prince Edwin and asked the maids to inform the Prince about his arrival. He went inside the quarter of the first Prince and read out the announcement from the scroll. Then he bowed to the Prince and left the room.


    Prince Edwin leaned back on his chair and stared at the ceiling above him. A mirthless smile appeared on his face and his grim voice echoed throughout his room, "At last, it is my time to shine. The era of King Edwin will begin��"


    A cynical cackle could be heard even outside of Edwin''s private chamber.


    The messenger visited each and every Princes and Princesses and then read out the announcement from the King to all of them.


    Some were showing excitement after hearing the announcement while some were nervous even though the only thing that they had been doing for their whole life was preparing for this very test.


    Finally, the messenger reached to his last stop, Princess Adeline''s quarter.


    He went inside the quarter and then as he had done with all the previous ones, he read out the announcement to the Princess and then left the chamber after bowing to her.


    Unlike all the other Princes and Princesses, Adeline did not show any response after hearing the announcement. She was calm and composed. She sat down in front of her study desk and then pulled out her mother''s portrait.


    "Mother, the day that I had been preparing for is finally approaching soon. I promise that I will make you proud.. And I promise that I will avenge your death."

 Chapter 54 - He Is Hurt

    Adeline carefully scrolled back the portrait of her mother and then kept it safely inside her drawer.


    As she had already completed her daily practice routine, she was now happily waiting for Theodore to give her a visit. She wanted to inform him that the day for the test had been chosen and was just less than a month away.


    Adeline never really got to thank Theodore for sharing his power with her and giving her the strength that she had today. It was because of him that she was able to surpass the strength of a normal human body and also it was because of him that she was motivated to push herself to strive for excellence.


    And today, Adeline wanted to thank Theodore from the bottom of her heart.


    However, after the last incident with Osanna, Adeline did not want Theodore to run into any of her maids, even when he was veiling himself. So she had suggested Theodore to only visit her when she would be alone.


    This was not hard for Theodore because he knew Adeline''s routine by heart. And unless there were unexpected visits from someone, Theodore would make sure to teleport to Adeline''s room when he was absolutely sure that Adeline would be alone.


    Hours passed by but Theodore did not appear in front of her.


    Adeline had the ring given by Theodore if she wanted to call him but she did not want to compel Theodore to teleport to her unless it was absolutely necessary.


    It started to get dark and was almost her dinner time. And before her dinner, she went to feed Rion and returned back to her room in time for her dinner.


    Hawisa and Osanna knocked on her door at the usual time. Adeline looked at the door and then shouted, "Come in."


    Hawisa and Osanna set the dinner for Adeline and enthusiastically glanced at the Princess. Hawisa was the first one to speak, "Adeline, we heard that the day for the test was announced today. Aren''t you excited?"


    Adeline grinned widely and nodded her head, "Of course I am excited. But at the same time, I am a little nervous too."


    Osanna furrowed her brows and spoke gently as if she was speaking to her own child, "Adeline, what is there to be nervous about? You have been training, practicing, and studying so hard for this. And you have been working really hard since your childhood."


    Osanna sat down beside Adeline and held her hand, "I remember you forcing yourself to wake up early so that you could duel with Prince Nigel. And you have kept that habit till now. From what I have heard from other maids, I can tell that no one has worked as hard as you. So I don''t see any reason to be nervous about."


    Hawisa also sat on the other side of Adeline and tried to give her encouraging words, "I agree with Osanna on this. You have nothing to be nervous about. You have pushed yourself very hard and trained yourself. And you are not just strong, but sensible and compassionate at the same time. I believe that you have what it takes to be a Queen of Wyverndale."


    Adeline smiled brightly and then looked at both of her maids with loving eyes. Though she did not have a mother to say such encouraging words to her, she had these two. "It''s good to know that you two have more confidence in me than I do."


    She giggled and then continued, "Yes, I have been doing a lot of things and preparing for this test but the thing is I don''t even know what the test is going to be about. I have heard rumors that a deity takes our test. But who is this deity? And what are we supposed to do? Are we going to fight the deity? Or are we going to fight among ourselves; you know like the survival of the fittest?"


    Hawisa hummed for a while and spoke, "I don''t think we are the right person to ask those kinds of questions to. All we know is that whatever the test is going to be, you are going to pass the test."


    "Why don''t you ask your teachers or other Princes or Princesses? Maybe they know something about it." Osanna suggested a possible way to find out the answer.


    Adeline puckered her lips and seemed a bit disappointed, "I have tried asking most of them. But no one seems to have any idea regarding that. Maybe the information is deliberately kept as a secret."


    Hawisa immediately suggested another option, "Have you tried asking the King himself? I mean, he gave the test and passed, right? Who is better to ask those questions to than the one who passed it?"


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "You are right. I tried asking him a lot of times but I don''t know why, I always ended up backed out. Maybe because I know that he is not allowed to give an answer and I feel like if I ask him, I will just put him in an uncomfortable situation."


    "Just try asking him. It doesn''t hurt if he denies answering." Hawisa got up from Adeline''s side and then said, "Alright! We have already made your food cold. Do you want us to bring another hot set for you?"


    Adeline shook her head and politely denied, "No, it''s alright. I don''t want to waste food." And then she sat down to eat her dinner.


    Osanna and Hawisa smiled and bowed to the Princess and left the room.


    After Adeline finished eating her dinner, her maids cleaned up her room and then bowed her goodnight.


    Then Adeline waited for some more time for Theodore to come to her on his own will. But even after waiting for another hour, he did not appear in the room. Adeline started getting anxious about the situation. So she decided to put her ring to use.


    She put her knuckles in between her lips and then softly kissed on the ring. And then she waited for Theodore to teleport in front of her.


    *thud*


    She heard a sound behind her and she swiftly turned around with a smile. But her smiled quickly faded away and she had a look of horror on her face.


    Theodore was lying on the floor, covered in bruises and blood, and unconscious.


    Adeline quickly rushed to his side and dropped on her knees. She shook Theodore and then tried to wake him up, "Theodore�� Theodore�� Please wake up."


    But Theodore did not even flinch. He was completely out cold. His beautiful face was covered in cuts and blue marks. His clothes were covered in blood and there was blood coming out from several parts of his body. He seemed to be badly hurt.


    Seeing Theodore in that condition, Adeline could not control herself. Streams of tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her whole body was shaking like a leaf. And she was starting to feel cold, as if the life force from her body was being drained away.


    What Adeline did not understand was, how? How was he in his current state? He was the most powerful being that Adeline had ever encountered; he was the Devil for God''s sake. And yet someone or something was powerful enough to beat Theodore into pulp.


    Adeline was still calling out Theodore''s name and was muffling her cries. But after some time, she realized that his life depended on her right now. She could not call any healers or any other person for help because then they would know about the Devil visiting her in secret.


    She did not have teleportation ability to take him to his cave; maybe they knew what happened to him and could even heal him. But that was out of the question right now. So she wiped her tears and pulled herself together.


    After gaining her composure, she then got up to get some water. She sprinkled some water on Theodore to try and wake him up but that did not work at all.


    Then using all her strength, she managed to pull Theodore from the cold floor and lay him down on her bed.


    She tore apart his dusty and bloody clothes off of his injured body threw them on the floor. She ran to her bath house and brought a bowl of cold and clean water. She took out a clean towel and rinsed it in the cold water. Then she started to clean the wounds on Theodore''s face and body.


    She felt a continuous pain in her heart seeing all his wounds. There was a cut at the side of his stomach and on his right thigh. There were scars on his chest which seemed as if they were claw marks from some beast. She turned him slightly and she could see cuts on his back as well.


    Adeline''s mind was filled with several thoughts. "Shouldn''t he be self-healed by now? What if he does not heal? Is he going to die? But he is the Devil... Isn''t he supposed to be an immortal? But why do I feel as if I am getting weak, as if his power is leaving my body? What if his life is slowly slipping away? No! That can''t be. I am just worried about him, that''s all."


    Then she checked his breath just to be sure. Thankfully, he was still breathing. But he was not waking up even after so much time.


    She had some herbal ointments in her room that was given to her by the Royal Healer. She had a good stash of it because she would constantly hurt herself in the practice and would need then from time to time.


    She spread the ointment on Theodore''s wounds and bandaged his wounds. Then she covered him with thin sheet of cotton cloth so that his wounds would not get infected.


    Now, Adeline could only hope that his wounds would start to heal soon and that he would regain his consciousness.

 Chapter 55 - [Bonus ] The Fountain

    Theodore''s consciousness was slowly returning back to him. He fluttered his eyes and slowly opened them. His eyes fell on the familiar ceiling and a soft smile appeared on his face. He tried to move his body but the wounds had still not healed and it was very hard for him to even move an inch.


    He slowly turned his head to the side and saw that Adeline was sitting upright beside him but she was dozing off. Then he glanced out of the window to check how much time he was out for. "It is still dark so I must not have been unconscious for much long", he thought.


    Theodore tried to move his hand to wake Adeline up but the wound on his stomach stung him and he let out a small grunt.


    That sound from Theodore was enough to wake Adeline up. She gasped and opened her eyes, and she saw that Theodore was awake. She immediately held his hand and smiled with her eyes full of tears, "Theo! You''re awake!"


    Theodore also smiled back at his little Princess and just made a small approving sound, "Mhmm��"


    Adeline leaned down and gave a warm kiss at the back of his hand. Then she lifted the cotton cloth and checked his wound on his chest. "Why aren''t you healing? Shouldn''t you have healed by now?"


    Theodore slowly parted his wounded lips and whispered, "I have to go home. Come with me okay?"


    Adeline nodded her head and whispered back, "Okay." Then she braced herself and was prepared to teleport.


    Theodore was holding Adeline''s hand with one of his hands and with another he slowly waved it around. Then both of them vanished from Adeline''s room.


    And in another moment, both of them were inside Theodore''s room and were on Theodore''s bed.


    Before cleaning Theodore''s wounds, Adeline had torn all of his clothes off of his body. She had just covered him with a thin sheet of cloth. And when they teleported, that cloth did not teleport with him because to be precise he was not wearing it.


    And the first thing that Theodore did after landing on his own bed was that he looked down at his own body and gave a mischievous glance to Adeline. And then he whispered slowly, "Now I know why I was feeling cold."


    Adeline''s whole face turned red and she shifted her gaze away from Theodore. And then she stuttered, "Hey d-don''t look at me l-l-like that. You h-had wounds all over your b-b-body so I had to t-take off your clothes to clean your wounds."


    "I am not complaining or anything. I''m glad that it was you who cleaned my wounds. Thank you!" Theodore could not help but look at Adeline''s red face with whimsical smile.


    Then he whispered to Adeline again, "Help me up, will you? There is a fountain outside of my room. I need you to take me there."


    Adeline gave a stern look to Theodore and scolded him, "You''re hurt so badly and you want to go to a fountain? Just lie down and rest." Then she looked around and asked, "Where are your clothes? I will bring them to you."


    But before Adeline got off from the bed, Theodore caught her by her wrist and said, "That fountain is my cure. That''s why I am asking you." Then he playfully asked, "Or do you want me to call my maids and let them see me in my full glory?"


    Adeline''s jaw almost dropped to the floor because of what he said later. She narrowed her eyes at him and was about to lash out, "You��" but she clenched her fist and stopped herself.


    She inhaled sharply and spoke in her normal voice, "Come, let''s get you healed first. We will return back to this topic after you are completely healed."


    Theodore could not help but burst into laughter but he instantly regretted it and screamed in pain, "Aaaaaahh!"


    "Shhh!" Adeline caressed his long hair and tried to calm him down. Then she placed her hand below his head and supported him to lift his head. She helped Theodore get up slowly and then shifted his wounded feet to help him climb down the bed.


    Once Theodore got off from the bed, Adeline stood on the left side of Theodore. She slowly lifted Theodore''s left arm and then placed it around her shoulder. She held his hand firmly that was around her shoulder with her own hand and then she carefully wrapped her right arm around Theodore''s waist without touching his wound.


    Theodore''s whole body weight fell on Adeline but still she managed to support him and slowly led him out of his room.


    Theodore was also slowly dragging his feet towards his door. It was apparent that he was hurt very badly. His body stiffened with pain as he walked and his breath was also getting heavy. He was trying his best not to show too much pain to Adeline.


    Adeline opened the door and the exquisite garden that was outside of Theodore''s room came into their view. The garden was as beautiful as she remembered it from her childhood. Faint moonlight was falling on the indoor garden through the dome-shaped glass. Flowers and trees were standing beautifully on the garden.


    And in the middle of the garden, the lone fountain water was glistening in the soft moonlight. As they inched closer to the fountain, they could hear the soothing sound of water trickling down the fountain.


    Adeline and Theodore stood right in front of the huge fountain. Adeline still had no idea how a fountain was supposed to be the Devil''s cure. So she asked in confusion, "What do you want me to do now? Are you going to drink this water? Do you need me to fetch some water for you?"


    Theodore took a deep breath and said, "Help me get inside the fountain."


    At this point Adeline did not even bother asking anything. She just did as he had asked. She placed one of her foot inside the fountain and helped Theodore to move his feet inside the water.


    After Theodore was in the fountain, he sat down and then submerged his whole body in the fountain water.


    Adeline stood right beside him fearing that he might pass out and drown. She was ready to pull him out if he did not stick up his head above the water soon.


    And that''s when she noticed something extraordinary. She thought to herself, "Does this water have magic of some kind?"


    All the wounds, scars, cuts, and bruises that were on Theodore''s body were slowly vanishing. It was as if the wounds were never there in the first place. Seeing him healing so fast, Adeline let out a huge sigh of relief.


    And within a few moments, every little scratch on Theodore''s body vanished. After being fully healed, Theodore got up from the water and stood tall in front of Adeline.


    Adeline''s lips parted softly and a soundless gasp left her lips as she was witnessing the breathtaking view in front of her.

 Chapter 56 - How Many Women?

    Theodore raised both of his hands and pushed his black hair behind his head. His body looked as healthy as ever. He was still wet and his whole body was shining in the moonlight. He looked like the epitome of perfection.


    One thought struck Adeline''s mind, "How can someone look so perfect?"


    Adeline carefully inspected Theodore''s face and thought, "Is it just me or does Theodore really look a little young?"


    Adeline was enchanted by Theodore''s incredibly perfect body and could not help but stare at him. Water droplets were dripping from Theodore''s body and under the moonlight those water droplets seemed as if they were drops of silver.


    Subconsciously, Adeline started to caress her own neck with her fingers. And her sapphire blue eyes started to follow the water droplets falling down from his raven black hair, to his sturdy biceps, then down to his tightly tones chest and stomach, and his strong looking thighs and calves��


    And obviously, Theodore was watching Adeline very intently with a devilish smirk lingering on his lips.


    Adeline''s came out of her trance state when she heard the deep and captivating voice of Theodore.


    "You can drink this water if you are that thirsty." Theodore was pointing his finger at the water that was falling down from the top of the fountain.


    "Or��" Theodore started to lightly rub his finger on his lower lip and continued to speak in his deep but low voice, "�� I can mouth-feed you if you like."


    Once again, Adeline''s face turned red like the daisies that were blooming in Theodore''s garden. She was embarrassed that Theodore had caught her red-handed, drooling over his body.


    Adeline could not even speak a word and she swiftly turned around. She got out of the fountain and ran towards Theodore''s room.


    Theodore followed her with a huge grin on his face. He liked it when Adeline would look at him like he was the most beautiful man in the entire universe.


    Most of the humans and spirits that he had met till now would tremble in his presence. Even the most powerful Kings would not even dare to look at him directly. He was one of the most feared Devils even in the Hell. And here was this tiny woman, who could directly look him in the eyes and would treat him as if he was her world.


    When Theodore entered his room, Adeline had already found his black robe made out of silk. And she presented his robe to him while still looking away from him. "Put it on."


    Theodore chuckled and then took his robe from her hand. Then he slipped into his comfortable robe and immediately lied down on his bed. "You can look at me Adeline, I''m already dressed."


    Adeline turned around to see Theodore back to his usual self, naughty and charming. She also lied down on his bed beside him and cuddled with him. And she asked in a voice full of worry, "Who did that to you Theo?"


    "I had a little scuffle with an old acquaintance of mine." Theodore said it as if it was nothing much to worry about. But deep down, he knew that the matter was very serious.


    Adeline furrowed her brows and asked, "An old acquaintance?"


    "Yes, someone I knew thousands of years ago. I cannot believe she still held her grudge against me even after all these years."


    And out of all the words that Theodore said, one particular word caught Adeline''s attention, ''She''.


    Adeline''s heart beat escalated and her mind ran wild in every possible direction. "Who is this acquaintance that he is talking about? Judging by how she has lived for thousands of years, she must be an immortal. Was she his girlfriend? Wait, what if she was his wife�� what if she is his wife? He has already lived for a thousand of years so it''s not impossible right? How many women has he already been with before me?"


    Theodore felt that Adeline''s body was stiffening. And as if he could read her mind, he told her, "She is a Demoness that I met once, and that was thousands of years ago. You don''t have to worry, you don''t have any competition."


    But that was not enough to answer all the burning questions that were raised in Adeline''s mind. She wanted to know the answer to all her questions but at the same time she was also afraid that his answers would hurt her greatly.


    She knew that he was an ancient being and she speculated that in his long lifetime, he must have had many women to entertain him. Looking at his face, she could only imagine that there must have been tens of thousands of women who would have loved to warm his bed.


    But she hated it. She hated the thought of Theodore lying in bed with some other women. And worse, she was now imagining that she was just another woman to be lying with him.


    Nonetheless, after some courage she was ready to hear his answers, and she asked, "How many women were there in your life before me?"


    Theodore smirked and tried to look at Adeline''s face. But Adeline was hiding her face under his chest and he could not see the expression on her. However, he did not need to see her face to tell how she was feeling right now. He could tell that right now, she was at the crest of jealousy.


    Theodore took a deep breath and said in a monotone, "Actually, I don''t exactly know how many women I have been with before. I stopped keeping the count after a few years of roaming around the Earth. But I can tell how many Goddesses and Angels I have been with. I still remember the number because they were special than the mere mortal women."


    And that right there was a big mistake that Theodore made.


    Adeline jumped out of the bed and ran outside of Theodore''s room, onto the garden and she still kept on walking further. She ran towards the huge wooden door that separated Theodore''s personal space from the other parts of the cave.


    Theodore could feel the stinging pain in his heart and he knew that pain was not his but Adeline''s. "Did I say too much?" he thought and ran after Adeline.


    "Adeline�� Adeline�� wait. I was just joking. I didn''t mean any of that." Theodore was shouting on top of his lungs but Adeline was nowhere to be seen. All he could see was the large wooden door which was left ajar.


    Theodore''s eye color changed to red and he uttered under his breath, "No, no, no�� don''t tell me she went outside." He had already feared the worst.


    And he immediately dashed outside to find Adeline.

 Chapter 57 - The Ghoul

    Adeline thought that she could bear to hear the answer of Theodore to her most dreaded question. But when he said that he had been with so many women that he had lost the count, Adeline just lost it. And when she heard him say the words ''mere mortal women'', her blood started to boil.


    So in the fit of her rage, she thought of returning back to the Palace by walking. She was ready to walk for hours during the night and through the difficult terrain of the hill, rather than stay another second with Theodore.


    So she jumped out of the bed and ran out of the room and out of the safe space. Yes, safe space. Theodore''s room and the garden were the only safe spaces inside the Devil''s Cave.


    She was only safe with the Devil himself because the cave was full of several creatures�� dark creatures.


    Excluding the human maids and servants, there were a total of 72 mystical creatures residing inside the cave. They were all followers and servants of Theodore but none of them had any idea about Adeline.


    And that was the reason why Theodore was terrified. He was terrified that his followers would harm Adeline. Or worse, if she was found by human''s flesh eating phantom called ghoul, then it would tear Adeline apart in a matter of seconds.


    Theodore had given strict order to the ghoul saying that it was not allowed to feast on the humans who worked inside the cave. But he had not given the same order regarding Adeline. He regretted not introducing Adeline to all of his 72 followers and 14 humans.


    "Adeline�� Adeline�� stop where you are and come back." He was frantically looking here and there for the sign of Adeline and was shouting hoping that she would listen to him and return back.


    He ran through the dark corridor and finally reached to the well-lit area. His servants and followers used most of the rooms and some of them were used for purposes like kitchen, recreation, training, and more.


    Theodore ran across a winged creature called Blood Fairy and stopped her. Then he roared in a frightening voice, "Have you seen a human female walking from here?"


    The Blood Fairy did not even dare to look at him and just bowed her head in fear, "No Master."


    Theodore immediately ran forward in search of his foolish human. Next, he came across a human maid and asked her in the same threatening voice, "Did you see a human female just now?"


    "I have not, master" the maid replied in a trembling voice.


    Theodore was now shouting to himself and was running around desperately, "Why did I have to lie to her? I could have just said the truth. I had to ruin everything, didn''t I? Now where could she be? She is definitely not faster than me, so where is she hiding? Or is someone purposely hiding her?"


    "Or did Izel already find her?" Theodore then turned around and went towards the room of Izel, the Ghoul.


    Izel had really keen sense of smell, especially when it came to humans. He could tell by smelling which of the humans would taste the best. Normally, he would just rob the graves of the dead so as not to raise fear among the nearby villages. It was strictly forbidden by Theodore. But Theodore had not said anything about not harming an intruder. And right now, as Adeline had not been introduced to anyone and as she did not walk inside the cave from the front gate with Theodore, she would be deemed as an intruder.


    Theodore quickly reached outside of Izel''s door. Then he flung open the door to check if he had already taken Adeline as a hostage.


    And to his horror, Adeline was pinned down on the floor ready to be turned into a meal. And when she saw Theodore at the door, tears fell down through her scared eyes like waterfall.


    Though Adeline had powers of Theodore flowing through her, it would only protect her from magic attacks and not physical attacks. And though Adeline was strong, she was not strong enough to take down a Ghoul on her own.


    The Ghoul had long and thin body structure as if he was starved of proper meal from hundreds of years. His feet had three toes each and his hands also had three fingers each.


    His fingers were very long and were very pointed at the tip, which was his perfect weapon to tear off the flesh from the humans. His teeth were as sharp as knives and his eyes looked as if it would scare the living human to death. To sum up, he looked like a nasty creature from a nightmare.


    There were several scratches on Adeline''s arms and stomach from the long and sharp fingers of the Ghoul. One of the fingers of Izel had pierced through Adeline''s hand and was still inside. Blood was oozing out from the wound and was accumulating on the floor.


    And when Theodore saw the condition that Adeline was in, he lost his control. In a deep and menacing voice he roared at the Ghoul, "Izel! Leave her" and then without even giving Izel a chance to stand up and get away, Theodore sprinted towards him and threw a punch.


    And with just a single punch, Izel flew in the air and his body slammed against the wall really hard. Izel spitted blood from his mouth. He seemed to be badly injured.


    Theodore was still not satisfied by just throwing him a single punch for nearly eating his beloved. He wanted to kill Izel. But he controlled himself and directed his glance at Adeline.


    His little human seemed to have put up quite a fight with the Ghoul to have survived long enough for him to find her. If she was not strong enough, then the first thing that Izel would have sliced through was her neck.


    Theodore picked Adeline up in his arms with great care. And before leaving the room, he glanced at the wounded Ghoul and said in an intimidating voice, "This is my woman. You are not to lay a single finger on her. If I ever find you putting even a single scratch on her, I will kill you myself."


    The Ghoul did not even dare to speak and just bowed to his master.


    Theodore carried Adeline out of the Ghoul''s room and then walked towards his own room. On the way, Theodore''s several followers and maids saw him carrying a female human as if she was a delicate little flower.


    In their long lives, none of them had ever seen Theodore talking nicely to a woman. And now they were witnessing something so unlikely of their master. He was caring so much about a woman that he was carrying her; the person who despised a single touch from others was carrying her!


    Theodore took Adeline straight to the fountain and slowly submerged her in the water. And almost immediately, her wounds and scratches were completely healed. Seeing her completely fine, his eyes finally changed back from burning red to golden.


    Theodore took her out of the water and carried her in his arms again. Then he stepped out of the fountain with Adeline and started to walk towards his room.


    Adeline felt rejuvenated after getting out of the water. She felt as if even the energy in her body were restored. So she asked with curiosity, "What kind of water is this? Is it magic?"


    Theodore chuckled and then said in his soft voice, "You nearly got killed by a Ghoul and that is the first question you ask? Well, this is the fountain of eternal youth. It can heal you and keep you young forever."


    Adeline nodded and then asked again, "Is that why you look so young?"


    "No! I look young because I am young.." Theodore replied with a wide smile.

 Chapter 58 - Sleep Here

    After reaching inside the room, Theodore gently placed Adeline on the floor, letting her stand on her own. Then he quickly brought a towel and started to dry Adeline''s silver hair.


    Adeline quietly stood there and let him dry her without protesting. From the way Theodore threw that blow to the Ghoul, and the warning that he gave to that Ghoul afterwards, she realized how much he cared about her.


    In her anger, she had forgotten how much Theodore liked to joke around to try and make her angry. And without him telling her anything, she understood that Theodore was just trying to poke fun at her.


    "Why did you run off like that my little human? Were you that hurt by what I said?" Theodore was looking at her with apologetic eyes.


    Adeline looked down on the floor and spoke softly, "I would be lying if I said I was not hurt by your words. I was so enraged that I was thinking of walking all the way back to the Palace but my plan got ruined because I got attacked by that creature."


    Theodore wrapped Adeline''s body with the towel and lifted her chin to make her look him in the eyes. "What if you I had reached there a little late? You could have been ki��" he was unable to complete the sentence fearing that if he said it out loud, it might come true.


    "But you found me in time, didn''t you?" Adeline gave a mirthless smile.


    Theodore pushed Adeline''s silver hair behind her ears and cupped her cheeks. "Adeline, what I said earlier was not true at all. I was just�� I was just being an insensitive fool."


    Theodore''s golden eyes looked deep into Adeline''s eyes as he spoke, "It might be a little hard to believe considering how long I have lived but I assure you that I have never been with another woman other than you. I was never really into the worldly pleasure; you know I hated to be even touched."


    And then he slid his hand behind Adeline''s waist and pulled her closer to him. Then he whispered in his deep and hypnotizing voice, "And I have never considered you as a mere mortal, I consider you as my life-force. You are the one who motivates me to get out of the bed every day. You have turned my long and boring life into an exciting one. You have filled my life with joy and thrill."


    Adeline gave a warm smile but did not say a word.


    "Are you still angry with me?" Theodore could not bear her silence.


    "No, I''m just feeling a little cold." Adeline turned her head to the side and sneezed multiple times. "I am not used to drowning myself in the cold water."


    "Ah! I keep forgetting that you are not just a warrior but also a Princess." Theodore walked towards his wardrobe while chuckling.


    Adeline furrowed her brows and took a defensive stance, "Hey, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to say that I am weak?"


    "Not at all, I am just trying to say that you are taken care of really well."


    Theodore shuffled through his clothes and took out a warm looking robe. And then he handed it over to Adeline and said, "Change into this. I don''t want you catching cold or fever."


    Adeline took the robe from his hand and then kept on staring at him hoping he would turn around, but he just kept on staring back at her. "Theo! Will you please turn around, so that I can change?"


    Theodore had a very mischievous grin on his face and he replied, "You saw me without my clothes earlier. So it is only fair that I get to see you in your full glory."


    Adeline tried to hide her smile by shouting at him, "How can you be so shameless?" Then she grabbed the towel from her shoulder and threw it at Theodore, covering his face. "Don''t you dare take that towel off until I say so."


    Adeline quickly took off her night gown and then slipped into the oversized robe of Theodore.


    What she did not realize was that even though it was somewhat blurry, Theodore was still able to see her through the towel. And he was enjoying the view with a smirk on his face.


    "You can take that towel off now." Adeline said in her sweet voice.


    Theodore grinned widely because Adeline was really looking like a cute little human in his robe. The robe was too long for her and it was flowing behind her as if it was a cape with a long train.


    He felt like running to her and squeezing her cheeks really hard. But he managed to control his urge to do so and smoldered his eyes and said, "Cute!"


    He was reminded of the first time that they had met, when she was still a toddler. And he thought to himself, "I can''t believe how fast the time has passed. And I can''t believe that I fancy that toddler now."


    "I think we still have a few hours left before the night ends. Why don''t you sleep with me here tonight? I will take you back to your Palace in the morning." Theodore was looking at Adeline with expectation. He had just witnessed Adeline being attacked almost to death and he did not want to leave her alone. Not just because of that, there were other reasons as well.


    And to be honest, Adeline also didn''t want to leave Theodore''s side after going through the whirlwind of unfortunate events. "Okay. Let''s get some sleep then."


    Adeline trotted towards the bed while letting the long robe sweep across the floor. And after she climbed on the bed, Theodore spread out the blanket on top of her to make her feel warm and cozy. He also slipped inside the blanket by Adeline''s side. And then pressed his body against hers and hugged her tightly.


    Adeline tried closing her eyes to get some sleep but she was unable to. She still wanted to ask something to Theodore. She opened her eyes and saw that Theodore was also staring at her. "Theo, why do you have so many dangerous creatures in your cave?"


    Theodore hummed for a while and then said, "They are not that dangerous if you know how to control them. All of them are my loyal followers and they have been with me for longer than you can imagine. Some of them are with me from the time when I used to reside in heaven."


    It came quite as a surprise to Adeline when she heard that Theodore knew them since maybe the beginning of time. "Really? They are that old? And you are telling me that those creatures were allowed to stay in heaven? Aren''t they bad creatures?"


    "Not all of them are bad, among the lot outside there are some fairies as well. And besides, all creatures have their own purposes. Those that are here were just given tasks which were considered as lowly or bad as you said." Theodore''s expression said that he pitied them and that he knew what it was like to be termed as ''bad''.


    He kept on describing how he had managed to gather so many interesting beings. "And when I was banished from heaven, they were also thrown out along with me. After roaming around the Earth for some years, I found some of the interesting beings and took them under my wing. And some of them, I brought from hell because I saw potential in them."


    Theodore noticed Adeline''s questioning eyes. Without her saying, he could tell that she did not like those beings. And he could not blame her after one of them nearly killed her.


    Theodore tried his best to make her understand why he had kept so many dangerous beings with him, "Where there is good, there needs to be evil as well in order to create a balance. And whenever humans start to go off the rails, my task is to bring them to their good behavior by showing them fear that is far greater than they can imagine."


    But Adeline was still confused and she questioned him, "But didn''t you say you are not supposed to get involved in human''s affairs?"


    "I am not allowed to lash out because of my own selfish gains. However, I am allowed to step in when the human race as a whole starts to deviate from their path."


    Adeline pouted her lips and then nodded her head softly. And she took a deep breath and tucked her head against Theodore''s chest.


    Theodore placed a kiss on her head and then closed his eyes to try and get some sleep.


    But he was immediately woken up by Adeline.


    Adeline looked at him as if she had suddenly remembered something important. "Theo, I forgot to tell you the one thing that I had wanted to tell you."


    "What is it?" Theodore asked curiously.


    "The day for the test of worthiness has been finalized. It was announced today. It is going to take place on the second day after the coming full moon." Adeline was a little nervous when she said that. She was reminded that the day was close.


    Theodore caressed Adeline''s silver hair and assured her, "You are going to perform well. Don''t worry."


    Adeline smiled and looked into Theodore''s beautiful eyes. "Thank you for making me who I am today.. Thank you for making me stronger and wiser."

 Chapter 59 - An Old Acquaintance

    Earlier today, Theodore had actually teleported to Adeline''s room but only to find out that she had some audience with her. He had visited her at the exact same time when the messenger of the Palace was making the announcement to Adeline.


    Just like the Mystic Coven, Theodore had also felt the barrier of the three worlds merging. And because he was the Devil, he was able to pinpoint the location of where that had happened.


    And while he was already near that area, he thought of visiting the place where the barrier was breached. Theodore instantly teleported to the forest where the guards were actively guarding a cave-like entrance.


    "Hmm�� so this is where the King keeps all his prisoners then." Theodore mumbled to himself and teleported inside the prison. He sensed the remains of dark aura from one of the prison cell and then headed near to that cell for closer inspection.


    He walked inside the cell and bent over to see the floor. There he could still see the traces of black ash that had been used to draw the magic circle. He narrowed his eyes because he knew what had been used. "A summoning spell��"


    Theodore''s forehead had deep frown lines because he knew instantly who was behind all this. "There is only one witch near this area who can easily gain access to this prison. It seems like I have to scare her some more."


    Then he teleported once again and reappeared inside of Lillian''s private chamber.


    Lillian was wearing full black clothes and had a dark makeup on. She really did live up to her evil witch persona right now. She had drawn a magic circle on the floor and she was sitting right in front of it, to practice and perfect her summoning spells.


    Lillian had closed all the curtains of her room to make it seem as if it was night time. The only light source in her room was coming from a few candles that she had lighted by the side of the magic circle.


    When Theodore teleported inside the room the candles started to flicker madly, as if they were reacting to his presence inside the room.


    And Lillian also instantly recognized the aura. "You are here." Lillian said as if she was able to see Theodore.


    Theodore knew that she could not see him because he was standing behind Lillian and she was not looking at the direction where he was standing at. She was looking at the corner where curtains were moving because of the wind.


    Theodore recognized the magic circle and knew that it was ready to be used. But before he could interfere, Lillian pricked her finger and dropped her blood on the circle then started to chant the spell.


    And this time the dark mist was appearing inside the room as if it was a strong tornado. The look on Theodore''s face changed because he knew who or what level of mystical being would appear after this. He could only hope that whoever appeared, they would be the ones who were friendly to him.


    The tornado-like mist soon dissolved and when it settled, in place of the mist, both Theodore and Lillian could see a seductive figure standing inside the circle.


    Both Lillian and Theodore were looking at the figure from the back. Lillian knew exactly whom she had called but Theodore could not quite find out if it was someone who he knew.


    The figure standing inside the circle cracked her neck and angrily shouted, "Why do these pesky humans try to annoy me by summoning me? And who the hell is foolish enough to summon a Demoness?"


    The Demoness turned around to see who had summoned her but her eyes fell on Theodore first. "Well, well, well, what a sweet surprise!"


    Theodore gave a fake smile to her because he recognized who it was. He had never even imagined in his dream that he would be running into her ever again.


    Lillian realized that the powerful aura emitting ''spirit'' was standing behind her which made her get up and jump to the side of the Demoness. She had believed that a spirit was haunting her, so she had decided to summon someone who was from the highest class of evil. She believed that it would help her subdue that spirit or get rid of it forever.


    Lillian glanced at the Demoness who was far taller than her and spoke in a commanding voice, "Lilith, I have summoned you to get rid of the spirit that is in this room right now. It has been haunting me since over a decade now. I cannot see it but I know you can."


    Yes, the evil witch had just summoned the first ever woman that was created by God who was later corrupted and turned into the first ever Demoness.


    Lilith glared down at Lillian sending chills down her spine with just one look. "You do not speak to me in that tone human. I am not your puppet for you to order me around."


    But as a desperate move, witch Lillian sprinkled another drop of her blood on the magic circle to make the bond between the evoker and the summoned stronger. Then she demanded again, "With the bond of the blood, I ask you to kill the spirit that is in this room."


    Lilith sneered and then mocked the Queen, "Don''t think very highly of yourself you measly witch. Your magic is not that powerful to bind me."


    Then the Demoness took out her sharp sword and looked at Theodore with a sinister smile on her face, "But I will kill him because I have to settle an old score that has been haunting me for tens of thousands of years."


    Then Lilith stepped out of the magic circle that was meant to bind her.


    Queen Lillian was shocked to see this because the book had clearly mentioned that a human sacrifice was required for the summoned to be able to walk out of the circle. But she had not made any human sacrifice on the circle that she had drawn. "How is she able to walk out of it? Is a drop of my blood considered as a human sacrifice?"


    What the witch did not realize was that she had just summoned the most powerful Demoness who would not be bound by a simple dark magic. She was the embodiment of darkness, one of the mistresses of dark power. And there was no way a simple witch could control the Demoness of her level unless she was a Supreme Dark Sorceress.


    Before the Demoness could take another step, the witch shouted to her, "Make sure you kill it."


    The Demoness gave a deadly stare to Lillian and then warned her, "Again, you do not give me orders. And if you ever try to summon me again, I will slice that throat of yours."


    Then the Demoness grabbed onto Theodore by his collar and vanished from there, making Lillian wonder if she had killed the spirit or not.


    Theodore had stood quietly because he did not want Lillian to hear his voice and figure out that he was not a spirit. And he did not move from his spot even when he had chance because he did not want to create commotion in the Palace. He did not want Lilith to go on a killing spree while in search for him.


    Lilith had taken Theodore to a part of Hell which belonged to her. Even though Theodore visited the gambling house of Hell almost every day, he and Lilith had never encountered each other because the Hell was vast and there were some rules regarding which place belonged to whom. And as Lilith was not the ruler of Hell dimension, she had to abide by some of the rules set by the King of Hell.


    "Finally, after thousands of years of waiting, I am going to take my sweet revenge." Lilith roared as she pointed her sword at Theodore and took a fighting stance.


    Theodore gave a devilish smirk and tried to make a joke, "It is nice to meet you too Lilith. But I think you stole my line there. That is usually what I say to my enemies."


    But without entertaining Theodore''s sly talks, Lilith gave out a loud battle cry and then charged at him with her sword.


    Theodore just stood there thinking he would not be hurt by some simple sword. But that was his mistake to assume that it was just a simple sword. It was a sword that was forged in hellfire, which was capable of hurting even the Devil King.


    A swift slice was made by Lilith across Theodore''s stomach and even though he dodged, the tip of the sword managed to slide through his muscle.


    Theodore felt an excruciating soreness and winched in pain. Then he gritted from between his teeth, "That hurt�� like hell."


    Lilith gave a sinister smirk and then replied, "You are damn right! This sword was forged in hellfire. So it will hurt like hell."


    While Theodore was still trying to process his pain, Lilith came at him again while shouting, "This is for corrupting me and making me go through hell..."


    She delivered another blow to Theodore''s thigh and smiled, "Not that I don''t like being in hell now. In fact I have to thank you for making me realize that I was not meant to be subdued by a man. You made me look bad in front of the almighty but you also made me realize that I could be much more than just a mortal who served as a decoration for Earth."


    She delivered another cut on Theodore''s back and shouted, "Which is why I have decided not to kill you. But I will give you the pain which I felt for a long long time."


    She put the sword back in its sheath and while Theodore was still in pain and screaming, she started to deliver punch after punch on Theodore''s face and stomach. Theodore could have fought back if he wanted to but he had always felt guilty for doing such injustice to her. So he let her vent out all her anger on him that she had been bottling since a long time.


    Lilith continued to punch him, scratch him, kick him and do everything that she could to hurt him. Theodore was covered in bruises and scratches but still, he did not try to defend even once. And after what felt like an hour of taking beating, Theodore finally fell down to the ground.


    Lilith looked at his body full of injuries and she finally felt a little satisfied. "Now we are even."


    But before she could do anything else, Theodore''s body was covered in dark mist and he vanished from there.

 Chapter 60 - Source Of Aura

    Queen Lillian was clueless as to whether or not the Demoness that she had summoned had killed that evil spirit or not. She wanted to be sure about that but she could not dare to summon Lilith again to confirm it.


    Lilith had clearly mentioned that she would kill Lillian if she tried to summon her again. And she also knew that her magic was not enough to bind the Demoness inside the magic circle.


    So now, all she could do was hope that the Demoness had finished the spirit. Judging by the way the Demoness was talking about that spirit haunting her as well, not just for a decade but for tens of thousands of years, she wanted to believe that now one of her many problems was over.


    Now, she wanted to focus on strengthening her black magic so that she would be powerful enough to bind even the most powerful Demons in her magic circle. There was no use of being able to summon them if one was unable to control them.


    She wanted to practice her black magic spells as well as summoning spells on real people. And there was no better place for her to practice than in the dungeons. They were all criminals and nobody would be too upset with criminals dying. At least that was what she believed.


    And after everyone, including the maids and servants of the palace, had finished their tasks for the night and were deep in their sleep, Lillian sneaked out of her chamber.


    In order to go to the dungeons one had to pass through the gate that was right behind the King''s Court. And when Lillian reached beside the King''s Court, she felt something. She was able to sense the aura of the ''spirit'' that had been tormenting her. However, the aura was extremely faint.


    If it was any other time, then probably Lillian would have not noticed. But it was night time and all the other people''s aura was not interfering with the distinct aura that she would never be able to forget.


    She contemplated for some time whether or not to go towards the direction from where the aura was coming from. But she was too curious to know.


    Lillian tapped her long fingernails on her fist and then thought to herself, "What if I am sensing a very weak aura because the Demoness successfully killed that spirit? Or at least she must have hurt it very badly and left it around here somewhere."


    Then a wide smile appeared on her face. She thought that her plan had actually worked. Now all she needed to do was to confirm it. She had already cast an invisibility spell on her and now she was inching closer to the place from where the aura was being emitted.


    And following the trail, she was now standing outside of Adeline''s private chamber. She furrowed her brows and thought, "Why would the Demoness drop that spirit here?" She paused for a while and then shrugged her shoulders, "Why does it matter? The only thing that matters is that it is dead or it is weak enough so that I can finish it off."


    After thinking that, Lillian walked like a cat and then went inside the Princess''s quarter. With her invisibility spell on, she was able to move freely without being detected.


    And the closer she was to the aura, the more cautious she was becoming. She did not want to underestimate that spirit. Considering how old the spirit was, she knew where its powers came from. So she was not going to take any chances.


    However, the closer she got, the lines on her forehead started seem deeper and deeper. Because that aura was coming from Adeline''s room. "Out of the entire places in the Palace, why is that aura coming from that particular room?"


    She quietly unlocked the door to Adeline''s chamber and then entered inside the room. She was currently in the outer chamber where the meetings would be held. And cautiously, she entered inside the private chamber of Adeline, making sure not to wake Adeline up in the process.


    But when she entered the room, her eyes were wide open at the scene. She could see bloody and torn up black clothes on the floor. And the bed sheet was covered in blood. And to add more, Adeline was nowhere to be seen.


    Lillian froze for a moment because she did not know what to make out of the situation. Her mind was unable to comprehend what she was seeing. And she was also worried that she might get surprise attack from the spirit so she was not moving at all. All of her senses were alert for any incoming attacks.


    "What is the meaning of all this?" Lillian''s heart beat was escalating at a great rate. If there was anyone nearby, she was sure that they could find her by hearing her heart beat alone. But thankfully, no one was around, or so it seemed.


    She closed her eyes and then took deep breaths in and exhaled slowly to calm her nerves. Then she started to put her mind to work.


    "It looks like that cloth on the floor was the source of that same aura that had been haunting me for so long. It means it must belong to that spirit." Then she opened her eyes and stepped closer to the cloth to take a good look at it.


    "But spirits are mostly intangible. They should not be leaving behind any clothing items like this. And judging by these clothes, it must have a similar body structure like that of a human. That means�� I was never haunted by a dark spirit! It must be a mystical being, and a powerful and old one at that."


    Lillian then moved towards the bed to examine the blood. She tried to touch it but the blood had already dried up on the bed sheet and she could not quite tell whether the blood was from Adeline or the mystical being.


    Then she came up with her own theory. "Why would the mystical being''s blood be on the bed? It must be of Adeline''s." A sinister smile took over her face as she thought this.


    "Judging by the condition of the cloth, that being must have been severely hurt by the Demoness. And then maybe that being ended up in Adeline''s room somehow. Unlucky girl! It must have wanted to replenish the lost power and must have feasted on the food sleeping right here on this bed."


    Lillian wanted to laugh but suppressed it and just grinned widely. "I had never been able to kill that filthy lovechild no matter what I did. But it appears that she was destined to be food for some mad mystical being."


    "I can always summon another Demon to take care of that evil spirit�� mystical being or whatever. But I have to thank it for eating away my eyesore. Perfect! I have to go and celebrate the death of the lovechild." Lillian delightedly turned around.


    But before walking out of the room, she wanted to check everywhere for any sign of Adeline or that mystical being. She looked around for more evidences of struggle or pieces of Adeline''s body. She even went to the bath house and other rooms to see if there any sign of the Princess.


    After looking around everywhere, she concluded, "She must have been finished off on her bed. Or maybe that thing took her with it. Whatever it may be, I am sure that she is already dead by now."


    And then she walked out of the room after making sure that the evidence of murder was intact.


    Lillian was so happy that she forgot that she had originally heading for the dungeon and she now was heading towards her own quarter.


    While returning back to her quarter, she could not contain her happiness and was chuckling once in a while and hopping. There was a guard nearby who was on his night duty. It was safe to say that because of the chuckle, half of his soul left his body and he was too scared to even check what had made the noise.


    After reaching to her personal chamber, Lillian poured herself a glass of alcohol and sat down on her elaborate bed. She could not describe how happy she was right now. She was feeling as if she had finally won against her husband who had never cared about her or her sons.


    She took a sip of alcohol from her glass and smiled mirthlessly. "Dragomir, I finally won against you. I did not even have to kill your dear daughter. She was taken care of by another being. This is what happens when you make Lillian miserable. Now look at you�� you are the one who is miserable."


    Then she emptied her glass and then started to dance around the room like a mad witch. She would cackle once in a while sending chills down the spines of the maids and servants of her quarter.


    Ida, Lillian''s personal maid, was startled from her sleep by the sinister cackle. And she had a worried look on her face, "Whenever she laughs like this, something bad happens. We hear some bad news the day after. I wonder what she did this time."


    Although most of the maids and servants of Lillian had some idea about the evil things that Lillian did, they never dared to speak a word against her.. They feared that they would end up being the bad news and kept their mouth shut.

 Chapter 61 - Bed Sheet

    After the eventful night, Adeline woke up in Theodore''s bed at the usual time that she would wake up every day. Even though she slept for only a few hours, her energy was already replenished from the fountain.


    After opening her eyes, a soft smile appeared on Adeline''s lips as her eyes fell on the most attractive Devil who was by her side, sleeping soundly. And a sweet thought danced in her mind, "I could get used to this sight every morning."


    The Princess was still in Theodore''s robe, so she decided to change back to her own night gown while Theodore was still sleeping. She slid out of the bed and grabbed her gown which had dried by now. Then she changed into it and was ready to return back to her own room.


    However, Theodore was so deep in his sleep and he looked so serene that Adeline did not want to disturb him from his dreamland. But she remembered the state that her room was in. She had to return back to Palace in time to fix everything before her maids found the disastrous state of the room. And she definitely did not want the Palace to be turned upside down thinking she was kidnapped again.


    Adeline stood by the side of the bed and leaned towards Theodore. She softly placed her palm on Theodore''s chiseled jaw and whispered his name, "Theo..."


    But rather than waking up, Theodore placed his hand over Adeline''s hand and kept on sleeping.


    Adeline chuckled and then tried to wake him up again, "Theodore, get up. We have to return back before my maids come to my room."


    But Theodore pulled Adeline''s hand and made her land on top of him. "Theo!" Adeline chuckled and tried to get up but Theodore placed both of his arms around her and held her tightly.


    And he whispered, "Stay like this for a while. Give me a few more moments."


    Defeated, Adeline rested her head on Theodore''s chest and let him sleep for some more time.


    After cuddling for some time, Adeline pushed his hands away and jumped out of the bed. "Alright my Devil Prince, take me to my chamber. I don''t want my maids to think that I was kidnapped again. They might even think that I died if they see that blood on my bed."


    Theodore slowly got out of his warm bed and then stood next to Adeline. He held out his hand for Adeline to hold and slightly bowed his head as if he was asking for a dance, "I shall be obliged to take your order my Princess. Are you ready to travel faraway?"


    Adeline glowed like a full moon as she laughed to her heart''s content. She also dramatically gave her hand to Theodore and said, "Yes, I am ready Your Highness."


    And in an instant, both of them disappeared from there and reappeared in Adeline''s room.


    The first thing that Adeline realized was that she had a lot of work to do, if she did not want anyone to find traces of blood in her room.


    She placed her hands on her waist and took a deep breath in. "Theodore, I am going to sound rude but��" she pointed her finger at Theodore''s bloody clothes lying on the floor and continued "��I want you to take those clothes back with you. I don''t want anyone to find them here." And she gave an innocent smile to Theodore.


    Theodore also smiled back and replied, "How can I deny anything when you smile at me like that? And of course, I would have taken them even if you had not asked me to. Those clothes still have some power and I don''t want anyone to come across them, especially someone from other worlds."


    Adeline knitted her brows and asked, "Other worlds? Why would anyone or anything from other worlds come here?"


    Theodore''s face turned grim and he retorted under his breath, "They will come here because someone has learned to summon them."


    Adeline did not quite catch what he had mumbled and asked, "Umm�� you said something?"


    Theodore shook his head and tried to smile, "No. I just want to take some precautions. I have made some enemies along my long lifetime. So it doesn''t hurt to be cautious."


    Theodore thought that Adeline already had a lot of things in her plate, a lot of things to worry about. And right now, he did not want to add some more burdens on her. He vowed to himself that he would warn Adeline about Lillian''s progress after she had completed her test. That way, she would at least have one less tension.


    "Okay, I will get going now. I see that you have a lot of work to do." Theodore picked up his clothes from the floor and pointed at the bed sheet covered in blood, "Do you want me to take the bed sheet as well? I presume that you don''t know how to clean blood from the sheet. I can dispose them for you."


    Adeline clapped her hands and was happy with the suggestion, "That would be so helpful. I honestly don''t know how to clean that blood."


    Theodore went ahead and pulled out the bed sheet from the bed and rolled it on his hand. He gazed at Adeline and whispered, "See you later little human." And then he vanished from the room.


    Adeline rushed to her bath house and brought a bucket of water and a piece of cloth to her room. There were stains of blood left on the floor and she stared at it for some time. Being a Princess, she never had to do any chores like cleaning the floor. But she had to do it if she did not want her maids to see blood stains and think that she had been hurt.


    "How hard can it be right?" She soaked the cloth in the water and then proceeded to clean the floor. And it was safe to say that she was doing a bad job because now there was water everywhere on the floor. She was making even greater mess.


    But she seemed to be happy with her work and smiled by looking at the floor, "Okay, at least I cannot see the blood stains anymore."


    She returned back the bucket and cloth to its original place and then looked at her bed. "I never had to think about this before but where do they keep the clean bed sheets?"


    She went to her wardrobe to search for bed sheets but she could not find anything except her own clothes. She went to the bath house to check there. But all that she could find in there were towels and herbs. At last she just gave up and sat on the floor of her bath house. She thought that coming up with a lie would be easier than searching for the bed sheets.


    While she was busy searching for the bed sheet, she did not hear the knock on her door. She was still in her bath house when her maids walked in.


    "Adeline, are you still asleep today? You didn''t answer us." Osanna softly spoke as she walked inside the private chamber of Adeline.


    Hawisa did not notice the wet floor and she nearly slipped because of it. "Why is there water everywhere on the floor?"


    "And where is the bed sheet?" Osanna pointed at the bed and furrowed her brows.


    Hawisa looked all around the room and exclaimed in fear, "Where is the Princess?"


    Osanna covered her mouth with both of her hands and spoke in a muffled voice, "Did someone roll Adeline in her bed sheet and kidnap her?"


    Hawisa dropped down on the wet floor and began to cry while screaming on top of her voice, "Adeline�� Why do they keep on kidnapping our Princess?" Then she started to splash her feet on the floor and shouted, "Where are you Adeline?"


    Adeline finally heard her maids crying out her name and she shouted from the bath house, "I am in here."


    She quickly soaked her hands and feet in cold before the maids came in.


    Hawisa and Osanna both ran inside the bath house as if their life depended on how fast they ran. Both of them hugged the Princess like she was really kidnapped and was finally found.


    Hawisa looked at Adeline''s body frantically and asked, "You are not hurt anywhere, are you? I think I smelled blood in your room."


    Adeline nervously chuckled because after all the work that she had done to remove the blood stain, Hawisa still found out because of the smell. But she tried to act as if nothing was wrong, "Blood? What blood? I am totally fine Hawisa."


    Then it was Osanna''s turn to question. "Then why are you here? Why are you wet? Why is your room wet? And where is the bed sheet? I thought someone rolled you in it and kidnapped you."


    Adeline could not help but chuckle. "What? Do you think I am that weak that someone could just roll me in a bed sheet and take me away?"


    Then she threw them with a lie, "There is no sheet on my bed because I threw it away. I was feeling itchy and that''s why I came here to soak myself." She looked at her maids as if she knew nothing about what was wrong and asked, "And why are you asking so many questions? Why are you two behaving like this?"


    Hawisa glared at Osanna and smacked at the back of Osanna''s head, and scolded her, "Why did you have to say that she was kidnapped? I had so many bad thoughts because of you."


    "Ouch, that hurt!" Osanna shouted back and was ready to fight her.


    Adeline sighed and thought to herself, "I should be more careful from now on."

 Chapter 62 - Temper Tantrum

    Queen Lillian could not sleep a wink for whole night. She kept on waiting impatiently for the morning to come because she was desperate enough to see the look on Dragomir''s face when he would hear the news about the possible murder of his dear daughter.


    And when the morning light finally started to shine outside, she quickly took a refreshing bath and dressed in her best gown. There was a different kind of glow in her face. She was unable to hide her euphoric feeling.


    When Ida was helping the Queen to get dressed, she could not help but notice that Lillian was extremely happy. She had never seen her like this except two times. Once was when Dragomir was coming to see Lillian in her quarter after their marriage; and the next time was when Auvera had died.


    After getting out of the Queen''s room, Ida''s forehead was covered with frown lines. And she could only think two things, "Either something really great happened to her sons, or something worse happened to someone else. But considering how she was laughing like a mad witch in the middle of the night, I think it is the latter."


    Usually Lillian would not come out of her private chamber early in the morning. But today was an exception. She was happily roaming outside of her quarter. And the reason behind it was to listen to what the maids and servants were talking about.


    The fastest way to get some news that happened inside the Palace was via the rumors of the maids and the servants. They would see what happened inside the quarter of Queens and other Royals, and they would gossip amongst each other. And the gossip would travel at the speed of light from one corner of the Palace to the other.


    Thus, Lillian was roaming outside quietly to hear what they were talking about. And the one thing that she wanted to hear the most was the news about Adeline. She wanted to know if the maids of Adeline''s quarter had already discovered about Adeline''s disappearance or not.


    However, even after roaming around for some time, Lillian did not hear the maids and servants talking anything about Adeline.


    Lillian was getting more and more restless. She had waited for whole night to hear the good news but it seemed like no one had found out yet. "I thought by now, the possible death of Adeline would have already spread like wild fire. But how come no one is talking about it?"


    She looked around for any kind of weird reaction from the people walking around but it was like any other normal day. Everyone was just busy with their daily routine.


    "Maybe I should head towards Adeline''s quarter and see if there is any kind of commotion going on outside." Lillian thought to herself and then started to walk in that direction.


    Lillian reached outside of Adeline''s quarter in no time. However, nothing out of ordinary was happening. There was no fear among the maids, no tension in the air, nothing. "How can everyone be so calm? Has no one gone inside to that lovechild''s room yet? Is that why no one has found out the situation of the room yet?"


    "Or is the King trying to keep everything under the wraps for some time? I am sure the maids would have gone inside to prepare the bath till now." Lillian was now itching to go inside and check Adeline''s room by herself.


    But she controlled the urge to do so and walked away. "I have waited for this day for so long. A few more hours is nothing compared to all those years that I spent in agony."


    Lillian was walking around the Palace aimlessly. She was daydreaming about the satisfaction that she would get from the grief-stricken look on Dragomir''s face. She was savoring the sweet revenge in her mind.


    Right now, her feet were leading her towards the training ground. In her subconscious state, Lillian almost missed the most important detail that was going on inside the training ground.


    She suddenly stopped in the middle of her path and the wide smile on her face faded away in an instant. She felt like she saw Adeline and Nigel fighting inside the training ground. But she was hesitating to turn her head to recheck if what she had seen was actually true, fearing that if she looked then her hallucination would turn into reality.


    She clenched her fists and gritted between her teeth, "No�� it can''t be her. I saw that gruesome detail in her room with my own eyes. I even checked everywhere to make sure that she was not hiding somewhere."


    Just to make sure that her eyes were not playing tricks on her, she slowly turned her head and looked. And to her dismay, whom she saw earlier was none other than Adeline, in full health, not a single hair on her head missing.


    Lillian''s eyes were filled with rage at the sight of Adeline. Her dream of seeing the defeated look on Dragomir had been turned into ashes.


    Her mind was screaming in fury, "Just how? How is this even possible? How is that b*tch unkillable? I have tried so many times to kill her but something always interferes and protects her. And now that powerful being that had tortured me for years, that being which was the enemy of the Demoness�� even that was not able to kill her? Just what kind of abomination is she?"


    Not being able to stand another sight of Adeline, Lillian stormed towards her own quarter. As soon as she locked the doors of her room, she covered her mouth with a pillow and let out a muffled scream.


    Her frustration knew no bounds. She started to wildly swing her hands and was destroying everything in her room. She was shouting and screaming. And in her rage, she started to curse Adeline and her mother.


    "Was that Auvera even a human? How did she give birth to such a child? How is no one able to harm her?" She looked up as if she was looking at Auvera and shouted, "You did not let me have peace even after you died�� even after I poisoned you and killed you with my own hands. You left that filthy child of yours to taunt me, didn''t you?"


    She smashed a glass on her ceiling and screamed again, "Auvera�� I swear, if I ever meet you in the afterlife, or in any other life, I will kill you all over again."


    After throwing a temper tantrum in her room by smashing objects and destroying everything in sight, she finally calmed down a little. She lay flat on her bed with her hair ruffled up, makeup smudged and her gown torn.


    Several thoughts were roaming in Lillian''s mind. She was trying to understand what might have happened last night in Adeline''s room. "I am very much certain that the cloth in that room belonged to the same mystical being that the Demoness had taken with her. She might have beaten it and dropped it in that room for some reason."


    She put her hand over her head and murmured, "The question is what happened after that? Was that blood even Adeline''s? Or was it��"


    Then unexpectedly, something struck Lillian''s mind. "Every time that I would attack Adeline, my attacks would get repelled almost as if�� as if it was some sort of magic. And I know for a fact that that being uses magic, a higher level of magic. Was it protecting Adeline for some reason?"


    "And is Adeline aware of that thing''s existence?" Lillian''s veins on her forehead started to bulge and her whole face was turning red from anger. "What if my real enemy had always been Adeline and not that mystical being? Was it somehow controlled by that filthy lovechild?"


    Lillian screamed again and she felt like pulling her hairs out of her head. "Was she always toying with me? With the strongest witch on Wyverndale? I am going to kill her. I am going to kill them all, everyone that she loves. I will get stronger and wipe everyone out from the face of Earth."


    King Dragomir had decided to visit all the Queens personally so that he could talk about the upcoming test of worthiness with them. And as Queen Lillian had always been pestering him and trying to convince him to conduct the test faster; he wanted to deliver the notice to her first.


    And as if fate had wanted Dragomir to hear Lillian making all confessions about the crimes that she had committed in the past, he happened to be outside of Lillian''s door while Lillian was in the middle of her temper tantrum. Sound of items being smashed could be heard even outside of the room.


    Ida was standing outside of Lillian''s door and she was about to announce the visit of the King to Lillian. However, Dragomir raised his hand and waved her off. And once the smashing stopped, he could hear Lillian shouting with anger. He stood by the door and kept on listening to what she was saying.


    And the first thing that he heard was Lillian claiming that she had killed Auvera by poisoning her with her own hands.


    Dragomir felt a sudden shrilling pain in his heart. He started to sweat and was finding it difficult to breathe. His vision started to blur and he felt light headed. He felt weak in his knees and almost tumbled to the floor.


    He could not bear to stand there any longer and rushed towards his own quarter.. Then he slammed the doors behind him and sat down on the floor. "My Auvera was murdered?"

 Chapter 63 - Tell Me

    "My Auvera was murdered? And the murderer was none other than the first Queen?" The King''s eyes were full of tears because he was reminded of the day when the love of his life had left this world for good.


    King Dragomir was going through the greatest shock in his life. Never in his life had he imagined that Auvera was murdered. He had accepted that Auvera''s death happened from some natural cause, which even his greatest healers and shamans could not heal. He had always blamed God for taking away his love from him.


    And the greatest regret in his life was not being able to save Auvera and spend his life with her. After he became the King, he had promised Auvera to give his unconditional love to her only. And he had even kept his promise by not letting any other women share that love which was rightfully hers.


    Later, he took Auvera as his concubine and promised to protect her from any harm by keeping her safe inside his well-guarded Palace.


    And now, he just heard that the Palace was never safe for her in the first place. And to top it all, one of his Queens had poisoned her and taken her life mercilessly. The emotion was just too overwhelming for him to bear.


    If the whole Kingdom''s weight was not on Dragomir''s shoulders right now, then he would have taken his life in an instant just so he could reunite with Auvera. He wanted to ask for her forgiveness for not being able to see through all the plotting against her and letting her die.


    "And to make matters worse, I never doubted for once that her death was not natural. Has Auvera even gotten peace? What if her soul is still lingering in between the worlds, seeking for justice?" Dragomir was burying his face in his hands and was thinking about his beloved.


    "How am I going to face her if I ever meet her in the afterlife? But I don''t even deserve to meet her in the afterlife after letting her killer on loose for so many years." Dragomir clenched his fist and started to hit himself on his forehead. "How could I not smell anything suspicious? Everything happened right under my nose and I never found out anything."


    However, a part of Dragomir was still not ready to believe that Lillian had murdered Auvera for real. He knew she was a little hot-headed and she would throw temper tantrum at times. But to murder someone was on a completely different level.


    "But why would Lillian do such an unthinkable crime? She claimed to have poisoned Auvera, but the healers did not find any poison in her body. No, Lillian must have been frustrated about something and she must have been shouting some nonsense. Or my ears were just playing tricks on me."


    Dragomir did not know what to think and feel anymore. He stared at the ceiling for a while and slowly whispered to himself, "What if she was saying the truth? People tend to show their true colors when they think that they are alone."


    "I have always overlooked one thing about Lillian. She is a witch with great power. Concealing the presence of poison is not that hard for her, is it?" Dragomir knew well about Lillian''s background of witchcraft. He knew well that people from Frostford were gifted with the art of magic. But he never once doubted that Lillian would misuse the sacred art of magic and use it against Auvera.


    Now his mind started to dwell upon the past events. He started to revisit his time with Auvera. He began to remember how Lillian would frequently visit Auvera''s quarter when she was sick and would play with baby Adeline. He began to remember how she even used to feed soup to Auvera with her own hands.


    He clenched his fists so hard that his nails were about to pierce through his palms. "All that care and sympathy was just a fa?ade and nothing more. How many times did she lie to me and others? And how many others did she harm?"


    The pain and discomfort in his heart escalated and he broke into tears. He was blaming himself for the death of Auvera, for not being able to see through Lillian''s fa?ade, and for being oblivious about the whole thing for so many years.


    After shedding some tears he calmed down a little from the shock of the revelation of Auvera''s murder. And now he was feeling immense rage towards one person.


    He slammed his fist so hard on the floor that a small crack appeared on the place where his fist had landed. And he roared with scalding fury towards the first Queen, "Lillian! How could you?"


    He punched his fist again leaving an even bigger crack on the floor and screamed, "How could you ruthlessly murder the one person whom I held dear? What did she ever do to you to deserve such fate?"


    The veins on his forehead started to bulge. He looked determined about one thing. "Auvera, I could not have saved you from your untimely death. But I promise you, I am going to bring justice to you. I am going to make her confess to her crimes and give her the harshest punishment."


    He felt like storming back to Lillian''s quarter and instantly confronting her about Auvera''s murder. To be honest, he didn''t just feel like confronting her, he wanted to do exactly what she did to Auvera. He wanted to poison her and kill her. He thought that only death would be the fitting punishment to Lillian.


    Dragomir got up from the floor and was about to storm off towards Lillian''s chamber. But he was interrupted by a guard who came knocking at the door. He bowed to the King and said, "Your Majesty, Princess Adeline wants to see you. She is standing outside."


    If it was any others, Dragomir would have denied seeing them now. He might even have taken out his boiling anger upon the unfortunate visitor. But he could not do that to Adeline. He sighed and said, "Okay, Allow her to come inside."


    The guard bowed again and then left the King''s room. Then after a while, Adeline entered the room and bowed to her father.


    Adeline had missed her father and she also wanted to ask him a few questions about the test as well. "I hope I am not disturbing you father. It had been a while since we last talked and I missed you."


    It was only Adeline who could come and visit the King saying they missed him. If it was anyone else, he would have scolded them by now.


    It was safe to say that Dragomir was not in the best state of his mind. But even so, he tried his best to hide his anguish because of recent findings and mustered up a smile. "I missed you too my daughter." And he hugged the Princess for a little longer than usual. He felt sorry for her for having to grow up without a mother.


    But at the same time, he felt blessed that at least his daughter was safe. He had already lost Auvera and he could not even imagine losing their daughter as well.


    And it was then a sudden realization crossed his mind. He felt a chill shiver run down his spine. And he tried to remember something, "Did I also hear Lillian saying something about Auvera''s child? Yes, I definitely heard her saying ''How is no one able to harm her?'' Was she talking about Adeline?"


    Dragomir looked at Adeline with worried eyes and asked, "Has Lillian ever tried to hurt you?"


    Adeline''s eyes were wide open and a small gasp escaped from her mouth. She was caught off-guard. She could not help but think, "Did father find something?"


    But she immediately covered her nervousness with her smile and questioned him back as if she had no idea what he was talking about, "First Queen Lillian? Why would she try to hurt me?"


    But Dragomir was persistent in his question. He had already overlooked Lillian''s witchcraft once and lost his dear concubine and he definitely did not want to lose Adeline as well. "If not her then has someone else tried to bring some harm upon you recently? She might have sent someone else to hurt you."


    Adeline was starting to believe that her father knew something about Lillian''s crime. But a part of her thought that her father was just being cautious for some reason. So she did not want to confirm anything to him.


    She knew that if she told anything about Lillian''s crime to him, then there would be a huge clash between Lillian and her father. If it was the clash between brute strength then she would not have worried. But knowing Lillian''s cunningness and dark magic, she knew this would be a clash that her father would lose.


    When all these thoughts were roaming in her mind, she forgot that her father had asked her a question. And she was just standing there without answering him.


    But even though Adeline was not answering, her facial expressions were giving all the answers. And Dragomir knew something was wrong without Adeline even saying anything.


    "Tell me what she did to you? It is an order from Your King."

 Chapter 64 - Spill The Secrets

    If her father had simply said "Tell me what she did to you" then Adeline would have most probably lied to her father saying that she had no idea about what he wanted to know.


    But when he added "It is an order from your King", Adeline would not be allowed to lie to him because he was asking the question as a King of Wyverndale and not just as her father. And if it was found out that Adeline had lied to the King then she could be punished for it.


    But was getting punished for lying that bad if it meant it would not put her father''s life in danger from the witch?


    Adeline''s mind was fighting with itself to decide which path would bring the best possible outcome, lying to her father or telling him the truth and revealing everything that she knew about Lillian.


    Seeing her daughter hesitating to speak, he gave one more push to make Adeline speak, "Adeline, I know you have a good heart and you would even be willing to get hurt to protect others. But let me tell you this, Lillian might not be the person that I thought she was. I heard her shouting in her room this morning and��"


    Dragomir exhaled sharply as he was trying to control the overwhelming emotion and hide his tears. After pausing for a few seconds, he spoke in a soft voice, "This might come as a shock to you but I heard Lillian shouting that she had killed your mother by poisoning her."


    Dragomir had expected Adeline to be shocked, to cry, to shout, and show her anger towards Lillian after telling her what he had learnt. But to his surprise, he saw none of those reactions from his daughter. She was just staring down at the floor and avoiding any eye contact with him.


    However, Adeline was screaming in her mind. Her worst fear had come true. Her father had found out about the killer of her mother and she feared that her father would go on a rampage, provoking Lillian to use her dark magic on the King himself.


    Dragomir held Adeline by her shoulders and then gently shook her to make her look at him, "Why do you have a guilty look on your face? Did you already know about this?"


    Adeline slowly nodded her head and tried to speak, "I came to��" But her voice would not come out. She cleared her throat a few times and said, "I came to know about it just a few days ago."


    After hearing that, Dragomir''s eyes were filled with pure rage and hatred towards Lillian. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He didn''t even ask how Adeline came to find that out, and didn''t ask if Lillian had tried to do something to her as well, he just started to walk towards the door.


    Adeline knew where her father was going to go and what he was planning to do. But she could not let her father take any action on the spur of the moment. She had to do something to calm her father down.


    And before he reached to his door she shouted, "Father, don''t you want to know how I found out?"


    Dragomir stopped his feet and without even looking at Adeline he grumbled, "I doubted whether Lillian was just spewing some nonsense or was speaking the truth. But you just confirmed it that she had indeed killed your mother. I don''t need to know how you found out, but I trust you. Now let''s put the murderer to sleep."


    But Adeline immediately shouted in an attempt to stop her father, "Then don''t you want to know what she has done to me till now? If you want to punish her, punish her for all the crimes that she has committed till now."


    Dragomir felt a sharp pain in his chest when he heard Adeline. "That was not the only crime that she committed?" He turned around and walked to where Adeline was standing and asked furiously, "Tell me what else she did? Tell me what she did to you. Tell me everything that you know."


    Adeline let out a small sigh of relief after her father returned back to her. Now she had a chance to make him understand why she hid all the things that she knew from him.


    Adeline asked her father to sit down and she also sat down beside him. Then she began to tell all the tales about Lillian. She made sure to start by telling him why she had turned out to be the she is today, how the lack of his love and care was the main reason behind it. It was not her intention to make her father feel guilty but she needed to make sure that her father would not rush to Lillian''s chamber and try to strangle her.


    Then Adeline gave out all the details about what Lillian had tried to do to her to get rid of her. How she had encountered Theodore and how he has been acting as her guardian and protecting her from Lillian.


    And she did not forget to tell him why she had kept all these things to herself even after finding out about so many horrible crimes that Lillian had committed. She told him how Lillian has already been corrupted by the dark magic and how powerful she has become.


    Adeline looked at her father with eyes full of tears and pleaded to him, "Father, I know that you are a strong King and I should not be undermining you. But when your opponent is Lillian, I warn you to not undermine her. She is a very cruel and cunning witch. If you try to punish her, I fear that she will do something worse to you using her dark magic. And I don''t want to lose you as well."


    These words from Adeline came as a shock to him. And he was forced to think, "Is she really that powerful that my own daughter thinks that I cannot win against her?"


    However, Dragomir was no fool when it came to facing an unknown enemy. Right now, Lillian''s powers were unknown to him. If Adeline was telling him that she was a great threat then he wanted to be cautious.


    Dragomir''s impulsive rage had somewhat settled down and he asked his daughter, "From what you have said to me, you already have a plan to take revenge for your mother''s death. So, what is your plan? And is there anything that you need me to do?"


    By the sound of it, Adeline had more knowledge about Lillian, dark magic, and even the Devil. So, Dragomir was willing to take suggestions from Adeline and was willing to support his daughter in his plan.


    But Adeline did not have any concrete plan as of yet because everything depended on one thing. "I want you to keep on pretending as if you know nothing about Lillian''s crimes. And I don''t want you to raise any suspicion that we are going to do something to her."


    Dragomir clenched his fist and a deep frown appeared on his forehead when he heard Adeline asking him to do nothing but watch. But he understood why it was necessary and nodded his head.


    "My entire plan depends on one thing and that is me being the future Queen of this nation. That way Lillian will not have any direct power over the Kingdom. I can personally punish her without being afraid because her magic won''t have any effect on me." Adeline loosely explained what she had planned to do with Lillian and how.


    "And even though the future ruler is not me, I don''t want Prince Edwin or Prince Alan to become the future King. If they are to become the King, Lillian will still be in power as Queen Mother. Knowing her, she can even act as the regent Queen by controlling her son like puppet. The Kingdom will suffer if it is left in their hands."


    Adeline knew that Prince Edwin had taken after his mother and was just equally evil. But that was not true for Alan. Prince Alan was gentle as opposed to his mother and brother. However, that would make him even more vulnerable to fall into his mother''s schemes and traps.


    Adeline did not like what she was going to ask next, however she swallowed her pride and decided to ask anyway. The future of the Kingdom was more important than her pride. "Father, it might be selfish of me to ask this but will you tell me about the test of worthiness? What kind of test is it? What happens in that test?"


    King Dragomir was that kind of a man who upheld rules and law of the Kingdom with utmost sincerity. But after what he just heard, he was willing to bend some laws if it would be in the favor of the Kingdom''s future. He would rather be a criminal than hand over the Kingdom to the criminal.


    "I am not meant to talk about the test because then it will not be an impartial test. However, I fear that if I don''t reveal the secrets about the test to you then the Kingdom that I built with my blood and sweat will meet its end soon."


    Though Dragomir was confident enough that Adeline would not struggle in the test, he did not want to leave anything to chances.. So he went on and spilled all the secrets of the test to his daughter, to whom he would not mind handing over the Kingdom to.

 Chapter 65 - Meeting Of The Pack

    After saying goodbye to Princess Adeline and taking the letter from Queen Claricia, Prince Fenris had departed from Wyverndale and left for his own homeland, Aberdeen. It took him one and a half days in his carriage to get back to the Palace of Aberdeen.


    After arriving there, the first thing that he did was that he headed straight towards the throne hall. This hall worked similar to the King''s Court of Wyverndale. The King would be present in this room for most of the day and he would carry out all his duties from this hall.


    The throne hall, of course, had a large throne at the front. The throne was polished with gold and was shining brightly. Unlike the throne of King Dragomir, this throne had a carving of huge wolf on the backrest.


    The other difference was that in this hall, there were several other grand seats along the both side of the room that were reserved for ministers of the Kingdom and elders of the Siccaldi clan. Everyone would be present in this hall if they were called for a meeting by the King, else, the large hall would only be occupied by the King and his few guards.


    Right now, King Conall was sitting on his grand throne and was working on something. A guard who was standing by the door of the hall announced to the King in a loud voice, "Prince Fenris has returned from Wyverndale and wants an audience with His Majesty."


    King Conall glanced at a guard who was standing by his side and then nodded to him. In turn, that guard ordered in a loud voice, "Allow His Highness to come in."


    Prince Fenris''s footsteps echoed throughout the hall as he walked inside. He kneeled down on one of his knees and then bowed his head to the King, "I offer my greetings to you, My Lord."


    "Rise", King Conall spoke in a monotone. King Conall was a middle aged man but looking at him, people would think that he was still in his late thirties. He had a long black hair that fell down to his shoulders. His whole body structure looked very sturdy and he was giving off a very intimidating aura.


    The King glared at his son and asked, "How was your stay at Wyverndale?" There was a suppressed anger towards Fenris in the King''s voice. He was clearly not impressed with his son overstaying at another nation without getting his permission beforehand.


    Fenris stood up and looked down at the floor, not wanting to anger his father even more. And he replied in a soft voice, "The stay was productive because I have some important news to announce to you. But first, I would like to present you with the letter from Queen Claricia which will shed some light regarding the matter that I would like to discuss."


    Fenris handed over the letter to the guard and the guard presented it to the King who was sitting in his throne.


    The King opened the letter from his sister and then read the message. He raised his brows as he learnt something important to the Siccaldi clan from the letter.


    And the King spoke in a cold and intimidating voice, "I see that there has been a new addition to the werewolf pack. Did you witness Nigel''s first transformation? I believe that you were sticking with him at that time since he is your favorite cousin."


    King Conall had high hopes from his first born son but his hopes were crushed when Fenris did not even inherit the werewolf curse.


    And because of this reason, some unspoken distance was created between the father and son. It was no secret that the King had grown cold to his first son ever since Prince Wulfric was crowned as the Crown Prince.


    Prince Fenris took a deep breath in and replied to the King, "Unfortunately, I was not together with Prince Nigel and I did not get to witness his transformation. But I can guarantee that he went through the transformation. I dueled with him and his strength and speed were on equal level to Crown Prince Wulfric."


    "I hope that no one else found out about his transformation apart from my sister. Is there anyone that needs to be dealt with?" The King gave an intense gaze to Fenris.


    However, Fenris was not going to give in to the King just because of his cold gaze. He had endured it for a long time now and he was already used to it. Also, he was not going to put the woman he fancied in danger.


    So Fenris just lied through his teeth, "No, there were no one else who found out. All guests and people of Palace were gathered inside the banquet hall and he was in the forest when he had transformed."


    "Hmm�� what a coincidence, it sounds a little too perfect." King Conall was furrowing his brows and was showing his suspicion towards the statement given by Fenris.


    Prince Fenris was unfazed and reemphasized his point to make the King believe that he was not lying. "I assure you that Nigel had managed to run to the forest behind the Palace when he began experiencing the pain. And he said he had not told about it to anybody. I believe him because he had not even told it to Queen Claricia. She only found out when I revealed it to her."


    And he immediately added with confidence, "Even I found out just by chance when I dueled with him. And I also questioned him about other symptoms and confirmed that he had indeed transformed."


    King Conall finally nodded his head and then looked at the guard standing by his side and ordered, "Call an emergency meeting for the elders of the clan."


    "Yes Your Majesty", the guard immediately marched outside of the hall to call the meeting.


    Then the King looked at Fenris and ordered, "You may rest for now. You are not that useless after all."


    The King''s words pinched Fenris''s heart. But he swallowed his pride and then bowed to the King. "Thank you, My Lord."


    After he was far away from the throne room and when he was sure that his father would not hear him through his super hearing, he shouted, "It is not my fault that I did not inherit the werewolf gene. Why does he need to treat me like this? Maybe I should just run away from the Palace."


    In the throne room, every important elders of the clan gathered in no time. Once everyone settled in, the King started the meeting. "Thank you for coming here in such a short notice. I have gathered you all here to announce that Prince Nigel, my sister Claricia''s only son, has successfully completed his first transformation."


    As soon as he announced this news, the elders started to gossip among themselves. It was a new matter to them because something like this had never happened before. Usually, the curse hardly manifested in a child whose both parents had not triggered the curse. And since Claricia had never triggered the curse, she was married to another Kingdom thinking her child would not bore the curse.


    However, now that Nigel had triggered the curse, it was bound to create some problem for the clan.


    The eldest member of the clan, or the eldest werewolf, clapped his hand twice and whole hall went silent. He looked at the King and then asked, "What have you thought about this problem? Do you have any course of action?"


    The King was almost offended by the elder for calling his nephew a problem. But he maintained his calm because even he knew that it was going to be a problem to leave a werewolf on his own in another Kingdom. "I also learned about it just a while ago so I have not given much thought to it."


    Then he glanced at everyone present in the hall and asked, "If anyone has any suggestion about what should be done then the floor is open."


    One of the elders put forth his suggestion, "I have heard that the King of Wyverndale has many children. So why don''t we simply ask the King to send Prince Nigel to our Kingdom? I don''t think he will have any problem with that."


    King Conall chuckled at this remark of the elder and said, "I don''t think it will be that easy. No matter how many children one has, they won''t just hand over a child to another Kingdom. And besides, their custom of selecting the future ruler states that everyone will have equal right to the throne. So, asking him to send over one of the potential rulers won''t be that easy."


    One of the members of the meeting commented, "What kind of silly custom is that?"


    The eldest one immediately interjected, "Whatever it is, we cannot let Prince Nigel to be selected as their new King. There will be a lot at the stake if that is to happen. It will be hard to protect our secret if he becomes the King and goes on displaying his power in the battlefield someday. By hook or by crook, we must bring him here, close to where the pack is."


    And another one agreed to the eldest one, "Yes, we must teach him the rules of how a pack works. He should be a responsible member of the clan. And that is only possible if he is here."


    The King exhaled sharply and thought for a while.. Then he replied, "Alright, I will see what I can do."

 Chapter 66 - Letters

    After the meeting with the elders of the Siccaldi clan was over, King Conall started to ponder upon what course of action he could possibly take to bring Prince Nigel to Aberdeen. He did not think that it would be that easy to bring a Prince of another nation to his own nation without giving valid reasons.


    The Kings never allowed their children to go to another Kingdom and have a long stay. It was because of the simple fact that the Royal Children would know a lot about their Kingdom and the state secrets. And if someone from another Kingdom was to find out those secrets then they could use it against that Kingdom.


    A simple action or a simple slip of tongue could cost several lives and could even lead to war among the said Kingdoms.


    That was why King Conall was angry at Prince Fenris for staying too long at another Kingdom. Even though it was just a few days, King Conall was feeling very restless until the Prince safely returned back to the Palace. So he knew how King Dragomir would feel, if he was to simply ask him to send his son to Aberdeen.


    So he was thinking hard about what reasoning he could possibly give for calling Prince Nigel over to his Kingdom. The King was sitting on his throne and was mumbling, "There are no festivals coming up; no one in the close family is dead, no one is getting married, and we have not planned any kind of special events. So what am I going to say to King Dragomir?"


    No matter how much King Conall racked his brain, he could not come up with any solution on his own. He was hoping that the elders would give him some suggestions but in the end, they had placed the burden on him. All they did was pressured him to bring Prince Nigel to Aberdeen.


    The King was tired of thinking and murmured to himself, "Maybe I should just leave him be for now."


    But he shook his head and thought, "No, I cannot just leave a werewolf in some another Kingdom and away from his pack. He does not even know what it is like to be a werewolf. He does not know the rules and the discipline that one has to be in. He does not know his true potential. As the alpha of the pack, I must make sure that he follows the pack''s rules and reaches his potential."


    Then his eyes fell on the letter sent by Queen Claricia. His sister had declared that her son was now a werewolf and had asked him if there was anything that she could do to protect the secret of the Siccaldi clan.


    "Maybe I should ask my sister. I bet Claricia will help me out with this because she also would not want her son to be caught in his werewolf form. The King is known for his love for hunting; he even grew his own forest. What if he mistook his son for a beast and killed him? She must know that Nigel will be safer here with his pack."


    And immediately, King Conall took a white sheet of paper and thin brush. Then he started to write a letter to his sister stating that Aberdeen would like to protect Prince Nigel by bringing him in and teaching him about the werewolf way. And he asked her to suggest him how he should bring it up to King Dragomir so that he would grant the permission to send Nigel to Aberdeen.


    After completing the letter, he placed it in an envelope and then placed his Royal seal on top of the envelope. He handed the letter to his trusty guard and ordered him, "Give this letter to the messenger and ask him to go to Wyverndale. Ask him to personally hand this over to Queen Claricia and return back with her reply. A lot of time and effort will be saved this way."


    "Yes Your Majesty", the guard bowed his head to the King and marched out of the throne hall.


    ---


    The messenger arrived back to the Aberdeen Palace after three long days. The King was sitting in his throne as usual when the messenger returned back with a letter from Queen Claricia.


    The messenger knelt down and then greeted the King, "Greetings Your Majesty. I have brought back the letter from Queen Claricia of Wyverndale as you had requested."


    King Conall nodded his head and ordered the messenger to rise. The messenger handed the letter to the guard for it to be passed to the King.


    "You may take your leave." The King ordered once he took the letter from his sister.


    And the messenger bowed to the King and left the throne hall.


    King Conall opened the sealed letter and started to go through the content of the letter.


    "Respected King of Aberdeen (and my dear brother),


    From your previous letter, I came to know about the collective decision of the Siccaldi clan to bring Prince Nigel to Aberdeen. Though it pains me to send my only child away from me, I know that the clan has decided in the best interest of my son.


    However, I am sorry to inform that King Dragomir would not allow for his son be taken away by another Kingdom before the future ruler is selected.


    If Your Majesty wishes to immediately start the teachings for Prince Nigel, then I would suggest Your Majesty to invite him over under the pretense saying that Your Majesty wishes to give special training to the Prince to help him in the upcoming test of worthiness.


    The test of worthiness will take place on the second day after the next full moon. If Your Majesty wishes to invite the Prince before the test, then I suggest Your Majesty to send the invitation as soon as possible, for there is not much time left before the test.


    And My Lord, please make sure that the clan will send him back to Wyverndale before the full moon. The Prince is not allowed to miss his test.


    We will discuss further about this topic after the test is over. I leave the Prince in Your Majesty''s care.


    Your Majesty''s loving sister,


    Queen Claricia."


    After reading the letter, King Conall nodded his head and placed the letter on the table. And the King mumbled again, "I was right to ask for a suggestion from my sister. The problem is solved for now at least."


    And once again, he took out the paper and brush and wrote another letter, this time addressing the King of Wyverndale. In the letter, as suggested by Queen Claricia, he asked King Dragomir to grant the permission to Prince Nigel to come to Aberdeen to receive specialized training targeting his upcoming test.


    The King called his guard and handed the letter, "Darius give this letter to the messenger and ask him to take this to Wyverndale and hand it over to King Dragomir. Make sure you send another messenger this time, the one who just returned might be tired already."


    ---


    After King Dragomir and Princess Adeline shared each other''s secrets, King Dragomir went to the King''s Court while Adeline went to train with General Osmond.


    After reaching to Wyverndale, the messenger from Aberdeen was led to the King''s Court by one of the guards. The messenger knelt down and bowed King Dragomir. Then he fisted one of hands and placed it on top of his chest and shouted, "Long live the King of Wyverndale!"


    "You may rise", King Dragomir sounded somewhat uninterested. However, after what he had just gone through, the pain of learning about his concubine''s murder by his wife, it was a miracle that he was managing to sit in his court room.


    "Your Majesty, I have brought a letter from King Conall of Aberdeen." The messenger stated his purpose of visit and then handed over the letter to King Dragomir.


    Dragomir opened the seal and then read the letter from the neighboring Kingdom''s King. It was no surprise to King Dragomir that the maternal side of all of his children wanted to provide them with special trainings, targeting the test.


    He knew well that the maternal families were so adamant about giving personalized training because if their grandchildren or niece/nephews were to become the future ruler of Wyverndale then that family or that Kingdom would rise to be stronger.


    So King Dragomir did not doubt that there was any hidden agenda behind inviting Prince Nigel over to Aberdeen.


    However, the thing that surprised him was that King Conall was not asking permission to send a personal tutor or trainer to Wyverndale to look after Nigel, but he was asking King Dragomir to send Prince Nigel over to Aberdeen. Even though he was surprised, he did not have the energy to argue back and forth with King Conall via the letters.


    Thus, he glanced at his court guard and ordered him, "Find Prince Nigel and say to him that King Conall has requested to train him in Aberdeen and I have granted his request. Ask him to make the necessary preparations and leave for Aberdeen."


    If King Dragomir would have been in his right state of mind then probably he would have rejected King Conall''s request. However, he was just not able to think properly and agreed to the request of the King of Aberdeen.


    Then he looked at the messenger from Aberdeen and gave his verbal approval, "Say to King Conall that I have granted his request and that Prince Nigel will be arriving to Aberdeen soon.. Also send my regards to him."

 Chapter 67 - Preparation

    Nigel was working in the study room of his own quarter when the court guard''s presence was announced by his maid. Nigel gave a quick glance to his maid and approved, "Send him in."


    The court guard entered Prince Nigel''s room and then bowed to him. "Good afternoon Prince Nigel. I have an order from His Majesty."


    "Order from His Majesty? What is it?" Nigel inquired quite curiously because apart from his daily works, King Dragomir rarely gave any orders to him.


    As ordered by King Dragomir, the court guard passed the message to the Prince. "Your Highness, King Conall of Aberdeen had requested His Majesty to send you to Aberdeen for personal trainings for the test. And His Majesty has approved his request. He has ordered you to make the necessary preparations and leave for Aberdeen as soon as you can."


    "Pardon me?" This came as a huge shock to Prince Nigel because he had never even thought in his dream that his maternal uncle would be this interested in his test. "Did you just say that I have to go to Aberdeen for training?"


    "Yes Your Highness", the court guard replied calmly.


    "And the King approved the request?" Nigel asked a little disheartened. He and the King did not exactly have a very close father-son relationship but he never thought that he would be sent away to another Kingdom so easily.


    The court guard nodded his head and reassured the astounded Prince, "Yes Your Highness."


    Prince Nigel let out a long sigh of sadness and waved his hand to dismiss the guard, "I understand. Say to His Majesty that I will start making the preparations. You may take your leave."


    The guard bowed to the Prince and left him alone in the room.


    It was not that Prince Nigel did not like his maternal uncle''s Palace. He loved visiting Aberdeen from time to time and meeting his relatives, especially Fenris. But this time it was different. He was not just going to visit Aberdeen for a few days. He was invited there for personal training. And that meant he would be staying there for almost a month.


    And there was also another thing that he was uncomfortable of. He was now a werewolf and he had no idea how he was supposed to behave when he got to Aberdeen. Was he supposed to say to King Conall that he was a werewolf? Or was he supposed to stay quiet and let them find out?


    Of course, he had no idea that his mother and his cousin had gone behind his back and had already announced to the Siccaldi clan that he was now a werewolf. And that was the whole reason why he was being called.


    He just thought that King Conall was genuinely calling him to prepare him for the test; and little did he know that the clan did not want him to be the King of Wyverndale at all.


    Nigel scratched his head and looked around his room and mumbled, "What preparations do I have to make? Am I supposed to pack all of my belongings?" He slapped his head and scolded himself, "Why are you so stupid? Why do I have to take everything? It''s not like I am never going to return."


    "I just need to pack some essentials." He nodded his head and then called a maid, "Lena, are you there?"


    A young maid came in rushing and bowed to Nigel, "Yes Your Highness, what can I do for you?"


    Nigel immediately ordered his maid, "I am going to Aberdeen for a month. So pack some of my clothes, few swords, and some other necessary items. You can start packing right away. I think I will leave tomorrow morning."


    "I will immediately get into it Your Highness." The maid bowed to the Prince and then left the study room.


    Nigel was alone in his room again. He started to look around his study room and puckered his lips. "I am sure going to miss this room."


    He looked at the paper works that he was currently working on and then murmured, "I guess I am not completing this work then. I am not in the mood now." And then he flicked the papers away as if he was angry because of those papers.


    He got up from his seat and then walked out of his study and went to his private chamber. He jumped on his comfortable bed and lay down for a while. "Ahhhh! I am going to miss my bed."


    After rolling around on his bed for some time, he decided to meet his mother and tell her that he was invited by King Conall to come to Aberdeen; and that he has decided to leave first thing in the morning.


    Soon he reached to his mother''s quarter and went inside to find his mother.


    Queen Claricia was sitting in her private chamber. She was staring out of the window and looked a little sad.


    "Mother"


    Claricia was so lost in her thoughts that she was almost startled by her son''s voice. She gave a gentle smile to her son and patted on the seat beside her, "Come, take a sit."


    Prince Nigel did what she asked. And he kept on staring at his mother.


    Before he went to Aberdeen, he wanted to tell his mother that he had inherited the werewolf curse. But he could not bring himself to tell her that he was a werewolf, and he did not know whether he should break the news or not.


    Queen Claricia, however, already knew what he was and already knew why he was here. The fact that her son would soon be invited to Aberdeen, and that the clan would try to keep him there was bothering her too much.


    After sending the letter to her brother, she was unable to sleep properly and she was also not eating well. She was too worried about her son leaving her.


    "What is it Nigel?" Claricia gently asked even though she knew everything.


    Nigel took a deep breath in and then blurted out, "Mother, I am a werewolf." Nigel was expecting to see some kind of reaction from his mother, probably a shocked one. But he did not get any.


    Queen Claricia smiled softly and then ruffled her son''s long black hair and said, "I know."


    "You know? But how? Can you tell it by just looking at me?" Nigel had never seen another werewolf so he had no idea if one could tell the difference when they looked at a werewolf.


    Claricia smiled at her na?ve son and then said, "It is hard to tell that a person is a werewolf just by looking at him. However, one can tell the difference if they study the behavior. But I knew it because Fenris came to me and said that you had turned."


    Nigel raised his brows because Fenris had not told him that he had already informed Claricia about him. "Fenris told you? What else did he tell you?"


    "Nothing much just that he found out that you went through your first transformation." And before Nigel found out that she had sent a letter to Conall behind his back, she revealed it to him, "And I wrote a letter to King Conall, who is also your alpha from now on. I told him that you turned recently."


    Nigel was wondering about how he would break the news to his maternal side but it seemed like he did not have to. "Y-You told him that I turned? Does everybody know that I turned?"


    Queen Claricia nodded her head and then explained further, "It is the duty of the members of Siccaldi clan to inform the alpha of the pack about the new addition to his pack. Normally, the alpha can sense all of his members and can tell if there are any newly turned werewolves. But since you are very far away from Aberdeen, it is impossible to sense you."


    Prince Nigel was getting back to back surprises. Everyone seemed to know about him and yet he did not know anything about the Siccaldi clan, or the alpha and the pack.


    "I didn''t know anything about alpha or the pack. And what do you mean by he is my alpha?" Naturally, Nigel wanted to learn more about his new-found identity and everything related to it.


    Queen Claricia wanted to explain few things about the ways of werewolves. She at least wanted to send her son into the hands of werewolves after making sure to give him some basic information about them.


    "Werewolves are the creatures who live together in a pack. They depend on each other for survival. And an alpha is the leader of the werewolf pack. The alpha is the strongest one among all of the werewolves. And currently, the King is the alpha of the Siccaldi werewolves."


    Claricia held her son''s hand and gave him some advice, "Always follow the order of the alpha because his words are absolute. When you go there, they will teach you about werewolves, they will train you and make you stronger than you already are, and above all they will be your greatest support."


    Claricia, however, omitted the part that the clan wanted to keep him in Aberdeen forever. She did not want him to get scared about this sudden change in his identity. And she did not want him to deny from going to Aberdeen in the first place.


    Although she did not want to send her son away, she knew that it was for his own good. And she wanted Nigel to give the pack a chance. Maybe he would get closer to them and he himself would want to stay there.


    Prince Nigel nodded his head and tried to smile.


    "When are you leaving for Aberdeen?" Claricia asked to her son.


    Nigel cleared his throat and answered in a soft voice, "I''m thinking about leaving tomorrow in the morning."


    Claricia leaned forward and planted a kiss on her son''s forehead.. "Be good and get stronger."

 Chapter 68 - Saying Goodbye

    Adeline had just returned back to her private chamber from her personal training with General Osmond. She was covered in sweat and dirt from the intense hand-to-hand combat training with the General. As the test was approaching soon, the General had increased the intensity of the Princess''s training.


    The General was hell-bent on making Adeline the next future Queen. When Adeline shared the secrets of the test with the General, he took a mental note about it and promised Adeline that from tomorrow, he would customize the training by focusing on the actual components of the test.


    And for today, the General made Adeline use all of her strength and fight him. Though Adeline had super-human strength, the General was also no less than her. He was known as a Devil Incarnate after all, because of his ability to annihilate 100 men in one fight all by himself.


    Hawisa and Osanna prepared a warm herbal bath for their Princess and let her soak her sweat and pain in the bath tub.


    Adeline''s stiffened and sore muscles started to get relaxed after staying in the herbal bath. She glanced at her bruised knuckles and tried to open and close her fist. "Finally�� I can feel my fingers. They don''t feel so numb anymore."


    She splashed some water on her face and dipped her hair in the tub. And after playing in the water to her fill, she got out of the bath tub and changed into her comfortable gown.


    As she walked into her private chamber, she found that Prince Nigel was sitting on a chair, waiting for her.


    "Brother�� I hope you didn''t have to wait for long time. Why didn''t you ask my maids to inform me? I would have finished faster." Adeline sat down on her bed, facing her brother and started to dry her hair with a white towel.


    Nigel shook his head and replied, "No, I didn''t wait for long. I just arrived a while ago."


    Nigel had actually arrived right after Adeline went in to take her bath. But he didn''t feel like asking the maids to announce his presence because he himself needed some time to prepare himself to break the news that he was going to Aberdeen tomorrow morning.


    Adeline had always been close to him ever since they were little kids. They had always trained together, laughed together, fought together, and had been each other''s support. And he could not bring himself to tell her that from tomorrow he would not be training with Adeline early in the morning. And he wouldn''t be there to take their horses on a race in the evening. So he just needed some time to prepare himself.


    Nigel was puckering his lips and was looking around Adeline''s room as though he was searching for something. He would normally jump around, tease Adeline, or pull her out of her quarter to go somewhere in the Palace. But he was not saying anything, nor was he doing anything goofy.


    And it did not take long for Adeline to discern that something was troubling her brother. She stared at her brother with a troubled look on her face and inquired, "Is there something wrong brother? You don''t look so well."


    Nigel took a deep breath in and then ran his hand through his silky black hair. Though he did not want to say goodbye to his dear sister, he had to do that, no matter how much pain it would cause to his sister and him. "I umm�� I have been invited to Aberdeen by King Conall. And I will be leaving tomorrow. I will probably be staying there until the test."


    Adeline sneered and asked him, "What? Why would you be going there all of a sudden?" Adeline did not believe in what Nigel was saying. She was thinking that it was some kind of a joke from her brother.


    "I was told that they wanted to train me and prepare me for the upcoming test." Nigel reluctantly answered his sister.


    The sadness in Nigel''s tone and the seriousness in his eyes made Adeline realize that Nigel was not lying at all. And needless to say that Adeline was stunned by this news.


    She instantly felt a burning sensation in her heart and a lump in her throat. Before she could even think properly and process what Nigel had said to her, a drop of tear fell down her cheek.


    She immediately wiped that drop of tear but some more drops started to roll down like waterfall. So she looked away. She did not want her brother to see her like this, crying like a fool.


    Nigel had expected Adeline to throw some tantrum or scold him or try to stop him from leaving. But instead he saw Adeline crying. He knew that she was going to be sad but he never expected his sister to be so emotional about it. It was only a month after all and he would return back to Wyverndale after that, at least that was what he believed.


    Nigel pulled his chair closer to where Adeline was sitting and demanded her to speak. "Adeline! Say something. You are making me even more nervous about going there. How can I leave when you start crying like this?"


    Adeline did not want her brother to feel bad so she wiped her tears with both of her hands and looked at her brother. She smiled slightly and said, "So, I see that you''re finally getting serious about this test."


    Then she put on a brave face and asked a lot of questions that were bothering her, "But is it necessary to go to Aberdeen? Won''t it suffice if you just train with General Osmond? And if Aberdeen insists on helping you then can''t they just send someone here to train you?"


    Nigel let out a small sigh of relief after his sister started talking. But then he went on and revealed the bitter truth, "Our father already ordered me to make preparations and leave for Aberdeen. It is an order from the King so I cannot really decline from going there."


    Nigel cleared his throat and continued, "And I don''t think that their major purpose is to really support me for the test. After talking with my mother, I believe that they want to teach me��" he spread his fingers as if they were claws and snarled "��how to be a werewolf. I know I am already a werewolf but they will teach me the proper way, I guess."


    Nigel blinked and then grinned goofily. And Adeline finally chuckled at his stupid joke.


    "At what time are you leaving for Aberdeen then?" Adeline wanted to know so that she could at least see her brother before he left for a whole month.


    "I will leave in the morning at 7, I think." Nigel puckered his lips and went silent again. It was clear that he was not going there willingly, but was going just because of the order.


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "I hope you learn the entire trick and tips about the werewolves. And return back as soon as possible. You don''t want to be tired from the long journey right before the test."


    "I know. I will try to be back as soon as they allow me." Nigel smiled at his sister for being so caring.


    Then he got up from his chair and straightened his clothes. He wanted to go back to his quarter before he made Adeline cry again or he himself would end up crying. "I will get going then. I have some arrangements to make."


    Adeline also got up and then clung onto her brother. She hugged him tightly and said, "Take care of yourself. I will miss you brother."


    Nigel smiled and hugged her back. "I will miss you too. And make sure you don''t go near Lillian. Stay alert for anything. And don''t slack just because I am not here. Practice on your own."


    Adeline chuckled and teased him for saying so many things to her, "Are you my mother or what?"


    Nigel pinched Adeline''s ears and tugged them slightly, "I am you brother, and brothers are allowed to be worried for their sisters."


    "Ahhh! That hurts." Adeline complained in a pampered voice.


    Nigel ruffled Adeline''s wet hair and finally bid goodbye, "Alright, I''m off now. Goodbye."


    "Goodbye", Adeline puckered her lips and was sad again.


    They were inseparable since their childhood and it was obviously hard for Adeline to part ways with her brother for a whole month. Her every morning would start by sparring with her dear brother and the thought of having no one to spar with her made her heart shrink.


    She was also thinking of sharing the insider details of the test that she got from her father with Nigel. That way, she was thinking that there would be lower chance for other contenders. She trusted Nigel and knew that he had grown stronger now that he was a werewolf.  So she had thought that if any two of them were successful to become the future ruler then there wouldn''t be much problem in dealing with Lillian.


    And she was thinking that they both could attend the personal training with General Osmond. She thought that they would support each other and motivate each other to perform better.. But all her plans were shattered by this sudden departure of Nigel.

 Chapter 69 - Desire

    After Prince Nigel left from Adeline''s private chamber, Adeline kept on thinking about how she was going to manage to pass the coming days without her favorite brother. She realized how much she relied on Nigel.


    She relied on him to help her with her training. She relied on him when there was no one to talk to, not even Theodore. He was her confidante, her friend, and her brother. And thinking about not seeing Nigel for almost a month made her feel miserable.


    With all the crazy events happening in her life lately, she had no idea how she was going to survive in this lonely Palace alone. Yes, she had her maids with her who loved her dearly. But they would not be able to fill the void of Nigel. It just wasn''t the same.


    When it was dark outside, her maids brought her tasty and nutritious dinner. But she did not even taste the food and kept on brooding over the thought of her brother leaving tomorrow.


    Like the clockwork, Theodore appeared in Adeline''s chamber. He thought that Adeline would have finished her dinner by now and would be lying on her bed but he furrowed his brows when he saw the untouched food on the table.


    Then he looked at Adeline who was crouching down in one corner of her room. She was hugging her knees and resting her head on her knees while rocking back and forth. She had not even noticed yet that Theodore was in her room and was staring at her for a while, trying to analyze what had happened to her based on her facial expression.


    After some time, he gave up and spoke in his alluring voice, "Did something happen little human? Why are you pouting and sitting there in the corner?"


    Adeline took a quick glance of Theodore but rather than smiling or jumping up to hug him, she kept on crouching on the floor as if she was uninterested by Theodore''s presence in the room.


    Theodore clicked his tongue and then spoke slowly, "Should I�� leave you alone? Don''t you want to talk to me?"


    Adeline immediately exclaimed, "No!"


    Theodore squinted his eyes and questioned her, "No, you don''t want to talk to me, or no you don''t want me to leave?"


    Adeline apologetically stared at Theodore for making him feel unwelcome and said, "No, I don''t want you to leave." Nigel was already leaving for a month and she did not want to make Theodore leave her as well.


    She sighed and softly whispered to herself, "I don''t want anyone to leave."


    But Theodore''s sharp ears caught those words and he asked her while inching closer to her, "Is someone leaving you?"


    Adeline nodded and said, "Nigel."


    "Hmm�� where''s that puppy going?" Theodore asked as he genuinely cared about his whereabouts. He knew how important Nigel was to Adeline and he knew that Nigel was the one person that he could fully trust in this Palace. With Nigel gone, he feared that Adeline would not be so safe anymore.


    "He is going to Aberdeen. He won''t return before the test. I don''t want to feel lonely but without him I am bound to be lonely." Adeline sighed again and rested her jaw on her knees.


    Theodore stepped even closer to Adeline and instantly objected in his seductive voice, "How dare you say that you will be lonely when I keep on visiting you daily?"


    And in another split-second, she could feel Theodore''s hands sliding behind her back as well as under her knees, softly brushing her thighs as she had not gathered her gown properly while she was sitting on the floor.


    Adeline felt a tingling sensation in her heart and a soft moan left her lips. And before she could protest, Theodore was carrying her in his arms. One of his hands was under her gown, wrapping her bare thighs, while the other was supporting her back. Her navy blue gown had managed to slide up to her thighs and was flowing freely, trying to touch the floor.


    Theodore gawked at the beauty in his arms. A sudden urge took over him, an urge to throw her down on the bed and tear off the clothes from her body to reveal her womanly curves. And he wanted to do everything to her that one could think of doing with a woman. But his thought was interrupted by Adeline.


    Adeline hurriedly pushed down her gown to cover her pale thighs. Her cheeks and ears were flushing red because of this shameless act of Theodore. She demanded to know why he was lifting her up, "What are you doing Theo? Put me down!"


    But Theodore jerked Adeline''s upper body upward and kept on holding her tightly. Their faces were only an inch apart from each other. Adeline could feel his hot breath brushing against her face, which almost felt magical.


    Theodore stared deep in her sapphire eyes and whispered in a hypnotizing voice, "Tell me Adeline, do you still feel lonely? While I am holding you so close to me, do you still feel lonely?"


    Adeline was so attracted by his voice and beautiful face that she was unable to break her glance from Theodore. She felt as if something was pulling her and was not allowing her to move her face or even her eyes!


    Her brain comprehended the meaning behind his sentences after about a while. And she managed to speak through her daze, "You are missing the point."


    Theodore slightly moved his head forward and closed that one inch gap between them. His lips softly brushed against hers when he asked, "What point?"


    "I don''t know", Adeline whispered while her gaze was fixated on Theodore''s seductive lips. Just a while ago she was drowning in sadness but right now, she remembered nothing. The only thing that she could see was Theodore and the only thing that she was feeling right now was longing, longing to taste the mouth of the Devil.


    Theodore gave a devilish smirk when he heard her answer. His eyes started to trail from her face and down to her bosoms. The longer his eyes kept on hovering on her bosoms, the more he wanted her. The Devil inside of him wanted to break free from the cage of his saneness and wanted to have his way. His golden eyes were starting to turn into blood red.


    He redirected his gaze towards Adeline''s lips and parted his lips slightly to get a taste of his woman. Adeline did not protest at all because even she wanted the same. She subconsciously clutched her gown as Theodore was approaching her lips.


    However, right at that moment a loud knock was heard on Adeline''s door. "Princess, did you finish your dinner?" Hawisa shouted from behind the door and she proceeded to open the door without waiting for Adeline to give her permission to come in.


    And in panic, Adeline forcefully jumped down from Theodore''s clutch. But she tripped on her own gown and then landed on the floor with a thud. "Aaahhhh! I think I broke something." Adeline grunted and kept on lying on the floor.


    Theodore wanted to pick her up from the floor but Hawisa was already inside the room. He glared at Hawisa and shouted at her internally, "I swear I am going to make you pay in hell for always coming in between me and Adeline. Or I should just conjure up a snake like last time and make her pay here and now."


    Hawisa saw that Adeline was lying on the floor and was wincing with pain. And she immediately ran to the Princess and started to panic. "Adeline, what happened? Are you hurt somewhere? Should I call the healer?"


    Adeline shook her head and slowly spoke, "No, I just fell from the bed. I''m alright. No need to worry."


    "Oh, were you already asleep? Did I startle you and made you fall?" Hawisa felt sorry for Adeline and wanted to blame herself for Adeline''s pain.


    "No. Don''t blame yourself Hawisa. It was me who was clumsy." Adeline slowly lifted herself up from the floor and stretched her body. Falling down was common to her because she would be lifted and dropped down on the floor several times when she would practice fighting. She was already used to this kind of pain.


    Hawisa let out a sigh of relief after seeing Adeline up and about. "Thank God you''re okay." Then she turned around to take away the dinner plates but she saw that Adeline had not even touched her food. "Adeline, why didn''t you eat anything? Are you sure you are alright?"


    Adeline puckered her lips and answered, "I didn''t feel like having anything today. You can clean it up."


    Hawisa was worried about the Princess not eating; she was never the one to throw away food. And for her to throw them away, she thought that something must have been seriously bothering her. But she did not dare to pester the Princess. "Do you want me to bring something else? Hot soup maybe?"


    Adeline shook her head and then denied that, "No, I''m good. I will eat something tomorrow."


    Defeated to the Princess''s stubbornness, Hawisa bid goodnight to the Princess and then took everything away from the dinner table.


    Theodore had been quietly standing at one side when Hawisa was inside the room. As soon as she left, he complained to Adeline, "Your maids seem to be very talented in interrupting our moment. I swear I will end up doing something bad to them someday."


    Adeline simply chuckled and said, "Cut them some slack; they are just taking care of me."


    Then she lightly bit her lower lip, not knowing that it was making Theodore want her even more.

 Chapter 70 - Walk Of Shame

    "Come here my woman", Theodore offered his hand to Adeline while looking intently at her.


    And as if she was compelled, Adeline''s feet started to move towards Theodore on its own. She was also staring into Theodore''s fiery eyes without even blinking. And then she held onto Theodore''s hand ready to be swept off of her feet again.


    But Theodore had some other plans. He pulled Adeline close to his own body and grabbed onto her waist. Then he leaned down and whispered in his seductive voice, "From today onwards you are sleeping with me�� daily."


    Adeline chuckled slightly and spoke in her honey-glazed voice, "Theo! You know I can''t do that. What if someone comes into my room while I am not here and then thinks that I am kidnapped again?"


    "I told you what happened the last time I slept with you. My maids were crying and were thinking that someone had rolled me in bed sheet and took me away." Adeline chuckled again and put her arms around Theodore''s broad shoulders.


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and said in his stern voice, "I was not asking you for your permission. I was just telling you that you are sleeping with me, starting today. And I don''t want to hear any excuses."


    Adeline tilted her head slightly and smiled at Theodore. She began to stroke his hair at the back of his head and tried to talk Theodore out of it, "I am not making excuses Theo, I am telling you the fact. My maids will turn this place upside down if they don''t find me sleeping here."


    But Theodore was not in the mood to listen to anything that Adeline had to say. He had already decided that he would come and take Adeline to his own place every night. And he was doing it anyhow.


    He slightly shook his head and said, "I don''t want to hear that your maids will find out that you are not sleeping in your room. Just tell them strictly that they are not to enter your private chamber without you calling them. It won''t be a private chamber if anyone can come in without your permission."


    Theodore was not being so stubborn without any reason though. He had seen firsthand that Lillian was becoming more and more dangerous day by day. For one to be able to call ancient Demoness such as Lilith, they needed to be able to control extreme amount of negative energy. And Lillian had already managed to do that in the broad daylight.


    If Lillian was brave enough to summon a Demoness in the broad daylight, inside the Palace, he was afraid that Adeline would not be safe anymore, especially at night, because the negative energy and the power of the dark world would be at its peak at night time.


    That was the main reason why he was being so unyielding to Adeline. He did not want Adeline to fall victim to the cruel witch who was hell-bent on taking her revenge with King Dragomir. He wanted to keep Adeline as far away as possible from that witch''s reach. He wanted to keep her close to him so that he could protect her.


    Theodore sighed and became a little lenient towards Adeline, "Okay, how about this�� I promise to bring you back before your maids will wake up. But I am not teasing you about taking you with me every night." He leaned near her ear and whispered, "I am doing that with or without your permission."


    Adeline felt his warm breath in her ears and moaned while tilting her head away. And she whispered back with a sweet smile on her face, "Why are you acting like this Theo?"


    Theodore raised his brows and asked, "Acting like what?"


    Adeline''s lips were still curved upwards because of the way Theodore was acting like an over-protective suitor. But she did not mind it at all. She liked being wanted. She gave a whimsical grin and said playfully, "Acting like you are obsessed with me. Is the ancient Devil in love with a tiny human?"


    Theodore tightened his grip around Adeline''s waist even more. And he rubbed his nose against hers and said in a loving voice, "Wasn''t that already clear, my woman? Of course I am in love with you."


    Adeline''s heart beat elevated all of a sudden when Theodore said those words. She did not know that she needed to hear him say it�� say that he was in love with her. But now that she heard him say it, she wanted him to say that to her daily.


    She was lost in the depth of his eyes when Theodore asked, "So, are you ready to come with me?" Theodore gave a hypnotizing smile to Adeline.


    And Adeline could not refuse Theodore. So she nodded her head and was prepared to be teleported to Theodore''s room.


    However, instead of Theodore''s room, they both had teleported outside of the cave. They were now standing at the entrance of the infamous Devil''s cave.


    Adeline was not expecting to be standing outside of the cave but she did not mind being teleported there. She looked at the entrance which made her feel nostalgic.


    She vividly remembered the first time that she had stood outside of the cave in awe. Even though she was just three years old when she had stood here the first time, the amazing fairytale like experience had made her remember the things that happened in the cave in clear detail.


    "Why did you teleport me here?" Adeline asked to Theodore while still looking at the torch-lit entrance in awe.


    The entrance looked very old and eerie and most people would faint before they could make it inside the entrance. No one would believe that inside this cave a handsome Devil lived with his 72 followers in comfort and luxury unimaginable by normal humans.


    "After your last visit here I realized that it was a mistake not to introduce you to any of my followers and servants." Theodore''s eyes had a hint of regret as he remembered the scene of how Adeline was pinned down by the Ghoul. He remembered how she was wounded and he could not even think what would have happened if he was a little late.


    Theodore took a deep breath in and then smiled at Adeline who was fine and healthy. He wanted to protect the delicate rose in front of him not just from the witch but from all the creatures that lived with him inside the cave.


    He swept Adeline off of her feet and carried her in his arms and said, "I want to take you inside properly from now on. I want everyone to see you and know you. I want everyone to know that you are important to me so that they will not lay a finger on you, ever."


    Theodore was being so considerate of her safety that Adeline thought she would melt from his kindness and affection towards her. She held onto Theodore''s neck and let him carry her inside the cave.


    Needless to say, it was a sight to see for everyone inside the cave. The creatures were bowing down to Theodore as he passed by them and they kept on staring at their master as he passed by while carrying a woman in his arms.


    Last time he had done that, Adeline was covered in blood and wounds. And only a few of them were able to see that ''once in a lifetime'' scene. Those who had witnessed that scene had gossiped with the others. And their master carrying, not just touching, but carrying a woman had become a hot topic in the cave.


    Some of those who had not witnessed that scene first hand were even skeptical about the truth of that gossip. They just thought that few of the followers were trying to ruin the reputation of their master.


    But now that they were able to witness their master carrying a lovely woman in his arms and walking towards his room, they were dumbfounded. Some of them were happy to finally see their master with a woman, some of them were envious of the lucky human, while some were even angry at Adeline for seducing their master and making him fall for some mere humanly pleasure.


    Adeline was able to see all kinds of creatures looking at them and she could also hear the gossip going around the whole cave about her. Her whole face had turned red from all the attention that she was getting. And she was screaming inside, "Why does this corridor feel like it will never end?"


    She had not felt this nervous ever before, not even when she was walking with her father in the banquet hall in her birthday ceremony. This time, maybe it was because of the fact that Theodore was carrying her or maybe it was because of the types of creatures that were watching her, she felt extremely uncomfortable.


    "Theo, why don''t you put me down? I don''t like the way everyone is looking at me." Adeline whispered very softly near Theodore''s ear. She did not want the other creatures to hear what she just said and get offended. And she definitely did not want them to hold their grudge against her.


    From her last encounter with one of the creatures, she already knew that they were way too powerful than her. And she did not want to be attacked by something else.


    But Theodore just smirked and held her even tightly, sending the clue that he was not letting her walk on her own right now.


    So Adeline gritted from between her teeth, "Then please, walk faster Theodore."


    But Theodore stopped on the way to talk to one of the human maid. "Bring some food that is suitable for her", he ordered to that maid and then walked towards his room.


    After a long walk, they finally reached inside Theodore''s room. Rather than putting Adeline down on the floor, he put her down on his bed. He also climbed on the bed and lay beside her.


    And he asked in his alluring voice, "Now, where were we?"

 Chapter 71 - A Nice Dinner

    "Now, where were we?"


    "We were outside and everyone was staring at me! You could have just let me walk like a normal guest. At least your followers would not have glared at me like that. My goodness�� I had never felt that nervous before in my life." Adeline complained in a single breath. Her cheeks were still blushing from the earlier encounter with Theodore''s followers.


    Theodore started playing with Adeline''s silver hair and spoke in his hypnotizing voice, "You are not a normal guest Adeline, you are my special guest. And to make it clear, I don''t bring many guests here. I don''t like other beings invading my privacy. But of course, you are an exception."


    The devilish smirk did not leave Theodore''s lips. Both of them kept on staring at each other and were lost in the other''s eyes.


    After a while Adeline broke the silence. "Are you going to carry me daily from now on?" Adeline asked in a curious tone.


    But Theodore countered her question with his own question, "Does that mean you will willingly come here from now on?"


    Adeline puckered her lips when she realized that she had unintentionally accepted that she would be coming to Theodore''s place every night from now on. Even though she was making excuses saying that her maids would find her, in reality she wanted to come over to his place.


    But she wanted to make him think that she was not so easy to win over. She wanted him to think that she would not succumb to his orders, nor would she succumb to her temptations. So she started to play hard-to-get and said in a confident way, "I will think about it if you don''t intend on carrying me in your arms every time we come in through the entrance."


    Theodore smoldered his eyes and leaned closer to Adeline''s face and teased her, "Then would you rather prefer me to carry you on my back?"


    Adeline creased her brows and shouted, "No!"


    "Thought so. Then it is final, you have just agreed to come with me every night and you also have agreed to let me carry you on my arms while walking inside." Theodore gave a whimsical grin to Adeline which almost made Adeline forget to breathe because the Devil looked really really cute when he was being playful.


    Adeline wanted to say that she had not agreed to anything yet but the two love birds were interrupted by a slight knock on the door.


    "Master, we have brought dinner." A voice was heard from the other side of the door.


    Adeline got up in haste when she heard the voice. Then she straightened her gown and her hair, and elegantly sat down on the bed. She had already become a topic of gossip among those inside the cave and she did not want to give them more topics to talk about by sleeping beside their master.


    Theodore, on the other hand, was unbothered. He was still lying down on the bed and keenly watching her every little movement. Every little thing that she did, he was finding them amusing. She never ceased to amaze him.


    After Adeline was ready, he finally gave permission to the maids who have been waiting outside of the room. "Come in", Theodore did not even break off his gaze from Adeline while he answered.


    Three of the maids, all of them human, quietly walked inside the room. One was carrying a small dinner table, one was carrying cushions to lay down on top of the beautiful carpet on the floor, and the last one was carrying a huge tray full of variety of delicious dishes.


    The maids set the table for the two of them and then left the room.


    "Come, let''s eat", Theodore got up from the bed and went ahead and sat down on the cushion.


    Today, Theodore was making Adeline feel nostalgic very often. The dinner table, the cushions, and Theodore, all of it reminded Adeline of the first ever dinner that she had with Theodore. Right now, he was even sitting in the same spot as the first time they had dinner together.


    A merry smile appeared on Adeline''s face and then she walked towards the empty cushion. She sat down beside Theodore, who was already cutting a beautifully cooked steak into bite-sized pieces.


    The whole room was filled with the delicious aroma of the food in front of the dinner table. Apart from savory steak, there were dishes like egg rolls, boiled potatoes and corn, green soybeans, and some salads.


    Adeline had skipped her dinner and the aroma was making her mouth water, and her stomach also reacted to the dishes on the table by making a loud grumbling noise.


    Adeline pressed her stomach with both of her hands and pressed her lips together in embarrassment.


    Theodore glanced at Adeline and then chuckled at her reaction. Then he shifted the plate of steak in front of Adeline and handed her a fork. "Don''t ever skip your dinner again. You should not punish your stomach for the crimes that it did not commit."


    Adeline shyly grabbed the fork from his hand and looked at the plate full of delicious looking meat. She gulped and then picked a small piece of meat with her fork. She slowly lifted the fork to her mouth and put the piece of steak inside her tiny mouth.


    And almost instantly she closed her eyes and moaned due to the heavenly taste of the steak. She quickly chewed and swallowed the piece in her mouth and immediately stuffed several pieces of steak in her mouth at once.


    She didn''t know why the steak tasted so good but she was sure that she could finish the whole thing on her plate and even some more dishes as well.


    Adeline had stuffed so much food in her mouth at once that her cheeks were looking chubby. Theodore was smiling and gazing at the cute chubby cheeks of Adeline. And he thought to himself, "I was right in asking the maids to prepare some food for her. Look how hungry she is. She can be so stubborn at times and ends up hurting herself."


    When she was about to finish the whole serving of steak all by herself, she happened to glance at Theodore and noticed that he was not eating anything. She was so lost in the taste of food that she had forgotten for a moment that she was not in her own room and she was not alone.


    She picked a piece of steak and then held the fork near Theodore''s mouth. She swallowed the food in her mouth and politely asked, "Why aren''t you eating? Open your mouth, come on."


    This was a completely new experience for Theodore. No one had ever offered to feed him like this before. And when Adeline sweetly asked him to open his mouth, his heart almost melted. He appreciated the fact that someone was there in this world who genuinely cared about him and loved him.


    Yes, he had his loyal followers who cared about him but they did that more out of respect for him rather than love for him.


    And Theodore could say that Adeline was the only one in all the three worlds that loved him so dearly.


    Theodore opened his mouth and Adeline placed the delicious piece of steak in his mouth. He felt as if the steak tasted even better when Adeline fed him with her own hands. "Aah", he opened his mouth again and waited for Adeline to feed him again.


    Adeline smiled like a baby and then fed him again. Theodore grabbed the fork along with Adeline''s hand and ate the food off of the fork. Then he gently pulled Adeline''s hand closer to his mouth and kissed her hand. "The food tastes better when you feed me. I should let you do this more often."


    Adeline gave a smug smile and teased Theodore, "This is the only time I am sharing my food with you. Consider yourself lucky because I am not going to do this in the future." Then she ate the final piece of the steak that was on the plate.


    "Oh is that true?" Theodore raised his brows and gave a challenging look to Adeline. Then out of the blue, he flung himself towards Adeline, slightly grabbed her hair at the back of her head and tugged it.


    "Aaaahh!", and when she opened her mouth because of the pain, he kissed her vigorously. She instantly closed her lips but he sucked her lips as if he was trying to lick off the savory taste of steak off of her lips. And then he tried to push her lips open.


    Adeline hesitated for a while but she reciprocated and started to kiss him back. But Theodore did something unexpected and then gracefully sat back on his cushion.


    Adeline''s mouth was wide open due to utter disbelief on what he just did. Then she slowly spoke in shocked voice, "You just did not�� steal my food from my mouth��"


    Theodore moaned while chewing and teased her even more.. Then he smiled and said, "Oh I just did."

 Chapter 72 - Night Sky

    Adeline smacked Theodore on the shoulder and playfully scolded him, "Bad Devil!"


    And in response Theodore rubbed where he had been hit and pretended to be hurt by that delicate slap. And he whimpered as if he was in pain, "I thought you loved me!"


    Adeline giggled when she saw how talented Theodore was in acting. Then she shifted her attention to other foods on the table and said, "It doesn''t matter if you stole that food from my mouth. There''s still plenty here." She rubbed her hands and then began to dig in.


    Theodore also joined her this time and he also had some of the foods from the table.


    They finished everything that was on the dinner table in no time as they were competing with each other to see who eats more. And the one that ate more was  of course Adeline.


    "Ah! That felt so satisfying. I don''t know if the food tasted good because I was extremely hungry or it tasted good because it was prepared by your talented maids, but I did enjoy eating everything." Adeline expressed her satisfaction as she leaned on the wall.


    Theodore was sincerely happy seeing Adeline back to being her usual self. And seeing her that happy just after eating some food, he offered, "I am glad you enjoyed it. If you want, I can ask them to prepare dishes for you every night."


    But Adeline did not want to burden the maids of Theodore by coming in daily and making them work for extra hours. So she politely rejected, "It won''t be special and memorable if I start eating here daily. And I don''t want that to happen."


    "As you wish", Theodore then got up and held out his hand for Adeline to hold.


    Adeline held onto his hand and got up from her seat.


    Theodore still had another surprise that he had planned for Adeline. He tucked Adeline''s hair behind her ears and then said, "How about I take you out for some fresh air?"


    "That would be lovely", Adeline acted as if she melted from that request because she had ate too much and going out would be perfect to digest that food.


    "Hold on to me then", Theodore placed Adeline''s hands on his shoulders and then he placed his hands on her waist; and in the next moment they both teleported.


    Theodore brought Adeline to the top of a beautiful hill. There were several other hills in the surrounding and they were all covered with beautiful pine trees. The hill they were standing on was slightly taller than the others, and a clear view of the surrounding hills could be seen from there.


    Cool breeze caressed Adeline''s body, making her feel refreshed in an instant. Adeline inhaled the fresh air and happily said, "This place is so beautiful. Do you come here often?"


    Theodore looked around with a smile on his face and then replied, "I usually come here when I feel a little down. This place makes me forget all the troubles that I have."


    Adeline pouted her lips and then whispered, "Then I hope that you don''t have to come here that often."


    Theodore chuckled at that remark of Adeline and said, "I used to come here more often when I had to conceal myself from you. I would sit here for hours and would try to forget about the constant urge to see you. But I always ended up visiting you in secret anyway."


    Theodore stared far at the end of the hill range and felt a little melancholic as he remembered how painful those days were for him as well. But he did not regret it because that had given determination to Adeline and she has now become a better version of herself.


    As it was dark, and as Theodore was lost in his own thoughts for some time, he failed to notice that Adeline was looking at him with eyes full of love and appreciation for him.


    Her gaze was broken when Theodore clapped his hand and looked at her to say, "Come, I will show you something even more beautiful."


    Theodore walked ahead and Adeline obediently followed him. Soon they arrived to a part of the hill where soft grasses had covered a piece of the land. Theodore sat down and then lay down flat on his back, facing the clear sky.


    Theodore patted by his side and invited her in his deep voice, "Lie down beside me little human. You are going to love it."


    Theodore had said that he would show her something beautiful but Adeline was not sure if lying down on the grass was what she would call beautiful. But she had never tried it so she thought that giving it a try would do no harm. Maybe she would like it.


    She gathered her gown neatly and then sat down beside Theodore, and then she also lied down on the grass on her back.


    And instantly her eyes and jaw were wide open in amazement. The sky was very clear so she was seeing countless stars shining brightly in the dark night. The view was so beautiful that her heart skipped a beat. She never knew that her heart was capable of doing that for something other than Theodore.


    "Wow! Does the night sky always look this beautiful?" Adeline was still dazzled by the twinkling stars.


    Theodore smirked and then asked, "Do you like the view?"


    "I love the view!" Adeline replied merrily.


    The reason why Adeline was being this excited about seeing the clear sky at night was because, well she had never done that before. And she definitely had not done that by lying down on the ground on top of the hill with the handsome Devil by her side.


    All she cared about her whole life was training and getting stronger. She had a set routine and she never really had time for such small things. And she had no idea that such small thing like staring at the sky would bring her immense joy.


    Adeline held out both of her hands as if she was trying to touch the shiny stars in the sky. She was happily wriggling her feet and making cute little noises in excitement.


    Theodore grabbed Adeline''s hand and brought it close to his lips. Then he planted a kiss on her knuckles and whispered, "You are so easy to please, do you know that?"


    Adeline giggled and then asked, "Isn''t that a good thing?"


    "Of course", Theodore kept on holding her hand and then stared at the sky along with the cute little human by his side.


    ---


    Back at the Palace, an evil was lurking outside in the dark after everyone had gone to their rooms to get some nice sleep. And that evil was none other than Queen Lillian.


    Lillian was now hell-bent on harming not just Adeline but also the King himself. She somehow began to believe that the mystical being that was taunting her was controlled by Adeline and was using it to harm her.


    She was so blinded by hatred towards Adeline that she did not even remember that Adeline was just a five year old kid when the mystical being had gave her the worse illusion for the first time and had embarrassed her. Though Theodore had acted on behalf of Adeline, Adeline had never used him to hurt Lillian. But Lillian''s strong hatred made her think that way and prompted her to act out.


    Lillian was wearing a black gown and was also covering her face with a black hood. And in her hand she was carrying an urn that had the black ashes from an oak tree that had lived for over a thousand years.


    If one was to draw the magic circles from the ashes of the oak tree then the circle would not be broken so easily. It would last for a long duration of time and would be hard to break even by the one who drew the magic circle in the first place.


    And right now, Lillian was trying to draw the circle that would last for a long time. She was going to draw a huge magic circle around the whole Palace.


    She was trying to do so, so that she would not need to draw new circles every day. And she was enclosing the whole Palace in the circle so that when she would summon something, it could move freely inside any corner of the Palace.


    She had no idea if such cheating was allowed. But even if it did not work, then she was prepared to do what the book had said. She was prepared to sacrifice a human life on the circle to make easy mobility of the summoned possible.


    She exited the Palace from the gate that would lead to the dungeon. And then she took out a fist full of the ash from the urn. She bent down and then began to draw the circle.


    It almost took her an hour to finish drawing the magic circle around the Palace. She took a deep breath in and a sinister smile appeared on her face.


    She was about to test whether the magic circle would work or not.. And if it did work, she had already chosen a victim.

 Chapter 73 - The Seductress

    Lillian went back inside the Palace and stood in front of the King''s Court, which was the center of the whole Palace. She already had invisibility spell on and was masking herself from other''s eyes. She spread her arms and then faced towards the clear night sky. Then she began to chant the spell to summon a being from the other world, that world being Hell.


    As she had drawn a large magic circle, she was absorbing vast amount of negative energy from the Netherworld to power the magic circle. The Hell had unlimited supply of negative energy like hatred, lust, revenge, anger, etc. They would be emitted by the beings of the Hell as well as the humans that had gone there after dying.


    And because she was letting immense amount of dark power flow through her body, she was in great pain. But no matter how hurt she was, she gritted from between her teeth and kept on chanting the spell.


    By this time, Lillian''s dead ancestors had also given up on her and had already stopped to whisper to her when she would perform the forbidden magic. They had already accepted that there was no hope for Lillian and that her soul had already been corrupted.


    However, after many years, Lillian was hearing the whisperings again. The ancestors were screaming in her ears as if they were in a lot of pain, as if they were being tortured by someone in the other world that they were in.


    Her ancestors started to beg to her all at once.


    "Lillian! Stop this madness once and for all."


    "Do you think you can get away with all of this? You will pay for this while you are still alive."


    "You will have to pay for all the cruel things that you''ve done even after you die."


    "You will rot in hell for thousands of years if you keep this up."


    "I will curse you for tainting our family name."


    Lillian''s ears started to ring and her head started to hurt with all the screaming and shouting from her ancestors. She was feeling like all of her ancestors were currently in her head and were trying to hurt her from the inside. She swore that if she would ever get a chance to meet her ancestors in the afterlife, she would kill them all again.


    Her ancestor''s warning were turning futile because Lillian was not backing out, nor was she afraid of going to hell or rotting there for eternity. "I will gladly rot in hell for eternity if I take my revenge on that bastard." She would have yelled back to her ancestors if it wouldn''t have interrupted her incantation.


    And in addition to the ringing of ears, she was also feeling excruciating pain in her whole body. She was feeling as if the dark power was running through her veins and that it would pop out of her veins at any moment now.


    But no matter how much pain she was in, she was not the one to give up in the middle of completing the spell. "I just have to endure it a little more��" she thought that as she kept her incantations going.


    Slowly the whisperings in her ears died down and with a clear head, she sped up her chanting. However, the more she approached the ending of the spell, the more her body was in pain. And after one point, her whole body started to shake violently as if she was possessed by a demon.


    A dark mist started to whirl around Lillian. The mist swallowed her like a tornado and it started to spread all over the Palace. The sky above the Palace that was clear just a while ago was now gloomy and dark. Not a single star was visible from down below.


    After a great struggle, Lillian finally completed the spell. Her body stopped shaking and she gasped for air. When the mist slowly cleared, a winged creature came into view. And even in the dim moonlight, one could tell what it was.


    Lillian had summoned a succubus; the seductress from hell who thrived by seducing men. According to what Lillian had heard from the folklores, she had thought that succubus had deformed bodies and looked very frightening. But she was surprised to see the one in front of her. The succubus that came upon her summoning was really beautiful.


    In fact, beautiful would be an understatement. She looked like an epitome of beauty. Though she had a set of large black wings, horns and a tail, one could not overlook her other-worldly and womanly features. She had a beautiful face, voluptuous breasts and hips, long legs and the hint of seduction dripping from her without even trying.


    It would be a lie if Lillian said that she was not jealous of the youthful succubus in front of her.


    "Did you summon me to just look at me or do you actually have some task for me?" The succubus asked in an enticingly beautiful voice.


    Lillian cleared her throat and then spoke in a stern voice to make sure that the succubus would not disrespect her like the Demoness had done before. "I want you to appear in a man''s dream and do what you do best. And the goal is to ultimately push him towards his death."


    The succubus sucked her lower lips and moaned, "Mmm�� taking the life of the man I seduce�� I like it. But I do hope that the man will be worthy of my effort." She seductively touched her womanly figure and said, "I don''t want to waste this gem on some nobody."


    "Oh don''t hurt me by thinking so low of me darling." Lillian proudly folded her arms and gave a sinister laughter, "I am the Queen of this Kingdom. Do you think I would waste my time and effort on some nobody? Do you think I would endure so much pain for some no-name?"


    The succubus''s wings flapped slightly with great expectation. And she asked happily about who her prey was going to be, "Who is it, who is it? Who am I luring with me beauty?"


    "Will the King do?" Lillian had a huge smirk on her face.


    The succubus clapped her hands and then flapped her wings. And she did a little dance in the air and landed back on the ground and said, "Yes! The King will do."


    "Come on then, follow me." Lillian started to walk in front of the succubus and led the way.


    The succubus was, however, confused when Lillian started to walk away because she thought that she would be confined with the magic circle. Till now she had not looked down to check the magic circle. And when she did look down, she was surprised to see that there was no magic circle at all. She took several steps and realized that she could walk freely.


    And she flew by the side of Lillian and excitedly whispered, "Did you kill a human to make me walk freely?"


    Lillian shook her head and casually replied, "No, I just drew a larger magic circle. You can walk freely inside this Palace."


    And the succubus exclaimed, "You drew a larger magic circle? And that worked?"


    Lillian nodded her head, "Mhmm."


    "Impressive! I have never heard of this before. You must be a powerful witch then." The succubus praised Lillian as she kept on flying alongside her.


    Lillian did not show it but she was happy to hear that from a mystical being of Hell. "Did I improve from the last time that I used the summoning spell? Am I becoming more powerful?" Lillian asked to herself. She wanted to believe that she was becoming more and more powerful by the day. She wanted to be able to control the greater demons and demoness of hell and make them do her bidding.


    Lillian led the succubus towards the King''s private chamber. Though there were several guards standing at several places, they were unable to see the two of them. Some of them were able to feel a gust of wind when the succubus flapped her wings as she passed by. But they never thought that it was something abnormal; they thought that it was just a gust of wind and nothing more.


    There was a small problem when they reached at the door of the private chamber though. Four guards were standing by the door, two on either side of the door. And all four of them were wide awake. To enter inside the room, Lillian had to open the door. And though she was invisible, she couldn''t just open the door without the guards noticing it.


    Lillian was trying to think of a way to go inside the room but the succubus understood that her prey was behind that door. And she signaled to Lillian that she would go inside the room alone.


    Before Lillian could signal back anything, the succubus disappeared from her sight. And Lillian puckered her lips and screamed internally, "I hate it when they just disappear. You never know if they will complete the task or not."


    But she had no other option than trusting the succubus. After all, succubus lived by seducing men and taking their life force for themselves.


    Seeing there was no use of her in standing outside the door, she tiptoed back towards her own quarter and patiently waited for the succubus to do her deeds.

 Chapter 74 - Dream Control

    People who had heard the folklores about the succubus believed that the seductress appeared in their victim''s dream and then performed erotic activities with their victims. Such stories were widespread in the villages of Wyverndale and in several other Kingdoms as well.


    Some of the victims who lived a long time ago and who were lucky enough to be alive even after their encounter with the succubus told their stories to others. And their stories were told and retold through generations and became the folklore. However, the succubus was now limited to folktales only as no new incidents were heard in the recent time.


    Men had already forgotten about that deadly and frightening being from hell; the being that even the strongest of men would fear in the past. But right now, in the middle of the night, that same forgotten creature was going for its prey. It was going to remind the men that it still existed and was to be feared.


    After disappearing from outside the door, the succubus reappeared inside of the King''s private chamber and kept on staring at King Dragomir for some time. Then she inched closer to the King''s bed and gently moved around the bed while touching the rim of the bed with her sleek and long fingers.


    Once she reached near the pillows, she leaned in closer to take a good look at the face of the King. She caressed her fingers through the King''s face and gently touched his lips.


    The King waved around his hand like he was chasing away a fly and then turned to his side, his back facing the succubus.


    The succubus seductively massaged her lips with her thumb and then she had a wide smile on her lips. And she spoke under her breath, "He looks a little old but he is still handsome. Not to mention his strong build." She walked to the other side of the bed to face him again and thought, "I like him�� if he comes down to hell after dying, then I shall keep him for myself."


    She stretched her hands and massaged her shoulders, and said, "Alright! Let''s start then." Then she placed both of her hands on King Dragomir''s head and closed her eyes. Then she chanted a spell that would allow her to see the woman that he loved or desired the most.


    The succubus was able to see the image of Auvera. She smiled and whispered, "Beautiful! Now let me borrow your appearance."


    The succubus took a few steps away from the King and she started to morph herself into Auvera. Slowly, her wings, horns and tail disappeared. And instead of a seductive look, she had a very innocent expression on her face. Even her clothes looked exactly like Auvera would wear. If anyone who knew Auvera saw the succubus right now, they would mistake her for the real Auvera.


    And that was the exact intention of the succubus�� to use Auvera''s appearance to seduce the man that loved Auvera very dearly.


    If their prey was deep in sleep, the succubus had the ability to intercept the victim''s dream and indulge themselves in explicit activities with their victims. And the succubus that was standing by the side of the King''s bed was more than ready to pounce on her prey.


    The succubus placed one of her hands on the forehead of the King and then placed another hand on her own forehead. Then she chanted another spell, "jru zsus lotsmo, jru zlul zapis fistsmo, zsaso dislyo fomijpo up zesmvir aso zistmas."


    The spell loosely translated to, "Oh the Queen of succubus, oh almighty enchantress, grant me with the power to forbid dreamless sleep in this man and help me activate illusion in the dream state of his mind."


    And as soon as she chanted that spell by taking the name of her Queen, she disintegrated into vapor and entered inside King Dragomir''s mind.


    King Dragomir was now no longer in control of his mind and dreams. His dream was taken over by the succubus and she was controlling almost every scene that King Dragomir would see.


    King Dragomir found himself in the middle of a beautiful garden. He looked at his hands and noticed that he was way too young than what he actually was. He took a deep breath in and inhaled the fresh air that was filled with the sweet aroma of roses. He didn''t know why but he was feeling happy.


    He slowly walked around the garden while appreciating the beauty of his Palace. While touching the flowers and smelling them, he thought to himself, "I should give a raise to the gardener for raising such wonderful flowers in my garden."


    He walked a little further and reached in front of a small pond that was by the side of that beautiful garden. And he saw a woman sitting by the side of the pond while splashing her legs in the clean water of that pond. She was laughing and playing with the water, and she sounded very happy.


    The woman''s back was facing the King while she was sitting by the pond''s side. And the King could not recognize who it was. However, he had this feeling that he knew that woman from a long time ago. Something was telling the King to approach the woman and get to know her. So he followed his heart and walked in the direction of that woman.


    When King Dragomir approached that woman, she stopped splashing the water and turned around to see who was behind her.


    King Dragomir was awestruck by the beauty of the woman in front of him. She was very young, maybe in her teenage. She had long and wavy silver hair. Her skin was glowing with pure youthfulness. And her cheeks were starting to turn red when she saw a stranger gawking at her.


    Dragomir felt like he had seen this beauty somewhere before but he could not exactly pinpoint where and when. Enchanted by her beauty, Dragomir decided to sit by the side of that young girl. He took off his shoes and then sat down. Then his eyes immediately fell on his own reflection in the pond.


    And his eyes were wide open with amazement. His reflection was showing that he was in his teenage years. He touched his face to check if it was real or it was just a dream. But everything felt very real.


    "Just a while ago, was I dreaming that I had become old and had lots of wives and children? Or am I dreaming now? But this feels too real to be a dream. Maybe�� I had a very long and bad dream before coming to this garden." Dragomir thought to himself and diverted his attention to the young and lovely girl by his side.


    When he looked at her, the girls also happened to look at him and he bravely asked, "What is your name?"


    The girl smiled very shyly and replied, "Auvera."


    King Dragomir also smiled at the girl and introduced himself, "I am Dragomir."


    The shy girl chuckled and replied, "I know. Who doesn''t know a Prince?"


    "Prince? I thought I was a King." Dragomir thought to himself. And then he smacked his head and scolded himself inwardly, "How can you even forget your own position? You were a King in your dream. This is reality and here, you are just a Prince. And your father, the actual King, is still alive."


    The succubus had taken some reference from the first time that Dragomir had met Auvera, and she was creating her own version of illusion to trap King Dragomir in her seduction. And the King was falling right into the trap, so much so that he had lost the sense of what was real and what was a dream.


    "So where do you live Auvera?" Dragomir tried to find that out so that he would be able to visit that lovely lady from time to time.


    Auvera began to splash the water again and replied in riddles, "I live wherever my heart leads me to."


    Dragomir smiled and stared at the happy beauty for some time. Then he craftily questioned again, "Is that so? Then will you tell me where your heart will lead you so that I can also follow your heart?"


    Auvera covered her mouth and then chuckled again. "You are such a flirt!"


    Dragomir gave a sly smirk and said in a smooth tone, "I thought I was a Prince. But ''flirt'' will also work if you are the one to call me that."


    Auvera laughed again and Dragomir was already wrapped around in the beauty of that girl.


    Dragomir and Auvera talked with each other for some more time. They were teasing each other, sharing things about each other, laughing and splashing the water at each other, and were enjoying each other''s company.


    After some time, Auvera suddenly got up and said, "I have to go now. My mother will scold me if I am gone for too long."


    Dragomir was sad when she said that; he did not want that beautiful girl to ever leave his side. So he also got up and tried to stop her. "Won''t you stay for a little longer? I will talk with your mother if she is going to scold you."


    But Auvera fidgeted with her fingers and denied, "No, I have to go now."


    As she was about to turn around and leave, Dragomir held her hand and pulled her. He put his hand around her waist and then leaned forward to kiss Auvera.


    Auvera did not resist at all. She closed her eyes and waited for Dragomir to kiss her.


    And Dragomir did just that. He kissed the beauty that was in his arms. But when his lips touched hers, he felt a sharp sting in his heart. He winched in pain and then instantly opened his eyes.


    And he immediately shouted, "Who the hell are you? What have you done to me?"


    As soon as he said those words, the magic wore off.. And before Dragomir could see the real form of the succubus, she left the control of his dream and got out of his mind.

 Chapter 75 - Slow Progress

    King Dragomir woke up from his dream and sat up straight on his bed. His whole body was covered in sweat and he was short of breath. He gasped for air and tried to remember why he was in such a state. "What was I dreaming of? Was it some nightmare?" the King wiped his sweat off from his forehead and racked his brain.


    But he was just able to remember bits and pieces of his dream. He remembered that he had seen Auvera in his dream but no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember why he was panting and sweating.


    And then he felt very sad because he had just seen Auvera in his dream and he was reminded that she was no longer in this world. That sweet memory of her would now just be limited to memory and he wouldn''t be able to see her again.


    The dream had made him realize what he was missing from his life. He recalled how much Auvera meant to him. He was also reminded again that Lillian was the reason why he had to lose her. His heart began to ache again and his veins started to bulge aggressively. For a fraction of second, he felt like going to Lillian''s quarter and strangling her to death.


    But he did not let his anger get the better of him. He had promised to his daughter that he would pretend that he has no knowledge about Auvera''s murder. And he was not going to break that promise and sabotage his daughter''s plan.


    He lay back on his bed and closed his eyes to get some sleep. But he could not. Earlier, it had taken him a lot of time to refrain from thinking about Auvera and fall asleep. But now that he had woken up from his sleep, no matter how much he turned sides and no matter how much he tried to clear his head, he was unable to fall asleep again.


    And Dragomir started to reflect back to the conversation that he had with his daughter earlier in the morning. "So, the most feared Devil that lives on the top of that hill turned out to be the guardian of my daughter. And my first wife turned out to be the actual Devil in disguise��"


    He took a deep breath in and kept on staring at the blank ceiling. And drops of tears started to roll down his temples.


    ---


    Lillian was impatiently walking back and forth in her private chamber. "How long is it going to take?" she gritted from between her teeth and kept on pacing.


    She was waiting for the succubus to arrive and tell her everything that happened after she entered inside the room. She wanted to know what the succubus did to Dragomir, and she also wanted to know how long it would take for him to eventually die.


    A flapping of wings was heard in the room and she quickly turned around with great expectation. She wanted to hear the details soon. So she immediately asked, "So, how did the hunting go? Did you manage to take his life force?"


    The succubus was not as cheerful as before and was not acting in a seductive way either. She had a grumpy face and she slowly spoke, "Don''t get mad. I didn''t get much of his life force."


    "What? Why?" Lillian immediately exclaimed in anger. She had used so much of the negative energy and she had endured so much pain and cursing from her ancestors. And after she had done so much to summon the succubus, she was now saying that she did not manage to get her one task done properly.


    She glared at the succubus and then shouted to her, "I went through all that trouble to summon you and now you are telling me that you could not do the very job that you are good at?"


    The succubus answered without being fazed by the Queen''s tone, "He happened to be one of the strong minded man. So when I was just starting to take away his life force, he immediately found out that something was not right and my control over his mind wore off. But I assure you, it was not my fault that he had a strong mind. I had given it my all and tried my best to lure him."


    The succubus was clenching her fists and she was also visibly angry. She was angry at herself and she was angry at Dragomir.


    And why wouldn''t she be angry. She had put in so much effort to build up the story in the dream and build trust with the King. However, right when she was about to reap the fruit of her labor, her prey regained the control of his dream and she had to retreat. Her ''food'' that was right on her lips and that was about to enter her body was snatched away from her.


    The succubus took a deep breath in and then in the next second, she was back to being her usual self. She smiled and spoke in a seductive voice, "But don''t worry my evoker. It was never going to happen in one go. It will take some time to reach to the end goal, and depending on the mind of our prey the duration to reach that end goal will vary."


    The end goal that she was talking about was, of course, the death of her victim.


    The succubus leaned closer to Lillian and then caressed her with her tail, and said in the softest voice, "And in the case of your husband, it will take a little longer to push him to his death. I hope you will summon me daily from now on. That is, if you still want to kill your husband."


    From the way the succubus was speaking to Lillian, her anger was slowly calming down. She didn''t know if the succubus was using some kind of magic on her but she knew that getting angry was pointless as today''s chance and time both was already over.


    Lillian untangled herself from the tail of the succubus and spoke in a calmer voice, "Okay. I believe you that it was not your fault. He is one of the strongest King after all, so that much is expected of him." Lillian looked at the succubus and spoke firmly, "I will call you tomorrow as well, around the same time. Be ready."


    Lillian expected the succubus to leave after she had said that much but the succubus was playing with her hair and thinking something. Or rather than thinking, the succubus was staring at Lillian and giving a judgmental look.


    "Is there anything that you wish to say to me?" Lillian asked in curiosity.


    The succubus began to flap her wings and circle around Lillian. And then she stopped in front of Lillian''s face and said, "How much do you know about the forbidden magic, more specifically the summoning?"


    Lillian felt a little uncomfortable with this question. She felt like the succubus was trying to embarrass her so she asked in an unyielding voice, "Why do you ask?"


    The succubus began to fly around Lillian again and she spoke her mind, "I see that you have great raw power and you are capable of channeling a great amount of negative energy. But you don''t even know the basics of the summoning. It does not quite make sense."


    Though Lillian felt like the succubus was insulting her, it was also true that she did not know much about the summoning. She had just found an old forbidden book and whatever she knew was from that book. And the book did not answer all of her questions. Like she had no idea if a larger circle would actually work and if it did she had no idea that the cost of the larger circle was that excessive.


    So Lillian swallowed her pride and then answered to the succubus, "I have been practicing witchcraft since several decades but I had not practiced the summoning spell from that long. It has just been a few days since I started to perform it."


    "Well that is even more remarkable then, to reach such height in just a few days." The succubus was nodding her head as she was very impressed by Lillian. And then she thought that she would give some insight to her, "I see a lot of potential in you, which is why I am going to share this with you."


    Lillian was listening very attentively to the succubus. If it meant that her understanding of the summoning magic and her overall power would improve, she was even willing to listen to the mystical being from hell.


    The succubus gave a piece of information to Lillian, "If you always want me to appear when you summon a succubus, then you have to make a blood pact with me. Else there is a high chance that when you use your summoning spell tomorrow, some other succubus can appear instead of me. And I will tell you that you don''t want that because, each succubus will have to start from the scratch. And that King will never die at that rate."


    "So, tell me how to do this blood pact?" Lillian was already disappointed by the slow rate of progress and she did not want to make it any slower.

 Chapter 76 - Before Leaving

    The night was filled with the extreme experiences and emotions. Some were feeling sad about having to leave the Palace, some were devastated because of the old memories, and some were experimenting the new ways to perform dark magic, while some were sleeping peacefully in the arms of their lover.


    The night that brought different types of emotional experience for different being finally came to an end. The birds began to chirp and fly away in search of their food. The roosters began to crow, signifying that it was morning time. And Adeline was already back in her own chamber. Theodore had teleported her back to her quarter and had left already.


    Usually, Adeline would be studying at this time in the morning. Her body would be full of energy and she would be ready to tackle anything that the day threw at her.


    However, today was a little different for her. She was not ready for today to happen. Rather than being full of energy and hopes, Adeline was laying down in her own bed as if she didn''t even want to move a muscle in her body.


    Yesterday, Theodore had managed to cheer her up. But now that she was left alone again, she was back to worrying about Nigel leaving the Palace.


    She somehow managed to pull herself together and managed to take a bath. Then with a heavy heart, she went to Nigel''s quarter to see him off.


    Before entering inside Prince Nigel''s quarter, Adeline took a few deep breaths in so as to restrain her eyes from watering. She wanted to send her brother off happily so that he would remember her happy face rather than her sad and gloomy face for the whole month.


    When Adeline reached inside Nigel''s room, he was already dressed up and his belongings were all packed. Before he set off on his journey, he was having a light breakfast. Like most of his half-siblings, Nigel was not used to traveling long distances in the carriage and he did not want to feel motion sickness by keeping him stomach empty.


    Nigel was happy to see his sister in his quarter. "Adeline�� I was about to come see you after I finished eating. But I''m happy that you are here."


    "I was afraid that you would leave without saying goodbye properly so I ran here." Adeline sat by the side of Nigel. Then she took a piece of bread from his plate and munched on it.


    Nigel snatched back the bread from Adeline''s hand and put it inside his mouth all at once. Then he furrowed his brows and mumbled, "How can you even think that I would run away without even seeing you? Do I look that heartless to you?"


    Adeline chuckled like a pampered baby and then rested her head on her brother''s shoulder. "I was just teasing you. I just couldn''t wait any longer to see you so I came here on my own."


    Nigel tilted his head towards his shoulder and then hit Adeline''s head with his own. "God! I''m going to miss you the most."


    "I''m going to miss you too brother." Adeline was trying hard not to cry again. She was trying to convince herself by saying that one month was not that long and before she knew it, her brother would already be back at the Palace. But she was finding it very hard to control her tears.


    Nigel''s condition was also similar. He did not wish to depart from his pampered sister. "I wish I could take you with me." Prince Nigel''s eyes lit up as if he was actually considering that option and said, "Maybe I should make a request to our father to send you together with me. I bet my relatives in Aberdeen will not mind having one extra guest."


    Adeline chuckled and passed it as a joke, "Yeah right!"


    But Nigel was now even more serious. He glanced at Adeline and asked genuinely, "Don''t you want to go together with me? It will be fun. They will teach me about the werewolf things; and you can train with me and Wulfric. Your power is at the same level as us so, it will be even more fun. What do you say?"


    "I would love to go along with you if it was any other place but you know I can''t go to Aberdeen." Adeline pursed her lips and showed her disappointment.


    Nigel knitted his brows in tune at that statement of Adeline. "What do you mean you can''t come to Aberdeen? Is it because of Fenris? If it is then I will give him a good beating and he won''t bother you like he did when he came here."


    Nigel was making his own speculations as to why Adeline was denying to come to Aberdeen. And he immediately added, "And if you are saying that you can''t come with me because I have already made my preparations to leave but you have not, then we can leave tomorrow. And if you request our father to send you with me, I am sure he will not reject your request."


    But that was not why Adeline was saying that she could not follow Nigel to Aberdeen. "Didn''t you say that they have invited you to give you some trainings specifically focusing on your werewolf side?"


    "Umm�� yes, but we can always train together." Nigel replied calmly.


    Adeline thought that he would understand why she was saying that she wouldn''t be able to come along. But from the way Nigel was talking, she started to think that Fenris had not told anything to Nigel about the clan.


    "Didn''t Fenris tell you how protective the Siccaldi clan is, regarding their werewolf secret?" Adeline asked while raising her brows.


    Nigel tried to think hard and he remembered Fenris saying to both of them that it was a secret. "He told us that it was a tight-kept secret. But you already know about it, so I don''t think it will matter that much."


    "I can''t believe Fenris didn''t tell you anything. How can he be so careless?" Adeline shouted in an agitated tone.


    Nigel narrowed his eyes and asked, "What more did he hide from me?" Nigel was already prepared to beat Fenris once he reached Aberdeen. Fenris had told everyone in Aberdeen that he was a werewolf, including his mother. And Fenris had even talked with Adeline about something which he had no idea about.


    "He told me that the clan does anything and everything to protect their secret. And by anything, I mean killing the witnesses who have found out about them. So, you cannot take me there in the middle of the clan." As soon as she finished saying that, Adeline noticed that Nigel was already clenching his fists and was ready to smash something.


    And instantly, she tried to clarify that she was not in danger from the clan. "Of course they won''t kill me because I am a Princess. But Fenris said they would keep a close eye on me, if they know that I know about werewolves."


    "How can he keep me out of the loop like this?" Nigel was screaming inside his head. "What if I had mistakenly revealed to the clan that Adeline knew about the secret?"


    Adeline saw that Nigel''s veins were bulging. She did not want her brother to be angry before leaving so she grabbed the glass of water that was on the table, poured some water on her palm and then splashed it on Nigel''s face.


    Nigel winced and yelled, "Hey! What are you doing?"


    "I thought you were burning with anger so I was putting it off." Adeline splashed some more water on Nigel and ran while chuckling.


    Nigel took the glass of water and chased after her.


    A few of the maids and servants entered inside the room and they began to take away the packed belongings of the Prince. There was a carriage standing outside of his quarter and the servants were loading his belongings in that carriage.


    The two half-siblings joked around and talked for some more time. Adeline also told Nigel about other things that Fenris had told her about the werewolves. And after a while, a maid came inside Nigel''s room and informed him, "Your Highness, the carriage is ready."


    "Okay, I will visit my mother and father before I leave. Ask the coachman and the guards to be on the standby." Prince Nigel stood up from the seat and then smoothed out his clothes.


    Adeline also stood up and kept on staring at her brother for the last time. Nigel smiled at Adeline and then gave her a tight hug and said, "As I said before, keep on practicing daily even if you are alone. We will meet again before the test."


    Adeline hugged back Nigel and tried to speak in a normal tone, "You should also keep on practicing daily. Be the strongest werewolf when you return back."


    Nigel chuckled at the demand of Adeline. Adeline had no idea that being the strongest werewolf came with a price. According to what his mother had told him, the strongest werewolf would be the alpha of the pack. And being an alpha meant never being able to leave Aberdeen. So Prince Nigel had no wish to pay such a huge price.


    Nigel ruffled his sister''s hair and then bid her goodbye. Then he thought of heading towards the King''s quarter first.


    When Nigel walked out of the room, Adeline also followed Nigel out of his quarter. Then they parted their way from the middle of the path.. As Nigel walked away, Adeline kept on looking at his back until he went inside King Dragomir''s quarter and vanished from her sight.

 Chapter 77 - Father-Son Time

    It was still dawn so King Dragomir was not in the Court yet. That was why Nigel headed straight towards his father''s sleeping chamber. Prince Nigel was a little nervous when he was going to see his father in his private chamber. He had rarely done that before, and this was one of those rare moments.


    It was a well-known fact that the King did not like being visited in his chamber. So people would wait until it was time for the King to proceed to the Court; and they would put forth their grievances in the Court.


    However, as Prince Nigel was leaving early in the morning, he had to see the King in his own quarter. But he couldn''t help but worry that he would anger the King by invading his privacy.


    After reaching outside the chamber, Nigel nervously looked at the guard who was standing by the door and asked, "Will you announce to the King that I am here to see him?"


    The guard bowed to the Prince and replied, "Yes Your Highness." Then he knocked on the door and went inside the room. He returned back within a few seconds and reported back to the Prince, "His Majesty is waiting for you inside."


    The guards opened the door for the Prince and stepped to the side to let him enter the King''s room.


    When Nigel reached inside the King''s room, he saw that his father was sitting on his bed sloppily. His hair and clothes were a mess. And his expression looked as if he was very weary and hadn''t slept in days.


    Prince Nigel was shocked to see the King in that state. He had always seen the King in his full Royal clothing or at least proper clothing. He cared a lot about his appearance and thus was always well groomed. He would exude with confidence every time that he was around other people. And for the first time, Nigel felt like his father didn''t care about maintaining his appearance.


    And for the first time, Nigel felt as if the King was getting old.


    Nigel was awkwardly standing in front of the King''s bed, not really sure what he was going to say to his father. "Am I just supposed to say goodbye and leave, or am I supposed to chat with him for a while?"


    He thought that just informing the King that he was about to leave would seem rude but he didn''t know how to do small talks with the King. So he waited for the King to say something and decided to go with the flow.


    Prince Nigel was dressed up in his royal attire so Dragomir guessed why his son came to see him early in the morning.


    Seeing Nigel standing with a stiff body, King Dragomir shifted to one side of his bed and then gestured at the other side and said, "Why don''t you sit for a while Nigel?"


    Nigel stared at the King with a surprised look on his face as it was something that he had least expected.


    He was not used to this kind of polite treatment from the King so he felt a little nervous while he was walking towards the huge bed. "Is he being so polite because I am going away today?" he asked to himself.


    "You are leaving already?" King Dragomir asked as if he was not the one to give an order to Nigel asking him to leave as soon as possible.


    Nigel politely smiled at the King and replied, "Yes Your Majesty, I wanted to start my training as early as it was possible." He obviously didn''t want to leave for Aberdeen and was just going there because of the orders. But he was not going to say that to the King himself.


    The King looked at the Prince and he was able to read the face of Nigel. Although Nigel didn''t say it, Dragomir knew that he was not leaving on his own will.


    So, the King started the conversation with an apology, "I am sorry that I gave an order to you to go to Aberdeen. I was not in a right state of mind when the messenger from Aberdeen arrived. And I agreed to send you there without even realizing it."


    "He was not in a right state of mind? Did something happen to him?" Nigel couldn''t help but worry.


    The King kept on bad-mouthing himself, "I should have never agreed to send my son away to another Kingdom, that also for a month! No Prince should be sent away from his own home. But now it''s too late as I already gave my word to King Conall."


    Prince Nigel was touched by this gesture from the King. Nigel always thought that the King never really cared about any of his children other than Adeline. He would even get jealous of Adeline sometimes for being the youngest one and being the only one to receive the love from their father. But right now, he felt like the King really cared about him as well. He thought that the King just didn''t show it openly.


    Nigel looked down at the floor and smiled softly. "It''s alright Your Majesty. I have not minded it at all. And I will be back before the test so I will be fine."


    Dragomir patted on Nigel''s shoulder and held it firmly. He gave a soft smile to his son and said in a calmer voice than his usual stern tone, "You don''t have to call me ''Your Majesty'' when we are alone. You can call me ''father''. I don''t want to deprive my children of the right to call me ''father''."


    "Yes yo�� yes father." Nigel was beaming with happiness because of the way his father was being so polite and loving towards him.


    Dragomir glanced at Nigel and then asked him, "Did you finish making all the preparations for the journey? Is there anything that I can do for you?"


    "I have already prepared everything for the journey. You don''t have to worry about such things." Nigel was already used to doing everything by himself, so there was no need for the King to worry about such trivial matters.


    Due to the recent talk with Adeline, Dragomir had realized that he was not providing enough love and care to his family. And he realized how dangerous that was. He did not want anyone else to be like Lillian.


    Dragomir had not yet finished asking for forgiveness from Nigel. He had a sad expression on his face when he spoke again, "Nigel, I would like to say that I am sorry for being an absent father. I was never close to any of my family members. I just took all of you for granted and never really played my part as a husband or as a father."


    Nigel felt a prick in his heart seeing the King pleading for forgiveness in front of him. And that also because of the matter that he had already made peace with. He wanted to say something to the King to make him stop asking for forgiveness but the King kept on speaking.


    "All I ever cared about was securing borders, looking after the villagers, tying up with other nations, and what not. But while doing all that, I forgot to give love and support to my own family."


    Dragomir slammed his fist on his bed and murmured, "I failed all of you. I failed myself." Dragomir was acting this way because he was blaming himself for what happened to Lillian and Auvera.


    Nigel had no idea why Dragomir was saying all these things out of the blue. But whatever the reason, he did not like seeing his father feeling this guilty. So he tried to make his father feel better about himself and said, "Father, you didn''t fail anybody. You are the King of this great nation. You made everyone''s life better. You succeeded as a King."


    "But I failed as a husband and as a father" Dragomir''s eyes dulled up and the expression on his face died down.


    Nigel made another attempt to try to calm his father down, "You might not have gotten the chance to do some heart-to-heat conversations or spend some more time with us but that''s the cost one has to bear with such power as yourself. You are not just responsible for us, you are responsible for everyone in this Kingdom. So we understand you father."


    Dragomir''s eyes were filled with tears when he heard his son. He just wished that everyone in his family were as caring and as understanding as Nigel.


    Only the King knew how hard it was to shoulder the responsibility of the whole Kingdom. No one else knew how tiring it was to be under constant pressure, pressure to make sure that the decisions that he would make on behalf of the whole Kingdom would always be right. His one wrong decision and hundreds of innocent people would have to pay the price.


    No one would ask to the King how he was doing but he was required to ask that to each of his citizens and make sure everyone was okay. No one would give the words of encouragement to the King. Even though he was surrounded by lots of people, he felt like he was on his own. And these kind words from his son made him emotional.


    Dragomir hugged his son and praised him, "You are a good lad. You were always one. Don''t you ever dare to change your good heart."


    "Yes father" and Nigel was over the moon at this reaction from his father.. This was the first time that his father had ever hugged him, and it meant a lot to Nigel.

 Chapter 78 - Sister

    After seeing off Nigel, Adeline went back to her own quarter to have a light breakfast before she went to her class. She forced the food down her throat and gathered her scrolls and books.


    And slowly Adeline proceeded to the group training session even though she did not want to. She even contemplated about pretending to be sick and taking a leave for the day. However, she remembered what Nigel had said to her before leaving. So even though she did not have any will, she dragged her feet towards the training ground.


    Adeline attended the training session with five of her other half-siblings �C Nefriti, Raphael, Claudia, Kaela, and Gustin. But she never really talked with either of them other than while exchanging simple greetings and a few other words while dueling with them.


    She also never focused on building a good relationship with any other of her half-siblings because she didn''t really feel the need to. She was already close to Nigel and he was more than enough for Adeline.


    Today''s session was a theory one, where one of the councilmen was teaching them a topic about the importance of trade with other Kingdoms.


    The councilman was explaining the topic in simpler terms, "If we are able to produce goods that the other Kingdoms don''t have, then we can trade those goods with those Kingdoms. Similarly, if those Kingdoms have something which we don''t have, we can still have those goods by buying from them."


    Adeline was trying hard to focus on what the councilman was saying but no matter how hard she tried, her mind kept on wandering. She was clenching her teeth and digging her nails in her palm in the hopes of trying to focus on the lecture.


    "In this way, if our Kingdoms are co-dependent, then there is a less chance that other Kingdoms will wage wars against us just for the sake of obtaining the resources in our disposal." The councilmen kept on speaking but all of it was just becoming a background noise to Adeline.


    If it was physical training session then maybe her mind wouldn''t have wandered so much. Physical training required complete presence of mind or else there was a high chance of them getting hurt in the field.


    But the theory class was making it very hard for her. She had to sit in one place for two hours and that gave her more time to think about how her daily routine would change from today onwards.


    After sitting in the class for what felt like an eternity, the torture was finally over. Adeline quickly gathered her scrolls and books, and prepared to leave for her own quarter.


    But she was interrupted by Nefriti, who came to her and started to ask questions, "Hey Adeline, I heard that Prince Nigel left for Aberdeen. Is it true?"


    The question hit Adeline right on the spot. She was trying not to be too conscious about Nigel''s departure but her question brought her back to the same thought.


    Even though she was trying hard to hide the fact that she was sad because of it, she was really bad at hiding her feelings. And she spoke in a downhearted tone, "Yes, he left this morning."


    "You must be feeling really sad then. You were close to him, weren''t you?" Nefriti question empathetically.


    Adeline gave a mirthless smile and then nodded her head. "I am a little sad that I won''t be seeing him for some time, but I am also happy for him. He is going to get personal training and hopefully he will return back as an improved person."


    Adeline wanted to get out of the class as soon as she could because all the questioning from Nefriti was making her feel really uncomfortable and restless.


    On top of that, Adeline also noticed that for some reason, no one were leaving the class. The others were all talking with each other; they seemed well acquainted with each other.


    "Am I just overthinking or do they really look pretentious?" For some reason, Adeline felt as if all the others were actually listening to the conversation between Nefriti and her, and were just acting like they were talking about something else.


    But Adeline did not know if this was what they normally did after class because she would always rush out of the class as soon as it was over. She was a person who stuck to strict routine. She believed that staying back in the class even after it was over was just a waste of time, time that could be utilized in other useful tasks.


    Adeline thought that Nefriti would leave her once she answered her questions. But it seemed like she was not done yet. Adeline was now frantically fidgeting with her fingers and was trying to think of a way to get away from the uncomfortable situation.


    However, Nefriti was not leaving her side. She was standing in front of Adeline''s desk, blocking her way, and kept on questioning Adeline, "So, what do you usually do after your personal training session?" It was an open knowledge that Adeline trained with General Osmond.


    Adeline was starting to get a little agitated with all the interrogation. But she did not want to be rude so she answered her, "Umm�� I don''t really do anything special. I take my horse for a ride sometimes, and umm�� I used to roam around with Nigel." Adeline puckered her lips and looked down.


    Nefriti tried to cheer Adeline up by inviting her to the group, "If you don''t have much to do then why don''t you join us in the evening? We are planning to go to the nearby market today." She smiled and then held Adeline''s hand.


    And she started to sway Adeline''s hands and tried her best to persuade her, "It will be fun. You should join us. We will dress up as commoners and go around tasting the dishes of the commoners, buying things from the vendors, and running around the market."


    Adeline chuckled nervously and thought, "Why is she being so nice to me? Or was I the grumpy one who never gave them a chance to open up to me?" It was true that Adeline had built up wall around her and never really let anyone inside her safe space other than Nigel.


    All Adeline ever cared about was reading and training. She did not have the luxury to waste her time by running around in the market. And because she never did that before, she was not sure if going out in disguise was even allowed. "You all are planning to go to the market in disguise? Are we even allowed to leave the Palace?"


    Nefriti was stunned to hear that from Adeline. She felt like Adeline had been living under a rock until now. "You mean you have never left the Palace on your own before?" She raised her brows and tried to confirm something, "You know that only the maids and servants are not allowed to leave the Palace but others are allowed, right?"


    Adeline never stepped her feet outside the Palace that much, except when she would be teleported by Theodore. And she had already forgotten whether they were not allowed to go outside or it was her own choice to isolate herself from the world outside of the Palace.


    "So we are allowed huh?" Adeline chuckled again thinking she must have looked like a fool to the others.


    "We are Princesses, of course we are allowed to do as we please." Nefriti tried to enlighten the na?ve Adeline.


    And Nefriti was now not just suggesting but she was demanding Adeline to come along, "I will personally show you around the market as well as the village. Meet us at the Palace gate at 5 in the evening. And don''t forget to wear something a little less conspicuous. We don''t want eyes gawking at us."


    Nefriti was being so persistent that Adeline thought she was not allowed to refuse her after all this talks. So she smiled and accepted to come, "At 5 huh? Sure. I will be looking forward to it."


    "That''s my sister!" Nefriti giggled and then hugged Adeline.


    But Adeline stiffened her body because she was shocked rather than warmed by that gesture from Nefriti. She was shocked because, first of all, Nefriti called her ''sister'' which sounded weird when she heard it from someone other than Nigel''s mouth. And second of all, Nefriti hugged her so easily as if they had been doing that since their childhood.


    "See you later then. We will all be waiting for you." Nefriti smiled at Adeline and went back to join the others in the class.


    Adeline picked up her belongings and walked out of the class without sparing any look at the others. She already had enough awkward interaction for now.


    As Adeline was walking back to her quarter, she remembered the very first day that she attended the training session. She remembered how she was treated like some trash by Margery and Muriel, and how Nigel and Edwin fought because of her.


    As the first day went downhill, she was afraid to open up to anyone else besides Nigel, whom she was already close with. As time went by, she had become an introvert in others'' eyes and they had also stopped approaching Adeline.


    Adeline whispered to herself subconsciously, "Maybe it isn''t such a bad thing to get to know other brothers and sisters. I would love to know how they really are. I don''t think everyone are as bad as Margery and Muriel."


    Adeline disliked the twins because every time she would meet them, they would try to create problems for her or cause a scene. It was like they repelled each other. And after the twins completed their group training, Adeline was the happiest one as she didn''t have to bear their idiocy anymore.


    Now that her other brothers and sisters were holding out their hands towards Adeline, she did not want to decline them. "Who knows, they might turn out to be as good as Nigel��"


    The more Adeline thought back to how sweet Nefriti was to her, the more she wanted to go to the market with them.. She didn''t realize it, but she was smiling.

 Chapter 79 - Diamond

    Adeline''s class had ended at 10 in the morning and her personal training with the General would start from 1 in the afternoon. She still had three hours left before her personal training session, so she decided that she would look for the clothes that would be fit for today''s visit to the market.


    Initially, Adeline had felt that Nefriti was being a little too pushy when she was demanding Adeline to come with them. But later she thought that it was a good chance for her to get along with her half-siblings, and at the same time get to know more about the villagers.


    Adeline was aiming to be the next future Queen but she didn''t even know how the village looked like, the village which was right outside of the Palace. She was taught many times that the good ruler were those who were close to their people, who knew how their people''s living condition were, and who knew their problems and tried to solve it for them.


    Up until now, Adeline had just limited those knowledge to theories only. She never really went outside of her Palace, nor did she tried to get to know the villagers. But now she already knew that it was important to watch the subjects closely and also build a good relationship with them.


    And because of these reasons, Adeline was already excited for the evening to arrive so that she could go out and have some fun, while also learning about the world outside the Palace.


    She called Hawisa and Osanna in her room and asked them to help her choose the outfit. "Hey, will you two help me to choose a dress that would not stand out too much when I go to the market?"


    Hawisa and Osanna glanced at each other in bewilderment. They had never heard the Princess saying that she was going to the market. And when she was suddenly asking them to help her look for a dress for the market visit, they were stunned.


    "You are going to the market? Why? When?" Hawisa asked in a very surprised tone.


    Adeline tugged her earlobe and replied, "Umm�� I am going to explore the market today. Princess Nefriti invited me to come along with her. And I thought it would be a good chance to get to know her better."


    Osanna was already excited. She was excited because it had been a long time since she saw the world outside of the Palace. And if the Princess was going to the market today, she was already planning to make her describe what she saw in detail.


    Osanna clapped her hand and then stormed towards the direction of the wardrobe. "Of course, you should enjoy with your half-siblings more often. What kind of dress do you want to wear Princess?"


    "Something decent?" Adeline replied in a questioning tone because even she had no idea what kind of dress would be less conspicuous. "��which won''t stand out that much."


    Osanna rummaged through the wardrobe and then pulled out a gown. "Will this one do?" Osanna asked the Princess while holding a grand looking gown in her hands.


    Adeline shook her head and replied, "No, that looks too expensive. I want something that would make me look like a villager. We are going there in disguise."


    "In disguise? That means you are not going to take any Royal Guards with you?" Hawisa asked in a very worried tone.


    Adeline had already presumed that Hawisa would react like this if she revealed her plan. "Yeah, we are going in disguise. I don''t think we will be taking any guards with us but we will be fine."


    "You are the Princess of this Kingdom, how will you be fine when you go outside of the Palace without any guards?" Hawisa protested to the mad idea that Adeline got from Princess Nefriti, "I didn''t know Princess Nefriti was like this. How can she fill our innocent Princess''s head with such unlawful ideas?"


    Adeline chuckled at the way Hawisa was over-reacting to this small issue. "Calm down Hawisa. I am not going out there just to run around and have fun. I decided to go because that would give me the opportunity to closely watch this Kingdom''s subjects. If I am to become the future ruler, I need to know my subjects, don''t I?"


    Osanna ran towards the Princess and backed her up, "Yes, it is the duty of the future ruler to see what is outside of the Palace."


    Osanna cheerfully looked at the Princess and said, "I think it is best if you go there in disguise. You won''t gather any unnecessary attention and you can peacefully study your people that way. And people will also not pretend to be nice when they don''t know that you are a Princess. You can know the real them."


    But Hawisa was still against the idea of going out in disguise and asked, "Shouldn''t you at least be taking some guards with you? They can walk a little further away from you if you don''t want to gather attention. But why do you need to look like a villager and sneak around? What if something happens to you? The King will be really mad at us for letting you go."


    "Do I look like something will happen to me? Why do you always think of me like I am a fragile Princess?" Adeline threw some punches and kicks in the air and boasted, "I am a warrior Princess."


    Osanna was jumping and clapping her hands when the Princess showed few of her moves to them. But Hawisa was frowning; she did not like the idea at all.


    Adeline placed her hands on Hawisa''s shoulders and then tried to convince her that she was not going to get into any kinds of troubles. "Hawisa, I promise you that I will be careful. I will not do anything that will put me or you two in danger. And besides, I am not going there alone. I am going with five other Princes and Princesses. So I will be fine."


    When Hawisa heard that Adeline and Nefriti were not the only ones who were going to sneak out, she was in a little ease. But she was still not fully trusting of those Princes and Princesses who were experts in breaking the rules.


    Princes and Princesses were allowed to go outside the Palace but they were supposed to take the permission from the King first. And they were supposed to take at least 6 guards with each of them if they were to step their foot outside of the Palace.


    "Why don''t you try asking the King first and see what he says? You should let him know that you are going out of the Palace." Hawisa was not going to let Adeline fall into bad influence of the other Royal children and start breaking the law.


    But Adeline had not thought of the possibility that those Princes and Princesses would be breaking the law of the Palace. Nefriti had said to her that they were allowed to go out in disguise and she believed her.


    And when Hawisa reminded her to ask the King, she assumed that Nefriti would have already done that. "I am sure that Nefriti will take permission from father. She was the one to invite all of us so I think she has already asked father about it."


    "Even if she has, it doesn''t hurt if you inform the King yourself." Hawisa was really acting just like a mother would. She still thought of Adeline as a kid and she was worried about her safety even when the Princess was very much capable of defending herself.


    Adeline smiled at Hawisa and was happy that she had these two loving persons in her life. Though they were not related by blood, the relationship between them was no less than that. Hawisa acted like a caring mother while Osanna acted like an elder sister. "Alright Hawisa, if it gives you the peace of mind then I will inform father before I go."


    Adeline then turned towards Osanna who was busy rummaging through the wardrobe and then asked, "Did you find anything suitable Osanna?"


    Osanna had separated around 4-5 gowns that were not too extravagant. "You can choose from this pile. All the others are sure to garner some attention."


    Along with Adeline, Hawisa also walked towards the pile of clothes. Then Adeline examined all of those gowns by placing it on top of her and looking at the mirror. She placed a light pink gown on her and asked to her maids, "How does this one look on me?"


    Hawisa smiled and praised the Princess, "It really suits you."


    "Can anything look bad on you? You can even make a curtain look good on you." Osanna was staring at Adeline as if she was completely spellbound by the Princess.


    Adeline giggled at the remark from Osanna. And then she asked again, "No, I did not mean how good I look, I meant does this gown make me look like the commoners?"


    Osanna hummed for some time and replied, "Oh about that, umm�� I don''t know��"


    Then Hawisa spoke in an appreciative voice, "They say that one cannot hide a diamond no matter how much they try to cover it with coal."

 Chapter 80 - The Market

    Adeline''s four hour long personal training was finally over. She greeted goodbye to her teacher and then quickly ran towards her own quarter. She was hopping with excitement. She was finally going to the market to explore it.


    She reached to her room in no time. She was about to change to the gown that she had chosen earlier, but she suddenly remembered about Rion. She didn''t know how long she was going to roam around the market and village. So she thought of feeding Rion before leaving.


    It was already 5 in the evening by the time her class was over. And Nefriti had asked her to meet at the Palace gate at 5. She was already late so she ran to the stable to feed her horse.


    The stableman brought food for Rion and passed it to the Princess. The Princess took the basket of hay and grass and put it in front of Rion.


    Then she scratched the horse''s neck and whispered in his ear, "Rion, be a good boy and finish this okay? I am going to some place today and I am already late. I am sorry I can''t stay with you for any longer today."


    Rion had become less violent towards the stablemen. He was slowly starting to trust them and would not jump at them if they tried to clean his stable. But he still wouldn''t eat unless the Princess came to him and gave him food.


    Adeline pointed at the stableman and then whispered to Rion again, "Let him clean up this basket and he will give water to you after some time, be a good boy and drink it. Don''t stay dehydrated because I won''t be back to feed you in time."


    Rion was already chewing on some grass. When the Princess whispered in his ear, he gently neighed and nodded his head.


    "Good boy", Adeline smiled and then patted him on the neck. Then she planted a kiss on his forehead and left for her quarter to change her dress.


    After reaching inside the quarter, she quickly went to her bath house and then rinsed her face. Then she went back to her private chamber, grabbed the gown and put it on. The gown that she had chosen was a simple slip on gown made out of cotton. That was why she did not need help from her maids.


    She slipped some coins inside the pocket of her gown. And then she also grabbed a matching pink hood and started to run again.


    Adeline had to cross the King''s Court in order to get to the main gate of the Palace. Though she was already late, she had promised to Hawisa that she would personally inform the King before she would go out of the Palace.


    She crossed the beautiful garden that was in front of her quarter and was approaching the King''s Court. She was about to enter the Court but she heard a familiar voice calling her.


    "Sister!" Nefriti came running towards Adeline. "I was coming to pick you up." She was panting by the time she reached by the side of Adeline.


    "Hey, sorry I ran a little late. My training ended at 5 and I had to change so��" Adeline was trying to apologize to Nefriti and was giving reasons as to why she was late.


    However, Nefriti seemed like she was in a hurry so she grabbed Adeline''s hand and said, "It''s okay. The others have already gathered so let''s hurry up." Then she began to walk while pulling Adeline with her.


    But Adeline resisted and said, "I haven''t informed father that I am going outside to explore the market. I will inform him and be right back."


    "No need to worry about that dear sister. I have already taken permission from the King. It will be dark soon so we have to hurry up now." Nefriti did not listen to Adeline and kept on pulling her towards the gate.


    Adeline thought that she had already made her brothers and sisters wait for her. And if Nefriti had already informed the King then there was no reason to make them wait for her for longer.


    Then Adeline and Nefriti ran towards the main gate. Nefriti was still not leaving Adeline''s hand. She was guiding her as if Adeline was a little baby who would get lost if she left her on her own.


    Raphael, Claudia, Kaela, and Gustin were already standing by the side of the gate and were chatting with each other. They were all dressed in a dim and old clothes. And from the looks of their clothes, Adeline felt as if they did this kind of visit more often.


    Raphael was the first one to greet Adeline. He gave a smile to her and spoke in a gentle tone, "Adeline�� so you finally made it huh."


    Adeline was a little embarrassed for making all of her brothers and sisters wait for her. She smiled and asked for their forgiveness, "I''m sorry to keep you all waiting for me."


    "It''s okay, we also gathered here not a long while ago." Kaela smiled at Adeline while accepting her apology.


    Claudia nodded to agree to what Kaela was saying and then gave a welcoming smile to Adeline.


    Gustin was the only one who had not even spared a look at Adeline. He was folding his hand and looked a little grumpy. He turned towards the gate and said in a monotone, "If all of us have arrived then let''s leave, shall we?" And without even waiting for anyone''s reply, he was already walking towards the gate.


    Nefriti whispered in Adeline''s ear, "Don''t mind him, he is always like that with all of us."


    Raphael glanced at the two of them and pointed his brows towards the gate and said, "Let''s go!"


    All six of the Princes and Princesses started to make their way out of the Palace boundary and into the village outside.


    Adeline wore the hood which she was still holding in her hand. She put on the hood and that was when she realized that she had forgotten to open her braids after returning back from the practice.


    She always braided her hair into two plaits when she would do the physical trainings so that it would not distract her. And at other times, she would let it loose. So she began unbraiding her hair while walking behind her half-siblings.


    Nefriti noticed that Adeline was not walking by her side. She turned back and saw Adeline untying her hair. And she waited for Adeline to catch up to her and then asked, "Do you need any help with your hair?"


    But before Adeline could respond to that question, Nefriti was already untying her other plait.


    Adeline smiled and said, "Thank you!"


    After unbraiding both of her plaits, Adeline ran her fingers through her silver hair and brushed it out. Nefriti wrapped her hand around Adeline''s hand and they happily started to walk again.


    Adeline was feeling nostalgic as she remembered the very first time that she had ever seen the village. She was being carried by General Osmond in the scorching heat. She even remembered eating her favorite chocolate and watching the village kids playing around happily.


    It was not that Adeline had never set her foot outside the Palace after being ''kidnapped''. She would go out on some occasions like when she would visit her maternal side''s grandparents during festivals. Her grandparents lived in a peaceful village which was far from the Palace so she would be sent out in carriage accompanied by guards.


    But she wouldn''t be allowed to open the curtain of her carriage and peek outside citing security reasons. So she didn''t know how this village looked like.


    After walking for about five minutes, they all entered the village area. And Adeline was surprised to see how much things had changed. The village seemed nothing like what she had expected. She understood why her brothers and sisters were referring to the village as ''market''.


    She remembered the village being quiet, except the sound of the kids running around and laughing. The houses were sparsely built. People had livestock like chicken, cows, goats, hens, etc. The shops were located at a great distance.


    But now, the village was busier than ever. Instead of thinly populated village, it had become a busy marketplace. The houses were built very close to each other. Instead of farms filled with domestic animals, almost every houses had a shop set out in front of them. And the roads were filled with not just kids, but people of all age group.


    The people were busy buying foods, clothes, shoes, flowers and gifts, and many more. As this particular village called the ''Golden Street'' was right in front of the Palace, people who came to visit the capital of the Kingdom would often buy several souvenirs to take to their village.


    The six of them passed through a gift shop that was displaying different types of items that were carved from wood. And Adeline noticed that there was a small figurine of the Devil that was amongst the displayed items.


    The Devil figurine had a pair of horns and wings, but its other features were like that of an innocent human. And it was also painted very beautifully. The clothes were painted black and golden, the horns were golden while the wings were black.


    The figurine reminded Adeline of Theodore. She wanted to stop and buy that figurine but she was too shy to say that to Nefriti who was clinging on to her.. So she thought that she would buy that while returning or maybe some other time.

 Chapter 81 - The Commoner鈥檚 Way

    Adeline''s all sensory organs were busy trying to comprehend all the things around her. Her eyes were busy watching all the colorful dresses that the people were wearing, the variety of items in the shops, different types of beautifully built houses, and so many people...


    She could smell all kinds of things that she had never smelled, like the smell of food which she had never seen in her life, the smell of people''s perfume, the smell of newly woven clothes hanged on the shops, the smell of flowers, and such.


    And her ears were hearing so many noises that she was finding it difficult to focus on one particular thing. Adeline had never heard this much noise in her life. But surprisingly, she was not agitated by it, rather she was enjoying the variety of sounds.


    She was hearing the sound of people talking happily, the sizzling sound of foods being fried on the vendor stalls, the sound of small children happily laughing while eating a variety of chocolates and foods, people bargaining for a good price for the things that they liked, and so much more.


    "I never knew that the market would be this lively. Had I known before then I would have come here with Nigel at least once a week. We would have had so much fun together." Adeline took a deep breath in as she was reminded of Nigel. Though she was walking with five of her half-siblings, she couldn''t help but miss her favorite brother.


    "Do you like this place?" Nefriti was staring at Adeline with an expectant face and was fluttering her lashes.


    Adeline was brought back from her thoughts to reality. She gave a quick glance to Nefriti and then looked at everything that was around her. She took a deep breath in and an amused smile appeared on her face.


    Adeline nodded her head and admitted, "I love this place. I wish I had come to this place earlier."


    Claudia was listening to their conversation while she was walking right ahead of these two. She looked back at Adeline and then playfully placed a bet, "Just wait until you taste the food that this market has to offer. Then you will wish that you could come here daily just to eat these delicacies. I can bet on that."


    Adeline raised her brows and asked, "They sell foods that are better tasting than what we are served in the Palace?"


    Adeline was a little surprised to hear the claim of Claudia because the Royal Chefs were chosen from the best of the best cooks in the whole Kingdom. And the ingredients that were used in the Palace were of very high quality. So she could not believe that a commoner''s dish would taste better than those that were served in the Palace.


    Kaela chimed in to the ongoing conversation and backed Claudia''s claim, "Trust me, they taste so good that you will feel like your taste buds are in heaven. This place is a heaven for your taste buds."


    If her sisters were saying that the food here tasted very good, she felt as though she was bound to believe them.


    But Raphael, who was walking beside Gustin, also joined the girls and then suggested an idea, "Why don''t you let Adeline taste some of the best food items and let her decide if she likes the foods that are sold here or that are served inside the Palace."


    "Of course." Nefriti merrily laid out the plan to the others, "Let''s walk around and visit some of the shops first. Adeline can buy few souvenirs for herself if she likes something."


    She looked at Adeline and whispered, "I have promised to myself that I won''t be buying anything, I already have a pile of things in my quarter that I have bought from here."


    Then she looked at the others again and said, "Then finally we will taste some good foods before returning back to the Palace. I am going to eat two servings of dumplings today."


    Adeline scrunched her brows and asked, "What are dumplings?"


    Nefriti inhaled sharply and was ready to say something to Adeline but she remembered that Adeline had never visited the market. "I can''t blame you for not knowing what dumplings are. They never serve it in the Palace."


    "Anyway, you will know what they are in a while. I will treat you to it." Nefriti clasped her hands and then swayed her body side to side because her mouth was already watering.


    As all of the others were talking about food, Gustin, who was walking at the front felt left out and he also contributed to the conversation, "I like potato chop the best, especially the hot and spicy sauce that they serve with it."


    All the others looked at each other as if that was a rare thing to hear from Gustin. Kaela could not help but mock Gustine, "Gustin, you know how to talk? What a rare occurrence!"


    "I am also going to eat potato chop then." Raphael put his arms around Gustin''s shoulder and grinned.


    Gustin was already grumpy and he shouted, "See�� this is why I never talk that much with you people. You all are never serious!"


    "Oh come on! You don''t have to be so serious all the time." Raphael tried to cheer up his brother.


    The siblings were joking around, laughing, chatting, and taunting each other while they were slowly walking around in the market.


    "Let''s go to the place that sells jewelry first." Nefriti grabbed Adeline''s hand and ran ahead of the boys. And Claudia and Kaela also ran past the boys while following Nefriti.


    "What? Not again!" Raphael shouted at Nefriti. "You always buy some jewelry every time that we come here. Do you even wear those?"


    Nefriti shouted back as she was about to enter the jewelry shop, "They are so beautiful to look at. I like to see them every day before I go to sleep."


    Raphael face-palmed himself and gestured to Gustin, "Come, let''s take a look at those ''beautiful'' metals."


    "Can''t we just wait outside?" Gustin was not really in the mood to go inside that shop.


    "We can but we might attract unwanted attention if we just stand idly." Raphael followed the girls into the jewelry shop and Gustin also dragged his feet into that shop.


    All the Princesses were excitedly checking out the pieces of jewelry like earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings. Although these jewelries were not made out of precious metals that the Princesses normally wore, they were attracted by the beautiful designs of those jewelries.


    Even Adeline was fascinated by the bling and shines from the pieces of jewelry. She was looking at all the shiny jewelries and one piece of jewelry, in particular, caught her eyes. She felt like she was being drawn to it.


    It was a chain that had an octagon-shaped pendant on it. An image of a dragon spreading its wings was engraved on the pendant. The length of the pendant was longer and it was purple in color, which made it look like a large precious stone.


    Adeline decided to buy that chain. "I will take this one", she placed the chain in front of the shopkeeper and smiled.


    The shopkeeper was a little surprised because Adeline had not even asked the price of the necklace and she just said that she was going to take it. "This will cost you 20 bronze coins."


    "Sure." Adeline was about to take out her coins but Nefriti stopped her and said, "Are you going to pay everything that he asks? You have to bargain first."


    "Bargain?" Adeline didn''t understand why there was a need to bargain when she had more than enough coins to pay for it.


    Nefriti whispered in Adeline''s ear, "Yes, they will charge you higher and take more profits if you don''t bargain. And bargaining is the commoner''s way, so we have to blend in."


    Nefriti was trying her best to enlighten her sister. Nefriti and the others were already an expert on bargaining and she also wanted to show her bargaining skills to her sister. She confidently glanced at the shopkeeper and then said in a firm voice, "We will take this if you give it to us for 10 bronze coins. Else we are not buying it."


    The shopkeeper smiled at Nefriti and then placed a counter offer, "How about 17? Look at the chain, it is one of a kind."


    Adeline just wanted to pay the coins, grab the chain, and leave. But Nefriti kept on bargaining, "12?"


    "16?" The shopkeeper replied.


    "14. I will not pay one extra coin than that." Nefriti confidently replied.


    Adeline''s face was starting to turn red because she was feeling embarrassed about how Nefriti was bargaining for a few coins.


    "Alright, I am only giving it to you at such a cheap price because you come here often." The shopkeeper packed the chain in a paper bag and handed it over to Nefriti.


    But Nefriti glanced at Adeline with a proud smile and pointed her brows at the bag.


    Adeline took the bag and paid 14 coins to the shopkeeper. And she carefully placed it inside her pocket.. She took a mental note to ask Nefriti about this bargaining logic later.

 Chapter 82 - The Fortune-Teller

    All the Princesses bought at least a piece of Jewelry from the shop from where Adeline had bought that chain. And they visited a few more shops that were displaying clothes, perfumes, and flowers.


    Nefriti was excitedly showing around a variety of items and was explaining several new things that Adeline never knew before. Adeline was keenly learning many things about the people of the Kingdom. Things like how they behaved, what kind of things they purchased the most, what kind of clothes they wore, etc.


    While closely observing the villagers, she found out that most of the shopkeepers were very welcoming and friendly. The buyers of this particular market spent their coins on gifts and foods. And most of the people were wearing colorful clothes made up of cotton. And most importantly, everyone looked happy with their lives.


    "I see that father has done a great job by maintaining peace in the Kingdom. Everyone looks very happy and content with their lives." Adeline thought to herself while observing the subjects of that village. "I would love to visit other villages someday and check if everyone in the Kingdom is doing equally good."


    After roaming around for some time, they came across a shop where nothing was being displayed outside. The shop was covered by grey curtains and a faint light could be seen from across those curtains. The only thing that would catch someone''s eyes was a small sign of orb that was hanged outside of the shop.


    "What is this place? This was not here when we came here the last time." Kaela was the first one to notice the strange setting of that shop.


    Nefriti nodded her head. "Yes, it was not here the last time. But why are they covering the shop like that? Is it even open?"


    "Should we go and check?" Raphael suggested in a curious voice. The place looked ominous from the outside and he was interested to see what the shop was offering.


    Gustin was also getting the same ominous vibe from that shop. "Yes!" Gustin instantly agreed with Raphael and started to move his feet in the shop''s direction.


    And all the others followed him.


    When they entered inside the curtains, they found themselves in a small waiting room. They saw a middle-aged woman sitting in that room as though she was waiting for their arrival.


    "Welcome to my humble abode every one!" The woman gestured at the stools that were laid out in the room and said, "Please take a seat."


    The Princes and Princesses could just see the stools in the room and nothing else. And they didn''t know what to expect. But even though they were feeling a little uneasy, they complied with the lady''s request and sat down.


    "Are all of you interested to know what your future holds?" The lady asked in a very polite and sweet voice.


    "Oh�� so you are a fortune-teller?" Kaela questioned the polite lady.


    The lady gave a kind smile and answered, "Yes, you are right young lady."


    Gustin was immediately disheartened to learn that it was a fortune-teller''s shop. The reason why he wanted to come inside was that it looked spooky from the outside. But then again, he thought that what could be spookier than the uncertainty of the future?


    Nefriti clasped her hands together and smiled excitedly. "Yes, we want to know about our future."


    "Okay, I will see your fortunes one by one in the room inside." The fortune-teller pointed at the room behind her. The door of that room was decorated with colorful beads. The door was open a little and one could see that something blue was glowing inside that room.


    "Who wants to go first?" The fortune-teller asked the group.


    Everyone''s eyes involuntarily fell on Gustin because he was the one who was overly interested in this shop and the one to get inside the shop at first. And also, nobody had any experience in having their future told and they didn''t want to be the first one to do that. So all of them were trying to make a scapegoat of Gustin.


    Gustin felt everyone''s eyes on him. He looked at his brothers and sisters, and raised his brows, "What?"


    "Why don''t you go first�� since you were the one to insist on coming here?" Raphael gave a little nudge to Gustin.


    But Gustin protested, "Hey, weren''t you the one to suggest coming here in the first place? Why don''t you go in first?"


    "No, I''m good. I''ll go at last, that is if I still want to go by that time." Raphael folded his arms and looked away.


    The fortune-teller was patiently waiting for them to decide on who was going to get their fortune told at first.


    "Tch�� tch�� tch��" Nefriti clicked her tongue in disapproval at the way the two were bickering over such a trivial issue. Then she took the courage and announced, "I''m going in first."


    "Very well" the lady smiled at Nefriti and then opened the door for her; and she gestured her hand inside the room, "Please�� come in."


    Nefriti jumped up from her seat and then went inside the separate room that the fortune-teller led her to.


    After about 10 minutes, Nefriti came out of the room. However, she was not as cheerful as she was before entering that room. Though she was trying her best to smile and not make it so obvious that she did not like whatever she heard inside that room, it was clearly being reflected on her face.


    The fortune-teller lady came to the door and then asked again in a polite voice, "Okay, who is coming in next?"


    The others felt a little reluctant to go inside after seeing such a change in Nefriti.


    After making the fortune-teller wait for some time, Kaela took some courage and then stood up from her seat. Then she went inside the room. When Kaela came outside, she was neither happy nor sad.


    After that, Claudia, Raphael, and Gustin went in turn by turn. But none of them were that happy when they came outside.


    It was finally Adeline''s turn to go inside. But she was contemplating whether it was a good thing to try to know about the future or a bad thing. In the end, she thought of giving it a try and got up to go inside.


    The fortune-teller welcomed her with a sweet smile. And after she entered the room, she closed the door behind them.


    The room was rather smaller and dimmer than the waiting room outside. There were two chairs, and in the middle of those two chairs, there was a table. There was an orb on the table. It was the object which was giving off the light earlier.


    Adeline was curiously looking at the orb because she had never seen anything like it before. And she thought to herself, "How is it glowing on its own?"


    The lady sat on a chair and then gestured towards the remaining chair and said, "Take a seat young lady."


    Adeline nervously smiled and then sat on the chair. She was nervous because all of her brothers and sisters looked sad after coming out of this room.


    The fortune-teller didn''t ask what Adeline would like to know about. She simply held out her hands and then said, "Give me your hands dear."


    Adeline complied and put her hands on top of hers.


    However, as soon as Adeline''s hand touched the lady''s hand, she gasped and then threw Adeline''s hands away as if she had held some burning coals. Then she placed her hand over her chest and took deep breaths in. But her breaths were quivering as though she was scared of something.


    Adeline was not just shocked but she was stunned to get this kind of reaction. "Did she do this to everybody? Is that why they looked so dull?" she thought.


    The fortune-teller was closing her eyes and she kept on taking deep breaths. Adeline didn''t even dare to ask what was wrong because she was afraid that if she spoke a word, that lady would get spooked again.


    And Adeline felt as though that was her cue to leave the room. But she thought that it would be rude to just leave without saying a word. So she pressed her lips together and waited for the lady to open her eyes and say something.


    After about a minute, the lady opened her eyes and cleared her throat. "I-I''m sorry for acting like that. It''s just�� it''s just that I was a bit shocked. In fact, not just a bit but a lot."


    "May I ask why?" Adeline scrunched her brows and braced herself to hear the answer. From the way that she had reacted, Adeline thought that maybe she saw something really bad in her future.


    The fortune-teller asked a question to her instead of giving an answer, "Have you ever come in contact with a mystical being of any kind?"


    Adeline was very nervous when she heard that question from someone whom she had never met in her life before. And she didn''t know how she was supposed to answer that question. She contemplated to herself, "Would she know if I just lied to her? I don''t think I will ever see her again after I walk out of this room."


    Seeing her reluctance, the lady didn''t press her any further.. She tried to politely reveal why she was shocked, "I don''t know if you are aware of this or not but there is a presence of demonic power inside of you."

 Chapter 83 - I Am...

    Of course, Adeline was very well aware that she had Theodore''s power flowing inside of her. So she didn''t say anything to the fortune-teller.


    The fortune-teller was however surprised again because she didn''t get the expression or reaction that she was expecting from Adeline. "I assume that you are aware of it then." The lady puckered her lips and was trying her best to maintain her calm.


    She took a deep breath again and managed to smile at Adeline. Then she held out her hands again for Adeline to hold and said, "Let me try again. You still want me to see into your future don''t you?"


    Adeline smiled back and then cautiously held the lady''s hand again.


    This time the lady did not throw Adeline''s hand. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate.


    The orb that was on the table started to glow even brightly. But smoke-like substance filled the orb and the light began to dim down soon after. The smoke whirled inside the orb for some more time. And after a while, a white light started to appear inside the orb which cleared the smoke.


    The fortune-teller finally opened her eyes and then let go of Adeline''s hand.


    Adeline darted her eyes at the orb and then at the lady. Her eyes were filled with curiosity; she wanted to know the meaning of what was being shown in the orb.


    The lady did not seem that impressed with Adeline''s future, rather she had a sorry face. She slowly began to interpret what she saw in Adeline''s future, "I see that your life is currently filled with a lot of problems. And I also see that the problems will not leave your side for a very long time."


    She looked into Adeline''s innocent eyes and kept on giving her predictions, "I don''t know why a gentle and kind lady like you has so many enemies, but I can tell that your enemies are very close to you. Your enemies call themselves your family."


    Adeline was nodding her head subconsciously. She was thinking that this fortune-teller was an expert in what she did.


    The fortune-teller looked as if she was pitying Adeline a lot. "I suggest that you keep your distance from them, they do not bring good fortune to you. And don''t trust people around you as easily as you do. All they do is bring trouble to you, inflict pain and cause deaths of your loved ones."


    "They already have!" Adeline wanted to shout. Anger was slowly building up inside of her thinking about the people as the likes of Lillian.


    The expression in the fortune-teller''s face turned grim. And as if the orb was also reacting to her feelings, its color changed from blue to black.


    She clenched her dress and then spoke in a pain-stricken voice, "Deaths�� I see a lot of deaths around you." She paused for a while and then said, "Don''t forget to seek help from your guardians, they might help you in preventing a considerable number of deaths."


    Adeline felt a sharp pain in her heart. She had already seen a fair share of deaths of her loved ones. And the fortune-teller was telling her that even more deaths were to come�� and that also in a large number��


    The Princess felt like her heart was being stabbed by a sharp knife. The pain was so great that she clenched the part of the cloth that was on her chest and coughed. She felt as though something was suffocating her.


    The fortune-teller was concerned about Adeline and she quickly held her hand and asked, "Are you alright young lady?"


    "Do I look like I am okay?" Adeline was screaming in her mind.


    And in the next moment, something unexpected happened. Or well�� something expected happened. Theodore teleported into that room in a dramatic way. First, a mist of dark cloud spread in the whole room and when it cleared, the Devil was standing behind Adeline, while winching in great pain.


    He saw that Adeline was in an unknown place and an unknown lady was holding her hand. He immediately jumped to a conclusion, he thought that the woman was hurting Adeline. In a flash, Theodore grabbed the fortune-teller by her arm and then dragged her away from Adeline.


    And then he growled in anger, his eyes glowing pure red, "What did you do to her?"


    Adeline ran to their side and tried to pull Theodore away from the poor lady. But she could not move him, not even the distance of a hair strand. "Theodore! Leave her now!" Adeline yelled at Theodore so as to get through to him. "She didn''t do anything!"


    Theodore closed his eyelids and when he opened them, his eyes were back to golden color. But he was still holding the fortune-teller tightly. He turned his head to check if Adeline was hurt somewhere and asked, "Are you sure? She was not the one to hurt you?"


    "No, she didn''t hurt me. So will you please leave her?" Adeline was giving an intense stare to Theodore.


    And Theodore left that woman and grabbed Adeline by her shoulders, "What happened? Why were you in such a great pain then?"


    "I��" Adeline was about to tell why she felt the pain but her eyes fell on the fortune-teller. She was trembling like a weak leaf and her knees were visibly wobbly. And while Adeline was still looking, she slammed her back against the wall and slid down to the floor.


    The fortune-teller knew exactly who Theodore was and she was extremely overwhelmed by his presence. Never in her life had she thought that she would come face to face with an ancient Devil, the son of God himself!


    Adeline sprinted towards that lady and asked, "Miss, are you okay? Do you need some help?"


    But the lady smiled at Adeline and whispered, "You are very lucky to have him as your guardian."


    Adeline was taken aback by this response from that woman. She knew that she was good at predicting things, but she had not imagined her to be this good. Adeline just smiled at her and helped her to get up.


    And what that lady did next surprised Adeline even more. She bowed to Theodore and said, "Devil Prince Theodore, it is an honor to be in your presence."


    Even Theodore was surprised by this response. "You know who I am? When did I become this famous that a human is recognizing me?"


    The woman smiled at Theodore and then said while showing immense respect for him, "I have spent several years of my life at the foot of the Hill of Grimmer Death. And I am not saying this to offend you but we have closely watched you and your actions for a long time to know that you are not the Devil that people think you are."


    Theodore gave a quick up-and-down flash of the eyebrows to Adeline and grinned. He was boasting to Adeline that he was being praised by someone.


    Adeline controlled her urge to smile and looked away from Theodore.


    The woman then turned towards Adeline and bowed to her as well; which, needless to say, surprised Adeline again. "Princess Adeline, allow me to reintroduce myself."


    "Hold on! You knew I am a Princess?" Adeline was constantly being surprised by this woman.


    The lady smiled and said, "I knew it from the moment that you all walked in."


    "But how?" Adeline wanted to know how it was possible when all of them were in disguise. "Was it so obvious that we were Princes and Princesses?"


    The lady chuckled and then replied, "No. I knew it because we have been keeping track of everyone in the Palace."


    Adeline took a few steps back and then gave an intimidating look to that woman, "You have been tracking us? Are you a spy? Tell me who sent you?"


    That woman bowed to the Princess again and introduced her, "I am Agnes, a witch of the Mystic Coven. I used to work in the Palace several years ago. I used to be a Court Lady of Queen Lillian."


    Her introduction caught both Theodore and Adeline''s attention. "She used to work for Lillian? Or does she still work for that witch?" Adeline thought.


    And Theodore immediately asked with a pair of glowing red eyes, "Do you work for Lillian?"


    Agnes answered without being intimidated by the Devil this time, "I used to work for her but I did that under the order of our coven leader. I work for no one else except for High Priestess Tabitha, our coven leader."


    "Then why are you spying on us? Are you planning to do something to the Palace?" Adeline glared at Agnes and demanded to know the reason for that offense.


    Agnes sincerely replied to Adeline, "We are especially keeping our eyes on Lillian. She has been using several types of dark magic lately. She has opened the door to other worlds several times already. Our purpose is to stop Lillian before she destroys this peaceful Kingdom."


    "What do you mean by she opened the gate to the other worlds?" Adeline was starting to feel even more uneasy. Lillian was doing something and she had no idea what that was. And she did not like to be kept in the dark. She wanted to know what exactly Lillian was up to so that she could also prepare herself accordingly.


    But there was a knock on the door. "Adeline�� how much time will it still take?" Nefriti shouted from the other side.


    Theodore let out a small sigh of relief because this questioning round was going to reveal some things that he had hid from the Princess.

 Chapter 84 - New Ally?

    It had only taken around 10 minutes to tell the fortune of the other Princes and Princesses. However, due to an unexpected visit from the Devil, Princess Adeline was inside the room for much longer. And the ones who were outside in the waiting room were already bored.


    "What is taking so long? Is the fortune-teller predicting every life event of Adeline or something?" Nefriti complained in a very bored tone.


    "I don''t know what they might be talking about but it definitely has been way too long already." Raphael stretched his legs and massaged them lightly, and then said, "My legs are starting to get numb by sitting in this uncomfortable stool."


    Kaela immediately got up from the small stool. She let out a huge sigh of relief and said to Raphael in her complaining tone, "Ah! I''m glad you finally gave up trying to look comfortable in these stools. You lose, I win. Now I can finally stand."


    "What did I lose? What were we even competing on?" Raphael looked at Kaela with a confused look on his face.


    Kaela folded her arms and confronted Raphael, "How can you forget so fast? Weren''t you the one to say that you could sit on these stools for hours, that also without complaining? But you complained first, so you lose."


    "You two! Stop it already! My ears are hurting because of your whining." Gustin shouted at the two of them. He looked even grumpier than ever.


    "Alright! That''s it. I am going to listen to what they are really talking about. I want to know what''s taking so long." Nefriti got up from her stool and then stick her ear on the door.


    She tried to listen to the conversation that was going on inside the room. However, she couldn''t even hear a whisper. "That''s weird! I cannot hear a word from inside. Are they even talking? Or did both of them fall asleep?"


    "Don''t act Nefriti. The door doesn''t even look that thick. How can you not hear anything?" Claudia finally spoke, irritated by everyone.


    Nefriti defended herself immediately, "I am not lying. I cannot hear anything."


    But Claudia did not believe Nefriti at all. So she tried to mock Nefriti to curb her boredom. "Then maybe your ears are getting weak. You should go see a healer when we return back to the Palace."


    Nefriti fisted on her hips as if she was challenging Claudia and said, "If your ears are so sharp then maybe you should try listening by yourself."


    Claudia also immediately got up from her stool and went near the door. She placed her ear over the door and listened in. But what Nefriti was saying was true. Even though the door seemed really thin, nothing was audible to them. "What? Why can''t I even listen to any mumbling sounds?"


    Nefriti darted her eyes at the ceiling and then spoke in a sarcastic tone, "I heard that someone had sharp ears!"


    Claudia wrinkled her nose and glared at Nefriti. Then she turned around and went back to sit on the uncomfortable stool.


    Nefriti looked at her half-sibling and noticed that all of them looked weary and uninterested to do anything. She inhaled a puff of air through her mouth then knocked at the door, "Adeline�� how much time will it still take?" Nefriti did not want to resort to this petty act and disturb Adeline''s fortune-telling but she could not stay idle for another second. She was already bored out of her mind.


    Inside the fortune-telling room, when Adeline heard Nefriti calling her, she turned towards the door and shouted from inside, "I will be out in a minute."


    But Agnes smiled and said, "Oh! They can''t hear you from the outside. Once my customer is inside this room and I lock the door, any sound produced inside this room won''t be heard from outside. I cast a spell to block the sound from leaving the room."


    Adeline''s eyes were wide open when she heard that Agnes had cast a spell to block the sound. Though Agnes had already justified that she did not work for Lillian, there was no denying that Adeline was still a little suspicious about this mysterious witch.


    Seeing the surprised and suspicious look on Adeline''s face, Agnes justified her action, "I did that so that my customer''s secrets won''t be revealed to the others in the waiting room." Agnes took a quick glance at Theodore and said, "And it definitely came in handy today. I am guessing that you have kept your guardian a secret from your brothers and sisters."


    Adeline finally managed to smile at Agnes. Then she politely asked her for a meeting, "Can I invite you over to the Palace, to my quarter? I would like to know a few things regarding Lillian."


    Upon hearing that request made by Adeline to Agnes, Theodore pressed his lips together in disapproval. He did not want Adeline to think and know about Lillian too much, not until she gave her test. If she knew what Lillian had done to him, he knew for sure that Adeline would not stay quiet.


    However, Agnes politely declined the invitation of the Princess. "I am sorry Princess but I cannot come inside the Palace. Lillian had banished me from Wyverndale a long time ago and if some guards recognize me, then I will be severely punished."


    Adeline did not want to insist and put someone''s life in danger by being stubborn. So instead she said, "Then I will come to visit you some other time. I hope you will be staying here in this village."


    "Yes, I will be in the village for some time. I have to keep an eye on Lillian." Agnes had a look of determination mixed with anger on her face when she said that. Then she smiled at the Princess and politely invited Adeline over to her place, "You can come here to visit me at any time. We can have a nice chat together."


    "Thank you!" Adeline was happy to have come to the market today. She got a chance to meet another witch, who seemed to be good. And Agnes''s coven seemed to share her hate towards Lillian''s dark deeds.


    Adeline remembered the saying that an enemy''s enemies are friends. She wanted to get to know more about the Mystic Coven and turn them into her allies. That way, Adeline would not just have one witch but a whole coven on her side. And she also thought that to counter a witch''s power, other witches'' magic would be a lot helpful.


    Adeline turned around to see Theodore. He was pouting his lips and was standing quietly at the back. "Theodore, I will see you later okay? My brothers and sisters are waiting for me outside. I have already made them wait for enough for me so, talk to you later."


    Theodore gave a whimsical smile to Adeline and nodded his head. "Sure."


    Adeline left the two of them and went outside of the room.


    Nefriti was still sticking to the door like some glue. But when she saw the lock of the door opening, she ran back to her stool and sat down as if she had not been trying to eavesdrop the whole time.


    Then Nefriti gave out a nervous smile and said, "Finally! You didn''t fall asleep in there, did you?"


    Adeline chuckled and then apologized, "I''m sorry, I have been making you all wait for me every time. It just took a little longer to interpret my future."


    "Then you must have one hell of a future ahead." Nefriti playfully teased Adeline, not realizing that she was being rude.


    Adeline''s facial expression instantly turned grim when she heard that remark from Nefriti.


    Claudia noticed how the expression on Adeline''s face changed. "Nefriti! Think before you say anything stupid." Claudia scolded her immediately.


    Adeline gave a mirthless smile to them. She was reminded again why she had felt a stinging pain in her heart just a while ago. She was starting to think that her life would be no less than hell if more deaths were to follow in the near future.


    Nefriti also saw the sad look on Adeline''s face and was angry at herself for speaking carelessly. "I''m sorry Adeline, I didn''t mean to say anything bad. I just meant to say that the readings might have been complicated to interpret."


    Agnes came outside of the room to greet all of her customers with goodbyes. "Take care young ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy the rest of the evening. Goodbye!"


    "Goodbye!" All the Princes and Princesses bid goodbye to her one by one. And they began stepping outside of the shop, which they had been waiting to do very eagerly.


    "Thank you for having us!" Adeline sweetly smiled at Agnes again before she followed her brothers and sisters.


    After all of the Princes and Princesses left, Agnes put up a ''closed'' sign outside her shop and then entered the room again.


    Theodore was waiting for her. He wanted to know what Lillian was up to these days. He was unable to keep an eye on Lillian these days because if he did, she would instantly know he was around her even when he would cloak himself. So he wanted to get the information from Agnes.


    Theodore pulled a chair to the side and leisurely sat down on it. Then he asked in a calm tone, "Agnes, right?"


    Agnes nodded her head. She did not even dare to sit down in front of the great mystical being.


    Theodore gestured at the chair and said, "Please, it''s your place. Feel free to sit down."


    Agnes nervously sat down on the tip of the chair. She was anxious about what the Devil was going to say to her.


    But Theodore started to speak ever so calmly, "It so happens that I consider Lillian as my enemy.. I would like to know her latest moves. Tell me, what is she doing lately?"

 Chapter 85 - Fast Food Or Happy Food

    It was already starting to get dark when the Princes and Princesses walked outside of the fortune-teller''s place. The shops of the market were already lighting the candles, lanterns, or torches inside their shops. Some were even generous enough to hang the lanterns outside on the pillars of their shops to provide lights for the passerby.


    Nefriti was again clinging to Adeline while the others were walking in front of them. "How much did the fortune-teller lady charge you? Did you bargain with her as I had taught you?" Nefriti asked curiously.


    Adeline was caught off guard by the question and she blabbered, "Er�� she didn''t charge me at all."


    "Really? She charged me 2 coins, that also after bargaining to get a good deal." Nefriti puckered her lips as she thought that Adeline was lucky to get a free reading. For some reason, she was obsessed with getting good deals while in the market, and the fact that she was unable to, hurt her a little.


    And Adeline was trying hard to control her laughter while thinking that she must have looked like a fool to Agnes because she already knew that Nefriti was also a Princess.


    Adeline''s attention was soon drawn by the beautiful night view of the Golden Street. The whole market looked even more beautiful due to all the twinkling lights in the shops and streets. The people were still out in the market. In fact, the market looked even livelier than before.


    The people who had to go to different kinds of works in the afternoon had already completed their work and were strolling in the market. The villagers were also roaming around the market with their children now that the weather was cool outside.


    "Look! There are so many vendors serving the food now that it is almost dinner time." Nefriti smiled at Adeline proudly. She was happy to see that Adeline was looking at the market with awe.


    Adeline replied while looking at the stalls with keen eyes, "Yes, there are so many varieties of dishes being served. Where are we eating by the way?"


    "Wait, let me ask the others first." Nefriti finally left Adeline''s hand and ran forward to catch up with the others.


    And to be honest, Adeline felt a little relieved that Nefriti was not clinging to her anymore.


    Adeline noticed that there were more people around the food stalls than before. People were laughing, chatting, and enjoying the food while sitting in front of the vendors. Some people were buying food and were taking it to their home to enjoy it with their family. While some had brought the family to the food stalls and were munching on hot delicacies.


    The whole Golden Street was filled with the aroma of several varieties of dishes. Adeline was glancing at the families that were sitting down on the small stools and narrow benches. They were eating foods from plates that were made out of leaves. And they all seemed happy, they looked as though they were having the best meal of their lives and as though they were living the best day of their lives.


    At first, Adeline was happy to see all those happy faces. But when she realized that they did not have all the luxury that she had and yet, they were happier than her, she felt a pinch in her heart. "When was the last time I had dinner with my family?" she thought to herself as she kept on walking past all the happy families.


    Her eyes fell on a mother who was blowing on the hot dish and was feeding it to her daughter with her own hands. Adeline felt a lump in her throat because she never got to experience how it would feel to eat food from her mother''s hand.


    "I bet the food tastes a lot better when fed by mother." She enviously looked back at the kid and thought, "She doesn''t know how lucky she is."


    Adeline did not realize that all the others had already stopped in front of a stall to finally try some food. She was busy looking at all the people.


    Nefriti turned behind to check where Adeline was. Adeline was standing a little far away from them. So she cupped her hands around her mouth and then shouted, "Adeline�� come faster."


    Adeline was startled when Nefriti called her. Adeline sniffed and then rubbed her nose before turning around to face her sister. She saw all of them sitting in front of a food vendor and then made her way towards them.


    When Adeline reached near Nefriti, she said, "We will eat here today. It is already getting late so we will try other places when we come back the next time."


    The place where they had stopped had a long table laid out in front of the stall. There were long benches on both sides of the table. Raphael, Gustin, and Claudia were sitting on one side, and Nefriti and Kaela were sitting on the opposite side of the table.


    Adeline put on a smile and then asked while taking a seat beside Nefriti, "Sure. So what are we eating?"


    Nefriti happily replied, "I have already ordered four servings of dumplings for us, two for you and two for me. And as I had promised, it''s my treat. Gustin and Raphael are eating their favorite potato chops. And��"


    "And I have ordered a serving of chicken drumsticks," Kaela interjected in between and happily said the name of her dish. But she immediately pouted her lips and kept her act up, "But it is really expensive though."


    Claudia also said what she had ordered, "I''m eating two servings of potato fries. Can''t wait to stuff them inside my mouth."


    Adeline didn''t know what they were all saying but with the enthusiasm that they were saying the names, she was sure that all of those dishes tasted good.


    The vendor had kept several food items on display. Adeline curiously looked at the vendor''s stall to see all the food items. The vendor was cooking several dishes right in front of them. Adeline''s eyes began to follow everything that the vendor was doing.


    The vendor laid out some strange looking white things in an equally strange looking container. That container had several holes in them and made Adeline wonder how he was going to cook that white thing.


    After putting the white thing in that container he kept that container on top of another container, inside which some kind of broth was being cooked.


    Nefriti chuckled when she noticed how cute Adeline looked when she was staring so innocently at the stall. She leaned in towards Adeline''s ear and whispered, "Those were dumplings that he just placed inside that container."


    Adeline nodded her head in amusement and whispered back, "Ah! I see��"


    Nefriti then pointed at the large container filled with hot oil and said, "See, he is heating oil in that container. Now he is going to fry the potato fries and potato chops."


    The vendor had chopped the potatoes into what looked like long sticks and had pre-boiled them for about two minutes. He put those sticks in a bowl and added some flour, chili powder, and salt. And he mixed everything. After the oil was hot enough, he dropped all those potatoes in the boiling oil.


    And while the fries were being cooked, the vendor grabbed 8 potato chops from the display and dropped them in the oil to be reheated.


    Potato chops were prepared by mashing the boiled potatoes and mixing them with peas, chickpeas, and other seasonings. Then they would be turned into an oval shape, dipped into a mix of gram flour, and fried in boiling oil.


    And after both the dishes turned light brown, the vendor took them out, and put them on a serving plate made out of leaves. They were made out of leaves so that they wouldn''t have to keep on cleaning the dishes, they could just throw them.


    The vendor brought the potato fries and chops to the table and went back to preparing other dishes.


    "It''s ready to be served this fast?" Adeline asked, very surprised at how fast those dishes were served.


    "Yes, the food arrives very fast at the table." Claudia pulled the potato fries towards her. She instantly picked a stick and began to blow on it to cool it down.


    Nefriti was looking towards the stall to see if their dumplings were ready yet. But they were still being cooked. The vendor was now focusing himself to reheat the chicken drumsticks.


    "If these foods had legs then they would be called fast foods," Raphael said while taking a bite of his potato chop.


    "Fast food? What a lame name. They would be called the happy food." Kaela smiled as she was staring at the chicken drumsticks that were being fried.


    Claudia moaned as she chewed on her mouthwatering fries. "I don''t know how they can make potatoes taste this good." She glanced at Adeline and offered the fries to her, "You should also try it."


    But Adeline politely denied, "No, you should have it. I will have my food when it is served."


    "But you have not ordered the potato fries. You will miss out on such a heavenly taste if you deny it." Claudia lifted a fry and held it in front of Adeline''s mouth, "And you won''t know how good they are unless you try it yourself."


    Adeline glanced at the fry in front of her and glanced at Claudia. Claudia gave a smile accompanied by a little nod. Claudia didn''t know how this simple gesture from her was warming Adeline''s heart.


    Adeline smiled from ear to ear and ate the food from Claudia''s hand. She closed her eyes as she was pleased to have food together with her family.. "Mmm�� they taste so delicious."

 Chapter 86 - Dumplings

    "I know right! They taste too good." Claudia mumbled as she stuffed her mouth with some fries. "You should have some more." She then shifted the plate in the middle of the table and gestured for Adeline to help herself.


    Adeline also happily obliged. She was feeling too excited to be sharing food with her sister. Adeline did her little happy dance while she ate some more fries.


    Raphael was closely watching every little move of Adeline and he chuckled when he saw Adeline swaying her body side to side as she put the fries in her mouth. "Are you that happy?" He asked Adeline with inquisitive eyes.


    Adeline''s attention was shifted from the food in her hand to Raphael. She was looking at Raphael with puppy-dog eyes because she was confused about who the question was directed to.


    Raphael also shifted his plate in front of Adeline and then said, "Here, taste some of these too. As Gustin had said before, they will taste good when you dip it in this spicy sauce."


    "Are you sure?" Adeline looked at the chop which looked really appetizing. And she didn''t want to deny it.


    "Yes, try it." Raphael gave the sweetest smile to Adeline.


    Adeline picked up one of the chops and then dipped it in the red looking sauce as Raphael had suggested. And she took a bite from it.


    Adeline felt the burst of savory taste in her mouth. She squealed with delight while tapping her foot on the ground.


    "How does it taste?" Raphael already knew how she found the food based on her expression alone. But he wanted to hear her say it.


    "It''s spicy, but at the same time it tastes so wholesome, like full of different kinds of flavors." Adeline was excitedly explaining the taste that her taste buds were feeling.


    And Raphael held his head high as though to boast to Claudia. Adeline had used more words to explain the dish that he had offered, and she had even used more hands and body gestures.


    It was as though all of Adeline''s brothers and sisters were in some unspoken competition. They were trying to impress Adeline with their food choice as though they were competing with each other to get Adeline on their good side. She was new to their group and they were treating her like their new doll.


    Finally, the food vendor brought the final two dishes. He came to the table carrying a tray full of food. There were 6 pieces of drumsticks on a large plate.


    The dumplings were placed on a bowl-shaped container, of course, made out of leaves. There were four bowls of dumplings. And there were four more small bowls. Two of those bowls had the broth that was being cooked with the dumplings, and the two others had a sauce that was prepared by grinding tomatoes and onions.


    The vendor placed all the bowls and plates on the table and went back to serve other customers.


    Adeline was amazed by the look of the dumplings. They had beautiful pleats on them and the color of the dumplings was slightly creamy as they were steamed. The broth served with dumplings looked very rich in flavors. And the sauce looked similar to the one served with the chops but also different at the same time.


    "What are you waiting for? Come one, try it." Nefriti spoke with a piece of dumpling in her mouth. The size of the dumpling was large to fit inside the mouth at once but Nefriti was making it look so effortless.


    Adeline poked a piece of dumpling with her fork and then dipped it in the tomato sauce. She carefully lifted it up to her mouth. Then she managed to shove the whole piece inside her mouth.


    "Aww�� you look so cute��" Claudia commented as she looked at Adeline''s puffed cheeks.


    But Adeline was lost in the food world already to notice anything that others were saying.


    Judging from the outer appearance, Adeline was thinking that the dumplings would taste like bread but there was some surprise inside. It didn''t taste anywhere near like bread. It tasted like�� tasted like heaven.


    She could taste chicken, onion, spring onion, ginger-garlic, and a blend of other herbs and spices. And when dipped with the tomato sauce, it was just perfect. "How can something look so simple from the outside and yet taste so so so good?"


    "Do you like it?" Nefriti glanced at Adeline to check her facial expressions.


    Adeline nodded her head vigorously and said, "I like how there''s a surprise of ingredients and flavors inside of it. To be honest, I had not expected this to taste so good." She stuffed another piece of dumpling in her mouth and mumbled, "But I declare it��" she pointed at the bowl full of dumplings and said, "��this is heavenly."


    Nefriti glanced at Raphael, she had a wide grin on her face.


    Raphael glanced at Kaela and gestured for her to offer the chicken drumsticks to Adeline. And Kaela immediately offered the drumstick to her, "Adeline, here, taste this as well."


    Adeline swallowed the dumpling in her mouth and then grabbed a piece of a chicken drumstick. And she shifted the untouched bowl of dumpling towards the other side of the table, "Why don''t you taste mine as well?"


    Everyone except Gustin and Nefriti took a piece of dumpling each. Nefriti had her own servings of dumplings while Gustin just didn''t care.


    Adeline then tasted another new dish, chicken drumstick. She gave a smile after eating it.


    "Does it taste good?" Kaela asked to Adeline.


    Adeline happily nodded her head and agreed, "Yes, it tastes different than the chicken that I''ve had till now. It''s really crispy on the outside but moist on the inside. And it is flavorful."


    After finishing the drumstick, she tried eating the dumpling with the broth. And she was surprised once again. The broth was lamb soup and somehow, coupling it with a dumpling made it taste even better.


    "Oh! It tastes good with this broth as well!" Adeline said in a surprised and satisfied tone.


    Nefriti finally clapped her hands and then pumped her fists in the air. Then she shouted, "And that''s final, dumpling wins. Woo-hoo!"


    "What? No, it didn''t win. She liked potato chops better." Raphael protested at that declaration from Nefriti.


    "No! She liked dumplings better. She even used the word ''heavenly'' to describe it." Nefriti claimed again while staring down at Raphael.


    Gustin finally cleared his throat and spoke in an agitated tone, "Why don''t you two confirm it with Adeline? She is sitting right there, just ask her what she liked the most."


    Nefriti swiftly turned her head to look at Adeline and asked, "You liked dumplings the most, didn''t you?"


    "Don''t lead her like that! That''s not fair." Raphael shouted at Nefriti.


    Adeline was super confused about what was going on. "What is going on? Am I missing something?"


    "No, it''s nothing. We just want to know what you liked the most out of the foods that you tasted today." Nefriti grinned at Adeline.


    However, Gustin revealed what was really going on. He took a bite of his chop and spoke in a monotone, "They have placed a bet with each other that you will like the food that they had chosen. So they want to know who the winner is."


    "Hey!" Nefriti narrowed her eyes at Gustin and gave a threatening look to him for revealing their secret bet to Adeline. She was worried that Adeline might feel bad to learn that.


    But Adeline covered her mouth with both of her hands and then started to laugh. She laughed so much that tears started to roll down her cheeks.


    Claudia was a little concerned because she was finding it difficult to assess if Adeline was laughing or crying. "Adeline, are you alright?"


    Adeline finally controlled her laughter and wiped her tears. "Yes, I''m alright. It''s just that I am really happy that I decided to come here with every one of you... And no one had ever bet on what kind of food I would like. I found it very funny how Nefriti and Raphael were taking the bet so seriously."


    Nefriti let out a small sigh of relief that Adeline was not crying. For a moment, even she felt like Adeline was crying. "Hmm�� so tell me, Adeline, what did you like the most?" Nefriti asked again as if she really wanted to win the bet.


    Adeline was feeling the pressure in the air. Everyone, except Gustin, was looking at her as though her answer really mattered to them. She didn''t want to hurt anyone''s expectations but she also could not choose all the foods.


    She hummed for a while and finally answered, "I liked every food that I tasted today, and each dish had its own unique taste. But I like dumplings the most."


    Nefriti pumped her fists in the air while shouting victoriously. She was acting like she had won a huge contest. And she was celebrating as if Adeline had liked the food that she had cooked herself and she was shouting as if she had passed an important examination.


    Raphael, Kaela, and Claudia accepted their defeat and then handed over one gold coin each to Nefriti. Nefriti happily collected her wins.


    After all of them finished their dishes, they paid the vendor and thanked him for the delicious food.


    "Now it''s time to go back to the boring home.." Nefriti puckered her lips at the thought of returning back to the same old Palace, to the same old routine.

 Chapter 87 - The Race

    Adeline had a very wonderful time at the market with her half-siblings. They showed her around the marketplace, showed her various shops, and taught several things to her. They made her laugh and they even fed her, some of them fed her with their own hands.


    This was the first time that she felt so happy to have been surrounded by so many siblings. She was not nervous, nor was she self-conscious about what they would think about her. She was able to truly enjoy herself.


    She didn''t want to admit it but, she didn''t miss Nigel that much when she was with them. They were all being nice to her and were treating her as if they had always been close to her.


    It made her wonder about a lot of missed-out possibilities. "If I had tried to talk with more of my half-siblings, then would I have had a close relationship with most of them? Just like I have with Nigel?"


    But the opportunities were already missed out. She could not turn back time. However, she could always start afresh. She thought to herself that she would at least try to maintain a good relationship with these five in the future as well.


    The Princes and Princesses were about to cross the market. The lights on the street were starting to dim down.


    Nefriti happened to look up at the cloudy sky. And she suddenly shouted, "Oh, I almost forgot. We have to buy a lantern before we leave the market. Else we will have to walk on the road while stumbling and rolling down."


    "Can''t we depend on the moonlight?" Kaela asked while looking up in the dark sky and said, "My bad! We need the lantern."


    All of them actively began to look for the lantern shop while they walked further away from the Golden Street. They finally came across one shop which sold candles and lanterns.


    Adeline realized that by the side of this shop, the shop where she had seen the devil figurine was located. While her brothers and sisters were busy inside the lantern shop, bargaining, Adeline sneaked to the shop at the side and purchased the figurine. She paid whatever amount the shopkeeper had asked and then quickly joined the others.


    She was planning to buy this figurine when she would return to visit the market at some other time. But she was very happy that she got the chance to buy it today itself. It would have been sad to come later and find that the figurine that she had liked was sold already.


    Nefriti finally managed to get a good bargain. The others were already fed up with her obsession with bargaining. But they didn''t want to say anything to her because she would then be grumpy with all of them for days for not letting her bargain. Rather than facing the grumpy Nefriti, they all let her do her thing.


    They took the lantern, asked the shopkeeper to fill it with oil and light it. Nefriti had bought the lantern so the Princes and Princesses let her carry it.


    "Let''s go sister." Nefriti put her arms around Adeline''s arm and then led the way while holding the lantern.


    And all the others followed them closely.


    The night looked very lovely outside of the Palace. They had already crossed the busy market and had not reached the Palace yet. The houses were sparsely located in this middle area. By the side of the road, there were bushes and different types of trees.


    They could hear the chirping made by crickets from the bushes. Adeline was enjoying the sounds produced by crickets, it felt like music to her ears.


    But not everyone shared her likeness towards the sound. "Argh! These damn crickets. I feel like they will puncture a hole in my ears." Gustin was covering his ears with his fingers.


    And in response to that, Raphael picked up a stone from the road and then threw it towards the bushes in an attempt to stop the noises.


    *Swish �C thump*


    For about two seconds, the whole place went quiet. But after that, the crickets began to produce louder noise than before. The sound was so deafening that everyone responded by covering their ears, even Adeline.


    "Why did you have to do that Raph?" Gustin flew an air-kick towards Raphael and shouted at him, "You made it even worse!"


    "YES! What were you thinking?" Kaela also shouted at Raphael.


    But Adeline grabbed everyone''s attention by shouting in a surprised tone, "Everyone, look at that! It looks so beauuuuutiful." Adeline was pointing at the path in front of them.


    Everyone was so busy covering their ears and shouting at each other that they had failed to notice something beautiful in front of them. The whole path was lit with fireflies.


    When Raphael threw the stone in the bushes, he made hundreds of fireflies fly out of the bushes. They were glowing and blinking their little lights and were flying everywhere around the Princes and Princesses. They looked like little flying lanterns in the dark night. And they looked so beautiful that they were putting the lantern that Nefriti was carrying to shame.


    "Oh my God! Is this what heaven looks like?" Claudia began to chase the fireflies and run around like a small kid.


    "Maybe��" Adeline also began to run alongside Claudia and was chasing the fireflies, trying to catch them in her hands.


    Following those two, everyone else began to run along the path lit with the fireflies. They were chucking and running around. They were pushing each other, trying to make the others fall off the path and to the bushes.


    And while in the middle of joking around, Nefriti announced, "Whoever reaches to the Palace first will win."


    All she had to say was that and all five of the Royals, except Adeline, instantly began to run.


    Adeline was caught off guard because she didn''t know that she was also supposed to run. "We are running? Nobody told me that!" Adeline shouted at her brothers and sisters but they were already a little far from her.


    "Oh well��" She half shrugged her shoulders and started to run at her top speed to catch up with everyone. She liked how competitive everyone was in almost everything.


    After a while of running, Adeline was slowly able to catch up with Nefriti who was running at the last. She was finding it difficult to run while holding the lantern.


    Adeline crossed Nefriti and heard Nefriti shouting from behind, "No�� not you too. Why am I at the last when I was the first one to start?"


    Adeline waved her hand to gesture to Nefriti to run faster and shouted back, "Catch up�� you can do it."


    While running, those who were at the front didn''t even need the lantern to show the way. Everyone''s eyesight had already adjusted to the dark, and they were able to run just fine.


    Now Adeline was running behind Raphael who was running ahead of everyone. She could see the well-lit Palace from where she was. She had to admit that everything looked even more beautiful in the dark. The size of the Palace was growing bigger and bigger as she approached nearer to the Palace. She could see the tall main gate of the Palace.


    Adeline and Raphael were running side by side by now. Raphael gave a quick glance to Adeline and spoke while panting, "At least one of my sisters can catch up to me. But I am sorry sister, I am the one who is going to win."


    "I wouldn''t be so sure," Adeline shouted. There was no hint of heavy breathing when Adeline was speaking. She was taking it easy as though this was a piece of cake to her. To speak the truth, it was.


    When the Palace gate was very near, Adeline picked up her speed as if she had been hiding her true speed till now. And in no time, she was right in front of the gate. Then she turned around to see all the others. They were still running to reach the gate.


    "I win" Adeline shouted at them and gave a wide grin.


    But Raphael came running towards the gate and pressed his palm against the gate. "No sister, I win."


    "What? But I reached here first. So how did you win?" Adeline creased her brows and demanded to know why he was claiming to win the race.


    Raphael paused to breathe in some air and after taking a few deep breaths in he said, "You didn''t touch the gate. You have to touch the gate to win. So I win."


    Adeline gave a puppy-eye look to Raphael and puckered her lips in disappointment.


    Raphael looked at Adeline and let out a puff of air. "Alright, alright, you win." He gave in to the baby-like innocent look from his sister and declared her the winner of the race.


    Adeline gave the sweetest grin to Raphael, making him smile.


    The guards of the Palace were standing at each side of the gate like statues. They were waiting for all the Princes and Princesses to arrive to open the gate because they were used to this group''s race by now, and they knew that the Royals would go inside only after everyone in their group had gathered.


    Turn by turn, the others also gathered in front of the gate. Nefriti was the last one in the race.


    Finally, the guards opened the huge gates to let the Princes and Princesses inside the Palace.

 Chapter 88 - Whos There?

    When the Princes and Princesses who had gone to the market reached inside the Palace, it was almost everyone''s dinner time. The Palace was still lively, with the maids and servants walking here and there, carrying the food trays in their hand. Those who had just returned, however, had their stomach full. They did not even want to look at the dinner right now.


    "Argh! Now I have to make my maids understand why I don''t want to have dinner. They will keep on insisting that I have some food before I go to bed." Nefriti drooped her shoulders. She definitely was not ready to face her maids after having so much food already.


    Claudia was aware of Nefriti''s weakness, it was not being able to deny her maids if they insisted. "Just say that you are already full. You ate whole two servings of those dumplings all by yourself. You will get indigestion if you eat any more food."


    "Alright everyone, my quarter is that way, so see you all tomorrow in the training. Goodnight!" Raphael waved at his siblings and then left towards his quarter.


    All the other Princes and Princesses also bid goodnight to each other and then parted for the night.


    Adeline was about to walk towards her quarter but she remembered about Rion. "I wonder if he drank water afterward��" She wanted to make sure that her horse was eating and drinking fine, and that he was not being a problematic horse. So she made her way towards the stable.


    Now that she was alone and that her mind was free, she started to think back to what Agnes had said to her. "Lillian opened the door to the other worlds? What does that even mean?" she murmured to herself as she was walking at a slow pace.


    "Theodore mentioned about three worlds to me. Heaven, hell, and earth. I bet Lillian has no interest in heaven. Does that mean Lillian somehow managed to open some kind of passage to hell? But why would she do that? What will she gain out of it?" Adeline was feeling very anxious to know what kind of evil Lillian was cooking up.


    "Maybe I should go to see Agnes tomorrow. I need to know what that witch is up to. I need to be cautious. And if I can do something to stop Lillian from doing whatever it is that she is doing, then I should not waste any more time. What if she does something bad to someone and I am too late to stop it�� Yes, I should see Agnes tomorrow."


    Adeline reached the stable and then checked up on Rion. Rion was already sound asleep so she looked for the stableman and then asked him whether he fed water to Rion.


    "Yes, Princess I did." The stableman answered to the Princess. He opened his mouth to say something but then he decided not to say it.


    Adeline noticed that the stableman was thinking of something, as though he wanted to say something to her. "What is it? Is there something you would like to tell me?" Adeline asked that stableman.


    And the stableman politely replied to the Princess, "I don''t know if it is just my false impression but I think Rion understands what you say. Whenever you give some order to him, he follows. Before you left, you asked him to drink water and let me clean his stable. And he did. Not just that, he also follows other things that you say to him."


    Adeline chuckled at this remark from the stableman. She thought that he was delusional to believe that. "I don''t think he follows my orders. He might just be starting to get habituated to this new place and new people." Adeline tried to give a rationale behind Rion''s obedience.


    The stableman nervously smiled for having told such an idiotic theory of his to the Princess. "What was I thinking? That is a more believable reason."


    Adeline softly caressed Rion and then left for her own quarter. It was already late and if she did not return soon then her maids would be worried out of their minds.


    While returning to her quarter, she could not help but still think about that ''door'' that Agnes had mentioned about. "How does this door even look like? Where did Lillian open that door? Did she do it inside the Palace? If so, where exactly?"


    Adeline was subconsciously walking while falling into deep thoughts. She suddenly stopped her feet and then looked to her side. She felt as though something had just swiftly passed by her side. She looked around but there was no one.


    She began to walk again, thinking that it was just some illusion played by her mind. However, just after taking a few more steps, she again felt as though a shadow just flew by her side.


    Adeline''s heartbeat was now starting to escalate. She was not the one to get scared so easily at night, but her previous encounter with the ghoul made her reconsider her power level. She was reminded that there were creatures that were far more powerful than her and that they could easily harm her.


    Right now, she was wondering about the door to hell and why Lillian would have wanted to open it. And because of this, when Adeline felt like something was lurking in the dark, she was scared that Lillian might have unleased some dangerous creatures from hell.


    She certainly did not want to go looking for such creatures at the moment. She was proud of her strength and skills but not that much to act like an egoistic person and go looking around in the dark for troubles.


    So she started to run towards the safety of her own room. She ran so fast that she might have even broken her own previous record. She arrived in her private chamber in a matter of minutes.


    She hurriedly opened the doors to her room but as soon as she did that, she screamed at the top of her lungs.


    Adeline''s room was dark, her maids had not lighted the lanterns or the candles in her room because she was not inside. A window of her private chamber was open. And when Adeline opened the door, a gust of wind entered inside the room, blowing the curtains to reveal a dark figure standing behind the curtains.


    As Adeline had so much in her mind and as she had felt that something was swooshing past her while walking outside, her mind immediately thought that the dark figure was that thing which was following her earlier.


    And she was so startled that she screamed very loudly.


    That dark figure came running towards her and then covered her mouth. "Adeline, it''s me! Why are you shouting like that?" Theodore asked her in a hushed tone.


    After knowing it was no one dangerous but Theodore, Adeline was saying something. But all Theodore could hear was muffled voices as he was still covering her mouth very tightly. "What are you saying?" Theodore finally let go of her.


    Adeline slapped Theodore on his muscular arm and scolded him, "Theodore! What were you doing standing there like that?" Adeline yelled at Theodore furiously for scaring the soul out of her.


    "What else? I was waiting for you." Theodore innocently defended himself.


    Before Adeline could scold him some more, Hawisa and Osanna came running to her room to check what was wrong.


    Hawisa was carrying a lantern in her hand. She looked around the room, while asking questions to the Princess, "Adeline, what happened? Why were you shouting like that?"


    "Are you hurt somewhere? Did something happen to you?" Osanna also asked in her worried voice.


    Adeline was taking a few deep breaths in to calm herself down. And she spoke while panting, "No, I''m good. I was just too happy to be back in my room, that''s all." Adeline lied through her teeth.


    "Are you sure? You didn''t sound happy��" Hawisa did not believe in the Princess at all because Adeline sounded like she was too scared of something. That was why she was searching for any signs of that source of terror as soon as she ran inside the Princess''s chamber.


    "I''m alright. You two don''t have to worry." Adeline lied down on the comfort of her bed without even changing her clothes or cleaning herself up after a long day.


    Hawisa didn''t find anything strange in the room so she thought that the Princess might have just vented out her frustration about something. And she asked the Princess, "Should I bring the dinner for you? Or would you like to take a bath first?"


    "I don''t feel like eating anything. I had lots of food in the market. So just prepare a hot bath for now." Adeline asked in a tired tone.


    But Hawisa was shocked at the carelessness of the Princess. "You did what? You ate in the market? Without having anyone to test your food for poisons?"


    Either Hawisa or Osanna would always taste Adeline''s food before bringing it to her room. The Royal''s lives were too precious to let them eat something without being tested first.


    There were of course, previous cases where the poisonous food would still be delivered to the intended person if the maids were bought by the conspirator. Which is why it was important to have a good relationship and trust with the personal maids.


    "Hawisa�� we were in disguise. Nobody recognized us there to poison us!" Adeline was trying to make her maids believe that she was really okay and that there was nothing to worry about.


    But while Adeline was saying that, she remembered about Agnes. She had recognized each and every one of them, and had even said that she had been keeping an eye on the Palace. And she wondered what would have happened if it was someone with bad intention instead of Agnes, who seemed like a good person.


    "I should be more vigilant from now on." Adeline reminded to herself that she could not afford to look at the world through her optimistic and trusting eyes.. The world was too dangerous.

 Chapter 89 - Staying Guard

    Hawisa could not help but feel like a mother of a teenager. Adeline did so many things that were unacceptable to be done by the Princess. First, she went outside of the Palace in disguise. Hawisa had yet to know that Adeline had not even informed her father about it. Then she had some food in the market, who knows what kind of foods she ate there?


    And Hawisa could not even scold Adeline for doing so many outrageous things because she was the Princess and Hawisa was her maid, she had no right to scold a Princess. But still, she was too worried about Adeline.


    "Adeline, don''t go out on your own from now on. I don''t trust the other Princes and Princesses. They are already making you break so many rules. If you want to go out, at least take some guards with you." This was the only way that Hawisa could think of, for keeping the Princess safe if she wanted to go outside the Palace.


    Adeline furrowed her brows because she was being lectured again by Hawisa on the same thing that they had already discussed so many times before. "Hawisa, I ��"


    Adeline was about to say something but Hawisa immediately interjected in the middle. "I''m not implying that you are incapable of taking care of yourself or defending yourself. But you have to learn to rely on others sometimes."


    Hawisa already knew what the Princess was going to say to her, so she gave her reasoning as to why it was necessary to take few guards with her if she desired to roam around in the village.


    "You are not used to going out on your own, you don''t know how the world outside of these Palace walls works. You might not even perceive someone as dangerous until they''ve already done something evil to you."


    It felt as though Hawisa was not just blabbering some nonsense. It looked as though she was saying it from experience.


    To be fair, Adeline did not need to be reminded of how cruel and gruesome people''s thoughts and acts could be. She didn''t need to go outside of the Palace to come face to face with those kinds of people.


    Though Adeline had not encountered any bad people outside of the Palace, she couldn''t tell the difference from just one visit to the Golden Street.


    So she thought that if she was to go outside of the Palace, it would be safe to take a few guards with her. They were trained to perceive any dangers before anyone else could, so taking guards wouldn''t hurt. She could ask the guards to wear plain clothes if she didn''t want any attention on her.


    "Okay, I will take the guards with me whenever I go outside the Palace. Happy now?" Adeline smiled at Hawisa.


    Hawisa also smiled at the Princess and nodded her head.


    Osanna was waiting for Hawisa to stop lecturing Adeline so that she could ask Adeline how the village looked like. And when she got her chance, she excitedly sat down beside Adeline and asked, "Adeline, what did you see in the market? What kinds of foods did you eat? What did the people look like?"


    Hawisa shook her head disapprovingly and rolled her eyes at this immature behavior of Osanna. "People look like people, how else they would look like? Dogs?" Hawisa yelled at Osanna for asking such stupid questions.


    But one couldn''t blame Osanna. It had been more than 15 years that she had set her foot outside of the Palace. And she just wanted to know how much the village has changed since.


    "Come, let''s prepare the bath for the Princess. You don''t want the Princess to get less sleep now, do you?" Hawisa raised her brows at Osanna and kept on glaring at her.


    And in return, Osanna also gritted her teeth and glared back at Hawisa.


    Adeline chuckled while looking at their stare-down match. Then she patted Osanna consolingly and said, "I will explain everything in detail tomorrow. Okay?"


    Osanna grinned from ear to ear and nodded her head, "Yes!" She finally got up and began following Hawisa to prepare the bath. And she shouted while walking away from the room, "Don''t forget to call me when you are free. Remember that you promised me."


    "Alright, alright. I won''t forget." Adeline giggled and then rolled over to look at Theodore.


    Theodore was busy staring outside of the open window again.


    Adeline scrunched her brows and thought to herself, "Why is he so interested in staring outside of the window today? Did he also sense something suspicious? Does that mean that was not just my illusion?"


    Adeline got out of her bed and then quietly walked towards her window. She stood by the side of Theodore, looked at Theodore''s eyes, and looked in the direction where he was staring so intently at. Then she whispered, "What are you staring at? Did you also see something?"


    Theodore shifted his attention towards Adeline and asked, "What do you mean? You�� saw something? Where? What did you see?"


    "I didn''t exactly see what it was but when I was walking back from the stable, I felt as though something passed by me. Not just once, but twice." Adeline could feel goosebumps all over her body.


    "Agnes had said something about Lillian opening door to the other worlds. And I didn''t want to encounter anything scary like that ghoul of yours. That was why I ran all way back here. And then you were standing here like some ghost, so I was terrified." Adeline complainingly gave a cute puppy-eyed look to Theodore.


    Theodore could not help but chuckle at the poor Princess. And at the same time, he felt sorry for her because he was the one who had scared her.


    He pulled the Princess in front of him and then pressed his warm body against her back. Then he placed his hands on the window as though he had made a small prison for Adeline in between his arms and the window.


    He rested his jaw on Adeline''s head and spoke in an apologetic voice, "I''m sorry my little human. That was me. I came to your room but you weren''t here, so I went to the stable to see how Rion was doing. And I saw you returning to your room so I ran back here after seeing him briefly. I wanted to stretch my legs but I think I ran a little too fast and scared you."


    "So that shadow was you huh." Adeline let out a huge sigh of relief when she heard that the shadow that she saw lurking outside was none other than Theodore.


    If it was any other beings from hell then she didn''t know what she was going to do, how she was going to stop such beings from harming something or someone inside the Palace.


    Suddenly, Adeline creased her brows and looked at the open window. "Wait, did you come inside the room using this window? I don''t think I had left it open."


    Theodore smiled as though Adeline had caught his mischievous act and he replied, "Yes, I wanted to check if I could jump this high." Adeline''s private chamber was on the first floor. "But it took me a while to jump exactly this high."


    "Aren''t you the Devil Prince? Shouldn''t you be able to scale a mountain in one jump?" Adeline sarcastically said to Theodore and chuckled.


    But Theodore replied in a serious tone, "Yes, that was the problem. I was jumping way too high every time. So it took me a while to be able to jump this low. But it kept me occupied till you came."


    "Oh!" Adeline had no words to express her amazement.


    Adeline took a mental note, "Someday, I would love to see his full power display. I keep forgetting that his powers are extraordinary."


    Theodore told Adeline that he went to the stable to see Rion. Yes, he did that too. But in reality, Theodore was investigating the Palace to search for anything that was out of place or something unusual.


    Agnes had told Theodore that some of the villagers had seen a huge tornado-like cloud swirling above the Palace the other night; and that her whole coven had felt a great surge in dark power. She believed that Lillian had opened a gate large enough to let in a whole army of dark creatures.


    After hearing that from Agnes, he regretted not keeping an eye on Lillian by himself. He used a spell to tone down his enormous aura, which was the main culprit behind Lillian sensing him even when he used the invisibility spell. By minimizing the demonic aura that he would normally give off, he didn''t need to worry about Lillian sensing him again.


    And he was looking for any sign or leftovers of the magic circle. He, however, didn''t imagine that Lillian had drawn the magic circle so large that engulfed the whole Palace from the outside.


    And the reason why Theodore was constantly looking outside of Adeline''s window was because he was staying alert for any signs of movement outside Adeline''s quarter. He had a reason to believe that Lillian was going to use some creatures from hell to harm Adeline.


    So he was even ready to stay guard for his precious human. He tightly wrapped his arms around Adeline.. He wanted to keep her safe more than anything else.

 Chapter 90 - Teasing

    Theodore let Adeline out of his ''prison'' and shifted to one corner when he heard some footsteps approaching her room. It was none other than Osanna who had returned to Adeline''s room to inform the Princess that the hot bath was ready.


    Osanna spoke as she walked towards Adeline''s wardrobe, "Adeline, your bath is ready. It''s already late so make sure that you get out of the bath soon. You don''t want to catch cold, do you?" She took out the bath gown and kept it on Adeline''s bed for her to change before going in for a bath.


    Then she also took out Adeline''s nightgown and towel for the Princess to use after her bath and took them inside the bath house.


    After Osanna left the room, Adeline grabbed her bath gown and glanced at Theodore. He was smiling and gawking at her. Normally, she would have changed into her bath gown in her own room, but she was not going to change into her thin see-through bath gown in front of Theodore.


    So she decided to change it in her bath house. She grabbed the dress and whispered to Theodore, "Wait for me for some time okay? I will take a quick bath and will be right back."


    Theodore''s seductive eyes fell on the thin bath gown that Adeline was holding in her hand. He was reminded of the day when he saw Adeline in that dress, all soaked in water. She looked like a full moon shining on the ocean at night. And he wanted to see his woman in that breathtaking form again.


    Adeline turned around to walk towards the bath house but Theodore caught the rim of the light pink gown that Adeline was wearing. He was seductively biting his lower lip. He darted his eyes from Adeline''s neck to her feet and spoke in his enchantingly deep voice, "Your dress looks very tight. Don''t you need my help to take it off?"


    Adeline''s jaw dropped down hearing how smoothly he had asked her if she needed his help to take her dress off. She bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from smiling and she shook her head disapproving his sly behavior. "I can''t even��"


    "You can''t even take off your dress, right? That why I''m offering to help you." Theodore gave a devilish smirk to the Princess. He could be very charming when he wanted to. And he playfully pulled Adeline''s dress and Adeline along with it.


    "Theo! What are you doing?" Adeline tried to mask her nervousness with her chuckle.


    She wanted to be mad at Theodore but he started to pull her dress around her stomach trying to imply that the dress was too tight for her to get out of it on her own. And Adeline was feeling so ticklish that she could not even focus her mind to get mad at the mischievous Devil.


    Adeline asked Theodore to stop behaving mischievously while still giggling uncontrollably, "Theo, stop it, please. My bath will get cold."


    "Can''t I join you in the bath?" Theodore asked with an enticing demeanor. "I will get bored if you leave me alone here." Theodore was still holding the rim of Adeline''s dress and was not letting her run away.


    A part of Adeline wanted to give in to Theodore''s persistence and invite him in to the bath with her. But she came back to her senses and then sternly ordered him, "No, you can''t join me. Just wait here. I will be back in no time."


    Then Adeline remembered that she had purchased something to give to Theodore. She placed her hand inside the pocket of her gown and took out the beautiful figurine of the Devil.


    Adeline took Theodore''s hand and handed the figurine to him and said, "Here, take this. You won''t be alone now."


    Theodore took the figurine from Adeline''s hand and looked intrigued by it. The figurine had a pair of horns and wings. It was wearing black and golden clothes. It had golden horns while the wings were black in color.


    The Devil gave a smoldering look to Adeline and then asked her, "By any chance, is this supposed to be me?"


    "That''s right!" Adeline giggled very happily. She was proud of herself for picking up such a fitting gift for Theodore.


    "And this is a gift for me?" Theodore raised his brows and asked.


    "Mhmm" Adeline did a little nod.


    Theodore smiled as though he had just received something very valuable. He had received many gifts in his life before. But out of all those, he felt like this was the best gift that he has ever received.


    He didn''t know whether he felt that way because he had received it from Adeline, or because the figurine somewhat resembled him. Nonetheless, he liked the gift very much. He carefully placed the figurine inside his pocket and patted on top of the pocket as if he just tucked the figurine to sleep.


    Then he finally let go of Adeline''s dress and said, "Alright, I will let you off my hook this time because of the beautiful bribe that you presented me with."


    "That was not a bribe but I''m glad that it worked." Adeline smiled and then began to walk towards her bath house.


    And Theodore shouted to her, "But come back soon, or else I will come to pick you up from the bath house myself."


    "Don''t worry, I won''t give you that chance," Adeline shouted back as she locked the door of the bath house behind her.


    And just like she had promised, she came out of the bath house only after 10 minutes. She was now in her white and elegant night gown. Her silver hair had turned into locks as they were still wet. And she was holding the necklace that she had bought from the market in her hand.


    "What''s that?" Theodore asked with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.


    "It''s a chain that I bought from the market today." Adeline went towards her dressing table and then placed the chain carefully in a drawer.


    Theodore clapped his hands as if he just remembered something important and said, "Right, market. I have a lot of questions that I have to ask to you."


    He glanced at Adeline from her head to toe. A seductive smile appeared on his lips because Adeline was looking very fresh and beautiful in her night gown.


    Droplets of water were still falling from the tip of Adeline''s wet hair and were soaking the part of the gown that was over her chest. It seemed like Adeline did not wipe herself properly after the bath because her gown was stuck to her wet skin, almost attaching itself perfectly to Adeline''s womanly curves.


    Theodore did not realize it but he was subconsciously biting his lower lips. He was enthralled by the alluring beauty that was standing in front of him.


    Adeline was waiting for Theodore to ask questions to her but he was lost. He was longingly gazing at her. The Princess was feeling her heartbeat escalating. Her whole body temperature was rising, making her feel really hot. And before the pressure in the air intensified anymore, Adeline massaged her nape and asked, "Theo, you were going to ask me something?"


    Theodore''s eyes were following Adeline''s tiny movements. He was busy staring at Adeline''s gorgeous neck. And without even shifting his look from her neck, he asked, "So, shall we take this conversation over to my room? I would love to talk about a few things while lying down on my own bed... with you by my side."


    Adeline thought that Theodore was not serious about taking her to his room every night. And even though he was serious at the moment he said that, Adeline had thought that he would have forgotten that by now. But it seemed like Theodore had not forgotten that at all and that he was really serious about always sleeping together.


    However, she wanted to stay at the Palace and maybe stay alert for any kind of door that Lillian would open. She had no idea how this door to the other worlds would look like, and how it could be opened. But she wanted to find that out. "Why don''t you stay over instead? Agnes was talking about some kind of door that Lillian was opening. Maybe we can look out for it."


    Theodore would have liked to stay over at Adeline''s place and keep an eye on what Lillian was doing exactly, to be more specific, he wanted to know who or what kind of creature she was summoning.


    But at the same time, he thought that it was too dangerous to let Adeline stay in her Palace at night after already knowing that Lillian had been summoning something using even more dark energy. He did not want Adeline to fall victim to that witch.


    "Opening a door does not necessarily mean that it is bad. You don''t have to worry too much about it." Theodore tried to comfort Adeline with his words so that she would not insist on staying over and watching Lillian''s actions.


    However, Adeline was still insisting, "I don''t think that anything that Lillian does is not evil. We should try to find out what she is exactly up to."


    Theodore hummed for some time and then came up with a plan. "Then let''s do this, I will send a few of my followers here to watch over Lillian''s moves. They will report to us and we will take actions accordingly."


    Theodore pulled Adeline by her waist and gave a captivating smile to her, "For now, let me take you to my humble abode."

 Chapter 91 - Making Acquaintance

    Theodore and Adeline teleported from Adeline''s room. Today as well, Theodore brought Adeline outside of the Devil''s Cave.


    "Are you serious? Why did you bring me at the entrance again?" Adeline threw her hands and feet like a child and complained to Theodore. She had already faced the questioning looks from Theodore''s scary followers yesterday night and she was not ready to walk through the same corridor again.


    Theodore replied in a very calm tone, "I have already told you yesterday. From now on I am going to show you to the world. I want everyone to know that you are mine. So I am not sneaking you into my room ever again. I am going to take you inside like a proper guest every day."


    Then he leaned towards Adeline to carry her in his arms again. But Adeline knew what he was going to do, so she quickly took a few steps back and shook her head, "No, you are not doing that again! You would not carry each and every guest of yours, right? So just let me walk in like a proper guest."


    "But you are more special than a proper guest." Theodore was still trying to catch the Princess so that he could carry her.


    But before he could reach her, Adeline escaped from his reach like a mouse and then rushed inside the cave while giggling. "I''m not going to let you catch me," she shouted as she ran inside.


    Theodore also ran behind Adeline as if he was chasing her. He could have easily caught up to her if he really wanted to. But he just gave a close chase to Adeline and pretended that he was unable to catch up to her. Watching her running inside the cave like a little bunny was far more entertaining to Theodore than catching her like a predator.


    When the torch-lit part of the cave ended and the area with Theodore''s followers was in sight, Adeline stopped running like a kid and then maintained her composure. Then, in her nightgown, she began to walk like a proper lady.


    Adeline felt a lot more uncomfortable when everyone''s eyes fell on her, again. And walking in a nightgown was adding up the discomfort.


    And she reminded herself, "I should stop wearing the nightgown if I am always going to walk inside through the main entrance. I don''t want all of them to think that I am his sleep-mate��" Adeline puckered her lips as her own thoughts made her fall deeper into the rabbit hole, "Well I guess I am also his sleep-mate as I am coming here for the sole purpose of sleeping with him."


    Her thoughts were disrupted when Theodore suddenly held her hand. She glanced up to look at Theodore.


    Sensing her eyes on him, Theodore leaned a little towards Adeline and whispered, "At least allow me to hold your hand."


    Adeline did not like the attention she was getting so she tried to loosen herself from Theodore''s grip. But Theodore held her hand even more tightly and whispered, "If you free your hand then I will immediately lift you in my arms. Do you want me to carry you right here?"


    After hearing his warning, Adeline stopped resisting and just let the Devil have his way. She knew that he was not joking around.


    Theodore had a mischievous smirk on his face when Adeline started to walk quietly, and without resisting his grip. Though he would have loved to carry her to his room, walking while holding her cute little hand was also okay.


    Today, there was not much uproar among Theodore''s followers because they had seen Adeline yesterday as well. But they were surprised to see that their master had brought that human to his room today as well.


    After Theodore and Adeline were a little far away, a blood fairy whispered to a banshee, "What do you think our master does to that human after taking her inside his room? Is he also interested in drinking human blood like me?"


    The banshee glared at the blood fairy who always kept on thinking about blood, and whispered back, "Not everyone is like you."


    Then the banshee smiled shyly while rolling a lock of her hair in her fingers. She nudged the blood fairy with her shoulder and spoke in a shy voice, "What do you think a man would do to a young woman after taking her inside to his room?" Then she covered her face with both of her hands and giggled.


    The blood fairy realized what the banshee was hinting to. Her eyes were wide open because she had already imagined her master doing unruly things with that human. Instantly, her cheeks turned bright red so she began to fan her face with her hands.


    Theodore stopped in front of a human maid who was bowing down to the Devil Prince. Then he ordered the maid, "Escort Princess Adeline to my room." He introduced Adeline to the maid in a loud voice so that others could also hear him and know who she was.


    Then he toned down his voice a bit and gave instruction to the maid, "And wait there with her until I come. If she needs anything then provide it to her."


    "Yes Master," The maid bowed to the Devil Prince.


    Adeline gave a questioning look to Theodore. So Theodore clarified to her, "I am going to talk to some of my followers and ask them to observe the Palace for any unusual activities. I will be back soon, don''t worry." Theodore pointed at the maid and continued, "Till then she will keep you company."


    Theodore had asked the maid not to leave Adeline''s side because he did not want Adeline to go around the cave roaming on her own and then encountering some of his dangerous followers.


    The maid held out her hand and gestured the Princess to follow her, "Princess, I will show you to master''s room."


    Adeline smiled at the maid and then followed her.


    Theodore did not want to talk to his followers in front of Adeline because he had hidden things from her. And he did not want to openly discuss the details about the witch''s spells and magic circles in front of Adeline. He was not going to hide those things from Adeline forever, but he was not ready to give out all the details to Adeline yet.


    Adeline was awkwardly following the maid. She was not comfortable while following someone whom she did not even know. And to make it worse, Theodore had asked the maid to accompany her until he returned.


    She would have been fine on her own, she already knew the corridors to his room. She wanted to tell that to Theodore but as she was surrounded by his followers, she stopped herself. She did not want to look like someone who disrespected their master. She knew that these crowds were not to be messed with.


    The maid opened the door to Theodore''s room and then gestured her hand inside the room, "Princess, please take a seat where you desire."


    And those words from Theodore''s maid made Adeline even more uncomfortable. Theodore''s room did not have any chair, to begin with.

 Chapter 92 - Peggy

    There was a large bed and a few cushions on the carpet. As she was not going to have any dinner right now, she did not want to sit down on the cushion. But she did not want to head for the bed straight away and give the wrong impression either.


    "Do you�� need something Princess?" The maid asked Adeline seeing her standing by the door very awkwardly.


    Adeline did not want to give out orders to someone else''s maid so she just smiled and shook her head. Then she walked towards one of the cushions laid down on the carpet and settled down.


    The maid kept on standing by the door and was avoiding any eye contact with the Princess. She was treating Adeline like she would treat the Devil Prince. It was apparent that the human maids were still scared of Theodore even though Theodore had given them a second life and let them stay inside the cave while serving him.


    Adeline felt bad seeing the maid scared of her. So she decided to have a little chat with the maid and make her feel less scared of her. "Why don''t you come and sit by my side? We can talk until Theodore returns back."


    The maid reluctantly walked over to Adeline''s side and stood there.


    Adeline patted on the cushion by her side and said, "Sit down. You don''t have to be scared of me."


    The maid gave a quick glance at Adeline and smiled, "I am not scared, Your Highness."


    "Then why aren''t you sitting down?" Adeline asked in a polite voice.


    "How can a mere maid like me sit beside a Princess? I wouldn''t dare." The maid kept on staring down at the floor and replied to the Princess.


    But Adeline insisted, or rather threatened politely, "Didn''t Theodore ask you to do anything for me? I want you to sit down by my side and talk to me."


    The maid immediately sat down and asked, "What would you like to talk about Princess?"


    Adeline hummed and then spoke after a while, "Why don''t you start by introducing yourself? I want to know more about you."


    The maid had a surprised look on her face. Someone who was of such a high status just told her that she wanted to know more about her. And the maid felt something warm in her heart. She smiled enthusiastically and introduced herself, "My name is Peggy. I have been living here for almost 25 years."


    "Peggy," Adeline repeated the maid''s name and then nodded her head. "So how did you end up here Peggy?" Adeline was trying to break the ice with the maid in order to make her feel comfortable around her.


    The maid started playing with the rim of her cloth. She was finding it difficult to answer this question because it had been a long time since someone had asked her about how she ended up being a maid of the Devil.


    After a while, she finally spoke in a soft voice, "I don''t remember much because I was very young when I came here. I just know that my parents left me in front of the cave. They might have thought that a child-eating monster lived here. So they left me here to be devoured by that same monster."


    Peggy stole a quick glance of the Princess and smiled, "But lucky for me, our master was generous enough to take me in." She paused for a while and narrowed her eyes. Then she said in a grim voice, "Now, that I think about it, my parents were the real monsters."


    Adeline furrowed her brows because she had also been in a similar situation to that maid. The difference was that she was not dropped outside the cave by her own parents. And she was returned back to the Palace by Theodore.


    "Is it even possible for parents to abandon their child like that? Didn''t Theodore take you back to your parents and tried to persuade them to keep you?" Adeline asked with curiosity. Her father loved her very dearly and she could not even imagine how any parents could abandon their child just like that.


    The maid shook her head and replied, "What was the point in taking me back to my parents when they did not even want me? They wouldn''t have left me here in the first place if they really loved me. Maybe they would have tossed me over to some another place even if our master had returned me. So I am glad that master did not take me back."


    "After you grew up, didn''t you go to visit your parents... maybe to confront them? Don''t you ever feel like visiting your parents?" Adeline was asking question after question to the maid.


    "No, they left me to die here so why would I go back to them? I am happy here. I will serve under our master until I die." Peggy replied without showing any sorrow or regret. She truly was grateful towards Theodore.


    After hearing the maid''s story, Adeline wondered what would have happened to her if Theodore had not returned her back to her own Palace. "Would he also have turned me into a maid? Would he still have the same affection towards me if I was his maid?" Adeline was lost in her own thoughts for a good while.


    "Princess, are you alright?" Peggy asked in a concerned voice after seeing the Princess staring blankly at the wall for quite some time.


    Adeline was brought back to reality by Peggy''s question. She smiled and then asked another question again, "May I ask why all of you are so afraid of Theodore?"


    Adeline wanted to know why the maids acted so stiff around Theodore. She had also seen them before while they brought food to her. And they were very cautious at that time as well.


    That made Adeline wonder if Theodore was truly scary to the others. Adeline thought to herself, "Maybe he lashes out at them or scolds them? Or maybe he even abuses them?"


    Adeline shook off that thought by flicking herself on the lap and thought, "Why would you even think such degrading things about Theo? What''s wrong with you Adeline?" And she directed her focus towards Peggy.


    Peggy was giving a ''Isn''t it obvious?'' kind of look to Adeline. And then she even considered the possibility that maybe Adeline did not know that Theodore was a Devil Prince, the one who was feared by all three realms. Because, well, he is the Devil...


    But Peggy dismissed that thought since Adeline had already seen the mystical creatures who resided in the cave. No sane person who did not know the identity of Theodore would have been able to withstand such creatures'' sight as most people are not accustomed to seeing them. Most thought of them to be just tales and myths.


    The maid then softly answered the Princess, "Master does not like undisciplined behavior from any one of us. He can get angry very easily. We are not afraid of our master but we are cautious when we are around him. Nobody wants to make their master angry." Peggy gave an honest answer and then smiled at the Princess.


    Peggy didn''t mention the parts like how Theodore would constantly give them the threat of beheading them when they would happen to mistakenly touch him. Being touched by others without his permission was Theodore''s biggest pet peeve.


    Adeline thought that the maids were just trying not to make Theodore angry. So she was somewhat relieved that Theodore was not being mean to them.


    Peggy was beginning to feel somewhat comfortable around the Princess.. She was very friendly to her even though she was from a higher class, even though she was a Princess.

 Chapter 93 - A Memento

    Due to the friendly behavior of Adeline, Peggy''s perception that Princesses were filled with ego and attitude was shattered. Adeline was treating her as though she was her friend. So she was mesmerized by the gentle Princess whom she was talking to right now.


    The Princess had already asked her a lot of question, and now Peggy took some courage to ask a question to the Princess. "Princess Adeline, may I ask which Kingdom are you from?"


    "I''m from Wyverndale. I am the youngest Princess." Adeline replied politely. It was already given that Peggy wouldn''t know about the outside world.


    Peggy gave a warm smile to the Princess and said, "So, you are from the same Kingdom as me. I vaguely remember that I used to live in the outer village of the Kingdom. But that is a distant memory now."


    And the maid dared to ask another question again. The question which everyone inside the cave was dying to know about. "May I ask how Your Highness happened to meet our master?" She bowed politely and said, "I hope that I am not overstepping in your private matters."


    Adeline didn''t know if she was allowed to say the truth, but she thought that it was okay because everyone in the cave was loyal to Theodore. So she confided in the maid, "Actually, my story is also somewhat similar to you."


    "Similar to me?" the maid was visibly confused.


    Adeline nodded and continued, "I was kidnapped when I was a toddler. And my kidnapper left me here, in front of the cave. But Theodore returned me back to the Palace to my father."


    "You were kidnapped?" The maid was stunned to hear that. She was surprised that even the Princess had shared a somewhat similar fate as her, somebody had dared to leave the Princess in front of the Devil''s Cave. And she exclaimed when another realization hit her, "That means you knew our master since you were a child?"


    Adeline chuckled shyly and then nodded her head, "Yes. He has been taking care of me since that day. He always has been very kind to me. And with time, I somehow grew fonder of him."


    Peggy placed her palm on her chest and gave out a huge sigh of relief, "Ah! That is such a relief to hear."


    "Relief?" Adeline creased her brows with a slightly confused look on her face.


    And without giving any thought, Peggy blurted out, "The others were spreading rumor that you were someone who had trapped our master by using your womanly charms."


    Peggy instantly covered her mouth when she realized what she had said. Her whole face started to turn red when she finished saying that because she felt that she had revealed some harsh words that the others were saying about the Princess.


    So Peggy immediately corrected herself, "But it seems like it was our master who has charmed you. I feel like both of you genuinely care about each other."


    Adeline''s cheeks were slowly turning red because of embarrassment. "His followers think that I trapped him using my charms? Why would they even think that?" Adeline was thinking to herself.


    Peggy though of her as a fool to have blurted those words. She bowed in front of the Princess and apologized, "I''m sorry if I offended you, Your Highness."


    The words that Peggy had quoted from the others sure stung Adeline but she smiled at Peggy and said, "Let others say what they want. You don''t have to apologize to me because you were not the one to say such things about me."


    "I''m going to scold all of them for you, Your Highness. From now on, I won''t stand any more words being spoken against you." Peggy was already in love with the Princess and promised to protect the dignity of the Princess.


    After having a short chat with the Princess, Peggy understood what her master saw in the Princess. It was not just the Princess''s beauty that had smitten her master, it was her kind and gentle behavior as well.


    Adeline and Peggy kept on chatting with each other for quite some time. Theodore finally returned back to his room to see his maid and Adeline talking and laughing with each other. And he was happy to see that Adeline had already befriended his maid.


    "I see that the two of you have bonded well." Theodore was standing by the door with folded hands and was smiling at the two of them.


    Peggy hurriedly got up and bowed to the Devil Prince. Then she gave a smile and bowed to the Princess, and rushed out of the room without saying any other words.


    "You two were laughing, what were you talking with her?" Theodore asked the Princess while locking the door to his room.


    Adeline smiled and said, "Nothing much. I was just asking some questions to her about how she ended up here. And we also shared some of our secrets with each other."


    "Oh! I didn''t know that you were a talkative one." Theodore had always thought of Adeline as an introvert so he was surprised that Adeline was already sharing her secrets with his maid. This was a new one for him.


    "She looked very uncomfortable around me so I was trying to get her to open up to me. I will be coming in here daily through the front door so I might as well maintain a good impression in front of your maids and followers." Adeline gave a sweet smile as she was successful in doing so with one of his maids.


    "That''s some good thinking on your side." Theodore was seriously impressed with Adeline. He would sometimes forget that Adeline was not just a shy Princess, she was a daughter of a most tactful King. So she was bound to have some of his qualities passed down to her.


    Theodore then rummaged his hand in his pocket. He took out the gift that he got from Adeline and said, "This deserves to be in my special collection."


    He then walked closer to where Adeline was sitting and offered his hand for her to hold. "Come, I will show you something."


    Adeline gently held his hand and pulled herself up. And Theodore led her towards his wardrobe.


    "You have ''something'' in your wardrobe?" Adeline glanced at Theodore with curiosity.


    Theodore pursed his lips and then replied, "More or less��" Then he stood in front of his wardrobe and raised his palm facing towards the wardrobe. A light purple flash left his hand and hit the wardrobe. And when it hit, the wardrobe began to shift to the side, revealing an entrance.


    Adeline''s eyes were wide open when she saw the entrance revealing a long corridor. "And I thought your room was smaller than mine!" she murmured in awe.


    Without giving any warning, Theodore swiftly picked up Adeline in his arms and began to walk inside of the secret entrance. "I hope you don''t mind me carrying you when no one is watching us," Theodore whispered with a devilish smirk on his face.


    Adeline knew that this was coming sooner or later. So she wrapped her arms around Theodore''s neck and rested her head on his broad and warm chest. And she whispered back, "No, I don''t mind it now."


    Adeline noticed that there were several doors along the corridor. She was waiting for Theodore to enter inside one of those rooms but he kept on walking ahead. "What are all these rooms for?" Adeline was interested to know.


    "These are the rooms for my special guests if they ever decide to come to visit me," Theodore replied with a mirthless smile.


    Adeline wanted to know who those special guests were but she decided not to ask seeing Theodore''s grim expression. Everyone had their own secrets and Adeline did not want to pry on someone''s personal matter if they were uncomfortable in telling it.


    Finally, Theodore and Adeline arrived in front of a large white door. The door had beautiful carvings of winged creatures, which were painted in golden color. Adeline thought that they were the carvings of angels or some beings from heaven.


    The door opened on its own when Theodore stood in front of it, revealing a huge room filled with all kinds of books, scrolls, paintings, objects, and weapons. In the center of the room, there was a huge desk and a chair. It was Theodore''s study room where he would come and spend hours of his time.


    Theodore let Adeline down on her feet. And the first thing that Adeline noticed was a frame that was hung on the wall, which was right in front of the door. The frame had a drawing of a matchstick man and a matchstick girl. On top of that drawing, two names were written �C Theodore and Adeline.


    Adeline pointed at the drawing on the wall and stuttered, "Is-isn''t that�� isn''t that my drawing?"


    Theodore admiringly stared at the drawing and then said, "Yes, that is your drawing which I stole from your drawing book a decade ago. It is your first masterpiece, so it is one of my prized possessions."


    It was apparent that Theodore was very proud of that drawing. He especially liked it because it also had Adeline''s handwriting on it.


    Adeline had not even noticed yet that a page from her drawing book was missing. She vaguely remembered drawing that when she was a child. And after drawing it she had never reopened those books which were just full of her scribbles.


    And here, Theodore was saying that one of those same scribbles that she had made in her childhood was his prized possession.. And on top of that, he had even framed it and hung it on his secret walls.

 Chapter 94 - Ticklish

    Adeline darted her eyes around the room and noticed that if Theodore would be sitting on his chair, then he would be facing that drawing of hers. "I wonder how often he comes in this room and stares at that pathetic drawing..." Adeline thought to herself and smiled.


    She was very touched by this gesture from Theodore. The more she thought about this simple but meaningful gesture from Theodore, the more she was feeling something in her heart. And she covered her mouth with both of her hands because she started to feel very emotional. Her heart was filled with even more love and warmth towards Theodore.


    Theodore was not aware of what was going on at his side, he was too consumed by the memory of toddler Adeline. He remembered how she also had other drawings of him and her. And he remembered how smart she was even at that young age.


    While lost in his nostalgia, Theodore walked towards the large cupboard which displayed several precious objects and relics that he had collected over the span of his long life.


    He was holding something precious in his hand. He found a special spot among all of his previous collections, and he carefully kept the Devil figurine that Adeline had gifted to him. It was now another of his prized possessions.


    After that, he took some steps back and then stared at the figurine from afar. He had a sense of satisfaction reflecting on his face and he exclaimed, "Perfect!" He smiled happily as the figurine fit perfectly with his other collections.


    Still fixing his eyes on the cupboard, Theodore spoke to Adeline, "I will show you around. Come."


    And he finally broke his eye contact with the figurine and turned around to look at Adeline. But he was surprised to see Adeline staring at him with her eyes full of tears. "Adeline, what''s wrong? Did something happen?" he asked in a concerned voice and inched closer to the Princess.


    But Adeline kept on staring at him as if she was going to break down at any moment now.


    Theodore did not like seeing tears in Adeline''s eyes. He shifted Adeline''s hair away from her face and asked in his softest voice, "Hey, are you alright? Why do you look like you are about to cry?"


    When Adeline heard those questions from Theodore, full of concern towards her wellbeing, it made it even harder for her to control her tears. She was not feeling sad or anything, but she felt like falling into his arms and crying for no specific reason.


    Unfaltering curiosity lingered in Theodore''s golden eyes. He was thinking back and trying to remember if he did or said anything to hurt the Princess. But no such things came to his mind. And he leaned towards Adeline and pleaded in front of his little human, "Say something, please."


    And out of the blue, Adeline flung her arms around Theodore''s neck and hugged him very tightly. Theodore could not understand what was going on. But still, he hugged her back and tried to understand her, "Adeline, are you worried about something? Or did I do something to hurt you? Tell me, so I can understand you and make things right for you."


    Theodore felt Adeline shaking her head. He let out a small sigh of relief and caressed her hair. Then he asked again in a very delicate voice, "Then tell me what''s wrong? You know I cannot stand silence from you. Your silence is torture for me."


    Adeline pulled away from the hug and longingly looked into Theodore''s honey-colored eyes. Her eye rims were still full of tears but she was smiling. For some reason, she felt extremely happy. Maybe it was because of the evidence that Theodore treasured her deeply, or maybe she was falling for him even more.


    And she softly whispered to him, "The only thing that''s wrong is that I have fallen too deeply for you, fallen so deeply in love that there is no returning back from this point."


    Those words from Adeline melted the Devil''s heart. Of course, he already knew that she loved him very dearly. But hearing the confession from her made Theodore''s heart flutter. Nobody had ever made his heart feel so ticklish.


    He whispered back lovingly, "I don''t want you to return back. The only way for you is to fall deeper in love with me. And I will do the same."


    Adeline smiled at the one for whom she had fallen deeply than she could imagine. She caressed Theodore''s chiseled jawline and professed her love, "I love you, Theodore. And know that I will always keep on loving you, no matter what."


    "You better keep on loving me for the rest of your life." Theodore smoldered his eyes as though he was politely threatening her.


    And in response, Adeline held Theodore''s nape with one hand and placed another hand on his chest. She pushed up her heels and stood on her toes. And she inched closer to Theodore''s enticing lips. She pressed her lips against his and started to kiss him very passionately. This was the first time Adeline had initiated a kiss, without feeling shy.


    It didn''t take much time for Theodore to reciprocate the kiss. He placed his hand on Adeline''s back and pulled her so that there was no gap left between the two.


    And he started to kiss her back vigorously, savoring the taste of her mouth. For some reason, he could taste a soft hint of spices in her mouth, nonetheless, he liked the taste very much.


    While Theodore''s mouth was busy jabbing, biting, and sucking Adeline''s soft lips, his hand started to feel the womanly curves of Adeline. He slipped down his hand from her back to her hips. He squeezed them real hard, making Adeline squeal and jump a little. And he kept on kneading those squishy assets.


    Adeline wanted to pull away and scold Theodore for being so undisciplined but he did not even give her a chance to pull away. He kept on pressing his hands against her assets, not letting her off his hook; and he was not giving her a chance to speak either. All she could do was moan every time he squeezed her assets.


    He kept on squeezing her hips and lips very indelicately. It was as though he had already been overtaken by his inner Devil, the same Devil who cannot keep his hands off of Adeline, and the same Devil who wants to tear off her clothes and have his way with her.


    Adeline tried to resist him at first. She tried to hold Theodore''s muscular arms but the power difference was just too vast. So she stopped trying that, not just because she could not but also because she began feeling immense pleasure. She was rubbing her thighs together and was also curling her toes trying to resist something else. She was feeling ticklish in places that she could not even talk about.


    The Devil was not satisfied with just one type of squishy thing, so he slowly went for another set on the top. He slowly ran his hands from her hips up to her waist. Then slowly his hands shifted from back to the front.


    But this time, Adeline held Theodore''s hands tightly. She pulled back from the lip locks and whispered while breathing heavily, "Not today. At least save something for the future."


    However, his thumbs managed to touch the upper assets, sending exhilarating sparks all over Adeline''s body. She bit her lower lip and let out a passion-filled moan.


    Theodore gave an intoxicating smile to Adeline and whispered very close to her ear so that she could feel his hot breath on her neck, "Are you sure? You seem to be enjoying it as well."


    He pulled away and was teasing her with his eyes... his eyes were longingly fixated on her upper assets.


    "Yes, I''m sure. Now stop gazing at me like that." Adeline crossed her palms over her chest and then ran away while shouting, "Aren''t you going to show me around?"


    "I would have loved to show you something else, but let''s settle by showing the room for now." Theodore touched his lips with his thumb and smirked. Then he began following his little woman who was hopping around like a little bunny.


    Theodore caught up with Adeline and held her hand. He led her around the room and showed the precious and rare objects to her. He explained how he came into possession of most of those objects, like winning a bet against other Devils or winning a fight against some angels.


    Adeline was listening to his stories very enthusiastically. She had always been intrigued by the stories of Theodore because they were so different from the normal folklores. He had already lived for thousands of years, had already met beings from heaven and hell, and thus, his stories were always full of adventures and amazing plots.


    Theodore finished giving a tour of the room to Adeline. And both of them went back to Theodore''s bedroom. After reaching inside the room, Theodore sealed off the entrance with his magic again.. And then they both went towards the final stop for the night - Theodore''s bed.

 Chapter 95 - Not Set In Stone

    [This is a bribe chapter to ask for forgiveness from my ''up-to-date readers''. Please Forgive :D


    If you are reading this chapter on the 28th or 29th of September, 2021, then please re-read from chapter 90 (Teasing). I realized that I had missed publishing a chapter in the middle so had to edit few things in other subsequent chapters as well to match the word count.


    If you go back and find that you''ve read the same chapters then you''ve probably read the edited ones already.]


    It was already getting late so both Theodore and Adeline wanted to lay down to get a good night''s sleep. Adeline climbed on the bed and tucked herself in a soft and light blanket. Theodore also snuggled down beside his woman and closed his eyes.


    But Theodore suddenly remembered that he had some questions for her. So he nudged Adeline who was also closing her eyes and whispered to her, "Adeline, why were you in such a pain earlier in the evening? It felt as though my heart was going to burst from the pain. What happened in that good witch''s room?"


    Adeline had already forgotten about the prophecy that Agnes had told her. But now that Theodore asked her about it, she was gloomy all over again.


    She replied in a sad voice, "Agnes did my fortune reading. And she told me that she saw a lot of deaths around me."


    Her eyes were filled with tears as she was reminded of her mother. She sniffed and spoke in a broken voice, "I have already seen a fair share of deaths of my loved ones. And I can''t handle some more. I don''t want anyone around me to have a similar fate as my mother."


    It was needless to say that Theodore was also feeling her pain. He lifted her head and placed his arm under Adeline''s neck so that she could use it as her pillow. Then he pulled Adeline closer to his chest and began caressing her hair.


    In an attempt to comfort Adeline, he gave some words of advice to her, "Adeline, you have to understand that prophecies do not always come true. They can be avoided."


    "They can be avoided?" Adeline gave a questioning yet hopeful look to Theodore.


    Theodore kept on caressing her hair and affirmed, "Yes, they can be avoided. Prophecies are nothing more than your tentative future."


    Adeline believed that there was only one possible future and it was already decided when one would take birth. So she asked in confusion, "What do you mean by tentative future?"


    "Your future is not set in stone like most of the human believe it to be. God is not the keeper of your future, you yourself are responsible for your future. So your future keeps on changing with every decision that you make or every choice that you avoid." Theodore explained the detail to Adeline.


    Theodore''s words were making Adeline''s pre-set belief about fate, future, and prophecies to crumble down.


    Theodore gave out more details to the Princess, "However, if you keep on obsessing too much about such prophecies, then you are bound to attract those bad things in your life. But if you just take it as a warning rather than consciously leading your actions towards it, then you can easily avoid it."


    Theodore knew that better than anyone else because he had made one of his worst visions come true by consciously making choices that lead to his downfall, quite literally.


    His reassuring words gave Adeline some hope. She let out a sigh of relief and decided to take that prophecy as a warning signal rather than something set in stone.


    "You can smile now." Theodore poked on Adeline''s cheek where her dimple would appear when she would smile. "You can prevent the deaths that the witch was talking about. So don''t think too much about it. And don''t hurt me."


    His last sentence made her chuckle. It was still strange to her that her extreme feelings would also affect Theodore. "I''m sorry," she said with a grin.


    "Don''t be sorry. I like it when I know how you are feeling. At least that way, you can''t hide your true feelings from me. Now, let''s get some sleep." Theodore smiled and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.


    They were both quiet for some time. Adeline kept on staring at Theodore for a while.


    Adeline also had a question in her mind. It was not that important question but she still wanted to ask him. "Theo��"


    "Hmm��" Theodore hummed without opening his eyes.


    And Adeline asked him the question that had been itching her, "How come you didn''t take me in as your maid when I came here years ago? I mean�� I don''t want to be your maid or something, but�� you know what I mean. You returned me to my Palace instead of keeping me here like the others, why?"


    Theodore could not help but chuckle at such a silly question. "Are you pouting because I didn''t keep you here with me?"


    Adeline hid her face in Theodore''s chest and gave out a muffled cry, "No�� It''s not that. I just wanted to know what prompted you to return me."


    Theodore smiled and said, "Let''s just say that I was moved by the father-daughter bond. You kept on talking about your father while you were here. You seemed to love your father very dearly. And you told me that you were a Princess. So that made me think that maybe you were kidnapped by the King''s enemy."


    "You were right to think that!" Adeline raised her brows and stated the obvious.


    Theodore nodded his head and continued, "So I went to the Palace to check what kind of a man your father was. I saw that he was very worried about you, he had turned the whole Palace upside down in search of you. And I did not want to take that love away from you by keeping you here."


    "By the way, I also wanted to ask you, whom did you go to the market with?" Theodore knew that Adeline was not closer to anyone else other than Nigel. And now that Nigel had already left for another Kingdom, he wanted to know which brothers and sisters she was with.


    Adeline happily replied, "I went there with five of my half-siblings �C Nefriti, Claudia, Kaela, Raphael, and Gustin. They invited me to join their group so I thought that I could get to know them better and went along."


    Theodore gave a surprised look and said, "Huh! And I thought that you were bad at making new friends." But he was happy that she was not sulking about Nigel leaving anymore, and he was happy that she was making an effort to mingle with other siblings of hers.


    "Okay, let''s sleep for real now." Theodore ruffled Adeline''s silver hair and gave a peck on Adeline''s forehead. And Adeline gave him the sweetest smile and then cuddled with him.. And both of them finally went to get some sleep after the eventful day.

 Chapter 96 - Spying

    Earlier today, before entering the room, Theodore had gone to see his followers. He wanted someone to observe each and every move of Lillian because she was growing stronger by the day. She was becoming a larger threat to the people of Palace, especially to the Princess.


    And he needed to know what evil she was cooking up so that he could protect his love from the possible danger.


    However, he was making this task of protecting the Princess from the witch harder for himself by not telling the Princess what Lillian was doing exactly. If he had just been truthful with her and told her that Lillian had been summoning mystical beings inside the Palace, then Adeline would have been more cautious.


    But he believed that telling Adeline everything would only mean inviting danger for her. Adeline was capable of acting rashly when she was overwhelmed with emotions. And Theodore did not want that to happen, he did not want Adeline confronting that same witch who was very dangerous to her.


    So, he chose two of his followers to gather up information on what kind of being Lillian was summoning. After knowing the ''what'' and the ''who'', Theodore was planning to find that being in hell.


    He could not directly interfere in the human world, without facing the wrath of God. That was why he was planning to use his reputation as the Devil Prince of Hell to threaten that being in his own domain.


    Theodore had entrusted the task of observing Lillian to a Dire Wolf and a Chimera. The Dire Wolf was to keep an eye on the Palace from the outside. The Dire Wolf was larger than the normal wolf but it could pass as an animal residing in the forest, and it also had excellent night vision. Because of these things, the Dire Wolf was a perfect choice for this task.


    The Chimera was a mystical being that looked like a human with a tail. But it had the abilities of a chameleon. So it was chosen to keep a watch from the inside of the Palace because it could keep a watch without being detected by anyone, not even other mystical beings.


    After Theodore gave them an order he had teleported both of them near the Palace. It was already nightfall so Theodore did not want to make any delay and have them miss Lillian in action.


    The Dire Wolf and the Chimera agreed to meet at the same spot in the morning and then headed on their separate path. Their eyes and ears were at alert for any signs of mystical beings or any unusual activity in and around the Palace.


    As usual, Lillian''s peak hours began when everyone in the Palace was sound asleep. At midnight, she walked like a real scary witch to the middle area of the Palace, and she was ready to chant her forbidden summoning spell.


    However, she took her sweet time to initiate the summoning because of her experience on the previous night. She was hesitant to go through the same pain that she went through yesterday. And she certainly did not want to hear the screams of her countless dead ancestors.


    But her vengeance towards the King was far greater than her fear for pain. "I will take my revenge with you Dragomir, no matter how much pain I have to endure in the process. I will lead you to your death."


    The Queen began to chant the summoning spell. Like yesterday, she was feeling extreme pain in her head as well as her whole body. Her ancestors were cursing her. But no matter what, the Queen endured it all and kept on chanting the spell.


    Lillian had made a blood pact with the succubus that had appeared yesterday upon her summoning. So, when she chanted the spell to call the succubus, the same one appeared in front of Lillian.


    The succubus flapped her wings and sighed, "Ah! Finally�� I was  waiting very impatiently for you to summon me for the whole day."


    "Let''s not wait any longer then. Use your charm on the King and come to see me after you finish the job. I will wait for you in my chamber." Lillian gave out her order to the succubus.


    The succubus looked at Lillian with an alluring smile on her face and asked, "Aren''t you going to accompany me today?"


    "You already know the way, so I will just wait in my room," Lillian replied while massaging her hands. She was still feeling pain because she had channeled so much dark energy through her body.


    The succubus was trying to play with Lillian. And she teased her, "What if I run away without completing that task? Or what if I get lost in this huge Palace?"


    Lillian was not in the mood to entertain the succubus so she spoke bluntly, "I know you won''t get lost. And I trust you for this task. Now let''s not waste any more time." After saying that Lillian began to walk towards her quarter, leaving the succubus behind.


    The succubus pouted her lips and whispered, "Boring witch! She could have played with me for a while as a way to thank me." And then she flapped her wings and headed towards the King''s quarter.


    Both Lillian and the succubus did not notice that the Chimera was standing close by and was listening to all of their conversations. He saw what creature was summoned, and he heard who the target of that succubus was.


    The Chimera came out of his camouflage and narrowed his eyes. "So that witch has been summoning a succubus. Master said that she was targeting the woman that he had brought to the cave but that doesn''t seem to be the case. She is going after the King."


    "Should I find wolfie and go back to the cave, now that I know everything? What''s the point in waiting till the morning?" The Chimera thought to himself. "No... what if she summons some more creatures? I better stay alert for the whole night. I don''t want to give half information to my master."


    The chimera camouflaged himself again and went in the direction where the Queen had gone before. He was going to keep on observing the Queen for the whole night.


    On another side, the Dire Wolf was roaming outside the Palace when it noticed that some kind of mist had engulfed the Palace''s sky. It came closer to the Palace wall to see the mist up close.


    And that was when it noticed the ashes on the ground that was close to the Palace wall. At first glance, it had thought that those ashes were there from some kind of forest fire. But when it looked closely, those ashes seemed to lead somewhere. It followed the ashes to see where it would lead to. That was when it realized what it really was, it was the magic circle.


    The Dire Wolf tried to smudge the magic circle but there seemed to be some kind of barrier protecting the circle. It was unable to touch it. Then it sniffed the ashes to check for something. And it was right, the circle was drawn from the ashes of an oak tree.


    "If the witch is able to power the magic circle this big, then she must be able to channel a great amount of dark energy. She must be really powerful for a human.." The dire wolf thought to itself.

 Chapter 97 - Back To The Dream

    The succubus went to King Dragomir''s chamber where he was deep in his sleep. She walked like a cat and reached by the side of the King''s bed. She kept on staring at the sleeping King and her lips curved upwards to show an evil grin.


    The succubus played with her hair and thought to herself while glaring at the King, "I''m going to trap you in my web today. I am going to build such a perfect world for you that you won''t be able to see through my traps."


    She chuckled softly and then began to morph herself into Auvera again. Unlike the last night, she was not in the form of Auvera in her teenage years, but she had taken the form of Auvera who was in her mid-twenties.


    The succubus was wearing a wedding gown instead of normal clothes. She went in front of the mirror that was in the room and then gazed at her reflection. She ran her hands over her new body seductively. She cupped ''her'' breasts and sized them.


    And she whispered to herself, "Not bad! Not as good as a succubus but not bad for a human. The King has a good taste, I must agree on that."


    She twirled around and then complimented her new look, "I should be able to get some action when I am looking like this. I mean I would have gone for a woman who looks this good if I was interested in woman."


    After playing around with herself for some time, the succubus finally went over to the King''s bed. She placed one of her hands on the forehead of the King and then placed another hand on her own forehead. Then she chanted her spell, "jru zsus lotsmo, jru zlul zapis fistsmo, zsaso dislyo fomijpo up zesmvir aso zistmas."


    And like the last night, she disintegrated into vapor and entered inside the King''s mind to play with her prey''s dream.


    Once the Succubus used her magic on the King, King Dragomir found himself in his dressing room. His appearance looked like he was in his late twenties. He was standing in front of the mirror in his full Royal attire.


    He was wearing a long white surcoat with elaborate golden embroidery. He had a leather belt around his waist which held his Royal sword securely. On top of all of his clothes, he was wearing a red cape with the dragon embroidery. His look was completed by a huge diamond embedded golden crown on his head.


    His maids were giving final touches to him. However, he had no idea what was going on and why they were dressing him up in his Royal attire. And he didn''t want to ask his maids regarding what was going on because he did not want to look like a forgetful person in front of them. So, he just kept quiet and played along.


    "Your Majesty, you are all set to leave for your wedding ceremony." The Court Lady who was responsible for preparing the King for his big day announced to the King.


    And Dragomir could not help but wonder, "I''m getting married? With whom? And why can''t I remember anything?" Of course, he didn''t say it out loud because he would have looked like a fool.


    The King just decided to play along and find out who it was later. "I think I should start taking that potion that the healer had given me. I keep forgetting important things these days."


    He kept on thinking about his forgetfulness while he followed his maid outside of the room, "I mean how could I just forget who I am going to marry. I didn''t even know that I had a wedding today. It''s like I keep dreaming about my old age with my eyes open and all of a sudden, I am awake, and I don''t know what''s going on here in the real world."


    "This is really bad. If my memory keeps degrading at this rate, I will be incapable to rule the Kingdom." King Dragomir was very worried about his condition.


    It was starting to get dark outside. Dragomir had thought that they would be getting inside a carriage and would be leaving for some Kingdom. But instead, the maids were leading him towards the hall that was inside the Palace itself.


    "I''m getting married inside my own Palace?" Dragomir really wanted to punch himself in the face for not even remembering a single detail.


    The whole hall was decorated with flowers, and candles were lighted everywhere. The hall was full of distinguished guests from different Kingdoms. There were several guests from his own country as well.


    As soon as the King entered inside the hall, everyone stood from their seat to show respect to the King. He went in front of the hall and stood there in front of a Priest. And then he waited for his wife-to-be to enter inside the hall.


    Soon after, a stunning beauty began walking inside the hall. She looked elegant in her royal blue gown that wrapped her body like a cocoon. She was covering her face with the see-through veil of the same color, and she was holding a bouquet of chrysanthemum flowers.


    All the guests were watching the bride in awe as she walked inside the hall, matching her footsteps with the slow-paced music that was playing in the background.


    And somehow, when Dragomir saw the face of his bride, he remembered every precious moment that he had shared with Auvera.


    His eyes filled with tears as he saw the love of his life walking towards him. "Auvera! I am getting married to my love�� How could I not remember it earlier? I had been waiting eagerly for this day for so many years. Finally�� I am marrying the one whom I truly love��"


    King Dragomir''s excitement was beyond his control. He was grinning ear to ear and was lovingly staring at the love of his life. He felt like running down to the aisle and picking her up in his arms. He was that excited to be finally marrying her.


    Auvera was now standing by the King''s side. The Priest began their marriage ceremony. He was chanting something in the background but Dragomir heard nothing. Nor did he see the guests in front of them. All he could see was the gorgeous woman who was going to be his wife.


    Dragomir could not keep his eyes off of the beautiful woman in front of him. He kept on staring at her with longing eyes. And when Auvera would shyly steal his glances every once in a while, he would feel butterflies in his stomach. He was waiting very impatiently to reach the end of the ceremony so that he could kiss his bride.

 Chapter 98 - The Consummation

    The Priest presented the bride and the groom with a ceremonial dagger and said, "You may now seal your marriage." He held a goblet in front of them and said, "Make a cut in your palm and drip your blood in this goblet. It will signify that you two are one from today onwards."


    The goblet had a replica magic potion that would connect the two souls and bond them together. It was a way to validate the marriage of the Royals.


    This particular marriage tradition was borrowed by the succubus from the King''s memory of his actual marriage with Auvera. This was the tradition specifically followed by the Royals of Wyverndale.


    The King had married all of his wives in their own Kingdom, following their own tradition. The concubines were also sent to the King by following their own tradition.


    And the only one who he had married following this tradition was Auvera. The King had held an intimate marriage ceremony inside the Palace and had married her there because Auvera''s family were not wealthy enough to hold the function that was lavish enough to uphold the reputation of the King.


    Both Dragomir and ''Auvera'' did as the Priest had asked. They made a small cut on their palm and dropped their blood on the goblet. After both of them dropped their blood, the color of the potion in that goblet changed from blue to red.


    "And now I pronounce you man and wife." The Priest finally declared that and concluded the wedding ceremony.


    "You may kiss the bride," the Priest glanced at the King and asked him to complete the ceremony. It was the moment that Dragomir was waiting for. Dragomir gave a bewitching smile to the bride and he lifted the veil from Auvera''s face. He wrapped his arms around his bride, pulled her, and kissed her passionately.


    Unlike the last night, King Dragomir did not feel any pain, nor did he realize that it was not reality but some nasty trick played by a succubus. It was because the succubus had not yet taken his life force from him. She was planning to save that for later when they would consummate the marriage.


    After the ceremony was over, the King entertained his guests for some time. Though his body was present there in front of the guests, his mind was with Auvera. He could not wait to go and meet his wife. He spent some time with the guests and after a while, he took a leave from them.


    King Dragomir made his way towards the newlywed''s chamber. The corridor to that chamber was decorated with several kinds of flowers. He inhaled the sweet scent given off by the flowers and reached in front of the door. The door was also beautifully decorated with all kinds of flowers.


    Dragomir took a deep breath and then opened the door to the room. His heart was filled with anticipation and excitement. He was ready to meet his beautiful Auvera, who was now his wife. Little did he know that a dangerous being was disguised as his lover and was ready to hunt him down.


    The succubus was sitting on the bed decorated with lovely red roses'' petals. She was pretending to be very shy. She had her veil covering her face and she was looking down at the floor while smiling softly.


    King Dragomir approached the succubus like a lion ready to pounce on a lamb. He had waited enough for this day to come. And now that it was finally here, he was taken over by his inner desire. He held the succubus''s hand and then pulled her close to him.


    He lifted her veil from her face and without saying any words, he began to kiss his ''wife'' passionately.


    The succubus had him right where she wanted. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pushed her tongue deeper into his mouth. It was not the King taking the lead anymore, it was her.


    After kissing the King for some time, she was ready to take the King to the final step. She broke from the kiss and took off his crown from his head. She threw the crown on one corner of the large bed. Likewise, she unbuckled his belt and threw the sword on the bed as well. After that, she vigorously began to undress the King.


    The King, lost in his lust, did not even realize that that was not how his beloved Auvera would have acted. She was too shy and na?ve for all this. And in the heat of the moment, he started to undress her as well.


    The succubus led the King towards the final act, she led him to the bed and pushed him down. She sat on top of the King, leaned down, and ran her nasty fingers all over his body. She held his hand and sucked on his finger to arouse him even more. And after the long seduction, she was finally ready, ready for the consummation.


    The succubus began to take away the King''s life force when the consummation was at its peak. The King literally felt his life being sucked out of him while the succubus felt exhilarated when she was slowly absorbing the King''s life force.


    Her whole body was covered with sweat because of the new power that was entering her body. She flipped her hair backward while moaning loudly. And she lifted her head outward to face the ceiling. She was having the best day after hundreds of years. She had long forgotten how this felt like, which made the whole thing even more exciting for her.


    But right when she was moaning and enjoying the moment, the succubus felt as though a sharp object had penetrated her stomach. Her moan turned into a wince and she let out a loud outcry because the pain was real.


    She looked down at her stomach, stunned, and she saw that Dragomir had managed to grab his sword and had pierced through her. Green blood was flushing out from her wound.


    "What the hell�� how��" she was grunting through her pain, trying to understand how he was able to withstand her seduction.


    The fake world that she had built started to crumble apart right in front of her eyes. She wanted to escape from the dream world but she was too hurt to use her magic to escape.


    Dragomir turned her over and then pinned her down on the bed. And he shouted furiously, "You are not escaping today. How dare you try to deceive me by stealing the appearance of my Auvera? Show your true form, you demon."


    When his life force was being sucked out, he suddenly remembered yesterday''s dream because he was feeling similar pain. Today it was only ten times worse. He realized that someone was taking the form of Auvera and was toying with him. And when she was distracted, he grabbed the sword from the side and impaled the sword in her gut.


    As the dream world was already falling apart, the succubus started to revert back into her original form. Wings, horns, and tail started to protrude from her body.


    The King was caught off-guard by this sudden revelation.. He inhaled sharply and jumped back because he was not expecting that demon to be a succubus.

 Chapter 99 - Trapped In A Pact

    King Dragomir was taken aback when he realized what that winged creature was. He had heard from the folktales that there was a mystical creature called succubus which looked like a female but with the added features of a demon.


    He had heard that the succubus attack men by appearing in their dream and having erotic encounters with them. And that was exactly what that wounded succubus had done to him.


    The fake world that the succubus had built around him started to fall apart. He turned back to his usual old self. The setting of the dream disappeared and he was trapped in a place with infinite darkness along with that succubus.


    As the succubus was still occupying the King''s mind, the King was still trapped inside his own mind. He tried to wake himself up by shouting, punching himself, and whatnot. But everything was in vain.


    He angrily glared at the succubus who was struggling in pain. He walked over to where the succubus was lying and grabbed her by her horns. And then he shouted, "Why are you still here? Leave me alone already!"


    "You want me to leave?" The succubus spat on the King''s face and started to chuckle. And she yelled at the King, "That''s what you get for defying me."


    The King winced and wiped his face with disgust.


    The King was angered even more. He wanted to kill that demon right there and then. He got up and began searching for his sword, but that also seemed to have disappeared with everything else. However, that did not stop him from trying to kill that evil being.


    He grabbed the succubus by her horns again and pulled her up. Then he began to hit her repeatedly where he had stabbed her before. She had not recovered from the wound from before, and getting hit by the powerful King was taking a toll on her. She felt weak with every punch that landed on her.


    Finally, the King succeeded in chasing that succubus out of his mind. He woke up from his dream and found himself on his own bed, drenched in sweat. And even though he was not hurt in his dream, he felt somewhat weak than his usual self when he woke up.


    The succubus had already managed to steal some of his life force.


    The succubus fled to where Lillian was. As she was out of the King''s mind, her wound had patched up so no more blood was flowing. Nonetheless, she was still in pain.


    The attack from the King had taken a considerable amount of her life force. So rather than increasing her lifespan by taking it away from the King, she had decreased it by getting hurt while inside the dream.


    She had already realized that the King was not like other ordinary lustful men who were easier to trick. The King could see through her trap and had even attacked her in the dream even when she was the one controlling it.


    So, she wanted to tell Lillian that the deal was off and wanted to ask Lillian to undo the blood pact. She did not want to decrease her already short lifespan.


    But before the succubus could say anything, Lillian asked with excitement, "Did you do it today? Did you manage to suck his life out of him?"


    "Yes, I did," the succubus replied without any enthusiasm.


    Lillian failed to notice that the succubus was not being her playful usual self. The Queen was too happy to notice other''s sadness or pain. Lillian sat down on her chair dramatically and gave out her evil cackle, the same cackle that she would use when she had done something really bad to others.


    "Now he will be dead soon. I cannot wait to attend his funeral. Maybe I should start preparing a beautiful gown for the funeral." Lillian spoke to herself and cackled again.


    But her celebration was cut short by the interruption from the succubus, "Lillian, I don''t think I will be able to keep this up. I want you to undo the blood pact so that you can invite the other succubus from hell."


    Lillian abruptly got up from her chair and exclaimed, "What? Why are you saying that all of a sudden? Weren''t you the one to convince me the other night for doing the blood pact?"


    "Yes, I did." The succubus scratched her brows in agitation and replied, "But he is just too strong-minded for me. I was stabbed by that husband of yours today. I came here trying to increase my life force, but instead, it decreased because of the attack."


    Lillian held the succubus''s hands and tried to convince her in her softest tone, "But you did manage to take some of his life force. Shouldn''t that be an incentive for you to keep doing this? Maybe tomorrow, you can absorb more and make up for today''s loss."


    The succubus didn''t say anything. She already knew that if she tried her dream control on that King again, then he would hurt her again. And he had already seen her true form, so it would be even harder for her to set up a believable dream trap.


    Lillian narrowed her eyes and glared at the succubus. "If you leave now then weren''t you the one to say that the others will have to start from the beginning?"


    The Queen pressed the succubus''s hand a little too hard and spoke in a calm but threatening tone, "You have already made this much progress, so I don''t think I can undo the blood pact. You are the being from hell, why are you afraid of a mere human?"


    The succubus freed her hands from the grasp of Lillian and spoke sternly, "Well I know I have to be afraid when my prey is strong-minded. They can change the outcome of my dream control very easily."


    The succubus looked as if she was regretting the decision to have answered to the summoning. "And I don''t want to shorten my lifespan and die faster. If I don''t do anything, I still have a couple of hundred years left." She clenched her fists and said angrily, "But if I keep on coming here for your husband, that will only shorten my life, I can already see it."


    Lillian was furious. She could not stand some another being defying her orders. She roared in a threatening way, "And if you don''t come for my husband then I will shorten your life."


    The witch forcefully grabbed the succubus''s hand again and began to chant a spell, the spell that she had used decades ago to transfer the life force from the midwife to her son.


    The room was covered in dark mist and a red aura started to flow out from the succubus and entered the witch''s body.


    The succubus tried to break off the contact but she could not. She was in pain as her life force was leaving her body. And she groaned, "Stop�� Please��"


    After demonstrating her power, the witch let go of that succubus and gave a cunning smirk.


    The succubus was panting and glaring at the witch who was more dangerous than the King. She angrily yelled at the Queen, "If you could suck out the life, why don''t you do it yourself?"


    The Queen chuckled and ran her hand through the succubus''s angry face. "Oh, darling! Isn''t that obvious? I don''t want to get my hands dirty by killing my own husband.... with my own hands."

 Chapter 100 - Whats Your Secret?

    Adeline was back in her own quarter before her maids would come knocking on her door. She was in a good mood today. She had made new friends, she had found some potential allies, and she had a nice time with Theodore the last night.


    After the maids prepared a bath for her, she enjoyed freshening up. And instead of going to the practice on her own, she decided to have some chat with her maids. After all, she had promised Osanna to share everything that she saw outside in detail.


    The maids sat comfortably on her bed, alongside the Princess. Even though Hawisa was acting all tough and stern yesterday, even she wanted to hear how the world outside had become.


    So, the three of them sat down together and Adeline began telling the story of her little adventure. Of course, she excluded the parts like Theodore barging in the fortune-teller''s place, and the fortune-teller being a spy and a witch.


    After having a nice chat with her maids, she had her breakfast and eagerly went to attend the training session. She was eager to meet her brothers and sisters.


    "Adeline!" Nefriti came running towards Adeline and hugged her as soon as she appeared at the gate of the training ground.


    Adeline happily hugged her back. The hug didn''t feel as awkward as yesterday. "Hi, Nefriti. Everyone is already here?" Adeline darted her eyes around the ground.


    "Yes, all of them are already here. We were just talking about you. Come!" And then Nefriti held Adeline''s hand and pulled her inside the ground.


    All of the Princes and Princesses had already gathered for their hand-to-hand combat session. They were all dressed in their uniform and were warming themselves up. When they saw Adeline, they all gave a warm greeting to her.


    "Adeline, did you sleep well?" Kaela waved at her while bending her waist to the side.


    Adeline smiled and nodded her head, "Yes I did."


    Raphael came sprinting towards her and threw some air punches at her. "Hey, little sister. I hope you are ready for the combat session."


    "I sure am," Adeline responded by throwing her own air-punches at him.


    Adeline''s eyes fell on Gustin who was also doing some stretches. Gustin inclined his head slightly upwards and acknowledged her presence. Adeline responded by giving a smile to him.


    Claudia came to Adeline and then pulled her to where she and Kaela were doing their stretches, "Come and join us."


    Adeline happily followed her and stood by their side.


    And Nefriti shouted from behind, "Hey, are you two ignoring me, now that you got Adeline?" She was puckering her lips and glaring at Claudia and Kaela.


    Claudia ran towards Nefriti and cupped her face. "Aww�� are you sad that we find Adeline to be cuter than you? Are you afraid that she is going to be our favorite?"


    Nefriti pouted even more and gritted from between her teeth, "Do you have a death wish or something?"


    "What a baby! Can''t even take a joke." Claudia gave a disapproving look to Nefriti.


    Adeline was seeing and hearing her brothers and sisters joking around and teasing each other. And she felt really happy that she was not treated as an outsider anymore, or rather, she was happy that she decided to be accepted as a part of their group.


    Nefriti also joined the others and began to do some warm-up exercises. And while they were at it, Nefriti asked a question to Adeline that she had wanted to ask for the longest time, "Hey Adeline, if you don''t mind me asking, may I know how you have such a great strength?"


    "I have great strength?" Adeline asked as though she was oblivious to that fact. Yes, she had grown a little close to them, but that didn''t mean that she would spill her secrets to everyone in the Palace. Words spread like wildfire inside the Palace and she did not want her secrets to reach certain someone''s ears.


    Nefriti raised her brows and exclaimed, "Good heavens! Are you really unaware about your almost-super-human level of strength or are you just being humble in front of us poor?"


    Adeline scratched her head and chuckled, "I don''t know. I have always been like this ever since I remember."


    "So there''s no other secrets? Like you found some magic potion or you were struck by lightning or something like that?" Nefriti''s questions were stupid so everyone began to chuckle. But Nefriti didn''t realize that they sounded stupid and she was genuinely waiting for some answer from Adeline.


    Adeline was just pressing her lips together, trying not to laugh out loud. So, Raphael came to her rescue and said, "Nefriti, just leave her alone. She inherited our father''s good genes, that''s all. You know how strong our father is."


    Nefriti thought for a while and nodded her head, "Hmm�� that sounds believable."


    Their teacher, General Herwin, walked inside the training ground when his students were making some noise instead of warming up. So he shouted in a loud voice, "Hey, hey, what''s going on here?"


    Everyone immediately stood in an attentive position.


    General Herwin was a very strict-looking person. He had large mustaches and thick eyebrows. He was a little short compared to other Generals but he was very swift with his movements, making him one of the best in hand-to-hand combat.


    He clapped his hands and ordered in a loud voice, "Everyone, start with the 50 laps around the ground. Go, go, go!"


    All of them immediately began to jog around the training ground. Though the ground was large, all of them were already habituated to running around the ground and 50 laps was the piece of cake for them. So, they completed the laps in no time and gathered in the middle of the ground for the actual session.


    "Alright! Who wants to go first?" General Herwin asked to the group.


    Raphael, Nefriti, Claudia, and Kaela shot their hands in the air instantly. The only ones who didn''t care if they went inside the ring at first or later were Adeline and Gustin.


    And as any sane teacher would do, General Herwin called the ones who had not raised their hands. "Okay, Adeline and Gustin, climb inside the ring. Let''s see what you''ve got."


    Nefriti whined and complained to the General, "Why them? They didn''t even raise their hands."


    Herwin twirled his mustache while giving a smirk, "That''s why I am sending them first. There is no room for reluctance in my class."


    Adeline and Gustin were okay with whenever their turn for combat practice would come. So they went inside the raised platform without showing any ''reluctance'' as the General had said.. They faced each other and took their fighting stance.

 Chapter 101 - One Punch

    Adeline and Gustin had already fought against each other countless times to know about each other''s strengths and weaknesses. Adeline had great strength among all of those present in the training ground, it was a piece of common knowledge to everyone.


    And Gustin was good at avoiding Adeline''s direct confrontations. He knew that if he took any direct hit from Adeline, he would have to go and see a healer later. So after years of training together with Adeline, he had adapted and had become a good avoider.


    "Both of you ready?" The General asked the two opponents.


    "Yes," both of them replied simultaneously.


    And the General ordered, "Begin!"


    As soon as their teacher gave the order, Adeline charged in towards Gustin. She was aiming to grab Gustin''s arm and throw him down on the ground. But the moment she took a step, Gustin turned to his side and leaned backward to avoid being caught by Adeline.


    Now Gustin was behind Adeline. He was about to throw his elbow on Adeline''s back but Adeline saw through his move and blocked it with her arm. Then she caught his arm and tried to pull him down but Gustin managed to slip out of her hold and took several steps back.


    Adeline was frustrated that she was not able to land a single blow on her brother.


    Gustin was reading her change in expressions and tried to provoke her verbally, "What happened sister? I dare you to catch me, which is if you can." And he gave a playful smirk to her. Gustin was planning to tire her out and when she was tired he was planning to land a blow or two on her.


    But Adeline also knew what he was going to try. So she gave a challenging look and shouted, "You sure are talkative when you know that you are going to lose."


    The other Royal Children who were watching the fight cheered when Adeline gave a satire to Gustin. "That''s right! Make him go silent again Adeline." "Woo-hoo!" "Oooh�� that hurt a lot, didn''t it Gustin? Hahaha��"


    Gustin glared at the others and pretended to slit his throat with his thumb. He was threatening them to keep quiet.


    Adeline smirked and said, "Your usual trick won''t work on me brother, it never has." And she dashed forward at a super speed.


    Gustin had predicted for Adeline to go for her stomach, which she would usually do when the distance was greater. So he guarded his stomach with his forearms. But she went on straight for his leg.


    She dashed forward and stood by his side so that she could wrap her legs around his leg from behind. Then she pushed his leg forward while punching him on his chest at the same time. It created an imbalance and he fell down on his back.


    A loud thud sound was heard and Gustin was gasping for air. The punch from the front and pressure, while he landed on the ground from his back, made him feel as though his rib cage was squashed.


    Adeline held out her hand to Gustin and pulled him up from the ground. "Do you want to go for another round to try your trick on me or do you accept your defeat?"


    He waved his hand and groaned, "No, I''m good for today." Gustin was speaking with great difficulty, "I hope that I never get paired with you again." And then he limped down from the ring while holding his chest.


    Adeline followed him with a smile and a sense of victory on her face.


    The General shook his head at Gustin and scolded him for giving up so fast. "Why did you give up so soon? You could have at least given some more effort. I never understand why each one of you gives up so easily when you go against Adeline."


    Gustin replied in a vacant tone, "You are most welcome to go up against her and find that out on your own."


    "Nonsense! Why would I fight against a woman?" General Herwin had a policy of never fighting a woman. It had been a few years since he started to teach to these children but he had never had a match against any of the Princesses. He believed that Princesses were weak and he did not want to take responsibility if he broke some bones in their bodies.


    Herwin was fed up with hearing the same excuse from all of them so he yelled at the Princes and Princesses, "I know every one of you always makes an excuse saying that she is too stronger than you all. But you are not helping your sister by letting her slack off like this."


    The Princes and Princesses who were cheerful and happy a moment ago were now pouting and angry. They were angry that the General did not even want to test Adeline''s strength on his own and called them all liars.


    The General shifted his gaze towards Adeline and directed his words towards her, "I don''t know what kind of inside deal you have made with your brothers and sisters, but it is only going to stop you from improving yourself."


    The General fisted on his hips and took a threatening stance. And he yelled at Adeline, "How will you grow stronger when you don''t practice? Don''t come crying to me when you have to fight in an actual duel and someone beats you up."


    Adeline was annoyed by these baseless accusations towards her. First of all, she knew that no one practiced fighting as much as she did. Second, she was pretty sure that she could beat most of the humans in the Palace if they were to do a duel. And third, of all people, why would she even come crying to him?


    "My brothers and sisters don''t like to beat me because I am the youngest. Why don''t you be my opponent and show me how to fight, teacher? Isn''t it your job to make me better?" Adeline gave a devious smile and tried to lure the General to the fighting platform.


    "Girls are too weak for me to become their opponent," the General arrogantly said that and twirled his mustache.


    "I won''t complain to my father even if you break a few bones of mine. So you have nothing to worry about." Adeline was trying to provoke the General.


    And the other Princes and Princesses also supported Adeline. "Yes, we also won''t snitch on you." They wanted the General to get the taste of Adeline''s powerful punches so that he wouldn''t think that they all were trying to fool him.


    The General slowly stepped towards the platform while saying, "Alright, just one round. I am making an exception just to give you a good learning chance."


    Adeline gave a mischievous look to all of her brothers and sisters who were cheering for her to teach him a lesson.


    Both of them took a fighting stance, and the General said, "Okay, try throwing me your strongest punch. And I will teach you other steps."


    The General did two mistakes here. First, he underestimated the strength of Adeline even when everyone was vouching for her. Second, he asked her to punch him.


    Adeline was waiting for this moment. She sprinted towards the General and flung her strongest punch right on his face.


    Everyone''s jaw dropped when they saw what happened.


    Nefriti stuttered because she was shocked, "Did he�� did he just get knocked out by Adeline''s one punch?"

 Chapter 102 - Arrived At The Border

    When Prince Nigel had started the journey to Aberdeen, he was having great difficulty. Every once in a while, he stopped the carriage and stepped out of it to vomit. He was getting motion sickness a little too often, which had prolonged the long journey by some more time.


    He was accompanied by six of the Royal guards, but they were riding horses. And Prince Nigel was sitting alone inside the carriage. Nigel was someone who constantly needed someone to speak to, he did not like the solitude. But he had no other choice than to sit there all alone.


    After they crossed the villages of Wyverndale, Nigel was allowed to open the curtain of his carriage and see outside. He would open the curtain, and peek outside but all he could see was vast land and nothing else. The journey was making him feel bored out of his mind.


    They would travel for 3-4 hours straight and then stop in some safe location to rest for some time, drink and eat some light snacks, and answer the nature calls. And then they would resume the journey again.


    The last time Nigel had visited Aberdeen, he remembered getting back pains and a sore body. He would be exhausted by the time he reached Aberdeen. It had already been 12 hours since they had started their journey. But this time, Nigel was not feeling body pains. The pesky vomiting had also stopped after traveling for 4-5 hours, he was used to the ride by then.


    Nigel tried moving his hands and bending his back, and mumbled to himself, "Hmm�� I don''t have a sore back yet? In fact, I feel as fresh as I would be in the morning. What is this monstrosity? Is this one of the perks of being a werewolf?"


    He chuckled to himself and was proud of his new body, "I could get used to this. No pain�� no nothing�� feels really nice."


    After traveling for two more hours, the guards made the final stop for today because it was already dark. One of the guards knocked on the Prince''s door and said, "Your Highness, we are going to stop here for the night."


    Nigel opened the door and then stepped outside of the carriage. He breathed the air in and his sensitive nose was able to tell the difference in one instant. He could smell the moss, the trees, the animals, basically the whole wet and fresh rain forest. So he asked the guard who was standing in front of him, "Are we already near Aberdeen?"


    "Yes, Your Highness. We are around the border of Wyverndale and Aberdeen." The guard pointed at a small house and said, "There is only one guest house here. So I hope you will be able to manage for one night." The guard sounded apologetic to the Prince.


    Nigel looked at the humble hut and smiled, "I love this little inn. You don''t have to be so sorry." Nigel waited for the guard to go in first and prepare the accommodation for all of them.


    Nigel had spent the night in this inn a few times before when he had traveled with his mother to his maternal uncle''s place. And he loved it here because, even though it was just for a night, it gave him a feeling of being a commoner.


    The guards arranged the nicest room for the Prince and took the remaining rooms for themselves. They asked the innkeeper to clean the Prince''s room and prepare hot food for all of them.


    Nigel was occupied by looking at the night scenery of that surrounding. To his left, the land was mostly filled with crops or just grasses. While on his far-right, he could see the tall trees. It was like the plants and vegetation were the natural boundaries.


    Of course, only Nigel was able to see that far in the night and compare the vegetation of the two countries. He was enjoying his body''s newfound capabilities and was smiling like a fool.


    When the innkeeper was done cleaning the room, the guard came to the Prince and informed him, "Your Highness, your room is ready."


    Nigel smiled at the guard and said, "Let''s go in then."


    The guard led the Prince to his room while Nigel enthusiastically followed the guard towards his humble room.


    After a while, they were served hot dinner by the wife of the innkeeper. The innkeeper served the food to Nigel in his own room.


    "Where are all the people that came with me?" Nigel asked the innkeeper.


    "They are outside of the inn, Prince Nigel. I have set a table for them." The innkeeper replied politely. He knew who exactly Nigel was, not just because he was followed by Royal Guards, but because Nigel was a special guest who had stayed in his inn multiple times before.


    Prince Nigel nodded his head and then said to the innkeeper, "Set my dinner alongside them. I also want to eat outside."


    "As you wish, Your Highness." The innkeeper politely bowed to the Prince and took the dinner plate outside.


    The guards and the coachman were in the middle of eating their food but when they saw the Prince, they got up abruptly from their seats. They were shocked to see that the Prince had come to join them for the dinner.


    "Relax, everyone! Take your seats please." Nigel said while pulling a chair and sitting down at the table.


    But one of the guards bowed to the Prince and said, "Your Highness, how can we sit at the same table with you. We are far beneath you."


    Nigel took a deep breath in and puckered his lips. Then he said in a sad tone, "I came here to join you because I was feeling lonely. But I see that none of you are interested to eat together with me."


    The emotional blackmail worked and the guard immediately apologized to the Prince, "I didn''t mean it that way, Your Highness. We will eat with you." Then he gestured everyone else to sit down as well.


    Nigel smiled and said, "Just treat me like you would treat your friends alright? No need to be so uptight all the time."


    "Yes, Your Highness." One of the guards replied.


    The guards were also happy that their Prince was not an arrogant one. Slowly, all of them began to open up to the Prince. All of them enjoyed the food as well as each other''s company.


    After having a warm and nice dinner, all of them went to their respective room to rest for the night. They were planning to head towards Aberdeen early in the morning.


    Nigel''s room was much smaller than his room back at the Palace. There was a small bed by the side of a window, and there was a small table in the room and nothing else. But Nigel liked it anyway.


    He laid down on the bed. Even though he was not that tired, there was nothing else to do other than sleeping. So he closed his eyes to get some sleep, and in no time, he was lost deep in his dreamland.


    But his dreamland crumbled apart sometime later, in the middle of the night. Nigel gasped and flung his eyes open because his sharp ears picked up a sound by his window. He felt as though there was something lurking outside.. He heard something snarling.

 Chapter 103 - Another Wolf

    Nigel abruptly got up from his bed and slowly moved towards the window. He took a whiff and he got a distinguished smell coming from the other side. But he just couldn''t tell what that animal was based on that smell, he had never smelt this scent in his life before.


    "What kind of animal is it? Is it something I have never seen before?" Nigel thought to himself and moved further closer to the window.


    He pushed the window slightly and then peeked from the small opening. The scent was even stronger when he did that. He looked in the direction where the slight growling was being heard from. But he couldn''t see that animal.


    He was really curious about this new kind of animal. So he opened the window wide and leaned in further to get a clear view.


    The animal was sitting right against the wall and Nigel saw what it was, it was a white wolf. At first, he just thought that it was a normal wolf until it stood up upon seeing Nigel. The wolf was way too big and almost hit Nigel''s face with its back when it got up.


    "Whoa," Nigel was afraid of that huge animal and jumped back. For a moment, he forgot that he was also a wolf.


    And something unexpected happened right in front of his eyes. The wolf began to morph into a naked human.


    Nigel fell down on the floor when he witnessed that sight. He felt like he would get sick just from watching the morphing process. "Oh god, what the hell is that thing?" Nigel uttered under his breath.


    The wolf finished its transformation. And Nigel could see a teenager smiling at him. "Wulfric?" Nigel was stunned to see the Crown Prince of Aberdeen in front of his window, naked.


    Wulfric had raven black hair that came down to his shoulder. He had a chiseled jawline and a little pointed jaw. His eyes looked full of mischievousness. And his body had a wide frame with sturdy-looking muscles.


    Wulfric grinned at his cousin and jumped inside the room from the window. He stood in front of Nigel, who was still on the ground, and he pointed at himself and said, "This thing is your brother, Nigel. Don''t you still recognize me? I don''t think I''ve grown up that much for you to not recognize me."


    Nigel was just speechless. He had never seen any wolf turning into a human before. He did not remember his first transformation, so everything that he just saw right now was very new to Nigel.


    Seeing Nigel so stunned, Wulfric narrowed his eyes and made a guess, "You don''t remember your own transformation, do you?"


    Nigel was getting distracted by the naked frame of Wulfric. He had tight and bulky muscles. He looked so athletic that Nigel was ashamed of himself. And his naked cousin reminded him of his own situation when he had found himself naked in front of another man.


    "Hey, what are you gawking at?" Wulfric felt uncomfortable from the stare that Nigel was giving him so he grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around his waist.


    Nigel laughed and said, "I was thinking that you''ve grown big, like really big. You put me to shame."


    Wulfric creased his brows and then gave a quick glance at Nigel''s groin area. And with a proud smile, he said, "You mean yours is smaller than mine?"


    "Smaller?" Nigel was a bit confused. And when he realized what his cousin meant he yelled at him, "I didn''t mean that genius. I just meant your body muscles. You are really�� muscular than me."


    "Oh!" Wulfric glanced at Nigel''s groin area again and teased him, "But don''t you think mine is bigger?" And he began to giggle like a child.


    "Eww�� just stop talking about it already." Nigel gave a playful kick on Wulfric''s ankle and got up from the floor.


    Nigel had not seen Wulfric in more than two years, so he gave a tight hug to his brother. "I missed you brother." He broke off from the hug and commented with envy, "And you''ve grown taller than me! Wow."


    Wulfric grinned proudly again. "Well, I''m just 17, I bet I will grow even taller. Can''t wait to grow even taller and stronger."


    Nigel gave a playful slap on Wulfric''s head and complained, "Stop boasting in front of me."


    They both sat down on the small bed. Wulfric wriggled happily on the bed, he seemed to be enjoying the small room a lot more than Nigel. "This place is so nice. I wish I could also stay in such houses sometimes."


    "That''s right! How are you here? Are you even allowed to leave the Palace?" Nigel remembered that Wulfric was not allowed to go out of his Palace except when there were some urgent political matters to take care of.


    Wulfric pressed his index finger against his lips and shushed Nigel. "Shhh�� Don''t mention this to anyone ever okay? My father will punish me if he finds out that I ran away from the Palace in the middle of the night. He will increase the number of guards even more."


    And Nigel was even more surprised to hear that, "You ran away in the middle of the night?" Nigel furrowed his brows and wanted to confirm something, "You mean you ran all the way till here in the middle of the night and you arrived here�� at the middle of the night? How fast can you run?"


    Wulfric looked at Nigel and kept on staring at him for quite some time. "You really don''t know anything about your new body, do you?" He leaned back on the wall and warned Nigel, "Well�� be prepared for extremely rigorous training. You will wish that you had never turned."


    Nigel didn''t know what kind of rigorous training that Wulfric was talking about. So he wasn''t worried at all. "I have been training my whole life, so how hard can this really be?"


    Wulfric shook his head at that innocent new puppy who was new to the werewolf world and said, "The very first training that you are going to go through is turning on other days than the full moon, turning into your wolf form at will."


    The Crown Prince took a deep breath and said, "You saw me transforming earlier, didn''t you? Imagine all of the bones in your body breaking and reforming at the same time.. You will have to go through that same process at least a hundred times in one day."

 Chapter 104 - Scent Of A Wolf

    Nigel covered his mouth with both of his hands because he was reminded again of the repulsive scene when Wulfric''s body was going through so many changes just a while ago. He took a few quick breaths in and then asked Wulfric, "Right! I was told that we transform only on full moons. But we can do that at any time?"


    "Yes, we can change into a wolf at any time, but after lots and lots of practice." Wulfric didn''t want to scare off Nigel by going into deeper details. So he just gave his brother a smile and assured him, "You will learn it eventually."


    Nigel touched his chin and nodded his head. He didn''t know anything about the werewolves and every time someone would give him some new piece of information, he would try to remember them for future references.


    "So, tell me other things that I need to know about this whole werewolf curse," Nigel asked his experienced brother.


    Wulfric puckered his lips and hummed for some time. "You don''t know anything, so where do I even start?"


    "Umm�� maybe start by explaining my new body, I mean what kind of things I can do now that I couldn''t do as a human?" Nigel gave him the direction.


    Nigel was curious about his new abilities. And he thought that knowing such minor details would be beneficial on the first day of his training in Aberdeen. He didn''t want others to think of him as a newborn baby werewolf, which he actually was.


    "Let''s see��" Wulfric tapped his feet on the floor and thought. It was not that he didn''t know anything, it was just that he knew way too many things about the werewolf body and he was having difficulty in deciding where to start from.


    "Okay, let''s start from our sense of smell. I want you to know that our sense of smell is our greatest ally. You might have noticed that everything has its own distinct smell, humans also know that, but we know it better." Wulfric lifted his hand and brought it near to Nigel''s nose and said, "Smell it."


    Nigel creased his brows thinking where Wulfric was going with this. But he smelled his hand anyway. "Now what?"


    "Now smell yourself," Wulfric was not joking, he was serious.


    And Nigel did as he asked. And his eyes were wide open upon the realization. "Oh�� my�� God�� We smell exactly the same."


    "Yes. We do because we both are werewolves." Wulfric was enjoying teaching his older brother about the things that he didn''t know. "Do you remember what I smelled like when I was in my wolf form?"


    Nigel was constantly giving the surprised expression. "Yes. I do. But you smelled different at that time."


    Wulfric snapped his fingers and pointed that Nigel was right. "Yes, our smell gets extremely strong when we turn into a wolf. That''s how we know if there are any other wolves nearby."


    Wulfric rubbed his hands in excitement and continued, "And we know it from this very smell when a new wolf gets turned. Those who transform for the first time, or the virgin turners as we call them, give off at least ten times stronger smell than other werewolves. That''s how the clan manages to find them before they do something that they would regret later."


    "But you were too far from us, for us to know that you had turned." Wulfric had a sense of relief when he continued, "Luckily, Fenris was there in Wyverndale at the right time and he informed your mother and us about you. Else things might have gone very wrong with the temper that we inherit along with the curse."


    "What do you mean by ''things might have gone wrong''?" Nigel could not think of things going any more wrong than gaining the consciousness in front of the Devil, naked.


    Wulfric ran his fingers through his raven black hair and stared away from Nigel. He was contemplating whether to tell a tragic story of a virgin turner to Nigel or not. He didn''t want to scare Nigel but at the same time, he didn''t want Nigel to be oblivious about the woes of werewolves.


    "Just tell me already," Nigel gave a nudge to his cousin and asked.


    Wulfric finally decided to tell the story. He started speaking in a sad tone, "Once, I heard about a werewolf who tore off his baby sister with his fangs because she was constantly poking him with a stick when he was in his wolf form."


    "That was the first time that he turned and it became his last. He was never able to turn back into his human form again. Those who get a taste of human flesh lose their sanity. The clan hunted down that werewolf because that kind poses a great danger to humans as well as to the other werewolves."


    Nigel breathed heavily and he looked very sad. He felt discomfort in his heart after hearing that story. "What if I had unintentionally done the same thing to Adeline?" he could not help but think of himself in a similar situation.


    "Don''t look so worried. You will be taught to control your anger issues and you will also learn to keep your consciousness while you are in the wolf form so that such tragedies won''t occur." Wulfric gave a sweet grin to his brother in the hopes of calming him down. Nigel looked really afraid for some reason.


    But at the same time, Nigel was also thankful that everyone was at the banquet on the day he turned. He knew that he was having anger control issues since he turned into a werewolf. And he was also thankful to the Devil for not letting him roam around in his wolf form. Instead, he had reverted him back to his human form.


    Seeing Nigel lost in his thoughts, Wulfric changed the topic and returned back to the explanation about the sense of smell, "Like I was saying before, we can not only smell different types of animals, foods, and plants, we can also smell the emotion. It is extremely helpful in some situations; like we know when someone is going to be hostile towards us just by smelling them. And we can prepare to fight back beforehand."


    "Huh! That might actually be helpful." Nigel was really impressed.


    Suddenly, something struck Nigel''s mind. A hint of curiosity lingered in Nigel''s eyes and he asked his brother, "Did you manage to find me just by smelling me?"


    "Yeah, I heard that you were coming and couldn''t wait to see you. So I sneaked out from the Palace and after crossing the Enchanted Valley, which is the beacon of werewolves, I could just smell one distinct scent of a werewolf. And I followed it and found you." Wulfric said it as though it was a normal thing to track someone down just by smell alone.


    Then he jumped out of the bed and stretched his body to flex his muscles. "Alright brother, see you again in a few hours. I will head back before someone finds out that I am missing from the Palace." And he was ready to jump out of the window.


    "Give that blanket back," Nigel shouted before Wulfric could jump and pulled the blanket off of his waist. But seeing his naked brother, he wasn''t sure if he could sleep using that same blanket.


    Wulfric looked at Nigel from the corner of his eyes and gave a smirk. He stood by the window and taunted Nigel while grinning, "Mine''s bigger than yours, isn''t it?" And without waiting for Nigel''s reply, he immediately jumped out.


    "You sure do want to get a good beating, don''t you?" Nigel shouted to his shameless brother.. He looked out of the window and watched a wolf vanish in the distance soon after.

 Chapter 105 - Welcome To Aberdeen!

    Nigel was fast asleep when one of the guards came knocking at his door to wake him up, "Your Highness, it''s already dawn. We have to start our journey soon if we want to reach to the Enchanted Valley by the midday."


    Nigel had gone to sleep very late the last night. So he was having trouble in opening his eyes instantly. But he managed to answer his guard, "Okay, I will be out in a minute."


    After a while, he slowly fluttered his eyes open. He had thrown the blanket to one corner of the room thinking that he wouldn''t be needing it, and also because it was used by Wulfric as a towel.


    But the morning was a bit chilly and he was crouching on the bed. He rubbed his arms and whispered, "So, this is how it feels to live like a commoner then. I don''t think that I will even last a whole day if I were to live like commoners."


    He stretched his arms and then got out of the bed. He trotted towards the door while still rubbing his arms.


    The guards had already prepared warm water for him to wash his face. There was no bathtub in this inn so the Prince was going to have to take a bath after reaching to the Aberdeen Palace.


    All of the people that came with Nigel were already dressed. They were ready to leave once the Prince was ready. But Nigel thought that it would be better if they could start the journey after having some light breakfast. He did not want to throw up like yesterday.


    So he ordered to his guard, "What about some light breakfast? Ask the innkeeper to prepare something for all of us."


    "Yes, Your Highness," the guard bowed and left towards the counter.


    And Nigel went to get freshened up. Then he went back to his room and got dressed in his Royal attire. After the Prince walked out of the room, his guards picked up his belongings from the room and put them inside the carriage.


    Like yesterday night, the innkeeper set the table outside in the front yard of the inn. And all of the guards, along with the coachman and the Prince, sat down for their breakfast.


    The morning light was slowly lighting up the place and all of them could see how beautiful the surrounding was. The inn also looked amazing, standing alone but tall in the vast land.


    Nigel looked towards the direction of Aberdeen and he could see that from where the rainforest started, the area was covered in white mist as though it was covering the secrets of Aberdeen. Seeing that, Nigel felt somewhat nervous. Once he would cross that rainforest, his new lifestyle would begin.


    After finishing the breakfast, one of the guards settled the money with the innkeeper. Nigel got inside his carriage and all the guards rode on their respective horses. Right now, they were technically still in Wyverndale. Finally, they were ready to set their foot inside another Kingdom.


    Everyone took off towards their final destination. After about 15 minutes, the rainforest of Aberdeen started. Nigel opened the curtains of his carriage so that he could enjoy the beautiful view of the rainforest and breathe in the fresh air.


    The path of the forest was narrow. It was just enough for one carriage to pass at a time. As it was a forest, the path was not as smooth as it was before.


    There were huge and old-looking trees everywhere. Nigel thought to himself while staring at the canvas-like scene of hundreds of trees, "They must have seen so many things and they must be holding so many secrets."


    The trees were covered with moss and mushrooms and other creepers. The creepers and some dead trees along the side of the road made the forest look even spookier. But Nigel liked it very much.


    Nigel''s nose was the happiest because it was able to smell so many types of scents, the scent of mist, the scent of trees, the scent of the muddy path, the scent of animals, and many more.


    Not just his nose, his other sensory organs were also happy. He could hear all kinds of birds chirping and flapping their wings. He was feeling somewhat cold because of the moist rainforest, but that was okay. And the greenery was making his eyes feel very relaxed.


    Nigel didn''t feel like throwing up today. His mind was occupied by the beautiful scenery around him. After traveling for about two hours, they began to climb upwards on a small hill. They had approached an area that was surrounded by hills. And when they crossed that hilly path, they finally entered the Enchanted Valley.


    The valley was like a central spot of Aberdeen. Most of the settlement was concentrated in this valley. The whole valley looked very lively from the hilltop.


    As they began descending down to the valley, Nigel''s nose was picking up the scent of countless werewolves. "Whoa! This really is a beacon of werewolves huh."


    The villagers were keenly staring at the horses, Royal guards, and the Royal carriage. "It looks like someone important," One of the onlookers shouted.


    And another one added, "It might be the Prince of another Kingdom. The carriage looks very elegant and it has another flag."


    Soon, the carriage was making its way towards the Palace which was at the end of the valley. It was somewhat distant and secluded from the main settlement. And the Palace was also surrounded by what looked like a mini rainforest. And there was yet another barrier between the outside world and the Palace and that was the huge walls.


    The guards of Aberdeen bowed to the Prince of Wyverndale and opened the large metal gates to let the guests get inside the Palace.


    Nigel took a deep breath in and whispered to himself, "And we have arrived. I hope a month will pass quickly, I already miss my Palace."


    When Nigel opened the carriage door and went outside, Prince Fenris and his guards were waiting there to welcome him.


    "Brother! I hope you had a comfortable journey." Fenris walked towards Nigel and gave him a big hug.


    Nigel was happy to see his cousin, even though he could get on his nerves sometimes. "Yes, it was a comfortable journey. So, how''s everyone?"


    "Everyone is doing well. They are busy with their own works. You will meet them soon enough." Fenris replied with a smile. He waved his hand to his guards and gestured them to help Nigel''s guards in taking the Prince''s belongings to the guest quarter.


    "And where''s Wulfric?" Nigel asked specifically in order to keep the act. He had promised Wulfric saying he wouldn''t tell anyone that he had sneaked out the last night.


    "He is in the throne hall with the King. He is busy with some political affairs." Fenris wasn''t interested in going into details so he asked Nigel, "I hope you would like to get some rest and take a bath before starting your training? Or would you like to go to the training straight away?"


    Nigel exclaimed loudly, "What? You mean I have to start my training from today?"


    "Of course it will start from today. Didn''t you come here for the training?" Fenris gave Nigel a taunting grin.


    "I guess I did. Good thing my body doesn''t feel tired even after almost two days'' journey." Nigel pouted at Fenris.. He was shocked to hear that they were not even giving him a day off to rest properly.

 Chapter 106 - Weak

    "General Herwin�� General Herwin��" Adeline called the General several times in an attempt to wake him up but he did not move a muscle. He was out cold from a punch of Adeline.


    Adeline looked at her brothers and sisters and then said in a vacant tone, "Well, I guess the class is over. Should we inform the guards to take him to the healer?"


    Adeline was not feeling any remorse by hitting her teacher like that and making him go unconscious. Rather, she was feeling a sense of pure satisfaction. He was belittling Adeline by saying things like she was cheating on her fighting training by making some kind of deal with her brothers and sisters.


    And to add to that, he was boasting his masculinity and was talking as though all women were weaker than him and not even worth giving a chance to fight with him to prove him wrong. And now that he was lying on the floor, she was feeling happy to her bones.


    "Yes, I think we should inform some guards while we are on our way out." Raphael agreed to Adeline.


    "Okay then," Adeline left the General on the platform and climbed down to where her brothers and sisters were standing.


    Gustin was openly smiling because he was also feeling very happy that the General got to taste the punch from Adeline. The General was scolding him earlier saying that he had given up too soon when he could have gone for another round with Adeline. But there he was, lying on the ground, not even able to finish a single round.


    Gustin gave a wicked smirk and then commented to Raphael, "Now that he got knocked out by a single punch, I hope that he knows his place now. It is proven that he is weaker than me."


    Raphael touched his chin and hummed as though he was thinking something, and then replied to Gustin, "Does that mean I am stronger than you? I last two rounds with Adeline. You just last one." He gave a quick glance at the others and continued, "And the others don''t even last a single round."


    Nefriti gave a corner-eyed look to Raphael and shouted as if she was singing a song, "We can hear you��"


    But both Raphael and Gustin were in the middle of an argument so none of them paid attention to Nefriti.


    "Are you going to use Adeline as the standard to measure our strength? Or are you going to consider the times that the two of us have faced each other and also its outcome? I bet you have only won a handful of times while I have won most of them." Gustin rolled his eyes and began to walk away from the ground.


    Raphael didn''t like this habit of Gustin, always walking away when the conversation was still going on. So he yelled at his brother, "If you think you have won more times, then let''s battle right here and now. And let''s see who wins."


    But Gustin just waved off his hand and kept on walking away.


    Adeline also bid a goodbye to everyone because she had some plans. "I will also head out now. See you tomorrow everyone." She then glanced at Nefriti and spoke to her while pointing at the General, "Will you please inform the guards that he is unconscious. I am in a bit of a hurry."


    "Sure. Don''t worry about him." Nefriti was instantly up for the job.


    "Thank you!" Adeline smiled at her and ran back to her quarter. She was in a hurry to go somewhere.


    Adeline had to return back to her own room from Theodore''s room very early in the morning. Though she wanted to hear from Theodore''s followers who had spied on Lillian the last night, she did not get the chance to do so. She could have waited till nightfall for Theodore and she could have asked him if his followers saw anything unusual the last night. But she did not have the patience to wait till nightfall.


    She even thought about calling Theodore by using her ring, but she didn''t think that it was a good idea to do so in the broad daylight. There was a high chance that someone would overhear them or someone would walk inside and disturb them.


    Adeline could not wait any longer to know about what Lillian was really doing. She still had a three hours break before her training with General Osmond would start. And at that time, she thought that she would go to the market and meet Agnes to know the details.


    After reaching to her quarter, she immediately called for Hawisa and then ordered her, "Hawisa, I have something to do in the market. So will you please ask my guards to change into some normal clothing and escort me?"


    "You are going to the market again? Are you going with your brothers and sisters again?" Hawisa was not outwardly showing it but she was really angry with the other Princes and Princesses. She really believed that they were a bad company to Adeline and they would have a negative impact on her. To be honest, Hawisa was starting to miss Nigel.


    "No, I am going alone. I have some work there." Adeline clarified to her maid.


    Hawisa did not dare to question the Princess about what kind of work she had in the market. She thought that it was not her place to ask such questions. "Alright, I will inform the guards. But just make sure that you are safe. And don''t forget to ask permission from your father before you go."


    After warning the Princess as a caring mother would do, she left the Princess''s room.


    After Hawisa went outside, Adeline called Osanna and then asked her, "Will you please take out a plain gown for me. I am going to the market again."


    "You are going there again? Seems like someone found the outside world to be fun." Osanna smirked and then walked towards Adeline''s wardrobe. She took out a light blue gown that didn''t have any embroidery work on it and handed it over to the Princess, "I hope this will be fine."


    Adeline took that dress and looked at it for a while. Then finally she thought that it would blend well with the other village woman''s dresses. "I think this will do."


    And after Osanna also went outside of her chamber, Adeline changed from her fighting uniform to the gown.


    Until the guards got ready and came to her quarter, Adeline thought that she would go and see her father. So she headed towards the King''s Court where her father would be at this time of the morning.


    But when she reached there, she was stunned to see that her father was looking pale and weak.. She ran close to her father to get a good look at him and exclaimed, "Father, you don''t look so well. What happened?"

 Chapter 107 - No Punishment

    King Dragomir looked very pale and weak as though he was sick. When Adeline ran closer to her father, she also noticed something more, "Is it just me or does father have more wrinkles on his face? I don''t think he had this many wrinkles before�� Or am I just over imagining?"


    "Father, are you feeling sick?" Adeline asked again out of concern.


    Dragomir gave a feeble smile to his daughter and replied, "No, I am not sick. I just feel a little tired, that''s all."


    Adeline climbed on the throne platform and sat on the armrest of the throne. She hugged her father and asked in a pampered voice, "Didn''t you sleep well last night?"


    Dragomir felt as though his worries faded away when his daughter hugged him lovingly. "Yes, I couldn''t sleep very well, maybe that''s why I look a bit tired."


    "Is something worrying you?" Adeline wanted her father to share his problems with her. Her father had countless responsibilities and it was understandable that sometimes he might even have sleepless nights because of overthinking about some problems.


    However, Dragomir''s worry was because of a completely different matter today. He had seen the fearful demon from hell in his dream, which was thought to have become extinct already as the stories of their attacks weren''t heard of in recent years. But that very same demon had successfully taken his life force and had made him feel weaker.


    Dragomir shook his head and said, "No nothing is worrying me. I just missed your mother, that''s all."


    Dragomir didn''t want to tell what exactly had happened during the night. He didn''t want to make his daughter concerned about him. And the things that had happened were not exactly appropriate to share with his daughter. So he didn''t even bother.


    Adeline hugged her father even tightly and said in a sad tone, "I miss her too. I hope she is in a better place now."


    "I hope so too." Dragomir let out a huge sigh. Deep down he had a feeling that Auvera might not have found peace because of the way she died. But he truly wanted to think that her soul might have already gone to heaven because she was the purest soul he knew.


    "Right, did you have something to say to me?" Dragomir asked Adeline as she would rarely visit him in the middle of her training sessions, she would either visit him in the morning or in the evening when both of them would be free.


    Adeline nodded her head and revealed her true purpose to have visited her father, "I was leaving for the market so I came to inform you that I would be outside of the Palace for a while."


    "You are going to the market? Alone?" The King asked in a surprised tone.


    "Yes," Adeline smiled.


    "But you never leave the Palace. So do you even know how to go there? I don''t think you should be going alone, take someone with you, someone who can guide you." Dragomir was not liking the idea of letting Adeline leave the Palace on her own.


    "I won''t exactly be alone, father. I will be taking some of the guards with me. And besides, I visited the market yesterday only, so I remember the roads." Adeline was confident enough because she had to walk through more or less straight paths to reach to Agnes''s place.


    But Adeline was surprised by her father''s next reply.


    Dragomir was visibly shocked to learn that Adeline had left for the market only yesterday so he exclaimed in a loud voice, "You visited the market yesterday? Why didn''t you tell me first?" He toned down his voice a little and asked, "Did you go alone or did you go with someone?"


    "I went with my brothers and sisters. I was coming here to inform you but we were already getting late. And Nefriti told me that she had already asked your permission so I went away without telling you first." Adeline puckered her lips because her father seemed to be slightly angry and very confused.


    He thought for some time and finally spoke, "I don''t remember Nefriti coming to meet me here. Actually, I haven''t even seen her after your birthday banquet."


    Adeline was shocked to hear that from her father. Several thoughts began to arise in her mind, "Did Nefriti lie to me then? But why would she do that? Did they sneak out? But why sneak out like that? I don''t think father would have denied sending us out if we had simply asked him. And now, father seems to be angry at us."


    "Who else was there with you?" The King furrowed his brows and asked with a hint of anger lurking on his face. "Did you all take guards along with you or you all went on your own?"


    Adeline was getting a feeling that if she revealed who went along with her, her father was going to punish all of her brothers and sisters. And if she was to tell him that they went without guards, that also in disguise, then she was sure that her father would be furious at them.


    "First promise me that you won''t be angry with them. They were just trying to cheer me up because I was sad after Nigel left." Adeline gave the sweetest grin to his father like a pampered child to make him agree to her.


    The King chuckled and caressed her hair. "You know how to melt my heart, don''t you? If they were really trying to cheer you up then I will forgive them for this once. But if I ever find them going out of the Palace without my permission then I am going to punish them for misbehaving. You should pass my message to them."


    Adeline nodded her head and agreed, "I will pass on your message."


    "So who was there with you? What did you all do there? Did you have fun?" Dragomir shot Adeline with a number of questions.


    "I went with Nefriti, Claudia, Raphael, Kaela, and Gustin. They showed me different shops around the market. And yes, we had a lot of fun. I had never been to the market before so I got to learn and see many things." Adeline explained to her father with enthusiasm.


    Though Dragomir didn''t like them sneaking out, he was at least happy that Adeline had enjoyed her time in the market. "I see. So you had something specific to do in the market today or are you just going to roam around for some time?"


    Adeline was still not sure if it was okay to reveal about Agnes and her clan to her father. She did not want to put Agnes in an awkward situation, so she thought that she would tell her father about them after she got to know more, about them as well as about Lillian.


    For now, she just said a half-truth. "I am going to meet with the villagers and try to know more about them. I think it is fruitful to know about the subjects if I am to become a capable Queen in the future."


    Dragomir could not express how proud he was of his daughter. He smiled and said, "Okay, you can go.. But make sure to stay cautious and safe."

 Chapter 108 - Meeting With Agnes

    Adeline happily ran out of the King''s Court and went towards her own quarter. Hawisa had already informed the guards by now, and six of her guards were already waiting for her.


    They were all wearing their normal clothes like the Princess had asked and they were carrying small weapons like daggers with them. They understood that the Princess didn''t want the villagers to find out about her status, so they had prepared accordingly.


    They were standing in front of the quarter and were waiting for the order of the Princess.


    Adeline walked towards them and briefed them, "I am going to visit a fortune-teller in the market so I want you all to escort me there. But don''t make it so obvious that you all are escorting me, spread out, and maintain some distance."


    "Yes, Your Highness." The guards bowed to the Princess.


    Adeline turned around and began to walk towards the gate of the Palace. The guards began following her closely.


    Walking while she was under the watch of the guards was not fun at all. She was not able to bring out the goofy side of her as she was able to while she was with her brothers and sisters yesterday. She was walking while maintaining her posture like what others would expect from a Princess.


    After walking down the boring path for quite some time, she finally entered the Golden Street. To her surprise, there were not many people out on the street at this time of the day. "Hmm�� it looks like the street is livelier in the evening and in the night than it is in the morning." Adeline was observing the surroundings and taking mental notes of them.


    She kept on walking to the end of the village to find Agnes''s place. The guards were spread out as though they didn''t know Adeline at all. Some of them were acting like they had come for shopping, some were just casually walking a little further from the Princess, while some had paired with each other and were acting as though they were casually talking and walking.


    Finally, Adeline reached in front of Agnes''s shop. She gestured to her guards to wait for her outside and entered inside.


    Like yesterday, Agnes''s place was empty today as well. She went towards the door and gave a little knock.


    Agnes opened the door and when she saw that it was none other than Princess Adeline who was standing at her door, she gave a slight bow to the Princess and invited her in, "Why don''t you come inside Princess?"


    Adeline gave a nod in response to Agnes''s greeting and went inside the room.


    Agnes gestured her hand towards a chair and politely said, "Please take a seat, Princess."


    "Thank you!" Adeline sat down while her eyes were fixated on the blue glowing orb that was kept on the table.


    Agnes also sat down in front of the Princess and asked her, "How can I help you, Princess?"


    The Princess did not beat around the bush and got straight to the point, "Yesterday you told me that you were spying on Lillian and you found out that she had opened the door to the other worlds. I wanted to know what you meant by that."


    "By opening the door to the other world I meant that she was opening the gate to the spirit world. She can harness the power of the spirit world and grow stronger as a witch. It is basically a shortcut that the witches are not allowed to use because that method can backfire sometimes. The power from the spirit world can harm the witches who use it."


    Agnes said it confidently as though she was not lying at all. Though half of what she said was true, the others were made up tales.


    The other day, when Agnes had a chat with Theodore after Adeline had left from there, Theodore had specifically asked Agnes not to tell Adeline about what Lillian was actually doing. He told her how Lillian had been trying to harm Adeline since she was a child and how even now she was trying to do so.


    And he also told her that Adeline might go searching for danger if she was to know that Lillian was summoning mystical beings from the other worlds. So he politely threatened Agnes to keep her mouth shut about Lillian if the Princess came asking to her.


    Adeline was surprised when she heard that response from Agnes. She was expecting Lillian to be doing something more dangerous than that. She was expecting that Lillian might have opened the door to hell somewhere and she was allowing the creatures from hell to crawl inside the Palace.


    But Agnes was saying that all Lillian was doing was using some power from the spirit world to grow stronger. That didn''t settle quite well in Adeline''s mind. "Are you sure that Lillian is doing nothing more than that? Like allowing the creatures from hell to cross that door or resurrecting the dead or something like that?"


    Though Adeline was just shooting arrows in the dark, it had actually hit the bull''s eye. And it made Agnes a little uncomfortable. She was nervous thinking that the Princess might have already known about the summoning and she was here just to double-check the fact.


    However, Agnes chuckled to mask her nervousness and tried her best to convince the Princess that Lillian was not doing anything more dangerous as of now. "Don''t think so highly of the witches, Princess. No matter how strong we are, we do not possess that kind of power to call the creatures from hell or resurrect the dead. All we do is borrow power from nature and in case of dark witches, other negative sources."


    Adeline let out a huge sigh of relief and said, "Hmm�� is that so�� I might have been over thinking about it then." As Agnes was also a witch, Adeline believed that what she was saying was true. She did not even remotely imagine that Agnes was lying to her in the order of the Devil Prince.


    Before the room was filled with awkward silence, Adeline began sharing her story briefly, "Lillian has been doing things that are very cruel and unimaginable for people like me. She has killed countless number of people with her witchcraft."


    Adeline clenched her gown very tightly and revealed in anger, "She even killed my mother. She is very ruthless like a monster. And when I heard that she was opening some kind of door, I was worried that she was up to something really bad again."


    Little did she know that Lillian was actually up to something worse��

 Chapter 109 - Sorry, Princess!

    "I am sorry for your loss Princess. I had no idea that Lillian had��"


    Agnes took a deep breath in because she was also reminded of someone whom Lillian had murdered.


    "Lillian had also killed one of my coven members named Esther. She also used to serve Lillian together with me. But when Esther confronted Lillian saying that she had killed someone we knew, she was found dead in the Ethereal River."


    Agnes clenched her fists with anger because there were several such evil things that Lillian had done to the people that she knew. "I also happened to find another one of Lillian''s maids. Thankfully, she was not dead. But Lillian had brutally snatched out her tongue."


    Adeline widened her eyes because she had seen Lillian carving out a maid''s tongue in the memory that Theodore had shown her. And she knew who Agnes was talking about. She was that same maid that was asked to pass on the wrong information to Hawisa and Osanna, and after that, she had disappeared from the Palace. Adeline was somewhat glad to know that she was still alive.


    Agnes shared their coven''s story with Adeline. She told her how they were sent by the King of Frostford to take care of Lillian secretly, and how they had joined in as Lillian''s maids. Then how they witnessed Lillian turning from a sweet lady to a terrifying witch, and how they were threatened to be killed if they didn''t leave her alone.


    Adeline felt pity for them. The coven did not have any evil intention towards Lillian, they were just taking care of her from the order of the King. And in the end, Lillian had rained her wrath upon them, she had even killed one of them.


    When the two of them were talking, there was a knock on the door. "Just one moment, Princess. I think it is a customer, I will ask them to wait for a while," Agnes got up from her chair and went to open the door.


    Agnes saw that it was not a customer but it was her coven member. She smiled and gestured for that person to come inside. Agnes quickly grabbed a stool from the waiting room and then brought it inside the room where she was sitting with the Princess.


    She put down the stool beside her own chair and asked the lady to sit down.


    Agnes looked at the Princess and said, "This is my coven member, Sibyl. She is the same person that I was talking about earlier, she cannot speak." Then she looked at the lady and whispered something to her in her ear.


    Sibyl covered her mouth with both of her hands and her eyes were all teary. She looked at Adeline with sorry eyes so Adeline guessed that Agnes told Sibyl who she was.


    It looked as though Sibyl regretted following the order from Lillian that day. But what else could she have done when the Queen had ordered her, she couldn''t have denied the orders no matter how morally corrupt they were.


    Adeline smiled at Sibyl and said in a soft voice, "It''s okay." Adeline already knew everything so there was no need for her to be angry at that ex-maid. All she felt was pity towards that lady.


    Sibyl frantically looked around at the desk and around the room. She was searching for something so Agnes asked her, "What are you searching for?" and Sibyl gestured to her that she was looking for something to write on.


    Agnes opened the drawer of her desk and then took out a white sheet of paper, and writing brush, and ink. And she handed them over to Sibyl, "Here you go."


    As soon as Sibyl got the paper and brush, she began to write something on it. And then she showed it to the Princess.


    Adeline read it out loud, "I don''t know if you remember me but I also played a crucial part in your kidnapping when you were still very small."


    Adeline shook her head and politely said, "Sibyl, it was not you who had kidnapped me. It was Lillian who was the mastermind behind the whole thing."


    And Sibyl wrote something again and showed it to the Princess, "Had I not blindly followed Lillian''s order, you wouldn''t have been kidnapped."


    The Princess shifted her chair closer to Sibyl and empathetically looked into her eyes. She did not want Sibyl to feel guilty about something that had happened decades ago, "But there was nothing you could have done. If you had not followed her order then maybe she would have done something bad to you at that very moment."


    "She did it anyway. Had I denied her beforehand, at least I wouldn''t have had to bear this constant regret for being a part of your kidnapping. To this date, I still regret what I did that day. Will you please forgive me?" Sibyl showed the paper again with eyes full of remorse.


    Adeline held Sibyl''s hand and tried to console her, "I wasn''t even angry at you in the first place. I am not even angry with General Osmond who took me to the Devil''s Cave. Both of you were used by Lillian as puppets. She harmed both of you. You two were just as much her victim as me. So, don''t be sorry for the crime that you didn''t commit."


    Sibyl looked down on the floor and began to drop tears. After years, she finally felt relieved to hear those words from Adeline. And she mouthed to the Princess while crying, "Thank you!"


    She wrote something on the paper again and put it in front of Adeline.


    Adeline read it and gave a huge smile to her. "We can work together for that. I have vowed to do the same."


    In the paper Sibyl had written, "I could not protect you or go against Lillian at that time. But now I am capable to do both. I promise you that I will put an end to Lillian''s cruelty."


    Sibyl''s words were not hollow. Among the coven members, she was one of the most gifted and most powerful witches. She was blessed with powers that were far greater than any other witches of her time, almost at par with that of Lillian''s, and that also without taking help from the dark magic.


    The warm and happy moment didn''t last for long because two of the guards of Adeline barged inside the room and said with haste, "Your Highness, we have to leave now. There is a fight going on outside, and there''s a chance that it might escalate to riot.. It will be hard to protect you if that happens."

 Chapter 110 - Riot

    Adeline was stunned to hear that a fight was going on in a happy place like this and it was escalating. "What is happening outside? And why do you say that a riot is going to happen?"


    The guard quickly briefed the Princess about the situation outside, "The villagers were having some dispute with the tax collectors. And the Royal Guards began to thrash them with whips. The villagers are fighting back. So I don''t think it is safe for Your Highness to stay here for any longer."


    Adeline narrowed her eyes with anger. She had not even imagined in her wildest dreams that she would be hearing about this kind of cruel power display from the Royal guards. "Why would the Royal Guards beat the villagers? Are they even allowed to do that on their own accord? Or is someone ordering them to do that?"


    The guard was showing some reluctance to answer that question of the Princess. Or rather, he was somewhat afraid.


    "Answer me!" Adeline ordered the guard in a stern voice. She was about to lose her calm.


    The guard bowed his head and answered the Princess, "Those guards are under the control of the First Prince. And they do whatever the Prince orders them to do."


    Adeline was outraged to hear that Lillian''s son was oppressing the villagers. And she screamed out of frustration, "What? First Prince is giving out those orders?"


    Adeline rose up from her seat while mumbling in anger, "I will have to teach a lesson to both of these mother and son. One is terrorizing the Palace while the other is terrorizing the village."


    "Is the First Prince outside?" Adeline asked in fury. "I will teach him a lesson right here and right now." She was already thinking of challenging Prince Edwin in front of all the villagers.


    But the guards stepped in front of the Princess and blocked her way while apologetically bowing their heads. One of the guards spoke in a firm voice, "I''m afraid you cannot do that, Your Highness. The First Prince is not here as of now."


    The Princess ordered again, "Then take me where those Royal Guards are at the moment. Let me scold them and put their thick brain back in their places. They will have to be punished for their behavior."


    But the guards did not even move an inch. They were still blocking her way by standing on the door.


    "If the villagers find out that you are a Princess, they might take out their anger on you as well. So it is not appropriate for you to go out there." The guards were not going to allow the Princess to do stupid things that would put her in danger.


    Agnes and Sibyl were also listening to the whole conversation between the Princess and the guards.


    Agnes walked over to the side of the Princess and gently placed her hand on the Princess''s shoulder to calm her down. Then she gave a piece of advice to her, "If you really want them to get punished then you may inform the King about what they did to the villagers. If my guess is right then the King has no idea what goes on in the village. These kinds of issues never reach the King."


    "You mean these things keep on happing often?" Adeline turned behind to face Agnes and asked while breathing heavily.


    Agnes nodded her head and briefed the Princess, "Yes, I have heard complaints from the villagers that the tax officers charge them higher tax than what the King has decreed. And if the villagers deny paying the extra tax, the guards that come along with those officers harass them, beat them, and trash their shops, and whatnot."


    Adeline was quivering with fury. She wanted to go out there right now and beat those filthy guards to a pulp so that they would never be able to raise their hands on the innocent people ever again. But she remembered what Theodore had said to her time and again.


    He had told her to sit back and think calmly rather than taking any action in the heat of the moment. Because in fury, she might do things that she would come to regret later on.


    So she turned to her guards and said, "Let''s go to the Palace for now. We will come to investigate this later and I will put forth the issue to the King with all the evidence. Don''t speak about this to anyone else in the Palace for now. I don''t want the First Prince to silence the villagers beforehand if he senses that I am going to find evidence against his dirty actions."


    "Yes, Your Highness. We will keep that in mind." The guards finally stepped aside and let the Princess pass.


    Before leaving, Adeline turned back to see Agnes and said, "If you can find all the victims and heal them, I would be really grateful to you."


    "Sure, Your Highness." Agnes smiled softly and bowed to the Princess. She was glad to know that not all of the Princes and Princesses were wicked and corrupt. There was someone in the Palace who cared about the villagers as much as the current King does.


    Adeline was outside of the shop, she looked around and saw that there was a commotion going on. The villagers had gathered on the street and were surrounding some people in the middle. The guards were protecting someone from the villager''s attacks.


    She saw one of the villagers raising his fist and shouting at the top of his lungs, "We are going to crush them today."


    And another villager instantly added fuel to the burning fire, "Yes, we are not going to endure their atrocity anymore. This ends today! Let''s treat them how they have been treating us."


    "Yes, let''s beat them." The other villagers were supporting and were trying to get their hands on the guards and the tax officers.


    Adeline took a deep breath of relief to see that the villagers were not being beaten anymore. The table had already turned. She hoped that the villagers would teach the corrupt tax officers and guards a lesson.


    She hated turning a blind eye and walking away but she felt that it was the right thing to do at the moment. The guards were now closely walking behind the Princess. They did not care if they looked like they were stalking a helpless lady, they just wished that they would get out of the village soon. They did not want any harm to befall the Princess.


    From between the crowd, someone was staring in the direction of the Princess who was surrounded by the Royal Guards.


    Even though all of them were in disguise, that person recognized who the Princess was. And that person spoke under their breath, "What is she doing out of the Palace? I hope she does not do anything stupid like informing the King about this situation.. Or else�� she is going to be in real trouble."

 Chapter 111 - We Aren鈥檛 Murdering

    Adeline was now back in the Palace. She was inside her own quarter and was hurriedly collecting her uniform from the bed so that she could change into it and rush to the training ground.


    Her mind was still hovering over the previous scene from the market. She was at least glad that the villagers were protesting against the corrupt tax collectors and the ruthless guards. When they were raising their voices against them and were even ready to attack them, she couldn''t have been any happier.


    "I wonder what happened at the village after I left from there. I would be so satisfied if those corrupt brats returned back with bruises all over their face and body." Adeline was mumbling to herself while taking off her gown and slipping into her uniform.


    Thinking about their deeds made Adeline''s blood to boil again. "How could they even leech those villagers as if they were cows for them to milk? And on top of that, they beat and destroy the shops of those who deny to pay more than what is decreed by the King�� Just how treacherous can people get, deceiving the King and the villagers like that?"


    Adeline remembered that it was not the tax collectors who were acting on their own. "Wait, wasn''t this whole thing led by Edwin? Why would he need that money for? Isn''t he already living a luxurious life inside the Palace? How much more does he want�� so much so that he has to overcharge taxes from the subjects? What is he planning to do with all that money?"


    She had already seen so many oppressors, like Lillian and Edwin, who thrived by torturing innocent people. She was fed up with the drama the mother-son duo was causing. And each time she would hear something they did to hurt the others, she would feel something accumulating deep down in her heart.


    Her level of patience and level of tolerance was already filling up. She was already about to reach to a stage where she wanted to go on a killing spree. Adeline was gritting her teeth and digging her nails in her palms.


    "Maybe I should just kill them and get it over with. No more innocent souls will have to bear torture through their hands or die because of them. If two fewer people on Earth would save the lives of so many other people then why not just do it?"


    Adeline held her head with both of her hands and sat down on her bed. "But if I kill them then there wouldn''t be much difference between me and them. While killing people they must also think that they are killing for the greater good�� or maybe not. Lillian even kills people for her pure entertainment."


    "But that''s not the point here. I don''t care what they think before taking innocent lives. All I know is that they killed. And that''s not okay. You cannot justify murder or glorify it." Adeline was going back and forth with herself for quite some time.


    She abruptly got up from her bed and then shouted to herself, "We are not doing any murder, Princess. Now let''s go. We don''t want to keep the General waiting for us, do we?"


    And she made her way towards the training ground again.


    However, just after she exited her quarter, she felt as though someone was following her from behind. She turned around to see who it was but she didn''t see anyone. There was just an empty garden and flowers behind her.


    She thought that it was just her mind playing some trick on her after Theodore had scared her the last time. So she shrugged her shoulders and kept on walking ahead.


    But after taking a few more steps, she heard the sound of footsteps very close behind her. She quickly turned her head again but saw no one.


    Even if she didn''t see anyone, this time she was sure that someone was following her. It was still broad daylight so she knew that it wasn''t Theodore, and she also guessed that other kinds of mystical beings wouldn''t be active during the daytime.


    So, that led her to believe that some human was following her. "Maybe it''s a thief, or maybe a kidnapper?" Adeline narrowed her eyes and thought to herself as the footsteps were approaching her.


    Adeline didn''t want to play the hide and seek game anymore so she also began to move at a faster pace than normal. But the footsteps also followed her at a rapid speed.


    After racing for some time, she felt as though a hand was reaching out to grab her shoulder. And without even looking back to see who it was, Adeline grabbed that hand, lifted that person, and rolled them down flat on the ground. Immediately after, she pinned that person down and was ready to punch them in the face.


    "Hey, it''s me! It''s me!" that person shouted with a voice full of pain.


    Adeline left that person''s hand instantly and exclaimed, "Alan? What�� Why were you following me?"


    Alan, Lillian''s second son, gave out a painful grunt and gave out his hand to Adeline, "Will you help me to get up first?"


    Adeline obliged and help her brother to get up from the dusty ground. Alan dusted his clothes and limped to the side of the path. Then he sat down on the grassy lawn and glanced at Adeline who was watching his each and every little move.


    Alan apologized to his sister, "I''m sorry if I startled you. I wanted to talk to you but I didn''t know how to approach you."


    Adeline folded her arms and commented sarcastically, "You could have tried not to follow me like a thief and could have just called my name. You�� know my name right?"


    Alan chuckled at that remark from Adeline and replied, "You don''t have to be so harsh on me Adeline. You are my sister. Do you think I wouldn''t even remember my sister''s name?"


    Adeline also laughed at her own statement and said, "It''s been a while since we met each other, right? What did you want to talk about brother? Is it something urgent or can it wait? Because I am on my way to the personal training right now."


    "You are still taking training from General Osmond?" Alan asked curiously.


    Adeline gave a simple nod.


    "Hmm�� I think you will have to skip the training for today then. I don''t think this topic can wait." Alan gestured Adeline to sit down beside him and said, "It has something to do with Edwin.. I wanted to give you a warning."

 Chapter 112 - Free Information

    "Something to do with Edwin? What did you want to warn me about?" Adeline sat down beside Alan as she wanted to hear what he had to say about Edwin.


    "You were in the market just a while ago, weren''t you?" Alan asked with full surety.


    Adeline had not told anyone else other than her maids and her father that she was going to the market. So when Alan said that she was in the market a while ago, the first thing she suspected was that Alan had been spying on her.


    Alan and Adeline never had any problems with each other ever before. Alan was always nice and kind to her, unlike Edwin. And Adeline did not see Alan as an enemy even when he was Lillian''s son.


    But now that he mentioned that she was in the market a while ago, she remembered what Agnes had said to her when she had seen into her future. She had warned the Princess that those whom she called family was the ones who were her enemies.


    And Agnes had also warned her not to trust anyone as easily as she did. This made Adeline rethink where Alan stood, could she trust him or should she need to see him as an enemy as well?


    Adeline put on her guard and asked without giving away too much, "Yes, I was in the market. Why do you ask? And how do you know?"


    "I know because I had seen you along with your guards in the market. I noticed that you were returning back to the Palace in haste. And I have been following you since then." Alan did not look apologetic to have followed his sister without her knowledge. And he did not realize that he sounded as though he really was spying on her.


    Adeline raised her brows really questioning his intention and asked, "You have been following me back from the market? Why? Were you spying on me?"


    Alan scoffed at that accusation from his sister, "Spying? No�� why would I spy on you?"


    Adeline raised her shoulders and asked sternly, "I don''t know, you tell me."


    "No, you got me all wrong sister. I was not spying on you. I just happened to be in the market at the same time as you. And I was worried about you so I began to follow you back to the Palace." Alan tried to clarify his intention behind following Adeline.


    Adeline creased her brows and glanced at Nigel, "Worried about me?" And she made an educated guess, "Does it have something to do with Edwin?"


    "Yes," Alan was finding it a little difficult to backbite about his own brother but he was afraid that if he didn''t tell her anything then several people could be in danger.


    So he thought of dropping the warning bit by bit, "I don''t know how much you saw in the market or how much you heard, but I guess that you at least noticed the tax officers and the Royal Guards out there?"


    Adeline nodded her head and kept her answer to minimum words, "Yes, I did see them."


    "And you also saw the commotion that was going on between them and the villagers?" Alan was stating the obvious, he already knew that she had seen the commotion.


    "Of course I did." Adeline was finding all his questions stupid, to be honest. The commotion was going on in the open street after all. Who could have missed that?


    "And were you going to tell father about that commotion?" Alan was probing into Adeline''s thought process.


    Adeline was already finding these all to be pointless questions but the more he questioned her, the more she was thinking that Alan was trying to pry some information out of her.


    But she answered him anyway, more or less, "I don''t know. I was too busy trying to reach to the training ground and I haven''t given much thought to the commotion and all."


    Alan took a deep breath in and continued, "I was worried that you would inform father about what you saw in the market, about that fighting and everything else that was going on. And I was afraid that if you did so, Edwin would take his anger out on you. He has become like a mad man."


    "Not surprising at all, what do you expect from a son of the mad woman?" Adeline wanted to retort to Alan but she didn''t want to be mean towards Alan when he also was a son of that same mad woman.


    Adeline pretended to not know anything about Edwin being the mastermind behind that extortion and oppression and asked, "Why would Edwin be angry if I informed father about the commotion?"


    Alan took a deep breath again and tried to make Adeline understand several things, "I don''t know if you were aware of this or not but father has handed over the task of looking after the tax collection to Edwin. And well, umm�� he has been hiking the taxes, he had asked the tax collectors to charge more tax to the villagers."


    Adeline already knew that but she tried her best to act as though this was the first time that she was hearing that information. "What? Why? Why would he do such a thing?"


    Alan shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He looked somewhat sad. And he replied in a low voice, "I don''t know why he does that. Maybe because he has already lost his path and his mind."


    Adeline didn''t know why Alan was telling all this to her. But he was giving away information for free, so she kept on listening to Alan.


    "And if you were to inform our father about the commotion, it would have led to an investigation from his order. And several mishaps could have happened. Edwin would either have tried to stop the investigation by hurting the soldiers, or by hurting the villagers and asking them to keep their mouths shut."


    Alan kept on explaining the probable outcomes, "If the investigation was carried out discreetly, and if Edwin was found to be guilty, he would have been severely punished by the King."


    "That would lead Edwin to carry out an investigation of his own. And if he were to find out that you were the one to give the information to the King, he would have tried to hurt you to get back at you." Alan kept his eyes low on the ground as though he was ashamed to call Edwin his brother.


    Adeline had not expected this at all. She had not yet told the King about what was going on in the village behind his back because she wanted to do so after gathering all the pieces of evidence.


    But here, Alan was basically telling her that Edwin had already turned into a murderous psychopath as his mother. This made her rethink her plan.. If Edwin was even remotely like his mother then things could go very wrong.

 Chapter 113 - Snuff Out The Fear

    Adeline still acted as though she had no knowledge about how Edwin really was as a person, and said, "But why would Edwin do such things like extorting people and getting back at people? I don''t want to believe that he is that cruel."


    Alan looked at his sister and felt sorry for her innocence. He could not blame her for her innocent thought about Edwin because her contact with the elder brothers and sisters was practically non-existent after they completed their training. Even though they all lived inside the same compound, inside the Palace walls, they would barely see each other as everyone was busy with their own things.


    He thought that she had no idea how everyone had become after completing their training. "I guess you haven''t met him in a while, so you might not know how much he has changed. He does not back away from doing anything."


    "I don''t know what took over him. I have to warn you sister, he has hurt a lot of people just because they spoke against him. And I don''t want you to be sharing the same fate as those poor souls." Alan was staring at Adeline with eyes full of care and worry towards her.


    And Adeline, even though she did not want to fully trust Alan''s intention behind giving her all this information, she felt as though Alan was really worried about her.


    He always had been the nice one, he would always try to come in between Edwin and Adeline whenever Edwin would try to hurt Adeline during their training days. And Adeline wanted to believe that Alan had not changed since then.


    "So you followed me to stop me from going to the King''s Court? And you don''t want me to report back to father that Edwin has been extorting the innocent villagers?" Adeline was puckering her lips and waiting for Alan''s answer.


    Alan nodded his head and said, "Yes. But don''t misunderstand me by thinking that I am asking that of you to protect my own brother from getting caught and punished by the King. I am asking you to not reveal that so that you wouldn''t invite that psychopath brother of mine to harm you."


    Adeline massaged the bridge of her nose because her head was starting to hurt listening to all the things that Alan told her. She already had Lillian in her life, who was enough to give her a constant headache. And now she had one more person to be cautious about.


    And she said in a frustrated voice, "I didn''t know that Edwin had turned out to be like that. Yes, he was rude to me sometimes but I just thought that it was because our father was biased towards me. I mean Margery and Muriel were always picking on me because our father loved me more than everyone else. I thought the deal was the same with Edwin as well."


    "But this, this I had not even imagined in my dreams. Why would any Prince or Princess want to extort their own citizens and degrade their own reputation in front of them? In the end, isn''t it our citizen''s safety and happiness that we all want? So why terrorize them ourselves?"


    Adeline was more than frustrated at Edwin. She had no idea what he was trying to achieve by doing all that illegal things, but what she knew was that Edwin was now a threat to the Kingdom''s peace. He was deliberately bringing chaos to that peaceful village so she thought that he was no less than an enemy of the Kingdom.


    "I don''t know what goes on inside that brain of his. Our Kingdom and our subject should be our priority but maybe some people just want to ruin everything that the others have taken years and years to build." It was clear that even Alan was frustrated because of his brother.


    "So, we should just leave him be and let him ruin what our father has built over the course of 3-4 decades? Won''t we be equally guilty if we just keep quiet and turn a blind eye on the ongoing crime?" Adeline didn''t like the idea of just letting Edwin keep on terrorizing the villagers fearing he might do something to her.


    But then again, it was not just herself whom she would be putting in danger, it was also the villagers who were already enduring Edwin''s atrocity.


    Alan shook his head and said, "I am not suggesting to let Edwin keep on carrying out his atrocity." He glanced at Adeline, whom he still thought of as a kid, and said, "I just don''t want you to be entangled in this matter. It is too dangerous for you."


    Alan obviously had no idea that Adeline was already used to more dangerous things than Edwin.


    He tried to clarify that he was not going to stay idle and keep on watching the monstrosity of his brother, "I have been trying to think of a way to stop Edwin from carrying out such devious deeds but as you can see I have been failing."


    Alan gave a sorrowful look to Adeline and shared that he was not turning a blind eye to Edwin''s actions. "First I tried talking with Edwin himself, I tried to make him reflect into his own actions and hoped that he would stop. But I was foolish to even think that."


    And he further revealed his true purpose behind going to the village, "And today, I went to the village to see for myself what the officers and guards were doing to the villagers. It was a tough sight to bear so I turned the villagers against those tax officers and guards. I don''t know if I did a good thing or made it even worse for the villagers, but at least those puppets of Edwin will be afraid to go to the village now."


    Adeline finally smiled at that brave act of Alan. She was really happy to know that it was Alan who had pushed the villagers to fight back. "You did a good thing brother. Fear is our worst enemy, it won''t allow us to take our stand against evil. But you managed to snuff out the fear from the heart of the villagers and gave them the courage to fight back.. So, I say that you did a good thing."

 Chapter 114 - Will You Allow?

    "Follow me, brother, I will show you to your room." Fenris led Nigel towards the guest quarter where he would be staying for the month.


    Fenris began to explain what Nigel was supposed to do after reaching to his quarter, "I will ask the maids to prepare a bath for you. You can take a shower first. And then I will have them serve some food to you. You can eat and rest for some time. And I will come to pick you up again at 3 in the afternoon."


    Nigel was surprised to know that his routine had already been fixed for the day. He took a deep breath in and nodded his head, "Okay, I think I should be happy that at least I am allowed to take a bath."


    Fenris chuckled at how Nigel was being so moody. He was being outspoken because of not even getting half a day of rest.


    And he further briefed Nigel about his training, "The King has already assigned a personal teacher for you who will be responsible for your overall growth. And you might also have some combined training sessions with Wulfric so that you two can duel with each other."


    Nigel was energized when he heard that he would also be dueling with Wulfric. He really wanted to gauge his strength against another werewolf to see where he stood and how much he had to improve to be on an equal level as his werewolf cousin.


    Nigel gave a genuine smile for the first time after arriving here at Aberdeen. "I am looking forward to the training then. I really want to grow stronger as a wolf."


    "So, I see that you have started calling yourself a wolf already huh!" Fenris gave a whimsical grin to Nigel.


    It was a fact that Nigel would be able to turn into a wolf so he didn''t see anything wrong in calling himself a wolf. Nigel half shrugged his shoulders and then said, "Well I have already accepted my fate as a werewolf, if that was what you were trying to point out. And I don''t need to hide it here�� I guess?"


    Nigel gave a questioning look to Fenris because he was not sure if the servants and maids and others knew about the werewolves. He didn''t want to put their lives in danger by unknowingly revealing the secret to those who shouldn''t know.


    Fenris gave a reassuring smile and said, "Oh, you don''t have to hide your true identity here. Everyone inside the Palace knows the secret. Which is why the maids and the servants are never allowed to leave the Palace."


    The maids and servants of Wyverndale were also not allowed to leave the Palace so it was not a piece of news to Nigel. But he wondered if the guards also knew the secret or not because their job would not let them be confined within the Palace walls. "What about the guards then? Do they also know, or they don''t?"


    "Yes, the guards know as well. They have vowed not to reveal the secret outside of the Palace. If they are found to be guilty of revealing the secret then they will be punished along with their families. So they don''t dare." Fenris replied very casually as this had all become normal to him.


    Nigel gave a mirthless smile and nodded his head. He remembered Adeline saying that the Siccaldi clan were ruthless when it came to protecting their secret, and that seemed to be accurate.


    "Sooo��" Fenris was itching to ask a question to Nigel from the moment he arrived at Aberdeen, and finally, he asked it, "How is Adeline?"


    Nigel pursed his lips and gave a corner-eyed look to Fenris. And he replied in a stern voice, "She is fine."


    And Fenris asked another question about Adeline with a huge grin on his face, "Did she ever say that she missed me? Or did she ever take my name?"


    Nigel exhaled sharply because he already knew where this conversation was heading. "Why would she miss you, Fenris? Stop dreaming about her already."


    Fenris narrowed his eye and spoke as though he was angry, "I can dream about whoever I want, you don''t have any right to restrict me from dreaming."


    "Then keep on dreaming. But don''t tell me that I didn''t warn you beforehand, Adeline is way out of your reach. She won''t be falling for a lady''s man like you." Nigel bluntly said it without even caring if his words hurt Fenris. Every word that he said was true so he didn''t regret saying them.


    Fenris pouted his lips and tried to garner sympathy from Nigel, "You could have just stopped after saying ''keep on dreaming'', you didn''t need to add other sentences and hurt me like this. Don''t you love your cousin?"


    "I love my cousin but only when he does not act like a complete arse. And I love my sister more than you so I am just looking out for her." Nigel smiled and kept on walking towards the guest quarter.


    If someone else had said that much to Fenris then he would have probably thrown a punch or two at that person. But no matter how much Nigel would insult him, he would still smile and tease Nigel and would keep on hanging around with him.


    The two of them finally arrived at the guest quarter which was separate and a little far away from the main quarters of the Palace.


    Fenris led Nigel inside the quarter and led him to one of the rooms. "Okay, this is where you sleep. As you will be staying with us for a month, the King has given this whole quarter for you to use during your stay here. So feel free to think of it as your own quarter and explore it."


    This was a tactic used by the King to make Nigel feel right at home so that he could persuade Nigel to stay here at Aberdeen later on.


    "Your guards will also be staying in this quarter along with our few other guards. And the maids will arrange your belongings how and where you would like. They will always be around so you can ask them if you need anything. But first, I will ask them to prepare a bath."


    Fenris called the maids and gave out the order to them to prepare the bath and also to prepare food.


    After they went away, Fenris asked another question related to Adeline, "What if I say that I am willing to change myself and be better for Adeline? Will you allow me to court your sister? And eventually, get married to her?"

 Chapter 115 - Soft Bed

    Nigel folded his arms and kept on staring at the hopeless romantic in front of him. And then he finally asked, "You realize that that is not my decision to make, right? You cannot court Adeline and hope to get married to her just because I allow it. It has to be Adeline''s own decision."


    Up until now, Fenris was laughing and joking around. But right now, he looked very serious. "Yes, I know that. What I meant by that was that Adeline really loves and respects you. So if you put in good words about me then she might at least consider me as her suitable suitor."


    Nigel didn''t know what to say in response. Normally he would respond to these kinds of request from Fenris by giving insults to him. But at the moment, he saw some change in Fenris. Maybe it was because of how serious he looked or maybe he really liked Adeline after all.


    Nigel would have loved to slam the door on Fenris''s face but he didn''t want to be too rude to his cousin. So he finally said, "Alright, if you really like her that much then I will try to bring it up to Adeline. But I will consider it only if you behave properly. It is totally up to her if she accepts your proposal or not. If she says no, then stop pestering her."


    "Thank you so much brother!" Fenris hugged Nigel tightly. He was feeling over the moon as if it was Adeline who had agreed to consider his proposal.


    "Okay, leave me alone for now. Come to pick me up later. I want to lie down for a while." Nigel broke off from the hug and walked towards the large bed in the middle of the room.


    Fenris smiled brightly and shouted as he left, "Thank you for your blessings, brother."


    And Nigel shouted back in a voice that was loud enough to be heard outside of the room, "I have not given you any kind of blessings. Don''t over exaggerate my words." Nigel could not help but yell at that fool of a brother of his.


    And without even taking off his shoes, he literally jumped on the bouncy bed and lay down flat. And he moaned because of the comfort, "Ahhhhh! The bed is really soft and large."


    He bounced his back on the soft mattress and compared it with the small and stiff bed at the inn, "Yes, I definitely cannot live like a commoner even for a day. The soft beds at the Palace simply won''t allow me to do that. I love soft and huge beds." And then he started to roll over like a small kid.


    His fun was interrupted by a knock on the door. A maid spoke in a soft voice, "Your Highness, your bath is ready. Will you please follow me? I will show you to the bath house."


    "Okay." Nigel got up from the bed very reluctantly and followed the maid.


    The maid showed the Prince to the bath house and left him.


    The maids had prepared a lukewarm herbal water for his bath. And they had also set aside a cloth that looked like a training uniform. Nigel glanced at the uniform and shook his head, "Not again! Why do I have to wear the uniforms even at my age? I already wore it for most of my life. Boring!"


    After complaining about the dress, he took off his Royal attire and then got inside the bathtub. "Nice! At least the water is really soothing."


    Nigel enjoyed his bath for quite some time and then got out of the water. He changed into his boring uniform and returned back to his room. When he got inside the room, hot food was already waiting for him. He was able to smell the delicious aroma from afar. He had not had ''proper'' food since yesterday so he immediately sat down and began to enjoy the divine food.


    He finished everything that was on the table in no time. And then he went to a corner of the room where a comfortable chair was kept, and sat down happily. After the long, boring, and tedious journey, even the normal things like bed, bath, and food were making him feel really content.


    Nigel was staring at the beautiful scenery that was visible from his window. He could see the Palace''s rain forest close enough.


    Till now, he thought that he had failed to understand the true purpose of the rain forest around the Palace. It was not there just for the decoration. It was there to keep the Palace and its secrets hidden from the outer world. And he also guessed that it would be where his training would take place.


    As his stomach was full and as he was sitting comfortably, he fell asleep on the chair in no time. Though he didn''t feel tired from the journey, he had not gotten enough sleep the last night, which also made him fall asleep at this hour in the day.


    But he did not get to sleep even for 15 minutes. Fenris came to his room and shouted to wake him up, "Nigel, are you sleeping?"


    Nigel hummed and kept on sleeping as though he had an off day.


    Fenris shook Nigel by his shoulder and yelled again, "Wake up! Wake up! You have a training to attend to. You cannot slack off like this. Come on, open your eyes already!"


    Nigel flung his eyes open and then glared at Fenris. "Do you have to be so annoying all the time? I am already awake so stop shouting. In fact I was not even sleeping, I was just deep in my thoughts."


    Fenris face-palmed himself and laughed very loudly. "Whatever you want to call it, brother�� sleeping, thinking, blinking, whatever�� Now let''s go."


    "Let''s go." Nigel got up from the cozy chair and stretched his body while yawning. He rubbed his eyes and then began to follow Fenris.


    As he had suspected earlier, Fenris was leading him closer and closer to the rain forest. After walking for about 20 minutes, they finally reached to the training ground. It was made in the middle of the rain forest by clearing some trees and bushes. This training ground was way too smaller than that of Wyverndale.. But then again, the King of Aberdeen didn''t have two dozen children to give training to.

 Chapter 116 - Try Not To Fall

    "I will leave you here then. I hope that you have memorized the path so that you can return back to your quarter on your own. Or do you need me to come back later to get you?" Fenris had other things to attend to so he did not have time to wait for his brother while he trained.


    "No, I can return back on my own." Nigel had already memorized the path so he didn''t want to keep on bothering his cousin. But even if he forgot it, he was pretty sure that he could track down his quarter by smelling the scent of his belongings.


    "Okay, see you at the dinner then. The King has invited us to have dinner together so that he can officially welcome you to Aberdeen. The maids will help you out so, see you tonight." Fenris looked very happy while saying that because it was not so common for the Royal family to have dinner together even though they lived within the same walls. So Fenris was eagerly looking forward to the dinner.


    Nigel was also happy with that dinner invitation as this was a rare opportunity for him as well. "See you later then. I hope I can meet everyone at the dinner."


    Fenris nodded his head and said, "You will meet everyone." Then he gave thumbs up to Nigel and wished him luck, "I hope that you will turn out to be a great wolf. Do well, brother. And try not to fall." Fenris gave a wink to his brother and ran off.


    Nigel nervously clasped his hands together as he waited for his personal teacher to arrive to the training spot. He recalled the last sentence that his brother said to him and whispered to himself, "What did he mean by try not to fall? Is the first exercise something that has to do with standing�� like standing on one leg or standing on a plank or something like that?"


    Nigel got even more nervous thinking about his training. He began to take quick breaths in and tried to calm his nerves.


    Suddenly, a strong smell entered his nose and he looked around in search of his teacher. The scent was from another werewolf and he believed that it must be his teacher''s scent as the smell was getting stronger and stronger, meaning that werewolf was coming closer to him.


    Nigel saw a woman walking towards him from the direction of the Palace. And as that woman came closer and closer to him, he deciphered the meaning behind Fenris''s last sentence, ''Try not to fall''.


    But Nigel already felt a warm but fuzzy feeling building up in his heart. "Did he mean try not to fall for her?" Nigel thought to himself as that woman was approaching him. He did not realize it but his jaw was wide open and his eyes were fixated on that walking beauty.


    "Who is she? And how can someone look so�� so beautiful as though she is an angel sent from heaven?" Nigel could not take his eyes off of that woman.


    She was wearing a skin tight uniform which accentuated her body figure. Nigel darted his eyes at the perfectly curved shape of her body, a little smaller on the upper part while voluptuous at the bottom. As she came close enough for his sharp eyes to get a good look at her face, he was even more spellbound.


    She had a perfectly tanned skin, bouncy and curly black hair, and flawlessly shaped lips with a prominent cupid''s bow. And her eyes, he could not even describe her dreamy eyes. She had two different colored eyes, one was blue while the other was light brown. But heavens�� did they look enchanting? Yes, definitely yes.


    She was already standing in front of Nigel but he was just�� lost. He was lost in the depths of her beauty.


    She cleared her throat to get the attention of Nigel and asked, "I am sorry to ask this, but are you Prince Nigel?"


    Nigel managed to nod his head while gawking at her face.


    She smiled and then formally introduced herself, "I am Rhea. And I will be your personal trainer from today onwards."


    Before he even realized, Nigel raised his hand for a handshake with Rhea and said, "It''s nice to meet you Rhea. I hope you will teach me everything."


    Rhea reluctantly shook his hand and replied, "I will try to teach you everything that I know." She pulled her hand away and spoke in somewhat stern voice, "Let''s start today''s session then, shall we?"


    "Yes, of course." Nigel gave a wide grin to Rhea and nodded like a hopeless fool.


    Rhea walked a little further away from Nigel and then stood near a tree. And she began the first lesson, "As you are a newly turned werewolf, I am sure that you aren''t that well aware about the werewolves. So today, I will give you some basic general knowledge about the werewolves, our clan, the rules that everyone of us must follow, what we are allowed to do and what we aren''t allowed, and things like that.


    Nigel was trying his best to divert his attention from Rhea and focus on what she was saying.


    "The Siccaldi clan is a special clan which inherited the werewolf curse a long time ago. Even though it was given as a curse to us, we managed to turn ourselves into the apex predator and remain at the top of the food chain as well as maintain a high status among other humans."


    "However, the members of the Siccaldi clan being the werewolves is kept as a secret from the rest of the world. We have managed to stay hidden from the eyes of the others for hundreds of years and we plan to do so in the future as well. We do not want to show ourselves as a threat to the other normal humans and we also do not want the others to become a threat to us just because we are different than them."


    "There are several rules put in place by the clan to protect our secret from the others and to maintain discipline among ourselves. The first and foremost rule, which you might have already guessed, is that you are not allowed to reveal your secret to anyone who are not from the clan. You are to report to the elders of the clan if you find someone breaking that rule."


    Nigel''s heartbeat increased a bit because he realized that both he and Fenris had already broken the very first rule of the clan.

 Chapter 117 - Rules

    Nigel was trying hard not to show it in his face that he had already broken a rule of the clan. Adeline had already told him some gruesome details of what the clan did to keep their secret safe. And as Adeline was an outsider who knew the secret of the clan, he didn''t want to give himself away and put his sister in danger.


    Though Nigel was not showing any nervousness on his face, Rhea''s sharp ears were able to pick up the sudden escalation in Nigel''s heartbeat. But she assumed that it was because he was smitten by her, it happened most of the time when she would talk to men. So she carried on explaining the other rules to the Prince without thinking much of his escalating heartbeat.


    "Another rule that every werewolf of the Siccaldi clan must follow is that they should follow their alpha''s orders. Right now, King Conall is the alpha and all of us must follow him and his words. His words are absolute and binding. If you ever try to defy him, you will be taken down by him."


    Nigel widened his eyes when Rhea stated that rule. He instantly asked a question because he wanted some clarification, "What do you mean by ''you will be taken down by him''?"


    Until now, he was very oblivious to what was going on in the Aberdeen Palace. He had believed that everyone in the Palace, his maternal uncle and aunt, his grandmother, and his cousins were very much normal. And he had a perception that they all were very kind and soft-spoken like his mother.


    But now that he knew that most of it was just a fa?ade and that the werewolves were very authoritarian and had a bad temper, he did not take those words from Rhea as some light statement. He felt that her every normal-sounding sentences were a warning with a hidden meaning behind them. And he asked something that he feared, "Will I get killed if I don''t do what he says?"


    For some reason, Rhea burst out into laughter when Nigel asked that question. If Nigel was not tensed up right now about possibly getting killed by his uncle for not following his orders then he would have been smiling like a fool seeing that beautiful lady laughing like that. But instead, he was wiping the sweat beads forming on his forehead.


    After getting a good laugh, Rhea finally looked at Nigel and said, "Your Highness, what makes you think that you will be killed by your own maternal uncle for not following his orders? What I meant by that was that you will be given certain pre-determined punishments by the clan. And�� in some rare cases, the alpha will challenge you for a duel to crush down your ego. But that is too rare."


    Nigel let out a quiet sigh of relief. He was more than happy to know that he would not be killed instantly if he somehow managed to piss off his uncle.


    "Shall I continue with the rules, Your Highness?" Rhea asked Nigel whose mind was wandering off somewhere.


    Nigel''s attention was now back to his teacher. "Yes, please continue. I fear that if I miss out on any rules then I will end up bringing trouble for myself. So make sure that you tell me every rule."


    Rhea chuckled again and then continued explaining the rules, "And another rule is that you are to treat the clan as your family. You are to respect all the clan members and if they need your help with something, you are to provide them, given that your help does not break any other rules. For example, you are not allowed to cooperate with a member of the clan to cover up their own mistakes."


    Nigel really wanted to ask Fenris if he had revealed it to the clan that Adeline knew about their secret. From what the teacher was explaining to him, he felt as though Fenris might have already revealed it to the clan. He just hoped that Fenris''s attraction towards his sister had stopped him from ratting him and Adeline out.


    Rhea explained few other rules to Nigel. And after that, she told him the most important thing that he needed to know, "And finally, as you are a new turner, you will be kept in the Palace''s dungeon during the full moon."


    Before Rhea could elaborate, Nigel exclaimed in shock, "I will be kept in the dungeon? Do you mean I will be a prisoner during every full moon? But why?"


    "I am explaining it to you, Prince Nigel. Have some patience." Rhea said a bit sternly because she didn''t like being interrupted when she was speaking. But Nigel was doing that every now and then. If he was not a Prince of another Kingdom then he would have already gotten a punch or two.


    "I''m sorry. Please carry on." Nigel gave an innocent grin to his teacher.


    "We were cursed to walk on the earth as a wolf on the night of the full moon. So full moons are still a curse to us. Our animal instinct tends to win over our human sanity during those particular nights." Rhea was speaking in a grim tone, increasing the intensity of the spookiness of the already spooky tale.


    "And new turners tend to seek their prey out of instinct. They won''t be able to make a distinction between other animals and humans. All they know is that their prey is in front of them and they want to pounce on those prey. Of course, we can take control of our animal instinct over time, but it takes a lot of practice and self-dedication."


    Rhea started to walk back and forth as she further explained why Nigel would be locked up. "So, to make sure that the new turners don''t go looking for their prey and end up tearing off humans, we lock them up in the dungeon during the full moon. We don''t want the new turners to turn into the Ravagers."


    Nigel interrupted the teacher again because he was just too curious to keep his mouth shut, "What are Ravagers?" Though he already had some idea about what they were, Wulfric had told him a story about a Virgin Turner who was stuck in his wolf form because he had eaten human flesh.


    Rhea gave up being angry every time Nigel would interrupt him. And she answered him, "Ravagers are the ones who get stuck in their wolf form because they ate the human flesh. Human flesh is the one thing that is like poison to us werewolves. And Ravagers are the most dangerous types of werewolves."


    Rhea skipped out a piece of information that the Ravagers would be hunted down and killed by the clan. But Wulfric had already enlightened Nigel about it.


    Nigel asked yet another question again, "I will be here in Aberdeen just for a month so, what if I won''t be able to learn to suppress my animal instinct by then? Does that mean I will have to lock myself up somewhere when I return back to my own Palace?"


    "I will assess your progress and we will think about what to do later." Rhea gave a mirthless smile to Nigel.


    Rhea already knew that the King and the clan wouldn''t let Nigel return back to Wyverndale. It was just too dangerous to let a werewolf live in another Kingdom. But she did not have the heart to break that news to Nigel yet, she didn''t want to scare him off on the very first day of his arrival. All she could hope was for Nigel to understand that on his own and stay here in Aberdeen for the rest of his life.

 Chapter 118 - Lets Tie You Up

    It was already 2 in the afternoon. Adeline and Alan talked with each other for about an hour. Alan warned Adeline about Edwin and then left to do his own tasks that were assigned to him by the King.


    There were still 3 hours left in her personal training session with General Osmond. She had not informed the General saying that she wouldn''t be attending the training today, so even though an hour had already passed, she suspected that the General would still be waiting for her in the training ground.


    So after Alan left, she rushed towards the training ground while feeling apologetic towards the General for having made him wait for her.


    And as she had suspected, the General was patiently waiting for Adeline to come to the ground.


    Adeline shouted from the gate itself while running towards her teacher, "I am so sorry teacher. I had some unplanned meeting with Prince Alan and I could not even inform you that I would be late. Sorry to have kept you waiting."


    The General was not angry at all for making him wait. She was a Princess after all so, these kinds of unplanned meetings were expected to happen every once in a while. He smiled at the Princess who was standing in front of him by now and said, "You don''t have to say sorry to me Princess. I can understand."


    "Thank you, teacher. You are the best." Adeline grinned like a baby.


    The General also smiled at the Princess. He couldn''t help but look at the Princess like she was his own daughter. And when she would smile like that, he would sometimes miss his own daughter. He would wonder how his own daughter would have looked like if she was the age of the Princess. But he would never know that.


    The General got out of his thoughts and asked the Princess, "Okay, are you ready for today''s session then?"


    "Yes, I''m always ready for a session with you," Adeline replied enthusiastically.


    General Osmond nodded his head and briefed what he would be teaching to the Princess today, "Good. I have always taught you to play offensive in any kind of fight because of your unmatchable strength. But today, I have decided to teach you how to be defensive in a duel."


    He recalled all the incidents that Adeline had shared with him about how she had faced some dangerous beings of hell. "Recently, you have been telling me that you''ve encountered mystical beings that have far greater strength than you."


    And he also guessed what Adeline would be facing in the upcoming test from what she had shared with him a few days earlier. She had told him everything that the King had told her about the test. "And I have guessed that in the test of worthiness, you probably will be facing someone who might be far too powerful than you. So today, I will teach you how to deflect any kinds of attacks that I throw at you."


    This was going to be a difficult training session for Adeline. She had been taught to go for the offensive for almost 15 years. Her mind and body had already been habituated to attacking first and taking out the opponent. But now, she was going to learn how not to attack. And not just that, she was going to learn how to win a duel by simply defending herself.


    The two teacher-student duos went to the dueling platform and took their stance.


    General Osmond reminded Adeline again, "For now, just try to avoid whatever attacks I throw at you. Restrain yourself from fighting back or attacking me first. Okay?"


    "Avoid every attack. Okay, I can do that," Adeline repeated the words of her teacher, not because she was sure that she would be able to do it but because she wanted to remind it to herself what she was supposed to do.


    "Here I come," the General gave a final warning and then charged at Adeline. He started by throwing a single fist at her.


    But as soon as he threw a fist, Adeline instinctively blocked the fist and threw two punches at the General. And she realized that she was not supposed to throw any attacks so she quickly took a step back and apologized, "I''m sorry. Can we try this again?"


    "Sure." The General gestured Adeline to return back to her place and he took a few steps back so as to give Adeline some time to consciously think and stop the coming attack, just stop it or avoid it completely.


    "Okay, here I come again. Just block or avoid." After warning Adeline again, this time the General threw a double punch at Adeline but needless to say, he was beaten up again.


    Adeline did not even say sorry this time. She just puckered her lips and stood there quietly, disappointed at herself.


    The General knew how easily Adeline would start to get demotivated. So he came with an idea. "I will be right back." The General left Adeline there on the platform and went to the mini armory that was inside the training ground.


    He returned back after some time. He was carrying a rope in his hand. And he said to the Princess, "Let''s try this again by tying your hands behind your back. Your hands have muscle memory, they''ve already been trained to fight back so they move on their own even when you are thinking of not attacking me. With your hands tied, I think the problem will be solved."


    Adeline hoped that it would work. She put her hands behind and let the General tie both of her hands. The General had brought the strongest rope so that it wouldn''t break from the sheer strength of the Princess. And he also made sure that he had tied the knot strongly so that she wouldn''t be able to break free even if she tried.


    Osmond took his position again and asked, "Are you ready?"


    "Yes," Adeline replied.


    And this time, the General charged forward and threw a kick at Adeline''s head.


    Adeline managed to duck to the side just when the Kick was about to hit her on her face. And she got back to her position. But what she had not expected was to get kicked immediately after. The General quickly turned on his heel and threw another kick aiming for Adeline''s arm, and he hit her very hard.


    Adeline took a few steps forward as she was about to stumble from the force. By the time she managed to hold her ground, Osmond had already approached her with a series of punches. And she got hit on her stomach several times.


    Osmond stopped attacking her and asked, "Do you need to take a break? You haven''t been able to dodge my attacks."


    "No, I am not hurt so we can keep on going. I will get used to this soon enough." Adeline replied with enthusiasm.


    "That''s the spirit. Here I come then.." And General Osmond continued with his attacks.

 Chapter 119 - Fetch That Succubus

    Theodore just had a meeting with two of his followers �C the Chimera and the Dire Wolf. They reported Theodore about everything that they saw and heard while they were in the Palace.


    "So, that witch was going for the King this time��" Theodore massaged his chin while thinking about the possible reasons for Lillian to attack the King and the benefits that she would get if the King was to die.


    He also thought about how it would affect Adeline if the King was to die. Adeline would not only lose her only remaining parent, but she would also lose her power as a Princess, and either she would have to flee from the Kingdom or she would have to serve under that same witch that she despised.


    Theodore abruptly got up from his seat. And he murmured to himself while pacing back and forth in the meeting room, "This is bad. I cannot overlook that witch''s action any longer. The more I stay quiet, the more danger the King falls into. He is already old, and if a succubus is sucking out his life force then leaving him be for even one night might lead him to his death."


    Theodore turned to look at his followers and asked, "Can you recognize that succubus if you see her again?"


    And the Chimera replied confidently, "Yes, master. I saw her face closely so I can recognize her again if I see her."


    "Good," Theodore nodded his head and ordered, "Let''s go to Hell then. We are finding that seductress and ripping her seductive qualities off of her."


    The Chimera stood up from his seat and then went and stood beside Theodore. Theodore touched that Chimera''s shoulder and then both of them teleported to Hell.


    Theodore teleported both of them to the Gambling House of Hell because that location was always at the back of his mind as that was where he would come to almost every day. That was the only place in Hell where he could get a fill of his daily diet of aura of revenge emitted by different kinds of beings.


    Theodore was thinking of going straight to find that succubus but when he stepped his foot inside of the Gambling House, he just could not avoid all the sweet aroma that was lingering around, waiting for him to take them all in and make them a part of his power.


    Theodore took a deep breath in and then moaned because of the pleasant smell. "Let me quickly gather them all��" he uttered under his breath and raised both of his arms with such a smooth movement that it almost looked as though he was inviting the love of his life for a dance.


    He spread his palm and began to absorb all those sweet sweet aurae that were hovering all over the Gambling House. His eyes glowed blood red and for a brief second, a shadow in the shape of horns appeared on Theodore''s head.


    Theodore absorbed those aurae in a matter of a few seconds and immediately after, his body felt rejuvenated. The more he would absorb the aura of revenge, the more strong and powerful the Devil Prince would become.


    Just a moment ago, the Gambling House was in chaos. Mystical beings and spirits and souls of dead humans were fighting with each other, shouting and yelling, smashing things here and there, and whatnot. However, as soon as Theodore absorbed those looming auras, the whole place fell quiet and everyone was calming down.


    If Theodore didn''t have an urgent matter to attend to, he would have riled everyone up even more and provoked them to go against each other. And when the chaos would reach its peak, then only he would have absorbed that aura full of hatred and revenge. But today, he satisfied himself with what was already there naturally.


    Theodore and his Chimera got out of the gambling house. The Devil Prince prepared to head towards another area which was the home to all succubi, the land of the Enchantress of Hell.


    Before this, Theodore had never been to that land because he hated being touched, and it was impossible not to get touched here and there when one would walk through that land of the Enchantress. The countless succubi would try to get their hands on every man that came to their land.


    Theodore touched his follower''s shoulder again and teleported both of them to an area that was close to the land of the Enchantress. After arriving there, Theodore had thought that he would go inside the succubus settlement and would ask the Chimera to identify that succubus that he had seen in the Palace.


    But imagining their hands and tails running all over his body made him feel goosebumps all over his body. Even the imagination was very repulsive for him. So he looked at the Chimera through the corner of his eyes and smirked. He was thankful that he had brought a scapegoat along with him.


    Theodore snapped his fingers and an armchair appeared in front of him. He sat on the chair and got comfortable. Then he ordered to that Chimera, "Go inside and bring that succubus along with you. I will be waiting here."


    "M-Master��" The Chimera looked at Theodore with eyes that said ''how could you do this to me?'' But he didn''t dare say anything more. He slightly bowed his head to his master and said, "I will be back as soon as I find her." And then he exhaled sharply before leaving for the succubi''s settlement.


    Just like Theodore, the Chimera also didn''t like being touched by the filthy hands of those succubi. So he used the name and reputation of his master in front of the Queen of the succubus and made her present the succubus who had traveled to Earth recently.


    "Master, this is the same succubus who I saw yesterday." The Chimera presented that succubus to his master.


    The succubus was told by her Queen that she was called by a Devil Prince of Hell. But when she saw the man sitting leisurely on a chair, with far less aura surrounding him than what she had expected from a Prince, she chuckled and taunted Theodore, "What is that? Can that even be called an aura? I have a stronger aura than you, so how dare you trick our Queen into sending me here?"


    Theodore got up from his comfortable chair and then snapped his fingers again to make it vanish into thin air. Then he glared at the succubus and without even saying a word, he released his enormous demonic aura to display his full power.


    The creatures of hell could easily see each other''s aura that would surround them. And when that succubus saw Theodore''s aura that was large enough to swallow their whole settlement, she dropped down on her knees and began to beg for the Devil Prince''s mercy. "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I am sorry to have offended you. Please don''t kill me."


    Of course, she didn''t know that he had toned down his massive aura and had hidden it from everyone''s eyes. And of course, she was right to fear for her life because Theodore could do that in a split-second if he wanted to.

 Chapter 120 - Have Mercy

    Theodore smirked at the succubus who was begging for his mercy and said in a devilish tone, "Don''t be afraid dear, I won''t kill you. But if you don''t do as I say, then I just might make everyone forget you by making you disappear from the face of Hell."


    The succubus didn''t want to disappear from existence. She wanted to live for as long as she could. That was the sole reason why she went to Earth in the first place. And now that the Devil Prince was threatening to wipe her whole existence, she began to wail like a little baby whose toy was snatched away from them.


    She joined her hands together and pleaded to the Devil Prince while crying her eyes out, "I will do anything that you ask, Your Highness. But please, don''t kill me."


    Theodore gave a sinister smile because he had her right where he wanted to. He massaged his knuckles with his long fingers as though he was subtly threatening that succubus, that he could use his magic to kill her at any moment if she gave him any wrong answer.


    And he asked, "You absorbed the life force of a King back on Earth, right?"


    The succubus didn''t know why the Devil Prince looked concerned about some King of Earth. But she nodded her head and managed to reply while sniffling, "Yes, I did."


    "And you were summoned by a witch called Lillian?" Theodore asked with a little hint of hatred when he took her name.


    The succubus''s heartbeat started to escalate because she felt as though the Devil Prince knew each and every detail about her whole life. "Yes, I was summoned by her," the succubus nodded her head and kept on staring down at the ground, few drops of tears quietly running down her cheeks.


    Theodore folded his hands and spoke authoritatively, "I want you to stop answering that summoning call. And I also want you to warn all your other friends not to answer any summoning calls from her."


    Theodore cracked his neck and then glared at the succubus with his flaming red eyes. Even with the beautiful face of his, right now, he looked like the embodiment of pure evil. The aura around him grew darker and darker with every passing moment.


    And he growled in a deep and threatening voice, "If I find out that any of you have answered to the summoning spell then I will burn down your whole settlement to a crisp."


    This threat made the succubus to fall backward on the ground because she was in a life-threatening situation here. "Forgive me, Your Highness. Bu-but I cannot stop myself from answering the summoning calls even if I wanted to, trust me I wanted to stop going there even before you asked me. That King is way too powerful for me to deceive, and he ended up hurting me yesterday."


    The Devil Prince took a step forward and snarled at that frightened succubus, "Then why can''t you stop from going there?" Theodore was about to lose his patience.


    The succubus shuddered when Theodore yelled at her. She was feeling as though any moment could be her last. And she blurted out in fear, "Because I have made a blood pact with that witch. I will be pulled to Earth even if I don''t want to."


    Theodore crackled his knuckles and exhaled sharply. "And you had to make a blood pact..."


    Theodore was now seriously considering killing that succubus and making an example out of her. If he killed her, then Lillian''s blood pact would be useless, and the other succubi would also be afraid to answer any of the summoning calls from now on.


    He ran his fingers through his long dark hair and hummed for a while. He began to pace back and forth in front of that succubus, making her even more scared for her life. And he stopped in front of her and spoke calmly, but his words were very intimidating, "What should I do to you then? Should I just kill you?"


    The succubus began to sob again and begged, "Please forgive me, Your Highness."


    But he snappishly shouted, "You have done something unforgivable! How dare you still plead for my mercy?"


    If it was Adeline''s tears then Theodore would have done anything and everything to make her stop crying. He would have even been ready to fight the God if she had asked him to. But this succubus''s tears were having no effect whatsoever on Theodore. She was just another disposable creature for him.


    The succubus bowed very low, her head almost touching the dirt, and she begged again, "Your Highness, I am sure there is another way. If you don''t want me to touch that King then I won''t touch him even though that witch summons me there."


    "Can you do that?" Theodore narrowed his eyes and kept on glaring at her.


    The succubus dared to look at the Devil Prince with confidence and replied, "Of course, Your Highness. That witch cannot keep an eye on me because of the guards in front of that King''s door. So I can just pretend to do her bidding. If she points out that the King has not gotten any weaker then I can say that the King is too strong and it will take more time to suck his life out."


    Theodore thought that even if he would eliminate that succubus, and would restrict the others from answering the summoning spell, Lillian would most probably find another wicked solution to kill the King. So if that succubus could make her believe that whatever she was doing was working, then Lillian wouldn''t do something else which he would have to find out again.


    "Hmm�� if you can fool that witch then it is even better. If you are useful to me then I might not have to kill you after all." Theodore gave a devilish grin to that succubus. "Get up, you have been forgiven."


    The succubus cried tears of joy and relief when she heard that the Devil Prince had forgiven her. She wasn''t going to die! That is if she was able to keep on fooling Lillian. "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. Thank you!" She bowed again to Theodore and kept on shedding her tears.


    "Alright, I will leave you for now. But don''t think that you can do whatever you want after I leave. Remember that I will be keeping an eye on you." Theodore gave his final warning to that succubus.


    He glanced at the Chimera and then gestured to him that they were returning back to Earth.

 Chapter 121 - Go Where?

    In the Palace of Wyverndale, it was already everyone''s bedtime. Hawisa and Osanna had already bid goodnight to the Princess and had already ended their duty for today.


    Adeline was lying flat on her soft bed, spreading her legs and hands wide apart. Though she was lying down on her soft bed, she looked very stiff and tired.


    Today''s training was very tough for her. She had to dodge the attacks from the General while her hands were tied behind her back. And as she was not habituated to dodging the attacks before, a lot of punches and kicks had landed on her stomach, arms, thighs, and some had even managed to graze her tender face.


    Her body was stronger than a normal person''s but she would feel pain nonetheless, just like everyone else. The only difference was that she could take way too many direct hits than the others. And today, she had taken countless hits from her teacher.


    Hawisa had put some ointment on the places where the Princess was hurt. And Osanna had prepared a special herbal tonic for the Princess to boost her immunity and rejuvenate her stamina. So, Adeline hoped that the pain would go away when she would wake up tomorrow.


    Adeline closed her eyes to get a goodnight''s sleep, completely forgetting that Theodore had already made it a tradition to take her to his cave every night.


    A gust of mist swirled beside Adeline''s bed and Theodore appeared out of thin air. His eyes fell on the Princess who was sleeping very un-lady-like. Her hair was spread out all over the pillow, her hands and legs were spread out in a way that made her look as though she had fallen from a cliff and had landed there on the bed.


    At first glance, Theodore could not help but chuckle at that state of the Princess. But then his eyes fell on the tiny bruise that she had on her cheekbone. He walked closer and leaned over the Princess to inspect her bruise closely.


    "How does she have a bruise on her face?" Theodore narrowed his eyes and thought to himself. His eyes trailed to other parts of her body to check if there were any more bruises and wounds.


    And to his surprise, there were few other bruises that had turned light bluish in color. "Did someone�� do something to her? Did she got beaten up by someone? But then why didn''t I feel her pain?"


    Theodore was now very worried as well as angry. He was angry at whoever did this to his precious human and was worried that maybe their bond was somehow getting weaker. "I should have at least felt something when she was hurt so much."


    He did not realize it but he was softly caressing her bruised cheekbone while intently looking at the Princess sleeping peacefully as though nothing had happened to her.


    Adeline felt something tickling her face so she slowly fluttered her eyes open. In her half-asleep state, she saw something looming over her face so she gasped. And in an attempt to get away from that ''thing'', she abruptly sat up causing her to bump her head on Theodore''s.


    "Ahhhh!" Adeline held her head and then winced in pain.


    "I''m so sorry to have startled you. Are you alright?" Theodore asked with a concerned voice.


    Adeline let out a sigh of relief and glanced at Theodore, "Theo! It''s you!"


    "Yes, it''s me," Theodore sat on the bed beside Adeline and removed her hand which she was using to rub her forehead. Then he gently brushed his lips against her forehead and apologized again, "Sorry, Princess."


    Adeline felt her heart warming up. She whispered in her soft voice, "It''s alright." She smiled at Theodore and then tried to remind him that she was not a fragile doll, "I am used to all these bumping and beatings."


    "Right," Theodore caressed her bruise on her cheekbone again and asked, "How did you get these bruises? Did someone do some -"


    But Adeline immediately interjected him so that he wouldn''t think that someone had beat her up with bad intention, "No, I got these from today''s training. General Osmond was trying to teach me to defend myself but I couldn''t quite catch it so I got a few punches here and there."


    But still, Theodore was angry at Osmond for bruising Adeline''s delicate body. He clenched his fist furiously and yelled, "Osmond did this to you? I think I should teach him how to treat young ladies."


    He was about to get out of the bed in fury but Adeline laughed and then pulled him back on the bed, "Relax, Theo. He was just teaching me to protect myself from my stronger opponents. The more I get beaten up by him here, the less I get beaten up or pinned down by other dangerous creatures."


    When Adeline put it like that, Theodore''s anger cooled down a bit. "If it''s like that then I won''t do anything to him. But if I keep on seeing such bruises on you for long then I will end up doing something to him."


    Adeline put her arms around Theodore and rested her head on his broad shoulder. Then she reassured him, "He won''t. I am a quick learner so I should be able to dodge his every attack within a few days."


    She lifted her head to look at Theodore and said, "Now, let''s go." She gave a very beautiful smile to him which almost melted his heart.


    And because of that smile, he couldn''t quite relate to where she was asking to go. He creased his brows and asked, "Go where?"


    Adeline thought that he was just pulling her leg so she gave a little frown and whispered, "Where else? To your room."


    "Oh!" Theodore was completely taken aback by the fact that he was the one who had forgotten about their little ritual. And he felt happy by the fact that she was the one who was actively asking him to take her to his room.


    Theodore''s seductive lips curved upwards to form a smile. He kept on staring at Adeline''s expectant eyes and kept on giving that appealing smile.


    "Why are you smiling like that?" Adeline shifted her hair behind her ears and gave a puppy-eye look to Theodore.


    Theodore took a deep breath in and kept on staring at the woman whom he loved. When she would shift her hair behind her ears like that, he would feel something inside his chest.


    And when she would tilt her head a little to the side, showing off her tender neck, he would get this urge to pin her down and kiss the hollow of her neck until she would moan for more.

 Chapter 122 - Delving Deeper

    Theodore took a deep breath again and spoke in his husky and deep voice, "Let''s just say that I am happy to see the positive change in you."


    He lifted his hand slowly and then ran his fingers around on her cheek, and slowly moved down to her neck. A soft moan escaped Adeline''s lips and she tilted her head to stop him from tickling her.


    Theodore shifted a little closer to Adeline so that his face was right in front of hers, and he continued speaking in his enticing voice, "You were protesting a few days ago when I said that you would be sleeping with me every night. But now, look at you, you are the one who is eager to come to my room."


    As Theodore was right in front of her, Adeline could feel his hot breath invading her personal space ruthlessly. With his enchanting voice, and his warm breath caressing her, Adeline could hardly control her boiling feelings.


    But still, she tried to defend herself because she didn''t want to give the wrong impression to Theodore, "Hey, don''t twist my words like that. I am already tired and sleepy, that was why I was asking you to take me there faster so that I could sleep."


    Theodore leaned down even more and then lightly brushed his lips against her, sending a tingling sensation down Adeline''s spine, he whispered even more temptingly, "Hmm�� just sleep? And nothing else?"


    "No," Adeline whispered back while curling her toes and clutching the bedsheet behind her back. But that was not the truth. Even though she was tired a little while ago, it was long gone from one touch of Theodore.


    "No? Are you sure about that?" Without letting her answer, Theodore held Adeline''s neck and this time, he gave a kiss on the hollow of her neck. He didn''t stop there, he caressed her delicate neck with his tongue and slowly moved up while kissing every inch of her neck.


    Adeline was closing her eyes and with every soft nibble that Theodore would make on her neck, she would let out a soft moan.


    And when Theodore reached behind her ear, he kissed her a little too hard while tickling her with his tongue. She winced and bit her lower lip so as not to moan loudly. And her hand had involuntarily moved to hold Theodore''s soft hair. Adeline had no idea that she would get that much pleasure from getting kissed there.


    "You still don''t want to do anything more other than sleeping?" Theodore whispered to her while looming his lips right in front of hers, his golden eyes fixated on her lips, ready to pounce on them at any moment now.


    Adeline freed her lower lip from the grasp of her teeth and managed to whisper, "Maybe a little."


    "Just a little?" Theodore asked and then instantly bit her lower lip that was already red from Adeline''s own bite. "This is called a little. Is this enough for you, my woman?"


    By this time, Adeline was done playing the innocent card. Her emotional juices were already boiling and overflowing from her. And she knew that she wouldn''t be satisfied from ''just a little''. She wanted more, more of that attractive man''s love. She wanted him to kiss her till she would be breathless, she wanted him to take her, all of her.


    Adeline ran her fingers through Theodore''s feather-like hair and then pulled him close to her. "I want a lot," she whispered to him before she claimed his mouth and pressed her lips strongly against his. And she began to slowly jab her lips as though she was painting a masterpiece on Theodore''s amazingly perfect lips.


    Theodore matched with her motion and began to kiss her back, but not softly. He began to kiss her vigorously. He grabbed Adeline''s hair and gently yanked her head backward. And as she moaned a little, he invaded her mouth with his tongue.


    A sweet sweet taste entered into Adeline''s mouth. She wanted more of that taste. She lifted her upper body with some force and rummaged his mouth in search of that taste again.


    Theodore''s lips curved a little by this cute little act of his innocent Princess. He pulled away from her and teased her, "I see that your hunger has grown. Let me entertain you some more then." The Devil smirked with a pair of glowing red eyes.


    Adeline already knew that something more was about to happen just by looking at his red eyes. He didn''t need to say that.


    And the very next moment, the Devil jumped on the bed and pushed her down. He grabbed both of her hands and then held them tight above her head. He sat on top of her and then began to kiss her again. He attacked her soft and plump lips forcefully.


    Adeline''s throat produced a very needy moan. And in answer, Theodore also moaned in his hoarse voice. He sucked those juicy lips and bit them every once in a while.


    Every time he would bite her lips, Adeline would let out a soft moan. He kept on kissing her for so long that she could feel her lips swelling up.


    Theodore pulled away from her mouth and then slowly inched downward. He kissed her on her chin and then sucked it.


    Adeline could feel his warm breath moving down to her neck again. He buried his mouth at the side of her neck and nibbled her sensitive skin. He smelled in the fragrance of her body and kept on inching downward.


    Adeline could now feel his breath on her chest. He bit her right above her breast, which made her writhe upward. That pleasure was coupled with a muffled moan from her.


    After that, he restrained both of her hands using his single hand and freed the other hand. Then he slowly brought his hand down while caressing her face and neck, and stopped right above her breast.


    Theodore moved his face close to Adeline''s ear and touched her ear with his warm lips. And he whispered, "That future that you were talking about has come."


    And then he proceeded to knead her breast. He kneaded it so hard that her body experienced a burst of ecstasy like she had never felt before. She tried to stop herself from moaning loudly by biting her lips, but she couldn''t stop herself from writhing uncontrollably, with every squeeze that the Devil made.


    "Theo��" Adeline whispered in a voice filled with pleasure as well as pain.


    But Theodore sealed her lips with his own and started to knead her another breast. But he was not satisfied because of Adeline''s cloth that was in between.


    He pulled away from the kiss and looked at her white nightgown for a split second. And without hesitating, he tore off her gown to reveal what he wanted to see, and touch, and taste.

 Chapter 123 - Dodging The Questions

    Both Adeline and Theodore were lying down on the bed facing each other. The Devil finally let the Princess out of his grasp after having a fill to satisfy his thirst for the night.


    Adeline was covering her bare chest with a thin sheet of a blanket and she was staring intently at the flawless sculpture of the God. Theodore had already closed his eyes to get some sleep. But Adeline was unable to make herself fall asleep after everything that just happened.


    She was still feeling breathless from the actions earlier. Her cheeks were flushing with a red glow. Every once in a while, the memories of Theodore kissing her everywhere would flash before her eyes. And every time, her heart would pound sensually, giving her the exact same ecstatic feeling that she had felt earlier.


    She tried to go to sleep by forcefully closing her eyes. But the thoughts were not leaving her mind. Every time she would close her eyes, she would end up smiling to herself like a fool..


    "Are you going to keep on smiling and giggling all night?" Theodore asked in his deep and enchanting voice.


    Adeline flung her eyes open and giggled again. "You weren''t asleep?"


    "How can I when you keep on giggling and staring at me?" Theodore pulled Adeline close to him and began stroking Adeline''s back.


    Adeline raised her brows in surprise and asked, "You can tell I was staring at you even when you are closing your eyes?"


    "Of course I can. Who could possibly resist this perfect face of mine?" Theodore grinned after praising himself.


    Adeline could not help but chuckle at Theodore for claiming to have a perfect face. Yes, he indeed had a very bewitching face, so she couldn''t say anything to him except agree to him, "Yes, I cannot resist staring at you. Everything about you is like a trap for me, I cannot turn away from you even if I force myself to."


    "Did my little human just praise me?" Theodore had a proud smirk on his face. And he couldn''t help but reward the Princess for that praise by giving her a soft kiss on her lips.


    There was a silence between them for a while. But Theodore didn''t like the silence so he whispered, "Since both of us aren''t sleeping anyway, tell me how your day went, apart from getting beaten up by Osmond?"


    Adeline took a long breath in and hummed for a while. She was not ready for this question at all because too many things had happened during the day which had almost turned her into a murderer.


    "Well I went to the market today to see Agnes and then I discovered that Edwin has been charging higher taxes from the villagers and also has been ordering the Royal Guards to beat up the villagers if they denied to-"


    Theodore interrupted her in between and then asked, "You went to see Agnes? What did she say?" Theodore was worried if she had revealed some things to Adeline which he wanted to hide from her for now.


    "She said that Lillian was absorbing energy from the spirit world to make herself stronger. I thought she would be doing something much more dangerous than that." Adeline''s eyes lingered away from Theodore as she still didn''t quite believe that Lillian would be opening the doors to other worlds just to absorb some energy.


    Theodore on the other hand let out a quiet sigh. He was not going to let Agnes escape easily if she had even said a word which would have hinted Adeline towards what was actually happening inside the Palace.


    "So, what were you saying about Edwin? Isn''t he the first son of Lillian?" He asked that so that Adeline wouldn''t ask him about what his followers found when they spied on Lillian last night. It wasn''t easy lying to Adeline every now and then.


    "Yes. He has been torturing the villagers into paying more taxes. I was thinking of gathering some pieces of evidence about his betrayal to the Kingdom and presenting it to the King but Alan warned me saying that Edwin has already turned into a cold-blooded killer."


    A hint of anger and frustration lurked in Adeline''s sapphire eyes as she further explained what Alan had told her, "And Alan asked me to stay away from Edwin because according to him, if Edwin finds out that I had informed father about his bad deeds, then he would not shy away from harming me and the villager and everyone involved."


    Theodore sighed and whispered, "The apples don''t fall far away from the tree."


    "But Alan is also the fruit of the same tree. And he is the opposite of those two. He was genuinely concerned about my safety and he even helped the villagers back there at the market." Adeline didn''t want to think that Alan would someday turn out to be just like Lillian and Edwin. She wanted Alan to stay the way he was, gentle and caring.


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and looked off at the walls. Something was cooking up in his devilish mind. And after thinking about it for some time, a wicked smile curved up on his lips. He was about to do something that a devil would be happy doing.


    "Don''t think too much about this Edwin. You are handling his mother very well up until now, so there''s no need to worry about smaller fishes. Let''s sleep for now." Theodore massaged Adeline''s back and closed his eyes.


    "Theo, what did the spi-"


    Theodore''s hand reached down to her bottoms and he squeezed it hard.


    Adeline flinched while letting out a moan. "Theo!!" she furrowed her brows and looked at Theodore with a look that said ''didn''t you have your fill already?''


    Theodore smiled while still closing his eyes. And his hand motion began to slow down, making Adeline think that Theodore was falling asleep. But in reality, he wasn''t ready to answer the question that she was going to ask.


    Adeline caressed Theodore''s chiseled jawline and closed her eyes, this time, vowing to fall asleep for real. And after about half an hour, after changing her sides for countless times, Adeline finally succumbed to her dreamland.


    As soon as Adeline fell asleep, Theodore flung his dreamy eyelids open. He slowly removed her hand away from his body and sneakily got out of the bed. He opened the window of her room and then jumped out of it.

 Chapter 124 - To The Hall

    Nigel returned back to his own room after an informative session with his beautiful teacher Rhea. The rules that Rhea had told him had made him somewhat scared about the werewolf clan that he was somehow now a part of.


    "These rules are already scaring me. I wonder how the actual training will be. I guess I will find that out tomorrow."


    Nigel saw that all of his belongings were already arranged in his room. He wanted to get out of his uniform very badly so he called for a maid and asked, "Will you take out a set of cloth that will be fit to wear for the dinner with the King?"


    "Yes, Your Highness," The maid walked over to the wardrobe and took out a nice pair of surcoat and trouser for the Prince. "Do you need any help in getting ready, Your Highness?"


    Nigel shook his head and denied that offer. He was not quite comfortable with the new maids so he just replied, "No, I will manage."


    Then the maid placed the clothes on the table and informed Nigel about details of the dinner, "Your Highness, the dinner with the King will commence from 8 in the night.. You still have an hour left but the Princes will already be there at the hall by now. So, if Your Highness would like to join the Princes then I can lead you to the dining hall immediately after you change."


    "Sure, I will be right outside. You can wait for me there."


    The maid bowed to the Prince and went outside, locking the door behind her.


    Nigel proceeded to change from his uniform to the clothes that he actually liked. He thought of calling the maid in to help him comb his hair but he gave up that thought and simply ran his fingers through his hair. "I guess nobody can tell if I combed my hair or not. They look the same anyway."


    He checked himself in the mirror one last time before going out of his room. Then he went outside to find the maid from earlier waiting for him.


    After seeing the Prince, the maid began to walk ahead of him to show him the way, although Nigel was obviously already familiar with most of the places inside the Palace. The Royal dining hall was quite far away from Nigel''s quarter. They walked for about 15 minutes and finally arrived in front of the hall.


    The maid walked further in and left him in front of the door guarded by two of the guards. "Your Highness, I will take a leave from here."


    Nigel nodded his head and waited for the guards to open the door to let him in.


    The guards pushed the door open and while the Prince walked in, they bowed their heads to show their respect.


    As the maid had told him earlier, Fenris and Wulfric were already inside the hall. Or to be more precise, they were inside a room that was inside the hall. They were sitting on a comfortable sofa that was placed in front of the table and they were already enjoying a few of the tasty snacks.


    "You two are already eating before even sitting with the King?" Nigel was a little surprised with how his cousins were already filling their stomachs when they were to have dinner just some time later.


    "There will be more talking and less eating if we eat with the King. So we eat before we sit at the table with father. At the table, we just enjoy talking with everyone and we pretend to eat." Wulfric replied like a big baby and jumped out of the sofa.


    And he ran towards Nigel as though he was seeing Nigel after many years. "Brother! We finally meet. How have you been?" Wulfric gave a tight hug to his brother.


    Nigel also reciprocated his hug to keep up the act and replied somewhat happily, "Hey, brother! I''ve been good." Then he pulled back from the hug and slapped him on the arm and exclaimed, "Look at you! All grown up!"


    Fenris rested his legs on the table and folded his arm. He raised his brows looking at the good actors and said, "Really? You two are going to keep on acting like you two just met?"


    Wulfric laughed nervously and asked as though he didn''t know what Fenris was talking about, "What do you mean? We are meeting right now, can''t you see?"


    "Yeah, right!" Fenris narrowed his eyes at Wulfric and confronted him, "I saw you sneaking out of your quarter again. So I am pretty sure that you went to meet Nigel where he was staying for the night. I am your brother, Wulfric, I know how you think and act. So, you can''t hide anything from me."


    Wulfric gave up the act and threw himself on the sofa beside Fenris. "Fine. I went to meet Nigel because I missed him. I am not as lucky as you who can visit other Kingdoms and even stay there for days."


    "You are the Crown Prince! What more do you want? Can''t you even pay such a small price?" Fenris definitely did not like it when Wulfric would complain about how hard it was being a Crown Prince.


    Nigel walked over to the sofa, pushed the two of them aside, and sat in between them. "So, what are you two having? Is there something which is worth tasting?"


    "Of course there is." Wulfric handed Nigel the bowl of meatballs and said, "You can have this, it''s still hot and very tasty."


    Fenris immediately grabbed another bowl of fish fillet and said, "Try this, it doesn''t have bones. I bet you don''t get to eat fishes that often in Wyverndale."


    "Yes, actually. We don''t have much supply of fishes back there." Nigel took a piece of fillet and tried it. "Yes, it''s really good."


    Fenris gave a side-eyed look to Wulfric and gave a sly smile as though suggesting that he knew Nigel better than Wulfric.


    But then Nigel stuffed several meatballs at once in his mouth and chewed it while savoring the taste.


    And it was now Wulfric''s turn to return back that sly smile to his brother.


    While they were eating and talking and goofing around with each other, one of the maids knocked on the door and then informed the Princes, "Your Highness, the King is about to arrive at the hall."


    That was the warning the Princes needed to hear. They instantly jumped out of the sofa and then dashed to the dining hall.

 Chapter 125 - Dinner

    All three Princes stood side by side with their hands behind their back and waited for the King to arrive inside the dining hall. The guards opened the door to the dining hall and bowed to the King while placing their hands over their chest.


    The King walked inside the hall, followed closely by his guards. Around 10 guards entered the hall and spread around the hall.


    "Your Majesty," All three Princes were placing their hands on their chests and bowing to the King.


    The King gave an acknowledging smile to Prince Nigel and walked towards his chair. One of the dining hall attendants pulled the chair for the King and the King settled down very elegantly.


    Shortly after the King, Queen Mother Blevine, and Queen Tasha also entered the dining hall.


    "Your Majesty, Your Highness," The Princes bowed simultaneously to the Queen and Queen Mother.


    After the elders settled down on their respective seats, all the Princes also settled down on their respective chairs.


    Around 15 of the maids entered the hall one by one and placed different varieties of dishes on the table. After all of the dishes were on the table, 6 of the maids stood by the side of each of the Royals and began to serve food on their plates. The only sound that was audible in the room was the maids clattering on the plates and bowls.


    And after filling the plates with each and every food item, the maids stood behind the Royals.


    The King looked at everyone present in the room and finally broke the silence in the hall, "I kept this dinner so that I could welcome my nephew who recently turned for the first time."


    Everyone at the table gave a proud look to Nigel.


    The King kept on addressing Nigel, "I, the alpha of the Siccaldi clan, officially accept you as one of the members of the clan. From today, you are not just my nephew but also my pack member. I hereby welcome you to my Kingdom and to my pack."


    Nigel gave a nervous smile to everyone. He didn''t know whether being a part of the pack was a good thing or not.


    The King raised a glass of grape wine and said, "Let''s drink for the health and wellbeing of Prince Nigel."


    Everyone on the table raised their respective glasses and took a sip of the strong wine. Nigel winched his face because he didn''t really like that taste.


    Then the King began to ask questions to Nigel while cutting a piece of fish on his plate, "So, how are everyone back at Wyverndale? How''s the King and how''s my sister?"


    "They all are well, Your Majesty," Nigel politely replied to the King.


    "And you have this sister that you are very fond of," the King snapped his finger and tried to remember the name, "what was her name again?"


    "Princess Adeline?" Fenris excitedly put the words in the King''s mouth.


    King Conall glared at Fenris from the corner of his eyes and shifted his gaze towards Nigel. He smiled and asked Nigel, "Yes, and how''s your sister Adeline?"


    Nigel''s heart skipped a beat when he heard Adeline''s name from the King''s mouth. But he tried his best to suppress his nervousness and smiled, "She is also good. But she was crying and throwing tantrums when I said that I would be here for a month." Nigel chuckled remembering his sister and said, "I hope that she is doing okay now."


    The King also laughed when he heard that. "She sure treasures you very much. You should invite her here sometime, show her around Aberdeen."


    Nigel nodded his head and accepted the King''s offer, "Sure, I will do that the next time I visit Aberdeen."


    "Visit next time?" The Queen Mother asked in a bit of confusion, "I thought that you were going to stay here for good now that you are a��"


    But the Queen cut her words and giggled, "Mother, he is going to stay here for a month." She gestured to the Queen Mother that Nigel didn''t know about their plans yet.


    The Queen Mother acted as though she had forgotten that and nodded her head, "Oh! Yes, yes. He is going to be here for a month. Don''t forget to visit your grandmother''s quarter at least once a day, okay Nigel?"


    "Sure, Queen Mother, I will visit you after I am free from the training." The words that his grandmother said slipped past Nigel''s nervous mind. He didn''t suspect one bit about the plan of the clan to keep him there forever.


    Queen Mother took a sip of her wine and smiled at her grandson, "Just call me a grandmother."


    Nigel gave a bright smile because addressing her as Queen Mother always sounded weird to him. "Sure, grandmother."


    And Wulfric instantly protested, "That''s not fair. Why does Nigel get to call you grandmother while we still have to call you Queen Mother?"


    "Yes, that''s not fair! Queen Mother," Fenris also supported Wulfric''s voice.


    But the Queen Mother was not going to allow that to Wulfric and Fenris. "You two are not my daughter''s son. Be born as my daughter''s sons in your next life and then I might even let you refer to me as granny."


    Everyone at the table began to laugh at that banter between the Princes and the Queen Mother.


    "And how did the introductory session with Rhea go? I hope that she made you aware of all the rules of the clan and also a few aspects about being a werewolf." The King continued with his inquiries.


    Nigel understood why the Princes ate before they even sat with the King. He wasn''t giving Nigel any opportunity to eat more than a few bites. "Yes, the session went well. She made me aware of several things that I didn''t know before."


    The question-answer session continued for quite some time. Every once in a while they would also tease each other and make casual conversations. Everyone made Nigel feel right at home.


    The King was quite well trained at talking and having dinner to his full in between the talks. After he had his fill, and after making sure that Nigel had everything that was required to make himself comfortable, he got up from his seat and prepared to take a leave, "Enjoy your dinner, everyone."


    He glanced at his nephew and said, "And Nigel, I hope that you will focus well on your training and get better in no time."


    "I will, Your Majesty," Nigel replied while politely bowing his head.


    After the King left, Queen Mother and the Queen finally were able to focus on their food while the Princes were also already full from their snacks.


    "Nigel, why don''t you come and stay at my quarter tonight? It has been ages since we got to talk with each other. So I think it would be nice." Wulfric asked his brother.


    Fenris instantly added, "I am not letting Nigel come alone. If he is coming then I am also coming to your quarter."


    Nigel smiled because of that warm gesture from his brothers. He nodded his head and agreed, "Sure, let''s catch up with our lives."

 Chapter 126 - New Target

    After jumping out of the window of Adeline''s room, Theodore quietly walked towards a particular direction from where a familiar aura was coming off.


    He was able to sense the aura of the succubus from a while ago. He was desperately waiting for Adeline to fall asleep so that he could sneak out of her room and check on that succubus. At first, he just wanted to fall asleep by ignoring that succubus. But he was unable to go to sleep because he was somewhat worried regarding what actions the succubus would take.


    There was always a possibility that someone could act even more irrationally after being threatened.


    "I am pretty sure that the succubus is scared to her core and won''t do anything stupid. But I can''t leave anything to chances. What if she decides to rebel against me by killing the King?" Theodore worried that he might have made things worse by threatening that succubus.


    So, he followed the aura of that succubus to personally keep an eye on her. After walking for a while, Theodore eventually arrived at the place where the aura was coming from.. He was in front of the King''s quarter. "I hope that she is just crouching down in one corner of the room."


    Theodore used his magic to walk through the walls and he was now inside the King''s bedroom.


    As soon as he entered the room, he noticed that the King was still awake. Not just awake, he was in his full armour and was holding his trusty sword. No matter how tired he looked, he was standing in the middle of the bedroom without even blinking.


    And the succubus was folding her arms and was quietly standing in one corner of the room. But as soon as she saw the Devil Prince in the room she straightened her back and looked down in fear.


    She wasn''t expecting the Devil Prince to come there in person. In fact, there was no need for him to come there in person. She wasn''t going to be a fool and attack the King even after getting a death threat from the Devil himself.


    Theodore wanted to have a chat with the succubus but the King was wide awake. So he walked over to the succubus and gestured her to keep quiet. Then he touched her on the shoulder and teleported to the backyard of Alexis.


    As soon as they teleported there, the succubus began to defend herself thinking that the Prince was about to punish her for something. "I di-didn''t do any-anything wrong, Your Highness. I just did as you said. I didn''t even touch that King. I went inside that room so as to make it believable to that witch that I was doing her bidding. I did nothing more than that."


    The Devil Prince smirked and said in a cold voice, "I know you did nothing wrong. I was not going to punish you. Rather, I was going to give you a chance to atone your mistakes of answering to that witch."


    "How can I do that, Your Highness? I am ready to do anything." The succubus replied while still keeping her head down. She didn''t dare to look into those piercing and scary eyes of the Devil.


    "I was thinking of a way you could utilize your time here on Earth gathering the life force for yourself."


    The succubus couldn''t help but take a peek at Theodore''s face to see whether the Devil was just playing with her or he was serious. Theodore looked serious about what he was saying.


    He further explained what he meant by that, "That witch that bound you has two sons, Edwin and Alan. I like Alan but I don''t really like Edwin."


    The succubus instantly guessed where the Devil was going with this conversation. But she didn''t dare to interrupt the Prince and kept on listening to him.


    "As you will be in the Palace anyway, why don''t you make a good use of that time by" Theodore darted his eyes from top to bottom of that succubus and continued, "�� by doing your thing with Edwin?"


    "You want me to take all of his life force?" The succubus wanted to know whether the Devil had the intention of killing Edwin or just making him weak enough by sucking out most of his life force.


    Theodore just shrugged off his shoulders and replied casually, "I don''t care whether he lives or dies."


    But he hummed for a while and added, "But I think that that witch will get out of control and will wreak havoc if her dear son dies at such a young age. So better not take all of his life force. Just take enough so that he will be too weak and will be bedridden for whatever time he will have left after."


    The succubus bowed her head and agreed to what Theodore had asked of her. "Yes, Your Highness. I will make sure to weaken that witch''s son."


    The succubus was about to flap her wings and get away from the Devil as soon as she could but Theodore called her and said, "Make sure to find the right man. Don''t mistake Alan for Edwin. Make sure that you take the life force from Edwin. Remember the name, Edwin."


    Theodore repeated that name several times so that the succubus would remember it properly. He didn''t want her to mistakenly go for Alan. Adeline was praising Alan so he didn''t want to be the reason to indirectly kill her ''good brother'' instead of the one who was actually a threat to his Princess.


    "Yes, Your Highness. I will make sure to find Edwin." The succubus bowed her head again and was ready to fly off.


    But she was again interrupted by Theodore.


    "And you don''t have to feel guilty while stealing that young man''s life. His life is borrowed anyway, he shouldn''t even be alive. So no need to feel pity for him." Theodore added that just to make sure that the succubus would not feel pity and take out too little of Edwin''s life force.


    "Theo... what are you doing here in the middle of the night? And who is she?"

 Chapter 127 - Sneaking

    While Adeline was still in her sleep, she subconsciously shifted behind to find the warmth of Theodore. As she had been sleeping with Theodore lately, she had picked up this new habit to stick her back with Theodore''s body.


    She frowned in her sleep because she was unable to find Theodore''s warmth even after shifting a little too further in her bed. She put her hand behind her and patted to try and find Theodore, but even her hands were unable to find him.


    And she mumbled in her sleep, "Theo�� Theo��" But even when she called him, he didn''t answer.


    Then she finally opened her eyes in frustration and turned around to check how far away Theodore was sleeping. But to her surprise, Theodore wasn''t on the bed.


    Adeline rubbed her eyes and then sat up on her bed. She looked around in her room but he wasn''t anywhere to be seen.


    "Maybe he went to the bathhouse," she thought to herself and then lied back on her bed..


    But she didn''t go to sleep immediately, she kept her eyes open and kept on waiting for Theodore to come to the bed. While waiting for him, her mind wandered to the earlier events again. She began to smile to herself thinking about how wild Theodore got.


    She entertained herself for some time, but after a while, she was starting to get impatient. And because they were not at Theodore''s place today, she also feared that something might have happened to him. "Why is Theodore taking so long? Is he in pain or something?"


    Adeline threw the blanket aside and then jumped out of her bed. Then she stormed towards her bathhouse to check on Theodore.


    When she reached to the bathhouse, she found that the door to the room was wide open. She stopped outside and then knocked on the door without peeking inside, "Theo, are you in here?"


    However, there was no answer again. "Theo, I am coming in," Adeline gave a warning and slowly entered the room while half-closing her eyes. But she was confused to see that the bathhouse was empty.


    Adeline furrowed her brows and asked to herself, "He''s not in here? Then where else could he be? Did he return back to his own room in the middle of the night?"


    She puckered her lips in disappointment thinking that Theodore had left her here and had teleported back to his own room alone. "He could have taken me with him. And he could have told me if he felt uncomfortable sleeping in my bed. We could have gone to his room after��"


    She cleared her throat and smiled like a fool again.


    The Princess returned back to her bed again vowing to herself that she would confront Theodore tomorrow about deserting her and returning back alone.


    She got up on her bed and then she was about to lie down but she felt a gust of wind softly embracing her face and bare chest. "Who left that window open? Did Theodore decide to run around the Palace again?"


    Adeline laughed at her own deduction and then thought, "Why would he do that in the middle of the night now that he knows that Lillian is not inviting any threatening beings in the Palace?"


    Adeline climbed down her bed and then walked closer to the window to close them. She leaned outward to grab the window handle but she felt as though she saw two dark figures in her backyard.


    She abruptly took a few steps back in fear. She didn''t clearly see the figures but she was sure that one of them had horns and wings.


    Her heartbeat began to accelerate madly. She pressed her chest with her palm and took a few deep breaths in to calm herself down. "I thought Lillian was just gathering energy from the spirit world. But was my suspicion right? Is she really inviting the mystical beings from hell?"


    "Do you even need to ask that? Isn''t it obvious already?" She recalled if what she saw was real and was not just some trick played by her mind, but she wasn''t really sure.


    So she tip-toed to her window again and took a peek. She saw that same shadow again. "Yes, that''s definitely horns and wings. I think I even saw a tail."


    And then another fear set in her mind. "Did Lillian send them after me? Why else would they be in my backyard?"


    She began pacing back and forth in her room and tried to think of a way out of this situation. "What should I do? Should I just wait for them to come to me and attack them as soon as they enter my room? Or should I try to sneak attack them while they are still outside?"


    After considering the two options for a while, she came to a conclusion to try a sneak attack, "I guess I will have a better chance at knocking them down when they are not expecting to see me."


    Adeline quickly rummaged through her wardrobe and then found her training uniform. She threw the torn nightgown from her body and then slipped into the uniform in no time.


    She grabbed her sword from the wall and then quietly opened the door of her room so as not to wake any of her maids or servants.


    The Princess walked like a cat and then walked around her quarter to reach near her backyard. She stood still at the corner of her quarter''s wall and slowly took a peek again.


    Now that she was closer, this time, she was able to get a little clearer view of those two in her backyard. And she was shocked because she realized that one of that dark figures was none other than Theodore.


    And she was even more shocked to see that the figure with the horns and wings was a woman, not just any woman, but a woman who could make any men fall down on their knees for her. Adeline was able to make that much out even when she was seeing that woman under dim moonlight.


    And like any normal woman, she could not bear to see the sight of her man standing very close to another woman, alone, under the moonlight. It didn''t matter if she had horns and tails because he was the Devil. What if he had a thing for a woman with horns and tails?


    A tinge of jealousy painted her heart with slight pain. Her face began to change because of the anger she felt towards Theodore for leaving her alone in the bed and entertaining another woman behind her back.

 Chapter 128 - Caught Red-Handed

    Adeline''s anger and jealousy were starting to make her heartache a little. But she remembered her connection with Theodore''s heart. He would instantly know that she was watching them if she would allow her heart to ache.


    So she dug her nails on her palms and tried to focus on the physical pain rather than the pain in her heart. She tried her best to divert her mind from the two of them chatting about something in the dark, under the moonlight.


    "Does he always do this? Has he been lying to me saying that he has never even touched another woman? Am I really the only woman in his life?"


    Adeline was unable to hear the exact conversation that the two of them were having and the expression that each of them had on their faces. And thus, she easily misunderstood what was going on between them and began to question everything that Theodore had ever told to her till now.. Her eyes were making it hard for her to not doubt Theodore.


    She tried her best to look away from the two of them. But she could not tear off her glare from Theodore and that man-stealer.


    Even under that dim moonlight, Adeline could tell that Theodore was looking up and down that ''horny'' woman''s busty body. Her grip on her sword tightened when she saw that. Her rage was getting the better of her. She wanted to sneak at the two of them and hit them with the hilt of her sword.


    But still, she controlled her urge to do so and kept on glaring at the two of them. She then noticed that even though the woman wanted to leave, Theodore was stopping her time and again and kept on saying some things to her.


    That was the last straw for her. She walked as quietly as she could and stood behind Theodore.


    When that succubus saw Adeline, she was so startled that she jumped a step back. She was very familiar with that face and it brought very bad memories to her. Memories of being stabbed in the gut when she had borrowed the face of that girl in front of her.


    And that reaction from that succubus didn''t go unnoticed by Adeline. Rather it confirmed her theory that Theodore was indeed seeing that woman behind her back.


    Without giving it any thought and without any hesitation, Adeline drew her sword and pointed it at Theodore''s neck.


    Then she forcefully asked in a voice that was quivering because of anger, "Theo... what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Then she swiftly pointed her sword at that succubus and asked, "And who is she?"


    Adeline took both of them by surprise with her little stunt.


    But instead of showing any signs of nervousness when ''caught in the act'', Theodore stared at Adeline with even more loving eyes and began to smile charmingly.


    The succubus''s eyes were wide open when she saw the Devil smiling like a real enchanter. Never in her dream had she thought that the Devil even knew how to smile.


    "Relax, Adeline." Theodore slowly lifted his hand and then pinched the tip of Adeline''s sword. Then he gently pushed the sword away from that succubus and gave his explanation about who the succubus was, "She is someone who is indebted to me so I was asking her to do me a favor as a way to pay me back."


    The succubus was paying attention to the conversation happening in front of her and thought to herself, "Adeline? She must be that woman''s daughter then. They look so alike!"


    Theodore spoke so melodiously that Adeline felt as though his words were caressing her. She wanted to forget everything that she just saw and drag him to the bed already. But she mentally pulled her hair to bring her senses back and interrogated again.


    "How is she indebted to you?" Adeline gave a piercing side-eyed look to the succubus and continued, "And why is the Devil asking a favor from someone else?"


    The succubus couldn''t help but wonder, "She knows that he is the Devil? Why isn''t she afraid of him then? And how could a human point a sword at the Devil''s neck and still live?"


    Theodore didn''t want to reveal what favor he had asked of that succubus. Because if he answered that one question then he would have to answer all the other questions that would follow. So instead he just said, "I cannot give you the full details but it''s not what you think. She is just another being from hell who had to pay me."


    Theodore was not a fool to not see that apparent jealousy on Adeline''s face. He knew what was going through her mind so he further added, "I am not fascinated by the beings from Hell because most of them, including her, are beneath me. I am their Prince and I would love to maintain my reputation in Hell."


    But that didn''t do anything to calm Adeline down. She still wanted to break the horns of that woman and she also wanted to at least poke Theodore with the tip of her sword.


    "He wouldn''t sneak like this if what he is saying was really true. And he wouldn''t definitely meet a woman in the middle of the night if it was really something work-related." Adeline kept on thinking this and her anger was building up even more.


    "He is just lying to me, isn''t he?" Adeline concluded to herself. And she felt a sharp sting in her heart. She tried to control her pain but no matter how hard she dug her nails in her palm, she was now unable to do so.


    She wanted the Earth to swallow her whole right there and then because she didn''t think that she would be able to hold her tears any longer.


    Theodore also felt a burning sensation in his heart. And he knew that Adeline was hurt by his actions. It was not like he had done anything wrong but he couldn''t quite make Adeline believe otherwise when she had seen him talking with another woman, alone.


    Theodore turned his glance at the succubus. She was still standing by their side unable to decide whether she should wait for the Devil Prince''s order or she should just leave.


    And he ordered her in a stern voice, "You should leave."


    The succubus gladly did so because she was afraid that she would end up getting hurt if she had stayed there any longer.


    Theodore then towered over Adeline and said in a voice as soft as silk, "My love, let''s go back to sleep."

 Chapter 129 - Wax

    "My love, let''s get back to sleep."


    Theodore spoke in such a smooth voice that no matter how hurt Adeline was feeling right now, she wanted to nod her head. But she restrained herself from replying to him.


    Theodore didn''t wait for Adeline to agree to him though. He pulled Adeline by her waist and was about to carry her back to her room.


    Every little touch from Theodore was making Adeline remember their time together earlier. She was ready to forgive him and let him take her back to her bed. But something called self-respect tugged her and Adeline threw his hands away from her. She was not going to let him crawl back to her right after seeing him with another woman.


    Adeline hissed while trying to suppress her voice so as not to wake any guards or maids. "Don''t you dare touch me with those same hands that touched that woman earlier.."


    Theodore chuckled at that baseless accusation from that jealous little bunny and whispered, "Adeline! Did you see me touching that woman inappropriately? I was standing a foot away from her."


    "Touching that woman inappropriately? So you do agree that you had touched her?" Adeline was now fumed. She turned on her heels and then began to run towards her room. She wanted to get away from him before she would feel like melting in his sturdy arms.


    Theodore puckered his lips and teleported himself to Adeline''s room. He obviously got there before Adeline. He didn''t want Adeline to run away again after seeing him, he knew how stubborn she was. So he decided to wait for her by hiding himself in one corner of her room.


    Adeline came running to her room and hastily locked the door behind her. For a while, she had forgotten that Theodore had several ways to get inside her room other than that door. In fact, he barely used the door to come in.


    Then she went straight towards her bed. She was about to throw herself on the bed but Theodore sneaked up on her and then hugged her from behind. "Are you still angry with me, little human?"


    His last two words reminded her that she was just a mere human with no extraordinary features like that of that woman earlier.


    She tried to break free from Theodore''s grasp while speaking her mind out, "Just go to that woman with horns and tail. I didn''t know that you were into those sorts of things. If I had known earlier then I would have grown a few horns for you. Since I don''t have any, feel free to go to that woman in the middle of the night."


    Though her words were harsh, Theodore was enjoying seeing her like that. She would always act shy and would try to push him away, especially when they were around Theodore''s followers. But today, she was willing to fight with that succubus to claim him for herself. Hell, she was even willing to fight him just because she saw him talking with someone else.


    However, he didn''t want Adeline to be angry with him any longer. So he removed Adeline''s hair away from her neck and slowly leaned down, brushing her neck with his hot breath.


    Theodore softly kissed Adeline on her neck and apologized, "I''m sorry! Something came up in the middle of the night and I had to talk with her. Had I known that you would be this mad at me then I would have woken you up and informed you before leaving."


    Adeline wanted to stay mad at Theodore but his one kiss had somewhat weakened her resolve. But she was still not giving up with her interrogation, "What was so important that you had to see her at night? Couldn''t you have waited till the morning to meet that seducer?"


    "No, I had to meet her at this hour. We are the creatures of the night after all. I changed my routine only after meeting you." Theodore playfully nibbled on her neck again.


    But Adeline managed to get out of Theodore''s hold. She was hell-bent on having a fight with Theodore today. "Creatures of night? Changed your routine? What else do I not know, Theodore? What else have you kept from me?"


    Rather than answering her childish questions, Theodore thought of a perfect solution to keep Adeline''s mouth shut, or wide open, depending on her reaction.


    Theodore yawned and then stretched his arms. "I am feeling so sleepy. Is it okay if we talk about this tomorrow?"


    But without even giving her a chance to reply, Theodore looked down to see his stiff outfit and clicked his tongue in disappointment, "Oh, Hell! I don''t have my robe to change into." He acted as though he hadn''t slept in that same outfit just a while ago.


    He puckered his lips and then shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I will just have to sleep without my clothes on. These are way too heavy and hot to sleep in."


    Then Theodore proceeded to take off his clothes on his upper body before Adeline could even open her mouth to stop him from doing so.


    Adeline had vowed to herself that she wouldn''t be forgiving him today. He was not allowed to meet any woman in the middle of the night no matter how urgent the job was. He was supposed to dedicate his whole night to her. He was supposed to give undivided attention to her.


    She was not going to allow Theodore to give even a second of his night to any other woman. She had to teach him a lesson by getting so angry with him that he wouldn''t even think of deserting her alone on the bed from now on.


    But no matter how hard she was trying to get angry with him, the arousing view in front of her was making her vow to meltdown like wax. Adeline was left speechless when she saw that magnificent body of his, even though this wasn''t her first time seeing him that way.


    Everything about his body was so inviting that it was making her hard to focus on her anger. His skin looked so smooth that she wanted to bury her face on him and sniff his arousing scent.


    His toned muscles made her want to run her hands all over him. She wanted to press her lips on his chest and his stomach. She wanted to squeeze his biceps and bite them, leave marks of her teeth on them.


    She wanted him, she wanted to touch him. No, not just touch, she wanted to devour him. She wanted to run her hands, her lips, and even her tongue all over his body.

 Chapter 130 - Pushing Away

    And as though Theodore had read Adeline''s mind, he walked so close to Adeline that his magnificent body was right in front of her eyes. Theodore slowly ran his fingers down her hand and then grabbed her palms. Then he lifted her little palms and pressed them against his chest. And he slowly guided her hands around his tempting body.


    Theodore lifted his hands and let her explore around his body on her own. Adeline forgot all about what she saw earlier and began to shamelessly run her hands all over him. She ran her fingers on his pecs, and slowly moved down to his stomach while drooling invisibly.


    She suddenly came back to her senses as she was about to reach his navel.. She abruptly lifted away her hand as though she had just touched fire and she jumped back a few steps.


    Theodore frowned because of this sudden reaction from Adeline. "What happened? You don''t like it?"


    And out of the blue, Adeline gritted from between her teeth, "Don''t try to shut my mouth by showing me your bare chest. You might easily fall for some bare chest, that is not necessarily mine, but I am not like that."


    Theodore puckered his lips and instantly closed his eyes before Adeline could see them turn red. And he exhaled slowly, trying his best not to get angry at Adeline. He didn''t want to show her that side of him.


    Theodore was trying his best not to snap at Adeline but she kept on pushing him to the edge.


    Adeline folded her arms and kept on yelling, "You don''t even tell me what you two were talking about and you keep on dodging every question that I ask. If you can''t give an answer to me, then just�� then just leave me alone."


    There were things that Theodore couldn''t tell her. He didn''t want to make her worried by telling her that Lillian was using that woman to kill her father. But this stubborn Princess was not willing to let go of that topic. Everything that he was doing was for her and there she was, suspecting him of cheating on her with that succubus, who was nowhere as attractive as her by the way.


    Theodore finally lost his cool.


    He revealed his burning red eyes and growled in a suppressed voice, "I have never been with another woman other than you and I never will. Do I have to jump in hellfire to make you believe that I didn''t do any shenanigans with that woman?"


    Adeline went quiet when she saw Theodore like that. He looked really annoyed at her.


    Theodore didn''t stop there. He furrowed his brows which made him look angrier and shouted, "You know what, this whole ''sleeping together'' thing was a bad idea. I am sorry that I even suggested it. When I was alone, at least I could focus on my work without you interfering and without having to explain every little detail to you."


    He looked around to search for the cloth that he had thrown earlier. He grabbed his cloth and whipped it in the air in frustration, making Adeline flinch. And he whispered aggressively, "You want to be left alone? Fine! I will leave you alone."


    And without even giving Adeline a chance to say anything, he vanished from the room.


    Adeline felt a sharp pinch in her heart. She had never seen Theodore that angry. In fact, she was a pampered Princess and she had never seen anyone get this angry at her. Yes, some of her brothers and sisters used to be mean to her but it never hurt her this much. The pain in her heart kept on increasing and spreading.


    The pain began to shift all over her body. The wounds that she got in the training, which she thought were already healed, began to hurt as though they were fresh wounds.


    She grabbed her chest and then crouched down on the floor. The way Theodore had told her that he would leave her alone made her fear that he would not appear in front of her for another decade or so.


    "What have I done? He left me for good, didn''t he?" Adeline began to sob uncontrollably. The very thought of not seeing him again made her hurt to her soul.


    The pain that she was feeling kept on escalating. She felt as though she was being choked by some invisible hands. She tried taking in deeper breaths but nothing seemed to work. She felt like her chest would crack and her heart would pop out.


    She felt as though she was on fire.


    She abruptly got up from the floor and then looked around for some water. She drank some water and her heart somewhat cooled down. But not enough to make her at ease. She was still burning in pain.


    So she dashed to her bathhouse. The bathtub was full of herbal water from her previous bath in the evening. She quickly took off her training uniform and then threw them on the floor. And she jumped inside the bathtub.


    The water was really cold which send chills to her bones. But it felt soothing nonetheless. Her mind was focused on the cold rather than on what Theodore had said to her a while ago.


    And because it was soothing, Adeline decided to submerge herself completely in the bathtub.


    And she did just that. She took a deep breath and pushed herself under the water. The brain-freezing water was doing a good job of soothing Adeline''s heart. After a few minutes, her heart became so calm that Theodore, who was feeling excruciating pain just a while ago, was scared that Adeline might have done something to herself.


    He was already back in his own room. He was feeling that pain and he knew that Adeline was deeply hurt because of his words. But he was too angry to face Adeline just yet. He didn''t want to end up hurting her even more, so he was restlessly pacing back and forth, trying to restrain himself from teleporting back to Adeline.


    But when his excruciating pain, or her pain to be precise, simmered down in an instant he was afraid that something bad might have happened to his woman.


    And in the next moment, Theodore teleported back to Adeline''s room. He was even more scared when he didn''t see Adeline anywhere in her room. He looked down the window but he saw nothing. And he frantically began to look around in other rooms of her quarter.


    He was about to pass through the bathhouse but he noticed Adeline''s uniform on the floor. He remembered that she was wearing them just a while ago. So he bolted inside the bathhouse.


    And to his horror, he saw that Adeline was drowning in the bathtub. "Adeline!"

 Chapter 131 - Trance

    "Adeline!" Within a fraction of seconds, Theodore''s mind was filled with ghastly thoughts. An image of Adeline''s lifeless body on his arms flashed before him.


    Theodore dashed towards the bathtub, grabbed Adeline''s arm, and pulled her upper body out of the water.


    Adeline gasped for air and then coughed violently. She was underwater for a little too long. In the hopes of drowning her sorrows, she almost drowned herself.


    Seeing Adeline breathing and moving, Theodore let out a huge sigh of relief and bend down on his knees by the side of the bathtub. And in the next moment, he pulled Adeline and pressed her cold bare body against his warm chest. He enveloped Adeline in his arms and kept on holding her tightly.


    Theodore closed his eyes and relished the moment. Adeline had no idea how grateful Theodore was feeling right now.. "I thought I lost you," Theodore whispered in a voice that both reflected pleasure and pain. The pleasure of finding Adeline alive and well and the pain of knowing he was the one to put her in this state.


    Adeline also ran her cold hand up to his spine and whispered, "And I thought I lost you. I thought you were going to disappear for another decade." As she said that, a few drops of warm tears ran down her cheeks and fell on Theodore''s shoulder.


    He felt those warm tears of Adeline. He caressed her wet hair and reassured her that it would never happen, "Do you think I will be able to keep myself away from you for another decade? I would die of heartbreak, Adeline."


    Theodore pulled away from the hug and looked into her eyes. Her eyes had turned red because of all that crying from earlier. Theodore wiped her tears and apologized, "I''m sorry for lashing out at you. I don''t know what came over me." Theodore''s eyes were showing remorse for saying so many things to Adeline that he didn''t actually mean.


    Adeline wanted to say that she was sorry too but she couldn''t quite bring herself to do so. She looked away from Theodore and stared at the herbs and flower petals that were swirling around her.


    Theodore gently cupped Adeline''s face and made her look into his eyes. And he whispered assertively, "And don''t ever try to push me away and ask me to leave. I don''t think I will be the same if I have to stay away from you. I will truly turn into the Devil that the world thinks I am. Do you understand?"


    Adeline nodded her head and a soft smile appeared on her face. "Promise me that you won''t leave me like that, even if I ask you to leave. I think I would die within an hour because of the pain."


    Theodore held Adeline''s hand and planted a warm kiss on her knuckles, "I promise." Theodore lovingly stared at that fool who had almost died just a while ago.


    He knew that she wasn''t bluffing when she said that because he had felt her pain. It was the first time that he had ever felt this kind of pain in his entire life, or the second time. The only other time he had felt such a nastiest pain was when his father had cast him out of heaven.


    Theodore slowly trailed his golden eyes from Adeline''s wet face down to her chest. And his eyes trailed further down. His gaze managed to pierce through the water and herbs that were covering her lower body and he caught a glimpse of Adeline''s naked frame. Until now he hadn''t realized that Adeline was completely naked.


    But he quickly averted his gaze not wanting to arouse the Devil inside of him. He didn''t want the Devil to crawl out and show itself to Adeline. She had never seen his true and complete form, and he did not want to scare her when she had just come out of her pain.


    He didn''t want her to think again that he was hiding several things from her and was being dishonest to her. He would show his true form to Adeline someday, but only when the right time came.


    Adeline was slightly shivering because of that cold water. But she was still sitting inside the bathtub not wanting Theodore to see her.


    "Get out of the water, come on." Theodore got up from the floor and gave his hand for her to hold.


    But rather than holding his hand, Adeline asked him a question that was troubling her, "Do you still think that sleeping together with me was a bad idea?"


    Theodore felt a slight pinch in his heart for saying that to her a while ago. He wished that he could take it back but he couldn''t.


    So instead he spoke in a reassuring and passion-filled voice, "If it was possible and if you would allow me then I would keep you with me every day and every night for the rest of your life. And you know what I would do, Adeline? I would make love to you. I would make love to you every day and every night, whenever we both would desire. I would dedicate my every waking moment to please you."


    Adeline had no idea what he was referring to because there was no one who had explained the meaning of ''making love'' to her. Both of her maids were inexperienced in that field for them to share their knowledge. And her teachers just taught her how to run a Kingdom and how to fight.


    So she just assumed that he meant he would kiss her. But that answer seemed to satisfy her. She believed that she was the only one whom Theodore would kiss.


    Adeline shyly smiled. Then she pointed her finger beside the door and asked, "Will you hand me that towel?"


    "Sure," Theodore turned around but suddenly everything around him changed.


    It was suddenly brighter. He darted his eyes around and realized that he was back at his own bathhouse.


    "Will you hand me that towel?" he heard that same melodious voice again from behind. He turned around to see Adeline in his bathtub. And suddenly, he replied to her, "Are you sure you need a towel?" And he began to inch closer towards Adeline.


    He wanted to stop himself but he realized that he had no control over his own body.


    "Oh Hell!" Theodore screamed in his mind when he realized what had just happened. He had unintentionally used his Divine Vision and had entered a trance state. And now he was stuck in the future version of himself, he no longer had any control over what he would say or do.

 Chapter 132 - Beautiful Vision

    For a while, Theodore tried to break out of that trance state. He had already made a grave mistake once by using his Divine Vision to look into the future. And he did not want to do that again. But no matter how hard he tried, it was like his mind was forcing this vision on him. He was unable to get out no matter how hard he tried.


    And when his eyes fell on Adeline, he gave up trying to break free. Because that naked beauty in the bathtub already had his attention. Theodore gazed at her as a wandering bee attracted to the most beautiful flower in existence.


    The first thing that Theodore noticed was that Adeline looked even more gorgeous. Not that she wasn''t already but there was something about her that felt somewhat different.


    "Yes, of course," Theodore clapped in his mind, "This is from the future so she must have aged a few years." Rather than a sweet face, Adeline had a rather mature look.. He scanned his eyes all over her naked frame and noted that a lot of things had grown, like her height, her hair, and her breast size.


    "I must admit, she looks so tempting right now. Almost making me want to taste her here and now."


    And turns out, his future self was also thinking the same. He slowly began to unbutton his clothes, his eyes not averting the gaze away from his woman.


    "What do you think you are doing, Theo?" Adeline scoffed and scowled at him.


    "It has been so long since I last saw you like this and touched you. I am going to do everything to you to make up for all that time, and I mean everything." Theodore dropped his clothes on the floor and stood there for a while showing off his naked frame.


    He gave a whimsical smirk seeing Adeline forcefully turning away her gaze from him. "Stop acting as though you have never seen me naked," Theodore chuckled to himself and slowly placed his feet inside the bathtub.


    The splashing sound managed to grab Adeline''s attention. Theodore saw her cheeks turning red but she seemed too hypnotized by him to protest or get up from the bathtub and run away.


    Adeline was resting her back on the tub''s edge and her smooth legs were spread out. But when Theodore kept on inching closer, Adeline crossed her legs and placed her palms over her privates.


    That didn''t go unnoticed by Theodore. But it seemed like his future self was not going to let Adeline escape so easily. He walked really closer to Adeline while making sure that her crossed legs were between his. He gently sat on his knees, his naked body gently touching her thighs.


    He heard a soft embarrassed gasp escaping Adeline''s ripe lips. She was avoiding looking at him as though she didn''t want him. But he could hear her heartbeat which told a different story. He was loving the way her heart was beating so fast and melodiously.


    Theodore placed his hands on the edge of the tub and made her his prisoner. He brought his face close to hers and bathed her in his warm breath. He leaned further and placed the softest kiss on her neck, right below her ear.


    Adeline closed her eyes and tilted her head in reaction. Theodore opened his mouth wider this time and gave a wet kiss on the hollow of her neck. The touch from his tongue brought the reaction that he had desired. She dug her nails on his thighs and wriggled a little while suppressing the desperate moan that was about to escape her lips.


    He began to worship every inch of her neck with his lips by kissing, nibbling, and licking. As though they weren''t close enough already, Theodore shifted even close to Adeline and rested his hips on her. He could hear Adeline inhaling sharply and his lips curved up to form a devilish smirk.


    Theodore felt Adeline''s palms on his chest and felt her gently nudging him. "Theo, can''t we do this later?" she whispered breathlessly.


    Theodore looked into Adeline''s eyes and shook his head, "I don''t think I can wait any longer." He saw his eyes'' reflection in Adeline''s eyes, they had already turned red.


    "Then can''t we do this on the bed?" Theodore saw Adeline looking away instantly as though she could not believe what she had just said.


    Theodore chuckled and kissed her on her cheek. And he replied in a ragged whisper, "We will do this again on the bed if you can still handle me after finishing it here. But first, let me continue what I started here."


    And before she could protest, Theodore sealed her mouth with a kiss. At first, he started it soft and slow. But when he got the sweet taste of her mouth, he began kissing her vigorously. Adeline was slowly opening up to him and was matching his rhythm.


    Theodore lifted his hand from the tub and placed it on her waist. He slowly caressed her curves and moved upwards. He ran his warm hand up to her breast, making Adeline tilt her body sideways. But he grabbed her breast and gently began to massage it in a circular motion. He could tell that her breast was handful than before.


    Theodore broke off from the kiss and shifted his look down to her breast. Her nipples had already turned hard, making his mouth drool. He gently lifted that treasure in his hand like a trophy and leaned down to kiss on that trophy.


    First, he gently touched her nipples with the tip of his tongue, sending shivers down Adeline''s spine. "Theo!" Adeline''s soft moan fell in Theodore''s ears. She made his name sound as though it was a song.


    Then he kissed her breast softly making Adeline moan. And he bit her hard nipples making her jerk her chest outwards and clutch his hair with both of her hands.


    In between kissing, biting, and kneading her breasts, Theodore lifted his other hand and placed it on her thighs. He slowly ran his hand in between her thighs and he kept on going higher and higher until it couldn''t go any further above.


    Adeline twisted her body and moaned when Theodore''s fingertips touched her most sensitive skin. He felt a sudden rush enter his body when he touched the main trophy. "This must be the most exhilarating feeling that one can ever feel," Theodore thought to himself as his heart was filled with that new feeling.


    But the future Theodore was going to prove him wrong. He was going to know that there was something more pleasurable than that.


    He broke off from the kiss and passionately stared deep into Adeline''s eyes. Then he began to gently rub his palm against her sensitive skin. He saw her parting her lips and letting out a breath full of pleasure. He slowly began to increase the speed of his hand movement.


    Theodore could see her getting breathless when he stroked her soft and sensitive skin. Then he rubbed his palm violently but rhythmically against her. He was going to give so much pleasure to her that she would keep on begging for more.


    Adeline let out a series of loud moans which almost sounded like a whimper. And just when she was at the heights of her pleasure, Theodore grabbed her legs and parted them which came as a surprise to both Adeline and present Theodore.


    And the next thing he knew, he had already entered her, making Adeline winch in pain. He could not believe the softness of her skin. And without wasting any second, he gently began to move his body against hers. "Could it get any better?" Theodore was screaming with pleasure in his mind.


    But before he could get his answer, he escaped from his trance state. He was back to the present in Adeline''s bathhouse.


    "Theo, are you alright?" he heard Adeline''s voice from behind.


    Theodore blinked his eyes several times and gulped. His breathing had gotten heavier so he took a moment to calm himself down. He was glad that he was wearing his trouser here. He grabbed the towel and handed it over to Adeline.


    "What happened? You were standing there like a statue for a good minute." Adeline asked with curiosity.


    Theodore gave a wide grin and replied, "I had a vision of us. I saw the most beautiful part of our future."

 Chapter 133 - Bruise

    The morning arrived pretty soon for Adeline and Theodore, especially since a lot of things happened during the night and there wasn''t much time left to sleep.


    Theodore opened his eyes to see the beautiful love of his life still deep in her sleep. He shifted a little towards her and gently caressed her lips. "I might have kissed her a little too hard. I should be more careful."


    Then he gave a soft peck on her lips. Adeline curved her lips up while still in her sleep.


    Theodore gave a gentle nudge to the sleeping Princess and whispered, "Adeline, it''s time for me to go. I will see you tonight."


    Theodore was about to get out of the bed but Adeline pulled him and kissed him passionately.


    After that kiss, Theodore gave a satisfied smile and asked, "What was that for?"


    Adeline playfully smiled and replied, "That was for me so that I can remember how you taste for the whole day."


    Theodore gave a kiss on her forehead and smiled, "I see that someone is not shy anymore."


    Adeline pulled her blanket and sweetly said, "See you tonight, my Devil Prince."


    "Sure, my lovely Princess," Theodore vanished from the room after saying that.


    If it was any other days then Adeline would have already gotten out of bed and would have been going through the books. But today, she was sleep-deprived so after Theodore left, she went right back to sleep.


    Adeline felt as though she had just blinked her eyes but her maids were already knocking at her door.


    "Come in," Adeline shouted, still half-asleep.


    The maids tried to open the doors but they could not. "I think you have locked the door, Adeline," Hawisa shouted from the other side of the door.


    Adeline had forgotten that she had locked the door yesterday after she ran from her backyard.


    "Just a minute, I am coming!" Adeline shouted and then grunted while getting out of the bed.


    She took a few steps towards the door but then she saw down and realized that she was naked. She was too tired yesterday to search for another nightgown, she didn''t know where Osanna would keep them and she had just wrapped the towel around her as a nightgown.


    She had no idea when it managed to slid off from her body. And the thought of having slept with Theodore, naked, made her feel really embarrassed.


    "Your Highness, did you fall asleep again?" Osanna shouted from behind the door.


    "Give me a minute!"


    Adeline looked around and saw her torn nightgown beside her wardrobe. She couldn''t wear that again! She removed the blanket and grabbed the towel. She wrapped that towel around her body and ran to the bathhouse to remove the shreds of evidence.


    She grabbed her uniforms from the floor and then quickly ran to her wardrobe. Then she threw the uniform inside, and grabbed the nightgown and threw it on the bed.


    And finally, she ran to the door and opened it for her maids to come in.


    Both Hawisa and Osanna were shocked to see the Princess in that condition. Her hair was all ruffled up, she was wearing nothing more than a towel, and there were more bruises on her face than the last time they had seen her.


    Hawisa quickly closed the door behind so that some other maids wouldn''t accidentally see her in that condition, very un-lady-like.


    And Hawisa asked in a hushed voice, "Adeline, why are you in a towel? What happened to your nightgown?"


    Adeline turned around because she was not used to showing so much skin to her maids. She would rarely allow them to dress her up or see her almost naked. "It got torn in my sleep and I had no energy to look for another one so��"


    "I will take out a bath gown for you." Osanna quickly ran towards the wardrobe but when she opened it, she saw that the uniform was dumped in a messy way. "Did you throw your uniform like this, Princess? I don''t think I kept it this way."


    Adeline scratched her hair and said, "Um�� yes. I thought that I would change into my uniform before opening the door but you kept on shouting."


    Osanna turned her head behind and giggled, "Sorry! I didn''t know why it was taking you so long to open the lock."


    And Hawisa instantly asked another question, "Why did you lock the door? Was there any problem?"


    Adeline hated it when these two would still treat her like she was a three years old. So she replied quite sternly, "Yes, I was sleeping naked. And I didn''t want you two to see me that way."


    "Oh," Hawisa never understood why Adeline felt so shy. All the other Princesses and the Queens would allow their maids to dress them up and would even allow their maids to help them take a bath.


    Hawisa had noticed something earlier so she walked to stand in front of Adeline and inspected her face. And then she asked, "Did the General punch you on your mouth?"


    Adeline was confused by that question, "What? Why are you asking that all of a sudden? Is something wrong?"


    "Your lips are blue," Hawisa squinted her eyes and said, "It definitely looks like bruises."


    "What?" Adeline felt a needle in her heart as though she had just been caught by Hawisa. Adeline ran in front of the mirror and examined her lips. There were blue tints here and there on her lips. She knew that they were from Theodore''s hungry kisses.


    But she was not going to tell anyone that it was from multiple kisses from the Devil! She went with the story that Hawisa had expected and said, "Yes, I must have gotten a few punches on my face. The bruises on the lips must have appeared late."


    Adeline was now worried about how she was going to go outside and show her face to others. She was not going to walk around, showing that bruise on her lips to others, at least not to those who were already married. They would know in an instant what they were from. And she didn''t want them to raise their fingers on her.


    Seeing how sad Adeline looked because of that bruise, Hawisa comforted her by saying, "Don''t worry so much, Adeline. I will cover them up with some lip color."


    "You can make these bruises look invisible?" Adeline looked hopefully at her maid.


    Hawisa gave a proud smile and nodded her head, "Yes, I can make it look as though they were never there."


    Adeline hugged Hawisa tightly with happiness, "Thank you, Hawisa. You are a life savior."

 Chapter 134 - Wolf Training

    Nigel woke up in his soft bed in the morning and then quickly changed into his training uniform. Rhea had asked him to be at the training ground at 5 sharp but he happened to wake up a little late to be at the training ground in time.


    He ran as fast as he could, but when he reached there, Rhea was already waiting for him with a stern look on her face. "You are late!" she shouted at the Prince as soon as he was in the vicinity.


    Nigel stopped before his teacher, who looked as young and beautiful as ever, and apologized to her, "I''m sorry, teacher. I woke up a little late."


    Rhea surprised Nigel by speaking in her loud and angry voice again. "You are not allowed to be late for my class. I value time greatly." She was speaking so sweetly yesterday, but there was no sweetness whatsoever right now. Nigel even suspected for a while that the lady in front of him might be Rhea''s twin sister.


    Rhea growled at Nigel, "Do one thousand sit-ups, now!"


    Nigel immediately agreed to his teacher and began to do sit-ups. He didn''t want her to shout at him again.


    Nigel completed that exercise after about 15 minutes. Though he had a sturdier body now, doing a thousand sit-ups made his thigh muscles cramp. He stood up and then loosened his legs to relieve him of the pain.


    Rhea was quietly standing in front of Nigel while watching him do the sit-ups. After he completed it, she said in a rather calm voice, "That was the punishment for coming in late. If you are late again tomorrow, then it will increase by another thousand. Now, we will begin the training."


    Nigel''s jaw dropped when Rhea told her that whatever he did till now was just some punishment and his actual training had not even started.


    Rhea suppressed her urge to crack up at that face that Nigel was making. But she had decided to put up a strict act from today onward. Nigel had turned very late in his life, as compared to the other werewolves and Rhea didn''t want him to be behind his younger pack members. So she had decided to be harsh on him and push him forward.


    "Don''t worry, we will first do the mental training before starting the physical. Cross your legs and sit down." Rhea also made herself comfortable on the dusty ground and Nigel copied her.


    Then she asked him, "Do you remember how you felt when you turned for the first time?"


    "No, I don''t remember anything except the excruciating pain in my heart. And after that, I woke up somewhere else. I remember nothing in between." Nigel was a little disheartened. He envied Theodore for seeing him in his wolf form and remembering things about him that he didn''t remember himself.


    "I should have asked him how I looked. I mean... what color of fur I had? I guess I will have to wait till another full moon to find out." He thought to himself.


    Nigel noticed Rhea glaring at him and quickly straightened his back.


    "You just remember a tip of the feeling then." Rhea nodded and then said, "Before turning, you will feel a tingle in your heart. And then slowly, your animal senses will take over when you are new to this. After that, you will begin to feel excruciating pain all over your body."


    Nigel noted how Rhea was referring to the pain in the chest as just a tingle. And he quietly kept on listening to the wisdom.


    "Your human bones will begin to break and reform into animal bones. And if you are lucky you will completely turn into a werewolf in about 15 minutes when you are new. But if you are among the unlucky lot, it might even take half of your night to transform completely."


    Nigel clearly recalled that he had reached the banquet when the dinner was still going on. So he knew that it didn''t take him half of the night to complete the transformation.


    Rhea unconsciously reverted back to her calm voice when she said the next things, "But after enduring that pain you will feel the most beautiful feeling that a werewolf can ever feel. When you turn into a wolf, you will feel a great sense of freedom. There is no other feeling that can compare to the one when you run freely around the woods."


    She cleared her throat and then caught up her strict voice again, "Our minds have the werewolf side hidden somewhere in our subconscious. And if we can connect with that hidden part in our brain, then we can transform ourselves into wolves even when there is no full moon."


    Nigel didn''t ask the question in the middle because he already knew that from Wulfric. Else he would have been shocked to hear that he could even turn without a full moon.


    "The new ones mostly require some trigger to connect with the hidden side. The most effective trigger is our anger." Rhea emphasized the word ''anger'' by actually saying that word a bit angrily. "In some rare cases, the trigger can also be our pain. When we become well acquainted with the process then we won''t need trigger anymore. We can turn as easily as breathing."


    Nigel was soaking in all that information like a sponge. He was determined to learn everything about the werewolves during a month of stay here in Aberdeen.


    "Now, I want you to enter the meditative stage and focus on what is inside your mind. Try to find your animal. And after you find that, we will move on to the next step of trying to bring it out. Of course, this will not happen within an hour, it might take weeks just to find that hidden part of your brain."


    "Weeks?" Nigel could not help but exclaim.


    "Yes, so don''t be disheartened if you don''t see anything inside your mind." Rhea was sitting with her legs crossed. She relaxed both of her hands on her knees and then touched the tips of her index fingers with her thumbs. "Copy this posture and then close your eyes."


    Nigel copied her and closed his eyes as she had asked.


    "Now, try to see inside your mind. Don''t focus on anything else other than your deep thoughts. Just see within. If you have difficulty in focusing at first then take deep breaths in and out and focus on your breathing. You will automatically delve deeper into your mind after some time. You may begin!"


    As directed by his teacher, Nigel started to focus on his breathing in the search of his wolf side.

 Chapter 135 - Meditation

    Nigel began to focus on his breathing as Rhea had asked. He slowly began to breathe in and breathe out. Slowly, the noises around him, like the sound of different types of birds in the forest began to fade away. Now all he was hearing was his own breathing.


    After a while, without even realizing it, he had entered the subconscious state of his mind. He found himself in a moonlit forest. He looked around and the forest looked like the wet rain forest which he had crossed before entering the Enchanted Valley.


    He looked up and saw the full moon shining gracefully. "Where am I? And why does this place look familiar?" Nigel was talking to himself while walking further ahead. He walked for some time to see if he could find someone else there in the forest.


    However, no matter in which direction he walked, he found not a single living being. "This forest is awfully quiet.. Aren''t there any animals or birds at least?"


    After walking aimlessly for quite a while, something struck to Nigel, "Wait, how did I end up here in the first place? And why can''t I seem to get out of here? Is this some kind of a dream?"


    He tried to pinch himself on the hand to check if he could feel any pain. "Ouch! That sting! But why does everything feel so unreal then?"


    "I have to get out of here." Nigel was determined to get out of that forest anyhow. He walked in one direction, and after a while, he began to sprint, and soon he was running at his top speed. He ran for what felt like a few hours but no matter how much he ran, he was not getting anywhere. But strangely, he was not tired at all.


    He stopped in the middle of his track, irritated at his inability to get out of this forest. Then his eyes fell on a strange dead tree. "Didn''t I see this tree already? Am I just running in circles?"


    He decided to check that theory and ran ahead. After a while, he arrived right near that dead tree again. "Am I in Hell or something? This forest seems to be an endless loop. I always end up here no matter how much I try to get out."


    Nigel was already so frustrated that he looked up in the sky and then shouted at the top of his lungs. "Let me out already." Then Nigel began to punch himself thinking that he was in a dream. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake�� uuuupppp��!"


    "Your Highness!"


    Nigel heard a faint sound of a woman in the forest.


    "Nigel... Nigel!"


    He heard that same voice calling for him again but he was not quite sure who that voice belonged to.


    He frantically looked around in search of that voice. But he saw no one in the vicinity. He cupped his hands over his mouth and then shouted, "Hello! Helloooo! Is anyone here?" But there was no answer.


    Outside in the training ground, Rhea had been trying to reach out to the Prince who had been in the meditative state for too long. She had been calling his name out but there was no response from Nigel.


    Rhea puckered her lips and then sighed. She cracked her knuckles and whispered to herself, "I did not want to resort to this method, but I guess I have no other choice."


    Then Rhea gave a tight slap to Nigel on his cheek.


    Nigel suddenly found himself lying on the dirt of the training ground. And in the next second, he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. "Argh!" he gritted and then placed his hand on his cheek. He looked up to find Rhea staring down at him.


    "How�� what��" Nigel furrowed his brows and tried to comprehend what had just happened. "I was in a strange forest just a while ago. How am I here?"


    Rhea went back and sat down in front of Nigel again. And she said in a sarcastic tone, "You were training with me, remember? You were supposed to be meditating, trying to find out your animal side, not sleeping like a dead log."


    Nigel pouted his lips because he remembered what he was actually supposed to do. But he had no idea whether he had really fallen asleep or that was him in a meditative state. "Teacher, may I ask you a question?"


    "Go ahead."


    "What will we see when we are in the meditative state? I am not quite sure whether I was dreaming or I was in my subconscious." Nigel gave an innocent grin to Rhea and Nigel was sure that the corner of Rhea''s lips curved up slightly.


    But Rhea immediately put up the stern act and said, "It is different for different people. Some say that they just see a dark room, some just hear the growling of their animal side, while some will have an elaborate layout. I think you might be the latter one."


    Nigel nodded his head in relief. It would have been a shame if he had fallen asleep and dreamt in the very first training exercise. Nigel suddenly looked up to check where the sun had reached and asked, "How long was I stuck in my subconscious? I felt like I had spent at least 10 hours in there."


    "Don''t worry, I woke you up after an hour had passed. As I said, it can even take around a week just to find the animal side, so I couldn''t just let you get stuck in the very first exercise. You have a lot to cover today."


    Rhea was ready to teach another thing to Nigel, "Now, the next exercise that we are going to do is our hearing exercise. I want you to close your eyes again and this time, instead of looking deep inside your mind, I want you to focus on the outside. Focus on what you hear outside, and try to check how far your ears can pick up the noises."


    Nigel closed his eyes again and focused on the sound. For a while, he was hearing the sounds of the birds chirping and even some people mumbling in the distance. But as he had just entered in his subconscious a while ago, he happened to enter his subconscious state again.


    "Er�� I am back in this forest again?"

 Chapter 136 - Majestic Form

    This time, Nigel wasn''t completely oblivious about where he was or how he got here. He was more aware. He knew that this was his subconscious state, and he also remembered that his wolf side would be here somewhere.


    "If I see the visual representation of my subconscious, then can my wolf side actually be in the form of a wolf? Is that why there are no other animals or birds�� maybe they are afraid of the wolf? I don''t even know if that makes sense but let''s try and find my other half."


    Nigel again walked for what felt like an hour. But he could not find any wolf in there. Tired and frustrated, he sat down on a stone and looked up at the moon. The moon looked a bit larger than normal. And it looked so beautiful and pure that Nigel felt extremely happy to see the moon. He felt like calling for the moon.


    And the next moment, Nigel began to howl like a real wolf. He did not mean to howl, he just wanted to say something to the moon.. But he ended up surprising himself by howling. However, he felt really good while doing that so he didn''t stop. He kept on looking at the moon and howling on top of his voice.


    And to his surprise again, he heard something reciprocating to that howl. For a short moment, he thought that it was his echo. But then something came across his mind. "What if that is my werewolf form?"


    He instantly got up from that rock and ran in the direction from where that voice was coming. "I do not have weeks at my disposal to just find my werewolf side or form or whatever. I have to find it quickly so that I can learn the next steps." Nigel was determined to find it now.


    He ran at the top of his speed while occasionally howling, and finally, he reached a cliff which was also the edge of the forest that he was trapped in. He somehow got out of that never-ending loop of the forest.


    A huge wolf, which had a mix of grey and white fur, was sitting at the cliff. It was facing the other side and was howling while looking at the moon. Suddenly, it stopped howling and it looked behind at Nigel.


    Nigel felt overwhelmed when he stared at that wolf''s amber eyes. He wasn''t nervous, but he felt extremely happy as though he had found his long-lost twin.


    He slowly inched his way towards the wolf and that wolf did the same.


    The wolf''s fur was glowing under the full moon. It was almost twice the size of a normal wolf and looked somewhat intimidating as well.


    As he inched closer, he uttered under his breath, "So, I look this majestic in my wolf form? I feel like touching its fur�� I mean touching my fur. I hope I won''t bite myself."


    Nigel wanted to be in that body and run around the forest. He wanted to feel the freedom that Rhea was talking about earlier and he also wanted to remember the feeling when he would revert back to his human form.


    When the wolf was close, Nigel raised his hand slowly and cautiously to caress the majestic wolf. His fingertips touched the fur that was as soft as silk. But as soon as he did that, the wolf disintegrated into a gust of glowing aura and forcefully entered Nigel''s body.


    Nigel began to scream in pain. He felt as though something foreign had ripped his heart open and then entered inside it. The pain was just too unbearable to handle. He even wondered if his heart would explode from that agonizing pain.


    He clutched his chest and growled like an untamed beast. Suddenly he crouched down on the ground on all his fours. His whole body started to sweat excessively.


    And in the middle of that agony, he heard the bone on his back cracking. He jolted because of extreme pain and shouted even more. His eyes turned from sapphire blue to glowing amber in color. And then there was another loud crack on his leg. He tumbled to the ground and writhed on the ground.


    He realized that he was no longer in his subconscious and was already out in the training ground. But whatever was happening to him was not stopping. His countless bones had already snapped and were taking different shapes.


    He flung his head outwards to see where Rhea was. She was standing right in front of him and was saying something to him. But he could not focus on a single word that she was saying.


    The pain was getting worse and worse. He wanted to ask Rhea to help him out of the pain but he did not even get the right word to say. All he could do was grunt and gag and scream.


    He could feel a sharp pain on his fingertips and he felt like digging his nails on something, anything at all. He did not realize that his hands had already transformed into sharp claws. While in the middle of shouting and his bones breaking down, he dug his claws on the ground so that he would not end up digging them on Rhea.


    He felt like the first thing he would do when his transformation would be complete would be to jump at Rhea, so he gritted from between his sharp canines and shouted, "Get�� away�� from meeee��"


    But Rhea was his teacher for a reason. Even though she looked the same age as Nigel, she was far more experienced. She was one of the strongest wolves of the pack. So she was ready for whatever was going to come her way.


    Nigel kept on thrashing on the ground and writhing around in pain. And finally, after about 12 minutes, his endless pain came to a halt.


    Nigel opened his eyes and saw that Rhea was smiling at him. He tried to smile back at her but he felt some discomfort as though something was different. He raised his hand to check if what just happened was just a dream or was happening in real as well. But instead of his hand, he saw a white paw with sharp claws protruding from the tips.


    "I turned?" He exclaimed inside his mind in ecstasy. And as though he was a newborn puppy who just found out about its tail, he began to jump around in circles. He was trying to look at his own body.


    Rhea came close to him and then ran her hand on his neck and said, "Why don''t you take a round of this forest?" Then she swiftly jumped and sat on Nigel''s back and whispered near his ears, "I hope you don''t mind me joining?"


    If Nigel was in his human form then his whole body would have turned red already. He was thankful that he was a wolf now. He nodded his head and then took off to enjoy the freedom.

 Chapter 137 - Old

    About two weeks had passed and everything in both the Palaces was going forward as per the routine. The young Princes and Princesses of Wyverndale were busy with their training. The older ones were busy with their personal training as well as were busy taking care of the tasks assigned to them by the King.


    Nigel was also progressing at a rapid rate as compared to the other new turners. He had impressed Rhea with his fighting skills. He could even go toe to toe with both Rhea and the Crown Prince. It was all thanks to his sparring sessions with Adeline.


    And Adeline was also progressing at a faster rate in her defense training. She could dodge almost any kind of attack from the General. Since a few days, the General had even started to blindfold Alexis during the duel with him.


    He wanted her to learn to defend herself in the dark as well. And by blindfolding her, he hoped to improve her hearing and make her able to predict the incoming attacks just by focusing on the sound from the opponent..


    Adeline had bruises all over her body for a few days when he introduced that technique, but she was quick to adapt. She learned to defend herself before Theodore would go looking for the General to thrash him for putting bruises on the delicate body of the Princess.


    The night routine was also going on smoothly. The succubus was slowly drawing out the life force of Prince Edwin each night. He was not a tough one like King Dragomir and he was easily fooled by the succubus.


    And because of that, the Prince was gradually growing weaker and weaker by the day. A few strands of grey hair could be seen along with his raven black hair. He was losing his weight and a little too many frown lines were appearing on his forehead.


    If Lillian had seen her son then she might have noticed what was actually happening to her beloved son. But she was too focused on keeping an eye on King Dragomir. She believed that she had put that succubus back in her place after she threatened her with her life. And she believed that the succubus was harvesting the King''s life force when in reality the victim was her own son.


    Adeline had not been able to take time to keep track of the tax problem of the villagers. Because of the extensive training, and the bruises and pain that she got from that, that problem had skipped her mind. So, today, she decided to visit Agnes and ask her whether the Royal Guards were troubling the villagers anymore or not.


    She headed towards the King''s Court to ask for permission from her father to visit the village.


    "Adeline!" she heard someone calling her name from behind.


    She turned around and saw Prince Alan coming towards her. And she thought to herself, "How does he appear when I am going to do something that is related to Edwin? Is he a psychic or something? He is the witch''s son, so maybe that is even possible."


    He stood in front of Adeline and greeted her, "Good evening, sister. Where are you going?"


    "I was going to see father. What about you?" Adeline tried not to show the disappointment in her face after being interrupted by him.


    Alan smiled and said, "Oh, I was coming to see you." And all of a sudden he had this worried look on his face. "I just don''t have anyone else with whom I can talk openly."


    Though Adeline wanted to go to the market to learn more about the village''s situation, she thought that talking with Alan could also be fruitful to help her understand about the village. As per her previous knowledge, Alan was keeping track of his brother''s fraud and he was also constantly keeping an eye on the village.


    "Would you like to come to my quarter then? I can always see father later." Adeline made Alan believe that she was just going to see her father and nothing more. After all, he had warned her to stay out of Edwin''s business and she didn''t want to tell him that she was going to do just that.


    Alan was more than happy when Adeline invited him over. He thankfully accepted the invitation, "Sure, I would love to. Sitting on the grass is really painful to be honest."


    Adeline laughed as she was reminded of their previous meeting. They had sat in the garden for an hour.


    "Let''s go then."


    Adeline turned around towards her own quarter and led Alan. Before leading her brother to the meeting room of her quarter, she called Osanna and then ordered, "Bring us some tea."


    Osanna bowed and then left for the Kitchen while Adeline welcomed her brother to the meeting room.


    They both settled down. Adeline was waiting for Alan to say something and start the conversation but he was just sitting there awkwardly. So Adeline took the initiative and asked, "What is troubling you, brother? You know that you can share anything with me, right? I am good at keeping secrets."


    Alan warmly smiled at her and said, "It''s about Edwin. He has been sick for the past two weeks."


    "I know that I shouldn''t probably talk about Edwin with you. You two never looked eye to eye with each other. And I know that he has done a lot of bad things but he is still my brother. And I can''t stop worrying about him."


    Adeline furrowed her brows as she was surprised to hear that Edwin was sick. "He is sick? What happened? And why hasn''t he recovered for such a long time? Hasn''t he seen any healers yet?"


    Alan let out a quiet sigh which went unnoticed by Adeline. The main purpose behind him visiting Adeline was because he was suspicious that Adeline might have used some witches to curse Edwin. Edwin was sick since the day he had told Adeline about all his dark deeds, and he thought that Adeline might have had something to do with that since he knew how much she cared about the citizens.


    And after seeing the initial facial reaction from Adeline, he was sure that Adeline had nothing to do with Edwin''s sickness. He thought that it was a total coincidence.


    "He has been seeing healers on a daily basis. In fact, he has already seen multiple healers already but none of them could find the cause of his sickness. They say that there is nothing wrong with his body, that he hasn''t got any disease. But then, he is not getting any better. His condition is worsening."


    Alan looked sad and really concerned about his brother.


    But Adeline still didn''t get what was wrong with Edwin so she asked again, "What condition is he in? What symptoms does he show?"


    He shrugged his shoulder and said, "I don''t know. He looks too feeble�� and old."

 Chapter 138 - Weak Opponent

    "He�� he looks old?" Adeline stuttered and thought to herself, "What does he mean by Edwin looks old? How can he be old in just two weeks?"


    Alan tried to give her a clearer picture by explaining, "I mean he doesn''t look as youthful as he used to look just a few weeks ago. He has lost significant weight and his muscles are loosening. And he does not have the stamina at all. He keeps on sleeping most of the time."


    "And the healers still said that nothing is wrong with him?" Adeline looked really confused at that claim.


    Alan puckered his lips and nodded his head.


    "That''s weird." But Adeline suddenly remembered someone else who was in the similar condition which Alan was describing.


    She thought to herself, "Didn''t my mother also go through similar symptoms? The healers couldn''t find anything wrong with her but she got weaker and weaker and then she�� So, does that mean someone is poisoning Edwin? Could it be Lillian herself? Who else would know about that poison?"


    But then she scratched off that possibility because Edwin was very dear to Lillian.. She would never kill her own son. "Then is someone else poisoning him? If so, who?"


    Seeing Adeline lost in her thoughts, Alan asked curiously, "Do you know what could have caused such sickness? You seem to be recalling something."


    Adeline was not planning to say anything to Alan but she could not hide it when he asked that question specifically. So she replied, "What if someone is secretly poisoning him? Couldn''t it be the work of some poison that cannot be detected easily?"


    Now Alan was more than sure that Adeline had nothing to do with Edwin''s sickness. "Even I suspected that at first. So I personally oversaw his maids and servants for a few days, tracking their every move. And I even planted a spy in his quarter but I didn''t find anything suspicious."


    Adeline suddenly remembered that Agnes was a witch and got lost in the thought again, "She also cared about the villagers so could she have cast some spell on Edwin? No, she cannot be that kind of a person though. Her enmity is with Lillian, not Edwin. And she is a good witch, she cannot just go and curse someone because they charged higher taxes. They will only act when there is forbidden witchcraft involved."


    "That''s sad." Adeline pursed her lips and sighed.


    "Yes, it is sad. He was waiting so eagerly for the test. The test is only two weeks away and he is in that condition. I cannot even imagine what he must be going through right now." Though Alan did not think that Edwin would make a good King, he did not want to see him losing even before giving the test either.


    Adeline pitied Edwin and she genuinely wished for his recovery, "I hope that he will recover by then. We all know that he was really interested to be the next ruler of the Kingdom. He will get broken if he cannot even give the test."


    Even though one of her biggest opponents was sick, she didn''t feel happy. She was rather sad because it wouldn''t be a fair fight if he was at his weakest when he gave the test. And whoever would get selected as the next ruler would always feel that maybe, they were the second-best choice but they were selected just because Edwin was unfit during the test.


    Also, Adeline was aware that he was favored by the councilmen. Edwin was the first Prince and was born from a Queen and not a concubine. And if they were to find out that he was sick during the exam, the councilmen could try to bring troubles for the selected ruler later on. Though the judgment of the deity would be binding, they could still try to persuade the King to conduct the exam again.


    Alan also let out a sigh and agreed to Adeline, "Yes, I also hope that he somehow gets well soon enough. I am worried that he might create chaos once he gets better. He might try to obstruct the one who gets named the future ruler."


    "I cannot believe that I am saying this to you but�� most of the Generals support him. And it cannot be denied that he might even try to use his influence over them to lead a rebellion. He might even try to overthrow the future ruler after the coronation. Who knows, he might even try to overthrow father himself."


    Alan was more worried about the consequences that his brother would bring if he wouldn''t be able to give the very test that he had waited for his whole life.


    Adeline knew that the councilmen favored Prince Edwin. But she had no idea that even the Generals were his supporters. That would make things very difficult for the next ruler. Soldiers were the backbone of the ruler and if that backbone was not there to support the ruler then they could fall easily.


    Adeline was screaming with frustration in her mind, "I hate all this favoritism. Why did our father have to give birth to so many children? If there were fewer children then the people wouldn''t have been divided between the Princes and Princesses like this. Everything would have been less complicated."


    "What are you thinking?" Alan couldn''t help but notice that Adeline would be lost in her thoughts every now and then.


    Adeline replied truthfully but she said it as though she was being sarcastic, "I''m just thinking that our father gave birth to too many potential heirs. Everything would have been simpler if there were just two or three children."


    Alan suddenly burst into laughter and seeing him laugh hysterically, Adeline also began to laugh.


    "Only you can say such a scandalous thing against the King," Alan was amused by how fearlessly she could raise her voice against the King''s action.


    A soft knock on the door interrupted their laughter.


    "Come in," Adeline replied while still chuckling.


    Osanna came inside with the tray of tea. She poured the tea for both of the brother and sister and left the room.


    Alan picked up the cup and blew on it. Then he asked a question while taking a sip of the tea, "So, how is your preparation going for the test?"


    "It is going pretty well. And what about yours?" Adeline didn''t want to go into details about her training.


    Alan half-shrugged his shoulder and said, "Same as usual, I train early in the morning and sometimes in the evening as well. I am scared though. The closer the test is approaching, the nervous I get, I don''t know why."

 Chapter 139 - Cheater

    A few more days had passed with the same strict routine. With every passing day, the test of worthiness was approaching closer and closer. The Princes and Princesses were preparing rigorously for their final test, the test that would determine their future, the test that would decide whether they were worthy to rule the Kingdom or not.


    Adeline was training even harder than before. She would wake up at 4 in the morning and without wasting any second, she would start revising the theories like ''The Art of War'', ''The Kingdom and Its People'', ''Trade'', ''Royal Laws of Wyverndale'', and many more that she was taught since her early age.


    After the revision, she would take a quick bath and take Rion out for a race. When she would complete 4-5 rounds of the race track, Adeline would stand in front of Rion and pretend that he was her opponent.


    And then she would practice some of her fighting moves. Rion would sometimes respond by trying to kick her with his foreleg or trying to push her with his head. Adeline loved it when he acted that way.


    She would return back to her quarter after that and eat some breakfast.. Then she would leave for the group training session. Her brothers and sisters were getting even more competitive with her, now that the test was approaching. The test had all of them on their toes.


    She had begun to utilize the gap between two of her training by visiting the village. She had even made some friends in the village, apart from the witches of the Mystic Coven.


    They didn''t know that she was a Princess but they loved her because of how kind she was to them, and how beautiful she was. Even though she would dress up as modestly as she could, the villagers thought that she was a noblewoman from another village because of how well-behaved she was.


    Adeline found out that the Royal Guards and the tax collectors were not bothering the villagers lately. She guessed that it was because Edwin was sick and thus he didn''t have the energy to carry out his treachery. Though she felt a little bad for Edwin, she was glad that at least one of her problems was reduced for now.


    Right now, Adeline was in the group training session with her brothers and sisters. As their test was approaching, the Generals were making them train even harder.


    Adeline and Raphael were standing while facing each other. Both of them were holding double-edged arming swords in their hands. They were going to have a duel as a part of their training.


    As soon as the General gave them a signal to begin the fight, the two opponents began to circle each other slowly. This time, Adeline was not going straight for the attack but she was going to play defensively to put what General Osmond had taught her for the last few days into practice.


    Raphael also noticed the sudden change in Adeline''s tactics but he saw this as an opportunity to defeat Adeline. "I see that you are playing defensive all of a sudden. Let''s see how well you fare," Raphael thought to himself and smirked.


    Then he charged towards Adeline and slashed his sword forward. Adeline waited for the perfect moment and just when the sword was about to land on her chest, she quickly blocked the attack from her brother.


    She swiftly pulled away and took a step back. Then again, she waited for Raphael to attack her. Like before, she managed to deflect his attack with little to no effort, a few seconds before the sword would land on her.


    The attacking and defending went on for quite some time. Raphael would feel as though he would get Adeline when he would see his sword inches away from her but she would block them at the last moment.


    "I hope you are not making fun of me in your own silly way, dear sister," Raphael was screaming in his mind because of the frustration of not being able to land a single attack.


    Because Adeline was not attacking vigorously and wasn''t trying to end the fight quickly, the duel lasted longer than it normally would.


    "Okay, I think this is enough for now," Adeline thought to herself as she felt that the two of them were taking too much time of the training. Then she dashed forward as she would usually do and swung her sword.


    The sound of the swords clanking against each other was echoing throughout the ground. And gradually, the clanking sound sped up.


    Raphael was having a hard time countering all the attacks in time and eventually, Adeline had her sword pointed at his neck. Raphael raised his hand and accepted defeat while joking, "Try not to kill me, sister. That sword is a real one."


    The General clapped his hand and then announced, "Adeline is the winner, as always."


    Adeline and Raphael climbed down of the platform and the General looked at the other Princes and Princesses and asked, "Now, who wants to go next?"


    After the other two pairs also had their duel session, the training session came to an end.


    Adeline waited for all the others so that they could leave the training ground together. She had been doing that for a while now because she also wanted to blend in with her brothers and sisters.


    All six of them gathered together and were ready to leave towards their respective quarter.


    While they were walking together, Nefriti was clinging to Adeline as usual. And Nefriti asked to Adeline, "Adeline, how is your personal training going on with General Osmond? I heard that he was teaching you something new and also that you were training really hard."


    Adeline didn''t know how Nefriti could tell that the General was teaching her something new. But she didn''t think much of it. She just thought that everyone was on edge because of the upcoming test and they just wanted to know how she was doing.


    Adeline could feel that everyone was keenly waiting to hear her answer. She smiled sweetly and then answered so that all of them could hear her, "The training is going quite well. It''s nothing new. The General has been teaching me the same old stuff but just intense than before."


    She didn''t say what the General was really teaching her because if she told that to them now, then after taking the test she was sure that they would know she had access to the insider detail about the test beforehand. She didn''t want to be called a cheater. And she definitely didn''t want any fingers raised towards her if she would be chosen as the future ruler.

 Chapter 140 - Deity?

    It was times like this when Adeline would find her mind conflicting with her heart. She had asked her father to share the details of the test with her fearing that Edwin would take over the throne out of all the heirs. But now that he was almost out of the picture, unless he recovered miraculously, she felt as though she had an unfair advantage over all the others.


    Though her mind would tell her that she had resorted to taking advantage of her father''s knowledge only because she had the best interest of the people of Wyverndale, her heart would still call her a cheater at times like this.


    All her other brothers and sisters were also equally dedicated as her for their test. They had prepared for this test for their whole lives and she, the lastborn, had an unfair advantage over them.


    Though Adeline told that she was not being taught anything new, her brothers and sisters didn''t seem to believe that she was being taught the same old stuff. It was because they had heard the rumors from the maids that when returning back from the training session with General Osmond, Princess Adeline would be covered in bruises, even on her face.


    But they wouldn''t see the bruises when they would meet her the next day. They didn''t think that the rumors from the maids were baseless. They believed that Adeline had access to some kind of medicine that would remove the bruise within one night.


    Of course, that medicine was none other than Hawisa''s makeup.


    Dissatisfied with Adeline''s answer, Claudia asked the next question to her again, "We heard that you return back to the quarter with bruises all over your body after you train with General Osmond. Is that just a rumor? If it is then we should punish all those who are spreading such baseless rumors about our beautiful little sister."


    And as though Kaela had no idea about that at all, she interjected in between and asked Adeline, "You get bruises after training with the General? I hope he is doing nothing bad to you." She then went over to the side of Adeline and whispered, "He isn''t taking advantage of you, is he? If he is harming you in any way then you can tell us. We will get rid of him for you."


    Some frown lines appeared on Adeline''s forehead because Kaela was thinking a little too much. But she didn''t want to be rude so she smiled and politely refused such outrageous accusations towards her teacher.


    "He is more nervous than me regarding the test. And he likes to test me sometimes. The bruises might have been from a test when he threw some punches and kicks on me to test my pain resistance, that''s all. There is no need to worry."


    "That''s a relief then," Kaela gave a smile to Adeline but Adeline felt as though that smile was pretentious.


    Nefriti then sighed loudly and said, "This test is such a pain. Why couldn''t the King just choose one of us and make us the future ruler? They had to act so secretively and won''t even tell us a thing about the test. I wonder who is going to test us."


    Adeline felt a tingle in her heart because she knew most of the things about the test and she was keeping that a secret from the others. If it was Nigel then she would have already told him, but she didn''t want to tell anything to the ones with whom she was walking right now.


    Claudia was sharp enough to notice that sudden change in Adeline''s facial expression that lasted for a fraction of seconds.


    Meanwhile, Raphael sarcastically answered to Nefriti, "Are you the only one to not know who is going to take our test? That is the one and the only thing that we all know and that is not kept a secret from us."


    Nefriti raised her brows and then gave a side-eyed look to Raphael, "You mean you believe that the deity is going to take our test? Grow up, Raphael!"


    Raphael instantly gave an answer, "Of course I believe that the deity is going to take our test." He shrugged his shoulders and then asked, "Why would our elders lie to us about the one thing that they told us regarding the test?"


    Nefriti stopped on her track and turned around abruptly to face Raphael. She then fisted on her hips and she asked challengingly to her brother, "Have you ever seen a deity till now, Raphael?"


    Raphael rolled his eyes and answered with an irritated look on his face, "No�� but I believe that they are real."


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Nefriti shook her head with a disapproving look on her face, and she talked down on Raphael, "Don''t be so na?ve, Raphael. Deities are just myths that the elders told us so that we would practice harder in fear of something which is nonexistent. They are just like ghost stories that are told to scare the children to get to their bed early."


    Kaela also chimed in to the conversation and agreed to what Nefriti was saying, "I bet that some of the councilmen and the Generals will take our test in the training ground itself."


    But Raphael was not ready to believe that the deity was unreal. Else the King would have denied the rumor that they were told as kids. "You two believe whatever you want. But I believe that the deity is real and that we are going to be tested by the deity himself or herself."


    "See! We don''t even know if this deity is a male or a female. Have you ever seen some kind of statue or paintings of this great deity that is going to test us? Do you even know what they look like?" Nefriti pointed out the fact which no one was seeing. "We have not even seen a symbolic representation of this deity that you are talking about. So stop believing that suddenly we are going to see him or her in real."


    Suddenly, Nefriti''s words made Raphael think hard. "Oh god! Why didn''t I notice that till now? We never worship any specific statue or drawings... All we do is offer some food while facing the hills during the festivals."


    "Exactly! That was why I was telling you that it is nothing more than a myth." Nefriti turned around again and began to walk while feeling victorious.


    Adeline was listening to all that debate in silence. She knew the truth but she didn''t dare to speak.

 Chapter 141 - Not Allowed

    Adeline and the other Princes and Princesses were walking slowly after the eye-opening discussion about the deity. Raphael, Gustin, and Claudia had believed that they were going to be tested by their deity. But after hearing the facts from Nefriti that countered their beliefs, they were forced to rethink who was actually going to take their test.


    Claudia, who had seen Adeline remain awfully quiet and stiff, asked to Adeline, "Adeline, who do you think will take our test? Did you also believe that a deity would take our test? Or do you think that someone else from the Palace will?"


    Claudia had noticed the change in Adeline''s expression when Nefriti had asked the question regarding who was going to test them. And she suspected that Adeline somehow knew about it.


    Adeline''s heart rate shot up the pace when that question was directed towards her. She was trying hard not to look uncomfortable or awkward when her brothers and sisters were having the debate earlier.


    But now that Claudia specifically asked that question to her even when most of them had already agreed to Nefriti, Adeline felt as though she might have got caught. She was never really good at hiding things.


    Even so, Adeline tried her best to keep up the act and replied softly, "I never really gave much thought to it." She hummed for a while as though she was thinking right now and said, "I think what Nefriti said makes sense. We have never seen the deity after all, so��" Adeline just shrugged off her shoulders and left her answer open-ended.


    The others didn''t think much about this reply from Adeline, but Claudia didn''t buy that act. She believed that Adeline knew more about the test than what she was letting them know.


    Adeline''s quarter was the nearest from the training ground and they were all already near her quarter. Adeline quickly glanced at her brothers and sisters and then gave a warm smile to all of them. "See you all again tomorrow."


    But Claudia stopped her by saying, "Adeline, wait." She gave a quick glance at everyone and said, "We all have been so stressed out lately because of this test. Why don''t we blow off some steam by going out to the market and then treating ourselves to tasty food like the last time? It has already been so many days since we last went to the market."


    Nefriti clasped her hands in excitement and instantly agreed, "Yes, please. Let''s go and have some fun before the test." She narrowed her gaze and said dramatically, "Who knows, we might all become enemies after the test."


    Kaela gently nudged Nefriti and laughed. "Yeah, right." She mimicked Nefriti and said, "So we should have one last dinner together."


    Nefriti held her head high and then said in a boastful voice, "Yes, and you all won''t be that lucky to have dinner with me after I get selected as the future ruler. So, agree while I am being generous to have dinner with you commoners."


    Adeline could not help but laugh because of the way Nefriti was speaking all high and mighty. And she replied while still chuckling, "Sure." She pretended to bow her head to Nefriti and said, "I would be honored to have dinner with you."


    "Why are you agreeing with this fool?" Raphael puffed his chest outward as though he was copying Nefriti and said in a deep voice, "It''s me who you should be honored to have dinner with because I am going to be the next King."


    Gustin sneered all of a sudden and said to Raphael, "You are nothing compared to brother Edwin. I have my money on him." Then he also fisted his hands on his hips and held his head high. And spoke almost as dramatically as Nefriti, "Of course, I have my money on myself first. You all may surrender yourself now and bow to your King."


    "In your dreams!" Nefriti shouted and showed her tongue to Gustin.


    Kaela was serious all of a sudden and then she whispered, "Haven''t you all heard? Prince Edwin has been sick for quite a while now. I heard that he might not recover in time for the test. I wonder what happened to him."


    Everyone went quiet all of a sudden. Kaela glanced at everyone. They had a somewhat shocked looks on their faces. And she asked, "You all didn''t know?"


    "How do you know that?" Raphael doubted the credibility of that information.


    Kaela said in a soft whisper, "I heard the Healers talking amongst themselves. I wouldn''t have believed if some maids were talking about it."


    "That''s sad!" Raphael said while scrunching his brows.


    "Yeah," Nefriti added while puckering her lips.


    Gustin folded his arms and whispered, "Does that mean I actually have a chance to be the future King?"


    Nefriti stomped on Gustin''s foot and shouted, "Why would you even say things like that?"


    Gustin raised his foot and then jumped around in pain, "Did you have to do that? Obviously, I was just joking!"


    "Let''s not talk about gloomy things and make ourselves sad. I am sure Prince Edwin will recover soon." Claudia took a deep breath in and then asked, "Are we all going to the market then?"


    Nefriti agreed excitedly, "Yes. Let''s dress up like the last time and go, just the six of us."


    But Adeline remembered something when Nefriti said that, she remembered the warning of her father. So she instantly said in a worried voice, "Actually, I don''t think we are allowed to do that."


    "Of course we are allowed. We went the last time didn''t we?" Nefriti gave a whimsical grin to Adeline.


    Adeline puckered her lips and then said, "I mean we are not allowed to go out without our guards and without taking the permission from the King. The King scolded me for going to the market without taking his permission. And he asked me to warn you all as well. He said that we will be punished if we step outside of the Palace without his permission."


    Everyone had a dreaded look on their faces as though they had just seen a ghastly ghost.

 Chapter 142 - Poisoning The Minds

    Nefriti was the most frightened out of them all. She looked as though she would faint at any moment now.


    "How did the King find out that we had gone to the market?" Claudia asked Adeline.


    "I had gone to take his permission to visit the market. And he found out after he talked with me." Adeline simply revealed the truth. And she thought to herself that they had indeed snuck out of the Palace the last time.


    Nefriti sneered and snapped at Adeline all of a sudden, "How could you? I thought you were going to keep that a secret!"


    Adeline scoffed and instantly replied in a stern voice, "Why are you shouting at me when you were the one to deceive me saying that you had already taken permission from the King? Had you been truthful to me, I would have asked the permission myself."


    "And besides, I was the one who convinced our father not to punish us. So, don''t accuse me of anything." Adeline narrowed her gaze at Nefriti at that sudden outburst.


    She could not take it how Nefriti was the one who was at fault but she was the one raising her voice. Nefriti was treating her as though it was her fault that the King had caught on to their lies.


    Nefriti was also glaring back at Adeline while breathing heavily. She wanted to say something back but she knew that it was her fault all along. And Adeline was speaking nothing but the truth.


    Raphael and Gustin glanced at each other and then slowly took a few steps away from Adeline and Nefriti. If a fight was going to break out then they were ready to look the other way and walk away. They did not want to be in the middle of the fight between the girls.


    But Kaela courageously stepped in between Adeline and Nefriti and said, "Hey, stop glaring at each other like that!" She dragged Nefriti away and said to her, "The King didn''t punish us, did he? So quit it already. It was not Adeline''s fault."


    Nefriti finally calmed down a little. She glanced at Adeline with softer eyes and spoke somewhat hesitantly, "I''m sorry, Adeline. I shouldn''t have lied to you�� and shouted at you."


    "It''s okay," Adeline gave a mirthless smile to Nefriti. Then she pointed towards the direction of her quarter and said, "I will leave now."


    Raphael gave a sweet smile to Adeline and then waved his hand, "See you tomorrow, Adeline."


    Adeline gave a warm smile to Raphael before walking away from there.


    Claudia kept on staring as Adeline kept on walking further away. The others had already started to walk in another direction that would lead to their quarters. Claudia walked away only after Adeline vanished from her view.


    She sprinted towards where Raphael and the others were headed and caught up to them.


    Claudia had asked all of them to go out on a dinner with a plan to interrogate Adeline some more. She knew that delicious food was Adeline''s weakness and she had plans to use that as a way to pamper Adeline and extract information out of her.


    She was still suspicious that Adeline knew something about the test that they didn''t know. And she wanted to know what she was hiding from them. But as the dinner plan was shattered because of the argument between Adeline and Nefriti, she thought of a different plan.


    She walked alongside the other Princes and Princesses and said, "How would you all like it if two of the strongest contenders for the throne were out of our way?"


    All of the others glanced at her questioningly.


    And Claudia began to poison their minds with greed, "One of the strongest contenders is already weak." She could feel the glare from all the others and she nodded her head, "Yes, I am talking about Edwin. Without him, we are one step closer to the throne. And who is the other person who is even stronger than him?"


    Nefriti clutched her fists and gritted from between her teeth, "Adeline!"


    A sinister smile lurked on Claudia''s face because she could feel that Nefriti was already in her pocket. She had chosen the right time to plant the seeds of jealousy in Nefriti''s mind. And even though Nefriti had been closer to Adeline for the past few weeks, she was the first one to jump in at whatever Claudia was cooking up.


    "I know that when we fight alone, we are no match for Adeline. But what if we all work together to weaken that strongest contender for the throne?" Claudia raised her brows and gave a questioning glance to the others.


    Raphael had deep frowns on his forehead. He looked as though he was trying hard not to slap Claudia then and there. He clenched his fist and spoke in anger, "I will pretend I didn''t hear that." He wanted to say something more but he forcefully pressed his lips together and then stormed away from there.


    Claudia then glanced at the remaining others. She could clearly see it on their faces that a fight between their morality and their greed was going on inside of them.


    Then she decided to appeal to their morality and spoke slyly, "I am not saying that we beat her to her death or we do something severe to her." She faced all the others and spoke slowly so as to make an impact, "She is strong in a suspicious way�� she almost has superhuman strength as compared to us."


    "What are you suggesting then?" Kaela asked with curiosity.


    Claudia could feel that Kaela''s mind was already vulnerable and she thought to herself while trailing her eyes towards Gustin, "Two down, one more to go."


    Claudia then replied as though she was saying nothing wrong, "I am just saying that we bring Adeline down to our level so that the fight will be fair. She shouldn''t be having that monstrous strength in the first place, so we won''t be doing anything wrong here."


    Everyone was just assuming that they would be dueling with each other and the last one standing would win. If that was the case, Adeline could easily be the winner.


    Finally, Gustin took a deep breath and said in a monotone, "If we aren''t killing her then I am in."

 Chapter 143 - Accidental Kiss

    Meanwhile, Adeline was oblivious to the scheming of her brothers and sisters which they had planned against her. She was in her quarter and was lying down on her bed, thinking about the argument that she had with Nefriti.


    Though it was Nefriti''s fault for lying to her and then accusing her of not keeping their secret, Adeline was feeling remorseful for snapping back at Nefriti like that. "They were just starting to warm up to me and I shouted at Nefriti like that. I could have said that same thing in a softer tone. I am sure Nefriti is still angry at me."


    She turned to her side and sighed. "I hope they won''t start treating me like an outsider again."


    Adeline threw her hands and feet and wriggled on the bed like a little child while shouting at the top of her lungs, "Aaaaaahhhhhhh! Why did I have to scare Nefriti away? They must all be thinking that I am a rude brat."


    "Adeline, are you alright?" Adeline heard Hawisa''s voice from outside.


    Adeline clasped her mouth with her hand as she realized how she was screaming. And then she turned her head towards the door and replied, "Yes, I am alright, Hawisa."


    And when she looked away from the door, she felt as though she saw a dark mist forming behind her. She abruptly jumped out of her bed and maintained her distance from that mist thinking that it might be some being from Hell.


    Well, it was a being from Hell but not a dangerous one.


    "Theo! Wh-why are you bending like that? Is something wrong?"


    Theodore was bending backward, his back almost touching the ground. And he was holding out one of his hands in the air as though he was holding something invisible while the other hand was on his own neck as though he was clawing something.


    Theodore fell on the floor as soon as Adeline finished asking that question. And he began to cough and gasp for air.


    Adeline gasped and quickly ran towards Theodore. She feared that he was hurt like before and bent down to inspect him, "Theo, what happened?" She frantically looked at his face and then lifted his cloth to check on his stomach and chest. "Did someone hurt you again?"


    Theodore smiled at Adeline. He loved how she was worried for his safety even when he was one of the strongest beings on all three worlds. He caught her hands and then said, "No Adeline, I am not hurt anywhere. I was in the middle of the fight with the Devil King. Will you help me up?"


    Adeline pulled Theodore up and looked even more troubled, "You were fighting with the Devil King? Why?"


    "I will tell you everything later. For now, I have to return back to the fight." He smiled as though fighting a King was nothing too serious and then placed a soft kiss on Adeline''s forehead, "And thanks for saving me by the way."


    And before Adeline could ask something more, Theodore vanished from the room.


    Adeline stayed still for a while without even breathing. She was too shocked to hear the things that Theodore just told her. "Fighting the Devil King? Why in the name of Hell would he do that? Isn''t defying a King equivalent to treason?"


    She took a deep breath in and began to pace back and forth in the room. "But why was he thanking me for saving him? Did I do something?"


    She scratched her forehead in frustration and that was when her eyes fell on the ring that Theodore had given to her. "Oh�� Oh! My lips must have touched the ring."


    She took a sharp breath in and spoke under her breath, "Does that mean he was about to lose the fight and being teleported here saved him from that? Well, he looked like he was being choked. Oh god! Why is he being so reckless fighting the King like that? What if I wouldn''t have accidentally kissed the ring?"


    She held her head with her hands and let out ragged breathing. "And he went back to the same fight! Why is he doing that? What do I do? How do I stop him?"


    She was now frantically tapping her foot on the floor and biting her cuticles. "Should I kiss the ring again? But I already did that. He said it won''t work more than once a day�� maybe he was just saying that so that I wouldn''t call him more than once a day. I should try."


    Adeline kissed the ring again and waited for the mist to form in her room. She looked around desperately but there was no sign of Theodore. She kissed the ring multiple times hoping it would work but it didn''t.


    Adeline''s heart beat was increasing rapidly thinking that Theodore was getting beaten to pulp by the Devil King. "What if that King kills�� no! Theodore is a Devil Prince after all. He is strong. But what if the King is way too stronger than Theodore?"


    "Aaaahhhh! Why is he being stupid and fighting the King?" Adeline jumped on the bed and pressed her face against the pillow. And she spoke in a muffled voice, "I hate him! He always keeps on giving headaches to me."


    Adeline went to attend her personal training with General Osmond even though her mind was still occupied by Theodore. In the training, she was unable to focus on the incoming attacks and she ended up getting hit by the General a little too many times.


    After returning back to her quarter, she restlessly waited for Theodore to come to her room so that she could ask why he was fighting with the King. But she was skeptical whether he would come tonight or not. And she wondered if he fell unconscious like the last time, who was going to take him back to his cave and help him heal.


    "I hope that his followers will keep track of him and take him back if he is hurt too badly. But are they even allowed to keep an eye on him? I hope they are."


    Adeline didn''t eat much. She sent everyone off and then locked her doors behind. She kept on pacing around her room, waiting for Theodore.


    And finally, a mist appeared in her room and when it cleared, Theodore gave a seductive smile to Adeline.

 Chapter 144 - Forged In Hellfire

    Adeline was thinking of scolding Theodore as soon as he appeared in her room. She wanted to shout at him for being so reckless and making her worry about him.


    But instead, she ran towards Theodore and gave him a tight hug without even saying a word. She was glad that he showed up tonight.


    Theodore picked her up and then gave her a warm bear-hug. And he teasingly whispered to her, "Oh, I like this kind of welcome. Why don''t you always do this?" He seemed to be in a good mood considering the fact that he had just fought with his King.


    Adeline wriggle down from the hug and then banged her fist on Theodore''s chest.


    "Ouch! What was that for?" Theodore asked while rubbing his chest.


    "For making me worry about you," Adeline folded her hands and pouted..


    But it was only making her look really cute. Theodore wanted to wrap her in her arms again and kiss her till she would get breathless. "I already got enough beating for today." He gave a playful smile and slowly leaned towards Adeline while whispering, "So why don''t you give me a soft kiss instead of your soft fists?"


    "You sure make it sound like nothing happened earlier during the day. What hap-"


    Theodore closed the gap between their bodies and locked his lips with Adeline''s before she could ask any questions to him.


    Though Adeline did not find any visible wounds on him, she wanted to know whether he was hurt somewhere or not. And she wanted to know several other things. But she just melted in his arms when he began to kiss her.


    Adeline could feel the soft brushing of Theodore''s lips against hers. But the intensity of the kiss gradually increased and Adeline could not help but moan softly.


    Theodore grabbed Adeline by her hips and then lifted her up without freeing her lips from his passion-filled kiss. He put her down on the bed, while vigorously kissing his woman. He loved sucking those plump lips of her and making it even plumper.


    And he loved it even more when she would let out those sweet sounds of satisfaction while running her hands around his nape and hair. After kissing her to his fill, he finally let her breathe.


    Adeline''s chest was moving up and down rhythmically as she was trying to catch her breath. Her cheeks looked like a ripe raspberry and Theodore almost felt like biting them. But he knew that if he did that then he would want to do a lot more things to her, things that he had seen in his vision.


    However, he controlled his urge to do so as he wanted to let Adeline ripen first. He wanted to wait for the moment which he saw in his vision. He lay down beside Adeline and put his arm around her waist.


    Adeline finally got the chance to ask what had happened during the day. She turned to her side to face Theodore and then whispered her question, "Theo, what was going on earlier? Why were you fighting with your King?"


    Theodore gave a grin to Adeline and simply shrugged his shoulder, "No specific reason. I just felt like challenging him for a duel."


    Adeline''s dropped her jaw and raised her brows in astonishment. And she slowly iterated his words, "You challenged the Devil King for a duel�� because you felt like it?" And she asked a bit sternly, "Don''t you fear him?"


    Theodore chuckled as though she had asked him a stupid question and then said, "I don''t even fear my father, why would I fear my brother?"


    Adeline held her breath and kept on staring at Theodore for some time. She didn''t know how to react to that new piece of information that Theodore revealed to her just now.


    Theodore playfully poked his finger on her cheek and asked, "Are you okay?"


    Adeline inhaled sharply and cleared her throat. Then she asked again, "The Devil King is your brother?"


    "Yes, he is my eldest brother. And he has been the King of Hell for thousands of years now."


    Adeline had never even thought that his own brother was the King of Hell. But then again, it was not that surprising. Who would rule Hell other than one of the sons of God?


    "May I ask what his name is?" Adeline thought that it would be good to know about Theodore''s siblings. It was only fair that she knew about them because Theodore already knew most of her siblings.


    Theodore nodded his head and revealed the name of the Devil King, "His name is Samael. But he likes to call himself Lucifer."


    "Lucifer�� hmm��" Adeline memorized that name and then asked again, "How did he end up in Hell? Was he also banished from Heaven?"


    Theodore took a deep breath in because he was reminded of his past, the past that he was not very proud of. But he tried not to show it on his face and then replied jokingly, "Yes, he was my partner in crime. We angered our father together and thus we were thrown out of Heaven together. His crime was greater than mine so he ended up in Hell and I ended up here on Earth."


    "You are still angry at your father for banishing you, aren''t you?" Adeline could see right through Theodore''s fa?ade even though he was smiling and was making it sound as though it was not a big deal.


    Theodore smiled at Adeline and thought, "She understands me so well these days." And he nodded his head and said, "Yes, I am still a little angry at him. But then again, it was my own fault that he had resorted to that harsh punishment. And furthermore, I got to meet you because I was banished to Earth."


    He caressed her hair and spoke in a loving voice, "And I get to spend every night with the love of my life. What more could I ever desire?"


    Adeline also ran her hand through his feather-like hair and whispered, "So, are you going to tell me the real reason why you fought with your brother? Were you venting out your anger on him?"


    "Not really�� maybe a little. But not because we got thrown out of Heaven. I have long forgiven him�� when he declared me the Prince of Hell and also gave the ownership of the gambling house to me." Theodore gave a proud grin to Adeline.


    "So�� why were you two fighting today then?" Adeline pressed him again with the same question.


    Theodore wrinkled his nose and pressed his lips together as though he did not want to talk about it. Even so, he answered in a hesitant way, "I asked him to give me a sword forged in hellfire. But he said that he will give it to me only if I win him in a duel."


    Adeline puckered her lips and gave a disapproving look to Theodore. "You really are stupid, aren''t you?"


    Theodore gave a whimsical grin to Adeline when she called her stupid. If it came out of anyone else''s mouth, even Lucifer, then he would have probably punched them on their faces. But when Adeline said it, he was behaving as though it was a compliment.


    Adeline had a serious look on her face. She slowly ran her finger on his chiseled jaw and scolded him, "Why would you fight with your own brother for some sword? When you teleported here earlier, you looked like you were struggling to even breathe."


    "Well, I thought the sword forged in hellfire would look great around my waist," Theodore said sarcastically.


    But as Adeline kept on glaring at him, he said in a serious tone, "It''s not some regular sword. If a sword is forged in hellfire then it can even hurt the celestial beings, even my brothers. And I also asked Lucifer to make the dwarves forge the sword in such a way that whenever I would draw my sword from its sheath, it would ablaze with that same hellfire, making it thousand times dangerous."


    Adeline was a little scared when he explained the sword''s property like that. "Why would you need such a dangerous sword for? Are you planning to go against some of your brothers?"


    "Well�� Lilith had one, and I also want one. But I want mine to be better than hers." Theodore had a look of a jealous little kid on his face.

 Chapter 145 - Lost

    The next day passed as usual for Adeline. She went to her group training. And to her relief, her brothers and sisters weren''t acting any different. Then she went to her personal training and returned to her quarter.


    And before she had her dinner, she went to the stable to feed Rion and spend some time with him as usual. She reached the stable and went to the stall where Rion would be. But to her surprise, her horse wasn''t tied there.


    "Did someone tied him somewhere else?" She looked around to check if the stablemen had tied him up in some other stall but Rion was nowhere to be seen.


    One of the stablemen saw the Princess in the stable and came running to her assistance. He bowed his head to the Princess and politely asked, "Your Highness, shall I bring Rion''s food?"


    Adeline gave a stern look to the stableman and asked while pointing at the empty stall, "Where is Rion?"


    "He-he was right he-here just a while ago.." The stableman had fear in his eyes. He took a round of the stable looking inside each and every stall to check if another stableman had tied him somewhere else. When he didn''t find him anywhere, he started to sweat like a pig.


    He ran back to the Princess and bowed his head. Then he began to apologize to the Princess, "I am so sorry, Your Highness. I don''t know how he is missing from here. He was here a while ago. I had seen him when I was feeding the other horses. And then I went to clean the containers. I don''t know what happened during that time."


    The stableman feared for his dear life. All of the stablemen were well aware of how dear Rion was to Princess Adeline. The Princess treated him like her own brother. And he feared that the Princess would send him to prison for being careless.


    But Adeline was not like Edwin who would punish people on a whim. She was too upset to focus her energy on giving out punishments.


    "Ask the other stablemen if they have taken him away somewhere. Maybe they took him to graze upon the fresh grass." She ordered that man while trying her best to maintain her calm.


    "Yes, Your Highness," that stableman bowed his head and immediately ran off at the top of his speed towards the servant quarter.


    But Adeline doubted that the stablemen would have taken Rion somewhere. Rion was not that compliant with those stablemen yet. He would have probably scared them off if they even tried to untie him, let alone drag him somewhere far.


    Till he would return back, Adeline thought of asking the guards nearby if they had seen someone else taking Rion away. Rion was a peculiar one, if he liked someone then he would follow them easily. For example, if Nigel was to approach him then he would easily obey him. So she thought that someone other than the stablemen could have taken him somewhere.


    "Or maybe the rope that tied him got loose and he took off from the stable on his own," Adeline murmured to herself. She walked out of the stable to look for guards nearby.


    There were two guards on patrol behind the stable. They stopped on their track and bowed down to Adeline when they saw her coming towards them.


    Adeline went to them and asked, "Have you seen someone take Rion away? Around half an hour ago? Or seen him roaming around freely?"


    One of the guards replied, "We have not seen Rion, Your Highness. Is he lost?" All the guards knew which horse was Rion because of the trouble he had caused them since the day of his arrival.


    Adeline puckered her lips because she did not want to think yet that he was lost. But then she nodded her head and said in a bit of a sad tone, "Yes, he isn''t there in his stall."


    And the guard asked politely, "Is there something else that you want us to do, Your Highness? We can ask the others around."


    Adeline nodded her head and then ordered them, "Yes, ask the guards if they have seen him somewhere. And if you find him then return him back to the stable. Or call me if you are unable to get a hold of him."


    "Yes, Your Highness," the guards bowed to Adeline and set off.


    Adeline was feeling restless. It was starting to get dark already and she worried that if she didn''t find him soon, he would be lost for good. Rion was the first present given to her by Theodore and she didn''t want to lose him. Not just that, she was already attached to him and she could not think of separating from her dear horse.


    She was pacing back and forth when the stableman came running towards her. She could already speculate from the expression he had that he was not returning back with good news.


    And as she had expected, he blurted out while gasping for air, "Your Highness, the others had not taken him anywhere. Shall I look at the race track to check if other Princes or Princesses took him there?" The stableman did not want to stand idly in front of the Princess; he did not want to get any punishment.


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "Yes, do that."


    And without even recovering his breath from the previous run, he dashed again towards the race track.


    Adeline then waited for the two guards to come with the good news or to come back with Rion. She was constantly looking in the direction that they went in while fidgeting her fingers.


    After a while, the guards returned back to where the Princess was standing and reported back to her, "Your Highness, we asked the guards in this area but no one had seen Rion. We even asked the guards at the gate but they said that no one had taken him out of the gate. So, he must be somewhere inside."


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "Thank you! You may take your leave."


    The guards bowed their heads before they left to continue their patrol.


    Suddenly, a fear set in her heart. "Did someone steal Rion? But who could do that without getting seen by anyone?"

 Chapter 146 - Cheap Trick

    And almost instantly one name came to Adeline''s mind, "Lillian! Who else could make something invisible and smuggle it outside this Palace? She couldn''t go after me; so did she decide to go after my pet instead?"


    She clutched her fists and she could feel her blood boiling in her veins. She was so done with the drama of Lillian. And she gritted from between her teeth, "I am going to beat the information out of her. I am done putting up with the troubles she stirs, and I am done seeing the other way even when I know all the crimes that she has committed till now."


    She turned on her heels and began to walk in the direction of Lillian''s quarter. She had taken a few steps and the stableman who had gone to the race track came running to the Princess. "Your Highness." Adeline turned behind and saw the stableman.


    "Your Highness, I found a letter in the racing ground. I think it was left for you, it has your name on it." He was waving a small envelope in his hand and was running as fast as he could.


    Adeline could not wait to read what was written in that letter so she also walked towards that stableman. She held out her hand to grab that letter.


    As soon as the letter was in her hand, she thanked that stableman and sent him away. Then she broke the seal and took out the letter and opened it.


    She read the letter that said, "We have your dear horse in our custody. If you want to see him alive then meet us in the forest behind the Palace at 6 in the evening. We have drawn the exact location behind this letter."


    Adeline turned the letter behind to see the location. The kidnapper had pinpointed a location at the edge of the private forest of the Palace.


    And she turned the letter to read the rest of the content. "And do not tell any living soul about this. If we hear the footsteps of more than one person coming to the location, we will instantly kill your horse and run away. If we get caught, we will make sure that your horse dies, sooner or later. So beware not to tell anyone. And come alone."


    Adeline crushed the letter furiously as soon as she finished reading it. It was already quarter to six so she stormed off towards the back gate of the Palace that would lead her to the forest.


    And while on the way, she was thinking who could have done that and why.


    "I don''t think Lillian would have written this letter just to lure me to the forest. If she wants then she can easily sneak inside my own quarter. And she wouldn''t have threatened to kill Rion, she would have done that first and would have sent his head to me if she wanted something from me."


    "Who are these ''we'' then?" Adeline was unable to control her anger and she began to shout while banging her feet towards the forest. "Why do people think that they can target me? Why and how do I keep on making enemies even though I try not to anger anyone? Why do so many unfortunate things keep on happening to me?"


    Adeline unfolded the letter again and went through everything that was written there, and she also tried to check if she recognized that handwriting.


    Though she did not recognize the handwriting, she was sure about one thing, "Whoever they are, they seem awfully worried about getting caught, meaning they have never done this kind of thing before. Then they should be easy to handle�� I doubt that there are too many people for me to fight alone."


    Adeline knitted her brows in tune and whispered to herself, "But why would they call me in the forest? Why call me here if they are so worried about getting caught? It is so near to the Palace and the chances of getting caught by the Royal Guards are high. Are they that stupid?"


    She was so used to the evil plots of the conniving Queen already that she was not even taking the ''we'' seriously.


    Adeline reached to the back gate of the Palace. As it was inside the Palace, the gate wouldn''t be heavily guarded.


    Adeline stopped in front of a guard and then asked him, "Did you see my horse escaping to the forest from this gate? Or did you see someone leading my horse from here?"


    "No, Your Highness," that guard answered her.


    And Adeline asked again, "Then did anybody went to the forest a while ago? Anybody from the Palace, to be more specific."


    The guard answered, "A few of the Royal Guards went to the dungeon with some criminals. But other than them, nobody crossed this gate today."


    "Thank you!" Adeline breathed out in frustration and walked towards the forest.


    And Adeline thought to herself, "How did they manage to take Rion from stable to the forest without being seen by the guards, by the way? Do they have a witch among them? I should be more careful if they do."


    Till now, Adeline was banging her feet on the crunchy dead leaves and was making her presence known because she was extremely annoyed. But she did not want her emotions to get the better of her.


    If they had a witch, then she could get magic attacks. Although the chances of magic working on her were almost zero, she still wanted to be cautious. So she calmed herself down and began to tiptoe so that she could sneak up on the kidnappers and beat them to a pulp.


    When she was halfway through the forest, she heard the sound of a twig snapping in distance. She stopped on her track and then looked around to check where that sound was coming from.


    Again, she heard the sound of something zooming towards her but she was slow by a second. She felt a sting on her neck. She touched her neck to find a needle-like thing but before she could pull it out, she started to feel lightheaded. Her vision started to blur. And in the next moment, she fell straight on the stack of leaves.

 Chapter 147 - Numb

    Adeline slowly started to regain her consciousness. She tried to open her eyes but she realized that she was blindfolded. Then she tried to move her body but she couldn''t do so as well. Her body was still numb from the sedative-laced needle that she was attacked with earlier.


    She tried to lift just her head but when she lifted it a little, she felt as though the whole world was spinning rapidly. She gave up trying to move anything, she lay down as still as she could.


    "Did they feed more sleep potion to me after I fainted? Why is my whole body feeling numb? I shouldn''t be feeling this dizzy just because of that needle."


    Adeline tried to memorize which kind of potion would have such a lasting effect but then she realized that she had no idea how much time had passed since she first fainted. "Maybe it has just been a few minutes? But why does it feel as though I have been unconscious for days? Did they lock me up somewhere?"


    And she also had no idea where she was. She couldn''t feel a thing on which she was lying. "Am I sleeping on leaves? Am I still in the forest?" She tried to move her back to check if she could hear the dry leaves cracking but her back was not taking orders from her mind at all, no matter how hard she tried..


    She was grunting and forcing to move her back, her legs, anything at all but all of her attempts were futile. And she gave up trying to move forcefully; she knew she needed to give enough time to her body to recover from that numbness on its own.


    But Adeline was getting restless because she wasn''t able to do anything. She had never felt this helpless before.


    She wanted to shout at the top of her lungs and curse whoever did this to her. But she controlled the urge to do so because she was in a very vulnerable state. If they were to do something to her then she wouldn''t be able to fight back. It would be foolishness to try to provoke them when she was in such a condition.


    She tried to think of a way to escape from wherever she was as soon as her body would start working again. But she had to know where she was at first. So she tried to listen instead. Her ears and nose were the only organs that were working and weren''t restricted like her eyes.


    Adeline calmed herself down and began to focus on her hearing. The place was unusually quiet for a forest. She couldn''t hear the sounds of birds nor could she hear any howls of wolves as she would normally do during the night. She was also unable to hear the noises made by crickets.


    "I am definitely not in the forest. They must have taken me somewhere else while I was still unconscious."


    Adeline tried to focus on the other sounds that she could hear in the distance. She could hear the humming of a couple of people. And she could also hear the soft sound of water crashing against the stones. "I guess I am near the Ethereal River." Adeline thought to herself and sighed.


    "Hawisa and Osanna must have been worried out of their minds. I hope no one else has found out yet that I am not inside the Palace. If father finds it out then he will increase the security for me. He might even punish Hawisa and Osanna like the last time!"


    "Aaaaahhhhh!" she screamed inside her mind because she didn''t want to be under constant surveillance. She wouldn''t be able to freely meet Theodore if that happened.


    Adeline inhaled sharply with the thought of Theodore. "I hope it hasn''t been time for him to come to my room yet. If he finds out that I am in this state then he will kill whoever is out there. I don''t want him to do that and get punished by his brother or his father for breaking the rule. I have to find Rion and get out of here before that."


    Even when she was most probably locked in some deserted house near the river, Adeline was more worried about the consequence that it would bring upon her loved ones than herself.


    Adeline tried to check whether she was regaining her muscle control or not. She tried to move her toes and she felt them moving. She tried to lift her legs and it was in better condition than before, she was able to lift them.


    She rubbed her feet on the surface of whatever she was lying on. She felt a wooden board. As she had thought, she was locked inside some abandoned cabin.


    She tried to move her hands and that was when she found out that her hands were tied together. Adeline chuckled and then thought to herself, "Fools! They tied my hands on the front. I can easily take them down like this. Maybe I can even break the rope."


    Her body was recovering slowly but before she could try and stand properly, she heard the sound of shoes clicking on the floorboard.


    Adeline pretended to be unconscious again when the footsteps approached closer and closer. And she counted the sets of footsteps, "One�� two�� three�� and that is four�� So there are four fools. Let''s find out who they are."


    The door opened with a squeaking noise. All four of the perpetrators stepped inside the room.


    Adeline did not move a muscle. She wanted them to talk among themselves and reveal who they really were.


    And they did just that.


    "What do we do now? She isn''t waking up at all." She heard a voice whispering to the others.


    And she heard an aggressive whisper from the other one, "I told you that dose would be too much. But you had to feed her that potion even when she was already unconscious."


    And then there was someone who sounded a little too worried. "What if she doesn''t wake up for days? Who is going to wait for her here, we cannot just leave her here like this? And what if somebody sees her horse outside and finds her here?"


    Someone banged their foot on the floor and scolded the others, "I told you we should have waited to lift the invisibility spell from that horse until she woke up. But nobody listened to me."


    Someone defended aggressively, "But we had to lift the spell from us. And I asked that witch to lift it from the horse as well so that I could send her away."


    "Shhh�� speak softly. You might wake her up."


    And suddenly Adeline spoke in a sarcastic yet intimidating tone, "Weren''t you all waiting for me to wake up, dear brother and sisters?"

 Chapter 148 - Sour

    Gustin, Claudia, Kaela, and Nefriti were stunned when they heard the voice of Adeline. They were talking in that room thinking that Adeline was still unconscious. But when they knew that she had been listening to them all along, their heart was about to explode due to excessive beating.


    They all had unintentionally revealed their identities to Adeline and they all had even confessed what they had done to her and Rion.


    And they were terrified thinking that they were now doomed. If the King found out what they had done to Adeline, which he inevitably would if they would let Adeline walk out alive, then they could not even think what punishment they would be getting.


    Nefriti even feared that they wouldn''t be allowed to take the test which was due in a few days.


    Before they could do anything to Adeline, she jumped up on her feet and faced in the direction from where the voices were coming. "Please tell me that you were playing some prank on me but some of you messed up and gave me an overdose of the sedative. And we all can forget that this ever happened."


    Adeline tried to be nice to them because they were still her half-siblings and she would probably have to share the same Palace with them for the rest of her life if none of them decided to move out even after not being selected as the future ruler. And she did not want the relationship between them to sour.


    Nefriti and Kaela were already considering accepting Adeline''s offer.


    They were planning to beat Adeline up, maybe break a few of her bones so that she wouldn''t be able to use her full strength in the test. And after beating her, they were planning to send her off to the Palace in her horse, without revealing to her who they were. But she took a long time to wake up and they happened to reveal who they were before they even got to execute their plan.


    But before the Princesses could accept Adeline''s offer, Claudia spoke while taunting the others, "I told you all that we should have beaten her up while she was still unconscious. We wouldn''t have been found out by our dearest sister if we had just done that. But no, the three of you didn''t think it was right to beat her when she was defenseless."


    She glared at the blindfolded Adeline and stepped closer to her. Then she said in a loud and angry voice so that Adeline could hear her clearly, "Now I guess we don''t have any other option than killing her."


    "What? Are you out of your mind?" Gustin grabbed Claudia''s hand and pulled her backward. "I clearly told you before that we aren''t killing anyone. She is our sister!"


    Nefriti ran close to Claudia and then whispered in as soft a voice as she could, "Yeah, let''s apologize to her and then return back to the Palace. It''s already dark and the guards will know if we are not inside the Palace. If we do something to Adeline and if someone finds out that we all were missing tonight, then they will know sooner or later that we were behind whatever happened to Adeline."


    Adeline stood still and kept on listening to the back and forth that was going on inside the room. She had managed to stand up at one go but her strength was not fully back yet. So she let them talk while she was focusing on moving her muscles and regaining her strength.


    Kaela, on the other hand, was standing beside the door and was constantly looking outside to check if someone was around. They had brought Adeline to a secluded place but she was still worried that someone would notice the horse that was outside and they might try to steal it.


    And worse, they might end up listening to the conversation that was going on inside of the room. It would complicate things even more.


    Claudia glared at her partners in crime. She was starting to regret trusting them all and including them in her plan. She shouted at Nefriti and Gustin, "We went through all those troubles just so we could apologize to her and return back? And are all of you that na?ve to think that Adeline would keep everything hush if we let her go free?"


    Gustin glanced at Adeline to see that she was still standing on the same spot. He pointed at her and said in frustration, "Does she look like she was lying to us earlier. Don''t you see it? If she had wanted then she could have already tried to attack us but she didn''t, did she?"


    Adeline was now bored with all their arguments. And more than bored, she was itching to return back to the Palace so that no one would find out she was missing, especially Theodore. "Yes, if I wanted to then I could have already beaten you all and ran away. But I don''t want us to turn our heads away whenever we meet each other in the future. So please, stop arguing and leave from here."


    But Claudia saw through Adeline''s tough act. She smirked and then mocked Adeline, "You are just trying to act tough when in reality you are not even back to your full strength." She glanced at the others and declared, "I am going to finish what we all started together. I don''t care if you want to join in or if you want to be a bystander."


    Claudia clenched her fist and then dashed towards Adeline before Gustin could stop her again. But she was wrong to assume that Adeline would even require her full strength to take her down.


    Adeline didn''t want to beat her sister but if she was asking for it then she was going to get it. Adeline could have easily taken off her blindfold and even broke the rope to free her hands. But she knew that she could easily take down all of them even when she was tied and blindfolded, so she didn''t even bother.


    Adeline could clearly hear where Claudia was and what attack she was going to throw at her. When Claudia''s fist was close to her cheek, Adeline ducked to the side and then punched Claudia on her stomach with her tied hands.


    Claudia let out a small grunt because of the pain she felt. But she was not going to step back just after a punch from Adeline. She had been taking many more punches from her during the practice sessions. So she took a step forward and then threw a kick aiming for Adeline''s head.


    But Adeline grabbed Claudia''s foot with ease and swiftly turned around while holding the latter''s foot above her shoulder. Then she lifted Claudia and threw her on the floor with so much force that the wooden floorboard was cracked and Claudia was stuck on the broken floor.

 Chapter 149 - She-Devil

    Claudia grunted in pain and even coughed some blood.


    Adeline broke the rope that was tying her hands together and then threw the blindfold away from her face. She saw the state that Claudia was in and inched towards her in pity. She thought that her body was still numb and thus she had exerted a little greater force than usual to throw Claudia down. But she ended up hurting Claudia more than what she had wanted.


    "Let''s stop this fight here and go home," Adeline said to Claudia and offered Claudia her hand.


    But Claudia slapped Adeline''s hand away. She glared at Adeline, not wanting to yield. And while still glaring at Adeline, she spat the blood that was in her mouth as though she was belittling Adeline. "You behave as though you don''t want to fight us but then you do this to me? You are actually enjoying beating me up, aren''t you?"


    Adeline narrowed her gaze at Claudia and then folded her hands. She was shocked at how her sisters were an expert at twisting their own mistakes and pinning it on her as though they weren''t the ones who were at fault..


    She glared back at Claudia and then spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Yes, everything is my fault, isn''t it? I stole my horse, I injected myself with the sedative, and then I brought myself to this isolated place. And I begged you to attack me just so I could enjoy defending myself."


    Adeline sighed and shook her head at Claudia.


    Then she turned around to face the others and said sternly, "I am leaving with my horse. I am ready to forget all this if all of you are ready to do the same. I believe that you three were brainwashed by Claudia."


    She turned her head and glanced at Claudia who was trying to get up. And she said to the three who were hanging their head in shame, "Please slap some sense into her. The three of you don''t want to be dragged along with her, right?"


    Adeline glared at all of them and said challengingly, "I don''t want the three of you to get bedridden during the test. I don''t think I have to remind you that the test is already around the corner. If you fight me now, you will miss the test."


    Nefriti, Kaela, and Gustin knew very well that she was not giving empty threats. Maybe if they all had attacked her immediately after she had regained her consciousness then they would have had a chance, but now that Adeline was fully functional again, they knew that they stood zero chance against her even if all of them were to attack her at once.


    The three of them didn''t dare to say a word. They just kept on staring down at the floor, repenting the mistake that they had committed on a whim of jealousy and greed for the throne.


    But Claudia, on the other hand, was so hell-bent on hurting Adeline that she didn''t even care if she herself was hurt in the process. She became like a rabid animal who wanted to hurt others even if it died in the process.


    While the others were ready to let Adeline go, Claudia discreetly pulled herself out of the broken floor. She had several bruises on her back and her arms. But she didn''t care about that. She still had some energy left to try to hurt Adeline.


    Adeline was stepping towards the door when Claudia grabbed a broken piece of sharp wood and ran towards Adeline.


    Even though Adeline was facing the other way, she could hear the floorboard creaking. She exhaled and then rolled her eyes. And she whispered in an agitated tone, "Why do you never learn to give up?"


    And to make the attack even more obvious, Claudia gave out a battle cry and came at Adeline. She aimed to impale that wood on Adeline''s heart from the back.


    But Adeline didn''t want to play anymore. She turned to her side and then grabbed Claudia''s arm. She hit on Claudia''s forearm as though she was chopping something and threw that stake off from Claudia''s grip.


    Claudia''s other hand was still free and she began to punch Adeline at the side of her stomach. But those punches were so weak that Adeline did not even feel any pain. Rather, it was making her irritated. And something began to boil inside of Adeline. She could feel some kind of strange power surging through her veins.


    Adeline wanted something�� she didn''t exactly know what it was that she wanted but she had this urge to inflict pain on everyone inside the room.


    And she glared at Claudia with burning eyes. Adeline gave a sinister smirk to Claudia, she was going to start with the one who she knew was the mastermind behind her and Rion''s kidnapping. She gritted her teeth and viciously twisted Claudia''s arm to the point where it would break her hand if she twisted it any further.


    Tears began to roll down Claudia''s cheeks as the pain was getting unbearable. "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" She was struggling to get out of Adeline''s hold and was screaming in pain. The scream was so gut-wrenching that the other three looked terrified.


    But that scream�� that scream felt so satisfying to Adeline she wanted to hear more of it. She smelled something sweet in the air. She didn''t know what it was but she wanted more of it. She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled the air around her; a soft moan skipped her lips.


    And when Adeline opened her eyes, for a fraction of seconds, Claudia saw Adeline''s sapphire eyes glowing red. She didn''t know whether that was just her imagination or it was real. But her whole body started to tremble in fear. And in fear, she was cursing Adeline, "Leave my hand, you she-devil. I knew you were possessed by something evil. That is why you are so strong."


    Claudia was digging her nails on Adeline''s hand and was struggling to escape.


    But the more she struggled, the more Adeline was enjoying. And suddenly, Adeline had this insatiable hunger for something. She had this urge to twist Claudia''s neck instead of her hand.


    She lifted her hand to grab Claudia''s jaw but when her fingers touched her jaw, she snapped back to her gentle self. For a moment, she felt confused as to what had just happened to her. She remembered everything that she did very clearly but at the same time, she felt as though she was really possessed by something unknown to her.


    She glanced at Claudia who was crying in pain and who was trembling like a leaf. She pushed Claudia away from her grip before she would feel like snapping her neck again. Claudia tumble on the floor.


    And Adeline tried to scare everyone so that they wouldn''t come after her ever again. She did not want to accidentally kill any of her brothers or sisters.


    She gave a warning to Claudia while trying to sound furious, "If you try to pull this kind of stunt again then next time the thing that I will twist will be your neck."


    But she didn''t need to scare anyone. They were already terrified of her.

 Chapter 150 - Lost Again

    Adeline rushed out of the house where she was kept and found that Rion was tied to a tree that was a little far away from the house. He was grazing on the luscious grass that was around him and was having the time of his life.


    When he saw Adeline coming towards him, he jumped on his hooves and welcomed his owner by neighing happily.


    Adeline hugged Rion and whispered to him, "I am sorry that they brought you here. I promise that they won''t try to bother you anymore." Rion also rubbed his head against her back as though he was trying to console her as well.


    "Alright, let''s head home." Adeline climbed on Rion but then she kept on staring at the three paths that were in front of them.


    She didn''t know which one of them would lead back to the Palace. It was already dark and that made it even harder for Adeline to even guess the right path.


    Adeline remembered something which the stableman had once told her, that Rion understood and obeyed Adeline. She wanted to check that so she leaned down and then asked her horse, "Rion, do you know which way you came? Can you take us back to the Palace?"


    But Rion just stood there like a statue. Adeline sighed and then whispered to herself, "What was I even thinking? How would Rion understand me? But I really hoped that Rion would know the way."


    Adeline looked back at the house that she had just walked out of. Her brothers and sisters weren''t stepping out at all.


    "Probably I scared them a little too much. I guess they won''t come outside until I go away from here." Adeline didn''t want to keep on standing there and make things awkward between those who were inside and her.


    So she chose a path which was to her right side and led Rion slowly.


    She had hoped that she would find some people along the way or she would at least come across a house so that she could ask for direction. But even after traveling for half an hour, she did not meet a single living soul.


    She looked up at the sky and knew that it was past her dinner time. "Hawisa and Osanna must be running around the Palace to search for me. I hope they haven''t yet met the guard at the back of the Palace. Else they will cry thinking that I was eaten by some wolf." She let out a chuckle and whispered, "They are so dramatic at times."


    Then she was worried that Theodore might have come to her room and was waiting for her. "I have to reach the Palace before he uses his divine eyes to find me in this deserted place. I don''t want to explain to him how I ended up here."


    She began to lead Rion at his maximum speed. The breeze was hitting her face with so much force that she had to hold her breath at times because it was getting difficult to breathe properly.


    However, no matter how further they went, not a single house came into sight, leave alone the villages.


    Adeline slowed down Rion and then after a while, they came to a halt. Adeline was already frustrated. She let out a sigh of disappointment and said to Rion, "We are lost, aren''t we?"


    And to her surprise, Rion replied by neighing and nodding his head.


    Adeline narrowed her eyes and whispered, "Why do I feel like you deliberately acted as though you did not understand me earlier?" Then she asked sternly, "Were you trying to get us lost so that you could enjoy running around?"


    Rion neighed and then nodded his head again.


    Adeline raised her brows and tried her luck again to make Rion ''talk'' to her, "So, do you know the way back to the Palace?"


    But when she asked that, Rion became a statue, again.


    "Argh!" Adeline ruffled her hair in frustration because she knew that she was lost. And she had no idea how to return back to the Palace other than by using one obvious last resort �C the ring given by Theodore.


    She drooped her shoulders in defeat and acted as if she was sobbing. "I really did not want to call Theodore here, but I guess I have no other choice."


    Rion lifted his front feet and neighed.


    Adeline poked Rion with her finger and scolded him, "You are enjoying this, aren''t you? I swear I am going to punish you if I find out that you were not answering me deliberately."


    Adeline got off the horse. She took a deep breath in before she kissed the ring. And when her lips touched the ring, a mist started to form beside her.


    Within a moment, the mist cleared to reveal the handsome Devil.


    Theodore furrowed his brows and looked around in bewilderment. He looked at Adeline and said, "I didn''t know we had planned a picnic today. Where''s the food?"


    Adeline scoffed "Theo!" and swayed her body in embarrassment. She didn''t know how to say that she was lost without saying how she got there in the first place.


    Theodore smirked at Adeline and shifted his gaze to Rion. He smacked Rion''s buttock while smiling, "Hey buddy, how are you?"


    And in response, Rion flipped his tail and hit Theodore right on his face.


    Theodore closed his eyes and flinched. Then he spat a strand of Rion''s hair that was stuck on his mouth and said, "I hate you too, buddy."


    Adeline was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh at what had just happened.


    "Don''t you dare��" Theodore shook his head and jokingly warned Adeline not to laugh but he was the one who ended up chuckling.


    Theodore then walked close to Adeline and asked with a serious tone, "Okay, jokes apart, what were you doing here in the middle of nowhere?"


    That was the one question that Adeline did not want to answer to Theodore. She puckered her lips and replied, "Can you teleport us back to the Palace first? I will tell you everything later. It''s already late and everyone in the Palace must have been worried about me."


    "Don''t tell me you called me because you were lost," Theodore raised his brows questioningly.


    Adeline grinned and nodded her head like a baby.


    Theodore folded his hands and then sighed. "What to do? I cannot teleport horses��" Of course, that was just a lie. What he really wanted to do was sit behind Adeline and ride the horse along with her.

 Chapter 151 - Lead The Way

    "Really?" Adeline''s lips curved downwards when Theodore told her that he wouldn''t be able to teleport Rion. "What shall we do then?" she looked at Theodore in the hope of getting a solution.


    Theodore was trying hard not to show how happy he was when Adeline readily believed that he couldn''t teleport Rion. He cleared his throat and then acted as though he too was sad. And he suggested a solution, "I guess we have no other option than riding together."


    Adeline''s eyes lit up. But she wanted to be sure that he knew the way. "You know how to get to the Palace from here, right?"


    "Of course I do." Theodore gave a proud smirk and boasted, "I know a shortcut so we should be back in the Palace within half an hour."


    He gently offered his hand to Adeline and whispered enchantingly, "Shall we, my Princess?"


    Adeline''s heart started to beat faster when he spoke in his deep voice and held out his hand for her.. She smiled showing off her dimples and held his hand.


    Theodore leaned down and was quick enough to steal a kiss.


    Even the smallest gesture from Theodore would make her heart flutter, and she hoped that it would be the same until the day she took her last breath. She didn''t want her heart to flutter for someone else other than Theodore.


    Adeline''s heart was beating like a drum. And Theodore could clearly hear her heartbeat. He smiled and whispered, "The sound your heart makes when you are around me is my favorite music."


    "I wish I could also hear your heartbeat as easily as you hear mine." The Princess tilted her head and then smiled.


    Theodore pulled her hand and brought her very close to him. Then he pressed her head on his chest and let her hear his heartbeat. His heart was beating even rapidly than hers. Theodore murmured in his alluringly deep voice, "This is what you do to me every time. You are the only one who makes my heart beat and makes me feel alive."


    Adeline raised her head and looked into Theodore''s amber eyes. And they were not lying. He lifted herself up on her toes and kissed Theodore.


    Their moment was disturbed by Rion who began to stomp his hooves on the ground and neigh continuously.


    Adeline looked at Rion and she remembered that they had to return back to the Palace as fast as they could. "We have to go now."


    Theodore gave a beautiful smile and offered to help her climb on the horse. "Come, I will help you."


    Adeline obviously knew how to climb and ride the horse but she didn''t deny the offer from Theodore. Adeline placed her left foot on the stirrups and Theodore gave a little push on her hips so that she could easily mount on the horse.


    After Adeline settled down on the horse, Theodore also sat behind her. He sat so close to Adeline that their bodies were pressed against each other.


    Adeline was holding the reins of her horse and was ready to ride. "Which way?" she asked Theodore.


    Theodore slid his hands around her waist and held her tightly. And he whispered in her ears, "Turn around." He pointed to the direction that they were currently facing and said, "If you keep on going in this direction then you will reach Tarrin."


    "Oh!" She nodded her head and turned her horse around.


    "Before you go, let me give you a general sense of direction." Theodore pointed towards the river that was flowing to their side and said, "See that river and see where it is flowing. It''s flowing downwards. And it will lead you to another country if you keep on traveling in the direction where it is flowing."


    Then he hugged her even tighter and whispered in his melodious voice, "And if you want to find my cave then keep on following that river to its source. And I am sure that you will recognize the Hill of Grimmer Death when you see it."


    Adeline laughed when he ended up giving the direction of his own cave. "I will keep that in mind. But why would I travel the long journey in a horse when you can take me there in an instant?"


    Theodore shrugged his shoulders and said, "I''m just saying. Who knows? You might need it one day."


    "Okay, enough talking. Show me the way, will you?" Adeline tried to speak calmly but she was starting to get restless now.


    Theodore also guessed how Adeline must have been feeling so he held out his palm and asked, "Pass me the reins and stirrups. It will be faster that way. And I guess�� turn around and sit on my laps."


    "I can just sit behind you." Adeline proposed an alternative option but Theodore did not let her get down of the horse. "No, I want you on my laps."


    Adeline did not want to argue with him anymore. She knew she would end up agreeing with him and arguing with him would only make her late. So she did as he asked like an obedient puppy. She faced him and sat on his laps, giving control of the horse to him.


    Theodore looked into her sapphire eyes and gave a charming smile. "Hold on tight."


    "Yes, master," she said in a sarcastic tone and put her arms around his waist. And she rested her head on his broad shoulder as though it was her warmest pillow.


    "Good girl. Let''s go then," Theodore gave a warning and led Rion forward at such a great speed that Adeline felt as though she was not even making Rion run at half this speed.


    Both of them were quiet all the way because the force with which the wind was swooshing past them wouldn''t have made it possible to talk while riding.


    Along the way, Theodore could not help but notice that the bond between the two of them had grown quite a lot, meaning he could feel the demonic power inside of Adeline growing. And he quietly thought to himself, "I hope I didn''t make any mistake by transferring my powers to her. The power is not having any negative effects on her, is it?"

 Chapter 152 - Demonic Power

    Theodore took them through the forest that was behind the Palace. With the speed that they were traveling at, they reached there at the forest in less than half an hour.


    When the Palace was in view, Theodore slowed down the horse and then said, "Alright, I will meet you in your room�� that is if you are left alone by your maids and others."


    "I don''t think I will be sleeping peacefully tonight. I will have to lie to everyone where I was." Adeline twisted down the corner of her lips.


    "I hope you won''t lie to me. I want to hear everything when the others leave you. See you later." Theodore said while planting a kiss on Adeline''s forehead. And then he disappeared from there.


    Adeline took a deep breath in and turned around to take control of her horse. Then she rode towards the Palace. She entered the Palace using the back gate. She noticed that there were more guards than usual.


    Two of the guards hurriedly opened the gate and then bowed to the Princess.


    Adeline could not help but ask, "Is something going on inside the Palace? Why is this gate so heavily guarded?"


    One of the guards replied cautiously, "Princess Claudia has been acting strangely. She was shouting saying that a monster was trying to hurt her and was trying to run away from the Palace. So the King had ordered to increase the number of guards at both the entrances and around Her Highness''s quarter."


    Adeline felt a little uncomfortable hearing that. She averted her gaze from the guard and then nodded her head. "Okay. Perform your duty then."


    She didn''t give much attention to what the guards had said, she didn''t have time to linger around. Thus, she quickly made her way to her quarter first because she didn''t want Hawisa and Osanna to go mad, thinking that she was kidnapped again�� well she was kidnapped�� sort of, but she didn''t want her maids to know.


    And she definitely didn''t want her father to know that she was not in her quarter. She hoped that whatever Claudia was doing was enough to distract her father''s attention from her.


    She stopped her horse in front of her quarter and as she had expected, Hawisa and Osanna came running to her. Not just them, the Royal Guards who were assigned to her also gathered around and circled her.


    "Your Highness, where were you? We searched everywhere for you!" Hawisa was the first one to scold Adeline.


    Adeline had a guilty look on her face even though it was not her fault that she was�� kidnapped and lost. She got off from Rion and apologized to her maids, "I am sorry for making you all worry about me." Then she pinned all the blame on Rion, "Rion had managed to escape from the Palace. I went outside to search for him but it took a while to find him. And before I knew it, it was already dark."


    Rion softly hit on Adeline''s back with his head as though he was mad at her for putting all the blame on him.


    Hawisa raised her brows in surprise and exclaimed, "He managed to escape from the Palace?" Then all of a sudden she had anger on her face and she began to shout, "Why didn''t the guards at the gate catch him then? They had one job and they couldn''t even do that properly."


    And Osanna also followed the suit and added, "We are going to complain to the King about this." She covered her neck and spoke softly, "We were so worried that our head would be separated from our neck."


    Adeline knew how dramatic her maids were so she was not surprised by that rant from them. Rather she chuckled and hugged both of them, in front of everyone else, and said, "I am sorry. I won''t disappear like this again. And besides, I can take care of myself. You don''t have to worry about your neck if I disappear for a few hours. I will ask the King not to put the blame on you two for every little thing that happens to me."


    The Princess looked at her guards and apologized to them, "I am sorry for leaving the Palace without taking you all. I was anxious after Rion went missing and I immediately set out to look for him. And thanks for looking for me."


    The leader of the squad bowed his head to the Princess and said, "You don''t have to apologize to us, Your Highness. We are the ones who should apologize to you for not keeping track of you and for not being able to follow you when you left the Palace. Please forgive us, Your Highness."


    All the other guards also bowed their heads and spoke simultaneously, "Please forgive us, Your Highness."


    As the Princess had set routine and she would limit herself inside the Palace almost all the time, the guards would not follow her unless she asked to.


    And to speak the truth, Adeline liked that her guards would not stick to her like glue, like the guards of some of the other Princes and Princesses. She did not like the idea of being watched and followed around by her guards 24/7.


    Adeline smiled and then dismissed them, "All of you may go and rest."


    After her guards left for their quarter which was just beside Adeline''s quarter, Hawisa said to the Princess, "You must be hungry. I will bring you some hot food."


    Adeline nodded and said, "Till then I will take Rion back to the stable. And I will make sure that he is tied properly." She added the last sentence to make her previous lie sound believable.


    When Adeline returned back from the stable, a table full of delicious-smelling food was waiting for her. She felt hungrier seeing all those food so without even changing into her nightgown, she began to eat the food. After all the trouble that she had today, the food felt really comforting so she was lost in the food heaven.


    She was so lost that she didn''t even realize Theodore was leaning against the wall near her window. Theodore stared at Adeline with a smile on his face and thought to himself, "I bet she loves food more than she loves me�� look at her, looking at that piece of meat with so much love."


    Theodore chuckled and then jumped on the bed, almost scaring Adeline. Adeline looked at the bed and mumbled with food in her mouth, "Oh, you are already here. Did you have dinner?"


    "Yes. I did. Even if I hadn''t, I would have been full just by looking at you." Theodore kept on looking at Adeline with his keen eyes and with an unfaltering smile on his face.


    After Adeline finished her ''romantic'' dinner with herself, and after she dismissed her maids for the night, she briefed everything that her brother and sisters did to her after making Theodore swear that he wouldn''t go after them or scare them.


    And she didn''t forget to tell him the part where she had felt as though she was being possessed by something. She told him how she had deliberately wanted to hurt her half-siblings and how she had even enjoyed hurting them. It was as though she was�� evil.


    "As I had suspected��" Theodore quietly thought to himself when Adeline told him how she had felt.


    They chatted for quite some time, and when Adeline fell deep in her slumber, Theodore took this chance to examine something.


    He towered over the Princess and placed his first three fingers in the middle of Adeline''s forehead. His eyes turned blood red and his pupils dilated. He was looking deep inside Adeline''s soul to check whether there was any change. And to his relief, her human soul was still intact.


    And the next thing he checked was the demonic power that he had lent to her when she was a toddler. That came as a little surprise to him. He had just given her a grain of his power but right now, she had the demonic power which equaled to lower level demons.


    "How did it manage to grow so much? Should I take some of it back?" Theodore thought about it for quite some time.


    From the way she had explained it to him, it sounded like the demonic powers were having a negative effect on her innocent personality. He didn''t want her to change from the kind and sweet human that she was.


    In the end, he decided to take some of her powers back, leaving just enough amount of the demonic power to protect her from Lillian''s magic.


    He placed one of his palms on her forehead and the other over her heart. Then he closed his eyes and tried to take them back. However, to his surprise, the powers that were inside of Adeline were incompatible with his.


    Over the years, the demonic power inside of her had acquired its own characteristics. Just like how Theodore''s demonic energy would increase after consuming the aura of revenge, Adeline''s demonic energy had adapted itself and would feed off of the fear of people around her. And it had managed to increase to a point where Adeline''s strength equaled to that of a lower-level demon.


    Theodore took a deep breath, defeated, because he was unable to take her powers back. "I guess it is for the best then. I hope she doesn''t turn into the next me. I would hate to lose the innocent her."

 Chapter 153 - Blooming Love

    Prince Nigel and Crown Prince Wulfric were in the middle of their fight in the training ground. They were being overseen by their teacher Rhea and other few spectators like Prince Fenris and Wulfric''s guards.


    Later during the day, the two of them would be fighting again in front of the King and the elders of the Siccaldi clan. And right now, they were doing their final practice before the big show.


    Nigel was going to return back to Wyverndale tomorrow and the members of the clan wanted to see how much Prince Nigel had progressed since the day he arrived at Aberdeen. And also, they had a few things to say to Nigel before he would leave for his Palace.


    Wulfric dashed forward at a great speed, a speed that the normal people''s eyes could quite catch, and threw a fist aiming for Nigel''s face. But Nigel caught Wulfric''s fist as though it was no big deal and smirked at the Crown Prince, "Come on Wulfric, who was claiming to be the big bad wolf just a few weeks earlier? What happened to him? Is this all you''ve got?"


    Nigel threw away Wulfric''s fist and threw a deadliest fist right at Wulfric''s jaw. Wulfric''s head was thrown to the side and when he turned to look at Nigel again, his eyes were glowing and he began to growl as though he was about to change to his wolf form.


    But he heard Rhea''s voice from behind, "This is not the final fight Crown Prince, no turning in this one.." So he controlled his anger and readied himself to grab Nigel from behind and throw him down on the ground. That was his way of finishing off the opponents in the duel.


    However, by now Nigel already knew when he would try to knock him out. He didn''t give Wulfric a chance to get behind him. Before he could do that, Nigel hit Wulfric on his stomach with a barrage of punches. And when Wulfric was distracted enough, Nigel took the opportunity to grab Wulfric''s leg and flipped him on the ground. Then Nigel sat on top of Wulfric, his claws ready to dig on Wulfric''s heart.


    Rhea clapped two times and declared the winner, "Prince Nigel is the winner of this round."


    Nigel gave a smile to his cousin and got off of Wulfric. Then he offered his hand to Wulfric who had a playful frown on his face. Wulfric stood up and then whispered to Nigel, "Oh, brother! Why do you always have to show off in front of my guards? You are making their Crown Prince look weak. Couldn''t you have at least let me win this one?"


    Nigel chuckled and whispered back, "I am also a Prince, brother. I also have my own reputation to protect."


    Prince Fenris came running to their side and said sarcastically, "Hey love birds, are you two going to keep on whispering love songs to each other, or are we going back to the Palace? You two have to get ready."


    Rhea also stood in front of the boys and cleared her throat to get the attention of the Princes. The Princes stood with their arms behind their back like obedient students, even Prince Fenris.


    And when Rhea had their attention, she began to speak in a rather softer voice, "As you all know, Prince Nigel will be returning back to Wyverndale to attend his test. And before he returns back, the elders of the clan had asked to see a match between the Crown Prince and Prince Nigel."


    Rhea glanced at Wulfric and Nigel and gently bowed her head. "I wish good luck to both of you. I will also be watching. And put on a good show for my sake, don''t embarrass me in front of the elders."


    "Yes, teacher," even though they were Princes, Nigel and Wulfric gave a slight bow to show respect to their teacher. She had taught both of them most of the things they knew.


    She gently smiled at her students and said, "The class is dismissed."


    The Princes started to walk away towards the Palace. But before Nigel could also walk away, Rhea called him, "Nigel, can I talk to you for a bit?"


    "Sure," Nigel stayed behind with a huge grin on his face. During this short period, he had fallen deeper and deeper for Rhea. Her harsh yet caring voice, her gentle touch when she would teach him something, her laughter when he would do something stupid, everything would make him go crazy for her.


    He would do anything for her if she asked. He didn''t know that he could feel this way for a woman, but he liked this feeling, even though it was just one-sided.


    Rhea had a somewhat serious look on her face, not that she didn''t always have it, but this time she also looked as though she was sad because of something. "So, are you confident about the duel?" this was not the question that she really wanted to ask him, but somehow it came out.


    Nigel nodded his head and spoke with a captivating smile on his lips, "Yes, I am. I am going to let the elders know that I can handle myself even after I return back to Wyverndale." His smile turned mirthless all of a sudden.


    He was going back to his home after such a long time. He thought he would be more excited about this but he felt a little sad. He was going to miss his cousins and�� Rhea.


    He had not confessed his feeling to Rhea yet but he knew that Rhea was well aware of that. And the way how Rhea was indifferent to him made him scared, scared to confess thinking he would get rejected by the very first woman whom he had fallen for.


    Rhea wanted to say something but she couldn''t quite bring herself to. She didn''t have the heart to tell him what the elders had planned for him. She wanted to warn him so that he could be prepared but she just could not. She had no idea why she cared about him and why she didn''t want to hurt his feelings.


    So she just said, "I hope that they will see how good you are. I never thought I would say this to anyone but you are a special one. Nobody had ever been able to progress at the rate which you did. There are only a handful of people who can win against Crown Prince Wulfric and even fewer who can win against me... Good luck!"


    Nigel''s heart skipped a beat when she called him a ''special one''. But he calmed himself down by saying to himself that she said that because he was her student, not because she liked him. But then again, he couldn''t help but smile at her. "Thank you, Rhea. I hope you don''t mind me calling you by your name now that you won''t be teaching me anymore?"


    The way he smiled at her, the way he called her name, something bloomed inside of Rhea. She didn''t know why she was feeling this way lately. He did something to her which no other men were able to do.


    "Of course. You can call me by my name." Rhea''s gorgeous lips curved upwards, making her look even more beautiful.


    Nigel was hypnotized by her beauty. He returned her smile and said, "And so can you. You don''t have to refer to me as ''Your Highness'' or as ''Prince''." And he didn''t know what came over him and how he got the courage to do so, but he gently took her palm in his hand and kissed her on the knuckles.


    He wanted to do much more than that but he dared not. His eyes trailed towards her gorgeous face. And he didn''t know whether it was his imagination or not, he saw a glimmer of love for him in her beautiful eyes.

 Chapter 154 - Graduation

    When Nigel and Wulfric arrived at the arena that was specially prepared for the two of them, they saw that everyone was already waiting for the two of them. The King was sitting on the throne that was placed at the raised platform, in front of the fighting area. And the elders were sitting on the seats that were placed around the fighting area.


    Nigel thought that this duel was not a big deal but from what he was seeing, it sure seemed like a great deal to everyone present in that arena. He wanted to ask Wulfric if this was some kind of a graduation test for him, but it was already too late to ask anything. Both of them were already standing in the middle of the arena while the others were watching them closely with their keen eyes.


    Rhea was the one to oversee the fight and stop the fight if any one of them started to throw frenzied attacks on the other. She glanced at the King and when he nodded his head gesturing for her to start the fight, she looked at the two Princes and said in a loud voice, "The fight begins!"


    Wulfric would normally joke around and tease Nigel in the fights that they had in the training ground. But right now, he looked dead serious as though this was some fight that determined his life or death. He glared at Nigel while the two of them circled around for a few seconds.


    Seeing Wulfric this serious and being watched by so many powerful people of the clan made Nigel''s confidence to dwindle a little..


    Wulfric was quick enough to sense his brother''s fear and taking advantage of his lost concentration, he charged at Nigel. He covered the distance between them in a single jump and landed right in front of Nigel. Then he threw a kick straight to Nigel''s face sending him flying.


    But rather than falling down on his head, Nigel used it as the momentum to do a backflip and he landed straight on his two feet. He placed his fists in front of his face and instantly took a fighting stance. That kick from Wulfric was enough to snap back to reality.


    Without giving Nigel a chance to attack first, Wulfric pushed himself from the ground and did a side-flip. While still in the air, he prepared his foot to land a kick on Nigel''s head from above so that Nigel would get pushed down to the ground.


    However, Nigel was ready for any kind of attack this time. When he saw Wulfric doing the flip, he crossed his hands over his head to block the attack.


    Wulfric''s foot landed right on Nigel''s forearms and as soon as it landed, Nigel bend his knees a little and pushed his heels with a great force, making Wulfric tumble to the ground. Without giving him time to stand up, Nigel changed his fingernails into claws and jumped on Wulfric.


    His claws dug on Wulfric''s arms, pinning him down on the ground. If it was their training then the fight would have been over but not here in the real match.


    Wulfric gritted his teeth when the claws were digging deeper. His eye color changed into golden and he head-butted Nigel. While Nigel winced for a second, Wulfric managed to free one of his arms and dig his own claws into Nigel''s belly.


    Nigel growled in pain as drops of blood started to trickle down. And now he was also angered. His eyes also began to glow.


    Wulfric managed to push Nigel off of him and he instantly began to turn into his animal form.


    Seeing him turning, Nigel also followed the suit and began to change. He would not be able to fight Wulfric''s wolf form while he was still in his human form. Well, at least that was what Rhea had told him. He never tried to go against a wolf before, and this was not the time to test that out.


    Both of them were now in their wolf form. They transformed in under a minute. Wulfric was in his white wolf form and Nigel was the one with grey and white fur. They both circled each other again while gnashing their fangs.


    The elders had slightly raised brows when they witnessed that even though Nigel started his transformation a few seconds late than Wulfric, he was the first one to completely turn into his wolf form.


    The King had a faint smile on his face. He was proud of his nephew for being able to go toe-to-toe with Wulfric. "My sister raised her son very well," he thought to himself.


    Everyone was now watching the fight with great interest. It looked as though both of them were equal in strength. If one would flip the other to the ground, then the other would instantly get up and give an equally devastating blow.


    They were trying to bite each other, they were throwing each other on the ground, and were fighting like animals�� which they were. The ground which was leveled before the start of the fight now had several holes, claw marks, and debris on it.


    After a good while, Nigel finally managed to knock Wulfric on his back and he jumped on his belly causing Wulfric to whimper. Then he placed his claws right on Wulfric''s neck, but careful not to dig his claws on his brother.


    As if everyone were ordered, they all clapped their hands together marking the end of the fight. Rhea looked at everyone present in the arena. Everyone looked impressed with the duel, even the King had a proud look on his face. And she couldn''t help but be proud of her students.


    Two of the maids ran towards the wolves while carrying robes in their hands. The clothes that the two of the Princes were wearing at the beginning of the fight were torn into pieces when they had transformed into their giant wolf forms.


    Nigel and Wulfric reverted back to their human forms and grabbed the robes that the maids were presenting to them. The maids didn''t dare to raise their gaze from the floor. But the others in the arena, except Rhea, didn''t mind staring at the Princes to check the wounds on their bodies when they were naked. They all had been through this kind of situation countless times in their lives and they were immune to the shame by now.


    But right now, the others weren''t the ones who were naked, the Princes were. And they couldn''t help but feel ashamed. Even Wulfric felt uncomfortable with countless pairs of eyes on them. And Nigel, he wished that the Earth would swallow him whole because Rhea was standing not too far away from him. Even though she wasn''t looking at him directly, he knew she could still see him from the corner of her eyes.


    The Princes covered their shame with their robes and then turned towards the King to hear what he had to say.

 Chapter 155 - Alphas Order

    King Conall had an unusually big smile even when his son lost the duel. He felt proud that the newest member of the pack turned out to be one of the strongest. And the more number of stronger wolves in the pack, the stronger the whole pack would be. After all, werewolves were the creatures that thrived as a pack.


    And the King fixated his gaze on his nephew and began to praise him, "Prince Nigel, I would like to speak on behalf of the pack. Even though you just turned less than a month ago, all of us are impressed by how fast you picked up the pace. It took Wulfric three years to reach his current level and�� you were just incredible. I am glad to have you in my pack."


    Nigel placed his fist over his heart and fell on one of his knees. This was a way to show respect to the King of Aberdeen. "Thank you, for your kind words, Your Majesty. It wouldn''t have been possible without all of your support." He stole a quick glance of Rhea and smiled.. "And the major credit goes to my teacher Rhea for teaching me everything from scratch."


    Rhea blushed and her lips curved up to form a smile when Nigel praised her in front of the powerful members of the clan.


    King Conall was quick enough to speculate that their pack might be getting a set of mates soon. But he kept that thought aside and then moved his glance to Wulfric. "Crown Prince Wulfric, you also displayed a great combat skill, especially in your wolf form. I am glad to know that you are improving day by day. And with Nigel around, I hope that both of you will motivate each other to improve and grow."


    Wulfric was almost jealous of his cousin for getting all the attention and praise from the King. But when he spoke good words about him as well, he was high on the moon. He also kneeled down and thanked the King, "Thank you, Your Majesty. We will work on each other''s lacking and we will try our best to meet your expectations for us."


    Nigel blinked twice and thought, "I won''t be around from tomorrow though..."


    But the next phrases from the alpha were going to prove him wrong.


    King Conall gestured the Princes to rise and when they stood up with their arms at the back, he looked serious all of a sudden. And he focused his gaze on Nigel again. "Prince Nigel, you have stayed with us for almost a month now. You have met several other wolves of the pack and�� I hope you have developed some kind of bond with them?"


    The King waited for Nigel''s answer so Nigel smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. The ones whom I have met till day were very kind and hospitable towards me. They all accepted me as a member of their family and made me feel right at home."


    That was what the King really wanted to hear. He had a smirk on his face. He finally stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point.


    "Nigel, I am sure that by now you know how we are very protective of our secret as well as our every member of the pack. And we all have witnessed that you are one of the strongest wolves. That being said you are now counted as an integral member of the pack. So I, the alpha of the pack, order you to return back to Aberdeen after attending that test in Wyverndale. All of us want you to stay with us... for the rest of your life. You know we are one big family and we do not want our family members to stay away from us."


    The smile that Nigel had just a moment ago suddenly faded away like footprints on the seashore. He was stunned that his alpha had ordered him to return back and�� stay here forever. How could he even say that? How could he ask a Prince of another Kingdom to abandon his home and return back? Yes, he liked his stay here in Aberdeen but leaving his Kingdom was one thing which he couldn''t imagine doing.


    Nigel was angered by that order but he tried to calm himself down as much as he could and slowly uttered, "I am sorry, Your Majesty but it is not possible for me to return back again. I have my own duties as a Prince of Wyverndale. And father wouldn''t allow me to stay here if I get chosen as the future ruler of Wyverndale. Even if I wasn''t selected, I would still not be allowed to leave the Kingdom."


    King Conall never thought that making Nigel agree with him would be an easy task. And the things he was going to say were sure to annoy Nigel even more.


    He tried to speak in a calmer voice so as not to sound like a tyrant, "Nigel, I don''t want to sound like a rude uncle who is trying to take control over your life but we cannot allow you to be the next ruler of Wyverndale. We cannot have a werewolf ruling another Kingdom so I need you to fail the test."


    "Fail the test?" Nigel exclaimed in fury. He could not keep on hearing the nonsense that his uncle was spewing.


    "Why would I intentionally fail the test that I have been preparing myself for my whole life?" Nigel clenched his fists and shouted at the King without caring if he sounded rude. If the King could be rude to him, why couldn''t he do the same?


    Nigel took a step forward while looking intimidating. The guards that stood by the side of the King also took a step forward while placing their hands on their swords. They were ready to tackle Nigel at any moment now but the King raised his hand and gestured them to stop.


    Nigel didn''t care that the woman he wanted to impress was standing not too far away from him. And he growled at the King with fury, his eyes glowing like fire. "How can you be so inconsiderate and selfish? Do you have to go to such an extent just to protect the secret? And why don''t you trust me? Do you think that I am stupid enough to go around transforming in front of those people who don''t know that we exist?"


    And his mind suddenly began to imagine the clan killing Adeline just to protect their damn secret. He had always had that fear at the back of his head. But when his alpha gave out orders to him so calmly to leave his Kingdom and to fail the test, the fear that he had buried deep in his mind started to play tricks on him, the fear of them brutally killing his dear sister.


    And without even realizing it, Nigel began to transform into his wolf form again. The maids who were close by began to run for their lives, they didn''t want to be near an angry wolf. The elders were quietly enjoying the show. And Wulfric, Rhea, and Fenris were worried about what was about to come.


    Rhea wanted to stop Nigel and help him calm down but the King had already leaped the great distance between him and Nigel and was already standing in front of Nigel.

 Chapter 156 - Something Good

    Nigel had already transformed into a big wolf. And when he saw the King standing in front of him with a calm smile on his face as though he had not said anything wrong, it made his blood boil even more.


    Nigel glared at the King with his fierce golden eyes and he snarled as though he was ready to take on his alpha. And that was exactly what he was going to do. He crouched on his front legs and jumped at the King.


    Conall didn''t even bother to change into his wolf form to stop Nigel from his madness. He put his arms around Nigel''s neck and then threw that giant wolf as though he was nothing but a ragdoll.


    Nigel crashed at the edge of the arena. But something was telling him not to give up so easily. He didn''t want anyone to tell him what to do with his life, not even his alpha. So he prepared to run towards the King again.


    Rhea understood Nigel''s intention and she made a desperate attempt to stop Nigel by shouting at him, "Nigel! Stop! Don''t disrespect your alpha like that."


    But Nigel was in no mood to listen to anyone. He turned his head away from Rhea and focused on the alpha again. He dashed at a great and pounced on him.


    The King was leisurely standing in the middle of the fighting area with his arms behind his back. He understood why Nigel was acting this way. He knew what he was asking of Nigel was too much. And he didn''t want to hurt his nephew anymore. So when Nigel tried to attack him with his claws, he just leaped into the air, impossibly high for humans. Then he landed behind Nigel, avoiding the attack completely.


    The King took a deep breath in and tried to persuade Nigel by tapping into his empathetic nature. "Think about it Nigel, we werewolves are known to have sharp anger. Just look at yourself now. You couldn''t control your transformation when I said a few words that didn''t settle well with you."


    Nigel slowly turned behind to look at the King directly in his eyes. He was still giving a low growl to the King.


    The King fearlessly walked towards Nigel "And do you think being a King of Wyverndale is something you can do? Believe me when I say this but when you are a King, there will be a lot of people who will make you want to rip their throat out. What if you slip just like today? Can you live with yourself if you accidentally kill someone? And what if that someone is a person who is very dear to you?"


    Nigel''s growling suddenly came to a halt. And the King knew he had touched the right chord with his words.


    King Conall continued to speak in an even softer voice, "But if you live with us, where most of the inner castle is filled with your own kind, then there is less chance of you hurting anyone. Because most of them can defend themselves even if you lose your control. And there will always be someone who can stop you. I am not asking you to come and live with us because we want to cage you or just because we want to protect our secret, I am asking it so that those weak people will be safe from you."


    Nigel''s smoldering eyes somewhat calmed down. Yes, what if he lost control just like now? He thought that he had better control over his anger and his unintended transformation. But he hadn''t felt this angry while his stay in Aberdeen to find that out.


    King Conall was now standing right beside Nigel. He began to lightly stoke Nigel''s fur on his head and said, "I am asking you to fail the test so that those people will be at safer hands. And I am sure that you can make King Dragomir agree to your request to stay here. I will write a letter to him stating that you are welcome to stay here in Aberdeen."


    And the King said in a calm but at the same time intimidating voice, "But you have to promise me that you will come back, willingly. I don''t want to force you."


    Nigel understood that it was a threat from his alpha. But the Prince also understood why him being here in Aberdeen was the safest bet for everyone back at Wyverndale. He didn''t want to accidentally hurt someone or even worse, kill someone.


    Even though he understood all that, he felt a great discomfort in his heart. He would have to leave his home, his Kingdom, and his dearest sister. Sister�� he missed his sister all of a sudden. And the thought of living away from her, his father, and his loving mother hurt him a lot.


    His eyes were filled with tears and he just wanted to hide from everyone. He wanted to get away from there, from the eyes of everyone. So without caring what others thought about his behavior, he jumped on his feet and ran out of the arena, and outside towards the forest.


    Rhea sensed how Nigel was feeling. He was feeling anger, guilt, fear, love, and all kinds of emotion all at once. And without even thinking that everyone was watching her, she also transformed into her wolf form and chased after Nigel.


    Wulfric was also about to chase after Nigel but the King gestured him to stop.


    The Royal Guards, those with the werewolf genes came running towards their King and asked, "Your Majesty, shall we chase after them?"


    However, the King had a smile on his face. "No need to chase them. They will come around."


    But Wulfric was concerned for Rhea, "Your Majesty, Nigel might be a little too strong for the teacher to hold. I think we should give her a hand�� paw."


    The King patted his son on the shoulder and then asked him, "Do you want to stop your brother from getting his mate? Just leave the two of them alone." He smiled at Wulfric and said, "You know that it is impossible to live apart from the mates. I believe that something good will happen if we don''t interfere."


    "Something good?" Wulfric furrowed his brows as he didn''t quite understand the riddle that his father said to him. But he obeyed his father and didn''t go after Nigel and Rhea.


    The King turned around to face the elders and concluded the show after assuring them that Nigel would obey his order.


    "Something good��" Wulfric was still trying to figure out what his father meant by that. And suddenly it clicked. He widened his eyes and flared his nostrils and stood still like a statue.

 Chapter 157 - Love Me

    Nigel was running at his top speed towards the forest of the Palace. He was thinking how his life was going to take a turn now. He missed his family so much that he wanted to run to Wyverndale right now.


    His amber eyes were covered in tears and because he was seeing blur, he would collide with the huge trees every now and then. However, he didn''t care about the pain, he wanted to feel pain so that the pain in his heart would die down, but it didn''t.


    Suddenly, another wolf with silver fur stood in front of Nigel. One of its eyes was blue while the other was light brown in color, and both were glistening. If it weren''t for that pair of beautiful eyes, Nigel would have run past that wolf. But he stopped because he knew to whom those eyes belonged.


    "Nigel, why are you running?" he heard a familiar voice inside his head.


    But Nigel didn''t reply, he kept on looking down on the ground because he didn''t want to show his tears to her..


    Rhea slowly and carefully stepped close to Nigel. "Nigel, I know how you are feeling right now. None of us were okay with leaving our home. But running away isn''t the solution. And besides, it''s not like you can never visit your home after you return back again. You can always visit them every once in a while when you miss them."


    And finally, Rhea heard Nigel''s voice in her head. His voice was filled with anger towards himself, "I should have learned better, I should have learned to control my anger by now. I transformed in front of the King and even attacked him. If I was able to control my anger better then maybe me returning back to my home wouldn''t have been this big of a deal."


    Rhea took a step closer to Nigel so that she could see his eyes. She didn''t want him to punish himself or feel guilty. "Even the alpha loses his control, Nigel. We were born this way, anger comes as easily to us as breathing. That is why we have to stick together so that the others can help us when we are in pain. Werewolves cannot survive without their pack."


    Rhea gently touched Nigel''s head with her own and Nigel could hear her whisper that reflected her love and care towards him, "So please, don''t think of running away. At least the people here are not complete strangers to you. You have your maternal uncle and aunt, your grandmother, and your cousins. And�� and you also have me."


    Somehow, her voice triggered the emotion that Nigel was trying to control. He reverted back to his human form and fell down on his knees. Then he began to let his emotion flow from his eyes like never before.


    Seeing Nigel crying like a baby, Rhea wanted to comfort him. She also morphed back into her human form and gently caressed his long silky black hair.


    But when her loving hands began to run through his hair, Nigel began to cry even more uncontrollably. He didn''t know what came over him but he wanted to cry his eyes out. He felt as though Rhea wouldn''t mind seeing him crying.


    And she did not. She understood him more than anyone else because she also came from a village that was very far away from the Enchanted Valley. The elders saw talent in her and they asked her to serve in the Palace. She knew the pain of living far away from her family. She knew how it felt when the life-long ambition was crushed just because one had triggered the werewolf curse.


    She wanted to comfort him, she wanted to be there for this man who was showing his vulnerable side to her. And without caring that she was naked, she straddled down on his laps and let him bury his face on her bosom. She wrapped one of her arms around his broad shoulder and the other caressed his hair.


    Nigel cried for quite some time. He felt warm and safe in her arms. Rhea�� she made him do things that he never thought he would, he had never cried in front of anyone before, not even in front of Adeline.


    After calming down a little, without raising his head from her chest, he whispered to her, "Rhea, why do you do this to me?"


    "What do you mean? What did I do?" she didn''t know why but her voice came out as whispers as well.


    "One moment you make me feel as though you love me but then the next moment you act very indifferent as if I am just another student of yours." He finally raised his head to see her in her eyes and asked, "Do you even see me as a man worthy of your love? Or do you just see me as a child in need of guidance?"


    Rhea had not expected him to be so straightforward. Not that she didn''t want him to be but she wished that he had asked that to her a long time ago. Rhea looked into his sapphire eyes that were swollen and red because of excessive crying. She smiled at him and gently wiped his tears from his face.


    She cupped his angelic face and spoke in a melodious voice, "Oh Nigel!" she instantly wanted to say that she always saw him as a man but she hesitated. And instead said, "I acted indifferent because you are a Prince and I am just a commoner."


    "So what if you are just a commoner?" Nigel pressed his hands on hers and looked at her like she was the moon. And his inner wolf was going crazy for her.


    Rhea was not a fool to not recognize that love for her in his eyes. And that heartbeat of Nigel that she was hearing beating like a drum, she knew it was beating for her. Subconsciously, her hands trailed over his chest, as though it was on display just for her. "I thought you were just infatuated to me like every other man. And Princes always marry Princesses or someone from powerful families. I am neither."


    Nigel could hear Rhea''s heart beating like never before. He slowly raised his hand and played with her curly hair. And he asked in a voice that smelt of desperation, desperation to hear that she also loved him, "What if I told you I don''t care about such titles? And what if I told you that you are my first love?"


    "First love?" she asked in astonishment. He was already her age; and with that face of his and also considering the fact that he was a Prince, she thought that many women must have already thrown themselves at him. "Maybe they had�� maybe he is saying that he never loved any of them," She thought to herself.


    "Yes, first love. All I had ever cared about was training myself and working to impress my father. I never thought I would ever need a woman until I saw you." Nigel dared to put his arms around her bare waist and spoke ever so enticingly, "I know that I am incomplete without you. I want you to complete me, Rhea. I want you to stay by my side forever. I want you to love me."

 Chapter 158 - I Want More

    Rhea''s chest was rhythmically heaving up and down when she felt his sturdy forearms around her body. Suddenly, she felt shy and questioned her own bold behavior earlier. How could she just sit on a naked man''s lap like that, when she was also completely naked?


    Was she so desperate to get his attention? No! She just wanted to comfort him because he looked like he was in need of someone who could understand his feelings.


    His feelings�� he had just told her how he felt about her. And then his words echoed in her ears, "I want you to love me."


    When she heard those endearing phrases coming out of his mouth, the strong resolve that she had developed until now to guard her feelings towards Nigel just crumbled down. Her heart began to hammer in her chest and she swore that she saw a short smile on Nigel''s lips.


    Nigel slowly trailed his hand upward and gently held Rhea by her nape. He darted his eyes on Rhea''s beautiful lips. He wanted to kiss her there and then but he wanted to be sure that she also shared the same feelings towards him as he felt for her.


    And he demanded her answer in a little authoritative voice because he didn''t know for how long he would be able to control his urge to glare at her breasts that were right in front of his eyes or do things to her that she might not approve of, "Now tell me, Rhea, do you see a man in me or I am just another-"


    "I have always seen you as a man, Nigel." Rhea abruptly cut him off and answered with equal hunger for love.


    She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and stared deep into his eyes with passion. Now that Nigel had professed his love to her and had told her that he wanted her to be by his side forever, she didn''t see any harm in accepting the feelings that she had towards this gentle yet strong wolf. And she didn''t see any harm in confessing that to him as well.


    "You make me feel things that no other men were ever able to. Every time I am around you, you make me want to bite you and claim you for myself. You don''t know how hard I had to fight that urge to make you mine."


    She brought her lips close to Nigel''s. Their hot breath was colliding against each other''s face and neck. She touched his lips with her own and whispered raggedly on his lips, "You don''t know how hard it was for me to act as though I didn''t feel anything for you when I felt everything."


    Nigel felt her words reverberating on his lips. He could not believe his ears that she was actually confessing that all this time she had felt everything for him. But wait�� what did she mean by she wanted to bite him and claim him? He wanted to ask her but his mouth was not free.


    Rhea was already kissing him. At first, Nigel felt her soft lips moving against his. But soon that kiss became a hungry one. Without leaving his lips, she grabbed Nigel''s silky hair and shifted further up on his lap so that her breasts were completely glued to Nigel''s chest.


    He gave in and let her do whatever she wanted to do to him. As he was not experienced in this, he thought he would do to her whatever she did to him, just like when she would teach her every day.


    He could feel her sucking his lips, nipping them, and her tongue slowly prying his mouth open. Nigel could not help but close his eyes and moan at that divine taste that just entered his mouth. If he knew this was what she tasted like, then he would have confessed his love to her a long time ago.


    Nigel also tightly pressed his hand on her back and reciprocated her kiss. He wanted to be gentle but his inner animal instinct was telling him otherwise. He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back with a jerk.


    Rhea inhaled sharply at that sudden pull but that concern changed into a satisfying moan when she felt Nigel nibbling the hollow of her neck. Her grip around his neck tightened and she arched her back with every kiss that Nigel showered all over her neck.


    Rhea was the one who taught many of her students to have better control over their emotions but right now, she forgot about all those things. All she wanted was Nigel. She didn''t want him to return back to his home and never come back. No! She hated the idea of not seeing him again.


    She wanted to make him hers. Now.


    "Nigel," she whispered breathlessly.


    Nigel abruptly stopped sucking the side of her neck and looked at her face, "Is something wrong?" He feared that he might have done something that she didn''t like.


    Rhea shook her head and asked without any hesitation, "Will you take me to your room? I want more."


    "You want more?" Nigel gave a smirk and nipped below her ear. He could hear her saying ''yes'' in a desperate moan. He smiled and whispered in her ear, "Shall we run then?"


    She nodded her head approvingly and quickly got up from his lap. And as though she was in a great hurry, she instantly began to transform. Nigel followed her suit and he also transformed.


    They both ran at the top of their speed as if they were racing against each other. When Nigel''s quarter came in view, he went ahead of her so that his guards at the front of his quarter wouldn''t stop them, that was if they could stop two wild wolves when they were just humans.


    The guards and the maids saw two of the wolves dashing towards the quarter at great speed. They recognized Nigel as he would often return in his wolf form after the training. They quickly stopped whatever they were doing and rushed out of the way. They were holding their breath and bracing themselves and were praying that those two wolves weren''t fighting. They didn''t want to be the sacrificial goat in the wolves'' fight.


    Nigel and Rhea entered Nigel''s room and quickly reverted back to their human forms. And both of them began to laugh hysterically at the way they were behaving, scaring the maids and guards like some wild wolves. But they both were so ready to mate that there was no slowing down.

 Chapter 159 - Mark Me

    Nigel locked the door behind them so that no one would interfere with them. And when he turned around, Rhea was standing right next to him, ready to pounce on Nigel like the hungry wolf that she was. But before Rhea could attack Nigel with the barrage of her kisses, Nigel grabbed her by her arm and pulled her.


    Their naked bodies collided against each other''s and Nigel enveloped Rhea in his arms. He claimed her lips like a vicious hungry wolf. He thought that he needed Rhea to teach him what to do but he just knew it somehow. He caressed her lips with his tongue and searched for that sweetness of her mouth again.


    Rhea parted her lips invitingly and Nigel kissed her as passionately as he could.. She tasted so sweet that he thought he could keep on kissing her for days without even getting tired. And that would be very much possible as both of them had a great level of stamina.


    Nigel slowly slid his hand down to Rhea''s hips. Her hips felt so warm and luscious that he couldn''t resist them. He so wanted to squeeze and spank those curvy hips. And while biting her lips hungrily, he spanked those voluptuous bottom.


    Rhea jumped a little at that sudden action of the Prince while giving a moan mixed with pain and pleasure.


    Nigel loved the way she sounded so needy. He squeezed her hips with both of his hands and pressed her against his body as though they weren''t already close. And he slid his hands down to her thighs and as if on cue, Rhea wrapped her legs around Nigel''s waist and let him carry her.


    He climbed on the bed with her and gently placed her down. That was the end of his gentleness. He pushed her down without any warning. He grabbed her legs by her ankles and slid her down so that he could sit right on her upper thighs. He straddle her and lay on top of her. Then he leaned down and gave a loud kiss on her jaw. He slowly moved down while aggressively kissing every nook and corner of her neck.


    Rhea was twisting her body with his sensual kiss and was moaning every once in a while. This was easily the best feeling that she ever had. She was curling her toes, rubbing her heels against the mattress, and was rubbing her knees together to control the rising temperature in between her legs.


    Nigel buried his face at the side of her neck so that he could inhale her sweet aroma that had been enticing him for a long time. She smelled like a rare spice called Vanilla. And she smelled so good that he got this sudden urge to taste her, more precisely he wanted to dig his fangs on her neck and bite her. He swiped the tip of his tongue around his teeth and felt that his teeth had elongated.


    He quickly dismissed the thought of biting her and distanced himself from her neck.


    Suddenly, Rhea felt his warm mouth sucking her breast and she felt such a divine pleasure that she arched her back involuntarily. The pleasure was so new to her that she was unable to handle it.


    She whispered his name breathlessly, "Nigel!" and instantly grabbed Nigel''s hair and jerked him away from her breast.


    But Nigel was unhappy with that interruption. And he said playfully, "How dare you snatch away my sweet snacks from me? Now you shall be punished by this Prince." He had a sly smirk on his lips.


    Rhea chuckled at that remark from Nigel. She had never expected that the gentle wolf even had this side.


    However, Nigel was not joking when he said that he was going to punish her. He locked his fingers with hers and strongly held her hands above her head so that she would not push him away like earlier. He moved his lips towards her neck again and the moment he smelled that sweet aroma of her, he could feel his canines elongating.


    This time, he gave in to his urge and bit her on her neck.


    Both of them felt a sudden rush of energy flowing throughout their bodies. Nigel closed his eyes and sucked onto her neck while moaning in extreme pleasure. And Rhea wanted to say something to Nigel but she could not speak anything because of the ecstatic sensation that was coursing through her veins. She tilted her neck and moaned alongside Nigel, her breast heaving because of satisfaction.


    After getting a good taste of Rhea''s blood and after that head-spinning pleasure, Nigel finally stopped biting her. He licked the blood off of her neck as though it was honey and licked his lips as well. He moved his glance towards her face and she had an equally satisfied look like him.


    He placed a soft kiss on her cheek and whispered with bated breath, "What was that feeling just now? Did you also feel it?"


    Rhea just nodded her head, still unable to speak. Nigel kept on waiting in anticipation for her answer. And when she had finally gathered some breath, she whispered apologetically, "I should have told you this before. But now it is too late."


    "Too late? For what?" Nigel was now genuinely concerned. He released his grasp of her hands and sat up straight on her laps.


    During fights, while biting each other in werewolf forms, he would never get this kind of feeling. And as they would bite each other when they were werewolves, he thought that biting her in her human form wouldn''t be counted as eating human flesh or blood. It had somehow felt like the right thing to do when he bit her.


    But seeing the apologetic expression on her face, he concluded that he was now going to get stuck in his wolf form forever and that he was going to be hunted by the clan. "Am I going to get killed by the clan?" he asked Rhea in a worried voice.


    "What? No! Why would you even think that?" Rhea wanted to chuckle at his innocence but she stopped herself as the matter was still serious.


    Nigel frowned and asked, "Then what were you going to say? What ''too late''?"


    She looked into his sapphire eyes and explained it to him, "You just marked me as your mate, Nigel."


    "Is that a wrong thing to do?" Nigel still had no idea what she was talking about.


    "Depends on what you think." She gave her hand to Nigel and gestured for him to pull her up. After he pulled her up, she looked deep into his eyes, trying to figure out if he would like what he would hear or not.


    And she slowly said what marking meant, "Marking is equivalent to marriage according to the werewolf law. When a couple marks each other, the alpha will acknowledge their relationship. And werewolves mate for life. As you''ve just marked me, I now belong to you�� forever. And you cannot undo it now. So you are now stuck with me."


    Seeing her lowering her gaze, Nigel asked sadly, "Did you not want to be my mate then? You don''t seem so happy."


    Rhea quickly looked into Nigel''s eyes and she saw a hint of sadness. And she shook her head to clear the misunderstanding, "Didn''t I say earlier that it was so hard for me to control my urge to mark you and claim you as mine? Of course, I want to be your mate. I just thought that you would feel betrayed for not telling you this information before you marked me."


    Nigel cupped her cheeks and instantly gave a kiss to Rhea. It was not full of lust like earlier but a soft and grateful one, the one to show his love towards her.


    After pulling back he said with a smile, "And didn''t I say earlier that I want you to stay by my side forever?" And he asked in his authoritative tone again, "Now mark me."


    "Hmm��" Rhea was confused by that sudden demand.


    "You said that couples need to mark each other. I already marked you, so now it''s your turn to mark me." Nigel gave the sweetest smile and tilted his head sideways to show off his inviting traps and asked again, "Mark me."

 Chapter 160 - Ecstasy

    "Mark me," Nigel''s alluring voice echoed in Rhea''s ears like they were some magic spell.


    Nigel was still sitting on top of Rhea and now that it was Rhea''s turn to mark her mate, she wanted to be the one in control. "I want to be on top," she blurted out and without even giving any time for Nigel to process what she had just said, she pushed Nigel to the side with such a great force that the huge bed squeaked.


    Nigel landed on his side and before he knew it, Rhea had already managed to push him on his back and she was now on top of him. Her hungry eyes were darting his athletic body.


    She slowly trailed her hand starting from his toned abs and slowly made her way upwards to his chest and to his neck and to his jaw. She caressed her jaw with her thumb and gently ran her long and slender fingers from his jaw, down to the neck and across his muscular shoulder.


    And she leaned down to plant a few kisses on his neck. She nipped him below his ears, then slowly moved downwards while showering him with her kisses.


    Nigel chuckled unable to resist that ticklish feeling that her lips were giving him. Rhea could hear his chuckle which she found very amusing. When her lips reached the triangle at the side of his neck, she stopped to look at the stunning wolf who had charmed her and appreciated his beauty.


    The Prince was beaming with a smile and Rhea also smiled at the man she had given her heart and body to. Her teeth grazed her lips when she smiled and that was when she realized that her teeth had elongated into fangs.


    She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, not wanting to show it to Nigel. But Nigel clutched her hand and stopped her from covering her mouth. "You don''t need to hide anything from me. You look even more beautiful with your canines."


    This man�� this man sure knew how to please her, she thought. She pecked on Nigel''s lips and without delaying any further, she moved her lips to his neck. She licked a spot as though to warn Nigel what was coming next and then she dug her fangs in his neck.


    And just like earlier, both of them were drowned in the sea of insurmountable pleasure. And this time, both of them felt a deeper level of connection with each other. They couldn''t quite point their finger at it but they felt like their soul belonged to each other. And they knew that not even God himself would be able to separate them.


    After catching their breath, Nigel flipped Rhea down on the bed and took control again. He caressed her thighs and leaned down to kiss her inner thighs. Rhea squirmed in the anticipation of what was about to come.


    Nigel slowly moved his hands upwards to her waist and adjusted his position against her body. And like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, Nigel pinned down her hands above her head and pushed his hardness inside of her.


    Rhea whimpered and jerked her head upwards because of the initial pain that she felt between her legs. She wanted to push Nigel and break free from his hold. But Nigel was not leaving her this time. He kept on holding her down on the bed and slowly moved his body against hers.


    Rhea bit her lower lip and closed her eyes while breathing heavily. The pain was still there but she was getting a carnal pleasure which made her want more�� more of whatever he was doing to her body. She wrapped her legs around his waist and let him have her.


    While rocking his body back and forth, Nigel leaned down and captured her mouth with a sensual kiss. Rhea moaned in his mouth so temptingly that he wanted to hear that sound again. He increased the rhythm with which their bodies were colliding against each other and with each stroke of his, Rhea was squirming and moaning in pleasure.


    As both of them were warm-blooded wolves the whole room felt like a hot spring for them. They were sweating with every second that passed. And Nigel''s long hair wasn''t helping either. He would flip his hair to the side every once in a while.


    And that image of Nigel was imprinted in Rhea''s mind. Boy! Could he look any sexier? "I want to touch you," Rhea pleaded with a needy desire.


    "You want to touch me?" Nigel gave an alluring smirk and Rhea nodded breathlessly.


    He let go of her hands and let her fulfill her desire. She roamed her palms on his stomach, around his chest, and mapped his broad shoulders and arms. Then she slowly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down for a kiss.


    But Nigel felt like teasing her and resisted being pulled when his lips were an inch away from her. She lifted her head and tried to kiss him but he pulled his head further away from her. "Are you sure you want to tease me?" Rhea narrowed her eyes and smiled challengingly.


    Nigel leaned down to touch Rhea''s ear with his lips and his hot and ragged breath caressed her. "Yes, what are you going to do about it?" he teased her further while still maintaining the rhythm consistently.


    Rhea used her strength to roll Nigel over and she sat on top of him. "This!" she whispered and began to ride him as if her inner animal was out all of a sudden.


    Nigel wasn''t surprised at that sudden display of strength. He was rather enjoying this side of Rhea. He grabbed her waist and thrust his hips to match her rhythm. The steamy and passionate intermingling of their bodies went on for quite some time.


    Rhea stopped for a second to catch her breath but Nigel didn''t want it to stop. He pulled her down on his body and flipped her down on the bed with a thud. He grabbed onto her legs and held them over his shoulders.


    He entered her again and viciously slapped his hips against hers. And after a while, he increased the pace even more. Rhea was moaning and crying and whimpering in extreme pleasure. He was enjoying seeing her writhing on the bed like that. And she finally raised her head and gave out a scream of satisfaction. Then she leaned back again, her body covered in sweat and her face gleaming with ecstasy.


    Nigel let Rhea breathe for a while and asked in a ragged whisper, "Shall we go for another round? I can do this all day and all night long."


    Outside the room, two of the Royal Guards of Nigel were contemplating whether or not to enter the room. They could hear the loud banging, crashing, and thudding as though some huge fight was going on inside. One of the guards was about to knock on the door and ask the Prince if he was in any trouble.


    But a maid saw that and stopped his hand. And she whispered angrily, "What do you think you are doing?"


    "I think they are fighting inside. I am worried that the Prince might get hurt," the guard replied innocently.


    The maid face-palmed herself and whispered, "Don''t worry, they are enjoying themselves.. At most, they might break the bed."

 Chapter 161 - Wolf Is Home

    It was midday and Adeline was resting in her quarter after returning back from the group training session. The group that was single had now split into two after the kidnapping of Adeline by four of her half-siblings.


    If they were inside a class, Raphael and Adeline would sit on a separate column and the others would sit down on another column. And if it was a sparring session, then Raphael and Adeline would stand on one side of the ground while the others would stand on another side.


    Raphael had found out later that the others had actually gone through with their plan. And he had apologized to Adeline for not warning her about their plans even when they had talked about it in front of him. At that time, he didn''t think that they would actually carry out their evil plan.


    Gustin, Kaela, and Nefriti were not even able to look Adeline in the eye. They would avoid her and they distanced themselves from her because of the shame and also because of fear. They were feeling guilty but they didn''t yet have the courage to ask for Adeline''s forgiveness. They didn''t think that what they had done to Adeline was forgivable.


    And Claudia had not attended the training session after that day, not because she was ashamed or guilty but because she was not in the right state of her mind. After she saw the glowing red eyes of Adeline that day, she completely lost it. She would constantly get hallucinations of evil creatures chasing after her and trying to kill her. And she was under strict observation inside her own quarter.


    When Adeline was laying down on her bed, Osanna came running into Adeline''s room with a piece of great news, "Adeline! Adeline!" She didn''t even care to knock on the door and just rushed inside the Princess''s room.


    "Whoa! Slow down Osanna, you might trip over your own gown if you run like that." Adeline said in a concerned voice and sat up on her bed.


    But Osanna was too excited to slow down. "Didn''t you know that Prince Nigel has already returned back from Aberdeen?"


    Adeline''s face lit up with joy and she jumped out of her bed at once. She held Osanna''s hand and asked, "Brother is already here?"


    Osanna nodded her head excitedly and answered, "Yes, he has arrived with a few other guests from Aberdeen. He must be in his quarter." Osanna knew how much Nigel meant to her and she had noticed that her life was impacted greatly by his absence. So when she heard that Prince Nigel was back, the first thing she did was drop everything that she was doing and run to Adeline''s chamber.


    Adeline happily hugged Osanna for telling her the news and thanked her before she ran at her full speed towards her brother''s quarter.


    She didn''t care if she hit anyone on the way or if she was jumping across the flower pots, she just wanted to see her brother as soon as she could.


    The guards and maids of Nigel''s quarter made way for the Princess as she ran past them wildly. They were smiling as the Princess ran past them because they had seen her after a long time and they were happy to see the smile on the Princess''s face.


    Adeline barged into Nigel''s room and shouted, "Brother!"


    She wanted to hug her brother as soon as she saw him but she halted near the door when she saw two other people in Nigel''s room. One she recognized very well, he was Fenris. And the other, she didn''t recognize.


    "Adeline! I missed you so much. Come here," Nigel opened his arms with a huge grin on his face. And he walked towards where Adeline was standing like a statue.


    When her brother opened his arms for her, she smiled and then sprinted towards Nigel. Then she jumped and put her arms around his neck. She literally clung to her brother. "You have no idea how much I missed you, brother. I wished you would return soon but you didn''t. Don''t ever leave me alone like this again. I don''t want to live in this Palace without you. There is no one else like you here."


    Of course, when she said ''There is no one else like you here'', she was referring to her other half-siblings.


    All of a sudden Adeline began to sob like a baby in her brother''s arms. She did miss him a lot. All the problems that she went through and the emotions that she had suppressed till now burst out of her in the form of unstoppable tears.


    Having Theodore with her had minimized her loneliness to some extent but it was nothing like having a brother alongside her. There were things that only a brother would understand and she wished that Nigel would never leave her again. A month without him was already this hard and she couldn''t imagine separating from him again.


    And those words from his dear sister pinched Nigel right where it hurt the most. His eyes also watered hearing his sister''s cries. He did not have the heart to tell her that he would not be living in Wyverndale for long. They had just reunited and he didn''t want to say anything about that yet. He thought of breaking the news slowly and carefully.


    After hugging each other and crying for some time, the brother and sister duo finally calmed down. Nigel wiped Adeline''s tears and kissed her on her forehead.


    Fenris wanted to tease the crybabies so much but he controlled himself. He had promised to Nigel that he would be on good behavior during his stay in Wyverndale. When those two finally left each other, he stepped in front of Adeline and gave a gentle bow to her, "Princess Adeline, I hope you have not forgotten my name."


    "I wish I had, Prince Fenris," Adeline replied sharply while also giving him a soft nod.


    Fenris wrinkled his nose and acted as though he was hurt by her words.


    Before Fenris could make any cheesy comment, Adeline focused her attention on the beautiful lady that was nervously standing in one corner of the room. And she asked Nigel, "Brother, are you not going to introduce me to her?"


    Nigel''s heart skipped a beat when Adeline asked that question. He was not sure what to tell her, or rather how to tell her. He nervously scratched his brow and mumbled, "She is Rhea. And she uh�� she is�� she is my mate. I mean my-my wife."


    "What?" Adeline exclaimed in such a loud voice that Nigel shuddered. "She is your wife?"

 Chapter 162 - Secret Marriage

    Adeline frowned and then shouted at Nigel at the top of her voice, "She is your wife? You got married without even telling anyone? Without even telling me?"


    "I am so sorry, sister. It- everything happened so fast and-" Nigel felt a heavy blow on his stomach and he flew in the air and then landed on the ground with a loud thud.


    Adeline was hoping that Nigel was just joking when he said that the woman who was standing behind him was his wife. But she could clearly see it in his eyes that he was not lying.


    She was hurt that her only brother whom she loved the most had married without even saying anything to her. She didn''t understand why he was in such a rush to get married that he couldn''t even inform anyone or even take permission from their father. And she furiously yelled at Nigel again, "I thought you were my brother..."


    Nigel groaned in pain and spoke in a complaining voice, "Adeline! Is this what you do to your brother when you see him after a month? You could have let me explain before kicking me."


    If anyone else had kicked her mate like that, Rhea would have probably clawed that person already. But she didn''t do anything of that sort as she was too stunned by what just happened. She held her breath and stared at Nigel who was rubbing his stomach while wincing. He was not pretending, he was genuinely in pain.


    Then she glanced at the Princess who had just managed to throw a werewolf down to the ground with a single kick.


    The Princess was still shouting at her brother, "Do you think an explanation would have saved you from my kick? Get up! Come on! I am going to beat you until you-"


    "What are you?" And Rhea''s mouth shouted at Adeline before she could even think what she was speaking.


    Everyone''s attention was grabbed by that desperate and rude question that Rhea had asked to Adeline. Nigel feared that Rhea would end up doing something to his sister so he quickly got up and went to stand by the side of Rhea.


    That was definitely not the first question that Adeline had expected to hear from her�� sister-in-law. She gave an awkward smile and all she could say was, "Umm�� Prin��cess?" What else was she supposed to say to that question? That she was the sweetheart of the Devil?


    Rhea came out of her daze when she felt Nigel''s hand on her shoulder. And she realized what she had said and in what kind of tone. She immediately bowed her head and apologized to the Princess, "I am sorry, Your Highness. I didn''t mean to sound so rude. What I meant to say was that you are too strong�� for a Princess."


    Of course, Rhea had no idea that Adeline was well aware of what Nigel was. She thought that asking any further questions would only lead the Princess closer to finding out the secret of Nigel. So, she refrained from asking Adeline how she was able to kick her brother down.


    But the question was still itching her because Nigel was stronger than any average human. So how was his sister able to send him flying like that?


    "I am strong?" Adeline smiled innocently at Rhea and tucked her silver hair behind her ears. She realized that she probably shouldn''t have kicked her brother in front of his�� wife and surprised her by showing off her strength. So she instantly added, "I don''t think I am as strong as my brother. He just likes to let me win."


    Fenris was standing in one corner with his hands folded and was enjoying the family drama. He remembered how easily Adeline had knocked Nigel down when he had first witnessed their fight. "Pffftt... as if he could win!" he thought while recalling the look on Nigel''s face.


    And he was trying hard not to laugh when Adeline said that Nigel let her win on purpose. He was biting the insides of his cheeks and was looking away from Rhea. He didn''t want Rhea to get suspicious about Adeline''s true strength just because he laughed.


    But Rhea already was suspicious. She wasn''t stupid to believe that Nigel purposely got himself kicked down to the ground just to let his sister win.


    Adeline glared at Nigel again and started to emotionally blackmail him, "I had so many things planned for your wedding. I wanted to wear an elegant gown and dance and eat. And I wanted to enjoy my brother''s wedding ceremony to the fullest."


    Nigel was puckering his lips and had an apologetic look on his face.


    Adeline shouted in a pampered voice, "But you stole all that away from me. Why couldn''t you wait for a few days to get married? I am sure father wouldn''t have objected."


    And out of the blue, she sat down on the floor with a thump and folded her hands looking all grumpy and childish. And she insisted, "I want to see your wedding. Get married again�� with Rhea."


    Rhea began to blush when Adeline said that. If only she knew how they had gotten ''married''!


    Nigel laughed nervously and stuttered, "Of-of course��"


    But Nigel was interrupted by Fenris. He burst out into laughter, he couldn''t hold it in anymore. He was laughing so hard that he was holding his stomach and was crying.


    "Fenris!" Nigel gave him a glare as if to say ''good behavior!'' and Fenris understood what his glare meant. But he just could not stop laughing when he imagined Nigel and Rhea getting ''married'' in werewolves'' tradition and Adeline watching them.


    "I''m sorry! Please excuse me!" Fenris dashed out of the room while clasping his mouth but even though he was outside, those who were inside the room were still able to hear his chortle.


    Nigel shook his head and said to Rhea and Adeline, "Never mind him. You both know how he is."


    He took a deep breath and then smiled. He crouched down to the level of Adeline and then pinched both of her cheeks and said, "I have not held any marriage ceremony, we will hold that soon. And this cute sister can enjoy as much as she wants."


    "Really?" Adeline''s face lit up and she hugged her brother with excitement. "Thank you so much! I can''t wait."


    But Nigel nervously asked a favor of his sister, "But umm�� don''t tell anyone yet. You are the first person in Wyverndale to know about it. I will tell everyone after the test is over. I don''t want to cause a ruckus before the test."


    Adeline was even happier when she found out that she was the first person to know about her brother''s secret marriage. She nodded her head and whispered, "Your secret is safe with me."


    "Ah! Where are my manners?" Adeline slapped herself on her forehead and then picked herself up from the floor. Then without any warning, she wrapped Rhea in an embrace. "Welcome to the family, my dear sister-in-law."


    Rhea was surprised by that sudden hug from the Princess. But she remembered how childishly she had acted just a while ago when she found out that her brother had married without telling anything to her. Maybe not all Princesses act all high and mighty, she thought. She hugged Adeline back and a genuine smile crept upon her lips.


    After they pulled back from the hug, Adeline asked with excitement, "I have always wanted to have a sister. Not that I don''t already have a lot of them, but no one is dear to me. Can I just address you as ''sister'' instead of that long ''sister-in-law''?"


    Rhea''s heart warmed at that question from Adeline. She understood why Nigel had cried when he found out that he had to leave Wyverndale for good. She got to witness their deep brother-sister bond and she wasn''t sure if she could have controlled herself if she was in place of Nigel.


    Rhea nodded while giving a smile to Adeline. She did not realize it but the rims of her eyes were glistening with tears. "Yes, Your Highness, you may address me as your sister. I would love that."


    "Sister! You shouldn''t be addressing me as ''Your Highness''." Adeline put her arms on her back and politely asked Rhea, "Please address me as ''sister'' or simply by my name, Adeline." She tilted her head to the side and gave a grin that had even successfully melted the heart of the Devil Prince himself.


    So Rhea was not immune to that smile and she spoke with an enchanted expression, "I would love that, sister."

 Chapter 163 - Dinner Time

    Adeline had invited the guests who had arrived from Aberdeen to have dinner in her quarter. She wanted to give a nice welcome to her sister-in-law and make her feel right at home. And she also wanted to know everything that her brother did back at Aberdeen, how he met Rhea, and how his stay in Aberdeen was.


    And she also wanted to share what she had done for the past month, the things that were sharable in front of Rhea and Fenris. She had so much to catch up on with her brother.


    Adeline had asked the servants to change her meeting room into a dining room. She would always eat alone in her private chamber and there was no need for a lavish dining hall until today. She wished she had asked her father to turn one of her rooms into a dining hall. But as she had already invited her guests, she settled by turning her meeting room into dining.


    She ordered her maids to serve the best dishes of the Palace for the four of them. And she had even asked her Royal Guards to purchase some of the food items from the Golden Street. She wanted her brother to taste the mouthwatering food of the commoners. She felt like she had betrayed Nigel by tasting those food items with those monsters.


    When her guests arrived in her quarter she welcomed them very excitedly. "Welcome to my quarter. I am so glad to be hosting tonight''s dinner." She gestured them to enter inside the dining room and she couldn''t wait to eat and talk and enjoy.


    Nigel and Rhea sat on one side of the table and Fenris sat on the other side of the table with a huge grin on his face. Adeline rolled her eyes and sat beside Fenris. And she thought to herself, "I should have asked the servants to place a lot of chairs so that I could choose to stay away from him."


    After the four of them were seated in their respective seats, several maids came inside the room carrying trays of varieties of food items and drinks. Then they decorated the table with the food. After the table was set, Hawisa gestured the maids to taste the food that they had brought.


    And after the food-tasting was done and after making sure that the food items were good to be served to the Princes and Princesses, Hawisa gestured everyone to leave the room.


    Then Hawisa and Osanna served the dinner to Adeline and her guests. When the dinner was served, Hawisa bowed to Adeline and said, "Your Highness, I will be outside. If you need anything then just call for me."


    "Sure. Thank you, both of you," Adeline gave a smile and her maids left the room.


    Adeline glanced at her guests with a beam on her face and then politely said, "Let''s start the dinner then, shall we?"


    Everyone nodded while looking at the food items on their plate.


    "I hope you like the food," Adeline said with a nervous smile because she had never hosted a dinner before and she couldn''t help but worry that her guests might not like what she had asked to be served.


    "The food looks as lovely as you, my Princess," Fenris couldn''t help but talk like his usual cheesy self even though he had promised himself that he would act like a proper Prince in front of Adeline. Old habits indeed die hard.


    Adeline gave a side-eyed look to Fenris as if to warn him to not try anything funny. And Fenris instantly focused his attention on the plate as though he was an obedient child.


    She had only invited Fenris because she didn''t want to be rude and leave him out. But if he kept on acting like before then she swore that she would kick him out in the middle of the dinner. Then she also stared at her plate which had at least 9 varieties of food items and contemplated what to eat first.


    Nigel was fascinated by a few of the food items that he had never seen before. He pointed at the bowl of dumplings and potato fries and then he asked in a complaining voice, "Why wasn''t I served these food items ever before? Did you always get special items that I was never served?"


    He took a bite of the potato fries and his eyes lit up. Then instantly he narrowed his eyes at Adeline and asked in a low but husky voice, "Did you get special food privilege because you are cute? Or did you bribe the Royal Chef to prepare delicious items only for you?"


    Adeline cracked up by that accusation from her brother. And she said while laughing, "Nigel! How can you say that? I asked my guards to buy it from the Golden Street. I had visited the market and tried some food there. I liked it and I thought that you would like them too."


    Nigel stuffed his mouth with a lot of fries and closed his eyes as though he was visualizing the taste. And after swallowing he said, "I really like it."


    He was about to try out the dumpling as well but he suddenly gave an accusing look to Adeline again and exclaimed, "You visited the Golden Street and had some food without me? How could you?" And then he gave the same dialogue that Adeline had given him earlier during the day, "I thought you were my sister��"


    Everyone in the room burst into laughter, even Nigel himself. Adeline almost spurted the food out of her mouth.


    After a while, Adeline noticed that Rhea was eating very slowly. And she asked, "Sister, is the food not to your liking?"


    Rhea glanced at Adeline and shook her head. "No, no, everything is very tasty." She smiled while looking at her plate and whispered, "It''s just that I am not used to eating with the Royalties." She was shy being surrounded by the Princes and Princesses, and she was a newlywed after all.


    Rhea was very happy with the hospitality of Adeline though, and said in a grateful voice, "Thank you for inviting us for this lovely dinner."


    "And thank you for accepting the invitation." Adeline gave a gentle smile and added, "And there is no need to be shy, sister. All of us are your relatives now." She glanced at the lovely couple in front of her and said, "I have a lot to ask about you and my brother. How did you two meet?"


    Adeline raised her shoulders happily.. She was ready to hear the love story of her brother.

 Chapter 164 - Uninvited Guest

    The four of them were enjoying the delicious food while sharing their stories with each other. Nigel and Rhea were also enjoying the aged grape wine along with their dinner. Nigel told Adeline how Rhea was his teacher and how they slowly developed feelings towards each other. He was going on and on about what a wonderful fighter Rhea was and how beautiful and intelligent she was.


    Rhea also shared how the gentle nature of Nigel made her fall head over heels for her husband. They didn''t go into the details but they mentioned how the King of Aberdeen had acknowledged their marriage and had given them his blessings.


    Adeline, on the other hand, shared how Prince Edwin had fallen sick out of nowhere. And she also mentioned how she had gotten along with Raphael and Alan. But she didn''t tell Nigel about the other half-siblings of hers and what they had done to her.


    Nigel let out a quiet sigh when she told him that she had befriended two of the brothers. He thought that at least she wouldn''t feel lonely after he returned back to Aberdeen again. And Nigel said after taking a sip of his wine, "I am glad that you''ve grown closer to them and they gave company to you."


    Adeline frowned and clicked her tongue, "Tsk�� I thought you would be jealous to hear that."


    Nigel tried his best not to show his sadness and said while smiling, "Oh, I am jealous. But I am also happy that they made you feel less lonely in my absence."


    All of a sudden, Fenris dragged his chair very close to Adeline''s and took Adeline''s hand in his. And then he spoke in a slurred tone, "Adeelineee! Do you even know how much I waaant you in my life? Why do you always pushhh me away?"


    Nigel face-palmed himself and kept on closing his eyes trying to control his anger towards his cousin. "And I thought he would behave himself," he thought.


    Adeline noticed a bottle of wine by his side which was almost empty. She tried to pull her hand away but surprisingly, his grip was very firm for a drunk man. "Fenris! Did you sneak that bottle of wine and finish the whole bottle by yourself? Should you even be drinking when you can''t handle it?"


    Fenris''s cheeks were pink already and when he heard Adeline asking questions as though she cared for him, he couldn''t help but blush even harder. He tilted his head to get a better look at Adeline''s face and asked with a grin, "Are you worried about me?"


    "Tch!" Adeline could not believe her ears. She pulled her hand away from his hold and sneered, "I wouldn''t be worried about you in a million years."


    "Behave yourself Fenris. Is this how you treat a lady?" Nigel raised his voice at his wasted cousin.


    Rhea knew the reputation that Fenris had back at Aberdeen. He was known as the ladies'' charmer. But seeing Fenris begging Adeline made her want to laugh at the renowned Prince. And she thought it would be best to just focus her attention on anything else that was not Fenris.


    She trailed her eyes around the room and that was when her eyes caught something peculiar. She saw a dark mist hovering at one corner of the room. She tried to smell that mist from where she was sitting but the aroma of food and wine that covered the air of the room didn''t make it easier for her.


    And she thought of warning Nigel but he was too occupied scolding Fenris, "Don''t spoil this beautiful dinner, Fenris! Adeline put so much effort into making us feel welcomed and you are wasted like this!"


    "Right! I shouldn''t be behaving like an arse." Fenris swung his head as though he was nodding. "Adeline, I am sorry for behaving this way. But I just cannot help it!" He paused as though he was deciding whether to say it or not but then he decided to say whatever was in his mind, "I am so in love with you Adeline. But you don''t even look at my way."


    Adeline raised her brows in astonishment and sat very still, not sure how to react to that drunken confession from Fenris.


    Fenris sat sideways on his chair so that he was now facing Adeline completely, "Tell me, Adeline�� is there someone else who is in your heart? Or are you just rejecting me because you are very heartless?" However, before he could hear Adeline''s answer, he dropped his head on the table and passed out.


    There was an awkward silence in the room for a while. However, the silence didn''t last for long. The whole room was filled with the tapping of loud footsteps. Everyone shifted their glance towards where the sound of footsteps was coming from.


    And Adeline and Nigel were shocked to their core; Adeline because she did not expect that person to show up and Nigel because he was a little scared. Yes, it was Theodore.


    "Theodore!" A whisper escaped Adeline''s lips. She nervously wiped her mouth and hand with the napkin and gulped a whole glass of water.


    Nigel, on the other hand, got up from her seat and then gave a slight nod to the Devil Prince, "Prince Theodore! Haven''t seen you in a while."


    Theodore gave a gentle smile and spoke in his calm voice, "Hello puppy! I am happy to see that you have finally returned from Aberdeen. Your sister was bawling the day you went away."


    "Oh! Is that so?" Nigel nervously smiled and wished that he wouldn''t have called him a ''puppy'' in front of his wife but then who was he to stop the Devil Prince?


    But Rhea was lost in her own imagination. She was wondering who this unexplainably beautiful man was and why he had the dark aura around him. Also, she didn''t hear the door of the dining hall opening and she questioned herself, "How did he enter the room?"


    Theodore bent his head to get a clear view of Rhea and said, "Hmm, there''s a new puppy here. Who is she?"


    Adeline darted her eyes at Theodore and at Rhea. She had suspected her sister-in-law to be a werewolf. And now that Theodore called her a ''puppy'', her suspicion was confirmed.


    Rhea came out of her daze when she heard that question. And she was shocked when he addressed her as a ''puppy''. "Why is he calling me a puppy? Does he somehow know that I am a werewolf?" She wanted to ask what he was, just like she had blurted that out in front of Adeline but before she did so, Nigel introduced her to that man.


    "Prince Theodore, this is my wife Rhea," Nigel said shyly. It felt very weird to call Rhea his wife when he was used to addressing her as his teacher.


    Theodore raised his brows, "Your wife? Interesting!" He was amused by that news.


    And Nigel quickly turned towards Rhea and gestured her to greet him while saying, "And Rhea, this is Prince Theodore."


    Rhea got up from her seat and then gently bowed to Theodore thinking he was one of the many siblings of Nigel. "Pleased to meet you, Prince Theodore."


    But a devilish smirk curved upon Theodore''s lips, and he said to Nigel complainingly, "Puppy, you forgot to mention to your wife that I am the Devil Prince."

 Chapter 165 - Jealousy

    Upon hearing that revelation from Theodore, Adeline was taken by surprise and almost choked on the grapes that she had popped into her mouth to calm down her nerves. "Just what is he up to? Revealing himself like that?" Adeline thought to herself.


    And then she crossed her fingers that he wouldn''t reveal anything more than that�� that he wouldn''t reveal anything about the romantic relationship between them.


    Rhea simply smiled disregarding what Theodore had just said, even though she was seeing a faint dark aura surrounding him. She thought that Theodore was referring to himself as the ''Devil Prince'' because maybe he had the reputation of being a mischievous Prince among the lot.


    And she was about to politely deny to Theodore saying how he could be a ''Devil'' Prince when he looked so beautiful but before Rhea would say something to offend the Devil, Nigel decided to reintroduce Theodore.


    He smiled at Theodore and said politely, "I am sorry for not introducing you to my wife properly, Prince Theodore." He glanced at Rhea and said in a dead-serious tone, "Wife, he is the Devil Prince�� and I mean the real Devil Prince of Hell."


    Rhea was about to laugh again but she saw that look on Nigel''s face. He was not joking!


    Rhea took a deep breath in and shifted her gaze towards the handsome man who looked nothing like a Devil. She kept on staring at Theodore with wide jaws, not ready to accept what Nigel had just said to her.


    Theodore gave a sinister smirk to Rhea and averted his gaze from her. Then he glared at Fenris who was still passed out on the table. And as if to show off to Rhea, Theodore flicked his fingers in the air, and then just like that he pushed the chair that Fenris was sitting on, along with Fenris.


    Rhea let out a small gasp because of what she just witnessed. Nigel widened his eyes at that sudden display of power from Theodore.


    "Oh, dear lord!" And Adeline prayed in her mind that the dinner that she had prepared to have a wonderful time wouldn''t be turned into a nightmare.


    Fenris slid to the furthest corner of the table with that one flick from Theodore. His cheek was swiped across the table with such friction that a loud squeaking sound was heard throughout the room. And a few of the bowls and plates scattered down on the ground causing a commotion.


    Startled, Fenris flung his eyes open and then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Aaaahhh! Earthquake!" He sprung up from his chair like a bunny and shouted again while still half-dreaming, "Run! Save yourselves!"


    Fenris was about to run for his life but Theodore made him sit down on his chair with another swift movement of his finger.


    "What''s the rush, Prince Fenris?" Theodore made his way across the table while loudly tapping his feet on the floor. He was glaring his eyes at Fenris. His feet stopped right behind Adeline''s chair and he spoke in a sarcastic yet terrifying voice, "Weren''t you professing your love to Adeline just a moment ago?"


    Adeline turned her head and looked up at Theodore''s face to check if he was just teasing Fenris or was he really fuming because Fenris had said that he loved her.


    She saw a pure rage burning in Theodore''s eyes. She was thankful that his eyes had not turned red yet. And then something struck her mind, "Wait! How does Theodore know that? Was he listening to our whole conversation? When did he even get in here? And why didn''t I see him?"


    Theodore continued to intimidate Fenris in a very threatening tone, "Don''t you want to continue your love proposal? I wanted to hear Adeline''s reply but you passed out before she could even answer you! How rude!"


    Fenris was surprised by that aggression from the man he didn''t even know. He wrinkled his forehead and shouted back in an offended voice, "What? Why would you care if I was professing my love to Adeline? And how dare you raise your voice at a Prince."


    He turned at Nigel for some answer and asked, "Am I missing something cousin? Who is this guy? When did he come in here? And why have I never seen him before?"


    Nigel shook his head at Fenris as if to warn him not to provoke that man in front of him. But it was already too late.


    In a flash, Theodore had already grabbed the collar of Fenris''s cloth and was raising Fenris in the air with his single hand. And he growled at that poor thing, "I am someone who you should not be taking this lightly."


    Nigel was confused with that sudden hostility of Theodore towards Fenris. Yes, he was the guardian of Adeline, and Fenris was acting like an arse. But wasn''t the guardian getting a little out of the line by interfering in Adeline''s private matters? Adeline was more than capable of defending herself from Fenris or any unwanted affection from him.


    Adeline panicked and ran towards the angered Theodore. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder and she spoke in as soft a voice as she could, "Theodore, just leave him. He was drunk. He didn''t know what he was saying."


    Theodore gave one last glare to Fenris and dropped him down on the ground. Fenris groaned and then tugged his collar.


    "Tell me, would you like something to eat? Do you want me to set a plate for you?" Adeline tried to divert Theodore''s attention from poor Fenris fearing that Theodore might end up doing something bad to him. But she instantly regretted asking that.


    Theodore pulled Adeline to his side and sealed Adeline''s lips with a warm and wet kiss! In front of her brother! And everyone in that room!


    And after pulling off from the kiss, Theodore dabbed his lips with the back of his palm as if to show off to Fenris. He had that satisfied smirk on his face and said, "Why do I need to eat food when I can kiss my woman to my fill?"


    Everyone in the room was stunned, including Adeline.


    Fenris could not bear it that someone else had just kissed the girl that he liked right in front of him. And he shouted furiously, "How dare you kiss Adeline as if she belongs to you. Who the hell are you to call her your woman?"


    Theodore gave a devilish smile as though he was waiting for someone to ask that question. And then he proudly said, "I am the future husband of Adeline." Then he grabbed Adeline''s hand and pointed at the ring that she was wearing and boasted, "See, I have already put a ring on her finger."


    "Oh! And I am also the Devil Prince." He waved off his hand at Fenris as if that was something a person could easily believe.


    Adeline''s cheeks turned as red as tomatoes. She was burning when Theodore said that he was her future husband in front of everyone. She wished that she also had the teleportation ability. She wanted to vanish from there.


    Fenris had a sad and defeated look on his face. Not just sad, he was heartbroken. How could he not be heartbroken? The woman that he wanted to marry was already someone else''s.


    And Theodore was extremely satisfied seeing that look on Fenris.. But just when Theodore thought everything was now settled, a low growl echoed inside the room.

 Chapter 166 - Blood

    The moon finally shone in the clear sky. The tranquil light from the moon slowly entered the dining room through the windows.


    But the room was anything but tranquil. A growl full of anger filled the whole room, "Did you just touch my sister without her permission?" Nigel''s eyes were glowing like burning fire and his fingernails were already replaced by sharp claws.


    He leaped across the dining table and landed in between Theodore and Adeline. He pushed Theodore and then he pulled Adeline away from the Devil Prince, while Rhea helplessly watched her husband ''exposing'' his werewolf identity.


    "Oh! No�� this is bad," Rhea glanced out of the window and desperately wanted to stop Nigel. But Nigel was already on the other side of the room and he didn''t look like he would be calming down any time soon.


    Nigel grabbed Adeline by her arms. And he roared while glaring at her with his golden eyes, "Adeline, is what he is saying true? What does he mean by he is your future husband? Did you agree to marry the Devil? Or did he coerce you or trick you into agreeing to marry him?"


    Adeline was afraid to see her brother in that ferocious form. She wanted to explain everything to her brother but she couldn''t put it into words because of the sharp pain she was feeling. In his fury, Nigel didn''t realize that he was digging his claws into Adeline''s arms and blood was sipping out of her wounds.


    Nigel shook Adeline to make her talk and asked again, "Has he been molesting you? Has he been forcing himself upon you? Tell me, you don''t need to be afraid as long as your brother has your back."


    "No! He would never do that." Adeline clenched her teeth because of the pain and pleaded to Nigel in a whisper, "Brother! Please calm down. I will tell you everything." She was trying her best not to look hurt or fight Nigel off fearing that Theodore might end up hurting her brother.


    But Theodore had already smelled blood and he was now standing right by the side of Adeline and Nigel. He grabbed Nigel by his wrist and gave a death stare to him with his glowing red eyes. The dark aura around Theodore was getting wilder by the second.


    Nigel also glared back at Theodore with a low growl leaving his throat. He was ready to transform into his wolf form at any second now.


    However, Theodore wasn''t looking for a fight. He was angry at Nigel only because he was hurting Adeline. And he warned the wolf in his threateningly calm tone, "You are hurting your sister, Nigel. Get your claws out of her."


    Nigel quickly shifted his glance from Theodore to Adeline. His eyes fell on Adeline''s blood-laced arm and his bloody claws. He gasped and instantly let go of his tight grip on Adeline.


    He was so angry at himself for hurting his sister that he was unable to think straight for a moment. And in a split second, he directed his anger towards Theodore and grabbed the Devil by his neck. Then he pushed Theodore to the wall and snarled like a wolf who was about to lose his control, "You�� what did you do to my sister? Tell me that you didn''t trick her, you evil brat."


    Now that Nigel was not digging Adeline''s flesh anymore, Theodore was calmer than earlier. And even though Nigel was choking him, he spoke in his calm and unfazed voice, "No need to sweat, puppy. You know you can''t win against me. And besides, I wouldn''t want to hurt my future wife''s dearest brother."


    "Stop calling her your future wife!" Nigel shouted and clenched Theodore''s throat even tighter.


    "Brother! Stop! Please," Adeline raised her arms to hold onto her brother but she instantly groaned in pain and crouched down while clutching her fists. She wanted to pull Nigel away from Theodore but she was hurt deeply than she thought.


    Her painful cry was successful in attracting both Nigel and Theodore''s attention away from each other and towards her.


    A frown line appeared on Theodore''s forehead and he said in his husky voice, "Let me look at your sister''s wound." And without even lifting his finger, Theodore threw Nigel''s hand away from his neck.


    But before Theodore could hold Adeline, Nigel stood in between them and apologized to Adeline, "I''m so sorry Adeline. I didn''t realize that I was clawing you. I don''t know what came over me. I am sorry!"


    Even though Adeline was in great pain, she smiled and shook her head, "It''s just a small scratch brother. I will heal overnight. No need to be sorry. I am the one who should be apologizing for not telling you everything about me and Theodore."


    Nigel retracted his claws and sadly whispered, "I didn''t mean to hurt you." He leaned down to take a closer look at Adeline''s wounds but when the strong scent of blood entered his nose, something strange happened to him. A strange sensation overtook his body and he felt as though he was losing his control over his body and also his consciousness.


    Theodore noticed that the aura around Nigel was changing rapidly. He walked to Nigel''s side and asked, genuinely worried about him, "Puppy, are you alright?"


    But Nigel was not in the condition to answer. He blinked his eyes hard and tried to regain his composure. But the blood was doing something to wake his animal instinct. He began to shiver but at the same time, he was sweating like never before. His throat parched and he had this strong urge to gnash his teeth on Adeline''s wound.


    Suddenly, a loud crack was heard from Nigel''s body and he screeched in agony.


    "Nigel!" Rhea knew what was going on and she took a few steps towards her husband to aid him. But she herself was struggling because of the aroma of blood that was slowly dripping from Adeline''s wound. And she stopped mid-track so as not to lose her control.


    This was the curse of the full moon. On each full moon, every muscle in a werewolf''s body would search for one thing - human flesh. This was the punishment given by God to the people of the Siccaldi clan because of the mistake made by one of their ancestors.


    The leader of the Siccaldi clan was foolish enough to test God. He fed God with the intestine of a child to test if he would know. And God was so enraged that he cast a curse on the whole clan and the descendants to come. He cursed that they would turn into a wolf every full moon and would crave human flesh. But if they dig their fangs on a human, they would be stuck in their wolf form forever.


    Rhea was here in Wyverndale to help and control Nigel if he ran into problems like now, not add to the problem by transforming herself.


    It had been a long time since she lost control during the full moon but the environment that she was in made it difficult for her.. And since this was the second full moon for Nigel, she knew that Nigel would turn any moment now. She looked at the others with glowing eyes and warned them, "Adeline, Fenris, run!"

 Chapter 167 - Lethal

    "Adeline, Fenris, run!" Rhea shouted while trying to control her sanity.


    Another loud crack was heard followed by a painful cry of Nigel. And he began transforming at a rapid rate. His bones were cracking and reforming, and the scene was gruesome to watch.


    But rather than running, Adeline just kept on standing there, staring at Nigel in horror. This was the first time she was seeing her brother going through the pain of transformation. And everything was happening so fast that she was unable to think properly, let alone move her feet towards the door.


    Even Fenris was shaken up by everything that was happening in the room. His heart was shattered into a million pieces and he had just found out that Theodore was indeed a Devil Prince. How else would he be able to do unexplainable things without any effort? And even though he knew better than anyone else not to stay in the same room as a wolf, his feet were denying to move. He was in too much of a shock.


    "I said run!" Rhea pleaded again while digging her nails in her palm. She was trying her best to control her transformation.


    Theodore realized the depth of the situation that was unraveling in the room and then he quickly touched Nigel on his shoulder. Then he glanced at Rhea and held out his hand, and shouted, "Puppy, quick! Hold my hand. I will teleport the two of you to the forest."


    Rhea was not the one to trust anyone so easily but the scent of blood was maddening. She desperately wanted to get out of this room and if possible, very far away from the human settlement. She took a leap of faith and grabbed Theodore''s hand.


    And in an instant, the three of them disappeared from the room.


    Adeline''s knees were already giving out seeing her brother like that. Once they were out of her sight, she let her body lose and dropped on the floor.


    Fenris was still in shock but was fully sober now. He glanced at Adeline. He noticed her body quivering and her breath staggering; she was trying hard not to cry. Now he was confused about whether to comfort her or just leave her be. He didn''t want that Devil Prince to barge in again and throw him out of the window or something worse.


    He waited for a while for Theodore to appear again but Adeline was already losing a lot of blood. And her face was turning paler by every second. So he took some courage and asked Adeline, "Princess, do you want me to call for the maids to take care of your wounds? You might faint at this rate."


    But Adeline was quick enough to refuse him, "No, don''t call anyone. We will have to explain the mess and how I got these wounds. And honestly, I don''t have that much energy."


    Fenris nodded his head and awkwardly kept on standing where he was. He didn''t even dare to go near Adeline. He just saw her fianc�� vanishing into thin air and he didn''t want any more surprises.


    Suddenly, Adeline began to cry softly. She was trying not to make it obvious that she was crying but the way her shoulders were violently moving up and down gave her away.


    Fenris couldn''t keep on being the stone-hearted man. He walked towards Adeline and sat down on the floor in front of her, making sure that he maintained some distance. And he asked, "Adeline, are you in a lot of pain? I can ask for some medicine if you want. Or tell me what you want and I will bring it."


    Instead of pushing Fenris away with her snide remarks, Adeline poured her heart out, "Why didn''t I notice that today was the full moon? How could I forget it so easily? And why did brother accept my invitation? He could have reminded me what day it was and rejected my invitation��"


    She kept on scolding herself as the tears kept on rolling down her cheeks, "And I had to go out of my way and host a dinner when I had never done this before�� None of this would have happened if I had just stuck to my usual routine."


    Adeline grabbed her hair and began to pull it as though to punish herself. But the wounds weren''t even allowing her to do that. More blood began to sip out of her wounds as she moved her arms. The wound inflicted by a werewolf''s claws was very lethal to the humans. But right now, Adeline didn''t care if she was hurt.


    Fenris''s heart ached to see Adeline hurting herself. He could not just watch her like that from afar. Whether she was engaged or not, it didn''t change the fact that he still had feelings for her. The feelings wouldn''t simply go away in a minute.


    So, he took out his handkerchief and then tore it into two pieces. Then he slid closer to Adeline and began tying the handkerchief around her wounds.


    "Adeline, don''t blame yourself for what happened today. They accepted your invitation because they wanted to. They didn''t think that the dinner would extend for so long, we came here thinking it would end before the moon would shine. And none of us knew that your�� that your fianc�� would appear out of nowhere."


    Fenris felt disheartened that the lovely dinner that Adeline had planned to welcome them turned out to be a disaster. And as much as he wanted to blame Theodore for whatever happened today, he somehow felt as though he was the main culprit.


    And he apologized, "I am sorry for getting drunk and saying all those things. I think everything was triggered because of what I said."


    Adeline just kept quiet. She knew that everything was her own fault. She could have shared with Nigel that she had romantic feelings for Theodore. She used to share anything and everything with Nigel, so why did she shy away from sharing this? She was mad at her brother for getting married secretly, but what about what she was doing? Her relationship with Theodore was almost like a secret marriage.


    And she could have been mindful that today was a full moon. After all, Fenris had told her what Nigel would be going through each full moon. And she forgot all about it and invited the werewolves to dinner when they should have been staying in some secure place. She knew that whatever happened today was all her doing. She had no right to blame anyone else.


    "I deserve this��" she quietly whispered and then completely fell to the ground, losing her leftover consciousness.

 Chapter 168 - Feet Cleaning

    Theodore touched the two of the ''puppies'' and then teleported from the room.


    "What the��? Argh! I should stop bringing more people to this sacred place of mine."


    He was thinking of teleporting Rhea and Nigel to the forest behind the Palace but in all that confusion and rush, he ended up teleporting them to the hilltop where he had taken Adeline once. That was his favorite and secret place. But it didn''t seem to be a secret anymore, now that he had already shown that place to three other people.


    Nigel was still in the middle of transformation so Rhea quickly ran to his side and tried to comfort him. "Nigel, you don''t have to panic now. Everything is going to be okay. Just focus on your transformation. It will be over in a few more seconds." But more than to Nigel, she was saying that to herself.


    Theodore wanted to teleport back to the Palace and tend to Adeline''s wounds. But seeing Nigel going through such agonizing pain, he couldn''t bring himself to leave the two puppies alone at the top of an unknown hill.


    He thought of reverting Nigel back to his human form once his transformation was complete. And he thought that he would take the two of them back to the Palace with him, but of course, away from Adeline.


    Nigel completely transformed into his werewolf form. Under the bright moonlight, his fur was glistening like some newly polished coat. Nigel turned his golden gaze towards the silver moon. From the top of that tall hill, the moon looked even closer and Nigel couldn''t help but howl while looking at that beautiful moon.


    Rhea sat down on the grassy land and let out a sigh of relief. She was worried that Nigel would end up hurting either Adeline or Fenris from the way he was losing his control earlier. But now that they were away from human settlements, she was at great ease.


    Theodore was already getting restless thinking about Adeline''s wounds so he asked, "Should I-"


    "Nigel! No!" But Rhea screamed at the top of her lungs and clung onto Nigel''s paw that he was about to lick. His claws still had traces of Adeline''s blood on them.


    Nigel was growling and was trying to shake off Rhea from his foot so that he could lick the blood off of his claws.


    Rhea was trying really hard to control Nigel but she was failing miserably at it. She gave a pleading look to Theodore and asked, "Devil Prince, will you help me out, please? He is trying to lick the blood. He will get-"


    "I know," Theodore instantly snapped his fingers and made Nigel hover in the air, with all of his legs spread wide apart.


    Theodore exhaled in frustration and whispered, "You are a real pain in the arse, Nigel." Theodore disappeared and then reappeared again with a huge bucket of water. He placed the bucket under Nigel''s floating body and began to clean Nigel''s claws.


    Rhea also got up on her feet and began to clean another foot of Nigel. She glanced at the man who claimed to be the Devil Prince of Hell but she couldn''t believe how a Devil could be so benevolent.


    Theodore was feeling the stare that Rhea was giving him and asked, "Is something wrong, puppy?"


    Rhea smiled at the way he called them puppies. She shook her head and then expressed her gratitude, "Thank you, Prince Theodore, for helping out Nigel. I wouldn''t have been able to contain him alone."


    Theodore smiled while still cleaning off the blood from Nigel''s foot and said, "Oh, I am not doing this for Nigel, I am doing this for Adeline�� Yeah, maybe a little bit for Nigel as well. He took care of Adeline when I couldn''t. He was always there for her and this is the least I can do for him."


    Nigel stared at Theodore and whimpered as if to say sorry to him.


    Theodore chuckled and said, "I cannot believe I am cleaning someone''s foot right now. Uff! The things I am doing for love."


    Both of them finished cleaning the blood from Nigel''s claws and Theodore finally let him down on the ground. He ran his fingers through Nigel''s fur on his head and said in a polite voice, "Nigel, I really love your sister, I always have. And she also loves me as much as I love her, in fact, she loves me even more."


    "I can understand that you feel protective of your little sister but so am I." Theodore narrowed his eyes at Nigel and spoke with intensity, "So, next time you dig your claws on her, I am going to snap your fingers and feed it to you."


    Nigel hung his head in shame and Theodore instantly added with a sly smile, "And, keep in mind that you owe me a nice foot cleaning session. I am going to make you wash my feet at my wedding with your sister."


    Rhea burst out into laughter upon hearing that sarcastic statement from Theodore and Nigel wagged his tail as though he approved it. Then he ran around like a happy wolf and began howling again.


    Theodore looked at Rhea and asked her, "Should I turn your husband back in his human form? I can take you two back to the Palace."


    Rhea puckered her lips and thought for a while. She glanced at Nigel and he looked very happy. So she said, "He will revert back on his own when he feels like it. And I don''t think returning back to the Palace is a good idea today. I cannot control him if he turns again."


    Theodore raised his brows and asked, "Then, are you two going to roam around on this hill?


    Rhea shrugged off as if sleeping under the clear sky wasn''t a big deal and said, "There was a dungeon back at Aberdeen for this very reason, to keep the new turners under control. But we had to return back before the full moon because the test is happening on the day after tomorrow. He said he wanted to rest for a day before the test. And the alpha allowed it because Nigel wasn''t the one to lose control that easily."


    Theodore didn''t like the idea of leaving them there on the hilltop. He thought for a while and then plucked out a strand of his hair. Then he turned it into a pendant and handed it over to Rhea, "I don''t have a dungeon but I own a huge cave. Tap twice on the pendant after Nigel turns into a human again.. I will come to pick the two of you."

 Chapter 169 - Werewolf Toxin

    "I deserve this��" Adeline quietly whispered and then completely fell to the ground, losing her leftover consciousness.


    "Adeline!" Fenris crawled towards Adeline and picked her up in his lap. He gently patted on her pale and sweaty cheek and called out for her, "Adeline! Can you hear me? Adeline!"


    However, Adeline didn''t even move a muscle, nor did she bat her eyelashes. Her breathing was getting slower and slower. Her silver hair was all wet because of her excessive sweating and a few locks of her hair were stuck on her face. She looked so pale that she almost looked lifeless.


    Fenris wanted to call for help but he couldn''t do that. How was he going to explain the mess in the dining hall, the missing couple, and unconscious Princess with unexplainable puncture wounds?


    His eyes fell on the bandage that he had tied around Adeline''s wounds. The white handkerchief had turned reddish-black because of the bloodstains. "Did she faint because of the blood loss and stress�� or is it something else?" A deep frown line formed on Fenris''s forehead.


    He quickly opened the bandage of one of her hands and tore off the sleeve of her dress. Fenris felt a chill shiver run down his spine. He inhaled sharply because of the shock and shouted in panic, "Oh God! This is bad! This is so bad!"


    His stomach began to hurl and he gagged as though he would vomit everything that he ate earlier.


    Theodore appeared in the room right at that moment and saw that Adeline was sleeping on Fenris''s lap, and Fenris was clasping his mouth with both of his hands and was gagging.


    Theodore creased his brows and shouted, "What the hell are you doing?" He clutched his fists and quickly walked to their side, ready to lash out on Fenris again. "What did you do to her?" But his eyes fell on the open wounds of Adeline.


    Theodore knelt down beside Adeline and Fenris and closely observed her wounds. The wound had turned black and blue as if they were starting to rot. And her veins around the wound had turned dark purple and it seemed like it was spreading through her body with every passing minute.


    "Adeline!" He softly called for her but there was no reply. "How long has she been unconscious for?" Theodore carefully placed his hands under her head and back, and slowly shifted the Princess on his own lap.


    But rather than answering the question, as soon as Theodore picked Adeline up, Fenris got up and ran to find some container. He was holding everything in for a while now, and he picked whatever came into his sight. Then he emptied the contents of his gut in a flower vase.


    Theodore watched Fenris with a pure disgusted look on his face. And he felt goosebumps all over his body. He shuddered at that repulsive sight and whispered to himself, "I am seeing things that I wish I never had. I wish I had the power to wipe my own memory."


    He focused his attention on Adeline again. He pressed his palm on Adeline''s forehead. She was burning up. He stared at the wound again and it looked as though her wounds were poisoned somehow. And he asked Fenris again, "How long has she been unconscious for? And why do her wounds look like this?"


    Fenris gargled his mouth and wiped it with a napkin. The unsettling look on his face was still there and he said with haste, "I don''t know how it is possible but I think Nigel''s claws were laced with toxin when he dug it on Adeline''s arms. Only the alpha is strong enough to produce toxin even from his claws, I don''t know how Nigel was able to do it."


    "Is there a cure?" Theodore tried his best not to be deterred by that answer from Fenris.


    Fenris answered with panic on his face, "There is a poisonous plant called wolfsbane which can negate the effect of werewolf toxin. But that plant is very rare. It can only be found in mountains."


    Theodore furrowed his brows and whispered, "I think I have something even better."


    He got up while holding Adeline in his arms and before he teleported with her, he directed Fenris, "Make sure to dismiss all the maids and servants of Adeline. Say to them that Nigel, Rhea, and Adeline are chatting in Adeline''s private chamber and that they are not to disturb."


    Fenris frantically nodded his head and asked in a scared tone, "Is she going to be okay?"


    "She is."


    And the dark mist carried them away from the dining room.


    Theodore teleported with Adeline to the fountain of eternal youth that was in his garden. He stepped into the fountain along with her and then gently placed her in the water. He immersed Adeline until her neck.


    He closely watched her wounds and he saw the dark purple venom oozing out of her wounds. And after a few seconds, Adeline''s wounds slowly started to close. Theodore let out a sigh of relief after seeing her wounds healing.


    To be honest, even though the fountain of eternal youth was capable of healing any type of wounds and diseases, he still had a little doubt in his mind if the wound from a werewolf''s claws would be healed by the magic water. And he was really glad that he didn''t have to go to some mountain in search of that plant that Fenris had mentioned.


    Adeline softly groaned and flickered her eyelids, her consciousness was slowly returning back.


    Theodore gently touched Adeline''s cheek with the back of his palm and asked softly, "Adeline�� can you hear me?"


    Adeline knitted her brows and slowly opened her eyes.


    "Adeline, how are you feeling?" Theodore asked worriedly.


    Adeline blinked her eyes a few more times to see clearly. She saw that Theodore was nervously staring at her. "I feel fine," she answered confused for a while as to why she wouldn''t be fine. And then she slowly remembered that she was in extreme pain, she was sweating and crying, and then... she remembered nothing after that.


    She tried to get up and that was when she noticed that she was laying down in the fountain. "What happened to me?" Adeline didn''t think that her wound was that bad that she had to take help from the fountain water to heal.


    "You fainted," Theodore replied while picking her up in his arms again. Then he headed towards his room while dripping the water all over the pavement of the garden.


    "Were my wounds that bad that you had to bring me here?" Adeline looked at Theodore with inquisitive eyes.


    And a hint of anger ran on Theodore''s amber eyes as he recalled how nasty the wounds looked and in what state he had found Adeline. "Yes, the wounds looked horrible. It seems like our Nigel is capable of generating toxin not just from the fangs but also from his claws as well."


    Then he clenched his teeth and said in a grim tone, "I am sure he didn''t mean to hurt you, but I am going to smack him when I see him."

 Chapter 170 - Wife Material

    Adeline was shocked to hear that new piece of information about her werewolf brother. "He can generate toxins from fangs and claws? Is he okay then? Won''t that toxin harm him?"


    Theodore chuckled because sometimes Adeline would say things that would make him wonder if she was still a toddler. And then he sarcastically said, "Oh baby, how can his own toxin harm him? Do snakes die of their own venom? No, right? It''s the same for him as well. You don''t have to constantly worry about others. Just try to think about yourself first. Being selfish is not a sin."


    Once the couple was inside the Devil''s room, Theodore gently let Adeline stand on her own feet. Her hair was drenched and her clothes were all wet. Theodore was also half-soaked in the water. And a small pool of water was already forming under the feet of both of them.


    "Just a moment," Theodore teleported in front of his wardrobe and then shuffled through it to take out a few towels and night robes. He reappeared in front of Adeline and began to dry her hair.


    "Theo, I can dry myself. You should also get changed." Adeline tried to grab the towel from Theodore''s hands but he didn''t let her.


    "Shh! Let me practice for when you and I will start living together. After all, I will always have to help you dry after taking a bath together." Theodore gave a smirk and enthusiastically continued to pat Adeline''s hair.


    Adeline had not given it much thought, about marriage and living together. But when he talked about it so freely and confidently, she liked the sound of it. She trailed her eyes on his angelic face and teased him, "You are not my maid, Theo. How can I make you do such lowly tasks?"


    Theodore smoldered his eyes and leaned down at the level of Adeline''s face. He gave a sly smile and whispered in his husky voice, "Oh please! I know you don''t allow your maids to do this. So I believe that this is a very special task that you have been saving for me."


    Adeline began to laugh when he called drying a special task.


    Theodore did a little boop on her cute nose and commanded in a serious tone, "Now take off your gown, I will dry your body as well. Then you can change into my robe."


    Adeline abruptly stopped laughing and her jaw dropped, "You have no shame left, do you? How can you ask me so casually to take off my gown?"


    Theodore shrugged off his shoulders and smiled, "There is nothing I haven''t seen al-" But then he remembered he had seen ''everything'' in his vision and not in reality. "Maybe there is something," And he grinned and handed her the towel.


    "Dry yourself properly and" he pointed at a robe that he had placed on the bed "and get changed into that."


    Adeline walked over to the bed and grabbed a robe.


    Without taking his eyes off of his woman, Theodore used his magic again to dry himself and change into his robe.


    When Adeline turned back, Theodore was already ready for bed. She double glanced at Theodore with surprise and then asked, "When�� How did you change your clothes?"


    "I used my magic," Theodore gave a wink.


    Adeline was surprised again, not because he used magic but thinking why he didn''t use it this often when he can get anything done so easily. "How come you never used it this freely before?"


    "I also always ask this question to myself." He hummed as if he himself was thinking why and replied, still unsure about it himself, "Maybe I wanted to be more human because I fell in love with a human?"


    Adeline''s lips curled up from that confession from Theodore.


    He sighed and continued, "But I regretted not using my magic early enough to knock down that pathetic admirer of yours. Maybe all of this mess could have been prevented if I had just made him pass out sooner. So I am trying to revert back to my old habit to use magic�� for almost everything."


    "You were the one to knock him out?" Adeline asked with a chuckle.


    Theodore just gave her an innocent grin.


    "Turn around, will you?" Adeline asked Theodore so that she could change her clothes.


    But Theodore just kept on standing still, his eyes glued to her. "Don''t mind me. I will close my eyes."


    "I''ll get changed in the bathhouse then," she began to head towards a particular wall on the other side of the bed.


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and stood in front of her, "How do you know that there''s a bathhouse there? You never asked me and I never showed you."


    "I knew it," Adeline smiled as if she had just solved a case. "I saw you tap on the wall once and a door had appeared. I guessed that it must be a bathhouse since you came out with a wet face."


    A devilish smirk appeared on his lips and he whispered, "I see that you have been observant of my actions. You are indeed a wife material."


    "Hey, I am no material," Adeline pouted like a child.


    "Yes, yes. I meant to say you are going to be a perfect wife," Theodore smiled and leaned down for a kiss.


    But he stopped mid-way because he heard a loud double-tap inside his head. He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Oh great! These puppies never let me enjoy my moment." But he still went in for a short kiss and said to Adeline, "I have asked your brother and his wife to stay here for the night. I will bring them here, till then you should change and get warm."


    And before Adeline could ask any questions or warn him not to hurt her brother, Theodore vanished from his room.


    Adeline sighed and took off her wet and torn gown. She dropped her gown on the floor and then she patted her body with another clean towel. After drying herself, she grabbed Theodore''s robe. It was giving off Theodore''s enticing smell. She held the robe in front of her nose and deeply inhaled his scent. And she smiled with satisfaction.. Even his smell did wonders to her mood.

 Chapter 171 - Dignity

    Adeline quickly slipped into Theodore''s robe and wanted to go to bed. But she looked around and noticed how she had made a mess in the room. There was a pool of water on the floor near the door. There were two wet towels on the floor and also her wet gown.


    She would have to return to the Palace tomorrow in that same wet and torn gown. So she thought that she would ask Peggy to help her dry and sew the gown.


    Adeline walked out of Theodore''s room and slowly strolled to the other side of the garden. She carefully opened the door and took a peek first. She didn''t want any dangerous demons and monsters to attack her like before.


    She lightly stepped her feet out of that huge wooden door and then tip-toed on the corridor. She walked towards the place where she had seen Peggy for the first time, hoping that the other creatures wouldn''t see her first.


    But once that corridor ended and she was out in the common room which would lead to several other nooks and corners of the cave, she saw several of Theodore''s followers, staring at her.


    She contemplated turning on her heels and then running back to Theodore''s room but she was surprised when all of them gently bowed their head and greeted her.


    "Your Highness, we haven''t seen you in a while," the banshee greeted Adeline with a hint of excitement on her face. Adeline was wearing their master''s robe and she was already thinking all the naughty things.


    Adeline gave a nervous smile and said, "I have been a little busy lately." And she darted her eyes around the common room to see if Peggy was anywhere around.


    So the banshee asked again, "Are you looking for someone, Your Highness?"


    Adeline nodded, "Yes, I am looking for Peggy. Do you know where she is?"


    "I will send her to our master''s room, I hope that is where Your Highness is staying tonight." the banshee was more excited than anyone else in the common room. She was happy that her master was sharing the room with that beautiful Princess.


    Adeline''s face turned red from what that banshee said. "Yes, please send her there." Adeline wanted to escape the keen eyes of those who were in front of her so she quickly added, "I will take a leave then. Have a good night." Adeline gave an awkward smile to the banshee and then turned around as elegantly as she could�� in Theodore''s robe.


    She slowly walked away while dragging the train of robe behind her. And as she walked, she could hear the ''whispers'' that were loud enough for her to understand.


    "Don''t our master and the Princess look cute together?"


    "Yes, they look like a couple made in Hell. They complement each other so well."


    "I was worried that our master had stopped meeting the Princess. But I am so happy that she is here."


    "Are all of you going to ignore the fact that she looks so beautiful in any clothes? How can someone look so gorgeous in her nightgown, and even in our master''s robe?"


    Adeline felt nervous and at the same time, she felt happy that at least Theodore''s followers were not saying bad things about her and were not giving foul looks to her. "What changed all of a sudden?" she thought to herself.


    "Ah! Peggy must have kept her promise to protect my dignity. She must have told everyone that I am not a shameless charmer who trapped their master using some cheap tricks." And she went inside the room happily.


    After a while, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Adeline shouted while looking at the door.


    Peggy came running inside the room and bowed to the Princess. "Your Highness! I am so happy to see you."


    "So am I, Peggy." Adeline gave a sweet smile to Theodore''s maid.


    Peggy noticed all the wet clothes in the room and how Adeline was wearing the Devil Prince''s robe. And she asked worriedly, "Did something happen, Your Highness?"


    Adeline quickly answered so that Peggy wouldn''t get some wrong idea, "I was hurt and Theo brought me to the fountain. My clothes got all wet so I am wearing his clothes."


    Peggy was even more concerned after hearing that she was brought to the fountain. And she asked in fury, "You were hurt? Did someone attack you again? Tell me who it was and I will teach them a lesson."


    Adeline chuckled at that reaction from Peggy. She was also a human but she seemed fearless of all those creatures that stayed in the cave. "No, Peggy. No one from the cave attacked me. I just got some bad wound and Theodore brought me here to cure me faster."


    Peggy sighed in relief and without even being ordered, she swiftly picked up a towel and wiped the water from the floor. Then she picked all the clothes from the floor and said, "I will make sure to dry your gown and will leave it outside."


    "Thank you! I would love to wear a dry gown when I return back to my Palace." Adeline chuckled to herself and said, "I think I should keep some of my gowns here so that I can use them in emergencies like this."


    Peggy also smiled and said, "Yes, this is like your second home after all. I am sure our master wouldn''t mind sharing space in his wardrobe." And she asked with seriousness, "Or would you like me to prepare some gown for you, Your Highness?"


    Adeline shook her head instantly, "Oh, no, no! I wouldn''t want to trouble you."


    Peggy asked another question again, "Do you need help with anything else? Shall I prepare some dinner for you?"


    "No, thank you! I am already full." Adeline was happy that Peggy was also equally caring like her own maids. So she gave a bright smile and thanked Peggy from the bottom of her heart, "Thank you so much, Peggy."


    Peggy returned back the Princess''s smile and politely replied, "You don''t need to thank me, Your Highness. This is my job."


    But Adeline walked closer to Peggy and wrapped her arms around the maid. And she warmly said, "No, I meant to thank you for rebuilding my image amongst the others of this cave. I am really grateful that you did that for me."


    And Peggy almost cried because of that warm gesture from the Princess. She never had the luxury to get this kind of gesture from anyone except a few of her fellow maids. And getting a hug from her master''s lover almost made her melt on the spot.


    Peggy whispered while sniffling, "I would do anything for you, Princess Adeline.. I haven''t met any human except the other maids, but I am sure you are the best human out there."

 Chapter 172 - A Heart-to-Heart

    Theodore teleported to the hilltop where he had left Nigel and Rhea earlier. And as soon as he saw Nigel, whose bottom half was covered with a piece of Rhea''s cloth, Theodore kicked Nigel right on his belly and sent him flying.


    Nigel landed on his back and kept on skidding a few meters on that grassy land while groaning. And then he shouted at Theodore while rubbing his stomach and slowly getting up, "Why�� the�� hell�� the two�� of you�� love to kick�� meeee?"


    Rhea was covering her mouth with both of her hands and was wondering if she angered the Devil by calling him at some unfavorable time.


    Theodore glared at Nigel and shouted back furiously, "Because you almost killed your sister, you arsehole! You dug your filthy venomous claws on Adeline and she was unconscious when I returned back to the Palace."


    Both Nigel and Rhea were stunned by Theodore''s words. Rhea was stunned because she knew that no werewolf of the Siccaldi clan was able to produce toxins from their claws except the alpha himself. And Nigel was stunned because he had not imagined that he had hurt his sister so badly that she was on the verge of death.


    Nigel dropped on his knees to the ground and whispered raggedly, "I poisoned my sister? And I thought I was getting better at controlling my anger. Uncle was right��"


    Till now, Nigel had not thought that his sister was hurt to such an extreme. He had just thought that it was a normal scratch. But looking at Theodore''s fury, he understood that his greatest fear of losing control and hurting his sister had actually come true.


    And now that he knew how grave a mistake he had committed, he began to smash his fists on a rock that was lying in front of him and shouted in agony, "Why the hell did I even touch Adeline when I was angry? Why? Why? I should have just left the room and talked with her tomorrow."


    Rhea was still in shock to go and stop Nigel from hurting himself.


    And Theodore let Nigel hurt himself for some time. To be honest, he was enjoying watching him like that. He felt bad for kicking Nigel but he wanted to punish him for hurting Adeline, whether it was intentional or not. As Nigel was punishing himself, Theodore folded his hands and kept on watching Nigel''s drama.


    After watching Nigel for some time, Theodore flicked his fingers and restrained Nigel''s bloody hands in the air so that he would stop hurting himself. He walked over to the side of Nigel and looked down at him with a smile. "Thank you for punishing yourself."


    Nigel snarled and dared to scold the Devil, "How can you smile like this when Adeline is unconscious? Why aren''t you treating her? Why aren''t you by her side if you loved her that much?"


    Theodore liked seeing that desperation in Nigel and liked it even more that Nigel wanted him to be by Adeline''s side. He narrowed his eyes and said playfully, "Who said that she is still unconscious? I said she was unconscious, now she is fine. Her wounds are completely healed already."


    Nigel asked in confusion, "Her wounds are healed already?" He furrowed his brows and visualized Adeline''s wounds which he saw before he lost his control, "But I saw puncture marks and a lot of blood�� And you just mentioned that I had poisoned her��"


    And Rhea, who was lost in her thoughts till now, also interjected and asked, "But how is that possible? Wounds from werewolf''s toxin are very deadly to humans. It takes almost a month for the toxin to completely leave the victim''s body if they take the potion made out of wolfsbane. And it takes a few more months for the wounds to heal completely. So how did she heal so fast?"


    "Oh puppy, you are forgetting that you are talking to the Devil Prince." He held his head high and puffed his chest a little. Then he boasted, his words mostly directed at Nigel, "I am a very resourceful person who can take good care of his future wife. Somebody doesn''t need to throw temper tantrums just because his sister is marrying a Devil."


    Nigel let out a sigh of relief. He knew that Theodore was not the type to boast unnecessarily so he believed that his sister was healed already. He glanced at Theodore with his remorseful eyes and he said apologetically, "I will not forget to wash your feet on your wedding day."


    Theodore raised one of his brows and then smirked. Then he put his arms behind his back and asked, "Is that your way of saying sorry for getting angry when I said that I will be marrying your sister, and saying that you accept me as your future brother-in-law, and also a way to thank me for saving your sister?"


    Nigel looked down on the ground and nodded his head. "Yes, thank you and also sorry."


    "Apology accepted," Theodore flicked his fingers to release Nigel out of his restraint. "Ok, now let''s go to my humble abode. I have to wa-"


    Theodore was surprised by a sudden hug from Nigel. He went stiff all of a sudden and raised his hands up in the air as though some dirty thing was clinging to him. "Whoa! Half-naked man, I already said that I forgave you. No need to stick your sweaty body with me. Shoo!"


    Nigel was himself surprised by his own action. He grinned and apologized again, "I am sorry! But I am really grateful that Adeline has someone who loves her and takes care of her�� way better than me."


    He darted his glance around and spoke with hesitance, "I will be returning back to Aberdeen after this test. I will be staying there from now on. You saw how I am. Nobody will be safe if I stay here in Wyverndale. So, I hope that you won''t make Adeline feel lonely after I am gone. And I hope that you will keep on taking care of her like you always have."


    Theodore felt bad to hear that. He knew how Adeline was in Nigel''s absence. He even knew that she would pretend Rion to be her brother and would pretend to spar with Rion. But he also understood why Nigel had to go. He patted on Nigel''s shoulder and assured him, "I will be by your sister''s side forever. You don''t need to worry about her."


    "I haven''t told anyone in Wyverndale about it, so I hope that you will keep it a secret for now." Nigel gave a mirthless smile to Theodore.


    Theodore nodded his head and agreed to keep his secret, "I understand." Then he glanced at Rhea and gestured her to come closer, "Let''s go then, shall we?"

 Chapter 173 - A Piece Of Heaven

    Theodore teleported Nigel and Rhea to his garden. The garden was looking as beautiful as ever. And everything was looking even more beautiful as the moonlight was embracing the plants and flowers. The fountain water was sparkling with serenity.


    Nigel and Rhea were looking around the garden in awe. They had not expected this kind of place when Theodore had told them that he was taking them to his cave. They had just thought that it would be a wet and smelly place made out of rocks. Well, the cave was made out of rocks but it looked far more luxurious than any Palaces.


    Theodore glanced at the half-naked man and then pointed his brows towards the fountain, "Dip your hands there in the fountain water."


    Nigel was confused by that sudden order. "But won''t that water be dirty with my blood?"


    "It won''t. Now dip your hands before I change my mind." Theodore turned around to face the couple and stood there with his hands behind his back.


    Nigel did as Theodore asked. He knelt down and soaked his hands in the water. He thought that Theodore wanted him to clean his wounds before entering the place where he and his wife were supposed to stay for the night.


    But he widened his eyes in amazement when he saw that the wounds that he had inflicted upon himself by smashing his hands on the rocks were disappearing slowly. "Rhea! Come look. My wounds are disappearing."


    Rhea sprinted by the side of her husband and looked at Nigel''s hands. And she was also astonished by the rate at which the wounds were vanishing. It seemed as if the time was being re-winded to the point when there were no wounds on Nigel''s hands. "This is amazing!" She gave a questioning glance to Theodore and asked, "Is this how Adeline''s wounds were healed?"


    "Yes," Theodore was amused by that surprised expression on both of their faces. He chuckled and remarked, "You two look like newborn puppies who just discovered their tails."


    Nigel and Rhea were already used to being called ''puppy'' by now and they just smiled at Theodore. Nigel got up after his wounds were completely healed, still looking at his knuckles in amazement.


    "Now, let''s go inside then, shall we?" Theodore turned around and made his way towards the door of his room. He stopped in front of his room and then gently knocked on the door, "Adeline, are you sleeping?"


    "Adeline is also here?" Nigel''s eyes widened, not because he was eager to see his sister but because he was worried to be in the same place as his sister fearing that he might end up hurting her again.


    Adeline opened the door before Theodore could answer him.


    "Brother!" Adeline let out a sigh of relief to see her brother back in his human form.


    She ran to hug her brother without caring how dirty and sweaty he looked but Theodore caught her by her waist and swiftly put her back. "He needs to take a bath first. I don''t want my robe to smell like him. And I definitely don''t want you to smell like him. Ugh!"


    "Theo!" Adeline wanted to scold him but at the same time, she wanted to laugh because of the disgusted face that he was making.


    Nigel laughed and agreed, "Yeah, I do need a bath." Nigel scanned his eyes on Adeline and asked, "You are okay, right?"


    Adeline gave a reassuring smile and nodded, "Yes, I am all good."


    Theodore clapped his hand and shouted, "Okay, you two brother and sister can bond tomorrow. It''s already late." Then he walked towards his wardrobe. He pointed his palm towards the wardrobe and a light purple flash from his hand hit the wardrobe. After that, the wardrobe began to shift to the side, revealing the secret entrance.


    Theodore turned his head behind and gestured Nigel and Rhea to follow him. "Come! I will show you two to your room." And then he entered inside the corridor.


    Nigel and Rhea were being constantly surprised by Theodore today. They followed Theodore with their eyes wide open. Adeline had also wanted to see how the rooms inside that secret corridor looked like. So she also tagged along.


    Theodore stopped in front of a room that was in the middle of the corridor. Everyone else stood beside him. Then Theodore shot out a light purple flash from his finger again. And when it hit on the doorknob, the door flung open.


    Adeline, Nigel, and Rhea flinched and covered their eyes because a very blinding light was coming from the other side of the door. It was dark outside so it took them some time to adjust their eyesight to that light.


    And when they slowly fluttered their eyes open and peeked inside the door, their jaws dropped to the floor because of what they were seeing.


    The room looked like it was floating midair because the floor was covered with beautiful white clouds. And everything else in the room was either white or golden or soft pink in color.


    There was a huge white and golden bed in the middle of the room and the mattress looked as though it was made out of the softest clouds. There was a beautiful cherry blossom tree at one corner of the room which bore white and pink flowers. And in another corner of the room, a small stream was flowing out of nowhere. And instead of a ceiling, there was a clear blue sky.


    Not just the looks, but the sound and aroma of the room made it feel as though�� it was a piece of heaven.


    "Is this what Heaven looks like?" Adeline asked breathlessly, without even taking her eyes off of the room. Her eyes were twinkling with delight and she looked very captivated by what she was seeing.


    "No, Heaven looks far better than this." Theodore had a mirthless smile on his face as he said that and his voice had a hint of sadness in it.


    Theodore was turning his back towards that room and was just staring at another closed door while waiting for the three of them to come out of their daze. After answering Adeline, he turned just enough to see her face and he couldn''t help but smile.


    Adeline''s face was radiating as the light from that room was embracing her face. She looked so cheerful and gorgeous that Theodore felt as though he was seeing an angel from Heaven.


    And he leaned towards Adeline''s ear and whispered in his enchantingly deep voice, "But it is looking way better than Heaven now that you are standing here."


    Adeline glanced at Theodore and smiled shyly. Her smile was the greatest weakness of Theodore. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and do things to her.


    He looked at the puppies who were still standing at the door. Then he sighed and gently poked Nigel, "Puppies, go inside already. Or else I will push you both."


    Nigel was also enthralled by the beauty of the room. He felt like wagging his tail but right now he didn''t have any. He held Rhea''s hand and carefully took the first step because he felt as though he would fall if he wasn''t careful.. But once he made sure that there was a floor beneath those clouds, he happily ran inside with his wife.

 Chapter 174 - Love And Gratitude

    In their excitement, Nigel and Rhea had not even closed their door. They were already running around inside the room and were exploring the beautiful room that they had never seen in their life before. Theodore shook his head with a chuckle and closed the door behind them.


    He was about to walk out of that corridor but just when he was about to do so, Nigel opened the door and then asked Theodore, "Where is Adeline staying then? Are you going to take her back to the Palace or" he pointed at the closed door just opposite to him and said, "or is she staying there?"


    "No, she will be-" Theodore was about to say that she would be staying in his room but his glance fell on Adeline''s face. She had that puppy-eye look that asked ''Can we stay here, please?'' so he said, "Umm�� I guess your sister wants to stay in this room. I will take you all back to the Palace when the morning arrives."


    "Okay, then. Have a goodnight," Nigel gave a wide grin and closed the door without even waiting for Adeline and Theodore to say goodnight to him.


    "You want to stay here tonight, right?" Theodore asked again to make sure that was what Adeline wanted to do.


    "Yes," Adeline nodded her head in excitement. She wanted to see how this room looked like and she was ready to jump on the cloud.


    Theodore opened the door to reveal a similar room. And Adeline immediately ran inside the room while sweeping the clouds with the long robe that she was wearing. She was giggling and running around to see the beautiful decorations in the room.


    She stood under the cherry blossom tree and looked at the beautiful blossom in awe. And then she ran towards the small stream to check if the water was real or it was just an illusion. She touched the water and to her surprise, the water felt very much real.


    Then she ran towards the bed and ran her hand on the mattress. The bed not only looked like they were made out of the softest clouds but it also felt that way. She jumped on the bed and the fluffy mattress dipped down because of her weight.


    Adeline closed her eyes and moaned in satisfaction. "Ahhh! I feel like I am melting on this bed. This feels so�� comfortable. I could-" she flung her eyes open to look for Theodore and was surprised to see him still standing at the door.


    She sat up on the bed and then asked, "Theo, why aren''t you coming in? Is something wrong?"


    But Theodore just puckered his lips and kept on standing there, very reluctant to step his feet inside the room. He took a deep breath in and hovered his foot in the air to step inside the room but he put it back on the corridor.


    And Adeline guessed why he was not coming in. He was banished from Heaven and that room pretty much looked like it was made after being inspired by Heaven''s surroundings. So she got off the soft bed and then walked towards Theodore.


    She held Theodore''s hand and looked him in his amber eyes. He was giving her a smile but Adeline could clearly see the sadness behind that smile of his. And she lovingly whispered to him, "You don''t need to make yourself uncomfortable just to make me happy, Theo. You said it yourself right? Being selfish is not a sin."


    Then she stepped out of the room while pulling Theodore along with her. "Let''s go to your room. Your room is far cozier than that room. And besides, that room has too much light. I cannot fall asleep if there is so much light."


    Theodore felt his heart warming up because of that small yet meaningful gesture from Adeline. Yes, it was true that he loved seeing her running around happily in that room and he wanted to step inside the room along with her. But it was also true that no matter how hard he tried to step inside, he just couldn''t bring himself to do that.


    The flashes of memories where his father stripped off his heaven''s attire were dancing in front of his eyes. He remembered how his father humiliated him in front of his mother and all his brothers and sisters. And he remembered how helpless he felt at that time.


    The final words that his father said to him were echoing in his ears when he stood in front of that door. "You have disgraced me by tainting my superior creation. You don''t even deserve to be known as my son. I condemn you to spend the rest of your eternal life on that very planet which you wanted to tarnish. You shall never step your foot inside the gates of Heaven ever again. Fall!"


    Theodore looked at that human who was dragging him to his room. She understood him so much without him telling her anything. And his heart filled with so much love for her that he himself didn''t know he was capable of loving someone to such an extent.


    As soon as they entered his room, he locked the secret passage and embraced Adeline from behind. He closed his eyes and rested his chin on Adeline''s shoulder. And he whispered in her ears with all sincerity, "I am so glad that you found me that day, Adeline. You brought so much joy and excitement to my dull life. And you taught me things that I never thought I was capable of learning. You taught me all about love and compassion."


    Adeline smiled gently. She pressed her cheek on his and caressed Theodore''s jaw with her tiny palm. "You''ve always known that, Theo."


    Theodore tightened his grip around her even more and whispered, "You have no idea how broken I was before you came into my life. And that day, you came into my life like a little spark of light in my dark world. You taught me how it feels to be loved and to be wanted. And you taught me how to reciprocate that love."


    He turned her around and held her jaw with his palms. And he whispered while looking deep into her sapphire blue eyes, "I love you, Adeline. I love you with all my heart."


    "And I love you," Adeline also whispered back with her eyes full of love for the Devil.


    Theodore leaned in and poured out the love that he was feeling towards Adeline in the form of an intimate but tender kiss.. The kiss was the expression of his pure love and the expression of his gratitude towards Adeline for making his life worth living.

 Chapter 175 - Forever?

    Theodore and Adeline were lying down on Theodore''s bed while facing each other. Theodore was wrapping Adeline in his warm embrace and they both were trying to get some sleep. But both of them were finding it difficult to fall into slumber.


    Adeline opened her eyes and trailed her glances on his closed eyelids and his beautiful eyelashes. And she whispered, "Theo, are you still awake?"


    Theodore smiled without opening his eyes. "Yes, I am."


    Adeline brought her hand up on his head and then began playing with his soft and long hair. Then she trod carefully, "I wanted to ask you something. But if you don''t feel comfortable then you don''t need to answer."


    Theodore fluttered his eyes open and asked, "What is it? You can ask me anything."


    Adeline darted her eyes around for a while, still contemplating whether or not to ask it. Theodore raised his brows prompting her to ask whatever was in her mind and she proceeded, "Why do you have those rooms when you feel so uncomfortable by it?"


    A hint of sadness ran through Theodore''s face. And he replied, "I had prepared them a long time ago because I was very naive at that time. I thought that as I was not allowed to step into Heaven, my mother and my brothers and sisters would want to visit me here sometimes. And I had prepared those rooms for them so that they wouldn''t be uncomfortable when they visited me. But��"


    Theodore heaved a sigh and then gave a mirthless smile. His smile said it all that he was never visited by his family after he was banished.


    Adeline also felt sad seeing his vulnerable side, seeing the scars that were in his heart. "Why didn''t you turn them back into normal rooms then? Isn''t it better to do so rather than keeping them as a constant reminder of your pain?"


    "It''s not that I didn''t consider doing that." Theodore curved a corner of his lips downward and was lost in his thoughts for some time.


    Then he continued explaining, "I contemplated several times about destroying those rooms. But I had expended too much of my power to create that illusion and destroying that would take an equal amount of power. I thought that I would destroy them once I gathered enough power but I could never bring myself to destroy those rooms that look very much like my previous home."


    Adeline caressed his jaw with her thumb and asked, "You said that it has already been thousands of years since you were cast out of your home. Won''t your father forgive you now? Have you tried asking for his forgiveness?"


    Theodore grimly chuckled at that question of Adeline. "You don''t know my father, Adeline. He is one proud Supreme Being who never goes back on his words. My pleas won''t even reach his ears."


    "Don''t you miss them? Your family back there in Heaven? Don''t you want to return back to your home?" Adeline couldn''t even think of staying apart from her father, brother, and her maids. And she wondered how he managed to live separately from his family, that also without seeing them for thousands and thousands of years.


    Theodore took a deep breath and his eyes dilated. And he replied in such a melancholic voice that it made Adeline''s heart to ache for him, "I would love to say that I don''t miss those heartless ones but I would be lying if I said I don''t miss them. I especially miss my mother once in a while. I had hoped that at least she would remember her son and would bless me with her visit, but I was very wrong to think that."


    Theodore felt a pinch in his heart and he instantly knew that it was Adeline''s pain. His heart had already become numb towards his mother''s and his other family member''s heartlessness. So he tried to lighten up her mood and said, "But hey, at least one of my brothers was cast out along with me, so I get to meet him whenever I want to. To be more precise, I get to challenge him to a fight whenever I want to."


    Adeline gave a pain-laced smile and whispered, "And you also have me as your family, your fianc��."


    Theodore had claimed himself to be the fianc�� of Adeline without even asking her once. But now that she was calling herself his fianc��, he liked it very much. "Yes, of course. I have my whole universe with me." He gave her a wide grin and locked his lips with hers in a passionate kiss.


    He could never get enough of Adeline''s sweet taste. He kept on kissing her like never before. And while doing so, he slid his warm hand over her curves and then rested it on her back. He then wrapped his leg on her hips and pulled her closer to him.


    After both of them were breathless and both of their lips were swollen and dry, they finally let go of their entangled lips.


    Adeline gave her cutest smile and pecked Theodore on his lips before wriggling down a little and tucking her head on his warm chest. Adeline''s smile widened up to her ears when she heard that hammering of his heart.


    Theodore planted a kiss on her silver head and stroked her back. They were quiet for some time and Theodore spoke in his husky voice, "To be honest, you far out-weight all of my family members. If love was measurable then your love on one side of the scale would still be heavier than all of my family member''s love combined on the other side of the scale."


    Adeline didn''t know whether to be flattered that he valued her love that much or to be sad that he never got enough love from his family members.


    Theodore''s hot breath hit Adeline''s head when he further continued, "My relationship with my family members was rather a formal one, and it rarely felt like family anyway. So neither do I have any wish to ask for my father''s forgiveness nor do I have a wish to return back to heaven. I am happy where I am."


    He paused for a while and whispered with a sad hint, "I just wish that I could embrace you forever in my arms."


    Adeline felt a sharp pain in her heart when he said that. She had deliberately avoided thinking about it. She didn''t want to think that she would soon grow up, grow old, and then die while Theodore would stay the way he was forever. He had lived for tens of thousands of years and he would continue to do so. And Adeline, she wouldn''t even be a dot in his eternal existence.


    And she couldn''t help but think, "Will he keep on remembering me even after I die? Will he keep on loving me forever as he promised?"

 Chapter 176 - On Your Guard

    Adeline wanted to ask Theodore the same question that was bothering her. She wanted to ask him whether he would keep on loving her even when she would grow old and feeble, and even when she wouldn''t be able to recognize him anymore.


    But she hated that thought herself and she didn''t want to make Theodore sadder when he was already sad thinking about his family. She knew he was sad no matter how much he denied it. A family was still a family no matter how much pain they caused you.


    Theodore noticed how stiff she went after he whispered to her saying how he wished that she would be by his side forever. He knew that it was impossible since she was a human. But he couldn''t help but dream that his loving and caring woman would stay by his side for eternity. He wished there was some way.


    But there didn''t seem to be any possible option; she wouldn''t live as long as him and he wouldn''t die along with her. And the very thought of losing her someday was very daunting to him.


    Still, he had promised himself not to be discouraged by that thought; he promised that he would truly enjoy each and every moment with her and engrave the time they spent together deep in his heart forever. He hoped that the love that he would receive from her in the coming few years would be enough for him to keep on going on his eternal journey.


    But would love ever be enough? The more you received, the more you desire.


    And after already having a taste of her selfless love and the immense joy that she brought in his life, would he be able to let her go when the time came?


    Without him realizing it, the grip of his arm and leg around her had tightened. He had almost covered her like a cocoon. The thought of having to let her go someday made him want to bathe in tears. He felt like going to heaven to confront his father for making human life so short. Why did he become so greedy when giving the lifespan to humans if they were his superior creation?


    Theodore felt something wet on his chest. Adeline�� she was crying silently in his arms. "Maybe she is crying because of what I said, I shouldn''t have said that," he thought. Not wanting to spoil the present by worrying about the inevitable future, Theodore decided to lighten both of their moods by talking about something else.


    "So, there is only one day left before your test. Are you prepared well enough?"


    Adeline was quiet for some time, probably trying to calm herself down. She gently wiped her tears and cleared her throat. Then she answered, "Yes, I am pretty confident about the test. I know all the components of the test, thanks to my father telling me the secret. I was able to prepare myself for the test accordingly and General Osmond also changed my training regimen according to the requirement of the test. So, yes, I think I will do good�� I have to."


    She said the last sentence more to herself than to Theodore. All this time, she had endured all the tough training sessions, the guilt of cheating, and the anger that she felt towards Lillian so that she would be one step closer to the throne.


    Initially, her desire for the throne was driven by her need for revenge. She had planned to take revenge on Lillian and to do that she had to be the one in the power.


    But now, she didn''t want the power just as a medium to take her revenge. She had seen how the citizens were suffering under Edwin''s command. She didn''t want someone like him to be on the throne. She had started to truly care for the people and she wanted to protect them from any evil, whether it was her own family members or some other Kingdom. She wanted the people of her Kingdom to be happy, prosperous, and most of all safe.


    And to be able to do that, she would need the throne and the crown, and the powers and responsibilities that came along with it.


    Theodore was a little confused when she said that her father had revealed the secrets of the test. So he asked, "What do you mean by your father has revealed the secrets of the test? The components of the test aren''t open information?"


    "No, we just knew that our deity would be taking our test and he would be the one to choose the future ruler of Wyverndale. Other than that no one knows what actually happens in the test. But I was very desperate so I kind of cheated by asking the King himself." Adeline had no idea when the guilt of cheating would leave her heart. Probably never?


    "Wait a minute��" Theodore frowned his brows and then pushed himself further away on the bed so that he could see Adeline''s face. "What do you mean by your deity will be taking your test? Why didn''t you tell this to me before?"


    Adeline was baffled by that accusing look on Theodore''s face. "I didn''t tell that to you before? I thought I did��"


    Theodore was still frowning. "Obviously you did not because I would have remembered if you had told me." He took a deep breath in and whispered, "You should have told this to me before." He sneered and thought to himself, "I should have guessed this on my own�� that conniving bastard!"


    Adeline wrinkled her nose and then whispered, "Sorry! It must have slipped my mind then. But why do you look so concerned?"


    He gave a mirthless smile and shook his head gently, "Nothing."


    But it was obvious that something was bothering Theodore. So Adeline pressured him, "Tell me, what is it?"


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and said, "It''s just that�� I don''t like that deity of yours that much. We aren''t on good terms."


    Adeline raised her brows at that sudden revelation from him and exclaimed, "You know our deity?" But then again, why was she that surprised to know that? He was the son of God, he was the Devil Prince. Of course, he would know all Gods and Goddesses�� that is if there were more than the three that she knew of - Theodore''s parents and her Deity.


    "Yes, I do know him." Theodore narrowed his eyes as he said that. Adeline could see the distaste in his eyes and wondered why the two of them didn''t have good terms.


    Maybe it was something to do with their status, she thought. One was Devil and the other was Deity. Maybe it was because of this. But she wouldn''t know for sure without asking him.


    However, before she could ask what happened between them, Theodore warned her in a stern voice, "Adeline, I want you to stay alert in your test. Don''t open your mind to him. He is a very manipulative one."


    Adeline was startled by what Theodore said to her. "Our Deity is manipulative?" she asked in a worried voice.


    "Yes, he is the most manipulative one among the lot." Theodore''s eyes had a hint of red glow when he said that. He didn''t like the idea of Adeline being tested by that Deity. He would have asked her to quit the test if he didn''t know how much it meant to Adeline. But he couldn''t be that selfish to ask Adeline to give up on her dreams.


    Theodore held Adeline''s hand tightly and asked, "Promise me that you won''t believe everything that he says, or does, or shows. He is the master of illusion and he is the trickster."


    "Our God is a trickster?" Adeline lay unmoving on the bed. She didn''t even know how to feel after knowing that information. Does that mean all of them were puppets of their Deity and other powerful beings?


    Seeing Adeline like that Theodore tried to calm her nerves, "I don''t mean to say that he is bad. I am just asking you to be on your guard and not to fall for his tricks. If you do that then you will be fine. I guess you will never have to meet him again after this test is over. So, don''t think about this too much. Be on your guard, that''s all."


    When Theodore put it like that, Adeline was finally able to breathe.

 Chapter 177 - Mother-in-law

    Theodore took the two of his guests and Adeline back to the Palace early in the morning. He left Adeline in her room and then teleported the puppies in Nigel''s quarter. He didn''t want Nigel to run back to his quarter almost naked.


    Nigel and Rhea thanked Theodore for his hospitality and every other thing that he did for Nigel and Adeline.


    Nigel was especially happy to know that his sister had also found someone who was willing to keep her happy and safe. He had time to reflect upon his yesterday''s action and he also had time to think about Theodore. And he wondered why he was even angry when Theodore claimed to be Adeline''s future husband.


    After all, Theodore was the best possible suitor that Adeline would ever get. He was powerful, he had a good heart, and most of all he loved Adeline very dearly. Nigel only hoped that he could love Rhea the same way that Theodore loved his little sister.


    After Theodore left Nigel''s room, Nigel glanced at Rhea and then embraced her with love.


    Rhea smiled and teased him, "Don''t tell me that you want to take me back to the bed already. I don''t think I would be able to walk if we do it one more time."


    Nigel chuckled at that remark from Rhea and pulled back from the embrace. He cupped her beautiful face and then said lovingly, "I want to give you all the happiness in the world, Rhea. I am madly in love with you. And I hope that I will keep on loving you this way till I take my last breath."


    Nigel leaned in and kissed his wife as softly as he could. And then he looked at her apologetically and said, "I am sorry for not taking you to introduce you to my mother yesterday. I wanted to keep our marriage a secret until I completed that test but I think I am being unfair to both of you."


    Rhea gave a polite smile and denied that "It''s okay, Nigel. It is only a matter of a few more days. You can introduce me to everyone after tomorrow. Or whenever it is that the test gets completed."


    Nigel shook his head and said, "No, I am going to take you to her today. I lost control when I found out that Adeline had hidden about her relationship with Theodore. She used to tell me everything and to be honest, I was hurt that she didn''t tell me about him. I don''t want my mother to feel the same. And I don''t want to deprive you of your right to meet your mother-in-law."


    Rhea surprised him with a hug and she whispered, "Sure. I would love to meet your mother. But before that, tell me something about her. Like what she likes and what she dislikes so that I can have a good and less awkward conversation with her."


    Nigel chuckled and hugged her back. "She is a very gentle and loving mother. You don''t have to be nervous when you are around her."


    But Rhea insisted, "Still, I would like to know a few things about her before I go and meet her."


    He looked at her and asked, "How about a bath and a good breakfast first? Then I will tell everything that you want to know."


    "That sounds really good," Rhea said happily while pressing her belly. They had expended a lot of stamina last night and both of them were starving.


    After taking a bath together, Nigel and Rhea helped each other with their dresses. Nigel refused to let the maids in to help him with his clothes or hair. "I don''t want all the maids to give you a weird look when they see you with me. I can manage myself," Nigel had said while trying to figure out how to comb his long and wet hair without hurting his scalp.


    Rhea took the comb into her hand and then brushed his dark hair with utmost care. She was used to doing everything herself, unlike the Prince, so she knew how to set his hair and also helped him with his clothes.


    And Nigel wanted to be the loving husband and helped Rhea with her dress even when she denied it.


    After changing into fresh sets of clothes and combing their hair, they both had a lovely breakfast served to them. They both dug into their plates wildly as though they had been starved for a week.


    When both of them were full, Nigel went on and told Rhea about his mother. He also told her about the King and about Adeline. He told her how Theodore was the first one to discover that he was a werewolf and how he and Adeline had found out from Theodore about what he was.


    He also told her several other things about Adeline, like how she had never seen her birth mother and how his own mother used to love her like her own child. And he told her that he and Adeline grew closer to each other because his mother would take him to visit Adeline every now and then.


    After listening to Nigel, Rhea''s respect towards her mother-in-law increased to the mountain. Nigel''s mother sounded to be so loving and caring that she knew her relationship with her mother-in-law would be a great one.


    They finally got up and Nigel led Rhea towards his mother''s quarter. The maid that was standing in front of Queen Claricia''s door announced the presence of them and she let them enter once the Queen gave the permission.


    "Nigel!" Queen Claricia was sitting on a chair wearing her beautiful gown. She carried her with such confidence that Rhea felt nervous for a split second.


    Claricia trailed her curious eyes on the lady who was standing beside her son. She could tell from the way Rhea dressed up that she was from Aberdeen. She gestured both of them to take their seats and asked, "Who is she? Why didn''t you bring her along yesterday when you and Fenris came to greet me?"


    Nigel was acting as though everything was fine but in reality, he was way too nervous than Rhea. He knew that his mother wouldn''t scold him and she would understand why he was married so suddenly, but he still felt very anxious when his mother asked those questions while giving that curious glance.


    In his nervousness, he didn''t know how or where to start from so he blurted out while looking down on the floor, "She is my wife."

 Chapter 178 - Beautiful Talk

    Queen Claricia asked in an excited voice, "Your wife? You mean she is your mate? Did you mark her?"


    Nigel was not expecting that surprised yet excited tone from his mother. But he already knew that she would not protest. He glanced at his mother shyly and nodded his head. Rhea also gave a shy smile, trying her best not to look nervous or intimidated.


    Claricia covered her mouth with both of her hands and she looked at both of them with teary eyes. And in the next moment, she flung up from her chair and enveloped the couple in her arms. It was not very lady-like, but she didn''t care. She was way too happy for her son. She happily whispered, "Oh my dear boy, you have grown up!"


    She pulled off from the hug and then held Rhea''s hand in her palm.


    Rhea got up from where she was sitting and then gave a deep bow to the Queen of Wyverndale. And she said, "I am sorry I forgot to greet you earlier, Your Majesty. I guess I was a little nervous to meet you."


    "It''s alright dear. I can understand how you must be feeling right now." Queen Claricia gave a warm smile to her daughter-in-law. She trailed her glance on Rhea''s beautiful eyes, and hair, and face. And she gently caressed Rhea''s cheek and said, "Welcome to the family, dear. What is your name?"


    "My name is Rhea, Your Majesty." Rhea''s heart was beating faster and faster although the Queen was being very gentle while talking with her.


    Claricia waved her hand and frowned, "You don''t need to address me with so much formality when we are alone. Just call me ''mother''."


    Rhea was taken aback by that request from the Queen. As Nigel had said, his mother was very kind and pure.


    Queen Claricia made Rhea sit down beside her and then had a chat with her for a long time. She was curious to know about where Rhea was from, how she met Nigel, and things like that. She was even happier to find out that Rhea was actually Nigel''s teacher. She was proud that her son had chosen someone as strong and as beautiful as Rhea.


    Nigel, on the other hand, was staring at the two of them chatting happily and bonding with each other. He didn''t mind being ignored by both his mother and his wife.


    And after about an hour of talking, Claricia finally turned her attention to her son and then asked, "So, I am guessing that you have not introduced Rhea to His Majesty yet. I had heard that the King has gone on some kind of trip."


    "Yes. The councilmen said that he went to do some final preparation for the test. I am guessing he will be back this afternoon. But I want to introduce her to His Majesty and to everyone else after the test. The King must be busy with all kinds of preparations." Nigel chuckled and then added, "After all, his children can fill a whole classroom so the pressure must be real for him."


    "Nigel!" Claricia gave a warning look to Nigel but then she also started to laugh along with him. She was trying to control her laughter but she was unable to. "The King will be mad if he hears us laughing right now."


    After calming down from the laughter, Queen Claricia glanced at Nigel and Rhea and then asked, "So, when are the two of you planning to hold the wedding ceremony?"


    "I will ask the King to hold an intimate ceremony as soon as the test ends." Nigel looked down on the floor and then spoke melancholically, "Mother, I have to return back to Aberdeen as soon as I can. It is very dangerous for me to stay here."


    Queen Claricia already knew that her son wouldn''t be allowed to stay in Wyverndale the moment she discovered that Nigel had turned. But still, it hurt when she heard it from Nigel''s mouth. She gestured her son to come to her and then hugged him tightly. "I know, son. I am going to miss you a lot."


    "I will miss you too, mother." Nigel was trying hard to control his emotions. He didn''t want to start crying in front of his mother and make her feel bad.


    Claricia was also fighting her tears. She placed a warm kiss on Nigel''s forehead and tried to cheer him up, "Nigel, make sure that you write letters every month. I will do the same. And come to visit me if the time allows."


    Nigel was still unable to look at his mother in the eyes. And he just nodded his head.


    Claricia forced a smile on her lips and spoke in a cheerful voice, "Did you get the chance to meet Rhea''s parents?"


    Nigel shook his head. "No, we were already in a hurry to come here. The alpha told us not to worry about it; he said that he would inform Rhea''s parents."


    "Are you not planning to invite Rhea''s family to the wedding?" Claricia gave a questioning glance to both Rhea and Nigel.


    Rhea smiled and said, "My father is also a werewolf and I don''t think calling them here will be good. It will only put the people here in danger."


    And Nigel instantly added what his uncle had told him when he went to meet him along with Rhea. "King Conall has promised us a wedding ceremony in Aberdeen. Her relatives will attend the ceremony there."


    Queen Claricia forced a smile again. "I am glad then. My brother is taking good care of you two." She took a deep breath and said, "It would have been wonderful to invite everyone here in Wyverndale and hold a beautiful wedding ceremony... But it''s alright. I will meet Rhea''s parents when I come to Aberdeen."


    She held Rhea''s hand and said to Nigel, "Remind me to write a letter to Rhea''s parents. I would at least like to greet them through the letter for the time being."


    Claricia talked with Nigel and Rhea for some more time. They had almost spent half a day just catching up with each other. They had a beautiful lunch in Queen Claricia''s garden. Fenris also joined them for the lunch.


    Fenris was worried about Nigel and Adeline, and he was not able to get even a wink of sleep for the whole night. He had a lot of questions for Nigel but he didn''t dare to ask them in front of the Queen. So he followed Nigel and Rhea back to Nigel''s quarter. And when he knew that Adeline was completely fine, he let out a sigh of relief.. If anything had happened to her, he wouldn''t have been able to forgive himself.

 Chapter 179 - What Dream?

    At the other corner of the Palace, the atmosphere wasn''t a happy one. Prince Edwin was lying on the bed, too tired to even move a muscle.


    His body looked half of what it was before, he had lost weight very drastically. His eyes and cheeks had sunken to his skull, and his lips looked like he was deprived of water for weeks. And his hair was no longer dark and shiny, it was now a mix of black and grey.


    His wife, Princess Juniper, was sitting on the edge of his bed and was trying to feed him healthy soup. He had been denying to eat anything from yesterday and he was also threatening to fire the maids who had tried to feed him.


    So the Princess had no choice but to try feeding him herself. She was using several ways to make him take a sip of the soup; she was pleading to him, she was even threatening him that she and their daughter would also not eat anything unless he ate something.


    However, no matter how much she tried to persuade him, he just turned his head to the other side and pretended that his wife wasn''t even there.


    When all that was going on, Queen Lillian entered the bedroom of Prince Edwin unannounced.


    Princess Juniper hastily got up from the bed and then bowed to the Queen, "Your Majesty!"


    Lillian took the bowl of soup from the Princess''s hand and waved her off. Then she sat on the bed and looked at her bedridden son. He was blankly staring at the wall without even blinking. The only way to know that he was still alive was by looking at the cloth above his stomach that moved up and down ever so slightly as he breathed.


    Lillian''s heart stung badly. Among her two sons, Edwin had always been her favorite one. And looking at him laying down almost lifeless made her stomach churn. She sighed and then tried to feed Edwin. She held out the spoon in front of his mouth but he wasn''t opening his lips. "Edwin, you need to eat something. You will make yourself even weaker."


    Edwin slowly shifted his gaze towards his mother and spoke using his breath, "How can I eat, mother? I had been waiting my whole life to give that stupid test and when the time is finally here, I can''t even move. What''s the point in living like this? I would rather end my life."


    "Edwin!" Lillian shouted angrily at her son for saying such things. "How can you even say that you would rather die? What happened to my son who was a fighter? My son would never give up so easily."


    Edwin looked away again and kept on staring at the wall.


    Even after seeing his increasing grey hair, Lillian didn''t suspect for a second that the succubus could be behind her son''s illness. Because the King had also been looking sick lately and she had no reason to suspect that the succubus had betrayed her.


    What she didn''t know was that the King looked sick because of different reasons altogether. His mental health had been degrading because of all the stress and mainly because of his accumulated anger towards Lillian. A day that Lillian walked freely would add up to his anger, and ultimately to his self-loathing.


    In the past week, Lillian had tried everything in her power to find out what was wrong with Edwin. She was no healer but she had brought each and every well-known healer to the Palace to check on Edwin. However, like the previous healers who had already seen him, none of them were able to diagnose what was wrong with the Prince.


    "I wish I knew how to help you��" Lillian gently caressed her son''s boney hand and held his palm. Even with all the powers that she had, she was unable to make her son feel better. And nothing hurt more than feeling useless in times like this. Yet, she didn''t show any signs of weakness by crying. She believed that only the weak would cry.


    The Prince slowly turned his gaze towards his mother and then whispered, "Mother, will you bring Pearl to me? I want to see her one last time before I die."


    Lillian instantly frowned and then raised her voice, "What rubbish? You are not going to die!" Then she gave a softer look to him and said, "I thought you had already forgotten about her. But it seems like you haven''t."


    Pearl was a normal village girl who had caught Edwin''s interest a long time ago. He wanted to marry her and he had even expressed his love for her. But she had refused the Prince saying that she already had someone else in her heart.


    If he wanted to then he could have forced her to marry him. To be honest, he wanted to force the marriage. But Lillian had talked him out of it saying that if she didn''t love him then there was no use in marrying her. Because it would ruin both of their lives.


    Eventually, Edwin was lucky enough to find Juniper. She loved him and so did he. They also had a lovely daughter together.


    And Lillian wondered if all of the love between Edwin and Juniper was just a fa?ade because he was asking for Pearl at times like this. So she asked, "Did you even love Juniper? Or was that all a lie?"


    Edwin shook his head very feebly and spoke with great difficulty, "No mother, it was not a lie. I love Juniper." And he hesitantly added, "It''s just that�� I have been seeing Pearl in my dreams lately. And I wanted to see her one more time."


    Lillian almost instantly widened her eyes as though something hard hit her mind. "What did you say? You have been seeing her in your dreams?" She leaned close to her son''s face and gritted from between her teeth, "What kind of dreams?"


    Edwin flinched from that sudden closeness of his mother and turned his head away. "You don''t have to scare me. Just say that you don''t want me to meet her."


    Lillian grabbed her son''s jaw and made him look at her. And then she asked again with more intensity, "I asked what kind of dreams? Is it the erotic ones? Does Pearl lure you to the bed and then-"


    "Mother!" This time Edwin managed to speak a little loudly. And he turned his gaze away in embarrassment and asked, "Why would you ask such things to me? What is wrong with you?"


    Lillian leaned back while anger was slowly building up inside of her. And she asked again while trying her best not to yell at her son again, "So you are seeing those kinds of dreams, am I right? Just tell me�� I need to know."


    "Yes," Edwin sighed and replied while still looking away.


    Lillian grabbed her hair with both of her hands and crouched down while letting out a muffled scream. And she cursed that succubus inwardly, "That wh*re! I am going to kill her. No, no, no. She doesn''t deserve an easy death. First, I am going to torture her, I am going to make her beg for mercy, and then�� and then only I am going to kill her."


    She got up from the bed and then went out of the room like a furious gust of wind.

 Chapter 180 - Lambs

    Lillian stormed out of the room with an intention to kill... to kill that impudent succubus who dared to trick her. But unfortunately, it was still daytime and the Palace was very lively for her to use the summoning spell. Everyone would see the dark mist that would appear above the Palace if she performed that spell now.


    Lillian walked aimlessly while thinking about what to do next. And she stopped her feet when she saw two young maids walking gleefully. When those maids took notice of the Queen, they also stopped in their track and bowed to the Queen, "Good afternoon, Your Majesty."


    "Hmm," Lillian glared at those maids as though they were some lambs.


    The maids lowered their gaze and were about to excuse themselves. However, Lillian stepped right in front of them and stopped them from leaving. "Do you have any urgent work right now?"


    "No, Your Majesty. We were going to rest," One of the maids replied.


    Lillian took a step towards them and asked, "Who do you work for?"


    Another maid replied, "We work for the first Prince, Your Majesty." She stole a quick glance of the scary-looking Queen and asked, "Is there anything that we can help you with, Your Majesty?"


    A sinister smile curved on the Queen''s lips. "As a matter of fact, yes, there is something that you two can help me with." She gave an evil smile to them and ordered, "Follow me!" And she turned on her heels and led those maids towards her son''s quarter.


    The maids quietly followed the Queen even though they were a little scared. Everyone inside the Palace knew that she was a witch. And they feared that the Queen was going to curse them because her son was not recovering, although it was not their fault. But they hoped that the Queen was not going to vent out her anger on them.


    Lillian asked those maids to wait in the meeting room of the Prince until she returned back. And she headed towards her own quarter.


    After a while, she returned back again and then asked one of the maids to follow her inside the Prince''s private chamber.


    That maid gave a scared glance to her friend before entering the Prince''s chamber.


    Lillian locked the door behind, and went and sat down on the bed where the Prince was lying down.


    That maid was shocked when her gaze fell on Prince Edwin who looked like a skeleton. And she was sure that the Queen had brought them in just to vent out her anger because of the Prince''s condition.


    The Queen glanced at the maid and enjoyed the look on that maid''s face. The fury that had bubbled up inside of her after knowing about that succubus''s betrayal somewhat calmed down after seeing that scared maid. She was lowering her gaze and was sweating profusely. Though she was trying hard not to show it, her hands and legs were shivering.


    Lillian cackled grimly while looking at that scared mouse and said, "Oh, don''t be so scared. I am just going to ask you one question. And if your answer satisfies me, I am going to let you go. But if it doesn''t then��"


    The Queen glared at that maid with her big eyes and asked, "Why were you walking so happily when the Prince you serve is in this condition?"


    The maid instantly fell on her knees and bowed her head touching the floor. And she apologized while crying, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I am just a lower-level maid and I had no idea that the Prince was in this condition. We wouldn''t have been smiling if we knew that His Highness was this sick, we wouldn''t dare."


    Prince Edwin was tired of hearing all that sobbing and he whispered, "Mother, what are you trying to prove by scaring that maid? I''m tired. Just leave me alone."


    "Oh, I''m just having a pre-celebration." Lillian flashed a smile to her son.


    Edwin had no idea what his mother was talking about. And he didn''t have any energy to ask what she meant. So he just rolled his eyes and turned his head away.


    Lillian clicked her tongue and then narrowed her eyes at that maid. "I like your answer, but still... I''m not quite satisfied. What do I do?"


    The maid looked at the Queen pleadingly and rubbed her hands together, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. If you ask me then I will never smile again for my whole life. But please forgive me for my earlier behavior."


    Lillian gave a smile to that maid and said, "I like this answer better. If you promise that you will never smile again, then I promise that I will let you go."


    "I promise you, Your Majesty. I will never smile in my life ever again," that maid instantly replied with a hint of relief lurking on her face.


    Lillian held out her hand and gestured the maid to come to her, "Not good enough! Promise me by holding my hand."


    The maid wondered if it was some kind of trick or not because no Queen would want to hold a maid''s hand.


    Seeing the reluctance in that maid''s eyes, Lillian raised her voice, "Would you like to be punished instead? Don''t test me because I will gladly do so."


    "No, Your Majesty." And she quickly rose up on her feet and tip-toed towards the Queen while bowing her head. And then she carefully touched the Queen''s palm with her cold and sweaty fingers, "I promise you, Your Majesty."


    Lillian gripped that maid''s hand and jerked her closer to where she was sitting. And almost instantly, she began to chant a spell, that very same forbidden spell which she had used to revive the stillborn Prince years ago.


    Edwin was surprised when his mother began to chant the spell. "Mother, what are you-" he suddenly felt his mother''s palm on his chest, and in another second, he felt something warm and powerful flowing inside his body. His hair slowly turned back to its original color. His cheeks became fuller and his eyes livelier.. And his body that looked like a skeleton slowly began to revert back to its original glory.

 Chapter 181 - Glory

    While on the other hand, the maid was suffocating and was shaking violently in pain. Her whole body was getting paler and paler, her lips were turning blue, and only the whites of her eyes could be seen. After enduring excruciating pain, she finally collapsed on the floor, her life drained out of her body.


    When she fell down, the Prince gasped as though he was just rescued from being drowned and sat up on the bed. He looked at his hands carefully, they didn''t look like how they used to when he was healthy, but they looked far better than how they looked just a moment ago.


    He frantically touched his cheeks and then touched his chest and his legs. He was in a better shape somehow. And he began to laugh in excitement.


    Lillian was actually skeptical that this spell would work again or not. She had already prolonged her son''s life once and she didn''t know if it would be possible to do so again. However, all her worries vanished when she saw her son laughing and healthier than before. She opened her arms and smiled, "My son! Oh, I am so happy."


    Edwin flung his arms around his mother and thanked her, "Mother, you treated me... How is this even possible? Tell me I am not dreaming."


    But before Lillian could say anything, his eyes fell on the scary-looking corpse that was lying on the floor. He was startled and he jumped back on his bed.


    He gave a questioning glance to his mother and asked, "Isn''t that the maid from earlier? How... How is she dead?"


    Lillian gave a smirk as though she hadn''t just murdered someone. And she waved her hand and said in a calm voice, "Don''t worry about that lowly maid. I transferred her remaining life force to you. At least now her life will be utilized for better purposes by you."


    Edwin raised his brows and looked amused by what his mother just told him. "It is possible to transfer one''s life to another? Well, this is new..."


    Lillian caressed her son''s hair and proudly boasted, "There is no such thing called impossible. You just need to know the right way to achieve it."


    She looked at the dead body of that maid and clicked her tongue. And said disapprovingly, "She looked young but I guess she didn''t have many years in her. You aren''t completely healed yet."


    She trailed her fingers over her son''s cheek and jaw. She sighed and announced, "You look like you could use one more person''s life force. Lucky for you, I have one more maid waiting outside."


    Then she got off the bed and ordered her son, "Try lifting this body. If you can then hide it in the bathhouse for some time."


    Edwin did as his mother asked. It looked like his strength was also back.


    After removing the trace of murder from the room, Lillian went outside and called that another maid as well.


    That maid darted her eyes at the door to the Prince''s chamber, waiting for her friend to come out. But there was no sign of her.


    "I''ve asked her to clean the bathhouse of the Prince." Lillian pointed her brows to the door and ordered, "Come in."


    Even though something didn''t seem right, the maid had no other option than to follow the Queen.


    The Queen locked the door behind her and after some time, a loud thud was heard.


    Lillian came outside and she found her maid, Ida, waiting at the main door of the Prince''s quarter. She brought her in and asked, "Did you make the preparations as I asked earlier?"


    Ida bowed to the Queen and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. I have arranged a carriage and I have offered the bribe to the guards at the main gate. Shall I send the men to pick up the trash?"


    "Yes. Send them in."


    The maid bowed again and went outside while Lillian went inside her son''s room.


    Inside the room, Prince Edwin was now busy looking at his own reflection in the mirror. He was now back to being his older self, sturdy and healthy as ever.


    Lillian smiled at how enthusiastically her son was checking himself out in the mirror. And she was happy that her son was now back to normal. She stood beside her son and said, "Don''t go outside for now. People had seen the skinny you and I don''t want them to get suspicious when they see you this healthy in half a day. They will know that I used dark magic."


    "Sure, mother. I wouldn''t put you in a difficult situation." He then hugged his mother and thanked her, "I will never forget how you saved me and my dream. Just wait and see mother, that throne will be mine. And I will give you all the happiness in the world."


    Lillian hugged back her beloved son and whispered, "I expect no less from my son."


    She patted her son on the back and then pulled away from the hug. The dead body of the second maid was still lying on the floor. She pointed at that body and said, "I have already arranged for these bodies to be picked and disposed of. My maid will come with two men and they will clean everything up. They were your maids so you can tell their family that they stole something from you and ran away from the Palace. And you can appoint new ones in their place."


    Edwin gratefully nodded his head. "I understand. Thank you, mother."


    Lillian smiled and cupped her son''s jaw. And then she placed a kiss on his forehead and said, "Anything for you, my son."


    The witch headed towards her own quarter with a sense of victory on her face. And she thought to herself, "Now that I know that the succubus had also been visiting my son, I am going to teach her a lesson today, the last lesson that she will ever learn. I was allowing her to have the King''s life, but she was greedy enough to even go for my son!"


    She still thought that the succubus had not only been sleeping with the King but also with her son. If only she knew the whole truth...


    "Let the night come. I will suck the life out of her and from tomorrow, I''ll summon another one." She frowned and thought, "I hope that my body can handle absorbing a few hundred years from that succubus. Or maybe I should be careful, my body might not be suitable to hold that kind of power."


    "Let''s just wait for the night.. Whatever I do, I will make sure that she will pay for attacking my son."

 Chapter 182 - Final Advices

    Today, General Osmond didn''t make Princess Adeline fight with him. Rather, he sat down together with the Princess and shared some final tips and tricks that could prove useful in the test that she was going to attend tomorrow.


    He was sharing his wisdom, "This test of worthiness is very similar to fighting a war. Each second is very crucial in a war, it can decide your victory or your loss, and it can decide whether you live or you die. Remember, do not fear and do not flinch, no matter what the test presents you with. Even a moment of hesitation can turn the result upside down."


    Adeline took a deep breath in and breathed out from her mouth. She was clasping her hands so tightly that she was digging her nails on her own hand.


    She glanced at the General and iterated the summary of what the General had told her till now, "Never hesitate. Always be cautious. Go defensive. There isn''t just one right answer. And�� nobody has died in the test till now, so I don''t need to worry about dying. Got it."


    General Osmond smiled and patted Adeline on her shoulder. She wasn''t the one to be this anxious before any tests but she looked unusually restless today. He tried to calm her down by speaking very gently, "Adeline, you are going to do fine. You have already given everything that you could for the preparation of this test. So don''t drown yourself in some unnecessary pressure when the test is this close."


    Adeline inhaled deeply trying to calm down her accelerating heartbeat and asked, "But what if I fail even after all the preparations? What if someone bad becomes the future ruler and ruins the peace of the Kingdom? I can''t allow that to happen!"


    General Osmond gave one last try to calm her down, "Princess, sometimes you should just stop worrying about what is to come and let the future play itself out. You should hope for the best but you should not overthink it to the point where you feel distressed."


    He placed his hands on Adeline''s shoulder and gently shook her as if he wanted to shake that stress out of Adeline. "Overthinking will only put your mind and body at unrest and you might end up attracting the very result that you fear. So I advise you to not think about the test anymore. Try to think about other beautiful things that have happened to you and keep your mind occupied until the test starts."


    Adeline finally mustered up a smile and nodded. "I will keep that in mind, teacher. Thank you for guiding me till now. And I hope that you will keep on doing so no matter what happens after today."


    "Of course. My loyalty lies with the King and with you. And I will keep on serving you no matter what." General Osmond gave a reassuring smile to the Princess. In fact, she was more than a Princess to him, she was the best student that he had ever taught and she was the one who gave a new purpose to his life after his daughter''s death.


    Adeline suddenly frowned and gave a questioning glance to the General. "General, I am going to ask one last thing about the test, okay?"


    General shook his head disapprovingly. It was as though everything that he said to the Princess about not thinking about the test anymore just went above her head. But he gave her the permission anyway, "Sure. Just one more question and then the session for today ends. You need to rest."


    "Did you hear the announcement regarding the time and location of the test? Because I haven''t heard it till now. I was wondering if I missed it." Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line and kept on staring at the General.


    She had this unsettling fear that she might be late for the test and might completely miss it. And she also feared that she might keep on waiting in her quarter when everyone else would already reach the test location without her.


    General Osmond thought for a while and answered, "No, I don''t think there has been any announcement regarding that. Maybe the King will announce it by tonight."


    "Alright!" Then he got up from his seat and so did the Princess. "This is it for today. I wish you all the best for your test. And do not keep on thinking about the test and stressing out. Don''t do anything today. Only do the things that will help you relax."


    He narrowed his eyes and continued, "And eat a heavy dinner so that you won''t feel hungry during the test. I am pretty sure that there won''t be any lunch breaks, in fact, there might not be a single break. The test of worthiness is a war after all, a war that will choose the victor as the future ruler of Wyverndale."


    Adeline smiled brightly at the way her teacher was giving instructions to her. "I will, General. And I think you should stop worrying about me so much. You also look really anxious."


    The General nervously laughed and said, "I thought I was doing a good job at hiding my anxiety. How can I be relaxed when my student has her biggest test tomorrow? Okay, see you after the test Adeline."


    "See you after the test, General," the Princess thanked her teacher again and left for her quarter.


    Adeline began to pace back and forth in her room trying to keep her mind busy. She tried her best not to think about the test that was approaching closer and closer with every passing minute. But nothing seemed to work. She just could not help but worry about what would happen tomorrow.


    And without even changing out of her training uniform, she ran to the stable to see Rion. She talked with him, fed him, and even took him for an evening ride. Rion helped her ease her nerves to some extent. But she couldn''t stay with Rion forever.


    Thus, she returned back to her quarter and asked the maids if there was an announcement regarding the time and location of the test tomorrow. There still wasn''t any news. She thought that they would be informed early in the morning tomorrow and decided not to worry about that. "Father must have made the preparations for the test thoroughly, he will let us know when the time is right."


    Adeline had a heavy dinner as General Osmond had suggested.. And when she was sure that she wouldn''t even be able to swallow a single drop of water, she sent off her maids and decided to rest.

 Chapter 183 - Test Begins

    Adeline thought of changing into her nightgown before resting but she didn''t even feel like moving a finger. So she tried laying down on her bed but she had stuffed way too much food and she felt as though the food would return back to her mouth if she slept immediately. She sighed and got off the bed, and went and sat in front of her study desk to pass some time.


    The Princess tapped her fingers on the table thinking how to pass the time. She pouted her lips and thought, "I wonder why Theodore hasn''t arrived yet. It would have been so much easier to pass the time with him." Each second felt like an hour to her. She was starting to get restless again.


    To occupy her mind, she unlocked a small drawer where she had kept the portrait of her mother and the portrait of Theodore. She took out her mother''s portrait first and stared at it for quite some time. Looking at that portrait gave her a mixed emotion, she felt both happy and sad at the same time. And she whispered softly to that portrait, "Mother, I wonder if people would have called us twins if you were still here."


    She took a deep breath and smiled, "I am going to give the test tomorrow. I hope that I can bring justice to you and I also hope that I can uphold the peace that father has worked so hard for."


    Adeline thought about her father and she felt sad because of how his health was degrading lately. It had gotten worse after she told him all the things that she knew about Lillian. She glanced at her mother''s portrait and an idea struck her mind. She thought that if there was anything that could cheer her father up, it could be this portrait of her mother.


    As she had already told her father that she had seen her mother in the memory of Lillian, she thought that she could offer this portrait to her father as a gift from her. She rolled the portrait and tied it with a beautiful ribbon.


    And she wrote a letter to her father to accompany that gift.


    "Dearest father,


    I have noticed that you worry too much these days. You look so sad that it makes my heart ache. I have made this portrait of my mother. I hope she will help you out of your sorrow and will fill your heart with delight. She would not want to see you sad.


    With love from your daughter."


    She called Hawisa in and asked her to personally deliver the gift and the letter to the King.


    After a while, Hawisa returned back to the Princess with a message from the King. Adeline opened the letter and read,


    "My beloved daughter,


    Thank you, for this very thoughtful gift. This is the most wonderful gift that I have ever received in my life. I think I will be able to save myself from my own sadness now that I can look at this beautiful portrait daily. Whenever I will look at your mother''s portrait I will think that she is with me. And do well in the test.


    Your dearest father."


    Adeline pressed her father''s letter over her heart and smiled. She felt happy that she could at least help her father in some way. And she placed that letter in a box where she had stored all of her father''s letters.


    Then she picked up the portrait of Theodore and smiled again. She could never get enough of his beautiful face. She looked back towards her bed to check if he was there in her room already. He wasn''t there yet and she shifted her attention to his portrait again. "I wonder when he will come today. I could use his soothing embrace to calm my nerves. I think I will wait on the bed."


    She took a deep breath in and then placed his portrait inside that drawer. She locked the drawer but when she pulled the key, she dropped it on the ground. She bent down and searched for the key, it had slipped under the table and was a little further away for her to reach using her hand. "Argh! Why did it have to fall? How do I get it out now?"


    Meanwhile, outside, a huge shadow was flying swiftly and was approaching the Palace at a great speed. It was occasionally flapping its massive wings and was sending a gust of wind on the ground. When it approached near the Palace, the magic circle that Lillian had drawn around the Palace vanished without a trace. And the shadow of that winged creature was now hovering above the Palace, looking for something.


    Adeline got up and looked around, she searched for something thin and long that she could use to pull the key out. But there were no such objects around. So she went towards her dressing table and looked for something that she could use. There was nothing outside so she opened a drawer to look for a long hairpin.


    She shuffled through the drawer and her attention was caught by the chain that she had bought from the market, the same one that had a pendant with the image of a dragon engraved on it. The pendant was glowing in a slight hue of purple and it looked very beautiful even in that dark drawer.


    "I have not even worn it once," she thought to herself. And she had that sudden urge to wear that beautiful chain and see how it would look on her.


    Adeline grabbed the chain and put it around her neck. She checked herself in the mirror of the dressing table. Even though she was still wearing her training uniform, she felt as though the chain did really suit her.


    She smiled at her own reflection and whispered, "I will show it to Theodore and ask if he likes it on me or not. He has never seen me wearing any jewelry so I guess he will like it. Maybe I should wear a beautiful light purple gown to compliment this chain."


    She got up from the dressing table, completely forgetting that she had originally wanted to find that key that was stuck under her study table. She merrily walked towards her wardrobe while hoping that Theodore would come to visit her sooner.


    However, before she could reach in front of her wardrobe, she felt as though something was around her. She couldn''t see it but there was something off.


    And what next, the pendant that was sitting over her chest began to make a buzzing sound while glowing even more. And in the next moment, her vision went all blurry and before she could grasp onto something, she collapsed on the floor. A golden aura loomed over her unconscious body. A bright light appeared all of a sudden and�� she vanished from there without a trace.


    And she was not the only one to vanish from the Palace. All of the Princes and Princesses vanished from their chambers one by one.


    After some time, Theodore appeared inside Adeline''s room. And almost instantly he knew what was going on. He could see the massive golden aura that was still lingering in that room.. And he whispered to himself, "I guess the test has now begun."

 Chapter 184 - Where?

    Adeline was laying flat on her stomach when she slowly started to regain her consciousness. She furrowed her brows and slowly fluttered her eyes open. It was pitch dark so she closed her eyes again and thought, "Why do I feel like I slept for weeks when it is still dark? How long was I asleep for?" She felt as though she had just woken up from a very deep sleep.


    She yawned and took a deep breath in but her lungs were filled with something cold and metallic instead of fresh air. "Mmmm��" and she quickly held her breath.


    Slowly she realized that her cheek was pressed against something hard and cold instead of her warm and soft pillow. Half part of her body had gone numb because of lying down on that very cold and hard surface.


    "Why is it so cold? Did I fall on the floor?" She slowly rolled over to rest on her back. And she could feel that she was not lying down on the smooth floor of her room. She was lying on an uneven surface, something was poking her here and there. She slowly rubbed her palm on the surface that she was lying on.


    And suddenly, she flung her eyes open. "Rocks? Am I�� am I inside a cave?" She tried looking around but it was too dark to see anything. "How did I even get here?" She took a deep breath in even though it stunk and tried to think of the last thing that she remembered. But the numbness of her body was constricting her thought process.


    She rubbed her numb arms and legs for some time and after the numbness was gone, she slowly sat up. She held her head with both of her hands and thought for a while. She remembered being in her room and wearing the chain around her neck. And she remembered walking towards her wardrobe and�� nothing.


    And she screamed inside her head, "What the�� was I kidnapped again or something? If I am really kidnapped then I swear I am going to kill the kidnapper this time. I am done being kidnapped again and again."


    "Kidnapped!" Several thoughts started to flood inside of Adeline''s mind. She began to sweat even inside that cold cave and her heart started to pound like crazy. "What if they kidnapped me so that I would miss my test? How long was I out for anyway? No, no, no�� I cannot miss my test. I have to go back to the Palace. I have to get out of here."


    Somewhere else, Nigel opened his eyes and found himself in a forest which he had never seen in his life before. There were pine trees everywhere around him and he was lying on the dead pine needles and fallen pine cones. He looked above in the sky and saw a full moon shining brightly. The air was really fresh and everything looked beautiful.


    However, Nigel was confused as to how he got to that place. "What is this place? When did I get here?" He groaned and then got up on his feet. He looked down and he realized that he was completely naked. "Why am I naked?"


    He pressed his temples hard and thought for some time. And then he remembered, "I was sleeping with Rhea. And I clearly remember that I was not naked. But what happened after I fell asleep then? Did I transform again and run away from the Palace?"


    Nigel looked around again and whispered to himself, "But I don''t recognize this place at all. Just how far did I run? And why can''t I remember anything that I did while I was in my wolf form? I should be able to remember everything that I do in my wolf form. Something is not right here."


    And all of a sudden, his nose caught a very distinct scent, the scent of blood. He felt a pinch in his heart the moment that smell entered his nose.


    "Did I��" He checked his fingernails to see any traces of blood on them. There were none. And then he wiped his lips with his palm and looked to see if there was blood. He let out a huge sigh of relief after he did not find any traces of blood on him.


    He was kind of sure that he had not hurt or killed any human. So he wanted to run in the opposite direction from where the sweet scent of blood was coming from. However, he still had some doubt whether he was really innocent or not. He wanted to check who was hurt so he cautiously began to walk in the very direction that he wanted to avoid.


    Adeline pressed on her chest with both of her hands and breathed in and out several times. Her pounding heart calmed down a little. She felt the pendant resting inside her cloth and an idea struck her mind. She pulled the chain out of her cloth and also the pendant along with it. Thankfully, the pendant was still luminous. It was giving off a faint purple glow.


    In that pitch dark cave, this faint glow was like a blessing for Adeline. She could use it as a source of light to get a general sense of direction around that cave. Something was still better than nothing.


    "I have to find my way out of this cave as soon as I can. I don''t think I can keep up with this strange smell for much longer. And I have to get out before my kidnappers come to find me again. I have to conserve my energy for the test. I can''t waste it in any other fights."


    She was treading very cautiously so as not to encounter her kidnappers or any other animals that lived inside the cave. As it was a cave, she thought that it was very likely that some predators lived inside.


    Adeline walked for what felt like an hour but she did not find any opening of the cave. She had gone back and forth several times and had looked into each and every corner and other paths inside that cave. More than tired, Adeline was getting irritated at her own situation. "Why can''t I find a way out? What rotten luck!"


    She stood still for a while and thought calmly, "Maybe the opening was blocked if the intention of my kidnapper was to make me miss my test. I guess I should start pushing the walls, if I am lucky then I might find the blocked exit. But I guess I should first rest for 2 minutes. My legs are starting to get wobbly because of walking bare feet in these cold stones."


    She was about to sit down on a rock and rest but exactly at that moment, she heard a screeching noise coming from far behind her. Out of instinct, she closed her eyes and tilted her head as the sound was too irritating. It sounded as though someone or something was grazing a sharp object along the rocky wall of that cave as it inched closer to Adeline.


    She quickly put her pendant back inside her cloth so as not to easily give off her location to whatever that thing was.. However, the screeching noise was slowly approaching her as though that thing knew exactly where she was standing.

 Chapter 185 - Pain Is Real

    Prince Edwin opened his eyes and found himself inside the King''s Court. He got up on his feet and was as confused as the others regarding how he ended up where he was. He looked around him and there was no one else inside the Court. "What am I doing here? Did I sleepwalk or something?"


    He exhaled and thought, "I guess this test is stressing me out. I have never sleepwalked before. I should go back to my room to get a night of proper sleep."


    Edwin was about to turn around to head towards the door but his eyes fell on the golden crown of the King that was lying on the throne. He wanted to walk away but his greedy heart wanted to try on that crown and sit down on that throne.


    "There is no one here to see me. I guess I will take a taste of how it feels to sit down on that throne. It is going to be mine anyway." Edwin smirked to himself and then began to head towards the throne with a great sense of self-esteem.


    But his self-esteem began to dwindle when his feet were not taking him anywhere near to that throne. He increased his pace but he felt as though he was walking on the same spot over and over again. He started to get agitated, and he began to run at his full speed while gnashing his teeth. But even when he ran, he was unable to reach that throne. Rather, the throne seemed to be moving further and further away from him.


    He stopped while panting and shouted, "What kind of sorcery is this? Am I dreaming?" He punched himself on his gut and the pain was very real. He groaned and crouched down. He had hit himself a little too hard because he was almost sure that he was dreaming.


    And out of nowhere, Edwin heard the loud laughter of the King. He glanced in front of him and the King was sitting on his throne in his full Royal attire. And he was laughing while pointing his finger at Edwin. "What an idiot! I can''t believe that you fell for my trick. I had you chasing this throne for years and you actually did it."


    The King cackled again and said, "But you know what? I am never going to give this throne to you." Edwin could not bear that mocking laughter from the King and he jumped towards the throne.


    Somewhere else, the screeching sound was getting closer and closer.


    At this point, running was not an option for Adeline. The whole place was made out of rocks and running would only make the enemy aware of her movements.


    And what good would running do? She didn''t even know if there were any exits in that cave somewhere. She had already looked everywhere and there was no luck. She would have been able to feel the wind blowing from somewhere if there really was an opening. And the air was very still inside the cave further proving that Adeline was trapped inside.


    So she took a deep breath in and held her ground, determined to fight off whatever was coming towards her. She closed her eyes and began to focus on the screeching sound to estimate the distance between her and that thing.


    Now that she was completely focused and was willing to fight, she noticed that the screeches were coming from three different sources. And she could tell that it was not from knives or swords or any weapons of that sort, it was from something completely different.


    Adeline was also sure that whatever it was, it was neither animal nor human because she was also hearing the faint tapping of its toes that sounded as though it had sharp claws on its legs.


    When that thing was close enough but still far away for her to attack, it suddenly stopped screeching as well as moving. And it began to chuckle very grimly sending echoes throughout the cave.


    However, Adeline was unfazed by that sick laughter and she shouted furiously instead, "Why have you locked me here? Who the hell are you?"


    That thing chuckled again and spoke in a hoarse and ragged voice, "You just told who I am. Hell. I am your Hell."


    Adeline scoffed, "You are my Hell?" she gave a soft chuckle and repositioned herself so that she was facing in the direction of that thing, "Don''t flatter yourself. Get your arse over here and let''s see who is whose Hell. Don''t underestimate me, because I can bring down Hell upon you."


    That thing clicked its tongue and said, "Ah! Right! You cannot see me�� let me help you, maybe it will help you to jog your memory."


    Then maybe it performed some kind of magic because the whole cave was now filled with light. "Remember me?" That creature tilted its head to the side and gave a smile while showing its razor-like fangs.


    And Adeline''s heart jumped inside her chest when she saw the tall and slender figure that was standing not too far away from her while flashing its fangs and claws. Adeline recognized what it was.


    It was a Ghoul. No, no, not just a Ghoul but the Ghoul. It was Izel, Theodore''s follower. Yes, the same one who had hurt Adeline a long time ago.


    If it wasn''t for her pride, Adeline would have screamed out of fear the moment she saw that nasty creature that she had wished she would never encounter again. But she had just threatened Izel saying that she would bring Hell upon him. And that very threat of her pressured her to maintain her calm even in front of that deadly creature from literal Hell.


    Adeline glared at the Ghoul and asked him in a stern voice, "Izel. Why did you bring me here?"


    "Let''s just say�� because I want to�� eat you." Izel gave a malicious grin and inched closer to her.


    Adeline still tried to maintain her composure and reason with Izel, "You don''t want to do that, Izel. Theodore will kill you when he finds out that you have held me hostage."


    "Don''t worry about what might happen after you die. I will deal with my master." Izel gave a little chuckle and without any warning leaped on the air to attack Adeline. It spread six of its dangly claws when it neared Adeline''s face and swiped it across.


    Adeline leaned backward in time to dodge the attack and she missed the claws by a hair. She quickly did a backflip while kicking that Ghoul right on its face. It just moved an inch.


    And before Adeline could land on her feet, the Ghoul was fast enough to catch her in the air and smash her down on the rocks. Adeline hit her back very badly and she coughed some blood. Without giving her another second to recover from that, Izel straddled Adeline. He flashed his pointy claws again and dug its claws at both sides of Adeline''s stomach.


    She gave out a gut-wrenching cry of pain. Blood started to ooze out from her open wounds and a pool was formed underneath her.. It was a bloodbath.

 Chapter 186 - This Isnt Right!

    Nigel was slowly and cautiously walking in the direction from where the scent of blood was coming. The closer he got, the more his claws and fangs elongated. Deep in his heart, he knew that he should have just run away but the curiosity to find out that source of blood was not letting him run.


    He was taking deep breaths in and out so as to control his emotions. He was trying his best not to think about the blood and was trying to divert his mind by thinking about how his wedding reception was going to be.


    His happy thoughts were disrupted when suddenly his foot stepped on something wet and sticky. He looked down and saw a pool of blood. His breathing got heavier when he saw the rest of the scene. There was a bloody track ahead of him as though someone had dragged a dead body somewhere. He followed the trail left by that blood while pinching his nose and holding his breath.


    But after taking a few steps, he came to a halt. With his sharp eyes, he saw a mangled body of a girl lying on the ground a little far away. He couldn''t see the face clearly but he saw one thing very clearly, a head full of silver hair. And a single name came to his mind�� "Adeline!"


    Nigel shook his head violently and shouted to himself for having that thought, "Nigel! Stop thinking that. That is not your sister. That cannot be your sister. She is even stronger than you, you know that. She would have fought with you if you were trying to hurt her. That is someone else�� that should be someone else."


    And then another horrible thought entered his mind, "What if someone else from the pack did something�� Oh, God!" And he ran at the top of his speed towards that body to see who she was.


    Back inside the cave, though Adeline was in excruciating pain, she was still pushing that Ghoul''s head away from her body. She was not going to let that Ghoul sink its fangs on her body and tear off her flesh. And though she was bleeding profusely, she was holding onto her dear life. She didn''t want to die here in some unknown cave. This was not going to be her end.


    In between the struggle for survival, Adeline tried to recall what Theodore had told her about the Ghouls. Theodore had made her memorize the weak spot of each and every creature of Hell so that she could fight them off if she ever came face-to-face with them.


    She finally recalled Theodore''s words, "The Ghouls have a very sensitive nose. A blow to their nose will buy you enough time to run away from them if you are ever attacked by them again."


    Adeline clenched her fist, gathered all of her strength, and hit that Ghoul right on his nose.


    "Argh!" he covered his nose with both of his bloodied hands and tumbled back on the floor while groaning in agony.


    Without taking a second to look at that Ghoul, Adeline picked herself up and turned on her heels. She covered her wounds with her palms and even in that pitiful condition, she managed to run. "What do I do? There isn''t any exit! He will catch up in no time. I have to get out of this cave somehow." And something clicked in her mind.


    "The ring!"


    Adeline wanted to punch herself in the face for not remembering the one thing that could have taken her out of this cave a long time ago.


    She quickly brought her palm close to her lips and then kissed on the ring. She looked around and waited for Theodore to appear. But he was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, come on Theodore! What''s taking you so long? I don''t think I can use that same trick again if that Ghoul catches up with me."


    She began to run again while anxiously looking back in the direction where she had left that Ghoul. And suddenly, she bumped into someone. She quickly took a few steps back fearing it was Izel but she was relieved to see that it was actually Theodore.


    "Theo!" Adeline ran and gave a tight hug to Theodore. Then she looked at him and complained, "What took you so long? Izel is after me, I don''t know why."


    Theodore scratched his brows and sighed, "Ah! That useless bastard!"


    Then he looked around and talked as though Adeline was not even there, "He had one job�� one! I ordered him to finish this irritating woman off but he could not even do that one task. Tsk! He is a disgrace in the name of Ghouls."


    He looked down at his blood-stained clothes and shouted, "Ugh! And now my favorite cloth is ruined because of this woman."


    Back at the King''s Court, Edwin was so angry at his father for saying he would never give the throne, that he jumped towards the throne to kick his father down the throne. And this time, somehow he was able to get closer to the throne.


    However, just when he was about to land a kick right on the King''s head, Adeline appeared out of nowhere and kicked his foot away. And while he was still in the air, she landed another kick on his gut and sent him flying onto the floor.


    Edwin grunted and glared at Adeline but she just gave him a mocking smirk and sat down on the armrest of the throne. She hugged the King and he could not believe what happened after that. She took the crown from the King''s head and put it on herself. And the King kept on smiling without saying a word. He was unbothered even when she dared to steal the crown from his head.


    And she mocked Edwin again, "Wow! This crown fits on my head perfectly, don''t you think so, brother?"


    Edwin got up from the floor and clenched his fists. "How dare you put that crown on your head? Take it off or I will sever your head."


    Adeline cackled very maliciously and teased him even more, "As if you can! You can''t even touch a hair on my head. Don''t even dream about killing me. You know you are weaker than me, brother. I have won each and every fight against you."


    "I am not weak! Stop calling me weak!" Edwin was now furious.


    "Really?" Adeline gave a pitiful look to Edwin and sighed. Then she slowly stepped down from the platform and inched closer to Edwin, "Just take a look at yourself, Edwin." She ran her finger over Edwin''s cheek and grasped his jaw. And she whispered into his ear, "Look at your reflection in the mirror."


    And out of nowhere, a huge mirror appeared in front of Edwin. He took a step back when he looked at his own reflection. He saw that he looked like a corpse whose bones were merely covered by a thin layer of skin, he could literally count his bones easily.


    He touched his face and whispered, "No, this isn''t right. My mother had already cured me this afternoon. I shouldn''t be looking like this."


    Edwin heard a burst of soft laughter from behind him and heard someone saying, "Dear, however you look, I will always love you."

 Chapter 187 - Not Real

    Adeline could not believe her eyes and ears! She kept on staring at Theodore trying to figure out if he was just joking or not. If he was joking, then this was the worst time to be doing so.


    She was already starting to feel a little light-headed because of the extreme blood loss. She was drenched in her blood and sweat. And she was definitely not in the mood to play.


    She took a step closer to Theodore and tugged his sleeve. And she whispered to him in a voice full of pain, "Theo! This is not the time to be joking around. My wounds are getting worse, please�� I have to get back to my Palace before the test starts. Please take me back."


    Theodore rolled his eyes and pushed away Adeline''s grip from his sleeve. And he spoke in an agitated tone, "And there she goes again, ordering me around like she is my master. Ugh! I hate this woman so much. Always sticking to me like a leech."


    Now, Adeline was furious by the way Theodore was talking down to her. She was trying her best not to faint and he was behaving like a rotten being from Hell. She shouted while breathing heavily, "Theodore! I am standing right here. Don''t you dare talk as if I am invisible to you! And stop this nonsense already. I am tired of your sick joke. If you want to help, then help. If you don''t want to do that, then get lost!"


    Theodore burst into a series of grim cackles. And he spoke in between his laughs, "Do you still think that this is a joke? Are you that blind because of my love? Oh, human!"


    Then all of a sudden he grabbed Adeline by her neck and brought his face close to hers. He stared into her teary eyes with his glowing red eyes and he whispered, "I am tired of playing with you. That was why I sent Izel to kill you."


    Adeline''s face was turning red because of the lack of air. She was struggling to get out of Theodore''s grip around her neck but she was failing at it.


    He sniffed her like a sickly dog and said, "Don''t you get it till now? I only kept you close to me because you were my greatest source of that sweet sweet aura that I desire. You used to emanate the strongest aura of revenge and you used to satisfy me so much."


    Adeline''s eyes were wide open hearing that confession from Theodore. She wanted to shout at him and kick him but there was barely any energy left in her body.


    And suddenly, he threw Adeline to the ground and spat. "But now, you no longer emit the aura I desire. So you are no longer useful to me." He gave a grim smirk to Adeline and spoke in a threatening tone, "Now I will let Izel finish what he started. Thank you for your service, last-born of Dragomir."


    There was a deafening silence in the cave for a while.


    And out of the blue, loud laughter from Adeline echoed throughout the cave. She was lying flat on the floor while spreading her arms and legs as though she was in great relief. Tears were flowing nonstop from her eyes but she was laughing to her heart''s content instead of crying.


    Theodore furrowed his brows and asked sternly, "Did I just say a joke to you? Why the Hell are you laughing like this?"


    Adeline had already believed whatever Theodore had said to her. She could feel her heart getting smashed into a million pieces because of his cruel words. And she was about to cry because of heartbreak.


    However, his last phrase got stuck in her mind �C ''last-born of Dragomir''. She tried to recall him mentioning her name, and he had not done that even once. He had not even mentioned one of her nicknames like ''little human'' or ''little Princess''.


    And that was when she knew that this Theodore was not real.


    She recalled what her father had said when he had revealed the secrets of the test. "There are four levels in the Test of Worthiness. The first level of the test is the Test of Fearlessness. In this level, the Deity will make you live your worst nightmare and will make you fight the enemy that you fear the most. You will only pass this level if you do not show any fear and face your fears head-on. And you will move on to other levels only if you successfully pass this Test of Fearlessness."


    Adeline got tricked because her father had not warned her that they would be abducted before the test and they would wake up in their fear.


    She also recalled what Theodore had said while warning her about her Deity. He had mentioned that this Deity was the Master of Illusion and was also known as the Trickster. Everything made sense now. Adeline slowly put together the pieces of the puzzle.


    Now Adeline knew what was really going on. "I am already in the test," she thought.


    She sat up to see ''Theodore'' and she laughed at that imposter, "You almost got me with this elaborate and grand performance... But you don''t even know my name, do you?"


    ''Theodore'' was caught off-guard when Adeline threw that question at him. And he stuttered, "Of-of course I know your na-name. Why wouldn''t I know the name of my human pet?" He looked in the direction where the Ghoul was and clapped his hand twice. Then he shouted, "Izel, get your arse over here. Finish this woman now!"


    Adeline got up on her feet and inched closer to that imposter. She could hear the screeching sound made by that Ghoul''s claws but she didn''t focus her attention on that. She looked into his blood-red eyes and mocked him, "Oh, stop this act already. You are really horrible at doing your job. You should at least know the name of your victim."


    She narrowed her eyes at him and said with great confidence, "You are not real." She looked at her bloodstained hands and whispered to herself, "None of this is real."


    And the moment she believed that everything that she was seeing was not real but instead was a very convincing illusion, everything around her began to crumble down. And ''Theodore'' burst into a million pieces of golden dust.


    She looked at her palms and there was not a single drop of blood on them. She looked down and felt the sides of her stomach where she was fatally wounded by the Ghoul, her wounds had magically vanished and her clothes were also not stained with blood anymore.


    All of a sudden, everything around her began to turn white. The light became brighter and brighter until it was too blinding to see. Adeline covered her eyes with the back of her palms. And when she felt that the light had returned back to normal, she flickered her eyelids and slowly opened them.


    Adeline found herself in the next location of the test.. She had moved on to the second level of the test.

 Chapter 188 - Fight Under The Moon

    Nigel was leaping towards the place where the mangled body was lying. He wanted to make sure that it was not Adeline. But before he could reach that place, he realized that he was surrounded by a pack of werewolves. Nigel stopped in his track and used his heightened sense of smell to find out how many of them had surrounded him.


    There were thirteen of them. And he could smell what they were planning to do with him. They all were there to kill him. Nigel wanted to transform into his werewolf form as well to prepare himself for the fight but it was already too late to do that. All of the wolves charged at him at once.


    And all Nigel could do was defend himself from their attacks. Two of the werewolves jumped at him from two opposite directions at once. Nigel leaped high in the air and avoided getting mauled by their sharp claws. Because he avoided their attack, those wolves collided with themselves and dropped to the ground.


    But before he could land safely back on the ground, four other wolves jumped at him from all directions. He kicked one of them on its head and merely dodged another one''s claws. But he could not avoid the other two''s attack. One bit him on his shoulder and the other clawed him on his stomach.


    Nigel gave out a loud cry and landed on the ground on all his fours. He was bleeding a lot but he could not afford to lose his focus even for a second. He would get killed in a second if he lost his focus.


    Nine of those wolves had surrounded him from all directions and four of them were circling him closely and were ready to pounce on him again. All four of them let out a low but terrifying growl and slowly inched closer to Nigel. They were ready to tear him off into shreds.


    Nigel closely looked at each and every movement of those four wolves who were circling him. He noticed that one of them was limping a little, maybe it got hurt earlier. Nigel''s super-healing ability was already kicking in and the bleeding was slowing down.


    And when that limping wolf reached right in front of him, Nigel kicked his feet on the ground and grabbed that wolf''s leg. Then he used his great strength to flip that wolf on its back, and without wasting any second, he elongated his claws and ruptured its ribcage. And in another second, he pulled out its heart and threw it on the ground.


    The other three wolves instantly charged at Nigel at once while the other nine began to howl loudly to mourn the death of their pack member.


    Nigel''s instinct of survival kicked in and he used every bit of his strength to fight off those three wolves. He leaped and sat on one''s back and did a chokehold and ruptured its neck. He jumped onto another wolf but its claw wounded his thighs. However, he didn''t care about that wound and his pain. He skidded under that wolf''s body and poked his hands on its chest. He threw another heart on the ground and ran before that huge body could collapse on him.


    The other nine wolves were now onto him. It was this hard just to kill four of them, and Nigel didn''t think that he would survive if all of them attacked him at once.


    And that was when his super-hearing caught a faint voice calling out his name. "Nigel�� brother�� is that you? Ple-please help��"


    Nigel widened his eyes and his heart began to race. He recognized that voice. He turned to look at that mangled body and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Adeline!"


    And without caring that the wolves were now running and were approaching him, he began to run towards his sister. "Adeline! Who did this to you?" he was shouting as he ran closer to Adeline.


    He dropped to his knees before he could reach by her side because it was too painful for him to see her in that situation. Her hands were twisted to the sides that they shouldn''t have, one of her legs had a deep cut on her thigh and calf, and there were countless claw marks all over her body. She was lying in a pool of blood. He could also see that a huge lump of flesh was torn off of her neck, it looked as though a wolf had ripped off her flesh.


    Tears started to roll down Nigel''s cheeks like a waterfall and he crouched down and buried his face in his palms. He sobbed like a little child, he could not bear to see his sister dying like that.


    Nigel heard Adeline''s frail and pain-filled whisper, "Brother�� I don''t think I can take it any-anymore. Will you put me out of my misery?"


    Nigel looked at that mauled body of Adeline and shook his head violently. He crawled and sat next to his sister and held her hand, and whispered to her, "Nothing will happen to you. You are going to be fine." He thought for a while and said, "Theodore''s fountain water can cure you. Do you know how to call him? Or tell me where he lives and I will carry you there."


    Nigel heard a low growl behind him before Adeline could say anything. And he knew that it was going to attack him. He was now filled with rage because he thought that these wolves were the ones to hurt Adeline. And they were still trying to stop him from trying to save her. He thought that they were trying to delay him so that he wouldn''t be able to save his sister from dying.


    He swiftly turned around and killed that wolf before it even got the chance to see the incoming attack. And he went on a killing frenzy. He didn''t care if he was hurt or if he was getting wounds after wounds, all he cared about was that he had to kill them all as soon as he could and he had to take Adeline to Theodore''s place to cure her.


    And in under two minutes, Nigel brutally massacred the pack. The scene was repulsive to look at, with blood and hearts and dead bodies lying around. Then he ran to his sister''s side to make sure that she was still breathing.


    But before Nigel could think about how to take his sister to Theodore''s, he heard a furious scream coming from a little far, "Nigel! What did you do?" He turned his head to see a familiar silhouette approaching him. And he thought, "Isn''t that��? How did he find me?"


    When the silhouette came closer, he was a little thankful. It was the alpha.


    But the alpha wasn''t there to help him. King Conall stood right in between Adeline and Nigel. He glared at Nigel with his glowing yellow eyes and howled at him, "How dare you put your sister in this condition�� and how dare you kill both of my sons? They were just here to restrain you from hurting any other humans!"


    Nigel''s head began to spin after hearing that accusation. And he asked in a quivering voice, "What do you mean I put my sister in this state? And what do you mean I killed your sons?"

 Chapter 189 - Doesnt Make Sense

    Nigel slowly turned his head to look at the corpses of the werewolves that he had killed. Instead of wolves, he saw their human form. And among those corpses, two of the bodies belonged to Fenris and Wulfric. Fenris had his heart ripped out while Wulfric had his neck and arms broken. Seeing that horrific scene, Nigel stumbled and fell on his back.


    He shook his head and mumbled, "No, I didn''t kill them. I would have recognized them even in their wolf form. This is a mistake. Something is not right here."


    All of a sudden, Conall straddled Nigel and began to continuously dig his claws on Nigel''s gut. Nigel just clenched his fists and teeth. He didn''t even think that he was allowed to express his pain after putting everyone else through something much worse.


    Conall gnashed his teeth and growled, "Yes, the thing that is not right is you. I should have come and killed you myself, you filthy Ravager. The moment I saw you lose control in front of everyone, I should have known that you would sooner or later turn into a Ravager. I should have killed you way before you could kill both of my sons."


    A word echoed inside Nigel''s head�� "Ravager."


    And as if on cue, his body began to transform. "I am going to get stuck in my wolf form�� He better kill me before that. I don''t deserve to live after killing my cousins and my sister."


    He looked at the alpha with pleading eyes and whispered, "Kill me!"


    And the alpha shouted, "Oh, you don''t have to convince me to kill you. I am going to do just that." Then he dug all of his claws on Nigel''s neck and strangled him.


    Nigel tried to take one last glance at his sister but he could not move at all. And he silently apologized, "I am so sorry sister. I put you through Hell and I don''t even remember my actions for me to repent properly. And I am sorry I couldn''t make an effort to save you."


    Nigel''s vision began to turn blurry. He knew he was going to die soon. A few drops of tears rolled down his temple and his eyes fell on the full moon that was unbothered by everything that was going on below it.


    "My last full moon��" he thought.


    And something hit his mind. "Wait, why is it still full moon? The full moon was on the day before yesterday. And if I really had done that to Adeline, why don''t I remember even a flash of it? And Fenris�� how come Fenris is a werewolf?"


    "Am I dreaming? No�� this pain is too real to be a dream. But this cannot be real either�� Nothing makes sense here."


    He glanced at Conall who was enjoying torturing him, and then he used both of his hands to push the alpha away. And as he had suspected, he could. Then he got up and threw a feeble kick to the alpha. But he went flying away.


    And Nigel sneered and thought, "No wonder I could kill all those werewolves with such ease. The alpha is at least 50 times stronger than whoever this is�� This is not real."


    And the moment he thought that whatever he was seeing was not real, everything around him began to fall apart. The alpha, the bodies, and Adeline, all turned into golden dust and faded away. He looked down at his body to see that all of his wounds were healed and he was now wearing his training uniform.


    A blinding light enveloped him and transported him to another location.


    Prince Edwin''s mind was weaker in comparison to Adeline and Nigel''s, and thus, he was easily susceptible to the mind games of the Deity as well as the succubus. When he stared at his own reflection in the mirror, he was seconds away from doubting that whatever was happening to him was not real.


    However, that thought of his fleeted away when he heard the soft laughter of Pearl from behind him.


    "Dear, however you look, I will always love you."


    Edwin turned around and he was no longer inside the King''s Court. He was already inside his own bedroom. Pearl was wearing a very seductive and revealing nightgown made out of silk. She was carrying a bowl of potion in her hand and she walked towards Edwin while swaying her hips from side to side.


    Pearl gently pushed Edwin down on his bed and leaned down while almost revealing her breasts. Then she whispered, "Dear, I had specially asked my husband to concoct this potion for your better health." She took a spoon full of the potion and then slowly brought it close to his lips. "Open your mouth. This will help you recover in no time," she gave a bewitching smile to Edwin.


    Edwin felt compelled to open his mouth. He sipped the potion and the moment he did so, he began to feel a burning sensation running down from his throat and all the way down to his stomach. And then his whole body began to sweat and he felt as though his body was being pricked by thousands of needles.


    And then he began to have difficulty while breathing. He held his throat and glared at Pearl who was enjoying seeing him choke. "You�� what did you feed me? Did you just poison me?"


    Pearl gave a sweet smile and replied in her soft voice, "Yes. Why? Did you want to live for longer? I thought you wanted to die before your mother would kill innocent maids to refill your life force." She looked at him with accusing eyes and asked, "Are you telling me that you have now become greedy and you want to live for longer at the expense of other''s untimely death?"


    But rather than feeling remorseful, Edwin wanted to kill this woman. "You filthy woman! How dare you�� give poison to me?"


    And even though he looked as though he was just made out of bones, he sat up on the bed and slapped that woman. "How dare you try to kill a Prince?" He slapped her again and shouted again, "How dare you try to assassinate the future King of this nation? You shall be punished for committing high treason."


    Edwin continued to slap Pearl with great force for quite some time. Then he pinned her down and proceeded to strangle her to death. He stopped only after she stopped breathing. Edwin sat back on the bed and pushed his hair away from his face. He could feel his whole body burning like fire. He coughed and spurted out some blood on his palms.


    And he shouted in panic, "Guards! Where the hell is everybody? Send in some healers. I have been poisoned!"


    Two of the guards came rushing in to check on the Prince. But they widened their eyes when they saw who was lying lifeless on the bed. "Your Highness, what happened to Her Majesty?"


    "What? Why are you calling her-" When Edwin looked at the woman lying dead on the bed he was shocked to his core. "Mother! How? No, this was someone else�� This does not make any sense!"

 Chapter 190 - Terrified

    All of a sudden, both of the guards held Edwin by his arms and one of the guards said, "Prince Edwin, we will have to detain you for further questioning. You were the only one in this room when Her Majesty died, so you are the prime suspect for her murder."


    Edwin tried to shake off the guards while shouting, "How dare you hold me like this? I am your Prince! And I already told you�� she is not my mother. She is an imposter who poisoned me which is why I killed her in self-defense."


    "Her Majesty was trying to feed you the healing potion, we saw her bringing the potion inside with our own eyes. And we sent it in only after having the taster to taste it." The guards dragged him while saying, "Tell everything in detail to His Majesty."


    The guards dragged Edwin to the King''s Court again. The King was sitting on the throne in his full Royal attire. The guards bowed to the King and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Edwin was found by the side of the dead body of First Queen. We have brought him here to be punished."


    And as soon as the guards said that, the King shouted at Edwin, "How dare you kill your own mother? After she did everything to keep you alive, this is how you repay her?"


    Edwin was trying to plead his innocence but without giving him any chance to speak, the King gave out the order to the Court Guards, "Guards! Lash him with the leather whip until he dies."


    And almost instantly, Edwin heard a loud slash made by the whip in the air. He knelt down and began to kowtow to the King to ask for his forgiveness. But it still came out very wrong from his mouth, "Your Majesty, I did not kill my mother. I killed someone else. Please spare me."


    The King raised his voice and shouted, "But you agree that you killed someone, right? Either way, you shall be punished for murder. And the punishment for murder is death. Lash him!"


    The guards instantly began to give lash after lash to Edwin on his back. Edwin squirmed in pain as he felt his thin flesh being separated from his bones. He clenched his fists and began to cry in agony. And he begged the guards to stop hitting him but the guards didn''t show any mercy.


    And when Edwin felt as though he would die, he recollected that the death penalty was not the punishment that he should be getting.


    One thing that Edwin knew by his heart was all the laws and rules of the Kingdom. They were imprinted in his mind because he would constantly bend the rules according to his need and memorizing them helped him evade punishments accordingly.


    And even in this whirlwind ride of bizarre things happening to him, he remembered that there was no death penalty for any kind of crimes in Wyverndale. They would be tortured and would be imprisoned in the dungeons but they would never be killed.


    While he bowed down, he saw his thin hands and legs. And slowly he recalled again that he had already healed. He recalled that his mother had already healed him in the afternoon.


    He closed his eyes trying to make sense of things that were happening to him. And he whispered to himself, "What is happening to me? And why am I believing everything? This is all so bizarre! Is this another one of that evil dreams that my mother warned me about? Whatever it is, I know this is not real." He swiftly got up on his feet and shouted, "I have to get out of here."


    And as if Edwin''s order was accepted, the illusion around him began to crumble apart. Then the blinding light engulfed him and transported him to another location of the test.


    Some of the Princes and Princesses were faring well in the test and were leveling up while some of them were having a very hard time in the first level itself.


    In Claudia''s personal nightmare, she was having a very hard time. Her nightmare took place in the same wooden cabin where she and the others had taken Adeline after knocking her unconscious. She was in a dark room of that cabin and had been crying for a long time now.


    Abruptly, she stopped crying when she heard the floorboards creaking. She heard several footsteps approaching her so she instantly got up on her feet. And she picked up a broken shard of glass that was lying around and pointed it in the direction from where the footsteps were heard.


    "Who''s there?" she whispered in a trembling voice. "Don''t come near me, or I will kill you."


    But the footsteps came closer and closer to her. And she had least expected what she saw next. She was seeing red-eyed monsters everywhere and the one who was leading that horde of monsters was none other than Adeline.


    Her eyes were glowing like a red ball of fire, her silver hair was dancing in the air as if they were alive, and she had sharp fangs that protruded out of her mouth.


    Claudia shouted in fear, "I knew it. I knew you were a she-devil." She took a few steps back and screamed, "I am warning you�� don''t come near me. Or else-"


    "Or else what?" Adeline raised one of her brows and asked in a challenging voice. And she kept on inching closer and closer to Claudia while Claudia was stepping back.


    Claudia was startled when her back was pressed against the cold wall. And she began to whimper, "No, please�� don''t come near me. Don''t do anything to me. Please."


    But Adeline had a malicious grin on her face and she kept on moving forward until she was looming right in front of Claudia''s face. She raised her hand which had sharp and pointy fingernails and brought it close to Claudia''s cheek. And with a quick swipe of her nails, she bruised Claudia''s pale skin.


    Claudia flinched and kept on closing her eyes, too scared to see that horrifying look of Adeline.


    However, she was compelled to open her eyes when she felt a hot breath over her neck. She gasped when she saw Adeline close to her neck and eyeing her neck as though it was some tasty food. And she exclaimed, "What are you trying to do? Get away fr-"


    Adeline clutched Claudia by her hair and tilted her neck to the side with a sharp jerk. And in the next moment, Claudia widened her eyes in shock because she felt a shrilling pain in her neck. Adeline had already dug her fangs on Claudia''s neck and was now sucking her blood.


    Claudia tried to speak something but her words vanished before they could come out of her mouth. She went into extreme shock because of what just happened. And she was so terrified that she wet herself and passed out.


    Instead of the wooden cabin falling apart and the white light swallowing Claudia and transporting her somewhere else, the whole illusion fell apart to reveal a huge and lavish room. Claudia dropped down on a very extravagant carpet.


    "No!" Someone''s voice echoed throughout the room. "My precious carpet!"

 Chapter 191 - The Deity

    "My precious carpet!"


    The whole room was filled with a visible golden aura, the room looked as though its air was filled with shining golden specks of dust. And the source of that aura was hovering in the air in the middle of that room.


    He was the Deity of Wyverndale.


    He had thick golden hair that floated down till his waist. That soft and shiny hair looked as though they were made out of the first rays of the morning sun. His eyes looked as if they were a pair of shining blue stars. And his straight and narrow nose sat well above his enchanting lips.


    He was wearing a silver surcoat that flowed down from his shoulder to his ankles like a waterfall. Outside that, he wore a red robe made out of silk that was softly floating in the air. That robe had excellent embroidery done on it with golden threads. And it had very intricate designs of different kinds of dragons on the back.


    In front of his robe, the Royal robe of King Dragomir looked like a very cheap copy.


    The Deity looked like he was in his mid-twenties in terms of human appearance. And he looked so handsome that there was a high possibility that angels would willingly fall from Heaven if they could be with him.


    He softly landed on the carpet that was spread across the floor of that room and exclaimed again, "Ugh! Disgusting. She ruined my precious carpet! How feeble-minded is she? Is she even a daughter of Dragomir? Tsk!"


    He angrily clapped his hands twice. A Wyvern appeared in front of him and bowed to him. That Wyvern looked like it was still a baby but it was larger than a grown giraffe. It was covered with thick scales and was ash-grey in color. It had two hind legs which looked thicker than that of an elephant and its wings worked as its front legs while it walked.


    The Deity angrily ordered to that Wyvern, "Dump this little sh*t back in the Palace. She stained my treasured carpet that Athena had gifted me eleven millennials ago!"


    The Wyvern instantly picked up Claudia with its legs and carried her away from there.


    After that Wyvern vanished with Claudia, he stepped a little closer to the wet area and wrinkled his nose in disgust. And he looked as if he would cry any moment now.


    The carpet looked like a bright night sky that had designs of the moon and the stars on it. And everything looked alive and moving. The area which was wet had none of the stars because they ran away from that spot. They were pleadingly looking at the Deity as if to ask him to clean them.


    The Deity pouted his lips and crouched down. And he whispered to the stars, "I am so sorry! Dragomir was asking me not to include that brat in the test. He was warning me that she was not in the right state of her mind. But I had to act as if I was impartial and even insisted by saying that I would take special care of her! I am so sorry that you had to pay the price, pretty stars. I will ask the maids to clean you right away."


    He clapped his hands again and shouted, "Lara, Tara, come here."


    And soon after, two of the maids entered the room. Even his maids were a sight to behold. Lara was a half Wyrm, meaning one of her parents was a wingless and legless dragon. The upper half of her body looked like that of a gorgeous woman while the lower half of her body was more serpentine. She had a tail instead of legs.


    On the other hand, Tara was half Dragon. She had a full body of a human but in addition to that, she also had a pair of dragon wings and a tail. And her cheeks, neck, and arms were covered with silver dragon scales.


    Lara and Tara bowed to the Deity. And he pointed at the wet carpet and ordered them, "Clean that carpet thoroughly. My stars are already upset that someone wet on them and seeing them upset, I am upset as well."


    "As you wish, Master," The maids bowed to the Deity and instantly left the room to bring the necessary cleaning items.


    The Deity clapped his hands and merrily talked with himself, "Okay, how is the test going so far? Let''s check on the children of Dragomir." He went and sat on a chair that was lying in one corner of that room and then closed his eyes. And he whispered to himself, "Hmm�� half of them have passed the first level and half of them have failed already."


    And out of the blue, he lifted himself in the air again and spun around as if he was a little kid. "Ahhhhhhhhh! Why did that spoiled brat have to give birth to so many children? I am tired already! I want to go back to my sleep already. I am so bored��"


    He kept on hovering in the air and grumpily folded his arms. And he began to complain again, "I had to go through all of their minds and find out their deepest and darkest secrets. That alone drained me already. Now I have to go through three more tests! Ugh!"


    The Deity widened his eyes and his face beamed in delight as if a great idea came to him. He snapped his fingers and said, "Yes! That''s it! I will ban the future ruler from giving birth to more than one heir. That way I don''t even have to test those little brats."


    But he pouted his lips and thought, "Maybe that is a bad idea though. What if that child turns out to be an evil human? Hmm��" he thought for a while and concluded, "Maybe I shall allow the next ruler to just have two heirs. A lot of my time will be saved."


    One of his disciples flew inside the room and bowed to him, "Master, the Princes and Princesses have already been waiting for about 30 seconds. We cannot delay the test any longer because they will start to get confused and disoriented."


    The Deity gave a side-eyed look to that disciple and spoke in a complaining tone, "Alright! Alright! I will go now."


    He then put on his serious face and vanished from that room.


    That disciple let out a sigh of relief. He was thankful that the Deity didn''t say that he was bored and went to sleep instead. That was what he would do most of the time.


    It took Dragomir two days just to make the Deity memorize the names of all of his children because he wouldn''t listen to Dragomir. He would either steer the conversation elsewhere or would go to sleep. However, even though he had memorized the names and faces of the Princes and Princesses taking two days, he ended up forgetting their names anyway.


    When that disciple got up and turned around, he almost bumped into the Deity who was standing right behind him. Startled, he bowed to the Deity, "I am sorry, master. I didn''t see you there." And he frowned his brows a little and asked, "Why are you still here, master? I thought you already went to the test area."


    The Deity grinned while running his fingers through his golden hair and said, "I came to see if Lara and Tara were here or not. Aren''t they taking too much time just to bring the cleaning tools?" He looked at the carpet and pouted, "My pretty stars might have already fainted due to the stench."


    The disciple tried his best not to lose his cool and slowly spoke, "Master, I will ask them again. You should focus on the test."


    The Deity grinned again and said, "I''ll go right away. You make sure that the carpet is clean." And he flew away.


    The disciple shook his head and whispered, "I think he thinks about his carpet more than he thinks about the future of Wyverndale."


    And the Deity''s voice echoed in his ears, "I heard youuuuuu��"

 Chapter 192 - Meeting The Deity

    Adeline found herself in a fighting arena after she was transported away from that cave. The fighting arena was really huge. She looked around the arena and estimated that it could easily accommodate around a thousand people, or even more.


    The arena was covered by a tall ceiling and it had no windows and no doors. Everything in the arena was white in color, and the floor and walls were covered with thick foams.


    The arena was well-lit even though not a single source of light could be seen. As this place looked like it was another illusion, Adeline was unable to tell whether it was day or night, she didn''t know how much time had passed since she fainted in her room.


    She was unable to keep track of the actual time that was passing. As the previous illusion was very convincing, from the pain that she felt and the emotions that it stirred inside of her, Adeline was sure that the passing of time could also be controlled by the Deity.


    As no one else was inside the fighting arena yet, Adeline used this time to realign her mind so that the Deity would not be able to trick her as easily as before.


    She recalled what her father had said to her, "The second level of the test is the Test of Strength. At this level, you will have to fight against the Deity himself. But do not get confused by the name of the test. It isn''t just the test of Strength but also other things like how well you would be able to fight in a war, how fast you could change your fighting tactics to match or counter your opponent''s tactics, and how well you can survive."


    "How long will the fight go on for?" Adeline had asked her father to which he had replied, "It depends on how the Deity evaluates you. If he is satisfied with your performance then it can end sooner. But if he is not satisfied and if he feels that there is something more that he needs to test you for, then the match might go on for longer."


    Adeline began taking deeper breaths so as to calm down her nerves. Her heart rate was slowly escalating while thinking that she would have to face the Trickster himself. She wiped her palm on her training uniform because it was sweating.


    And she thought to herself, "I suppose he wouldn''t be using any tricks like earlier, would he? This level is supposed to test the strength so I hope that I can just focus on using my strength rather than going through the whirlwind of emotions at the same time."


    She again resumed inhaling and exhaling deeply. She had to be at the finest state of her mind if she was to fight the Deity himself. Slowly, her heart rate began to shimmer down a bit. She recollected each and every technique of hand-to-hand combat that General Osmond had taught her to date.


    And she recalled what the General had told her before he taught her the defense techniques, "The Deity must be too powerful for a mere mortal to go toe-to-toe against him. So it is better that I teach you how to dodge his attacks rather than how best to attack someone who is untouchable."


    Adeline nodded to herself and gave a motivating talk to herself, "You can do this Adeline. The General has taught you well. All you have to do is dodge the attack long enough and wait for the Deity to announce that the match is over. Just believe in your abilities and skills and hold on."


    Adeline was startled when she heard an enchanting voice all of a sudden, "Ah! The last-born of Dragomir."


    The Princess gazed in front of her and saw an extraordinary man hovering in the middle of the air. That man was so breathtaking that Adeline could not help but admire him, "Oh, Heaven! Is this what Gods look like?" Adeline thought that she was thinking that to herself but she was actually speaking out loud.


    The Deity chuckled and slowly landed on his feet. He gave an enchanting smile to Adeline and stepped a little closer to that spellbound kid. "I know I look really Godly but I have to burst your bubble. I am not the God, I am a fallen angel."


    Adeline''s face went red when she realized that she had commented on his looks loudly. She tried to tear off her gaze from the fallen angel but she was unable to do so as if something was not allowing her to do that, as if something was pulling her and was making her look at his face.


    He gave a mischievous smirk and said, "But people of Wyverndale started to call me their Deity and I liked the sound of it, so I didn''t deny it. I mean I practically take care of this huge Kingdom. I think I deserve that title."


    He leaned closer to Adeline and narrowed his eyes at her. And he spoke sarcastically, "A young lady said to me earlier that I was really horrible at doing my job. She said that I should at least know the name of my victim."


    Adeline widened her eyes and finally came out of her daze. Though his tone was sarcastic, his face looked really serious right now. And Adeline feared that she might have offended their Deity.


    So she quickly fell on her knees and bowed to the Deity. Then she asked for his forgiveness, "Please forgive me, Your��" in her nervousness, she forgot how she was supposed to address the Deity and kept on mumbling and spewing some random words, "Your�� Deity�� Supreme�� Heavenly Being?"


    However, instead of getting angry at that rudeness, the Deity began to chuckle softly. And he ordered, "Rise!"


    Adeline stood on her feet again and was intensely staring at the Deity again.


    And the Deity gave a soft smile to Adeline and said, "I forgot your name and you forgot how to address me. So, let''s say that we are now even, okay?"


    Adeline nodded her head. She could feel her cheeks and ears burning out of embarrassment.


    The Deity ran his slender fingers through his golden hair and as he did that, glittering golden dust fell down of his hair. Adeline was amazed by that and stared at those dust as they fell down.


    The Deity looked at Adeline for a while as though he was trying to remember something but he gave up. And then he asked, "Last-born of Dragomir, will you tell me your name?"


    And without even shifting her gaze from the golden dust, Adeline blurted, "I''m Adeline."


    The Deity didn''t mind that Adeline had answered while her attention was somewhere else. He was rather fascinated by her, not because she looked like an angel and he was interested in her, but because she had managed to soften the stone-hearted brother of his.


    "Adeline��" he whispered to himself and made sure that he would remember this name. Then he snapped his fingers to get Adeline''s attention and when she looked at him, he said, "I would like to introduce myself to you, Adeline.. I am Azriel."

 Chapter 193 - The Second Level

    Adeline bowed her head to the Deity once more after he introduced himself to her. "It is an honor to see you face-to-face, Dragon Immortal."


    She didn''t know the name of her Deity because no one else had mentioned his name to her before, not even her own father. They would all worship an unknown Deity during their main festival that fell in the winter season. And they would refer to him as the Dragon Immortal while offering their prayers. So Adeline felt very lucky to have known his name.


    A faint smile appeared on Azriel''s lips. "Finally, it looks like you remember how to address me." Azriel gently touched Adeline''s head with his palm to acknowledge her way of showing respect towards him and asked, "Are you ready for the second level?"


    "Yes, Dragon Immortal," Adeline replied while still bowing her head to the Deity. And soon after those words left her lips, she felt a strange force on her head and she went flying all the way to the end of that large arena. She hit her back on the wall and landed flat on her face.


    Adeline swiftly jumped up on her feet. Thankfully, she wasn''t hurt because of the wall padding and fighting mats that covered the entire arena.


    Adeline looked at the middle of the arena where the Deity was standing just a second ago. But he had already vanished from there. She looked around the arena but he was nowhere to be seen. And she whispered to herself, "What the�� has the second level begun? Then where is he?"


    She tried to measure the distance which she had just flew. And she could tell that she had at least covered the distance of the training ground back at the Palace. "I just felt a gentle tap of his finger on my head, and he threw me this far�� I should be more careful."


    Adeline pressed her back against the wall so that the Deity could only attack her from the front. She didn''t want to get tricked by him again. However, the Deity was not showing himself.


    But she didn''t let her guard down. She knew that he was waiting for her to make some stupid move and he would attack her again out of nowhere.


    At the next moment, her eyes fell on a few specks of Golden dust that was floating towards her at a great speed. And when those dust were very close to her, out of instinct, she dodged. Subsequently, a crack was heard on the wall.


    Without wasting time to check the wall behind her, she ran from there and stood a little far away.


    "Not bad!" she heard a pleased voice of Azriel and quickly turned around to face him.


    Azriel floated towards her while holding his hands behind her back. Adeline prepared herself for the next attack from the Deity by holding out her fists in front of her face. She had a very serious look on her as if this was going to be her last fight.


    Azriel landed on his feet and copied Adeline''s posture. He smiled at her and said, "Why don''t you show me some of your moves? Show me what you got. I want to see if you can defeat me in hand-to-hand combat or not."


    But Adeline was not going to be tricked by him again so she said instead, "I know I am not capable of defeating you, so I am going to have to politely decline that offer, Dragon Immortal. However, I will try my best to defend myself from any attacks that you throw at me."


    Azriel chuckled and nodded his head, "Not bad! Do not provoke the enemy that you know for sure that you cannot defeat. But this is the test so you are going to have to face me anyway. I won''t go easy on you."


    Then he leaped and covered the distance between him and Adeline in the blink of an eye. And he swiftly threw a punch on Adeline''s face.


    However, Adeline was already expecting some kind of attack from the Deity so she was able to dodge the punch in time and took a few steps back to create a distance between them again. But she failed to take into account how tall he was and she ended up getting a push kick on her stomach.


    Impressively, she was quick enough to catch Azriel''s leg so that she wouldn''t go flying towards another wall. It did hurt her stomach though. She left the hold of his leg and swiftly stepped to the side and waited for him to throw another attack on her.


    Azriel, on the other hand, was fascinated by what she could do. Though she had just been kicked by him, she was still able to stand straight without showing any signs of pain on her face. And he thought to himself, "Am I missing something here? The pain resistance that she just showed was almost inhumane. Should I have checked her memories more thoroughly rather than just searching for her fear?"


    Azriel was now interested in testing her strength to the fullest.


    He came at her again and this time, he threw a barrage of punches and kicks. Adeline successfully dodged most of them but still, a few of them got through. She got hit on her cheeks thrice, and she got a kick on her stomach and another one on her thigh.


    Azriel stopped for a moment and stretched his arms and neck, and said, "You dodge the attacks pretty good when I am holding back almost 99.9 percent of my power. Let''s see how you do at 99.8."


    Adeline''s soul almost slipped out of her body when she heard that. "Holding back 99.9 percent... and I was barely hanging�� just how formidable is he?" She tightened her fists and was ready to face even more powerful attacks from the Deity.


    Azriel immediately began to throw a barrage of jabs and hooks mixed with some side kicks and hook kicks.


    The speed at which the attacks were coming was increasing. Adeline was using every cell in her body to dodge the attack from Azriel. She had to catch up with Azriel''s speed and block the attacks that were coming at her if she was to come out unscathed from this level.


    However, it was getting difficult for Adeline to keep on dodging the attacks constantly. She had to be so focused on Azriel''s every movement that she couldn''t even afford to blink her eyes. She would lose if she would blink.


    And she thought to herself, "My stamina is declining already and I can''t keep this up forever. If I don''t break from the attack soon enough then I am done for. What shall I do? Should I go for offensive instead so that I can trick him and escape him for a bit? I need some time to breathe!"


    Adeline closely paid attention to his attacks so that she could find a spot to throw her own attack. She noticed that he was following a pattern. And she noticed that he would stay still for half a second right after throwing a hook kick to her head.


    She waited for him to throw the hook kick again and when he did, she blocked the attack with her arm and the moment he placed that foot back on the floor, Adeline stepped forward and surprised him with an uppercut.


    Azriel had not expected Adeline to attack at all and he was stunned by that attack. His head jerked back a little causing a lot of Golden dust to fall from his hair.


    Seeing him unmoving, Adeline seized that opportunity to punch him on his face and throw a kick at the side of his waist. Then she ran a little further away from the Deity and began taking deep breaths in.


    Azriel was still stunned. He had never got this powerful punch and kick from any human before and to think that a kid actually managed to make him flinch was enough to send a shiver of fear down his spine. He was not afraid of Adeline but he was afraid that maybe he had been slacking off a little too much that even a human was able to sting him.


    And something very bizarre happened in that arena.. Adeline''s eyes suddenly turned red and she went into a state of trance.

 Chapter 194 - Finding Out

    Azriel had the ability to clone himself. That was how he was able to test all of the Princes and Princesses in the first level simultaneously. Actually, he was slacking off in the first level. He let his clones do all the work while he rested in his own chamber.


    And in the second level, the original Azriel was fighting against Adeline while his clones were fighting against the remaining 11 Princes and Princesses.


    Nigel also found himself in the fighting arena that was identical to the one that Adeline was in. He closed his eyes and sighed in relief. He lay flat on the mat and took some time to calm himself down from that traumatizing experience just a while ago. It was the worst nightmare that he ever had. And he was thankful that none of it was real.


    Then after a while, he finally opened his eyes and looked around him again. And he worriedly whispered to himself, "What is this place? Don''t tell me I am still in the nightmare! Am I going to see something like earlier? Even though it was not real, I cannot take any of that terrifying experience anymore."


    Adeline was the only one to know that she was in the test already. All the others were as confused as Nigel. They had just lived their worst fear and instead of waking up in their bed or something like that, they were now in a huge fighting arena. And they were unable to make sense of anything that was happening to them.


    Nigel abruptly got up on his feet when he sensed some kind of presence in the arena. He was able to see the golden aura that was mixed with the dark red aura, looming all over the arena. He had seen the massive aura similar to this when Theodore had kicked him on top of the mountain during the full moon.


    Nigel scanned the area to search for the source of that aura and thought to himself, "Theodore? No�� his aura is dark. This is someone else but is as powerful as him, maybe even more powerful than him."


    Out of thin air, the clone of the deity revealed himself. He hovered in the air for some time and even Nigel was unable to resist staring at him. For a moment, he forgot how to blink. He was that captivated by the Deity.


    Azriel slowly stepped down on the floor and slowly approached Nigel. Nigel was trying to smell the Deity to know his intention. But he just couldn''t do that for some reason. And when the Deity was close enough to him, he suddenly shouted, "Who are you? What do you want? And where am I? Where have you trapped me?"


    There was no change in Azriel''s facial expression when Nigel shouted at him like that. He had that serene look on him that would calm down anyone''s anger. He smiled and said, "I can understand your confusion. Let me explain everything to you."


    Nigel''s anger vanished once he heard Azriel''s voice. And he attentively listened to the Deity.


    Azriel started by saying, "Yes, I have indeed trapped you. You are currently inside my virtual domain, meaning you are in an illusion that I have created."


    Nigel didn''t seem to mind when Azriel said that he had trapped Nigel. He was gazing at Azriel''s beautiful face and was lost.


    Azriel coughed twice sensing that Nigel was not being attentive. And he asked, "Are you listening to what I am saying?"


    Nigel put his arms behind his back and nodded like a disciplined soldier.


    And Azriel continued, "You are currently being tested for your worthiness of the throne of Wyverndale. Whatever happened to you before you appeared here was also a part of the test. And I would like to congratulate you for passing the first level of the test and advancing to the second level."


    Nigel came out of his daze when he heard that he was actually on the test and he had somehow managed to pass a level. And he thought, "I had to fail the test. And here I am, passing a level without even realizing it�� I have to fail no matter what."


    Azriel finally introduced himself, "I would like to introduce myself. I am your Deity, the Dragon Immortal. And I will be personally testing you in this level."


    Nigel was not expecting to hear the last part at all. Yes, he had seen the massive aura all over the arena but he had not imagined that he was in the presence of the Deity himself. He instantly bowed to the Deity and offered his greetings, "I am honored by your presence, Dragon Immortal. And please forgive me for my behavior earlier."


    Azriel touched Nigel''s head and said, "I forgive you. I had put you through a lot, so I deserved that much."


    Then almost instantly, Azriel''s face turned serious and he asked, "So, are you ready for the next level to start?"


    Nigel was visibly confused as to what this next level was. He was in a fighting arena but he didn''t see any other Princes or Princesses or his opponents. So he asked, "What do I have to do in this next level?"


    "Fight me." And without even waiting for those words to enter Nigel''s ears, Azriel kicked Nigel on the stomach really hard. Like Adeline, Nigel also went flying and banged on the wall. Then fell down on his face.


    Azriel had a satisfied grin on his face and he whispered, "This always feels so good. To gain their trust and then kicking them on their gut when they least expect it."


    He playfully swayed his hips and thought, "I wonder if this wolf-boy can sense me when I do my famous invisible attack. Let''s check that." And then he vanished into thin air.


    Nigel was just up on his feet when he sensed something whooshing in his direction. He focused his gaze and saw that there was a tight clustering of the aura a little further away from him. And that was coming towards him at a great speed.


    Nigel thought to himself, "He must be the Deity. The aura looks really aggressive. Can I even face him? I think I better dodge the attack. I have to fail the test, not die in the test."


    And when that cluster of aura was almost near him, Nigel leaped out of the way.. There was a huge hole in the padding of the wall and Nigel was thankful that he had decided to dodge the attack instead of facing it head-on.

 Chapter 195 - Dragon

    The tinge of fear that bubbled up inside Azriel''s heart after getting those blows from Adeline was enough to emit the aura of fear that was strong enough to wake the demonic power of Adeline.


    Adeline''s eyes suddenly turned blood red and she went into a state of trance. She spread her arms and closed her eyes. Then she began to filter the aura of fear and she slowly began to absorb it all. She was attracting the aura as though she was a living breathing magnet.


    After she absorbed the strongest aura that she had ever absorbed before, she took a deep breath in and then let out a satisfied moan. Adeline felt a new kind of sensation all over her body. She felt as though a dormant side of her had suddenly awakened. She did not consciously realize what had just happened but she suddenly felt as though she could even take down Azriel if she tried.


    Adeline opened her sapphire eyes that were full of newfound confidence and power, and she glared at Azriel.


    Azriel was confused as to what just happened to Adeline. However, before he could make sense of what was going on, Adeline leaped the distance between them and threw a punch right at his face. He blocked the attack using his forearm but another punch came at him almost instantly. He blocked that and again he was attacked with a series of kicks from Adeline.


    Their roles were reversed all of a sudden. Earlier, Azriel was throwing the barrage of attacks while Adeline was trying her best to block the attacks. And now, Adeline was the one to go for offensive while Azriel was going for defensive.


    After a while of attacking and defending, a kick got through to Azriel''s stomach. And for the first time, a human was able to send him skidding with their single kick.


    Azriel''s heart skipped a beat again due to fear. He gave a question glance at Adeline. She was behaving weirdly again, closing her eyes and spreading her arms as if she was�� "As if she is absorbing some kind of aura," Azriel widened his eyes and muttered to himself.


    He let Adeline do that weird thing that she was doing and he thought to himself, "She does that every time I get hurt. And both times I was hurt I felt�� humiliated. I was afraid that I have been slacking off too much that even a human is able to hurt me."


    "But she is not an ordinary human, is she? I am almost sure that she is feeding off of my fear. And no human can feed off of aura." His face beamed when an interesting thought entered his mind. "Has Theodore��" Azriel snapped his fingers, "Yes, that must be it. He gave some of his powers to her, didn''t he?"


    A mischievous smirk lingered on his face. "Oh, to think that the cold-hearted fool would actually be willing to share his connection with someone else, and that also with a human��" he chuckled to himself and whispered, "How interesting! This girl is more special than I initially thought."


    Azriel flew and landed right in front of Adeline. Adeline shot open her eyes, which were still burning like hellfire. She was startled to see Azriel''s face right in front of hers and she threw a punch at him instinctively.


    But, Azriel caught her by her wrist and looked deep into her glowing red eyes. He could see the hunger in her eyes, the hunger for power, the hunger that could only be found in demons.


    Adeline loosened her hand from Azriel''s grip and once again she used her brute strength to push Azriel aside. She didn''t just manage to push him but she also managed to topple him. And he could tell that her strength had grown far beyond what her human body was capable of handling.


    "This is bad! It will be a problem if she keeps on sucking the aura at this rate. Her frail body won''t be able to contain the demonic power if she absorbs my aura like this. I should make her release that excess power right now. Else she can get fatally harmed by her own power from within."


    Azriel quickly lifted himself up in the air and his golden aura swirled around him. The aura engulfed him like a tornado.


    Even Adeline could feel the immense pressure inside the arena. The tornado of aura was pushing her away and she had to forcefully hold her feet on the ground if she didn''t want to get blown away. She watched the whole thing that was going on in the air very attentively because she didn''t want to miss anything and be tricked by him again.


    Slowly, the tornado of aura shimmered down and Adeline''s jaw almost dropped to the floor. She could not believe what she was seeing. And she happened to exclaim out loud, "Oh my god! Why has he turned into a dragon? Don''t tell me I have to fight him in that form!"


    Azriel had transformed into a full-fledged dragon. His whole body was covered with shiny golden scales. His eyes still looked like blue stars but other than that, all of his features looked different. He had four legs with claws sharper than the tip of arrows. And he had a pair of massive wings that spanned almost a quarter of that arena.


    Strangely though, rather than feeling terrified to see that massive dragon form of Azriel, Adeline was having an adrenalin rush because of excitement. She could feel this new energy flowing inside of her and she could not wait to test them. Who could be a better test subject than the Deity himself? There was almost zero chance of her accidentally hurting that dragon no matter how powerful she had become.


    The dragon swooped down at her at great speed. He spread the claws of his front legs to pick Adeline up. Adeline clutched her fists and waited for him to get a little closer to her so that she could punch that dragon.


    When Azriel''s open claw was approaching her, Adeline ran towards that claw and used her full strength to hit him.


    A loud blow was heard inside the arena. Adeline had tightly closed her eyes somewhat expecting to get her hand fractured. But to her surprise, she did not feel any pain at all.


    She opened one of her eyes and saw that Azriel was swaying his foot as if her blow just hurt him. Adeline then kept on staring at that huge foot up close because she felt as though the Deity was just teasing her.. But before she could figure out if he was acting or not, Azriel flicked his claw and threw her towards the wall.

 Chapter 196 - Kill Me?

    Another loud bang echoed throughout the arena. Adeline had hit her back on the wall very hard but it was not as painful as it should have been considering the sound that was produced.


    Azriel flew towards her again to grab her, however, Adeline somehow managed to evade him. She was able to jump a great distance with a single leap and she was now at the other end of the arena after taking just a few leaps. She was in for a great surprise at her own ability.


    "Whoa! That just did not happen! Did I just jump as high as Theodore?" She turned around while covering her mouth in excitement. But her excitement soon vanished as the dragon looked at her very angrily.


    Azriel snarled as though she was right where he wanted her to be. He faced in the direction of Adeline and breathed out hot fire from his mouth.


    Adeline was stunned seeing that overwhelming amount of fire coming towards her. For a second, she kept on standing right where she was thinking that the fire was just another illusion of his. She definitely did not expect Azriel to actually breathe out real fire at her. But the heat that came whooshing at her felt too real to be fake.


    And in the next moment, she dashed to the side where the fire had not reached. But her speed was too much for her to control and she ended up hitting herself hard on the wall. "Argh!!" She massaged her forehead and crouched down on the floor.


    Though she was hurt, she was feeling extremely happy for some reason. "What has happened to me? Why am I suddenly able to do things that should be impossible for me? Has my strength also leveled up or something?"


    But before she could relish further, Azriel finally got a chance to pick her up with his claws and he lifted her high up in the air. And before she could make an effort to free herself from his hold, he threw her down with a great force causing another sound wave to travel throughout the arena.


    This time, Adeline felt a pain that was greater than just a while ago. She tried to get up and that was when she realized that the fighting mat that was supposed to protect her was torn badly. And even the floor had some cracks on it.


    Azriel came swooping at Adeline again. His speed was too fast and Adeline could do nothing but wait to be picked and thrown again. This time, she even coughed up some blood from her mouth. And the happiness that she was feeling just a while ago thinking that she was growing stronger slipped out of her along with that blood.


    Azriel continued to throw her around like a ragdoll a few more times until Adeline was covered in blood and a few of her bones were fractured.


    She lay unmoving on the floor. She could feel that if Azriel threw her one more time, then she would be dead. She spat the blood from her mouth and she used the last bit of her energy to shout at Azriel for being so ruthless, "Are you trying to kill me, Dragon Immortal? I thought nobody dies in the test. Are you trying to make an exception this year?"


    Hearing that, Azriel finally stopped coming at her and reverted back to his heavenly form. He came and stood beside Adeline and stared at her. And he gave an apologetic grin and said, "I think I went a little overboard. I made you look pathetic."


    Adeline creased her brows and grumbled sarcastically, "If you are trying to say sorry then it is not working, Dragon Immortal."


    Azriel was amused once again by the guts of that girl, asking the Deity to say sorry to her. "But then again, she is someone who managed to tame Theodore. She must be really courageous and fearless to be able to do that."


    Azriel sat down beside her and asked, "How do you feel?"


    Adeline kept on staring at Azriel to see if he was joking or not. But he looked serious. And she couldn''t tell if he was just stupid or was ignorant enough to not notice the condition that she was in.


    Either way, Adeline replied with the staggering breath, "Like my bones have shattered into hundreds of pieces and I will die if I move an inch." She was trying her best to keep a straight face despite the excruciating pain that she was feeling at the moment.


    Azriel looked away as if he was not the one to put her in that condition and asked again, "I mean do you still feel a strange energy or some strange sensation flowing inside of you, or that feeling is gone now?"


    Adeline was in no condition to process his question properly and she just hoped that he would stop talking so much and would stop making her talk so much. It was getting too painful to even talk. "I don''t know what you are referring to but I don''t even have enough energy to keep on talking with you."


    "Oh, okay. Let me treat you then." Azriel placed his palm a little above Adeline''s head and then closed his eyes. His palm began to glow brightly and he slowly moved his palm from Adeline''s head to her toe.


    Adeline felt something warm being passed to her. She could feel that her pain was disappearing. And when Azriel was done, Adeline''s every wound and fracture had healed.


    She tried moving her hands and feet and she could do so freely. She got up and then walked and jumped, she didn''t feel a single pain remaining in her body.


    Seeing Adeline jumping around happily like a baby, Azriel couldn''t help but chuckle. Then he also got up and then said, "Adeline, are you ready for the next level then?"


    Adeline abruptly stopped jumping and stared at Azriel. "Next level? You mean I passed this level even after getting tossed around like that?"


    "Of course you passed this level. Actually, you had already passed it in the first few minutes."


    Adeline''s brows twitched hearing that she had passed it before he attacked her in his dragon form. She chuckled grimly and asked from between her teeth, "Then why did you-"


    "Why did I turn into a dragon? I just wanted to bless you by showing you my divine dragon form. Consider yourself lucky because no one else gets to see that divine form of mine." Azriel gave a bright grin to Adeline.


    Adeline kept on chuckling while giving a piercing look to Azriel and she thought to herself, "Lucky�� I think whoever sees your ''divine'' form is utterly unlucky."


    Azriel then snapped his fingers and both of them were transported to another setting.. Adeline had now progressed to the third level of the test.

 Chapter 197 - Riddles

    Out of 24 Royals, only 5 of them were able to advance to the third level of the test. And they were Adeline, Nigel, Alan, Raphael, and Edwin. All the others were made unconscious again and they were kept inside a huge hall, except for Claudia of course. They would be kept unconscious until the test would be over and a future ruler would be selected.


    Adeline was now inside a room which only had two chairs. One of those chairs was large with beautiful designs on it while the other was plain and small. Adeline didn''t need to guess which chair was for her.


    Azriel went and elegantly sat on the larger chair. And then he gestured for Adeline to take her seat as well.


    After Adeline settled down, he briefly explained the rules to her, "In this third level of the test, I am going to test your mind. I will give you five riddles and in order to pass this test, you simply have to answer them correctly. But you will only have a minute to answer each of the questions. Shall we begin then?"


    "Yes," Adeline nodded in agreement.


    "The first riddle. Listen carefully because I will not repeat myself." Azriel looked Adeline in the eyes and gave the first riddle, "It is powerful than God, evil than the Devil. With poor it stays but desired by the rich, spent by the miser but saved by the gambler. And it is the only thing that everyone can take to their grave. What is it?"


    Adeline frowned her brows even though she knew the answer. It was because she did not agree with the first part of the riddle, ''evil than the Devil''. She wanted to argue with Azriel saying the riddle was flawed but time was ticking so she hesitantly gave the answer, "The answer is Nothing."


    She had met one of the Devils and she knew that there were others who were eviler than Devil. But then again, she had not met the Devil, Lucifer. And she didn''t know if he was actually how everyone said he was.


    Azriel didn''t say whether she was right or wrong. He simply moved to the next riddle, "I come in one color, but not one size. You can''t find me in the rain, but find me in the sun; I''m stuck at the bottom, yet easily I run. I will always follow you around, whether you like me or hate; but fear me not dear, I am your mate. What am I?"


    "Shadow," Adeline answered delightedly because she didn''t even have to think about it. The riddles were too easy for her to be called the riddles.


    "Now moving on to the third riddle." Azriel then shot her with another one of his riddles, "Everything in its path, it devours; rabbits, wolves, trees, and flowers; gnaws iron, chomps land; grinds the rocks into sand; slays the Kings, ruins the village; nothing can save you, not even pilgrimage. What is it?"


    Adeline found this riddle to be a bit difficult. She had never heard it before. She closed her eyes and repeated the riddle in her mind and tried to figure out what it was. "It devours everything�� destroys everything�� and we cannot escape it�� what can that be? Is it God? No, no. God won''t destroy his creations. Then what is it? War? No, war can be prevented if right things are done."


    Adeline tapped her feet vigorously as time was running out. She squeezed the muscles on her temple tightly with her fingers as though she was trying to pinch the answer out of her brain. "Argh! What can such a thing be?"


    "15 seconds left," Adeline was startled by Azriel''s voice.


    She shuddered and screamed in her mind, "Oh dear lord�� I need more time! Time��" Adeline''s eyes glistened with joy and she shouted, "Time!"


    The corner of Azriel''s lips lifted up to form a smirk. And he gave another riddle to Adeline. "Everyone is after me, the Kings, the Nobles, the rich, and the poor alike; for me, they are ready to put everyone else on the spike; the more they have me, the more they desire me; but heed my warning you fool, for I will make you sin; the more you have me, the less your kin. What am I?"


    Adeline sighed and buried her face in her palms. The riddles were getting really confusing. She raked her brain and mumbled to herself, "What is everyone after? Argh! They are after so many things. But what fits here?"


    "The more they have, the more they desire? For me, that is love. But why would I kill for love? That doesn''t make sense here. Then what can it be? Oh! Wealth�� Everyone wants it, they would even kill for it, and it will also make you sin."


    Adeline glanced at Azriel and was about to give her answer to him but then one thing struck her mind. "Wait! The last part didn''t fit though�� If I am affluent then shouldn''t I have more people who want to be close to me?"


    Time was running out and Adeline was getting all sweaty and anxious again. She wiped the sweat beads on her forehead with her shaky hands while still raking her brain for the answer. "Can it be�� power? Everyone wants power so that others won''t push them. They fight for power, literally, war happens for power. No one is ever satisfied by power. There are people like Lillian who will even use dark magic for the sake of power. And the more powerful you are, the more enemies you get."


    "That''s it!" she clapped her hands and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Power. It is power."


    Azriel frowned and gently massaged his ears. And without saying anything, he pointed his palm at Adeline and slowly shifted Adeline''s chair to the end of the room.


    Adeline looked down and puckered her lips in embarrassment. "Was I too loud?" she thought.


    Azriel cleared his throat to have Adeline''s attention on him. And when she glanced at him, he said, "Adeline, I will be giving you the final riddle. Listen to me carefully. It''s a bit long and I won''t be repeating it."


    Adeline nodded her head, "I am listening, Dragon Immortal."


    Then the final riddle was out, "Many fear me because of my dark abyss, but there are some who trust me and give a kiss. My breath is cold and I am rough to touch; but I am here for you to hold, though I can''t give anything much. You can find several things in my pits; secrets, treasures, history, and even beasts. Some seek me out to get my blessing, while for some I am just a sour dressing. My skin is bare, move I don''t dare. On earth, I will forever stay, even though some parts of me crumble away. What am I?"


    After hearing that riddle, Adeline panicked because that was the longest riddle that she had ever heard. It took Dragon Immortal almost one minute just to complete saying that riddle. And Adeline''s heartbeat was jumping in her chest because she was unable to remember each and every part of the riddle.. She had only caught a few phrases here and there.

 Chapter 198 - The Final Level

    Adeline took a deep breath in to try to slow down her heartbeat. But the pressure was too extreme for her to be able to calm down. Her breath staggered even more. She was just given the last riddle and she only remembered half of it. And to top that, the time seemed to be passing very quickly.


    She was pretty confident regarding her previous answers so she had to solve this last one in order to level up to the final part of the test.


    She shut her eyes and tried to recall whatever she remembered. "It is dark and cold. It cannot move. It lives on Earth�� And we can find treasures and history in it��" She scratched her head anxiously and thought of an answer, "Library? But why would a library be cold and dark��"


    And in the next moment, her eyes beamed. "Cold and dark��" She recalled the first part of the test where she had found herself, she had found herself in the cold and dark place. "Of course!"


    Finally, Adeline looked at Azriel with confident eyes and answered, "The answer is Cave."


    Until now, Azriel was maintaining a very serious and straight face which was getting very hard for him. And immediately after Azriel heard the answer, he let out a huge sigh and leisurely leaned back on his chair.


    And he scolded Adeline in a childish voice, "Were you planning to give me a heart attack, last-born? What is it with you and giving answers in the last three seconds? No, for one of the riddles you pushed it to the very last second! Do you know how anxious I was?"


    Adeline was very confused with that sudden tantrum from the Dragon Immortal. But she bowed to her Deity for making him uncomfortable and apologized, "I am sorry, Dragon Immortal. The riddles were confusing. But may I know why did that make you so anxious?"


    "Anxious? Who said I was anxious?" Azriel fisted over his mouth and then coughed. And he turned his gaze away as though he just realized that he had scolded Adeline out loud. Then he began to whistle while looking everywhere except at Adeline. "I hope I don''t look suspicious," he thought.


    Adeline was staring at her Deity and was trying to figure him out, "Why is he so unpredictable? One moment he is all serious and Godly, and the next moment he acts like a�� child."


    Adeline kept on waiting for the Dragon Immortal to say whether she had passed this level or not. There was an awkward silence in the room for quite a while. Azriel seemed to be lost in his own world and Adeline was unsure whether it was right for her to ask him or not.


    After some time, she got restless and she broke the silence, "Dragon Immortal, sorry to interrupt your thought but I wanted to know if I passed or failed this level."


    Azriel finally glanced at Adeline and asked, "What? I didn''t tell you?"


    "No, you didn''t," Adeline gave a mirthless smile to her forgetful Deity. She felt as though he was hiding something from her. But she didn''t dare question him.


    Azriel gave out a nervous laugh and said, "I thought I told you already!" He flipped his golden hair with his hand and gave a bright smile. Then he said, "You are already in the fourth and final level of the test. Congratulations!"


    Adeline looked around her to check the setting. But they were still in the same room. And she pointed it out thinking Azriel had forgotten that as well, "But we are in the same room, Dragon Immortal."


    Azriel waved his hand and said while smiling, "Oh, we can do the last level here." Then he gave a questioning glance to Adeline, "Or did you want to go somewhere else? Should I create another space for this level as well?"


    "Er��" Adeline was dumbfounded when the Deity offered to create a separate space for her. But she instantly shook her head and said, "No, Dragon Immortal. Because we were changing the location with each level, I thought that we would�� please excuse me for asking that. The location doesn''t matter if it is fit for the next level."


    Adeline already knew that it would be fit for the final level as well.


    Azriel assumed his serious position again and asked, "Can we start this level then? Are you ready?"


    Adeline took a deep breath in and then took a moment to relish that she had actually reached the final level of the Test of Worthiness. She confidently glanced at the Dragon Immortal and said, "We can start this level, Dragon Immortal."


    ---


    Other than Adeline, all the other Princes who had reached the third level of the test had also reached the final level of the test. They were Alan, Raphael, Edwin, and Nigel.


    Nigel had planned to fail the test as early as possible. He thought that he would fail in the second level itself because by the end of the test, his survival mode had kicked in and he had transformed into a wolf. He was also being tossed around by Azriel, not in his dragon form but in his usual form itself. But that was enough for Nigel to fight back with everything that he had.


    And as he had exposed his wolf form to the Deity, Nigel had thought that he would not be further considered for the test as he was not a pure human being. And he thought that the Deity would not want a cursed being to sit on the throne of Wyverndale.


    However, nothing of that sort happened and he leveled up to the third level. Nigel planned to fail here but instead, he ended up solving the riddles quicker than the other Princes and Adeline. He was too immersed in the riddles and by the time he came to his senses and thought that he would give the wrong answer to the next riddle, he had already passed the level.


    Now, the five of them were going to compete in this final level for the throne of Wyverndale.

 Chapter 199 - Scenarios

    All the four Princes found themselves transported to another location again. Yes, Azriel had indeed forgotten to transfer Adeline to the final location. He didn''t want to accept his mistake so he just went with the flow.


    The place that the boys were in was much grander than the room in which they were in the third level. It almost looked identical to the hall that had the precious carpet of Azriel. Those halls even had a replica of his carpet.


    The only difference was that at the front of those illusion halls, there was a large platform. A huge throne sat on that platform. But it was no ordinary throne. It looked more like the life-size replica of a full-grown Wyvern, spreading its wings alongside the wall. And its belly was carved, making a seat for Azriel.


    Nigel was mesmerized by that grand throne. His mouth was wide open seeing the beauty of that Wyvern, fierce yet majestic. And when Azriel climbed on that platform and sat down on his extravagant throne, the throne looked complete and even more beautiful.


    "I never thought that our Deity''s throne would be the Wyvern itself. But it makes sense though, he is the guardian of Wyverndale after all. I wonder who came up with the name of our Kingdom. Seeing how he sits on the Wyvern throne, maybe he was the one to name it."


    Nigel looked around at the beautifully carved pillars, neatly painted walls, ancient decorative items, and also the interesting carpet.


    He would have kept on looking around that grand hall if he was not interrupted by the Deity. "Congratulations! For reaching the final level of the test."


    Azriel then explained the rules of the final level to the examinee, "This final level is called the Test of Leadership Abilities. In this level, I will give you a few scenarios that a real ruler and a real Kingdom can go through. And you will have to think carefully and then give your answer. You need to tell me what you would do if you were in those scenarios. Are you ready for this level?"


    Nigel definitely was not ready for any of the levels. However, he didn''t want to be rude. So he nodded his head and then said, "Yes, Dragon Immortal, I am ready."


    "Very well then," Azriel already had that serious look on his face, and he gave the first scenario to Nigel.


    "Imagine that you are a newly appointed King. You have two neighboring Kingdoms. Your Kingdom is on good terms with one of them while the other one is your enemy. You got a secret message that your ally Kingdom''s ruler was ambushed by your enemy Kingdom, and the ruler of your ally Kingdom was killed.


    It will take around three days for the enemy Kingdom''s soldiers to march to the ally Kingdom and take control of the throne. But you can reach there within a day and seize the throne for yourself.


    So my question in this scenario is, will you snatch the empty throne for yourself, or would you rather not involve yourself in the matter of those two kingdoms? Give me your answer with suitable reasoning."


    Nigel sighed because now he knew that his chances of deliberately failing the test were already over. No matter what he would choose in this scenario-based question, his answer wouldn''t be wrong. He wished that others would provide better reasoning than him so that he wouldn''t actually end up passing the test.


    And he gave his answer no matter how reluctant he was, "If there is a chance that I could seize the throne of my ally Kingdom then I would definitely do so. But I would do so only after gathering enough pieces of evidence that I was not the murderer of the ruler so that people would be willing to accept me as their King rather than being captured by the enemy Kingdom."


    Nigel further added, rather confidently this time, "I would not sit and watch the enemy Kingdom taking over the throne and getting stronger and closer to my Kingdom. It would only make it easier for them to assassinate me in the future."


    In another hall, Azriel was giving another case to Alan. "You want to go for a peace negotiation with your enemy Kingdom, which might or might not go according to your wish. But all of the councilmen strongly disagree with you. They want to continue the war and end it once and for all. Your Generals also feel the same. They are even willing to die for their Kingdom but they are unwilling to settle the matter through talks. What will you do in this situation?"


    Alan thought for a while and then gave his answer, "Then I would listen to my Councilmen and the Generals and would pursue the war instead. As a King, it will be my duty to listen to what most of my people want."


    "As you said, the negotiation might bring peace among the two nations or it might just be a waste of time. Even though the negotiation was successful, there is always a chance of war breaking out soon. Because as there was no clear winner in the previous war, the pride will always be there in people of both of the Kingdoms that they could have won if it wasn''t for the negotiation. So rather than being arrogant, I would take suggestions from the majority."


    Likewise, in Raphael''s hall, the third case was being asked, "��what would you do if you were the King?"


    Raphael was stunned after he heard that question because he was not expecting such an outrageous question at all. He was not even sure how that question was even relevant at this level.


    After a while, he came out of his shock and answered with a somewhat disgusted look on his face, "If none of the Princesses from other Kingdoms are available for me to marry because of the enmity then I would rather marry a commoner from my own Kingdom than marrying one of my sisters. Sisters are as pure as mothers, they are not to be sinned with. And no, I don''t believe in keeping the blood pure among the Royals."


    Similarly, in the hall where Edwin was being tested, the question-answer round was already over. Azriel walked down from his throne and stood tall right in front of Edwin.. His calm eyes were now filled with fury and he frowned at Edwin. Then he asked Edwin in a growling voice that echoed throughout the room, "First-born of Dragomir, tell me why I shouldn''t kill you right here and now?"

 Chapter 200 - Death Threat

    Edwin was startled because of that sudden outrage from the Deity. Until just a moment ago, the test was going really smoothly and the Deity was really calm and poised. But out of the blue, the Deity was mad at Edwin for some reason that was unknown to him.


    Edwin lowered his gaze and then dared to ask the fearsome Dragon Immortal, "I am sorry, Dragon Immortal. Did I do something to offend you?"


    "Yes!" Golden scales appeared on Azriel''s face when he glared at Edwin and shouted at him furiously. "You are offending me by being alive! You don''t even have the lifeline on your palm and yet you managed to survive for more than three decades�� If this is not the greatest mockery towards God then what is it?"


    Edwin took a few steps back because he was now genuinely scared of the Deity. The face that looked so beautiful until just a while ago, now looked like the most petrifying face that he had ever seen.


    And he was really confused by what the Deity was saying to him, what did he mean by he didn''t have a lifeline? Lillian had never told Edwin that he was a stillborn child, so Edwin had no idea. And he began to stutter in fear, "I don-don''t under-ss-stand, Dragon Immortal. What do you- what do you mean by that? Please tell me what I can-"


    And as if Azriel had read Edwin''s mind, he cut his words and shouted, "You can do nothing to ask for my forgiveness. You stole the life force from three people and yet you have the guts to even think about asking for my forgiveness? You wouldn''t have been so greedy and sucked those poor maids'' lives if you were even capable of repenting for your sins."


    Azriel already knew all the dark deeds of Edwin. He never had the intention of even including him in the test in the first place. But he went along and took his test just so he could drop that brat at the pitless bottom after giving him some shreds of hope that he was going to be the next future ruler.


    Azriel''s whole body was covered in golden scales by now. He grabbed Edwin by his collar and glared deep into his eyes. And then he growled again, "If you were back to being bedridden then you would drain others'' lives in a heartbeat if that meant you would be saved again�� So tell me�� why I shouldn''t kill you right here and now, and protect the countless innocent lives?"


    Edwin, who had thought that his test went very well, was now sweating like a pig that was ready for the slaughter. He joined his hands and then pleaded to the Deity because like every normal human, he also feared death, "Please don''t kill me, Dragon Immortal. I will do anything that you ask me to do. But please don''t kill me."


    Azriel was still giving Edwin a death stare. And he spoke in a low yet very threatening tone, "You still don''t feel guilty for killing all those people, do you? You abused your power, tortured the people, and you did every other thing that would book your place in Hell. And yet, all you do is ask me not to kill you?"


    Edwin went all quiet when the Deity made him reflect upon his sins. Until today, he didn''t even believe in God. And neither did he believe in Hell. But hearing the Deity point out all of his sins that would make him go to Hell, his whole world started to spin around.


    Azriel pushed Edwin to the floor with a great force and then asked piercingly, "Just give me one reason why you deserve to live, and I will let you live."


    Edwin knew that the Deity wasn''t bluffing when he said that he would kill him. He was the Deity after all, and Edwin had sinned. So Edwin thought that the Deity sure had the right to kill him.


    Suddenly, the Prince was feeling light-headed and he began to hallucinate. He could feel his body floating and the air around him was getting hotter and hotter. He could hear the screams full of agony coming from all directions. In short, he could feel his soul slipping away from his body and getting closer and closer to Hell.


    Of course, that was not happening in real. It was Azriel who was just trying to frighten Edwin with one of his great illusions. He was treating Edwin like a little mouse that a cat was playing with before it was devoured whole.


    After some time, Edwin felt his soul being slammed back inside his body. He heaved a sigh of relief seeing that he was back inside that hall. Because of that illusion, Edwin was unable to think of any excuse that would make the Deity forgive him and leave him alive. Edwin wiped his sweat on his forehead with the back of his hands and resumed racking his brain to find an excuse.


    But then, as it was very typical of Azriel, he was merry all over again. He was back to his normal angelic form and said to Edwin, "Oh, I have one reason why I should let you live."


    Edwin stared at the Deity cautiously. And Azriel gave him a smirk and asked, "Why don''t you promise me that you will protect the future ruler of Wyverndale from all harms? If you promise that you will loyally serve the future ruler then your remaining stolen life might be put to some good use."


    Why was Edwin going to deny the offer that the Deity made? If pledging his loyalty to one of his half-siblings meant that he could keep on living then he was very much willing to do that. Yes, it was now sure that he could never be the ruler of Wyverndale. But he happily bowed to Azriel and said, "I am willing to serve the future ruler with all my loyalty, Dragon Immortal. I will do my best to protect the ruler from any harm in the future."


    If Edwin was not getting a death threat from the Deity then his pride would have never allowed him to pledge his loyalty to the one he lost his crown to. But considering the tight spot that he was trapped in, staying alive and serving others was better than dying with pride.


    Azriel had a sly smirk on his lips. He twirled a few strands of his golden hair on his finger and then added a warning, "Now that you have pledged your loyalty to the future ruler, if you ever dare to betray then you will die in that instant. Also, with every wound that the future ruler gets, your soul will be scarred. The moment your soul reaches its limit, you will cease to exist. You won''t even enter the cycle of reincarnation. So better be careful."


    Edwin''s eyes widened in fear because of that warning. But he dared not to speak. He was at least glad that the Deity didn''t leave his soul in Hell just a while ago. "I understand, Dragon Immortal. Thank you for showing mercy!"


    Azriel didn''t even bother to say anything else and simply snapped his fingers to make Edwin unconscious. He narrowed his eyes at the unconscious Prince and the expression on his face turned disgusted. "How can someone like this even think about becoming the King?"


    He chuckled to himself and whispered, "It is going to be so much fun to see him scared for every second of his remaining life. He is going to be a guard dog of the future ruler." He happily patted himself on the shoulder and said, "I am proud of myself.. The future is going to be so much interesting to watch."

 Chapter 201 - Top Two

    Azriel was done with the question-answer round with Nigel. So he informed the Prince of the same, "You have now completed the Test of Worthiness. I will lead you to another room where you can wait until the other finalists complete their tests. All of you will know the result after some time."


    Azriel got up from his Wyvern-throne and was about to take Nigel to one of his actual waiting rooms. But Nigel interrupted the Deity, "Dragon Immortal, may I put forth a request in front of you?"


    Azriel gave a nod and gestured for Nigel to proceed with his request.


    So Nigel bowed his head and said, "Dragon Immortal, I don''t know who is going to be the future ruler of Wyverndale, but if there is even a small chance that I will be the one then I would like to withdraw myself from the pool of finalists. I would not like to be considered for the position of the future ruler of Wyverndale."


    Even though Nigel had already come to terms with giving up on his lifelong dream of becoming the King of Wyverndale, his heart clenched a little when he said that out loud to the Deity, that also after completing the final level of the test.


    Azriel pretended not to know why and asked Nigel, "And why would you want to give up on the throne when you have come this far? What if I tell you that you were going to be the one to sit on the throne of Wyverndale? Would you still want to give up?"


    Nigel took a deep breath in and smiled. Then he glanced at the Deity with confidence and said, "Yes, Dragon Immortal. I would still want to give up because I know that I am not supposed to be the one to sit on the throne of Wyverndale. My fate took a drastic turn the moment I activated my werewolf curse."


    Nigel gave an appreciative smile to the Deity and said, "To be honest, I didn''t think that you would let me advance till the very last level after knowing about my werewolf curse. I am really grateful to you that you did not differentiate between me and the others because of that."


    Azriel came down from the platform and stood in front of Nigel. He gave a warm smile to that innocent and selfless wolf-boy, and asked, "Why would I be unfair to you just because you are different from the others? You are the son of Dragomir and you have an equal right to the throne as the others. All I seek in the future ruler is a combination of impeccable leadership qualities."


    He then gently placed his hand on Nigel''s shoulder and spoke from the bottom of his heart, "I know why you gave up on the throne; you care a lot about the safety of people around you. I can tell that you would have been a great King. In fact, you are still in my top two choices for the position of the future ruler. But I won''t impose the position on you if you don''t want it."


    After Azriel said that, both of them were transported to a waiting room that had exactly 24 chairs, out of which 19 were already occupied by the unconscious Princes and Princesses who had already failed the test.


    Nigel was confused by that scene so Azriel explained to him, "They are just sleeping. I didn''t want them to create a commotion in here so I put them under a sleeping spell. You can choose one chair and sit down. The remaining three will join you soon. And I will wake everyone up to announce the result."


    Nigel nodded his head. And before the Deity vanished from the room, he thanked Azriel, "I appreciate it that you listened to my concern. Thank you a lot, Dragon Immortal."


    Azriel narrowed his eyes and gave a friendly warning to Nigel, "Don''t you dare completely cut off ties with Wyverndale, wolf-boy. Don''t forget your roots even though you leave the Kingdom. The future ruler will need your support, and if there ever comes a time when Wyverndale needs you, return back. I know your biggest fear is losing control and harming your loved ones, but I am sure you will be able to conquer your fear."


    Azriel''s words gave warmth and a new sense of hope to Nigel. "I promise that I will conquer all of my fears, Dragon Immortal. Thank you again. I feel very blessed to have met you."


    Azriel gave his mysterious smile to Nigel and vanished from the room, leaving Nigel awake.


    Nigel let out a huge sigh of relief after the Dragon Immortal left him. He was glad that the Dragon Immortal did not force him to take the position of the future ruler. He was unsure how he would have handled the situation if he would have actually been announced the future ruler.


    On the other hand, he also felt happy to know that he was among the top two choices. He felt content just by knowing that he was worthy of the throne of Wyverndale.


    Nigel then turned around to look at his half-siblings who were sleeping peacefully on their chairs. He searched for Adeline among them, and he was happy that Adeline was not there in the waiting room. "This means she also reached the final stage of the test, right?"


    Nigel sat on one of the empty chairs and then smiled, "I hope she will be the one. It was her childhood dream to become the Queen of Wyverndale. I know she will make a great ruler."


    ---


    Back in the test room of Adeline, Azriel had already given four scenarios to her. And he was about to give the final scenario to her.


    But he felt like giving a very tricky situation to her and having some fun. And in order to put Adeline under extreme pressure, he decided to take her somewhere grand, "The final situation that I am going to give you is going to need a special location. Hold on tight, I am going to take you somewhere else."


    And with a snap of his finger, the two of them were transported into an open space that looked like a battleground�� of Hell.


    Everywhere she turned, the place was covered with hues of red, black, and blue. The sky looked like it was about to give birth to a deadly storm. The land looked as though there was lava running under it; hot steam was coming off from the small cracks that were all over the land. And far in the distance, she could see the outline of some dead trees that made the place look even scarier.


    Looking at this place, Adeline got a very bad feeling in her gut.

 Chapter 202 - Tough Choice

    Adeline was already nervous because of the setting. And Azriel was going to make her even more anxious. He began to circle Adeline while giving her the final scenario of the test in a spooky voice.


    "Assume that you are in the middle of a battle."


    The moment he said that, Adeline began to see countless soldiers around her. Some were wearing the battle uniform of Wyverndale while some were wearing different sets of uniforms. Adeline could hear the battle cries, the clashing of swords, and the firing of arrows. They were fighting against each other mercilessly. She could feel the tension of the real war.


    "On your left side, a fire demon is wreaking havoc on hundreds of your soldiers."


    She turned to her left and to her surprise, a huge and scary-looking demon had cornered hundreds of her soldiers and was spewing fires from his mouth at her soldiers. The scene was too gut-wrenching for Adeline. Her soldiers were being burnt alive by that fire. They were crying and were running around to escape from the fire but there was nowhere to escape.


    Adeline clutched her fist tightly and was trying her best not to run towards her soldiers to defend them. She was constantly chanting in her mind that none of it was real.


    "And on your right, Lilith is seconds away from stabbing Theodore in his heart with her sword that was forged in the hellfire."


    Adeline inhaled sharply and turned to her right. She covered her mouth when she saw the pitiful state of Theodore. He had already been beaten to a pulp. He had bruises and open wounds all over his body. He was covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. And there was a Demoness in front of him, wielding a sword that was painted with blood, most probably Theodore''s.


    Lilith gave out a shrieking battle cry and lunged towards Theodore, her sword aimed for his heart. This scene was playing out in slow-motion, which was torturing Adeline even more.


    Azriel then stopped in front of Adeline and said while glancing at her hands, "On your hand, you have a divine arrow that was bestowed to you by God himself."


    Adeline tore off her gaze from Theodore and looked down at her hands. In one hand she was holding a bow, while in the other, she was holding an arrow that had a design that she had never seen before in her life. The arrowhead looked more like a trident with a blade in the shape of a crescent moon attached in the middle.


    And Azriel further explained, "The divine arrow has the power to kill even the strongest of the strong being from Hell. So my question is, who would you kill, the fire demon that is burning your soldiers alive or the Demoness who is about to kill Theodore?"


    Adeline was trying her best not to break down given the surrounding she was in. She took a look at Theodore and then at the soldiers. She had never been in such a great dilemma in her life before.


    The choice that Azriel had presented her with was not something that she could choose from. Neither she could be selfish enough to save Theodore and shove those hundreds of soldiers to their death, nor could she be benevolent enough to save the soldiers while sacrificing the love of her life.


    Seeing her standing there motionless, Azriel nudged her verbally, "You won''t have the luxury to waste this much time in the real battlefield. Everyone would have been dead by now if all of this was real."


    Adeline took a deep breath in and scolded herself inwardly. "Get a grip of yourself, Adeline. This is the last hurdle that you have to cross to get to the throne. Remember, this is not real. The Deity is just trying to get to your head. He is just trying to get you to let your emotions cloud your judgment."


    Though the chance of this exact replica of the battle happening in the future was almost zero, similar kinds of situations and dilemmas would constantly arise in the real battlefields. The choices wouldn''t always be between the right and the wrong, it would be between the right and the right.


    So she was not angry at the Deity for putting her through this tough and cruel situation. She knew that the road to the throne was not that easy. And she knew that this would be her life from now on, choosing among the most difficult choices, and making decisions that would affect the lives of others.


    Adeline mounted the divine arrow in her bow and instead of answering by speaking, she was going to answer it by doing. She glanced at Theodore once again. The sword was nearing his heart already. She aimed at Lilith and stretched the string of her bow. Then she turned around and shot the divine arrow at the Fire Demon.


    In an instant, the fire Demon was struck by that arrow right in the chest, turning him into a pile of ashes.


    Adeline heard a heart-wrenching scream of Theodore from behind her. She dropped the bow to the ground and a drop of tear trickled down her cheek and landed on her chest. She didn''t dare to look behind her because no matter whether all of this was real or fake, she did not want to see the end of Theodore.


    Azriel raised his brows and nodded his head. "I see. But you still have to give me the reason why you did that. Why didn''t you save Theodore? I thought you loved him. Was that all fake love?"


    And out of nowhere, Adeline glared her eyes at the Deity and yelled, not caring he was the Deity, "You don''t have the right to call my love towards him a fake. If there ever arose a need then I would happily die in his stead."


    Azriel was not done provoking Adeline yet, so he mocked her, "Then why did you let him die just a while ago? I think you did that for the greed of the throne. And I think you would have done that for real just to get the throne."


    Adeline was now furious at the Deity for running his mouth wildly. She stared the Deity right in his eyes and shouted again, "How can you even say such things? Is it your hobby to hurt others?"


    "I would never trade Theodore for anything, not even the throne. I chose to kill the fire demon instead because I know Theodore is not someone that weak who need protection from a human. In real life, Theodore is invincible. He is the Devil Prince and he would never be defeated by some Demoness, no matter whether she wielded a sword forged in hellfire or a sword dipped in holy water."


    She pointed in the direction where the soldiers were and gave the reasoning to her earlier action, "The soldiers, on the other hand, would not be able to defend themselves when facing such a formidable enemy from Hell. That is why I decided to use the divine arrow to finish off that demon."


    Azriel finally looked satisfied by Adeline''s answer. "You assessed the situation very nicely." And he said while pointing his jaw in the direction where Theodore was and ordered, "Look."


    Adeline was reluctant to see Theodore so Azriel asked again, "Trust me. Take a look."


    Adeline slowly turned her head towards Theodore and she was relieved to see that the fake Theodore was still alive. He was holding the blade of the sword with both of his hands and was resisting the attack. He had given out the cry earlier because of the cuts on his palms.


    Until now, no matter how much pain she felt and no matter how anxious she was, Adeline was putting on her brave face. And now that the test was finally over, Adeline''s knees gave out and she fell to the ground.. She stared at the fake Theodore fading away with everything else.

 Chapter 203 - Bow To The Future Ruler

    Adeline and Azriel were now in the hall that had the real carpet. The carpet had already been cleaned by Azriel''s maids. Azriel had not planned to have a chat with Adeline. But after she answered the last scenario-based question, he felt as though he needed to have a talk with her before announcing the final result of the test.


    Adeline was still lying down on the carpet, trying to calm her mind and heart. This test had gotten the best of her. She had lived through her worst fears, she had been thrown around by the Dragon Immortal, she went through the stressful round of riddles, and she had to see the worst possible battle scenario. She had gone through several ups and downs, and finally, everything was over.


    Now all that was left was to know whether all that trouble that she went through was going to pay her off or not.


    Azriel would have loved to give some time to Adeline to recuperate from her mental exhaustion but he didn''t want to keep all the others under the sleeping spell for too long. So he got to the point, "Adeline, I want to have a little chat with you. Why don''t you come and sit here?"


    ---


    The Princes and Princesses who were under the sleeping spell slowly regained their consciousness. They found themselves sitting on chairs in the grand hall. It was the real hall where Azriel''s real Wyvern-throne was standing tall at the front.


    Half of them, who had failed the very first level of the test, was very confused as to how they got here. They didn''t even know that they had already given the Test of Worthiness and had failed miserably in it. They began making a lot of noise in the room trying to make sense of how they got into that unknown place and why they were gathered.


    The other half guessed that they had reached the end of the test because all of them were now present inside that grand hall.


    The finalists were the only ones to know that the result of the test was going to be announced soon.


    Adeline and Nigel were sitting side by side while comfortably sitting on their chairs. Adeline was unable to tear off her gaze from the grand throne and Nigel couldn''t help but tease her. He leaned close to Adeline''s ear and whispered, "If Theodore was here then he would have been jealous of that throne because of the way you are drooling over it."


    "Hey!" Adeline elbowed Nigel and gave a look that said ''Don''t you dare tease me''.


    Nigel chuckled and whispered again, "I know that the throne looks really out of the world but you have been staring at it as though you didn''t see it already."


    Adeline gave a confused look to Nigel. "What do you mean by that? You have seen this massive statue of Wyvern before?"


    Now Nigel was the one who was confused. The two of them didn''t have the chance to catch up on what they faced in the test. As soon as the remaining finalists, Adeline, Alan, and Raphael had arrived in the waiting room, Azriel had teleported all of the Royals to the hall that they were currently in.


    And Nigel was confused because he had seen that throne in the fourth level and from the reaction of Adeline, he was unsure whether Adeline reached the final level or not. Since she arrived last at the waiting room, he had assumed that she had reached the final level.


    And he reluctantly replied, "Yeah, I had seen the identical throne in the fourth level�� Didn''t you reach-"


    "I knew it!" Adeline interjected in between and gently slammed her fist on the armrest of the chair.


    "Knew what? You reached the fourth level right?" Nigel asked to make sure.


    Adeline nodded her head to the relief of Nigel. And she said, "I gave my fourth level test in the same room as the third level. I even asked Dragon Immortal if he forgot to shift me to another location but he denied that."


    "Oh!" Nigel chuckled and then added, "He must have been tired testing two dozens of us."


    Adeline also joined and the two of them began to chuckle together, trying their best not to make any sound.


    "By the way, where is Claudia? I don''t think I saw her here." Nigel asked while taking a look around the hall again.


    Adeline also looked around but didn''t see her. "I don''t kn-"


    The hall that was filled with chattering of the Princes and Princesses went pin-drop silent all of a sudden. Adeline glanced at the front of the hall and saw Azriel making a grand entrance.


    All of the Princes and Princesses stood up from their seats to show respect to their Deity. Those who did not have the chance to meet him in the test also knew who he was as they had some time to ask around and find out what was actually going on.


    Azriel was slowly walking inside the hall while the train of his robe flowed behind him. There was elegance reflected in every step of his. Everyone in the hall was spellbound by the beauty of their Deity, especially the Princesses. They couldn''t help but blush and feel lucky to have gotten the chance to witness the epitome of male perfection in their lifetime.


    Unexpectedly, the silent hall was filled with gasps when Lara and Tara came into the view. They were closely following their master. And their unique feature was enough to send chills down the spine of many. Many had thought that dragons were just myths but now that they were seeing the proofs, they could not help but stare.


    Azriel sat down on his huge throne and his maids stood on his either side. And they began to fan him with the hand fan that was made from the feathers of the bird of paradise.


    Everything that was happening at the front was so majestic that the Royals were standing motionless while staring at every little movement of the Deity and the new species of woman.


    Azriel raised his palm and gestured the Princes and Princesses to take their seats. And as if they were compelled, all of them settled down at once. After that, Azriel initiated the final ceremony with his authoritative voice, "By now all of you must have already found out why you are here and what is going on."


    "If you are still oblivious then know that all of you have already given the Test of Worthiness. Out of you all, only five were successful to reach the final level of the test." Azriel glanced at the front of the row and ordered, "The Finalists, come and stand at the front. Wyverndale is getting its future ruler."


    Adeline and Nigel glanced at each other and they stood up and walked over to the front. Likewise, Raphael and Alan also join them. And though Edwin already knew that he was not going to be the one, he also joined the other four. All of them were standing below the platform where Azriel was sitting.


    The attention of the rest of the Princes and Princesses was now on the finalists. Some of them were looking at them with eyes full of envy while some were looking at them with eyes full of appreciation. From now on, they would have to bow to one of them, and when the time came, they would have to accept one of them as the King or Queen of Wyverndale.


    Azriel addressed the Royals in his loud voice again, "These five are the best among you all. And I would like to congratulate them again for making it to the finals. Among these five, I have selected a capable person who will be able to shoulder the responsibility of Wyverndale and its people."


    "I have selected the one who is as soft as a feather but is also as strong as iron, who is level-headed but is also very edgy. And most importantly it is someone who will do anything to protect the Kingdom�� or should I say Queendom?"


    Everyone gasped in realization and their eyes were fixated on Adeline. After all, she was the only female among the finalists.


    Azriel had a satisfied smirk on his face and he finally announced, "Yes, the future ruler of Wyverndale is Adeline."


    The moment Azriel announced that, a set of dragon wings made out of golden dust hovered behind Adeline''s back as though they were her wings. Everyone in the room watched her in awe as that golden wings flapped behind her.


    "Pay your respect to your future Queen," Azriel ordered.


    All 22 children of Dragomir got up once again and bowed their heads to Adeline, "Long live, the future Queen!" and they accepted her as their future ruler.


    A faint and nervous smile appeared on Adeline''s lips as her new journey awaited her.

 Chapter 204 - Clever Answer

    All the Princes and Princesses were given a special ride back to the Palace. Each of them rode on the back of a Wyvern and one by one, they all set towards their home. Though most of them were sad for failing the test, they were enjoying the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of riding those breathtaking creatures.


    Adeline was the last one standing beside Azriel. The two of them were standing on top of a hill under the bright moonlight. This hill was where Azriel resided with all of his dragons. There was a Wyvern on standby to take Adeline back to the Palace.


    Azriel was giving some advice and was saying some remaining bits of information to Adeline.


    "I have already sent a scroll to Dragomir announcing that you have been selected as the future ruler. Go home and enjoy the last night of your freedom. After tomorrow, you are going to be very busy. Your life is going to change drastically.


    But don''t feel pressured by all the responsibilities, you will get used to them with time. Dragomir will teach you everything about the affairs of the Kingdom, and he will also give out the details about the agreement between me and Wyverndale."


    Azriel hummed for a while and said, "I think that is all I have to say for now. Ride back safely."


    But before Adeline mounted on the Wyvern, Azriel reminded her something, "And don''t forget to visit me after 7 days. I will have the inscription spell ready by then."


    Adeline bowed to Azriel and said, "I will visit you after 7 days then. Thank you for your advice, Dragon Immortal, and also for thinking about my safety."


    Azriel frowned and then spoke inquisitively, "Dragon Immortal?"


    Adeline smiled and corrected herself, "Thank you, Azriel. I will take my leave now."


    "Sure. Hold onto Mimi tightly," Azriel warned Adeline before he disappeared from there.


    Adeline took a deep breath and then went near Mimi, the Wyvern who was supposed to be Adeline''s ride. Before climbing on her, Adeline gently stroked her and whispered, "It''s nice to meet you, Mimi. I am now going to climb, okay?"


    Mimi nodded her head. So Adeline got on the back of that gentle giant. Mimi got up and then spread out her wings. And in no time, the two of them were soaring high under the moonlit sky. Adeline felt very exhilarated when the cool breeze hit her on her face. Though it was Mimi who was flying, Adeline felt like she was the one who was flying alongside the clouds.


    ---


    (Immediately after the test was over.)


    "Adeline, I want to have a little chat with you. Why don''t you come and sit here?" Azriel walked towards Adeline and offered her his hand.


    Adeline slowly sat up and then took Azriel''s hand. Azriel helped her up and then led her towards a chair.


    Both of them sat down while facing each other. And before Azriel could say anything to her, Adeline apologized, "I am sorry, Dragon Immortal. I behaved rudely with you earlier. I shouldn''t have gotten that angry with you."


    Azriel smirked and replied, "It''s fine because I was the one to provoke you."


    Adeline was still looking down at the floor and was looking remorseful.


    So in order to make her feel less guilty, Azriel took a different approach, "Adeline, you remember my name, right?"


    Adeline glanced at Azriel and replied, "Yes, Dragon Immortal. I do."


    "Good. I told you my name because I wanted you to address me by my name. Call me Azriel from now on. I love being called the Dragon Immortal but I don''t want those boring formalities between us." Azriel''s face beamed when he said that.


    Adeline gazed into Azriel''s eyes in surprise. She couldn''t tell if he was being serious or he was greatly offended by her rudeness earlier. So she shook her head and said, "I wouldn''t dare to call you by your name, Dragon Immortal. We have always been taught to worship you and respect you. Addressing you by your name is something I cannot do, please forgive me."


    Azriel folded his arms and pouted childishly. And he started talking in a complaining tone, "What''s wrong with addressing me by my name? I know you don''t address Theodore as the Devil Prince but you call him by his name instead. So what''s wrong in doing the same to his elder brother?"


    Adeline was dumbfounded by Azriel''s revelation. And she stuttered, "You are�� you are Theodore''s brother?"


    Azriel lifted his head proudly and puffed his chest boastfully. And he said, "Yes, his elder brother. Thus, I am far powerful and stronger than him." Then he chuckled and said, "And I know my brother. He would not like his lover treating his rival brother like a God. That is why I am asking you to remove all the formalities between us."


    Adeline knew that was true. She could see the hate in Theodore''s eyes for her Deity. He didn''t even tell her that Azriel was his brother. She wanted to know why the two of them were not on good terms but she kept quiet knowing it was not her place to poke her nose into.


    "I will do as you ask then," Adeline gently smiled at Azriel.


    "Good," Azriel was glad to see her smiling again and then got into the business. "Adeline, something that you said in the final scenario made me want to ask you something. Sorry in advance because I am going to get personal."


    Azriel then asked her the question that had been bugging him, "Are you sure that you want the throne? Because you said that you would not trade Theodore even for the throne. And it made me wonder what is more important to you, Theodore or Wyverndale. If such day ever came, where you had to choose between the two, which one would you choose?"


    Adeline let out a quiet sigh because somehow, she was again stuck with the same impossible choice. And she ended up giving a diplomatic answer, "I would try my best to make sure that such day would never arrive. Wyverndale is my home and Theodore is my heart, and I cannot live without any one of them. Yes, I would not kill Theodore for the throne but also yes, I want the throne. I don''t want it just for the sake of power, I want it so that I can protect my people from those who want to hurt them."


    Azriel could not help but smile at that clever answer from Adeline. But he didn''t ask that to make her even more uncomfortable. He just wanted to be sure that he was making the right decision by choosing someone who actually wants to shoulder the responsibility of being a ruler.. He wanted to make sure that his enchanted necklace had found the right person.

 Chapter 205 - Magic Object

    The chain that Adeline was wearing, the one with the dragon pendant, was in fact a magic object that Azriel had created around three hundred years ago. Its main purpose has always been to find the next ruler of Wyverndale.


    During that time, humans were very much aware of the existence of Dragons. But there was enmity between the two races. Dragons would go to the nearby human settlements and soar down from the sky like rain. And they would wipe out the herd of domestic animals that the humans had raised with great care.


    Likewise, the humans would often climb the hill and would enter the Dragon Crypts in order to kill the beasts. They would treat the Dragon Crypt as some kind of treasure hunting ground. And they would savagely kill the Dragons, Wyverns, and Wryms as though they were a part of an adventure quest.


    Azriel, being the Dragon Immortal, had naturally taken all of those beasts under his wing. He hated it when the humans slaughtered his underlings like that. But he also could not go on a rampage against the humans because it was the one rule which none of the children of God could break. They couldn''t afford to face the wrath of God by messing with his creations.


    So Azriel came with an idea. He wanted to have a truce with the humans so that both the parties would not be harmed and that both of them could coexist peacefully.


    He went to meet the leader of that nearby village. However, things didn''t go as per his wish. The leader of the humans was one proud bastard and he insulted Azriel very badly.


    "You are the guardian of those dragons? Pffftt�� yeah then I am the guardian of the universe. Don''t try to trick me, you brat. The women might fall for that sleek face of yours but I am not like those brainless women. Now scram before I scar that pretty face."


    Azriel had never felt that insulted and that enraged in his life. He vowed to get revenge on that leader. "He dares to belittle me? The fallen angel? I will show him his place real soon. I would have loved to roast him and feed him to Mimi, but let''s not go against the rules. I will make his future worse than dead meat."


    During his visit to the village, he had seen how he treated his fellow villager, as though all of them were his slaves. And a different idea hit Azriel''s mind.


    After he returned back to the Dragon Crypt, he used a significant amount of his power to create a flawless magic object that could find a sensible person who could lead the villagers into the path of peace and prosperity. And molding that someone to his liking was going to be his job.


    "For someone who is as power-hungry as that bastard, I don''t think there is any better punishment than being as powerless as a bird without its wings," Azriel smirked and then let that magic object find that special person.


    After a few months, a young man climbed inside the Dragon Crypt to try his luck in killing a beast. He was wielding a sword with sharp blades. It had a large piece of amethyst embedded on its pommel, and that amethyst had an image of a Dragon embedded in it.


    The magic object had the ability to take shape of the item that the chosen one would get attracted to. Just like Adeline was attracted to that chain in the market, this man was attracted to the incredible sword when he had visited a pawn shop in the nearby village.


    Azriel felt the presence of his magic object at once. That lad had come to slay a dragon but Azriel lured him with his sweet talks and ended up striking a deal with that young man.


    "I will help you be the King of this place and in return, you will provide my dragons with enough food supply. Your people will not suffer from the mass slaughter of their domestic animals and my dragons will not suffer from the hunt. And under your Kingship, your people will not suffer from the mistreatment of the current brat. Do we have a deal?"


    "If you promise to keep your words then we have a deal."


    Azriel asked with a smile, "What is your name, young lad?"


    "My name is Dale. And what do I call you, sir?"


    "You can call me the Dragon Immortal."


    Dale was no fool. From the way Azriel carried himself, he already knew that who he was seeing was indeed an immortal. And thus he asked, "I also have one demand of my own, Dragon Immortal. Will you promise me that you will look after all of my descendants? Be our Deity and look after my bloodline."


    Azriel liked the way this young lad was already thinking far ahead. "From now on, I promise that your descendants will be under my guardianship. I would not mind if you want to make me your Deity; that would be an honor... And let''s call your Kingdom, Wyverndale, to mark the beginning of the truce between the two races."


    Since then, the magic object had already chosen 13 rulers for Wyverndale, all of them were the descendants of Dale. Adeline was going to be the thirteenth ruler.


    Before the test system was introduced, the magic object would find the next ruler after the death of its current owner. But after the introduction of the test, that magic object would disappear from the original owner''s possession when the test approached.


    Then it would choose one of the children of the reigning ruler as the future ruler before they even arrived for the test. However, it didn''t mean that Azriel would blindly accept the ones who came bearing that magic object on the day of the test as the future ruler.


    He would still test all the prospective candidates for the throne and would use his own judgment as well. But that magic object had never failed, not even once.


    ---


    (Continuation: Immediately after the test was over.)


    After Azriel listened to that clever answer from Adeline, he talked with her about another pressing matter. Once again, he asked a personal question to Adeline, "Adeline, I have something to tell you. Before that, I wanted to confirm something. Is it true that Theodore had transferred some of his powers to you?"


    Adeline was not surprised by how he knew that. She was sure that her strength was a dead giveaway. "Yes, he said he did that when I was a child. He wanted to protect me from magic spells."


    Azriel nodded his head and went into deep thought for some time. And he revealed what he knew, "I am sure Theodore had your best interest in his heart. But the powers that he gave you have awoken. Meaning, it is able to make you act like a demon."


    "Am I turning into a demon?" Adeline panicked.


    "No. But your demonic power is able to absorb the aura of fear from others around you. It would have been a good thing if you were a demon but since you are a human, your body won''t be able to contain that much power. It might not be a problem now but if you ever go to some place that is the epicenter of fear, like a war, then you won''t be able to come out alive."


    Adeline had never thought that the very thing that gave her strength would be the thing that would bring her doom. She was a little bit scared, who wouldn''t be scared by their death?


    "Is there a solution?" Since Azriel was telling her all this, Adeline was hopeful that he would know how to solve her problem.


    Azriel gave a reassuring smile and replied, "I cannot purge the demonic power but I can try to seal it. I know an inscription spell that can seal such powers but I will need 7 days'' time to prepare for that spell. Come and meet me after a week."


    Adeline was even happy with Azriel''s reply. Adeline didn''t want the powers that Theodore gave her to leave her body. She knew that what she had with Theodore was very much real, but either way, she didn''t want to take any chances. "Thank you, Dra- Azriel. I will be forever indebted to you."


    Azriel grinned and replied, "You are lucky that I had promised your ancestor to look after all of his descendants."

 Chapter 206 - Warmth

    A night and a day had passed in the real world when the Princes and Princesses were in their test. They were unconscious for the whole night that they were taken. Azriel had gone through each and everyone''s mind looking for the clues for the first level.


    It took half of the day for Azriel to build the illusions and the sequence in which they would play out. And the remaining half of the day was spent on the actual test.


    After Mimi dropped Adeline in front of her quarter, she found out that everyone in the Palace was also under a sleeping spell at that moment so that they would not witness the Wyverns flocking towards the Palace.


    She thanked Mimi and then went straight to her bed. She was super exhausted and as soon as her body touched the soft mattress and pillow, Adeline went into a deep slumber.


    Adeline did not even notice that Theodore was waiting for her arrival in her room. In fact, you could even say that he never left her room since yesterday. He had already been habituated to sleeping with Adeline and he did not want to sleep in his room alone. So he had just slept here in Adeline''s bed where her sweet aroma still lingered.


    He left in the morning. But after midday, he began to feel excruciating pain in his heart. And he instantly teleported himself back to Adeline''s room to check if she had returned from the test after getting badly hurt.


    He even searched around the Palace to check if she was somewhere else. But after not finding her, he came back to Adeline''s room and kept on waiting for the pain to go away. He knew that the pain must have had something to do with the test. But he could not help but get worried because instead of the pain calming down, it had only increased.


    Theodore would pace back and forth in the room, try to divert his mind, go outside to take some fresh air, but no matter what he did, he could feel his heart getting slashed.


    And there came a pain so great that Theodore felt as though his heart had been squeezed out of the blood and then thrown into the hottest pit of Hell. He clenched over his chest and collapsed down on the floor. He was covered in sweat and he looked really pale.


    He writhed on the floor and cursed Azriel, "Argh! You conniving bastard! Just what kind of a test are you taking? I swear to father that if you put so much as a scratch on Adeline then I am going to personally pluck your heart out and feed it to your dragons."


    The pain lasted for a while and then slowly he felt the pain fading away. He sighed in relief. Then he went and took a shower because he didn''t want Adeline to know that he had also felt every pain of hers.


    He returned back to Adeline''s room again and waited for her arrival. He wanted to see if she was hurt anywhere or not, and he also wanted to know everything that happened in the test. If Azriel had made her go through something inappropriate or if he had said anything inappropriate to her then he was going to kill his brother.


    However, his plan of talking with her went into the drain as she was already asleep. But he could still check her body for any wounds so he quietly moved his feet towards the bed and sat down to look at her beautiful face.


    He removed her silver hair from her face and examined her face for any signs of bruises. There were none. And he removed the blanket and checked her hands to see any signs of struggle. Her hands also looked completely fine.


    Theodore contemplated for a while whether or not to take off her clothes to check for any wounds. He didn''t want to do that while she was unaware of what he was doing to her, but the undying curiosity won in the end. "Well, she had torn my clothes off once. I think I will pay the favor now."


    He was slowly undressing her and that was when his eyes fell on the necklace that she was wearing. And the moment he saw the dragon in her pendant, his forehead wrinkled with anguish. And he cursed his brother again, "You rascal! You made her wear something that you created using your magic? Who do you think you are to gift something to my fianc��?"


    He then gave an angry look to Adeline. Seeing her sleeping peacefully, he wanted to pinch both of her cheeks and wake her up just to mess with her. He narrowed his eyes at Adeline and murmured, "How can this woman wear something that some other men gifted her? And that also so close to her heart�� I cannot allow this!"


    Theodore stretched out his hand to snatch that eyesore from her neck and throw it in the pit of Hell. But when his skin touched that pendant, it burned his fingertips very badly.


    "Ahhhhhh!" A painful groan escaped his lips. He immediately pressed his lips together and gave a quick glance to Adeline. Thankfully, she was still deep in her sleep.


    Again, he cursed his brother under his breath, "You even put a protective barrier on it? Wah! Your cunningness knows no bound. You did it just to pester me, didn''t you?"


    (Author''s Note: A protective barrier is a spell that protects the magic object from someone with evil intention towards it.)


    Theodore got up from the bed and rolled up his sleeves. "I don''t have a choice but to give you a nice visit. I have to teach you a lesson so that you won''t dare mess with my woman again."


    In his fit of rage, he was really going to give his brother a visit. But he halted when he heard the soft sobbing of Adeline.


    "No�� Theo�� no, no�� please�� don''t kill�� Theo��" Adeline was mumbling some random words in her sleep.


    He gazed at Adeline again and saw that a small part of her pillow was already wet from her tears. He quickly sat beside her and caressed her face. He wiped her tears and whispered to her, "Shhh! I am here. I am here."


    Theodore got on the bed and lied down by her side. He held his woman tightly in his embrace. He had missed this warmth of Adeline.. And it seemed so did she, because she stopped crying and slept quietly.

 Chapter 207 - Insecurity

    "I only kept you close to me because you were my greatest source of that sweet aura."


    "But you no longer desire revenge. You''ve grown weak. You are no longer useful to me."


    "You weak human. Do you think I loved you? I can only love the strongest demoness like Lilith. You don''t even deserve to be my maid."


    "Adeline�� Adeline�� Wake up! Adeline!"


    Adeline inhaled sharply and flung her eyes open when she heard Theodore desperately calling out for her and shaking her. The first thing that she noticed was a very worried look on Theodore who was towering a little above her face.


    "Adeline, what happened?" He softly caressed Adeline''s cheeks with the back of his hand to wipe her tears. "You have been shuddering and whimpering from a while ago. Did you have a nightmare?"


    Adeline blinked a few times, trying to figure out whether this was a dream, an illusion, or a reality. She raised her hand and poked Theodore on his cheek. "This is not an illusion, right?" she asked softly.


    Theodore held her palm and pressed it against his chest. She could feel his heart thumping very loudly. And he whispered to her, "I can guarantee that this is very much real."


    But contrary to what Theodore had expected, Adeline began to punch him on his chest. She looked very angry at Theodore for some reason and she kept on throwing her fists at him.


    As she had returned from the test, naturally Theodore assumed that she must have failed her test to be venting out her anger like this. And he did nothing to try and stop her. He just kept on leaning firmly over her, and let her use him as a sandbag.


    She had managed to suppress the pain that she felt in the test of fearlessness, the pain that she had felt when the fake Theodore had told her that she was of no use to him because she was not emitting that aura that he desired.


    But now that it repeated itself in her dream, the pain overtook her all over again.


    Adeline didn''t want to know whether Theodore had ever absorbed her aura or not. To be honest, she didn''t mind if he did. She would be happy if she was one of his sources of power. The only thing that worried her was what if she was his greatest addiction and what if he tossed her away if she couldn''t emanate the aura that he desired anymore?


    And when she dreamt of him leaving her, she vented out her anger on Theodore, even though the dream wasn''t his fault at all. It was born from the seed of her own doubts.


    After she tired herself, she stopped beating him. And rather than calming down, Adeline covered her face with both of her palms and began to cry hysterically. The insecurities that she had bottled up inside of her broke the barrage and it flooded out of her as streams of tears.


    Theodore felt a hammering in his heart seeing her crying like that. Yes, he had seen her cry before, but not like this. Her cry had so much pain in it that he felt a lump in his throat.


    "Becoming the Queen was the main purpose in her life. I can understand that she is feeling this distraught," Theodore thought to himself. Little did he know that all of that display of anger and pain was because of something completely different.


    He gulped to make that lump in his throat go away and tried to console the wailing Princess, "Adeline, tell me what I can do to make you-"


    Theodore felt a sudden pull and his body slammed against her. His eyes widened as he had not expected that at all.


    Adeline hugged him tightly and whispered, "Promise me that you will always love me, no matter what."


    Theodore''s lips curved around the corners. He lifted his head and gazed at the woman who was being very unpredictable today. One moment she would punch him as if she wanted to kill him and the next moment she would display affection.


    He leaned down and pressed his lips against her dry lips. He kissed her with immense care and love. He kissed her ever so softly as if she was a fragile ceramic doll because he knew that she had gone through a lot in the test.


    After her dry lips were moisturized, he whispered back in her ear, "You already know that I will always love you." He then got off from Adeline and lied down beside her. And he asked her politely, "Now tell me what happened in the test. Were you crying because you�� failed?"


    Adeline puckered her lips and averted her gaze away from Theodore. Now that she had calmed down and her mind was working properly, she felt embarrassed to tell the real reason why she was crying. What was she supposed to say? She was crying because he said he didn''t love her anymore in her dream?


    "Adeline?" Theodore''s inquisitive gaze was not sparing her.


    She completely ignored the question as to why she was crying and said with a proud grin, "Um�� I was announced as the future Queen."


    Theodore''s eyes and jaw were wide open. She was crying her eyes out when she was announced the future Queen? She was full of surprises today.


    He came out of his daze and praised her, "That''s great news! You finally achieved your dream! I am really happy for you and really proud of you." And he gave a smooch to his talented fianc��.


    But he couldn''t help but ask again, "Then why were you crying like that? Did something bad happen in the test?" He narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep and serious voice, "Did your Deity do something to you?" He pointed at the chain that she was wearing and asked, "Did he forcefully make you wear that?"


    Adeline furrowed her brows and looked down at her chain. "This? I bought this from the market on the day I bought that Devil figurine for you. Why do you think that he made me wear this?"


    "Oh, nothing." Theodore was unsure how Azriel''s magic object had managed to find its way to Adeline but he thought that his brother needed a visit from him.


    Then he narrowed his eyes at Adeline and asked for the last time, "Then tell me what or who made you cry?"


    There was no way Adeline could dodge this question now. So she sheepishly replied, "You said that I am a weak human and you said that you didn''t want me anymore and-"


    "What?" Theodore was dumbfounded by what she was saying. "When did I ever say such things to you?"


    "You said it in my dream," Adeline pouted.


    Theodore scoffed and kept on giving a look that said ''You turned me into a sandbag because I said something mean in your dream?''


    Adeline''s cheeks had already turned as red as apples because of embarrassment and Theodore suddenly pounced at Adeline and bit her cheek.


    "Ahhh! Why are you biting me?" Adeline tried to push Theodore away.


    He looked at her and whispered, "I am taking my revenge for earlier." And then he bit her another cheek and began nipping all over her neck.


    Adeline was feeling ticklish and she begged for his mercy while giggling, "I am sorry! I was too mad at you. I won''t throw a fit like that again."


    "Saying sorry won''t make any difference now," Theodore kept on kissing and nipping Adeline''s lips, neck and chest. He had only been apart from her for one night and a day and that was enough for him to long for her as if he had not seen her for over a year.


    Adeline tried resisting him at first but she ended up giving in to him.. He was the only one who could make this future Queen to completely submit to him.

 Chapter 208 - Frustration

    The night was still young when the sleeping spell was lifted from everyone in the Palace. Though the others continued to sleep, there was one person who got up from the bed and walked outside in pursuit of something.


    Lillian stood at the center of the Palace and then tried to use her summoning spell again. She had tried to use it yesterday night in order to get her revenge against that succubus. But for some reason, she could not perform the spell at all.


    After failing to summon several times, she heard some guards running all around the Palace and creating a commotion. So she had to retreat to her Palace to not raise any suspicion.


    During the day, the King had made an announcement in the Palace saying that the Princes and Princesses had already departed towards their test location. He had said that the test might take as long as two days.


    And Lillian had vowed to herself that she would kill that succubus before her son returned back victoriously from the test. The death of that succubus was going to be a welcoming gift for her son. But what she didn''t know was that her son was already back from the test by now and had landed a position of the guard dog for Adeline.


    Nevertheless, she stood in the middle of the Palace and began to chant the dark spell. But like yesterday, something seemed to be wrong. "This had never happened before. The spell always worked!" Lillian grumbled to herself and thought about the possible reason for the summoning spell not working.


    "Does that succubus know that I found out about her betrayal? Did she break the blood pact between us? But breaking the pact requires both party''s consent."


    Lillian began to pace around subconsciously while thinking what could have gone wrong. "Did the magic circle wear off? But that should last for at least half a year. It has merely been a month since I drew that magic circle."


    She frowned her brows and thought, "What if someone powerful tampered with the circle? I should go and check. I don''t see anything else that could have gone wrong."


    Lillian was already near the back gate of the Palace. She moved her feet quickly and carried herself out of the Palace gate. She looked at the area from where the magic circle had passed but no matter how hard she looked, she could not even find a trace of that circle.


    "What happened to the circle? At most, there should have been a break in the circle somewhere. But how can the whole circle disappear as if it was not drawn in the first place? Only I should be able to wipe it out clearly. Others should only have been able to break it."


    A cold shiver ran down her spine as a thought hit her. "Not even the most powerful High Priestess on this land should be able to wipe the circle made out of oak ashes imbued with my magic. It is practically impossible for a witch to wipe another witch''s circle."


    "If the disappearance of the circle really was the work of someone then that someone should be at least a hundred times more powerful than me. Does that mean I have another mystical being on my tail? Why do I always become the target of the powerful beings?"


    "They are really a pain in the back. I cannot even see them." Lillian looked around the forest as though suspecting that some powerful beings were watching her even now.


    She hated the idea of being weak and ran inside the Palace while vowing in her heart, "I should be more powerful. I think I should fully devote myself to the dark magic and pursue my path as the Dark Sorceress Supreme. Only then will I be able to face the most formidable enemies."


    She walked towards her quarter while murmuring to herself, "That succubus has luck in her side. Else I would have already finished her off by now. Doesn''t matter. The moment I get my hands on the dark grade oak ashes, I will draw the circle again and I will have my revenge on that rotten rat."


    Lillian went back inside her room and tried to get some sleep. But obviously, she was unable to do so.


    The speculation that she made about a powerful being wiping off her magic circle was true. The magic circle had vanished when Azriel came to inspect the Palace before the test. He had cast a sleeping spell and had marked all the Princes and Princesses who were to be taken by the Wyverns to the Dragon Crypt.


    But what she was wrong about was that Azriel was not after her. He just saw something that shouldn''t be around the Palace and destroyed it without much thought.


    He didn''t say anything to anyone from the Palace about that circle. Such issues were to be sorted out by the humans themselves. He didn''t like interfering in the issues of the Palace.


    Just like his mother, Edwin was also unable to sleep. He had been turning and twisting in his bed since he arrived in his chamber. How could he sleep when his dream of ruling over Wyverndale had burst like the water bubbles in the ocean?


    He was clutching the blanket and was cursing Adeline, "Why did it have to be Adeline out of all candidates? Couldn''t it have been Alan? At least sticking by his side wouldn''t have been difficult."


    "Argh!" he screamed out in frustration and then blamed that succubus for his failure as if he had never sinned before having that unfateful encounter with that succubus. "What did that succubus have against me? If it had not sucked out my life then mother wouldn''t have to kill those maids for me. Maybe I would have had a chance to sit on the thro-"


    He suddenly felt an excruciating pain in his heart and had a coughing fit. He clenched his fist over his heart and tried very hard to endure the pain. The pain went away after about a minute but he was as scared as a kitten. "What the hell was that?"


    He recalled what the Dragon Immortal had told him, ''If you even think about betraying the future ruler then��'' and he mumbled in frustration, "I cannot even think badly about Adeline? Great! It would have been better if I had just died."

 Chapter 209 - Briefing

    It was the next morning, and the first thing that King Dragomir did was after waking up at 4 was to summon Adeline to his quarter. He knew that Adeline always woke up early and as there were a lot of things to do today, he called her immediately after waking up.


    "Princess Adeline, are you awake? I have an order from His Majesty to bring you to His Majesty''s quarter."


    Adeline was not that happy when someone came knocking at the door that early. But she still answered without trying to sound rude, "Okay, I will be there. You don''t have to wait for me."


    Theodore was still asleep by her side and she was also deep in her sleep until she heard the knock that was as loud as banging. The two of them had only fallen asleep a while ago because they were busy expressing their love for each other and Adeline had shared most of the things that happened in the test.


    She excluded embarrassing details as well as details that would have made Theodore angry. Like, she didn''t tell him how the fake Theodore had ordered the Ghoul to kill her or how Azriel had asked to meet her again to seal her demonic power. In fact, she excluded as many things as possible about Azriel.


    Adeline reluctantly sat up on her bed and then gazed at Theodore with a smile on her face. She didn''t want to wake him up but she didn''t have a choice. She leaned down and kissed him and she whispered, "Theo, my father has called me to his quarter. I have to go."


    Theodore wrinkled his nose and opened one of his eyes. And he complained, "What? But it''s still dark! Why would your father call you so early?"


    "I don''t know. Maybe it has something to do with me being the future Queen�� I guess." Adeline caressed Theodore''s soft hair while looking at him apologetically for chasing him in the middle of his sleep.


    Theodore didn''t want to be a hindrance on her first day as the chosen one. So he quickly sat up and gave her a warm kiss before he vanished from the room.


    Adeline rushed to the bathhouse and quickly freshened up. She was still in her training uniform that she had not changed for two days. But she didn''t care about that and just dashed towards her father''s quarter. It had been a good while since the messenger had left and she didn''t want to keep her father waiting.


    And as soon as Adeline entered her father''s chamber, she was welcomed with a warm hug from her dearest father.


    King Dragomir''s eyes were full of tears. And he happily praised his daughter, "I am so proud of you, Adeline. I can happily die now that you have become the successor to my throne."


    Adeline pulled herself away with a frown on her face and scolded her father, "Father! How can you even talk about dying? I want you to live a very long and healthy life. And I am just sixteen, I still have so much to learn from you."


    She pouted and then said in a sad tone, "Don''t even think about abandoning me. I will never forgive you if you do that."


    Dragomir laughed and brushed that matter aside. And then he briefed Adeline on the plan for today.


    "Adeline, I called you to let you know that you are going to be very busy today. I will soon send a messenger to announce to everyone in the Palace that you have been selected as the Future Queen. Those who have not greeted you will come to your quarter to congratulate you."


    "After the breakfast, I will send someone to fetch you to the King''s Court. There the councilmen and the high-ranking officials will be gathered so that they can greet you."


    "Till then, I will send the messengers to announce to the villagers that their future Queen has been selected. And after the meeting in the Court, there will be a procession to let the villagers know how the Future Queen looks like."


    "And in the evening, there will be a banquet to celebrate the Future Queen of Wyverndale."


    Adeline heaved a sigh after hearing her plan for the day. And she gave a questioning glance to her father, "Can we even finish so many things in one day?"


    Dragomir laughed while looking at the doubtful face of Adeline. He caressed his daughter''s hair and said, "We have to finish it in one day. Being a Queen is not going to be easy. You have a very tough road ahead. But I am sure that you can overcome every hurdle and become the greatest first Queen."


    Adeline smiled and hugged her father again. And she expressed her gratitude towards her father, "Thank you for providing opportunities to daughters as well. I only succeeded because of your impartial treatment and proper guidance."


    Dragomir felt happy that his decision to include daughters in the pool of candidates for future ruler had paid off well. If he had not taken the initiative to do so, then he would have regretted seeing his daughter''s talent going to waste.


    After a short conversation, Adeline returned back to her room to find Hawisa and Osanna waiting for her. They still had not heard the result of the test so they were looking at the Princess with hopeful eyes.


    Hawisa asked as she ran to Adeline''s side, "Adeline, how did the test go? Why did his Majesty call you? Was it to share the result?"


    Adeline kept a straight face and tried her best to hide her smile. She wanted to keep the tension in the air for a while. So she gave a serious glance to her personal maids and then took a deep breath in before saying, "I have to say something to both of you."


    Adeline took a long pause and Osanna nudged Adeline, unable to take the silence anymore, "What do you have to say to us? Say it fast, please."


    Adeline still maintained her serious look and said, "From now on, the two are going to be serving the�� Future Queen."


    Osanna squinted her eyes and protested, "Future Queen? Who is that? I am not serving anyone else other than you."


    Hawisa gave a whack at the back of Osanna''s head and stared at Adeline with pride, "Guess who?"


    Osanna''s eyes and jaw widened in realization and then she jumped towards Adeline and wrapped her in a tight hug. And Hawisa also joined the hug. The three of them began to cry while embracing each other.


    Hawisa and Osanna had dedicated their whole life to Adeline and knowing that she was going to be the Queen in the future, their happiness knew no bounds. Those two could not even put their happiness into words. They just kept on crying.. And Adeline understood how proud they were of her without them saying a word.

 Chapter 210 - Greeting Ceremony

    Hawisa and Osanna immediately began to prepare the future Queen of Wyverndale for the busy day ahead of her. They had always let Adeline bathe and dress on her own. But today, they were not going to let Adeline meet all the dignitaries looking like a male warrior. They were going to make sure to prepare her to look her best.


    No matter how many times Adeline begged the two of them to let her clean herself up, they barged inside the bathhouse saying there was nothing on Adeline which they had not seen already. Feeling defeated, Adeline got inside the bathtub full of aromatic herbal water and rested her head on the edge of the bathtub. Then she closed her eyes and let her maids bathe her.


    Hawisa and Osanna scrubbed every nook and cranny of Adeline''s body. After making sure that she was clean, they helped her dry and then led her to her bedroom as if she was still a toddler.


    They repeated the beauty treatment which they had given her on her sixteenth birthday. They wanted to make sure that every nobles and villager would be enchanted by the beauty of their Queen-to-be.


    They especially wanted the villagers to see the feminine side of Adeline because they had heard rumors regarding the villagers'' perception of the Princesses. It was said that they believed all the daughters of the King looked very masculine because of the intense training that they had gone through since they were kids.


    And they wanted to prove those villagers wrong by making them drop on their knees unable to handle the beauty of Adeline.


    After taking care of the beauty routine, they helped Adeline dress up in a beautiful light blue colored gown with white lace around the neck and sleeves.


    Hawisa glared at the chest area for quite some time, making Adeline a little uncomfortable. "Hawisa, is something wrong?" Adeline looked down on her chest to check what she was glaring at. "Are you staring at this chain? I think it will suit in this gown."


    Hawisa bit her lips and kept on glaring for some more time. And she said while making a round gesture over Adeline''s chest, "If only they were a bit bigger�� Your gown would have looked so much fuller. It''s a shame that they are the size of small apples. But I think its size will increase later. They say the more your husband loves you, the bigger it will get." She chuckled and added, "I can''t say if it is true or not though."


    Adeline scoffed at that bold statement from Hawisa. "What are you saying? I am satisfied with what I have. I don''t need it to get any bigger. It is easier to fight if they are small, big ones will just get in the way."


    Osanna chuckled from behind and said, "I don''t think your future husband would agree with you. I have heard that men like it bigger so that they can use it as pillows for their fragile head."


    Both Hawisa and Osanna chuckled while covering their mouth with their palms. They were enjoying pulling Adeline''s leg.


    Adeline felt her cheeks and ears burning up. And she shouted at her maids while pouting her soft lip, "Stop teasing me! Why are you two talking like you are preparing me for my marriage? I am not getting married today. I am just meeting a bunch of people and later some villagers. Just make me look decent."


    "Alright, sorry! No more jokes," Hawisa said while still chuckling.


    Osanna made Adeline''s hair look as though it was a waterfall shining under the bright moonlight. Hawisa added some colors on her lips, eyes, and her cheeks to make them look more prominent. Adeline dabbed a very fragrant perfume on her neck and her wrists. She was smelling like vanilla mixed with coconut.


    Outside her private chamber, several other maids and servants had already prepared the meeting room for the greeting ceremony that was about to begin soon. They had exchanged all of her old chairs and tables with new ones. Her chair now looked more like a throne rather than just a normal chair.


    Hawisa and Osanna carefully led Adeline to the meeting room. She was looking like a blue Delphinium flower as she strolled towards the meeting room. Adeline sat down elegantly on her ''throne'' and then gestured her maids to begin the greeting ceremony.


    The first person to come and greet Adeline was Queen Claricia. Nigel, Rhea, and Fenris had also tagged along with her. They were the ones who were genuinely happy for Adeline.


    "Oh, dear, look at you! You look so pretty in this dress." Claricia hugged Adeline and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Adeline dear, I am so happy for you. And I am happy that Wyverndale will be in your care in the future."


    Rhea also hugged Adeline and wished her luck for the future. And Fenris congratulated her while maintaining a safe distance from her. Nigel practically squeezed his sister while hugging her because he was happy for her from the bottom of his heart. As the schedule was packed, they left the quarter within five minutes.


    After that, Queen Vultrada came to congratulate Adeline. Since her daughters Margery and Muriel had already disappointed her, she tried to play nice and gain favor from the future Queen.


    Then turn by turn, the concubines of King Dragomir came to Adeline''s quarter to congratulate Adeline and wish her good luck for her future.


    Queen Lillian came to congratulate Adeline when the time for the greeting ceremony was about to be over. She gave a mirthless smile to Adeline and said in a pretentious way, "I am very happy for you, Princess Adeline. I hope that you have a very successful future ahead. Long live, the Future Queen." And she stormed out of the room without even waiting to hear Adeline''s reply.


    Adeline narrowed her eyes as Lillian walked away and cursed inside, "I will live long enough to make you suffer, Lillian. You should start counting your days."


    General Osmond was unable to wait until another day to congratulate Adeline so he was storming towards Adeline''s quarter. When he was near the quarter, he crossed the path with his sworn enemy, Lillian. He gave a sly smirk to Lillian as if to taunt her and he walked away without bowing to that venomous witch.


    Lillian scoffed at that courage of Osmond and whispered under her breath, "Even the bugs are disrespecting me now. Maybe I should have finished him along with his daughter that day."


    When the maid at the door announced that General Osmond was coming, Adeline jumped out of her chair. And as soon as the General walked in, she sprinted and hugged him. "Teacher, thank you so much for teaching me everything."


    General Osmond''s eyes teared up with pride. He felt as though his own daughter had accomplished something great.. "Thanks to you too, for making me proud."

 Chapter 211 - [Bonus ]Procession

    After finishing her breakfast, Adeline was summoned to the King''s Court again. Her guards were now ordered to never leave her alone. So even though the King''s Court was just five minutes away from Adeline''s quarter, she was escorted by a fully armored and armed squad of soldiers.


    When Adeline walked inside the door of the King''s Court, all the councilmen and other high-ranking officials got up from their respective seats and bowed their heads to the Queen-to-be.


    Adeline would now hold the power as any Crown Princess would. In terms of power, she was now the second most powerful person of Wyverndale. She would still need to bow to the three Queens because of seniority but their place was now already lower than Adeline''s in terms of the power hierarchy.


    A special throne was already prepared for Adeline in the King''s Court. It was placed beside the King''s throne. Adeline walked as calmly as she could towards the platform. She bowed to the King and then elegantly took her throne by her father''s side.


    After Adeline settled down, King Dragomir gestured to everyone in the room to settle down. And then he formally introduced Adeline to them, "I have called this gathering to formally introduce you all to the one who was chosen by the Dragon Immortal."


    He pointed his palm to his side and continued, "I announce to you all that Adeline, my last born daughter, will assume the position of the Reigning Queen of Wyverndale after my retirement from the position as the King."


    After he said that, the councilmen and the officials began to climb the platform one by one in order to introduce themselves and the position they were holding.


    Adeline tried her best to remember all of their names. She already knew most of the councilmen since some of them were her teachers. But she didn''t know any of the officials as she had never been given any tasks related to the administrative part of the Kingdom.


    It took almost one and a half hours for everyone to introduce themselves to Adeline.


    After the introduction was over, Dragomir invited his daughter to his own quarter to have lunch together. It had been a while since the two of them sat down together and had lunch. So both of them enjoyed their time. Adeline shared about the test while Dragomir shared about their understanding between the Dragon Immortal and them.


    She came to know that the main source of food for the Dragons of the Dragon Crypt was the animals and crops that they sent from the Kingdom.


    Dragomir wiped his mouth and said, "You may rest for fifteen minutes. Till then, I will ask the ceremonial carriage to be ready for the procession."


    "Sure, father. I will be in my quarter then." Though Adeline was already tired from wearing that fitting gown and smiling at around a hundred people already, she still tried to keep up her high spirit.


    Before she left the dining room, Dragomir said, "I will send some presents to you. Be sure to wear them for the procession."


    Adeline perked up after hearing the mention of presents. And she replied with a huge smile, "I will. Thank you, father."


    Adeline was escorted back to her quarter by her guards. A maid came to her room right after and handed her two packages. Adeline took it to her private chamber and then opened them.


    In a large package, she found a ceremonial mantle that looked somewhat similar to King Dragomir''s royal robe. The mantle was red in color with white fur on the collar. And on the back, a picture of Dragon was embroidered with golden thread.


    And in another small package, there was a golden hairpin. It had a beautiful design of a peacock. And there was a small note attached to it which read, "This belonged to your mother. She wanted me to give this to you on your eighteenth birthday but I think this is a more appropriate time. I hope you will cherish it."


    The rim of her eyes glistened with tears as she pressed that hairpin on her chest.


    She called in her personal maids. Hawisa helped her with her mantle. And Osanna put the hairpin at the side of her silver hair. Both the maids looked at the Princess in awe.


    "The gifts from your parents really suits you well. Now you really look like a Queen," Hawisa commented with a huge grin on her face.


    Adeline was called again as the procession was about to begin. Her guards escorted her to the front gate where a decorated carriage was waiting for her. Four beautiful horses were tied to the carriage.


    King Dragomir was already sitting on the carriage. He wanted to accompany his daughter in the procession so that she wouldn''t feel anxious because of the crowd. He held out his hand for Adeline to get on the carriage. After the father and daughter were all settled, two of the Royal bodyguards climbed at the back of the carriage.


    A squad of soldiers rode ahead on their horses. And the carriage followed those soldiers. Behind the carriage, another squad of soldiers followed the carriage on their horses. And behind that two squads of foot soldiers joined the procession.


    Adeline began feeling nervous when they were approaching the village. She could see the crowds of the villagers who were standing on both sides of the roads, waiting to catch a glimpse of their future Queen. The crowd was being controlled by the guards from the Palace.


    Dragomir glanced at his daughter who was starting to take deep breaths. He smiled and held his daughter''s hand, "Don''t worry, they are going to love you." And he advised her, "Smile at the people and wave your hands at them. After a minute, you will get used to the crowd."


    As her father had advised her, Adeline looked at the crowd with a smile on her face and waved at them. And needless to say, the crowd went mad when she smiled and waved.


    Adeline heard someone from behind shouting excitedly, "Oh my god, she just smiled at me!"


    And some teenagers shouted, "She is so pretty."


    "Yeah, she looks like a goddess walking among us mortals," another one added.


    A girl pointed at Adeline and said to her mother, "I want to be like her when I grow up."


    Adeline was now genuinely smiling at the people. She felt happy to hear those positive comments from the spectators.


    "See, I told you they would like you," Dragomir whispered to Adeline with a huge grin on his face.


    Adeline just kept on smiling even though her cheeks were hurting.. Everything that was happening right now felt surreal to her, surreal in a good way.

 Chapter 212 - The Evening Banquet

    The evening was very lively inside the Wyverndale Palace. Candles and torches were lit everywhere, making the Palace look really beautiful. The hall was decorated with fresh flowers and colorful ribbons. The hall was filled with the sweet and savory aroma from the delicious dishes that were being served and that aroma was paired with the soft music being played.


    Everyone from the Royal family was present inside the hall to celebrate the selection of the Future Queen of Wyverndale. The Royal family was eating while enjoying the dance being performed by the renowned artists of the Kingdom.


    Though it was the time for celebration, most of the Princes and Princesses were unhappy because they had failed their tests. But there were also some who wholeheartedly supported the chosen one.


    Adeline was also enjoying some snacks while sitting alongside Nigel, Rhea, and Fenris. They were happily chatting with each other and were enjoying the banquet.


    Raphael came to Adeline''s side and greeted her, "Hey sister! Oh, I am sorry. Hey chosen one!" He gave a gentle bow to her and smiled.


    Adeline wrinkled her nose and complained, "Brother, don''t tease me."


    "I am not teasing you. I am really happy for you." Raphael smiled again and asked, "May I join this table? If that''s okay with all of you?"


    "Yeah, sure." Nigel happily patted on the empty chair by his side.


    Nigel had been wanting to talk to Raphael and he took this opportunity. He rested his hand on Raphael''s shoulder and said, "Raph, I wanted to thank you for giving company to Adeline while I was gone."


    Raphael gave a smirk to Nigel while saying, "Don''t talk as if I did some great favor to you. She is my sister as well, you know."


    Nigel just nodded his head. He didn''t say it out loud but he prayed that Raphael would keep on standing by Adeline''s side even though he wouldn''t be able to do so.


    Nigel saw the King sitting alone on his throne at the platform of the hall. He thought that as this was a happy occasion, it would be the perfect time to introduce Rhea to the King. He turned his head to glance at his wife and held out his hand for her, "Rhea, come, I will introduce you to the King."


    Though Rhea felt nervous hearing that, she held Nigel''s hand and the two of them walked towards the throne.


    Nigel and Rhea bowed to the King. And King Dragomir welcomed his son with an open arm. "My son, I am sorry I couldn''t meet you earlier. Come, take a seat."


    Nigel and Rhea settled down by his side and Nigel politely said, "You don''t have to be sorry, father. I know that you were busy with the test and then the appointment of the future Queen."


    Dragomir merrily laughed and his eyes fell on the girl that had been sitting stiffly by Nigel''s side. "Aren''t you going to introduce her to me?"


    "I was going to do that." Nigel took a deep breath before he said, "Father, this is Rhea. I met her while I was in Aberdeen and I am in love with her. With your blessing, I intend to marry her�� soon."


    Dragomir raised his brows at that confidence of his son. "You want to marry her?"


    Nigel was trying his best not to tremble in front of his father. But he was starting to get nervous because of the piercing glance that the King was giving him and he blurted everything, "Yes, father. I would like to do that within this week. I don''t want the marriage ceremony to be too extravagant. A closed ceremony, like today''s will do."


    The King rubbed his chin with his finger and then asked with a straight face, "Won''t you tell me more about her? How can I just arrange the ceremony without knowing any background about her?"


    Nigel kept on lowering his head while he answered with as much honesty as he could. And he also expressed his desire to return back to Aberdeen and live there peacefully from now on. It seemed that the letter that King Conall had promised to write to King Dragomir had not arrived yet and the King was deeply shocked.


    Not just shocked, the King was also deeply hurt when Nigel said that he wanted to live in Aberdeen from now on. Even though he wouldn''t spend much time with his children, he felt sad by the thought of them moving out of the Palace.


    Technically, after not being selected as the Future Ruler, they were allowed to choose where they would live. But normally, that would be somewhere near the Palace or somewhere inside the Kingdom''s territory so that they could still support the Kingdom. All Princes and Princesses would still have their own duties towards the Kingdom.


    But from the talk of Nigel, it sounded as though he was going to relinquish his Royal status and was going to abandon the Kingdom as well.


    "Are you saying that you are going to give up your status as the Prince of Wyverndale?" Dragomir asked in a voice that reflected a mixture of anger and pain.


    Nigel violently shook his head and replied apologetically, "I am not saying that, father. I would never abandon my birthright and my birthplace. I just want to explore and improve myself. After going to Aberdeen, I realized that my fighting skills are too poor compared to King Conall. And I want to go there so that I can learn from him."


    Though that was not the main reason why Nigel was going to return back to Aberdeen again, it was true that he looked up to the alpha and wanted to be as strong as him.


    King Dragomir sighed and mumbled, "I had heard that King Conall is a fighting prodigy. But I didn''t think that his skills are that good to be able to lure my son to his Kingdom."


    "Father, he didn''t-"


    "Alright," Dragomir interjected in between and smiled. "If he is that good then you should definitely learn from him. I won''t stop you. Just be sure that you surpass King Conall and make me a proud father."


    Dragomir gave a glance to Rhea and then asked his son, "So, when shall I arrange the marriage ceremony for the two of you?"

 Chapter 213 - Marriage Of The Mates

    Two days after Adeline was announced as the Future Queen of Wyverndale, there was another happy occasion in the Palace. As Nigel had requested, King Dragomir held the marriage ceremony of Prince Nigel and Rhea.


    All of the Royal family members were sitting inside the hall. The King, along with his wives and concubines was sitting at one side of the hall while the Princes and Princesses were sitting on the other side of the hall.


    A Priest was standing at the center of the hall. Everyone was looking forward to the marriage ceremony to begin.


    A guard announced from the door, "The bridegroom, His Highness Prince Nigel is entering the hall."


    Immediately after the guard announced that, Prince Nigel walked inside the hall wearing his full Royal attire. He walked with great confidence and happiness, and stood by the side of the Priest. Then he waited for his mate to enter inside the hall. He could not wait to see Rhea in the bridal gown.


    After a while, the guard announced again, "The bride, Her Highness Rhea is entering the hall."


    Everyone in the hall was curious to know about the bride of Nigel. Nobody could digest the fact that Nigel was marrying someone who did not hold the status of a Princess or a Noble lady. And the marriage was also being rushed as well as hushed. So they were all itching to know just how the bride looked like.


    Most of them speculated that the bride must have been a real beauty for Nigel to be this eager to get married. Well, they were not wrong about her beauty but they were not completely right either.


    Nigel didn''t just see the beauty of Rhea. He saw the talented warrior in her, he saw a caring person in her, and most importantly he saw the love that she could shower him with. He saw his happiness in her.


    Following the announcement, Rhea entered the hall with a bright smile on her face. Her walk was as elegant as that of a deer while her confidence was that of a wolf. Everyone''s eyes were on the mysterious bride who was going to be a part of the Royal family from now on.


    Nigel''s eyes followed each and every light footstep of his mate. He had imagined several times how Rhea would look in her bridal outfit, but looking at her now, he couldn''t believe his eyes.


    She was wearing a silver gown which reminded Nigel of Rhea''s wolf form. The gown was fitting on the upper half of the body which accentuated her curves, and on the lower half, the gown flowed freely. She was wearing a matching silver veil over her head. And she was holding a bouquet of white lily and white roses.


    King Dragomir, Queen Claricia, Adeline, Raphael, and Fenris were watching the bride in awe as she walked towards Nigel. And Nigel was on the verge of crying in excitement seeing the love of his life.


    After Rhea was halfway through the hall, her sharp ears caught several comments about her.


    "Oh my, she really does look pretty. No wonder Nigel was hurrying the marriage."


    "Hmph! I didn''t think that Nigel would also be after beauties."


    "It''s such a shame that she isn''t even a Noble lady. Why would Nigel marry some commoner?"


    "Yeah, I was thinking the same. He could have held so much power if he had married a Princess or at least daughter of some powerful household."


    Rhea took a deep breath in and continued to walk on the aisle. She did not let those piercing eyes and harsh words from some people in the hall make her feel nervous or worried. She filtered out those harsh comments and just focused her attention on the soft music that was being played. This was the most important day in her life and she chose to be happy rather than letting others'' judgment get to her.


    It was not just Rhea who was hearing those mean comments about her, Nigel could also hear each and every comments that the concubines and his half-siblings were passing. And he was infuriated by those mean people. He wanted to shout at them to stop being so rude towards his bride.


    But then he heard a sweet voice, "Oh heaven, I am so happy for the two of them. They look like their match was made in heaven." He looked at the source of that voice and it was none other than Adeline. She was clasping her hands together and was staring at Rhea. And she was talking with Raphael and Fenris.


    Fenris also whispered to Adeline, "I can''t wait to hold my niece and nephew. I bet they are going to look adorable."


    And Raphael also chimed in, "Yeah, I would also love to hold their kids."


    "Yeah, me too," Adeline almost clapped when she said that.


    Both Nigel and Rhea glanced at each other and smiled when they heard the sweet words from those who actually mattered to them. Their mood was refreshed all over again.


    Nigel held out his hand for Rhea when she was near him. Both of them stood on the platform while facing each other. And the Priest began their marriage ceremony.


    The priest was chanting in ancient dialect. And Nigel and Rhea were lost in each other''s eyes. They were smiling at each other and were feeling butterflies in their stomach. Though they were already considered husband and wife according to the werewolf ritual, they were extremely happy to be formally marrying in front of the audience.


    After some time, the Priest presented the bride and the groom with a ceremonial dagger and directed them, "The bride and the groom may seal your marriage."


    Rhea looked a bit confused when the Priest handed over the dagger to her. In all that rush, no one remembered to tell her about the marriage ritual of Wyverndale.


    The Priest held out the goblet containing a magic potion in front of the bride and groom. And seeing the confused look on the bride''s face, the Priest said, "Prick your finger with the tip of the dagger and drip your blood in this goblet. It will bond the two souls into one."


    Both Nigel and Rhea did as the Priest had asked. Rhea watched in amazement when the blue potion in that goblet slowly swirled around and changed into red.


    "And now I pronounce you man and wife." The Priest glanced at Nigel and hinted, "You may kiss the bride."


    Nigel took a step forward and unveiled Rhea''s face. She looked even more beautiful as she was flustered. Nigel gently placed his palm on her neck and leaned towards her lips. Then he pressed his lips on hers, trying to hold back as much as possible.


    Everyone in the hall applauded for the newlywed couple and in that noisy minute, Nigel managed to whisper in Rhea''s ear, "Look forward to our consummation, I am going to make it a night to remember. We have to fulfill the wish of my brothers and sister."


    Rhea pressed her lips into a thin line and looked down.. She was thankful that none of the others were werewolves.

 Chapter 214 - Trying Something New

    After eating and dancing to their heart''s content, and after getting congratulated by the Royal members, the maids led Nigel and Rhea out of the hall separately.


    Nigel wanted to dismiss the maids and wanted to grab Rhea and run away. But he didn''t want to look overly desperate either. So he quietly followed the maids who were leading him to his room.


    The maids led Rhea to another room to prepare her for her special night. Though that special night had already happened in Aberdeen, Rhea was looking forwards to another special night. She wanted to know what Nigel had prepared to make this night memorable.


    The maids helped Rhea out of her gown and then made her wear a thin nightgown that didn''t help in covering her body well. Then they took out all the pins that were in her hair. They loosely braided her curly hair so that it would sit well.


    One of the maids gave a last look to Rhea and stated, "Your Highness, you look really pretty. His Highness won''t be able to resist."


    And another maid also added, "Yes, His Highness is very lucky."


    "Thank you so much," Rhea smiled at those maids. She could tell that they were not being pretentious like most of the Royal members.


    "Your Highness, if you are ready then we will lead you to the consummation room." One of the maids asked Rhea.


    Rhea nodded her head, "Sure."


    And then they led her to the room which was specially prepared for the consummation night.


    As soon as they entered the room, they were welcomed by the sweet fragrance from flowers and incense. The room was dimly lit with very few candles and the bed was decorated with beautiful rose petals. Rhea''s heart began to thump loudly with excitement.


    The maids asked Rhea to sit on the bed and wait for the Prince. They made sure that Nigel''s eyes would fall on Rhea as soon as he would open the door and they left the room.


    Nigel came inside the room after what felt like an eternity. But it was just Rhea who had felt that way, it had only been a few minutes since the maids had left her.


    As expected, the moment Nigel opened the door, his eyes fell on the captivating woman who was sitting on the bed. He closed the door behind him in a hurry and was standing in front of Rhea in the next moment.


    He caressed her beautiful face with the back of his palm while his eyes darted over her thinly covered body. The corner of his lips curled up on its own. He ran his hand down her arms and pulled her up by her wrist.


    Their bodies slammed against each other''s and their eyes locked. Nigel rested his palm on her neck and gently pressed his thumbs on her jaw. He was unable to take his eyes off of his wife. And he whispered to her, "How can you look so beautiful?"


    And Rhea replied with a smile, "I have a very loving husband so looking beautiful is easy."


    Nigel pressed his lips against hers and whispered again, "How did I get so lucky?"


    His words reverberated on Rhea''s lips and she whispered back with a longing for his kiss, "I should be asking you the same question." Unable to hold her desire anymore, Rhea pulled Nigel and kissed him.


    The heat and passion were burning inside both of their heart.


    But Nigel had some other plans for tonight. He unwillingly pulled away from the kiss and whispered in her ear, "I don''t think this bed is strong enough to hold us tonight. Why don''t we make a run?"


    Rhea raised her brows and asked, "You mean a casual run or the wolf run?"


    "A bit of both. Let''s sneak out first." Nigel gave a challenging smile to Rhea and held out his hand.


    Rhea held his hand and the two of them jumped out of the window. They trod carefully, making sure to avoid the guards using their super hearing and night vision.


    The two of them then reached in front of the back wall. Nigel gestured for Rhea to scale the wall. And Rhea did that without thinking for another second. Nigel followed after her and the two of them were in the forest.


    They walked carefully for another minute or two and when they were far enough from the Palace, Nigel hinted at Rhea, "Follow my lead. I want to take you to a beautiful place."


    Both of them transformed into their wolf form. Nigel took off first and Rhea followed him. The forest here was different from that of the rainforest in Aberdeen. The forest in Aberdeen smelled like wet moss and gave a cold and eerie vibe while the forest here gave a somewhat warm feeling.


    The two wolves ran under the moonlit forest at their top speed. Rhea loved it when her paws pressed against the dry leaves and twigs. She loved the cracking sound and the new scenery.


    After running for some time, the two mates arrived at the place where the forest ended and the Ethereal River flowed just on the other side of the small path. Nigel sat down at the edge of the forest while facing towards the glistening river and Rhea also came and sat down by his side.


    Nigel rubbed his head against Rhea''s and telepathically conversed with her, "I always liked this part of the forest. Whenever I would feel exhausted, I would ride a horse and come here, mostly during the night. Now that I think about it, I think I liked this place because I had a dormant animal side inside of me. Somehow, this place made me forget everything else and made me feel alive."


    "This place is really beautiful," Rhea replied while her eyes were fixated on the fast-flowing river.


    The two of them were still in their animal form, with their head rested on each other. And they listened to nature''s sound in silence. The constant chirping of crickets mixed with the gushing of the river felt like music to their ears.


    After enjoying the serene nature for some time, Nigel nudged Rhea and asked, "You know why I brought you here, right?"


    "Well, considering it is our consummation night, I guess I know why."


    "I wanted to make love to you in the forest as if we were wild beasts. I wanted to satisfy our animal sides as well." And he doubtfully added, "I don''t know if you would like that or not. Maybe I should have asked you beforehand."


    "Then it wouldn''t have been a surprise, would it?" Rhea replied in a mischievous tone.

 Chapter 215 - Sharing The Burden - I

    It was the next morning and as the past few days, Adeline was in the King''s Court. She was sitting on her own throne by the side of the King''s throne.


    Today, a meeting was going on regarding the tax embezzlement that had been taking place in the village. Adeline was the one to raise the issue in the court and bring the matter to light in front of the King and the councilmen.


    The first day in the court was a little difficult for Adeline. But by now, she had already been habituated to the hard glare from the councilmen and she was addressing today''s agenda to the council, "In today''s meeting, I would like to raise the issue which has been kept hush for a long time."


    "I would like to make the King and the council aware of the fraudulent activities of Prince Edwin. He was involved in tax fraud for the past four years. He has been illegally accumulating the hard-earned money of the innocent villagers."


    She glared at some of the councilmen who were frowning as she spoke and continued, "Yet, not a single person raised this issue until now. Thus, today, I would like to discuss the same matter in everyone''s presence. And I want to urge the council to take necessary action against the First Prince."


    The councilmen who were close to Edwin didn''t like it that Adeline was going after Edwin on the first week of her appointment as the Future Queen. So one of the councilmen raised a question to Adeline, "I am sorry if I am being rude, Your Highness. But do you have any proof that the first Prince was involved in the tax embezzlement? I don''t think we can point fingers at others based on our suspicion or hatred."


    Adeline gave a stern look to that councilman and asked with a confident and authoritative tone, "Why would you think that I would accuse my brother of such grave crime without having any proof against him? And why would you assume that I hate him? I don''t hate my brother rather I despise the deeds he has done. And no one should be allowed to roam freely if they are guilty. No one is above the law."


    Adeline gestured her assistant to hand over the copies of the record to everyone present in the room. And after all the councilmen had enough time to go through the records that she had prepared, she asked again, "Will this proof be enough councilmen? And what about you, Mr. Jasper?"


    The record had the detailed calculation of how much Edwin had already pocketed from the tax fraud. And to add to that, it also had the statements from the villagers saying how the tax collectors and the Royal Guards behaved with them and punished them if they were unwilling to pay the higher tax.


    Councilman Jasper could not even look into Adeline''s eyes after seeing the solid proof of Edwin''s crime against the Kingdom. He answered while still lowering his gaze, "I would like to apologize for my earlier statement, Your Highness. The proof is enough to further the trial against Prince Edwin."


    King Dragomir would have had a heart attack if Adeline had not discussed the matter with him beforehand. He had entrusted Edwin with the most important task of the Kingdom and Edwin had betrayed his trust as well as he had betrayed the Kingdom and its people.


    The meeting ended after reaching a unanimous decision to confiscate the properties of the first Prince and to keep him under house arrest for the time being. And then after the trial, he would be given a suitable punishment for his crime.


    After the councilmen left the room, King Dragomir looked at Adeline and said, "I never thought that you would adapt to your position so quickly. I appreciate the way you handled the situation when Jasper tried to dwindle your confidence."


    "I am learning from the best ruler. So I think I am doing pretty good in the meetings and other tasks." Adeline gave a smile to her father.


    Dragomir then gave a piece of advice to his daughter, "You are walking along the right path. Never let anyone look down upon you. It is especially true because you are a woman. People like him don''t like to follow a woman. You have to prove them wrong by doing greater things for the Kingdom."


    Adeline nodded her head and replied with confidence, "I am going to do my best to uphold the Kingdom that you have built."


    Dragomir was really happy to have such a gifted daughter. But at the same time, he also worried that she would end up being alone like him. Being a ruler meant that you would even have to go against your close ones. And he didn''t want that for his daughter.


    He took a deep breath in and said in a sad tone, "It''s a shame that your first case had to do with one of your brothers. I am sorry that I didn''t find about Edwin''s crime sooner. I was wrong to trust him blindly. I couldn''t keep him in check."


    But Adeline didn''t mind that she had to go against Edwin. He had committed a crime and now she had the power to punish him. So she was doing everything in her power to slowly punish those who had wronged the commoners as well as her.


    Adeline reassuringly held her father''s hand and said, "Don''t worry, father. I am here now. We can share the burden of the crown for the time being. I know you cannot provide equal attention to everything. So I will be there to look after the things that you might miss."


    "As expected of my daughter." Dragomir''s heart warmed up when Adeline said those words to him. He had been at the top for so long that he had forgotten how it felt to sometimes depend on another person. And now that Adeline was by his side, slowly taking over the responsibilities off of his shoulder, he could literally feel his body getting lighter.


    The Royal Guards under the command of King Dragomir were instantly sent out to keep Prince Edwin on house arrest. And they were also tasked with finding all of his hidden properties. All of his legal properties were kept on hold while his illegal properties were to be confiscated.


    There was a huge commotion in the Palace because of that. The Royal Guards had detained the Prince and were searching every corner of his house. Some of the guards were dispatched to his other property locations.. It was a sight to see in the Palace.

 Chapter 216 - Sharing The Burden - II

    "I didn''t think Adeline would catch up to my activities this soon. Maybe this is why she is the chosen one," Edwin smirked as he watched his quarter being ransacked by the Royal Guards.


    Prince Edwin didn''t try to fight back or create a scene and just let the guards do whatever they were ordered to do. Two of the guards were holding him captive in his private chamber while several other guards were searching for the hidden money.


    But Lillian could not stay still when she heard the news about Edwin being under house arrest. She came running in her son''s quarter and was causing a scene in front of the guards. She was giving an icy stare to the guards and was shouting at them, "I am ordering you all to stop this nonsense at once. You don''t have the right to do anything until he is proven guilty."


    She was behaving like a madwoman and was even openly threatening them, "Do not lay a finger on my son, or else I will sever that finger from your hand."


    But the Guards were not there to listen to her. "We are sorry, Your Majesty, we cannot take your order. This was the order from His Majesty and we are just following His Majesty''s orders."


    Unable to persuade or threaten the guards, Lillian directed her anger towards her own son. She glared at Prince Edwin and yelled at him, "Why are you letting them do this to you? What has happened to you? Did you lose your manhood after returning from that damn test? You have been acting like a drowning dog ever since you returned from that test."


    Edwin was not showing any reaction, he just sighed and averted his gaze away from his mother. He was not in the mood to argue with his mother because he knew that he would end up hurting her.


    But Lillian grabbed him by his chin and made him look at her. And she shouted again, "Why aren''t you speaking? Are you still in trauma because you didn''t get selected as the future ruler? So what if you were not selected by some nameless Deity? Just rise to power and snatch what is yours. Do I have to teach that to you?"


    Lillian''s gaze became a little softer seeing the indifference in her son''s face. She held his face with both of her palms and whispered softly, "You have your maternal uncles back at Frostford. Just ask for their help and they will help you with anything. They can even declare war on your behalf if you want to."


    Edwin has had enough of his mother''s nagging and he abruptly slapped his mother''s hands away from his face. He towered over his mother with burning eyes and shouted at her, "Why do you always teach me such things? Since I was a kid, you filled my heart with hatred and hunger for power. And I kept on following you blindly."


    He clenched his fists and added, "But you know what happened in the test, mother? That very nameless Deity cursed your son. My fate is now bound to Adeline''s. If I even think something bad about Adeline, my heart starts to give out."


    "And that same Deity has clearly said that if I even think about betraying Adeline, I will die on the spot. And I am not ready to die, not yet. I thought dying was better than living in Adeline''s shadow but I just could not give up on my life, not until I redeem myself." Edwin had this determination on his face when he said that. It looked like for the past five days, he had been pondering upon this very issue.


    Lillian''s eyes widened when she heard that the Deity had cursed her son. And she felt a stinging pain in her heart when Edwin said that he had been thinking about ending his life for the past few days.


    "You made me think that even crime as serious as murder is not even a big deal." He chuckled like a mad man and continued, "But turns out killing people is bad, mother. And Hell really does exist. I saw it with my own eyes. And I do not want to go to that place after my death. I want to purify my soul before I die."


    Lillian felt a pinch in her heart hearing her son''s hateful words. She glanced at her son with moist eyes and tried to say something but her trembling lips didn''t allow her to say much, "Edwin�� I��"


    She tried to caress her son''s face but Edwin gestured her to stop. "Please, mother, just leave me alone. You have done enough for me already. Just do me a favor and don''t kill any more people for me. I don''t want to share the burden of your sin."


    Lillian didn''t say anything more. She turned on her heels and left her son''s quarter. Her whole body began to tremble with anger and pain. She was angry towards the Deity for cursing her son and she was in pain because her beloved son spoke against her for the very first time.


    And she had the sinister idea in her mind, "Now there is one more reason to kill that woman''s love child. If my son''s fate is bound to that love child then I will eliminate her. If she isn''t even alive then how will Edwin''s fate be bound to her?"


    She had a crooked smile as she headed towards her quarter.


    While playing the blame game, Edwin forgot to tell his mother the main part of the curse. If Adeline was to die, whatever the reason or whoever the perpetrator, then he would also die.


    If he had known that his mother had tried countless times to kill Adeline in the past, then he would have made sure to ask her not to touch Adeline. He knew that his mother disliked Adeline, which was the reason why he also started to hate her.


    But unfortunately, he did not know that his mother''s hatred towards Adeline was that deep-rooted that she would not think twice before making an attempt to kill her. If not for Theodore''s protection, then she would have died when she was a toddler.


    Lillian went to her private chamber and began to brainstorm the ways to kill Adeline. She mumbled as she paced back and forth in her room, "That brat is a peculiar breed. No poison can harm her and my magic can''t even touch her, no matter how strong it is."


    She sat down on her bed and sighed, "Maybe I should have used the summoning spell on both father and daughter when I had the chance. Dark grade oak ashes are hard to come by. The oak tree should at least be a thousand years old for it to be able to contain the dark creatures."


    She gritted her teeth and slammed her fist on her thigh. And she scorned, "But those damn trees barely live that long."


    "I will keep on searching the oak ash. In the meantime, I will need some other plan."


    After a while, her eyes twinkled as a plan formed in her mind.. "That will be perfect!" And she cackled as softly as she could but still ended up scaring a few maids and servants of her quarter.

 Chapter 217 - Saying Goodbye Again

    After her duties for the day were over, Adeline returned back to her quarter feeling content with what she had accomplished today. Edwin was kept under house arrest and a lot of his illegal properties were brought back to the King''s Court. He had collected so many gold coins that it took two carriages just to bring those coins to the Court.


    With that much money, Edwin would have been able to buy out a few Generals. There were in total 8 Generals under the King''s command. And each General commanded a hundred thousand soldiers. If he had even bought 2 Generals with that black money, then he would have been able to lead a coup and could have taken over the throne a long time ago.


    Adeline was surprised that he had stayed quiet even with that much money that he had leeched from the villagers. But she was thankful that he did nothing of that sort.


    It had been only a few minutes that she had returned back to her quarter. And Hawisa came to her private chamber and informed her, "Adeline, Prince Nigel is here to meet you."


    "Oh, send him in then. You don''t have to ask me to let him in," Adeline said while getting up and going to her newly refurbished meeting room.


    Adeline welcomed Nigel with a hug and went and sat on her extravagant chair. And Nigel sat down in front of her.


    Adeline laughed and initiated the conversation, "This new chair needs some getting used to. It feels so weird to sit on this."


    Nigel also laughed and said, "Yeah, the chair is really big, almost as big as the throne. But since you are going to be the Queen in the future, you should get used to it."


    "Yeah, I guess I should." Adeline shyly smiled at Nigel.


    Nigel darted his eyes around the room as if he was going to say something but then he ended up asking, "So, I heard that Edwin is under house arrest. And that you were the one to gather all the proofs against him."


    Adeline puckered her lips and agreed, "Yes. I found out about his wrongdoings when I had gone to the village before the test. I wanted to do something back then but I could not. And now that I have some authority, I wanted to punish him for terrorizing the villagers in the past."


    Nigel nodded his head and asked, "Then what about Lillian? When are you going to take some actions against her?"


    Adeline''s facial expression turned gloom after hearing that name that she hated from her core. "Right now, the only proof of her crimes that I have is the memory that Theodore showed me. Using that, I have listed out her crimes, the witnesses of different crimes, and the list of victims. I will soon start collecting the statements from the witnesses and victims."


    She heaved a sigh and said in a sad tone, "But I don''t think I should rush things with her. She is one dangerous witch. I don''t want her to go on a murder spree when I try to punish her. She is too unpredictable. So, I will collect the pieces of evidence and file them for now."


    She looked at Nigel and he looked lost in his own thoughts. So she asked, "Brother, is something wrong?"


    Nigel looked at Adeline with very sad eyes. And he advised her, "Yes, she has already murdered many people. So, don''t take her lightly. Always be on your guard. Now that you have become the future Queen, she might target you even more."


    Nigel leaned towards her and looked her in the eyes. And he asked in a voice full of pain, "Just promise me that you will be safe."


    Adeline felt as though her brother was trying to say something more to her, as though there was some deeper meaning in that last sentence. He was looking really nervous and helpless for some reason.


    So she asked Nigel, already guessing why he was here for, "Is there anything that you wanted to tell me? I don''t think you just came here to talk about Edwin and Lillian."


    Nigel gave an apologetic look to Adeline and said in a low voice, "Adeline, I�� I will be returning-"


    Before Nigel could finish his sentence, Adeline swiftly got up from her chair and turned away. She covered her mouth with her palm and was trying her best not to break down.


    Her eyes were already glistening with tears and she felt a lump in her throat. She gulped and began taking deep breaths in through her mouth. But that was of no help to control her tears from rolling down her cheeks.


    Nigel was also trying his best not to cry. He walked up to her and tried to calm her down, "Adeline, I will keep writing to you."


    But that just made it even worse for Adeline. She was silently shedding her tears until now but when she heard Nigel''s voice, she started to wail. For him to say that he would write to her, Adeline understood that he was going to stay in Aberdeen for a very long time.


    Nigel was in no better condition. He also began to cry along with his sister. He held Adeline in his arms and the two of them were crying like they were still toddlers.


    Adeline asked with a quivering voice, "Nigel, how long until you return back again? You know I cannot do this Queen thing alone. I need you by my side like you always have been."


    She looked into Nigel''s eyes with her red and moist eyes and pleaded, "Please don''t leave me alone when I need you the most. I need my brother. Please��" And she began to cry even more uncontrollably.


    Nigel pressed her head on his chest. He couldn''t even bring himself to say a word. He could not bear to see his sister crying like that. But he had no other choice.


    After a while, Nigel calmed down a little and said softly while sniffling, "I am sorry that I am leaving you like this. I didn''t want to, but I have to."


    Adeline pulled away from the hug and tugged Nigel''s sleeve as if she was not going to let him leave. And she asked with a little bit of anger on her face, "I don''t understand�� Why? Why do you have to go back? Isn''t your training over already?"


    Nigel made her sit down and then explained everything to her. And he promised her, "I promise that I will try to conquer my anger soon. And when I will be sure that I will no longer lose my temper, no matter what I face, then I will come back. I will come back as a stronger and better werewolf so that no one can hurt my little sister and this Kingdom."


    Then he smiled and tried to make Adeline laugh, "I will come back with Rhea, and maybe a few cute nieces and nephews for you to play with."


    That made Adeline smile, though her eyes were still full of tears and were puffy. "I would love to play with them." Adeline hugged her brother again and said, "Make sure you write letters to me each month. And come to visit me once in a while if it is possible. And send the sketches of my cute nieces and nephews as soon as they are born."


    Nigel smiled and agreed. "Sure.. I will stay in touch with you."

 Chapter 218 - Off To The Dragon Crypt

    Everything changed for Adeline after her appointment as the Future Queen. Her routine was now completely different than what it used to be. She would still wake up early in the morning and would dedicate one hour to go through the matters of the King''s Court.


    After having a light breakfast, she would go and train with General Osmond. General Osmond was kind and willing enough to continue their personal training session early in the morning. Sometimes, Raphael would also join the two of them and would have a sparring session with Adeline.


    After the training session, Adeline would then take a bath and have a heavier breakfast. Hawisa and Osanna would do their best to make the Princess look formal and authoritative. She would then spend most of her day in the King''s Court, discussing and listening to important matters with the King and the council.


    If there was nothing to discuss then she would go to her assigned workplace and then she would continue gathering proofs against Lillian, and would work on some other pressing matters of the Kingdom.


    Her assistant, Bennett, was a few years older than Adeline and was a very kind and handsome gentleman. He was a scholar from a noble family and was of great help to her. He would share his own knowledge and understanding of stately affairs. And as he had more experience working with the King, Adeline would take his suggestions from time to time.


    And it would already be evening when Adeline would finish her duties. She would spend some time with Rion, and then she would again indulge herself in reading several materials from her work.


    One thing that remained the same was that Theodore would come to her room every night after around 8 in the evening.


    It had already been a week since Adeline was selected as the Future Queen. Nigel, Rhea, and Fenris had already returned to Aberdeen, along with Nigel''s trusted guards and a few more carriages of souvenirs that the King had packed for them.


    And as a week had already passed, it was time for Adeline to visit Azriel in his Dragon Crypt.


    King Dragomir was in Adeline''s quarter early in the morning and he was instructing Adeline, "I have arranged a carriage for you that will take you to the hill where the Dragon Immortal resides. But the carriage will only take you to the bottom of the Hill. And after that, you will need to climb the hill on your own."


    Adeline had clearly told her father why she was going to meet their Deity. And Dragomir was happy thinking that Adeline must have had done something great in her past life to have two Immortals in her side in this life.


    Adeline remembered the opening of the Dragon Crypt being at a considerable height so she asked, "How much will I have to walk to get to the Dragon Immortal''s residence?"


    "It will take you about an hour to reach there from the bottom of the hill." Dragomir sighed and placed his palm on Adeline''s shoulder. And he warned her, "The path on that hill is really narrow and steep so make sure that you climb the hill very carefully."


    Adeline could see the worry lines on her father''s forehead so she gave a reassuring smile and said, "I will be careful. You don''t have to worry about me, father."


    Dragomir looked at his daughter from top to bottom. Adeline was wearing her training outfit as he had instructed. It was easier to move around in the training outfit than in her fancy gowns. Climbing the hill would be impossible if she was to go there in her fancy outfits.


    He then looked at her shoes and asked her, "Are you sure those shoes are comfortable? They give a good grip, right?"


    Adeline smiled and said, "Father, I have sparred with General Osmond in these shoes. So climbing a hill in these won''t be a problem. Don''t worry, I won''t fall."


    Dragomir laughed at his own over-cautiousness and then apologized, "I am sorry. I can''t help but worry about you. I still feel like you are a little kid. I keep forgetting that you are now even capable of leading the Kingdom on your own."


    Adeline hugged her father and spoke in a pampered voice, "I am still a kid though. I love it that you care about me so much."


    Dragomir lovingly stroked her hair and then he immediately added, "And when returning, Dragon Immortal might offer to teleport you to the carriage if he is in a good mood. Don''t deny him if he offers to help you get down the hill because climbing down the hill is really harder than climbing up."


    "Sure. I will do that."


    And after Dragomir gave her some more advice and warnings, he finally let Adeline leave for the Dragon Crypt.


    Adeline was led by her fully armed and armored guards towards the carriage. After she got inside, all her guards mounted their respective horses and led the way. The Dragon''s Crypt was located at the Northern Border of Wyverndale, near the Jhomla Pass. And the journey would take around six hours by carriage.


    Adeline had never ridden a carriage for that long. At first, she was excited for the comparatively long journey that she had set out for. After crossing the villages, she opened the window of her carriage and watched the beautiful fields and farms.


    However, after about two hours, she was bored out of her mind. She was tired of watching the similar fields and being alone inside the carriage was not helping either.


    Adeline''s eyes twinkled as her eyes fell on the ring that she was wearing. And she mumbled to herself, "Right! I guess I should call Theodore. I have never traveled with him, so it should be fun."


    She hurriedly closed the windows of her carriage and sat down properly. Then she brought her knuckles close to her lips and was about to kiss the ring. But she stopped midway because she remembered she had not told Theodore that she was going to visit Azriel. She didn''t want to make Theodore angry and jealous for no reason, and she definitely did not want the two brothers to fight because of her.


    So she endured her boredom and continued her journey alone.


    After six long hours, Adeline and her guards finally reached the hill where Azriel resided. She got out of the carriage and then looked up the hill.. A little sneer appeared on Adeline''s face when her glance fell on the path on that hill.

 Chapter 219 - A Fair Warning

    After looking at the path, Adeline wanted to laugh at those who named the hill with the Devil''s cave as the Hill of Grimmer Death. At least that hill had a path that was just wide enough for a carriage. This hill had an even deadlier path than Theodore''s hill.


    Like Dragomir had explained, the path was just enough for a human to walk. If one was to lose balance, then they would fall down the rocky hill and break at least half of their bones, and inevitably die because of the fall.


    Adeline turned towards her guards and ordered, "All of you, wait for me here. I will return once I meet the Dragon Immortal."


    "But we cannot let you climb this dangerous hill alone, Your Highness. Please allow us to accompany you," the leader of the squad bowed his head and expressed his concern.


    Adeline clicked her tongue and said sternly, "There is nothing you can do here. The road is too narrow so you cannot support me while climbing. We will just get in each other''s way if we try climbing together. So it is better if you just wait here."


    The guard reluctantly accepted Adeline''s order, "Yes, Your Highness. Please be careful."


    "I will," Adeline turned around to face the hill again. Then she took a deep breath in and began climbing the hill.


    After about an hour of the steep uphill climb, Adeline finally reached in front of the entrance of the Dragon Crypt. She had never experienced walking on that kind of narrow path of a hill, and it became a thrilling experience for Adeline. She had never imagined that even a tedious task like walking uphill could be this exciting.


    Azriel was already waiting for Adeline at the entrance. He had felt the presence of his magic object in the vicinity so he came to welcome Adeline to his humble abode. "Adeline, how have you been?" Azriel asked as he offered his hand to Adeline.


    Adeline smiled and took Azriel''s hand. "I have been good, Azriel. And what about you?"


    Azriel pulled her up the huge step that was at the entrance and led Adeline inside his underground mansion. He turned his head to glance at Adeline and answered with a smirk on his face, "Other than the fact that Theodore came to threaten me, I have been good."


    Adeline turned her head in shock because Theodore had not told her anything about that matter. And she asked while stammering, "He-he came to threat-threaten you? Why would he do that?"


    She was genuinely worried for Theodore because she could feel that Azriel was far stronger than Theodore. And she knew that Theodore being Theodore, liked to beat his brothers for no reason at all, even if it meant that he would be greatly hurt in the process.


    The smirk on Azriel''s face never left his face. He gave a corner-eyed look to Adeline and said in a playful tone, "Well, let''s just say that he was jealous."


    "Jealous?" Adeline''s brows knitted in tune.


    Azriel had a sense of satisfaction on his face when he said, "Yes, he was afraid that I would snatch you from him."


    Adeline then realized that she was still holding Azriel''s hand and she swiftly pulled her hand away from his grasp. Then she gave an awkward smile and averted her gaze from Azriel.


    Azriel chuckled lightly as he was amused by Adeline''s action. And he said in a teasing way, "Don''t worry. I am not interested in young girls like you. I am more interested in mature ones, to be more precise, I like women older than me."


    Adeline stole a quick glance of Azriel''s face as if to guess how old he was. But it was impossible to do so because the fallen angels looked really young as opposed to their age.


    And Azriel answered as if he knew what exactly was in Adeline''s mind, "I am around a thousand years older than Theodore. He is the second youngest child of our parents. We have a sister who is younger than him."


    "Oh!" Adeline nodded her head and said in a soft voice, "It''s nice to know."


    Azriel raised one of his brows and asked, "Theodore never talks about us or our parents?"


    Adeline puckered her lips and squinted her eyes. "He shares very little about his family. I just knew that the Devil King is his brother. Other than him, he never said anything about any of his other siblings."


    Azriel chuckled again and whispered to himself, "I see�� they still are on good terms with each other. I wonder if Samael would talk to me if I went to greet him in Hell��"


    Adeline glanced at Azriel''s face and then asked, "Did you say something, Dragon Immortal?"


    Azriel stopped in front of a huge door and shook his head, "No, I was just talking to myself." He pushed that massive door open with a gentle push of his index finger. He looked at Adeline and pointed his brows inside the hall with his favorite carpet and said, "Come in."


    "Yes, thank you!" Adeline followed Azriel and went inside that hall.


    The chairs were in one corner of that hall but Azriel led Adeline towards the carpet. Adeline didn''t say anything and followed her Deity very obediently.


    Azriel took off his shoes before stepping on his precious carpet and sitting down with his legs crossed. Adeline also took off her shoes. It would be a shame to step on that marvelous carpet wearing the dusty shoes. Adeline was captivated by the carpet that imitated the night sky. The carpet looked so alive that she didn''t realize she had been standing still while staring at that moon and stars.


    "The carpet is really amazing, isn''t it?" Azriel whispered while gently rubbing his palm on that carpet.


    "Yes, it is really beautiful." Adeline nodded her head happily and glanced at Azriel. But for the first time, she saw a sad expression on his face. She didn''t imagine that Azriel knew how to wear that expression on his face. He always looked merry so she wondered what made him so sad.


    Azriel abruptly tore his gaze off from the carpet and then flashed a grin to Adeline. Then he gestured his hand in front of him and asked, "Why don''t you sit down?


    Adeline stood about a foot away from Azriel and crossed her legs. Then she sat down in front of her Deity, ready for him to cast a spell on her.


    Azriel was now in his serious mode. He glanced at Adeline and gave her a fair warning, "Before I begin, I want to explain the side effects of the inscription spell that I am going to cast on you.. Listen to me very carefully and do not blame me later for whatever is going to happen to you after I cast the spell."

 Chapter 220 - I Am Ready

    "I am listening, please continue," Adeline smiled and waited for Azriel to explain the side effects that the inscription spell would have on her.


    Azriel looked Adeline in the eyes and replied truthfully, "As I had said earlier, the inscription spell that I am going to cast on you will trap the demonic power that is inside of you. And it will prevent that power from acting on its own and overwhelming your human body."


    "After the spell is cast, though the power will still be inside you, it will neither be able to grow nor will it be able to give you any kind of unfair advantage that it had been giving you for the past decade."


    Adeline looked down and her cheeks started to turn red when Azriel said that she had an unfair advantage for the past decade. She hoped that her Deity didn''t resent her for cheating almost all her life.


    Azriel disregarded Adeline''s expression and continued with his explanation, "To put it more clearly, your strength will revert back to its normal human level and you won''t be receiving any kind of protection from the magic attacks. You will be on your own from now on. You can''t rely on the demonic power anymore."


    "Eh?" Adeline was stunned to hear the side effects of the inscription spell. She definitely did not want to die from the energy overdose that her demonic power would produce. But sealing that power suddenly did not sound like the best option to follow.


    Ever since she had met Theodore when she was a toddler, that same demonic power that Theodore had lent her had been protecting her and making her stronger than the others. And Azriel was saying that she would now have to give up on those benefits of her demonic power.


    Azriel looked into Adeline''s dilated sapphire eyes and asked her, "Now that you know what is going to happen to you, are you ready for this? Shall I begin casting the spell?"


    There was no answer from Adeline. She was just staring at Azriel with vacant eyes.


    "Adeline! Adeline! Are you listening to me?" Azriel asked once more to make sure that Adeline was now ready for the spell.


    However, Adeline was still lost in her own thoughts. She was looking at Azriel and could see his lips moving. But her mind was focused on weighing the pros and cons of sealing her powers.


    "Since you are not objecting, I will now begin casting the spell." Azriel raised his index and middle fingers together then brought his hand closer to Adeline''s chest. His fingers began to produce an azure glow.


    Adeline was startled when she saw that azure light glowing near her chest. She hastily raised her hand in a stop motion and exclaimed, "Wait a minute!"


    She glanced at Azriel with an inquisitive look and asked, "Do you mean to say that after the spell is done, I will be�� weak?"


    Azriel put his hand away from Adeline and the glow on his fingers disappeared. He then sighed and politely tried to make Adeline understand, "It depends on how you look at it. You have been depending on some external source of power to be stronger than the others. But once I put the seal on that external power, you will begin to depend on your own internal power."


    However, Adeline frowned even more because she didn''t understand what her Deity was trying to say. How was depending on her average human power going to be any better?


    She clutched her hand over her chest and asked, "But isn''t it given that my own internal power will be weaker than the demonic power?"


    Adeline darted her eyes on Azriel''s fingers to check if they were glowing and then gazed back at his face. She shook her head and exclaimed in a voice full of worry, "I can''t let that happen! I cannot get weak! What if I will be too weak to be considered a ruler? What if I can''t protect the Kingdom and its people?"


    The Princess clenched her fists in determination and stated, "I have to stay stronger so those evil people won''t be able to harm me or Wyverndale. As the chosen one, my very first duty towards the Kingdom is to stay alive so that I can take on father''s responsibilities when the time comes."


    She abruptly stood up as if she wanted to run back to her carriage and then asked nervously, "I will be okay if I do not consume others'' aura of fear, right? I will train myself not to do so. Then I shall be fine, right? I cannot forgo the blessing that Theodore gave me... not after living with that power for almost my whole life."


    Azriel gave a soft smile to Adeline and then said, "Adeline, the blessing that Theodore gave you has already been corrupted. It has now become a curse to you. And no, you cannot train yourself to not consume the aura because you are not a demoness."


    Azriel also got up from the floor and then walked up to Adeline. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and said in a melancholic tone, "And like you said, staying alive is your major responsibility towards the Kingdom. But if this demonic power is inside of you for too long, I cannot guarantee that you will live long enough to fulfill your duties as the Queen."


    Then he pressed on her shoulders to make her sit down again. After she took her position again, he also went and sat down in front of her.


    And he tried to console her, "Since your body already knows how well you can perform, you will automatically begin to push yourself so that you can feel the thrill and power that you feel now. And within a few years, you will be able to fill the gap in your strength by relying on your human power alone."


    Adeline was still not convinced by what Azriel had said. So she asked again, "What if I won''t be able to fill the gap? What then?"


    Azriel gave a reassuring smile to Adeline and raised his fingers again. "Wait until five years and measure your progress. If you are still unsatisfied then come back to me. I will lift the spell for you."


    His fingers glowed azure blue in color and he asked one final time, "Are you ready?"


    Adeline inhaled deeply and then exhaled through her mouth. Though she was still feeling uneasy in her heart, she put her trust in Azriel''s judgment and nodded her head.. "I am ready."

 Chapter 221 - Inscription Spell

    Azriel held out his palm in front of Adeline''s chest again. His fingers were already glowing with divine light. He closed his eyes and began to chant the spells in some ancient language that Adeline did not understand.


    Adeline focused her attention on the light that Azriel''s fingers were emitting. She could not tell if the spell was working or not because she was not feeling any difference in her body. All she could see was that Azriel had been chanting the spell with great concentration.


    Suddenly, a small orange spark flared at the tip of Azriel''s fingers. Adeline watched it curiously.


    That spark grew bigger as he kept on chanting. And soon, that spark took the shape of a small circle. And second by second, that circle grew bigger and bigger until it was large enough to touch the ceiling of that hall.


    Several lines, smaller circles, and other shapes started to appear inside that larger circle. When Adeline thought that the glowing orange circle was complete, Azriel paused his chanting and bit the thumb of his other hand.


    Then he jerked his palm and splattered his blood towards Adeline. Adeline closed her eyes and flinched thinking that the blood would land on her but to her surprise, even though the magic circle was see-through, it still had some invisible force that didn''t let the blood to pass.


    Azriel''s blood was soaked by the magic circle. And as if the magic circle was alive, it began to shake violently. After a while, it stopped shaking and 8 runes appeared on the empty spaces of that circle.


    Azriel finally opened his eyes and spoke with a ragged breath, "It is going to sting a little. So bear with me."


    And before Adeline could nod her head, she felt as though a spear passed right through her heart. She grunted and winced in pain. She dug her fingernails on her knees and tried her best not to make a sound.


    Adeline took deep breaths in and then exhaled through her mouth in order to contain her pain. After a few seconds, the pain began to cool down. Then she glanced at Azriel through that magic circle in between them and asked, "Is it over? Was the spell successful?"


    Azriel had a confused expression on his face. "Er�� it-it hasn''t even started yet. You will know when it will be over." The azure blue glow around his fingers started to glow even brightly and he added, "I guess I overestimated your pain tolerance. It is going to hurt a little more than earlier."


    Azriel then closed his eyes again and Adeline inhaled nervously. She braced herself for incoming pain while hoping that the pain wouldn''t last for too long.


    Adeline focused her attention on Azriel''s fingers again because the light was starting to behave strangely. It looked as if his fingers were not emitting the light but were sucking it�� from her.


    And suddenly it came, the flood of overwhelming and unbearable agony.


    Adeline clutched her cloth with both of her hands and turned her head upwards. She was holding her breath because of the pain; the veins on her temple and her neck were bulging as if they would pop any moment now.


    Azriel was gathering the demonic energy that was spread all over Adeline''s body at the center of the magic circle. And because the power was being forcefully pulled out of Adeline''s body, she felt as if each and every inch of her body was being slashed with a sharp knife. Not just that, she felt as though those wounds were being laced with salt and pepper and were being stitched back up with a huge needle.


    No matter how much she was hurting, she did not want to show that she was weak. She bit her lips to prevent herself from screaming in agony but that made the pain even worse because her lips began to bleed.


    "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh��" Unable to hold in that extreme torture anymore, Adeline finally let her lips loose and let the hall be filled with echoes of her heart-wrenching screams.


    She heaved her chest and arched her back, she was wriggling in anguish. Stream of tears fell down her cheeks involuntarily. She wanted the pain to stop but it kept on increasing. The pain became so unbearable that Adeline shifted from screaming to wailing in pain.


    Adeline felt as if all of her internal organs were about to explode. And she pleaded to her Deity, "Azriel, please stop it�� I cannot take it anymore."


    But Azriel was not going to stop when he was so close to completing the spell.


    Adeline began banging on the magic circle and she shouted again and again, "Please stop it�� It hurts too much�� please�� ple��"


    And then she lost her consciousness. If Azriel''s magic was not pulling her towards the magic circle, then she would have collapsed to the floor by now.


    After a while, the final trace of Adeline''s demonic power was trapped in the middle of that magic circle. The circle then started to shrink in size until it could fit in one''s palm.


    Azriel motioned his glowing fingers forward and pushed the magic circle at the center of Adeline''s chest. Adeline''s chest heaved with great force as the inscription spell latched itself on her chest. Along with that inscription, the demonic power also went back inside her chest, although now it was no longer roaming freely in her body, it was now sealed.


    Adeline fell backward on the carpet. She was still unconscious because of the insurmountable pain that she had just gone through.


    Azriel picked her up in his arms and carried her out of that hall. He walked along the corridor for quite a while. And he reached in front of a huge white door. He pushed the door open with his leg and carried Adeline inside that room.


    The room and its decoration looked as if it belonged to a woman. There were beautiful flower vases with fresh flowers in them. There was a huge dressing table and several pieces of jewelry were on display. The bed also looked soft and warm.


    Azriel gently placed Adeline on that bed. Then he also sat down on the bed and gazed at Adeline very intently. Adeline was still covered in sweat and her lower lip had a blood clot on it. There were a few strands of her silver hair that were stuck on her forehead. Azriel gently brushed them away without averting his gaze from Adeline''s face.


    Then he took a deep breath in and whispered to himself, "This is for Athena."

 Chapter 222 - Chaos In The Gambling House

    Theodore was roaming around the Gambling house of Hell, looking into the deepest and darkest desire for revenge among the guests. He walked with his arms on his back and as he would pass by each and every table, he would wave his fingers. He was filling their minds with vile thoughts and an urge to act on their revenge in that instant.


    Theodore was going to create chaos in the Gambling house so that he would get the limitless supply of the aura of revenge. As he walked by the countless tables occupied by monsters, dark creatures, and evil souls, he thought to himself, "I have to make myself stronger than Azriel if I am to protect Adeline from his schemes."


    "I should not have wasted all those years just playing around. I should have gathered as much aura as I could have and should have worked towards increasing my power." He subconsciously glanced at an ancient gargoyle and flicked his fingers to heighten his desire for revenge.


    He flipped his raven black hair and frowned, "Had I known I would have met Adeline, then I would have prepared myself at least a thousand years earlier. Maybe I should have used my Divine Vision one more time to look into my woman back then. But there is no use in regretting this now."


    Theodore saw two of the evil souls ready to fight one another at the table at the end of the hall. He smirked and flicked his fingers again. A light purple aura whooshed and entered their head and a brawl instantly started.


    Theodore stood at the center of his Gambling house and then uttered under his breath, "What I can do now is start gathering as much aura as I can. It''s not too late to start."


    Theodore could sense that ancient gargoyle from earlier slowly creeping behind his back. He knew that the gargoyle was after him to exact his revenge for smashing his son into pieces some decades ago.


    But Theodore didn''t mind him because soon after he would absorb all the lingering aurae around the house, everyone would calm down on their own. That gargoyle would come to his senses and realize that his son was the one who provoked the Devil Prince in the first place.


    That massive Gambling house was now filled with the sweet aurae. Theodore''s lips curled up, impressed by his own work. He raised his arms with a swift movement and inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes and then he began to absorb the aurae to quench his thirst for power.


    When he had not even finished absorbing a quarter of those lingering aurae, Theodore suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. He crouched a little and clenched his fist over his chest.


    The gargoyle which was after him stopped abruptly on his track wondering if the Devil Prince was trying to tease him by acting as though he was hurt even before he did anything to the Prince.


    But then in the next moment, Theodore let out a deafening scream and dropped down on his knees. Everyone in the room was startled by that sudden scream from Theodore. The whole gambling hall went quiet, no one made a sound except for the Devil Prince himself.


    The gargoyle understood that Theodore was not acting, there was something wrong with him. And his confidence suddenly soared.


    "Adeline! Something is happening to her��" Theodore thought to himself while writhing in agony. Needless to say, his pain was a hundred times worse than what Adeline was feeling. But still, he was trying to get a hold of himself. He was worried that something worse was happening to her at the moment.


    He fisted on the floor and tried to push himself up and stand. He staggeringly tried to get up on his feet while still grimacing in extreme pain.


    Two of Theodore''s servants who served at the Gambling house came running towards their master.


    One of his servants asked as he approached Theodore, "Master! Master! Is something wrong with you? Shall we take you to the resting room?"


    Theodore gently waved his hand to dismiss them, "No, I need to be somewhere else."


    Theodore was about to teleport himself to Adeline''s Palace. The dark aura was surrounding his body but he felt a huge rocky fist right on the back of his head. Theodore was already vulnerable and getting hit by that ancient gargoyle almost made him tumble to the floor.


    Theodore took a few steps forward and managed to hold his ground. He turned around while still trembling in pain. And he warned that gargoyle, "Do not interfere with me now. Or else��"


    "Or else what?" The gargoyle flexed his biceps and spread out his wings. Then he roared at Theodore, "You are not going anywhere until I turn you into a pulp��" he gave a sinister smile to Theodore and mocked him, "...Your Highness."


    And as if all the guests of the Gambling house wanted to see the Devil Prince getting beaten, they all began to shout and cheer for the fight.


    "Yes, beat him to a pulp."


    "Devil Prince�� come on, what''s the matter? Smash that gargoyle into pieces."


    "Why are the two of you staring so intensely? Are you two lovers? Fight already!"


    Because everyone''s heads were messed with by Theodore earlier, they were all excited for a clash between the gargoyle and Theodore. And the hall was filled with a loud chant, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"


    The gambling house''s head servant came running towards the hall to see what all the commotion was about. And to his horror, his master and the gargoyle were standing at the center of the hall. And the Prince already looked very weak.


    "Protect His Highness, you fools!" The head servant shouted at the top of his lungs and ordered all the servants. All the servants were standing still because they didn''t know what was wrong with their master. They had never seen Theodore this vulnerable before and thus they didn''t know how to handle the situation.


    After hearing that order from their head, all of Theodore''s servants ran towards Theodore and placed themselves between their master and the gargoyle.


    "Don''t hide behind your servants, you coward. Come and face me!" The gargoyle flapped its wings and angrily charged at the servants who stood between him and his prey. Though the servants were powerful dark creatures, they did not stand a chance against the berserk ancient beast.


    The pain that Theodore was feeling began to increase even more. His whole body began to burn as if he was thrown into the pit of Hellfire. He fell down on his knees again. He was squirming in pain and was already drenched in sweat. His insides felt like they were going to explode.


    "I have to find Adeline. I have to save her..." Theodore mumbled with quivering breath and tried to teleport again. But he was unable to concentrate due to the excruciating pain.


    He tried to call his head servant, who had the ability to teleport, in order to ask him to take him back to Earth. However, he could see that most of his servants were being beaten and thrown around by that gargoyle. The head servant was also busy fending off that berserk gargoyle.


    And before he could think of another way to get back to Earth and look for Adeline, his vision started to get blurry and he fell down unconscious on the floor.

 Chapter 223 - Spells... Spells...

    "This is for Athena," Azriel lifted his palm again and his fingers started to glow azure blue. This time, he pointed his fingers at Adeline''s forehead. He began to chant the ancient spell again. Soon, a magic circle appeared between Azriel''s fingers and Adeline''s forehead.


    He bit his thumb again and dripped the blood on the magic circle. And after the ancient runes appeared on the circle, they started to glow and come alive.


    This time, the azure light began to pull Adeline''s memories towards the magic circle. And her memories began to play out in front of Azriel''s eyes as if they were moving pictures.


    "I''ve not seen anyone called ''father'' here. Are you lost, little human?"


    "I''m Theodore. May I also know your name?"


    Azriel kept on watching Adeline''s memories with an expressionless face.


    "I am going to treat you like a woman from now on�� my woman."


    "I love you, Adeline. I love you with all my heart."


    Adeline fluttered her lashes and wrinkled her brows. It looked as though her memories were affecting her. But she was still lost deep in the sea of her unconsciousness. The magic circle didn''t stop sucking Adeline''s memories just yet, her memories were still playing out.


    "Do you think I will be able to keep myself away from you for another decade? I would die of heartbreak, Adeline."


    "And don''t ever try to push me away and ask me to leave. I don''t think I will be the same if I have to stay away from you. I will truly turn into the Devil that the world thinks I am."


    At this point, Adeline made a whimpering noise and warm drops of tears began to roll down her temple. She was moving her fingers and toes. It looked as though her mind was trying to fight back, that she was trying to protect her precious memories. But everything was in vain. The only thing that she could do was shed her tears.


    Azriel was seeing all that and yet, he looked indifferent. He had no remorse whatsoever for what he was doing. He was sealing each and every piece of Adeline''s memories related to Theodore. He was making her forget the love of her life. He was going to separate the two lovers.


    "I am the future husband of Adeline."


    "I just wish that I could embrace you forever in my arms��"


    After quite a while, the very last shred of memory that she had of Theodore was sucked by the magic circle. And with her memories about Theodore sealed away, the ring that Theodore had gifted her also vanished from her finger.


    Azriel then made the magic circle shrink in size and he pushed it on Adeline''s forehead.


    Adeline stopped whimpering after another inscription spell was successfully cast. But her tears were not taking any name of stopping. They kept on breaking the barrier of her closed eyelids and kept on gushing out because of the sorrow that her mind was now unaware of.


    Azriel approached Adeline''s face with his palm and wiped her tears. And he whispered to her, "I am not sorry for doing this to you. Consider this a way of protecting you from any future troubles. Nothing good would have come out of your association with the Devil."


    His pupils dilated and he whispered more to himself than to Adeline, "You two belong to two different worlds. You would have separated with him anyway. So I just did you a favor by making you forget him while you still have enough time ahead of you to start over." It sounded as though he was trying to convince himself that he had just done a good thing for Adeline.


    Then he abruptly got up and teleported at the foot of the hill. He appeared in front of the guards that had escorted Adeline. They used to come with the King as well so they knew who Azriel was. They all bowed to the Deity of Wyverndale, "Long live, Dragon Immortal."


    And Azriel ordered them, "Adeline is currently resting. I have performed a soul purifying spell on her so her body won''t be able to handle the long-distance travel in the carriage. I will personally bring her back to the Palace in a while. You all may leave without her."


    The guards did not dare to raise their voice against the Deity so they agreed to do as he said, "Yes, Dragon Immortal. We will leave our Princess in your care."


    Azriel clenched his teeth and teleported to his own chamber. He then lied down on his bed. "I guess I should sleep for a while and wait until Adeline wakes up." He closed his eyes to get some sleep. But no matter how much he twisted and turned, he was unable to fall asleep.


    He heaved a great sigh and sat up on his bed. He then flung himself out of his bed and teleported to the room where he had left Adeline.


    Azriel glanced at the defenseless Princess and rubbed his palm. He was ready to perform another spell. He chuckled and whispered, "I must be mad to be doing this�� But here it goes."


    He held out his palm towards Adeline''s chest. Unlike earlier, his fingers were not emitting light. Rather, the pendant that Adeline was wearing was attracted to his palm and it hovered a little above Adeline''s chest.


    Azriel cast a different spell this time, not on Adeline but on the pendant. As he continued the spell, his breathing got heavier and his free hand was digging on his thigh.


    The pendant glowed brightly after some time and then it landed back softly on Adeline''s chest.


    Azriel seemed to have exerted too much of his power to cast this spell because he was panting and was sweating profusely. He was already pale and now he looked paler.


    He then teleported himself to the top of his hill. He was not done with casting the spells yet. He held out both of his palms while making them face the sky. Then he began to chant a spell.


    It was still afternoon and the sky was very clear without any signs of clouds. But soon enough, the sky was engulfed by dark clouds. The sky looked menacing with the thunder and storm. And it began to pour down.


    A large magic circle that encompassed almost all the sky of Wyverndale appeared below the dark clouds.


    Azriel was casting another inscription spell. This time, he was going to wipe the memories related to Theodore from everyone in Wyverndale.


    Azriel gritted his teeth and kept on holding out until the memories of several people of Wyverndale were sucked by the magic circle. And after everyone''s memories were sucked out, he destroyed the circle itself.


    Even though he was the son of God, his powers were still limited. The spell used too much of Azriel''s power. And the moment he destroyed the magic circle, he collapsed.


    Everyone in Wyverndale forgot about their actual encounters with the Devil Prince. They forgot the real stories that they knew about him. Theodore was now limited to the myth.. His identity was now limited as the Devil that people used to scare their children at night.

 Chapter 224 - Something Amiss

    Theodore gasped and flung his eyes open. He found himself surrounded by countless creatures of Hell. Everyone began to cheer and shout after he regained his consciousness.


    One of the onlookers shouted, "Oh, look! The Devil Prince is awake!"


    "Now we can finally watch that gargoyle beat the crap out of His Highness," Another one cackled.


    Theodore tried to move but he saw that he was chained to a post outside his Gambling house. But that flaming chain was not what was putting him at unease. He felt as if there was this huge hole in his heart as if something was amiss. He felt as though�� as though half of his soul was missing from his body.


    He closed his eyes again and tried to recall how he ended up like this. And he remembered why he had fainted earlier. "Oh, no�� Adeline!"


    "Why can''t I feel the presence of Adeline?" Theodore could feel that his connection to Adeline was already severed.


    "Has it�� has it been too late? No! No! That can''t be��" Theodore''s heart was penetrated by the fear of loss. His breathing staggered and he felt lightheaded all of a sudden. He felt as though his whole world was crumbling in front of his eyes.


    But he clenched his fists and forced himself to think rationally, "Calm down, Theodore. She is a strong woman. She can protect herself�� Just find her where she is before jumping to a conclusion."


    Theodore filtered out all the shouting and chanting that was going on around him. And then he activated his divine vision to see the whereabouts of Adeline.


    After a few seconds, Theodore opened his eyes. They were burning furiously to reflect the raging anger that he was feeling. "That serpent! What did he do now?" He cursed inwardly because he recognized the room that Adeline was in.


    He dug his nails in his palms and roared, "I am going to snap that serpent''s neck tonight."


    Theodore was about to break free from the flaming chain when that blood-thirsty gargoyle landed in front of him with a loud thud. "Where are you going, my Prince?" He cracked his knuckles and added, "I haven''t even landed a blow yet. I was waiting for you to wake up."


    Theodore was definitely not in the mood to entertain the crowd. He glared at the gargoyle with his burning red eyes and growled, "I am in an ill mood. If you want to live then get the hell away from me."


    The gargoyle thought that Theodore was still weak and teased him even more. He pretended to shiver and commented sarcastically, "Oooh! I am so scared. With the state you are in, you can''t even put a crack on this mighty gargoyle. So don''t just run your mouth, Prin��cess." He then let out a grim cackle which enraged Theodore even more.


    The chains that were holding Theodore to the post melted away in an instant. Two large black horns protruded from Theodore''s head. And he flapped out a pair of massive wings covered with shiny black feathers.


    Even the whites of his eyes were burning like fire. His canines turned into sharp fangs and his nails had now turned into claws that looked sharp enough to slice iron like butter. And the aura that he had toned down broke its barrier and intensified to reveal its massive and angry form.


    The riled-up crowd that was excited to see the gargoyle beat up the Devil Prince now came to their senses. It had been a long while since they saw this intimidating form of their Prince. And they had forgotten just how formidable he was when he was provoked.


    They all wanted to run away from there but their knees and legs gave up on them. Some of the onlookers were shivering like a leaf, some were already kneeling down on the ground, and some were too stunned to even move an inch.


    Even that gargoyle who was pumped up to beat Theodore into a pulp was now scared for his life. He realized what he had done. And he knew his life was in danger.


    A devilish smirk appeared on Theodore''s lips and his voice resounded throughout the surrounding of the Gambling house, "Princess huh? I will show you what this Princess can do."


    Theodore pushed himself up in the air and flew towards that gargoyle. When he was right in front of that gargoyle he performed a swift slash with both of his hands and flew past him.


    After a moment, a loud crashing sound resonated followed by a loud outcry of agony. Both of that gargoyle''s arms were separated from his body. Everyone began to run for their lives fearing that the Devil Prince would unleash his fury on all of them.


    However, Theodore didn''t have time to go after those small fries, he had a bigger fish to kill.


    He instantly teleported himself to the room that he had seen earlier in his vision.


    Adeline had regained her consciousness a while ago. She was pacing back and forth in that room where Azriel had left her, trying to remember what exactly happened to her. She remembered that she had come to the Dragon Crypt for something but she didn''t quite remember what that was.


    She could see flashes of Azriel performing some kind of magic on her. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not recall why he was doing that. "Why can''t I remember?"


    She chewed her cuticles and racked her brain. "And why do I feel like I am forgetting something very important to me? Why do I feel as if... as if I just lost a part of my soul? Why do I feel so restless?"


    Defeated, she took a deep breath in and thought, "I think I should ask the Dragon Immortal. He should have answers to my questions. Where is he anyway?"


    Adeline turned on her heels to get out of the room. However, she stopped midway when a dark mist began to swirl in front of her.


    She scrunched her brows and whispered to herself, "What is happening?"


    Adeline looked around and shouted, "Dragon Immortal, are you the one to do this? It looks a little scary��"


    The dark mist slowly cleared and she could see the most frightening being that she had ever seen in her life. Her soul nearly slipped out of her body when she saw that menacing creature staring right into her eyes with its burning red eyes.


    She abruptly took a few steps back and stuttered, "Who-who are y-you? What are you do-doing here?"

 Chapter 225 - Did You Really Forget?

    Theodore took a few steps closer to Adeline and spoke in his softest voice, "Adeline�� what are you saying?" He softly smiled and said, "It''s me��"


    But Adeline got even more scared when she saw his fangs. She stiffened her shoulders and asked while shivering in fear, "H-how d-do you know my n-name?"


    Theodore frowned because he felt as though Adeline was angry at him for not coming to rescue her in time. "I am sorry, Adeline. I couldn''t come sooner because I�� because I was also in great pain."


    "But I am here now. Tell me what Azriel did to you? Was he the one to hurt you?" He took a step forward so that he could hold her in his arms.


    "Don''t come any closer to me!" Adeline exclaimed and hurriedly stepped back to put as much distance as she could between her and that scary-looking man.


    And in an attempt to do so, her foot got stuck on the dressing table''s leg and she almost tumbled backward.


    "Adeline��" Theodore held out his hand to reach Adeline. But his hand stopped midair. His eyes fell on his claws and that was when he realized that he was still in his Devil form.


    He was staring at his claws for quite some time. And when he was distracted, Adeline stole the chance to grab a sword that was on display on the wall. She pulled that sword out of its sheath and pointed it at Theodore, and she screamed, "Tell me, who the hell are you? How did you even ge-get in here? Did the Dragon Immortal s-send you here?"


    Theodore nervously chuckled and apologized, "Adeline, I''m sorry. I was in a hurry to see you and I didn''t realize that I was looking like this."


    Adeline felt as if that creature was deeply hurt. And for some reason, she felt bad for him.


    Of course, she was right about him getting hurt. It would be a lie to say that Theodore was not hurt seeing the love of his life scared by his Devil form like that. And he was even more wounded when his woman refused to recognize him just because he had horns and wings.


    Theodore quickly reverted back to his normal form. Adeline''s eyes widened when she saw that terrifying man turn into the most handsome man that she had ever seen in her life. She subconsciously compared Azriel with this man in front of her. And for some reason, she thought that this man looked more attractive.


    Theodore stole a quick glance of Adeline. She was still not letting her guard down and was still pointing that sword at his neck. And he asked in a dejected voice, "I scared you, didn''t I?" He felt somewhat embarrassed of himself now that Adeline had seen him in his dreadful form.


    He gave a mirthless smile and added, "This was why I didn''t want you to see me in this form until much later."


    "We can talk about this later. For now, tell me what happened to you earlier? I felt you in great pain." Theodore pinched the tip of the sword and then shifted it away from his neck. And he asked in a serious tone, "Did Azriel bring you here against your will? Did he do something to you?"


    Adeline looked at that man and tried to remember if she had met him somewhere before. She gritted her teeth and thought to herself, "Why do I feel as though I should remember this man? But why can''t I? Or is this man playing some trick on me? In his earlier form, he looked like a�� Devil."


    "Adeline, I am asking you something." Theodore held Adeline by her shoulders and gently shook her to bring her out of her daze. His beautiful face now looked grim. And he repeated his last question again for Adeline, "Why are you here in this room? He didn''t force himself on you, did he?"


    "What? Who are you to talk ill of my Deity? He was just��" She tried to remember what exactly was it that he did to her but all she could remember was some kind of glowing circle.


    Irritated, she slapped away his hand from her and shifted away from Theodore''s reach. "I don''t need to tell you what he did to me. And you definitely don''t have any right to speak against the Dragon Immortal when you are the one to sneak into a maiden''s room using some kind of sorcery."


    Theodore felt very sour when Adeline accused him of having an ill intention towards her. He stood there, motionless, trying to figure out if this was really his Adeline. His Adeline would never say such hurtful words to him, not even as a joke.


    She stared at that man and this time she asked with a desperation in her voice, "And why are you talking to me as if we know each other very well? I don''t even know you."


    Theodore felt as if his heart was being blown into a million pieces. He closed his eyes and winced in pain. And he groaned while he was still in deep pain, "Adeline�� have you really forgotten everything? Did you really forget all those precious moments that we shared with each other? Please tell me that you are just joking with me."


    For the first time in thousands of years, his eye rims were glistening with tears. And he pleaded again, "Please tell me that you are just teasing me. Please..."


    From his words and actions, Adeline felt as though she had a deeper level of connection with this man who was standing not too far away from her. But she was sure that this was the first time that she was meeting this man.


    However, for some reason that was unknown to her, she wanted to cry in his arms. She got this feeling that she had done that a lot of times before. And that was the problem. Her feelings were too confusing for her, she was getting more and more anxious.


    The discomfort that she was feeling because of the mismatch between her feelings and her memories was getting to her. She dropped the sword on the floor and she ended up crying and shouting at Theodore, "Who are you? Just tell me already! Who are you to me?"


    "So you really did forget��" Theodore whispered under his breath. He felt a lump in his throat. He could not stand her crying like that. And he looked away from Adeline.


    But his eyes widened as he noticed something. He faced Adeline again and focused his gaze on her pendant. He whispered again, "Or did someone make you forget?" There was something different about the pendant from the last time that he saw it.


    What he did not realize was that he was staring at Adeline''s pendant for quite a long time, trying to figure out what was different. But to Adeline, it looked as though he was staring at her chest. She felt really wronged and vulnerable. She crossed her hands over her chest and shouted while still crying, "Stop looking! And get out of here."


    Adeline kept on glaring at Theodore but he was not moving an inch. He was lost in his own thoughts, trying to think of the spell that Azriel could have used to wipe Adeline''s memories.


    And Adeline took that chance to run out of that room to find Azriel. But Theodore caught her by her waist before she could get out of the door and walked back towards the bed.


    "What are you doing? Leave me! you monster." Adeline was scared again. She began to throw her hands and feet at Theodore. But now that she didn''t even have the extra strength, her punches and kicks didn''t even manage to tickle the Devil.


    Theodore gently placed Adeline on the bed. He held her by her jaw and made her look into his eyes. "I am sorry. But I need to look into something."


    Adeline''s eyes widened in horror thinking he was going to do something really bad to her.. But before she could react in any way, Theodore put a compulsion on her, "Sleep."

 Chapter 226 - Death Invitation

    The moment Theodore said the word, Adeline instantly went to her deep sleep. Theodore gently lay her on her back. And he also sat down on the bed beside her.


    He gazed at Adeline with loving eyes and swished his palm across her body while incanting, "Revelare."


    The pendant revealed nothing as he had expected, but that spell revealed the other two spells that Azriel had cast on Adeline. Theodore gasped when he saw those ancient spells on her, the spell that their mother had taught them when they were still young.


    "Why are there two inscriptions on her? What else did you do to her, you scaled lizard?" Theodore glared at those glowing inscriptions on Adeline''s chest and forehead. And he inwardly cursed his arch-enemy, "Azriel, you just gave an invitation to your own death."


    Theodore tried to calm down the rising tides of anger inside of him. He wanted to lift the spell first and deal with Azriel later.


    He took a deep breath in and then placed his hand on the inscription spell on Adeline''s chest. He then closed his eyes to look into that inscription and find out what it was sealing.


    He opened his eyes after some time and cursed Azriel again, "So he really was the one to sever my connection with Adeline�� And he made her vulnerable to magic attacks again! It is fixed, he dies tonight from my hands."


    Theodore didn''t need to check what the other inscription spell had sealed. He already knew that it was Adeline''s memories of him.


    He then prepared himself to lift both of the spells. He didn''t care if it would take half or all of his powers in the process. Theodore pointed his fingers at the inscription on her forehead first. An azure light appeared on the tip of his fingers. He closed his eyes and began chanting a counterspell.


    The inscription lifted about an inch from Adeline''s forehead. Theodore kept on chanting the spell but after a while, the spell began to shake violently. Theodore abruptly stopped his spell and the inscription returned back to her forehead. He then tried to lift the spell that had bound her demonic powers but the same thing happened again.


    Theodore opened his bloodred eyes and dug his nails in his palms. "And he had to blend the blood spell with the inscription spell!" The tides of his anger now turned into a tsunami of fury towards Azriel.


    (A/N: Only the one who cast the blood spell will be able to lift that spell.)


    Theodore swiftly lifted Adeline in his arms and then teleported Adeline to her own room back in the Palace. He was going to destroy the whole Dragon Crypt so he took her to a safe place first.


    He lay Adeline on her bed and wrapped her with a blanket. He closed all the windows and doors of her private chamber so that no one would be able to sneak into her room when he was not there to keep an eye on her. And then he teleported back to find his brother in the Dragon Crypt.


    When he appeared on the other side, he was already in his full Devil form. He was burning with fury and hatred towards the fake God.


    "Azriel! Where are you hiding your scales, you coward? Get out here and face me directly!" Theodore flew from one room to another while screaming and cursing Azriel.


    He barged into several rooms and blasted several doors in the process. But Azriel was nowhere to be found.


    But he still kept on yelling and searching for Azriel. "You had problems with me so you should have fought with me. Why did you have to involve Adeline in this? Come out and fight me, you conniving trickster."


    Theodore was already pissed off. He faced upwards and shouted at the top of his lungs to make Azriel come out of the hole he was hiding in, "Or don''t you have the guts to face someone of your own size?"


    Azriel would have already appeared in front of him to poke fun at him if it was any other day. But for some reason, he was not coming out. But Theodore did manage to get the attention of the dragons and maids and everyone in the Dragon Crypt.


    Theodore saw a maid hiding behind the door in fear and pulled her out of her hiding spot. And he growled at her, "Where is your master? Tell me or else I will drag you down to Hell."


    That maid shuddered and then replied, "M-master had a meeting with the P-princess of Wyverndale. We were asked to not disturb him today. Please forgive me, De-devil Prince. I don''t know where our master is."


    Theodore had tried using his Divine Vision but something was interfering with his vision. He stormed out of that room. Then he went and stood in front of the entrance of the Crypt. He stared vacantly at the thunderstorm and thought of the places where Azriel could have been hiding.


    And then a thought suddenly hit him. "Why is it raining so much when this is not even a rainy season? He cast some more spells, didn''t he? Yes, this must be his doing."


    Theodore flapped his wings and flew out of the Crypt. He guessed where he would be, and he was right. He saw Azriel lying down on top of the mountain and getting drenched in that heavy rain.


    Theodore flew down with rage. He was going to wreak havoc on Azriel. He landed in front of Azriel and grabbed him by his collar. Azriel already looked like his life was drained out of his body. Theodore pulled Azriel up and shook him violently. And he shouted, "Don''t you dare die before I kill you, you useless dragonfly. Get up!"


    But Azriel just mockingly smiled at Theodore and whispered, "You know you can''t kill me even when I am at my weakest. So why bother? Just go home, baby brother."


    "Shut your foul mouth! I am not your baby brother." Theodore tightened his fist and punched Azriel right on his mouth and sent him flying to another corner of the hill. The crash created such a great impact on the hill that a small piece of the hill crumbled down.


    Azriel fell off the hill but his trusted dragon, Mimi, came to his rescue. She carried her master on her back and flew away from the enraged Devil Prince. But Theodore was not going to let Azriel escape just like that.


    He teleported in front of Mimi and then blocked her path with his massive wings. He glared at Mimi with his burning eyes and ordered her, "Mimi, stay out of the matter between us. This has nothing to do with you, so don''t get in the middle."


    Theodore held out his hand and tried to speak as politely as he could, "Be a good girl and hand him over to me."


    But Mimi shook her head and tried to flee again. However, Azriel stroked her and asked her to stop. "Mimi, he is right. This fight is about to get ugly so stay out of it. And ask everyone else to stay out of the Crypt."


    Theodore sneered and said, "Glad to hear that. At least you know what is coming to you.." And without waiting for Mimi to let go of her master, Theodore grabbed Azriel by his neck and flew away.

 Chapter 227 - Clash Of The Fallen

    Theodore threw Azriel back on the top of the hill with such a great force that the hill caved in and a large crater was formed.


    Everyone who was below them in the Dragon Crypt began flying away from that hill. If they did not, then they were sure that they would die because of the clash between two fallen angels. They knew better and they all ran for their lives, they ran as far away as they could from the Dragon Crypt.


    Though Azriel''s huge amount of power was already wasted in casting the spells of such a massive scale earlier, he still had enough to defend himself from Theodore''s wrath.


    He quickly transformed into his dragon form and then roared while facing Theodore. And as though nature also reacted to his roar, the sky grew darker and it started to downpour furiously all over Wyverndale.


    The two arch-enemies hovered in the air for a few seconds while throwing piercing gaze at one another. Both of them roared at the top of their lungs and then they both flew towards each other at their top speed.


    And when they clashed, the sound echoed throughout the nearby hills, making it sound as though it was a series of thunder. Both of them bounced off after hitting each other and crash-landed on either side of the hill.


    The two brothers had managed to fatally wound each other with just a single blow. Theodore was spitting blood from his mouth while Azriel was bleeding from both his nose and mouth.


    But disregarding their fatal state, they got right back up and clashed with each other again. Theodore kicked the Dragon on his neck while Azriel sent Theodore flying away by hitting him with his huge claws.


    The clash continued for a long time. The loud crashing and clashing sound echoed again and again. The battle sounds that the two of them produced were so loud that some villagers in the nearby village even thought that they were being attacked by the neighboring Kingdom that was behind those hills and mountains.


    After about some hours, both of them were holding their stomachs and were grunting in pain. They looked terrible, they had bruises and cut marks all over their bodies, their eyes had already swollen. And they were barely managing to stand on their wobbly legs.


    But still, they pushed themselves up again and came at each other. This time, before Theodore could reach near Azriel, the Dragon Immortal breathed out a huge ball of fire towards Theodore.


    However, Theodore managed to maneuver his way around that fireball in time. He then went under the belly of that Dragon lord and used his sharp claws to slash the Dragon''s gut. But Azriel''s scales were stronger than iron and it was a little harder to cut them like butter. Still, Theodore managed to put two deep wounds on Azriel''s stomach.


    Azriel was already weak before he even started this fight. And when his wounds began to bleed unstoppably, he could not take the beating anymore and he reverted back to his normal form.


    Theodore landed in front of Azriel and straddled him. He was still not satisfied beating Azriel even when Azriel was barely moving.


    He smashed a right hook right on Azriel''s face and screamed, "Tell me why you did that to Adeline?" He threw a left hook on Azriel''s cheek and shouted, "What had she ever done to you for you to be so cruel to her?"


    He threw continuous fists at Azriel and kept on shouting and cursing at him. And when he felt that Azriel was not even breathing, he finally stopped and got off of Azriel. He needed Azriel alive because he was the only one who could lift that spell from Adeline.


    Theodore sat beside the almost-lifeless body of Azriel while breathing heavily, he was in no better condition than Azriel.


    It was now already night and the downpour had already turned into drizzle. The two of them kept on soaking in the light rain. Azriel was vacantly staring at the dark clouds while Theodore was staring at his brother.


    There was a silence among them two for quite some time. The only sound that could now be heard was the soft pitter-patter of the rain and their heavy breathing.


    After a while, Theodore finally broke the silence and asked Azriel, "You wanted to punish me, right? You got what you wanted. So please�� take that curse back from Adeline."


    Azriel turned his face away from Theodore''s sight and said firmly, "No, I cannot do that."


    Theodore gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He wanted to beat the crap out of Azriel again. But he knew when to stop being arrogant. He knew that Azriel had an upper hand over him in this situation.


    So he put his ego aside and spoke while controlling his anger, "What do you want me to do? What should I do so that you will lift those spells from her? Do you want me to beg?"


    Theodore quickly kneeled down facing Azriel and bowed his head. And he pleaded to that heartless dragon, "Azriel, please, leave Adeline out of our issues. You want revenge, right? Then take it out on me. I am ready to take any punishment that you want to give me."


    Azriel looked back at Theodore with a shocked expression. He then chuckled and asked, "Is this even you, Theodore? The one who never yields is even kneeling in front of me? You really have become shameless."


    He then added in an amused tone, "I really underestimated that girl. She turned the almighty Devil Prince into her puppy."


    Theodore dug his nails in the rocky surface that they were on. He swallowed his pride and pleaded again, "You have already put me through hell, so please, don''t make her forget me like this. Lift her spell and you can punish me any way you want."


    But Azriel scoffed and rolled his swollen eyes. And he whispered in a mocking tone, "You have not even been apart from her for a few hours and you are telling me that you have already been through hell? Then just imagine what I must have gone through for the past nine millennials after you killed my Athena?"

 Chapter 228 - Find Me

    Theodore suddenly lost his calm and shouted at Azriel, "I did not kill her."


    And Azriel shouted in an even louder voice, "Yes, you did. You lured Athena to hell and then you pushed her in the hellfire. Tell me how I must have felt when my own brother killed my wife? And tell me how I must have been through when my other brother supported a criminal like you?"


    He sneered and said with a disgusted look on his face, "But what was I even expecting? Both of you are Devils."


    Theodore took a deep breath in and spoke in a voice that reflected a mixture of frustration and anger towards Azriel, "How many times do I have to tell you that I was not the one to lure Athena to hell?"


    Azriel just rolled his eyes and turned his head away from Theodore. If he was not extremely hurt right now, then he would have loved to punch Theodore on his face.


    Theodore was not going to give up just yet. He removed the wet hair that was stuck on his face and sighed. And he spoke a bit softly, "I didn''t want to talk ill of your dead wife but let me tell this clearly once again. She was the one to lure me there saying you wanted to meet me.


    And when I reached there, she tried to seduce me. I outright denied her and even scolded her saying that I would tell everything to you. I already knew that she was not being faithful to you. She had several other lovers. But she threatened me not to tell you or else she would jump into the hellfire.


    She was standing way too close to the hellfire and when I tried to reach her to pull her away, she slipped into the pit on her own. I instantly called Lucifer and asked him to get her out of there. But unfortunately, he was too late. By the time he brought her out of the pit, she was already dead.


    (A/N: Lucifer is the only one who won''t get hurt by the hellfire. Hellfire is his ultimate weapon.)


    I am telling you once again that we did not kill your wife. And you not accepting the fact that she cheated on you, or the fact that she tried to rope in your own brother, or the fact that she was the one responsible for her own death does not make the fact false."


    Theodore placed his hand on Azriel''s shoulder and gently nudged him, "It has already been nine Millenials, Azriel. When are you going to accept the truth, and when are you going to stop blaming me and Lucifer for killing your unfaithful wife? Can''t you forget about her? Can''t you let her go for your own good?"


    Azriel was still facing the other way and was pretending not to hear a word that Theodore was telling him. Theodore let out a ragged breath and thought that he would come to talk with Azriel the next day.


    He got up from that wet and muddy place and took a few steps away from Azriel. Then he spread out his wings and flapped them to shake the water off. He was ready to leave his arrogant brother to sulk on his own.


    However, before Theodore could leave, Azriel sat up and said, "The spell will lift on its own when Adeline actively seeks you out herself. Just don''t try to force her to remember you because it will only be counterproductive." He did not say how many spells among the three that he had cast on Adeline would lift on its own.


    Nonetheless, Theodore felt greatly relieved at that moment when he heard that the spell would lift itself.


    All he needed to do was wait for Adeline to remember him. He believed in Adeline, he wanted to believe in his woman. He believed that Adeline''s love towards him was strong enough to pull her to him. He believed that their love was true enough to make her seek him out on her own.


    "Thank you, Az." Theodore had not forgiven Azriel for making him and Adeline go through all that pain but having a little hope of reunion was better for him than having no hope at all. He then flapped his wings and flew away.


    Azriel''s lips curved up a little because it had been a long while since his brother had referred to him as ''Az''. And he kept on watching Theodore as he flew away from him.


    The rain had already stopped by now. Theodore flew for some time in order to dry himself. And when he was not dripping water anymore, he teleported himself to Adeline''s room.


    Immediately after arriving in her room, he first changed his appearance to his normal form. However, he still didn''t look that normal though, because of all the bruises and cuts that he had all over his face and his body.


    Adeline was still fast asleep in the same position in which Theodore had left her earlier. He walked up to her bed and sat down as lightly as he could. He gently placed his palm on her cheek and called for her, "Adeline."


    Adeline slowly opened her eyes. And the moment she did so, she gasped and sat up abruptly. "You�� why are you still here?" She looked around to find something to hit that man with but she realized that she was already back in her room. "And how am I here?"


    A chill shiver ran down her spine fearing that he did something to her in her sleep. She looked at him while trembling in fear and asked, "What did you do to me?" She slowly shifted away from Theodore and was about to make another run.


    Theodore felt a pang in his heart seeing Adeline getting that scared of him. But he could not blame her, it was not even her fault. She was as much a victim in this as he was.


    Before Adeline could jump out of her bed, Theodore held her by her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes.


    All of a sudden, Adeline''s mind went completely numb. She was no longer in control of her thoughts. All she could see was a pair of glowing red eyes. And all she could hear was the sad voice of that man.


    Theodore had put her under his compulsion again. She had already forgotten the good memories with him and he did not want her to remember their unfortunate encounter in the Dragon Crypt. He did not want her to remember him as a monster. That piece of memory was the worst possible memory that Adeline could retain about him. So he was going to make her forget that as well.


    And he began creating fake memories for her, "Listen to me very carefully. You met your Deity, and he cast some spells on you. After that, you rested in one of his rooms for some time. You looked around that room and it was really beautiful."


    Erasing her memory like that was hurting him too much. His eyes rims were filled with tears as he continued to twist her memories, "You liked a sword that was displayed in that room very much. You played with that sword for a while. And your Deity brought you back to your room. You were already tired, so you went to sleep as soon as you got to your room. Do you understand?"


    Adeline replied without showing any hint of emotion in her voice, "I understand."


    It was now time for Theodore to disappear from her sight until she found him again. But he was finding it very hard to leave her side. He felt something very uneasy in his throat as if something was stuck there. He gulped several times to make that feeling go away but it was of no use.


    He kept on staring at Adeline''s emotionless face and something very overwhelming overtook him. He tried taking in deep breaths but his eyes began to get blurry as it was covered with tears. And for the first time in his entire existence, warm tears started to roll down his cheeks as if to accompany him in his sorrow.


    After silently shedding his tears for some time, he lovingly gazed at Adeline and whispered, "I hope you find me soon�� just like you found me all those years ago."


    He leaned forward to take one last kiss. The moment he pressed his lips against hers, his emotions became way too unbearable for him. He felt as though his heart was pierced a million times and was thrown into the hellfire.. And before the insurmountable grief would consume him completely, he turned into a dark mist and vanished.

 Chapter 229 - [Volume II: A Step Closer To Forever] Hairpin

    "I hope you find me soon�� just like you found me all those years ago."


    Adeline inhaled sharply and sat up straight on her bed. She was breathing very heavily and her eyes were all wet.


    She had a defeated expression on her face. "Ugh! Not again!" she shouted in irritation because she knew what was about to come next.


    She tried her best not to cry but tears started to roll down her cheeks uncontrollably. Adeline wiped her tears a few times while complaining about her tears, "Why do these tears always betray me? Don''t fall, dammit! What''s wrong with you?"


    After a while, she gave up trying to control her tears and she ended up burying her face in her palms and crying for some more time.


    For some reason, she would always feel miserable whenever she saw this particular dream where a man with a beaten-up face would look at her with teary eyes and would ask her to find him.


    But that was not what would make her feel miserable. What would make her cry was the fact that the man would always kiss her before turning into a mist. She wished that she would be able to catch him at least once but she would always end up losing him. And for some reason, seeing that man vanish into thin air would always make her feel heartbroken.


    She finally stopped crying after quite a while and wiped her tears with the back of her palms. She pushed her long silver hair away from her face.


    Adeline took a few deep breaths in to calm her heart while whispering to herself, "It was just a nightmare. You are already awake now. You don''t have to be sad as if you really lost that man. It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare."


    Then she turned her head around to glance at the dream catcher which was hanging on the wall above her pillow. And she whispered to that dream catcher, "I guess you''ve also stopped being effective."


    She took it off from the wall and leaned down to grab a box from under her bed. She opened the lid and kept that dream catcher inside. That box was almost full of similar dream catchers.


    She clicked her tongue and she looked really worried. "I need to visit Agnes and ask her to enchant another dream catcher for me. The enchantment is starting to wear off sooner and sooner. I wonder if these will stop working altogether someday."


    Adeline sighed and slid that box under her bed again. Then she removed the blanket that was covering her body and got off from her bed.


    When she initially started to see this recurring dream, she had tried to search for that man in her dream thinking he might be real, and he might be in trouble. She would go to the nearby villages in disguise and would try to look for him.


    But because of her unsuccessful attempts, she ended up believing that it was just some nightmare and sought help from Agnes to stop that nightmare from haunting her.


    Adeline languidly walked towards her bathhouse. She splashed her face with cold water and dabbed a towel on her face.


    "Princess! Princess! Are you awake?" Adeline heard Hawisa knocking on her door and calling her.


    "Yes, I am coming," Adeline was excited all of a sudden and she hurried to open the door for her maids.


    As she had expected, Hawisa was carrying a tray on which there was a scroll. And Osanna was carrying a basket that had a pile of fresh rose petals. Before they could even come inside her chamber, Adeline grabbed the scroll and ran back inside to sit on her study table.


    However, Hawisa and Osanna were not happy with that demeanor of their dear Princess. And they also ran after her.


    Adeline had already opened the scroll and was reading it but she was distracted when her personal maids were standing in front of her while giving her a sad stare. So she slowly closed the scroll back and looked at them. And she glanced at them and gave her sweetest smile, "Umm�� I am sorry. I was too excited to read what my father had written to me."


    "Oh, then we will first prepare a bath for you." Hawisa forced a smile. And Osanna also gave a mirthless smile and nodded.


    But Adeline got up from her chair and went and stood in front of the two of them. She curved her lips downward and pretended to be sad, "I thought you two had to say something to me very urgently. But it''s okay if you don''t want to tell me."


    Both Hawisa and Osanna had huge grins on their face. And both of them simultaneously said, "Happy eighteenth birthday, Adeline."


    "Thank you!" Adeline also had a huge smile on her face seeing them happy like that. She opened her arms and hugged both of her maids, who were very dear to her.


    After they broke off from the hug, Hawisa caressed Adeline''s hair and looked at her very lovingly, "You grew up so fast�� and you grew up to be a fine lady."


    "Yes, she is our Future Queen of Wyverndale." Osanna smiled and glanced at Adeline with glistening eyes.


    Hawisa gently elbowed Osanna and gestured something to her with her eye movements. "Oh, right!" Osanna smiled and dug her hands in the basket full of rose petals that she was carrying. She shuffled around and took out a small box.


    Then Hawisa and Osanna handed that box to her together. And Hawisa said, "This is a small gift from our side."


    Adeline was not expecting any gift from her maids so she had a surprised look on her face. "Gift for me? You didn''t have to."


    "But we wanted to give something to you. We had this made especially for you so please don''t reject it." Osanna insisted.


    Adeline was a bit reluctant to accept any gift from them, but since they said that they had it made especially for her, she didn''t want to hurt their feelings so she took the box from their hands. She opened the box to find a beautiful hairpin that was made out of pure gold. The pin had a design of an exquisite phoenix that was ready to fly.


    However, Adeline abruptly closed the lid of the box and put it back on Hawisa''a hand. "I am sorry, I cannot accept this. This must have cost almost all of your savings. How can you two be so stupid and spend it all on me? Shouldn''t you be saving the coins for your future?"


    But Hawisa took Adeline''s hand again and put the box back on her palm. "You have reached a marriageable age today and it is a tradition in Wyverndale for mothers to give their daughters a hairpin on this day. We are not your mother but we wanted to fulfill that tradition anyway."


    Adeline was really touched by this gesture from them. She smiled with her eyes full of tears. She hugged both of them again and whispered to them, "You two are no less than my mothers. I grew up in your love and care after all. I am really lucky to have you in my life, Hawisa and Osanna.. I promise that I will take care of you both when you grow old."

 Chapter 230 - Voices

    After Hawisa and Osanna left to prepare her bath, Adeline sat down on her study desk again to read the birthday message that her father had sent her.


    She opened the scroll and started reading the message from the top.


    "Happiest birthday, my dear Adeline.


    I wish I had something different to tell you on your birthday, but I don''t. All I can say is the same thing that I tell you every day. That I am really proud of you and I am really lucky to have a gifted daughter like you.


    I hope that you will continue to look after the Kingdom like you have been. And I pray that you will also be able to find your own happiness. Don''t always run after the Kingdom and citizens, take some time off for yourself amidst your hectic schedule. It is okay to be selfish sometimes.


    I am sorry for nagging you even in your birthday letter. But I cannot help it when I see you over-working yourself.


    Happy birthday once again.


    With Love,


    Your beloved father."


    Adeline finished reading the letter from her father. One sentence, in particular, caught her eyes, "It is okay to be selfish sometimes." She felt as if she had heard it from someone else before so she kept on repeating that sentence over and over in her head to remember who exactly had said that to her.


    She had felt this way countless times before. She would feel as though there were holes in her memories because there were several things that did not make sense to her. She would know some things but would not know their source.


    And during such times, she could not help but think that she had in fact forgotten some parts of her memories. There was this constant unease at the back of her mind that would make her feel as if she had forgotten someone important to her.


    That discomfort would sometimes get so overwhelming that she would want to pull her hair and scream at the top of her lungs.


    In order to keep such kinds of overwhelming emotions at bay, Adeline began to devote most of her time to work. Even after having dinner, she would return back to her workroom in the King''s Court and would work on something to keep herself busy. At times, she would even fall asleep in her workroom.


    And because she felt as if she had heard that particular phrase about selfishness from someone else before, she was hellbent on recalling who that was. She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers on her temples. "Come on! Remember something."


    She repeated that phrase several times but to no avail. After a while, she gave up and opened her eyes.


    Out of frustration, she headed to her bathhouse. Hawisa and Osanna were still preparing the herbal mix for her bath.


    Osanna glanced at Adeline and seeing her restless, she assured her, "The bath will be ready in two minutes. I will call you when it is ready."


    "I''ll wait here," Adeline smile and watched them spread the rose petal, saffron, and dried jasmine flowers in her bath.


    "It is ready now." Hawisa then walked towards Adeline and raised her hands to help Adeline take off her clothes for the bath.


    But instead of allowing them to bathe her saying that it was her birthday, she outplayed them and said, "I will do it myself, Hawisa. You said that I am now of marriageable age. Don''t you think I should at least be allowed to bathe on my own?"


    Hawisa smiled and shook her head. "No one can win in talks with you. Okay, we will wait outside for you then. Call us after you get out of the bath."


    Adeline nodded and when the maids went out of the bathhouse, she locked the door. She took off all her clothes and got inside the bathtub.


    She inhaled the beautiful aroma that the water was giving off. She actively scrubbed her arms and legs and cleaned herself. And when there was nothing more left to do in the bath, she began to separate the rose petals on one side and jasmine on another. In short, she was doing anything and everything to distract herself. She was trying her best to put her mind and heart at ease.


    Nothing seemed to work so she took a deep breath in and submerged herself in the bathtub. She kept on holding her breath and stayed in the water. Surprisingly, she felt really good�� as if all her problems were washed away. The only thing that she was focusing on at the moment was holding her breath and everything else that had cluttered her mind disappeared.


    When she felt that she could no longer stay inside the water, she placed her palms at the base of the bathtub to get up. But suddenly, she got an extreme headache. Her hands slipped and she got back inside the tub.


    That was when something unexpected happened. She saw a fleeting image of a handsome man. And she heard an enchanting voice saying, "Just try to think about yourself first. Being selfish is not a sin."


    She was already out of her breath but she kept on staying put under the water hoping to see that man''s face clearly.


    The stubborn Princess was about to pass out when she heard that same voice shouting at a really loud pitch, "Adeline!"


    She flung her eyes open and sprung out of the bathtub. She inhaled sharply and looked around while having a coughing fit.


    "Hello! Is anyone here?" She was looking around to see if that man was here or she was just hallucinating. She sighed and removed the wet locks of her hair from her face. As she did not see anyone inside, she dismissed that sound as her hallucination.


    She got out of the tub with a sad expression on her face. After wrapping herself in the towel she opened the door of her bathhouse only to find Osanna panting and ready to bang on the door.


    She creased her brows and asked, "Osanna? What happened? Why do you look so out of breath?"


    But rather than answering Adeline, Osanna hurriedly barged inside the bathhouse first. She ran around and looked at each and every corner of the bathhouse.


    Adeline was puzzled by that reaction from Osanna and she suspected that she was not the only one to hear that voice. But she still asked again to confirm her suspicion, "Osanna, what are you doing? Tell me what happened?"


    Osanna gulped to moisten her dry throat and finally answered, "I heard a man''s voice shouting your name. And I was afraid that a man was peeking at you when you were bathing. So I was worried and I ran as fast as I could." She suddenly grabbed Adeline''s hand and asked, "There was no one here, was there?"


    "You heard a man''s voice?" Rather than answering Osanna, Adeline was lost in her own thoughts.


    Adeline felt a tingle in her heart. She was not sure whether she was scared or excited when Osanna confirmed that she was not imagining that voice. But what she was sure of was that she liked this feeling.


    If that voice was indeed real then she thought that the man in her nightmare was also real. Both the voices sounded similar.


    She didn''t know why or how he was hiding from her. She didn''t know if she knew that man and if she had forgotten him somehow.. But she was now determined to find that man no matter how hard she had to look for him.

 Chapter 231 - Incompetent King

    In the capital city of Mihir, the Kingdom across the Northern border of Wyverndale, a huge protest was going on. Hundreds of people were carrying empty baskets and were demanding the King to provide them with food that he had been hoarding while everyone else was suffering from hunger.


    They were raising the basket while chanting, "Give us food! Give us food!"


    King Reginald was watching the protest from the tallest tower of his Palace along with his Chief Advisor, a few ministers, and the Head General. The King slammed his fist on the wall and shouted in frustration, "Why am I the one responsible to give them food when they were the ones who didn''t grow any crops in the first place?"


    The Chief Advisor tried to make King Reginald understand the reason for the protest. "Your Majesty, it was not that they didn''t grow any crops. They did but right during the time of harvest, there was an unexpected thunderstorm for almost two weeks. And the crops were all destroyed. They are protesting because they did not get any donations from the Kingdom''s side, which they should get in times like this."


    King Reginald was a young King who recently crossed his teenage. He did not know how the Kingdom and its people worked yet.


    He was crowned as the King just a year ago after the death of the last King. Though the weight of that large Kingdom was on his shoulders now, he was really underprepared to carry that burden.


    But instead of understanding what the Chief Advisor just said to him, King Reginald got angry and shouted, "Do you really think that I am going to give those buffoons the Royal stash of rice and potatoes, and eat fish for the rest of the year? I am allergic to fish!"


    He glared at the Chief Advisor and asked in an unamused tone, "Do you want your King to die of hunger, Chief Advisor? If my late father was not the one to personally select you then I would have banished you a long time ago."


    The Chief Advisor bowed his head deeply and apologized, "My deepest apologies if I made you feel that way, Your Majesty."


    The King lifted his hand to gesture that Chief Advisor to stop talking anymore. The protest outside was getting louder and louder by the second. Reginald was already irritated by the noise pollution in front of his peaceful Palace.


    So he turned his gaze towards the Head General and ordered him, "Send out a platoon of soldiers to chase them away. I want them out of my sight within an hour."


    But the Chief Advisor interrupted again, "Please hear me out once, Your Majesty. It is not right to use force and chase them. It will only anger the citizens even more."


    The Head General was avoiding looking at the King and kept on standing there because he also knew that chasing the protestors away would only rile up the public even more.


    The Chief Advisor tried to enlighten their unseasoned King by explaining other possible ways to solve the problem at hand. "The Royal Granary has enough food to support the people of the affected area for this season. And when they will grow the crops the next season, we can buy it back from them and refill the granary."


    He was trying to make the King understand why it was his responsibility to ensure that his people were well-fed. "If the people are given food and clothing now then they will be able to work properly. Providing support now will be good for the economy of the Kingdom. So please, I request you to reconsider your decision, my King."


    Reginald narrowed his eyes and thought for a while. But he did not understand how giving away his food for free would be good for the economy. So in the end, he waved his hand and ordered the Head General again, "I think that will take a long time to keep those rats away from the Palace. So just chase them all this instant."


    "Yes, Your Majesty," the Head General bowed to the King and walked away with a discontent heart. He thought that if his previous King had given birth to a few more heirs, then maybe they wouldn''t have been stuck with such an incompetent King.


    Soon enough, around fifty of the soldiers were deployed to control the protest that was going on strong. The soldiers tried to send them away as politely as they could. However, the angry mob was not going to back down.


    They were swearing at the soldiers for behaving like dogs of the incompetent King. And they were cursing the King for being too useless.


    Some began to threaten the King saying they would stop supplying their crops to the Palace from the next season while some were even planning to infiltrate the Palace and steal the grains. If they wouldn''t be able to steal, they were even ready to destroy all the stockpile of food items just to get back at the King.


    A huge clash occurred in a matter of a few minutes. The protestors began to pick rocks and throw at the soldiers while the soldiers were using whips to beat whoever got closer to them. Some soldiers got hit on the head and collapsed while several protestors got whipped.


    But the trained soldiers were too strong for the villagers. And in the end, the protestors had to run to escape from the harsh whip but while doing so, several people fell down and got walked over by the running mob.


    There was chaos everywhere.


    Unbeknownst to them all, someone was greatly benefitting from that riot. Yes, it was the Devil Prince himself.


    Theodore was spreading his wings out and was hovering right above that place where the crazy fighting was going on. He was closing his eyes and was absorbing all the aurae of revenge that was being emitted by the people during that clash.


    He was feeling a tingling sensation flowing all over his body. After absorbing them all, he let out a gratified moan.


    A corner of his lips curved up to form a devilish smirk. "Now that''s more like it" he whispered.


    Theodore opened his eyes and they were glowing bright red. He felt greatly satisfied after absorbing the aurae from several hundred people. Not just satisfied, he also felt his demonic power getting stronger.


    He examined his long fingernails and flicked his palm. A ball of dark mist appeared on his palm. He gently moved his fingers and turned the ball of mist into a sharp dagger and then into an arrow.


    Before today, Theodore could only use the ball of mist as his ultimate weapon. But now that his mist had evolved, he was impressed by how he could control his ultimate weapon. And slowly he began forming a tornado on his palm.


    He had a wicked smile on his face and he whispered, "This is so much fun. I think I should destroy some more crops. I want more people to join the fight.. And I can get an endless supply of the aurae all in one place."

 Chapter 232 - Diabolical Prince

    The tornado of mist was beginning to take a prominent shape over Theodore''s palm.


    But before the people who were busy fighting on the ground could notice the mist swirling right above them, Azriel suddenly appeared in front of Theodore.


    His eyes widened when he saw what Theodore was about to do and he immediately flicked Theodore on his forehead while yelling, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"


    "Aaaah!" Theodore was sent flying a few meters and the tornado that he was about to release on those poor people disappeared.


    He regained his balance and rubbed his forehead while glaring at Azriel. And he shouted back, "As the Devil Prince, my job is to create chaos among mankind by inciting the desire for revenge in their heart. So as you saw earlier, I was just doing my job until someone decided to intervene!"


    Azriel heaved a sigh and tried to slap some sense into Theodore, "Baby brother, just stop this madness already! What would Adeline think if she found out that you were deliberately hurting humans?"


    "Why do you care anyway? Weren''t you the one who could not stand my happiness and snatched my love away from me? Weren''t you the one who wanted me to go berserk?" Theodore spread his arms and mocked Azriel, "Here I am. The abominable Devil Prince who loves to torture people."


    Azriel flew closer to Theodore and joined his hands together. And he gave a quick bow to Theodore and shouted, "How many times do you want me to bow to you? I have already asked for your forgiveness countless times. And I am ready to do it once again."


    He looked into Theodore''s eyes and genuinely apologized for the umpteenth time, "I was not planning to seal Adeline''s memories. I don''t know what came over me. I suddenly got this urge to take my revenge on you. But I regretted it immediately afterward. Can''t you forgive me? How long are you going to stay mad at me?"


    Theodore sneered and gave an icy look to Azriel. "Hah! You are the one to talk! You didn''t forgive me for nine Millenials even when I was not at fault. And now that you are the one at fault, you want me to forgive you within two years? Never!"


    Theodore was about to fly away but Azriel blocked his path and said, "If I had not cast the spell the way I did then I would have already lifted the spell the same day. I am sorry, brother."


    Azriel then raised his hand to touch Theodore but Theodore dodged him and said in a monotone, "Just leave me alone and let me sow some more seeds of revenge. I need to get more powerful so that I can slay the father of Dragons."


    "You know I can''t let you do that. I would love to stay alive and torture you till eternity." Azriel gave a wide grin and before Theodore could dodge him once again, he teleported behind Theodore and put his arm around his neck.


    And both of them instantly disappeared from the sky of Mihir.


    Azriel took Theodore to the Devil''s Cave, inside Theodore''s room. Even after arriving there, he was still holding Theodore by his neck.


    Theodore tried to shake Azriel off and shouted, "Leave me alone, you lizard. Do you just exist to torture me or what? Get off of me!"


    But Azriel calmly asked, "First promise me that you will not run away again. It took me a month to finally catch you. I am not leaving you so easily this time."


    Theodore rolled his eyes and agreed, "Alright! Alright! Just leave my neck."


    Azriel finally let go of Theodore.


    And without even looking at Azriel, Theodore changed into his normal form and jumped on his bed. But immediately after, he felt the mattress on his side dipping. He turned to see that Azriel was lying beside him.


    "Hey! Get off! That is Adeline''s spot!" Theodore rolled over and kicked Azriel on his butt. And he pushed Azriel from the bed.


    Azriel was sent flying away from the bed. He hit on the wall and landed on the floor. He grunted and got up while rubbing his buttocks. "You didn''t have to kick me so hard."


    Theodore sneered and turned sides to face away from Azriel. "You brought me here, didn''t you? Now you can leave. Don''t piss me off again."


    However, Azriel was not going to leave the diabolical Prince alone and let him create any more chaos. He swooshed his hand and another bed appeared by the side of Theodore''s bed. He jumped on the bed and lied down while facing Theodore.


    Without even looking, Theodore could tell what Azriel was doing. And he asked in an unamused tone, "Really? Are you really going to do this?"


    And Azriel simply replied, "I don''t want you to go around killing people. I don''t want our father to come down to Earth and disturb my peace. So yes, I am going to keep an eye on you so that you won''t wreak havoc wherever you go."


    Theodore flared his nose getting irritated by the invasion of his privacy and yelled at Azriel, "Father won''t come down here because I have not broken his rule. I did not kill anyone. They killed themselves. So just get out of my room, will you?"


    "Yeah, yeah�� whatever makes you feel better..." Azriel took a deep breath in and said, "Anyway, I am the one who is responsible for all the mess you''ve created because I am the one to push you to the edge. So I am going to do whatever it takes to stop you from keeping up your foolish act."


    "Whatever!" Theodore knew how arrogant his brother could get. So instead of arguing with him, he covered his face with the blanket and closed his eyes to get some sleep.


    There was silence in the room for a while. And Azriel said softly, "By the way, I don''t know if you remember it or not, but tomorrow is Adeline''s birthday. At least go and see her once. You can still see her without showing yourself to her, you know. You don''t have to put up the tough act in front of me. I know you miss her."


    Theodore didn''t say a word. He wanted to yell at Azriel for reminding him of Adeline every now and then when he was trying his best to not think about her. But he couldn''t utter a word because he was feeling a lump in his throat. He had not gone to see Adeline in months because every time he would see her, his heart would ache unbearably.


    And yes, it was also true that he really was missing her a lot.. As it was her birthday tomorrow, he decided to visit her and watch her from afar.

 Chapter 233 - Drooling

    Theodore could not get any sleep all night. In fact, it had been days since he last slept properly. The moment he would lie down on the bed, he would feel the empty side of his bed taunting him.


    He would miss the warmth of Adeline''s embrace when they would sleep together. And because he would be reminded of his emptiness, he would avoid sleeping on his bed as much as he could.


    Most of the time, he would sleep in some corner of his Gambling House or some random place in Hell.


    Nobody would dare to mess with him since his Devil had awakened last two years ago. If anyone tried to disturb him or poke fun of him then he would not back away from hurting, or even killing them. And everyone in the Hell dimension knew better than to stay in his vicinity.


    The head servant of Theodore''s Gambling House worried a lot about the worsening sleeping behavior of his master. Though he was happy seeing that his master was getting stronger by the day and getting feared by most of the beings in Hell, he was worried that his master''s reputation would decline if others found him sleeping on some random streets and prison cells.


    Thus, he had even offered to prepare a room and bed for Theodore in the Gambling House. However, Theodore refused it every time he would bring that up saying that he was the Devil Prince and he could sleep wherever in the Hell he wanted to.


    After twisting and turning in his bed for almost all night, finally, it was almost 4 in the morning. Theodore turned to see if Azriel was still in his room, and he was still there�� sleeping like a baby.


    "You spoil my sleep and dare to sleep like this right in front of me? I should kill you right here and now!" Theodore gritted his teeth and whispered under his breath. He sat up straight on his bed and formed a sharp dagger of mist on his palm. He aimed it right at Azriel''s head and glared at him for a while.


    But he waved away his hand at the last minute thinking, "Nevermind! This will only wake him up. And he will stick to me like a leech. And I don''t want him anywhere near me or Adeline."


    Theodore got up from the bed and went to take a bath. After cleaning himself up and changing into a fresh pair of clothes, he teleported himself to Adeline''s room.


    Adeline''s room was empty when he arrived there. But her sweet scent was lingering around in the air. He inhaled her sweet aroma and instantly he felt a warm yet sad feeling in his heart.


    He walked up to Adeline''s bed and gently touched his side of the bed. "Ah! I miss sleeping here."


    Then he walked to Adeline''s side of the bed. He sat down and stared at the pillow. And he whispered to that pillow as if it was Adeline, "Adeline�� how long will it take for you to finally remember me? Please don''t take too long. I don''t think I will be the same Theo that you once knew if you delay it any longer�� I am all messed up already."


    Theodore waited for some time for Adeline to come inside so that he could see her. But he got way too restless now that he was in her room. Whichever corner he would look at, he would be reminded of the beautiful moments he shared with Adeline. And he could not wait any longer to see her face.


    He got up and headed towards her bathhouse, knowing that it was her bathing time. He walked past the wall and got inside the bathhouse.


    Theodore saw that the bathtub was covered with rose petals and other herbs and was empty. So he frowned and thought, "What? She''s not here?"


    He sighed and was about to head out to find her. But right then, he saw a few water bubbles surfacing in the bathtub. And when he looked closely, he could see that Adeline was inside the tub, holding her breath from God knows when.


    "Adeline!" Theodore panicked and shouted at the top of his lungs. He took a step ahead to pull Adeline out of the water but she sprung out on her own. Theodore heaved a sigh of relief to see her moving and breathing.


    He dug his nails on his palms and kept on looking at her when she began to cough violently. It took every cell in his body to stop himself from running to her side and holding her in an embrace.


    "Hello! Is anyone here?" Adeline looked around aimlessly to search for the source of the voice that she heard earlier. She looked eager to find the man rather than scared at the possibility that some random man could have been watching her while she was bathing naked.


    Theodore didn''t look impressed seeing her eagerness like that. He sneered and scolded her inwardly, "Look at this shameless woman! Why is she not rushing to dress yet? What if it was someone else who was peeking at her and not me?"


    However, his anger subsided when he saw her slowly pushing back the wet locks of her hair from her face. She got up from the bathtub slowly, revealing her fuller curves. Her silver hair flowed down seamlessly till the arch of her hips. She looked a little bit taller than before. And she looked even more alluring.


    Theodore did not even realize that he was holding his breath while he was gazing at her intently. He looked like a baby staring at a sweet treat while drooling.


    He wanted to hold her in his arms but he definitely did not want her to get scared and scream at him saying that he was a pervert. He did not want another ''Dragon Crypt'' memory to be created.


    But after seeing her almost drowning herself just a moment ago, he was not going to leave her alone. He did not want her acting so rashly again. So he kept on standing still as she passed right by his side. He watched her wrapping herself in the towel and going to open the door.


    Osanna came running inside the bathhouse as soon as Adeline opened the door. And she almost collided with him. He straightened his back and stood in one corner while holding his breath.


    "Of course! They are as protective of her as they were before��" He frowned and thought to himself, "I better wait outside in her room. This maid will smell me out if I keep on standing here."


    Theodore then walked out of the bathhouse and went to Adeline''s room.

 Chapter 234 - Tail

    Hawisa and Osanna were preparing Adeline for her Gift Receiving ceremony that was going to take place in the Palace Hall. All of the Royal members, council members, high-ranking officials, and the heads of the powerful families were coming to the Palace to present birthday gifts and birthday wishes to their Future Queen.


    While the two of them were giving beauty treatments to Adeline, Theodore was silently sitting in one corner of the room. He was reminded of Adeline''s sixteenth birthday when the maids began to pull out the body hair of Adeline.


    He reminisced how he had played the trick on her maids just to have some alone time with Adeline. His lips curved up remembering about the good old days.


    After the maids were done preparing Adeline for the day, she stood in front of her dressing table''s mirror and took a final look at herself.


    She was wearing a wine-colored gown that was fitting on her upper half while fluffy below her waist. The puffed sleeves were made out of shimmery fabric making them shine when the light fell on them.


    Osanna had tied Adeline''s hair into a beautiful half-bun. And Hawisa had made her face look even more beautiful by applying some colors to her eyes, lips, and cheeks.


    Adeline hummed for a while as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. And then she asked, "Osanna, will you put on the hairpin that you two gifted me?"


    Hawisa and Osanna glanced at each other with delighted eyes. "Sure," Osanna replied very enthusiastically. Then she secured the phoenix hairpin on Adeline''s bun.


    Adeline looked satisfied with her look and she smiled at her own reflection. Then she asked her maids, "How do I look? Decent enough?"


    And Theodore thought to himself, "Decent? You look like an aged wine that I would love to taste!"


    Hawisa glanced at the Princess''s reflection in the mirror with a huge smile on her face. "You look like you were born to rule the land as well as the hearts of all the people of Wyverndale."


    Osanna giggled and added, "Yes, our Princess was especially born to rule the hearts of all young gentlemen."


    Theodore, who was listening to the conversation of the three of them got furious when Osanna mentioned that. "How dare you try to corrupt my Adeline''s pure heart with your vile thoughts?" he thought to himself and he threw a needle made out of his mist right on Osanna''s neck.


    "Ouch!" Osanna winced and clasped over her neck.


    "What happened?" Adeline asked in a concerned voice.


    "Something stung me!" Osanna turned around and showed her neck to Hawisa. Then she asked her, "Will you take a look? I felt something sharp piercing my neck."


    Hawisa squinted her eyes and checked Osanna''s neck. "Where did you say you were stung again? I cannot find a thing here."


    Osanna pointed at a spot and replied while still in pain, "Right here."


    "Hmm�� there is nothing here. Not even a red dot or a rash of some kind." Hawisa then pushed her aside and said, "You are just over-reacting."


    "No, I am not. Something really did sting me!" Osanna tried moving her neck and she was stunned, "Heh! It''s gone now."


    Hawisa gave a corner-eyed look to Osanna, and Osanna hastily defended herself, "I swear to God I was stung by something."


    Adeline suddenly heard a fleeting whisper in her head, "Don''t take my father''s name and my name in the same sentence." She tightly shut her eyes and grunted as she could feel a sudden headache.


    "Adeline! Are you okay?" Hawisa noticed Adeline''s grimacing face and sprinted to her side to support her.


    Adeline blinked her eyes several times and replied, "I am fine now. Just got a little headache."


    Before Adeline could ponder upon what she just heard, there was a knock on the outer door. Osanna ran outside Adeline''s private chamber and went to see who that was.


    After a while, she returned back and relayed the message to the Princess, "It was the message from His Majesty. He has asked you to head towards the hall for the ceremony."


    Adeline nodded and smiled. "Okay, I will go then."


    Adeline walked ahead and Hawisa and Osanna also followed after her. And so did Theodore.


    The well-wishers of the Future Queen had already gathered in the hall to wish her a happy birthday. After the guards at the hall announced her arrival, Adeline gracefully walked inside the hall and made her way towards her seat that had been prepared by the King''s side. She stopped in front of King Dragomir and bowed to him, and she carried her feet towards her own seat.


    Theodore couldn''t be any prouder seeing her walking that confidently in the hall full of people. He remembered how timid she used to be. He also quietly walked up the platform and stood behind Adeline as if he was her guard.


    King Dragomir initiated the ceremony by addressing all the Royals and the dignitaries of the Kingdom and gesturing them to meet the Future Queen.


    The ceremony started with the Royals presenting their gifts to Adeline. As per seniority, Lillian was the first one to climb the platform. She was carrying a wooden box in her hand with utmost care.


    As soon as Theodore saw Lillian walking up to the platform, he clenched his fists tightly so that he would not want to kill her right then and there.


    Adeline also tightened her grip on the armrest of her grand chair when she saw that woman climbing up the stairs. Though Adeline had forgotten seeing Lillian''s memories, she still remembered jotting down each and every record of her crime. She had talked with the witnesses and victims of some of Lillian''s many crimes in order to cross-verify her own writing, and the crimes turned out to be true.


    Adeline had also written on that record that Lillian was the one to kill her mother and also kidnap her when she was a toddler. Though she had forgotten the actual source of Lillian''s crimes, she knew that those were also true. And she hated that woman from her core.


    When Lillian reached in front of Adeline, she faked a smile and said, "Happiest birthday, Princess." She handed over that wooden box to Adeline and said with a smug smile, "I have prepared a few vials of medicinal herbs for you that will help you to rejuvenate your stamina. I hope you will make good use of it."


    Adeline also faked a smile and answered, "I will." Adeline passed that box to her trusted assistant, Bennett, who was standing beside her.


    Without Adeline asking him, he knew what to do with that box. He kept it in one corner of the table so that he could dump that fishy vials of ''medicine'' later on.


    "Azriel made everyone forget about me, right? He did one good thing. Let me scare this witch again." Theodore''s hand was itching to do something to Lillian. And when she was climbing down the stairs, he released a ball of mist at Lillian''s feet.


    Lillian got stuck in that mist and tumbled down the stairs. And she landed right on her face.


    The whole hall was filled with loud gasps.


    A few guards rushed to help Lillian get on her feet but she slapped those hands away and grumpily rushed out of the hall.


    Adeline felt really good and was trying hard not to laugh.. Theodore, on the other hand, had a huge grin on his face.

 Chapter 235 - Gifts

    After Lillian, it was Queen Vultrada''s turn to wish Adeline. As expected from Vultrada, she gifted Adeline a really heavy necklace and a set of matching earrings.


    Then it was Queen Claricia''s turn. She walked up towards the stage with two of her maids who were each carrying a tray.


    Queen Vultrada rolled her eyes seeing Claricia with two gifts. And she whispered to one of the concubines who was sitting by her side, "Look at her, showing off in front of the Future Queen. But I think she was sly than most of us. She sided with Princess Adeline since the Princess was a kid. I think she knew all along that Princess Adeline would be the chosen one. And look, the Princess really favors her now."


    The concubine just gave a smile to the jealous Queen and thought to herself, "As if Queen Claricia is a Goddess who can see the future. How can this woman backbite about such an innocent Queen saying that she was plotting all along? Does she take us as a fool like her?" Then she focused her attention back on the platform.


    "Happy birthday, Princess. May you have a long and healthy life." Queen Claricia gestured to one of the maids and that maid presented the tray in front of the Princess. And Claricia said, "These are the daggers made by the most talented blacksmith of Aberdeen. I hope they will serve you well."


    "Thank you so much, Your Majesty. These are very lovely!" Adeline''s eyes were twinkling looking at that beautiful set of daggers. Both daggers had their scabbard made out of pure leather. They were made to be tied around the thighs. And she could not help but pick one up and examine it closely.


    She ran her finger through the sharp blade and Claricia had a huge smile on her face because she could tell that Adeline was already in love with her gift.


    Theodore, on the other hand, was worried seeing her playing with the dagger like that. He had this constant fear that she would end up doing something bad to herself. He wanted to snatch that dagger away from her but obviously, he could not do that.


    To his relief, Claricia got Adeline''s attention again and she presented another gift while saying, "Prince Nigel could not attend the ceremony. So he sent this gift for you." She then leaned in a bit closer and whispered to Adeline, "I hope you will forgive your brother."


    Adeline looked a little sad but she nodded her head. She understood why her brother was not here. So she accepted the gift that he had sent her and thanked the Queen, "Thank you for your wishes and love."


    Adeline glanced at the long cylindrical container that her brother had sent her and she already knew what it was. And she could not wait for this ceremony to end so that she could take a look at her brother''s gift.


    After the Royal family members finished offering gifts and wishes to Princess Adeline, the dignitaries began to climb on the platform bearing valuable gifts in their hands.


    Some gifted her rare books and scrolls, some gifted her jewelry made out of precious metals, while some gifted her expensive garments.


    Among the dignitaries, there were several young gentlemen who had come to wish the Future Queen. They were taking today''s ceremony as a chance to acquaint themselves with the Future Queen and if possible, impress her with their charms and expensive gifts.


    One of the Lord''s son walked up the stage with great confidence. He had short blonde hair and looked quite handsome. He was wearing a white surcoat with golden rims. And he was carrying a jewelry box in his hand.


    When he reached in front of the Princess, he gave a seductive smile and bowed to Adeline. And he introduced himself, "Greetings, Your Highness. I am Lord Elijah."


    He then opened the jewelry box and showed a large diamond necklace to the Princess. And he boastfully said, "I brought this from the east especially for Your Highness. I hope you like it. Happy birthday, Your Highness."


    Though Adeline did not like the overly boastful man, she smiled and thanked him politely, "It is very beautiful. You have good eyes. Thank you!"


    Adeline reached out her hand to receive the jewelry box from Elijah but he sneakily reached out his hand to hold Adeline''s palm. He was about to kiss Adeline on her knuckles and�� well that was a mistake on his side.


    "So you have a death wish!" Theodore screamed inwardly and flicked his fingers to render Elijah immobile. Elijah was holding Adeline''s palm and was pouting very close to her knuckles. He tried his best to push his head down to plant the kiss but he just could not move.


    Adeline was getting really uncomfortable because of that perverted man''s action. She frowned and pulled her palm from his grasp and said sternly, "Thank you for your gifts and wishes. You may take a leave."


    When Adeline said that, Elijah could finally move. He felt really embarrassed because of what just happened to him. His face turned red and he could not even face Adeline. He instantly jumped down the platform while hiding his face from those countless people in the hall.


    Theodore felt really satisfied watching that young fool trying his best to hide his face. And he thought with a vile smirk on his lips, "This is what happens when anyone eyes my woman. You were lucky that so many people are watching. Else your body would have been searching for your head at the moment."


    After everyone in the hall finished presenting their gifts, the King got up from his seat and announced with a cheerful face, "Thank you for coming here today and making the Palace livelier. As a gratitude for your well wishes for my daughter, I have prepared a small feast. Please enjoy the food and music."


    The maids and servants began to serve a variety of food and wine to the guests. The hall was filled with the enticing aroma of food and Adeline felt really hungry. Adeline gave one look to Bennett and he understood what the Princess meant. He smiled and said, "I will ask the maids to bring food to you right away."


    "Thank you so much!" Adeline clasped her hands with happiness and smiled back.


    Theodore, who was watching the two of them from the beginning of the ceremony, kind of felt jealous of the unspoken understanding the two of them had. However, he couldn''t quite get angry at Bennett because he had not made any inappropriate advances on Adeline. Theodore just wished that this ceremony would end soon so that all the annoying people would leave Adeline alone.


    Theodore was not the only one to notice the like-mindedness of Adeline and Bennett. King Dragomir was also noticing it since a long time ago. While his eyes were following Bennett, he leaned to his side to whisper to Adeline, "How do you find Bennett?"


    Adeline didn''t think that he was implying it in a different sense and she simply shrugged, "Well, he is really helpful. He is a perfect assistant one could get."


    King Dragomir chuckled and corrected his question, "No, I meant to ask, how do you find him as your future husband?"

 Chapter 236 - Future Husband

    "Future husband?" Theodore clenched his fists and instantly gave a piercing gaze to King Dragomir. "Why is everyone dead set on separating me and Adeline?"


    King Dragomir gave a testing smile to Adeline and expressed how he felt about Bennett. "He is a Lord who comes from a noble family. I have seen him dedicated to serving you and the Kingdom. And he actually has a good understanding about almost everything, from war tactics to general administration."


    Dragomir held Adeline''s hand and continued to praise Bennett, "And to add to that, he is also very good looking and has a good heart. In my opinion, he will be a perfect Prince Consort in the future. So why don''t you consider him as your possible future husband?"


    Upon hearing the words ''future husband'', Adeline had another episode of fleeting whispers and images in her mind.


    "I am the future husband of Adeline. See, I have already put a ring on her finger."


    Adeline was keeping her head down and wincing in pain. Whenever she would get such episodes, she would get a severe headache for a few seconds. A fight between her mind and the spell would occur in moments like that. She would do her best to press her mind and remember those fleeting pieces of her memories while the spell would do its best to conceal her memories from her.


    Theodore was ready to smack that old man on the neck and make him faint to prevent him from talking anymore. However, he held his thought when he saw that something was wrong with Adeline.


    King Dragomir was waiting for Adeline''s reply but when he noticed that she was closing her eyes as if she was trying to suppress a great pain, he asked hastily, "Adeline, are you feeling unwell?"


    Adeline finally raised her head and replied, "I am alright now. I just had a small headache."


    "Is it because of what I said?" Dragomir looked genuinely apologetic. No one else knew better than him regarding how it felt when the others would pressurize to get married.


    Adeline smiled and shook her head. "No! It''s not because of that. I can understand that you want to find a suitable husband for me. And yes, I agree that Bennett is a good man."


    Theodore was now standing in front of the father and daughter duo, ready to smack whoever required smacking.


    But on contrary to what Theodore had expected, Adeline spoke up for herself, "But I don''t think I will be able to see Bennett as anything more than a great assistant. In fact, I don''t want to see anyone else as my future husband just yet. I know I reached a marriageable age today but I still consider myself to be very young."


    And she further added, "Also, I don''t want to get married to someone after thinking he is perfect. I want to get married to someone after feeling that he is the right one. It is okay if he has some flaws in him. The only thing I care about is that he should be able to make me feel happy when I am with him. I want to wait for someone special who will make my heart beat just the way mother made yours to beat."


    "That''s my woman��" Theodore was grinning ear to ear when he listened to what Adeline had just said. He was over the moon when she said that she wanted to wait for someone special. He was so happy that he wanted to shower her with kisses.


    Out of the blue, King Dragomir burst out into laughter and patted Adeline on her shoulder. Thankfully, he did not attract too many eyes because the hall was filled with music, and people were busy eating, drinking, and dancing to their fill.


    "I didn''t know that my daughter can even think like this. You always look so serious and collected so I wrongly assumed that you wouldn''t believe in such things as love. You surprised me!" Dragomir was surprisingly happy to hear that his daughter valued love so much. He didn''t say it but he wanted his daughter to have a happy love life that he could not have in this lifetime.


    The maids finally came with food and drinks for the Princess and the King. They set the plate on a table and left. Adeline and Dragomir talked for some more while Theodore happily walked around in the hall.


    After the ceremony was over, Bennett asked the servants to carry all the gifts that the Princess had received and take them to the Princess''s quarter. And he took that wooden box containing the gift from Lillian so that he could dump it somewhere.


    The ceremony took almost all day to finish. Adeline was already tired and wanted to go to bed immediately. However, she also wanted to check the gift that Nigel had sent her from Aberdeen. She did not have the strength to hold her curiosity till tomorrow.


    Thus, she shuffled through the room where all of her gifts were stored. After searching for a while in that pile of gifts, she finally found the cylindrical container that she was looking for.


    She carried that and literally ran to her private chamber. She hastily sat down on her study table and then opened the container.


    Theodore, who had obviously followed Adeline back to her room, was also really curious as to why Adeline was so excited about that particular gift. He silently stood by Adeline''s side and watched her as she took out some sheets of paper from that container.


    Adeline unrolled the bigger sheet of paper. And the moment her eyes fell on that paper, her heart just melted away.


    "Awwww�� look at them�� they grew up so much already!" Adeline gazed at the colored painting of her twin niece and nephew with glistening eyes.


    Theodore raised his brows in amusement and thought, "Junior puppies? They do look like a mix of their parents. And they kinda look cute." Theodore smiled seeing Adeline crying over a painting of junior puppies.


    The twins were around six months old already. Adeline''s niece, Niylah, had silky black hair like that of her father. And Adeline''s nephew, Ramon, had curly hair like that of his mother.


    Both of them had heterochromia. One of their eyes was sapphire blue in color while the other one was light brown in color. This was the reason why Adeline had asked for a colored painting of the twins in her previous letter to her brother. She wanted to see their beautiful eyes.


    After staring at the painting of her niece and nephew for about half an hour, Adeline finally shifted her focus on the letter that her brother had sent her.

 Chapter 237 - Letters

    Adeline tore the envelop open and happily took out the letter that her dear brother had sent her. She raised her brows and smiled. "Oh! Did he write two pages this time? I should expect a lot of interesting stories then."


    She would get excited every time he would send her a letter because he would share interesting stories about her niece and nephew. And she loved reading about their stories.


    Theodore didn''t want to peek into the letter as well. He had already invaded her privacy a lot today. And after seeing her happy again, he felt that she would not be doing anything stupid like what she was doing in the morning.


    So he thought of giving a visit to Lucifer. But before he left, he gazed at Adeline very lovingly and wished her quietly, "Happy birthday, Adeline. I wish that you will remember me soon."


    He was fighting his urge to embrace her and kiss her. And before it would be too hard for him to control his urges, he disappeared from the room.


    Adeline, unaware of his presence as well as absence, started to read Nigel''s letter excitedly.


    "Dear Adeline,


    I want to wish you a happiest birthday. And I would like to apologize for not being personally present on your birthday. To make up for my absence, I have sent a painting of the twins. But I think you have already stared at it for hours before reading this letter."


    Adeline chuckled at how well her brother could predict her actions. And she whispered to herself, "You are right, brother. I did stare at the paintings first. They are too cute to resist."


    And she continued reading the letter where Nigel explained how his son and daughter had already learned how to sit up on their own and how they would even try to crawl sometimes. And he also mentioned how Fenris and Wulfric would kidnap each of the twins when Rhea would be sleeping. And how they would pretend to be babysitting the twins just to get out of tough training.


    Adeline felt a little jealous of Fenris and Wulfric for being able to see the twins grow and for being able to play with them every day. And she, on the other hand, had not even seen the twins until now.


    Finally, Nigel''s letter ended with warm wishes for his sister.


    "Happy birthday once again. I will come to Wyverndale when the twins will be old enough to travel long distances in the carriage. Till then, we will keep on exchanging letters like always.


    With endless love from your brother."


    "Hmm��" Adeline frowned because the letter from her brother ended on a single page. She flipped to the next page while thinking, "Then what''s written on the next page?"


    "Oh!" Adeline smiled when she saw her sister-in-law''s name on the next page. She rarely wrote letters to Adeline separately. If she had something to say to Adeline then Nigel would include that in the letter that he wrote. So Adeline felt happy that Rhea had sent a separate letter to her this time.


    The letter started with a birthday wish for Adeline. And Adeline kept on reading further.


    "Adeline, I hope that you are not angry with us for not attending your special birthday. Nigel told me that eighteenth birthdays are considered to be a special birthday in Wyverndale. He told me that when one turns 18 in Wyverndale, they are considered to have reached a marriageable age and thus, are really special."


    Adeline smiled and nodded her head and continued reading the letter.


    "We would have loved to be present in the ceremony but traveling with babies is really exhausting. I cannot even go to the market in the valley with the twins, leave alone traveling for two whole days in the carriage.


    I felt that Nigel really wanted to be there for your birthday and I even asked him to visit you without us. But he is too protective of the twins. He doesn''t like to part with them even for half a day. I am not implying that you are not important to him anymore, you really are. I am just saying that he is too concerned for the babies."


    Adeline puckered her lips and thought, "It must have been really hard for Nigel and Rhea to look after the kids, especially for Rhea. I hope the nannies are helping them take care of the twins." Adeline sighed and continued reading.


    "And there was another thing which I wanted to ask you since you have officially reached the marriageable age. I hope you won''t feel like I am overstepping or being nosy, but I can''t help it. I wanted to ask about your marriage plan with Theodore."


    "Theodore?" A deep frown settled on Adeline''s forehead when she read that last line.


    She was staring at the letter with an extremely puzzled look on her face. "Who is Theodore?" Adeline could not tell whether Rhea was just pulling her leg or�� was it the name of that person who she always saw in her dreams, the one whose voices she heard.


    But it didn''t make any sense that her sister-in-law would know that man who appeared in her nightmare when she herself didn''t know who he was.


    So she dismissed that and thought that her sister-in-law was trying to introduce someone to her. And hesitantly, she continued reading the letter.


    "When are the two of you getting married? It has already been two years since you two were engaged. So I am already excited to hear the good news."


    Adeline had to re-read that paragraph to make sure that she was not misreading it. And to her astonishment, she had not misread it. Adeline felt sudden discomfort in her heart. If this was some kind of joke then she was not laughing. She rubbed her palm against her chest and read the rest of the letter anyway.


    "But you never write about Theodore. I hope everything is okay between the two of you. If you don''t feel like sharing stories about Theodore with your brother then you can always write to me. And if you need any relationship advice then don''t shy away from asking your expert sister-in-law.


    God bless both of you.


    With Love,


    Rhea"


    Adeline put the letter aside and abruptly got up from the chair.


    She clasped her mouth with both of her palms so as not to cry. But her eyes were already flooded with tears. And her head began to hurt very badly. She tried breathing in and out deeply but there was no point�� she was already crying.


    She was crying because she always had this unsettling feeling that she had forgotten someone very dear to her. And from Rhea''s letter, it sounded as if it was true. She had forgotten her fianc��!


    Adeline crouched down on the floor and whispered in a pain embedded voice, "How could I forget my fianc��?"


    She lied down on the wooden floor in a fetus position.. She then began to cry even harder. "And why did no one ever tell me about him before today? Is everyone trying to separate him from me? What happened between us exactly?"

 Chapter 238 - Its Him!

    Though Adeline was having a severe headache and though she was feeling as if her heart would explode, she closed her eyes and tried to remember Theodore. She chanted his name several times wishing that she would at least get some flash of images or hear his voice again. But she could not remember a thing.


    The only thing that she felt was that she had chanted that name countless times before she forgot everything. And from the way her heart would ache for him, she could tell that she was deeply in love with him.


    But then what happened? Why did she forget him if she loved him so much?


    She dug her nails on the floor and screamed in frustration at her own inability to remember her fianc��, "And why the hell can''t I still remember him? How did I even forget everything about him? How is that even possible?"


    Adeline didn''t know what to think and whom to blame. She wanted to blame everyone including herself. She wanted to blame herself for forgetting him, she wanted to blame her father and everyone else for not reminding her of her fianc��, and she wanted to blame him for not coming to her and reminding her who he was.


    "But where is he? If I had a fianc�� then why didn''t he come to me to remind me who he was? Does he even love me? Why isn''t he here when I am suffering so much? Or could it be possible that he has also somehow forgotten about me? Or is he already de�� No! How can you even have such ghastly thought?"


    She abruptly grabbed her hair and pulled it hard for thinking that he might have already been dead. Even though she didn''t remember him, she wanted him to be safe wherever he was.


    When she jerked her hair, the phoenix hairpin that she was wearing flew out and slid under her study table.


    She was already feeling depressed and she wanted to let it be. She thought of asking her maids to get it out tomorrow. But then she remembered how happy Hawisa and Osanna were when she asked them to put that hairpin on her hair. And she didn''t want them to think that she threw their gift in some corner like that.


    So she heaved a sigh and wriggled near her study table. She slid her hand under the narrow opening and searched for her hairpin. After patting her palm around for some time, her fingertips touched the phoenix. She extended her hand a little more and dragged that hairpin from under the table.


    A frown line appeared in between her brows when she saw a small key that was dragged along with her hairpin. She picked up both the items from the floor. And then she looked at that key with curiosity. It looked very familiar but she couldn''t tell what it opened.


    She wiped her tears with the back of her palm and got up from the floor. She placed the hairpin on her study table. That was when her eyes fell on the drawer of her study table. She felt as if she just discovered the drawer on her own table.


    It was hard to explain. She would always see the drawer, she knew that there was a drawer but she never ever tried to open it, not even once. It was as if the drawer was nonexistent for her.


    She stared at the key in her hand once again and as if she knew what to do with that key, she pushed it in the keyhole of that drawer and needless to say, it opened.


    Adeline''s hand began to somewhat tremble. She didn''t know why she was feeling so nervous.


    She gulped and pulled the drawer very cautiously as though it was some kind of a trap. The more she pulled it, the more anxious she got because a painting was slowly coming into her view. With her shaky hands, she took that painting out of the drawer.


    Adeline inhaled sharply but at the same time, she felt extremely happy.


    "It''s him!"


    Adeline began to cry again but this time, it was tears of joy. She needed some confirmation that the man in her nightmare was indeed her fianc��. And the moment her eyes fell on that painting of a beautiful man, she recognized him as the man in her dream. Though the man in her dream would always appear with bruises all over his face, she could tell it right away that both of them were the same.


    She also recognized the painting as her own creation. And from the way she had kept it safely in that drawer, she felt it in her bones that she loved this man with all her heart.


    Adeline pressed that painting over her heart and cried for some more time.


    After a while of crying, she finally calmed down for good. She had this determined look on her face. Her heart was filled with new energy to find him. She was going to find him and ask him why he never tried to find her. He was going to find him and ask him if he loved her the way she did. She wanted to ask him if he remembered her. And if not, she was willing to get to know each other again.


    Adeline carefully placed that painting back in the drawer.


    Then she stormed out of her room at once. "I don''t know what kind of game God played with us but I am going to find you."


    If only she knew that it was not God but it was God''s son who brought this misery upon them, then it was given that she would not even blink before trying to kill him.


    When she opened the door of her quarter, she realized that it was already dark. But she didn''t care. She had waited too long already and she could not wait any longer. She did not know how or where she was going to find him, but what she knew was that she had to look for him. Now.


    She didn''t want the guards to follow her so she sneakily walked in the shadows while hiding from everyone. She didn''t care about breaking the rule of the Palace. All she cared about was that she was going to find her fianc��.


    She reached at the stable while hiding from the eyes of her guards and maids. She then tip-toed towards where Rion was. She gestured Rion to keep quiet and he didn''t make a sound even though he would normally neigh when he would see Adeline.


    Adeline grabbed the reins of Rion and walked with him towards the back gate where there would be fewer guards. After reaching the back gate, she ordered the guards not to tell anyone that she was going out. She told them that she was on a secret mission and she also assured them that she would return back soon.


    The guards didn''t dare to question their Future Queen, and let her and Rion pass through the gate. After they were a little further away from the Palace, Adeline climbed on Rion''s back.


    Adeline made Rion run at the top of his speed. She didn''t know where she was going but she believed in her intuition.. She had a gut feeling that she would somehow manage to find the man in her dream today.

 Chapter 239 - The Devils Cave

    After riding the horse for around half an hour, Adeline reached that same part of the forest where she was lost around two years ago after her half-siblings had kidnapped her. She somehow managed to arrive at the same place where she had called Theodore to guide her to her home.


    She pulled the reins of her horse and came to a halt because she could hear the gushing sound of the Ethereal River in front of her. She looked to her left and then to her right because she was confused regarding which path she should take. But she was unable to decide.


    Adeline drooped her shoulders and then heaved a sigh. "I guess today is no different. I always end up hitting the dead end."


    Her face that was filled with excitement just until a while ago turned gloomy all over again. She stared at the river that was flowing not too far away from where she and Rion were. A dim moonlight was hitting the fast-flowing river making it shine as though hundreds of diamonds were flowing in there.


    As her eyes were fixated on the current of the river, her head began to spin all of a sudden. She held her head with both of her hands and groaned in pain. She was having another episode of flooding memory where she saw her fianc�� teasing her and the two of them riding on Rion together.


    The memories were too quick and all jumbled up to remember. However, she managed to catch some fragments of voices from her memory, "If you want to find�� keep on following that river to its source. And I am sure�� you will recognize�� when you see it."


    After some time, her headache faded away and she finally let go of her head. But she kept on repeating the phrases that she remembered several times so that she would not forget them again.


    Then she tried to make sense of those voices but the sentences that she remembered made her somewhat confused. "If I want to find what?" She looked at the river and noticed that it was flowing downward to her left. She turned her head to the right and asked herself, "If I follow the river to its source then I will�� find him? What else could it be which I will recognize when I see it?"


    Adeline scratched her brow and thought for a while whether she should return back to the Palace or whether she should journey to the source of the river and explore what lied at the end.


    She closed her eyes and weighed her options. It was already night so no one at the Palace would find out that she was missing for the next 8 or 9 hours. And if she rode in her horse to the river''s source, it would take around 4 hours to reach there.


    After contemplating for a while, she concluded that even if she didn''t find anything there, she would at least make it back to the Palace in time. So she decided to go there and if she was lucky, find some clues about her fianc��.


    She tightened her grip around Rion''s reins and both of them turned to her right. Then in the next moment, she gently kicked the stirrups and both of them moved against the wind.


    Rion was running at the top of his speed. Both of them were hit with the harsh night wind. Adeline was in the same gown that she wore for the ceremony. The gown was really tight around her waist and it was getting tougher to even breathe properly. Her hair that was done into a half-bun had already fallen down because of the forceful wind.


    But no matter how hard the long journey was, Adeline kept on holding herself from giving up. She stopped for a short break after they had traveled for around 2 hours. She didn''t want Rion to get tired out. And she definitely didn''t want to push him to the extreme just because she was in a hurry.


    After Rion drank some water and grazed on some green grasses, Adeline climbed on his back and they both set out to complete their journey.


    After riding for about an hour, the two of them reached the foot of the Hill of Grimmer Death. Adeline felt as if she had already been here before but she could not pinpoint exactly when. Putting that thought at the back of her head, Adeline and Rion began to slowly ascend the narrow path of that hill.


    It was dark so they had to be extra careful. Adeline didn''t rush Rion because reaching at the top of the hill a little late was definitely preferable to falling down to their death.


    And after another one and a half hours, the two of them were finally climbing the final turn that would lead to the top. Adeline carefully and slowly led Rion further ahead. She was being extra careful because, at some distance, she could see several torches burning brightly inside what seemed like a cave.


    The two of them now stood in front of the Devil''s Cave. Her heart rate began to accelerate once again. She could see a line of torches hung at both sides of the cave that led further inside. Adeline felt as though she had seen that entrance before as well. It felt so familiar yet so strange.


    "How come there is a well-lit cave here in the middle of nowhere? Does he�� live inside this cave?" The idea of someone living inside the cave on top of this hill sounded very absurd to her.


    Adeline recalled that voice that she had heard earlier and whispered to herself, "Yes, that was definitely his voice... I am sure he wouldn''t have asked me to follow the river if something dangerous was inside. Maybe this is his hideout place? Then maybe he is inside. I should go and check."


    She got off her horse and then tied Rion to a tree that was a little further away from the entrance of the cave. She stroked Rion''s neck and whispered orders to him, "Rion, be a good boy and stay here without making a sound. I have to go inside and check something."


    Rion nodded his head rubbed it against Adeline''s arm.


    Adeline placed a kiss on Rion''s forehead and whispered again, "Thank you for being so understanding." And she warned him once again before she left for the cave, "Until I return, do not make a noise, okay?"


    Rion obidiently nodded his head again.


    Adeline smiled nervously. Then she turned on her heels and faced the entrance. Her heart began to beat even faster than before. She took a few deep breaths in and after a few seconds, she finally took the courage to step inside the Devil''s Cave, still oblivious about the name.

 Chapter 240 - Dont Leave!

    Adeline was beginning to sweat even in the cold night. The more steps she took, the more nervous she got. Not just nervous but also excited at the same time.


    She was nervous thinking about what she was supposed to say to him if he said that he didn''t remember her. And she was excited thinking what kind of reaction he would have if he did remember her. Would he also be excited to see her? Or would he be indifferent? Or even angry at her?


    Adeline kept on walking further ahead thinking of all sorts of possible scenarios.


    She finally reached the common room that was dimly lit with a chandelier full of candles. She was stunned to see that it was not some scary and cold cave but it was a hidden mansion. She darted her eyes around in awe and thought, "I don''t think this is his hideout�� this is even grander than our Palace. Who is he anyway?"


    Adeline was amazed by everything that she was seeing, from stunning furniture to the sleek wooden floors.


    She snapped out of her daze and she wanted to look for Theodore. But there were many corridors that separated from the common room. And she didn''t know where to go from there. Also, the whole place was awfully quiet which was sending chills down her spine.


    When she was thinking which corridor she should take first, she suddenly heard a soft voice from behind her, "Your Highness?"


    Adeline was startled even though that voice was not frightening at all. She slowly turned around to see a thin woman who was clasping her mouth with both of her hands. Even in the dim candlelight, Adeline could tell that the woman''s eyes were full of tears.


    She didn''t know why she was staring at her like that but it pained her to see that woman for some reason. And she assumed that she had also forgotten that woman along with her fianc��.


    "Yes?" Adeline didn''t know how else to react.


    All of a sudden, that woman ran to Adeline''s side and held both of her hands. Then she started to sob loudly, "It is really you, Princess Adeline�� I thought I was just imagining you. But it is really you, in person!"


    Adeline''s eyes also teared up seeing her wailing like that. "Maybe we were close to each other before I forgot," Adeline thought. And she replied to that woman, "Yes, it is really me."


    That woman then took the liberty to hug Adeline very tightly and asked while still crying, "Why didn''t you come here for so long, Your Highness? Do you even know how devastated our master was after you stopped coming here? How could you be so heartless? How could you just abandon our master like that?"


    She looked Adeline in the eyes and kept on complaining, "There was not a single day when he didn''t look sad. And there was not a single day when he wouldn''t stand at the entrance of the cave waiting for you. But you never came�� what took you so long, Princess?"


    By now Adeline was not able to control her tears anymore. The hot tears were rolling down her cheeks like a stream. She thought that her fianc�� had forgotten her but it sounded like he was even more in pain than her.


    Adeline wiped her tears and gulped hard, and she slowly replied in a pain-filled voice, "I am so sorry to say this but I somehow forgot you and�� Theodore�� and even this whole place. I still don''t remember anything that happened in the past, not a single thing. And I also have been in constant pain all these years."


    She broke down again and said, "I don''t know how it happened but I am sorry that I forgot you. And I want to apologize to Theodore as well. He must be hurting a lot."


    That woman looked stunned to hear that. And she instantly apologized, "I am so sorry for assuming that you had abandoned our master and us." She clenched her fists and began to hit herself on her chest, "I deserve to be punished. I shouldn''t have run my mouth like that."


    Adeline instantly caught that woman by her wrist and stopped her from hurting herself. "Hey, don''t be too harsh on yourself." She then gently held her palms and asked, "Why don''t you remind me who you are? I would love to know your name."


    That woman softly smiled and replied, "I am Peggy, Your Highness."


    Adeline sniffled and wiped her tears with the back of her palms. And she asked again, "Peggy, why don''t you take me to your master? I would love to meet him."


    Peggy slapped herself on the head and apologized again, "I am sorry for being so selfish. I will take you to our master right away." She assumed that Theodore was in his own room.


    The two of them were so busy crying and talking with each other that they did not even notice that the common room was already filled with Theodore''s followers. They came to check because of the noise that Peggy was making while crying her heart out.


    Peggy gestured Adeline to follow her and Adeline turned around. But to her horror, the common room was full now, full of creatures that she had never seen in her life before. Some had sharp fangs and claws, while some had horns, and some had wings and tails.


    Adeline''s body went stiff seeing all kinds of creatures. But still, she kept on walking even if she had to hold her breath. She was able to maintain a straight face just because all of them didn''t seem intimidating rather, they were all bowing to her as though all of them knew her.


    "Maybe they do know me. And maybe even I knew them," she thought to herself. "But why is my fianc�� keeping such scary creatures here? And how did he manage to tame all these�� beasts?"


    Adeline''s mind still had not comprehended the possibility of Theodore also being such a ''beast''.


    Adeline and Peggy had taken around 20 steps. But then Adeline suddenly stopped on her track because her eyes fell on a ghastly creature that looked as if it came right out of the depths of hell. It had long dangly nails, had razor-sharp fangs, and looked like a rotting corpse. It was the Ghoul. And her instinct told her to run as far away from that creature as she could.


    And she did.


    She turned on her heels and without even blinking or breathing, she ran out of that place as fast as she could.


    ---


    Theodore''s wings were all wet because he had a ''friendly'' fight with Lucifer and Lucifer threw him in a steaming hot pool. And because his wings were all wet, he returned to his cave while flapping his wings to dry them.


    His eyes widened all of a sudden when he saw Rion tied to a tree near the entrance of his cave. He instantly swooped down and landed in front of the horse. And he shouted angrily, "What are you doing here, Arion? Did you bring Adeline here against her will? Where is she now?"


    (A/N: Rion''s original name is Arion. How many of you noticed it in chapter 35? Adeline had been calling him by the wrong name all this time because she misinterpreted the letter from Theodore. You will know more about Arion later.)


    The horse glared at Theodore and said even angrily, "Do you think that I would bring her here against her will? She came here on her-" Arion sensed Adeline running towards them and abruptly stopped talking.


    Theodore also saw her. He saw that her feet suddenly stopped midways when her eyes fell on him. Theodore was still in his Devil form. He didn''t want her to be scared of him again and he definitely did not want her to recognize him when he looked like that. So he swiftly turned around and flapped his wings to fly away.


    But Adeline ran towards him and pleaded, "No! Don''t leave me this time.. I just found you. Please!"

 Chapter 241 - Back Together

    Adeline came running outside when she saw that Ghoul. She just could not stand the sight of that ghastly beast. The fear of that Ghoul overtook her desire to see Theodore and she ran for her life. She planned to take Rion and head towards the Palace as soon as she could.


    However, when she reached outside the entrance of the cave, she saw an intimidating silhouette of a creature with large horns and wings. And to make it even worse, that creature was standing right in front of Rion. She suddenly came to a halt. For a fraction of seconds, she thought it was going to hurt Rion.


    But when she looked closely at the face of that devilish looking man, she realized that he was none other than her own fianc��. Her heartbeat became faster but it was not because she was scared. Strangely, she was not scared of Theodore even when she saw him in his Devil form. Rather, she wanted to wrap him in her warm embrace and hold him forever.


    But before she could be happy that she finally met him, she saw Theodore flapping his wings and taking off.


    She had seen Theodore turning into a mist and disappearing in her dreams for two whole years. And when he was about to leave after she finally found him for real, she panicked and pleaded, "No! Don''t leave me this time. I just found you. Please!"


    Adeline ran towards Theodore to get a hold of him. But when she was halfway through, the inscription spell on her forehead began to visibly glow. The seal that was holding her memories related to Theodore began to slowly crumble down. And the decade''s worth of the memories that were sealed came flooding in her mind.


    She could see all the memories playing in front of her eyes, from the first time she ever met Theodore to the last time she had met him.


    And with all the precious memories also came the excruciating pain. The pain was similar to when Azriel had cast that inscription spell on her. She was grabbing her hair with both of her hands and was groaning in pain. But even when she was in such great pain, she shook her head and blinked her eyes to look at Theodore.


    He was flying and was about to get out of her sight. "Theodore! Please! Come back!" she whispered from between her pain. And she kept on dragging her feet ahead while still grabbing her hair. The memories that were dancing in front of her eyes were making it hard for her to see anything clearly. And to add to that, it was still dark.


    Adeline did not realize that she was walking too close to the edge of the road. Her foot slipped to the side and because she got misbalanced, Adeline fell down the cliff.


    Rion, who was watching all the things that were happening, neighed loudly and signaled Theodore that something was wrong with Adeline.


    Theodore heard that cry for help from Rion and abruptly halted in the air. And in an instant, he turned around and flew back at a great speed. He could see from far away that Adeline was no longer standing anywhere near the entrance of the cave. "What happened?" he shouted and asked Rion.


    And Rion gestured to the edge from where Adeline had fallen and shouted with an angry voice, "She fell down, you idiot. Do you want me to go save her or will you get your arse down there?"


    Rion didn''t need to say anymore. Theodore maneuvered around to the edge and looked where Adeline was. She was close to hitting her head on the fast-flowing river. In the next second, Theodore teleported and appeared right below Adeline. And he caught her in his arms just in time.


    Then in the next instant, Theodore teleported back to the entrance of the cave along with Adeline. Rion let out a sigh of relief seeing Adeline safe and sound.


    However, she was not that safe though. The pain was getting even severe. The inscription was glowing even brighter and was shaking violently. And Adeline was clasping her hair with one of her hands and was clenching the other hand over her chest because she was having difficulty even while breathing.


    Theodore''s heart ached to see Adeline groaning and wincing in pain. He wished he could take away her pain or at least feel what she was feeling, but he could not. He could also see that the inscription on her forehead was acting strangely. And he thought of one person who could help Adeline. "I should call Azriel," he thought.


    He teleported Adeline to his room and carefully lay her down on his bed. He could have teleported her to Azriel''s place and made him check what was wrong with her. But he did not want to take Adeline back to the same place where all of this started.


    Adeline was already drenched in sweat. Her eyes had already turned red because of crying. And she kept writhing on the bed because of the pain.


    Theodore changed back to his normal form and sat down beside Adeline. And he slowly whispered, "Adeline, I will bring Azriel here, okay? He will see what is happening to you. Maybe he can help you. Everything will be alright then. Just hold on for some time."


    However, before Theodore could teleport, Adeline caught him by his sleeve and whispered with the staggering breath, "I don''t�� want you to leave me alone. Just stay�� by my side. And I will be fine."


    "Adeline, you are in pain! I have to call��" Theodore wanted to protest but his voice got stuck. He could no longer hold his tears seeing her in that condition. He gave a loving yet pitiful glance at Adeline.


    Though he wanted to teleport, he just could not do it while Adeline was tightly holding onto his sleeves. He felt like he was bound by the strongest spell in the universe. So he just held her palms and kept on giving her company.


    After a while, Theodore could see that Adeline was somewhat calming down. It looked like her pain eased a little. And he also noticed that the inscription on her forehead was getting dimmer as time passed. "Is the spell lifting as Azriel told me?" he thought to himself as his brows knitted in tune.


    And like he thought, after some more time, that inscription completely disappeared without a trace.


    Theodore was hopeful seeing that her inscription had vanished, he was hopeful that she would remember their past.


    He didn''t know how she managed to find his cave, but he was sure that she accidentally stumbled upon his cave. He was sure that she didn''t come here after already remembering him because the inscription was still there on her forehead until now. So, he really wished that Adeline would remember all their time together now that the spell was lifted.


    "Adeline, are you feeling okay now?" He asked while tightening his grip on her palm.


    Adeline nodded and finally heaved a sigh of relief. Her pain was also completely gone along with the inscription. But she felt really bad to see him silently shedding tears.


    Theodore looked into Adeline''s sapphire blue eyes and asked again, "Do you�� remember me?"


    Adeline''s lips curved up a little. She gazed at Theodore with loving eyes. All of her sealed memories were back already.


    "Theodore," she softly whispered his name and gestured him to pull her up.


    Theodore smiled and obliged. He gave her a hand and gently pulled her up.


    And in the next moment, Adeline wrapped her arms around Theodore and hugged him as tightly as she could. Theodore''s happiness knew no bounds getting this kind of reaction from her. He also tightly embraced her.


    Adeline inhaled his familiar fragrance and placed a warm kiss on his cheek. And she whispered in his ear, "I remember you. I remember everything. I am so sorry for forgetting you, Theo. I gave you a lot of pain, didn''t I?"


    Theodore gently stroked her hair and whispered back, "Don''t say that! It was not your fault that you forgot me. You don''t have to apologize for something that you didn''t do."


    He pulled away and gazed into her eyes again. He cupped her cheeks and spoke in a loving voice, "You remember me now and we are together again. That is all that matters." He smiled happily and said, "For you to come looking for me in the middle of the night like this�� the wait was worth it."


    Theodore then gently placed his palm on Adeline''s nape. He leaned forward while his eyes fixated on her lips.


    Adeline parted her lips invitingly and she also put her arms around his neck.


    Their hot breath mingled together. And after years of waiting, Theodore finally got to kiss the woman of his life again.


    Their lips moved in perfect harmony even after all this time. It was as if they were never apart. Their kiss was full of love and passion towards each other.. Both of them were grateful that they were back together in each other''s arms again.

 Chapter 242 - Spreading Wings

    "Hey�� tell me where you are going before you teleport, dammit!" Arion kicked his hooves on the ground and expressed his discontent when Theodore teleported away along with Adeline.


    Arion had already grown close to Adeline in the past two years. He had seen her happy, he had seen her lonely, and he had seen her devastated. And because she always sought comfort in him, he came to like her as if she was his own sister.


    And seeing her going through that pain just a moment ago, he felt really restless. He wanted to know where Theodore took her so that he could be of some help to Adeline. He wanted to stay by her side. But the problem was, Theodore took her away without even thinking about telling him.


    Arion knew everything about Adeline''s spells and who cast the spells. He knew it because Theodore would come to him sometimes and rant about Azriel and what he had done to Adeline and him. And before leaving, Theodore would tell him to take care of Adeline and protect her from the evil witch that lived in the Palace.


    Arion could also see the inscription spell acting weirdly just a moment ago. So he guessed that Theodore had taken Adeline to Azriel''s place. He got really worried about Adeline and he could not wait any longer. So he decided to go look for Adeline in Azriel''s place.


    Arion glared at the rope that had tied him to the tree trunk. He breathed out a dark mist and hit on the knot. The knot melted and he was ready to fly away.


    He shuddered his body a few times and a giant pair of black feathered wings appeared on his back. Under the dim moonlight, he looked so majestic in his complete form that anyone who saw him right now would be enchanted by his beauty.


    He then galloped ahead and spread his wings out. And he took off towards the Dragon Crypt. His black and shiny mane soared behind him while he traveled against the cold breeze. It had been two whole years since he got to spread his wings and fly freely. So his restlessness subsided to some extent.


    With his wings carrying him forward at the speed of lightning, Arion reached at Azriel''s place in no time. He hid his wings as soon as he landed at the entrance of the Dragon Crypt. And he galloped inside to find Adeline or Azriel or Theodore, whoever he could find first.


    The first place he checked was the hall where Azriel would normally spend his time brooding, yes, the hall with the magical carpet. After entering the hall, he blinked a few times because he could not believe his eyes. The carpet, which was Azriel''s prized possession, was no longer there. Arion had to look around the hall to make sure that he had entered the right place.


    "He''s not here? Then where is he?" Arion ran out of that hall in search of Azriel or the others.


    Azriel heard the loud sound of the hooves so he came out of one of his rooms to check who had intruded his place. "Arion? What are you doing here?" Azriel widened his eyes as his gaze fell on the majestic horse. And then he merrily asked, "How have you been? I haven''t seen you in a while."


    Arion whinnied angrily and raised his front legs high up in the air as if he was going to trample Azriel. But then he controlled his anger towards Azriel and put his feet back on the ground. And he asked in an angry voice, "Where are Adeline and Theodore? Did you treat Adeline?"


    Azriel seemed visibly confused by that question from Arion. "What? They aren''t here." And he got worried that something very bad happened to Adeline. If that was the case, he would never be able to forgive himself. "Did something happen to Adeline?" he asked hastily.


    "They are not here? Then just where did Theodore take Adeline?" Arion murmured to himself. Then he glared at Azriel and accused him of the pain that Adeline was suffering from, "Something is happening to Adeline. She was in so much pain that I could not even look at her suffering like that. Why did you do that to her? Treat her before I trample yo-"


    Before Arion could finish his sentence, Azriel vanished from his sight.


    In a fit of rage, Arion kicked his hind legs on the wall behind him so hard that a huge crack appeared there. "I hate it when they disappear like that!" He flared his nose and inhaled deeply and then spoke under his breath, "It is okay as long as he finds Adeline and makes her pain go away�� But where is she? Where did that stupid Theodore take her?"


    The first place that Azriel thought of teleporting to was Theodore''s room back at the Devil''s Cave. And when he teleported there, he found Theodore and Adeline embracing each other and kissing each other very passionately.


    "Awkward!" Azriel muttered under his breath. And he looked away while scratching his head, "I don''t think she is in pain anymore. So let me just slip away."


    However, it was already too late to run away. Both Theodore and Adeline had already noticed his presence in the room.


    "You!" Adeline growled like a ferocious beast the moment her eyes lay on her Deity. And she jumped out of the bed in one go. She held her gown with both of her hands and sprinted towards Azriel.


    And the next thing that Azriel felt was a tight slap right on his cheek.


    Even though the slap was not that painful, he flinched when Adeline greeted him with a slap instead of a respectful bow. He covered his cheek and whispered in a guilt-ridden voice, "I deserved that."


    Azriel thought that was the end of his punishment. But he couldn''t be more mistaken.


    Adeline screamed at the top of her lungs and she gave another tight slap to Azriel. "How could you do that to me?"

 Chapter 243 - Fake God

    Adeline threw another slap and kept on screaming, "How could you make me forget the one person whom I didn''t want to forget even for a second?" Her voice showed how betrayed she felt and how hurt she was.


    Azriel didn''t say anything and just kept on receiving the slaps from Adeline because he was in the wrong here. If Adeline wanted to beat him till she would tire out, then he was ready to take the beating without uttering a word or trying to evade her frail attacks.


    Adeline gave a death stare to Azriel and kept on venting her anger towards him, "I trusted you! I respected you. I worshipped you." Adeline tightly clenched her fists and kept on yelling at her Deity, "You were supposed to protect me but you went as far as destroying me�� you fake God!"


    Adeline was about to throw some punches when Theodore intervened. He grabbed her by her waist and swiftly lifted her away from Azriel. Though he was enjoying seeing Azriel getting beaten, he was also seeing how all that was affecting Adeline mentally.


    He did not want to see her breaking down again so he tried to calm her down. "Hey, that''s enough, Adeline. He is your Deity, remember? Would you want to keep on slapping your Deity?"


    But Adeline shouted while desperately trying to free herself from Theodore''s grip, "No, I didn''t slap my Deity. I slapped my fianc��''s brother who could stoop as low as snatching his brother''s love away from him."


    Azriel kept on looking down with guilt. He was waiting for Adeline to break free from Theodore''s hold and come at him again with powerful blows.


    Adeline didn''t like that Theodore was holding her instead of beating that betrayer brother of his. So she directed her anger towards Theodore, "Why are you stopping me? He deserves to get beaten to a pulp for all the pain that he put us through."


    Theodore held her even tighter and asked, "Do you think I didn''t do anything to him?"


    Theodore tried to make her understand that he had already punished Azriel enough for both of them. "Do you think I didn''t punish him for his deeds until now? I beat him up at least 14 times until now. Every time I would see you struggling and in pain, I would take that anger out on him. He already got what he deserved. He is already ashamed of what he did to you. So, please, don''t hurt yourself."


    Azriel picked up some courage and walked in front of Adeline. He then spoke in an apologetic voice while still lowering his gaze, "Adeline, I am sorry that I took out my brother''s anger on you. I shouldn''t have done that. I regretted it immediately after I cast that spell on you, and I regret it even now. I know that I don''t even deserve your forgiveness. But I still selfishly hope that you will forgive me one day."


    Adeline gave a distasteful glare to Azriel. No matter what he said or what Theodore said, she swore in her heart that she was never going to forgive him. Only she knew how much pain and anxiety she went through during the course of two years.


    Seeing the tension not settling down between the two of them, Theodore cleared his throat and then said to Adeline, "Hey, I think we should bring Rion inside. It gets windy outside at night."


    Adeline suddenly widened her eyes feeling sorry for Rion. "Yes, he might catch a cold. I will bring him inside." Adeline loosened Theodore''s grip around her.


    She gave a piercing gaze to Azriel and warned him, "You better get yourself out of here before I return." Then she headed outside of the door.


    After Adeline was out of view, Theodore said to Azriel, "You heard her. You should leave. And stop coming unannounced like this from now on. Or else I shall put a barrier spell just to keep you out of the cave."


    Azriel pouted and nodded his head, "Fine. I won''t come unannounced. I was not planning to barge in now as well. I came here because Arion told me that Adeline was in pain. He threatened me that he would kill me if I didn''t treat her. So-"


    "What? Arion told you that? Is he in the Dragon Crypt?" Theodore asked hastily.


    "He was there when I left. He might still be there or he might have returned to the Palace." Azriel replied, oblivious to the fact that Adeline had just gone out to fetch him.


    Theodore face-palm himself and scolded Azriel, "Then why didn''t you say so earlier? Adeline went to fetch him just now, you idiot!" Theodore then instantly vanished from the room to stop Adeline from finding out that Rion was missing from the spot where she left him.


    "What?" Azriel wrinkled his brows and murmured, "I thought she went to fetch someone called Rion�� Oh! Rion is Arion''s nickname? Most probably. Then I should send him back if he is still there at my place." And Azriel teleported to his Crypt.


    Theodore, on the other hand, reappeared at the entrance of the cave. He looked around and saw Arion far away, flying under the moonlight. He let out a sigh of relief and then ran back inside the cave to stall Adeline until Arion would land at the entrance.


    "Theodore? Why are you here? I can bring Rion inside on my own," Adeline said when she saw that Theodore was waiting for her at the door of the common room.


    Theodore gave a gentle smile to her and held her hand, "Well, I wanted to assist you anyway. And I wanted to thank Rion for bringing you here safely, so I came to see him as well."


    "Yes, Rion must be so tired. I brought him all the way here in the middle of the night." Adeline looked a little guilty.


    Theodore ruffled Adeline''s hair and assured her, "Rion is sturdier than you think. You don''t have to feel so guilty."


    Theodore could hear the sharp swooshing of wind outside the cave. He could tell that it was Arion. So he finally led Adeline outside the cave.


    As soon as Adeline saw Arion, she moved her feet faster and hugged him, "Rion, I am sorry I left you outside in the cold for so long."


    Arion was glad to see that Adeline was no longer in pain. He put his neck on Adeline''s shoulder and hugged her back.


    Adeline then gently scratched his neck and asked, "Did you break the rope because you wanted to follow me inside?"


    Arion nodded his head while trying to look inconspicuous as if he just did not cross a great distance by flying.


    Theodore walked in front of Arion and then gently rubbed his neck. And he thanked him from the bottom of his heart, "Thank you, buddy! For taking care of Adeline and for everything else."


    Arion understood why Theodore was thanking him and he gently rubbed his head against Theodore''s head.


    Adeline and Theodore led Rion inside the cave and after they tied him in a warmer place, Theodore carried Adeline in his arms. Then he walked inside the cave just like he used to. The only difference was that everyone was already asleep and there was no one to stare at them being all lovey-dovey.


    Adeline put her arms around Theodore''s neck and lovingly gazed into his amber eyes. And she whispered to him, "I missed you�� Now I know that this was what was bothering me for those two years. I missed us spending time together like this."


    Theodore''s lips curved up and he whispered back, "There was not a single day when I didn''t miss you�� And us."

 Chapter 244 - Deja Vu

    Adeline woke up in the morning in the arms of Theodore. He was wrapping both of his arms around Adeline as if she would suddenly disappear if he would let her go of his hold. And Adeline couldn''t help but gaze at her lover and smile like a hopeless fool. She did not even realize that it was already dawn. The dim morning light was already entering the room.


    They didn''t talk much yesterday night because it was already very late. And Adeline was very exhausted from the tiring journey as well as all the crying and pain. Both of them had fallen asleep in each other''s arms instantly after Theodore carried her to his room and lay her down on the bed.


    It took some time for Adeline to come out of her daze and notice that she was already late. She remembered Theodore saying to her that he wouldn''t be able to teleport Rion. And she had no idea how she was going to return back to the Palace in time.


    Her brows knitted in tune as she pondered upon it for a while. Then she thought to herself, "I guess I should ask Theodore to teleport me first. And then ride Rion back to the Palace later. Till then, I will say that I took Rion to the grassland behind the forest and tied him there for him to enjoy the green grasses."


    It had been a long while since Theodore last slept well. And with Adeline in his arms, he was in a deep slumber.


    Adeline didn''t have the heart to wake him up seeing him sleeping like a baby. So she thought that she would freshen herself up first and then she would come and wake him up. She still had some time before the maids would notice that she was not in her room. So she decided to let Theodore sleep for some more.


    She slowly lifted Theodore''s hand from her waist and gently placed it on the bed. She then got up as quietly as she could and slid off the bed. After that, she tiptoed towards the wall where there was the hidden door to the bathhouse.


    Adeline opened the door as quietly as she could and went inside the grand-looking bathhouse to freshen up. She washed her face with cold water and looked at the mirror.


    "Oh my God! Is this how my hair looked like yesterday?" she exclaimed all of a sudden. "It looks so bad! Is this how Theo found me yesterday? He must have thought that I looked like a dirty sheep."


    She hurriedly ran her fingers through her silver hair to dust her hair. But no matter what she did, her hair still looked dirty and rough because of the long-distance horse riding.


    Adeline didn''t want Theodore to see her looking like a dirty sheep. She looked around and saw that the water in the bathtub was giving off some steam. Her brows wrinkled as she found that somewhat odd.


    "Did someone heat up the water already? Is there another door that can-" Her eyes fell on the runes at the bottom of the tub and she guessed that it was the rune''s job to steam the water.


    She went close to the tub to check the water. It was the perfect temperature for her to take a bath.


    "I think I should take a quick bath before waking Theodore up," she thought to herself while running her hand in the warm water.


    She then struggled for some time to get out of her tightly fitted gown. She put her gown aside and swiftly got inside the bathtub to clean herself up, especially her hair.


    She sat down on the tub and the warm water made her feel relaxed at once. She leaned back and dipped her head inside the water. After she finished cleaning her hair, she began cleaning her body as well. She was lifting her leg high up and rubbing it lightly with her palm.


    "Adeline! Where are you?" Theodore''s panicked voice startled her all of a sudden and she ended up abruptly dropping her leg on the tub, splashing the water outside of the tub as well.


    Before she could get out of the tub and cover herself, Theodore barged into the bathhouse with a really panicked look on his face.


    Adeline crossed her arms over her chest out of instinct and urged him to turn around, "I''m taking a bath. Look the other way!"


    "Umm�� sorry!" Theodore also obliged as though he had never seen her taking a bath. "I thought you left me without telling me," he whispered and heaved a sigh of relief that she was still there with him.


    Theodore turned his head a little to the side and asked, "Are you done? Can I look now?"


    "Don''t!" Adeline exclaimed. She looked around for the towel so that she could get out of the water. But she saw that the towel was hanging on the wall in front of Theodore. And as Theodore was not leaving the bathhouse, she had no choice but to ask him.


    "Theo, will you hand me that towel?" she asked while still sitting in the tub, trying to hide her body with the clean water, without any herbs and flowers to cover her naked frame.


    Theodore''s eyes suddenly widened in realization. He just had a deja vu. "This�� this is the same future that I saw that day, isn''t this?" And a wide grin appeared on his beautiful face.


    He turned around to see Adeline. She was completely naked but he was not feeling guilty for looking at her. His grin turned mischievous by the second. And he asked her in his most seductive and deep voice as was possible, "Are you sure you need a towel?" He then slowly began to close the gap between him and Adeline by moving his long legs towards her.


    Now that he looked at her again, soaked in water and looking as fresh as the lotus flower, he felt like he was the luckiest man in the universe to have had her as his lover. He admiringly scanned his eyes all over Adeline''s naked body while moving further ahead.


    Adeline, on the other hand, was stunned to see Theodore walking towards her as if he was ready to claim her. A part of her was afraid while the other part of her was a little expectant.


    Theodore already knew what he had to do so he confidently stopped in front of the bathtub and slowly began to unbutton his clothes, while giving a mischievous glance to Adeline and teasing her with his seductive little movements.


    Even his unbuttoning looked so enticing that Adeline suddenly felt like getting out of the tub and ripping his clothes off. She gasped at her own thought and shouted at Theodore to snap out of her wild longing towards him. "What do you think you are doing, Theo?"


    Theodore gently rubbed his thumb on his lower lip and teased her even more, making her want him even more.


    He let out a ragged breath and whispered in a low but deep voice, "It has been so long since I last saw you like this and touched you."


    He then dropped his clothes on the floor to display his completely naked body. He inched even closer to the bathtub while clearly stating his intention, "I am going to do everything to you to make up for all that time, and I mean everything.. This Devil wants to see you, touch you, and devour you."

 Chapter 245 - Burning Desire

    Adeline''s heart began to pound inside her chest as though it was ready to come out of her mouth. When she saw Theodore standing completely naked, her eyes automatically shifted down to his manhood. Embarrassed by her own action, she quickly tore off her gaze and turned away to the other side.


    And as if that was not embarrassing already, Theodore teased her even more, "Stop acting as though you have never seen me naked."


    She heard Theodore chuckling after teasing her. She was clenching her fist underwater and was trying her best not to give in to her temptation. But when she heard the water in the tub splashing, she looked there out of instinct.


    And this time, no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to look away. How could she? When the handsome Devil was showing off his sculpted body to her, wasn''t she supposed to look? So she gave in to her temptation and kept on gazing all over Theodore''s body. He was her fiance after all, she had the right to gaze.


    However, the warm water was not making it easier for her. She felt as if all of a sudden she was sitting near a volcano. The more she stared at him, the more her body warmed up, especially her cheeks and ears. She wanted to fan herself with her palms but she resisted doing so because she didn''t want Theodore to tease her even more.


    Little did she know that Theodore had already noticed how hypnotized she was, and how he was not just planning to tease her. He was going to teach her instead, teach her how the epitome of ecstasy would feel like.


    Adeline was resting her back on the rim of the tub. She did not even realize that until now, she was spreading her legs as if she was not naked. She was staring at Theodore''s sturdy legs and when his feet were right in front of her feet, that was when she realized how shamelessly she was sitting.


    She gasped and instantly crossed her legs. She wanted to run away but he was already looming over her. It was already too late to run. She wanted to protest but her lips didn''t want to. So in an attempt to feel less embarrassed, she placed her palms over her private area that was underwater.


    Her heartbeat never subsides. With every step he would take, she would feel the heart rate increasing. One part of her wanted him to stop. But another part of her wanted him to continue whatever he was doing.


    Theodore had already straddled her and in the next moment, he bend down on his knees.


    Adeline felt Theodore''s tight butt cheeks on her thighs and almost instantly a soft embarrassed gasp escaped her lips. She did not expect that just that unintentional touch from him would make her feel as if she was flying high in the clouds. And she even surprised herself. She wanted more of this exhilarating feeling. But fearing he might see the burning desire in her eyes, she avoided looking at Theodore at all costs.


    However, it was not just Adeline with the burning desire in her heart, it was also Theodore. While she was still maintaining her shyness, Theodore became very outright about his desire to taste his woman.


    Adeline''s body went stiff all of a sudden when Theodore put his arms over her shoulder to touch the tub''s rim behind her. And then she could see his alluring face right in front of her. She could feel his warm breath mingling with her short and timid breath. She felt excited as well as intimidated by that sudden closeness with Theodore.


    And the next thing she knew, she felt his hot lips on her neck, right below her ear. She could not help but completely surrender to Theodore with that one touch of his.


    She closed her eyes and tilted her head as if she was asking for more. Theodore fulfilled her wish by giving a wet kiss on the hollow of her neck. He licked and sucked that hollow as if it was meant to be worshiped by his tongue.


    And it sent so many tingling sensations all over her body that she ended up digging her nails on his thighs. She squirmed a little while suppressing the desire to moan with desperation.


    But Theodore was making it really harder for her to suppress her moans as he kept on kissing, nibbling, and licking every nook and cranny of her neck. And to make it even harder, Theodore shifted even closer to Adeline and rested his hips on her lap. The tip of her breasts touched Theodore''s chest.


    Adeline felt something running from her navel to her heart at the speed of lightning. She gasped and held her breath because that sensation was overtaking her body. Theodore was still kissing her neck, slowly moving downward with every kiss. If Theodore continued to do this, then she was sure that she would lose the track of time. She was sure that she would forget she had to return to the Palace.


    So she placed her palms on his chest and gently pushed him away. And she asked in a broken whisper, "Theo, can''t we do this later?"


    But then she saw his amber eyes turning burning red. His devil had already overtaken him and she knew that he would not listen to her now. And as she expected, he shook his head and replied in a desperate voice, "I don''t think I can wait any longer. I need to have you, now."


    His words made Adeline want to let him have her. She wanted to let him do whatever he wanted to do with her. She felt as though she was being compelled but she could tell that it was her own inner desire. Theodore would never compel her into things like this, not even when his devil was out.


    And she ended up asking him, "Then can''t we do this on the bed?" But now that she said it out loud, she felt really shy. She had just admitted that she wanted to do everything, but a bit more comfortably.


    Theodore chuckled at that cuteness of his woman. He placed a wet kiss on her cheek. And he replied in a ragged whisper, "We will do this again on the bed if you can still handle me after finishing it here.. But first, let me continue what I started here."

 Chapter 246 - Taking It Further

    "Continue what he started? Do this again on the bed?" Adeline repeated Theodore''s words in her mind and drew in a deep breath using her mouth.


    And before she could breathe out, Theodore sealed her mouth with a kiss. She closed her eyes and let him bathe her with his soft and slow jabs of his lips. She slowly opened her delicate lips to him and let him get a taste of her sweet mouth. All the past memories of them kissing came flooding inside her mind. And she couldn''t help but want more.


    And as if he read her mind, he began to increase his pace. He started kissing her vigorously, claiming all of her mouth with his lips and tongue. Adeline could also taste his heavenly taste. As he moved his lips against hers, she began matching the rhythm. Oh, how she missed this taste of his!


    She was completely lost in his world now. There was no stopping her, and there was no turning back after this. She wanted all of him, whatever he would give her.


    While they were kissing, Adeline felt Theodore''s warm hand at the side of her waist. She softly moaned in his mouth. His touch was too sensational for her. And he was going to make it even more pleasing for her.


    She could feel his palm tracing the side of her curves and teasingly moving upwards towards her breast. She drew in a sharp breath. His touch and his kiss were making it harder for her to even breathe properly.


    And the next thing she felt was his sturdy palm latched on her breast. As if it was not already enough to arouse her, she felt his palm kneading her breast. Another pleasing sensation filled her insides, making her wriggle like a sunflower in a windy storm.


    Theodore suddenly pulled away from their intimate kiss. What? She did not want him to leave her yet!


    But then her eyes caught him glaring at her breasts. He looked at them so intensely that his gaze alone made her feel weak. She guessed what he was going to do next. And she was right. He leaned down towards her breast and kissed it.


    "Theo!" Adeline could not help but chant his name in a soft whisper.


    She could feel soft and short kisses on her breasts at first. And the moans that she was trying so hard to suppress were no longer taking her orders. They were constantly escaping her plump lips.


    Ohhhh�� and he did not just kiss her breasts. He sucked them both turn by turn. He sucked her nipples really hard. And suddenly, she felt his teeth biting her nipple. She let out a pleasure-filled whimper and clutched his hair with both of her hands. Then she instinctively heaved her chest closer to Theodore so that he would not pull her nipple with his teeth.


    Theodore kept on kissing, sucking, and also leaving a bite on her breasts every now and then. Adeline thought that this was the final stage of their intimacy as they had never gone further than this in the past. But she couldn''t be any more mistaken.


    She knew this was going even further when she felt Theodore''s hand on her thighs. She could feel his seductive finger movements slowly running in between her thighs. She felt goosebumps all over her body.


    Her mind became all fuzzy and before she could think what he was going to do to her, she felt a gentle touch from Theodore''s fingertips on her most sensitive skin. She felt as if hundreds of butterflies were fluttering inside her stomach and heart.


    She would have lifted her legs and crossed them to hide her privates if Theodore was not sitting on her laps right now. But her upper body was still free from his control and she writhed her body and moaned when Theodore touched her forbidden area.


    Theodore lifted his head from her chest and stared deep into Adeline''s eyes. He kissed her lips passionately and then looked at her again. Adeline gave a gratified smile to him. And he gave her a very mischievous smirk. Before she knew it, Theodore was already rubbing his fingers on her sensitive skin.


    "Mhh�� What is this feeling?" Adeline thought while parting her lips and letting out a breath full of pleasure. And that pleasure kept on escalating as Theodore slowly began to increase the pace of his hand movement.


    He kept on stroking her soft and sensitive skin and she kept on getting breathless. Suddenly, she felt him pinching her right on the spot. She felt a new pleasing sensation running up from that spot to her navel. "Aaahh!" she moaned and grabbed Theodore''s wrist with both of her hands. She was finding it difficult to even keep her eyes open.


    Theodore smirked with satisfaction. He liked getting that reaction from her. It was also affecting him. He could feel that he was already really hard. He was itching to grab her and get inside her. But he didn''t want to rush it. He wanted her muscles to relax and open up first. So he rubbed his palm violently but rhythmically against her.


    Adeline let out a series of loud moans which almost sounded like a whimper. Her hair never got the chance to dry as it was covered with sweat now. "Mhhh�� Theo��" she would take his name every now and then. And every time that she would take his name, he would pinch her weak spot to get even stronger moans.


    And just when Adeline was at the heights of her pleasure, he knew that it was now time to take it to the final level. Theodore flicked his fingers that were free and drained the water from the tub. Adeline was not feeling as though she was completely naked until now because of the water in the tub. But now that the water was gone, she felt somewhat flustered.


    But before she could do something about it, Theodore moved aside from her lap and swiftly grabbed her thighs and parted them wide. And he positioned himself dangerously close to her while holding the rim of the tub with one of his hands and Adeline''s hip with the other.


    Adeline inhaled sharply as this action came as a complete surprise to her.


    "Theo, what are you-" Before she could complete her question, she felt something really hard being pushed inside of her.


    Theodore leaned his head back and closed his eyes in satisfaction when he felt the softness of Adeline. He exhaled in pleasure.. And without wasting any second, he gently began to move his body against hers.

 Chapter 247 - Gratification

    Adeline, on the other hand, felt as though she was attacked by a sharp sword right in her most delicate part. The pain felt too unbearable for her. She dug her nails on Theodore''s arms and shouted in pain, "Ahhh! It hurts�� so much!"


    Those words managed to bring back Theodore''s attention to Adeline. She really did seem like she was in a lot of pain. "Shall I stop?" He asked worriedly. Theodore felt somewhat guilty seeing her like that.


    But to his surprise, she shook her head even though it was evident that she was hurting. "No, I don''t want you to stop," she managed to whisper through her pain.


    Theodore also didn''t want to stop. He thought for a second and then spit on his hardness. And then spit some more. After making sure that he was well moisturized, he entered her again.


    Adeline was still in pain but it was a little bearable.


    "Shall I go on?" Theodore wanted to make sure that she was ready for what was about to come.


    "Yes," Adeline whispered desperately, her eyes clearly begging him to give that exhilarating sensation to her again.


    Theodore gave a devilish smirk and said in an alluring voice, "Say no more." He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips before he began to rock his body back and forth against Adeline''s. He started it slow so that Adeline could get used to him.


    Adeline was slowly loosening her grip on his arm and her stiff shoulders were also slowly relaxing. And with every gentle stroke, she was letting out a groan of gratification.


    Theodore curved the corners of his lips seeing that kind of reaction from her. He gently caressed her cheek and asked, "Are you enjoying it?"


    Adeline could not even speak because her throat was already parched because of that moaning and heavy breathing. She just bit her lower lips and nodded in confirmation.


    And Theodore found that reaction so enticing that he wanted to go as deeper and as faster as he could. But at the same time, he didn''t want to hurt Adeline more than she already was. And the tub was really restricting. So he decided to fulfill Adeline''s wish.


    He put his arms around her waist and easily picked her up. Then he teleported Adeline to his own bed and gently lay her down. Adeline''s body was still wet and the warmth from the bed instantly made her feel even more relaxed. Her constricted muscles also loosened which made the job easier for Theodore.


    He grabbed Adeline by the sides of her waist and he began to rock his body harder and harder while Adeline gripped the bedsheet tightly and kept on getting pushed by Theodore. Her breathing got shorter and shorter as he kept on increasing the pace.


    The friction between their bodies made both of them feel emotions that they had never felt before. It was a little painful yet so divine. They could not even put their feelings into words, they could just feel it as their bodies kept on colliding against each other in perfect sync.


    The faster Theodore moved, the more exciting and pleasurable it got for Adeline. It was so good that she was curling her toes and heaving her chest. And Theodore was lost in the depths of Adeline''s softness.


    Theodore then grabbed her legs and put them over his shoulders. He wanted to delve even deeper. He put his weight on Adeline, bending her legs further. He kept on maintaining the friction and pleasing her even more. He loved seeing the expressions she was giving.


    After quite a while, he whispered raggedly and warned Adeline, "Tell me if you are tired. Because I don''t think I will ever get tired."


    "I will. You can keep going for now," Adeline was now not even trying to hide how she felt. There was no point in hiding behind her innocent face now that they had already come this far. She wanted to have as much more as she could handle.


    Theodore smirked and kissed her leg. He could not be any happier with that reply. He was happy to know that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. How could they not want each other after being reunited after two long years? They were going to love and have each other like there will be no tomorrow.


    Theodore kissed her leg again and whispered, "Let me make it a little bit easier for you." Then with a swift movement, he turned her to take her from the back. "Bend over," he ordered in a domineering voice. And as if she was compelled, she did that quickly.


    He then pulled her closer by grabbing her waist. He removed the wet locks of hair that were stuck on her back so that he could enjoy her fully naked body from the back. After stopping and praising her perfect figure, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her back.


    Then he pointed his manhood at her already relaxed opening and then slammed it in her. Adeline was pushed forward with great force. So he held her by her hips and put her in place. And then kept on thrusting his hips forward.


    He felt that Adeline liked this position more as he could hear her crying and whimpering like never before. "Mhh, this feels so good! I don''t want you to stop," she confirmed his thinking a while later.


    He happily obliged to her request. He gently slapped her hips from time to time so that he could hear more of her moans and whimpers.


    And then after a while, he lay her again on her back. He took both of her wrists and locked them above her head. He leaned down on her and showered her neck with kisses, never stopping to slam his lower body against her.


    This time, he moved his body exceptionally faster. Adeline let out a series of staggered moans because she was now near ecstasy. She never thought that this would give her pleasure beyond her imagination. And within a few seconds, she jerked her head upwards while letting out a contented moan and slamming her head back on the bed. She felt as though thousands of flowers bloomed inside of her.


    Theodore was also close to being done, so he didn''t leave her just yet. He completely leaned his body on Adeline and rested his face on hers. After pushing for some more, he finally achieved the epitome of satisfaction. He stopped moving and just lay on top of his lover while bathing her in his warm breath.


    After a while, he raised his head and lovingly gazed at Adeline with his amber eyes. His Devil was already gratified and so was he. "I love you!" He smiled and then locked his lips one last time with Adeline''s before finally relieving her of his weight. He lay at her side and pressed her very close to his chest.


    Adeline put her arms around Theodore and smiled ear to ear. She was hearing his heart beating faster and louder than the drums. She liked what she heard.. "And I love you," she whispered while still smiling.

 Chapter 248 - I Want To See

    Theodore and Adeline kept on embracing each other and lying down on the bed. Theodore was not tired at all but Adeline was. She had just experienced the most beautiful feeling that a woman could hope for. And knowing how important and precious this experience was for Adeline, Theodore kept on stroking her back lovingly, letting her soak in that amazing experience they just had.


    There were no words spoken. But there was deep understanding and love hovering in the air. They felt as though they had truly become one.


    Though they wanted to stay in each other''s embrace forever, it was not possible because of the obligations that Adeline had. Theodore had not been doing much other than wreaking havoc on Earth and on Hell. Now that Adeline was back together with him, there was no need for violence to fill his void. But there were several other things that Adeline had to do in the King''s Court.


    So after a good while, Adeline finally spoke, "Theo, I have to go back to the Palace."


    "Do you really have to?" Theodore asked while tightening his embrace around Adeline''s waist even more. "Can''t you just stay with me today? We haven''t even had a chance to talk."


    Adeline raised her head to look at Theodore in the eyes. She gently placed her cute little palm on his jaw and smiled. She was tempted to say yes to him and spend the whole day in his embrace.


    But she controlled her desire and whispered, "I would love to stay with you and never leave your side. But you know I have to. I don''t think I will be able to focus much on the work, but I should at least be there in my workplace before father realizes that I was missing from the Palace since yesterday."


    She looked outside the small window on top of the wall and added, "It is already so bright outside. I think Hawisa and Osanna are already looking for me everywhere in the Palace. I should go before they warn the guards or inform father."


    Theodore curved his lips downward. And then requested, "Then just five more minutes. Then we will leave." And without waiting for Adeline to agree or disagree, he wrapped Adeline with his leg as well and kissed on her head. "You smell so good. I missed your smell," he whispered after inhaling her fragrance.


    Adeline smiled and gave a soft kiss on Theodore''s chest. Then she also added, "And I also missed this enticing smell of yours."


    Theodore''s lips curved up listening to her confession.


    Both of them sat on each other''s embrace for some time. And then suddenly, Adeline asked him a question that had been at the back of her head since yesterday, "Theo, do you mind if I ask a question to you?"


    "Have I ever minded when you asked me a question?" Theodore said while planting another kiss on her head.


    Adeline hummed for a while contemplating whether this was the right time to ask what she was about to ask or not. But she couldn''t wait until it was night again or until their next meeting so she asked anyway, "Theo, will you show me your wings again? I didn''t get to see them nicely yesterday. I want to touch them."


    Theodore''s face suddenly turned pale. He was not expecting Adeline to ask this of him. He would love to show her his wings but the wings would not come alone. It would come with other things which he didn''t like or to be more honest, which he didn''t want to show to Adeline.


    And he replied in a somewhat embarrassed voice, "I don''t think that you would like what you see."


    Adeline lifted her head and then rested on her elbow. Then she insisted while giving a puppy-eyed look to Theodore, "But I want to see it. That is your Devil form right? I am in love with the Devil so let me see that side of you as well."


    Theodore felt as though she had just given her an imperial order which he had to follow. How could he deny her when she asked it so sweetly? So he let out a sigh and then agreed, "Alright! Don''t blame me if you get scared."


    He got up on the bed and then took in a sharp breath. Then he looked at Adeline in the eyes and warned her one last time, "And I have to warn you that I will look hideous."


    Theodore closed his eyes and then let himself be engulfed by the dark aura. And in the next moment, two large horns appeared on his head. A set of massive wings spurt out from his back. His nails turned into sharp claws and his teeth into fangs. And his eyes, the ambers were now glowing red in color while the whites were burning like fire.


    And the whole room was suddenly filled with a grim and eerie vibe. He was giving off really intense and powerful aura.


    He directed his gaze towards Adeline, ready to see hate or fear or both in her eyes. But to his disbelief, her eyes were filled with admiration and love for him. She was looking at him as if she was seeing an Angel and not a Devil.


    She slowly got up on the bed as well, without averting her gaze from the majestic body of Theodore. She gently caressed Theodore''s cheek and whispered, "You are so beautiful." And even though she could see his fangs, she lifted herself on her heels and pressed her lips on his.


    Theodore closed his eyes, almost wanting to cry because she called him beautiful even when he believed that he couldn''t look any more hideous.


    Adeline then lovingly gazed at Theodore''s black horns and asked, "Can I touch them?"


    Theodore shrugged his shoulders and replied hesitantly, "If you want to��"


    Theodore was surprised that she wanted to touch those very horns which he hated about himself. He had his wings since he was born. But all other things had grown after he was thrown down from Heaven.. And he could not believe that someone would actually kiss on his fangs and would want to touch his devilish horns.

 Chapter 249 - You Lied

    Adeline smiled and gently ran her fingers on his horns as though they were the most delicate things and not the opposite. And then without wasting any more seconds, she swiftly shifted to her right side and stared at his majestic wing. She gently ran her palm on his wing, sending shivers inside Theodore.


    He smiled as though it tickled him and fluttered his wings a little. Adeline chuckled at his reaction and wanted to tease him even more. She lifted both of her palms and ran them through that widespread wing. "It feels so soft and warm. You should let me touch them from time to time," she suggested to him very excitedly.


    "Why did you never show them to me before? Were you never planning to let me see your Devil side?" Adeline stood in front of him and pouted. She didn''t like it that Theodore had hidden that majestic form of his from her.


    Theodore just smiled and took a deep breath in. And then he whispered a little sadly, "I thought I would scare you. I thought you would want to run away from me if you ever saw me like this. So I was afraid to show it."


    "I would never get scared of you, Theo. I will always love you and stay by your side no matter what." She said while still oblivious that she was really scared to see him in his Devil form when she was in Azriel''s Crypt. That memory was suppressed by Theodore and it was still lost in her own mind. And Theodore had no intention of making her remember that and making her feel bad about herself.


    Adeline wrapped her arms around the Devil''s neck and smiled, "I found you even when Azriel made me forget you, didn''t I?"


    Theodore smiled admiringly and said, "Yes, you did find me. I don''t know what I would have become if you never found me. I was already on the verge of destroying this whole planet and even destroying Hell. I was so devastated."


    "Oh, Theo��" Adeline looked at him lovingly and said, "I am sorry that I put you through all that." She kissed him lightly on his cheek but then suddenly looked at him accusingly, "But why didn''t you come to me and try to make me remember you? I am sure that I would have remembered you sooner if you had reminded me. Why did you never appear in front of me?"


    Theodore kissed her on her forehead then apologized, "I am sorry for that. But I have to blame Azriel for that. He put the spell in such a way that if I ever appeared in front of you and tried to remind you of me, then it would only make your memories worse. If I had pushed you then you could have forgotten me for good."


    Then he wrapped Adeline with his arms as well as his wings and said, "So I put my faith in you. I was sure that you would remember me on your own one day. And I waited for you�� or more like I avoided you. Every time I would come to see you secretly, either I would find you crying for no reason, or I would find you extremely frustrated with life itself. And I could not bear to see you in that state. So��"


    He stopped himself midways. He did not want to tell the details of what he did in order to avoid her, what kind of violence he resorted to. He was sure that the things that he did would make Adeline feel hurt. And he did not want that.


    So he smiled and said, "But all those pain seem like a distant memory now that you are with me. I will never let you go, ever again. Not even if my own father will come to stop me from loving you. No one can make us part now. If anyone tries, I will destroy them, no matter who they are."


    Adeline ran her fingers through his hair and whispered, "I am sure you will." She also did not want anyone to come in between them either, ever again.


    Adeline then hugged him very tightly. Their bare bodies were pressed against each other''s, filling each other''s curves. "We should get dressed," Adeline chuckled and then added, "I should be really going now."


    Though he did not want to let her go, he also did not want her to get into a difficult situation due to his stubbornness. "Sure. Let''s get dressed. And I will drop you and Rion near the Palace."


    Adeline suddenly frowned her brows and asked, "You will drop me and Rion? You�� didn''t you say that you cannot teleport horses?"


    Theodore slyly smirked and then whispered in her ear, "And you were na?ve enough to believe that. I just wanted to ride the horse with you on my lap. So I lied. And you believed me."


    Adeline opened her jaw in disbelief. She scoffed and slapped him on his back. And she playfully scolded him, "You really are a Devil! How can you lie to me like that?"


    Theodore stole a kiss of her lips and then smiled whimsically, "Don''t pretend like you did not like that horse ride with me. I know you liked it. And I knew you have insisted on teleporting you and Rion back to the Palace if I had told you the truth. So I lied and gave you a magical experience." He winked at her and stole another kiss.


    Adeline chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear. And then she shyly agreed, "Yes, I liked it though. I would love to do it again when we aren''t constricted by time."


    "Sure, anything for you." Theodore was smiling like a hopeless fool when she agreed to him. He liked her this way. He liked how bold and confident his lover had become.


    He liked it even more that she had become confident not only with him but with everyone else as well. He liked that she was already capable of running a Kingdom on her own. He could not believe that the tiny toddler who had accidentally come to his cave was now his lover and also the Future Queen of Wyverndale.. Time sure did fly fast.

 Chapter 250 - God Help Me!

    Both Adeline and Theodore got dressed up. They were ready to go back to the Palace. Both of them went to the place where Arion was tied up the last night.


    "Hey, Rion, are you okay? You didn''t feel bored alone here, did you?" Adeline asked Arion while rubbing him on the neck.


    Arion let out a soft whine and shook his head.


    "Awww��" Adeline glanced at Theodore and asked, "Isn''t he the cutest?"


    Theodore smiled and answered, "He is. I am glad that you like him so much."


    "And I am glad that you gifted him to me. He is a dear." Adeline then placed a kiss on Arion''s forehead.


    Adeline didn''t notice it but Arion gave a side-eyed look to Theodore as if he was trying to say that he was going to steal his woman from him. And in response, Theodore narrowed his eyes and made a gesture as though he was slitting his throat with his thumb as if to say that if he tried anything he would kill him.


    Adeline scratched Arion''s neck and further appreciated her companion animal, "He somehow understands everything that I say. I must say that he was well trained by whoever his previous owner was."


    Arion lifted his front leg and gently hit Theodore on his leg as if to ask ''When am I allowed to reveal my true self to Adeline? Until when are you going to keep her in the dark?''


    But Theodore completely disregarded him and then ran his fingers through his silky hair while smiling nervously. He then glanced at Adeline and asked, "I will teleport you both to the forest. Are you ready?"


    Adeline narrowed her eyes at Theodore as his nervous reaction caught her eyes. If she had any time to spare then she would have pressured him to answer the question that was bugging her. But as it was already too late, she decided to let that matter go for now. And she nodded, "Yes, we are ready."


    Theodore touched both of them and gave a warning before he teleported them, "Okay, then. I will be teleporting you now."


    And immediately after he said that, the dark mist enveloped all three of them and in no time, they were all in the middle of the forest behind the Palace.


    Unlike every other day, the forest was full of noises from the guards who were running here and there in the distance. Thankfully, no one noticed them popping out in the middle of the forest out of nowhere.


    "What is going on?" Theodore was a little concerned because of the commotion. The first thought that came to his mind was that the Palace had been invaded by some enemy state. If that was the case then he was ready to teleport Adeline back to the safety of his cave.


    Adeline drew in a deep breath and replied in an unimpressed tone, "What else? They all must be looking for me. Ughh! I am so doomed."


    Theodore wanted to feel a little guilty for seducing Adeline and making her late but he truly was not. The time they spent together was too precious to be sulking over for. He put his arm around Adeline''s shoulder and then asked, "Shall I make you invisible and then help you sneak inside the Palace then?"


    "No." Adeline instantly shook her head and denied his offer for help. Somehow, being invisible was not appealing for her as it reminded her of her memories of the past. "I will go on from here. I will make something up."


    "Are you sure?" Theodore asked again to reconfirm.


    Adeline turned to face him and then hugged him. And she whispered, "Yes. You should go and sleep again. You look like you have not been getting enough sleep."


    "Does it show?" Theodore thought to himself. And then he smiled because of her ability to tell that just by looking at him. He hugged her back tightly. "Okay. I will."


    He hesitantly pulled away from the hug and kissed Adeline before he vanished into thin air.


    The corners of Adeline''s lips curved up a little. Her heart was filled with warm feelings even in the midst of the tension that she had at the back of her mind. She kept on standing there while gently caressing her lips with her fingertips, right where Theodore had just kissed her.


    Arion saw a few guards heading in their direction so he nudged Adeline with his head to try and bring her back to reality. And it worked. Adeline inhaled sharply and then turned around. She also saw the guards who had spotted her and were running in her direction.


    "Oh, God help me!" she prayed in her mind. She took a deep breath in and then held Arion''s reins. Then she also walked towards the guards.


    The guards stopped in front of Adeline and bowed to her. And one of the guards said hastily, "Your Highness, we have been looking for you everywhere. His Majesty is really worried about you."


    Adeline smiled apologetically and said, "I will meet His Majesty right away."


    Now Adeline was also really worried that her father was worried. She didn''t want to keep him waiting for too long. So even though she was already near the Palace, she climbed on Arion and then rode towards the Palace at the top speed, even when it was really difficult for her to even sit on the saddle.


    There were several guards along the way, all searching for her. And there were even more guards at the back gate of the Palace. She really felt like she had given trouble to each and every person of the Palace.


    Adeline rode the horse straight to the King''s Court. She assumed that her father would be there since there was a squad of Royal Guards standing outside the Court. She jumped down from Arion and sprinted towards the King''s throne.


    She saw her father resting his jaw on his fist and sitting on his throne as though he was going to break down any moment now.


    The moment King Dragomir heard the sound of footsteps approaching towards him, he looked to check if it was from any guards who had the news about his daughter. But when he saw that it was Adeline herself, he got up from his throne and ran down towards Adeline.


    "Adeline! You are here��" He hugged his daughter very tightly and said in a melancholic tone, "I thought that something bad happened to you. I was so terrified."


    Adeline felt a pinch in her heart hearing her father''s broken voice that was full of fear. She hugged him back and tried to console her father, "Nothing happened to me, father. I am completely fine.. I am so sorry for making you worry about me."

 Chapter 251 - Serve You

    Dragomir pulled away from the hug and then suddenly he had this intimidating look on his face. It felt as if he went from being a father to being the King.


    Then he raised his voice and asked sternly, "Where were you, Adeline? One of the guards at the gate told me just a while ago that you had gone out of the back gate alone... That also yesterday night! Where did you go for the whole night? And why didn''t you take any of your guards with you? How can you be so careless when you are the Future Queen?"


    Adeline''s face turned red. She had ordered the guards at the gate not to tell anyone, but they couldn''t keep her secret when the King was involved. She looked down at the floor and she replied in a low voice, "I am sorry for being careless. But I�� I really needed to get a few things out of my head."


    She took a deep breath in. For a second, she was so tempted to tell her father about Theodore. She wanted to tell him that she had gone out to meet someone special. But she shoved that thought in some corner of her head. If she was to tell the King that she had spent the whole night with her lover, then it would be really scandalous.


    Though King Dragomir was very progressive when compared with the other rulers of other Kingdoms, he was not even that progressive to stay quiet when his unmarried daughter went to meet and spend the night with her lover.


    So she made up something else in an instant and then told a half-truth to the King, "I had been feeling very frustrated and very sad for no specific reason. I thought that if I drowned myself in the Royal works, then I would not be feeling that way. But I guess that pushed me to the edge even more. I just wanted to run away from everything and spend some time alone. So, I went out for some fresh air."


    She then bowed to the King and asked for forgiveness, "I would like to apologize for my childish behavior. I promise that I will never repeat this kind of behavior again."


    Adeline was expecting the King to be mad at her for longer but maybe the father side of Dragomir kicked in again and thus he said while lovingly caressing Adeline''s cheek, "I am sorry for raising my voice at you earlier. I should know more than anyone else how lonely and frustrating all these responsibilities can be."


    Dragomir almost looked as though he felt sorry for his daughter. He placed his hands on Adeline''s shoulders and then said in a soft voice, "We are only humans so we are allowed to want to run away from such overwhelming responsibilities. But you should know well that we cannot run away no matter what."


    He shared his wisdom with his beloved daughter, "Our freedom is the price we have to pay for sitting on the throne. The whole Kingdom and its people''s fate are bound to our actions. So, every time you feel like running away, think of those innocent faces who look up to you and depend on you. And always come back."


    Adeline gave a mirthless smile. Yes, she had already accepted the fact that she would not have much freedom for her whole life now that she was bound to the throne and ultimately to the people. But sometimes, she couldn''t help but want to throw away everything and run away. But she just wanted it to be limited to her fantasy. She wouldn''t be able to abandon her people, she could never be that selfish.


    Dragomir then patted on Adeline''s shoulder and lovingly said, "You must have been tired. You should take a leave from the work today and rest in your quarter. Take as many days as you want. I can handle the tasks on my own."


    Adeline was tempted to agree to her father but she could not bear to let him work on his own. His health was not that great like before and if she made her father do all of her jobs as well, then she was sure that he would get sick in no time. So she just shook her head and denied, "I already feel great, father. I don''t need to take leaves."


    "But didn''t you just say that you feel exhausted? I insist that you-" King Dragomir stopped mid-sentence because his eyes fell on someone who had just entered the hall.


    Adeline followed the King''s gaze and turned around to see who it was. And almost in an instant, her face looked as though it was covered with dark clouds.


    "Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Your Highness."


    It was Prince Edwin. He looked somewhat different from before. Of course, he looked a little mature than before, but he was now leaner. He had cut his hair shorter and those two years of not seeing the sun had made him look a bit fairer than before. If it was not for his voice and clothes, then he looked almost unrecognizable.


    The duration of his house arrest had ended yesterday night. But King Dragomir wasn''t yet ready to talk to the Prince. And as though his mood just went sour just by seeing his face, he turned on his heels and headed to his inner office.


    Now it became really awkward for Adeline. She also didn''t feel like talking with Edwin, even more so, now that she remembered everything that he did in detail. But she also didn''t want to come out as a rude and arrogant person by just leaving him standing there.


    So she turned completely to face Edwin and then greeted him, "Brother Edwin. It is good to see you again."


    And contrary to what Adeline had expected, Edwin walked a little closer to Adeline and gave a smile. He smiled! Adeline couldn''t remember the last time she had seen him smile. And to surprise her even more, he spoke to her in a very polite voice, "It is good to see you too, Princess Adeline."


    Adeline still could not believe that that was just what Edwin was going to say to her. She waited for him to vent his anger on her for revealing his crimes and punishing him, or threatening her saying he would take revenge on her. But he just kept on standing there awkwardly with a soft smile on his face.


    So Adeline asked him, "Was there anything that you wanted to talk about?"


    "Yes.." Edwin inhaled deeply and then blurted out, "I would like to serve you wholeheartedly, Adeline. Will you give me a chance to prove myself?"

 Chapter 252 - Trick?

    "He wants to serve me?" Adeline kept on staring at Edwin for a whole minute. She was unsure whether what she heard was true or it was just her ears playing tricks on her.


    And seeing Adeline standing there like a statue, Edwin took the initiative to talk about that in detail and asked Adeline, "Sister, if you have some time then I would like to talk further about this. I don''t want to put any kind of pressure on you, I just want you to hear me out. That is if you are willing to listen to me."


    Adeline tried her best not to show any negative expressions on her face. Considering his previous records, she was sure that Edwin would try to trap her in his schemes against the Kingdom. "How na?ve do you think I am that I would fall for your tricks?" she thought to herself. But at the same time, she was also curious to listen to what he was going to say to her.


    Also, he was talking to her nicely, and he had already served his house arrest time. So she thought that hearing him out was the least she could do.


    "Sure. I will hear what you have to say. Why don''t you follow me to my workplace?" Adeline turned around and then headed toward her workplace. And Edwin followed her.


    When Adeline reached to her workroom, Bennett was already there as usual. And the moment he saw her, he came running to her and bowed. And then he asked in a worried voice, "Your Highness, I heard that you had disappeared from the Palace. I was really worried about you. Are you alright? Did something happen to you?"


    Adeline couldn''t help but smile seeing her assistant like that. He was the one to always be calm and composed and this was the first time she was seeing him breaking his character like this. And she felt really sorry for him.


    So she replied in a consoling tone, "I am alright, Bennett. I just went out for some air and everybody thought that I had run away. That''s all. You don''t need to be worried."


    "That''s good to hear." Bennett could see Prince Edwin standing a little further away from the door. So he glanced at Adeline and said, "I assume that Your Highness has a meeting right now. I will leave you two then."


    Adeline nodded and Bennett bowed to her again before leaving the room. Adeline went and sat down in her chair. Then she gestured at the chair in front of her and then asked Edwin, "Please, take a seat."


    Edwin gently smiled and entered the room. He settled down a bit stiffly. And then he started the conversation in an apologetic way, "Adeline, these two years in house arrest have been an eye-opener for me. I had a lot of time in my hand to reflect upon the actions of my lifetime."


    He took a deep breath in before reflecting back to their childhood days, "I always picked fights with you even when I am more than a decade older than you. I guess I just saw my mother''s hate towards you and accepted that you were to be hated at."


    "But now, I have come to realize that all those years of hating you for no reason was one of the greatest mistakes of my life. Because that was when I started becoming more and more aggressive and hateful towards everyone else as well. And by the time I became an adult, I became the typical spoilt Prince who loved violence. And I ended up performing several sins just to satiate my desire for violence."


    Adeline kept on listening to Edwin with a straight face. She was trying to figure out the reason why he was saying all this to her. Yes, she couldn''t agree more that he was a horrible person even when he was a kid. He used to make her cry a lot.


    And she was thinking to herself, "But why bring all this up now? Is he trying to gain some kind of sympathy by making me believe that he has changed?"


    Seeing Adeline''s dilated pupils, Edwin then came straight to the point, "Adeline, first of all, I want to apologize to you for all those years that I tortured you by saying things that I should never have. And secondly, as I said earlier, I would like to serve you for the rest of my life."


    Adeline fidgeted her legs because she was unable to digest everything that he was saying to her. And she asked, finally unable to hide her distaste, "Uh huh��" she cleared her throat and continued, "Let''s say that you feel remorseful towards everything that you have done, to me and to the Kingdom."


    She puckered her lips and then asked in a serious tone, "But why would you want to serve me when I am the one who was responsible for punishing you, destroying your reputation throughout the Kingdom, and I don''t know�� depriving you of any contact with your wife and daughter��"


    Adeline tried to incite him on purpose because she wanted to see his anger towards her. She wanted to reveal his true nature rather than hiding behind this fake mask that he was using right now.


    However, Edwin was not angered at all. He was as calm as before and he replied, "You did the right thing by punishing me. I committed a crime and I had to be punished sooner or later. And you didn''t ruin my reputation, I had already ruined it myself. Yes, I didn''t get to see my wife and my daughter but that was a part of the punishment."


    "I have my reason for wanting to serve you. And trust me when I say I have a very selfish reason." Then he puckered his lips and added after a scoff, "I guess the saying about the Karma is not wrong after all. I have always hated you for the most years of my life. And now, my whole life has been bound to you."


    Adeline knitted her brows in tune and then asked, "What�� what do you mean by that?" She frowned and then asked a bit sternly, "Are you trying to imply that I did some witchcraft on you?"


    "No, I didn''t mean to say that." Edwin looked into Adeline''s eyes and he was going to be truthful to her, "What I meant was that I was punished by the Dragon Immortal. He saw right through all of my sins and then he punished me."

 Chapter 253 - Trust Me

    "Dragon Immortal punished you? What do you mean by that? What was the punishment?" Adeline asked while a hint of curiosity loomed over her eyes.


    Edwin had no intention of hiding anything from Adeline. He was already done being the bad guy. He wanted to start over his broken relationship with Adeline, and he wanted to build their improved relationship by founding it upon trust and mutual understanding.


    Thus, he came clean with his half-sister. "On the day of the test, the Dragon Immortal placed a curse on me. Or let''s say, he placed a restriction upon me. I guess he did that thinking I would get back to being the villain I was if I was not restricted."


    "And what kind of curse did Az�� I mean what kind of curse did the Dragon Immortal place upon you?" Adeline asked with a deep frown between her brows. She could not believe that Azriel had not just toyed with her but with Edwin as well. Not that she was concerned for Edwin but it was just that she was really angry at the self-proclaimed God.


    Edwin took a quick glance at Adeline to gauge if he should continue saying what he was going to say or not. He saw that Adeline was really waiting for his answer. So he took a deep breath in and then revealed everything, "He said that if I ever tried to betray the Future Ruler, meaning you, then I would die in an instant."


    "Also, with every wound that you get, my soul will be scarred. And the moment my soul reaches its limit, I will cease to exist. The Dragon Immortal said that I won''t even enter the cycle of reincarnation. So as I said earlier, I wanted to serve you because of this very selfish reason."


    Adeline subconsciously held her breath when she heard that. She was unable to decide if that was good for her or bad for her. And she was even more confused regarding Azriel''s intention. And she thought to herself, "Why would he put such a curse on him? Is this another sick trick that he used against me?"


    Edwin analyzed Adeline''s facial expression again. She did not seem to be judging him right now. She rather looked a little puzzled and lost so he continued, "I know that you might still be thinking if you could really trust me or not. And I know trusting me will not be easy for you. But trust me when I say this��"


    Edwin leaned forward and then placed his arms on the desk in front of him. And then he tried to make her trust him by speaking the truth, "It is true that I cannot even think about doing something bad to you. The day you returned back victorious from the test, I was really mad at you thinking you stole my rightful place as the Future Ruler of Wyverndale. But then my heart and my whole body started to act out as though I was really about to die."


    His eyes darted around in fear as he continued, "And I am sure that if I ever betray you, I would die in the next moment just like the Dragon Immortal said. I had promised the Dragon Immortal that I would pledge my loyalty to you. And I am here to do just that. I am here to fulfill my promise. And also to save my own life."


    Edwin took a deep breath in and added, "I have to live long enough so that I can make amends to my previous action. Or at least try to do lots of good deeds so as to compensate for the sins that I have done. He showed me a glimpse of Hell and I would never want to go there when I die."


    Adeline did not want to accept it, but she felt great satisfaction when she heard him say that. Azriel had shown him Hell! And he had made him pledge his loyalty to her. And what more�� if he ever tried something funny like overthrowing her, then he would die!


    But she still could not tell what Azriel had in his mind. She had seen him acting all nice and friendly just to trap her like a pitcher plant. He had made her go through something worse than Hell.


    And she thought, "I should tell everything to Theo. And I should get his opinion about this matter. Who knows, that fake God might be planning something like before. I did a great mistake back then by not telling Theo everything. I am not going to make that same mistake again."


    Her train of thought was disturbed by Edwin when he abruptly got up from his seat and then bowed his head to her. And then he asked in a confident way, "So, please, Your Highness. Let me serve you. I would like to protect you from any harm that might befall you. And I would also like to help you with anything that you need from me."


    Adeline narrowed her eyes and asked with a little suspicion, "You are not lying to me, right? You know that I can always ask the Dragon Immortal and check if what you said just now is true or it was completely made up."


    Edwin shook his head a few times and then answered, "I would never dare to make something up like this. I know how powerful the Dragon Immortal is and I fear him. I would never try to defame him like this."


    Adeline crossed her palms and then thought for some time. "Well�� if he cannot hurt me then I guess there is no harm in getting him on my side. I might even be able to use him as a shield against that witch. Or he himself might protect me from his mother. He has to�� if he does not want to die. And one thing that is good about Lillian is that she will do anything to save her dear son��"


    She took a deep breath in and then looked Edwin in the eyes. And then she said while exuding an authoritative aura, "Since it was the Dragon Immortal''s wish, I will respect his judgment and I will accept your loyalty." She did not trust the Dragon Immortal but seeing that he feared Azriel, she made it sound as though she only accepted his service because of Azriel.


    "Thank you, Your Highness," Edwin bowed again. Then he placed his fist on his chest and announced, "I hereby pledge my loyalty to the Future Queen of Wyverndale. I will do anything and everything to protect you and serve you."


    Adeline nodded her head and smiled awkwardly seeing him overdoing it. And then she dismissed him, "You must be dying to meet your wife and your daughter. Why don''t you spend a few days with them? You can then come back here when you are ready."


    But Edwin looked very determined to never leave Adeline''s side. "I will come back from tomorrow. You can think of me as your personal bodyguard." And then he finally left the workplace.


    And Adeline wondered how he spent those two years in isolation. She thought that he must have felt really restless when he didn''t know what was happening outside his quarter and what was happening to her.


    Adeline heaved a great sigh of relief. She had considered Edwin as one of her two main enemies. And with his fate being bound to her like that, one of her enemies was automatically neutralized. Now with Edwin on her side, she could just focus her time and energy on Lillian.


    If Azriel had not betrayed her, she would have thanked him. But she had vowed never to forgive him for what he did, no matter what. Even if this whole thing with Edwin was done out of the goodwill of his heart, Adeline was not going to forgive him.. The bad things that he did to her far outweighed the good things.

 Chapter 254 - Insatiable Hunger

    Theodore left Adeline and then went back to his cave, in his own room. As Adeline had asked him, he thought of getting good sleep for the whole day. He jumped on the bed and covered himself with the warm blanket. Then he closed his eyes in the hopes of getting some sleep.


    But how could he sleep when he had the most beautiful experience not long ago? All he could think about was her soft lips, her tight hips, and her squishy chest.


    He wanted to kiss her, touch her, and do everything else all over again. The more he thought about her, the more he was tempted to go back to the Palace and bring her back to his room.


    Yes, he had just seen her a while ago and did all those things just moments ago. But now that he had fully tasted her and now that he knew how ecstatic it felt, he wanted to taste her again.


    Theodore flung open his eyes and pressed his thumb against his lips. And he thought to himself, "If only she didn''t have her own obligations�� I would keep her here forever. And I would keep on loving her until she would get tired. I would let her rest to recover, and then I would make love to her again�� and again�� and again."


    He let out a frustrated grunt and then turned the side to rest on his stomach. He was trying his best to suppress his urge to teleport to the Palace.


    After Edwin left the room, Adeline tried her best to focus on the tasks at hand. She had to look after the report that one of the councilmen, who looked after the Finance of Wyverndale, had sent her.


    She was flipping through the pages and was trying her best to focus on the numbers written on the paper. But all she was doing was either staring blankly at the page or just shuffling through without actually reading anything.


    She would read some lines and then her mind would automatically start to wander to the intimacy that she had shared with Theodore this morning. Without realizing it, she was gently caressing her lips. She could still feel the warm touch from his lips, not just his lips but the touch from his other body parts as well.


    Every time she would recall that beautiful moment between them, she would feel hundreds of butterflies in her stomach. She would get the exact sensational feeling that she felt this morning. Her heartbeat never calmed down as she kept on thinking about it over and over again.


    Suddenly, she was startled when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder followed by a warm peck on her neck.


    She jumped to her side and turned to look at the perpetrator who had touched her like that.


    "Theo!" she let out a sigh of relief and scolded him, "You scared me! What are you doing here? I thought I asked you to-"


    Theodore didn''t let her finish her sentence. He sealed her mouth with his and kissed her vigorously, as though he had this insatiable hunger inside of him. And Adeline reciprocated with equal passion.


    He slowly slid both of his hands under her hips and then picked Adeline up from the chair. Adeline wrapped her legs around his waist and they both kept on kissing each other like never before.


    Theodore walked to the side and gently slammed her back against the shelf. He slid Adeline''s body a little downward. Then he began rocking his body against hers while still devouring her lips. The files and scrolls that were stacked neatly on that shelf were now a mess.


    Adeline placed her palm on his chest and pushed him. She broke off from the intense and heated kiss and asked with a shaken breath, "Theo�� what are you doing? Someone will hear us."


    Theodore was not happy that she stopped him just to ask some questions. And he whispered in his enticing voice, "So let them. I don''t want to stop kissing you. I want to take you right here and now."


    He slowly slid his hand inside her gown and moved up to her thighs. Adeline''s heart skipped several beats when she felt his warm hand moving closer and closer to her sensitive area. She was tempted to give in but at the same time, she was also feeling jittery as this was not her bedroom but it was her office.


    So she caught his hand and tried to put some sense into him, "What if someone sees us? We shouldn''t be so careless."


    But Theodore leaned closer to her lips and spoke while softly brushing his lips against hers, "So let them see. I want the world to know that you are mine." And he claimed her lips again, even more passionately.


    Adeline was startled when she heard a knock on the door. And Theodore was displeased. He wanted to kill whoever had knocked on the door.


    Adeline quickly slid down from Theodore''s grip and straightened her gown. And she asked in a whisper, "You are using the invisibility spell, yes? Others cannot see you, right?"


    Theodore just pouted and shrugged his shoulder. "Who knows?"


    Adeline smiled and lifted her heels. She gave him a peck and whispered, "I will introduce you to my father when the time is right. I am sorry that we have been sneaking around for all this time."


    Theodore finally smirked.


    There was another knock on the door again. "Your Highness?" Adeline heard Bennett''s voice from the other side of the door. She went and hastily sat down on her chair. She lightly slapped on her forehead a few times to bring her thoughts back from Theodore. She took a deep breath in and then said, "Come in."


    Bennett entered the room followed by a maid. He had noticed that the Princess was wearing the same gown from yesterday''s ceremony. So he had gone to her quarter and asked the maids if she even returned to the quarter before going to the workplace.


    From there he learned that they had not seen the Princess since yesterday and he rightly assumed that she didn''t even have some tea before coming to the workroom. So he ordered the maids to prepare some hot breakfast for the Princess.


    Bennett gave a gentle smile to Adeline and said in a caring voice, "Your Highness, I took the liberty to bring some food for you. Working on an empty stomach will be bad for your health." He then gestured the maid to lay down the plates on the table.


    The maid did as the Lord asked and then bowed before leaving the room.


    "Thank you so much for being so mindful about me," Adeline smiled back at Bennett while keeping her head down. She pretended to look at the papers that were in front of her so as not to give away what she was actually doing before he came inside the room.


    However, Bennett''s keen eyes fell on the Princess''s flushed cheeks, and the first thing that came to his mind was that the Princess was sick. "Your Highness��" He was about to ask if the Princess was not feeling okay but then he saw her smiling to herself as though something really good had happened to her.


    So he changed his question and then asked, "Did Your Highness hear some good news maybe? You look really happy right now."

 Chapter 255 - Feed Me

    Bennett would rarely see Adeline smiling like that. So he could not help but ask the Princess if she had heard some good news.


    Adeline was caught off-guard by that question. She thought that she was hiding her smiles but it looked like she was not doing a good job at hiding them. She gave an awkward smile and then blurted out some lie, "No�� Actually, I had been to the Ethereal River yesterday. And I was recalling the peace that the river''s sound gave me."


    "You really had a good time then." Bennett''s eye then caught a glimpse of the messy shelf.


    Adeline felt as though he saw Theodore. She quickly followed his gaze and looked behind her. Theodore was standing at the other side of the room. But then she saw the mess that they had made. She nervously smiled and then said, "I was looking for a file earlier. But I ended up making a mess instead."


    Innocent Bennett believed what the Princess said and instantly offered to help. "You should have called me, Your Highness. Which file were you looking for? I will take it out for you."


    He was already taking a few steps towards the shelf and Adeline abruptly stopped him, "Ben, you don''t need to worry about it for now. I will eat first and then I will call you later if I still cannot find it."


    Bennett smiled at the Princess and said after a bow, "Then I hope you enjoy your meal, Princess. I will be in my room. Call me if you need anything."


    "I will. Thank you, Bennett." Adeline smiled. She was thankful that he did not ask anything more like if she was done going through the report; nor did he insist on searching that non-existent file for her.


    Bennett went out of the room and closed the door behind him.


    Adeline let out a sigh, thankful that she was not found out. She was about to look behind at Theodore but she was surprised to see his face right in front of her. "Theo! Don''t startle me so much!"


    Theodore suddenly grabbed onto the chair and the table and trapped Adeline in between his arms. He glared at her as if he was angry with her.


    "Theo�� is something wrong?" She looked into his eyes to check if the color was changing and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"


    "I don''t like that child that just left the room. And you just called him Ben!" Theodore mumbled out the words as though he was a jealous little kid.


    Adeline blinked her eyes a few times, not knowing what he meant by that. "Yeah�� because his name is Ben?" she asked confused.


    Theodore frowned and pointed out, "No! His name is Bennett. And you gave him a nickname�� Are you two that close?"


    Adeline clasped her mouth with her palm because she was about to burst into laughter.


    "What? Didn''t I ever make it clear to you that you are not allowed to give nicknames to other men?" Theodore narrowed his eyes and said assertively, "You are only allowed to call me by my nickname and no one else." He removed Adeline''s hand from her mouth and sucked her lips. Then he looked into her sapphire blue eyes and asked, "Do you understand?"


    "Mhmm��" Adeline replied in a dazed state. His kisses were like a euphoric tonic to her. Her mind would lose sanity and she would just keep wanting for more.


    So without even realizing it, she grabbed the collar of his cloth and pulled him closer. Then she kissed him again.


    Theodore pulled away from the kiss and gazed at Adeline with a playful smile on his face. "Hmm�� I think someone wants to repeat what we did in the morning. Shall we continue where we left?"


    Adeline''s cheeks flushed red and she averted her gaze away from Theodore. She looked at the food on the table and cleared her throat. "I should eat the breakfast while it is still hot."


    Theodore was loving the way she was shying away like this. He wanted to tease her even more. "Yes, you should eat." He then brought his lips close to her ear and whispered while bathing her in his warm breath, "And I think you should eat another serving as well. You expended a lot of your stamina after all�� you know when we��"


    Adeline instantly stuffed a piece of bread inside Theodore''s mouth so that he would stop talking about what they did in the morning and make her feel butterflies in her stomach all over again.


    Theodore chewed the bread while smiling whimsically. He then waved his hand and a chair appeared beside Adeline. He sat down and rubbed his palm while looking at the plates on the table. "These beans look tasty."


    Adeline glanced at Theodore and asked, "You want some?" she handed him the spoon and said, "Here, I will share my food with you this one time because you also look hungry."


    But Theodore had some other plans. He turned his chair and sat while completely facing Adeline. And he asked, "Do you think the Devil Prince eats on his own? You should feed me."


    Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line while trying to suppress her smile. And she mocked him, "Oh, Your Highness wants me to help you eat?" She narrowed her eyes and teased him, "What shall I do? I am also a Princess and I cannot ruin my reputation by feeding you."


    She playfully took a spoonful of beans and shrugged off her shoulders. "Well, it cannot be helped then. I shall enjoy my food alone." And she put the food in her mouth.


    "Then I guess I should eat on my own," he leaned closer to Adeline and pinched her jaw.


    Adeline widened her eyes as she knew what he was going to do. And as she had expected, he kissed her, pried her mouth open, and then stole the food from her mouth.


    He leaned back on his chair and proudly chewed the food that he stole. He swallowed it and whispered, "Ah! The food tastes even better this way. Give me more. I want more."


    But unlike what he had expected, Adeline''s eye rims were filled with tears.


    He was concerned and asked hastily, "Hey, why are you crying? Don''t tell me you are crying because I stole your food."


    Adeline smiled while the tears rolled down her cheeks. Then she flung her arms around Theodore''s neck and whispered to him, "I am so happy to have you back in my life, Theo. I think I would have died young because of heartburn and frustration if that spell had taken some more years to break."


    Theodore closed his eyes and gently stroke her back. "Don''t say that. It''s all over now. And we are together again.. And I will never let something like that happen to you ever again."

 Chapter 256 - Meeting Of The Like-Minded

    "Your Majesty, we should really do something about the food shortage. Else the people will burn down the Palace in no time." The Chief Advisor was still pestering King Reginald who was sitting leisurely on his throne and enjoying his jasmine tea.


    "Then I will burn down all of their houses," Reginald said very lightly and shrugged off his shoulders.


    The Chief Advisor, Lord Horace, let out a quiet sigh and then murmured to himself, "If this goes on like this then there won''t even be any houses left to burn."


    "Did you say anything, Chief Advisor?" King Reginald raised one of his brows and glared at Lord Horace.


    Before Lord Horace could deny that, one of the guards came inside the throne hall and bowed to the King. And then he delivered a message, "Your Majesty, Her Majesty Queen Lillian of Wyverndale is here to see you. She is requesting a meeting with you, Your Majesty."


    "Queen of Wyverndale?" Reginald frowned his brows and turned to look at Lord Horace. And he asked, "Aren''t we in a cold war with Wyverndale?"


    Horace slightly bowed and then answered, "Yes, Your Majesty. We don''t exactly see eye to eye with any of the Kingdoms of this continent."


    King Reginald tapped his fingers on the tea cup and asked again, "Then what is the Queen of Wyverndale doing here in the Palace? And why did the guards allow the Queen of the enemy Kingdom to walk inside our Palace?"


    "Queen Lillian and the late King had some arrangements made in the past. You can say that she is on our side. And my guess is that she is here to discuss the arrangements that she had with the late King." Horace explained so that Reginald would not end up doing something foolish again like chasing the guest away and potentially angering one of the most powerful witches.


    Horace had always been close to the late King of Mihir as well. And because of that, he knew anything and everything related to the Kingdom. This was why the late King appointed him as the Chief Advisor and left his son in the care of Horace while he was on his death bed. The late King knew very well how incapable his pampered son was and he wanted to leave him in the hands of someone he knew was capable.


    And because the late King had entrusted his son to him, Horace was trying his best to keep the word that he gave to the late King. If it was not for the late King, then he would have left the Palace already rather than being treated like a maggot by the worthless King. He would have even left the Kingdom if it was not for his words. He really disliked the son of his good friend.


    "Arrangements? What kind of arrangements?" Reginald asked with a little curiosity on his face.


    The corner of Horace''s lips curved up just a few millimeters. And he said with a somewhat confident tone, "Arrangement to take over Wyverndale, and with that take control of the whole continent, Your Majesty."


    A wicked smile appeared on King Reginald''s greedy lips. "Take control of the whole continent you say? Hmmm�� I wonder why my late father didn''t do that sooner. It would have been so much easier for me." He placed the tea cup on the table and spoke while stretching his arms, "But I guess it is a chance to make a name for myself."


    "I will be known as the great King who united all the Kingdoms into one." Reginald was already daydreaming about the fame when he was already infamous as the useless King.


    And Horace fed his ego a little more so that he wouldn''t ruin what the late King had already put into place before his untimely demise. "Yes, of course, Your Majesty. You will be known as the Great Conqueror and your name will be engraved in the glorious pages of history."


    Reginald puffed his chest a little as though he was already the Great Conqueror. And he ordered the guard, "Lead the Queen inside."


    "Yes, Your Majesty," the guard bowed to the King and quickly left the throne hall.


    And soon, Queen Lillian entered the hall with a few of her personal bodyguards. She was wearing a black gown and was wearing really dark makeup on her face, making her look as menacing as ever.


    And with the huge bodyguards that were standing behind her, she looked even more threatening. Though they were not carrying any weapons on them right now, they looked like they could take out a few guards of Reginald with their bare hands.


    She stood in front of the King. As she was not the reigning Queen, she deeply bowed her head to the King and greeted him, "I, the first Queen of Wyverndale, would like to greet the 17th King of Mihir, His Majesty Reginald."


    "Rise." King Reginald then spoke in a voice exuding overconfidence, "I believe that Your Majesty is here to discuss something important that will benefit us both?"


    "Indeed, Your Majesty." Lillian slightly bowed again and said, "But first, please accept my sincere condolences. I am deeply sorrowed by the news of the demise of the late King. And I would like to apologize for coming here so late. It took some time for the news to travel through the mountains. And it took some more time for me to cross those mountains."


    "I am glad that you crossed all those mountains and decided to visit me. I am deeply touched." Reginald smiled ear to ear making him look like a creep who was actually glad that his father had died.


    He then got up from his throne and walked down the platform. He stood in front of the Queen and gestured towards his right, "Please follow me. I suppose that the matter that we are about to discuss is going to take some time."


    "Yes, it is going to take some time." Lillian gave a sinister smile. She was already impressed with how readily the current King was interested in the deal that she was going to make with him.


    She was happy that this King shared a similar hunger for power as the late King. Not that it would matter to her, she could easily corrupt the mind by planting some seeds of greed in other''s minds. But it was always easier to talk to those people whose minds were already corrupted.


    Reginald glanced at Horace and ordered, "Lord Horace, why don''t you accompany us? I am sure that you can fill in the details for me." He then turned to look at Lillian and asked, "I hope that it is okay with you. He is more aware of the works of my father than I am. So it would be great if he can also attend this meeting with me."


    Lillian nodded her head and agreed. "Yes, I remember Lord Horace from our previous meetings. So it is fine if he comes along."


    Reginald put his arms behind his back and walked ahead of the two. Lillian gestured her bodyguards to wait for her and followed after the King.. And Horace also joined the two like-minded Royals.

 Chapter 257 - Give-and-Take

    The three of them, Reginald, Lillian, and Horace, seated themselves in the meeting room that was prepared for the special dignitaries of Mihir. They were all ready to begin plotting evil schemes against Wyverndale.


    Lord Horace started the meeting by explaining what arrangements were previously agreed upon between Queen Lillian and the late King. "Your Majesty, Queen Lillian had made a proposal to your father two years ago. She said that she was willing to let us use the Lahare Pass that lies between the border of Mihir and Frostford if we wanted to march our armies to Wyverndale."


    (A/N: Check out the Map of the Kingdoms at the beginning of the book for better visual understanding.)


    "The late King was already setting the plan in motion but then his own health weakened." A few frown lines appeared on the forehead of Lord Horace and he continue after a sigh, "And he took his final breath before he could accomplish his grand dream of unifying all the Kingdoms under his banner."


    Queen Lillian took the opportunity to speak and presented her offer to the new King, "I am sure that the late King would have wanted Your Majesty to fulfill his incomplete dream. That is why I came here to talk about the matter again. My offer still stands the same as Lord Horace mentioned before."


    King Reginald frowned instantly and then he asked a bit rudely, "I am sorry if I offend you by asking this but won''t it be faster to reach Wyverndale if we use the Jhomla Pass instead? Why do we need to take a long route and use Frostford''s roads when we can reach Wyverndale directly? Why make it harder for us by pretending to help us?"


    Lillian''s brows twitched a little because she was not used to being questioned like that, that also by some young and uncultured brat like King Reginald.


    Lord Horace took notice of the change in Lillian''s facial expression. He wanted to face-palm himself for having to endure this arrogant King.


    He deliberately glared at his King and tried his best again, to give the King the reality check, "The Jhomla Pass is way too narrow than the Lahare Pass. Only a single line of soldiers can pass through the Jhomla pass while five lines of soldiers can easily walk alongside each other if we go through the Lahare Pass."


    Queen Lillian crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. She looked at Horace thinking at least he had some common sense in him and wasn''t completely useless.


    And Horace kept on explaining why Queen Lillian''s offer was something the King wouldn''t want to reject. "And it will take a lot of time for our soldiers to cross the border directly using the Jhomla Pass. By the time we cross the border and gather our soldiers, there is a high probability that the soldiers of Wyverndale will spot us. And the element of surprise won''t be there anymore."


    "Also to make the matter worse," Horace spoke in a low voice as though he was telling a secret, "I have heard that some Deity lives in one of the hills of that Jhomla Pass. Our soldiers had tried to sneak to Wyverndale using that path years ago. But they were all killed very mysteriously. And the late King did not dare to risk sending another troop through that pass."


    Queen Lillian''s eyes perked up when she heard that. She had also caught some rumors flying around regarding the same several years ago. But she had just thought of it as some baseless rumor.


    And she thought to herself, "So, that damned Deity does have some tricks up his sleeves I see... Or was it just some coincidence? Something else could have happened, right? If that Deity could kill the soldiers so easily then maybe King Dragomir wouldn''t have married almost all the daughter of the major clans just to uphold the peace."


    Lord Horace put a little more emphasis on his last sentence and said to the King, "So, going through the route of Frostford is our safest bet if we want to successfully attack and capture Wyverndale."


    King Reginald touched his jaw and nodded his head. "I see��" He then focused his gaze on Lillian and said, "I would like to ask one question before we discuss your proposal."


    Queen Lillian glanced at him with unfazed eyes and nodded her head, "Sure, you may go ahead."


    King Reginald leaned back on his chair and asked while a strand of suspicion loomed over his eyes, "Why are you willing to lead an enemy Kingdom''s soldiers to your own Kingdom? If I take over Wyverndale then doesn''t that mean that you will lose your position as the Queen? And why would the King of Frostford help us? Why not send his own army and capture Wyverndale for himself?"


    Lillian got serious all of a sudden. "You asked more than one question but sure, I understand you cannot completely trust me just because your father had trusted me. It also took some time for the late King to put his trust in me."


    She gazed at the King with her dark eyes and said, "As you might have heard, the future ruler of Wyverndale has already been chosen two years back. But she is just a young brat who happens to be a daughter of a concubine. That was when I met the late King to ask him to bring the war to Wyverndale."


    "I am willing to do so because when that brat ascends the throne as the reigning Queen, I will lose my position as the Queen anyway. So by making a deal with Mihir, I am trying to secure something for myself." Lillian smiled and added, "I hope that you didn''t think that I was just trying to do you a favor for free. It is a give-and-take deal. I am doing all of this for myself."


    King Reginald looked impressed with the confidence and straightforwardness of this Queen. "Of course not. I know that you would also want something in return for helping me get my foothold in the treasure land."


    He ran his fingers through his long red hair and asked again, "But you still haven''t answered one of my questions. Why won''t the King of Frostford take Wyverndale for himself? Why is he willing to help us instead? How will he gain anything from this deal?"


    Lillian straightened her posture and answered, "My brother cannot capture Wyverndale all by himself. Wyverndale is a huge Kingdom in comparison to Frostford. It has too many soldiers and to add to that, the other two Kingdoms will send support if King Dragomir demands it.. Frostford will never stand a chance."

 Chapter 258 - War Tactics - I

    Lillian continued to explain further why she came to Mihir to strike a deal rather than depending on her own brother''s help.


    "And as I said earlier, the Future Ruler of Wyverndale is a daughter of a concubine of King Dragomir. So there are many dissatisfied noble families in Wyverndale who want to overthrow the current King for letting that happen. The internal unrest is brewing already."


    King Reginald smirked and asked, "The internal unrest is already starting?" He was very much satisfied to hear that for some reason�� maybe he was trying to justify to himself that under every King''s rule, internal unrest was inevitable.


    "Yes." Lillian nodded and then added further, "And the King of Frostford is also very unhappy with King Dragomir for letting that girl be chosen as the future ruler of Wyverndale." She said that as if she was not the one to fill the ears of her brother and incited his anger towards King Dragomir.


    "Wyverndale is supposed to act as a guardian of Frostford and ensure peace. But with everything that is happening, my brother doesn''t think that he is siding with the right Kingdom. Thus, he is willing to break the peace treaty with Wyverndale." She shrugged and then said with a little disgust towards her own father, "My brother was not the one to enter the peace treaty with Wyverndale anyway.


    "I trust that it was your father, the late King of Frostford who entered the peace treaty," King Reginald made a lucky guess.


    Lillian was quick enough to put a smile on her face while she inconspicuously put forth what Mihir should be offering Frostford for their help, "And regarding what my brother will gain, he will gain the protection from another huge Kingdom as well as new trade opportunities."


    "And if Mihir wins the war against Wyverndale, he might even get lucky and gain something even more, like being the maternal uncle of the reigning King of Wyverndale." Lillian gave a smile as if to hint that was what she wanted for herself out of this deal.


    But Reginald was confused by that statement. He was about to ask why he would agree to be the nephew of the King of Frostford if he won the war against Wyverndale. "Why would I-"


    Thankfully, Lord Horace interjected in between, knowing that he was about to make a fool out of himself. "The late King had agreed to declare himself as the Emperor if he won the war. And he had agreed to crown the firstborn son of Queen Lillian as the King of Wyverndale, while the late King would still hold the ultimate power over both of the Kingdoms."


    He glanced at Lillian and smiled. "I am sure that Your Majesty''s proposal still remains the same as before?"


    Lillian gave an approving smile and said, "Yes. I am glad that you still remember the details, Lord Horace."


    King Reginald chuckled nervously and then blabbered something, "I was going to ask why I would agree to become the Emperor, but I guess being the Emperor is not that bad. Your son can lighten the burden of mine by looking after one of my Kingdoms."


    He nodded his head as though he was in deep thought and said, "That''s not bad, declaring your son as the reigning king of Wyverndale under my banner�� unless he decides to betray me and take over the Kingdom for himself."


    "I won''t let my son betray you." Lillian had a proud smile when she said, "My son follows my words like it is a law. So, if you can put your trust in me, then I will make sure that our arrangement will stay intact. My son won''t make it difficult for you."


    "He better not." King Reginald gave a sly smile to Lillian. And then he turned his gaze towards Lord Horace and asked, "So, Chief Advisor, you said that my father had already put the plan for the war in motion. What''s the progress? Is it��" he took a quick glance of Lillian and asked, "Is it okay if you brief that to me in front of Her Majesty?"


    "Of course. She deserves to know the progress as she was the one who came with the offer." Horace gave an appreciative smile to the Queen and continued, "She had given us the insights about the soldiers of the Wyverndale the last time she came to visit Mihir." He glanced at the Queen again and asked, "I hope that there haven''t been any major changes in the force of Wyverndale?"


    "No, it is still the same as before. So you can continue with whatever the late King had planned." Lillian sold out the secrets of Wyverndale with a huge smile on her face. She had already done that two years ago to the late King.


    "That''s great then. We can use the same plan as before." Horace was feeling a little relieved because he was sure that the current King would never be able to come up with a full-fledged war plan on his own.


    And then he continued to explain to the King, "Wyverndale has a total of eight hundred thousand of soldiers, each division led by one of the eight Generals. The divisions we need to worry about are the ones that are near the Lahare Pass and the ones guarding the Capital. There is one division near the Lahare Pass, while there are two in the Capital."


    King Reginald was trying to figure out how many soldiers would there be in a division. But he was unable to remember�� Yes, he couldn''t figure it out even when Lord Horace had just given the information to him.


    Horace cleared his throat to get the attention of his King. He could see that he was already lost in his own imaginative world.


    And when Reginald looked at him, Horace briefed the major war tactics, "Now our plan is to take two of our divisions through the Lahare Pass and camping in Frostford.. We will also be sending a decoy brigade of highly trained assassins from the Jhomla Pass to get the attention of the Capital of Wyverndale."

 Chapter 259 - War Tactics - II

    King Reginald frowned and asked Lord Horace, "But didn''t you say that Jhomla pass is too narrow? And didn''t you say that a lot of soldiers were killed when they tried to cross through that Pass?"


    Lord Horace also got a little confused as to why the late King had included this in the plan. But then he was also familiar with the skills of the assassins. They were trained to walk in the shadows and could easily perceive and eradicate the dangers. They were practically invincible.


    So he said, while also trying to convince himself more than the King, "I believe that the late King had a lot of faith in the assassins. They are the force to be reckoned with after all. I bet they can even kill the Deity if that rumor is even true. But just to be sure, we will have to talk with the Head General and find out about the war tactics in detail. I just know the few major details."


    King Reginald nodded his head and said, "Okay, we will have a meeting with him later. Tell me the major details for now."


    Horace then continued to explain what he knew, "If the decoy brigade manages to lure even one of the divisions from the Capital to the Jhomla pass, our task will be a lot easier. When the division of Capital marches towards the Jhomla Pass expecting an attack, we will march from Frostford to Wyverndale and easily take out the division near the Lahare Pass. Then the remaining soldiers will head straight to capture the Capital of Wyverndale."


    King Reginald smiled and interjected, "With the Capital''s defense weakened, it should be easy for us to capture the King as well as all the Royals." For the first time, he managed to understand and say something that made sense.


    That made Lillian smile as well. "At least he is not completely dumb it seems," she thought to herself.


    "Yes, exactly." Lord Horace also looked glad that his King at least understood that much. So he concluded what he was saying, "If King Dragomir doesn''t resist then we can easily plant our flag there. But if he resists then we can kill the King and claim the victory."


    Reginald glanced at Queen Lillian to see if there were any changes in her facial expression when they were talking so freely about killing her husband. But to his disbelief, she looked as emotionless as a rock.


    "What are your views on the war tactics so far, Your Majesty? Do you perhaps have any suggestions for us?" Lord Horace asked the Queen even though it was not her place to suggest the war tactics to another Kingdom.


    Lillian mused for a while and replied, "The plan sounds perfect when I am hearing it now. However, I hope that you will first make sure that the assassins who are to lure the division of the Capital won''t be massacred like before. If that doesn''t happen then I am sure that the plan of taking over Wyverndale will work seamlessly."


    Horace nodded his head and agreed. "We will have meetings with the Head General and discuss about this issue further."


    Lillian clasped her hands together and asked Lord Horace, "So, when shall I expect the attack to happen then? I must say that it has already been two years and I am already growing impatient. I just stayed quiet until now thinking that His Majesty was still mourning the death of the late King."


    Lillian shifted her gaze at King Reginald and said, "I didn''t want to be a nuisance when Your Majesty was still mourning the death of the late King. But I think Your Majesty is already ready to move forward on the journey to be the Emperor of this continent."


    Reginald puffed his chest a little and leaned back on his chair. Then he said while exuding great confidence, "Yes, I am more than ready."


    Horace took a quick glance at the King and he took the liberty to answer the rest for him, "War of that large scale is difficult to execute. And for us to win the war, we shall spend a good few months to properly prepare. If everything goes well, then I think we can execute the attack within six months."


    "Six months?" Lillian took in a deep breath and said, "Well, I have waited for the painful two years. I guess I can wait for six more months."


    "And��" Queen Lillian glanced at the red eyes of King Reginald and asked, "The late King had also made another special demand from me. I am still working on the permanent solution but I hope that the potion is working for now. I had sent a large barrel full of that potion to the late King. I hope that the stock has not run out."


    King Reginald''s red eyes twinkled with excitement. He gave a huge grin to Lillian and he spoke in an appreciative tone, "You were the one to send that amazing potion? Oh, they are so much better than the ones we used to consume before. And the effect lasts longer as well."


    He got up from his chair and stood in front of the Queen. Without any warning, he took her hand and leaned down to kiss her on her knuckles. He smiled and said, "I''m sorry, but I had to do that. Those are the best potions that I ever had. Then that means that you are a witch? And a very powerful one at that?"


    Horace was starting to sweat when he saw that. He wondered if that way of showing respect was common in Wyverndale as well. If it was not then Reginald was in great trouble.


    Thankfully, Lillian chuckled for the first time. "So you just know now that I am a witch? I thought that you would be able to sense it like the late King."


    Reginald went back to his seat and answered with a little disappointment on his face, "Yeah, I am not on par as my father yet. I still have a long way to go."


    All of a sudden, Reginald slapped himself on his forehead and exclaimed, "Ah! Where are my manners? I didn''t even ask you for tea! Will you please stay for some tea? I would love to hear more about a powerful witch like you. My father taught me to never get on the bad side of a witch. And I would hate to be on your bad side."


    Lillian was a little impressed with the way he was talking now. And she said in a sarcastic tone, "Your Majesty even knows how to sweet talk, huh?" She chucked and politely denied, "I am sorry but I will pass. I don''t drink the kind of tea that you are fond of, Your Majesty."


    "Umm��" Reginald flipped his red hair and said a little defensively, "I was just going to offer you the jasmine tea because I am fond of it more than the other tea. It helps to curb my desire for my special tea to some extent."


    "I see," Lillian nodded her head slightly and memorized the information.


    And Reginald quickly asked again, "Then how about staying here in the Palace for a few days? I would love to host you."


    Lillian smirked, knowing that Reginald was already addicted to her potion. But she denied that offer as well. "I''ll pass that as well, Your Majesty. My bodyguards are quite healthy. And they might tempt some of the Royals. They protect me so it is also my duty to protect them."


    She got up from the chair and said while smoothing out her gown, "And besides, I will have to return back to Wyverndale soon.. I believe that my son is eagerly waiting for me."

 Chapter 260 - Familiar

    Theodore never left Adeline''s side the whole day. He was in Adeline''s workroom the whole day, gazing at her while she tried her best to focus on her work. He was teasing her every now and then and was glaring at Bennett when he would enter the room.


    Adeline also loved the way he was being a distraction to her. She didn''t mind him giving her company for the whole day.


    With him around, Adeline couldn''t believe how fast the time passed. She felt as though she blinked and the time just flew by. The official working hours were already over. If it was any other day, then Adeline would have stayed back for a bit longer. But today, she wanted to return back to her room as soon as possible.


    Theodore and Adeline were now heading towards the stable to check on Arion. Even though she now held the second most important position in Wyverndale, she never stopped feeding Arion herself. And she didn''t know it yet, but Arion appreciated it very much. He knew that he already held a special place in Adeline''s heart and he was really delighted about it.


    Adeline''s guards were closely following her so the two of them were walking quietly. But Adeline really wanted to talk with Theodore. When she saw Arion, she remembered how Theodore was acting a bit strangely when she talked about the previous owner of her horse. And she wanted to ask about it.


    Adeline turned around to look at the squad of her guards and then ordered them, "All of you can return back to the quarter. I will feed Rion and head straight for my quarter."


    But the leader of the squad bowed his head and denied, "We are sorry, Your Highness. But we were ordered by his majesty to never leave your side."


    Adeline sighed because she knew that this would happen after she ran away yesterday. But she still tried to keep them a little far away so that they wouldn''t hear her talking with Theodore or Arion. She didn''t want them to hear her ''talking to herself'' and think that she had gone mad.


    "Okay, at least give me some privacy then." Adeline glared at all of her guards and ordered them, "You all can wait for me outside the stable. I will come back after feeding my horse."


    "Yes, Your Highness," the guards agreed to follow that order. They didn''t want to anger the Princess as she was the one who they had to follow in the end.


    Adeline entered the stable and went straight to the stall where Arion was tied. The stableman was waiting for the Princess as usual. And he went and brought the grains for Arion. She instantly took a handful of the grains and began to hand-feed Arion.


    After the stableman went away, Adeline finally spoke to Theodore, "So, are you going to tell me more about Rion''s previous owner?"


    Theodore was caught off-guard by that question. He didn''t think that she was hung up on that question. As he was asked that all of a sudden, he felt a little awkward to give the answer straight away and he looked the other way and mumbled, "Why do you need to know about the previous owner? I didn''t steal him and give it to you."


    Adeline wrinkled her forehead and asked in a monotone, "Did I ever accuse you of being a thief?" She then pulled Theodore closer to her and said, "I just wanted to know what kind of a person his previous owner was. Rion is very�� different�� I mean in a good way."


    Arion was sick and tired of hiding his true identity from the person who loved him so much. So he gently kicked on Theodore''s leg. And then he chewed Theodore''s sleeve and kept on pulling at it.


    Adeline was looking at Theodore with expectant eyes. He was still not talking. That was when she noticed what Arion was doing. And she exclaimed all of a sudden, "Rion can see you right now? Did you lift your invisibility spell or something?"


    Theodore took in a deep breath and finally said, "Uh�� He is not your everyday horse. He is a special one."


    Adeline looked at Theodore skeptically and then asked, "What do you mean by that?"


    "Umm�� he is my familiar," Theodore replied while nervously playing with his fingernails.


    Adeline blinked several times and waited for Theodore to explain that in an understandable way. But he just kept on averting his gaze and looking at his nails. So she turned around and stood in front of Theodore while folding her arms.


    And she asked while raising her brows, "Am I supposed to decipher something from what you just said? What do you mean by he is your familiar? What does that even mean?"


    Arion rolled his eyes and shook his head seeing Theodore wasting so much time. He could not take it anymore so he neighed very loudly.


    Theodore understood what he was trying to say to him. He glared at Arion but it looked like Arion was not going to give this matter a rest. So he said to Arion, "Alright! Alright! Say it yourself then."


    Adeline furrowed and asked, "What? Who are you-"


    Before she could ask her question completely, Arion shouted from behind, "It means that I am Theodore''s companion animal."


    Adeline''s eyes widened and her body went stiff when she heard that voice. She was facing the other way but she guessed who said those words. She swiftly turned around and stared at Arion with big eyes. And she stuttered, "Di-did you ju-just speak?"


    Arion looked into Adeline''s beautiful eyes and then agreed, "Yes, I can speak�� and also do a lot of other things�� for example, fighting and flying." Arion casually said that as though it was normal for humans to hear about a flying horse that could talk and fight.


    "You can fly?" Adeline exclaimed in a loud voice. She was not shocked but she was surprised.


    "Yes, I can." Arion showed his teeth as though he was smiling and then instantly apologized to Adeline. "Adeline, I am sorry for not being truthful for all this time."


    He lowered his head and began tapping his hoof. And fearing that Adeline would hate him or would not want him anymore, Arion pinned all the blame on Theodore, "I had no choice but to follow Theodore''s order and hide my true self from you. I am bound to him by a sacred oath and I can never disobey him."


    Whatever Arion said was a complete truth though.


    Rather than fearing him or despising him, Adeline suddenly sprung forward and hugged Arion with excitement. Then she happily said, "I knew it! I guess deep down I always knew you were different. I just�� I just didn''t know how different�� But I''m really happy to know that you are so amazing."


    Arion also put his neck around Adeline''s neck. He was relieved that Adeline accepted him so easily.


    And Theodore smiled looking at the two of them. He was pleased that his familiar and his fianc�� were so close to each other.


    His smile was short-lived though. Adeline turned around and gave a death stare to him.. And he knew that he was in big trouble for hiding such crucial truth about Arion.

 Chapter 261 - Affinity

    "Why did you hide the fact that Rion was your companion animal? And why did you even order him to hide that fact from me?" Adeline fisted on her waist and asked Theodore angrily.


    Theodore pouted his lips trying not to be intimidated by his cute little Princess. But he couldn''t help but be a little scared as he had seen her slapping Azriel yesterday. He knew that he had done wrong by hiding an important fact from Adeline and he didn''t want her to slap him because of that.


    Arion felt sorry for the almighty Devil Prince so he came to his rescue, "Adeline, my name is Arion by the way. You have been calling me by the wrong name all this time."


    Arion''s trick worked. Adeline quickly turned around and asked, "Your name is Arion?"


    Arion nodded his head and said, "Yes."


    Adeline gave an apologetic grin and then held Arion''s head and apologized, "I am so sorry�� I thought your name was Rion because that''s what I understood from Theodore''s letter. I am so sorry for calling you by a wrong name all this while."


    "You don''t have to apologize to me. I am sure that you could not understand Theodore''s handwriting properly. I know he has bad handwriting." Arion smugly complained even when Theodore was giving a death stare to him from behind.


    And then he added, "But I like the name Rion as well. I am already used to it by now."


    "Awww��" Adeline looked at Arion as though he had just melted her heart. "Could you get any more lovable?" she said while smiling and scratching Arion''s neck. She hadn''t fed Arion yet so she began to feed him.


    And without even turning around to look at Theodore, she asked in a threateningly calm voice, "Theo, are you still going to dodge my questions, or are you going to talk without me asking any further questions to you?"


    Theodore then instantly answered in a panicked voice, "Er�� I didn''t tell you because I didn''t want you to reject having Arion around you. And I definitely didn''t want you to think that I was always keeping an eye on you through Arion."


    And he came clean with the main motive behind giving Arion to her, "Though the main reason for gifting him to you was to ensure your safety. Arion makes sure that no harm will befall you even when I am not around you. With him around you, I am not worried that much about your safety."


    "And now that the two of you have formed this close bond, I am more than glad about my decision." Theodore walked closer to the two of them and he also began to feed Arion. He chuckled and then added, "Now I am sure that Arion would choose you over me if it wasn''t for the oath that he took."


    "You''re not wrong��" Arion mumbled as he munched on his food.


    Adeline burst out into laughter all of a sudden because of the way Arion replied to Theodore. And Theodore was relieved to see that her anger seemed to have subsided.


    And Adeline asked Theodore as she was filled with curiosity, "Tell me more about Arion. When did you two meet? How did you meet? Everything."


    Theodore was finally ready to tell everything about Arion. His pupils dilated when he began to speak, "There are several magical beasts that dwell in the Heaven realm. Most of them were created by our father of course. Arion is also one of them. He is a magical beast with a strong affinity towards chaos."


    "Affinity? What does that mean?" This was the first time that Adeline was hearing something like this so she was bound to be confused.


    Theodore hummed for a while and then tried to make her understand in a simpler way. "It means how well your body and soul can harmonize with something naturally. In Arion''s case, if he is asked to�� he can create chaos as easily as breathing."


    Adeline looked at Arion and was skeptical that someone so sweet would be able to create chaos as Theodore had described. She glanced at Theodore to see if he was smirking but he looked very serious.


    Theodore gave example about himself to make her understand about affinity even more. "Take me for example. I also have chaos affinity. If I want to then I can make everyone around here fight each other within a matter of a few minutes."


    Adeline gave an instant glare to Theodore so he said a bit softly, "Of course, I won''t do that here. But I''m just saying."


    Adeline smiled and asked, "What other affinities are there then? And do all of your followers have such affinity as well?"


    Theodore nodded and answered, "Yes, all of them have chaos affinity. I chose all of them because they have the same affinity as mine. It is easier to make them work for me as they have the same goal."


    He took a handful of grains and answered her first question while feeding Arion, "All of the beings of Heaven, angels, nymphs, beasts, and even plants have two major affinities. One is hope, which is also referred to as the light. And the other one is chaos, which is known as the dark. Our purpose in this universe was decided by father based on our affinity."


    Adeline somehow felt bad for Theodore as his affinity sounded as though no one would choose that knowingly. So she asked, "Do you get to choose your affinity or are you born with it?"


    "We are born with it," Theodore replied with a smile on his face.


    But Adeline mumbled while feeling sad, "I guessed so. No one would ever choose to be able to cause destruction, would they?"


    "You don''t have to feel bad for me." Theodore pinched Adeline''s cheeks and gently pulled them upward to make her smile.


    And he said, "If I was given a chance to choose, I don''t know which affinity I would choose. But I never regretted having the chaos affinity. It is the universal truth that good and bad cannot exist without one another. So father never differentiated between his children based on their affinity."


    He shrugged off his shoulders and added, "And I know that my purpose is equally necessary as my other siblings with hope affinity. So I never really felt bad because of my affinity. Nor did I ever envy them."


    Theodore gave a playful smile and said, "If it is any consolation to you then I would say that my job is even easier. Spreading chaos is much easier than giving hope."


    Adeline chuckled and shook her head, "Of course you would say that." And she added, "Well I guess it worked out well for you. Being a Devil Prince and having the light affinity would have been contradicting."


    Theodore clapped and exclaimed, "Yes, exactly! I am in a place where I get to use my affinity without any hesitation. So yes, you can say that everything worked out well in the end."


    Adeline was curious about the other two siblings of Theodore that she knew and she asked, "What about Lucifer and�� Azriel?"


    "Lucifer obviously has the chaos affinity.. And��" Theodore puckered his lips and spoke softly, "You might not believe it but Azriel has an affinity towards the light."

 Chapter 262 - [Bonus ]Sacred Oath

    When Adeline heard that Azriel had the light affinity, the one which makes them give hope to others, she scoffed in disbelief. The same fake God who had snatched all the hopes from her life was the one with the light affinity. Nothing could be as shocking as that.


    And just after hearing about that, Adeline''s mood turned sour.


    Theodore noticed the drastic change in her facial expression after hearing about Azriel. So in order to bring her back to her jolly self, he began telling the story about him and Arion. "So, you were asking how I met Arion, right? It is a very interesting story, so I will share it with you."


    Adeline''s eyes and ears perked up when he said that. She really wanted to know more about the whole ''familiar'' thing and ''sacred oath'' and everything about the two of them. So she listened very carefully.


    And Theodore continued with his explanation about how and when the two of them met. "When we, the children of God, reach the age of a thousand years then a special ceremony is held for us. And in that ceremony, we are allowed to choose our familiar from the vast number of magical beasts in the Heaven realm."


    Adeline was already excited. She clasped her palms together and asked, "So the ceremony is like a grand birthday celebration and the familiars are your gifts?"


    Theodore tilted his head and hummed, "Mmmm�� more or less. But there is a catch when I say we can choose our familiar. We cannot force any beasts to become our familiar. We should reach a mutual understanding before forming a contract with each other. We are bound to each other for lifetime after all. Thus, when both the parties are satisfied with each other, then only we can form the contract."


    "So the sacred oath is a contract?" Adeline asked as though she had cracked a huge mystery.


    Theodore smirked seeing how immersed she was in their story. He nodded his head and replied, "Yes, the sacred oath is more like a binding contract. If you break it then you die."


    "Oh!" Adeline was stunned to hear the severity of the oath. She stole a quick glance of Arion. She understood why he had to obey Theodore.


    Before Adeline became sad again, Theodore quickly added a few more details, "And a ritual will be held in that birthday ceremony where that beast will take a sacred oath saying that they will serve us forever. And we take the oath saying that we will take care of them and treat them like they are a part of us."


    "Aww�� Isn''t that sweet!" Adeline gave a loving gaze to both of them.


    Theodore glanced at Arion and smiled. He felt somewhat nostalgic as he remembered the first meeting with Arion.


    And he emphasized how important Arion was to him. "That ceremony was held in place by our father so that we would at least have one loyal follower for the rest of our eternal lives. With time, I gained 72 more followers but Arion is and will always hold the highest place among all of my followers because of that ritual�� and because I hate him the most."


    "And I hate you too." Arion was pleased to hear that praise from Theodore. So he went closer to him and rubbed his head against his arm while Theodore lovingly stroked his crest.


    Adeline felt something warm in her heart seeing the love-hate relationship between the two of them. She couldn''t handle the cuteness they were exuding right now. She smiled ear to ear while placing her palm over her chest.


    Theodore then cleared his throat and quickly put his hands behind his back. "Alright, that''s enough�� for a few weeks."


    Arion also swiftly stepped back and said, "Yes, I was going to say the same."


    Adeline kept on staring at the two of them and kept on laughing because of the way they showed sudden awkwardness.


    And to make her stop teasing them, Theodore asked her, "Stop laughing like that. Don''t you want to know more regarding how we used to select our familiars?"


    Adeline nodded her head while covering her mouth to try and control her laughter.


    Without waiting for her to stop, Theodore further explained how they had to select their familiar. "Most of the beasts only agree to become our familiar after we challenge them to a one-on-one fight and win that fight. Everyone wants to follow someone who is stronger than them. But even though we are the children of God, we aren''t that powerful when we are just a thousand years old. So the fight used to be quite fair."


    He flicked his fingers and continued, "Interesting fact, some of the beasts would even be more powerful than us. It would be quite a challenge to conquer them."


    And without him realizing it, he began talking about Azriel again. "They say that Azriel was the one to conquer one of the most powerful beasts of the Heaven realm. I didn''t get to see the fight because I was not born yet but I remember hearing the stories that went around."


    "Who is Azriel''s familiar? What did he conquer?" Though Adeline didn''t want to talk about Azriel, her curiosity took the best of her and she ended up inquiring about him.


    Theodore had realized by now that he had mentioned about Azriel again. But Adeline didn''t seem to mind it now so he revealed the information to her. "Being born with the power of transforming into a Dragon, he obviously went for a dragon. And not just any Dragon, he went for the most powerful Dragon of that time. Her name is Mimi."


    A soft smile appeared on his lips as he thought of that delicate but powerful beast. He used to play with her a lot when he used to be a child. "Mimi is really sweet though. She is not an arrogant beast even when she knows how powerful she is."


    "Oh!" Adeline remembered that she was the one who had dropped her back at the Palace after the test. "So she is his familiar. I have also met her. She is indeed a gentle beast."


    "So, you''ve met her as well huh��" Theodore nodded his head.


    "And what about the Devil King''s familiar?" Adeline was curious to know that as well.


    Theodore took a deep breath in as though he was not that fond of Lucifer''s familiar. And then he spoke with a little less enthusiasm, "Lucifer''s familiar is a hound with three heads. He is extremely gigantic than normal dogs though. And he is quite ferocious. His name is Cerberus. But I hear humans referring to him as the Hellhound�� Fits him though��"


    Theodore then puckered his lips and kept quiet.


    There was a silence for some time. Adeline suddenly remembered that Theodore had yet to tell her how the two of them formed the contract. "How did the two of you agree to take the sacred oath then? Did you tame Arion?"


    And almost as on cue, Theodore and Arion glanced at each other and began to laugh like they just heard the funniest joke of the century.


    "What?" Adeline also joined them in their laughter as though it was contagious. But she still managed to question Theodore, "Why are you two laughing? Did I say something wrong?"


    "A-are you going to tell her how we came to an agreement?" Theodore asked Arion while still laughing hysterically.


    Arion shook his head and replied while laughing, "No�� it is too embarrassing. You tell her."


    Adeline was already dying to know what was so funny that they were laughing so hard. She grabbed Theodore by his arm and shook him. "Just tell me already! Please!"


    Theodore took a few deep breaths in and tried to control his laughter. After some minute, he finally said, "Well I was flying around among the beasts, looking for the one that I could challenge for a fight. And then my eyes fell on Arion. He also had similar black wings like mine."


    He chuckled again but bit his lower lip to stop himself from bursting into laughter again. And he revealed, "And I said to him that I liked his wings because they look like mine. He also said that he liked my wings. And I asked if he would like to be my familiar. He instantly said he would love to be my familiar. That''s it."


    Both of them burst into laughter again.


    Adeline face-palmed herself and began to chuckle. She was expecting some great battle between the two of them.. She had not imagined it being so simple and easy.

 Chapter 263 - Remaining Spells

    After feeding Arion and knowing everything about how Theodore and Arion came to know each other, Adeline finally went back to her quarter after a whole day of disappearing. Theodore was of course following her. They still had a lot of catching up to do. And what better way than to lie down on the bed together and talk to their heart''s content?


    Needless to say, the moment Adeline reached her quarter, her personal maids were nagging her continuously for leaving the quarter like that. It took quite some time and effort for Adeline to convince them that she was not going to make an escape ever again.


    And after quite some time of going back and forth, Hawisa and Osanna finally calmed down. And Hawisa finally said, "Dinner should be ready by now. I shall bring it to you."


    "Sure." Hawisa and Osanna were leaving when Adeline added, "Will you bring two portions? I''m really famished today."


    Hawisa turned around and smiled at the Princess, "I will." And then she left without thinking much of that request.


    It was normal for Adeline to ask for two portions of food every now and then. She would normally do that when she would train herself till she would feel like she wouldn''t even be able to lift her finger.


    So, Hawisa and Osanna returned with two servings of the dinner a while later. They set the table for the Princess and then left her alone so that she could enjoy the dinner.


    After they left the room, Adeline locked the door so that no one would be able to barge inside, not that someone would do so but she just wanted to make sure that it wouldn''t happen. She didn''t want them to see the foods floating in the air while Theodore ate them. And she definitely didn''t want her guards or maids watching over her 24/7 thinking that the room was haunted or something like that.


    Adeline placed a cushion beside the one that was laid down for her. She settled down and called Theodore while patting on the empty seat next to her, "Theo, come. Let''s have dinner together."


    Theodore languidly walked towards the table while teasing Adeline, "Oh, you asked them to bring an extra portion for me?" He darted his eyes on all the dishes and side dishes that covered the table and threw a satire at her, "I thought you were going to eat everything by yourself."


    Adeline smiled and said while cutting a piece of steak, "Are you challenging me? Because I can actually finish everything if I want to."


    Theodore sat down and chuckled, "Ah! How could I forget your appetite? I had seen you gobbling more than this once, when I came to check on you. So, I believe you."


    Adeline was bringing the fork to her mouth but her hand stopped midair. She pressed her lips into a thin line and asked in a monotone, "How many times did you see me in such embarrassing situations?"


    Theodore stayed unmoving for some time. Adeline''s burning gaze never left him so he slowly extended his hand to grab a glass of water. And he filled the silence with a relatively loud slurping sound.


    Adeline pursed her lips and nodded her head. And she whispered, "Okay. Understood." She then quietly began to eat, imagining all the embarrassing things he could have caught her doing.


    But Theodore felt like coming clean to her and said, "I would find you crying your eyes out most of the time. I found you eating a lot once. And�� umm��"


    Adeline kept on staring at Theodore with a mouthful of food and waiting for him to complete his sentence.


    "And I found you drowning yourself on your birthday." Theodore cupped Adeline''s cheeks and said, "Adeline, promise me that you will never do something stupid like that again. Do you know how worried I was? I was willing to risk being forgotten by you forever and was about to reveal myself to pull you out of the water."


    "I couldn''t even feel your pain like I used to and if anything had happened to you�� I wouldn''t have known. Don''t pull stunts like that again, okay?" Theodore had worry lines on his forehead. It looked like he was imagining the worst and even that was causing him great pain.


    Adeline quickly chewed her food and swallowed it. She took his palm in between her palms and promised him, "I promise that I will never do that again. All my pain has already vanished now that you are by my side." She gave a reassuring smile to Theodore in an attempt to lessen his worries for her.


    But Theodore suddenly remembered something important. He was still unable to feel her pain or any other extreme emotions. So he asked, "Can I check something?"


    "Check what?" Adeline asked as the question sounded a little out of the place.


    Theodore shifted his gaze over Adeline''s chest and replied, "I need to check if the other spell has also lifted or it is still intact."


    "Oh, right!" Adeline exclaimed and said in a sad tone, "I don''t think that it has lifted. I don''t feel the power inside of me like I used to."


    "Still, let me confirm once." Theodore swished his palm across Adeline''s chest and chanted, "Revelare."


    Suddenly, the inscription spell on her chest glowed, revealing itself. Even Adeline could also see the glow coming out of her chest.


    Theodore quickly waved his palm over her chest again to make it stop glowing. He did that with haste because his eyes fell on the drawer of Adeline''s dressing table. It was giving off a light purple glow and he could tell even without seeing that it was Adeline''s pendant.


    He didn''t want Adeline to find out that Azriel had cast one more spell on her. He didn''t want her hating him more than she already did. "Hmm�� so that spell has also not lifted yet�� I should ask Azriel what he did with that pendant," Theodore thought to himself.


    Adeline already knew that the spell that sealed her demonic power was still active but seeing it with her own eyes made her feel bad. Her lips curved downwards as she murmured, "So, it is still on me huh�� I guess I wanted it to be gone as badly as the other spell."


    Theodore also felt bad for her. He knew that it was hard to give up on power that you had known for almost your whole life in an instant. His own powers had decreased depressingly when he fell down from Heaven. It had taken him years to regain his original level of power. So, he knew what she was going through right now.


    But then again, he also remembered how her powers had grown exponentially. Even he himself had thought of taking back the powers from her so that the powers would not harm her human body.


    So he tried to make her understand that it was a good thing that this particular spell was not lifted. "Adeline, I know that you despise Azriel for what he did to you, what he did to us. But I believe, or let''s say, I want to believe that he sealed your demonic power because he really wanted to protect you from the side effects of that power."


    Adeline frowned and exclaimed, "How can you even-"

 Chapter 264 - Sea Of Love

    "How can you even-"


    Adeline was about to protest but Theodore caressed her cheek and interrupted her, "Hear me out first. I think you remember that your demonic powers had gained their own characteristics." He paused and gave her a questioning look.


    Adeline darted her eyes around recalling the times when she had acted very strangely as though she was not herself. And she nodded her head. "Yes, I was feeding off of people''s fear. I even�� I think I even fed off of Azriel''s fear in the test."


    "You did what?" Theodore''s eyes almost popped out because of the shock. He was now sure that Azriel sealed her demonic powers because he was genuinely worried for her safety. And he was surprised as well as relieved that Adeline was still alive to tell the tale even after absorbing the aura from a child of God.


    Such aura, no matter how small, would be fatal even for the demons and lower-level angels�� leave alone the humans.


    "Are you okay?" Adeline gently shook Theodore and asked in a concerned voice as he was staring at her without even breathing.


    Theodore inhaled sharply and tightly wrapped Adeline in his embrace, "Do you even realize how lucky you are? You could have�� d-died from the overflowing power. I know now that Azriel sealed your demonic power because it had already grown out of control. Don''t hate him for sealing your powers because I believe that he had to do that. Else�� I don''t even want to imagine what would have happened if he had not sealed your power in time."


    Adeline felt her heart hammering in her chest. From the way Theodore was hugging her and from the way he was speaking, she guessed that if Azriel had not sealed her powers, she would have been dead by now.


    "I won''t hate him for this then��" she whispered. "But I will still hate him for making me forget you. I don''t think I can ever forgive him for that."


    "Neither can I," Theodore whispered back as he lovingly stroked Adeline''s hair.


    Theodore and Adeline quickly ate their dinner as it was already getting cold. Adeline didn''t have much appetite but she didn''t want to throw the food after asking her maids to bring two portions saying she was famished.


    After finishing up, she called her maids to clear up the table. Osanna took out the nightgown for the Princess and placed it on her bed before she went to pick up the emptied plates and bowls. They bid goodnight to the Princess and took their leave for the night.


    After they left, Adeline picked up her nightgown and walked towards the bathhouse. Yes, Theodore had already seen her in her full glory but that didn''t mean that she would now start to undress in front of him shamelessly.


    However, her plan to do so didn''t work out because Theodore grabbed her by her wrist and asked, "Where do you think you are going, carrying that nightgown? Are you planning to sleep in another room or something?"


    Adeline smiled feebly and denied, "No, why would I sleep somewhere else? I am just going to change into my nightgown."


    But Theodore kept on holding her by her waist and pulled her closer. And he teasingly whispered in his enticing voice, "Do you think that you will be sleeping with your clothes on? I will never allow that. So it doesn''t matter what you wear now."


    Adeline scoffed and spoke in a complaining tone, "Theo, but this isn''t comfortable." Adeline tried to get out of Theodore''s hold but to no avail.


    Theodore picked Adeline up and gently made her lay down on the bed. He gave a playful smile to her and said, "Don''t worry, I will make it comfortable soon."


    Theodore stole a kiss from his woman and jumped on the bed beside Adeline. He gave a satisfied moan and said, "Ah! I missed this bed so much."


    He lay flat on the bed and wriggled his body a little as though he was an excited little kitten. "Oh, this feels so good," he said in his hoarse voice as he turned to face Adeline.


    "Yes, indeed," Adeline smiled as she ran her fingers through Theodore''s feather-like hair.


    Theodore gazed at Adeline intently and pinched her jaw. He gently lifted her jaw and leaned forward to kiss her. He sealed her warm lips with his own. Their lips began to move against each other in a harmony.


    Theodore broke off from the kiss and looked deep into Adeline''s sapphire eyes. He was happy to see that they were already glowing with anticipation.


    And his eyes also began glowing red as he wanted more than just a kiss. He swiftly pushed her and made her lay on her back. Then he caged her in between his sturdy arms and pecked her lips again.


    He then whispered while looking into her eyes, "I still can''t believe that you can bring out my Devil this easily. You affect me so strongly, Adeline. You have enchanted me without even using a spell."


    He softly kissed on Adeline''s weak spot, below her ear, and whispered in a desperate voice, "I can''t seem to get enough of you, Adeline."


    Adeline was already feeling hot. She could feel her cheeks and ears burning. But she wanted the same as him. She smiled and whispered back in an equally hungry voice, "Good. You should never get enough of me. Because if you ever start to get enough of me then I won''t be able to freely pour all my love on you. I fear that you might drown."


    "You have that much love to offer me huh?" Theodore gave a devilish smirk and began to bathe Adeline with his warm kisses all over her neck.


    Adeline ran her fingers through Theodore''s hair and grabbed them. She pulled him up from her neck and answered seductively, "For you, yes. I can offer you the whole sea of love." She lifted her head and kissed him all over his face.


    And then she looked into his red eyes burning with desire and added a bit melancholically, "Sometimes I fear that you might drown in that sea and feel suffocated. If you ever feel that way, you should tell me straightaway okay?"


    Theodore slid his hand underneath Adeline''s back. And he unfastened the string that was holding her gown. He kissed on her warm breast and said in a low voice, "I would never drown in the sea of your love, no matter how deep it gets."


    Adeline felt really happy hearing his response.


    Theodore pulled Adeline up and helped Adeline out of her gown. He swiftly took out his own clothes as well. And the two of them were lost in the sea of each other''s love.


    They were busy for the next hour, exploring each other''s weak points and giving immense pleasure to each other.


    They finally lay on their backs. They were both breathless but their faces had that afterglow. They kept on staring at the ceiling as their chests were heaving up and down.. And their fingers were entangled together, still yearning for each other''s touch.

 Chapter 265 - Promises

    Theodore and Adeline were silent for a long while. There was no need to express how they were feeling by using some words. They understood that on their own.


    The heat they were feeling was slowly fading away and Adeline started to feel chills. So she pulled the blanket and covered both her and Theodore''s bodies. She then turned to look at Theodore. She still had to share this morning''s incident with him.


    "Theo, I had to share something with you. It is related to Edwin and Azriel," Adeline stated after putting her arm around Theodore''s chest.


    Theodore instantly turned his head to face Adeline. "What about them?" The moment he heard Edwin''s name, he assumed that it was some bad news that Adeline was going to share.


    Adeline then shared everything that Edwin did and said to her this morning. She told him how respectful and remorseful he was. And she told him how he said that he was willing to serve her for the rest of his life and how Azriel was the one to make him do so.


    "Why do you think Azriel did that? Do you think he has some hidden agenda behind that?" Adeline asked after explaining everything in detail.


    Theodore fidgeted his foot and thought for some time. He took a deep breath in and answered, "If I know one thing about Azriel then it is that he loves the status quo. He is extremely lazy to go through the changes. And in this case, I think his hidden agenda behind cursing Edwin is to maintain the peace in Wyverndale�� so that he can spend his days lazing around as usual."


    "You mean he did that because he did not want Edwin to revolt against me?" Adeline raised her brows in disbelief that Azriel did that just so he could be lazy.


    Theodore nodded his head and further explained, "He has already put a system in place for Wyverndale''s rulers. And if Edwin was to lead a war or attempt a coup or something like that, which I am sure that he definitely would have tried, then that system would be shaken. And Azriel''s years of work as well as his position as the Deity would have been tarnished. It would take a lot of time and effort for him to establish his dominance as the Deity in Wyverndale again."


    Adeline pursed her lips and mumbled the gist of what she understood, "So, he took out my competition before he even got the chance to go against me�� That''s a very smart move."


    She took a deep breath in and then added, "If that is the only reason behind Edwin''s curse, then I guess taking Edwin as my follower won''t do any harm to me."


    Theodore nodded and agreed, "I agree. As you said, he will be your greatest shield if Lillian tries to harm you in any way."


    Theodore turned to his side to completely face Adeline. He pulled her closer to him and reassured her, "If you still feel that Azriel might have some more hidden agenda behind that, then I will try to pry the information out of him. You can trust me with that."


    Adeline gave a soft smile and nodded her head. She then darted her eyes around as if she was trying to say something to him, but she was not quite able to bring herself to say it.


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is it? Tell me already."


    She softly bit her lower lip and then raised her left hand in front of his eyes. "Umm�� I don''t know what happened to my ring. I think I lost it somewhere. I''m so sorry."


    Theodore pursed his lips and said, "I think I know what happened. I had made that based upon our connection with each other. It might have disappeared when our connection broke."


    "Oh," Adeline''s lips curved downwards because she was already attached to that ring and she didn''t know whether it was possible for Theodore to make another ring that looked identical to it.


    Theodore entangled his fingers with hers and placed a warm kiss on her knuckles. "Don''t look so sad. I will make another ring for you that won''t disappear like the previous one."


    That promise from Theodore managed to bring a smile to Adeline''s lips again.


    ---


    Prince Edwin was finally back together with his wife, Princess Juniper, and his daughter, Princess Joyce. His daughter was already four years old. He got a little emotional when he saw that his daughter had grown up so much since the last time he saw her.


    After Edwin was kept under house arrest, his wife and daughter were shifted to a guest quarter and were not allowed to see him or talk to him, not even once in the past two years. This was the harshest punishment that one could get, especially when they had a family.


    When Edwin went to the guest quarter to see his wife and daughter in the morning, his daughter denied to even talk to him at first. She kept on clinging to her mother and hiding behind her back. He could not blame his daughter for being shy because it had been a long time since she last saw him. And since she was very little back then, she had already forgotten her father.


    His wife, on the other hand, was extremely happy to finally have him back. And what more, Edwin spent the whole day with her and their daughter, which he had never done before. Her happiness knew no bounds.


    They even had dinner together just like a happy family. And Edwin insisted that all three of them sleep together. In the past, Juniper used to sleep with her daughter while Edwin used to sleep alone. And now, it had already been around a year since the mother and daughter also started to sleep in separate rooms.


    Joyce was finally accepting her father''s presence. And she jumped with happiness when her father suggested that all of them sleep together. She gave a puppy-eyed look to her mother and pouted, "Yes, I want to sleep with father and mother. I don''t like to sleep alone."


    Princess Juniper smiled and picked her daughter up. "Okay, let''s sleep together then. But only for today."


    Joyce was happy even though it was just for today. She wrapped her baby arms around her mother''s neck and thanked her.


    The three of them got inside the bed. Joyce slept in the middle while Edwin and Juniper took the sides of the bed.


    Joyce turned to look at her father and asked with a sad voice, "Father, will you leave us tomorrow?"


    Edwin caressed his daughter''s curly hair and promised, "No, sweetheart. I will never leave the two of you again." He smiled and then kissed his daughter''s forehead. He could tell what his daughter was thinking so he reassured her again while gently pinching her cheek, "Go to sleep now. I won''t run away."


    Joyce smiled happily. She was indeed worried that her father would disappear so she was resisting falling asleep even when she was really drowsy. She tightly held Edwin''s finger with her palm and closed her eyes.


    Princess Juniper was lovingly gazing at the father and daughter as they were having their conversation. She was really grateful that her husband was being so loving and gentle towards them. He loved them but he never showed his affection towards them like this before. So she liked this version of her husband than the previous one when he used to act distant towards them.


    Joyce had already fallen asleep. Edwin finally focused his attention on his wife. He gestured for his wife to come closer to him. She smiled and shifted closer. And he held her hand and asked, "I hope that what you said earlier does not apply to me."


    Juniper gave a questioning glance and asked in a whisper, "What did I say earlier?"


    "That we will sleep together only for today," Edwin hinted that he wanted to share the bed with his wife from now on.


    Juniper didn''t say anything. She just smiled while her heart was blooming with happiness.


    Edwin tightened his grip on Juniper''s hand and whispered, "I want to improve myself. I want to be a good father and a good husband. I don''t want to run after the meaningless things in life anymore. The two of you are the ones that give meaning to my life so I am going to devote myself to the two of you."


    "I would really love that," Juniper retorted under her breath as a droplet of tear rolled down her temple and vanished on the pillow.

 Chapter 266 - Ferocious Beast

    The next morning, Theodore was woken up early in the morning by Adeline. She was getting ready to start her day by having a one-on-one fight with Raphael. She had missed the fighting session yesterday as well and she had not even gotten a chance to apologize to him. So today, she didn''t want to be late and keep her brother waiting for her.


    Theodore wrinkled his nose and opened one of his eyes to see what Adeline was doing. She had already changed into her battle armors and was ready to head out to the training ground to have a sword fighting session with Raphael.


    She looked at Theodore and smiled, "Theo, you''re awake? I am about to head to the training ground. Do you want me to lock the door from outside? You can sleep for some more time if you want to."


    Theodore sat up on the bed and stretched his arms, letting the blanket slide off from his body and showing off his sculptured upper body.


    Adeline couldn''t help but steal a glance of him and bless her eyes early in the morning.


    Theodore smirked as he caught her in the act. He removed the blanket completely and got off the bed. Then he towered over Adeline and leaned closer to her ear. And he teased her in his deep morning voice, "You can look at me freely. You know I am all yours."


    Adeline couldn''t help but blush and smile.


    Theodore put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. But he winched and instantly regretted doing that as the metal armors she was wearing stung him as though they were made out of ice.


    Adeline chuckled looking at his reaction. She lifted herself on her heels and kissed him to make up for the pain she caused him. The more she kissed him, the more she felt like skipping the practice and getting back on the bed with him. She had to force herself to pull away from the kiss, which she managed to do after a while of convincing herself in her head.


    She lovingly caressed his jaw and said with conviction, "Okay, I have to go now. See you later... when you decide to come and visit me."


    "Okay," Theodore watched Adeline as she stormed outside while carrying a huge sword.


    He would have loved to follow her and see how well she would do in the fights now that her powers were sealed. But he had some obligation of his own. So he quickly dressed himself up and vanished from the room.


    Theodore teleported himself in front of a huge mansion that was painted in blood red. The only other color that was used was black, and the way it was painted gave an even more eerie vibe to the atmosphere. The whole surrounding of that mansion looked dull and dark as though no living thing existed there.


    Theodore kept on advancing towards the large door of that mansion. Suddenly, he stopped his foot midair because he sensed something coming towards him at a great speed.


    He widened his eyes and mumbled, "Oh no! Not again!" He wanted to turn around and run away as far as he could but it was already too late.


    The hellhound, Cerberus, was already towering over him. It glared at Theodore with all of its deadly eyes and growled as though it was going to swallow him whole.


    And in the next moment, it began to lick Theodore all over his body. Theodore tightly shut his eyes and mouth as the hound licked his whole face with a single swipe of its tongue. Theodore was frozen where he stood.


    That was not the worst part, the worst part was that Cerberus had three heads. And it would use all of its head to lick Theodore everywhere.


    For someone who hated being touched, this was a whole another level of torture.


    Theodore kept on enduring the torture, hoping that Cerberus would go away on his own. But he kept on sniffing Theodore, licking him, and jumping around him happily while wagging his tail. This was what Theodore meant when he said that Cerberus was ferocious. He was so ferocious that he could make Theodore''s soul leave his body just by licking him.


    It had been a few days since Cerberus saw Theodore, so he was a little too excited. And he was not leaving Theodore''s side, making Theodore sweat.


    Finally, Theodore managed to shout out loudly to ask for help from his brother, "Lucifeeeeeeer! How many times do I have to ask you to put your dog on the leash? It''s going to kill me!"


    A loud cackle resounded throughout the mansion and its surrounding. It almost sounded grim and frightening.


    The huge doors of the mansion opened and a dark silhouette came into view. Then a deep voice resounded throughout the area, "And how many times do I have to ask you to stop being scared of Cerberus? That is his way of showing his love towards you."


    "Nope! This is not love, this is an assault." Theodore shouted back while trying hard to not get licked on the face.


    Slowly, that silhouette became clearer and a tall figure walked closer to Theodore. His facial features, as well as body structure, looked similar to Theodore, except for his eyes and his hair. His eyes were as red and as dangerous as the erupting volcano. And he had long silver hair that flowed down to his waist.


    He was also a few inches taller than Theodore and also had this immense aura that was exuding out of him. His mere presence was enough to send chills down anyone''s bones. He was none other than the Devil King himself.


    Lucifer clapped his hands and called his familiar, "Cer baby! Come here! Leave that ungrateful Devil alone."


    Cerberus instantly wagged his tail and hopped towards his master. He lay on the ground on his back and waited for belly rubs. Lucifer didn''t even have to lean down to give him belly rubs because Cerberus was way too large.


    Theodore was still standing right where he was as though he was a statue. He was feeling itchy everywhere and he wanted to dive into the steaming hot water just to purify himself of that ferocious attack.


    Lucifer gave an intent glare to Theodore and almost felt like letting Cerberus lick him again. He enjoyed it when his mighty brother would act so defeated whenever Cerberus would greet him. But he decided against it and sent the Hellhound back to its place.


    Cerberus would act as the guard of Hell''s gate and would protect Hell from unwanted intruders. He was ferocious when it was required though. He could even go toe-to-toe with several demons and even some angels.


    Lucifer stood in front of Theodore and snapped his fingers in front of Theodore''s eyes to bring him out of his daze. And he asked in a very serious tone, "So, did you come here for the usual fight?"


    Theodore finally looked into Lucifer''s deadly eyes and smiled, "Of course. Why else would I be willing to be assaulted by your dog?"


    Lucifer rolled his eyes and replied in a defeated tone, "For the umpteenth time! He does that because he is fond of you.. All you need to do is rub his belly and he will behave himself."

 Chapter 267 - Power Display

    Lucifer exhaled and put his arms behind his back. He then began to walk towards the area that would lead to their normal fighting spot. Theodore also walked alongside Lucifer. He was more pumped up than before for this fight.


    Lucifer turned his head to the side and asked, almost sounding irritated by this undying madness of his brother, "Just when are you going to stop being so bull-headed, Theo? Do you like getting beaten up by me so much? Just accept that you can never win against me!"


    He playfully kicked Theodore on his butt and shouted, "Go home and get some sleep rather than making me agitated and wreaking havoc here on Hell." He let out an exasperated sigh and mumbled, "What did I ever do to have an arrogant brat like you as a younger brother?"


    Theodore smirked and took this chance to put forth his demand again. "If you had gifted me what I had demanded then I wouldn''t have troubled you so much. You are the one to make things harder for yourself."


    Lucifer gave a menacing look to Theodore and spoke in a mocking tone, "Yes, of course. Why don''t I simply gift you the most dangerous weapon in existence and face another wrath of our father if you do something that angers him?"


    He clicked his tongue and continued, "I''ll pass. I would rather fight you every day till eternity, rather than let you roam freely with the deadliest sword."


    Theodore gave a sinister smirk to his brother and asked sarcastically, "Do you think that I would never surpass your power level? Quit dreaming, Samael. I will definitely win you and claim the sword that you have promised to give me if I win against you."


    Lucifer furrowed his brows and glared at Theodore. And he ordered in a chilling cold voice, "Don''t call me by that name if you don''t want me to kill you. I have already forsaken that identity and you know it."


    Theodore chuckled and put his arm around his brother''s shoulder. And he spoke in a cheery voice, "That was your punishment for letting Cerberus loose on me."


    Lucifer gave a corner-eyed look to Theodore and asked, "Why are you behaving all happy today? Did something extremely good happen to you? You have not smiled this much in years. Where did your gloomy persona disappear?"


    Theodore grinned ear to ear and said, "Adeline remembered me. She came to find me on her own. And she said I look beautiful even in my Devil form."


    The corner of Lucifer''s lips curved up a little. He had heard about Adeline. And he also knew everything that Azriel did to her. He was the only one whom Theodore could confide in during his darkest moments.


    "That''s wonderful news then. I would have loved to meet her if that was possible." Lucifer didn''t say anything more than that.


    Theodore sighed. "I also would have loved to introduce her to you," he replied in a bit of a sad tone.


    He was sad because it was impossible for the two of them to meet. Lucifer was not allowed to leave Hell. And Adeline was a human who could never enter Hell unless�� unless she was dead and was a sinner.


    The two of them reached in front of a circular wall in the middle of an empty ground. Lucifer waved his hand to create a portal on that wall. The wall shimmered in a light hue of red.


    And the two brothers entered through that portal and reached the middle of nowhere, a place with endless darkness stretched out till infinity where the concept of time and space worked abnormally.


    In the past, they would simply have a friendly sparring session in front of Lucifer''s mansion itself. But then, Azriel happened. Theodore began to take the fights more and more seriously. And his power was also growing exponentially because of all the trouble that he caused back on Earth and in Hell.


    Thus, they had their fights in the abyss of nowhere because they could make everything in Hell crumble if they started to fight there demonstrating their full power. And they did not want to be responsible for the destruction of Hell.


    They took their respective position and hovered in the middle of nowhere while facing each other. Until a while ago, both of them were smiling and teasing each other. But now, they were glaring at each other with the intention to kill.


    "I guess we are going to skip the normal fist-fight and start using our full strength right off the bat?" Lucifer''s hoarse voice resounded far and wide making him sound terrifying.


    "Of course," Theodore replied in an equally menacing voice.


    And almost in an instant, both of them transformed into their ultimate form. Theodore displayed his black wings and horns.


    While Lucifer displayed his massive wings and large black horns. His wings were something that even the angels were envious as well as terrified of. Unlike Theodore''s, Lucifer''s wings were pure white in color. They looked as though each and every feather were handmade by God himself. But the edges of his white wings glowed red with Hellfire. A swipe from his wings and any mystical being would be turned into nothing but dust.


    The brothers readied themselves to tackle each other. They were exuding such an immense aura that if any other mystical beings were around them, they would most probably faint just by looking at the aura.


    Lucifer flapped his wings consecutively to create a tornado in the place where Theodore was. And Theodore released his dark mists from his whole body to create his own tornado that countered the one that Lucifer was creating.


    Both of their tornados vanished into nothingness. Lucifer then gritted his teeth and his eyes glowed even more. Theodore already knew what was coming so he used his recently unlocked skill and created a large shield out of his dark mist. Right then, a large fireball crashed on that shield and that shield disappeared along with the fire.


    Lucifer was using normal fire rather than the Hellfire for this attack because he did not want to accidentally kill his own brother. He narrowed his eyes and smirked, "You''ve improved a little." He then clenched his fists and they were both glowing with fire. He shot himself towards Theodore while growling, "But not enough to defeat me."


    Theodore also clenched both of his fists and covered them with spikes made out of his mist. Then he zoomed towards Lucifer with equal eagerness to punch a hole through his brother''s body.


    Both of them flew towards each other while giving off loud battle cries.


    Then in another second, both of their fists collided together sending a huge shockwave all around the place. But the two of them did not even move an inch even after such great attacks on each other.


    Lucifer looked at Theodore with great surprise. "Don''t tell me your power level is already on par with mine."


    This came as a surprise to Theodore as well. He would have been thrown away like a rag doll when Lucifer would punch him with this seriousness.. He looked into Lucifer''s stunned eyes and said in disbelief, "I guess we will have to do a rematch to confirm that."

 Chapter 268 - Real Fight

    Back on Earth, Adeline walked towards the training ground followed by her guards. She didn''t like them being so clingy and following her everywhere but she had no other choice right now. So she just let them follow her and watch her fight.


    Raphael was already waiting for her in the training ground. He couldn''t help but chuckle when he finally saw Adeline marching inside the training ground with ten other guards. As the rumors flew way too fast inside the Palace, he had also heard about Adeline''s mischief that she had run away from the Palace yesterday. And he knew right away why she was being followed by her guards.


    He decided to tease her and shouted loudly, "Ade, why did you bring all your guards? I thought we were going to sneak to the market and have some dumplings."


    Adeline widened her eyes and raised her brows in disbelief. And she scolded him while mouthing and madly gesturing at him, "Do you want me to get punished even more? Don''t say such stupid things and put me in a difficult situation!"


    She turned around to look at her guards and ordered, "All of you can wait here. I will be practicing right there so I guess, you all can see me from here."


    The guards bowed their heads and then stood right where they were.


    Raphael was covering his mouth to control his laughter but his shoulders were moving violently. He was really enjoying the drama.


    Adeline reached in front of him and then swiftly took out her sword. Then she poked Raphael on the breastplate of his armor. And she whispered aggressively, "Stop it, Raph! Do you want me to poke a hole in your chest?"


    Raphael took a few deep breaths in and finally stopped chuckling. And he apologized, "Alright! Alright! Sorry. But you have to tell me where you ran yesterday. Else I am going to say a lot of fake stories to your guards and make them latch onto your all the time."


    Adeline narrowed her eyes and asked in a monotone, "Since when did you become a blackmailer? Are you even my brother?"


    But Raphael countered her with his own question, "And since when did you start to run off on your own? You could have invited me as well." He asked in a more disappointed tone, "Am I just your fighting partner? I thought we were also the partners in crime."


    Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line. She shook her head and said, "You have really gotten better in emotional blackmailing." She patted on his shoulder and spoke in a consoling tone, "I shall invite you if I ever plan to do that again."


    "Now that''s more like it." Raphael smiled and drew out his sword from its sheath.


    Adeline was also ready to face her brother. They were now standing in the middle of the training ground and were facing each other while holding out their trusted swords.


    Both of them were in their battle armors because they were not going to fight with a fake or relatively blunt sword as they used to when they trained before. And they were also not going to restrain themselves while facing each other. Both of them were going to give their best and that meant fighting against each other as if they were real enemies fighting in a real battle.


    They started doing this because General Osmond had suggested to Adeline that it was better to get accustomed to fighting a real fight using real props and wearing real battle armors. If they did that every day, then they wouldn''t be having any difficulty while fighting in a war as they would already be used to it.


    "Pretending to fight and actually fighting for your life are two different things," that was what General Osmond had told Adeline.


    And as she was already the chosen one, he had suggested to her that it would be better if she prepared herself for possible war. It was not just Lillian who knew about the rising number of dissatisfied families. General Osmond was also well aware of that matter.


    He cared about Adeline and she would also constantly ask for his advice. So he had told her, "Wyverndale is a peaceful Kingdom right now and its allies are also not acting out. But there is always a possibility that they might go against the treaty and try to lead an uprising. So you should start preparing yourself for the worst."


    "Until now, you had trained yourself with one goal, and that was to fight for the position of the Future Ruler. You have successfully achieved that goal. Now, the new goal of your training should be survival. There might come a time when you will have to lead a war. And as the ruler, it will be your duty to survive the war. If you can survive, then only you can win."


    His words motivated Adeline to be cautious and well-prepared for whatever was to come in the future.


    "Are you ready?" Raphael asked Adeline while taking his stance.


    Adeline smiled and replied, "I was ready the moment I walked inside the ground."


    And without delaying any further, both of them charged towards each other. A loud sound echoed when the metals clashed against each other. The clashing then got intense with every passing second.


    The guards were watching in awe as the two of the Royals were fighting against each other. This was the first time that they were seeing Princess Adeline fighting. And they now knew where all that courage to run out of the Palace alone came from.


    After about five minutes, Prince Raphael was already on the ground. His sword was on the other corner of the fighting arena and Adeline was pointing her sword at his neck. Adeline had a wide grin on her face. And her guards were very proud of the Princess. One of the guards even clapped after the match was over but quickly stopped himself as the squad leader glared at him.


    Raphael then complained while breathing heavily, "I liked defeating you so much. I had already caught up with you. But somehow, you managed to surpass me again."


    Adeline proudly smirked and gave a hand to her brother. She was proud that even without her demonic powers, she was starting to do well against her brother. There was a phase when she would get defeated daily. She used to feel so depressed because she didn''t even know what was wrong with her.


    Now that she knew what had caused her to lose her power drastically, she was glad that she didn''t give up. She was glad that she was able to increase her strength. Her strength was not yet on par as she used to be but she had definitely improved enough to defeat a full-grown man with great ease.


    Adeline pulled Raphael from the ground and waited for him to pick up his sword. And when he was ready, she warned him, "Alright! Here I come again."


    And they both clashed again. Adeline wanted to increase her inner strength as much as she could. She knew that her body could perform better.. And she was going to push herself to achieve that.

 Chapter 269 - Deserving?

    Adeline was in her own workroom, going through paperwork to catch up on what she had missed the last two days. She could not afford to get distracted by the sweet moments she had shared with Theodore anymore. So she was trying her best to focus her attention and actually get things done.


    She heard a knock on her door when she was already immersed in the file that reported how the trade with Frostford was declining lately. Following the knock, the Princess heard Lord Bennett''s voice from the other side of the door, "Your Highness, may I come in?"


    Adeline diverted her gaze from the report to the door and ordered, "Come in."


    Bennett entered the Princess''s room and informed her, "Prince Edwin is here to see you. I have asked him to wait in the waiting room for now. Shall I send him in or shall I say that you are busy?"


    Bennett was well-aware of the bad blood between Princess Adeline and Prince Edwin. And he had also noticed the awkwardness between them yesterday. So he was willing to cover for the Princess if that meant she would get out of the discomfort of facing her supposed enemy.


    Adeline was grateful to have such an understanding person as her assistant. He was capable of using his own judgment and making decisions on behalf of the Princess in situations where she would be unable to openly order him.


    So she thought that it was necessary to be open with him about the recent development with Prince Edwin. "Bennett, Prince Edwin and I have already reconciled with each other. I will tell you everything in detail later on. But for now, I want you to know that he will be working for me from now on."


    Bennett nodded his head though just those lines did not quench his curiosity. But he trusted the Princess''s decision to suddenly trust her brother. He was sure that the Princess would not make that decision if she was sure that they were against her favor.


    "I will send him in then," Bennett bowed to the Princess and left the room.


    After some time, Prince Edwin entered the room and then bowed to the Princess, "Your Highness."


    Adeline, on the other hand, felt really weird seeing Edwin bowing to her like that. Yes, her other half-siblings would also bow to her now. But she wouldn''t see the others that often. Edwin was insisting on being by her side and she did not want him to bow to her every now and then.


    So she pursed her lips and said, "Brother Edwin, I don''t think you should be bowing to me every time you see me. Please just limit that to the formal ceremonies."


    Edwin smiled because he could sense the discomfort in her voice. So he replied, "If it makes you uncomfortable then I will do as you say."


    Adeline smiled and gestured Edwin to take a seat in front of her, "Please." And when he settled down, she leisurely started the conversation, "You said that you wanted to act as my personal bodyguard but I already have enough guards following me around. And as you are a Prince, it would be disrespectful to give that title to you."


    Edwin gave a polite smile and expressed his view, "I don''t need any titles to work for you. It will be enough if I can just be by your side."


    She placed her hands on the table and leaned a little forward, "But I was thinking of appointing you as my Personal Advisor. It is a fact that you have more experience in handling the official affairs of the Kingdom than me. Though you were punished for the wrongdoings that you did against the Kingdom and its citizens, I hope that you can use your experience for good this time. Can I trust you with this position?"


    Edwin was speechless for a while. He had thought that Adeline would be happily taking him as her bodyguard and making him do all sorts of odd jobs just to get back at him. He had never even imagined in his dream that she would be benevolent enough to take a criminal like him as her Personal Advisor.


    And his mouth involuntarily voiced his disbelief, "Why would you want someone like me as your Personal Advisor? All I have done is tortured and extorted the villagers, betrayed the King and his order, and��" he lowered his gaze and whispered while digging his nails on his palms, "��and didn''t even back down from hurting whoever stood in my way."


    Adeline already knew all this information so she simply said, "But didn''t you come to me saying you wanted to change? That you wanted to repent for your mistakes?" She gently smiled and said, "I am giving you that opportunity to atone for your sins."


    Edwin suddenly had this urge to come clean about something. And he blurted out, "I don''t think I can ever atone for stealing other people''s lives. I was an accomplice in my mother''s crime. I didn''t even try to stop her from killing those maids."


    An overwhelming rage filled Adeline''s heart when he confessed to being an accomplice of the murder that Lillian committed. "How could you let that��" that was all she could say as she was consumed by her rage.


    Edwin was still lowering his gaze out of shame. But he still continued to explain, "You remember that I was on my deathbed before the test, right? How do you think I became healthy overnight? My mother somehow managed to transfer the life of two of my maids to me. And I was so greedy that I happily accepted their lives."


    Adeline had a flashback of Lillian''s memory. She had saved Edwin the same way when he was a stillborn baby. But she had never thought that the same dark spell could be used to save the same person more than once.


    And she was forced to question if Lillian would even die. Who was to say that she would not use the same magic and be immortal by sucking countless innocent lives?


    Adeline was then lost in her own thoughts, "I should research more on this matter. Maybe I should ask the witches of the Mystic Coven. I don''t want that witch to be an immortal. If that is possible then she should be killed before she becomes the Devil on Earth."


    She was brought back to reality by Edwin''s voice, "That is why��"


    Edwin whispered in a voice filled with guilt, "I am not even remotely deserving of holding such an important position. In fact, I don''t even deserve to be anywhere near you after all the things I have done."


    Adeline glared at Edwin while gritting her teeth. She wanted to get up and kick him right in his gut. And she wanted to shout that he was right, that he did not deserve to hold such an important title. She wanted to drag him back to his quarter and lock him up in his bathhouse for another two years.


    But she controlled her anger. She tried to rationalize Edwin''s action saying that he was desperate.


    She clutched her hands on the armrest of her chair and thought, "If someone came to you while you were on your deathbed and said that you could live for some more years, I guess everyone would be tempted to accept the offer even if it meant that you would end up killing someone else in the process."


    She finally breathed out and let go of her clutch.. She didn''t think that she would actually be saying this to Edwin but she said it anyway, "And that is why I think you are every bit deserving."

 Chapter 270 - Salvation

    "And that is why I think you are every bit deserving."


    For a moment, Edwin was stunned by that statement from Adeline. He had believed that Adeline was a kind and pure-hearted girl. He had thought that by being loyal to her and following her, he could have his salvation.


    However, from that statement, it sounded as though he had gone from following one criminal mastermind to another.


    But before he could doubt Adeline''s intention any further, Adeline spoke a bit sternly, "You are perfect for the title of my Personal Advisor because you know every loophole that criminals like you and your mother use to evade the law."


    Though she had said nothing wrong by calling him a criminal, Edwin''s heart shrank a little when he heard her calling that.


    Adeline got up from her chair and began walking towards the shelf while explaining why he would fit the role, "I bet you know how to get rid of even the smallest evidence of such heinous crimes. And I bet you also know all the corrupt accomplices inside the Palace who help criminals like you get away with everything."


    Edwin could not protest even when Adeline was outrightly calling him out. It was true that he had seen his mother get rid of the dead bodies of his maids as if that was what she would usually do.


    She took out a file from the shelf and walked back towards her chair. "Brother Edwin, I need you to enlighten me about such loopholes and help me find pieces of evidence against such crimes. And I need you to help me get rid of all the corrupt people inside and outside the Palace who helped your mother to cover up all the murders that she has committed."


    "All the murders?" Edwin frowned and kept on staring at Adeline as she settled back on her chair.


    Adeline looked Edwin in the eyes with all seriousness and questioned him, "Edwin, can I trust you completely?"


    Edwin''s brows knitted in tune with this sudden question. But he had already decided that he would be loyal to Adeline, or rather, he had already promised the Deity that he would be loyal to her. So there was no point in having hidden agenda unless he wanted to throw away his stolen life.


    "Yes, you can trust me completely," Edwin replied resolutely.


    Adeline was not satisfied with that answer though. So she asked more clearly again, "Following me might mean that you might have to go against your mother someday. I don''t know if you are aware of the countless crimes that your mother has committed, but what I know is that I plan to punish her for her actions. Will you be able to stay loyal to me even when I try to punish your mother?"


    Two words, in particular, resounded inside Edwin''s head �C Countless crimes. He, of course, had seen his mother murdering those two maids right in front of him. But other than that, he wasn''t that aware of his mother''s activities.


    So he asked, "What crimes did my mother commit other than what I mentioned earlier?"


    Adeline put the file in front of Edwin and turned the pages. "These are the list of crimes that I know about. And there might be others which I am not aware of."


    Edwin''s eyes widened in disbelief as Adeline flipped through the pages. There were three whole pages of the crimes under Lillian''s name.


    "And most of them are murders," Adeline emphasized while a hint of rage ran through her eyes.


    That was not the end of crimes of Lillian. She turned another page and said after exhaling loudly, "And these are the crimes that she committed against me, directly or indirectly."


    Edwin felt a sting in his heart when his eyes fell on the first line of that page. It was written, "Killed Auvera, my mother, by giving her slow poison."


    "She killed your mother?" Edwin muttered under his breath. He was aware of his mother''s hatred towards both Auvera and Adeline. He vaguely remembered that his mother used to be agitated by Auvera''s presence. But he had never thought that his mother had gone as far as killing one of the concubines.


    He still could not believe it so he asked Adeline with doubts looming over his eyes, "How do you know about all these crimes when even I don''t know about them?"


    Adeline''s pupils dilated as she remembered the memories of Lillian that Theodore had shown him. And she simply said, "Let''s just say that I have a very reliable informant. I don''t want to expose his identity."


    She looked into Edwin''s eyes that were still full of doubts and made an attempt to clear them, "But let me tell you this. Even I had doubted the authenticity of this information. So I dug up any clues that I could find. They all pointed that Lillian had indeed committed these crimes. If you don''t believe me, I guess you can directly ask your mother. I doubt that she would lie to you."


    Edwin was analyzing Adeline''s every little movement and facial expression. They all told him that Adeline was being truthful with him.


    His eyes then fell on the open page again. He didn''t even want to go through all the other lines. He did not want to feel guilty for the crimes that his mother committed against Adeline. If he read through all the lines, he was sure that he would not even be able to make eye contact with Adeline for the rest of his life.


    So he quickly lowered his gaze and apologized to Adeline, "I know that my apology will mean nothing now and it will not bring your mother back, but still, I would like to apologize to you in my mother''s stead."


    Adeline was being very calculative all this while. She was going to bring out the topic related to Lillian''s crime some other time. But since Edwin himself started that topic, it was easier for her to play along and pit the mother and son against each other.


    Edwin willingly came to be her ally, so she was going to use him to the fullest.


    Seeing that Edwin was getting emotional and apologetic, Adeline instantly took this opportunity to inconspicuously plant the seed of war between the mother and son.


    She touched her mother''s name that was written on the page and said in a melancholic tone, "If you want to apologize to me, then nothing would be better than bringing justice to all the victims of your mother''s crime."


    Adeline looked at Edwin with sorrowful eyes and asked him, "You said you wanted salvation, right? Then let this be your salvation."

 Chapter 271 - Eternal Damnation

    "Let this be your salvation," Adeline''s words penetrated Edwin''s heart as though they were the sharpest sword in the world.


    When Prince Edwin pledged his loyalty to Adeline, he didn''t think that he would be this entangled in between Adeline and his mother. He was in a great dilemma.


    Even though he had already chosen Adeline''s side, it was difficult for him to instantaneously agree to the path of salvation that Adeline showed to him. Because that would probably mean giving an extreme punishment to his mother.


    There was no law in Wyverndale yet where the criminal would be sentenced to death. But seeing the overwhelming list of crimes that his mother had committed, Edwin was sure that new order would be passed just for the sake of his mother''s punishment.


    Adeline noticed a lot of worry lines appearing on Edwin''s forehead. She deduced that Edwin was oblivious of his mother''s countless crimes. And no matter what his mother had done, she thought that it would still be hard for him to hate his mother.


    So she didn''t want to push him too hard right from the start so she said in a soft voice, "Brother, I know that you have high regards towards your mother. And I also know that she loves you more than anything and anyone in the world."


    "So, I know that this path of salvation might put you in a difficult situation." Adeline clenched her fists and continued with teary eyes, "To be honest, I wouldn''t have asked you to help me with this. I would have already punished her for all of her wrongdoings�� if only I was not afraid of her."


    Adeline broke down all of a sudden. Though she didn''t want to push Edwin too much, she wanted to hit the right cord of his heart so that he would be compelled to do the right thing.


    And she sobbed while showing her vulnerability, "She has already tried to kill me a lot of times and I am really scared that she will finish me off for real if I ever try to unravel her crimes. Even though I am the Future Ruler, I am in no position to go toe-to-toe with a dark witch like her."


    Edwin had always enjoyed making Adeline cry and seeing her cry when they were little. But for the first time, he empathized with her. He was angry at his own mother when he saw her crying like that.


    But he didn''t dare to say a single word to console her. He thought that he had no right to do so. It was his own mother who had pushed her to this situation.


    Adeline took out her handkerchief and wiped her tears. Even though she was just trying to act in front of Edwin, she ended up crying for real. She couldn''t help but think how her life would have been if her mother was still with her. And she couldn''t help but feel powerless for not being able to do anything against that evil witch.


    Suddenly, Edwin looked at Adeline with pitiful eyes and then suggested, "I will talk with my mother. I will see if I can make her confess her crimes on her own and surrender herself."


    He still wanted to protect his mother from getting a death sentence so he added, "We can put her under house arrest for her remaining life. That way she won''t be able to harm any other innocent lives."


    But Adeline had already gone through possible punishments for Lillian. And she already knew that putting her under house arrest was not going to be useful. So she expressed her distress, "But she is a witch. Her magic cannot be contained by four walls. That is why I have been this afraid of her. What if she does something really bad even when she is under house arrest?"


    Edwin leaned back on his chair and went into deep thought. He wanted to think of a solution that did not involve killing his mother in some way.


    Though he did not inherit the capability to perform witchcraft from his mother, he knew a few things about witchcraft. And he remembered how the witches and wizards were held in the cells in Frostford.


    So he suggested using that same method to hold his mother captive, "Adeline, it is possible to turn one of the rooms into a magic nullifying cell. We can seek help from other witches and ask them to draw a magic circle that will act as a barrier. My mother won''t be able to use her magic when she is kept inside that magic circle."


    Adeline''s eyes widened a little. But she still had one doubt and she asked, "But there''s no guarantee that she will stay inside that circle. Can''t she simply step out of it and use her magic."


    Edwin shook his head and reassured her saying, "That kind of magic circle doesn''t just bock the magic, it also acts as a barrier. Once put inside, the witches and wizards won''t be able to break out of that circle unless the one who activated that circle releases them."


    Adeline could not believe her ears! All this time, she had thought that there was no easy way to restrain and punish that witch. She was afraid that Lillian would not go down without a fight and she feared that Lillian would end up killing people she loved.


    But now that Edwin gave this information to her, she was really grateful that Lillian''s own son was teaching her how to imprison his mother.


    "If what you say is possible then there would be no problem in giving her a life sentence." She tried to empathize with Edwin and added, "I am sorry to say this but considering the crimes that she has committed, even life imprisonment is a very light punishment for her."


    Edwin took a deep breath in and pursed his lips. He tried to put on a smile and whispered, "I know." He then gave a pleading look to Adeline and asked, "I am going to sound selfish when I say this, but I hope that you will stick with the life imprisonment as her punishment.  I hope that you will spare her life."


    "It is not my place to take her life. I am no God." Adeline replied calmly.


    To Edwin, she sounded very forgiving. But Adeline was not a saint to forgive Lillian that easily. She had already devised a plan in her head to imprison Lillian in the smallest chamber until she begged to be killed instead. And then she was going to fulfill that murderer''s last wish by beheading her.


    Adeline also felt great comfort knowing that it would not be the end of Lillian''s suffering. She was sure that Lillian''s soul would be sent to Hell to face the trials of Hell.


    And considering all the monstrous crimes that she has committed, Adeline knew what was waiting for Lillian once she reached the underworld. She could rest assured that Theodore and Lucifer would torture her soul till eternity.


    She could rest assured that Theodore would make Lillian pay a thousand-fold of what she has done on Earth.

 Chapter 272 - Im In Love

    Adeline and Edwin chatted for some more time and discussed how they were going to further the punishment of Lillian. And after talking for quite a while, Adeline then finally concluded the meeting by saying, "Brother Edwin, please keep in mind that I have already taken you as my Personal Advisor from today onwards."


    "But I will still have to get the written permission from the King. Until then, you will have to work for me without getting any titles as such. I hope you won''t mind if the letter from the King takes some time to arrive." Adeline had already guessed that it would take some convincing to make her father agree to this decision of her.


    Edwin understood that because it was a fact that he was a recently released criminal. And he had still not forgotten how the King had even refused to see his face. He was at least glad that Adeline had not done that to him and was even ready to give the most important title to him.


    Yes, that title came with a price. But he was willing to pay that price since Adeline was not doing anything wrong.


    Adeline called Bennett inside the room and then ordered him, "Bennett, prepare a workroom for Prince Edwin and help him get settled. He will be working for me from now on, so I was thinking that it would be better if he had his own room here."


    "As you wish, Your Highness," Bennett bowed to Adeline and then led Edwin out of the room.


    Adeline leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes to let everything sink in. She was feeling content with her decision to let Edwin serve him. He had already proved himself very useful.


    "Why did the Mystic Coven never show this path to me?" Adeline thought to herself, "I never asked them though. And I guess they did not think that it was their place to give me suggestions regarding Lillian''s punishment."


    A different worry hit her again, "Or they never suggested that to me because Lillian is too powerful to be contained by some magic circle?" She sighed and reminded herself, "I should visit them soon. In secret. I need to have a proper conversation with them."


    "For now, I need to have a proper conversation with the King." She remembered the promise that she had made to Theodore and thought while smiling, "And I also need to have a proper conversation with my father."


    She nodded and got up from her chair while whispering, "I need to do that before the suitors start to line up in front of the Palace. I bet they will start lining up very soon now that I have crossed eighteen."


    Adeline then headed out to the King''s Court thinking he would be there. But the Court was empty. She then went and checked in the workroom of the King. But that was also empty. His assistant was also not around.


    "This is odd! Where is everyone?" Adeline frowned and mumbled, "Didn''t he come to the Court today? Did he get sick again?"


    She then walked towards the main door of the King''s Court and asked one of the guards, "Didn''t His Majesty come to the Court today?"


    "No, Your Highness," the guard replied with a subtle bow.


    "Do you know where His Majesty could be then?" she asked again.


    The guard replied somewhat reluctantly, "Er�� I think His Majesty is in his quarter. But I don''t know for sure."


    Adeline nodded her head and went out of the King''s Court. Her guards instantly followed behind her as she made her way to her father''s quarter.


    She noticed that all the Royal Guards were standing outside of the quarter so she assumed that her father was inside in his own quarter. She then asked one of the Royal Guards and found out that the King was in his private chamber.


    Her guards waited alongside the Royal Guards and she walked alone towards the King''s private chamber. She ordered the guards to announce her presence to the King.


    But the guard apologized and said, "His Majesty is having a meeting with someone else right now. Will Your Highness wait in the living room for some time?"


    "Who is he meeting?" Adeline asked with a concerned look on her face. She was worried that her father might actually be sick as she had suspected.


    But the guard replied, "His Majesty is having a meeting with some councilmen. I will inform Your Highness immediately after they leave."


    Adeline heaved a sigh and nodded, "Sure. I will be in the living room then."


    She waited for the councilmen to leave for almost about an hour. She was now starting to think that they would never leave. "I think it would be better if I just return to the Court and get some work done."


    Just when she thought that, a guard came to inform her that she could see the King now.


    She swiftly got up from her seat and entered the King''s private chamber. Dragomir was sitting on his bed and there were a few chairs laid down in front of his bed.


    Dragomir smiled and apologized to Adeline, "I am so sorry Adeline. I made you wait for so long, didn''t I? Had I known earlier that you were waiting, I would have ended the meeting with the councilmen sooner."


    Adeline settled herself down in one of the chairs and shook her head, "It''s alright, father. It''s okay to make me wait every once in a while."


    She darted her eyes on her father and asked him, "Father, are you having a problem with your health?"


    Dragomir smiled and denied that "No, it is nothing serious. My back felt sore and I wanted to rest. That''s all." He leaned back comfortably and then asked, "Tell me, did you have something important to discuss with me?"


    Adeline regretted having come to meet her father with work-related matters even when he was resting. "It is important but it is not that urgent. The matters can wait. I am sorry for disturbing you, father. I should let you rest."


    Dragomir waved his hand to indicate that it was not a problem. And he asked, "I am okay. Sleeping for the whole day is very boring anyway. I am glad that you came here. And as you are already here, why don''t you tell me why you came for?"


    It suddenly dawned upon Adeline that both of the things that she was going to discuss with her father had the potential to shock him to the core.


    Her decision to make Edwin her Personal Advisor would sound too rash and Theodore�� well��


    She suddenly remembered Theodore telling her the reason why everyone had forgotten about him. That meant telling her father everything about Theodore all over again. And telling everything about how she had fallen for a Devil.


    And there was a high chance of a lot of things going wrong.


    She began to sweat while thinking about all the what-ifs. Her heartbeat began to escalate. And her throat parched before she could even speak.


    Dragomir was waiting for his daughter to say something but she looked too disoriented. And he asked worriedly, "Adeline, are you sure you are okay?"


    Adeline was lost deep in her thoughts. She was practicing some lines inside her head about how she was going to start the conversation with her father.. But Dragomir''s voice startled her and she blurted out the unfiltered version of her practice line, "I am in Love with my guardian angel and I want to marry him."

 Chapter 273 - Where Does He Live?

    King Dragomir looked stunned for a few seconds after that confession from Adeline. However, he thought that his daughter was cracking some joke to make him laugh, and then he ended up bursting into laughter.


    Adeline was expecting to see a shocked expression on her father''s face after her sudden confession, but her face turned all red after seeing him laughing like that.


    "That was a good one," Dragomir spoke while still chuckling and wiping his tears. "I would have believed you if you had not said that you were in love with your guardian angel. You should really learn how to lie better, Adeline."


    Adeline furrowed her brows and tried to defend herself saying she was telling the truth but Dragomir got all serious and gave her a piece of advice as the King, "As a ruler, there might come some situations when you might have to tell believable lies. For example, you might need to lie to your soldiers saying that you are going to-"


    Before Adeline would lose all of her mustered-up courage, she interrupted her father and then stood her ground, "Father, I was not lying to you." She lowered her gaze and then spoke softly, "I have fallen in love for real. And I would love to get married to him."


    Dragomir went through a series of emotions when Adeline said that she was in love. First, obviously, he could not believe that what he heard was true. And then he could notice that Adeline was indeed really flustered which led him to believe what she said. Finally, he felt really happy that her daughter had managed to find her love.


    He gazed at his daughter and smiled ear to ear. And he asked, "That means you have already found someone whom you feel is the right one for you?"


    "Yes," Adeline replied after stealing a quick glance of her father to see his expression. She couldn''t even keep on maintaining eye contact with her father because she felt really shy talking about love with her father.


    Normally, it was not the Princesses who would bring up their marriage to the King, it was the way around. The King would bring up the talks about marriage with his daughters when the suitors would come to the King and ask for the Princesses'' hands.


    And Adeline felt a little uncomfortable while breaking the norm.


    However, King Dragomir didn''t mind that at all. He was rather happy that Adeline finally mustered up her courage and told him that she wanted to get married. He thought that the little talk that he had with Adeline on her birthday finally gave some courage to her to speak up, and he was happy that he brought up the topic of marriage that day.


    Dragomir remembered what Adeline had said on her birthday. So he asked again, "Does he make you feel happy?"


    Adeline smiled and nodded, "He makes me feel that I am the luckiest woman in the world. He loves me very dearly."


    Dragomir nodded his head and could tell from Adeline''s face that his daughter had fallen very deeply for the man that she was talking about. "So, aren''t you going to tell me who he is? I want to know who you were referring to as your guardian angel."


    Adeline heaved a sigh. Now, this was going to be the hard part. She had to tell her father about Theodore while making him feel that Theodore was the perfect suitor for her. She had to make him believe that he was not the Devil that the myths made him to be.


    "Father, when I said that he is my guardian angel, I meant that as well." Adeline had a serious expression on her face and she asked him, "Do you remember when I was kidnapped at the age of three and then you found me in my own room?"


    "Yes." Dragomir looked puzzled thinking how that incident was relevant now.


    Adeline rubbed her sweaty palm on her gown and said softly, "He was the one who brought me back to the Palace."


    Dragomir was silent and expressionless.


    And so as not to make the atmosphere turn awkward, Adeline kept on praising Theodore, "He has been looking after me ever since." She told him how he had protected her multiple times from Lillian''s attacks. She told him how he was the one to motivate her to be better at everything that she did. And she went on and on, but while being inconspicuous about the fact that he was the Devil Prince.


    But Dragomir was also a wise man. From the way Adeline described that man, he thought that either he was a really powerful wizard or was someone with some extraordinary power.


    And out of all the questions he could have asked, he asked the one that put Adeline in a tight spot. "How old is this Theodore?" He asked that because he felt as if the person that his daughter had fallen in love with would be some middle-aged man.


    Adeline didn''t know how to answer that question. Was she supposed to tell him now that he was an ancient being? That he was the son of God and he was even older than the Earth? Because she herself didn''t know for sure how old he was.


    Adeline swiftly wiped a bead of sweat that was trickling down her temple and said after a lot of hesitation, "Er�� He is�� umm�� he looks like he is in his early twenties. But um�� he is��"


    "He is much older than how he looks?" Dragomir finished Adeline''s sentence and asked another question, "Is he a dark wizard by any chance?"


    He added the word ''dark'' in front of the ''wizard'' because they were the ones who could manipulate their appearance into looking young.


    Adeline was shocked by the conclusion that her father reached. And she instantly denied, "No! He is not a wizard."


    "Then what is he? From the way you explained about him, he doesn''t sound like a normal human." Dragomir was now starting to get worried that the love of his daughter was some twisted man who had trapped his daughter using some voodoo on her.


    Adeline had to come clean to her father sooner or later. So she clasped her hands tightly and revealed, "He is the fallen angel."


    When he heard the words ''fallen angel'', his mind automatically linked it to the powerful entity that everyone in Wyverndale was afraid of. Everything that Adeline said about him made much more sense now.


    So he looked at his daughter in the eyes and asked one final question as a confirmation, "Where does he live?"


    Adeline''s heart began to pound as if there would be no tomorrow. She could tell that her father had figured out who Theodore was. So she tried her best to make her father believe that Theodore was not the Devil unlike his title suggested, "He is a really good person, father. He really loves-"


    But Dragomir cut her off in the middle and growled, "I asked where he lives!"


    Adeline flinched because of her father''s sudden rage. And she answered softly, "He lives on top of the Hill of Grimmer Death."


    And Dragomir asked while clenching his fists, "You mean he lives in the Devil''s Cave?"

 Chapter 274 - Haywire

    "You mean he lives in the Devil''s Cave?"


    For the first time in her life, Adeline felt this scared of her father. He was glaring at her and was shouting at her as though she had made the biggest blunder in her life.


    Her father''s questioning glare was not leaving her so she whispered, "Yes. He is the one whom people refer to as the Devil."


    Dragomir was now enraged at Adeline. He pushed his black and grey hair away from his face and shouted at Adeline in frustration, "How can you be so na?ve and fall in love with the Devil when you clearly know that he is the Devil?"


    "But he is not the Devil! I mean�� he might be called the Devil but he is not how people think him to be. He is not evil. He definitely does not feast on children as the myth tells. And he does not go around causing trouble for people." Adeline replied defensively.


    Dragomir slid forward and sat down at the edge of his bed while aggressively staring at Adeline. He exhaled noisily and asked her while trying to speak as calmly as he could, "Are you hearing yourself? How can you defend the Devil? And how can you even think about marrying him?"


    "Father��" Adeline gave a pleading glance to Dragomir and desperately tried to make him understand again that Theodore was not evil, "I am defending him because he has never done anything wrong to me. He has always been there for me ever since I was a little kid. He has always cared for me and always loved me."


    "And I want to marry him because I know that my life will be a living Hell without him. I have already lived that Hell and I��" Adeline didn''t know why but her eyes were already filled with tears even when she was trying her best to keep her emotions at bay.


    She gulped and continued, "And I cannot even imagine my life without him. I want to marry him because I know that I will never be able to love someone else. I have already given my soul to him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him."


    Dragomir was unable to digest everything that Adeline was saying to him. He closed his eyes and held his head with both of his hands. And then he asked in a whisper, "When did all of this happen? When did you sell your soul to the Devil?"


    Adeline let out ragged breathing. She understood where that question from her father came from. Selling one''s soul to the Devil in return for something was popular in folklores.


    So she said defensively, "I did not sell my soul to him, father. I haven''t made any kind of deal with him. He is not the one to trick people into making a deal with him in return for something. I truly love him with all my heart. I love him because I see the good in him."


    And she further tried to justify Theodore''s goodness by emphasizing something, "Being cast down from Heaven does not make him a monster, does it? He is still the son of God. And he is still the angel that he used to be."


    Dragomir was not ready to listen to any kind of reasoning that Adeline was telling him. His heart rate was increasing rapidly because of the fury that he felt towards the Devil. And he felt like rallying towards the Devil''s Cave to chase that Devil out of Wyverndale''s territory.


    "I don''t care if he is the son of God or the fallen angel. I know that he is the fearsome Devil and I am not going to forgive him for trying to trap my innocent daughter," he growled angrily and abruptly got up from his bed. He was ready to head towards the Cave on a whim of anger.


    Adeline had never expected her father to act so impulsively. She ran in front of her father and stood in his way.


    She was tired of him not listening to a word that she said about Theodore and she also shouted angrily, "Father! What is wrong with you? How many times do I have to chant that Theodore is not a bad man? What do I have to do to make you believe that he did not lure me or trap me using some forbidden magic or trickery?"


    "Do I have to write it with my blood that I love him out of my own free will and not because I was coerced by him?" Warm droplets of tears began flowing down Adeline''s cheeks.


    But she still kept on shouting at her father, "I told you that he makes me happy and without him, my life will be a living Hell. Why do you think I ran away from the Palace the other day? I ran away because I felt miserable without him. Do you want to see your daughter''s dead body washed up in the river''s bank?"


    "Enough!" Dragomir roared in fury and threw a tight slap across Adeline''s face.


    The slap was so powerful that Adeline''s upper body swung to the side with great force. She placed her palm over her cheek and sat down on the floor. Then she began crying hysterically. She had never been slapped by Dragomir, not even once in her life before. And getting hit like this made her feel really sour.


    Dragomir, on the other hand, instantly regretted hitting his beloved daughter. He would never raise his hand on his daughter but when she threatened him saying that he would find her dead body in the river, he could not bear his anger anymore.


    He was greatly hurt by her words because after doing everything to raise her, she was telling him that she felt miserable without the Devil. And he was angry thinking that the Devil had corrupted his daughter''s mind so much that she was willing to run away from the Palace for him.


    Dragomir also crouched down in front of Adeline and hugged her. And he apologized with teary eyes, "Adeline, I am so sorry. I didn''t mean to hit you. Please forgive your father."


    Adeline didn''t say anything and just kept on crying. In the fit of rage, she didn''t even remember what kind of things she had said to her father earlier.


    "Adeline�� I��" Dragomir was trying to say something but suddenly, his old heart could not take it any longer. And he collapsed flat on the floor.


    Adeline was shocked to see her father falling unconscious like that. She instantly went to her father''s side and shook him gently, "Father! Father!" But there was no answer.


    She sat on the floor helplessly and panicked, "Oh dear lord! What have I done?" She then turned towards the door and shouted in a loud voice, "Guards! Call the healers! His Majesty has fainted."

 Chapter 275 - Adding Weight To The Sins

    Lord Bennett had already ordered the servants of the King''s Court to clean a room that was adjacent to his own room. And he assigned that room to Prince Edwin so that he could keep an eye on the Prince if he tried to plot some evil schemes against the Princess.


    Yes, he trusted the judgment of the Princess to take in her brother as her follower. But it was his duty to make sure that no harm would befall her.


    Prince Edwin settled down in his new workroom. He was looking at some files that Bennett had provided him with. And before it was lunchtime, one of the guards of the King''s Court came to his room and informed him, "Your Highness, I am here to deliver a message. Her Majesty Queen Lillian has returned back from her visit to Frostford and is asking an audience with you."


    Edwin''s heart started beating up rapidly when he heard that his mother was back at the Palace and was looking for him. He couldn''t help but feel like he had betrayed her by siding with Adeline.


    He took a deep breath in and said, "I got it. Where is my mother? Is she here?"


    "She has called you in her own quarter, Your Highness," the guard bowed and left the room after getting permission from Edwin.


    Edwin slowly got up from his seat and then thought of informing Adeline before leaving. He was about to head towards Adeline''s room when Bennett got out of his room and asked, "Your Highness, you are going somewhere?"


    Edwin smiled and nodded, "I was going to see Adeline. I have to leave for my mother''s quarter for some time."


    "Princess is not in her room." Bennett informed Prince Edwin in monotone, "She had gone to meet His Majesty but she has not returned yet. I will inform her if she returns back before you do."


    "Thank you, Lord Bennett," Prince Edwin turned around and left to meet his mother while Bennett gave a suspicious look to him for quite some time.


    Prince Edwin got to know from his wife that his mother had left for Frostford about two weeks ago. He felt that something was off because his mother was never the one to stay away from Wyverndale for that long, and that also when his release date was near.


    Just a while ago, he had gone through the trade reports and had noticed that the trade with Frostford had declined significantly. "If Frostford is not trading with Wyverndale then who is it trading with?"


    He sighed and whispered to himself, "I hope that my mother is not doing something stupid. She has already committed enough crimes to be dragged down to Hell. I hope she doesn''t add more weight to her sins."


    A maid announced the arrival of Edwin to Lillian. And as soon as Edwin entered his mother''s private chamber, Lillian flung herself forward and wrapped her son in her arms. She could not contain her happiness when she saw her beloved son after two whole years.


    "Edwin, you have become so thin!" Lillian exclaimed as she could feel that he was not as muscular as he used to be.


    She pulled away from the hug and cupped her son''s jaw. And she looked very worried regarding his health, "Did the guards not treat you well while you were locked up? I used to ask the maids to give the best dishes to you, did they not follow my order?"


    Edwin forced a smile as he could not believe that such a loving mother could commit so many murders. He held his mother''s hands and made her sit down on a chair. He also sat beside his mother and said, "They took care of me really well, more than they should have done for a criminal like me. I just lost some weight because I got lazy and didn''t train myself."


    Lillian gazed at her son lovingly and gave a soft smile. "It''s okay. Now that you are released from the house arrest, you can resume your training again."


    A few frown lines appeared on her forehead as she ran her fingers through Edwin''s short hair. And she asked in a disappointed voice, "And why did you cut your hair so short? It doesn''t look royal at all."


    Edwin gave an apologetic look to his mother and replied, "I didn''t have the luxury to have maids to help me bathe or comb my hair. And I never knew that curly hair needed so much care. So I asked to make it short. It''s much easier to handle the hair now. I like it better this way."


    Lillian didn''t like hearing about the difficulties that her son went through. She clenched her fists and exclaimed all of a sudden. "This is all because of that love child. I should teach her a lesson soon."


    Edwin didn''t want his mother to commit any more crimes than what she already had. He held her hand and said, "Mother, you shouldn''t be pouring your anger on Adeline. I went through all that punishment because I deserved it. Besides, I was not sent to the dungeons even though my crimes were worthy of being sent there. So I am grateful that I didn''t get any harsh punishments."


    "Edwin��" Lillian could not believe that her son was defending Adeline even after what she had done to him. "I thought that you would be angry with everyone that put you through so much trouble. But it looks like the confinement made you go softer."


    Lillian then smiled grimly and reassured her son, "It doesn''t matter. I can understand that the solitary confinement might have changed you to some extent. You can take your time to recover from your punishment. Till then, I will be strong for the both of us."


    Edwin thought of reconfirming the crimes that his mother had committed in the past. But he could not directly ask her how many people she had killed before. So he decided to take it slow and make her open up to him with time.


    Till then, he had to act normally. So he asked his mother, "Let''s not talk about me anymore. Mother, why don''t you share what you did during the time I could not meet you? I hope that you were not too worried about me."


    "Of course I was worried about you. How could I not worry about my child? That is why I have planned something great for you so that you won''t be punished like that ever again." A sinister smile appeared on Lillian''s face after she said that.


    Edwin looked into his mother''s eyes and saw a glimmer of evil. He already had a bad feeling that whatever she had planned would be something bad.


    Lillian, on the other hand, could not wait to share what she had planned for her son and for Wyverndale. And she excitedly informed Edwin, "Son, I have already made arrangements which will eventually make you the King of Wyverndale. How does that sound?"


    "Well, that sounds like you have just sentenced me to death!" Edwin screamed inside his head. He wanted to shout that at his mother for even thinking about that but he had already tried that in the past. And despite his warnings, his mother had already concocted some kind of plan.


    So he stopped himself from acting out rashly and shutting off his mother. He thought that knowing about her plan would make it easier for him to think of ways to stop her.


    So instead, he acted with his calm head.. He pretended to be on board with his mother''s devious plans and asked while showing great interest, "An arrangement that will make me a King? I would love to know more about it."

 Chapter 276 - Lillians Mistake

    Lillian cupped her son''s jaw and gave him a kiss on his forehead. She then gave an approving smile and praised her son, "From the way you had shut me off before you were kept under the house, I was worried that you might have disagreed with my plan. But I was right to make all the arrangements before you were released. Now all you need to do is sit and wait for the right time."


    Edwin did not like the sound of it. Sitting and waiting meant that there were already some people working for whatever his mother was planning.


    So he asked his mother again, "I need to do nothing? Then may I at least know who will be working for us? And how?"


    Lillian gave a sinister smirk and then boasted about her new allies, "I have managed to strike a deal with the new King of Mihir. They will attack Wyverndale within six months and overthrow King Dragomir. Then you will be appointed as the new King of Wyverndale while King Reginald will be the Emperor."


    Edwin was stunned to hear what his mother just said. He was already surprised by the murders that his mother had committed. But now she was even ready to cause mass slaughter just for the sake of satisfying her ego. She was ready to invite war to the same Kingdom where she had spent more than half of her life in.


    "Are you that happy that you are not even able to speak?" Lillian laughed maniacally because she felt that her plan had impressed her son greatly.


    Edwin chuckled nervously and nodded his head. "Yes, I am happy to know that. Why don''t you tell me everything in detail? I think I should know all the details since I am at the center of this war."


    "Yes, of course. You should know all the details." And without even doubting for a second that her son might really not be in her side anymore, she divulged all the details that there were to know about the war.


    The only detail that she did not reveal was the secret of the Royals of Mihir because that was not her secret to tell.


    Other than that, she did not leave out anything.


    The whole time, Edwin did not speak much. He listened to his mother and tried remembering even the tiniest detail so that he could later work on how to deal with that incoming war.


    If it was old Edwin then he would have gladly accepted his mother''s assistance in helping him become the King. But this Edwin knew where to draw lines. He knew that he could never have the throne of Wyverndale in his lifetime. So he was not even tempted a bit.


    Rather, he was worried about the safety of Adeline, which also meant his own safety. Being tied to Adeline meant that his life was hanging by a thin thread. And he was going to do anything and everything to live for one more day.


    He was even ready to sacrifice his own mother for the sake of his selfishness. They say that love is like a river, always flowing downwards. And that was true in his case as well. No matter how much his mother loved him, he loved his daughter more than his mother.


    He wanted to see his daughter grow up. He had already promised his daughter that he would not leave her again. So he wanted to fulfill that promise. Other than that, there was nothing more that he wanted.


    "Oh, I almost forgot! Wait for me here. I have something for you." Lillian hastily went to another room and came back with a plate in her hand. The plate was full of different kinds of handmade sweets.


    She placed the plate on Edwin''s lap and said, "You loved the sweets made by grandmother. So I brought some on my way back from Frostford. Your grandmother is already so old but she never gets tired of making these sweets."


    Edwin felt really guilty for what he was going to do to his mother. He took a piece of sweet and stuffed it in his mouth. And the taste of sweet made him feel very nostalgic. He remembered how he and Alan would steal the sweets and run away. And he remembered how Lillian would hold them by their ears and make them apologize to grandmother.


    He didn''t even realize that his eyes were filled with tears as he chewed on the sweets. He felt as though the sweetness was mocking his bland life. All these years, he ran after something that was never his. And in pursuit of some silly title, he did not even cherish all the small moments that had the real essence of happiness.


    And he felt sorry for his mother because she had not realized until now how she was running after some meaningless things and ruining her own life. Yes, she could not get the love of her husband but she had him and Alan.


    Edwin wanted to hug his mother and say to her that he was there for her. He wanted to ask her to forgo everything, to stop the war, to stop the madness.


    But from what she told him, he knew that it was already too late to stop what was coming.


    "Edwin, are you crying?" Lillian''s voice broke the chain of Edwin''s thoughts and brought him back to reality.


    Edwin smiled and wiped his tears. "I just felt a little nostalgic. I miss grandmother."


    Lillian caressed her son''s cheek and smiled. And she suggested to him, "You should go and meet her then. You can also have a chat with your maternal uncle regarding this war. He is willing to give you full support so it is only fair that you at least go and meet him."


    Edwin nodded his head in agreement. Though his main interest was to talk about the decreasing trade rather than the war. But as he already made his mother believe that he was ready to become the King, he had to play along so that she wouldn''t suspect his betrayal.


    And in order to make her believe that he was in her side, he tactfully disclosed that he was working for Adeline, "Mother, I have also already made some of my own moves. I apologized to Adeline and made her believe that I was willing to be loyal to her."


    He chuckled and continued, "And that foolish girl got so manipulated by my apologies that she ended up promising me the title of her Personal Advisor."


    Lillian raised her brows in disbelief, "She made you her Personal Advisor? Oh, dear! That poor girl!"


    "I have basically wrapped her in my fingers. And with me as her Personal Advisor, I can move her like a chess piece." Edwin gave a wide grin to his mother and Lillian couldn''t be any prouder.


    But only time would tell Lillian how wrong she was to trust her own son.

 Chapter 277 - Old Heart

    Adeline was still with her father who was lying unconscious on his bed. The Royal Healer was examining Dragomir''s body.


    And after the healer was done examining the King, he turned to look at Adeline and asked, "Your Highness, you were with His Majesty when he fainted?"


    Adeline nodded her head and replied, "Yes, I was with him."


    "Was he in some stressful situation before he fainted?" the healer asked non-accusingly.


    Adeline felt a slight pang in her heart after that question. She reflected back upon their conversation for a while from her father''s perspective. Finding out that his daughter is in love with the Devil must have been stressful for him, she thought.


    And she replied while drowning herself in guilt, "I think so."


    The healer stroked his beard and was silent for some time. He was contemplating whether or not to reveal the condition of the King to her but after careful consideration, he finally gave in and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty had strictly forbidden us from revealing his worsening heath to anyone. But I am taking the risk of being stripped off of my position and telling you the truth."


    "What truth?" Adeline asked as a whirlwind of emotions began consuming her.


    The healer took in a deep breath and spoke in a melancholic tone, "His Majesty is suffering from heart problems lately. I came to do a routine check-up just a while ago and I had warned His Majesty to avoid the stressful situations at all cost."


    "You came to check him? His Majesty has heart problems?" Adeline reiterated what the healer told her in order to let the information sink in. And she thought to herself, "And all this time, father hid it from me? Why?"


    And that was not all that the healer had to say. He further spoke in a soft voice, "Your Highness, I took the risk of telling all this to you because you are close to His Majesty and he needs someone who can take care of him. His Majesty cannot be under any stressful situations anymore. He might collapse and never wake up again if the trauma is too much for him to take in."


    Adeline inhaled sharply and held in her breath. Her lips curved downwards and her eye rims were filled with tears. She dug her nails in her palms and did her best not to break down in front of the healer.


    She swallowed her tears and asked, "How long has he been suffering in silence?"


    "It''s been more than a year. I have been giving His Majesty some potions to ease his heart but potions can only do as much. I had suggested His Majesty to hand over the tedious tasks to Your Highness since you will be handling them in the future anyway. But His Majesty has not done that yet I presume." The Healer heaved a sigh of distress.


    Adeline took a glance at her father and asked the Healer, "Isn''t there a permanent cure for his problem?"


    "For now, the only cure is to relieve His Majesty of his worries as much as possible. It would be better if Your Highness can persuade His Majesty into handing over all the works to you." And the Healer hastily added, "And do not tell him anything that might shock him."


    It pained Adeline to hear that. She blamed herself for putting her father in that state. And for the first time, she felt that her father had really grown old. Though he was already in his sixties, she used to feel that her father was the strongest person and could do anything in the world.


    But seeing him like this, she really felt that her father was growing old and she hated it.


    With teary eyes, she reassured the Healer, "I will try to do as you asked. And you don''t have to worry about losing your position. I won''t let His Majesty know that you told me all this."


    She mustered up a smile and thanked the Healer, "And I am really grateful towards you for taking care of my father."


    "It is my duty, Your Highness," the Healer said with a bow. And he informed the Princess, "His Majesty will wake up in a while. I have given some pain-relieving potion to him. And His Majesty''s personal maids are giving him the potions daily. So, he should be fine."


    "Thank you!" Adeline then saw him off.


    She then returned back to her father''s room and sat down on the floor in one corner. She cried silently while looking at her father. She was aware that her father would get sick very often. But she didn''t know the seriousness of his sickness until now.


    Suddenly something struck her mind. "Lillian! Did that witch do something to my father? Like she did with my mother? She better not! Because I am killing that witch if she has anything to do with his worsening health."


    "I should ask Theodore to look into this matter," Adeline instinctively brought her knuckle closer to her lips, forgetting that the ring was not there anymore.


    She exhaled sharply and wished that Theodore would come to her soon. She nervously clasped her hands and whispered, "Where is he anyway? He had already found me by this time yesterday."


    ---


    "Baby brother! I never thought you would come to see me again. Welcome!" Azriel welcomed Theodore as he was drowning himself in the finest and oldest liquor of his collection.


    Theodore winched in disgust and pinched his nose. "Oh Hell! Did you bathe yourself in alcohol or something?"


    Azriel looked at Theodore with his drowsy eyes and answered in a clearly tipsy voice, "Hmm�� why would I bathe in such a rare alcohol?" He chuckled and got up from his chair. And he started walking languidly towards Theodore, "I was just enjoying myself. I was bored out of my mind so I decided to unseal one of my treasured bottles."


    Theodore shook his head in disapproval. He wanted to abandon his brother and go back to his own Cave. But he had to ask a few things to him. And what better time to ask the questions and get the honest answer than when one was tipsy.


    "Brother�� I am feeling so lonely. Why don''t you join me for a drink and talk with me for a bit?" Azriel almost tripped on his own leg so Theodore went to his brother''s rescue and held him before he could fall.


    A wide smile crept up on Theodore''s lips. That was what he wanted to do, not drink but sit with him and talk, so he gladly accepted. "Sure. Let''s have a drink together.. It has been a while."

 Chapter 278 - Drunk

    Theodore led his brother back to his chair and he also sat in front of Azriel. He looked at his brother''s drowsy eyes and thought, "I will have to ask everything before he sobers up. I might have around 15 minutes at most before he regains his senses completely."


    The alcohols didn''t work on ancient beings like them. There was no way that something as simple as alcohol would be able to subdue the immortals.


    Azriel clapped his hands and called his maids, Lara and Tara. They appeared in front of Azriel in no time.


    "We are at your service, Master," both of the maids bowed to Azriel and Theodore.


    Azriel took a sip of his liquor and then ordered the maids, "Open another bottle of my finest alcohol and serve it to my baby brother."


    "Yes, master. We will be right back." The maids left the two of them alone in Azriel''s room.


    Without wasting any time, Theodore started his interrogation of his brother, "Az, I had something to ask you."


    "Sure. Go ahead," Azriel rested his jaw on his palm and kept on smiling at Theodore.


    "Did you put some kind of a curse on Edwin?" Theodore asked without beating around the bush as he had a lot of questions that he needed answers to.


    Azriel closed his eyes and pursed his lips. He kept on tapping on his temple with his finger as if he was thinking something real hard. And after a while, he asked with a bewildered expression on his face, "Who is Edwin?"


    Theodore face-palmed himself and took some time to maintain his calm. And he replied as though he was talking to a baby, "Prince Edwin of Wyverndale�� The first-born of King Dragomir."


    "Ah!" Azriel clapped and took a sip of his alcohol. And then he replied, "Yes, I had put a curse on him. I was very-"


    The maids entered the room. One of them was carrying a tray with a bottle of alcohol. And the other one was carrying a tray with a flask, a glass, and some snacks to go with the alcohol.


    Lara placed the glass, flask, and snacks on the table. And Tara unsealed the bottle that was at least a few hundred years old. She then elegantly emptied the bottle of alcohol in the flask and stood aside.


    As Lara reached out her hand to hold the glass, Theodore looked at her and gestured, "Pour very little for me."


    "Sure, Your Highness," Lara grabbed the glass and poured the alcohol. Then she offered the glass to Theodore. And she also poured some more to Azriel.


    After that, the maids bowed their heads and left the room.


    Theodore took a small sip and then continued with his queries, "So, why did you put a curse on him?"


    Azriel stole some of the snacks offered to Theodore. He munched some roasted peanuts and then answered while making an angry face, "I cursed him because I was very angered!"


    He gulped down the whole glass of alcohol and continued, "I was angered because I saw how that man was�� he was someone who killed and stole other innocent people''s lives. And he torture so many other people�� innocent villagers�� and even Adeline. And I wanted him to pay for his sins. So I turned him into the guard dog of Adeline. I hope that he is serving her. If he is not then I am going to add some more curses."


    Theodore was stunned to hear that from his brother. He was expecting Azriel to confirm his own theory that he did that because he was lazy. Or he expected some other selfish reasons for doing that.


    So he asked again, "Are you sure that is the only reason? Did you not do that because you were trying to�� I don''t know�� trying to prevent some kind of unwanted war that he could have instigated?"


    Azriel raised his brows and looked at Theodore like he had enlightened him. And he exclaimed, "Ahh! That''s brilliant! I never thought of it that way. I just wanted to see that life-stealer living in constant fear for the rest of his stolen life."


    He chuckled maniacally and added, "And what better way to put him in constant fear and torture than by binding his life to someone he hated the most?"


    Theodore gazed at his drunk brother and smiled in disbelief. But he was proud of what Azriel did to Edwin. And he was glad to hear that there was no malicious reason behind cursing Edwin unlike what he did to Adeline.


    "Right! Adeline''s pendant!" Theodore put down his glass and leaned forward. And he asked in a serious tone, "Az, I wanted to ask another thing as well. You cast three spells on Adeline, right? One spell lifted itself. The one sealing her demonic power is still there, which I think is good for Adeline. But what is the last one? Why can''t I see through it?"


    He narrowed his eyes and demanded to know the truth, "Is it another revenge trap that you threw against me?"


    "What?? No!" Azriel instantly denied and frowned. "Do you think I am that petty to have cast two spells just for the sake of getting revenge?"


    "Yes, I do," Theodore replied with a straight face.


    Azriel apologetically puckered his lips, "I get it that you still doubt me and my intentions. I mean, you have every right to do so. But trust me when I say this, that spell isn''t there to harm Adeline, nor is it there to harm you."


    "So then tell me what it is and what it does," Theodore asked as politely as he could.


    Azriel took in a deep breath and widened his eyes with all his might so as to get a good look at Theodore''s face. And then he replied, "It is there for Adeline. If Adeline��"


    Azriel frowned and tilted his head. He grunted a little and blinked his eyes several times. He then looked at Theodore with a confused look on his face and asked, "Theodore? When did you come here?"


    Theodore gritted his teeth in frustration and ran his fingers over his dark hair. "Just when he was saying the important detail, he had to regain his soberness back!" he complained in his head.


    "I came here a while ago." Theodore tapped his foot restlessly. He had tried asking Azriel several times about the spell in the pendant but he had always dodged it. And when drunk Azriel was finally explaining what it was, the sober Azriel was back.


    But he still tried asking anyway, "I came here to ask you about the curse that you put on Adeline''s pendant. I noticed that it was still active. Tell me what it does."


    Azriel pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. And he answered while sounding irritated by Theodore''s question, "I can''t tell you what it does. You don''t need to know the detail. Just know that it is not there to cause any harm to Adeline."


    "Damn it, Azriel!" Theodore slammed his fists on the table indignantly. Then he shouted at Azriel, "Why can''t you tell me what it is? Unless you are trying to deliberately hide something bad that you did to her��"


    "It isn''t anything bad. Just leave it alone, okay?" Azriel also looked cross at Theodore for some reason. He got up from the table and began walking towards his bed.


    But Theodore also got up and grabbed Azriel by his shoulder, "How can I leave it alone when the one that is bearing that spell is Adeline? Either you tell me what it is, or you remove it."


    Azriel just threw Theodore''s hand away from his shoulder and walked away.


    However, Theodore had enough of his drama. He grabbed Azriel''s shoulder again and turned him around. Then he clenched his fist tightly and punched right on Azriel''s face.


    "Don''t you dare walk away without answering me!"

 Chapter 279 - Little Trip

    It was already nightfall. Adeline was already back in her room. She did not feel like eating anything after the incident with her father. So she asked her maids not to bring any food for her. She changed into her nightgown and curled up in her bed.


    King Dragomir had regained his consciousness in the afternoon. Adeline asked how he was feeling and she asked him to rest for a few days. Dragomir denied that but eventually ended up bending to his daughter''s stubbornness.


    The two of them, however, didn''t speak a word about their fight earlier. Adeline didn''t want to be the cause of her father''s sickness while Dragomir wasn''t yet ready to have another conversation about the infamous Devil. And after staying with her father for some time, Adeline returned back to her own quarter.


    Adeline waited for Theodore to show up in her room. Even though she was already feeling sleepy, she kept on forcing her eyes open. She didn''t want to wait for another day to ask the questions that were in her mind.


    "Theo�� please come faster. I need you," Adeline whispered while clutching the pillow that he had used the other day.


    However, no matter how long she waited, Theodore did not come to her room. And eventually, she ended up succumbing to her need for sleep.


    ---


    King Reginald was having a meeting with his Head General and his Chief Advisor. The Head General, Lord Carlos, was giving all the minute details of the war that he and the previous King had put in place.


    Reginald listened to the Head General''s explanation for a while but then he just could not concentrate anymore. The more he listened to the explanation, the more he felt as though the full-fledged war was really unnecessary.


    At last, he could not take the information overload and then burst out, "General Carlos, I appreciate that you and my father prepared all this detailed plan to overthrow the current King of Wyverndale and capture the Kingdom for ourselves."


    He frowned and put forth a big question, "But is this all necessary?" He raised his brows and asked the Head General in a monotone, "Do we really have to go through all that trouble just to capture or kill a single human King?"


    The Head General felt like rolling the map that was spread out on the table in front of him and then smacking the King with it. He knew that Reginald would ask some stupid questions like this so he had already explained at the beginning of the meeting why it was necessary to wage a war against Wyverndale. He had already explained why killing the King without the war was out of the question.


    But he swallowed his frustration and said very calmly, "Your Majesty, killing the King of Wyverndale is not the ultimate goal of the war. The ultimate goal is overtaking the Kingdom."


    "But to claim that Kingdom, all we need to do is kill their King, right?" Reginald twisted the words of the Head General and asked with a chilling smile.


    After all the explaining that Carlos had done, Reginald was still asking stupid questions. So the Head General tried his best to make King Reginald understand again, "Waging war is the proper way to take over any Kingdoms, Your Majesty. We cannot simply go and kill the King at night and say that we now own that nation. Everyone will revolt. No one will accept your rule if you use, what the humans call, a cheap trick."


    "But if you wage a war and win, that will signify that Mihir is stronger than Wyverndale. And the people of Wyverndale will be forced to bow down to you and accept you as their Emperor." Carlos then gave a ''Do you understand or should I say more?'' look to his King.


    Reginald flipped his red hair and sighed. "Alright! Alright! We shall wage a war against Wyverndale. Being the necessary preparations on your end."


    Both Carlos and Horace were stunned by that sudden submission from the stubborn King.


    Carlos had not finished explaining the details yet so he asked a bit reluctantly, "You don''t want to listen to the rest of the plan, Your Majesty?"


    Reginald waved off his hand and said with an uninterested look on his face, "No. You are the one who will be leading the war, not me. I will just enjoy the horse ride along with you all. So, I think it is enough if you know the plan."


    Horace wanted to say that it was the King who was responsible for leading and executing the war. But he stopped himself thinking that the war would be a lost cause if King Reginald was to lead it.


    Carlos looked at Horace hoping that he would enlighten the ignorant King. But he saw the defeated look on the Chief Advisor''s face and he also kept quiet. If being the Head General meant shouldering more than half of the responsibility of the Kingdom, then he was ready to do so. He did not want the glorious Kingdom of Mihir to suffer because of the ignorance of the current King.


    Just when Carlos and Horace thought that the meeting was over, Reginald dropped an explosive on them.


    "Head General, why don''t you prepare a squad of my Royal Guards?" Reginald stretched his arms and added, "I want to take a quick tour of the Kingdom that is soon going to be mine."


    Carlos flared his nose and inhaled deeply. He glanced at Horace again for the support. He was already tired of dealing with the King.


    Horace understood the meaning behind the gaze and finally broke his silence, "Your Majesty, I don''t think that is appropriate. If you-"


    Reginald instantly frowned knowing what he was going to say. So he clarified further, "I am not saying that I want to go there with the full procession. I just want to run there in disguise. I will return back after roaming around for a while. I just want to see how that said Kingdom looks like, especially the people."


    Horace tried really hard to not sound rude and replied to the King, "Your Majesty if you go that Kingdom with your guards then you are bound to look suspicious. Someone might even recognize you. And if words spread and the news of your arrival reaches the Palace, then our whole war plan might be jeopardized. They might suspect that Mihir is planning something big."


    But Reginald was not going to listen to anything that Horace was going to say. Rather he was angered by that old man constantly trying to step on his thrills. So he glared at the Chief Advisor and said with finality, "I am going there tonight."


    He glared at Carlos with his burning red eyes and ordered, "Prepare the Royal guards and everything that is necessary for my little trip."

 Chapter 280 - Emotional Burden

    The birds began to sing the songs near Adeline''s window. They were welcoming the dawn as usual. Adeline abruptly opened her eyes after hearing the birds chirping loudly. She immediately turned to her side but Theodore''s side of the bed was still empty.


    She frowned and thought, "He didn''t come here at all?" And in the next moment, her heart was filled with fear, "Did something bad happen to him?"


    Her heart began to palpitate as she was engulfed with anxiety. Her hands turned cold within a few seconds. She wished that she had the ring. That way at least she could make him appear in front of her, wherever he was.


    She sat up on the bed and rubbed her palm over her heart to calm it down. She took in a few deep breaths but it didn''t seem to work. The knot in her stomach was not going away.


    Adeline pinched herself on both of her cheeks really hard. And she consoled herself, "Adeline! He is the Devil Prince. You don''t have to be worried about him so much. He can take care of himself."


    But a few frown lines appeared on her forehead. And she whispered worriedly, "But there are those who are stronger than him. What if someone attacked him? What if he is lying unconscious somewhere?"


    The anxiety was getting to her. The trauma of having to separate from Theodore for two years had not left her mind at all. And even when she did not see him just for a day, she got this feeling that something was going to happen and the two of them would be separated again.


    "I think I should just head to the training ground and keep my mind occupied," she thought to herself and abruptly got out of her bed.


    Adeline hurriedly changed into her battle armors and then headed off towards the training ground.


    She had a lot in her mind. All that anger and anxiety that were built up inside of her took the better of her and she ended up fighting with Raphael with all her might. She went to strike him even when he was already cornered.


    "Hey, hey! Are you trying to kill me, dear sister? Or did I do something to anger you?" Raphael was stretching his neck away from the tip of Adeline''s sword.


    Adeline then snapped out of her need to destroy something and threw her sword away. She apologized to Raphael, "Raph, I am so sorry. I don''t know what came over me. I did not mean to corner you like this. I��" she wanted to share what was happening in her life recently but she ended up tearing up instead.


    "Ade, what happened? Are you okay?" Raphael asked with a bewildered expression on his face after seeing his sister trying hard to control her tears.


    And as though that question had triggered her, Adeline began crying hysterically. She did not care if her guards were watching her. She had to let out the pent-up emotion that was eating her since yesterday.


    "Adeline��" Raphael immediately wrapped his sister in a hug. He did not ask her to stop crying. He did not ask her any more questions. He could guess that Adeline was really having a hard time. So he just kept on stroking her back and let her cry to her heart''s content.


    Adeline calmed down after crying for quite some time. She felt somewhat relieved after emptying the negative emotions in her heart. She wiped her tears and sat down on the ground. Raphael also sat down beside her and kept on waiting for her to speak up on her own.


    She, on the other hand, really wished that Nigel was here.


    Before, Adeline used to have Nigel by her side. The two shared each other''s secrets and they relied on each other during difficult times. They used to have each other''s back. But she did not have her dearest brother by her side anymore. And she missed him really badly.


    Especially after she went through so many downs in the past two years, she really wanted Nigel by her side. She wanted to share everything that happened to her. And she wanted to share everything that was happening to her. She wanted her brother to comfort her and say that everything was going to be okay soon. But she could not do any of those things.


    She didn''t have a single person with whom she could share everything without worrying about them turning against her.


    Her eyes teared up again. She missed her dearest brother more than she could handle.


    As she was about to break down again, she felt a warm hand on her head.


    Raphael ruffled Adeline''s silver hair and said in a loving voice, "Ade, you know that you can share everything with me, right? You don''t have to endure every hardship all by yourself. You don''t have to carry the heavyweight on your small head. You can share the burden with me."


    Adeline turned to look at Raphael and gave him a weak smile. Even though Raphael was the closest to her after Nigel, she never opened up to him like she used to do with Nigel. She feared that one day, Raphael would also leave her just like Nigel and she did not want to end up losing yet another person.


    But as Raphael said, it was already too hard for her to contain all of her problems in her little head. She needed to share it with someone.


    Hence, she asked him, "Raph, can I trust you with my secrets? No matter how wild and bizarre they sound?"


    Raphael nodded his head and replied reassuringly, "Yes, of course. I will protect your secret with my life. So you can tell me everything that is bothering you. I don''t want you falling sick because of the emotional burden."


    Adeline glanced at her guards and then gestured them to leave them alone. The guards followed the Princess''s order and waited outside the training ground.


    And after they were out of sight, Adeline began sharing everything from the beginning. Leaving the secret about Nigel, she shared everything about Theodore, about Lillian, about their father''s worsening health, and also why she had run away from the Palace that day.


    Raphael listened to everything that his sister shared in awe. Like she had warned before, everything sounded so bizarre and out of the world that it was almost hard to believe. If Adeline had not cried before sharing her secrets, then he would have believed that Adeline was just trying to pull his leg.


    He didn''t even know what to say or not to say. All the information was too much to process in a few hours.


    So, instead of commenting on what Adeline shared, he offered to help her, "You said that Queen Lillian could be imprisoned with the help of other witches, right? Then go and change into a disguise. Let''s go to visit those witches. We cannot let such a monstrous person like Lillian roam freely for any longer."


    Adeline gave a huge grin and nodded her head. "Yes, let''s do that.." She was grateful that he was not judging her and was rather offering to help her out.

 Chapter 281 - Cant Hide A Diamond

    As agreed with her brother Raphael, Adeline returned back to her quarter and then began preparing herself to go to the village to meet Agnes and the other members of the Mystic Coven.


    "Osanna, prepare my usual disguise cloth for me, please. I have to attend something important in the village," Adeline asked her personal maid as soon as she reached her room.


    Her mind was already occupied so the thought of Theodore did not haunt her. She was rather excited to go to the village with her brother. She had been wanting to punish Lillian for her wrongdoings since a long time ago.


    And now that she was shown the path by Prince Edwin, she was eager to put Lillian behind the bars as soon as she could. Like Raphael had said, letting such an evil person roam around freely was a crime in itself.


    "Letting her roam freely will only allow that witch to go around hurting some more innocent lives. And I might end up bearing the weight of her sin for not stopping her even when I am aware of her each and every crime," Adeline thought to herself as she began unbuckling her battle armors.


    "Adeline, here is your gown," Osanna informed the Princess as she placed the gown on the bed. And she asked the Princess, "Adeline, do you want me to inform your guards to change into disguise as well?"


    Adeline raised her brows in realization. In her eagerness to capture Lillian, she had completely forgotten to inform the guards that she was going to the village in disguise.


    "Yes, please inform them to get ready as quickly as they can." She smiled at Osanna and thanked her for her thoughtfulness, "Thank you for reminding me. Else I would need to wait for them to finish getting ready."


    "I will inform them at this instant then," Osanna replied with a smile as well.


    "Oh, and please ask a messenger to wait outside. I have to inform the King as well," Adeline added as Osanna walked out of the room.


    "I will," Osanna shouted from outside the door.


    Adeline then quickly changed into her commoner gown. The gown was soft pink in color that complimented the Princess very well. No matter what she wore, she would turn a few heads because of her beauty.


    She had a small collection of the commoner gown by now as she would need to go to visit the villages and markets very often.


    She preferred going out there silently rather than with a grand procession. The procession would only attract the public''s attention and would hinder her from doing her job, be it investigating some matter or be it checking up on the living condition of her people.


    Hawisa helped the Princess with her hair. She tied Adeline''s hair into a loose plait to make her blend in with the villagers.


    Though sometimes, her silver hair would end up being a dead giveaway that she was the Future Ruler. Some of the villagers seemed to have remembered how she looked by now and traveling in disguise was getting challenging by the day.


    "Hawisa, will you help me find a scarf to cover my head? I stand out too much because of my hair." Adeline asked her maid as she took a glance of herself in the mirror.


    Hawisa could never understand why the Princess wanted to hide her beauty and disguise herself like this. But she had stopped arguing with the Princess long ago. "Sure, I will find something right away," she replied and quickly went towards the Princess''s wardrobe.


    Soon, she took out a scarf that was matching in color with the gown that the Princess was wearing right now. Then she helped the Princess to wrap the scarf around her head.


    And somehow, the Princess looked even more beautiful. Hawisa smiled at the reflection of the Princess and said, "Like I always say, one can never hide the diamond. You look so pretty, Adeline."


    Adeline gave a soft smile and thanked her for the compliment. "Okay, I have to go now. Raphael might already be waiting for me." Adeline then got up from the chair and walked outside of her room.


    As she had asked, a messenger was already waiting outside her door. She briefed the messenger and she sent him to her father and Lord Bennett to inform them that she would be going to the village to investigate some important work and that she would be late for the work.


    "Okay, I guess I can head out now," she thought to herself and walked outside of her quarter. The guards were also ready in their normal clothes and they followed the Princess.


    Adeline met up with Prince Raphael and the two of them led the way.


    Agnes was still running her little fortune-telling place. She had managed to make that place not so popular by making her shop look grim and scary. She did not want the minions of Lillian to find out that the Mystic Coven was still in Wyverndale. And she had been successful so far.


    Adeline would frequent Agnes''s place every once in a while and they had also grown close because of their mutual hatred towards Lillian. So she was trusting of Agnes. Adeline was glad that she got to know their Coven.


    If they would be able to create the magic circle to trap Lillian, then Adeline was planning to invite them into her inner circle. She wanted to surround herself with powerful and trusting people. As a Future Queen, she needed to have a tightly knit group of people that could help her in several ways.


    The Princess''s inner circle consisted of the people whom she trusted the most like Lord Bennett and�� well that was it.


    From today, maybe Raphael could also be considered as a member of her inner circle.


    "Ah! It has been so long since we came to the market together," Raphael said as he inhaled the aroma of varieties of street foods.


    Adeline also copied Raphael and replied, "Yes, indeed. I think we should have a serving of hot dumplings before we return to the Palace."


    Raphael chuckled and agreed, "Let''s try other dishes as well. We haven''t had our breakfast yet anyway. I am famished after that fighting and crying session with you."


    Adeline smacked her brother on his arm and scolded him, "Hey, don''t tease me okay? Else, I will leave you and eat alone."


    Raphael rubbed his arm and playfully answered, "Why do you want to eat alone? Are you afraid that there won''t be enough food for you if I join you?"


    Adeline controlled her laughter and glared at her brother. She shook her head and began walking faster than Raphael.


    "Hey, wait for me!" Raphael also quickly ran after her.


    As they were busy teasing each other, both of them failed to notice a group of men who passed by their side. The one who was walking ahead of the rest of the men had daunting red eyes paired with red hair.


    That man glanced at an equally intimidating man walking beside him and ordered, "Find out who that lady in pink is. And don''t dare to lay a finger on her." A sinister smirk crept on his lips as he said, "I am captivated by her beauty.. I want to turn her into my pet."

 Chapter 282 - Shall Face Repercussions

    Adeline and Raphael reached to Agnes''s place. As usual, the fortune-telling place looked gloomy and dark. And there weren''t any customers who had come to have a fortune reading. The two brother and sister walked inside to find Agnes already waiting for them as if she had already had a vision of them visiting her.


    "Your Highness," Agnes bowed to both Adeline and Raphael and gestured them to come inside to the fortune-telling room, "I would like to welcome you both to my humble place. Please, come in."


    "Thank you, Agnes," Adeline gave a soft smile to Agnes and then followed her inside the room.


    Agnes had already prepared two chairs for the Prince and Princess inside her room. "Please, make yourself comfortable," Agnes gestured towards the chair.


    After the Prince and Princess sat down, Agnes also took her seat.


    Normally, there would only be a chair inside that room so Adeline couldn''t help but ask, "You already knew that we were coming?"


    Agnes smiled at the Princess and confirmed, "Yes, Your Highness. I had a vision not long ago."


    Raphael was curious to know more about the vision and he instantly asked, "How does it work? Did you see us coming here in your vision?"


    Agnes would always find it amusing to see people getting intrigued by her ability and having their own assumption on how it worked. And she was more than happy to let the Prince know how it really worked. "No, I don''t see clear images. I just see it like dreams and I have to decipher the hidden meaning behind those dreams."


    "Then what did you see? And how did you know that we would be coming to see you?" Raphael was even more curious how Agnes would be able to predict things just by deciphering the dreams.


    Agnes gladly explained, "I saw that a man and a woman wearing all white clothes were standing at the edge of a hill. Another man wearing half black and half white dragged a dark sorceress to the edge of that same hill. And the two in whites pushed that dark sorceress down the hill, ultimately sending her to the depths of hell."


    A smile curved up on Adeline''s lips. Though Agnes was speaking a little vaguely, she guessed what and who she was talking about. And if her predictions were to come true, which they did in the past, then it meant that the dark sorceress that she knew was going to be punished for all her wrongdoings soon.


    Agnes then explained how she predicted that Adeline and Raphael would come to see her, "Since there is only one dark sorceress in Wyverndale, I guessed that the sorceress in my dream was Lillian. And since Princess Adeline is in power, I assumed that the woman in white was the Princess. I was not sure about the identity of the two men. But I was sure that I would be visited by the two in white."


    Raphael was still not satisfied as she did not explain why she didn''t think that the third man in her vision would not come to visit her, so he asked the same.


    Agnes smiled and tried to clear the doubt of the Prince, "In my vision, the people wearing dark signifies that they have done something really bad in their life. And they don''t normally come seeking a witch who can look into them."


    "Oh�� that makes a lot of sense now that you put it that way," Raphael nodded his head thoughtfully.


    Adeline, on the other hand, was restlessly waiting for her brother to stop questioning Agnes so much. She really needed her questions about Lillian to get answered if she was to send Lillian to a living Hell.


    And when she found the opening, she instantly shot her own question at Agnes, "Agnes, you are right. We are here to ask a few things that are related to Lillian in one way or another. First, let me ask you this, can the dark sorceress like Lillian become immortal?"


    "Immortal?" Agnes raised her brows and gently shook her head, "I have never heard of any humans achieving immortality, no matter how powerful they are. What led you to ask that? Is she doing something that our Coven does not know about?"


    Adeline took a quick glance at Raphael as she was going to reveal a secret that he was aware of. "Lillian has already transferred the life force of three innocent maids to her son Edwin. And if she could do that for her son, can''t she do that for herself? Won''t she be immortal if she keeps on killing people and stealing their life force?"


    Agnes sat unmoving for a while. The only thing that she was moving was her eyes as if she was thinking something.


    She then took a deep breath in and put her thoughts into words, "I think I once heard that the dark witches and wizards are able to make their soul act as a conductor and transfer one person''s life to another, once in their lifetime. I don''t know how Lillian managed to do it three times."


    Agnes was lost in her thoughts once again and after some time, she added, "And to answer your question regarding whether she can be immortal or not, I don''t think that she can take someone else''s life force for herself. That is against the law of nature and God won''t allow it. There will be repercussions."


    Adeline heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that. She could not even imagine Lillian walking the Earth for centuries to come, causing destruction everywhere she went.


    Then finally, the Princess asked what she actually wanted to ask, "I heard from a source that Frostford keeps their magic-knowing criminals inside a magic circle. You all know how many lives Lillian has already taken. And I think it is time that I punish her for what she has done."


    Adeline leaned forward with a serious look on her face and asked, "Agnes, can you or anyone from the Mystic Coven create such a magic circle to confine Lillian?"

 Chapter 283 - Fates

    "I am glad to hear that you are finally ready to punish Lillian for her deeds." Agnes smiled and nodded, "Yes, there are a few members in our Coven who might actually create a magic circle that will be strong enough to confine Lillian."


    She darted her eyes around and corrected herself, "However, we do not know for sure how powerful Lillian has become. We have been keeping an eye on her and every time we find out that her power is growing at a rapid rate. So, we will have to test her power level by ourselves before we can be sure that we can create the magic circle to trap her."


    Agnes then pursed her lips and said to the Princess, "But I am surprised that even after she killed your mother, you are just trying to lock Lillian up and not sentence her to death."


    She recalled how they had found Esther dead in the river. Just thinking about the dead Coven member made her blood boil. She gritted her teeth and then added, "After all that she has done, even a death sentence will be a light punishment for Lillian."


    "Yes, exactly! Even death will be a lighter punishment for her." Adeline also had not forgotten how Lillian had killed her mother. She had not forgotten how her mother looked like a living dead after getting poisoned by that witch.


    She angrily clenched her fists and then said, "That is why I want to break her first. I want to confine her so that she can reflect upon all of her crimes. I want to remind her every day how she killed each and every one of those innocent people. And I want her to be haunted by the screams and tears of those that she killed."


    "I want her to pay for her crimes in the worst way possible." Adeline looked into the eyes of Agnes and said resolutely, "I know that her greatest weakness is loneliness. And I am going to make her every bit lonely�� until she begs to be killed instead of being confined."


    Agnes smiled at the Princess. She did not want Lillian to get away with some light punishment. She wanted her to suffer greatly. And she was content when Adeline explained how Lillian was going to be tortured.


    "I will talk with the High Priestess about this matter and I will send you a message soon." Agnes then asked the most important question to the Princess, "When are you planning to put Lillian behind the bars?"


    "As soon as you confirm that the members of your Coven can take down Lillian." Adeline did not want to delay it any longer. She had already pushed it far enough already.


    Adeline then recalled what Agnes had said earlier. She was saying that they would need to test Lillian''s power by themselves. "What did that even mean?" she thought and then asked Agnes, "But how are you going to confirm that your Coven will be able to take Lillian down?"


    Agnes trailed her fingers over the orb that was on her table and replied, "We will have to fight her of course. Then only we will know who is more powerful."


    "But isn''t that dangerous? What if she�� kills more of you?" Adeline glanced at Agnes with some worry lines on her forehead. Yes, she wanted to punish Lillian, but not by putting several other lives in danger.


    Agnes smiled and dismissed the Princess''s worries. "This is the very reason why the witches have Coven. We will have each other''s back. We are not going to fight her one-on-one. Our whole Coven will ambush her and then make her show everything that she has in store. That way, we can easily tell if the strongest members of our Coven can create the magic barrier or not."


    After a long while, Raphael finally broke his silence and expressed his concern about how the witches'' were going to test each other''s power. "I am not an expert in the witch matter but�� won''t that alert Lillian that something is going to happen to her? Won''t she be cautious? Or worse, won''t she let the Hell loose and start acting like a rabid animal?"


    Adeline also agreed with her brother in that, "Yes, I was also thinking the same. What if she senses that we are plotting against her and goes on a killing spree? Considering her past history, that won''t be too difficult for her."


    Agnes went into her thoughts. She felt that what the Prince and Princess were saying made complete sense. So she said thoughtfully, "If we cannot subdue Lillian when we ambush her, meaning if she is way too powerful for our Coven to handle then I guess we cannot do much."


    "However, if we feel that she can be subdued, then we will create a magic circle right then and there and capture Lillian." Agnes glanced at Lillian and proposed, "And later, we will have her transported to wherever you ask us."


    Adeline instantly asked, "Won''t there be any problem while she will be transported?"


    "No, there won''t be any problem. That much I can assure you." Agnes looked very confident about that.


    The three of them then began to discuss how they were going to ambush Lillian.


    While Adeline was busy discussing the upcoming fate of Queen Lillian, somebody else was discussing the Princess''s fate elsewhere.


    King Reginald was sitting leisurely in the sun while most of his Royal Guards were busy getting some information about the woman in the pink.


    Finally, a Royal Guard brought a teenager to his King and then asked him to say what he was saying earlier.


    In the hopes of getting a few coins, the boy enthusiastically asked, "You wanted to know about the lady who was covering her hair with a pink scarf, right?"


    After getting a slight nod from Reginald, the boy asked again, "Did you not attend the Royal Procession after she was chosen?"


    Reginald asked with a slight frown, "What do you mean by that?"


    That eccentric teenager then revealed what he knew, "She is our Future Queen! Princess Adeline. How can you even forget that angelic face of our Princess?"


    Reginald''s eyes twinkled after hearing that the woman who he had eyed was none other than the Future Queen of his enemy Kingdom.


    He smiled ear to ear and whispered, "She indeed has an angelic face. Now I almost feel bad for trying to snatch her throne."


    The Royal Guard who had brought that boy tossed some coin to him and he scurried off from there.


    Reginald excitedly got up on his feet and thought, "If she is the Future Ruler of Wyverndale then it will be a shame if I make her my pet."


    He bit his lower lip and whispered, "How about making her my wife instead?"

 Chapter 284 - Cold Hands

    "How about making her my wife instead?" Reginald felt ecstatic just by the thought of making the Future Queen of Wyverndale his wife.


    He turned his pale face upward so that the beautiful sun rays would hit his face. He closed his eyes and got lost high above in the clouds. "If I marry her, then Wyverndale will be mine without having to wage a war or involving the third parties in between. She can look after Wyverndale and I can look after Mihir. Perfect!"


    King Reginald fluttered his eyes open and ordered his Royal Guard, "Gerald, send a message to the King of Wyverndale saying that I would like to have a meeting with him."


    Though the King had just whispered earlier saying that he wanted to make the Future Queen of Wyverndale his wife, Gerald heard it all too clear. And he could tell why the King wanted to meet the King of the enemy Kingdom all of a sudden.


    The Head General had ordered all the Royal Guards to not let the King do anything stupid and impulsive. And though they would have to follow the order of the King before the order of the Head General, the guards were not stupid to follow the order of the King blindly. They all knew how he was.


    And their main duty as Royal Guards was to protect the King from any kind of danger�� even if that danger was the King himself.


    So the Royal Guards politely denied his request, "Your Majesty, I am sorry to say this but we cannot send a message to the King of Wyverndale all of a sudden. We cannot let them know that we are already here in his Kingdom. That will be seen as an act of war. If you want to send him a message then you will have to send it through the proper channel."


    "Proper channel?" Reginald raised one of his brows and gave a questioning look to his guard. He had never sent a message to another Kingdom before to know what he could and couldn''t do while sending the messages.


    "Yes, Your Majesty." Gerald nodded his head and provided his King with the information that he lacked, "You will have to write a letter and put your seal on it. And the letter must be sent here by using your Royal Messenger."


    Reginald clicked his tongue. "What a pity! I came all the way here and can''t even meet the King." He was already eager to meet the King of Wyverndale and ask the Princess''s hand in marriage. He was so bewitched by Adeline''s beauty that if it was possible then he would have loved to take her home this instant.


    Gerald looked up at the sun. It was already midday. So he suggested to the King, "Your Majesty, I think we should now head back to Mihir. If we move now then we can reach the Palace before dawn."


    "Leave now? Why?" Reginald frowned because he was not ready to run back to his Palace when it had not even been that long since they began exploring Wyverndale. "We have so many places to visit. And I have not even gotten any chance to talk to the Princess yet."


    Gerald took in a deep breath and looked down. The King was not going to like what he was going to say. So he cautiously said why they had to leave now, "We do not have the extra stock of potion. The effect of the potion that we took will only last till today so we will have to reach the Palace before dawn to avoid the sun."


    "You don''t have the one thing that we need the most? How could you be so careless?" King Reginald snarled his fangs and glared at Gerald as if he wanted to kill him right then and there.


    Instead of maintaining his distance, Gerald stepped even closer to the King so that no one would be able to see the deadly face that the King was making. "Your Majesty! We are out in the open. Please. You may punish me after returning back to the Palace."


    It was not that Gerald was being careless. But he was not allowed to take extra stock of potion by the Chief Advisor Horace. He did not want the King to linger in the enemy Kingdom for more than a day.


    King Reginald closed his mouth as well as his eyes and calmed himself down. And he gave a warning to Gerald in a threateningly calm voice, "You better be ready for your punishment. I will make sure that you don''t get your daily ration of blood for at least a week."


    Gerald just lowered his gaze and kept silent. He was glad that the King was not creating a scene in the middle of the enemy village.


    Reginald then turned around and began to walk elegantly, with his hands behind his back.


    The only thing that was stopping him from tearing the throat of his guard was the fact that he was still in the area of the Princess. He did not want to create a scene. He was aware that the Princess was still in the village and he did not want her to accidentally see his cruel side. He did not want to leave a bad first impression on her.


    And he was even ready to return back immediately thinking that was the only way he could meet his future father-in-law sooner. He promised to himself that he would send the messenger to Wyverndale Palace as soon as he would reach his Palace.


    The Royal Guards who were scattered around the village slowly began to follow their King.


    Adeline and Raphael finished discussing how they were going to ambush and trap Lillian. And they were walking back towards their Palace while being closely followed by their guards.


    Adeline was already flying in the air imagining the day Lillian was going to be finally punished. She already felt several kilograms lighter. The constant weight at the back of her head seemed to have vanished after planning most of the things about that fateful day for Lillian.


    As she was walking with her head over the clouds, she did not even realize that she was walking straight towards a man with red hair.


    "Ade��" Raphael raised his hand to grab Adeline and pull her out of the way but it was already too late.


    Before Raphael could stop her, Adeline ended up bumping her head on Reginald''s chest. She finally got out of her imagination and apologized while rubbing her forehead, "I am extremely sorry. I was not looking properly."


    "It''s alright, Milady. You''re not hurt badly, are you?" Adeline heard a honey-glazed voice followed by the coldest touch that she had ever felt in her life.


    Reginald lifted Adeline''s palm that she was rubbing her forehead with so that he could check her forehead. He had this belief that humans were very fragile as compared to the likes of them.


    Adeline flinched because of that stinging touch and glanced at the tall man who had dared to grab her hand. He was a good-looking man but for some reason, she felt intimidated by his red eyes and red hair.


    Raphael grabbed Adeline''s arm and puller her to his side. "There''s no need for you to worry about my sister." He gave a menacing glare to Reginald as he did not like that stranger touching his sister.


    Then he gestured to Adeline to walk ahead, "Let''s go!"


    Reginald turned his head and followed Adeline with his gaze for quite some time. He gave a satisfied smirk and then headed in the opposite direction.


    Raphael could see Adeline frowning for quite some time. So he asked, "Is something wrong?"


    Adeline narrowed her eyes and said, "That man earlier�� there is something off about him."


    "Yes, obviously!" He exclaimed and added, "Who holds a girl''s hand like that?"


    Adeline shook her head because that was not what was haunting her. "No, not that.. His hands�� they were stingingly cold�� as if he was not even alive."

 Chapter 285 - The Ring

    Adeline returned back to her own quarter to change out of the gown that she was wearing and put on something more appropriate for her status.


    When she entered her private chamber, she found Theodore sound asleep on her bed.


    She heaved a sigh of relief and tip-toed towards the bed. He looked really attractive when he was sleeping like a baby so she did not want to wake him up.


    However, her plan to quietly watch Theodore was ruined. Theodore opened his eyes almost instantly as a sweet fragrance entered his nose. He gazed at Adeline and gave a soft smile to her.


    "You came?" Theodore stretched his arms and yawned.


    Adeline climbed on the bed and then rested her head on Theodore''s chest. She wrapped him in a tight embrace and whispered, "That was going to be my question. Where were you yesterday? I desperately waited for you the whole day but you never came."


    Theodore put his arms around Adeline''s waist and kissed her head. "I''m sorry. I had a fight with Azriel and I was in a sour mood for the whole day. And I didn''t want my mood to affect yours."


    Adeline raised her head from his chest and looked into his eyes. And she asked with a little frown, "You fought with Azriel? What did he do this time?"


    "Nothing much." Theodore averted his gaze from Adeline''s face and whispered, "Just some drunk talks between brothers."


    "Some drunk talk made your mood sour for the whole day and whole night?" Adeline looked very skeptical.


    A soft smile appeared on Theodore''s lips. He trailed his fingers over Adeline''s lips and said, "I was busy with something else as well. Do you want to know what it was?"


    Adeline innocently nodded her head.


    "Help me get up then." Theodore waited for Adeline to get up and give him a hand.


    Both of them sat down on the bed facing each other. Adeline was ready to hear what he was so busy with that he didn''t even have time for her. If it was something trivial then she was ready to give him a good scolding for making her go through all kinds of emotions.


    Rather than speaking, Theodore put his hand inside his trouser pocket and then took out a small box.


    He handed that box to Adeline with a huge grin on his face and asked, "Open it."


    From the size of the box, Adeline guessed what was inside. She excitedly grabbed the box from his hand and opened it. And as she had guessed, there was a ring inside. It was the most beautiful ring that she had ever seen in her life.


    The ring was carved using a piece of the strongest meteoroid that fell on Earth along with Theodore. It could basically be called a piece of Heaven that Theodore had kept with him for all these years.


    Adeline took it out of the box and gazed at it in awe. She glanced at Theodore very gratefully, "This is so beautiful�� I love it."


    Theodore pointed at the inside of the ring and raised his brows, "Did you take a proper look at it?"


    Adeline looked at the ring again. She could see some carvings inside the ring. She watched it closely to find a portrait of her and Theodore, where Theodore was putting his arms around her shoulder.


    "This is us!" Adeline giggled happily and asked, "Did you make it with your magic?"


    "I took a little help this time. I gave the material to the dwarves in Hell and asked them to forge a ring for you." Theodore lovingly looked into Adeline''s sapphire eyes and added, "I did not want it to disappear again so I wanted to give you something tangible, that was not created by magic."


    Adeline was thoroughly impressed. She could not even comprehend how one could carve such a beautiful portrait in such a small ring.


    Adeline suddenly wrinkled her brows and asked the one important question about the ring, "I can summon you using this ring, right? Or is it not possible?"


    Theodore chuckled because he had already predicted that Adeline would ask that question. He gently caressed her jaw and replied, "Yes, of course. You can call me once a day, just like before."


    "That''s great," Adeline had a wide smile on her face which made her dimples look very prominent.


    Theodore took the ring from Adeline''s hand and slipped it into her ring finger. It fit her perfectly. He then kissed on her knuckles and said, "I wanted to put a ring on you in front of the world. But I just could not wait any longer."


    "I also couldn''t wait to receive the ring from you," Adeline smiled and leaned forward towards Theodore''s lips.


    Theodore also gently grabbed Adeline by her hair and leaned closer.


    They shared a passionate kiss with each other. Adeline then crawled forward and sat down on Theodore''s lap.


    And she hugged him for quite some time. "The more I see you, the more I miss you," she whispered softly and sighed.


    "The feeling is mutual," Theodore replied after giving her a kiss on her cheek.


    Adeline then looked at him and said in a sad voice, "I told my father that I want to marry you."


    Theodore''s eyes lit up when he heard her saying that. "Really?" he smiled and wanted to know more. "And what happened? What did he say?"


    She gave an apologetic look to Theodore. "It did not go that well. My father fainted when he found out that you are the Devil Prince."


    Theodore took a deep breath in and tried hard not to show his displeasure. He forced a smile and consoled his sad woman, "Don''t worry too much. He will come around one day."


    Adeline''s eyes filled with tears when she said in a broken voice, "I don''t think he has much time left for him to come around. The Healer said that he has a weak heart. And even though the Healer didn''t tell me clearly, I could sense that my father''s condition has already worsened too much."


    Theodore felt a pinch in his heart. He could only imagine what Adeline must have gone through yesterday. "I''m really sorry to hear that," he whispered with a heavy heart. "If there is anything that I can do, then feel free to tell me."


    "Actually, yes." Adeline wasn''t already drowning herself in tears because she still had hope that her father could be treated. "Can you look into my father, or Lillian, and find out if Lillian did something to my father?"


    A deep frown appeared on Theodore''s forehead. And he thought to himself, "Did she manage to summon the succubus from Hell again?"


    "Sure. I will look into it. Don''t worry." Theodore gave a reassuring hug to Adeline.


    Adeline also shared what she had planned for Lillian. And Theodore promised her that even though he would not be able to meddle too much in the affairs of the humans, he would be present to make sure that no one that Adeline cared about would get hurt.


    That relieved Adeline''s worry to some extent. "I will go ahead according to our plan then," Adeline said after heaving a sigh.


    After Adeline left for her workplace, Theodore went to give a little visit to the witch that he hated. He was going to look into her memory again to find out what she was hiding.


    He teleported to Lillian''s quarter after toning down his demonic aura. Lillian was lying down on her bed and was taking a nap. Theodore smirked because that would make his job easier.


    He walked closer to Lillian''s bed and glared at the witch who looked evil even in her sleep.


    "Long time no see, Lillian."

 Chapter 286 - Riled Up

    Prince Edwin was restlessly waiting for Adeline to come to the King''s Court. He had to dump all the information that he had managed to extract from his mother. And the secret that he was going to share was so huge that with every passing second, he felt suffocated by it. He wanted to let it all out so that he could finally breathe.


    And the moment he heard the tapping of shoes, he jumped out of his chair and walked out. He saw that Adeline was heading towards her workroom, so he caught up to her and asked, "Sister, can I talk with you. I have a very important and urgent matter to share."


    Adeline could sense the anxiousness that was emanating from Edwin''s body. She instantly nodded her head, "Sure. Please come inside."


    The two of them entered Adeline''s workplace. And before even sitting down, Edwin began to speak, "I met my mother yesterday. And she has joined hands with Mihir to overthrow our father and make me the King."


    Adeline felt as if she was struck by lightning several times. Goosebumps ran all over her body and she shuddered at the thought of the possible war that was going to outbreak.


    "She joined hands with Mihir?" Adeline raised her brows and dug her nails in her palms.


    In another corner of the Palace, Theodore was also simultaneously seeing everything that Lillian had conspired against Wyverndale. Everything that she had done and planned played out like moving pictures in his mind.


    After quite a while, he flung his eyes open and glared at Lillian. He was furious to know that she had planned to bring the war to Wyverndale.


    And that was not it, he also saw her monologues�� her blabbers that she had when she was alone in her quarters. She had planned to use that war as a disguise and kill Adeline and Dragomir even if Mihir did not kill them.


    "This vile woman!" Theodore''s eyes turned burning red. His nails elongated into claws and he reached for her throat, intending to cleanly slice her head off.


    Just when the tip of his nails was about to touch Lillian''s throat, a dark mist covered his body and he got teleported from there.


    Adeline heard all the plans of Lillian from Edwin. She was really glad that Edwin was on her side now. And her trust towards Edwin increased a little as he was not even afraid to throw his mother under the carriage.


    "So what do you think we should do?" Edwin asked Adeline. He had spent the whole night thinking of several ways to protect Wyverndale and Adeline from the catastrophe that loomed over them. And he intended to discuss that with Adeline.


    And without even flinching, Adeline replied, "Prepare ourselves for the war of course."


    She would have loved to discuss it further but something suddenly hit her mind. So she hastily said, "Brother, give me some time to think further about it. And we shall discuss the strategies together."


    "Sure. Call me when you are ready," Edwin got up from the chair and headed towards the door.


    Before he walked out, he turned around and warned her, "And don''t spread this news for now. We cannot let my mother know that we are working together."


    He half-shrugged his shoulders and added, "I mean she knows that I am working for you but I made her believe that I was using you for my own gains and that I am on board with becoming the next King."


    Adeline nodded, "I won''t." She gave him an appreciative smile and thanked him, "Brother, I know all this might have been hard for you since she is your mother. But you are doing the right thing. I am really thankful."


    Edwin gave a sad smile and left the room.


    As soon as Edwin left, Adeline kissed her ring to summon Theodore.


    He had gone to look into Lillian''s memory and she was sure that he would see all the things that Edwin told her. And that made her worried that Theodore might end up doing something that would put him in a difficult situation with his father.


    And as she had suspected, Theodore appeared in the room while baring claws and deadly red eyes.


    Adeline got scared, not because of how he looked but thinking about what he might have done. "Theodore! Did you do�� something to Lillian?"


    When he saw Adeline''s petrified look on her face, he regretted what he was going to do. "No, I didn''t." Theodore averted his gaze away from Adeline and admitted to her, "But I was about to��"


    Adeline grabbed Theodore by his wrist and stared at his claws. Then she looked into his deadly eyes and tried to put some sense into him, "Theo�� you know you can''t do that, right?"


    She put her arms around him and spoke softly, "I don''t want you to face your father''s fury. And I definitely don''t want us to separate again."


    "I''m sorry! I saw things that riled me up," Theodore gritted out those words while still trying not to go back and finish Lillian up.


    Adeline tightened her grip around Theodore''s chest and said, "Theodore, let me handle my own problems. You know I am capable to do that."


    Theodore sighed and whispered, "Yes, you are more than capable. There is no doubt about that. And I am proud to have a brave woman like you in my life."


    He calmed himself down and his claws and eyes changed back to normal. And he asked, "Are you not curious to know what I saw?"


    Adeline finally loosened her grip on Theodore and looked into his eyes. She smiled, not wanting to make him worry too much, and answered, "I am guessing that you saw her plotting against Wyverndale."


    "So you knew already?" Theodore raised his brows in surprise.


    Adeline pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "I came to know just a while ago. Edwin told me everything."


    Theodore was not expecting Edwin to actually be this loyal to Adeline. "Oh! That''s nice to hear."


    Theodore kept on gazing at Adeline to read how she was feeling. But she was not showing any signs of fear yet. "You''re not scared?"


    Adeline took in a deep breath and nodded, "I''m a little bit nervous. But I am not that scared of the possible war, maybe the depth of the situation has not gotten into me yet."


    Theodore knitted his brows in tune and asked again, "No, I didn''t just mean the war�� I meant the war with the creatures of the night."

 Chapter 287 - Creatures Of The Night

    "Creatures of the night?" Adeline had a bewildered expression on her face. "What do you mean by that?"


    Theodore now knew why Adeline was not as scared as she should have been. "You have never heard about them before?"


    "Errr�� no?" Adeline didn''t even know if she had heard that phrase before or not. "Are they some kind of animal?" she asked that because from the sound of the phrase, it certainly sounded like Theodore was referring to some animals that lurked around in the night time.


    Theodore pursed his lips and replied, "Yes and no."


    Adeline was even more confused. "What do you mean by ''yes and no''?"


    Theodore walked towards the chair and sat down. He presumed that he was going to have to explain a lot of things.


    He took a deep breath in and began the explanation, "Creatures of the night are just like humans but an improved form�� or you can also say the cursed form depending on how you perceive them."


    The first thing that came into Adeline''s mind after hearing that was the werewolves. So she tried to confirm that, "You mean something like werewolves? Do they turn into some kind of animal?"


    Theodore had gone to Mihir several times to vent out his anger. And he had come across those interesting creatures several times. So he answered her, "They don''t turn into animals like the werewolves do, but they are the animal. They call themselves Vampires. They pride themselves on being an ace predator. And their main prey is humans."


    "Vampires?" Adeline felt a chill shiver running down her spine. She had heard some bedtime stories from her maids when she was little. She remembered it vaguely but she remembered being scared by the stories about vampires.


    And Theodore was telling her that the vampires were real and that they were the ones who were going to wage a war.


    And that was not it. Theodore kept on explaining more about the Vampires, "They survive solely by drinking human blood. I think there are some Vampires that can stomach human food. But most of them can''t swallow a morsel of human food, especially the turned ones."


    All of a sudden, Adeline felt her stomach hurling and she felt like throwing up. She gagged her mouth with her palm and took a few deep breaths in.


    "Adeline, are you okay? Do you need water?" Theodore looked around for the mug of water but Adeline gestured that she didn''t need any.


    And she asked in a surprised tone, "They drink human blood? How does that make them an improved form of humans?" She glared at Theodore and exclaimed, "They are monsters!"


    "I am not saying that they are not monsters. What I was trying to say is that they are better than humans at most of the aspects." Theodore then clarified, "They can run at a great speed. They are as strong as the werewolves. They have a heightened sense of smell, sight, and hearing. And they don''t die that easily. They can live on for centuries."


    Adeline felt her body warming up and sweating. And the tight-fitting gown was not helping her. "That means they are pretty much invincible��" Adeline sighed and wiped the sweat from her upper lips.


    "Great!" Finally, the depth of the war got into her. She grabbed her hair by both of her hands and closed her eyes.


    If those vampires were as strong as werewolves then making the human soldiers fight an army of them would basically equate to sending them on a suicide mission.


    "We will lose the war if it comes to that, won''t we?" Adeline asked in a defeated tone.


    Theodore grabbed Adeline by her chin and lifted her head up. "Adeline, there is some good news. Not everyone in Mihir is a Vampire. They only have maybe a couple of thousands of Vampire soldiers. And they are the created ones, they aren''t as strong as the pure bloods."


    The information was already too much for Adeline. She sighed in frustration and asked while almost whimpering, "Now what is that? What is created, what is pure?"


    Theodore tried his best not to scare Adeline too much and put it simply, "The pure bloods are those who are born. And the created ones are those who were bitten by those pure bloods and turned into a lesser form of themselves."


    In an attempt to gauge the strength level, Adeline asked her knowledge provider, "So the created ones are not as strong as the werewolves."


    "Er��" Theodore squinted his eyes and slowly revealed, "The created ones are as strong as the werewolves. The pure bloods are as strong as the alpha."


    Adeline let her hands hang loose and leaned back on her chair. She got a really bad feeling about everything already.


    Even though she already felt defeated, she gathered her breath and asked, "How do we know which ones are the created and which ones are the��" she stopped abruptly and corrected her question, "How do we know which ones are the vampires and which ones are not? Do they look different from the humans?"


    Theodore nodded his head. "The major difference is the eye color. All vampires have red eyes. But��" he pointed to himself and added, "But sometimes having red eyes does not mean that they are vampires. The other differences are that they look pale compared to the humans and they are really cold."


    He pursed his lips and told Adeline more "However, in a war, I guess you won''t have enough time to check their eye colors or their temperature. But I bet they will use their abilities to their advantage, like running at a great speed or showing insurmountable strength. So, that is how you know which ones are the vampires."


    Adeline was fisting over her mouth and looked dumbfounded. Theodore thought that this was a normal reaction from her side after knowing about some other-worldly creatures. But he was wrong. That was not why she looked like she had just seen a thousand ghosts.


    "Did you say they have red eyes and they are really cold?" Adeline finally whispered. "How cold? As cold as the dead?"


    And from the look on her face, Theodore guessed that she was asking that from experience. "You''ve already met them, haven''t you?"


    Adeline buried her face in her palms and nodded, "Yes. I met one this morning�� I think they are already making their move. The war is now inevitable."


    Both of them were quiet for quite some time.


    Adeline went down into the rabbit hole of what-ifs. She was trying to think of a way to win the war with such supernatural beings.


    If they were as strong as Theodore had described them to be, then even the seasoned soldiers would be no match for them. And even though there were only a few thousand vampires, they could easily overwhelm the human soldiers.


    Not to mention the fact that they were bringing in two divisions of soldiers, as per Edwin. Who knew how many of them would be vampires and how many humans? The soldiers of Wyverndale would still have to deal with the human soldiers apart from the vampires.


    Adeline felt like her head would burst. So instead, she left this whole matter about the vampires and asked the original question that she had actually wanted to ask Theodore. "Did you find Lillian doing something to my father?"


    Theodore shook his head. "No. All she had done for the past two years is plotted against Wyverndale''s throne. She was planning to take down your father as grandly as she could."


    He refrained from saying that she had planned to kill both father and daughter during the war. He did not want to make Adeline nervous than she already was.


    A frown appeared on Adeline''s face. As opposed to what she had thought, she did not find solace in hearing that Lillian had done nothing to degrade her father''s health condition. Maybe she was hoping that it was because of Lillian.


    She wanted to blame someone than to accept that her father was really getting old. She was not ready to accept that her father had some kind of incurable disease that was slowly eating his life away.


    But suddenly her eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. Adeline looked at Theodore with hopeful eyes and asked, "Theo, will you take my father to your fountain?"

 Chapter 288 - Personal Favor

    "Theo, will you take my father to your fountain? Maybe your fountain can cure his illness."


    Adeline had seen the magic of the Fountain of Eternal Youth with her own eyes. It had cured Theodore''s deep wounds within a matter of a few minutes. And it had also cured her own wounds, not just once but twice. So she had her reasons to believe that her father could be cured even if there were no visible wounds on him.


    However, from what Theodore had heard from Adeline earlier, about the King having a weak heart and fainting because of extreme stress, he thought otherwise.


    But still, he didn''t want to dismiss Adeline''s request. So he nodded his head, "I can take him there�� that is if he will be willing to come with me."


    Adeline had a wide grin on her face. In all that tension that she was having, this felt like a silver lining to her. "Thank you! I will talk to my father and will try to subtly convince him."


    It was already evening and Adeline didn''t want to delay in this matter. She wanted her father to get cured today if he agreed to it.


    So she asked Theodore to quietly follow her. "I will talk with my father right now. Will you accompany me? If he�� faints again then I want you to immediately rush him to your cave."


    "Sure." Theodore got up and straightened his clothes. He also smoothed out his hair and took in a deep breath. For some reason, he felt as though he was going to take the most difficult examination of his life. "Let''s go!"


    Adeline chuckled looking at the way he was behaving so nervously. "Relax, Theo. I will try not to shock my father too much so that you don''t have to appear out of the blue. And if he agrees to go with you, then I will properly introduce you to him a while later."


    Theodore vigorously nodded his head. Adeline''s words didn''t calm him down even a bit.


    Adeline couldn''t help but smile seeing him like that. She held Theodore''s hand and asked softly, "You sure you are going to be okay?"


    "I guess we will find out. Let''s go before I run away," Theodore pressed his lips into a thin line and pulled Adeline out of the room.


    The closer the two of them were to Dragomir''s workroom, the nervous they were. Adeline also couldn''t help but feel anxious because she was going to talk to her father about Theodore, the same topic which had managed to knock her father unconscious for half a day.


    The two of them reached in front of Dragomir''s workroom while holding each other''s hand. Adeline stole a quick glance of Theodore and then left his hand before knocking on the door.


    King Dragomir''s assistant opened the door and greeted Adeline.


    "May I talk to His Majesty? I need to discuss some matters with him urgently," Adeline asked the assistant while trailing her eyes inside the room.


    Theodore was standing beside Adeline like a statue. Of course, no one else except Adeline could see him right now but because of his nervousness, he was pretending to be invisible even though he already was.


    The assistant gently bowed his head and replied, "I am sorry, Your Highness. But His Majesty is not here. He went to meet the Deity late in the morning."


    "He went to the Dragon Crypt?" Adeline was shocked to hear that in his condition, the King had gone on that long journey. That also to meet Azriel.


    "Yes, would you like to leave a message for His Majesty? Or Your Highness can tell me if it is something that I can help you with," the assistant gestured his hand inside the room and added, "Would you like to come inside?"


    Adeline shook her head. "No. It is something I need to discuss with His Majesty. I will find him later then. Thank you!"


    Adeline swiftly turned on her heels and walked towards her own room. She clasped her hands together because she was now really worried. She was worried that her father went there to ask something to the Deity that she would not like.


    "Else why would he go there the very next day he finds out that I am in love with the Devil?" she thought to herself.


    She bit the inside of her lower lip and glanced at Theodore. He also had a few worry lines on his forehead.


    As soon as she and Theodore entered the room, she locked the door and asked, "Theo, will you go and check what my father is up to? I have a very bad feeling about this."


    ---


    After the long and tiring journey in the carriage to the Dragon Crypt, King Dragomir was looking up at the steep hill that he still had to climb in order to meet the Deity.


    However, he was surprised when Azriel suddenly appeared in front of him. "Dragomir! What a pleasant surprise!"


    Dragomir was also surprised to see the Deity coming down to receive him, which was very unlike him. He bowed his head to the Deity. "Likewise, Dragon Immortal."


    All the Royal Guards behind Dragomir also bowed their head in awe. It was very rare for them to get to see their Deity.


    Azriel smiled and held out his hand for the King to hold. And he said, "I could not bear to make you walk this hill now that your hairs have become grey."


    "That is very considerate of you, Dragon Immortal," Dragomir gratefully replied as he gently placed his palm on the Deity''s hand.


    In an instant, Azriel teleported Dragomir to the meeting room where they would usually chat. He asked his maids to serve tea and then asked the King, "So, what brings you here, Dragomir? Is everything fine with the Kingdom?"


    Dragomir was not yet aware of the misfortune that was about to befall his Kingdom. So he nodded his head, "Yes, the Kingdom is fine, Dragon Immortal. I came here to ask for a personal favor."


    "Oh! I would be happy to help you with anything. Please, feel free to tell me what troubles you." Azriel leaned back comfortably on his chair and waited for Dragomir to talk.


    The maids came in with trays in their hands. They served hot chamomile tea to the King as well as their master and left the room.


    King Dragomir was darting his eyes around, trying to think of a way to tell what he had actually come here for. There was no easy way to tell it so he just blurted out, "The Devil that lives on the Hill of Grimmer Death has done some kind of trick on Adeline. She told me yesterday that she wants to marry him."


    He then joined his hands together and pleaded to the Deity, "Please, Dragon Immortal, will you do something about it? I cannot let my daughter ruin her future. Will you please lift whatever spell that Devil has used to corrupt my daughter''s mind?"


    Azriel could not even look Dragomir in the eyes when Dragomir asked that favor from him. He grabbed his cup of tea and began to slurp it noisily.


    If only Dragomir knew�� that it was not the Devil but it was the Deity who had actually cast spell on his daughter��

 Chapter 289 - Vouching

    Dragomir kept on staring at Azriel with hopeful eyes. He was waiting for Azriel to say something but Azriel just kept on drinking his tea, even when the tea was burning hot.


    He had already butted in the love life of his brother once and he did not want to make the same mistake again. That was why he was thinking of avoiding Dragomir until he gave up and went home.


    However, Dragomir''s eyes never left Azriel''s face. He was looking at him with so much intensity that Azriel finally put his cup down and sighed.


    And he said with a serious tone, "That Devil that you are talking about is my younger brother."


    Dragomir''s jaw almost dropped down to the floor. He didn''t even know how to feel or react to that recent discovery. Hell, he could not even believe that. How could he? One of the brothers was their Deity that everyone worshipped and the other was the Devil that everyone was scared of.


    Azriel looked Dragomir in the eyes and then spoke on behalf of his brother, "And I can assure you that my brother has not cast any kind of spell on Adeline, neither has he done some trick on her. They both love each other very dearly and I am the witness of their love."


    The King was stunned to hear that the Deity already knew about the love between his daughter and the Devil Prince.


    And he also suddenly felt really guilty for having accused Theodore of doing voodoo on his daughter. And to add to that guilt, he even talked badly about his Deity''s brother right in front of him. He accused Theodore of doing some trick on Adeline without even investigating it properly.


    He lowered his head in front of Azriel and apologized, "I am extremely sorry for accusing your brother, Dragon Immortal. I am but a father. And I could not help but worry about my daughter''s association with the infamous Devil."


    Azriel did not want to mess up again so he quickly tried to speak good about Theodore. "A human of your caliber should never believe in rumors, Dragomir. My brother is nothing like your folklores portray him to be. He is a gem. I think you should give Theodore a chance to impress you and prove himself worthy of your daughter."


    However, Dragomir was still not ready to accept Theodore as his daughter''s suitor, not even when the Deity himself told him otherwise.


    So he expressed his concern openly, "Dragon Immortal, a mere human like me is daring to speak up against your brother. I don''t think that the two of them belong together. They belong to two completely different worlds. How will their relationship ever work? It will only pain both of them in the end."


    Yes, Azriel knew what Dragomir was trying to say. But he still spoke for the two love birds, "Dragomir, does it matter how much time they get to spend together if they are so much in love?"


    He leaned forward and reminded Dragomir of his own love, "Do you love Auvera any less because you got to spend only a few years with her?"


    Dragomir averted his gaze because Azriel was speaking the truth. He still loved Auvera more than anything and anyone in the world. It didn''t matter if their time together was just a few years. Those few years of memories with her were precious enough for him to live on.


    Azriel could tell that he had hit the right spot of Dragomir. He softly smiled and continued, "No, right? I bet you would have married her even after knowing how much time she had left."


    Dragomir swallowed his tears and whispered in a sad tone, "Yes, I would have married her even if someone told me that I would only get to spend an hour with her."


    "See�� It is the same with Adeline and Theodore."


    Azriel''s eyes dilated making him remember his own distant memory, no matter how one-sided it was. "They love each other so much that their love can last till eternity even if one of them will perish away." His eyes rims glistened with tears as he said those words.


    Dragomir reflected back to yesterday when Adeline had told him about Theodore. He did not want to take Adeline seriously but from the way Adeline talked about Theodore, it felt as though she was head over heels for him. And from the way his Deity vouched for their love, he could tell that the Devil also loved his daughter very dearly.


    Azriel could see that Dragomir''s heart was growing softer for the couple. So he added some more butter, "Adeline and Theodore already have my blessing. If Adeline says that she wants to get married to my brother, then I am ready to bear witness to their holy matrimony."


    He clapped his hands as though he just realized something amazing. And he exclaimed, "This marriage will turn you and me into relatives! How wonderful is that?"


    After seeing his Deity already excited for the marriage of his brother, Dragomir did not have the heart to act aloof and cold towards his daughter''s choice.


    So he decided to give a chance to the Devil Prince. He smiled and said, "I will meet the Devil Prince soon and decide on this matter."


    "Great!" Azriel had this different spark on his face, almost as if he got some new purpose in his eternal life. "Do you want me to arrange a meeting with my brother? I don''t want to make it difficult for you so my brother and I can visit the Palace to talk further about this marriage."


    The only times Azriel would visit the Palace was when he would come to pick up the candidates for the test.


    And Dragomir was not going to say no when his Deity was saying that he was going to come to the Palace for some other purpose. Even if the talks about the marriage would go south, he would still get to host his Deity.


    So he gladly accepted, "I would love to welcome you and your brother to my humble Palace, Dragon Immortal."


    "Okay. I will talk with my brother and inform you about the details later," Azriel replied with a wide smile on his face. He could not wait to take Theodore to Wyverndale Palace and properly ask Adeline''s hand in marriage for his brother.


    After having a chat for some more time, Azriel dropped the King in front of his carriage that was waiting for him at the foot of the hill.


    He then returned back to the same meeting room and shouted, "Hey, how long are you planning on being a statue?"


    He squinted his eyes to take a good look at Theodore''s face and poked him on his chest, "I can''t tell if you are petrified or if you are extremely happy by the talks of your marriage."


    Theodore had arrived there when the King and his brother were talking about him and Adeline. He had been quietly standing in one corner of the room while even controlling the sound of his breath. And he had heard most of the talks between Dragomir and Azriel.


    And all of a sudden, Theodore hugged his brother tightly and whispered in a broken voice, "Why do you always have to be the bigger angel, Az. Why do you have to do so much for me? Why can''t you simply let me hate you? Hating you is so much easier..."


    He gulped and whispered as a drop of tear fell down his eyes for the second time in his life, "I am sorry. I am so sorry for hating you..."


    Azriel''s eyes were also filled with tears.. But he pretended to chuckle and taunted Theodore, "Oh, don''t cry! You''re such a baby."

 Chapter 290 - Learning More

    While Theodore was away, Adeline was panicking more and more. She was still in her workroom, pacing back and forth until her legs felt numb.


    She was dying to know why her father had gone to Azriel''s place. She felt as though her heart was beating in her mouth. She did not want her father to join hands with Azriel and do something to separate her from Theodore once again.


    She did not have the energy left in her to go through the separation again. She thought that she would rather die and go to Hell to be with Theodore than to live and stay apart from him.


    After about an hour, Adeline felt that neither her father nor Theodore were returning any time soon. So instead of pacing back and forth in her room, she thought of gathering some information related to Mihir and the vampires. She wanted to distract herself from the horrific thoughts that she was having.


    So she called Bennett in her room and asked, "Bennett, how much do you know about the Kingdom of Mihir?"


    Bennett readily answered, "I just know a few things. I know that Mihir has never been friendly with any of the Kingdoms of this continent. They never opened the trade with us, but the trade was never possible because of the geography anyway. I heard that they trade with Kingdoms overseas but I don''t know for sure."


    However, those were not the answers that Adeline was looking for. So she asked a more specific question again, "Do you know anything about the creatures called vampires?"


    A frown appeared on Bennett''s calm face. "Vampires? Aren''t they the creatures found in folklore and bedtime stories?"


    For the first time, Adeline found something that Bennett didn''t have much knowledge about. She smiled. She did not want to send panic to everyone just yet.


    So she simply said, "Yes, they are found in folklores. I was curious to know more about them. Can you help me find some manuscripts about them? You know, maybe about possible sightings of them or something like that."


    Bennett was quick enough to notice that the Princess was keeping something from him. But he did not want to question her unless she was willing to share the information with him. "I think we have some manuscript that claims the supernatural creatures to be real. I will look for it and bring it to you."


    "That would be great!" Adeline sat back on her chair, not intending to leave the workroom before reading more about the vampires.


    After quite some time, Bennett returned back with old-looking manuscripts with him. "I found a few of them that mentions the word vampire. I hope that they will be helpful."


    "Thank you, Bennett." Adeline looked outside her window. It was already getting dark so she ordered her assistant, "I think you should take a leave for today. Sorry for keeping you here until it is this late."


    "You don''t have to apologize to me, Your Highness. It is my duty to serve you. And I would rather help you with your work than to sit idly at home." Bennett smiled politely and gave a gentle bow.


    After Bennett left the room, Adeline immediately turned the pages of the manuscript.


    "Red eyes, cold body�� I already know that much." She skimmed through the lines, trying to search for something that she didn''t already know.


    She wrinkled her brows while reading the next paragraph, "Vulnerable to sun�� hmm�� this is new." She then reflected back to her meeting with Reginald. "But that man looked perfectly fine in the broad daylight."


    Adeline sighed and thought, "Maybe I should not believe everything that is written here." She tapped her fingers on the table and whispered, "Or maybe, I should confirm it with Theodore. He seems to know an awful lot about them."


    She shuffled through the pages until her eyes fell on an interesting topic - ''Ways to kill the vampires''. Her eyes lit up when she found that topic.


    "Yes, I need to know this," she whispered to herself, and then she kept on reading several bullet points, "Drive a wooden stake through their heart. Pull their heart out of their bodies. Separate their head from their bodies. Burn them in the sun."


    After reading the last point, something suddenly dawned upon her. "Is it possible that the sun is really their enemy? Why do I feel like they are going to attack us during the night?"


    She thought for a while and noted in her mind, "I should ask Edwin to find the precise time they will be attacking us. They can see even during the night so attacking at night shouldn''t be any problem for them. That will be a problem for our soldiers though."


    Adeline leaned back on her chair and sighed deeply. The more she learned about the vampires, the more she was feeling defeated before they even fought the war.


    "I need to sort everything out before they can commence their ''sneak attack'' or else Wyverndale will suffer."


    She looked outside her window at the dark night. "It would have been great if humans could also see in the dark��" she pouted. She complained to God in her heart for making his superior creation, namely humans, so weak and vulnerable to so many creatures.


    Adeline saw a cat''s glowing yellow eyes as it passed by her window. "Even cats can see well than humans at night�� and wolves�� wait!"


    She jumped up from her chair in delight. "Wait! Wait! Werewolves can also see in the dark and they are as strong as vampires. Oh my God! Why didn''t I think of this sooner?"


    And she suddenly came up with a plan, "I should go and visit Aberdeen. I need to ask for their help. Our soldiers will be massacred if I send them to fight those bloodsucking monsters. The werewolves should be able to fight on par with those monsters."


    "But how do I ask for a favor when they think that their secret is very well-protected?" Adeline frowned and sighed, "I think I should talk with brother Nigel first. Maybe he can convince the alpha to fight for us."


    Adeline walked towards the door while thinking, "Yes, I should visit Aberdeen soon. The vampires have already started preparing for the war. I should do the same."


    As Adeline was about to open the door, Theodore suddenly appeared in front of her, startling her to her core. She inhaled sharply and whispered, "Theo! You scared me."


    "I''m sorry," Theodore was smiling ear to ear. In the next moment, he picked up Adeline in his arms and kissed her passionately.


    Adeline didn''t know what was going on but she kissed him back with equal passion. The warm touch of his lips swept away all her worries and troubles in no time. She felt at peace.


    After a while, Theodore pulled away from the kiss and looked into her ocean-deep eyes. Her eyes reflected the vast love that she had for him. He gave a soft smile to her and asked, "Adeline, do you want to hear the extremely good news?"


    Adeline smiled and nodded her head. "You''re asking me if I want to hear good news amidst all the bad news that I have been hearing lately? Of course. What is it?"


    He pecked her soft lips again and gave her the good news, "Your father has agreed to have a meeting with me.. I will be coming to ask your hand in marriage in a few days."

 Chapter 291 - Withdrawal

    Adeline could not even believe her ears. She widened her eyes and stuttered, "Wh- whe- how��"


    She sighed and pressed her lips into a thin line. She was feeling all kinds of emotions at once. She was feeling happy, excited, nervous, scared, and whatnots. And she didn''t even know what to say. It was like she forgot how to speak all of a sudden.


    Theodore looked at her and kept on chuckling. "I like it when I make you go speechless. You look really cute," he spoke under his breath and teased Adeline.


    Adeline got down from his hold and then finally asked, "When did this happen? And how did my father agree to meet you? Did you meet my father in the Dragon Crypt?"


    "Shall we teleport to your room first? It is already late." Theodore had a lot to say so he wanted to lie down on the bed while having a further conversation.


    Adeline was also already tired of sitting on the chair, wearing a tight gown. "Yes, let''s go to my room first. But let''s walk there. Else the guards will think that I am still here."


    "Okay, we walk then," Theodore smirked and put his arm around Adeline''s shoulder.


    Then the two of them headed towards their comfort zone where they could talk freely and do everything that they pleased.


    ---


    It was already very late at night. All the people were sound asleep in their own homes. Not a single sound could be heard except that of the wild animals and crickets.


    However, the night was still young for the creatures of the night. No matter how dimly lit the sky was, they could still enjoy the beautiful scenery around them even in the darkness.


    King Reginald and his Royal Guards were running back to Mihir at a great speed. They were whooshing past the villages and forest of Wyverndale as though they were a gust of wind. If a human was watching them run then they would not be able to see more than a passing blur. They would just feel the pressure of wind as the vampires would run past them.


    They crossed the distance which would have taken 2-3 days in a carriage in just a couple of hours. And as the Royal Guard had said, they reached at the Mihir Palace before the first ray of sun could touch their bodies.


    Reginald swooshed past the guards of the Palace and reached to his throne hall followed closely by his Royal Guards who had accompanied him to Wyverndale.


    He was standing in the middle of the hall. And when the guards also entered the hall, Reginald swiftly turned around and clutched Gerald by his throat.


    "Alright, Gerald," Reginald glared at his guard with his glowing red eyes that were full of anger. And he minced the words through his fangs, "Now tell me, who ordered you not to take the extra stock of potion that protects us from the sun?"


    "I for-forgot, Your Majesty," Gerald was already suffocated. The veins on his face looked as though they would burst open at any second now.


    Reginald lifted Gerald with his single hand and threw him to the wall. A few pieces of the wall crumbled down along with Gerald.


    Reginald was in front of Gerald in a flash and he lifted that poor guard holding him by his collar. And he shouted furiously, "Do you think I am that stupid that everyone can still treat me like a baby? I just pretend to be stupid because I am too lazy to handle this Kingdom. But now I am done playing dumb."


    The King bared his fangs and snarled, "Now I am asking you nicely again, whose orders were you following? And why?"


    Gerald did not dare to lie to the King again. So he replied truthfully, "The Chief Advisor did not allow us to take the extra stock because he did not want us to spend more than a day in the enemy Kingdom. He was worried that we would get ourselves into trouble if we stayed there for longer."


    Reginald pierced a small hole in Gerald''s throat and asked again, "Are you sure that is the only reason? Are you sure you all were not conspiring to get me killed?"


    Gerald was in pain but he winced and spoke through his pain, "We would never conspire against you, Your Majesty. We all greatly worry about your safety."


    Even though it was way too early in the morning, Horace was still in the Palace, waiting for Reginald''s return. And when he heard the commotion in the throne hall, he came running, as fast as a human could run.


    "Your Majesty! Please leave your guard. He was just following my orders." Horace guessed why the King was that angry so he tried to protect the guard from being ripped off by the King.


    However, he himself invited the wrath of the King upon him. Reginald choked the frail human with his strong palm and scolded him, "Why would you deliberately try to sabotage my plan to roam around Wyverndale when I had clearly told you that I wanted to spend some time there?"


    Reginald had never behaved this aggressively before. On the way, all he could think about was how he did not get to spend some more time with Adeline. That one touch of Adeline made him want more of her.


    And he felt angry that he could not spend more time in Wyverndale. The further he got away from Wyverndale, the furious he was getting. If only he had some potion, then he would have returned back to Wyverndale, broken into the Palace, and looked for Adeline.


    Something about Adeline was pulling him. He didn''t know if it was just her beauty or if it was her blood as well. But what he knew was that he wanted her. And having to run away from that woman just after one meeting made him want to kill everybody.


    Horace was also equally furious as Reginald. He had always put up with the King''s harsh words thinking he was still a kid. But now he had enough. He didn''t care if Reginald was the King.


    He desperately tried to break off from the grip around his neck and he tried to speak aggressively even when he was being choked by the Vampire King, "I did what I did because you tend to act impulsively like a teenager�� just like how you are acting right now. Can you even call yourself a King when all that you do is play around and kill�� both people and time?"


    "How dare you speak like that to your King?" Reginald tightened his grip around Horace''s neck even more. He snarled at the poor man and glared at the bulging veins on his neck as if he was about to dig his fangs and drain that old man out of the blood.


    But he closed his eyes and stopped breathing like he was fighting against himself, like he was trying hard not to give in to his urges.


    Horace, on the other hand, was gasping for air and was fighting for his dear life.


    All the Royal Guards were helplessly watching the Chief Advisor being strangled by their King. They did nothing to save that old man. They did not want the same fate for themselves by trying to get in between them.


    Thankfully, before Reginald strangled Horace to death, the words from Horace finally managed to get inside Reginald''s lovesick mind.


    Yes, his words were true. All that he ever did was play around and kill. And he was going to kill one more. Horace''s face had already turned red because of the lack of air.


    Reginald quickly pushed Horace away from his grip and turned away to calm himself down.


    Horace gasped for air and coughed violently after being released from that coldest grip.


    After getting enough air, he resumed back to shouting at the King, "Do you even care about this Kingdom, Your Highness? Do you even know how careless it was of you to run to the enemy Kingdom? People could have recognized you. What if you unintentionally revealed your secret? Or worse, what if you had encountered the Devil of Wyverndale?"


    Reginald turned around and furrowed. "Devil? What Devil?"


    To the Royal Guard''s relief, the King did not jump at the Chief Advisor again.


    Reginald then chuckled all of a sudden and mocked his Chief Advisor, "Don''t tell me you believe in some stupid stories that my grandfather used to tell.. There is no one who is stronger than us Vampires."

 Chapter 292 - Two Options

    "There is no one who is stronger than us Vampires," Reginald flashed a proud smirk.


    However, Horace did not share the same thought as Reginald. So he countered the King''s words while gently rubbing his neck, "With all due respect, Your Majesty, this world is a vast place. There are creatures and beings that are beyond our imagination. And among them, there are bound to be some creatures that are even stronger than the vampires."


    But Reginald just laughed it off. "I will believe it after I meet someone like that. For now�� let''s have a little chat, Lord Horace. I have an amazing plan for the expansion of our Kingdom."


    Horace was sure that he was going to suggest something stupid again. But he agreed with the King anyway. It was not like he could say no.


    Before leaving the hall, Reginald looked back at his Royal Guards and ordered them, "All of you can go and rest for now."


    He also added in a threateningly chilling voice, "And let today be a reminder for you all that you are to follow my orders and not this old man''s. If you dare to do this again then all of you will be facing serious consequences."


    "Yes, Your Majesty," the guards bowed to their King and then ran from the hall in an instant.


    The King and the Advisor went to one of the meeting rooms. Both of them settled down and Reginald began sharing what he had in mind with a subtle smirk on his face, "Chief Advisor, I think my trip to Wyverndale was a fated one. Do you want to know who I came across while I was there?"


    "Who?" Horace asked with a bad feeling already overtaking him.


    Reginald smiled and ran his fingers through his red hair. "I came across the Future Ruler of Wyverndale."


    Horace had an ''I knew you would get yourself into some trouble'' look on his face.


    Before Horace could scold his King again, Reginald shared further, "When Queen Lillian had described the Future Ruler of Wyverndale, I thought that she would be some unlikable girl that everyone hated. But that didn''t seem to be true at all."


    "She is a captivating young lady who is adored by the people of Wyverndale," Reginald''s face turned softer as he recalled his fateful encounter with the Princess of Wyverndale.


    The last line of the King was enough for the wise old man to realize what was in the King''s mind. He could tell that his King was smitten. And from the way he was leading on the conversation, it was not hard for him to guess what he was going to suggest.


    And he asked his King, "So, are you suggesting a political marriage between you and the Future Ruler of Wyverndale?"


    "Ah! You can read my mind, Lord Horace." Reginald gave a huge grin. "What is the point of going through a huge war if the same result can be achieved without going through all that trouble? And to add to that, I will also get a lovely wife. So I see this option as a win."


    King Reginald spoke some wise words which the Chief Advisor could actually agree to. "That is actually not a bad idea, Your Majesty. There won''t be any chance of future revolts or disputes from Wyverndale''s side if both the Kingdoms are unified through the marriage."


    "Exactly." Reginald leaned back on his chair and dreamt about his future with Adeline.


    He shared what he had already planned for Wyverndale and his dream wife, "And since she is already chosen as the Future Ruler and also accepted by the people already, she can handle the responsibilities of Wyverndale as the reigning Queen."


    Horace was constantly being impressed by the King. "That is also a wonderful thought, my King. That way, your burden will be lessened. And since she is supposed to rule the Kingdom anyway, and since she knows her Kingdom better than we do, making her the reigning Queen of Wyverndale will be beneficial for both the Kingdoms."


    "So the wise man agrees with me, right?" Reginald was glad that he did not need to coerce Horace into agreeing with him.


    Horace nodded his head, "Yes, I agree with you, Your Majesty." But then his facial expression changed and he expressed his concern that was at the back of his head, "What shall we tell Queen Lillian, Your Majesty? Won''t she be offended if we cross her and try to make a deal with the King instead?"


    King Reginald shrugged his shoulders. He could not care less about offending someone. "We cannot lead a war just because we do not want to offend someone now, do we? We have to do what is best for us. And among the two options, this marriage is the best option."


    He then furrowed his brows and added, "And besides, I heard that some kind of test was held for the selection of the Future Ruler and that Prince Edwin had failed the test. How can we hand over a Kingdom to a failure?"


    Lord Horace nervously clasped his hands together and said, "Your words are true but that someone that we will be offending is one of the most powerful dark witches. And she even supplies your potions, so I think we should try to carefully call off the deal before we proceed further with this political marriage."


    "Yes, I am very much aware of who that witch is." He rubbed his sharp fang with his thumb and said, "But she is one and we are thousands. We can easily get rid of her if she tries something funny."


    Reginald cracked his knuckles and added, "And about the potion, yes her potions work better. But now that we have more than enough for a sample, we can ask the other witches to concoct something similar."


    Lord Horace read between the lines and answered, "I will send the samples to the witches we know and I''ll have them look into it."


    He then took a deep breath in and corrected the King, "But it is wrong for you to assume that she will be the only witch that we will be offending if we call off the deal. She is the sister of the current King of Frostford. And Frostford is full of witches and wizards."


    Reginald narrowed his eyes as the depth of the situation dawned upon him. "Hmm�� That I did not think about��"


    However, he was already hypnotized by Adeline. And he had already made up his mind about what he was going to do. So he stated unwaveringly, "Well, we are calling off the deal with that witch no matter what. Though let''s think of a peaceful way to do that if possible. I don''t want those witches hurting us with their magic. I heard that their magic can be real nasty."


    "I will see what we can do about that deal with Queen Lillian," Horace agreed to help the King to get a wife along with the control over her Kingdom.


    King Reginald then looked at his Advisor and asked his opinion, "So, when do you think we should approach the King of Wyverndale? Shall we approach him after calling off the deal with his wife? Or can we go ahead with it immediately?"


    Horace tapped his foot on the floor and thought about it for a while. Unlike Reginald, he was in no hurry to welcome the new Queen to Mihir.


    So he gave a well-thought-out solution to his King, "I think we should call off the deal first. And we should also wait for the right opportunity to talk with the King because there is always a chance that he could say no to the marriage or to the meeting itself."


    "So in order to avoid the rejection, we should contact them at the right time.." Horace then advised the King regarding their immediate step, "For that, we can send some spies to Wyverndale to keep track of their activities closely."

 Chapter 293 - Meal

    King Reginald was a little disheartened for having to wait some more before he could finally send the messenger asking to have a meeting with the King of Wyverndale.


    He was already dying to dig his fangs on Adeline and savor the sweet taste of her blood. "I guess that will have to wait for now."


    After a day without the sweet taste of human blood, he was starting to get a little cranky. And he did not want to lose control like before and end up sucking the old man dry out of the blood.


    He hastily rushed out of the meeting room after the discussion with Lord Horace was over. He wanted to get to his bedroom as soon as possible.


    Though he had a specific taste in the human blood and would never drink from anyone except his favorite human pets, it was not impossible for him to lose control after going without his tasty drink straight for a day.


    "Good morning, Your Majesty," a beautiful maid who was standing in the torch-lit corridor outside of the King''s bedroom welcomed the King.


    Reginald stopped in front of that maid and smirked. He looked at her with hungry eyes and trailed his slender finger over that maid''s tender neck. He leaned closer to that maid''s neck and whispered near her ear, "Good morning, sweetheart. I hope you didn''t miss me that much."


    "How could I not miss you, Your Majesty?" that maid whispered back as she stiffened her shoulders and clenched her gown with both of her fists.


    Reginald sniffed her neck and then stood up straight. He gazed at her for some time and asked, "You are not feeling well?"


    Though that maid looked pale, she looked down and denied, "I am feeling alright, Your Majesty.


    Reginald narrowed his eyes and took that maid''s hand in his. He pushed her sleeve upward to reveal several puncture marks of his fangs. He gently kissed one of the puncture marks and said, "It is your fault for being too beautiful. I ended up drinking a little too much of your blood I guess."


    He sighed with disappointment and ordered her, "Send that new girl to my bedroom. I will let you off of my hook for today. And also send some maids to prepare a hot bath for me."


    "I will do as you ask, Your Majesty," the maid bowed deeply and then turned around. He let out a quiet sigh as she walked away from the King.


    Reginald went inside his bedroom. Though it was already dawn, the heavy curtains were still closed. He would rarely open the curtains of his bedroom.


    The room was, however, dimly lit by the torches.


    Reginald took off all his clothes and dropped them on the floor. He jumped on his bed and stretched his arms and legs while he waited for his food to walk inside his room.


    And in no time, another petite and pale maid walked inside his bedroom. She was a new girl so she was startled to see the King in his full glory. She instantly looked down and apologized, "Please excuse me, Your Majesty. I was told to walk inside without knocking on the door. I did not mean to invade your privacy."


    "Oh, don''t sweat dear. A pretty girl like you doesn''t need to knock on my door. You are always welcome here." Reginald sat up on the bed and flexed his toned body. He gazed at that new pet of his and ran his tongue over his already elongated fangs.


    He kept on staring at that frightened little kitten. He smirked because he found that expression rather amusing. He was used to the maids throwing their bodies at him without any hesitation. And this new maid was not taking a single step from where she was, neither was she stealing glances of him.


    It would be a lie to deny that he was not a good-looking man. Reginald was a rather captivating vampire King that every maid in the Palace desired to be bedded by him.


    But to their dismay, Reginald was a very picky eater.


    Reginald held out his palm and then ordered the scared bird, "Be a dear and come here. You don''t need to be scared of me."


    "Ye-yes, Your Majesty." Even though that maid''s heart was beating loud enough for Reginald to hear it like a drum, she followed the order of the King and walked closer to the King''s bed. She gently placed her hand on his palm but she still did not dare to look at the naked King.


    If it was his regular maid, then he would have already bared his fangs on that maid''s neck and drank to his fill. But this new maid was still scared of him so he wanted to calm her down first.


    Reginald was not doing that for the maid''s sake but for his own. The blood from happy victims tasted a lot better than the blood from the scared victims. And he wanted the sweet blood to quench his thirst.


    He gently kissed on that maid''s hand and said in an alluringly hoarse voice, "Why don''t you take a look at my face? I don''t want you to be scared of me."


    That maid felt compelled to follow his order. So she took a deep breath in and then shifted her gaze from the floor to the King''s face, without stopping anywhere else in the middle. She could see the face of a handsome young man smiling at her.


    And even though she already knew what her King was and what he was going to do to her, she could not help but feel a little attracted to that pale face of the King.


    Reginald hung his legs down the bed and then pulled that maid closer to him. "Why don''t you sit down on my lap?" he asked but before she could say anything, he pulled her again and made her sit on one of his thighs.


    He removed that maid''s hair from her neck and bathed her in his icy breath, "Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are?" He then kissed that maid on her neck.


    That maid shuddered with pleasure from that cold touch of his lips. She closed her eyes and exhaled in excitement. "No, Your Majesty," she whispered while tilting her neck and allowing the King to kiss her more.


    Reginald smirked because he had successfully calmed down the frightened little kitten.


    While kissing her all over her neck, he entangled his fingers with hers. While the maid was still in the wonderland from the first touch from opposite gender, Reginald brought her hand closer to his lips.


    He gave a wet kiss on her wrist and before she could sense what was coming next, Reginald sunk his fangs on her wrist and began sucking that sweet blood like it was some unlimited drink.


    That maid winced in pain and groaned. However, no matter how painful it was, she was unable to pull her hand away from the vampire. It was as though her whole body had been paralyzed and all that she could do was simply give in.


    Reginald, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. After enduring that hunger for a whole day, he was finally getting something to relish with. He was closing his eyes and moaning as he drank that nectar-like blood of that beautiful lady.


    "Your Majesty, it hurts. Please let me go," the maid whispered in a painful voice.


    Reginald furrowed his brows and suddenly flung his eyes open. He lifted his fangs from her wrist and licked his lips clean. However, he looked displeased at that maid for interrupting his delicious mealtime.


    Reginald gave a smoldering look to that maid and whispered, "Ohhhh, you shouldn''t have done that."


    He grabbed that maid by her hair and jerked her head backward. He nipped that maid''s neck and whispered, "You don''t give orders to the King. Now you are in big trouble."


    The maid''s heart began to drum like crazy. She felt as if her life was in danger. And she pleaded to the King, "Please forgive-"


    "Shhhh��" Reginald sealed her lips with his. He vigorously kissed her mouth, all the while imagining that maid to be Adeline.


    He then spanked that maid and pushed her up.. And he ordered, "Take off your clothes."

 Chapter 294 - Rebekah

    "Your Majesty?" that maid was shocked to hear that order from the King. She genuinely thought that she must have misheard him.


    But Reginald was in no mood to play along. He glared at that poor maid with his smoldering red eyes and ordered a bit sternly, "I said take off your clothes. Be a dear and don''t make me repeat it again. And do it fast if you don''t want to face other consequences."


    That maid did not want to know what the ''other consequences'' meant. She was pretty sure that it meant being found out dead in the gutter somewhere.


    So she followed the order and began to undress herself. As soon as her gown dropped on the floor, Reginald jumped out of his bed and grabbed her by her waist. He leaned down and kissed her again. He ran his hands up to her breasts and kneaded them as hard as he could.


    The maid didn''t resist at all as if she was hypnotized. She didn''t know whether it was the fear or her physical desire, but her body refused to protest.


    Reginald then turned that maid around and pushed her on the cold wall. He strongly slammed his cold body against her, ready to force his manhood inside of her.


    However, his heated passion was interrupted when he heard his sister Rebekah shouting from the other side of the room, "Reggie�� Reggie�� Are you back already?"


    Reginald swiftly went to the bed, pulled the sheet, and covered his lower body with it before Rebekah came swooshing inside.


    A red-headed girl who looked like a teenager barged into Reginald''s room while shouting, "Reg-" She was about to say something to her brother but her eyes fell on the naked girl who was shivering by the wall.


    And in split second, she took off her shoe and threw it while aiming at Reginald''s head.


    Reginald caught that shoe with no problem. "What do you want?" He snarled at his sister and threw that shoe out of the door.


    He angrily sat on the bed and then scolded his sister, "Don''t you have any decency of knocking on the door before you rush in? You ruined my mood!"


    Rebekah folded her arms and glared back at her brother with blood-red eyes. "Really, Reggie? You''re the one to get angry right now?"


    Reginald pointed at the maid and shouted, "I was enjoying my meal! And you disturbed me�� Do you want me to worship you instead of getting angry?"


    Rebekah looked at the maid and snapped her fingers at her. And she ordered, "Hey, you! Grab your clothes and get out."


    "Yes, Your Highness." The maid didn''t need to hear it twice. She instantly collected her clothes from the floor and ran away from the monsters.


    Reginald watched the maid run away from his room and then lied down on the bed. He angrily covered himself with the sheet and pretended to sleep.


    But Rebekah was not going to leave her brother without getting what she came for. She kicked Reginald on the butt and screamed again, "You didn''t take me with you saying that you would describe everything that you saw in Wyverndale. You even promised to bring me some souvenirs. And the first thing you do after returning back is groped some maid? You horny piece of crap!"


    Reginald picked up a pillow and threw it at his sister''s face. "Is this how you talk to your King? Show some respect!"


    Rebekah cackled as if she had just heard some joke. She threw that pillow back at her brother and teased the red-headed brat, "King my arse! You have to earn the respect. No one gives it to you for free."


    She then held out her palm and asked sternly, "Where are the souvenirs? Hand them over."


    Reginald scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Hah! You''ve got some nerves asking for souvenirs after sending away my prey and ruining my mood and��" he narrowed his eyes at his sister and added, "�� not to forget, after disrespecting me."


    Rebekah just ignored her brother and looked around for any packages that he could have brought. But to her disappointment, there were none. She swiftly went close to her brother''s bed and pulled him by his hair, "You didn''t bring anything, did you?"


    "Argh! What the hell? Leave my precious hair!" Reginald desperately tried to get his sister to leave his hair but they shared the same blood, and she was as strong as him.


    Rebekah grabbed his hair with both of her hands and shouted, "No! I am not leaving until you give me something or apologize for lying to me."


    If he struggled anymore then he knew that she would pluck a handful of his hair, so he finally apologized, "Okay, okay! I am sorry! I wanted to buy something for you but something came up and I had to return back earlier than I thought."


    Rebekah pushed her brother''s head away and folded her arms. "I knew it! I knew you would come empty-handed."


    Reginald ran his fingers through his hair and smirked. "Well I came empty-handed for now but I will soon bring a most wonderful souvenir for you."


    The Princess of Mihir knew better than to trust the empty words of her brother. She looked at Reginald with doubtful eyes and asked in a mocking tone, "And what will that wonderful souvenir be? Your empty words?"


    Reginald had a wide smile on his face when he replied, "Your sister-in-law."


    "Pfff��" Rebekah chuckled thinking that her brother was just joking. But his eyes were dilated and he had a weird smile on his face as if he was remembering someone. She sat down in front of her brother and asked, "Wait! You''re being serious?"


    "Yes. She is really beautiful, like some fairy that landed on Earth from Heaven. And her name is also equally beautiful�� Adeline." He gave that enchanted smile again.


    Rebekah was stunned to hear that confession from Reginald. She was not shocked because her brother had been smitten by some beautiful lady for the umpteenth time. But she was shocked because he was thinking about making that woman his wife rather than taking her as his maid.


    So she asked, "Then why didn''t you bring her with you as your pet? Isn''t that what you normally do?"


    Reginald smirked and replied, "Because this time your brother found someone worthy of the title of the Queen."


    His sister raised her brows. "Mhmm�� Really?" She was still doubtful about that. "Are you sure that you won''t run back to Wyverndale again and bring her here as a maid?"


    "No, I won''t!" Reginald proudly boasted about his rare find, "She is the Princess of Wyverndale. And not just any Princess, she is the chosen one. So I cannot just grab her and bring her here."


    "You met the Princess of Wyverndale?" Rebekah had never met the Princess of another Kingdom so she was bound to be excited.


    Reginald nodded his head with equal excitement, "Yes! You won''t believe it but I think it was fated for us to meet." His eyes sparkled when he further added, "She even stumbled upon me!"


    "She did?" Rebekah asked with sparkly eyes. She clasped her hands together and did a little excited wriggle. "Oh my Gosh! Tell me more about her."


    Reginald had a sinister smile on his face. He was going to take revenge on Rebekah for pulling his hair earlier. So he gestured his sister to get out of the room and said, "I''ll take a bath first. Get out!"


    "What? No! First tell me about her. Else I will die out of curiosity." Rebekah gave a puppy-eyed look to her brother but Reginald latched his fingers on her face like they were some octopus and pushed her out of the bed.


    "Don''t give me that look. It''s disgusting.." Reginald then walked towards the bathhouse while wrapping the sheet around his body.

 Chapter 295 - Summon Him

    The next day, Adeline went to her father''s quarter early in the morning. She wanted to convince him to go to Theodore''s fountain in the hopes of treating her father.


    Dragomir was in his study room when Adeline arrived in his quarter. He was doing a little research of his own about the Devil who was in love with his daughter.


    When the guard announced that Adeline was there to see him, Dragomir quickly put away the manuscripts and scrolls that mentioned about the Devil of the Devil''s Cave.


    And then he welcomed his daughter, "Adeline, I was about to call you here. Good thing you came here on your own." Dragomir then pointed at the chair that was in front of him and asked, "Come, sit down."


    "Thank you, father," Adeline gave a huge smile to her father as she settle down on the chair.


    There was an awkward silence between the father and daughter for a while. Both of them didn''t know how to start the conversation.


    In the end, Dragomir began the conversation by saying, "I went to meet the Deity yesterday. And umm�� he told me that Theodore is his brother."


    "Yes, they are brothers." Adeline was finally able to smile upon hearing someone mention the Deity. Her anger towards him subsided to some extent after Theodore told her how Azriel managed to convince her father to meet Theodore.


    Dragomir cleared his throat and then informed her, "The Deity will be coming with the Devil Prince to our Palace in a few days. They want to talk about your marriage."


    Adeline''s cheeks flushed a little even when she was already aware of everything. She smiled and shyly looked down.


    Dragomir was expecting his daughter to get surprised or shocked by the news. So he guessed that this was not the first time that Adeline was hearing this. "You already knew, didn''t you?"


    Adeline glanced at her father and softly said, "Theodore came to visit me yesterday. He told me that he would be coming to ask my hand in marriage soon."


    "He comes to visit you often?" Dragomir leaned back on his chair and smiled.


    But for some reason, that smile looked like a threat to Adeline. And she hastily replied, "Only once in a while." Her father''s piercing gaze never left her so she also added, "In my workroom."


    "Oh, is that so?" Dragomir wrinkled his brows because he had never caught his daughter being visited by the Devil right under his nose. "Then why did the guards never tell me that you were having a visitor?"


    Adeline''s whole face began turning red because her father was able to pull the right string that was unveiling her and Theodore''s secrets one by one.


    "Err�� He does not use the main door. He can directly teleport to my workroom." As the talks about their marriage was already set in motion, Adeline did not want to lie about Theodore anymore.


    Of course, she was not going to give out every little detail to her father that could put her in trouble. But she was not going to keep hiding their relationship anymore.


    And before her father could think some more and figure out on his own that Theodore could also give a visit to his daughter when she was in her bedroom, Adeline quickly diverted the topic. "Father, there is a fountain at Theodore''s place which can rejuvenate people''s health."


    Dragomir raised his brows slightly as he already had a question in his mind. He wanted to ask if she had been to Theodore''s Cave enough times to know what kind of things were there. But he let Adeline finish what she was saying first.


    "And lately, I feel as though you have become a little weak. So, I would be at ease if you go with him and take a dip in his fountain. What do you say, father?"


    Adeline did not say that the magical fountain was basically a healing place. She did not want to let her father know that she knew about his illness. He was trying hard not to show his weakness in front of the others, and she did not want to water down his efforts.


    Dragomir laughed and dismissed her worry. "What makes you think that I am weak? I can still take down a few men with my bare hands. There is no need to rejuvenate."


    However, Adeline was not going to give up until her father agreed with her. "Father, you can also utilize that time to get to know Theodore a little better. I think it would be better if you get to know him a little�� you know, before he comes with the marriage proposal."


    When Adeline put it that way, Dragomir felt that it would be a great opportunity to learn about the Devil firsthand.


    Adeline said that the fountain was in the cave so he would also get to see how that Devil lived. His daughter could always live in the Palace with her husband after the marriage. In fact, as she was the Future Ruler, that was what Adeline was supposed to do.


    But still, he would hate it if the Devil lived like an animal in the cold and stinky cave.


    And besides, he had also never seen how the Devil looked like. He did not want the husband of the Future Queen to look ghastly. The people of Wyverndale would not accept the pair. So, the idea of knowing the suitor of his daughter greatly intrigued him.


    Dragomir glanced into his daughter''s eyes and agreed, "Okay. I will go with him then."


    "Great!" Adeline smiled and asked her father, "Is today alright for the meeting? If it is then I will ask him to take you with him."


    "Is he coming to see you today?" Dragomir was curious to know if she had already planned a meeting with him beforehand.


    Adeline did not want to give the impression that she was sneakily meeting with Theodore very often. So she instead revealed another secret. She showed her hand to her father, revealing the beautiful ring that she was wearing. And she replied, "He is not coming today. But I can summon him once a day using this ring that he gave me."


    Dragomir was definitely not impressed seeing his daughter already wearing a ring given by the Devil. But he tried to hide his discontent and calmly spoke, "Wow! That''s a pretty handy ring to have. When did he give this to you?"


    Nevertheless, Adeline could sense the sudden change in her father''s tone. Hence, she tweaked the truth a little bit and said, "He gave this to me yesterday. After he met with the Deity."


    Dragomir was at least relieved to know that she was not in possession of that ring for a long time.


    And knowing that Adeline could call the Devil this instant, Dragomir suddenly felt restless to meet him. So he ordered his daughter, "Well, what are you waiting for then? Summon him."


    "Now?" Adeline exclaimed as she was caught a little off guard by that sudden request from her father.


    Dragomir nodded. "Yes, now." He glanced at Adeline''s ring and shrugged his shoulders. "Why wait when summoning him is that easy?"


    Adeline gave a nervous smile. "Sure."


    She looked at her ring while Dragomir was watching her every move very closely.


    Adeline brought her palm close to her lips but it felt really weird to kiss the ring in front of her father. So instead, she pretended that she was blowing air to the ring. She then rubbed the ring with her other palm and repeated the stupid trick again.


    "I am so sorry, Theodore, for calling you without pre-informing you. But I have no choice," she thought to herself.


    She sneakily placed a kiss in between her tricks.. And she crossed her fingers that Theodore would not appear in the room in some compromising get-up or some weird postures.

 Chapter 296 - Two Important Men

    Shortly after Adeline kissed her ring, a dark mist began to swirl beside her.


    King Dragomir was intrigued but at the same time, a little scared when the mist began to unravel. He could see a tall figure wearing black clothes inside that mist. Dragomir didn''t even blink his eyes because he was too curious to know how the infamous Devil looked like.


    Once the mist completely cleared, Dragomir''s eyes widened at the sight of a handsome young man.


    To the King''s disbelief, Theodore didn''t look one bit menacing. He could not see any horns or wings or scales on the Devil. He looked more human than the Devil. And not just any human, but he looked as though he was a masterpiece that God sculpted with his own hands. He looked like a sample that God used to create other lesser humans.


    Theodore, on the other hand, was scared out of his mind.


    When the dark mist surrounded him, he was happy thinking Adeline was missing him. But when he saw King Dragomir staring at him with his baggy sapphire eyes, he felt betrayed to the core.


    He was nervous and scared all of a sudden. It was not like he had never seen King Dragomir before in his life. It was just that he had never had to introduce himself to the father of his lover before. And to make the matter worse, it looked like Dragomir was going to eat him alive.


    From the way Theodore had stiffened his back, Adeline could tell that he was really nervous. So to ease the situation, she stood in the middle of the two of them.


    And then she introduced the two of the most important men in her life to each other. "Father, this is Theodore, the Devil Prince of Hell." She then turned to look at Theodore and spoke formally, "And Theodore, he is my father, the King of Wyverndale."


    The two men looked awkwardly at each other for a while. Both of them were confused as to how they were going to address each other.


    And both of them were confused as to who was going to bow to whom.


    One was the son of God but had the title of the Prince. And the other was a human but had the title of the King. If they were going to look at the seniority, Theodore was way older than the King. And if they were going to look at the relation, Dragomir was going to have to call Theodore his son-in-law.


    In the end, it was too late to greet each other with a bow so they simply gave a slight nod to each other.


    King Dragomir then spoke first, "I am glad to finally meet you, Your Highness."


    "Likewise, Your Majesty," Theodore replied with a polite smile.


    Theodore had no idea what he was going to say or do next. So he hoped that his woman would come to his rescue.


    And to his relief, she did. To ease the tension between them, Adeline explained why she had called him, "Theodore, I was thinking that it would be great if you could take my father to your fountain and let him recuperate his energy. I think it would be a great opportunity for the two of you to get to know each other. Are you fine with it?"


    Adeline made it sound as though she had not already discussed that matter with Theodore first. And she hinted to Theodore that he was not to talk about the King''s illness.


    Theodore also got her hint and he immediately accepted to take the King with him. "Yes, of course." He glanced at Dragomir and added in a polite tone, "I''m sure that Your Majesty might have a lot of questions for me, so we could use some time together."


    "I hope that it is okay if we go to your place now," Dragomir asked to make sure that he wasn''t interrupting with whatever the Devil Prince was doing or whatever he was supposed to do.


    To be honest, Theodore was surprised that Dragomir was willing to go to his place and also that he had not already punched him in the face for making his daughter fall for him. From the way he was talking at Azriel''s place, Theodore had expected some fists and some harsh words from Dragomir.


    But he was glad that none of it happened. "Yes, if you are ready then we can go to my place this instant," Theodore gave a soft smile to the King.


    Dragomir was already impressed by the polite demeanor of the Devil Prince. The King would have never suspected that Theodore was the Devil Prince if he did not have prior knowledge about it.


    Dragomir stole a quick glance of Adeline and then asked Theodore, "So, how does your teleporting work? Does it work the same way as your brother''s?"


    Theodore smiled and offered his hand to the King, "Yes, it works the same way."


    Before touching Theodore''s hand, Dragomir looked at his daughter and ordered her, "I will go then. Take care of the Kingdom''s affair for me, will you?"


    Adeline gave a reassuring nod to the King, "You don''t need to worry about it, father. I will take care of everything in the King''s Court." She then glanced at Theodore and then at the King. And she said with a smile, "I hope that both of you will have a nice day."


    "I sure hope we will," Theodore nervously thought to himself.


    He and Dragomir then teleported to the garden of Theodore''s majestic cave.


    Yet again, King Dragomir was astonished by the beauty of the garden. He had a very low expectation about how the cave would look like. And to see an indoor garden, which was full of healthy, beautiful, and rare plants, felt like a dream to him.


    Dragomir''s perception of Theodore was already starting to change, positively.


    Theodore glanced at the King and said, "I hope you won''t mind me leaving you alone for a while. I will ask the maids to prepare a bathrobe and towel for you. Till then you may enjoy the view of this garden."


    Dragomir was already mesmerized by the view. There was no need to tell him. He gave a nod and agreed cheerfully, "Sure." He chuckled and added further, "I already love this garden so, there won''t be any problem even if you don''t return back for an hour or two."


    Theodore also couldn''t help but chuckle from that remark of the King. His nerves also calmed down a little after seeing the King slowly opening up to him.


    He then teleported from the garden to find his maids.


    Dragomir took a stroll in the garden while touching the beautiful flowers and trees. He looked up to see a transparent dome-shaped structure carved in the middle of the cave. The sunlight that entered from the dome above was lighting up the garden just enough to make the garden look beautiful.


    He stood in front of the fountain and gazed at the beauty of that flowing water.


    He chuckled at his own image of the cave that he had in mind. "And I thought caves could never look beautiful," he thought to himself.


    Dragomir noticed two doors on either side of that garden. And he was curious to know what was behind those doors. But he was not that curious for him to sneak around in the cave alone.


    However, he thought to himself, "I should ask him to give me a tour of this cave. I want to see all the corners of this place."


    He narrowed his eyes and whispered, "He is a Devil after all. Who knows what he is hiding? I shall make sure that I can trust my daughter to him.. I don''t want to simply hand her over to him just because he is the Deity''s brother."

 Chapter 297 - Interrogation

    Theodore reappeared in the garden after giving instructions to his maids and followers. "I hope that I did not leave you for long, Your Majesty."


    "Oh, not at all. Or at least it didn''t feel that way since the garden kept me occupied." King Dragomir smiled while looking at a rose plant. And he reminisced his past. "I used to spend time with Adeline''s mother in the Palace''s garden. She used to love taking a stroll and sitting down in the garden, especially when she was pregnant with Adeline."


    He took a deep breath in and said in a melancholic tone, "It''s a pity that she did not get to do that with Adeline. She was mostly weak and bedridden after giving birth to our daughter."


    Dragomir smiled even when his eyes were glistening with tears. "I never dared to enjoy the beauty of the garden after she passed away. Thanks to you, I was able to do that today. I wish I never stopped appreciating the beauty of her favorite garden. It''s just that�� I could not bring myself to do that. The memory was way too painful for me."


    Theodore could feel the pain behind Dragomir''s voice. And he tried to console him, "I am extremely sorry for your loss, Your Majesty. I can imagine what you must have gone through after Adeline''s mother left this world."


    Dragomir wiped his eyes and looked into the Devil''s eyes. "Then are you willing to marry my daughter even after knowing that she will leave sooner than you? Can you go through the same pain that I went through, that also thousands of times worse since you will live till eternity?" He had been meaning to ask this question directly to Theodore.


    Theodore had already asked this question enough times to himself. And the answer was always yes.


    So he replied with confidence, "Yes, Your Majesty. I want to marry her so that I can cherish each and every moment with her. I will never make her feel less loved, even when she grows old and feeble. And I will never stop loving her even after she moves to the afterlife. The love that she will give me in her lifetime will be enough for me to keep on living."


    He paused and took a gulp because he was feeling a lump in his throat. And he added in a broken voice, "I will cherish our love till eternity."


    The corners of Dragomir''s lips curved up a little. He could feel the sincerity in Theodore''s words. From this little exchange of words, Dragomir could already imagine how much this man loved his daughter.


    However, love wasn''t everything. For the relationship between the Devil and a human to work, several other things mattered as well. And Dragomir was going to uncover everything about this Devil today.


    A few of the maids knocked on the door. They entered after getting permission from their master and helped the King to change out of his clothes and safely get into the fountain.


    They placed the towel and bathrobe beside the fountain and then left.


    Dragomir looked at the Devil Prince and asked, "Are you not getting inside the fountain? This is pretty large to fit in both of us." He asked Theodore to get inside the fountain because he felt awkward to be enjoying the bath while Theodore was standing.


    And he also wanted to see if Theodore had some deformities, like some scales and such, under that tidy clothes of his.


    "Yes, I will get in." Theodore did not want to raise any suspicion regarding the fountain so he took off his robe and got inside the fountain with his trouser on.


    Seeing the sturdy body of the Devil, Dragomir was once again impressed. But he did not let it show on his face.


    Theodore carefully watched King Dragomir to see any changes in him. Slowly, he could see Dragomir''s hair color changing from grey to black. His wrinkles were also slowly starting to diminish.


    "So, how are you feeling, Your Majesty? Do you feel any changes in you?" Though Theodore was seeing the outer changes, he was curious to know if the fountain water was healing the King''s illness or not.


    Dragomir was not aware of the change in his outer appearance but he could feel that the constant back pain that he had was no longer there. And he also felt as though he had this new energy inside of him. He could not quite explain it but he felt better than before.


    "I feel like I can beat up a few dozen men with no problem," Dragomir replied while moving his arms in a circular motion. "This fountain is really interesting�� almost magical."


    Theodore was really glad to hear that. He smiled and said, "If you ever feel like you are in pain or if you feel drained then you are welcome to come here again."


    "I will," Dragomir smiled and continued, "So, Theodore," but he stopped abruptly and asked, "is it okay if I call you ''Theodore''?"


    "Yes, of course," Theodore gave a nod. In fact, he was happy that Dragomir was calling him by his name. He felt as though Dragomir was slowly accepting him.


    "I am curious to know one thing, Theodore." Dragomir gave a serious look as if he was going to ask something very important and he asked, "What do you eat? Or�� do you even need to eat?"


    Theodore answered with all seriousness, "Ever since I came to Earth, I eat whatever humans eat. I can go several days without eating but I do feel hungry."


    "Hmm��" Dragomir rubbed his chin with his finger and then asked again, "And do you�� stay here in the cave or do you mostly spend your time in Hell?"


    "Hell is like my workplace and this cave is like my home. I spend equal time in both places I think." Theodore did not mind sharing the details. He wanted to clear every doubt of the King.


    Now Dragomir was curious to know what kind of things Theodore would do in his workplace. "So, what kind of things are you responsible for in Hell?"


    Theodore rested on the fountain in a bit more comfortable position and then answered, "I run a gambling house in Hell. It is a place where the beings of Hell can come to relax and enjoy themselves for a bit. Some human souls can also come there if they have been behaving well."


    Dragomir raised his brows in surprise. "There is a place in Hell where one can relax and enjoy? I thought it was a place of eternal damnation."


    Theodore smiled and replied, "It is a place for eternal damnation. But there are some souls who don''t qualify for Heaven by really small margins. Those will get a bit lighter punishment compared to the others."


    Dragomir pursed his lips and could not help but think, "I wonder if I will go to Heaven or Hell�� I think it will be Hell�� Directly or indirectly, I have caused harm to a lot of people."


    Dragomir then looked at Theodore and said, "I already feel rejuvenated.. So why don''t you give me a tour of this cave, Theodore? I would love to explore your home."

 Chapter 298 - Father

    "Why don''t you give me a tour of this cave, Theodore? I would love to explore your home," Dragomir got up from the fountain and then got out of it on his own.


    Theodore had already anticipated Dragomir asking something like that or accidentally coming across his followers only to get scared to his core. So when he went out to ask his maids to bring the bathing materials for the King, he had also asked all of his followers to go to Hell, literally of course.


    "Of course, I would also love to give you a tour of my humble cave." Theodore also got up from the fountain and then clapped his hands.


    The maids who were standing outside the door came rushing in to help the King to dry and change into warm clothes.


    Theodore, on the other hand, grabbed a towel and then began to dry himself. One of the maids brought a fresh set of clothes for Theodore and then they left him alone.


    Dragomir was noticing all this and he asked while chuckling, "You never allow the maids to help you, or are you feeling shy in front of me?"


    Theodore gave a slight smile and replied, "No, I''m not feeling shy. I just don''t really like being touched by others."


    Dragomir felt somewhat relieved to hear that. But he wouldn''t have been as happy as he was if he heard what Theodore thought to himself. "I don''t like being touched by others, except Adeline. In fact, I would hate it if she maintained a distance from me."


    After the two of them were all dressed up, Theodore gestured towards his room and then said, "That is my personal chamber that I use to rest."


    Dragomir nodded his head. He did not want to be too nosy and ask Theodore to take him inside his personal chamber. There were some boundaries that he would not cross, no matter how desperately he wanted to uncover what the Devil was hiding.


    Theodore then gestured towards the other door and said, "And that leads us outside the cave. But there are several rooms in between."


    Theodore then glanced at the King and asked politely, "Shall we?"


    "Yes, lead the way." Dragomir closely followed Theodore as he walked towards the door that led them outside of the garden.


    After they walked out of the door, Dragomir busied himself while looking at each and everything. He noticed how the cave looked more lavish than his own Palace.


    Theodore let him see the common rooms and the living rooms of his cave. He did not take Dragomir to the personal rooms of his followers. There were things that Dragomir would not like.


    They walked around for a bit and when Dragomir felt convinced that there wasn''t anything peculiar in the cave, Theodore invited him to have breakfast with him.


    He led Dragomir to the dining hall which was way too large for a single person. However, Dragomir just thought that Theodore liked huge spaces since the common rooms were also pretty spacious.


    Theodore and Dragomir sat opposite each other at the large dining table. Soon, the maids served the two of them with a variety of appetizing dishes.


    Dragomir liked the smell of the food. He hadn''t had breakfast yet so he immediately began to help himself. He cut a piece of steak and put it in his mouth. The delicious piece of steak just melted in his mouth. "Oh, the food here is really delicious."


    And without realizing it, Theodore smiled and replied, "Adeline also likes the steak that is served here." He instantly realized his slip of the tongue and froze in place. He hoped that Dragomir would get lost in the delicious food and forget what he just said. But he wasn''t that lucky.


    Dragomir gave a chilling smile and asked in a painfully calm voice, "She comes here often and eats with you?"


    And Theodore immediately corrected himself and said, "She came here years ago when she was a toddler. Somebody had left her outside my cave and she came inside looking for you." He cleared his throat and added, "And I had offered the steak to her that tasted similar to this."


    Theodore automatically went back into his memory lane and a soft smile appeared on his lips. "I still remember how she was dancing when she tasted the steak. She was really lovable even back then."


    Dragomir furrowed and pressed his lips into thin line because that same incident brought back a very painful memory for him.


    He then looked at Theodore and thanked him from the bottom of his heart, "Theodore, Adeline told me that you were the one to safely return her back to the Palace. I take this opportunity to thank you for giving my heart back to me."


    He then chuckled and looked at Theodore. "But I guess you never really returned her completely. You kept a piece of her for yourself." Dragomir had noticed how Theodore talked of the past very fondly. He took a deep breath in and softly said, "She managed to take your heart in the very first encounter, didn''t she?"


    Theodore''s eyes had a spark when he nodded. "Yes, she somehow managed to get through to me even when I had built these boundaries around me. She was really kind to me."


    "That she is. She took after her mother in that aspect." Dragomir then stuffed some food in his mouth.


    Theodore cut the piece of steak in front of him and said, "She takes after you as well. She is really brave and a great fighter. She does not back down from her problems and faces them head-on."


    "I wouldn''t say that I am brave. I am a coward who got associated with 15 women to avoid the war," Dragomir mocked himself and Theodore had no idea how to respond to that.


    So, Theodore instead focused on his food.


    After having breakfast, the two of them went and sat down in the common room. The question-answer session went on for quite some time. Dragomir made sure that there were no stones left unturned to know more about the Devil Prince.


    And when he was satisfied, he finally glanced at Theodore and said, "I think I got answers to most of the doubts that I had. So, I think I should return back to the Palace. And thank you for letting me use your magical fountain. I feel really refreshed."


    "It is not a problem at all, Your Majesty," Theodore smiled and gave a slight bow.


    Dragomir placed his hand on Theodore''s shoulder in an approving way. "Before I met you, I was really against the two of you getting married. But now, I am impressed by my daughter''s choice."


    He smiled at the Devil Prince and added, "Don''t call me ''Your Majesty'' from now on. You should start practicing to address me as ''father''�� even though I am way too younger than you in age."


    Theodore suddenly felt great relief and excitement at the same time. He felt as if he had just aced the most difficult examination of his life.


    "I shall do as you say... father." The Devil Prince gave a wide grin to Dragomir.


    He had never thought that he would actually get to address someone as ''father'' or that he would actually like saying that word out loud.. But he did.

 Chapter 299 - Hallucination?

    Rhea was sitting in front of the dressing table and was trying her best to untangle her curly hair. Nigel was sitting on the bed and was playing with his cute little twins when there was a knock on the door.


    "Yes, who is it?" Nigel glanced towards the closed door and asked.


    And a voice was heard from the other side, "Nigel, it''s me. Did you forget that you have a sparring session with the King?"


    "Oh, Fenris! Give me a minute. I will be right there." Nigel then puckered his lips and looked at his babies with sad eyes.


    "Your father will have to go out for a while." He kissed the spongy tummy of the twins and made them laugh. And he kissed them on the cheeks and apologized to them, "I am so sorry little wolves. I will run back as soon as I can."


    He glanced at Rhea. She already looked tired and he felt sorry for having to go on the sparring session again. He got off the bed and went towards the dressing table. He hugged her from behind and kissed her on her head.


    "I am so sorry. I will have to leave the twins with you for a while." Nigel looked at the reflection of Rhea very apologetically.


    But Rhea gave a smile to him and encouraged him to go there faster, "Don''t worry about me, dear. I will handle the twins. And the caretaker will be here in a while. So you should focus on your training."


    "Are you sure you will be okay?" Nigel kissed her cheeks and kept on hugging her.


    Rhea took Nigel''s hand and kissed him on his palm. "Yes, I will be okay. Now run along before His Majesty comes here to drag you away."


    Nigel chuckled while remembering that one time when King Conall had come to take Nigel for the sparring session himself because Nigel was refusing to let go of Niylah who had fallen asleep on his arms. "Yeah, I should go before the alpha comes here to drag me away."


    Nigel tickled his twins and made them laugh before he left with Fenris.


    After the two of them were out of Nigel''s quarter, Nigel asked Fenris in a serious tone, "Where has he called me today?"


    Fenris glanced at Nigel with pitiful eyes and replied, "He is waiting for you in the forest. You might want to run before he gets cranky. I will catch up with you at my own pace."


    Nigel instantly turned into his wolf form and then ran towards the forest at the top of his speed.


    Fenris sighed and then whispered to himself, "I guess not inheriting the curse was a blessing in disguise. At least I don''t have to go through the torture of fighting an alpha on the daily basis." He smiled and inhaled the fresh air. "It is great to be a loser. At least no one will have any kind of unnecessarily higher expectations from me."


    He then began to hum a tune and then walk while taking his time. He was carrying the fresh pair of clothes for the wolves so that they could cover themselves up before returning back to the settlement area.


    Fenris entered the rainforest and was heading towards the area where the two wolves were going to face off against each other.


    He was enjoying the view of the forest but then suddenly, he felt a weird sensation. He felt as though someone else was also there somewhere near. He looked around while guarding his precious face with his fists.


    "Who''s there?" he shouted but there was no answer.


    He walked around for a while but he again felt that chilling sensation that someone was watching him and following him.


    "Wulfric�� is that you?" He looked around again and then shouted, "If you are trying to play a prank on me then I am going to complain to our father that you are playing around when you should be reading the books that he gave you yesterday."


    But there was no answer again. He gulped and then trailed his eyes around once more.


    That was when his eyes caught something interesting. A little far away from where he was, he saw a dark mist disintegrating into thin air.


    He widened his eyes and whispered, "What the hell was that? Did I just hallucinate or did I actually see it?"


    He took a deep breath and thought to himself, "I hope I haven''t gone mad because of running around these wolves for too long."


    Fenris wanted to run back to the safety of his own quarter but he sighed because he had no choice but to follow those wolves. So instead of going back where he actually wanted to, he ran deeper into the forest to find the wolves.


    When Fenris reached the area where King Conall and Nigel were fighting, he wasn''t surprised by the mess they had made. This was their daily routine after all.


    Some of the trees had several claw marks on them, some had broken branches, and there was even a tree that had been uprooted.


    Fenris sighed and thought to himself, "Oh dear lord, why can''t these wolves show some mercy to the poor trees? What did those trees ever do to them?"


    While Fenris was lost in the love for those trees, he did not even realize that the King had thrown Nigel up in the air and Nigel was headed to crash land right on him.


    Nigel desperately tried to warn Fenris�� but if only Fenris spoke wolf.


    And the huge wolf landed right on Fenris''s head. Nigel got up and jumped away from Fenris as soon as he landed on him. He wagged his tail and gently touched Fenris''s head with his paw. He was worried that he might have crushed his cousin.


    But to his relief, Fenris groaned and then got up from the ground. And he shouted at Nigel while dusting off his clothes, "Hey, can''t you avoid the only human here and land on some trees or�� I don''t know�� not on me?"


    Nigel whimpered and then looked down on the paw. He was about to revert back to his human form so that he could properly apologize to his cousin for almost turning him into a pulp.


    However, before Nigel could even sense it, the alpha swooshed past him and then slapped a paw right on Fenris''s chest. Fenris was sent flying in the air.


    The King was angry at Fenris because he had interrupted his sparring session with Nigel and was being a nuisance.


    And to everyone''s surprise, rather than flying off and landing on his stomach, Fenris managed to touch the ground with his feet. But he lost his balance and kept on skidding away. So he used his hand to dig on the ground and stop himself.


    After he finally managed to stop, he was furious at his father for hitting him even when he knew that he was just a weak human.


    He gritted his teeth and then glared at his father for always discriminating against him just because he was not a wolf.


    Both Nigel and Conall, on the other hand, kept on staring at Fenris with stunned eyes.


    What Fenris did not realize was that when he was glaring at his father, his eyes glowed amber in color for a few seconds.

 Chapter 300 - Fairytale

    Both Theodore and Dragomir got up from their respective seats. Theodore then held out his hand towards the King. "Father, shall I take you back to your quarter or would you like to go somewhere else?"


    Dragomir looked at himself, he was not ready to directly go to the King''s Court or anywhere else. So he asked, "Yes, take me to my quarter. I need to change my clothes first."


    Theodore held out his hand for Dragomir and both of them teleported back to Wyverndale Palace.


    However, rather than teleporting to the King''s quarter, Theodore mistakenly teleported Dragomir to Adeline''s room.


    At that moment, Adeline was going through the pictorial depiction of what vampires looked like. She was going through pictures where the vampires were sinking their fangs on some helpless-looking humans and were cruelly draining the blood of their victims.


    And when Dragomir and Theodore suddenly appeared in front of her, her soul almost left her body. She shuddered and threw the scroll with the pictures of vampires in the air.


    "Adeline! It''s just us," Theodore spoke in a very calm voice. He resisted hard not to grab Adeline and hug her in order to comfort her.


    Adeline chuckled with embarrassment. "I''m sorry. I was a little startled."


    Ever since the Ghoul tried to eat her alive, she had this fear engraved in her mind towards the creatures that could prey on humans.


    Dragomir glanced at Theodore and then complained nonchalantly, "I thought you were taking me to my own quarter. Why did you bring me here?" Dragomir laughed seeing his brave daughter getting scared and said, "You startled Adeline for no reason."


    Theodore could not tell Dragomir that he brought them to Adeline''s workroom out of habit. He was trying to come up with an answer when Adeline came to his rescue, "Father!"


    Adeline ran towards King Dragomir and then hugged him. She then looked at her father with keen eyes and happily said, "You look several years younger! The visit to the fountain was really worthwhile, wasn''t it?"


    Dragomir had yet to see his own reflection. So he didn''t believe Adeline. "Oh, stop teasing your old father�� But yes," Dragomir glanced at the Devil who was standing beside him and smiled, "the visit to the fountain was very worthwhile."


    "No, I am not teasing you, father. You really do look young." Adeline ran to her table and took out a hand mirror that was in her drawer.


    She ran back to where the King was standing and then showed the mirror to him. "See�� I was not lying."


    Dragomir was stunned to see his own reflection in the mirror. He indeed looked a few years younger. He looked as though he was in his mid-fifties instead of his early sixties.


    He took the mirror from Adeline and stared at his own reflection in awe.


    Dragomir swiftly stared at Theodore and asked, "Theodore, is that how you stay young?"


    Theodore suddenly burst into laughter after hearing that question. His laugh was contagious and both Adeline and Dragomir began chuckling without even knowing why he was laughing.


    The King asked while chuckling, "Why are you laughing? Did I ask something that is funny? Or are you laughing because that is true?"


    Theodore looked at the father and daughter and then replied, "Father, Adeline takes after you in so many aspects than you realize. Even the way that both of you think is similar."


    "How so?" Dragomir raised his brows.


    Adeline was holding her breath and trying to figure out if she had misheard it or if Theodore had indeed addressed the King as ''father''.


    "Adeline had also asked me the same question once." Theodore smiled and clarified, "And no, the fountain is not how I stay young. I also age, but way too slow when compared to the humans."


    Dragomir furrowed his brows and pointed something out, "She asked you the same question? Did she see you-"


    "Theo, did you just address him as ''father''?" Adeline abruptly interjected in the middle with an excited voice. She was not doing it intentionally but she just saved both herself and Theodore from a series of truth or dare sessions.


    Adeline clasped her hands together and gazed at her father as well as Theodore. "Did you two already grow that close?" She walked close to her father and asked with a wide grin on her face, "Father, does that mean you approve of Theodore?"


    Dragomir shrugged his shoulder and replied with a smug smile, "Well I don''t dislike him anymore." He then touched Theodore on the shoulder and asked him, "Son, take me to my room. I am already late for work."


    "Sure," Theodore flashed a smile at Adeline and before Adeline could stop the two of them for further questioning, Theodore and Dragomir disappeared from the room.


    Adeline just kept on standing there, perplexed by what just happened. "What did father mean by he doesn''t dislike Theodore? Does that mean he likes him now? Else why would they address each other as father and son?"


    The corner of her lips slowly curved upward. Adeline covered her mouth with both of her palms and started to laugh alone. She was feeling butterflies in her stomach as she began to daydream about marrying the Prince of her dreams.


    She began to imagine herself walking down the aisle while holding her father''s arm. She visualized how Theodore would look at her from the altar and how he would gaze at her.


    Adeline was barely able to contain her happiness. She was feeling like a Princess of fairytales because all of her dreams were slowly coming true.


    While she was lost in her wonderful daydream, Theodore reappeared in front of her.


    "Theo!" Adeline ran towards him and jumped.


    Theodore swiftly caught her in his arms and wrapped her small frame as tightly as he could. And he whispered, "I think we will be getting married sooner than I expected."


    He was equally excited about their marriage, which he was now almost sure that it would happen soon. His heart was beating faster than ever just at the thought of having this beautiful woman all to himself, without any restrictions.


    Adeline could feel Theodore''s heart beating against her chest. And she couldn''t help but giggle.


    She looked into Theodore''s eyes and gleefully whispered, "You managed to use your charm on my father as well, huh. I was so nervous thinking that he would come back hating you even more. But you actually managed to make him like you."


    Theodore slid his palm under her hair and gently held her by her nape. "Your father wasn''t that hard to impress. All I had to do was honestly say how much I love you."


    Adeline''s heart skipped a beat. She was lost in the depth of his eyes when she whispered, "I love you so much, Theodore."


    "And I love you, my little woman." He smirked and leaned closer to the enticing lips of the woman who was going to be his forever.


    Adeline also held Theodore''s heavenly face with her palms and met Theodore''s lips halfway. She was already addicted to his sweet taste and his hypnotic smell.


    And she was ready to savor him forever.

 Chapter 301 - Whos There?

    Theodore and Adeline sat down after enjoying a steamy and passion-filled kiss. Theodore shared each and everything that he and Dragomir did and that they talked about.


    "I am so glad that everything went well between the two of you." Adeline was still lost in her dream world when her eyes suddenly fell on the scroll that she threw earlier.


    And all of a sudden, the reality kicked in.


    She wanted to be happy for finally being able to marry the man that she was in love with. However, she could not help but worry about the fate of Wyverndale that the future had in store.


    She did not have the luxury to delay the preparation for the retaliation of the incoming war. This was the time when she was supposed to gather the allies. And not just any allies, but those who did not want to be discovered by the world.


    Who knew how much time it would take to convince the werewolves to fight for Wyverndale, not as the men they were but as the beasts that were underneath them.


    And due to this very reason, Adeline wanted to visit Nigel as soon as possible so that she could set the plan in motion.


    Adeline glanced at Theodore. He was still smiling and seemed to be lost in his daydream. She did not want to drag him out of his thoughts but she was already too restless to be celebrating.


    So she gently nudged Theodore and apologetically asked, "Theodore, can I ask another favor from you?"


    Theodore nodded as soon as she dropped the question. "Sure. You can ask as many favors as you want. I am all yours."


    Adeline blushed a little and gave a soft smile to Theodore. And then she spoke in one breath, "Can you take me to Aberdeen? I want to meet brother Nigel and talk to him about the war and the vampires. I cannot mention these things in the letter. I would have gone in the carriage but I want to talk with Nigel before talking with the King. And if I announce that I am visiting Aberdeen, then I will have to meet the King and-"


    "Shhh��" Theodore put his finger over Adeline''s lips and made her stop. "You don''t have to explain everything to me. I understand why you want me to take you there."


    He gently caressed Adeline''s jaw and then asked, "When do you want me to take you to Aberdeen?"


    Adeline thought for a while and replied, "How about tomorrow? I will have to make some excuse, I don''t want to shock father again by suddenly telling him about the war." She looked at Theodore with a little frown and asked, "You haven''t mentioned anything to him about the war, have you?"


    Theodore pinched on Adeline''s cheeks. "Do you think I am that insensitive? I haven''t told him anything that could have given him a hard time."


    "That''s great," Adeline sighed in relief.


    Theodore got up on his feet and readied himself as if he was going somewhere. Adeline looked at him in confusion and asked, "You are going somewhere?"


    "I''m going to Aberdeen," he replied casually.


    Adeline looked at him with a bewildered look on her face. "You''re going to Aberdeen? Now? B-But I want to go there tomorrow, not today."


    Theodore nodded his head. "Yes, that''s why I have to go there today and find out where exactly Nigel lives. I mean I can find that out by peeking through my divine vision but I would rather go there on my own and find out everything beforehand�� things like what kind of people live there, how many maids and servants are there in Nigel''s quarter, and things like that."


    Adeline understood why he was going there today. "You want to make sure whether it would be safe for me to go there or not?" she asked with an appreciative smile.


    Theodore smiled and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Yes. I want to make sure that nobody except puppy and his wife will be able to see us. If I happen to catch your brother alone then I will ask him to prepare a secret space for us to chat. That way they won''t be too surprised when we give them a visit tomorrow and they won''t create a commotion."


    "That''s nice thinking from your side," Adeline stood up and stole a kiss. "Also make sure to ask Nigel to bring the twins as well. I would love to hold them."


    "Sure." Theodore waved his hand around him and cast the invisibility spell. He wanted to make sure that he was invisible to supernatural beings as well as humans. And then he disappeared from the room.


    In the next moment, Theodore reappeared in the rainforest that was in front of the Palace of Aberdeen. He looked around at the gloomy and wet forest and sighed, "The forest looks too sad."


    He inhaled the scent of the forest and began to slowly walk towards the Palace. "Now where do I find Nigel? He is a married man now. I don''t want to peek into him and find him in some compromising situation... I guess I should just walk around until I hear someone mentioning his name or until I bump on him."


    Before he could even take a few steps, he heard footsteps approaching him. He was in the beacon of the country of werewolves so he abruptly stopped in his track. He did not want his footsteps to be heard by whoever was coming in his direction.


    As the footsteps approached closer and closer, he saw the one person who he wished he didn''t meet in Aberdeen.


    It was Fenris, of course.


    He gagged and narrowed his eyes, "Ugh! What are the chances of running into the one man who I hate the most?"


    Theodore glared at Fenris as he was walking towards him. He hoped that Fenris would scurry away faster so that he could continue his search for Nigel.


    However, Fenris stopped right beside Theodore and looked around as if he was searching for someone.


    "Why did this man stop walking? Can''t he be less annoying?" Theodore rolled his eyes and kept on holding his breath.


    And as if Fenris had heard Theodore talking to himself, the former guarded his face with both of his fists and shouted, "Who''s there?"


    Theodore widened his eyes because he happened to realize one thing. In the hurry, he had forgotten to tone down his demonic aura.


    "Maybe that''s why he is sensing my presence," Theodore thought quietly, almost wanting to hit himself on his head for being careless.

 Chapter 302 - Meeting The Puppy

    Theodore toned down his demonic aura to the minimum. He did not want the werewolves to notice his aura and he definitely did not want them to chase him thinking he is some kind of an evil spirit.


    "Wulfric�� is that you?" Fenris looked around again and kept on shouting in the background.


    Theodore gritted his teeth and almost flicked Fenris for being annoyingly loud. "This brat! He won''t stop shouting!" He sighed and thought, "Maybe I should just teleport somewhere else."


    Theodore then teleported himself to the inner boundary of the Palace. He looked around to see the beautiful Palace which was very lively. The maids and servants were running around, all of them seemed to be in a hurry.


    He keenly observed the surroundings for a while. He could see the wolves casually walking or running every once in a while.


    "Hmm�� it looks like the wolves don''t seem to be a secret inside the Palace." Theodore pressed his lips into a thin line and then thought to himself, "Or is it not a secret in the whole Kingdom?"


    He clicked his tongue and dismissed the curiosity, "Ah! Whatever. For now, let''s find my dearest puppy. I wonder how he is doing."


    Theodore smiled to himself and then slowly walked ahead, although he did not have any particular location in his mind.


    After walking for a while, a young man in his full Royal attire walked past Theodore. And when he was out of sight, Theodore heard two of the maids talking while looking in the direction that man went.


    "Our Crown Prince is growing up to be such a handsome man, isn''t he?" one of the maids whispered in the other maid''s ear.


    The other maid nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, he is better looking than the elder Prince."


    "But I think Prince Nigel is the most handsome one among the three Princes." The maid looked a little sad and whispered, "It''s a shame that he is already married."


    Theodore stopped in his track when he heard the maids taking Nigel''s name.


    The other maid smacked her head and gave a disgusted look. "Don''t you dare say that the Prince from another Kingdom is more handsome than our Princes."


    She furrowed her brows and continued, "The King already seems to favor him more than his own sons. I wonder if our Crown Prince feels threatened by that outsider Prince."


    She then glared at her friend again and warned her, "So don''t you dare praise Prince Nigel in front of me."


    Her friend rolled her eyes and scoffed. "He is a werewolf. It''s not like he is going to return back to his own Kingdom. So he is already an insider. You shouldn''t discriminate against him just because both of his parents aren''t from Aberdeen."


    She crossed her hands defensively and then argued, "Besides, the King is not favoring Prince Nigel. I heard that he is giving more importance to Prince Nigel''s training because he is the strongest werewolf after the King himself."


    Theodore smirked and then began to walk ahead. "Puppy is doing well I see. He adapted to his new body and new home soon enough."


    After roaming around for a while, he reached closer to the quarter which was a little further away from the main buildings at the center of the Palace compound.


    His eyes then fell on a man with a familiar build who was slowly emerging out of the forest. He smiled broadly and thought, "If it isn''t the man I was looking for��"


    Theodore would have instantly gone to where Nigel was if he was not accompanied by the other two men, the King and Fenris. They seemed to be discussing a very intense matter.


    Theodore kept on waiting for Nigel to separate from them.


    Nigel finally said his goodbyes to the two of them and then headed towards his quarter. Theodore silently waited for Nigel to come closer to him. And when he did, he whispered so that only Nigel could hear him, "Nigel, it''s me, Theodore. Are there any other werewolves in your quarter other than your wife?"


    Nigel swiftly turned in the direction from where he heard the very familiar voice. But he did not see anyone there.


    He furrowed his brows and then whispered to himself, "What the�� Did I just have an auditory hallucination?"


    "No! I am right beside you, puppy," Nigel heard the same voice coming out of thin air.


    Seeing that Nigel was still confused, Theodore tried to clarify him, "I am using an invisibility spell right now. Take me to a place where there are no werewolves, will you? I have some classified information to share."


    "Oh!" Nigel smiled in a direction where Theodore was not standing and then said, "It''s nice to hear your voice after so long, Theodore." And he excitedly added, "Follow me."


    Nigel led Theodore inside his quarter and to a meeting room that was made soundproof for the purposes of holding secret meetings. All of the quarters had at least one soundproof meeting room so that the unwanted werewolves wouldn''t be able to eavesdrop.


    Nigel locked the door and swiftly shot glances all over the room. He didn''t see Theodore anywhere so he asked, "Umm�� are you inside, or did I lock you outside?"


    And Nigel heard a soft whisper, "You locked me outside, puppy. Open up!"


    "Sorry, my bad." Nigel chuckled to himself and opened the door for Theodore. He waited for a few seconds to make sure that Theodore would have enough time to get inside the room.


    "I''m in," Nigel heard the whisper again, so he hastily locked the door.


    He was dying to know what that classified information was. And as it was Theodore who had come to see him, he was more interested to know how his beloved sister was before hearing anything else.


    Nigel saw a soft mist hovering a little further away from him. And in no time, Theodore materialized in front of his eyes. The Devil Prince looked like he hadn''t aged a day since the last time they had seen each other.


    Nigel''s happiness knew no bounds seeing someone who wasn''t from Aberdeen. He had missed his family who were back in Wyverndale. And even though Theodore wasn''t his family, Nigel felt the same warmth that he would have felt after meeting his family members.


    And his feet involuntarily took him closer to Theodore. Before he could remember that Theodore despised being hugged, Nigel ended up hugging the Devil.


    This time, Theodore didn''t mind Nigel invading his personal space. Rather, he also felt the same way as Nigel, as if they were already a family.


    Theodore''s lips curved up to form a smile and he gave a few stiff pats on Nigel''s back.


    Without Nigel telling him how he was feeling at the moment, Theodore understood it. And he genuinely expressed how he felt, "I missed you too, puppy. I have to admit that Wyverndale is not the same without you. And neither is Adeline."


    They pulled off from the hug. And before Nigel could say anything, Theodore looked into Nigel''s eyes and said, "A war is coming.. And your sister needs your help."

 Chapter 303 - Catching Up

    "A war is coming?" Nigel exclaimed and asked, "Who has declared the war?"


    "Mihir." Theodore sighed and added, "They have not declared the war yet, but we got to know their plans through someone."


    "Who is that someone? Is the information genuine?" Nigel went into denial because Wyverndale had always been in a cold war with Mihir but both of the Kingdoms never attacked each other as it was not possible due to geographical barriers.


    Theodore did not want to tell everything to Nigel right now and spoil the chance for Adeline to ask for Nigel''s help in her own way. So he just summarized what he knew, "Yes, the information is genuine. Adeline said that she even came face to face with some of the people from Mihir. They might strike on Wyverndale within six months. So, Adeline is gathering allies."


    The seriousness of the situation hit Nigel hard. He fisted over his mouth and let that information to settle down in his mind.


    Hearing about a possible war when he was away from home was really hard for him. He wished that he was in Wyverndale right now, by his sister''s side, but that was not possible at the moment.


    Nigel nervously stroked his hair and then urged Theodore, "You should ask her to send a formal letter to King Conall immediately. As per the treaty between the two Kingdoms, Aberdeen is bound to help Wyverndale when in need. Of course, I will do whatever I can to help her but it is better if she-"


    "Nigel, there is a reason why Adeline wants to talk to you first." Theodore stopped Nigel in the middle and said, "And I think you should hear it directly from Adeline."


    Nigel''s eyes lit up when he heard that last sentence. "Hear it directly from Adeline?" He looked around as if he would find Adeline in that room and stuttered, "She is n-not here in-in Aberdeen right now, is she?"


    Theodore smiled at that sudden eagerness from Nigel. "No, she is not here. I came alone today. But I will bring her here tomorrow."


    "Adeline told me to ask you to prepare a secret room for the meeting." He looked around at the room they were currently in and said, "I think this room will be fine."


    Theodore snapped his fingers and spoke with a smile on his face, "Also, she wants to meet Rhea and the kids as well. So, you better arrange the meeting without anyone suspecting that you are up to something."


    "Sure, I will make some excuse to the maids and the servants." Nigel abruptly looked into Theodore''s eyes and blurted, "But I cannot escape from the training session with the King. So��"


    "So, when will you be free for the meeting?" Theodore raised his brows and asked.


    Nigel thought for a while and went over his schedule for tomorrow. And then he replied, "I will be free after the noon. The training will take place in the morning."


    Theodore clapped his hands and nodded. "Okay, great. I will bring Adeline in the noon then."


    "Sure. I look forward to meeting my sister." Nigel gave a huge smile and expressed his gratitude towards Theodore, "And thank you for looking after my sister in my absence. Thank you for helping her and staying by her side."


    Theodore''s expression turned gloomy all of a sudden. He scratched his brows and confessed, "Actually, I don''t deserve the credit that you are giving me. I wasn''t able to take care of your sister for the past two years."


    "What�� do you mean by that? The two of you did not fight, right?" Nigel furrowed his brows and glanced at Theodore with questioning eyes.


    Nigel had not even asked Theodore to sit down. It completely went off of his head as the news about the war was taking a toll on him.


    Theodore was ready to head back to Wyverndale but he felt that Nigel deserved an explanation. So he looked at the chairs on the other side of the room and said, "I think we should sit down for a while."


    Nigel got a bad feeling by looking at Theodore''s serious expression. He wanted to know what exactly had happened in the two years that he was away from home so he led Theodore towards the chairs.


    They both settled down and Theodore started by saying, "Umm�� you''ve met the Deity, right?"


    "Yes." Nigel wrinkled his brows questioning why the Deity was relevant here.


    And Theodore nonchalantly said, "Well, that brat is my elder brother."


    Nigel glanced at Theodore in utter disbelief, "The Dragon Immortal is your brother? But he is the Deity and-"


    "And I''m the Devil. I know!" Theodore predicted what he was going to say and completed his sentence.


    "Err�� I d-didn''t mean to say it in a bad way," Nigel gave a polite smile to Theodore. And then he asked, "So, what happened?"


    Theodore didn''t want to badmouth his brother after the good deeds he had done for him and Adeline. But he had to. "And my brother did things that he shouldn''t have�� which led Adeline to completely forget about me. Not just Adeline, whole Wyverndale forgot about me."


    "What?" Nigel was shocked to his core. "Whole Wyverndale forgot you? Is that even possible?"


    "Of course it is possible. You all consider him as your Deity," Theodore chuckled at that double standards and asked, "So why are you so shocked to hear that? Can''t he even do such a trivial thing as wiping out people''s memories?"


    "But he is the Deity. Why would he do such a nasty thing?" Nigel was still not able to believe what Theodore was saying.


    So Theodore began from the very beginning and explained why Azriel thought that it was justifiable to take out his anger on Adeline. But he also made sure to share the good thing that Azriel did recently.


    "So, father also approved to let the two of you to get married?" Nigel was already thrilled to hear the recent development in his sister''s love life.


    Theodore gave a wide grin and replied, "He hasn''t said anything about the marriage yet but I think that he already likes me. So let''s hope for the best."


    Nigel couldn''t help but hug Theodore again. "I''m rooting for you both. Let''s hope our father won''t change his mind."


    Theodore then glared at Nigel and reminded him of the promise they made in the past with all seriousness, "You still remember our little agreement, right? You will help to wash my feet on my wedding day."


    Nigel burst into laughter followed by Theodore. And he spoke while chuckling, "Yes, how can I forget that? Don''t worry. I will keep my word."


    Theodore then readied himself to return back to Wyverndale. And before he left, he asked Nigel to pass a message, "Puppy, tell your wife that I am really grateful towards her. Her letter to Adeline basically saved my relationship."


    Nigel also stood up from his chair and asked, "Why don''t you tell her yourself? Don''t you want to meet her? And my kids?"


    "I will meet them tomorrow." Theodore smirked and added, "I don''t want to see the junior puppies before Adeline. I know she will envy me."


    Nigel chuckled and nodded. "Sure.. See you tomorrow then."

 Chapter 304 - Growing Restlessness

    Adeline was standing in front of her dressing table and Hawisa and Osanna were helping her to get ready for the day.


    Osanna was carrying a couple of gowns in her arms and Hawisa was helping the Princess to check which one looked good on her.


    Hawisa offered a light green colored gown that had a boat neck and layered sleeves. Adeline pressed that gown over her body and checked herself in the mirror. She hummed for a while and then shook her head. "This gown looks a bit dull. Give me something that will help me create a great first impression."


    Hawisa raised one of her brows and glanced at Adeline''s reflection with a teasing smile on her face. "Mhmm�� so you want to make a great first impression on someone?" She gently nudged Adeline with her shoulder and asked, "Who is the lucky man? Are you going to meet your suitor today?"


    Adeline scoffed at Hawisa and denied. "No! I am not meeting any suitor. I am just��" She paused and dabbed her hot cheeks with her cold palms. She was going to meet her niece and nephew in secret and she couldn''t tell them who she needed to impress. And as she was caught off-guard, she couldn''t even come up with an excuse fast enough.


    And the maids thought that she was actually going to meet a suitor so they began to tease Adeline even more.


    "Whoa! Our Princess is really going to meet a suitor, isn''t she?" Osanna hopped closer to Adeline and gave a wide grin to her.


    "No! I am not." Adeline had told her father that she was going to the outer village with Theodore to inspect the situation there and also show Theodore around the place.


    But she couldn''t use the same excuse to her maids, not just because of Theodore but also because of the slip-up of her tongue saying that she wanted to make a great first impression. They were already thinking that she was going to meet a suitor and she didn''t want to give them more reasons to doubt her.


    Adeline didn''t want the rumors about her marriage to fly around the Palace. Not that she didn''t trust her maids to keep her secret, but she just didn''t want to risk it for now.


    So she tried to come up with something that would be more believable to the maids. But she ended up making the lamest excuse, "I am just going to have a meeting with an old friend of mine. Actually, I am going to meet her babies. So I want to have a good first impression on the kids."


    It was true in some way but the problem was that it was not believable.


    And Hawisa furrowed her brows and casually pointed out, "But you don''t have any old friends. So, whose babies are you going to meet?"


    Adeline''s heart began to race because of the fear that her maids were going to figure out her lies. So she tried to mask her nervousness with an equally nervous chuckle and she stuttered, "D-did I say an old friend? I th-think you heard me wrong. I meant a new friend that I made not too long ago. I''m going to meet her babies."


    Osanna was gullible enough and she instantly believed the Princess. "Ah! Is that so? Then let me select something nice and refreshing for you."


    Hawisa, on the other hand, was still giving Adeline a suspicious look. She could tell that Adeline was lying to them and that she was going to meet someone in secret. But she chose not to say anything because once Adeline set her mind on something, it was highly unlikely that they could do anything to change it.


    Osanna handed out a baby pink gown that was made out of the softest silk. There were no excessive designs or embroidery on that gown but it looked very simple yet elegant. "Adeline, try this on. This dress won''t irritate the skin of the babies if you want to hold them."


    Adeline took that gown and then ran her palm over it. It indeed was soft and also looked comfortable to wear. She had a bright smile on her face as she was already imagining carrying the twins in her arms.


    "Okay, help me out of this dress," she turned her back towards Hawisa so that she could help her untie the lace of the dress that she was wearing at the moment.


    Adeline then changed into the pink gown and sat down to get her hair and makeup done.


    As usual, Osanna helped her with her hair and Hawisa helped with her makeup.


    "All done, Princess. Do you like the look?" Osanna asked after tying up Adeline''s hair into a neat bun.


    Adeline flashed a sweet smile at Osanna and then nodded her head. "Yes, I like it. Thank you both of you for your hard work."


    Adeline then headed to the King''s Court and went to her own workroom. She instructed Bennett not to disturb her for the whole day and not to let anyone inside her room. "I need to go through some important documents today so I want to be left undisturbed."


    Bennett bowed to the Princess and smiled, "I will make sure to do as you say. If you need anything then-"


    "Then I will make sure to give you a shout," Adeline gave an appreciative smile to her assistant and went inside her room.


    Bennett kept on standing outside the Princess''s locked door for a while and then sighed. He did not want the Princess to overwork herself and that also without eating for the whole day. But there was nothing he could do now. So he walked back to his own room, hoping that the Princess would call him if she felt hungry.


    Adeline glanced at the sundial to see what time it was. It was just 10 in the morning. "I still have to wait two more hours? Oh god! How am I going to kill two full hours? I want to meet them now!"


    Adeline pursed her lips and paced around for a while. She was more interested to meet the twins than to meet her brother and talk about the serious stuff with him. But it was good for her in a way. She had something to look forward to. Her mind was filled with happiness rather than tension because of the vampires.


    She looked at the sundial again after what felt like an hour. However, the shadow had not even moved a little from where it was before.


    "Argh! Did the time stop or something?" Adeline heaved a sigh and then sat down on her chair to look at some of the documents that were on her table.


    She wanted to distract herself but no matter how much she tried, she was unable to focus on the documents. Her mind would automatically float to Aberdeen. After a while, she gave up trying to focus on her work and just kept on standing by the window, in front of the sundial.


    Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it was finally noon.


    "Yes!" Adeline clapped her hands and smiled. "Now we can go."


    She had agreed with Theodore that she would summon him in the noon. So she turned around and then took a deep breath. Then she brought her knuckles closer to her lips and was about to kiss her ring.


    However, before she could kiss the ring, Theodore appeared in front of her with a warm smile on his face. It was as though he was also waiting for the sundial to strike twelve.


    Adeline trotted towards Theodore and hugged him. "You''re here." She looked up at his gorgeous face and whispered, "Let''s go.. I am dying to meet everyone, especially the kids."

 Chapter 305 - Cuteness Overloaded

    "Hold on tight," Theodore enveloped Adeline in his arms after warning her that they were going to teleport.


    Adeline also clung to Theodore and closed her eyes. And when she opened her eyes, she was in a room that she had never seen before.


    "We''ve arrived." Theodore darted his eyes around the room but saw that there was no one in the room. "I think Nigel is still busy. He had asked me to meet here in this room."


    Adeline looked around the room while feeling a mix of emotions. "Let''s wait for them to come then," she whispered to Theodore and then walked towards the chair.


    Adeline sat down at the edge of the chair and Theodore also sat beside her. He leaned into her ear and whispered, "You don''t need to worry about being heard. This room is soundproof."


    "Ah! That''s much better then," Adeline spoke in her normal voice.


    There was pin-drop silence in the room for a while. With every passing second, Adeline was starting to get really nervous because of the anticipation. She was trying hard not to show her restlessness to Theodore but she eventually failed at it. She began tapping her foot vigorously and began to pinch her own palm.


    Theodore glanced at Adeline and couldn''t help but get worried seeing that petrified look on her face. He placed his hand on her palm and asked, "Hey, what is bothering you? Are you nervous thinking that your brother might not be able to help you?"


    "Hmm��" Adeline gave a clueless look to Theodore and it took her a few seconds to register what he had just asked her. She pressed her lips into a thin line and then shook her head. "No, it''s not that. Actually�� I am a little worried about my first meeting with the twins."


    She gave an anxious look to Theodore and asked, "What if the twins don''t like me?"


    Theodore chuckled because that answer was far from what he had expected. He gently put his arm around her and pressed her head on his shoulder.


    He then reassured her, "Adeline, you don''t have to be so nervous about meeting the junior puppies. They are going to love you. You are going to be a lovely aunt."


    Adeline took in a deep breath and entangled her fingers with Theodore''s. "I don''t know why I am feeling this way. I guess I want to have a lasting impression on them so that they will remember me the next time they see me." She puckered her lips and then added, "But I guess they are too young to remember me."


    "Then we will keep on visiting the junior puppies every once in a while. You can always ask me to bring you here. It only takes a few seconds after all." Theodore then brought her hand towards his lips and gave a soft kiss on her knuckles.


    Adeline was really happy to hear that. He was making her feel really pampered and she liked it.


    They kept on waiting for another 10-15 minutes but there was no sign of Nigel or Rhea and the kids.


    "Shall I go and look for Nigel?" Theodore asked Adeline as she was starting to tap her foot again.


    But Adeline shook her head. "No, he must be caught up in something. Else he would have already rushed here."


    Theodore''s ears perked up and he looked towards the door. "Oh, I think the puppies are rushing here."


    Adeline''s heart began to drum really fast upon hearing that they were close. She abruptly sprung up on her feet and expectantly waited for the door handle to unlock.


    Both Adeline and Theodore''s gaze were fixated at the door. Adeline was waiting to see her loved ones while Theodore was ready to jump in at any second if it was somebody else.


    When the door opened, Adeline instantly melted at the sight of her precious niece and nephew. It was Rhea who had entered the room carrying both of her twins on either side of her waist.


    Rhea entered the room and slammed the door with her foot. And she immediately shouted, "Adeline! It is really you��" Rhea felt like crying after getting to see Adeline after so long.


    "Yes, it is really me." Adeline couldn''t help but glance at three of the most beautiful people with teary eyes.


    Both Rhea and Adeline moved towards each other. They met halfway and Adeline carefully hugged all three of them.


    Adeline pulled away from the hug and whispered in a broken voice, "I missed you so much, sister."


    "We missed you too, Adeline," Rhea gazed at her loving sister-in-law and gave a wistful smile.


    Adeline then focused her attention on the cutest kids she had ever seen in her life. And she couldn''t help but praise them, "Aww�� aren''t they the cutest? The paintings don''t even justify their cuteness."


    She covered her mouth with her palm and lovingly glanced at them.


    Ramon was playing with his mother''s dress while Niylah was cutely gazing at the new lady standing in front of her.


    "Hi, baby!" Adeline spoke in her softest voice and poked Niylah''s chubby cheeks.


    Niylah seemed to immediately accept her aunt. She held out her tiny hand to hold Adeline''s finger while giggling melodiously.


    "Awwww�� she is so sweet." Adeline''s heart couldn''t handle the cuteness and she leaned closer to give a peck to Niylah.


    She shifted her gaze towards Ramon who was also interested in that new person by now. She gently squeezed his soft baby cheeks and then gave a playful smile to him.


    And she had a little baby talk with her nephew, "Hi cutie! I am your aunty." She let him hold her finger and then gently shook his baby hand. "It''s so nice to meet you."


    Ramon gazed at Adeline with his doe eyes as if he was seeing a beautiful doll. And he gave a heart-melting smile to her.


    "Do you want to hold them?" Rhea asked the oblivious new aunty. Her hands were already starting to get numb by holding both of the babies at once.


    "Can I?" Adeline asked a bit nervously because she had never held a baby in her arms before.


    Rhea smiled and nodded, "Yes, of course." Rhea could sense the anxiousness from Adeline so she verbally taught the Princess how to hold the baby, "Use both of your palms and gently grab the baby under their arms. Lift them and hold the baby''s by putting your forearm under the baby''s bum."


    Adeline didn''t quite catch what Rhea said to her. She just caught half of it. She grabbed Niylah and tried to copy how Rhea was holding Ramon. But holding the baby on the waist looked way too complicated.


    For her, it was easier to carry a sword around the waist than a baby. The baby was too fragile and she was afraid that she would hurt her precious niece.


    She was holding Niylah in the midair as if she was holding some glass vase. And she asked while panicking, "Okay, now what do I do? I feel like I am going to drop her and break her."


    "Adeline, relax. You are not going to drop her." Rhea tried to calm Adeline down and teach her how. But the situation became way too chaotic when the babies began to cry because of the commotion Adeline was creating.


    Theodore, who was standing in one corner of the room until now, swiftly appeared right beside Adeline.


    Rhea had forgotten that Theodore was also in the same room and was almost startled when he suddenly stood in front of her.


    "Let me show you," Theodore took Niylah from Adeline''s hand and then gently pressed the junior puppy against his chest. And then he began to softly pat Niylah''s back to make her stop crying.


    And as if Theodore had had a lot of practice to pacify a crying baby, Niylah stopped crying in no time.


    Both Adeline and Rhea watched Theodore in action in shock.


    Adeline couldn''t believe that Theodore voluntarily took a baby in his arms, and not just that, he also calmed her down. Her jaw was wide open the whole time.


    And after a while, she finally expressed herself in a baffled voice, "You know how to carry a baby? How? You don''t even touch anyone!"


    Theodore smirked at Adeline and slyly commented, "I had my practice while carrying you as a toddler."

 Chapter 306 - Theyre Not Myths?

    "I had my practice while carrying you as a toddler," Theodore desperately tried to suppress his laughter after saying that.


    But Rhea ended up bursting into laughter.


    Adeline furrowed her brows and stole Ramon from Rhea''s arms, this time, carrying her nephew perfectly. "Sister! Why are you laughing? You are making me feel embarrassed," Adeline complained and pouted.


    But Rhea kept on chuckling and spoke while holding her stomach, "Oh dear lord! I almost forgot that you two met each other for the first time when Adeline was a baby."


    Adeline was flustered by that comment from her sister-in-law. And she focused her attention on little Ramon who she was holding. "Hey, Ramon. Can you say ''aunty''? Go on, try to say ''aunty''."


    But Ramon just giggled. Adeline also giggled along with him and began smooching the junior puppy and playing with him.


    Rhea controlled her laughter after a while and then finally greeted Theodore, "It is nice to meet you again, Theodore. I am sorry for not greeting you earlier. It just completely went over my head because of the twins."


    "It''s alright, puppy," Theodore smiled at Rhea and lovingly gazed at Niylah who was giggling in his arms.


    He squeezed Niylah''s baby cheeks and praised Rhea, "You have very lovely kids. They are a perfect combination of the two of you. They even share both of your eye colors!"


    Rhea smiled and agreed, "Yes, they are very lovely. But they are very naughty at times."


    "When is Nigel coming here by the way?" Theodore asked Rhea.


    Rhea half-shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I have no idea. He should have been here by now. But I guess the training went for a little longer than usual. He had asked me to come to this room with the kids in the noon. So I came here without waiting for him." She glanced at Adeline and smiled, "I was really eager to meet Adeline."


    "Okay, let''s wait for him then," Theodore turned to look at Alexis and gestured for her to follow him towards the chairs.


    All of them went and sat down. Adeline and Theodore kept on holding the babies and they began to catch up with Rhea.


    Adeline and Rhea were the ones who were talking with each other most of the time. Adeline asked Rhea about the pregnancy and the life with the babies while Rhea was interested to know how Adeline coped when she had forgotten about Theodore.


    The two of them were so immersed in each other''s stories that at one point, Adeline handed Ramon over to Theodore and didn''t even realize it.


    Theodore, on the other hand, was carrying both of the babies in his arms. Sometimes he would walk around the room to calm them down if they started to cry, sometimes he would put them on the chair and play with them, and the other time he would cuddle and shower kisses on them.


    And the twins were also playing with Theodore. They would play with his clothes, pull his hair, hold his finger, and would even kiss him. For some reason, his pet peeve of being touched by others was exclusive of the twins. He didn''t mind them clinging to him at all.


    Rhea pointed her brows at Theodore and teased Adeline, "He seems to be very gentle with the kids. He will make a great father someday."


    Adeline scoffed in disbelief at what Rhea had just said. She had barely managed to openly talk about her lover and the talk about having kids with Theodore someday made her red like a cherry.


    Theodore, who had heard what Rhea had said to Adeline, smirked at the thought of having a mini Adeline.


    He turned to face Adeline and Rhea and was about to say something but right then, the door suddenly opened and Nigel entered the room while apologizing, "I am so sorry for making all of you wait for me. I had to take-"


    "Brother!" Adeline jumped from her seat and sprinted towards Nigel before letting him finish his apology.


    "Adeline!" Nigel gave a wide grin and then opened his arms for his beloved sister.


    Adeline put her arms around her brother''s shoulders and Nigel lifted his sister and twirled.


    They kept on hugging each other for quite a while. They were laughing and were also crying at the same time. It was a bittersweet moment for both of them. They had reunited after so long when they were not even supposed to part from each other in the first place.


    "How have you been, sister?" Nigel finally asked after breaking off from the hug.


    Adeline curved her lips upward and lied, "I have been good. I have adapted well to the new routine and works. I am busy in official works most of the time, so it has been great." Adeline didn''t want to say how much she missed her brother and how much of a mess her life had been. She didn''t want to make her brother feel guilty for no reason.


    However, Nigel was not a fool not to see the pain behind her innocent smile. Also, he had already heard from Theodore how she had to go through a lot of mental pain. So he flicked Adeline on her forehead and scolded her, "Have I already become a stranger to you that you now have to pretend in front of me?"


    Adeline''s lips suddenly curved downwards and she whispered, "Sorry!"


    Nigel gently patted on her silver head and then walked ahead of her, "Come. Let''s talk."


    The upcoming war with the creatures of the night resumed haunting Adeline. She took a deep breath in and then followed her brother.


    All of them sat down and the playful vibe that was in the room just a while ago turned gloomy and serious all of a sudden.


    Nigel glanced at Theodore and then back at Adeline. And he initiated the conversation, "Theodore told me yesterday that a war was coming and that you needed my help. So what really happened? What led to the war?"


    Adeline gritted from between her teeth, "Lillian''s jealousy. What else?"


    "Lillian? She did something again?" Nigel asked with a smoldering look on his face.


    Adeline looked into her brother''s eyes and briefed him, "She went to Mihir in the pretense of going to Frostford. And she made a deal with the King of Mihir, who happens to be a vampire."


    "A what now?" Nigel knitted his brows in tune because that was a lot of information in just a few sentences. "Vampires are real? I thought they were just myths that were used by the elders to keep the young werewolves at bay. But you are saying that they actually exist?"


    Rhea was also giving a curious glance to Adeline because she had also thought the same as Nigel, that the creatures who looked like humans but could fight on par with the werewolves were just a myth.


    But Adeline proved them both wrong. "Yes, they are real. I even met one in the Golden Street. They are already on the move."


    Nigel fisted over his mouth and thought for a while.. And he deduced why Adeline was adamant about meeting him before the King. "Does that mean you need the help of the werewolves to fight them off?"

 Chapter 307 - Start Fire

    "Yes, Wyverndale might need the werewolves fighting on her side," Adeline replied with a very serious look on her face.


    "How many vampires are there?" Nigel asked in an equally serious tone, willing to do everything in his power to convince the alpha to help Wyverndale at the time of need.


    Adeline pursed her lips and shook her head. "We don''t know that yet. But I have asked brother Edwin to find that out."


    Nigel raised his brows in disbelief, "You have asked Edwin? The Edwin that we know? The son of that same witch?"


    "Oh!" Adeline rubbed her forehead and then chuckled awkwardly, "Umm�� I haven''t told you this. He has changed for good. Or rather he was forced to change for good by the Dragon Immortal. And now his loyalty lies with me. So, I have decided to make him my Personal Advisor. And-"


    Nigel abruptly interfered in the middle and then exclaimed, "Are you out of your mind! You made that cruel brat your Personal Advisor? Did all the other people die that you had to make him your Advisor? Even dogs will give you better advice than that brat."


    Nigel was angry at his sister''s gullibility. He had seen Edwin acting like a cold killer for all his life and when Adeline suddenly said that he had changed for good, there was no way that he could believe it. Not even after hearing that the Dragon Immortal himself had forced him on that better path.


    Adeline totally understood where that anger in her brother was coming from. So she calmly explained all the details regarding the curse and how Edwin was the one to reveal that his mother was conspiring and bringing the war to Wyverndale.


    After explaining everything in detail, Nigel was finally able to believe a little that their eldest brother was really on their side. "So, when is he going to find out the total number of vampires that will be participating in the war?"


    Adeline took a deep breath in because she was also desperately in need of that information. "I have asked Edwin to find that out within a week because we are planning to capture and lock Lillian up after a week."


    Nigel was about to ask something to Adeline but he let his sister finish what she was going to say first.


    "So, I have asked Edwin to actively take control of Lillian''s deal and lead the further negotiations with that vampire King. That way, we may even be able to talk them out of the war. Or at the very least, we will get the insider information so that we can be prepared when they strike."


    Nigel was greatly impressed by how Adeline was able to plan so many things to prepare for the war. He realized that his little sister was no longer that na?ve little girl. She had already grown into a capable ruler.


    "So, you have already started to lay down your own moves, I see. That is very thoughtful of you to prepare yourself in every possible way." Nigel praised his sister and then asked, "And you have planned to capture Lillian? Can''t she just use her magic and get herself out?"


    "I have asked for the help from a Coven of witches. They will assist me in keeping her locked up using a magical barrier. So there won''t be a problem in capturing her now." Adeline looked really confident in her plan.


    And Nigel was even more impressed by Adeline. He was happy that she had gathered some very useful allies already. And then he asked her, "So tell me about this war, everything that you know till now. It might be of help for me to convince the alpha."


    Without missing a beat, Adeline instantly began to give all the details that she knew about the war. And after she explained everything, Nigel was quiet for a while. He was analyzing everything and was trying to find how it would affect Aberdeen. He wanted to make the war a personal problem for King Conall so that he would be forced to join hands with Wyverndale in this war.


    It wasn''t hard for him to come up with all the problems that Aberdeen would be facing if Mihir actually managed to win the war against Wyverndale. And it would be an even greater problem if the Vampires came and settled down in Wyverndale.


    Nigel glanced at Adeline and then assured her, "I will try my best to convert the werewolves into your allies. According to the elders, vampires used to be our sworn enemies in the past. And if they come and start to live right next to us, that will for sure bring the war to Aberdeen as well."


    "So, I am guessing that if I mention the vampires to the alpha and to the elders, then they will not be fool enough to protect their secret and turn the blind eye to Wyverndale." He gazed at Adeline with more confidence and added, "I will make sure that they won''t turn a blind eye."


    Nigel patted on Adeline''s shoulder and reassured her, "You should notify me how many vampires will be there in the war the moment you find it out. Till then, I will start the fire here."


    Adeline tried to calm her nerves and smiled. "I will trust you to it then."


    Adeline then remembered the ways to kill the vampires that she had read about. And she shared that with her brother, "And umm�� I had read about the ways to kill vampires. I read that they can be killed by driving a wooden stake through their heart, pulling their hearts out of their bodies, separating their head, and burning them in the sun."


    And she immediately glanced at Theodore and put forth her doubt, "I don''t know if those methods can kill the vampires, especially the part about burning them in the sun�� because I met that vampire during broad daylight."


    Everyone in the room turned towards Theodore for insights. So Theodore glanced at Adeline and shared what he knew, "Everything that you just told works. The vampires are originally vulnerable in the sun."


    He recalled how he had seen the vampire king kissing Lillian''s hand in the memory, so he shared that, "But they are able to walk by using some kind of magical potion. Currently, Lillian is supplying them with the potions."


    Adeline inhaled and exhaled noisily. She was frustrated by how that witch had been a constant eclipse in her life.. And she was fumed, she wanted to give the harshest torture to that witch for all the trouble that she had caused and was about to cause.

 Chapter 308 - Discussion

    "So that is how they walk in the sun then��" Adeline gritted her teeth and went into her thoughts.


    Previously, she had anticipated that the vampires might attack at night if they were vulnerable to the sun. But now that she knew that they had potions to make them immune to the sun, there was an equal chance that they would be attacking Wyverndale in the daytime.


    "Whether they attack at day or at night, we have to be equally prepared," Adeline thought to herself.


    She then looked at Theodore and asked for his insights, "Theo, are there any spells or potions that could make the humans see better at night? Even if it is just temporary?"


    Theodore blinked several times and gave an apologetic smile. "I only know about the ones that can take away the human sights."


    Adeline opened her mouth to say something to him but then immediately shut her lips. She remembered how he had said that he had the affinity to chaos. And it wasn''t as surprising considering his affinity.


    Theodore then gave his own suggestion, "Maybe the witches of the Mystic Coven are aware of such spells. They are supposed to help humans. If they don''t know of such spells then maybe my brother can teach them. I am sure he might know of such spells."


    "Why do you need humans to see in the dark?" Nigel asked with a little bit of confusion.


    And Adeline replied after a sigh, "If the vampires decide to attack during the night then I don''t want the soldiers to be disadvantaged in every way possible. They are already disadvantaged in terms of agility and strength. And if they attack at night and the soldiers can''t even sense them in the vicinity, then it will be a one-sided massacre rather than a war."


    "Don''t worry about that, Adeline. I will make sure that all the werewolves will fight by your side." Nigel tried to calm down the nerves of his sister. She already looked paranoid by this upcoming war.


    "I need the soldiers to at least be able to defend themselves, if not defeat those predators." She smiled at Nigel and added, "Even if the werewolves will fight side-by-side with us, there aren''t that many werewolves to begin with. They cannot focus on killing the vampires while at the same time jumping in every now and then to protect the soldiers."


    Rhea also chimed in and agreed with Adeline, "I agree with her. Humans should at least be able to defend themselves. Because I don''t think we will be able to protect the humans once we start to get affected by the bloodshed in the battlefield."


    Adeline held her head in sudden realization of how she was basically asking the werewolves the most daunting task that she could ever ask. "Right! The human blood is werewolves'' greatest weakness." She looked at her brother and asked, "Can the werewolves even suppress their animal urge to turn to humans?"


    "The experienced werewolves can. But I can''t say that for sure for the relatively new turners." Nigel also looked as if he had just realized that problem.


    Then Theodore suggested to Adeline, "You said Edwin is going to meet the Vampire King, right? You can ask him to influence their battle strategy and separate the human soldiers and vampire soldiers. That way, the werewolves can focus on fighting the vampires without any hindrance. And there will be power balance as well."


    Adeline appreciatively touched Theodore''s hand and smiled, "That is a great idea. I will instruct brother Edwin to do the same." She let out a sigh of slight relief and added, "Thankfully we realized that imminent problem right now. Else the war would have been a mess."


    She clenched her palms together and added, "I just hope that Edwin will be smart enough to influence their decision."


    Nigel scoffed and added sarcastically, "Well, he is the son of that same witch who managed to convince them into attacking Wyverndale. So he should be able to steer the direction of the war with ease. Don''t underestimate his cunningness."


    Adeline smiled because she could sense a hint of jealousy sipping off from Nigel. So she focused her attention on her beloved brother, "Enough about the war. Brother, tell me how you are? How far have you reached in controlling your emotions?"


    Nigel looked at the twins who were sound asleep in Rhea''s arms and smiled at them. And he said in a soft voice, "Ever since the twins were born, my emotions have been quite stable. I don''t lose my temper as easily as I used to."


    Theodore then glanced at Nigel and shared what he had heard from the maids the other day, "I heard that you are now the second strongest wolf. Aren''t you going to tell that to your sister?"


    Adeline widened her eyes and asked with great excitement, "Is that true?"


    Nigel ran his fingers through his raven black hair and kept on smiling. And Rhea praised her husband, "Yes, he is the strongest werewolf after the alpha himself. He surpassed everyone within a matter of a few months as a werewolf."


    Nigel then lovingly patted on his sister''s head and then appreciated her, "All the credit goes to my little sister. You always challenged me to do better." He chuckled and then continued, "To be honest, I had to do better because if I had not adapted to your strength then I would end up with way too many bruises by the end of the day."


    "And I guess that made me prepared for what was about to happen in my life," Nigel smiled at his sister but he ended up making her sad.


    She was sad because, for one, she didn''t have Nigel as her sparring partner anymore. And to add to that, her strength wasn''t what it used to be.


    Nigel remembered Theodore saying how her powers were sealed and then quickly tried to lighten up her mood, "How is our father by the way? And is my mother doing okay?" Theodore had told him yesterday how he had taken their father to the fountain and thus he asked knowingly.


    And it worked like magic to elevate her mood. "Father''s health is better than before. He was already getting sick very frequently but Theodore took him to the fountain and now he looks really healthy, and also young."


    "And Queen Claricia is also doing fine." She stole the loving gaze of the twins and said, "She keeps herself busy by knitting sweaters and hats for these young ones. She misses you all greatly though. But she doesn''t show it to me."


    They all engaged in some small talks for a little more but the twins woke up and it was getting harder for Rhea and Nigel to keep them occupied.


    Adeline didn''t want to leave them but she had no other choice than to return back to Wyverndale. She had to return back before Bennett would start to think that something was wrong with her for not getting out of her workroom for a long time.


    So she finally got up from her seat and looked at the lovely family. And she took her leave, "Brother, sister, I should return back for today. I will visit you all soon again."


    Nigel didn''t insist to make her stay for longer. He was well aware that she could get into trouble if she stayed there any longer. "Sure. Make sure to come here frequently," Nigel also got up and tightly embraced his sister.


    Adeline then hugged Rhea and kissed both of the twins. Theodore also bid goodbyes to his puppies and got ready to teleport to Wyverndale.


    He held Adeline by her waist. Adeline gave a sad smile to her brother and sister-in-law.. And in no time, they disappeared from the room.

 Chapter 309 - Oracle

    High Priestess Tabitha was carrying a burning candle in her hand. The light from the candle made her face radiate even in the dark room that she was in. She slowly walked down the stairs that led to the basement.


    Tabitha was followed by the rest of the witches of the Mystic Coven, all of whom were dressed in a long white gown paired with white hoods. And all of them were carrying a candle in their hands. They were all letting their hair loose and at the moment, they looked like a group of beautiful women rather than a coven of powerful witches.


    The High Priestess pushed the old wooden doors. The door made a creaking sound and opened to reveal a dark room. As the faint light of the candles entered that room, it exposed several items used in witchcraft.


    There was an altar at the opposite side of the door where several items used in the rituals were displayed. Among the items, the major four elemental tools were an athame, a chalice, a pentacle, and a wand.


    There were shelves on either side of the room. One was full of Grimoires that recorded each and every spells known to them. And the other was full of herbs and ingredients that the witches used to create potions.


    At the center of the room, there was a huge cauldron for brewing potions. And circling the cauldron, there were thirteen seats, each for a witch of the Coven.


    All the thirteen witches lay down the candles they were holding on the stands that were beside their respective chairs.


    And the meeting of the Mystic Coven formally began.


    Tabitha glanced at Agnes with her fierce but at the same time soothing gaze and spoke in an equally calm voice, "Agnes, I believe that you have something very important to share with the rest of us."


    Agnes had recently returned from the Golden Street to meet with the High Priestess and the coven. She was there to deliver the message from the Princess and to relay the plans of capturing Lillian.


    She gently nodded her head and then glanced at everyone in the room. And then she began, "The time has finally come, for us to finally punish our sworn enemy who had chosen the path of darkness years ago. It is finally our time to avenge our fallen sister."


    Agnes glanced at the High Priestess and then further added, "As per my recent vision, Princess Adeline came to my place and she has asked for our assistance in capturing the dark witch. And she plans to do that on the seventh day after today."


    "What has the Princess proposed that we do?" Tabitha asked Agnes in order to gauge the viability of the plan.


    And Agnes stated the plan to the whole coven, "Prince Edwin and Lillian will head for Frostford early in the morning on that day. We will wait for their carriage by the willow creek near the Ethereal River. We will surround them and lure Lillian out to fight us."


    She then glanced at Tabitha and then at Sibyl, and said, "And I think we all know who will be able to face that witch head-on. While one or two of us face that witch, the rest of us will create a magical barrier in the carriage. We then push her in the carriage and send her back to Wyverndale."


    "We also need to create the magic circle in the prison cell where she will be kept for the rest of her life," Agnes had a sense of satisfaction just by imagining the pitiful situation that Lillian would be in on that day.


    Tabitha contemplated on the matter for a while. "The plan sounds really simple." And then she raised a question, "But will it be as easy as you are making it sound, Agnes? We don''t even know how much she has corrupted since the last time we had a fight with her. How can we be so sure that we will be able to take her down?"


    But Agnes said with confidence, "I believe in you and Sibyl. The two of you are the most powerful witches of our coven. There is no way that Lillian''s power is too great for the two of you�� no matter how much she has already corrupted."


    Sibyl also made a few hand gestures and said that there was no need to be so afraid of Lillian when there were thirteen of them.


    And the others also voiced that they were ready to even sacrifice themselves if it meant that Lillian would be punished for her wrongdoings.


    "She has already upset the balance of nature by tapping into the dark side. If we don''t punish her when we have the chance then our ancestors will never forgive us," one of the witches said while looking at the High Priestess with great conviction.


    Tabitha listened to them all and in the end, she decided to fulfill the wish of her coven members and give the plan a go-ahead signal.


    But first, she gazed at Agnes and asked, "Agnes, have you had any premonitions yet?"


    Among the witches of the coven, Agnes was the one whom they looked up to for future predictions and oracles. She was gifted with the ability to perceive things before they happened. But as Theodore had said, they did not always come true. Nonetheless, her visions were a great guide for the coven.


    Agnes shook her head and said with honesty, "No, I haven''t had a vision yet. I don''t know if I will, but I will let you all know the moment I have-"


    Suddenly, Agnes began to convulse and she fell down to the floor. Her eyes had turned white and she was still shaking as if she was possessed.


    The others didn''t touch her or disturb her because they knew what was happening to her. She was seeing a vision and they didn''t want to pull her out of her trance.


    After a while of struggling, Agnes finally came back to her senses.


    Two of the coven members helped her to get up from the floor and Tabitha asked with curiosity, "What did you see? Is it related to the fight that we are going to have?"


    Agnes frantically nodded her head. For some reason, she looked terrified at first. She darted her eyes around for a while as she tried to make sense of her vision.


    And after a while, she looked at the High Priestess and said, "The gates to the Hell will be opened. I saw a lot of blood�� No matter we capture her or not, the bloodshed is bound to happen. But the bloodshed will be higher if we do not capture her that day."


    She gave a scared look to Tabitha and whispered in a shaken voice, "I sense a great war! It is already at our doorstep!"

 Chapter 310 - Little Ones

    Adeline and Theodore arrived in Adeline''s workroom. By the time they returned back, it was already evening. Thankfully, it wasn''t so dark and it wasn''t time for the maids to come knocking at the door to light up the candles in her room.


    Adeline was feeling a little sad for having to come back so quickly from Aberdeen. And she was sad that she didn''t even get to take some gifts with her for the twins or her brother and sister-in-law because she didn''t want to leave any traces of her visit to Aberdeen.


    Theodore, who was noticing her sad eyes, gently caressed her cheeks and whispered with a whimsical smirk on his lips, "You know, I was thinking about what Rhea had said about me."


    Adeline looked into his playful eyes and asked with a reciprocating smile, "And what is that?"


    Theodore grabbed Adeline by her hips and brought her closer. He softly kissed under her ear and whispered with his hot breath, "She was saying that I would make a great father. And I cannot stop thinking about having your mini version."


    Adeline''s heart skipped several beats hearing him talk about having a child. Her pale face turned rosy and warm. And all she could do was smile shyly.


    Theodore was enjoying seeing her blushing like that. He leaned closer to her ear and whispered again, "But first, let''s focus on getting married as early as possible. I can''t wait to show you off to all three worlds."


    Adeline also couldn''t wait to claim the Devil Prince all to herself. She gave a tight hug to him and said, "Yes, let''s get married first. And everything, including our little ones, can follow after that."


    Their sweet moment was disturbed by a knock on the door. Adeline quickly pulled herself away from the hug and asked, "Yes, who is it?"


    And she heard the voice of Bennett, "Your Highness, it''s me. I know you asked me not to disturb you but you haven''t had any food for the whole day. And I couldn''t bear to see you working by compromising your health."


    "Oh, it''s alright Bennett. I just finished my work. Just a second," Adeline shouted while facing towards the door.


    She quickly gave a peck to Theodore and dismissed him, "I will see you at night."


    "Sure," Theodore stole a warm kiss and then vanished from the room.


    Adeline rushed towards her door and then opened it for Bennett. "Come in," she smiled and gestured to the maids who were standing there with food trays to get in.


    Adeline''s heart was still fluttering from the talk that she just had with Theodore. She didn''t want to give away that she was flustered, so she kept on looking the other way and avoiding talking with Bennett.


    However, she couldn''t hide it from Bennett''s keen eyes. He could tell that the Princess was definitely hiding something from him. He looked at the desk and didn''t see many changes in the stacks of documents that were there.


    And to add to that, he also noticed how the Princess''s lip color was smudged a little.


    However, nothing made sense to him. He was stealing glances of the Princess while thinking, "Why would the Princess stay inside the room for the whole day if she wasn''t even going through the important documents? Was she tired and just decided to sleep for the whole day?"


    He looked at her again, but it didn''t look like she was sleeping either. And the curiosity was killing him.


    After the maids went out of the room, he cleared his throat and finally caved in to his curiosity, "Your Highness, is something bothering you? I am sorry if I am overstepping but I feel like you are going through some problems."


    Adeline showed some hesitance so Bennett politely added, "I can understand if you don''t feel like sharing your problems with me but if it is something I could help you with, then I would be glad to assist you in any way I can."


    Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line. She was not liking hiding things from him either, especially when the problem would soon be out in the open. However, she couldn''t risk it by telling anything to anyone until Lillian was confined.


    So she ambiguously said, "I have a lot of things in my mind these days. It has been a very tough week. And I was searching for some solutions on my own. But I will soon require your assistance and everyone else''s. I will let you know once I figure out what to ask of you."


    Bennett felt sad when the Princess agreed that she was indeed having some difficulties. He gently bowed his head and vowed, "I will help you with anything you need, Your Highness. Please make sure that you do not overwhelm yourself with the burden."


    Adeline nodded her head and smiled. "Thank you for taking care of me, Bennett." She looked at the delicious meal that was brought to her and thanked him again, "The food looks appetizing. Thank you!"


    Bennett was about to leave when Adeline called him again, "Oh, and before I forget, will you ask Prince Edwin to visit me after a while?"


    "Sure. I will inform him," Bennett bowed and left.


    Adeline sat down in her chair and began to enjoy her meal. After clearing everything on her plate, she set the plates aside and organized her thoughts. She had a lot of things that she needed Edwin to do for her.


    Edwin knocked on the door and came inside. Adeline gestured him to sit down and then got straight into business, "Brother, did you ask Queen Lillian to hand over the further dealings with the King of Mihir to you?"


    "She was busy this morning. So I will be meeting her this evening," Edwin replied confidently.


    Adeline clenched her fists together and thought for a while. And then she said in a desperate voice, "Brother, I need you to meet the Vampire King within this week, no matter what. You need to find out how many vampire soldiers they have. And I also need you to try and influence their attack tactics."


    "Influence how?" Edwin listened to Adeline very carefully.


    And Adeline replied, "It would be great if you are able to make them cancel this war. But I don''t want to be that optimistic. So, it would be really great if you can manage to persuade them to separate their vampire soldiers and human soldiers."


    "Do you have any plans for the vampire soldiers?" Edwin wanted to know why she wanted them to be separated.


    Adeline didn''t want to reveal the secrets about the werewolves before they agreed to help her. So she instead said, "I have found some ways to kill the vampires. And I want to give special training to a limited number of soldiers so that they can hunt those vampires down. The methods of killing a vampire and a human can differ so I want the vampires to be separated from the lot."


    Adeline''s eyes sparkled as she said, "It will be easier for the specially trained soldiers to just focus on killing vampires."

 Chapter 311 - Bypassing The Authority

    After Adeline was done with her work, she went to visit the King to report her ''visit to the outer village'' with Theodore.


    And she also hadn''t gotten the chance to tell her father that she had decided to give the position of her Personal Advisor to Prince Edwin. She decided to do that before the King would find out that she had already prepared the workroom for Edwin and he was even coming in for work already.


    She found King Dragomir in the garden that was in front of her own quarter. He was looking at the flowers and was admiring their beauty.


    Adeline was elated to see her father taking time to appreciate the beauty of the garden rather than burying himself with work like before.


    She went and stood by his side and she also began to admire the beautiful flowers. "They are a treat to the tired eyes, aren''t they, father?" she softly smiled while gently touching a red rose.


    "Yes, they indeed soothe the eyes. They remind me of the past." A soft smile curved upon Dragomir''s lips and he further said, "Your mother used to be very fond of flowers. That is why I had asked the gardeners to plant every kind of beautiful flower in this garden."


    Adeline gave a wistful smile while softly gazing around at her garden. She also used to love playing in the garden when she was a toddler. But as she grew up, she became more attached to the weapons rather than flowers.


    "So, how was your day? Did you spend some quality time with Theodore?" Dragomir asked with a smile on his face.


    Adeline was glad that she was now finally able to talk almost freely about Theodore with her father. She nodded her head and smiled while recalling the time they had spent in Aberdeen, "Yes, I showed him a few really beautiful things of Wyverndale."


    The beautiful things that she implied were obviously her lovely niece and nephew.


    "That is great then." Dragomir kept on side-glancing at his daughter''s face for a while and then asked, "Are you happy?"


    He asked that because he saw that her smile had already faded and she was into some kind of deep thoughts.


    Adeline was a little startled because she was caught off-guard by her father. She immediately forced a smile and replied after a beat, "With Theodore? Yes, I am."


    Dragomir completely turned to look at Adeline and asked, "Then why do I sense sadness behind that smile?"


    "Actually, I was meaning to ask you something, father. Maybe that is why I look a little tense." Adeline managed to disguise her anxiety that the thoughts of the war were giving her.


    Dragomir furrowed his brows and asked, "What do you want to ask? Feel free to tell me whatever it is." He tried to make her speak by chuckling and saying, "I bet there is nothing more shocking than you asking me permission to get married to the Devil Prince."


    Adeline also gave a nervous chuckle because what she was going to ask could come off as an equally shocking request for the King, if not equal then really close.


    She took a deep breath in and then said, "Father, I don''t want you to scold me again or get angry at me. I want you to listen to whatever I am going to say first. And if you still feel that I am being unreasonable then you may scold me after I finish saying everything."


    Dragomir deeply inhaled and exhaled because he felt as though Adeline was going to ask something really bizarre again.


    But he prepared himself to listen to whatever Adeline was going to say to him. "Go on. I promise not to jump to a conclusion before you speak everything."


    Adeline also took a deep breath in. And rather than repeating her previous mistake of blurting out the conclusion at the beginning and giving a hard time to her father, she thought of building the premises at first.


    So she started off by explaining how Azriel had cursed Edwin and how his life was dependent on her and how Edwin was bound to be loyal to her.


    King Dragomir did not interrupt her even once and kept on listening to everything that Adeline was saying.


    And only after explaining everything, apart from the things related to the war, Adeline said, "Edwin has also agreed to help in capturing Queen Lillian soon. And by agreeing to that, he has already proved his loyalty to me. So I would like to offer him the position of my Personal Advisor. I feel that he deserves a chance to prove himself and change for the better."


    Dragomir heaved a sigh because he was speechless. There were so many things that Adeline had kept from him and he didn''t even know if his daughter was growing to be independent or if she was growing distant from him.


    And he asked in a disappointed tone, "Adeline, do I scare you? Why didn''t you share all these things sooner? And you have already laid out the plan to capture Lillian? And you didn''t think that it was necessary to run the idea by me before planning everything out?"


    Adeline felt a pinch in her heart. She could feel that her father was hurt for acting on her own. However, she could not let her father have another heart problem. She did not want to burden her father too much but she ended up hurting him instead.


    So she replied apologetically, "Father, it was not my intention to bypass your authority. And I am not scared of you either. I had gone to see a witch to ask a few things but we ended up planning everything on the spot. And I have yet to receive an actual confirmation from their side."


    Dragomir sighed and spoke gently, "It''s not about bypassing my authority, Adeline. In fact, I am happy that you are taking the lead without me having to spoon-feed you. But at least, be open about everything to me."


    He caressed Adeline''s cheek and urged her, "Tell me everything that you know, right after you know."


    Adeline felt a pang in her heart from that request because she was working for even greater things behind her father''s back. And she was in a dilemma whether to be open to her father and make him sick again or keep things from him and hurt him.


    Dragomir could see the color from Adeline''s face slowly fading away. And he felt somewhat bad for confronting Adeline.


    The King smiled and tried to cheer up Adeline, "You''ve planned to capture Lillian, that''s fine by me. I''ll provide you with an arrest warrant with my seal on it. But from now on, don''t ask for such important things right before the deadline. Let me know everything in advance, okay?"


    Adeline smiled while thinking to herself, "I told about ambushing Lillian a week in advance though��"


    "I will tell you everything in advance," Adeline smiled again, trying to hide the fact that she was already hiding other things as well.


    And she asked with some hesitance, "What about brother Edwin''s position?"


    "Oh, right!" Dragomir hummed for a while and replied, "Let''s see if he actually helps in capturing Lillian or he is just bluffing with you.. If Lillian is actually captured with his help then I will bestow that position to him."

 Chapter 312 - A Slip Up

    As promised to Adeline, Prince Edwin went to see his mother after finishing up his work at the King''s Court.


    Lillian was in her personal chamber, daydreaming about the day when her revenge would finally be realized.


    However, her daydream was disturbed by Edwin who knocked on her door. "Mother, it''s me," Edwin called from outside the door.


    "Come in," Edwin heard his mother''s voice and went inside.


    Lillian was lying down on her bed. After Edwin entered her room, she sat up on the bed and welcomed her son, "I was waiting for you." She patted on the bed by her side then gestured Edwin to sit down.


    "How are you, mother?" Edwin tried to start the conversation by engaging in small talks.


    Lillian caressed her dearest son''s head and answered, "I am good as always. What could possibly happen to your mother?" And she chuckled as if she was invincible.


    Edwin gave a forced smile to his mother. And he avoided eye contact with her knowing that a lot of things were about to happen to her.


    Edwin was lost for words for a while. And Lillian took the initiative to know why he had asked to meet her so urgently. "So, what brings you here today? Is there anything that you need to discuss with me?"


    "Yes. Actually, I had a few things to discuss with you." He hesitated for a while but then said what he had come to say, "You had suggested that I should visit Frostford to talk with my maternal uncle. And I was thinking of going there after a week."


    He then vaguely planted the idea in his mother''s head, "It has already been a while since we visited Frostford together." His eyes dilated as though he was remembering some distant memory. He clicked his tongue and said in a sad voice, "It would have been great if we were able to travel together. It''s a shame that you recently returned back from Frostford."


    Lillian easily took the bait and said with excitement, "Then let''s go to Frostford together."


    She clasped her hands together and added a few more members to the said trip, "Let''s also take Juniper and Joyce. And if Alan agrees to join us then let''s take him as well. It will be like a family trip. Your grandmother will also be really happy to see all of us."


    Needless to say, Edwin was against the idea of taking the other three more people right into the warzone. He pursed his lips and tried to deny it while trying not to sound suspicious, "Joyce has to take lessons during the day. So, I don''t think it is a good idea to take her and her mother along with us. And I don''t know if Alan will agree to come along with us."


    "Oh, don''t say that. It won''t matter if Joyce misses a few lessons. The tutor can always teach her later on." And the Queen spoke in a stern voice as though she was giving an order, "I don''t care about Alan but let''s bring Princess Juniper and Joyce along with us."


    Edwin could not think of another way to deny his mother. And he simply tried to put off the matter for now, "I will try to arrange the trip with everyone. But let''s see what happens."


    "Ah! It is going to be so much fun. Let''s enjoy this trip to our fullest." Lillian was widely grinning and was already excited like a baby.


    But Edwin looked at his mother with quite a serious gaze and then said, "Mother, I also wanted to talk with the King of Mihir myself. I have already lived more than a quarter of my life and I don''t want to keep on making you work for me. As I will be the one benefitting from the war, I don''t want to be out of the loop. I want to work with the King myself."


    Lillian felt proud of her son when he showed a willingness to take responsibility for his own path. However, she didn''t think that it was right for her beloved son to get entangled with the vampires, especially when he was just a human who had not inherited the gene that could perform witchcraft.


    So she denied politely, "I have already set the plan in motion. I don''t think we need to do anything other than sit and wait for the right time to come. The people of Mihir will do every work for you."


    Edwin was not going to back down that easily. He had to take the charge from his mother anyhow.


    And he tried to persuade his mother again, "That is exactly the problem, mother. I don''t want the King''s title handed over to me when I didn''t even contribute anything. I don''t want to be a charity case. It will just turn me into a puppet King."


    "But if I get involved from the planning phase to the execution phase of the war, I will at least earn some respect from the King of Mihir. He will be bound to listen to me and give me the necessary autonomy." Edwin hoped that this would be necessary to sway his mother.


    And as expected by Edwin, Lillian was forced to rethink what her son said to her. She did not want her son to be treated like a puppet by King Reginald. He had already been treated as one by King Dragomir for a very long time.


    What she really wanted for her son was power. And being a puppet was in no way a display of power but rather a display of slavery.


    Finally, after thinking for a while, Lillian agreed to her son''s request. "Fine. I will write to the King of Mihir saying that you want to have a meeting with him."


    She then took a moment to herself contemplating something in her mind. Edwin crossed his finger hoping that she was not about to instantly change her mind.


    But the matter that was haunting Lillian was something else. She looked at her son and then said, "Edwin, I have kept a secret from you."


    Edwin furrowed his brows and asked, "What kind of secret?"


    "I am fine with you meeting the King of Mihir but there is something that you need to know about that King first." Lillian tapped her fingers on her palm and then revealed the secret, "He is a vampire and a very strong one at that."


    Lillian was expecting either a shocked reaction or that of disbelief. However, she got neither from her son. She didn''t know it but that was not some new information for him.


    Edwin already knew that Mihir had a lot of vampires. But what he forgot was the source of that information. He forgot that it was not his mother who had told him about the vampires but it was Adeline.


    And he simply nodded his head, "Yes, you already told that the last time. You don''t have to worry about that. I will take my guards along with me." He chuckled and then added, "I bet they won''t prey on the very human who they will need later on."


    Lillian narrowed her eyes and kept on staring at her son until he looked away. She smirked and then bluntly stated, "I think I have started to become old. I told you everything about the vampires and I thought that I was still keeping it a secret."


    Edwin''s heart missed a beat when his mother said that. It suddenly struck him that he had just made a blunder.


    He softly gulped and then slowly turned his gaze towards his mother.. He wanted to check if she was really unaware or she was just being sarcastic when she said that she was getting old.

 Chapter 313 - A Letter

    However, before Edwin could see his mother''s expression, Lillian got up from her seat and walked towards another room.


    Edwin''s heart was now beating faster than ever. It was not that he had never deceived anyone before this, he had deceived the whole Kingdom. But he had never deceived his mother before. And the nervousness that he was feeling was starting to show on his face.


    He wiped the sweat beads that were forming on his forehead and thought to himself, "What if mother figured it all out? What if she knows that I have sided with Adeline?"


    His heart started to race even faster when he remembered his daughter.


    He anxiously clasped his hands together and thought, "She couldn''t have possibly already found out that we are going to ambush her on the way to Frostford, right? But what if she deliberately tried to drag my wife and daughter because she already knows? She has a lot of eyes and ears around the Palace and village��"


    Edwin was forced to think the worst because he had only recently found out about his mother''s countless crimes. And who was to say that she wouldn''t be as cruel to her own daughter-in-law and granddaughter?


    It was a well-known fact that human beings were selfish beings. Everybody would put themselves first when in the face of danger. In fact, that was exactly what Edwin was doing right now. He was turning against his mother to save himself.


    His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Lillian''s shrill voice, "Edwin, why aren''t you coming here? Tell me, what shall I write in the letter?"


    "Letter?" he shouted to the other room in a confused voice. He was so lost in his thoughts that he completely forgot that Lillian had offered to write a letter to the King of Mihir.


    "Yes, letter to that Vampire King," Lillian shouted back.


    "Ah! I will be right there," Edwin replied while getting up and walking towards the next room where his mother was currently at.


    Lillian was already sitting in front of a desk with a piece of paper and brush.


    Edwin then asked a question to his mother first, "Mother, is it okay for me to visit Mihir from now on? I can take the charge and lighten your burden."


    Lillian stared deep into her son''s eyes and smiled, "Okay. You can handle all the talking from now on. I will make sure to write that down."


    "Thank you, mother," Edwin tried to speak as normally as he could.


    Lilian started to put down the words in the letter. And after finishing up the letter, she put it inside an envelope and sealed it. She then handed over the letter to Edwin, "Here. I have jotted down everything."


    Edwin took the letter in his hand, feeling a little pinch in his heart for betraying his mother.


    "You can send the letter on your own, right? Or do you want me to send my men to Mihir?" Lillian asked as she got up from her chair.


    Edwin safely put the letter inside his pocket. "No, I will send my own men there. I want to be completely responsible for all of my actions."


    "Oh, and before I forget��" Lillian rummaged through her drawer and took out a jade token and presented it to her son.


    Edwin just kept on staring at that strange-looking object. So Lillian clarified, "This is a pass token which the previous King of Mihir gave to me. If you show it to the guards of Mihir then they will let you enter anywhere without being questioned. You might want to give it to your messenger so that he can cross the border."


    Edwin carefully lifted that token from his mother''s palm. A smile curved upon his lips. "Thank you, mother. I will make sure not to lose this precious token."


    Lillian then walked towards her bedroom again. Edwin also followed her but Lillian abruptly stopped in the middle of her bedroom and then turned around to look at her son.


    And she said in a little tired tone, "Edwin, I want to rest for now. You should also go and spend more time with your family. Don''t make them feel neglected."


    Edwin smiled and then nodded his head. "I will let you rest then." He turned around and then walked out of the room.


    Rather than going to his quarter first, he went to his servant''s quarter and then handed over that letter to his personal messenger. "I want you to deliver this letter to the King of Mihir. I want this letter in his hand on the earliest day possible. And bring the reply back with you if the King gives one."


    Edwin also handed over the jade token and some coins to him. He pointed at the token and said, "This will let you pass through the border without questioning. And make sure that you keep it safe. You will have to return this token back to me."


    "Yes, Your Highness. I will deliver the letter and come back with a reply." The messenger bowed his head to the Prince and Edwin sent him off to Mihir at that instant even though it was already nightfall.


    As that man was the messenger, he had one of the fastest horses. He untied his horse from the stable and then set off on the journey.


    Unlike Queen Lillian, that messenger took the direct path to Mihir rather than going through Frostford.


    He only stopped for eating breaks and short naps along the way. And for the rest of the time, he just rode the horse at the top speed as if the life of the King depended on the delivery of that letter.


    And after two days, he finally reached in front of the Mihir Palace. He showed the token and entered the Palace without any disturbances and problems.


    He was then led towards the throne hall by one of the guards.


    That guard made him wait outside the door of the throne hall of King Reginald and entered the hall alone. He bowed to the King and said, "Your Majesty, a messenger has arrived from Wyverndale."


    King Reginald was sleeping on his throne without any shame. But when that guard said that a messenger had arrived from Wyverndale, he instantly woke up. He had been daydreaming about Adeline almost every day and his mind made him believe that it was the letter from the Princess.


    "A letter from Wyverndale? Is it from Princess Adeline? Tell me it is from Princess Adeline." King Reginald asked with an excited tone.


    But he was soon disappointed when the guard said, "The messenger said that he is here with the letter on behalf of Prince Edwin, the first son of Queen Lillian."


    The smile from Reginald''s face faded away instantly when he heard the name of Queen Lillian, the very person he was trying to avoid answering to right now. And to add to that, her son was starting to pester him now.


    He rolled his red eyes and whispered to himself, "Great! Now my mood is all ruined."


    He sighed and unwillingly gestured his guard to let that messenger inside the throne hall.

 Chapter 314 - Rude

    The messenger entered the throne hall and greeted the King of Mihir. Then he presented the letter that he had brought with him to the King.


    King Reginald tore off the envelope and opened the letter. And he began to read the contents of the letter.


    "To His Majesty King of Mihir,


    I am writing this letter to let Your Majesty know that my first son, Prince Edwin will be the one to represent me from here on forth. I am taking a step back so that I don''t have to frequent Mihir in my old age.


    I believe that the discussions will go smoothly when both the parties are from the new generation. I hope that the changes will not bother Your Majesty.


    If Your Majesty has something that needs to be discussed about the war, then I hope that you will contact Prince Edwin from now on.


    And on that note, Prince Edwin desires a meeting with Your Majesty. He wants to formally introduce himself to you so that the future bond will be even stronger.


    I am hoping for a positive reply from your side.


    With Regards,


    Queen Lillian of Wyverndale"


    "Positive reply my arse!" Reginald thought to himself and folded the letter. If the messenger was not standing right in front of him then King Reginald would have torn off the letter and scattered it on the floor.


    He was thinking of creating a stronger future bond with the sister, not the brother. And the letter reminded him that he was about to go back on his word with the witch. It made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.


    When the messenger saw that the King was done reading the letter, he deeply bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Edwin expects me to return to Wyverndale with a reply letter."


    "He wants the reply letter now? What''s the hurry?" Reginald asked in a sour voice. He did not like being pushed and this Edwin was pushing him. And Reginald hated it.


    "I wouldn''t know why His Highness is in a hurry. I am just a messenger." That messenger had sensed the rage behind King Reginald and he tried to speak as politely as he could so as not to anger the King of another nation.


    Reginald glared at the messenger and then unfolded the letter from Wyverndale again. He put that letter down on the desk, took a brush, and then scribbled something on the letter''s back.


    Horace, who was standing beside the King all this time, heaved a frustrated sigh.


    He looked at the letter and at the King who didn''t even think that he should be using a fresh sheet of paper to write the reply. Horace hoped that the King would realize that on his own but Reginald was ready to hand the letter back to the messenger.


    Horace didn''t want to interfere with the King every now and then but the King didn''t leave him with any choice. He stepped closer to the King and then whispered, "Your Majesty, I think you should be using another piece of paper to write the reply. And you also need to put your seal on the letter and enclose it in an envelope."


    Reginald was in no mood to go through all that ''trouble'' so he completely ignored Horace. He took his Royal Seal and then stamped it on the backside of the letter where he had written something. He folded the letter and inserted it in the same envelope that he tore earlier. And he handed it over to the messenger.


    Though the messenger couldn''t believe that the King was actually giving that trashy ''reply letter'' to him, he tried his best to keep a neutral expression on his face when receiving that.


    The messenger bowed to the King and said politely, "Thank you, Your Majesty." He didn''t know why his Prince had sent a letter to this rude King but he guessed why the relationship between Wyverndale and Mihir was the way it was.


    Nevertheless, he kept that letter securely and then he stormed off towards Wyverndale.


    Reginald could feel the intense glare that his Chief Advisor was giving him. He was trying to avoid getting lectured again but the glaring never stopped. So he asked in a frustrated tone, "Okay fine! What is it? Just tell me already."


    Horace inhaled a deep breath and spoke while restraining his anger towards the King, "Your Majesty, you could have at least pretended to be still on board with the Queen''s plan until we figured out how to safely cancel the deal. There was no need to be so disrespectful while sending the reply."


    Reginald shrugged his shoulders and tried to reason with Horace, "I sent him a reply�� how is that disrespectful? Not sending a reply would have been more disrespectful."


    "But it is still disrespectful if you send the letter like that. It is better not to-" Horace was going to give a lecture to the King for some good minutes but he was disturbed by Rebekah.


    "Reggie! Why didn''t you come to the dungeons? I was waiting for you!" Rebekah swooshed inside the throne hall and shouted to her older brother.


    Reginald gave a wide grin to his sister and jumped down from the platform. "Ah! You are right on time, dear sister. I was just about to leave for the dungeons." He was thinking of a way to escape from the boring speech from his Chief Advisor and Rebekah gave a perfect reason to do so.


    Reginald glanced at his sister who was surprised that she didn''t need to whine and beg her brother to come with her. And he asked, "Aren''t you coming? Let''s go!"


    Rebekah happily nodded her head and both of them took off from the throne hall at the speed of lightning.


    A few sheets of paper flew around and one of the sheets slammed right on Horace''s face. He crumbled the paper in anger and threw it towards the door of the throne hall pretending to hit that pampered King.


    Reginald and Rebekah arrived at the dungeon which was right below the building that had the throne hall.


    The dungeon was dark and cold but that wasn''t any problem for the siblings. They could clearly see each and every frail human who was locked up inside the dungeon. And cold, well they were the embodiment of cold.


    Rebekah inhaled the fragrance of those poor humans. And she said with a sinister smile on her lips, "Mmmm�� the savory scent of these poor souls��"


    The humans who were imprisoned inside that dungeon began to whimper and cower in fear. By now, they were already well aware of what kind of fate awaited them.


    Not a single person who got taken away from the dungeon ever returned back again. They could hear the heart-wrenching screams of their cellmates a while after they would get taken. So they preferred to stay in the dungeon as if they were some animals rather than hoping to get out of it.


    Reginald opened the door of one of the cells and proudly said to his sister, "Choose any one of them. I have kept the fit ones right here in this cell. I can guarantee that they will satisfy your taste buds greatly."


    "You are the best, brother," Rebekah smirked and stepped inside the cell.


    She inspected all of the prisoners with her keen eyes. She was gazing at their veins that were pumping the blood very melodiously.


    When her deadly red eyes would fall on someone, their heart would beat even more loudly. Rebekah enjoyed hearing the sound of their heart. It made her feel like a superior being when they feared her very presence.


    All of the prisoners were trying to hide and make themselves look less appetizing. No matter how hard they tried, a young and healthy-looking man caught the attention of those deadly eyes.


    Rebekah stood in front of him as though she was a tigress staring down at a lamb. She gripped his arm and smelled his wrist. Her elongated fangs were telling her that she had found her prey.


    She gave a sinister smirk and declared, "I will take this one."

 Chapter 315 - Reply Letters

    The messenger of Prince Edwin arrived back at Wyverndale Palace on the fourth day of his departure from Wyverndale. It was afternoon when he arrived and Prince Edwin was in the King''s Court. Without wasting a minute to catch his breath, he went to see Prince Edwin and deliver the message back to him.


    Prince Edwin was restlessly pacing back and forth in his workroom when the messenger knocked on his door. It looked like he was impatiently waiting for the messenger''s arrival. And the moment he heard the knock, he sprinted towards the door and opened it himself.


    "You''re here!" He let the messenger get inside the room and locked the door behind. And he asked a little eagerly, "Did the King of Mihir send the reply?"


    The messenger felt bad for his master because he already knew that Prince Edwin was going to be disappointed. "Yes, Your Highness," he spoke in a soft voice and took out the torn envelope and handed it over to Edwin.


    Edwin was confused when he got the same envelope that he had sent. He looked at the envelope and gave a questioning glance to the messenger.


    "The King of Mihir has written his reply on the back of the letter that you sent," the messenger tried to clarify that he was not the one to tamper with the envelope.


    Edwin tried to keep his hopes high regardless of the condition of the letter. He took out the letter and unfolded it.


    And the moment his eyes fell on the message that Reginald had written, his eyes were filled with disappointment. He kept on staring at the letter in disbelief because all that was written there was �C "I will think about it" and that was it.


    There was no explanation as to what he would think about. Would he think about making further dealings with Edwin? Would he think about having a meeting soon? Just what would he think about?


    And Edwin''s head began to ache when trying to decipher the meaning behind that lazily written sentence.


    Seeing the Prince''s disappointment, the messenger tried to console his master, "Your Highness, if it is any consolation, I would like to say that the King of Mihir looked like a spoilt teenager. He didn''t look like he cared about maintaining the reputation or formalities and such."


    Edwin glanced at the messenger and nodded his head. He finally smiled and dismissed his messenger, "Thank you for delivering and bringing back the message. You must be tired from the continuous journey. You can take a leave for two days and rest."


    The messenger glanced at the Prince in surprise because he had never spoken this warmly to him before. And the Prince had never asked him to take a leave after coming from such long journeys ever before.


    "Is there anything else that you want to say?" Edwin asked the messenger as he kept on staring at him instead of leaving the room.


    The messenger bowed to the Prince with a smile. "No, Your Highness. I will take my leave now." And before he left, he handed back the jade token and the pouch of leftover coins.


    "Oh, right! The token��" Edwin took the token from the messenger''s hand and said, "Keep the coins to yourself. Think of it as a small compensation for your tiring journey."


    The messenger was really taken aback by this drastic change in the Prince''s personality. He bowed to Edwin again, this time with an immense sense of gratitude, and thanked him.


    After the messenger left the room, Edwin glanced at the letter again. From what he was seeing in the letter and from what he heard from the messenger, he was bound to question the maturity of the Vampire King.


    The more he thought about the King of Mihir, the more he believed that he was just a teenager who was brainwashed by Lillian into teaming up in her evil schemes.


    And from the way he was so unenthusiastic to send the reply, he felt that either the Vampire King was having a second thought about the war or he was just being a typical unruly kid.


    Edwin sighed and whispered to himself, "Either way, I hope he will call me for the meeting soon. And I really hope that he will be as easy to manipulate as I am thinking he might be."


    He then kept the letter inside his pocket and walked out of his workroom to give the update to Adeline.


    "Yes, come in," after hearing his sister''s voice from inside her workroom, Edwin opened the door and went inside.


    Adeline was buried in the vast number of paperwork that she had to go through. Even though it was just around 2 in the afternoon, she already looked like she had reached her limit for the day.


    When Edwin was walking inside, she tried her best to behave like a lady but she couldn''t resist yawning. She looked at her brother and apologized for the rudeness, "I''m sorry, I am just a little drained."


    Edwin stopped halfway in his track and asked, "If you are tired then I can come by later."


    "No, no, it''s alright. Actually, I also have something to tell you." She then pointed at the chair in front of her and said, "Please, take a seat."


    "Er�� my messenger returned back from Mihir a while ago. And, I think you might want to read the letter, though there''s nothing much to read." Without wasting any time, Edwin took out the letter from his pocket and put it in front of Adeline for her to read�� both sides.


    Adeline read the letter in no time and she was puzzled when she read the backside of the letter. She flipped the letter back and forth, not believing that the King of Mihir actually just wrote a vague sentence.


    "This is it?" she asked while raising her brows in skepticism.


    Edwin pursed his lips and nodded, "Yes. Unfortunately."


    Adeline scoffed and mocked the Vampire King, "Well at least he had the decency to put his Royal Seal on it."


    "I think the Vampire King is just an eccentric teenager, at least that''s what I perceive him to be." Edwin sighed and added, "I feel like the four days of the wait to hear from him was a complete waste. Let''s hope that he will contact me soon though."


    Adeline gave an appreciative smile and tried to lift up her brother''s spirit, "I wouldn''t say that it was a complete waste of your effort. At least now the King of Mihir knows that you are the one whom he will be talking with from now on. And that means we can go ahead with our plan to imprison Queen Lillian."


    "And on that note��" Adeline shuffled through the documents that were on her table and took out a letter and said, "I also got a letter from the Mystic Coven. They are saying that we have to imprison Lillian no matter what. One of the witches saw a vision and they are saying that if Lillian is not captured on that day, then there will be a lot of bloodshed in the near future."


    Edwin went through that letter and several frown lines appeared on his forehead. And he said in a sad voice, "I think I was overconfident enough to believe that I could manipulate the Vampire King to stop the war�� Even the witches are already seeing visions of the war."


    Adeline was also greatly affected by the fact that Agnes had had a vision of the war. Though she wanted to have the last shred of hope thinking that not every vision would come true, she was in the same situation as Edwin. She felt as if there really was no escape from the incoming war.


    She glanced at Edwin and stated with determination, "At least we know that it is coming.. Now it is in our hands to prepare ourselves and hope for the best."

 Chapter 316 - Burn

    After having a meeting with Adeline, Prince Edwin returned back to his workroom. He paced back and forth in the room for a while. He was thinking about all the preparations that he needed to do from his side for the fateful day of his mother.


    He sat down on his chair to recollect his thoughts. And he scribbled some points on a sheet of paper as he spoke, "So, I will have to confirm again that mother will come with me on that day. I finally got some excuse about why Joyce cannot come along, thanks to Adeline. And�� I guess I will have to lie some more today."


    He heard a knock on the door and already expected who they were. It was already starting to get dark so he knew that it was the Court maids who were outside his door.


    "Yes, come in," he then watched the maids coming in with lanterns in their hands.


    When he saw the lanterns, he suddenly remembered something important that he had to do. So he asked one of the maids, "Can you bring me a bin to burn some papers?"


    "Yes, Your Highness," one of the maids immediately left the room while the others lit up the candles and lanterns that were in the room.


    That maid returned back with a container made out of iron. She placed it beside the Prince''s desk.


    And when the maids were done lighting up the candles and lanterns, they all left for the other rooms of the Court.


    Edwin got up from his chair to make sure that his door was properly locked before he burned the evidence of his ''betrayal''.


    He then took out the letter that he was keeping in his pocket. He stood in front of one of the candles and then burned the letter along with the envelope. When the fire was about to touch his fingers, he threw the letter in the bin that the maid brought earlier.


    Edwin sat back on his chair and his eyes fell on what he had scribbled on the paper absent-mindedly. He had basically written how he was going to betray his mother.


    Thus, he hurriedly grabbed that paper and burned it as well. And he threw it in the same bin.


    After burning all the pieces of evidence of his dual role, he sat to finish something that he was working on during the day. However, he could not concentrate at all.


    A lot of things were in his mind. Like how there were so many things that could go wrong on that day.


    And he was talking to himself like a madman, "What if mother insists on bringing Joyce no matter what I say to her? And her guards�� I hope that they will just give up rather than losing their lives protecting someone that unworthy."


    "And my guards�� I will somehow have to convince them not to interfere no matter what happens that day. I hope that nobody who is included in the plan will get sick on that day, especially the witches who are supposed to take on my mother." Edwin kept on blabbering for quite a while.


    He suddenly slammed on his desk and got up from his seat. And he scolded himself, "For the love of God! Shut up, Edwin! Why the hell are you behaving like this? You never used to feel so anxious before! What happened to you now?"


    He took a deep breath in and tried to calm himself down. "I guess I should just give our mother a visit. I don''t think I am going to be productive if I keep on staying here."


    Edwin then headed out of his workroom. On the way, he asked some of the maids to put off the candles in his room and lock the door. Then he continued to head towards his mother''s quarter.


    However, before he could reach the end of the Palace boundary where his mother''s quarter was, he met his brother.


    "Hey, brother! I was just heading towards the King''s Court to meet you," Alan greeted his brother with a soft smile.


    Edwin stopped in his tracks although he was in a hurry to meet his mother. "Oh, is that so? Was there anything specific that you wanted to say to me?"


    Alan put his arms behind his back and asked accusingly, "Isn''t there something that you would like to say to me?"


    Edwin blankly stared at Alan not knowing what he had done to anger his brother. "Er�� is there something that you wanted to hear from me?"


    "Why are you playing so dumb? I thought you have changed when you came to meet me with those sweets that our grandmother made. But you are still that heartless arsehole!" Alan scoffed and then tried to jog his brother''s memory, "Why didn''t you tell me that you were planning to go to Frostford along with mother?"


    Instead of answering Alan''s question, Edwin furrowed his brows and asked his own question, "Wait! Who told you that I was planning to go to Frostford?"


    Alan raised his brows and asked angrily, "Does this mean you were deliberately trying not to bring me along with you? Why? Do you plan on getting all the love and eating all the food alone? Is that why you are trying to avoid me?"


    Those jealous sentences from Alan prompted Edwin to burst out into laughter. And he asked while still laughing, "Brother, why are you behaving like a two-year-old? What is wrong with you?"


    Alan sneered and kept on glaring at Edwin for excluding him from the plan.


    After getting a good laugh, Edwin looked around to check if there were anyone who shouldn''t be listening to their conversations. He didn''t see anyone.


    So he stepped a little closer to Alan and then tried to make him understand why he was excluded while still trying to protect the secret, "Alan, a lot of things are going on in the Palace right now. And I am not going to Frostford to eat and enjoy. I am going there with some important task."


    "Yes, mother suggested bringing you, and Juniper and Joyce as well. But I don''t think it will be a good idea to take all of you there. So, I didn''t tell you because I don''t want you to get caught up in the middle of all those things." Edwin then pursed his lips a bit apologetically.


    Alan sighed and nodded his head. He thought that his brother was already back into doing some bad stuff again. He glanced at his brother and asked again, "Will that important task land you in prison again?"


    Edwin smiled and replied confidently, "No, it won''t. I am done staying in the prison. It''s really boring."


    Alan chuckled softly and warned his brother, "I hope that what you are saying is true. Because if I find you involved in something which is against the law again then this time, it will be me who will put you in prison."


    Edwin chuckled and jokingly raised both of his hands in the air, "I won''t let that happen. I will surrender myself before you can catch me."


    Back at the King''s Court, someone was lurking around the King''s Court in the dark. That person took out a bunch of keys and opened the lock of Edwin''s workroom as quietly as possible.


    That person tip-toed inside Edwin''s workroom and frantically looked around for something. After rummaging through the bookshelves, desks, and drawers, that person''s eyes finally fell on the bin which still had the remnants of the burned letter.


    That thief''s eyes sparkled after seeing a few pieces of paper that were unburnt. In one of the pieces, it was written �C "�� be discussed about the war�� contact Prince Edwin��" and in another piece, it was written, "lure mother alone��"

 Chapter 317 - Final Preparations

    After what seemed like a month, it was finally the night before the ''big day''. Tomorrow, Adeline and the others were going to ambush Lillian.


    Adeline was in her personal chamber. She already had her dinner and was sitting in front of her study table. She was jotting something down on the piece of paper that was lying on the desk.


    She then put down her brush and went through that paper again. "Okay, let''s see�� Tomorrow, I should get up early; skip the training in the morning; sharpen the swords and daggers; ask Osanna to braid my hair tightly instead of something fancy; after breakfast, change into battle armors��"


    And Adeline kept on going on and on for quite a good while. She was making a checklist of what she was supposed to do tomorrow so that she wouldn''t forget anything important.


    As tomorrow was going to be her first real fight with the real enemies, rather than some practice fight or test, she was a bit nervous and was making sure that she wouldn''t mess up.


    All the preparations had already been put in place for the fateful day.


    Adeline, Edwin, and the witches had already met up and chosen a specific place in the willow creek where the witches would hide and wait for Lillian''s carriage to arrive.


    Edwin had already run an order to all of his guards that they were not supposed to engage in fights no matter what happened or no matter what they saw tomorrow on their journey. They all found it strange but agreed to it as it was a strict order from their Prince.


    Adeline had also introduced Theodore to the witches, Edwin, and Raphael as he was also a crucial part of the plan. However, she didn''t give all the details to the witches and to Edwin regarding her relationship with Theodore.


    She simply said that he was the Devil Prince who lived in the Devil''s Cave and that he was on their side. She didn''t tell them why and they also didn''t ask. They were simply grateful to have a powerful entity on their side, no matter how small his role was.


    Theodore was going to wait by the willow creek along with the witches. And once Lillian''s carriage was near, Theodore was going to teleport to the Palace and take Adeline and Raphael to the creek.


    Adeline and Raphael were going to fight against Lillian''s guards while the witches were going to fight Lillian.


    Adeline put down the paper that she was holding back on her table. She looked towards the bed but didn''t feel like sleeping yet. And Theodore was also yet to arrive.


    So she thought, "I think I should check if everything is in order for tomorrow. I cannot run around asking the servants to fix my things tomorrow morning. There won''t be any time for that."


    Adeline''s anxiety and her tendency to over-prepare before anything big was slowly creeping to her.


    She got up on her feet and went to another room where her battle armors and her weapons were stored.


    She stood in front of her armor which was displayed grandly. She carefully looked at every little detail of her armor, from the buckles to the sturdiness. She gently brushed her armor and whispered, "Armor looks good."


    She then walked over towards the shelves and checked all of her weapons to make sure that they were at the right place.


    She also checked the straps of the scabbards to make sure that the straps were not torn. "The straps are in place. Now all I need to do is sharpen the weapons tomorrow." She sighed and added, "I would have done that now but I guess everyone will be able to hear the sound in this quiet night."


    In another quarter of the Palace, Queen Lillian''s maids had already packed the necessary items of the Queen for her stay in Frostford.


    Lillian was also going to take her personal maid, Ida, so she didn''t need to worry however the maids had packed her belongings.


    Ida came to the Queen''s room to ask if there was anything that needed to be done. She bowed to the Queen and asked politely, "Your Majesty, I have already informed the guards and the coachman that we will be leaving for Frostford at 8 in the morning. Your belongings are also already packed. Is there anything else that you want me to do?"


    Lillian waved her hand and dismissed her personal maid, "No, I don''t think there''s anything. You can go and pack your own things."


    Ida bowed to the Queen and then left the room.


    After the maid left, Lillian yawned and stretched her arms. She was about to go to bed but a thought haunted her. She took a deep breath in and kept on thinking about something for quite a while.


    And instead of going to bed, she abruptly sprung up on her feet and headed towards her room where she had kept all of her items related to witchcraft.


    "I think I should be prepared. Anything can happen��" she uttered under her breath and went on to take out a white piece of cloth.


    She spread that cloth on the floor. Then she took out a pot of normal ash, a pot of water, and a brush. She mixed the ash with water in a separate bowl and then began to draw a magic circle on that piece of cloth.


    She looked at that circle and smirked, "Alright! This is all the preparation I need. Though I don''t think I will be using it. Nevertheless, there is no harm in being ready to face anything and everything."


    Lillian neatly folded that cloth and brought it to her bedroom. She gently placed it down on her table so that her drawings wouldn''t get smudged.


    She narrowed her eyes and kept on looking at that cloth for a while. And she whispered to herself as a reminder, "I hope I will remember to put this along with my other belongings."


    Lillian then went to sleep with a smile on her face.

 Chapter 318 - The Thief - I

    Adeline couldn''t sleep for longer that night, even when she was lying in Theodore''s warm embrace. In her restlessness, she was constantly twisting and turning on the bed and she woke Theodore up as well.


    "Adeline! Isn''t it too early for you to wake up?" Theodore half-opened his eyes and asked in his hoarse morning voice.


    Adeline faced Theodore and whispered apologetically, "Yes, it is too early. Sorry, I woke you up. But I can''t sleep at all."


    Theodore now fully opened his eyes and removed a few strands of hair that were on Adeline''s face. He shifted closer to Adeline and asked, "Are you worried about how things might go today?"


    "Yes, I am." Adeline heaved a sigh and spoke as her pupils dilated, "Punishing Lillian has been the one goal that always motivated me to be stronger, to do better, and always be on my guard. And now that the moment that I have been waiting for is finally here, I am feeling really nervous."


    "I can''t help but think what if something goes wrong? What if I only end up hurting those who are going to help me?" Adeline sighed again.


    Theodore gently stroked Adeline''s back. He could understand why she was acting the way she was.


    And even though he knew that his words wouldn''t be able to calm her down, he still tried his best, "Adeline, before you go into the fights or even the wars, you should try to visualize that the outcome will be in your favor rather than thinking the opposite."


    "As you said, you have been preparing for this moment for almost your whole life. So you have to put your trust in yourself. Everyone knows that you are the strongest woman in Wyverndale, you need to believe that too." Theodore gently pinched Adeline''s cheek and gave a comforting smile to her.


    However, everything that Theodore just said went above her head. She pouted her lips and said, "But I am not the strongest woman anymore. I have my powers sealed, remember?"


    "Adeline!" Theodore playfully flicked Adeline''s forehead for not listening to him.


    He then said in a rather complaining tone, "Adeline! Powers or not, you are equally strong. I have seen you fighting Raphael. And you can easily take him down. And as far as I know, Raphael''s fighting skills are considered to be on par with the Generals. Doesn''t that already make you stronger than the Generals?"


    Adeline twisted her lips and replied, "Yes, I agree that I am strong when I am compared with the humans. But there are stronger creatures that I will have to fight, one day or another. And I can''t help but feel weak when compared to them."


    Theodore couldn''t deny what she just said. "That might be true. But don''t think about that today. You are going to fight humans today, just focus on that for now. We will think about the other problems later. Okay?"


    Adeline nodded her head even though she was feeling vulnerable because of the sealed power. She really hoped that there was some way she could use her dormant powers without overwhelming her body.


    Theodore wrapped Adeline in his arms for a while so that she would not get out of her bed and start pacing around.


    After a few minutes, Adeline fell asleep in his arms. She hadn''t got enough sleep after all.


    Theodore also slept along with her.


    In another quarter, Edwin was also in a similar state as Adeline. He was unable to sleep soundly. He was already up and about.


    Princess Juniper was still in their bed. But she could tell that something was bothering her husband so she asked him, "Ed, is something going on lately? I have never seen you so restless before?"


    Edwin glanced at his wife and smiled, "You can tell?"


    "Of course I can," Juniper sat up on the bed and ran her fingers through her hair. And she asked, "Why are you and mother going to Frostford all of a sudden?"


    Edwin sat down beside Juniper and caressed her hair. He hated that he was hiding things from her. But he couldn''t afford to be truthful when the matter was too sensitive. "All I can say is that there are old debts that need to be cleared."


    He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and asked, "Take care of our daughter while I am gone. If she asks then just tell her that I went to buy some toys for her. I might return back sooner than expected�� but there is a chance that I might not return�� sooner."


    Juniper rested her head on her husband''s shoulder and reassured him, "You don''t have to worry about our daughter. She will understand."


    When it was dawn, Theodore returned to his own place while Adeline began to ready herself for the day.


    She took a bath, changed into a comfortable outfit that she could wear inside her battle armor, and had her hair braided tightly.


    After dismissing the maids, she sharpened her weapons one by one.


    She ran her finger on the sword blade to make sure that it was sharp enough and whispered, "Hmm�� this much sharpness should be enough to��" she took a deep breath and whispered while exhaling, "enough to hurt people."


    "But I really hope that I won''t have to hurt anyone," Adeline spoke under her breath while looking gloomy.


    She was startled when she heard Osanna shouting from outside her chambers, "Your Highness, Lord Bennett is here to see you."


    "Bennett? What is he doing here so early? It isn''t time for work yet," Adeline thought to herself then shouted back, "Ask him to wait in the meeting room, I will be right there."


    Adeline carefully placed her sword in its sheath. Then she headed towards her meeting room to meet Bennett.


    "Princess," Bennett got up from his seat as soon as Adeline entered the room and then bowed to her.


    Adeline nodded her head and gestured for him to sit down. She also sat down in front of him and asked, "What brings you here so early? Is there anything important that needs my immediate attention?"


    Bennett put his hand inside his pocket and took something out while saying, "Yes, Your Highness. I think you should take a look at this." He then placed two small pieces of burnt paper on the table.


    Adeline furrowed her brows and asked, "What are these?" she picked up the pieces in her hand and recognized one of those.. It was a burnt piece of letter that Edwin had shown to her.

 Chapter 319 - The Thief - II

    Adeline raised her brows and gave a questioning glance to Bennett. She didn''t know how or why he had those papers. But what she knew was that it could have been worse if someone else had gotten their hands on them.


    Bennett proudly glanced at the Princess and he began to explain how he got the papers, "I found them in Prince Edwin''s workroom. I think Prince Edwin is planning som-"


    However, Adeline abruptly closed her eyes and made a stop gesture with her palm. She then gave an angry stare to Bennett, for the first time, and then asked sternly, "Did you show this to anyone else?"


    Bennett was not expecting that kind of glare from Adeline. So he shook his head in a confused state and denied. "No, Your Highness. You are the only one that I was going to show this to."


    Adeline then asked in the same harsh tone, "How did you get a hold of these papers?"


    "I��" he looked down and continued, "I broke into Prince Edwin''s workroom yesterday after he left from there."


    Adeline slammed her palms on the armrest of her chair and exclaimed, "You broke into his workroom! Why would you do that Bennett? That also without any instruction from me or the King!"


    Bennett thought that the Princess would praise him for bringing her such crucial pieces of evidence of Edwin''s evil schemes. However, he couldn''t understand why she was scolding him.


    Hurt, he tried to defend his actions, "Princess, he has always been your enemy! And somehow he manipulated you into giving him an important position right after he got out of the house arrest. That is why I have been keeping an eye on him ever since."


    He sat on the edge of his seat and tried to emphasize, "And he has been doing suspicious activities ever since he started working under you. I even saw him send a messenger somewhere."


    He pointed at the paper that Adeline was holding and said, "And that somewhere turned out to be Mihir! There''s their Royal seal at the backside of that paper."


    Adeline was gently massaging her forehead while closing her eyes and listening to him. She was already anxious because of what she was about to do today, and hearing Bennett made her feel agitated.


    "Bennett��" she was trying her best not to shout at him.


    She took in a deep breath in an attempt to cool her mind. And then she slowly said, "Look, I don''t want to be mad at you for breaking into someone else''s workroom. I know that you were trying to do that for me."


    "And I really appreciate that you always try to look out for me." She glanced at Bennett and leaned a bit forward.


    Then she desperately tried to emphasize that she was not a dumb Princess who needed a man to constantly look after her, "But have you tried to understand that I am not a damsel in distress who always needs someone to look out for me."


    She leaned back on her chair and folded her arms. To be honest, she was a little offended when Bennett said that she was being manipulated by her brother.


    So she said a bit smugly, "And why did you assume that Edwin has manipulated me? Have you ever considered that I could be the one who is manipulating him?"


    Bennett was dumbfounded by the Princess. For a while, he raised his brows and just kept on staring at the Princess.


    And after a while, he deduced what the Princess really meant by that. "You mean you already know about this war? And everything that Prince Edwin is doing?"


    Adeline nodded her head and lifted the piece of paper with Mihir''s seal on it. "Yes, I was the one who asked Edwin to send this to Mihir. And I am well aware of what Mihir is planning."


    Bennett had a betrayed look on his face and Adeline took notice of it immediately.


    And she spoke in a little softer tone, "Bennett, I was not trying to keep things from you. I had told you that I would ask for your help when I was ready. If you had just waited until tomorrow, then I would have made everything clear to you and a few others."


    Adeline looked at the burning candle and then carefully burned the pieces of those papers to crisp.


    She dusted off her hands and said, "You have to understand that there are things that I need to keep as some secrets, yes, even from you. So, please, don''t go around breaking into others'' workroom."


    Bennett was about to say something when Hawisa knocked on the door of the meeting room.


    Adeline had asked her to bring her the breakfast a little early today and she was there to inform the Princess of the same, "Your Highness, I have already set the breakfast in your personal chamber. It is getting cold so��"


    Adeline glanced at Hawisa and nodded, "Thank you, Hawisa. I will go and have it soon."


    After Hawisa left, Bennett looked at the Princess apologetically and said, "I didn''t know that it was already time for your breakfast." And he added in a sadder tone, "I am sorry for taking your time for no reason."


    Adeline could feel that Bennett was hurt. She was well aware that this was the first time she had raised her voice against him.


    So she also apologized to him, "I am sorry if I went a little too overboard. I am on edge today because there are things that I need to do today. And I am sorry that I can only tell you what it is only after I do it. So, please be patient until tomorrow. I will explain everything."


    "I will be patient and wait for you to keep me in the loop." Bennett smiled and said in an embarrassed tone, "And you don''t have to apologize to me, Princess. I was at fault here. I shouldn''t have acted like a thief."


    Bennett got up from his seat to take a leave. He bowed to the Princess and said, "I will leave for now."


    He glanced at the Princess questioningly and asked, "I am assuming that you won''t be coming to the Court today?" He had already noticed the different getup of the Princess so he assumed that she was going somewhere else.


    "Yes, I will be out mostly. You will have to deal with the affairs of the Court alone today."


    "I will," Bennett nodded his head.


    Before he went away, Adeline also added, "And about the war, don''t mention anything about it to anyone else, especially to the King."


    Bennett would have asked why, but he already knew better than to question the judgment of the Princess. He thought that there was some valid reason behind it so he simply agreed. "I won''t tell anyone about it.. You can rest assured."

 Chapter 320 - [Bonus ] Cold Dessert

    A carriage was standing in front of Lillian''s quarter. Her servants were loading the Queen''s suitcases in the carriage.


    Two squads of her guards were getting ready for the travel. Sixteen of them were foot soldiers while four of them were cavalry. All of them had already dressed up in their battle armors. Some of them were checking their weapons while some of them were tending to their horses.


    Right then, Prince Edwin''s carriage also arrived in front of Lilian''s quarter along with a squad of his guards.


    Edwin got out of his carriage and went to greet his mother. He stood by Lillian''s personal chamber''s door and asked, "Mother, are you ready for the journey?"


    Lillian was sitting in front of the dressing table when Edwin came. Her maids were giving a final touch-up to her. She glanced towards the door and smiled, "You''re here! Yes, I am almost ready. Give me a few seconds."


    A maid helped Lillian choose a ring. Lillian looked at her reflection one last time and then got up on her feet.


    Another maid presented the piece of cloth which Lillian had prepared yesterday night. "Your Majesty, you told me to remind you to take this with you."


    "Oh, right!" Lillian grabbed the cloth, folded it into a size of a handkerchief, and then put it inside her pocket.


    She gently lifted her gown and elegantly walked towards her son.


    Edwin offered his hand to his mother. Then the mother and son walked out of the quarter. Lillian''s maid, Ida, also followed closely behind.


    They reached in front of Lillian''s carriage. Edwin helped his mother to get inside the carriage. Lillian settled down and the maid was about to climb inside.


    But Lillian stopped her and called her son, "Edwin, why don''t you join me? You will get bored alone in your carriage."


    Edwin didn''t want to say no to his mother''s ''last wish'' before she would get imprisoned. So he nodded his head, "Sure." He glanced at his mother''s maid and said, "Why don''t you go and sit in my carriage? I will ride along with my mother."


    Ida was hesitant at first to use the Prince''s carriage all to herself. She was ready to walk along with the foot soldiers. But Lillian also asked her to get inside Edwin''s carriage saying that she would only make the journey longer for everyone if she walked.


    After everyone settled down and took their respective positions, they finally left for their journey to the doom. Whose doom, it was yet to be found out.


    As the carriage approached the main gate of the Palace, Edwin saw his messenger loitering near the gate. He subtly signaled the messenger what he was supposed to do.


    And the messenger slowly headed towards Adeline''s quarter.


    Adeline was having her breakfast when he arrived in her quarter. He greeted the Princess and delivered the message, "Your Highness, Prince Edwin sent me to deliver you a message. His Highness has left for Frostford just now and he said that he won''t be coming to the King''s Court for a few days."


    The main purpose of that message was to inform Adeline that the targets were already on the move.


    As Adeline had a mouthful of food when she heard the message, she almost choked on her food. She coughed violently because she tried to swallow down everything at once. She entered the last stage of her restlessness upon hearing that Lillian and Edwin had left the Palace.


    "Your Highness, do you need any help?" that messenger asked in a panic. He thought that he had said something that he shouldn''t have and got scared.


    Adeline shook her head and gulped down a glass of water. After wiping her tears and catching her breath, she thanked the messenger and dismissed him.


    "Alright! It is now or never." Adeline kept on taking deep breaths in and gave some motivational talk to herself.


    After her heartbeat settled down a little, she got up and quickly went to put on her battle armor. She then secured her sword around her waist. She also tied the pair of daggers that Queen Claricia had gifted her around her thighs. On her ankles, she secured small knives.


    She then stood in front of the mirror and checked herself. She was making sure if she missed anything important. "Looks like everything is in place."


    Adeline confidently looked into her own eyes and whispered, "This is going to be a piece of cake, Adeline. This dessert called revenge cannot get any colder than this. Just eat it today!"


    Theodore had already arrived at the meeting point in willow creek. He looked around but didn''t see any sign of the witches. He furrowed his brows and whispered, "Did I arrive way too quickly, or are those witches late?"


    He kept on standing there for a while. Soon, he got bored out of his mind so he began to take a stroll around the place.


    He examined the path and its surroundings and took notes of the places where he could teleport Adeline and Raphael later on. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn''t teleport them in some weird places.


    After quite a while, Theodore saw all the thirteen witches of the Mystic Coven slowly approaching the creek. He sighed and whispered to himself, "Ah! Finally, they have arrived. I was starting to think that they had given up even before fighting."


    All the witches greeted the Devil Prince after gathering around him. All of them respected Theodore like they did before their memories were snatched away.


    After exchanging the greetings, there was nothing that they could do except wait for the carriages to arrive. Theodore was awkwardly standing in the middle of the coven. He wanted to teleport away from there because of the uneasiness he was feeling but he resisted.


    Finally, the High Priestess Tabitha suggested, "I think we all should hide. We don''t want them to spot us from the distance and be on their guard."


    "What about you and Sybil? Lillian will be able to detect your auras even if you use the invisibility spell," one of the witches showed her concern.


    Tabitha then said, "Sybil and I will stand a little further away from here. Till then, you all can lure her away from the carriage and guards. We will join you all when the fight begins."


    Theodore, who was listening to their conversation couldn''t help but ask them, "High Priestess, don''t you know how to tone down your aura so that the enemies cannot detect you?"


    All of the witches looked at him as if he had spoken something divine�� which they didn''t understand.


    "Is that even possible?" Tabitha asked with a spark in her eyes.


    Theodore understood that they didn''t know about it. He smirked and asked, "How do you think none of you are able to sense my aura?"


    Now that he mentioned it, all of them realized that they were really unable to detect the aura of a celestial being.


    Theodore then politely offered, "I can teach all of you if you want to learn. You don''t need to worry about Lillian detecting your auras." He glanced at the path which the carriages were supposed to come from and added, "I think we still have some time."


    The witches were more than happy to learn the spell from the son of God himself. And Theodore was also happy to help.


    All of them learned the spell from Theodore in no time.


    After toning down their auras, they cast the invisibility spell on themselves and scattered around. All of them were ready to take their revenge on the witch who had wronged them in more than one way.


    After waiting for about 10-15 minutes, Theodore''s sharp eyes finally caught the sight of horses and carriages in the distance.


    He smirked and whispered, "They''re finally here!"

 Chapter 321 - Long Time No See

    Lillian and Edwin were sitting face to face in the carriage. They were talking about how Joyce had already grown up to be a beautiful and smart girl.


    "Oh, I was meaning to ask you, does Joyce show any signs that she can perform magic?" Lillian asked curiously to her son. "I asked Juniper but she isn''t that aware about the whole witchcraft."


    Edwin thought for a while and replied truthfully, "I don''t think I have seen her showing the signs. But I might be wrong. After all, it has only been a few weeks since I started spending some time with her."


    Lillian nodded her head and glanced out of the window.


    A subtle but sad smile appeared on her face while she said, "I had really wished that you or Alan would inherit our ancestral genes. But that never happened�� So I was hoping that at least my granddaughter would. I would teach her everything that I know and would make her a powerful witch."


    Edwin couldn''t believe what he just heard. If it was not for the fact that his mission was to take his mother to willow creek right now, then he would have already confronted her about being a dark witch and hiding all of her heinous crimes.


    But he didn''t want to start a fight with his mother and sabotage the plan. He just satisfied himself by cursing his mother silently, "As if I would allow my daughter to be a dark witch like you, mother. Never in my lifetime!"


    "I am thankful that Joyce isn''t showing any signs yet. Else she would have already turned her into a monster like herself��" he kept on going on and on in his head while Lillian was busy watching the scenery from the carriage window.


    Lillian sharply turned her head to look at Edwin and asked in a somewhat suspicious tone, "By the way, why didn''t you ask Alan to come with us? Yesterday, I asked him why he wasn''t coming with us and he was pretty surprised because it turns out you hadn''t even asked him."


    Edwin smiled awkwardly and replied, "You know how he is�� He always loves scolding me and picking up fights with me. He loves to prove that he is a righteous person while I am not. And I didn''t want him to somehow find out what the two of us are pla-"


    Unexpectedly for Lillian, the carriage came to an abrupt halt in the middle of nowhere.


    Edwin looked at his mother''s expression and didn''t see much change. He was trying his best to act natural. He was trying so hard not to move even when his back was already covered in sweat because of all the tension that was building up.


    For a while, Lillian didn''t show any concern because she just thought that there was some problem with the horses.


    But then she began to hear some commotion outside.


    Lillian poked her head out of the carriage and asked one of her guards, "What''s causing the hold-up? Why did we stop here?"


    That guard walked up to the window and notified the Queen, "Your Majesty, there''s a woman lying down in the middle of the road. It looks like she has injured her leg and she is asking for help."


    Lillian didn''t like it that some random woman was disturbing their journey. And she asked with a frown on her forehead, "Well, what does she want? Does she want a ride?"


    That guard stiffened his back and replied to the scary Queen, "No, Your Majesty. She said she is heading in the opposite direction. She is insisting us to heal her wounds even when we are telling her that we don''t have any healers or medicine with us."


    Lillian rolled her eyes and said in a monotone, "Just pick her up and throw her aside. Why are you letting an injured woman control all of you?"


    That guard bowed his head. "Yes, Yo-"


    But Edwin instantly stopped that guard, "Wait a minute!" He then shifted his glance towards his mother and inconspicuously said to her, "I don''t think it is right to leave an ailing woman in the middle of the road like this. What if some bandits try to loot her or assault her?"


    Lillian raised her brows and mocked her son, "Since when did you start caring about some random woman? The isolation did turn you into a softer person, didn''t it?"


    "What if your daughter-in-law was in the same situation? You wouldn''t have liked it if someone with resources just left without helping her, would you?" Edwin tried to get his mother to step out of the carriage by playing with her morality.


    Thankfully, it seemed like there was at least a drop of morality left inside that cruel witch''s heart. She sighed and replied, "Alright! Alright! I will heal her real quick and we will be on our way."


    Lillian got up from her seat and straightened her gown. Edwin helped her get down the carriage but didn''t follow his mother. He didn''t want to get in the crossfire between the witches.


    The Queen elegantly walked towards the place where a few of her guards were surrounding a woman who was lying down on the path and was crying and grimacing in pain.


    Lillian could see that the woman was wearing a white gown and her hair was tied into a neat bun. She was turning the other way so Lillian didn''t get to see her face clearly.


    "Give the woman some space, you fools!" Lillian rudely scolded her guards who were around that woman.


    The guards did as the Queen asked. They shifted a little further away from their Queen and that woman but not that far that the woman would get a chance to harm their Queen in any way.


    "Stop crying and show me your wounds, quick!" Lillian rudely shouted at that woman without even bothering to see who she really was.


    That woman also complied with the Queen and gently lifted her gown up to her thighs. She had a deep cut on her thighs.


    All the guards turned the other way and gave the woman some privacy.


    The unsuspecting Queen bent down on her knees so that she could treat that woman''s wound.. While Lillian was focused on her wounds and was about to perform a spell, Agnes smirked and whispered, "Long time no see, Lillian."

 Chapter 322 - Face Off

    Before Lillian could see who it was or guess what was about to happen to her, Agnes pointed both of her palms at Lillian and made a swift motion as though she was throwing something invisible in the air.


    And with that, Lillian was thrown away from the humans and right in the middle of the coven of witches who were hiding in plain sight.


    "Arghhhh!" Lillian crashed down on the ground with a thud and her loud scream resounded throughout the creek, prompting all the birds to fly away in the air.


    Lillian''s guards were taken by surprise when they heard that scream of the Queen they were supposed to protect. They all turned to see that the Queen was lying on the dirty ground several meters away from where she was before.


    "Protect Her Majesty!" The squad leader instantly ordered all the guards at the top of his lungs. He swiftly rode his horse towards the Queen followed by the other cavalries and foot soldiers.


    Those who were standing near Agnes instantly deduced that the woman in white was a witch. "Don''t move! Move a finger and you die." Two of the soldiers immediately pointed their swords at Agnes''s neck.


    Agnes wanted to laugh at how little the soldiers knew about the witches. "As if I need to move a finger!" she thought to herself and smirked.


    She gave an intense glare to both of the soldiers and both of them were rendered immobile.


    She then got up from the ground and with a swift movement of her fingers, her wound was completely healed.


    Agnes then noticed that a few of the soldiers were already getting closer to Lillian.


    "Not so fast, soldiers!" Agnes whispered and instantly threw them away from Lillian as though they were nothing but ragdolls. She then erected a temporary barrier to prevent the guards from getting too close to her and Lillian.


    After that, she calmly walked towards Lillian while Lillian was busy cursing and getting up on her feet.


    "You b*tch! Who do you think you are? How dare you attack the Queen for no reason? You must be craving to meet your end."


    Lillian glared at Agnes, still not recognizing her, and shouted furiously, "You''ve got some nerves to glare back at me like that. Don''t you know who I am? I can kill you with a snap of my finger right here and now!"


    Lillian could have killed Agnes instantly but her sadistic nature didn''t allow her to kill Agnes that easily. She wanted to torture her before finally killing her. She flared her nose and screamed, "Kneel down! Apologize to me and beg for your life! I might even be benevolent enough and forgive you for your little act."


    Agnes stopped a little further away from Lillian and sneered, "I know very well who you are, Lillian. And I know how corrupted your powers are. Which is why I have brought some help."


    "Help?" Lillian cackled grimly and mocked, "No help can save you from me, you twerp!"


    Agnes was stalling Lillian deliberately. All the other witches were busy creating a much stronger barrier around them so that they could protect the innocent humans from getting involved in the witches'' business. Right now, the barrier was only visible to the witches of the Mystic Coven.


    Seeing that the barrier was almost complete, Agnes gave Lillian a provoking smirk and added, "Oh, where are my manners? Let me reintroduce myself before we test our powers. I am Agnes, your ex Court Lady. And I have my coven with me."


    One by one, all of the witches began appearing around Lillian. They had successfully erected the barrier that encircled all the witches. And they were ready to fight their oldest enemy.


    Lillian finally realized what was happening. She recognized each and every one of them now... or most of them. But rather than being wary of the danger that she was in, she began to cackle mockingly.


    "Agnes! Agnes! Agnes!" Lillian spoke while still laughing like she lost her mind, "I cannot believe that you are still alive!"


    She glanced at the witches around her and clasped her hands together as if she was happy to see them, "Aww! What a sweet reunion!"


    She didn''t recognize Sybil though, the one whose tongue she had carved out years ago.


    She then grimly raised her voice, "You poor things must be out of your minds. Are you seriously thinking that you all can take me down just because there are more of you?" She gave a piercing gaze to Agnes and roared, "I don''t think so!"


    In an instant, a gust of dark mist hovered above Lillian. She held out her palm and made a choking gesture right from where she was. And even though she was very far away from Agnes and wasn''t even touching her, Agnes began to choke.


    Agnes was holding her neck and was trying to break free from Lillian. But she was unsuccessful.


    Before her life was snuffed out, Tabitha stepped forward and did a crumbling motion with her palm. Lillian abruptly stopped hurting Agnes because she herself was suffering from excruciating pain in her chest. She felt as though someone was crushing her heart from the inside.


    "Why don''t you pick someone your own size?" Tabitha gritted her teeth while still squeezing Lillian''s heart.


    Lillian was grunting and screaming while holding her chest. She was trying her best to turn the table but Tabitha seemed to be equally powerful as her.


    Lillian''s guards could clearly see and hear everything that was happening inside the barrier. They could see that their Queen''s life was in grave danger. They were desperately trying to get close to their Queen but something invisible was stopping them from advancing after a certain point.


    Edwin and his guards were standing anxiously beside the carriage. As instructed by Edwin beforehand, none of his guards went to assist Lillian''s guards. Rather, they were surrounding Edwin and were on high alert. They did not want another coven of witches to sneakily attack their Prince.


    Lillian''s guards were trying everything in their power to get inside the barrier. The squad leader was instructing, "Everyone, try to cut through at once. Maybe we can weaken whatever magic those witches have cast. Try to break it!"


    And all of the guards were doing the same. Some were trying to cut the invisible barrier, some were punching and kicking it, while some were trying to run through it just to hit an invisible wall.


    In the middle of the chaos, one of the guards suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Look over there! What''s that?"

 Chapter 323 - [Bonus ]Clash Of The Witches

    All of the guards'' attention was grabbed by a gust of dark mist that started to form not too far away from them. The guards thought that it was another trick of the witches.


    "Everyone, be on your guard! It looks like something is coming." The squad leader ordered his soldiers while he readied himself to fight whatever it was.


    All the others also tightened their grip around their respective weapons. Two of the archers were already nocking their arrows on their bows and were aiming right in the middle of the mist.


    Contrary to what they had expected, three people walked out of that mist, two of whom they recognized.


    They were none other than Princess Adeline and Prince Raphael. However, all of the soldiers were still on their guard because both the Princess and Prince were in their full battle armors and were also carrying their weapons.


    The squad leader thought to himself, "Who is that third person? Most importantly, why and how are they here? Are they the ones who instigated this trap for Queen Lillian?"


    He felt like he would go mad because he was confused about whether to give out the order to attack the Future Queen or not. He waited for a while for Adeline and Raphael to draw their swords, but since they were just walking towards them, he kept quiet. He wanted to hear what they were going to say before deciding whether or not to attack them.


    Adeline stood in front of Lillian''s guards and showed them the arrest warrant that was issued by the King himself. "Everyone, Queen Lillian has been charged with 28 murders, 11 kidnappings, 68 physical harms, and finally, illegal use of forbidden magic. King of Wyverndale has issued an arrest warrant against Queen Lillian so we are following his order right now."


    She glanced at the stunned face of Lillian''s guards and ordered, "So, I want all of you to cooperate with the King''s order and stand down. You are not to engage in fights, neither are you supposed to protect the Queen."


    She added in a stern voice, "Such action will be deemed as the act of betrayal against the King and the Kingdom. And you will be punished for it. So stand down."


    Adeline glanced at everyone and asked, "Did I make myself clear?"


    "Yes, Your Highness," all of the soldiers spoke simultaneously which managed to grab the attention of the struggling Queen.


    The pain in her heart began to transform into a pure rage when she saw Adeline. She quickly joined the dots that Adeline was behind all this.


    Through her pain, she gritted her teeth and groaned, "That wench! I will kill her�� I will kill everyone��"


    She spread her arms and then closed her eyes.


    Soon enough, Lillian was now starting to get an upper hand over Tabitha. Her pain had already stopped and now, she was holding out both of her palms towards Tabitha.


    Tabitha was also holding out both of her palms towards Lillian. She was trying to attack Lillian internally again but she was failing at it.


    The reason behind it was that Lillian was absorbing and channeling more and more dark energy from the other side. The dark mist that was hovering above her was starting to turn into a dangerous tornado.


    Slowly, the whole area inside the barrier was filled with storm clouds. The barrier that the witches had cast was starting to crack.


    The rest of the witches immediately started their incantations to stop their barrier from cracking and crumbling down. They did not want their spells to harm the humans who were not too far away from there.


    Everyone who was outside the barrier was also growing anxious. They didn''t understand how the storm cloud appeared out of nowhere. And they didn''t know what would happen if that cloud started to spread around them as well. The uncertainty was keeping everyone on their toes.


    Theodore was keeping track of everything that Lillian was doing. He had promised to protect everyone, except Lillian, and he was ready to swoop in if things were to go out of control for the Mystic Coven.


    The atmosphere inside the barrier was getting really stormy and dark. Two of the most powerful witches going toe to toe against each other in a confined space were making it harder for other witches to even hold their ground.


    "Sybil, any minute now!" Tabitha shouted at the witch who was standing right behind Lillian.


    Tabitha was barely managing to resist the dark energy from entering her body and harming her. She knew that the energy was about to carve into her body soon and she required assistance from the witch who was equally powerful as her.


    Sybil was standing right below a weeping willow tree with her eyes closed and arms wide open. She didn''t have the luxury to absorb the dark energy from the other side like Lillian. She had to depend on the resources available in the surroundings.


    All this while, she had been incanting one of the most powerful spells that would allow her to control everything in her surrounding, from trees and birds to rivers and grasses.


    While Sybil was still repeating the spells by her heart, Lillian had also been creating one of her deadly attacks while fighting Tabitha side by side.


    In the next moment, a lightning bolt from the storm cloud directly hit Tabitha''s heart.


    Lillian gave a sinister smile because she was finally able to overpower Tabitha.


    The High Priestess began to bleed profusely from her nose as well as her ears. She felt as though she would explode if she was to bear the agonizing pain for another second.


    All of the witches were shocked to see their High Priestess in that state. Some of the witches began to attack Lillian but to no avail. They weren''t even serving as a distraction against the dark sorceress.


    Right then, two huge branches of the weeping willow tree crept forward. The branches grabbed Lillian from the ground and lifted her high up in the air.


    When she was lifted high enough, the branches came rushing down to the ground at a great speed and smashed Lillian''s body as if she was nothing but a piece of log.


    Sybil was the one who was controlling the branches. Her eyes were full of vengeance against Lillian for what Lillian had put her through. She was going to make Lillian pay for everything that she did.


    And this was just the beginning.

 Chapter 324 - Slamming And Slashing

    The moment Tabitha was hit by the lightning and she began to bleed, something stirred inside Sybil.


    Sybil was mad seeing that pitiful state of the one person that she looked up to. Lillian had already taken everything from her, her voice, her freedom, and her old life. And the very thought of having to lose something more at the hands of that same cruel Queen was unacceptable for her.


    Her hair began to freely float behind her as though they were venomous snakes ready to bite the dark witch. Her eyes were burning with anger, and her hands were controlling the branches of weeping willow as if they were her extended hands.


    "I won''t let you hurt any more people. I will kill you if I have to." Sybil screamed in her mind and pushed her palms forward. Two huge branches shot out from the willow tree at a great speed and wrapped Lillian before she was able to sense their presence.


    Sybil then raised both of her hands and slammed them down with great force. The willow branches copied her hand movements and slammed Lillian down on the muddy ground.


    Tabitha also fell to the ground, unconscious. She had expended a lot of her energy and had taken a heavy blow from Lillian. And she could not hold it any longer.


    A few of the witches ran towards their High Priestess to heal her while some of them were working on the cracks on the barriers.


    Sybil on the other hand was pouring out all those years of pent-up anger on Lillian.


    "You made me do your dirty work!" Sybil raised her hand again, raising the entangled Lillian. "And to hide your own crime��" she tightened the branches'' grip around Lillian making a few of her bones crack, "�� you cut my tongue and left me to die!"


    Lillian let out an agonizing scream as she was being crushed like she was nothing but a dry leaf.


    Sybil then mercilessly slammed Lillian against the barrier, on the ground, on the trees, and everywhere while letting out inaudible screams.


    The sweet and gentle Sybil looked like a Devil incarnate at the moment.


    No matter how powerful Lillian was as a witch, her body was still that of an old lady. She cracked a few more bones of her ribcage. And one of her legs got fractured when she got hit against the tree trunk.


    Because of the constant slamming, she got a lot of wounds and cuts. The dark sorceress''s blood splattered everywhere and with each drop of blood that was shed, and the scream that she let out, Sybil was getting a great sense of satisfaction.


    When Sybil kept on slamming Lillian down like she was a scarecrow, she disrupted the negative energy that Lillian was channeling through her. Thus, the storm clouds that were sparkling with lightning bolts slowly began to dissipate.


    Those who were outside the barrier got to see how Lillian was getting thrown around like a ragdoll.


    Even though Lillian had never really treated her guards well, they found it difficult to digest that cruel scene in front of them. They looked the other way while Adeline, Theodore, and Raphael were greatly enjoying the show.


    Adeline''s keen eyes were following the tree branches. She was clutching the hilt of her sword and her eyes had a different spark in them.


    The Princess looked up in the sky and thought, "Mother, are you watching this? Your murderer is finally getting what she deserves. I hope you are at peace now, mother... if you weren''t already in peace."


    She was feeling a different kind of emotion that she had never felt before. She couldn''t quite explain what she was feeling but she liked it.


    Adeline would have loved it if she was the one to beat up the murderer of her mother.


    However, she was no witch. She was well aware that Lillian would be able to crack her neck with one swift movement of her hand. So she left that task to the experts and just satisfied herself by watching Lillian getting beaten to a pulp.


    Edwin was a little far away so he didn''t clearly witness the brutality of the witches against his mother.


    Back inside the barrier, Sybil was not even letting Lillian take a breather. She knew that the moment she would let go of Lillian, that witch would be able to heal herself and wreak havoc.


    So she was constantly beating her up and waiting for her fellow witches to heal their High Priestess completely. She was only planning to let go of Lillian after the rest of the witches created the magic circle in Lillian''s carriage so as to transport her back to Wyverndale.


    Lillian, on the other hand, was not going to give up just because she was being tied up by the willow branches. She was a dark sorceress after all. And a powerful one at that. So even though she was unable to channel the dark energy at the moment, she still had several other tricks up her sleeves.


    For a fraction of a second, she managed to make eye contact with the weeping willow and she screamed, "Ignis ardeat!"


    The moment she said those words, huge flames of fire engulfed the willow tree.


    Sybil''s concentration was broken by the sudden heat from the flames that almost caught her as well. And she ended up freeing Lillian from her grip.


    Lillian fell down from a height with a thud. She was still hurt very badly so she couldn''t stand up immediately. She kept on staying still for a while so that she could gather up her strength.


    The fire was starting to spread at a rapid rate. If nothing was done then there was a chance that the whole creek would be burned down. Thus, Sybil took the time to bring a wave of water from the Ethereal River to put off the fire.


    While Sybil was busy with the fire, Lillian was healing her broken leg so that she could stand and fight back. She healed her leg in no time and began to heal her ribcage.


    However, before Lillian could completely heal herself, Sybil was ready to fight Lillian again. She controlled the grasses around Lillian to restrain her. The grasses grew in length as well as strength.


    They crawled up on Lillian''s ankles and knees, and her legs were pinned down.


    They were starting to crawl up on her body as well but Lillian quickly pointed her palms towards her legs and chanted a counterspell, "Vanesco."


    The grasses that were around Lillian all darkened and withered away.


    Without missing a beat, she turned to look at Sybil and pointed her palm as if they were claws. She made a swift slash while looking at Sybil''s body.


    The moment she did that, five deep large cuts appeared across Sybil''s chest. Sybil''s white gown absorbed her blood and it turned red within a fraction of seconds. Soon, blood began to drip out of those wounds.


    Sybil was caught by surprise so for a fraction of a second, she couldn''t think nor could she move. But in the next second, she managed to snap out of it. Slowly and painfully, she lifted her hands towards her chest.


    She was about to heal herself but Lillian made three consecutive moves across the same place, making the wounds deeper and deeper each time she did that.


    By the end of the fourth move, Sybil''s bones were sliced through. And her hearts and lungs also bore the damage. Blood was flowing nonstop from her chest down to her whole body. Her white gown had completely turned red.


    Everything happened so fast for Sybil that she didn''t even have time to scream in pain. The extreme blood loss made her collapse on the ground before she could even heal herself and fight back.


    Lillian finally got some time to breathe. Some of the other witches began attacking Lillian but they were nothing but fly in comparison to her. She simply created a barrier around her so as to heal herself completely.


    She placed her palm on her chest and closed her eyes. She then began to heal her cracked ribcage. The plants that were inside Lillian''s barrier all died as though Lillian had taken their life force to heal.


    Lillian healed herself to her original health. She then flung her eyes open.


    Her eyes were filled with the desire to kill one person - Adeline.

 Chapter 325 - Empty Threats

    Lillian got up from the muddy ground. Her elegant gown had already turned into a rag. There were mud and blood everywhere, the gown was ripped in several places.


    Her hair was also a mess. There were lumps of mud in her hair, and also dust and grass. Her face was touched up with dried blood and dirt.


    And not just her outer appearance, her inner feelings had also turned into a mess. She was no longer in her sane state, not that she ever was, but right now she had this hunger to take lives�� as many as she could.


    The dark sorceress began to emit the dark aura again. She only had eyes for Adeline and thus, she began to walk towards Adeline while still surrounding herself with the barrier. She didn''t want the small fries to disturb her with their feeble attempts at magic attacks.


    As she walked towards Adeline, she was mumbling and cursing Adeline, "I should have just killed you long ago�� I should have killed you myself rather than sending you to the Devil''s Cave. Then none of this would have happened. You made my life a living hell, Adeline! Now I am going to send you to hell. Today."


    Adeline was also glaring at Lillian who was inching closer and closer to her. She was unfazed by the piercing stare of Lillian because she knew that the witches had put up a barrier. She knew that the barrier wasn''t there just to prevent the guards from entering but also to prevent Lillian from exiting.


    She trusted that the barrier would be able to hold Lillian down until one of the powerful witches recovered from their injuries. Even if Lillian managed to break the barrier, she had Theodore by her side so there was nothing to worry about.


    Lillian stood in front of the barrier created by the Mystic Coven and touched it with both of her palms. The dark aura around her began to grow. She began to chant some spells and the barrier began to vibrate.


    Seeing that, the other witches immediately got to work. They began to chant the spell to strengthen the barrier.


    And the push and pull between the witches made the barrier to shake violently.


    Even though the humans couldn''t see the barrier, they could feel the effect. The land began to shake as if there was a mild earthquake.


    "Theo, what is happening? Who is winning?" Adeline asked worriedly because just by looking at the witches raising their hands in the air and chanting something that she couldn''t understand, she couldn''t tell whether Lillian was successful or the Mystic Coven.


    Theodore had a calm look on his face because he could see everything that was happening.


    He then said in a relatively loud voice so that the others could also hear him. They all seemed restless. "The Mystic Coven is winning. Their barrier is stronger than you think. All of them channeled the positive energy from the forest and the river to create it so, it isn''t that fragile."


    Everyone sighed in relief, even the guards of Lillian. They hoped that all of this would come to an end soon. The anxiety was getting too much for some of them.


    Adeline broke her stare from Lillian and glanced at Sybil and Tabitha, the ones who were Lillian''s equals.


    Tabitha was healed by the fellow witches but she was still lying unconscious. Sybil, on the other hand, was conscious but she had not completely healed yet.


    After trying to break the barrier for a while, Lillian gave up. As Theodore said, the barrier was too powerful for her to break.


    So she resorted to her classic manipulation instead. She glared at the squad leader and scolded him, "Kyle, why aren''t you attacking that wench already? Isn''t protecting me your sacred duty? Do you call this ''protecting''?"


    The guard simply lowered his gaze and said, "I am sorry but they have an arrest warrant from the King himself. And we cannot go against the King."


    "Well, I will tell you who you can''t go against! It''s me!" Lillian screamed at the top of her lungs, almost scaring a few of her guards.


    She then shamelessly threatened them, "If you don''t kill Adeline, then I am going to kill all of you. But before that, I am going to kill your family and make you watch them die a painful death."


    Lillian gave a sinister cackle all of a sudden and spat on the ground. "Do you think that these few witches can go against me? Look�� their High Priestess, who is supposed to be the strongest of them all, is already unconscious! It is only a matter of time I kill them all."


    "So if you value your life and your family''s lives then you will kill Adeline, now!" Lillian shouted again so that all of her guards would hear her.


    Theodore was fumed hearing those words from that vile witch''s mouth. He wanted to rip apart her filthy mouth with his bare hands. But unfortunately, he wasn''t allowed to do that.


    All the witches who were mending the barrier focused their attacks on Lillian who was badmouthing them.


    All eleven of the witches attacked her at once and successfully broke the barrier that Lillian had around her. Instantly, some choked her, some stiffened her hands, while some stiffened her legs. They successfully rendered her immobile.


    However, the guards were too scared to notice that. Some of the guards were already affected by her words. They were terrified, especially the old ones who knew how cunning and evil she really was.


    And they began to take out their weapons and get into offensive positions. They were ready to go against the King''s order if it meant that they wouldn''t provoke that witch.


    Adeline gestured them to stop and tried to talk them out of what they were going to do. "You don''t have to do this. You don''t have to go against the King''s order just because she is giving empty threats to kill your family."


    She pointed inside the barrier to show how eleven of the witches were attacking Lillian at once.


    "Can''t you see? She is just trying to manipulate all of you when she is already powerless. She can''t even get out of there! She is going to get captured soon, so just stand down as I said at the beginning."


    The soldiers glanced at the Queen again. They could see that Lillian was not moving at all while all of the other witches were pointing their palms towards her. They guessed that they had Lillian bound up by some kind of spell.


    They slowly eased up and were putting their weapons away.


    However, the dark sorceress was enraged by that action. Once again, the storm cloud loomed above all the witches.


    Lillian was able to break free of the chokehold and her screams resounded throughout the area as if the voices were coming from those clouds. "Empty threats? Already powerless? What an insult to a mighty witch like me."


    She also manage to free one of her palms and she screamed, "Let me back up my threats with my action then."


    She made a swift movement with her palm as though she was twisting something.


    That something happened to be one of the witch''s neck who was right beside Lillian.. Her neck twisted with a crack sound and she collapsed on the ground�� lifeless.

 Chapter 326 - Charge!

    Everyone was stunned to see that cruel sight.


    All the witches of the Mystic Coven were devastated to see that cold-blooded murder of their sister.


    "You see that, dear Addy? It wasn''t an empty threat now, was it?" Lillian let out a grim cackle that resounded throughout the creek.


    The more she laughed, the more the storm cloud spread throughout the barrier.


    Her cackle sent chills down the spine of her soldiers. A few of the guards who were skeptical of the charges that were against the Queen also believed that she really had done all those things that were mentioned in her arrest warrant.


    Adeline, on the other hand, was covering her mouth with both of her hands while holding her breath. She kept on staring at the dead body until it was invisible because of the storm cloud.


    She couldn''t believe that her careless words had provoked Lillian into taking an innocent life. The weight of that death was slowly pushing down her morale. She began to question her decision to capture Lillian. Was it really worth it? She didn''t know.


    Theodore felt helpless for not being able to save that witch when he had promised that he wouldn''t let anyone get hurt.


    The devastated and enraged witches were putting every bit of their power into holding and hurting that dark sorceress. The pure rage inside all of them was helping them to some extent.


    Agnes was able to crush Lillian from the inside as Tabitha had done before. Though her spell was not as powerful, she was still able to cause enough pain to Lillian.


    However, even though her heart felt like it was being crushed by someone''s hand, Lillian was still able to give threats again.


    "What are you waiting for, you fools?" Her loud voice echoed from the storm cloud as if they were some prophecies from heaven, "Are you all waiting for me to come out there and personally finish each one of you? Don''t test me because sooner or later, I will come out..."


    Out of the blue, a huge rock hit Lillian right on the back of her head and she passed out. Stream of blood began to roll down from her neck down to her back.


    Unfortunately, those who were outside were unable to see Lillian getting knocked out because of the storm cloud, except Theodore of course.


    "What are you waiting for?" The squad leader of the guard shouted at the other guards and ordered, "Attack the Princess, and whoever comes to save her!"


    Until now, the guards were hesitating to raise their weapons against Adeline because she had shown them the arrest warrant.


    But now that they saw and heard the cruel witch''s power display, they were now more inclined to follow the Queen''s order rather than the King''s.


    If they would disobey the King, at most, they would be imprisoned for life. But if they didn''t follow that mad witch''s order after that display of her power, they were sure that their family would be slaughtered.


    The order from their squad leader acted as the final nudge that everyone needed. They just needed a confirmation that they wouldn''t be the only ones attacking the Future Ruler.


    And the moment they got the confirmation, all twenty of the guards drew out their weapons and charged at the Princess.


    The storm cloud was slowly clearing away but nobody was looking there anymore. Everyone was already running towards Adeline. There was no backing out now.


    "Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh..." the battle cries from the guards jerked Adeline back from her guilt-trip to the present.


    Theodore suddenly grabbed Adeline''s hand with an intention to teleport her somewhere safe. "Come! You don''t need to fight them. I will take you away from all this."


    "No!" Adeline quickly retracted her hand from Theodore''s grip.


    She drew out her sword while glaring at the guards who were getting closer and closer to her. And she shouted, "I don''t want to be labeled as the deserter or a coward Princess. I cannot run away from the battlefield when I am the one who planned all this."


    Theodore was not a fan of her and Raphael fighting against 20 men. But he didn''t want to taint Adeline''s confidence by showing his doubts. Besides, he felt that Lillian would soon be confined because he saw that both Tabitha and Sybil were up on their feet.


    So he simply sighed and shouted to Adeline, "Do your best. I believe in you."


    She glanced at Theodore and nodded. She tightened her grip around the hilt and glanced at Raphael. He was already taking a defensive stance.


    Adeline also took a defensive stance as she had no intention to hurt anyone. She took a deep breath in and reminded herself, "I just need to defend myself until Lillian is shoved inside her carriage."


    An arrow came swooshing right at Adeline. Her sharp eyes picked up the incoming attack way before it got close to her. As soon as it was in her range, she swung her sword and deflected that arrow.


    A few more arrows came flying at her but she managed to either deflect them or break them all.


    Raphael was standing right beside Adeline so he was also getting attacked by the arrows. He also deflected each of them.


    Soon, the duo was surrounded by Lillian''s guards. The four of them who were in horses began to circle around Adeline and Raphael in an attempt to overwhelm them.


    Inside the barrier, the witches had made Lillian lay flat on her back. They didn''t care if she was bleeding. Their nature didn''t allow them to kill that dark sorceress right then and there. But they would be more than happy if she accidentally died because of over bleeding or concussion.


    Sybil was standing while facing the unconscious body of Lillian. Earlier, it was Sybil who had smacked Lillian with a huge rock.


    Though she was unable to move a while ago, she was seeing and hearing everything that Lillian was doing. It was the last straw when Lillian killed her fellow coven member. And the moment she was able to get up on her feet, she attacked Lillian.


    Sybil held out her palms while controlling nearby willow branches again. The branches slowly crept towards Lillian and crawled all over Lillian''s body. They tied her down to the ground. Even her head was pinned to the muddy ground.


    The High Priestess knelt down beside their fallen witch. She offered some quick prayers and closed her eyelids. She gently touched her hand and whispered with eyes full of tears, "We will avenge your death, sister. May your soul rest in peace."


    She quickly got back up. There was no time to waste. She glared down at the unconscious Lillian with spite and said to the rest of the witches, "Let''s create the magic circle before she wakes up."


    Tabitha then ordered the fellow witches, "Sybil, keep on holding her down and make sure that she doesn''t wake up until we finish creating the circle in her carriage." She looked at the rest of the witches and asked, "Everyone, follow me to the carriage."


    All the witches of the Mystic Coven, except Sybil, walked out of the barrier with no problem.

 Chapter 327 - Surrender

    Adeline and Raphael were unfazed even when they were surrounded by so many guards, that also the ones who were highly skilled fighters.


    The cavalry who were circling them were inching closer and closer and were looking for the right moment and an opening to attack from.


    Adeline and Raphael were sticking their backs against each other so that there wouldn''t be an opening at their back.


    Two of the cavalry who were standing opposite to each other exchanged a knowing glance and in the next moment, they attacked Adeline and Raphael from their sides.


    The brother and sister instantly turned to their side and faced each of the cavalries.


    Soon, the battlefield was echoing with the clanging sound of the swords striking against each other.


    At first, the rest of the soldiers were playing by the book and were letting them fight one on one. However, when they noticed that both the Princess and Prince were overpowering the cavalry, the squad leader gestured the others to join the fight as well.


    The horseback rider who was fighting Adeline was already fatigued. He barely had some strength left to even lift his sword. Adeline easily disarmed him and then pushed him off of the horse.


    Adeline was not going to resort to the last option but when she saw that around six other foot soldiers were running towards her at once, she decided to go on the offensive.


    She ran right towards those soldiers who were charging at her. With one swift move of her sword, she threw the sword of one of the soldiers. She pushed the other one with her shoulder and made him tumble.


    Another soldier''s sword came swishing at her neck. She dodged the attack and before he could attempt another strike, she kicked him hard in the gut and sent him flying to the ground.


    Another one to her right came running at her while aiming to pierce her heart. Adeline used a little force and hit his sword in an outward motion. His sword was broken in half and was sent flying away. Before he could challenge her with his bare hands, she hit him with the hilt of her sword right on his head. And he fainted on the spot.


    She gave a piercing gaze to another one who was near her. He instantly stepped back out of fear.


    "Why are you stepping back? Attack her!" the squad leader shouted at the soldiers when he sensed hesitance in their demeanor.


    The soldiers began to surround Adeline again, with the intention to attack her from all sides at once.


    While the squad leader was busy keeping an eye on Adeline, he had completely ignored Raphael. Raphael had already beaten up a few soldiers and right now was mounting a horse.


    He appeared in front of that squad leader and pointed his sword at him, "Looks like you really want to fight. Why don''t I indulge you in one?"


    Before that leader could even grip the rein of his horse properly, Raphael attacked the leader.


    The leader was caught off guard at first so he was barely dodging the attacks or countering them. But soon, he managed to adjust himself. He then went toe to toe with the Prince. It was apparent that he was the leader for a reason.


    As the leader was fighting against the Prince, he happened to notice the witches who were walking towards the carriage.


    And without thinking for a second, he shouted out his order, "Attack those witches. Don''t let them anywhere near the carriage."


    Around five soldiers who were close to the witches immediately began to run in the direction of the witches.


    Tabitha and the others'' attention was attracted by the battle cries of those few soldiers. Tabitha gave an unbothered glance at them and casually waved her palm.


    All five of the soldiers were sent flying back to the rest of the other soldiers.


    While the squad leader was distracted, Raphael got the opportunity to break the stalemate that they were having for a while. He disarmed the leader and then pointed his sword at the neck of that leader.


    "I guess the fight is over," Raphael declared with a mocking smirk.


    The leader darted his eyes around to see why no one was coming to his assistance. But he saw that all of his men were already down. Some were disarmed, some were lying down on the ground, while some were too afraid to pick up their weapons and go for the second round of the fight with the Princess.


    The leader raised his hands in the air and surrendered. He hoped that the Princess would successfully capture the Queen. He didn''t want to get punished by that evil witch for not being able to kill one girl when there were twenty of them.


    Theodore was quietly watching over Adeline and Raphael until now. This was the first time he was seeing Adeline fight that many soldiers at once. And seeing her take down those men like that, he was really proud of her.


    "I think I should fight her once, just to admire her fighting skills," Theodore thought with a smile while lovingly glancing at Adeline.


    Adeline was drenched in sweat and covered in dust. But Theodore found her extremely attractive right now.


    Tabitha and the others reached in front of the carriage. They were about to perform the spell when Theodore appeared beside them.


    As all the soldiers were already out of the fight, there was no need for him to keep on watching over Adeline.


    Theodore glanced at the High Priestess and suggested, "All of you can channel me as your energy source. It will be faster that way rather than relying on nature."


    Tabitha gladly accepted that suggestion from the Devil Prince. It would indeed make their task easier. "Thank you, Your Highness," Tabitha bowed to Theodore.


    All of the witches gathered around Theodore while holding each other''s hands. They all closed their eyes and began to chant the same spell. Slowly a glowing orange circle appeared on the floor of the carriage. And as the witches kept on chanting the spell, several runes started to appear inside the circle.


    Inside the barrier, Sybil was not even blinking while she stood beside Lillian, holding a piece of rock in her hand. She was going to whack the sorceress if made even as slight movement as batting her eyelashes.


    What she failed to notice was that all the grasses beneath Lillian had already died. Her wound at the back of her head was healing slowly.


    After a while, Lillian regained her consciousness and flung her eyes open. The first thing she saw was Sybil''s angry face glaring down at her.


    And before Lillian could even blink, Sybil raised her hand and smashed the rock on Lillian''s head again.

 Chapter 328 - Gate To Hell

    Though Lillian was wounded from that attack by Sybil, she did not faint this time.


    However, she pretended that she had fainted because she was in a tight spot. She felt that she was tied down to the ground by branches enhanced in strength with magic. And it would take her at least a few seconds to get herself out of it.


    And she knew that if she had not pretended to faint, then the witch watching over her would smash her head into a pulp.


    "I shouldn''t have taken these witches lightly. I should have finished the whole coven when I had the chance. I should have finished them years ago when I found out that they had infiltrated the Palace," Lillian thought to herself while trying to endure the pain in her head.


    Lillian then chanted the incantations in her heart to free herself from the branches. But it looked like she had underestimated the power of Sybil.


    As the branches were acting as the extended part of Sybil herself, she could feel something trying to penetrate through the branches.


    "Who is using the magic? Is she not out cold?" Sybil leaned a bit closer to Lillian''s face, suspecting that she was in her conscious state.


    And true enough, Sybil noticed Lilian''s eyeballs moving in reaction to that sudden closeness from her.


    "You b*tch! You were trying to fool me again?" Sybil furiously screamed in her mind. And her heart was filled with rage all over again when she recalled how Lillian had fooled her before as well.


    "I was just going to keep you unconscious and then send you to the Palace''s dungeon. But you asked for it..." Sybil thought to herself and before Lillian could complete whatever spell that she was going to cast, Sybil spread her arms with an intention to torture Lillian.


    She aggressively pushed her palm upward as though she was holding something very heavy. And as she did that, Lillian''s pain-filled screams resounded far and wide.


    Even Edwin could hear his mother''s gut-wrenching scream.


    The branches were now not just wrapped around Lillian''s body, but they were sprouting while piercing through her legs.


    Lillian could feel her muscles getting pierced and she was in indescribable pain. She was screaming and cursing Sybil, "Why are you torturing me like this, you mad woman! Do you think I will keep on lying here? Do you think I cannot get out of this filthy trick of yours?"


    But that only provoked Sybil to hurt her arms as well. She was careful not to pierce Lillian''s vital organs. Leaving the vital organs, she didn''t leave any other places.


    Lillian was in so much pain that tears involuntarily rolled down her temples. She wanted to use a counter spell but there was nothing much that she could do. If she was to burn the branches, she would burn along with it. And if she was to absorb the life force of the tree, the dead branches would still remain inside her body.


    She glared at Sybil and finally broke down, "Just kill me already and get it over with. Kill me!"


    "You won''t get that easy death, you vile serpent!" Sybil screamed back in her mind and kept on hurting Lillian.


    Lillian was screaming and writhing in agony. The pain was getting too much for her and she wished that Sybil would just kill her with one swift movement rather than torturing her.


    Edwin was starting to get haunted by his mother''s scream. He was unable to see what was causing so much pain to his mother. And not knowing it was even adding up to his guilty conscience.


    So he ordered his guards, "Let''s head over there. I want to see what is going on."


    Though the guards were against the idea of going closer to where all the action was happening, they couldn''t say no to his request considering the fact that his mother was the one being tortured. So, all of them began to head closer to where Lillian''s guards were.


    Lillian, on the other hand, tried to provoke Sybil into killing her, "Didn''t you see how I killed that little witch of your coven? Don''t you want to do the same to me? Come on! All you need to do is break my neck."


    Tired of her blabbering, Sybil nonchalantly made Lillian''s mouth go numb.


    Lillian kept on twisting and turning her head in pain. That was when she noticed a white piece of cloth that was hanging from a tree branch. She immediately recognized it as her ticket out of the hell that she was in right now.


    A spark of hope and a will to live rekindled in her heart again. "That''s it!" she thought to herself in between her screams.


    During all that shaking and slamming of Lillian at the beginning of the fight, Sybil and the others failed to notice that a piece of white cloth had fallen out of Lillian''s pocket and got stuck on a tree. Or maybe even if they did notice, they might have just thought that it was nothing but a handkerchief.


    Lillian instantly began to work on getting herself out of the situation that she was stuck in. She endured the excruciating pain that she was currently feeling and instead, focused on unleashing her ultimate attack.


    She acted as though she had given up on herself and blankly stared at a vacant space. While in her heart, she began performing the incantations.


    Incantations to open the gates of Hell.


    The white piece of cloth contained a magic circle which Lillian had drawn yesterday, just out of precaution for her trip. Its purpose was to assist the advanced level of summoning spells.


    Her blood had already splattered everywhere in the vicinity during the fight. Even now, she was lying in her own pool of blood. Now, all she need to do was finish chanting the spell.


    And lo and behold! The moment she would finish chanting the spell, she could summon as many creatures from Hell as she wanted to.


    As a price though, she just would have to endure the pain that would be hundred times excruciating than what she was already feeling.


    But that didn''t matter to Lillian. She was going to endure the extra pain if it meant that she would be able to kill everyone near her, except her son.


    Lillian was going to unleash the monsters, lower-level demons, ancient demons, and even vengeful spirits on Earth... whoever would be willing to answer to her summons.


    Soon, the dark mist began hovering above Lillian and within no time, the mist began to swirl madly as if it would uproot all the trees in the vicinity.


    Sybil realized that Lillian was performing some spell but she was a little too late.


    After her magic attacks didn''t work in stopping Lillian, she tried to use her own hand to smash her head like before. But she was thrown away as though there was some invisible barrier around Lillian.


    Because of the amount of dark energy that she was using right now, she had become invincible.


    And in the next moment, the earth began to quake violently. The sky was covered with storm clouds, not just inside the barrier but everywhere. Even though it was noon, the whole sky turned dark as if it was already dusk.


    Everyone who was watching Lillian now feared her even more. They were barely able to hold their ground because of the storm. Her guards thought that their whole clan was going to be wiped out.


    Suddenly, a bright orange light shined from that piece of cloth. The light glowed brighter and larger until a huge enough portal was created right in the middle of the barrier.


    On the other side of the portal, there lied the place of eternal damnation.


    Yes, the portal was the gate to literal Hell.

 Chapter 329 - Run!

    Theodore was the first one to realize that Lillian had opened the gate to Hell.


    And the second to realize that was Agnes. When Lillian was pinned down to the ground, she had thought that the vision that she had about the opening of gates to hell had passed and that everything was going to be okay.


    But could she be any more wrong? She was stunned when she saw the bright orange light shining in the middle of the barrier.


    Theodore glanced towards the barrier and calmly ordered the witches who were currently surrounding him and using him as their power source, "Ladies, I am going to need all of you to complete the barrier a little faster. It looks like we are going to have some�� uninvited guests."


    "The prophecy has come true��" Tabitha sighed as she turned her head towards the barrier.


    The rest of the witches also became aware of the danger that lay ahead of them. The whole dark and windy atmosphere, and the orange glow were hard to miss.


    The guards and the Princes and Princess were also attracted by that orange glow.


    By now, Edwin had also arrived near the barrier. He was standing beside Adeline to ask what was taking so long and also to ask why they were torturing Lillian instead of capturing her soon.


    However, before he could ask any of those, the portal opened and everyone''s eyes were glued to that glowing thing.


    Adeline and Edwin also instantly realized what Lillian had done. As they were close to the barrier, they clearly saw what was on the other side of the portal.


    And as Azriel had shown a glimpse of Hell to both of them in the test, they immediately recognized that the place that they were seeing through that ''hole'' was indeed Hell.


    Raphael, who was also standing beside Adeline couldn''t help but express his curiosity, "Are all of you seeing that orange thing? What the hell is that?"


    And Adeline and Edwin answered in cohesion, "Hell��"


    The Mystic Coven wanted to head towards the barrier to assist Sybil. They were well aware that she alone wouldn''t be able to hold the gate. Once the monsters would start to come out of the portal, it was going to be everyone''s doom.


    But right now, they were very close to finishing creating the magic circle in the carriage.


    And if they abruptly stopped the spell now, there was a chance that the barrier that they were creating would backfire on them and they wouldn''t be able to use their magic for some time.


    That ''some time'' would vary between a few minutes to a few days.


    And they didn''t want to risk it because, without their magic, they were nothing. There wasn''t much that they would be able to do to fight against whatever would come through that gate of Hell.


    Theodore was also well aware of what was at stake if he ran towards the portal right now. Though he wanted to deal with the portal to Hell right away, the witches were channeling his power right now and he couldn''t do anything other than wait for the witches to finish their spell soon.


    Inside the barrier, nothing happened for quite a while. Nothing came through the portal.


    Lillian had passed out because of the insurmountable amount of dark energy that was coursing through her veins.


    Sybil was already up on her feet and was trying several ways to close the portal. However, Lillian had used the blood spell. And as the rule of the blood spell, only the one who cast it would be able to close it.


    So after exhausting every option that was at Sybil''s disposal, she gave up trying to close the gate, and instead, she readied herself for the upcoming mortal danger that she was in. As she was the first one that the monsters would have to go through, she didn''t know whether she would even be able to stand against them for a minute.


    "I hope my sisters will come to my aid soon. I don''t think I am strong enough to hold the demons from Hell," Sybil nervously thought to herself as a drop of sweat trickled down her spine.


    Outside, Adeline and Edwin were surprised that both of them were aware of where the portal led to. They glanced at each other but they didn''t have time to indulge in a conversation sharing how they knew what it was.


    "Hell?" Raphael dismissively chuckled, not believing that they literally meant what they said.


    However, when he saw the petrified look on both of them, he nervously asked again, "Wait! Do the two of you mean like�� actual Hell?" Raphael glanced through the portal again and like the stories about Hell, the other side of the portal indeed looked flaming and scary and a ghastly shade of red.


    All of the guards'' attention was on the conversation of the Royals. They were already terrified by the witches'' power display. And the Royals were telling that there was something even more terrifying than those witches?


    And as if to confirm what Raphael was asking, a Gargoyle stepped out of the portal while roaring loudly.


    The humans had never seen something that scary ever before in their life. When that ancient monster roared at the top of its lungs, the human''s lungs were about to burst because of panic attacks.


    For a while, all of them were flabbergasted to even move an inch. They watched as the monster, which looked like a pile of rocks with wings, stomped its heavy feet on Earth. It sent mild tremors just by walking.


    They also watched as Sybil threw her frail attacks in an attempt to stop that monster. But that Gargoyle spread its wings and roared at Sybil. His roar was enough to make her stumble down to the ground with fear.


    That Gargoyle then swiftly jerked its head to the side and glared at the humans with its red and glowing eyes.


    Everyone gasped. Almost all of them could feel their soul leaving their bodies.


    When that terrifying monster began making its way towards them, Adeline was finally able to get her speech back. She shouted while her eyes were glued to that fearsome monster, "Er�� everyone�� I would have never said this if the situation wasn''t like this�� But��"


    "Run!"


    Her sharp voice was able to bring everyone out of their daze. Adeline didn''t need to command twice. Everyone, along with the Royals, began to literally run for their life.


    There was no way that their mere swords would be able to hurt that monster from Hell.. Heck, their swords wouldn''t even be able to scratch that ancient monster made out of rocks.

 Chapter 330 - Swarming Of Monsters

    When Lillian cast the summoning spell, her goal to kill everyone apart from her son was shared with all of the creatures that were to come through the portal.


    So as the humans made a run for their lives, the Gargoyle also flapped its wings in order to chase after them. However, it bumped into something that was invisible to him. It tried to fly again but it hit the barrier again.


    Sybil, who was looking at the Gargoyle from behind took a sigh of relief. And she thought to herself, "The barrier might hold him off for about a minute. Sisters, I hope that you all will come to aid before things go out of control."


    Thankfully, the witches had taken a precaution while creating the barrier. They had taken the prophecy into consideration and had cast the barrier to trap any supernatural beings inside of it.


    However, the moment of relief quickly faded for Sybil when she noticed something hovering right behind that portal to Hell.


    A bloodfairy that was passing by had spotted the portal.


    She was instantly attracted by something heavenly and her wings automatically took her in front of the portal. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her wings fluttered in ecstasy and she moaned, "Ah! This sweet smell�� I have been longing for this smell for over a hundred years."


    She was attracted by the fresh scent of humans. She could hear the blood that was gushing through their veins.


    Sybil had no idea if her magic attacks would travel across the portal or not. But still, she was conjuring a magic attack to take down that flying ghastly woman before she came to Earth.


    At first, the bloodfairy was wary to enter through that portal thinking it could have been a trap. However, she heard the angry growling noise that the Gargoyle was producing. She saw that one of the creatures from Hell was already on the other side of the portal.


    The bloodfairy gave a sinister smirk and whispered, "If the ancient demon such as Gargoyle can go through this portal then we definitely can."


    Sybil was about to attack that bloodfairy but, to her surprise, she flew away. She took a sigh of relief and thought, "Oh, thank God! She retreated. I hope no more creatures from Hell will crawl through."


    Little did she know that the bloodfairy had not retreated but rather she had gone to invite all of her friends. Rather than entering the portal alone, she wanted to share this rare opportunity with other creatures of Hell.


    That bloodfairy was happily flying away while thinking, "They are going to jump with happiness when I give them the news. We are in for a feast."


    The Gargoyle was continuously banging on the barrier. The barrier already had several cracks.


    Sybil busied herself by mending those cracks. "I just need to hold that pile of rocks for a while," she was motivating herself so that she could mend the cracks faster than the Gargoyle was breaking it.


    Unexpectedly for her, she heard commotions from the other side of the portal.


    She glanced towards the portal only to be shocked to her core. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. And she feebly mouthed, "Oh, dear lord!"


    Without wasting a second, she began to cast a spell on herself instead of the barrier.


    In the next moment, a horde of bloodfairies and ghouls swarm through the portal. The whole area was overrun by the lower-level demons in no time.


    "Look! What a tasty-looking human!" A few of the bloodfairies instantly spotted Sybil behind a tree. They were immediately attracted by her smell.


    They flew at a great speed and picked Sybil up from the ground. Some held her hands while some held her legs. They spread her midair.


    One of the bloodfairy then bore all her fangs and shouted, "Let''s dig in, girls. We might not get this chance again!"


    Without wasting any time, three of the bloodfairies sank their fangs on Sybil''s body.


    However, the moment Sybil''s blood touched their lips and tongue, they felt a burning sensation as if they had just gulped hellfire. Their whole mouth was on fire.


    They screamed in pain and cursed her, "This is a damn witch! Throw her away!"


    One of the bloodfairy swung and threw Sybil away in fury.


    Sybil flew past the barrier and across the willow creek. To her luck, she splashed in the river. She was hurt badly but wasn''t dead.


    The supernatural beings began to pile up around the barrier. Countless ghouls and bloodfairies, along with the Gargoyle, began to push their way through.


    And within no time, the barrier finally crumbled down.


    Adeline kept on turning back while she and the others were running towards Theodore. They had just reached halfway when Adeline noticed a swarm of women with dark red wings zooming directly towards them. A little behind those winged women, she saw the creatures that she feared the most�� she saw the Ghouls.


    Her throat parched instantly and she felt her knees getting wobbly. She was barely managing to run.


    And before she could warn the guards regarding the mortal danger they were in, two of the bloodfairies jumped on a guard who was at the back. They pinned him down and instantly sank their deadly fangs on his neck.


    He screamed for help but no one dared to stop and turn around. The moment they would stop, everyone knew that their fate would be the same. They knew that those ghastly creatures would suck them dry.


    One by one, the bloodfairies began to pick up the humans in the air. Each human was surrounded by at least five bloodfairies. They were hovering around the terrified humans as if they were about to perform some kind of ritual.


    The whole willow creek was filled with the terrifying roars of the monsters and the helpless screams of the human victims.


    The Gargoyle had picked up two humans. It was holding them by their legs and hanging them upside down. And it was flying high up in the sky with the intention to throw them down on the ground and kill them. It could have easily crushed them with its bare hands but it wanted to relish in the kill.


    The ghouls were also ready to join in the feast. One ghoul had already managed to tear off a mouthful of the flesh of one of the guards while the other one had punctured another guard''s thigh with its claws.


    And yet another ghoul was really close to piercing its long arrow-like claws through Raphael''s back.


    "Raph! Watch out!" Adeline shouted in horror as the terrifyingly tall and skinny ghoul was giving a close chase to Raphael.


    Raphael tried to increase his speed but the long legs of the ghoul made it impossible to outrun it.


    Adeline mustered up enough courage to draw her sword and run towards Raphael so that she could defend her brother.


    However, before she could reach near them, the ghoul made its attack. With the swift strike of its claws, it managed to cut through Raphael''s battle armor.


    "Nooooooo!" Adeline screamed at the top of her lungs at the thought of losing her other favorite brother. "Not my brother!"


    She stepped on a stump of a tree and jumped while aiming the blade of her sword at that ghoul''s neck. She swung her sword and when she landed on the ground, that ghoul''s severed head dropped beside her. And in the next second, so did its headless body.


    A side of Adeline''s face was covered in black blood. That ghoul''s blood was dripping down the tip of her sword. She kept on standing there, motionless and breathless.


    "Adeline, are you okay?" Raphael staggeringly walked towards Adeline and gently nudged her.


    But there was no response from Adeline.


    When a few other ghouls in the surrounding saw the lifeless body of their friend, they focused their attention on Adeline. They snarled and ran towards the Princess who was still in shock because of her very first kill.


    But suddenly, all of them stopped on their track.


    Not just those ghouls, all the creatures from Hell stopped whatever they were doing, even the Gargoyle. Every one of them felt the presence of someone thousand fold stronger than them. The very aura was so intimidating that those who were still in the vicinity of the portal jumped back to Hell.


    Adeline already knew why they were acting that way.


    The Princes and the guards, on the other hand, were confused by that sudden change in the demeanor of those predators. They stopped running and darted their eyes around to see what made those monsters cower in fear.


    Theodore was hovering in the air in his glorious Devil form.


    And his menacing voice echoed far and wide, "No more deaths of the humans. Not in my watch.. If you all wish to live then I give you exactly five seconds to run back to Hell."

 Chapter 331 - The Carnage

    "If you all wish to live then I give you exactly five seconds to run back to Hell."


    Everyone, monsters, and humans stared at the almighty Devil while shivering in fear. His widespread dark wings, his glowing red eyes, and his large and sharp horns were enough to instill terror in everyone.


    Some of the monsters recognized Theodore as their Prince. Those who did recognize him bolted towards the portal the moment Theodore gave a warning to them.


    Without missing a beat, Theodore started the countdown in an equally menacing voice, "Five�� four��"


    When Theodore began the countdown, a few more followed the suit and ran after those who were already running as if they were participating in a race.


    Those who were running and flying away wished that Theodore wouldn''t finish the countdown anytime soon. They wanted to get inside the safety of Hell before he finished the countdown. For some reason, they had this feeling that the moment he would stop the countdown, they all would die.


    The rest of the monsters were still holding onto their victims and were holding their ground even when they were seeing his enormous aura. The Gargoyle was even flying towards Theodore as if he was going to challenge Theodore into a duel.


    "Three�� two�� one."


    The second Theodore stopped his countdown, he swooshed around at the speed of lightning. When he stopped for a fraction of a second, around twenty of the supernatural creatures dropped dead to the ground.


    Some of them had their heart ripped out of their bodies, some of their heads were missing, while some had their arms and legs dismembered from their bodies.


    The Gargoyle had several holes in its rocky body. It was no more than a pile of lifeless rock now.


    The scene was so horrifying that even Adeline felt a chill shiver running down her spine.


    Never in their dream had the monsters thought that Theodore was actually serious about killing them all when he began the countdown. All the remaining lower-level demons fled towards the portal in the hopes of saving their lives. Relishing in blood and flesh didn''t seem as important as living for a few more centuries.


    Theodore was still furious that those monsters had made him look like a fool. He had given his word to Adeline that he wouldn''t let harm befall anyone involved in capturing Lillian. But because of these puny lower-level demons, many of the guards and even Raphael were hurt. Three of the guards had already lost their lives while several of them were severely wounded.


    And he was going to make all of them pay for what they did.


    Theodore glowered his burning red eyes towards the portal. In the blink of an eye, Theodore was already standing in front of the gate to Hell. He spread his magnificent wings and covered the portal.


    A few of the bloodfairies were about to enter through the portal. But they stopped the second they saw the petrifying Devil blocking their path.


    Seeing their death in front of them, they began to plead to Theodore, "Please spare us�� We will never step our feet on Earth ever again. Please let us return back to Hell."


    But Theodore turned a deaf ear to all the desperate pleadings.


    As they kept on pleading for his forgiveness, Theodore casually started to strike his sharp claws against each other as if he was sharpening them. His claws produced sparks of fire when he did that.


    And with each spark of fire that Theodore produced, the demons felt as if they were receiving the greatest torture of the century. The whole atmosphere became so terrifying that they wished they could disappear from the face of Earth.


    Theodore then glowered at the pitiful demons and his voice echoed throughout the creek, "I don''t give second chances to anyone. You should have run when I gave you the time to run. Now all of you must perish into oblivion."


    The already pale face of those bloodfairies and ghouls turned even paler when they heard Theodore say that. All of them knew that it was their last moment of existence.


    And before they could recall their treasured memories, Theodore bared his fangs and claws and flew around at the speed of lightning again.


    He flew around while slashing his claws, digging his fangs on the neck and tearing their heads off, grabbing the wings and ripping them apart, and punching his hand through their ribcages and pulling their beating heart out.


    When he stopped, there were piles of the dead bodies of those lower-level demons. The once green willow creek was now painted with the dark blood of those demons. And the ground that was muddy earlier was now paved with the body parts of those demons.


    Theodore stood on top of one of the piles of those remains of those monsters. He looked around for any signs of life. He was checking if anyone was lying among the dead and was pretending to be dead.


    The humans who were watching him in action, more precisely his after-action, had varying views towards him.


    "Is he the God of War?" one of the guards was watching him in awe. He looked almost as if he wanted to kneel before the ''God of War'' and receive his blessing.


    Another guard was already on his knees, not out of respect towards Theodore but out of fear. He whispered back in a shaky voice, "He is no God. Don''t you see his horns? Have you ever seen a God with horns?"


    "No one has ever seen a God! Maybe this is what Gods look like," another enchanted soldier countered that guard.


    "He is our savior. Just be grateful that he was here with us. Else we all would have been torn into pieces by those monsters," another one scolded the one fearing that magnificent being.


    Another guard who was standing near Adeline expressed his fear, "Is he really our savior? What if he is planning to eat us all, all by himself?" He then gave a questioning glance to Adeline, as if he was asking her to prove him wrong.


    However, Adeline was not listening to their conversations at all. She was staring at the Devil who was standing on top of the gruesomely murdered demons. He looked so unbothered when he was doing so that it was making Adeline bothered.


    This was the first time she was seeing Theodore''s true form in action, without any restrictions. And even though she was very well aware that he was the Devil Prince of Hell, she couldn''t quite accept that he could be this ruthless, not when she had always seen his sweet side.


    Seeing Adeline lost in her own world, Raphael looked at the soldiers and then assured them, "You don''t have to be scared of him. He is one of the guardians of Wyverndale. Why do you think we brought him here today? Now stop staring at the guardian and take care of your fellow soldiers."


    The guards believed Raphael and nodded their heads. They were relieved to hear that the mighty being was the guardian of Wyverndale.


    After looking around for the aura, Theodore finally whispered, "I guess everyone is taken care of��"


    He looked at the heaps of bodies and the mess that he had created. He rolled his eyes and pondered, "Now, how the Hell am I going to get rid of these bodies?"


    Theodore''s attention was suddenly grabbed by a familiar and cold voice from behind, "Ah! The mess you have created! Do you need any help, brother?"

 Chapter 332 - Mud And Grass

    "Do you need any help, brother?" Lucifer asked Theodore from the other side of the portal.


    Lucifer was gazing at the portal as though he had been waiting for this moment for centuries. He had a mysterious smile on his lips and his eyes were gleaming with excitement.


    Theodore turned around to see his brother. He gave a challenging glance and asked, "Don''t tell me you can actually come to Earth through that portal!"


    Lucifer was bound to Hell and was never to leave. If he tried to escape, he would instantly get punished by their father. But this time, it was a bit different. Lucifer was not trying to escape Hell but rather, he was trying to answer the summoning spell.


    "I won''t know until I try," Lucifer smirked and accepted his brother''s challenge.


    First, he tested the portal by poking his hand through it. Nothing happened to stop him. With a wide smile on his face, Lucifer elegantly walked through that portal.


    He spread his arms blissfully as he walked on the mud and grass of Earth rather than the corroded barren land of Hell. "Well! Well! Well! What do you know? Looks like there is a loophole in father''s curse on me."


    Theodore was equally happy as Lucifer. He instantly reverted back to his normal form and welcomed his brother, "Welcome to Earth, brother!" He then gave an apologetic look and scratched his head, "Though I have turned the surrounding into Hell at the moment."


    Lucifer cracked his knuckles and spoke enthusiastically, "Let''s revert it back into the beautiful place it was then."


    The King of Hell then teleported and stood in the middle of the mess that his little brother had created. He glanced at the humans and witches who were nearby.


    The witches were currently healing the severely wounded guards while the other guards who weren''t hurt that much were helping each other out. Some of them were preparing their fallen soldiers to be taken back to Palace.


    As Lucifer was scanning the surrounding, his eyes got stuck on a young lady who had the blood of the demons smeared all over her face and her armor. He noticed how she was the only one with the demon''s blood on her, meaning she was the only one who had managed to kill one.


    And she was also staring back at him as if she was not believing her eyes.


    Lucifer didn''t think much of it and warned everyone, "Mortals, I am going to clear the area of the bodies. It would be really wonderful if you all can step away from the dead bodies of the creatures of Hell."


    The mortals did as Lucifer asked, no questions asked. From the way Lucifer was carrying himself, and also considering the fact that he resembled their guardian who had saved all of them earlier, they had no reason to doubt him.


    Theodore also stepped down from the pile of dead bodies and stood next to the portal.


    After making sure that no one was close to the dead bodies, Lucifer did a set of quick hand movements. As he did so, his whole body began to glow with Hellfire. He slowly began to levitate in the air. His long silver hair was freely flowing behind his back. And his eyes looked like burning lava.


    He then released the Hellfire on all the dead bodies and even the tiniest parts of those demons that were lying around.


    "He must be the God of Fire��" one of the guards whispered to the other guard as they watched Lucifer glowing with the purest form of fire.


    The mortals had never seen a fire like it before. The fire was so raw and terrifying at the same time that the mortals were scared as well as amazed by what they were witnessing.


    After seeing the Hellfire, the witches were quick to guess who Lucifer really was.


    The High Priestess joined her hands together and bowed down to the mighty son of God. She whispered to her fellow sisters, "We have been graced by the presence of the Devil King himself�� one of the most powerful sorcerers."


    The rest of the witches also bowed their heads to the ruler of Hell and the punisher of the damned.


    Edwin and Raphael were standing on either side of Adeline. Raphael leaned towards Adeline and asked softly, "Is he Theodore''s twin brother?"


    "No, he is Theodore''s older brother. But I didn''t know that Lucifer looked so similar to him," Adeline whispered back while still staring at Lucifer.


    Both Raphael and Edwin were shocked to hear the name ''Lucifer'' because even the mortals knew that it was the name of the King of Hell.


    "Did you just say ''Lucifer''? The Lucifer?" Edwin asked in a ragged whisper.


    Adeline gave an awkward smile and nodded. "Yes, he is ''the Lucifer''."


    Both of her brothers nearly fainted when Adeline confirmed that. They were staring at Adeline as if they had forgotten to breathe.


    Edwin finally let out a sigh and said in a scared voice, "I am glad that I am on your side. I am glad that I am not your enemy."


    "And so am I," Raphael added in an equally trembling voice.


    Adeline almost wanted to laugh at their faces for that sudden change in their demeanor after hearing Lucifer''s name.


    Within a minute, everything that belonged to Hell was incinerated by the King of Hell himself.


    The dead bodies vanished from the face of Earth in no time. Now all that remained from the earlier massacre were bloodstains that had splattered around and the memories of the mortals who had witnessed it.


    Lucifer teleported in front of the portal again and asked his brother, "So, won''t you show me around Earth before this portal pulls me back in?" He looked up at the dark clouds and said, "I want to see other colors than the same boring shades of red and black."


    Theodore glanced at Lillian who was still out cold not too far away from where they were standing. Then he looked back at the expectant face of his brother and nodded, "Sure. But first, I want to introduce you to someone."


    "Adeline?" Lucifer teasingly raised his brows.


    Theodore simply smiled and touched Lucifer on his shoulder. Then both of them teleported in front of Adeline.


    The brothers and sisters were still talking about Theodore and Lucifer, and when both of them appeared in front of them out of nowhere, their souls almost left their bodies.


    Theodore gave an apologetic look to Adeline and the Princes and spoke in a soft voice, "Oh, sorry! That was very insensitive of me. All of you must have been traumatized right now."


    "No! You don''t have to apologize to us," Adeline gave a smile to Theodore and stole a quick glance of Lucifer.


    Raphael and Edwin, on the other hand, were shamelessly staring at Lucifer as if they were enchanted by him.


    Theodore softly chuckled seeing their intense gazes and then introduced Lucifer to all of them. "Everyone, this is my older brother and the King of Hell, Lucifer."


    "And Lucifer," Theodore pointed at Adeline and said, "This is Adeline.." Then he also introduced her brothers, "And they are her brothers, Raphael and Edwin."

 Chapter 333 - New Member

    Adeline and her brothers bowed to the Devil King and said simultaneously, "It is an honor to be in your presence."


    "It is nice to meet all of you," Lucifer replied with a mysterious smile on his face. He understood why she was staring at him a while ago.


    Lucifer took a step forward and took Adeline''s hand. He leaned down to place a kiss on her knuckles and then added, "Especially you, Adeline." Lucifer was impressed that his younger brother had fallen for a girl who looked sweet and fierce at the same time.


    He gave a gentle smile to Adeline and praised her, "I had always wanted to meet you when Theodore told me about you. And I understand now why he was on the verge of going mad when you two got separated."


    Adeline glanced at Theodore and gave a sad smile to him.


    Lucifer then held out his palms and quickly conjured up a single-handed sword on his palms. "I don''t think I can attend the marriage ceremony so this is a small gift from my side."


    He presented that sword to Adeline while saying, "Welcome to our family, Adeline. I hope you can handle my eccentric brother."


    All of this was so sudden for Adeline that she didn''t know what would be the proper thing to do. She gave a bewildered gaze to Theodore to which he smiled and replied, "Take it. This is the strongest sword that you can never find on Earth."


    Adeline received the sword from Lucifer and bowed to him again, "Thank you for being so kind to me."


    "This is the least I can do for my sister-in-law." Lucifer pursed his lips and sighed. "I think this will be our first and last meeting. But I am glad that I at least got a chance to see you face to face."


    Adeline gave her kindest smile and said, "Likewise. I am happy that I got a chance to meet you."


    Lucifer took a glance at his brother and hinted, "I think we will roam around for a bit." He then gazed at Adeline and sarcastically added, "And I hope that I will never see you in Hell."


    Adeline felt her heart skip a beat because of that dark humor of Lucifer. But she still managed to put on a smile and said, "I will try my best to avoid that fate."


    Before the two brothers left the battlefield, Theodore lovingly caressed Adeline''s ruffled-up hair and informed her, "We will be back in no time. Till then, ask the witches to finish healing the soldiers and shift Lillian to the carriage."


    "What about the portal?" Adeline asked Theodore without missing a beat. "What if some more monsters crawl through while you are gone?"


    And instead of Theodore, Lucifer replied, "I will have Cerberus guard the portal."


    "Sure, thank you!" Adeline replied with gratitude.


    The moment Theodore and Lucifer vanished from there, Adeline was shot with several questioning gazes from those who were unintentionally listening to the conversation between Adeline and Lucifer.


    Edwin was the first one to break the silence, "You are getting married to the Devil Prince? When? How?"


    "Did father agree to it?" Raphael also asked his own question.


    Adeline''s cheeks had already turned burning red. She gazed at her new sword and answered shyly, "The marriage hasn''t been fixed yet but I think it will happen soon. Father has yet to formally meet Theodore and have proper talks. But they have met once already."


    Both her brothers were in for a surprise, especially Edwin, as he didn''t even know that Adeline and Theodore were fond of each other.


    Before her brothers asked some more questions about her and Theodore, she walked towards Tabitha to relay the message from Theodore. And almost as if they were her tails, Edwin and Raphael also followed her subconsciously.


    Tabitha was finishing up healing one of the injured guards when Adeline approached her. "High Priestess, Theodore was saying that we should transport Lillian to the carriage once all of the guards are healed."


    "As you wish, Your Highness," Tabitha replied in a soft voice and looked around. Only two of the soldiers were still being healed, the rest were already back to their best health. And she asked the Princess, "I think we should ask the coachman to bring the carriage next to Lillian. I will undo the spell on her and we can shift her to the carriage."


    Edwin immediately took the liberty to order one of his cavalries, "Ask the coachman to take the carriage over there."


    That guard instantly mounted his horse and headed towards Lillian''s carriage. Tabitha and the witches who were already free headed towards where Lillian was.


    Adeline suddenly remembered that Raphael was also hurt so she called one of the witches, "Excuse me, will you also treat my brother''s wound? He hurt his back."


    Raphael chuckled and tried to brush it off, "No, I can get healed later. It''s just a scratch."


    Adeline didn''t believe him so she made him turn around and peeked through the sliced armor. And she shouted to him angrily, "It''s not just a scratch, Raph! It looks bad. Get healed right away."


    Adeline gestured to the witch who was standing close by and she immediately began her work.


    Adeline then glanced at Edwin and asked, "I am going to check on your mother. Do you want to come?"


    Edwin pursed his lips and said, "I think I will wait for Raphael to get healed."


    After she had unleased literal Hell on innocent people, Edwin didn''t even feel like seeing her. He knew that his mother was currently impaled and unconscious, and he didn''t want to feel sympathetic towards her at all.


    Adeline nodded her head and then followed the witches who were walking towards Lillian.


    When the witches and Adeline reached near Lillian, they saw Sybil limping towards them. She was soaked in water and it looked like she hadn''t yet healed the wounds that she got from the bloodfairies and that harsh fall into the river.


    "Sybil, are you okay?" Agnes and two other witches ran to hold Sybil and help her heal.


    Tabitha, on the other hand, asked two of the witches to keep Lillian unconscious. Though it looked very unlikely that she would gain her consciousness any time soon because of the blood loss as well as the amount of dark energy that she was still channeling.


    Tabitha then took the charge of removing all the branches that were impaled in her body. She slowly retracted the branches one by one and Lillian''s bones and muscles could be seen as clear as the blue sky.


    Adeline couldn''t stomach the grisly scene even though it was her arch-enemy. She could feel her stomach hurling. So she walked away from that place.


    In her subconscious state, she happened to walk towards the portal. When she suddenly came back to her senses, she heard a low growling noise.


    Her eyes widened in terror when she saw massive paws on the other side of the portal. She shakily raised her head to see what that thing was. She was even more terrified when she saw three large heads looking down at her with its scary eyes.


    Adeline felt like running for her life but her knees gave up on her. She just froze in place.


    Cerberus poked out his heads through the portal and sniffed Adeline.


    Adeline was so scared when that hellhound''s huge head was inches away from her face that she just stood there as if she was a lifeless statue. She prayed that Lucifer would come back and take his dog away from her. She didn''t want the hellhound to bite her head off or maul her over.


    However, to her disbelief, Cerberus began to wag his tail and lick Adeline. He even rolled on his back and asked for belly rubs.


    Adeline blinked her eyes several times because she was unable to believe that Cerberus was actually very friendly.


    Adeline smiled and talked in a baby-ese tone, "Hi Cerberus! You just want to be pampered, don''t you?" She couldn''t help but walk closer to that bundle of cuteness and give him some belly rubs.


    She shook her head while thinking, "Theo said that he was a terrifying beast.." She chuckled to herself and whispered, "Him and his definition of a terrifying beast! I was scared of this cute puppy for no reason."

 Chapter 334 - Mission Accomplished

    Theodore and Lucifer returned back to the portal when Adeline was playing with Cerberus. She was resting her arms and head on his belly and talking to him while giving gentle scratches to him. Both of the brothers were surprised to see that Cerberus was letting Adeline pet him.


    And they were even more surprised when Cerberus turned one of his heads to see them but didn''t come running towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer raised his brows and exclaimed as if his pet had betrayed him, "My nightmare has come true. Cerberus is actually ignoring me!"


    Theodore chuckled and patted his brother on the shoulder. And he teased Lucifer, "She is an expert in stealing familiars. Arion already likes her more than me. Be thankful that she won''t be meeting Cerberus frequently."


    Lucifer sighed and said with a heavy heart, "I would rather have her steal Cerberus if it meant that I could freely roam around Earth." He then put on a smile and looked at Theodore, "But I am happy that I at least got to see how Earth has turned out to be. And I also got to see how beautiful my sister-in-law is."


    Theodore gave a sly smile and said, "So happy that you feel like giving me the sword that I want?"


    Lucifer rolled his eyes and replied monotonously, "You know what you have to do to get that sword."


    "Come on! I am already as strong as you." Theodore whined like a baby asking for a toy.


    Lucifer walked closer to his pet and Adeline while saying, "But not stronger than me! You know the deal."


    Theodore kept on standing right where he was to maintain his distance from the attention-seeking hound.


    Adeline saw Lucifer and she quickly lifted her head from Cerberus'' belly. She gave a smile to Lucifer and praised Cerberus, "You have a very gentle and lovable pet. I couldn''t help but pet him."


    Lucifer rubbed Cerberus'' belly and replied, "I think he somehow knew that you are family. He never lets anyone pet him other than me and Azriel."


    Adeline glanced at Theodore as if to question if Cerberus didn''t allow Theodore to pet him. So, Lucifer replied, "Theodore never pets him no matter how hard Cerberus tries to please him. You know how he is."


    Adeline chuckled and gave a knowing nod.


    Lucifer then glanced at the portal which was starting to crumble down and sighed, "I think it is about time I returned back to my eternal doom."


    He then suddenly turned around to see Lillian and asked Adeline, "Do you want me to drag that evil thing to Hell right away? I mean, she is going there one day or another. So, why don''t I just drag her away now?"


    Adeline blinked twice and creased her brows, "I don''t th-think that you are allowed to do that. You will be punished by God."


    Lucifer shrugged nonchalantly and spoke in a monotone, "I''m already in Hell. Whatever punishment he gives me will always be lighter than that."


    Adeline was tempted to push Lillian to Hell right away. However, she didn''t want to do that at the cost of others. She pursed her lips into a thin line and said, "I will keep her in custody until her time comes. I won''t allow her to wreak havoc again."


    Lucifer gave a smile and nodded. "I will trust you to it then."


    He turned towards Cerberus and ordered, "Cer baby, it''s time for us to go back. Get up now."


    Cerberus instantly got back up on his feet. And rather than jumping through the portal, he ran towards Theodore.


    Lucifer chuckled because he knew what was coming. And as he had predicted, Theodore''s voice echoed, "Lucifeeeeeeerrr! Call back your dog nowwwwww!"


    Both Adeline and Lucifer began to laugh at the mighty Devil Prince who was desperately running away from Cerberus. The witches were trying hard not to laugh. While a few others who were seeing that scene from afar thought that their guardian was indeed being chased by some deadly beast.


    In his panic, Theodore forgot that he could teleport and could even fly.


    Lucifer ignored Theodore and spoke with Adeline, "If you ever feel that it is getting hard for you to control that evil soul, then ask Theodore to pass the message to me. I will send a Grimreaper to claim that evil soul; doesn''t matter if her time has come or not."


    "I will keep that in mind," Adeline smiled and gave a grateful bow to Lucifer.


    Lucifer then turned to see Cerberus and shouted, "Cerberus, it''s time to go. Come!"


    Cerberus abruptly stopped chasing Theodore around and ran back towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer then shouted to Theodore, "I''m leaving now. See you in Hell."


    Theodore just angrily gestured him to leave. He was mad that his brother tarnished his reputation in front of the mortals by leaving the dog on him.


    Lucifer then glanced back at Adeline and gave a piece of advice, "I know that life as a ruler can get overwhelming sometimes. You will even make a lot of enemies. But don''t let anything set you back. Keep on fighting and moving forward. Goodbye, Adeline."


    "I will. Goodbye, Lucifer," Adeline took the liberty to call him by his name and watched him walk through the portal.


    Cerberus licked Adeline''s cheek before he also followed his master.


    "Goodbye, Cerberus!" Adeline kept on watching them through the portal as they walked further and further away. After a while, both Lucifer and Cerberus disappeared from view.


    And as if the portal was waiting for the two of them to return back, it shook violently as it slowly crumbled away from existence.


    Adeline took a deep breath in and walked back to where Lillian and the other witches were. "Is she ready to be transported back yet?" Adeline asked the High Priestess.


    "Yes, Your Highness." Tabitha got up from the ground while the two of the witches were still holding Lillian unconscious. The witches had already finished patching up the open wounds of Lillian. Now all that was left to do was shift her to the carriage and take her back to the Palace.


    Edwin and Raphael also finally joined them. And Adeline instantly asked them, "You two arrived just in time. Will you put Lillian inside the carriage?"


    Edwin stepped forward and looked at Lillian with contempt. "I will do it," he then swiftly picked his mother up in his arms and got inside the carriage which was waiting for the prisoner.


    Lillian creased her brows and fluttered her lashes as she was slowly returning back to her senses.


    But before she completely regained her senses, Edwin lay her down on the seat of the carriage and jumped out. He locked the door and kept on facing the door for a while. The magic circle automatically activated and trapped Lillian inside.


    He then swiftly turned on his heels and declared, "Our mission is finally over."


    Adeline faced everyone who was around her, the Mystic Coven, Theodore, and her brothers.


    And she expressed her gratitude as well as sorrow, "I am extremely thankful to all of you for making this possible today. But I am also saddened that the Coven had to lose one of the members and we also lost three of our Royal guards. Not to forget that we were overrun by the monsters from Hell and several of us were severely injured."


    Adeline appreciatively gazed at all of them and ended the mission with a positive note, "However, I do hope that we prevented the unfortunate deaths of several other innocent people by putting a stop to Lillian''s cruelty. I will make sure that no more people will have to suffer from her hands ever again."


    Everyone let out a sigh of relief after the long battle was finally put to an end.


    It was a bittersweet moment for everyone, especially for the witches.. They finally got their revenge but at the cost of one more life.

 Chapter 335 - Damnation

    Suddenly, they heard Lillian''s weak voice from inside the carriage, "Edwin! Edwin! Are you out there?"


    Lillian had been unconscious for quite a long time and she also lost a lot of blood in the fight. Though her open wounds were healed, her blood level was still low. She looked around the carriage and for a good minute, she couldn''t figure out if everything that happened earlier was just her dream or everything was real.


    "Edwin was traveling with me, wasn''t he?" she tried to figure out what was real and what wasn''t. "Everything felt so real�� then why am I back inside the carriage?" she held her head and sat up on the seat.


    She couldn''t feel the carriage moving. She turned her head to look out of the window but the window, as well as the door, were tightly shut.


    Lillian staggeringly got up from the seat and tried to reach the door of the carriage. But every time her hand would get near the door handle, the carriage would emit an orange glow. A transparent wall would appear in front of the walls of the carriage and would prevent her from getting out of the carriage.


    Finally, reality set in. She figured why she was still in the carriage. It was not just a carriage but a trap. She pushed her dirty hair away from her face and then tried to use her magic to break free.


    However, to her utmost horror, her magic wasn''t working. Cold sweats began to trickle down her spine and she felt lightheaded again. Her knees went weak and she had to take support of the seat to hold her ground.


    She grabbed her hair and whispered, "What have they done to me? No, no, no! This can''t be happening to me! They cannot hold me in by some stupid magic circle. No�� I have to get out of here."


    She panicked all of a sudden and started to madly bang on the transparent wall. She desperately shouted for help from her son, "Edwin! Can you hear me? Edwin! Get me out of here!"


    She could hear some commotion outside her carriage but she didn''t know if her son could hear her. And then she got scared again, "What if they did something to Edwin to get back at me?"


    She wiped the sweat from her forehead and gulped to soften her dry throat. She could hear people talking outside. She listened to them for a bit. They were talking about transporting her back to the Palace and putting her in some kind of an unbreakable prison.


    She also heard her son''s voice so she desperately banged on the transparent wall again and tried playing victim, "Edwin, I know you are out there. Will you help me out? Those vile witches have trapped me in here. Rally all the guards and surround those witches. And have them to get me out of here."


    Outside, all of the guards were already preparing to head back to Wyverndale. Theodore was teleporting the witches back to their home, two at a time so that they could pay their final respects to their dead sister first.


    They had to be teleported to the Palace again so that they could cast a barrier in the place where Lillian was to be kept for the rest of her life.


    Adeline, Edwin, and Raphael had decided to travel back to Wyverndale in Edwin''s carriage to prevent anything unforeseen to happen on the route. They were waiting for the coachman to bring the carriage to them.


    And when Edwin heard his mother, still trying to manipulate him into doing her bidding, he almost snapped at her.


    Edwin took a deep breath in and glanced at the High Priestess who also looked furious after hearing Lillian. And he asked for forgiveness, "I would like to apologize to you on my mother''s behalf."


    "I am sorry for all the innocent lives that my mother took. And for all the problems that she caused to all of you. And I am really ashamed that I even blindly followed her footsteps." He lowered his head out of shame and begged politely, "If you can, then please forgive me."


    Tabitha calmed down after hearing his sincere apology. "You have already proved that you are willing to change for the better by helping us in today''s mission. Keep on walking on this new path that you are taking. God will forgive-"


    "Did you just say that you are ashamed of me, Edwin? And are you apologizing to that self-proclaimed know-all?" The sincere chat between Edwin and Tabitha was cut short by the shrilling sound of Lillian.


    Edwin didn''t even turn his head towards the carriage. He simply ignored her.


    However, Lillian kept on shouting at him even when she didn''t know if he was even listening to her. "Answer me, Edwin! Did you just say that you are ashamed of me? Wait! Did you side with those witches and with that love child to conspire against me?"


    Edwin felt even more embarrassed by his mother as she kept on screaming as if she was an innocent person and as if she had been wronged by the others.


    He sighed and tried to make her quiet, "Please mother! You have already done enough. Stop with all the ruckus. Don''t embarrass yourself and don''t embarrass me."


    After hearing her son admit that he was indeed embarrassed by her, Lillian finally lost the final strand of saneness that she still had.


    "Embarrass�� now I embarrass my own son! I revived him from the dead just to see this day! He sided with my enemies and worked to trap me��" she softly chuckled and whispered to herself.


    It all finally made sense to her. How he knew about the vampires even when she knew that she wasn''t the one to tell him. How he kept on insisting that he take the lead of the discussion about the war with the Vampire King. How he didn''t want his wife, daughter, and brother to travel along with them today.


    Everything was finally crystal-clear to her.


    She was a little suspicious of Edwin really working for Adeline when Alan told her that Edwin hadn''t informed him about the trip to Frostford. That was the reason why she drew that magic circle as a precaution for the trip.


    However, she didn''t suspect him enough as he was her beloved son. She gave him the benefit of doubt. But in the end, she was betrayed by her own blood.


    "I had been raising a serpent for all this time�� I thought that he was my salvation, but he became the very reason for my damnation." She laughed at the irony of her situation.


    She had literally brought him back from the dead and loved him and raised him, only to be betrayed by him.


    She cackled as though she had lost her mind. She slammed her whole body against the transparent barrier in an attempt to break it with her brute force. She kept on attacking the barrier even when she was just hurting herself.


    And she screamed and cursed at her own son furiously, "I was a fool to have resurrected you from the dead. I should have just buried you! No, I am going to bury you alive�� along with your wife and daughter.. I will never let you have a peaceful life ever. I will haunt you even if I die! I am going to kill you all��"

 Chapter 336 - Reminders

    Edwin had already walked away from the vicinity of his mother''s carriage, unable to hear all the curses that she was shouting. He wasn''t hurt, no! Rather he was furious when she threatened to kill his wife and his daughter.


    For a split second, he felt like drawing out his sword and killing his mother right then and there. But he limited that to his thought and chose to walk away.


    The carriage which the Royals were supposed to ride was already in front of them but Edwin stormed off as if he was going to walk back to Wyverndale. So, Adeline and Raphael glanced at each other and Adeline gestured to Raphael to go after Edwin. "I will meet with Theodore and will catch up with the two of you."


    Raphael nodded and chased after Edwin to cheer him up, although he doubted that he could do anything to elevate the mood of his half-brother.


    Lillian was still shouting in the background, still cursing everyone from the King to his countless wives and children. She was also shouting saying that she should have killed Adeline herself.


    Adeline disregarded all that and she also walked away from there. She waited for Theodore to help teleport all the witches and when he was finally done, she went to talk to him before she left for the Palace.


    "Theo, I''m going to lead all of them back to the Palace now. Let the Coven finish their rituals and teleport them to the Palace. Till then, I will have the King to gather all the councilmen and work through all the necessary procedures."


    For a while, Theodore kept on staring at Adeline without speaking a word.


    "Theo?" Adeline waved her hand in front of his face because he looked like he had zoned out. "Are you alright?"


    Theodore held Adeline''s hand and pulled her towards him. He wrapped her in his embrace and pressed her head close to his chest. He was glad that nothing serious happened to Adeline.


    He closed his eyes and whispered, "I was so scared when all those creatures ran towards you. I had never been that scared in my life. And I am really sorry that I couldn''t save everyone''s life."


    Adeline was doing fine until now. She was acting tough and was taking charge of everything as if this was an everyday event. However, the moment Theodore hugged her and said how scared he was for her, she felt like crying her heart out.


    Because she was scared as well. She was scared that this was going to be the last day of her life. She was scared thinking that she had done a great mistake by thinking that she would be able to take down Lillian without any casualties. She was still scared that the friends and families of those who lost their lives today would hate her forever.


    She was not showing it but she was greatly affected by today''s battle.


    Still, she had yet to do a lot of things so she swallowed her tears and hugged Theodore back. She didn''t want to hold him against his words and make him feel bad.


    So she whispered back, "You saved everyone else, Theo. If you had not intervened in time then all of us would have died. So, I am really thankful that you were here today."


    Theodore pulled back from the hug because she sounded like she was crying. She was not shedding her tears but he could tell that she was trying hard to control it.


    "Let me teleport you back to the Palace. Raphael and Edwin will be enough to handle the trip back. I don''t think that anything bad will happen on the way that will require your attention," he wanted to take her back so that she could let all of her emotions flow out and she could also rest for a while before she presented Lillian to the court.


    However, she politely shook her head and smiled, "I will take the carriage. I want to travel alongside everyone. You should go back to your place and clean up." She softly chuckled and added, "I know that you are dying to take a bath and change into clean clothes."


    Theodore smirked and agreed, "Yes, I am indeed."


    Theodore gently caressed Adeline''s cheek. She already looked tired after all that fighting and running around. He would have liked it if she had agreed to be teleported. But he didn''t want to push her too much and keep everyone waiting.


    "Alright. You should head back then. I think everyone is waiting for you to give the order," Theodore said while trying to wipe off the dried off blood from her cheeks.


    He suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh! By the way, I don''t think it is advisable to let the council know that Lillian had opened the door to Hell. It will sound way too farfetched considering how little people know about the extent of a dark witch''s power. It will only be a topic which the council can laugh over."


    Adeline had not thought about that at all. She was way too occupied with transporting Lillian back without any problem on the road that she had forgotten to think over other matters.


    She nodded and replied, "Thank you for reminding me. I think it will be better if we keep that supernatural part a secret."


    The council was already trying to get in her way and prove that she was not a better ruler. And she did not want to give them a reason to call her a liar or think that she had lost her mind. Yes, there were witnesses who could testify in her favor but they could easily say that she had bought all of them over.


    So it was indeed a good idea to punish Lillian for the crimes that she did in the past, crimes that involved real humans rather than some creatures straight out of Hell.


    Before Adeline walked away, Theodore reminded her a few more things, "And, don''t forget to wipe the black blood from your face and armor. And also hide that sword that Lucifer gave you before going into the court. Also, I will drop the witches near the Palace gate and not inside the Palace."


    Theodore puckered his lips and reminded her one last thing to her, "And umm�� don''t let the guards leak any information about me and Lucifer. I don''t want the people of Wyverndale to look down on their future Queen because you married the Devil. We will come up with my fake background before we get married."


    Adeline was sad as well as happy when she heard the last reminder. She was sad that he was trying to hide his real identity just for her sake. She hadn''t even thought that far yet. And she was happy that he was willing to do anything and be anyone just so he could be with her.


    Adeline was so overwhelmed that she almost cried again. She looked him deep in his amber eyes and spoke from the bottom of her heart, "I love you, Theodore. I love you so much."


    She raised her heels and put her arms around his neck. And she kissed him very passionately. She didn''t care if others were looking at them.. After everything that he had done for her, he deserved that little appreciation from her.

 Chapter 337 - Hide!

    Just as Theodore had instructed her, Adeline gathered up all the guards and then told them that everything ''unnatural'' that happened to them was to be kept a secret.


    And in return for their cooperation, she said that she was going to clear them of the punishment that they would otherwise receive for disregarding the King''s order and helping Lillian at the beginning of the battle.


    Everyone gladly agreed to keep everything a secret because they felt indebted towards Theodore. And they were more than happy to return the favor to their guardian.


    After everything was said and done, Adeline then ordered them, "Okay then, let''s head back. We won''t stop until we are inside the walls of the Palace. Is it clear?"


    "Yes, Your Highness," all the guards replied in unison.


    Then everyone took their respective position. Adeline climbed inside Edwin''s carriage, followed by Edwin and Raphael.


    The carriage began to move. Edwin was still very quiet and the whole atmosphere inside the carriage became gloomy and awkward.


    Adeline glanced at Raphael and then asked him with covert eye and brows movement if Edwin talked with him. Raphael pressed his lips into a thin line and then shook his head.


    Adeline took a deep breath in and then finally broke the silence, "Edwin, are you alright? You know you can talk with us, right?"


    Edwin was brought back from his deep thoughts. He glanced at Adeline and forced a smile but he didn''t say anything.


    Adeline somehow felt guilty seeing Edwin like that. And she tried to reach out to him, "Edwin, you don''t have to pretend that you are fine right now. She is your mother after all. And I can understand if you are angry with me for orchestrating all this and even involving you in it."


    Edwin sighed and finally spoke, "I am not angry at you, Adeline. There is no reason to be. I am just angry at myself. I cannot believe that I never saw through my mother''s manipulation. I simply followed the path that she showed, no questions asked. I am just glad that she didn''t do anything to harm my wife and my daughter."


    Raphael patted on Edwin''s shoulder and then tried to make him feel a little better about himself, "Edwin, it''s not your fault for trusting your mother. It''s her fault for breaking your trust that she would lead you down a good path. You learned what you were taught. It might have taken you some time but you are doing well now, aren''t you?"


    Edwin smiled and glanced at both Raphael and Adeline. And he said, "I wish I had tried to spend more time with you lot during our training days. Then maybe I would have had some good influence."


    Raphael teasingly shrugged his shoulders and instantly added, "Or maybe we could have had a bad influence from you."


    "Raph!" Adeline raised her brows and gave a glare to him for being so insensitive at times like this.


    But Edwin suddenly laughed while saying, "Yeah, maybe I could have!" He then pointed at Adeline and said to Raphael, still chuckling, "Just imagine her with a temper like mine. She would have gutted half of our father''s children by the age of ten."


    Raphael also joined in the laughter and agreed with Edwin, "Oh, with her strength mixed with the anger that you used to have, she would be our worst nightmare."


    Adeline scoffed at how the brothers had ganged up against her. She teasingly narrowed he eyes and scolded her brothers, "Unbelievable! Just keep on teasing me and I will become your nightmare for real."


    Raphael suddenly became all quiet and said in a serious tone, "Yeah, she is not to be messed with. I mean, the literal Devil is on her side now. He even accepted her as his sister-in-law already."


    Adeline hid her face behind her palm and chuckled. "Stop it already, Raph! Don''t make me buy you a ticket to Hell."


    The three of them kept on bantering with each other along the way.


    They arrived at the Golden Street after about 45 minutes. And that was when Edwin realized something. He held his head and exclaimed, "Oh gosh!"


    Both Adeline and Raphael looked at him thinking why he looked shocked.


    "What happened? Is something wrong?" Adeline asked Edwin.


    Edwin nodded his head and replied, "My mother''s maid was traveling in my carriage. I think we left her back at the willow creek."


    "Oh!" Adeline tapped her feet and then thought for a while. She couldn''t afford to stop in the middle of the busy street and then order one of the soldiers to go back and search for that maid. She had already made it clear that they were not going to stop before they reached inside the Palace.


    So she sighed and said, "I think we will have to wait for 15 more minutes. I will send two cavalries to look for her."


    Edwin also thought that it was a bad idea to stop in the middle of the street just to send someone looking for a maid. "Maybe she was hiding somewhere because of all the commotion. That''s why everyone forgot about her."


    They resumed back to teasing and bantering with each other again. Edwin bonded with the other two siblings really well in the one-hour-long carriage ride. He had never bonded this deeply with the others, apart from Alan of course. But his relationship with Alan had turned sour because of the differences in their ideologies.


    He looked at the two cheerful half-siblings of his and promised himself that he would work out his relationship with Alan as well.


    When they were nearing the Palace, Adeline finally remembered that she had yet to clean off the blood.


    "Will you help me remove these bloodstains?" Adeline asked her brothers. They helped her without hesitation.


    And when they were done with that, she took out the sword that Lucifer had given her.


    The pommel and the cross-guard of the sword had a head of the hound each, as though it was a representation of Cerberus. Even the scabbard of the sword looked otherworldly, with inscriptions that she didn''t understand. And there was no way that she could take that sword inside her quarter without anyone noticing it.


    So she wondered out loud, "How am I going to hide this sword?"


    Both Raphael and Edwin, whose eyes were fixated on that marvelous sword, were stunned when something unexpected happened.


    "What? Where did it go?" Raphael exclaimed when the sword disappeared in front of his eyes.


    Adeline was confused as to what he was talking about. "It is right on my hand! Stop trying to make fun of me!"


    "No, for real. It''s not there!" Edwin also exclaimed.


    Adeline just rolled her eyes and took the sword out of its scabbard. She inspected the blade and the material that the sword was made out of. It was light to hold but it did look unbreakable.


    The brothers were still bamboozled. They could only see Adeline doing some hand movements but they didn''t see the sword.


    Adeline put the sword back in its scabbard and glared at them. "Why are the two of you still staring at me like that?"


    Edwin then swore to Adeline, "Adeline, I swear on my daughter that the sword is not visible to us right now."


    Adeline leaned back with her jaw wide open. She finally believed them.


    "Then how do I make it appear to you both again?" Adeline thought for a while and used the word that she had heard Theodore use to reveal any hidden things, "Revelare!"


    As if on cue, both Raphael and Edwin jumped like excited babies and shouted, "We can see it. We can see it!"


    Adeline narrowed her eyes and tried a different word, "Hide!"


    "Now it''s gone!" they screamed excitedly again.


    They were all shouting and clapping as if they got a new toy and they discovered how to make it work.

 Chapter 338 - A Missing Piece

    After an hour of travel, they finally reached inside the safety of the Palace without any disturbances on the road. They had safely brought back the perpetrator.


    King Dragomir was restlessly waiting by the gate of the Palace for all of them.


    Adeline and the Princes got out of the carriage and then greeted the King.


    "What happened to all of you?" Dragomir could tell from the state of the Royals and the guards that they were indeed in a fight. But he was unsure regarding the opponent as Edwin was also standing beside them and so were all the guards.


    So he instantly shot several other questions towards Adeline, "Did you all engage in some fight on the way? Did someone attack you?" He then took a quick glance towards Lillian''s carriage and asked, "You managed to capture Lillian, right?"


    Adeline looked around to see that they were all surrounded by the councilmen and the Royal Guards.


    She did not want to hide the opening of the gate of Hell from her father because Theodore had helped them a lot. And telling the true story could lift Theodore''s image in her father''s eyes. But she couldn''t tell that in front of everyone.


    So instead, she kept the answer short for now, "Lillian was quite a handful and all of us had to fight hard to restrain her. And yes, she is inside the carriage. She will have to stay there until her trial ends and until the witches put up another barrier in the dungeon."


    Dragomir gave a proud smile to his daughter and patted her shoulder, "Well done, Adeline." He also glanced at Edwin and Raphael and praised both of them, "And I am happy that both of you aided your sister. Well done."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty," all the three kids politely bowed their heads to the King for the praise.


    Edwin was especially happy because his father had looked him in the eyes with pride and not with contempt and disgust.


    Dragomir then informed Adeline what he had been doing for the whole day, "I have already pre-informed the councilmen about the situation."


    "And as you had asked, I have gathered all the available witnesses and the victims. The clerk has already opened the case files of all of the crimes that she has committed, and the official statements of most of the victims and witnesses have already been recorded."


    The King took a deep breath in and then said, "Now all we need to do is record the statements of the remaining people and then, decide on Lillian''s punishment��"


    He shrugged his shoulder and added casually, "��for the sake of formality. We already know what to do with her, there''s no other option than the lifetime imprisonment, unless the council wants to introduce a new rule and sentence her to death."


    Adeline took a glance at Edwin when the King mentioned the death sentence of Lillian right in front of him. She thought that he would be affected by the talks of the death sentence but Edwin couldn''t care less.


    After everything that he had seen and heard today, he thought that even a death sentence would be a lenient punishment for Lillian.


    The King then glanced at his children and asked, "Okay, let''s head towards the court then." He sighed and said, "It''s going to be a long night because of the length of crimes that she had committed."


    Adeline pointed towards the carriage and then replied, "I will give some instructions to the guards and then follow all of you right after."


    The King nodded and started to walk ahead followed by his Royal Guards. Edwin and Raphael also headed towards the court as they were today''s witnesses.


    Adeline turned towards Lillian''s carriage to check what she was doing because she was being awfully quiet. She was worried that Lillian somehow managed to free herself and snuck out in the middle of the road.


    Adeline opened the door of the carriage to see Lillian sitting down on the floor, her hair ruffled up and her clothes all tattered. She looked as if she had given up on life itself.


    It took Lillian some time to register Adeline''s face in her mind. Her brain was already a mush from the overuse of the dark power.


    And when she finally took notice of Adeline, she sprung up from the floor like a monkey who was ready to attack and shouted at the top of her lungs, "You b*itch! How dare you come to gloat just because you managed to nullify my power for some time? Do you really think that I will-"


    Adeline was in no mood to see her shouting and cursing at her. So she shut the door on that witch''s face and then went to order the coachman, "Bring the carriage in front of the court and park it there."


    She then went to order the leader of Lillian''s Royal Guards. "All of you follow the carriage and then surround it until the court''s proceeding is over. Make sure that no one talks to her or gets close to her."


    The guards immediately followed Adeline''s order and they all began to move.


    Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Edwin who was panting a little. It seemed like he had run all the way back from the court.


    "Edwin?" she waited for him to catch his breath and tell her what he came to say.


    After catching his breath, Edwin suggested to her, "I think you should ask Theodore to search for that maid and teleport her here as soon as possible."


    "Why? Is there any problem?" Adeline creased her brows because she didn''t understand why all of a sudden that maid became so important.


    Edwin gulped and then said, "If my memory serves me right then she was the one who would help my mother to do all the clean-up after the mess that she would create. That maid knows all the corrupt guards and coachmen and everyone who has helped to keep her crime hush."


    Adeline''s eyes widened when she realized how that maid was an important piece of the puzzle. "We have to capture all the related people before they realize what is going down and before they get a chance to escape!"


    Adeline instantly asked, "What''s her name? Was she one of the personal maids of Lillian?"


    "Yes. Her name is Ida, the one that always tails my mother everywhere. You will recognize her. You can go with Theodore and help him find her," Edwin revealed all the necessary details and also offered to help, "If it''s not possible for you to go then I can go along with Theodore."


    Adeline smiled and replied, "Thank you for the offer but I am pretty sure that he will recognize her." Adeline knew that Theodore could just revisit the memory of Lillian and find out who Ida is and what she looks like.


    "You should rather give your own statements about the two of the maids'' murders that you witnessed." Adeline paused for a while and said, "I will make sure that you won''t get any further punishments. Even if you do get some kind of punishment for being an accomplice, I will have you excused. You''ve got enough punishment already."


    Edwin gave a genuine smile. He glanced at the sister that he hated for so long with a sense of appreciation towards her. He was thankful towards the Dragon Immortal for making him follow Adeline because he could see firsthand how caring and protective she was of the people who had won her trust.


    Adeline was still standing near the gate and there were way too many people around for her to randomly summon Theodore. So she informed Edwin, "I will head to my quarter first and then will join all of you in the court. I will inform Theodore of the recent development first."


    "Sure. Till then I will give my statement.." Edwin headed back to the court again while Adeline ran towards her own quarter.

 Chapter 339 - Something Unexpected

    When she reached in front of her quarter while adorning her full battle armor and weapons, her guards, as well as her maids and servants, were all puzzled.


    She had tricked her guards in the morning saying that she was not feeling well and that she was going to rest just so she could have them stay back at the Palace. She didn''t want to expose the plan to everyone and she also did not want her guards to come running to willow creek to protect her.


    "Your Highness, what happened? How are you coming from outside? Weren''t you resting in your chamber? And why are you wearing your armor? Also, why do you look like you weren''t just in a mock fight but a real battle?" The leader of her guards bombarded her with all the questions that came to his mind after seeing the Princess in that state.


    Adeline was in a hurry to summon Theodore. So she hastily replied while sounding very apologetic, "I am so sorry that I snuck away again. But this time I did it with the permission of the King. A few important things are going on right now, which I cannot tell you at the moment. But I will answer all of your queries when the time is appropriate."


    The squad leader nodded his head and said, "Understood, Princess."


    Her personal maids were also there and they looked really concerned. They were going to ask something but Adeline stood in front of them and spoke first, "Don''t worry. I am not hurt anywhere. I still have a lot of work in the court so I better hurry. I have something to fetch from my room. I will have a chat with the two of you later on."


    The maids knew better than to distract the Princess from her important duties at the court. So no matter how many questions they had and no matter how worried they were, they nodded their head and let the Princess be on her way.


    And Adeline bolted towards her private chamber to ask yet another favor from Theodore.


    The moment she reached inside her chamber, she locked the door and instantly kissed her ring.


    Within seconds, a dark mist lingered in front of her and then slowly cleared away.


    And almost instantly, Adeline widened her eyes and tightly clasped her mouth with her palm. Never in her life had she thought that she would summon Theodore when he was butt naked. And even though she had seen him in his full glory countless times, she somewhat felt guilty for invading his privacy.


    Theodore, on the other hand, was drying his wet hair with a huge towel. He had his eyes closed and he was so concentrated on making himself squeaky clean that he didn''t even realize he had teleported to Adeline''s place.


    She wanted to turn away from him but he looked too cute to not look at. For a while, she couldn''t even bring herself to speak a word because her mind went completely blank seeing the beauty of her man.


    And to make it even harder for Adeline, he started to hum a tune while slightly shaking his hips.


    Finally, Adeline couldn''t control herself anymore and she ended up bursting into laughter.


    Theodore was so startled by that laughter that he screamed like a baby and abruptly covered his jewel with the towel. For a fraction of a second, he thought that some maid was peeking at him and was making fun of him.


    But when saw that it was no one else but his Adeline, he put that towel on his shoulder and rested his palms on his waist.


    "Oh, it''s just you," he teasingly glanced at Adeline and gave a smirk. He slowly walked closer to where Adeline was standing and teased her even further, "You purposely called me to see me like this, didn''t you?"


    Adeline couldn''t believe that he was accusing her of being a pervert right now. She scoffed and exclaimed, "No! I called you because I��"


    Her eyes involuntarily trailed down to his sculpted abs and even further below. "Because I was about to tell you something�� Ummm��" she forgot what she was about to say and kept on blabbering some nonsense for a while.


    Theodore bit his lower lips trying to control his laughter. He was enjoying seeing her all disoriented and flustered.


    He leaned a little closer to her face and whispered in his deep voice, "You are so lost, aren''t you?"


    "Yes! I am lost." Adeline jumped back when he got too close to her because she felt really filthy right now and didn''t want him to think the same. She then gestured to his lower body and said, "Will you help me not get lost, Theo? I forgot what I was about to tell you."


    Theodore couldn''t help but chuckle at that reaction from Adeline. After teasing her for a bit, he wrapped the towel back on his lower body and asked, "Is it better now?"


    "Uh-huh." Adeline finally snapped out of her daze and mumbled to herself, "What was I going to say�� Oh, right!"


    She then cleared her throat and started with an apology because she felt like she was abusing his power at this point, "I am so sorry that I am asking you this�� but we happened to forget that Lillian''s personal maid called Ida was also with us in the willow creek. According to Edwin, she knows all those who were supporting Lillian. She is also one of her supporters in her crimes."


    "And as you know, Lillian is not going to cooperate with us, so we are going to need a confession out of her." She sighed and then asked, "Will you help me find her and bring her here? For all I know, she might have run away when she felt that her life was going to be in danger. And if I send the rangers to search for her, it will take quite some time."


    Theodore nodded his head and completed her sentence, "And in that time, all the other culprits might get the chance to run away. I got it. I will look for her right away��" he looked down and corrected himself, "right after I get dressed properly."


    Adeline chuckled and teased him, "Yes, you better do that. Else you will get a punishment of your own."


    Theodore raised his brows and whispered, "You are getting naughtier by the day. And I like it." He sighed and sadly said, "For now, let''s put that punishment on hold."


    He winked at her and then disappeared into thin air.

 Chapter 340 - All Pieces Together

    Theodore returned back to his own room, got all dressed up in his grand black attire, and then used his Divine Vision to look for Ida.


    He closed his eyes and then picturized Ida in his mind. And almost instantly, his mind was taken to where Ida was. He could see that she was clutching her belongings in front of her chest and was running as fast as her old body allowed her to.


    Her gown was all wet, probably because she crossed the river without using the bridge. Her shoes were all muddy. And she was huffing and puffing because of all that running. Yet, she didn''t stop. She would look back every once in a while to check if anyone were after her. And then she would continue to run.


    Theodore looked around the surroundings and from the looks of it, he concluded that she was heading towards Frostford for some reason�� even though it would take her days to reach there if we were to gauge her pace.


    He opened his eyes and mumbled, "Maybe she is trying to go to the Frostford Palace and then ask for help? But wasn''t she always scared of that witch and backbiting about her? She should be glad that Lillian was caught."


    He sighed and then got up, "Ugh! Some people just love to be abused."


    He then instantaneously teleported to the place where he had located that maid.


    By now, Ida was dragging herself even though there was no energy left in her body. And when a black figure appeared in front of her out of the thin air, she almost got a heart attack. She stumbled on her own foot and fell down.


    Theodore narrowed his eyes at the poor maid and then scared her even more by speaking in a menacing voice, "Where do you think you are going, Ida? Aren''t you Lillian''s personal maid? Shouldn''t you be accompanying her even in the dungeon?"


    Upon hearing the word ''dungeon'', Ida immediately sat on her knees, dropped her belongings, and then rubbed her palms together.


    She then began to beg to that terrifying man, "Please show this poor lady some mercy, young man. Whatever I did, I did on the order of the Queen. I don''t have anything to do with her crimes. I am not the culprit. So please spare me. Please!"


    Theodore looked her in the eyes and then asked with a scalding fury, "If you don''t have anything to do with her crimes then why were you even running in the first place? And tell me, why were you running towards Frostford instead of going back to your home or some other safe place? Weren''t you trying to snitch?"


    Ida briskly shook her head and then denied that accusation, "I was not trying to snitch. I was just running wherever my feet were taking me."


    Though she denied it, Theodore could clearly tell that she was lying because of the aura that she was emitting. "Lies!" He snarled his teeth and almost gave another heart attack to that maid.


    "You are not even showing any remorse for what you did for all those years. You are simply trying to pin it all on Lillian and you are acting as if you are a saint. Fear the damnation, Ida��" Theodore''s eyes turned red as he offered his hand to her while saying, "��it will come to you sooner or later."


    The rims of Ida''s iris glowed red in color. She was completely under Theodore''s control now. She got up from the ground and gently touched Theodore''s palm.


    In the next moment, Theodore teleported her very close to the Palace gate but away from the eyes of the Palace guards.


    He then stared deep into her eyes that were still glowing and then tampered with her memory, "You never met me. You came to the Palace on your own two feet because the carriages had already left without you."


    And then he also gave her an order so that she would not run away again, "You are going to head straight for the King''s Court from here. You will only stop walking when you see the King. Go!"


    While she was still under Theodore''s influence, she began to walk towards the Court.


    Theodore, on the other hand, decided to go and check if the witches were done paying their final respects and burying their fallen sister.


    Ida was walking as though she was possessed by something. She was completely unaware of her surroundings. And some of the guards and maids who she passed by were a little creeped out by her.


    Soon, she reached the door of the Court that was full of guards, councilmen, and many other people related to Lillian''s case. And when she finally saw the face of the King, she finally snapped out of Theodore''s compulsion over her.


    She ''remembered'' arriving at the Palace gate on her own but she couldn''t quite understand why in the world would she come to the Court when she already knew what was going down today. And in the moment of her panic, she screamed and tried to run away from there.


    However, Adeline instantly ordered the guards to stop her and bring her inside the court.


    "No! Why are you taking me inside? I didn''t do anything! Leave me! Let me go!" she screamed and resisted being dragged away, attracting everyone''s attention towards her.


    But the guards paid no heed to her pleas and dragged her to where Adeline was.


    Adeline gestured the guards to leave her and she calmly tried to get through to her, "Your name is Ida, am I correct?"


    "Yes, Your Highness," Ida clutched her palms together and then immediately begged to Adeline, "Please spare my life, Your Highness. It was never my intention to support the Queen. I was-"


    Adeline placed her hand on her shoulder and prompted her to stop blabbering. "I know that it was never your intention to do whatever you did. So will you reveal the names of all the involved people who worked for Lillian for money?"


    Adeline gave a gentle smile but spoke in a chillingly calm voice, "You don''t want to get an equal punishment as Lillian, do you? If you reveal all the names, I will consider your old age and will be lenient with you."


    Ida understood the disguised threat that she just got from the sweet-looking Princess. And after thinking for a short while, she saw no other way to escape her fate.. So, she lowered her head and agreed, "I will give all the names, Your Highness."

 Chapter 341 - The Red-Eyed Man

    The Court''s proceedings sailed very smoothly as everyone was very dedicated to finishing this case today itself.


    All the available clerks were busy taking the statements. Those who had already given their statements also stood in front of the King and answered any questions that the King asked them. Those who were already done with both the process were waiting in the hall to hear the final verdict of the King.


    Ida gave all the names and the Royal Guards were sent to bring everyone to the Court.


    All of the councilmen, even those who previously supported Lillian, wanted Lillian to be imprisoned as soon as possible. They all got to know that Lillian was not just a helpful witch but also someone who practiced dark magic.


    And even though they were unaware of how powerful Lillian was, everyone knew the dark witches were the fire that was not to be played with.


    Adeline was overseeing all the process along with her brothers. And that was when she noticed General Osmond entering the Court. She went to welcome her teacher.


    "General Osmond, you just finished your duties?" Adeline politely asked her teacher who was already looking a little emotional.


    "Yes." His eye rims were slightly glistening with tears. But he gave a wide smile to the Princess and then bowed her out of nowhere.


    This was one of the happiest days of the General''s life. This was the very day Osmond had been personally training Adeline for. He had waited more than a decade to finally see this day. And as Lillian was finally subdued, he couldn''t express how happy he was.


    And he wanted to formally thank Adeline for making this day possible. "Thank you, Your Highness, for finally bringing justice to my daughter. I can tell that her soul is now finally at peace."


    A single drop of tear rolled down the General''s eye. He swiftly wiped his tear and sniffled his nose.


    And he further added, "This was one of the days that I was eagerly waiting for. This was the moment that had motivated me to keep on moving even when I felt as though I had lost everything�� even when I felt that there was no point in living."


    He warmly caressed Adeline''s hair and said from the bottom of his heart, "Thank you, Adeline, for helping to bring justice to all of the victims and their families. You did a great job. And you finally avenged your mother."


    "Yes, I hope that her soul is also at peace," Adeline gave a wistful smile to the General.


    In all the workload and the rush that was happening in the court right now, she had forgotten that she was also one of the victims. And when she saw the General, she was reminded of her deceased mother once again.


    She took a deep breath in and showed General Osmond where he was supposed to go to give his statements.


    Away from all the commotion, outside the gate of the Palace, a pale-looking man was hiding from all the guards and was preparing to scale the high walls of the Palace.


    He walked near the wall and then closed his eyes so that he could focus on his hearing. He didn''t hear any kind of sound on the other side of the wall. So he cracked his knuckles, shifted his trousers upward so that it would be easier to leap, and then with one long jump, he managed to scale the wall that was double the height of a grown man.


    He landed on the other side of the wall as lightly as a cat. He darted his red eyes around and as though he was playing hide and seek, he swooshed towards one of the servant quarters.


    He went inside the servant quarter like a gust of wind and when he came out, he had already changed into a servant''s uniform.


    And as though he was one of the servants of the Palace, he began to walk around very confidently.


    His eyes were sharper than that of humans so he easily spotted the carriages and the guards which he had seen in the Golden Street. "Ah! Found them," he thought to himself and walked towards the King''s Court while also listening to all the gossip that was going around.


    He heard one of the maids whispering to the other maid a little far away from him, "Did you hear, it turns out that the handsome guard that always smiled at you was taken to the King''s Court just a while ago."


    "What? Why? What did he do?" the other maid asked in a stunned voice.


    The first maid just sighed and replied, "I have no idea. I am already dying to know what is really going on today. Everyone seems to be in a rush and there are so many commoners flocking in today."


    That red-eyed man shifted his attention towards the guards who were guarding a carriage. He noticed that right now, they were being served something. He turned around to check if some more servants were carrying the tray there.


    To his luck, one of the servants was carrying a tray full of glasses and he looked as though he was heading to the Court. So he put on a smile and then swiftly turned around while pretending to have returned from the Court.


    When the other servant was about to pass, he cleared his throat and spoke as though he was an old employee, "Oh, why are you so late? The guards are waiting for the drinks for so long. Give that to me."


    That servant didn''t think that he recognized that red-eyed man. However, as if he was under some spell, he could not deny that man and passed the tray to him.


    The red-eyed man then turned around and elegantly approached the guards.


    The servant kept on staring at that man from behind and thought, "How can someone who looks that sophisticated be a servant? Maybe he comes from a wealthy family but the family went broke."


    The intruder then offered the chilled juice to those guards who weren''t holding glasses. While doing so, he was thinking of talking to the guards and asking what was all the commotion about. However, the guards looked really uptight. They weren''t even talking among themselves and he noticed how the other servants were also not talking with the guards.


    He sighed and thought to himself, "Hmm�� it looks like something really serious is going on. I need to find out what. But how exa-" he swiftly turned his head towards the carriage because he recognized that familiar smell that was coming off from inside the carriage.


    He looked through the crack of the carriage wall and he almost froze on the place. "Isn''t that Queen Lillian? Why is she�� locked inside the carriage? No, why isn''t she trying to get out? She can easily do that, can''t she?"


    In order to get a closer look at the Queen, he tried to push the window open but unlike he expected, he got shocked as if he was hit by a lightning bolt.


    "Hey, don''t get too close to the carriage!" one of the guards scolded that man.


    "I''m extremely sorry," that intruder gently bowed his head. He looked at the tray and a few of the glasses were still left. So, he walked towards the door of the Court to offer the drinks to the guards standing by the door.


    The guards didn''t stop him and let him get closer to the Court.


    One of the guards praised him, "Thank you, at least someone doesn''t discriminate."


    The intruder''s lips curved up just a little because he found a talkative guard, the perfect one to extract all the information from.


    "You are also working equally hard, there is no need to discriminate," he smiled at that guard as the guard sipped his drink.


    That red-eyed man''s smile as well as his face was so appealing that even straight men would be unable to resist him. And he asked knowingly, "So, why are there so many people here today?"

 Chapter 342 - Asking Favors

    Adeline was talking with Bennett when one of the guards came rushing to the Princess and informed her, "Your Highness, the Mystic Coven is waiting outside."


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "I will be right there." She then turned to look at Bennett and concluded her talk with him, "So, you got why I couldn''t tell you about today''s ambush before, right? The fewer people knew about it, the better it was for our covert mission."


    "Yes, Your Highness, I totally understand your standpoint," Bennett smiled after getting the answers about how Edwin had helped in capturing his mother and how only a handful of people carried out the ambush plan.


    Adeline sighed and spoke in a low voice, "There are still a lot of things that are going to need our immediate attention. I was waiting for Lillian to be imprisoned. After this whole mess is over, I will clarify the things about the war as well, to a handful of people, including you. I am going to need everyone''s insights."


    "I will be more than happy to assist you, Your Highness," Bennett was overjoyed to know that this time, he would be included in the list of the handful of people. He was happy to know that the Princess valued him.


    Adeline took a quick glance towards the throne and said, "Okay, I think I already know what punishment Lillian will get. So, I have to prepare for it." She then ordered Bennett, "If anyone asks about my whereabouts then tell them that I will be in the dungeon and will return shortly."


    "Of course, Your Highness," Bennett bowed his head to the Princess as she walked away.


    The witches of the Mystic Coven were all standing beside the gate of the Court. When Adeline saw them, she greeted them all again and asked them, "Please, follow me."


    All of the witches then walked behind the Princess as the maids, guards, and servants were looking at the parade of the majestic-looking women going somewhere.


    Adeline led them all towards the back gate of the Palace and then towards the dungeon that lay in the depths of the forest. When she was sure that no one would hear them talking, she asked the witches, "Will Theodore also be there in the dungeon?"


    Tabitha replied to the Princess, "No, I think he returned back to his cave."


    Adeline turned her head to look at Tabitha and asked, "But don''t you all need to draw power from him for creating the barrier?"


    Tabitha gave a soft smile and cleared Adeline''s confusion, "During the battle, it was faster for us to draw power from him. But we are not in a hurry right now. So we will use the natural source of power."


    Adeline nodded her head even though their concept of drawing power from others was quite confusing to her.


    A beautiful red bird caught Adeline''s attention as it flew past her. Suddenly, it reminded her of the bloody red eyes of the vampires. She furrowed her brows as she felt like she saw a pair of red eyes in the crowd earlier.


    She tried to recall if she had actually seen them or she was just being paranoid. In the end, she concluded that she was just being paranoid because the thought of the upcoming war was taking up a larger portion of her consciousness lately.


    "On that note, I had to ask something to Tabitha," Adeline thought to herself and put forward her query, "High Priestess, I wanted to know if it is possible to concoct some kind of potion that allows us humans to see in the dark. Is�� that possible?"


    "W-we can use lanterns to see in the dark." Tabitha was confused as Adeline had asked that question out of the context. So, she politely tried to remind the Princess of the miracle called fire.


    Adeline bit her lower lips so that she wouldn''t end up laughing. This was no time to be laughing, especially when she was with the witches.


    So she took in a deep breath and rephrased her question again, "No, I was thinking about training the soldiers to fight in the dark. And rather than just relying on their hearing, I thought that it would be easier for them if they could also see in the dark�� especially if they were to face really fast yet stealth enemies."


    "Ah!" Tabitha went silent for a few seconds and then she replied to the Princess, "We have not tried to develop such potion and neither have we heard about such kind of potions. If you are really in need of it then," she glanced at the other witches and said, "then maybe we can try."


    "That would be lovely," Adeline smiled at the High Priestess.


    After a short pause, she asked another question to Tabitha, "High Priestess, have you heard about the creatures called vampires."


    Agnes glanced at the Princess as if she just helped her to realize something.


    Tabitha, on the other hand, looked reluctant to answer but she replied anyway, "I have indeed heard about them. My grandfather used to share some bizarre stories about his encounter with the vampires in some foreign Kingdom." She chuckled and added, "But I don''t know how much of it was true."


    Agnes abruptly jumped into the conversation and then asked Adeline, "The war�� it has already knocked on the door, hasn''t it? And it is going to happen against the�� vampires?"


    "Yes," Adeline sighed and nodded her head.


    From the way Agnes was speaking, Tabitha deduced that she had seen something in her vision. So she asked, "You saw something particular in your vision?"


    Agnes clasped her hands together. And she spoke as her face turned all gloomy, "I saw that people were using their fangs and claws in the battle rather than the swords and arrows. Now it makes sense."


    The already gloomy face of the witches and the Princess turned even sadder.


    As Adeline was already asking a favor, she hastily threw in another one as well, "I have learned some ways that can be used to kill the vampires. However, they are a bit impractical for humans, especially if the battle is to happen at night. So, if there is anything that you can do to aid our soldiers then it would be of great help in the war."


    Tabitha finally understood what they needed to do. So she reassured the Princess, "We will start to research on the vampires and find some ways to help out the soldiers."


    "I am really grateful to all of you. I don''t know what I would do without all of you," Adeline was really glad that they didn''t deny helping her after what happened earlier today.


    They reached in front of the entrance of the dungeon. One of the guards bowed to the Princess and walked ahead of all of them while holding a lantern to show them the way.


    Tabitha then politely said to Adeline as she climbed down the steps of the dungeon, "We have already considered Wyverndale as our home. So it is our duty to protect it from the harm''s way, be it from within the Kingdom or from outside the Kingdom."


    "And I am really glad that all of you think that way." Adeline''s voice resounded throughout the dungeon as they kept on walking deeper inside, "If there is any kind of resources that the coven needs, then please, you may send a letter to me without any hesitation."


    "I will definitely remember to do that," the High Priestess whispered to the Princess.


    The guard finally stopped at the end of the dungeon and showed a cell to the Princess and the others. "I have emptied this cell as you had asked me, Your Highness."


    Adeline turned to look at Tabitha and then said, "I chose this cell because this stands alone from the others. That way, Lillian won''t be able to have any kind of interaction with other prisoners.. She will be completely isolated from the world."

 Chapter 343 - Final Verdict

    Tabitha darted her eyes around the cell and also at its surrounding. The cell looked very cold and was indeed isolated from the rest of the cells. It was void of every kind of facility. All that the cell had was a small bed and a toilet right in the corner. It was also void of basic things like fresh air and sunlight.


    "Nothing can be more fitting than this for Lillian," Tabitha spoke with a smile on her face. She was already satisfied thinking how that witch was going to spend the rest of her remaining life.


    "We will start creating the barrier. But before we do that��" Tabitha glanced at the guard and then at the Princess and informed, "��we will need a person who will be responsible for bringing food and other necessary items to Lillian. Only that person will be able to pass in such items inside the barrier. So if something goes wrong, then we will know whom to catch."


    As there was only one guard standing beside them, Adeline glanced at him and then asked, "May I know your name?"


    "I am Hans, Your Highness," that guard replied with a bow.


    "How long have you been working here for?" Adeline asked again.


    "It has already been almost 9 years, Your Highness," the guard replied again.


    "Can I trust you with a very important task, Mr. Hans?" Adeline politely questioned him again.


    Anyone would be more than happy to serve the Future Queen herself, especially when she was to say that the task that they were going to do was something very important. So he straightened his back and then answered, "You can trust me, Your Highness. I will not disappoint you."


    Adeline smiled and briefed him of the important task, "You might have already guessed from our conversation that the prisoner of this cell will be none other than Queen Lillian. The hearing is going on in the King''s Court as we speak. We will shift her here immediately after the King gives his verdict."


    She pointed towards the witches and then continued, "And as you know that Lillian is a witch, the ladies here are going to cast some spells in this particular cell so that Lillian won''t be able to use her powers while she is inside."


    Adeline glanced at Tabitha and said, "So, as she explained earlier, you will be solely responsible for keeping an eye on Lillian. Are you ready for that?"


    "Yes, Your Highness," that guard replied confidently.


    "Okay, it''s settled then," Adeline glanced at Tabitha and smiled.


    Tabitha nodded and then stepped inside the cell, followed by the rest of the witches. Tabitha glanced at the guard and ordered, "Hans, please face towards us and stand just outside the bars." She then glanced at Adeline and said, "Your Highness, I think it is better if you step a little further away."


    "Sure," Adeline swiftly took a few steps to the side and watched as the witches made a circle inside the cell, held each other''s hands, and began the incantation.


    After chanting some ancient spells for a while, an orange circle appeared on the floor of the cell. Slowly, a few more circles appeared as if they were extra layers of protection. The circles were then covered with runes that would stop the flow of any kind of energy and would stop the prisoner from using magic.


    A rune also appeared on that guard''s forehead.


    The magic circle was finally complete after twenty whole minutes. The Mystic Coven was finally done preparing a personal Hell on Earth for Lillian.


    The witches walked out of the cell one by one and the High Priestess informed Adeline, "Your Highness, the cell will activate on its own when Lillian will get inside here. To avoid any mishap on the way here, I suggest knocking her out before bringing her here. We will personally see that nothing will go wrong."


    Adeline smiled and said, "I cannot thank you enough for all the support from your side�� Let''s head back then. I think we will also need your statements against Lillian regarding the murder of two of the members of the coven."


    She then glanced at Agnes and added, "And I believe that Agnes witnessed the dead body of the midwife who was murdered by Lillian around 30 years ago."


    Agnes looked a bit surprised when Adeline mentioned the incident which she herself had almost forgotten about. "How do you know that?"


    "Let''s say that I have my ways," Adeline didn''t want to take Theodore''s name as the guard was still there.


    "Let''s go then, shall we?" Adeline glanced at the guard and ordered, "Mr. Hans, lead the way."


    "Yes, Your Highness," Hans sprinted in front of the Princess and walked ahead of all the ladies while showing them the way with his lantern.


    By now, it was already starting to get dark. So Hans offered to show the ladies the way until they would reach the back gate. All of the ladies gladly accepted.


    The two parties then parted their ways after reaching the back gate. Hans returned back to his post in the dungeon while all the ladies headed back to the King''s Court.


    As Adeline and the witches neared the Court, the red-eyed man who was still lingering around instantly felt the presence of a lot of witches again.


    "I think I should get the hell away from here before they also sense my presence. I was lucky earlier that I wasn''t discovered. I already got all the information that I need anyway," he thought to himself and then quietly walked towards the Palace wall before the witches got too close.


    Adeline and the witches walked inside the Court to join the ongoing case.


    It looked as though almost all of the individual cases were already taken care of. So, Adeline quickly took the witches to the clerks and then asked them to finish their case as well.


    It took another half an hour to go through the remaining cases. Everyone already looked exhausted from the whole day of work. Everyone was eager to listen to the final verdict of the King and then return back to their respective homes.


    The King and the councilmen then sat together in another separate room to discuss the punishment for the culprit Queen.


    And after a long wait, King Dragomir finally walked back to the Court. He was finally ready to read out the punishment.


    He stood in front of his throne and then cleared his throat. And he addressed everyone who was in the Court hall, "First and foremost, I would like to apologize from my side for not being able to punish Queen Lillian sooner. I was unable to see what was going on right under my nose. For that, I am deeply ashamed."


    "Secondly," he gestured towards Adeline and said, "I am really proud of the Future Queen for digging out all the crimes of Lillian and successfully leading a team to capture her."


    He then glanced towards all the other supporters and said, "I am also really thankful to Prince Raphael, Prince Edwin, and the Mystic Coven for helping the Future Queen."


    The King then seriously looked at all the affected parties and announced the final verdict, "Queen Lillian has been found guilty of 28 murders, 11 kidnappings, and 68 bodily injuries inflicted on the innocent. As such, her title has been stripped away as effective from this very moment. She will no longer be called the Queen and her claim to any Royal property is nullified."


    King Dragomir announced the punishment that everyone in the Courtroom was eager to hear, "Lillian has been, hereby, sentenced to life imprisonment in the darkest cell of the dungeon. The Court is now adjourned."


    The Court Hall erupted into cheers and cries from all the victims and their families. They hugged each other and cried in each other''s arms as justice was finally served.. They no longer needed to fear the evil witch of Wyverndale.

 Chapter 344 - A Fitting End

    The red-eyed spy had already reached near the outer village by the time the King had announced the final judgment against Lillian. He was running against the wind and was returning back to Mihir to report to the King.


    Normally, his job was to gather the relevant information on Wyverndale and on Adeline and report back to Reginald by sending the letters. However, as the news about Lillian''s capture was huge news, he didn''t want to wait for the messenger to come and fetch the letter from him. He wanted to personally deliver the message to the King in detail.


    "I hope the King will be happy with my finding. He is really hard to please though. I doubt that he will even acknowledge all the effort that I put into finding the information today. But I really hope that he will see my hard work," that spy thought to himself as he swooshed forward towards his destination.


    Back at the Palace, the King''s Court was slowly thinning out as the people were returning back to their respective homes with happy faces.


    Lillian was already taken down to the depth of the dungeon and was already imprisoned.


    After sending her father to rest for the night, Adeline also headed towards her own quarter. She was already itching to get out of her battle armor.


    "I think I am already half-baked in this armor," Adeline thought to herself as she fanned her palm over her neck. Even though the night was a bit chilly, she was still feeling really hot.


    She looked up at the starry night and sighed out loud, "Ah! At least one thing is done and dusted with. Now I can completely focus on the damn war. But let''s think about the war starting tomorrow. I want to celebrate tonight."


    A huge smile appeared on the lips of the Princess. A small sense of victory finally settled down in her heart.


    "Finally, I had my revenge..." she whispered as she entered her quarter.


    Hawisa and Osanna saw the Princess finally returning back to the quarter. By now, the news about Lillian had already spread around the Palace. And they also came to know that it was Adeline who had managed to capture Lillian.


    They got to know that Adeline had to battle with Lillian. The story that they heard was a bit different than what had actually happened but nonetheless, they had already prepared several nutritious foods for Adeline.


    "Adeline, we heard that you had to fight the Queen. You must be really tired and hungry. Shall we bring the food first or shall we prepare a bath first?" Hawisa asked Adeline as she and Osanna followed her to Adeline''s personal armory.


    "I think I will take a bath first. I feel really dirty right now. So I will eat after cleaning up." Adeline replied as she began unbuckling her battle armor.


    "Sure. I will go and ask the kitchen maids to heat some water." Hawisa went outside the room while Osanna helped Adeline to get out of her dirty armors.


    Adeline hung the armor back to its original place. She then took out all of her weapons and asked Osanna, "Osanna, will you bring some water and a clean piece of cloth? I will clean the weapons until the bath is ready."


    "Sure, I will be right back," Osanna also left the room after getting the order from the Princess.


    Adeline then glanced at the sword that Lucifer had given her. She had activated the enchantment that would hide it from other people''s eyes and had kept it on a higher shelf so that someone else wouldn''t accidentally stumble upon it.


    She narrowed her eyes and thought, "I wonder if that sword can kill the vampires. The book said that driving a wooden stake through their hearts would kill them�� does that mean piercing their heart with metals won''t kill them?"


    Her thought was disturbed by Osanna who returned back with the items that she had asked for. "Do you also want me to help you clean the weapons?" Osanna asked the Princess.


    However, Adeline declined that offer citing, "A warrior should clean their own weapons. That way our attachment with our weapons will increase."


    Osanna chuckled at the philosophical answer from the Princess and said, "Okay, I will let you grow your attachment then. In the meantime, I will increase my attachment with your bathtub."


    Adeline covered her face and laughed at how Osanna destroyed her ''wise'' words.


    After Osanna left the room, Adeline took out her sword and began to clean it. She soaked the cloth in water, wrung it, and gently rubbed it against the blade of the sword. When she soaked the cloth in water again, the water turned black in color. It was the main reason why she didn''t want Osanna to help with cleaning.


    "Adeline, your bath is ready," she heard Hawisa shouting from the other room.


    She got rid of the water herself and then went to the bathhouse.


    The moment she stepped in the water, she felt as though her sore muscles relaxed a bit. She scrubbed herself clean, especially on her cheeks where that ghoul''s blood had splattered.


    Her mind suddenly jumped back to that very moment when she had sliced that ghoul''s head off from its neck. She shuddered in disgust. She was at least not feeling guilty because that creature was from Hell and was about to kill her brother.


    "What if I will have to kill people someday? Won''t the guilt be unbearable? How do soldiers sleep at night after returning from the war? Won''t their dreams be haunted by the countless lives they took?"


    Adeline forgot that she was in the bathtub and kept on thinking about hypothetical situations and burdening herself with unnecessary guilt. So much for celebrating the victory��


    "Adeline, why are you taking so long? Are you alright?" Hawisa knocked on the door of the bathhouse in a worried voice. It had already been a long time since the Princess had locked herself in the bathhouse.


    Adeline snapped out of her thoughts and answered, "I''m alright. I was letting my muscles relax for a bit. I will be out in a minute."


    The Princess hurriedly got out from the tub, got dressed, and went to her private chamber.


    Her personal maids brought hot food for her but didn''t leave the chamber. They wanted to hear about today''s events from the Princess herself. So they sat down beside the Princess as she had her dinner.


    Adeline was more than happy to get things off of her chest. She finally shared how Lillian had killed her mother. She didn''t say how she came to know about it but she shared how Lillian had committed other countless crimes, including her kidnapping.


    Both Hawisa and Osanna were stunned when they heard about the Princess''s kidnapping.


    "So you are telling me that you were kidnapped by Lillian? And that the maid who had lied to us saying that Queen Claricia had called us was the one who played a major role in her capture?" Hawisa raised her brows and asked in disbelief.


    "Yes, and yes," Adeline pursed her lips.


    Osanna scoffed and whispered, "What a fitting end to that cruel witch."

 Chapter 345 - Obsession

    "Long live, Your Majesty," the spy bowed to King Reginald who was goofing around with one of his maids in his bedroom.


    Reginald would have already beaten the soul out of that vampire for disturbing his mealtime. But he remembered that he was the spy that he had personally selected and sent to Wyverndale.


    "George! You look like you could use some rest�� and a bath��" Reginald wrapped his lower body with a towel while the maid who was in his room gathered her clothes from the bed and rushed out of the room.


    George put his arms behind his back and politely said, "I had some important information that I felt that you would love to hear first."


    Reginald raised one of his brows and asked, "Is it related to Adeline?"


    George hesitated for a while and replied, "You can say that it is related to the Princess as well."


    "Is that so?" Reginald''s face reflected the eagerness that he felt right now. "Tell me what it is? But first, tell me whether it is good news or bad news?"


    George was well aware of his King''s obsession with Princess Adeline. So he answered confidently, "For you, Your Majesty, it is good news. I bet that you will be delighted to hear it."


    Reginald sat down on his bed with a broad smile on his face. And he ordered, "Then what are you waiting for? Give me the news."


    George proudly began to explain what he knew, "Your Majesty, Queen Lillian was imprisoned today. From-"


    He was abruptly interrupted by the King, "What? That Queen was imprisoned? Why? Did they perhaps find out that she has a deal with us? Did they find out about the war?" Reginald was shocked by the news, not delighted.


    George calmly denied the concern of the King, "No, Your Majesty. That''s not the case. It turns out that the Queen had committed countless crimes and she was charged for all of the crimes today. From the information that I gathered, it was almost certain that she would be imprisoned for life."


    Reginald smirked when he heard that Lillian was going to be imprisoned for life. "Well, well! That is really a piece of wonderful news! I wanted to get rid of that witch and now look at the coincidence�� she has magically been cleared from my path."


    "It didn''t happen magically, Your Majesty. The one who had managed to dig all of the Queen''s past crimes and capture her was none other than Princess Adeline herself." George added this bit of information as he was sure that the King would love to hear that.


    As he thought, Reginald was over the moon when he heard that piece of information, "Really?" He held his head high as if he was the one to capture the Queen and said, "As expected of my Adeline. She is an amazing lady. That is why I have my eyes on her."


    He caressed his lower lip with his thumb and recalled his encounter with the Princess. "Maybe we really are fated to be together. I was looking for a way to approach the King with the proposal without letting that witch know about it. And look how she helped me. She imprisoned that damned witch! She understands me so well�� we already have an unseen connection with each other."


    George tried his best not to judge the King right now but he was failing at it. "Why does he think that he has a connection with someone who doesn''t even know his name? Is he going crazy or am I just overthinking�� But I guess he was born crazy, so this is very normal for him."


    Reginald then glanced at George and happily asked, "Tell me, is there anything that you want for bringing me such an amazing piece of news?"


    George was just thankful that the King was not scolding him and looking down on him. So he smiled and denied, "No, Your Majesty. I am just happy that I was of use to you."


    "Yes, indeed. You made me really happy so I am going to let you take a rest for a day. And��" he gave a wide smile while spreading his arms as if he was a God, "I am also going to offer you a very healthy woman as a way of showing my gratitude towards you. Go to the servants'' quarter and take a maid of your choice."


    He snapped his fingers and winked, "But of course, you cannot touch my favorite one."


    George smiled and bowed his head to the King, "Thank you for your benevolence, Your Majesty." He then turned around and left the King''s bedroom.


    Reginald stared blankly at the ceiling and imagined his future with Adeline. "Now that the witch problem has been solved by my beloved, I should immediately send a letter to the King of Wyverndale. Once I persuade him, I am sure that he will be more than happy to end our years-long enmity by marrying off his daughter to me."


    He chuckled and celebrated his luck. "I am going to have everything soon�� Adeline, her Kingdom, and this whole continent."


    A smile curved up on his lips as the thought of having that beautiful Princess all to himself crossed his mind. He ran his tongue over his fangs and thought, "I wonder how she would taste like�� I bet she tastes like honey."


    "No, she smelled like vanilla. I bet she tastes as sweet as vanilla." He closed his eyes and inhaled as if he was with Adeline and he was inhaling her sweet aroma.


    "I shouldn''t delay in sending the letter. I should send it today itself. The King should get the letter first thing in the morning." Reginald jumped up from the bed and swooshed towards the throne hall in his towel.


    Back at Adeline''s room, she was sweating and panting in her sleep. She was dreaming about the man with red eyes that she had bumped into in the market that day.


    That man was chasing after her. He was shouting that he was going to bite her and drink her blood. And Adeline was running at the top of her speed but that man was way faster than her. He grabbed her by her shoulders and threw her on the ground. He straddled her and snarled at her, intending to bite her neck.


    "No! Don''t kill me!" Adeline was shouting and kicking that man. But that man was too strong for her.


    "Adeline�� Adeline��" that man began to shake her and call her name out of nowhere.


    "Adeline! Wake up!"


    Adeline felt as though she suddenly fell down even further. She was startled and she flung her eyes open.


    "Adeline, are you okay?" Theodore was hovering above her and looked really concerned for her. When he saw that Adeline was finally awake, he asked in a soft voice, "You were struggling in your sleep so I had to wake you up. Were you having a nightmare?"


    Adeline was still breathless. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded, "Yes, I saw a very bad dream.. That vampire that I met in the market was chasing after me."

 Chapter 346 - Waking The Devil

    "That vampire that I met in the market was chasing after me."


    Theodore lovingly caressed Adeline''s cheek and tried to calm her down, "It''s okay, you''re awake now. It was just a nightmare." He leaned down and softly kissed her on her forehead.


    Adeline pursed her lips and said, "Mhmm�� this vampire stuff is starting to haunt me already�� Maybe because I was talking about it with the High Priestess earlier."


    Theodore lay down beside her again and put his arms around her waist. And he whispered, "You had a very long day today. Try to get some sleep again. I am right beside you. I will wake you up again if I feel that you are having a nightmare."


    Adeline turned to face Theodore and wrapped him in a hug. And she replied with a smile, "I will trust you to it then."


    She closed her eyes and then asked, "By the way, when did you come here? I was so scared thinking that you would appear when the maids were still here."


    Theodore also closed his eyes and whispered in his hoarse voice, "I figured that you would be busy so I only came at midnight. You were already asleep by then and I quietly snuggled with you so as not to wake you up. But I ended up waking you up anyway."


    "Sleep now. We can chat in the morning. I don''t want you dozing off in your workroom tomorrow." Theodore then began to gently stroke Adeline''s back so as to help her fall asleep sooner.


    After stroking her back for a while, Theodore''s hand dropped. He fell asleep before Adeline.


    Adeline tried her best to fall asleep but the moment she would close her eyes, those blood-red eyes would appear in front of her. Her nightmare would start to play out all over again.


    "Damn it!" she opened her eyes wide and sighed loudly. "I deserve a good night''s sleep after that whirlwind of a battle. But those damned red-eyes don''t even let me sleep. Ugh!"


    She glanced at Theodore. He was sleeping so peacefully that she got envious of him.


    She puckered her lips and softly blew cold air on his neck in an attempt to wake him up.


    Theodore hid his neck as if he was a turtle and kept on sleeping.


    Adeline frowned at that reaction from Theodore. She poked him on his cheek and whispered, "Theo�� are you really sleeping? Or are you just pretending to?"


    "Mmmm��" Theodore tried to open his eyes but all he was doing was raising his brows. His eyes were still tightly shut.


    "Theo�� let''s talk for a bit. I can''t sleep," Adeline poked him on his cheek again. "Let''s doze off tomorrow afternoon. Come on! Let''s spend the whole night talking."


    But Theodore grabbed her hand, put it under his cheek, and used it as his pillow so that she wouldn''t poke him again.


    Adeline narrowed her eyes and kept on glaring at Theodore.


    Suddenly, a sinister smile appeared on Adeline''s lips as she came up with an idea to disturb his sleep. Slowly and carefully, she pulled her hand from under his cheek and teasingly ran it down his body.


    Theodore furrowed his brows but he was still deep in his sleep.


    Adeline playfully bit her lower lip and slid her hand inside his trousers.


    "What do you think you are doing?" Theodore''s eyes were wide open and his sleep went out of the window when he felt Adeline''s tiny hand down there.


    Adeline looked Theodore in the eyes and whispered back while trying to sound seductive, "What does it look like to you? I couldn''t wake you up so I tried to wake the Devil instead."


    She chuckled and cleared her throat. "But now that you are awake, I don''t think there''s any need to wake up the Devil." She instantly pulled her hand away from him and she apologized in her normal voice, "I''m sorry. I couldn''t sleep at all."


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and in an instant, his eyes turned bright red. He grabbed Adeline''s hand and put it back where it was before.


    And he whispered captivatingly, "It''s already too late to say sorry, my dear. You''ve already awoken the Devil. Now take the responsibility. I''m not letting you go off the hook that easily."


    Adeline gave a fanciful smirk and asked teasingly, "Hmm, the Devil wants me to take the responsibility huh?"


    "Yes, or else the Devil will punish you for ruining his sleep," Theodore parted his lips and leaned in for a kiss.


    But Adeline dodged the kiss and said, "I would love to take the responsibility�� only if you fully surrender yourself to me."


    Theodore softly chuckled. "Oh, I love how you are getting bolder and bolder." He then lay on his back as if to say that he surrendered. "Show me what you''ve got."


    Adeline delightedly swung her head up and rested on her elbow. She gazed at her man who would not say no to any of her requests, no matter how quirky they were.


    Suddenly, she aggressively pinched his jaw and asked, "Tell me, how much do you love me?"


    "More than myself, and more than anyone else," Theodore replied while gently squeezing her hips.


    Adeline gently caressed his lips and asked in an exasperated whisper, "Why are you like this?"


    "Like what?" Theodore already sounded aroused by a single touch of his woman.


    "Like this!" Adeline ran her fingers towards his neck while interrogating him, "Why do you love me so much? Why are you always ready to do everything for me?"


    Theodore played with Adeline''s long silver hair and answered truthfully, "I''m ready to do everything for you because I am madly in love with you, Adeline. And I love you because you love me. You make me feel wanted, you make me feel that I am important. And I want to make you feel the same way."


    "Don''t you feel burdened when I boss you around? I keep on asking favors after favors but I don''t have anything that I can give you in return." Adeline looked somewhat guilty.


    But Theodore pulled her close and bit her lips.


    "Aaah! Why did you bite me?" Adeline gave an accusing look to him.


    "So that you won''t speak nonsense." Theodore pinched her cheek and added, "Don''t say that you have nothing to give me in return. You have given me everything�� love, family, hope, dream, future, everything. You''ve given meaning to my life. So, you can boss me around as much as you want. I will serve you happily."


    Theodore then smiled because he could feel as well as hear Adeline''s accelerating heartbeat.


    "Ah! You are going to melt me with your smile," Adeline clutched Theodore by his cheeks and made him pucker his lips. She leaned down and claimed his lips for herself.


    The moment Theodore got the sweet taste of her lips, the hunger within him arose even more. Before he knew it, he slid his hand under her nightgown. He could feel the soft and smooth texture of her skin.


    He slid his hand higher and higher, lost in the tenderness of his woman.


    All of Adeline''s senses were now focused on Theodore.. And the voices in her head and the nightmare that haunted her were all drowned by a mere touch from her man.

 Chapter 347 - Taking Over

    The taste of his mouth was so addictive and so calming that Theodore was now like a personal herbal tonic for Adeline. She could feel her body heating up and her heart fluttering faster and faster.


    She could feel him invading her mouth, intensely and hungrily as always. And she also reciprocated with equal hunger towards her man.


    She felt a pinch on her thigh which made her moan in his mouth. She could feel his smirk with her lips. She pulled away from the kiss and breathlessly stared deep into his scarlet eyes. She could tell that his hunger was only increasing.


    Adeline felt another pinch a little above than before. She twitched and moaned his name, "Theo". She lovingly stared at him and parted her lips. She inhaled the cold air to cool down the burning flames that were rising in her body.


    Theodore smirked and lifted Adeline''s nightgown further and further up. And he spoke in his ragged whisper, "I don''t think you will be needing the gown tonight."


    "Help me get rid of it then," Adeline gave a desperate invitation to Theodore and swiftly sat up on the bed.


    "Gladly," Theodore''s eyes were beaming with passion and hunger for Adeline. He also sat up on the bed and gathered her nightgown over her chest. "Raise your arms," he ordered her like he was in a great hurry to savor her.


    Adeline obediently did as he asked and let him take off her dress. All that was covering her chest now was her luscious long hair. She looked like a raw painting that the painter had yet to complete but at the same time, she looked so beautiful that the painting was already a masterpiece.


    "Let me see you properly," Theodore gently brushed those locks of hair away from her gorgeous breasts. He covered his mouth with both of his palms as though he was seeing her for the very first time. "You look so beautiful. Have I ever told you that you look like a full moon?"


    Adeline chuckled and gently nodded her head, "You''ve said so countless times, Theo."


    "Let me worship my full moon then," Theodore crawled closer to her and straddled her body with his hands. He went for a kiss but Adeline pressed her finger over his lips.


    "Uh-uh!" She trailed her finger over his cheek, his jaw, and his neck teasingly and whispered, "You told me you would completely surrender yourself to me. So surrender now, love."


    "Oh, my bad," Theodore smirked and raised his arms as though he was defeated. He trailed his eyes all over her body while whispering enticingly, "I''m all yours, love."


    The flames of desire inside Adeline''s chest and her stomach burned even hotter. She gazed at his neck and before she knew it, she was already reaching out her hand to pull the belt of Theodore''s robe.


    She ripped his robe open to see his sculpted chest and stomach. And the more she stared at him, the more she wanted to pounce on him like a tigress. She pushed him back on the bed with force and gazed at him as if she was going to hunt the Devil down with her eyes.


    She gently ran her palm over his chiseled body and sent jittery feelings all over his body. Adeline smirked at that reaction from Theodore.


    She then leaned down and placed a wet kiss just above his navel. He bit his lower lip and arched his back in response. She kissed him all over his stomach and he kept on squirming with pleasure. She loved having him in complete control.


    She then slid her fingers under the waist of his trousers and teasingly ran her palm along his waist. And with a swift pull, she got rid of the cloth that was hiding his manhood.


    Theodore smiled at how aggressively she had pulled his trousers and threw them on the floor. "Ooh! I see that you have a lot of energy left even after that intense battle."


    Adeline gazed at his hardness and replied, "Oh, trust me, darling, I have a lot of energy left in me."


    She mounted his body and winked at him, "Let me show you how much."


    "Oh, please do show me. I am dying already," Theodore took in a deep breath and ran his palms over her thighs.


    Adeline grabbed his hands and placed them over her breasts. His palms and her breasts fit on each other very well enough. Theodore slowly moved his palms in a circular motion. A soft moan escaped from Adeline''s red lips and she heaved her chest while he kept on massaging her pleasurable area.


    She then adjusted her position and both of them closed their eyes and moaned in unison. Theodore felt the warmth and softness of Adeline while Adeline felt his hardness in her.


    She thrust her hips slowly and rhythmically. Theodore matched his hand''s speed with Adeline''s pace. Adeline was increasing her pace steadily and so was Theodore. He was also helping out Adeline by gently pushing his hips and banging them against Adeline''s.


    The room was filled with the suppressed sound of their moan and the constant slapping of their bodies against each other. Their ragged breaths were also adding to the noise. They both were lost in the pleasure of exploring each other''s bodies.


    After a long while, Adeline stopped to push her hair to the side and take a moment to catch her breath. In the meantime, she closed the gap between their lips and stole his divine taste.


    Theodore pulled away and asked, "You look tired. Do you want me to help you?"


    Adeline wrinkled her nose and gave a challenging look, "Do I look like I''m out of the game? I can still go on a battle right now."


    "Okay, sorry Princess. Please kindly continue your game then," Theodore bit his lower lip and ran his hands down towards her hips.


    Adeline brought her lips close to his ear and whispered, "I''m not going to let you sleep a wink tonight." She teasingly bit his ear and gave a warm kiss on his neck.


    The hot breath tickled Theodore and made him chuckle uncontrollably.


    Adeline smirked and whispered, "I think I found another one of your weaknesses."

 Chapter 348 - Letter From Mihir

    The next morning, Adeline woke up way too late than usual. She had only fallen asleep at the dawn. And she was so deep in her sleep that she didn''t even hear her maids calling out for her.


    The maids assumed that she was really exhausted and let her sleep.


    "Hawisa, Osanna, where are you? Why didn''t the two of you wake me up? I am so late for work." Adeline rushed around her room while complaining.


    She opened her wardrobe and picked out a gown at random. She quickly changed into that gown and by the time Hawisa and Osanna came running to her room, she was ready to run to the King''s Court.


    "Princess, aren''t you going to eat something?" Osanna raised her hand in an attempt to stop the Princess.


    But Adeline was already out of her room. And she shouted while running, "Send something to my workroom. I will eat there."


    Adeline looked around to see that the Palace was already bustling with people. "Oh, God! Just how much did I sleep? Well, didn''t sleep much but�� damn it! I''m late for work!"


    Adeline was literally running like she was warming up for the training. She was about to enter the King''s Court when she ran past a man who was dressed as though he was not from around Wyverndale.


    Her foot stopped midair and her eyes widened because she could swear that that man had a pair of red eyes. Cold crept under her skin and her heart started to beat as if it was about to cross the normal limit.


    She swiftly turned around and ordered two of the guards, "Guards! Catch that man and hold him right there."


    That man stopped on his own, knowing that the Princess was talking about him. And he calmly turned around and bowed to the Princess, "Greetings, Your Highness."


    Adeline sprinted towards that man and glared at him. "Who are you? What business do you have here?"


    That man gave a polite smile and truthfully replied, "I am the Royal Messenger from Mihir, Your Highness. I was here to deliver a letter to His Majesty King Dragomir."


    "Letter to His Majesty? Who sent the letter? And why?" Adeline folded her arms and sternly asked that man.


    "The letter was sent by King Reginald himself. I am afraid that I cannot say anything more than that." The messenger then gave a polite smile and bowed again, "If there aren''t any more questions from your side then I will take my leave, Your Highness."


    And without even waiting for Adeline to say anything, that messenger turned on his heels and walked as though he was jogging.


    Adeline scoffed and thought, "The rudeness! Even the messenger thinks that he is superior to us. They don''t see us as anything more than their prey, do they?"


    The Princess took a deep breath in to suppress her urge to drive a stake through that messenger''s heart. "I think I should visit my father before doing anything else."


    She hurriedly moved her feet towards the King''s Court while thinking a lot of things, "I wonder what that vampire King wrote to His Majesty. Does he somehow already know about Lillian''s imprisonment? I hope that he didn''t write threats demanding her release or didn''t mention anything about the war that they had planned."


    Adeline crossed her fingers and fretted as she ran at the top of her speed, "I hope father has yet to read the letter. I will offer to read the letter for him so that I can filter out if there are unwanted things written there. I don''t want our father to go into shock again."


    She flung the door to the King''s workroom open without even knocking and stood there while gasping for air.


    "Adeline? Why do you look like you just came back from the training?" Dragomir was already holding the letter in his hand and it looked as though he had already read all the contents of the message.


    Adeline breathlessly greeted her father, "Good morning, Your Majesty. I''m sorry I overslept and was a little late to come to work. So, I ran all the way from my quarter."


    She then pretended as though she hadn''t just met the messenger from Mihir and asked while pointing at the letter that the King was holding, "What are you reading, father? It looks like it is a letter from some other Kingdom. But I can''t tell which Kingdom, I have never seen that seal before."


    Dragomir didn''t suspect a thing even when Adeline was behaving a little peculiarly.


    "Oh, this?" Dragomir flapped the letter and replied, "This is from Mihir."


    "Mihir?" Adeline tried her best to act surprised.


    She walked closer to her father''s desk and asked, "Are we even in speaking terms? Why have they sent a letter?"


    Dragomir passed the letter to his daughter seeing her eagerness. "Yes, we aren''t that friendly with Mihir. I don''t know what changed though�� Maybe it''s because the King is new. He has written that he wants to have a meeting to discuss the peace between us."


    Adeline scrunched her brows in disbelief and went through the letter. As Dragomir said, King Reginald had written that he wanted to have a meeting to discuss the peaceful future between the two Kingdoms.


    But Adeline was in no way going to believe that letter because she already knew their plan to attack Wyverndale in detail. She thought, "Why would they send a letter like this? Is this some kind of a trick that they want to use for something else? Maybe infiltrate the Palace in the name of having a meeting and try to rescue Lillian? Just what are they scheming?"


    "Do you really think that they really want to discuss the peace?" Adeline asked her father skeptically.


    Dragomir lightly stroked his beard. He also looked skeptical but it felt like he was willing to meet the new King. "Maybe he is planning something in the guise of having a meeting. But I think I should at least meet him once and hear him out. Who knows? Maybe he isn''t like his father and he really could be wanting to make amends with us."


    "But what if the meeting is just a fa?ade for their evil plans? Is it really wise to call the enemy to our place?" Adeline was sure that they were in no way trying to make amends. She was sure that either they were trying to get Lillian out, or they were trying to gather some information that would be helpful for their war tactics."


    Dragomir simply smiled and said, "Haven''t you heard the saying? Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer? I would have probably thought a hundred times if they had called me to Mihir. But if they are willing to come here then I will gladly welcome them with open arms. This is our territory. So we can prepare beforehand for their arrival."


    Adeline clutched her fists and thought, "Of course, they would want to come here. Even though this is our territory, I don''t think we can do much against them�� if push came to shove."


    Then again, she also wanted to hear what they really had to say. And she also had her secret weapon, Theodore. Even though he wasn''t allowed to touch them, he would at least be able to scare them away if things boiled down to that.


    So she glanced at her father and asked, "When are they coming then?"

 Chapter 349 - A Pleasant Surprise

    Dragomir glanced at the letter that Adeline was holding and sighed. "First, I will have to send a reply letter to the King of Mihir stating that I want to meet with them. I will suggest a date and if they agree on that date, then only the meeting will be fixed. Until then, I can''t tell for sure when they will be coming."


    Adeline nodded her head and handed back the letter to her father. "Then the process is going to take some time."


    "Yes, it will take some time," Dragomir replied as he folded the letter and placed it in his drawer.


    "Do you need me to do anything regarding this meeting, father? I can give out orders to our soldiers and increase the reinforcements inside and around the Palace." Adeline knew that if she left the security in her father''s hand, then he would be greatly underestimating the vampires because he had no idea that they were vampires.


    Thus, she wanted to take matters into her own hand.


    And Dragomir was more than happy to let Adeline handle the security for that said day in the future. "Yes, why not? Though there''s no need to hurry as the meeting has not even been fixed yet."


    But Adeline thought differently. She was not just going to add the extra layer of security. She was going to provide them with the crash course on how to kill vampires. Though it was very unlikely for them to carry out sneak attacks, there was no harm in being cautious.


    Adeline furrowed her brows and thought, "I don''t think the King will be stupid enough to reveal their identity of being vampires by carrying out sneak attacks, especially when they think that their secret is going to be of great advantage to them in the upcoming war. But you never know what others are thinking."


    Adeline then glanced at her father and asked politely, "Father, can I also sit in this meeting along with you? I have never had the chance to sit in the actual meetings between two Kingdoms. It will be a great learning opportunity for me."


    Learning was one factor but Adeline wanted to attend that meeting to make sure that her father wouldn''t get the air of the war. And she wanted to hear and see everything that the Vampire King had to say.


    Dragomir, on the other hand, couldn''t be any happier. Adeline was always pro-actively showing interest in the affairs of the Kingdom. In his eyes, there was no one else who would be able to handle the Kingdom better than her.


    So he happily agreed, "Yes, you can sit together with us. You will have to deal with such issues when you become the Queen. So it''s better if you get the firsthand experience."


    "Thank you, father," Adeline gave a slight bow to the King and said, "I will head towards my workroom then."


    "Adeline, before you go, I had to say something to you," Dragomir suddenly had a wide grin on his face as though something really good had happened.


    Adeline curiously asked, "Yes, father? Is there some good news?"


    Dragomir cleared his throat and inconspicuously replied, "I have found out that you hid a very important detail from me. But I am glad that I have a reliable informant now."


    The color on Adeline''s face faded away and her heart hammered in her chest when Dragomir said that. She had hidden a lot of things from him, not just one. So she couldn''t tell what he had found out and who the informant was.


    "Bennett? Did he spill the beans about the war?" Adeline gritted her teeth and swore that if he had really informed the King then she was going to beat the soul out of him.


    But then the King was smiling ear to ear and she ruled that possibility out.


    "What did I hide from you, father? And may I know who the informant is?" Adeline innocently asked her father so as not to give away the fact that she had countless things hidden from him.


    Dragomir leaned back on his chair and proudly boasted, "My future son-in-law came to meet me this morning. And he revealed all the details that you missed out from yesterday''s event."


    He sighed and continued, "Details like how Lillian had opened the Gate of Hell, and how countless monsters swarmed on Earth, and how he was the one to defeat all of the monsters. And you never told me that the King of Hell, Lucifer is also his brother."


    Adeline scratched her head and innocuously replied, "I didn''t tell you that Lucifer was his brother? It must have slipped my mind." She chuckled like a baby and then said in a serious tone, "About the Gate of Hell and all, I wanted to share them with you but not in front of everyone. I didn''t want to send the whole Kingdom into a state of panic over some problem that was already solved."


    Dragomir chuckled and nodded his head, "Yes, you did the right thing. And I think that Theodore influenced you to do that?"


    Adeline smiled and nodded her head.


    "I am glad that he has a positive influence on you. Now I understand why you said that he was the one to motivate you into being who you are today." Dragomir''s smile never left his lips. He was really delighted that Adeline had found a great husband for herself.


    He lovingly gazed into Adeline''s sapphire eyes and finally said the main news, "Those were not the only things that Theodore said to me. He came to say that he and Dragon Immortal will come today, with the marriage proposal for you."


    "Th-when-wh��" Adeline took a deep breath in and covered her mouth with her palm. She was speechless to hear that because Theodore had not told that to her when they spent the whole night together. And the news came as quite a surprise for her, a pleasant surprise.


    Dragomir couldn''t get enough of the shyness that his daughter was showing. He got up from his chair and wrapped her in a warm and loving embrace. "I am really happy that you even fought with me for him. He turned out to be a really perfect partner for you. I like him already so you can rest assured."


    Adeline felt so jubilant upon hearing that she ended up crying in her father''s arms. She hugged her father tightly and whispered, "Thank you so much, father. Thank you for accepting Theodore."


    Dragomir lovingly stroked his daughter''s hair and replied with teary eyes, "No, thank you for finding such a great man. You two are perfect for each other. You are an ambitious and courageous woman, and he pushes you towards greatness."


    Dragomir quickly wiped a drop of tear that rolled down his eyes. Though Adeline was not going to go anywhere even after marriage, he felt sad for some reason. He felt as if he was going to carve out a piece of his heart and hand it over to Theodore.


    After a while of hugging and crying, Dragomir directed Adeline, "Why don''t you take the day off today? Return back to your quarter and ask the maids to prepare you.. I bet Theodore would also love to formally talk with you about the wedding."

 Chapter 350 - Cherry Blossom

    As Dragomir had suggested, Adeline headed back to her quarter to groom herself. As she walked, she was blushing and was thinking, "Is this the reason why Theo wanted me to get some sleep? So that I wouldn''t doze off when he would come to ask my hand in the marriage?"


    Adeline smiled as she tried to picture Theodore and Azriel coming together to the Palace. "I wonder how they will come�� Will they just teleport like they usually do or will they actually pose as some Prince of a foreign land and arrive in a carriage?"


    "What if they come here riding the dragons?" Adeline giggled at the thought of Theodore and Azriel doing so. "That would be too stupid. They would scare the soul out of everyone in Wyverndale."


    The Princess was already excited to meet the suitor that she had chosen herself.


    She reached her quarter just when Hawisa and Osanna were about to take the breakfast to her workroom.


    "Princess? You are here for breakfast?" Osanna asked in a surprised tone. Once Adeline went to her workroom, it was not normal to see Adeline return back before it was dark, unless she had to be somewhere and she wanted to change into a suitable dress.


    Adeline pressed her cold palm on her flustered cheeks and smiled, "Um�� yes, that too. And��" she cleared her throat and gestured them to follow her to her chamber, "and I had something else as well."


    Hawisa and Osanna glanced at each other and shrugged. And then both of them followed the Princess with the trays of food.


    The personal maids set the breakfast on the table. And while they were doing so, they couldn''t help but notice that Adeline was aimlessly walking around the room. And they also didn''t miss the color of her cheeks which resembled the fresh cherry blossoms. Her whole face was beaming.


    So Hawisa couldn''t resist but ask, "Adeline, did something happen? Something good?"


    Adeline nervously smiled at her maids. She didn''t know how to tell them that she was going to have some special guests. She was sure that they would tease her until they would make her whole body turn red out of embarrassment.


    "Er�� the thing is�� umm��" Adeline sighed and then walked towards the table, "I think I will eat my breakfast first. Else it will get cold."


    To hide her burning face, she kept on looking down. Osanna narrowed her eyes and followed the Princess. She stood in front of the table and folded her arms. Adeline pretended as though Osanna was invisible and opened her mouth wide to stuff a huge piece of bread.


    But Osanna dramatically cleared her throat and inquired, "Something is surely up. You are acting as if you don''t want us to find out something. But at the same time, you also want to share it with us. So, why don''t you tell us what it is while you eat your breakfast?"


    Adeline gave an innocent glance to Osanna and kept on chewing the mouthful of food. Hawisa also joined Osanna in giving the questioning glare to the Princess. Adeline had to forcefully swallow her food in order to escape the glare from her maids.


    After taking some time to prepare herself, Adeline finally revealed, but not before giving them a warning, "Okay, I will tell you what it is only if both of you swear not to tease me."


    "Okay, we swear it. Tell us already," Osanna gave a wide grin to the Princess.


    And Adeline blurted out really fast, "A suitor is coming to the Palace to ask my hand in marriage."


    Both Osanna and Hawisa turned into statues. Osanna''s jaw was about to touch the floor while Hawisa''s eyes were about to pop out.


    As the two of them were too stunned to even speak, Adeline filled the silence, "And I want the two of you to prepare me for the same. That is the reason why I came back."


    Finally, both Hawisa and Osanna screamed and jumped happily. They hugged each other, they hugged the Princess, and finally got the breath to ask, "So who is the suitor? Is he a Prince? Or is he a King?"


    Adeline went blank when they asked that question because Theodore was saying that he would come up with some alias. But he hadn''t yet briefed her on what his alias would be.


    Osanna gently nudged the Princess with her shoulder and teasingly asked, "Why aren''t you telling who the lucky man is? Don''t be so shy, Adeline."


    Adeline then wrinkled her nose and replied, "I also don''t know for sure. The King said that someone was coming to see me and he asked me to get ready. Umm�� I will give you both the details after I personally meet him."


    "Oh!" Hawisa nodded her head and pulled Osanna aside. "Our Princess hasn''t even seen that man so hold your horses, Osanna. Let the Princess eat in peace so that we can prepare her in time."


    Adeline hurriedly stuffed some food in her mouth while Osanna grinned apologetically, "I am so sorry for getting extremely excited. This is the first time a suitor is coming to see our Princess so��"


    "We will start the preparation from our side right away," Hawisa then dragged Osanna and asked her, "Choose a gorgeous gown for the Princess. Till then I will prepare the items for her beauty treatment."


    "Sure," Osanna enthusiastically ran towards the Princess'' wardrobe while Hawisa stepped out of the room.


    After Adeline finished eating, Hawisa and Osanna worked on the Princess for a couple of hours.


    They were still doing some final touch-ups on the Princess when a messenger from the King''s Court came knocking on the door, "Your Highness, His Majesty has asked for your presence in the Court immediately."


    "I will be right there," Adeline replied as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror.


    As Adeline was blushing a little too much, Osanna had picked up a gown of the same color as her cheeks. Half of her hair was pinned up behind her head while the rest were turned into tight curls. The Princess looked like the cherry blossom that bloomed during the spring.


    "You look lovely, Princess," Osanna gazed at the Princess and praised her.


    Hawisa, on the other hand, gave a piece of advice instead, "Princess, whoever came to see you today will instantly agree to get married to you the moment he will lay his eyes on you. But that doesn''t mean that you will have to agree as well. Make sure to know more about him first."


    Adeline felt a little guilty for not telling the maids that she had known Theodore for almost her whole life. But she gave a grateful smile to them for the heads up.


    She carefully walked out of her quarter and made her way towards the Court.


    "What? Where did they get all these people from?" Adeline knitted her brows in tune when she saw that there were two squads of guards and two carriages waiting in front of the Court.


    She was impressed to see that the guards were even wearing uniforms as if they really were from some Kingdom. "Is there anything that Theodore can''t do? When did he even get the time to prepare everything? He must have been secretly preparing for this day."


    Adeline''s heart fluttered when she saw the diligence of Theodore.. She entered the King''s Court with a warm heart and a wide smile on her face.

 Chapter 351 - Marriage Proposal

    The moment Adeline stepped inside the Court, a Royal Guard approached her and bowed, "Your Highness, His Majesty has asked me to escort you to the meeting room. Please follow me."


    Adeline gave a nod to the guard and followed him.


    She was led to one of the meeting rooms which she had never entered before. That room was strictly reserved for dignitaries from other nations. Though Theodore and Azriel were technically not from another Kingdom, they were still here as guests from another Kingdom. So it was only fitting that they were having a meeting in that room.


    When the Princess was in front of the door, the guard bowed again and left.


    And Adeline took some moment to herself. Though the sons of God were no strangers to Adeline, she was still nervous because of the obvious fact. She was scared thinking that her life was about to take a completely different turn again.


    She clutched her fists and tried to calm herself, "Adeline! There''s no point in being scared now. Yes, things are going to be different but you don''t have to hide Theodore from the world anymore. Isn''t this what you always wanted? Just go inside, everything will be fine."


    Adeline took a deep breath in. All of the noises in her head drowned down when she slowly raised her hand to knock on the door, "Your Majesty, I''m here."


    "Yes, Adeline. Come in. We were just waiting for you," she heard King Dragomir''s voice from the other side.


    Adeline opened the door and stepped inside. The moment she walked in, her eyes fell on Theodore and Azriel who were sitting right opposite the door.


    Her eyes then locked with Theodore''s. Her heart began to speed up as though she was seeing Theodore for the very first time. He had tied his long hair right behind his nape. He was adorned in an all-black attire as always. Yet she felt that something about him was very different�� maybe it was just his hair or maybe it was the way he was gazing at her.


    Theodore was high in the nine clouds. Though he had seen Adeline all dolled-up countless times, this was the first time she had done it just for him. And needless to say, he was unable to take his eyes off of his woman, whom he was going to marry soon.


    Azriel, on the other hand, was shifting his glance back and forth on the two love birds who were making their love so obvious. He got tired of them staring at each other and broke the silence, "Adeline, you look very lovely today. Why don''t you take a seat?"


    Both Adeline and Theodore immediately broke off their gaze.


    Adeline closed the door and as she was in the presence of her father, she didn''t want to be disrespectful towards their Deity. So she bowed and greeted Azriel, "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Dragon Immortal."


    Azriel gave a smile to Adeline and took a quick glance at Dragomir who was sitting opposite to them. He was a bit relieved to have Dragomir in the room because it meant that Adeline wouldn''t slap him or scold him. He wasn''t sure if she still held the grudge against him for everything that he did to her. And he didn''t want to find it out by getting slapped out of the blue.


    Once Adeline took her seat beside King Dragomir, he leaned towards her and whispered, "I have already talked with them and I have already said that the two of you have my blessing."


    Adeline gave a soft smile and lowered her gaze.


    King Dragomir then shifted his gaze towards the guests and asked, "So, Theodore, do you have a date in mind for the wedding?" He glanced at Adeline and asked, "Or have the two of you decided on a date already?"


    "No, we have not," Adeline quickly shook her head and then gave a questioning glance to Theodore.


    Theodore confidently proposed, "I was thinking of getting married within the next fifteen days. I hope that it won''t be inconvenient for you, father."


    Azriel inconspicuously covered his mouth with his palm when he heard Theodore addressing Dragomir as ''father''. He had been doing that throughout the meeting because it was so hard for him to digest it. He was barely managing to hold in his laughter. If he didn''t have his reputation to uphold as a Deity then he would have already laughed and teased the ''father-son'' duo.


    Dragomir glanced at his daughter again and said, "If Adeline is also okay with it then I don''t have any problem. I can prepare everything within a few days if you want me to."


    Adeline''s heart was hammering loudly in her heart. She didn''t even know if she was super excited or super scared or both.


    She glanced at Theodore. The man whom she had loved her whole life was ready to give his everything to her. And she felt that she was also ready to give her everything to him.


    It didn''t matter if she was going to get married tomorrow or after fifteen days. What she already knew was that she wanted to be with him�� forever.


    She smiled and then gave her answer, "Yes, I am ready. I am okay with getting married within the next fifteen days."


    Azriel looked the most excited out of everyone. He cheerfully clapped his hands and declared, "Okay, it is settled then. The marriage has been fixed on the fifteenth day from today. Both the parties will do the preparations from their sides."


    "Of course, Dragon Immortal," Dragomir gently bowed his head with a smile and agreed to the date declared by his Deity.


    Theodore then put forth the fake identity that he had come up with for himself, "Father, Adeline, I have something to say to both of you. I know that people will not take our marriage well if they know that I am the Devil Prince that they have grown up fearing. So I have come up with a new identity for myself."


    "From today, I will be known as Theodore, the second Prince of Romania. That Kingdom lies across the ocean and no one will ever verify if I am an actual Prince or not. Besides, no one really cares about the Prince who won''t inherit the Kingdom. So, this alias should work."


    "As expected of our Theodore," Dragomir was smiling widely and he praised him even more, "I was worried about the same, about what I was going to tell to the people. But you really made my job easier. Thank you for being so understanding."


    And Dragomir also briefed some other things that Theodore would have to comply with after marriage. "Theodore, you might already be aware that Adeline won''t be allowed to leave the Palace as she will be the Queen Regnant after my death. So, you will have to shift here after the marriage. And you will be given the new title of the Prince Consort."


    Dragomir glanced at both the brothers because that was him asking a lot from one of the sons of God. And he politely asked, "Is that okay with you, Theodore?"


    Theodore didn''t even hesitate for a second to reply, "I already knew what I would have to do if I was to marry Adeline.. So, yes, I am okay with both the terms."

 Chapter 352 - Like A Dream

    After talking for a bit more, Dragomir got up from his seat and then asked his Deity, "Dragon Immortal, I had always wanted to have you here as my guest. As you are finally here now, why don''t I show you around the Palace? And after that, all four of us shall have lunch together."


    "Sure. I would love to see around." Azriel gladly accepted the offer made by Dragomir and got up. Following the suit, Theodore and Adeline also got up from their respective seats.


    But Azriel glanced at Theodore and said while smiling ear to ear, "Why don''t you and Adeline join us after a while? I am sure the two of you have a lot of things that you would like to discuss in private."


    Both Adeline and Theodore blushed when Azriel hinted at them to stay back in the meeting room.


    Dragomir also thought that it was a good idea to let them spend some time together. "Yes, why don''t the two of you chat with each other? I will have someone come over and escort you both when the lunch will be ready."


    "Sure, father," Adeline softly replied with a smile.


    "Okay, lead the way, Dragomir," Azriel put his arms behind his back and ordered the King.


    And Theodore gave a thankful grin to his brother as he walked past him. He couldn''t thank Azriel enough for suggesting that they stay back because he really wanted to talk with Adeline in private. He had a lot of things that he wanted to say to Adeline.


    Dragomir and Azriel walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.


    Theodore gazed at Adeline from across the room and gave a content smile to Adeline. He was finally going to marry that beautiful woman who was happily smiling back at him.


    Theodore walked towards Adeline and she also stepped towards him to meet him halfway. Without saying a word, they wrapped each other tightly in their warm embrace. They were both chuckling as their years of love was finally going to be sealed permanently.


    Theodore then pulled away from the hug and kissed Adeline. From the moment she had entered the room, he was controlling his urge to seal her plump lips with his. And now that he finally got the opportunity to do so, he took his time to savor the taste of her lips.


    He was sure of one thing; that he was never going to get tired of her taste.


    He let go of her only when both of them were breathless.


    Adeline''s chest was heaving up and down rhythmically. And her eyes were glued to Theodore''s beautiful lips. She gently raised her hand and caressed his lips. She pecked his lips again and put her arms around his neck.


    And she whispered to him, "Can you believe it? We are going to get married after fifteen days!"


    "I know, right? It''s like I am having a really beautiful dream." Theodore inhaled Adeline''s sweet scent and kissed her neck. And whispered, "We are going to be husband and wife soon. Isn''t it magical?"


    "Yes, it is indeed magical," Adeline placed a kiss on his shoulder.


    Theodore gently rubbed Adeline''s back with his palm and whispered with a smile, "I can''t wait to get married to you." He then promptly picked Adeline up in his arms and smiled, "And I can''t wait to have a cute daughter who looks just like you."


    Adeline covered her eyes with her palm and laughed. For some reason, she found him even more appealing when he talked about having a daughter together.


    Theodore carried her to the sofa and sat down while making Adeline sit on his lap.


    Adeline then rested her head on his shoulder and said, "I also want a son who resembles you. I would love to see what you used to look like when you were a baby. It''s not fair that only you got to see me when I was a toddler."


    Theodore proudly held his head high and claimed, "Of course, I was the cutest kid to ever dwell on Heaven. I was loved by everyone because of my good looks."


    Adeline lifted her head to take a look at Theodore''s face and laughed.


    And Theodore defensively replied, "What? You don''t believe me? My feet would barely touch the floor because everyone would take turns to carry me. You can ask Azriel. He used to carry me around all the time."


    "No, I don''t need to ask anyone, I believe you." Adeline rested her head on his shoulder again and chuckled, "It''s just the way you are saying it�� by sounding all high and mighty."


    "But I am high and mighty." Theodore tightened his grip around Adeline''s waist and teased her, "What''s wrong with sounding the way I am?"


    Adeline covered her face again and giggled openly.


    And Theodore couldn''t get enough of her playful giggles. He leaned in and gave a warm kiss on Adeline''s forehead.


    "By the way, when did you get up this morning? And since when were you planning for today? You never told me anything." Adeline asked curiously.


    And Theodore replied proudly, "I didn''t sleep much. I got up after you fell asleep. And went to your father''s quarter to talk with him."


    He smirked and added, "I was planning to come today since the day you planned to capture Lillian yesterday. I didn''t want to distract you before that and I didn''t feel like waiting any longer than was required. So, today was the perfect day to come and ask your hand."


    "Hmm��" Adeline slightly nodded her head and asked, "And what about the guards? Where did you find them? Did you pay them to play their part today?"


    "Pay them?" Theodore chuckled and made everything clear, "They are not humans. They are my followers who look close to humans. And Azriel did some tricks to make them look the way they are right now. Their appearance is no more than a perfect illusion."


    Adeline raised her brows, impressed. She was reminded again just how powerful these brothers were.


    Both of them talked for some more time. And after a while, a guard came to escort the two of them to the garden where Dragomir and Azriel were waiting for them.


    Theodore offered his arm for Adeline to hold as the two of them followed that guard.


    Everyone was curiously watching the two of them, the maids, the servants, the guards, and some Princes and Princesses as well.


    The tall and handsome man, who looked like he had just landed on Earth from Heaven was hard to miss... that also when the Future Queen was walking hand-in-hand with him.


    All of those who saw them instantly speculated that Theodore was Adeline''s suitor. Some were envious to see that Adeline found such a handsome man while some were excited thinking that their possible Prince Consort looked flawless.


    Adeline felt shy when all of the eyes were on them. But at the same time, she was also thrilled to show him off to everyone.


    And Theodore was also feeling no different. He was glad that he didn''t need to sneak around the Palace anymore, well maybe for a few more days�� but soon, this Palace was going to be his new home.. And he couldn''t ask for anything more.

 Chapter 353 - Lunch

    When Adeline and Theodore reached the garden behind the King''s quarter, they saw that a round table had been set in the middle. Dragomir and Azriel were already sitting on their respective chairs.


    And Theodore and Adeline also went to take their respective seats. Adeline sat beside Dragomir while Theodore sat beside Azriel.


    "I hope that both of you are hungry," Dragomir said as he glanced at the brothers and then clapped his hands.


    Several maids came while holding several dishes in their hands. The King got so excited about being able to host Azriel and Theodore that he asked the chefs to prepare all of their finest dishes. And they did. There were 32 dishes on the table. There wasn''t even a gap left on the table for another bowl.


    Both Theodore and Azriel were shocked to see so many dishes on the table. Even Adeline was surprised because of that extravagance.


    Dragomir noticed the baffled look on their faces and politely said, "I''m sorry for the number of dishes. I didn''t know what the two of you liked to eat so I asked the chefs to prepare everything. I hope that at least a few of the dishes will be to your liking."


    Azriel picked up the fork with a smile and said, "I am sure that I will like everything." He glanced at a plate full of grilled mushroom and picked it up. "I''m going to start then. Please help yourself as well."


    "Yes, of course, Dragon Immortal," Dragomir happily watched as the Deity directly ate the food that he was offering. He was happy that he was sitting together at the same table as his Deity and not just offering the food while recalling the Deity''s face in the festival.


    And he was happy that he was able to eat together with the Deity on a very happy occasion. He was soon going to be a relative of the Deity himself. And his happiness knew no bounds. He looked around the table and watched everyone enjoying lunch.


    All four of them happily chatted and ate to their fill.


    Dragomir also briefed about the tradition that the people of Wyverndale followed while getting married. He didn''t want Theodore to be clueless during the wedding day so he explained in detail regarding the time of arrival of the groom, the time of marriage, and other details.


    Dragomir kept on sharing his plans for Theodore and Adeline, "I will have Adeline''s quarter refurbished so that it can accommodate both of you."


    He glanced at Theodore and continued, "And Theodore, you can send a carriage full of your personal belongings after the quarter is redecorated. The maids and servants will have your belongings arranged in the private chamber. It will be easier for you to move here immediately after the marriage."


    Though it was not really necessary for Theodore to shift his belongings or redecorate the quarter, he didn''t want to deny the King.


    So Theodore nodded his head and agreed, "I will do as you say, father. If I can help you in any way with the refurbishing then please, feel free to ask me. I will be the one moving in after all."


    Dragomir waved his hand and instantly denied, "No, it''s not necessary. I will have everything done. How can I possibly make you work when I am already asking a lot from you by making you leave your cave?"


    They discussed a few more things necessary for the wedding. And after spending almost the whole afternoon there in the Palace, Theodore and Azriel were finally ready to return back to their own respective places.


    Dragomir walked alongside Azriel while Theodore and Adeline were walking behind them. They were heading back towards the Court.


    Dragomir glanced back at Adeline and Theodore who looked very cheerful and then said to Azriel, "I feel like I am the luckiest father in the world. I got a beautiful and talented daughter like Adeline. And now I am going to have a celestial being as my son-in-law."


    He took a sigh of relief and softly uttered, "There is nothing more that I want from my life anymore. I can happily rest, knowing that the Kingdom, as well as my daughter, are in good hands."


    Azriel smiled and teased Dragomir, "Oh, don''t talk about resting yet. You still have to give blessings to your daughter and son-in-law. And don''t you want to play with your grandchildren? I am sure that they will give birth to plenty."


    Dragomir gleefully laughed and nodded his head, "Yes, I have yet to do those. I would love to see what my grandkids would look like. I am sure they will look like cute little angels."


    Theodore and Adeline weren''t walking that far and they were clearly hearing the conversation of the King and the Deity. They both glanced at each other and smiled.


    Theodore teasingly pinched Adeline on her waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Shall we fulfill your father''s wish today itself? Let''s make a baby tonight."


    Adeline gave a playful glare to Theodore and gestured to him to stop teasing her. Even though Theodore was whispering in her ear, she was afraid that her father would hear them. And she was already sure that Azriel heard them because he was covering his mouth with his palm and his shoulders were moving up and down because of his suppressed giggles.


    Adeline slowly increased the gap between her and Theodore so that Theodore would not whisper such scandalous things in her ear again.


    But Theodore noticed how far she was walking. And he didn''t waste any time to put his arms around her shoulders and pull her close. Their marriage was already fixed, and he wasn''t scared to utilize his right over Adeline right away.


    "Theo, stop! People are staring at us!" Adeline was still shy to show affection publicly.


    But Theodore was not budging. "So let them take a good look at their future Prince Consort. They should remember how I look like because they will be running into me quite frequently from now on." He leaned in to whisper again, "I am not going to sneak anymore. I will come to visit you openly."


    Adeline couldn''t do anything except turn her cheeks into a ripe tomato. She tried her best to avoid making eye contact with the curious onlookers and walked silently.


    The four of them reached in front of the carriages that were waiting in front of the Court.


    Azriel turned to face Dragomir and Adeline and then said, "I am very happy to have extended the family ties with you. I hope that our relationship will flourish even deeper. And thank you for hosting us today. I will forever remember today''s tasty dishes.." He glanced at Theodore and added, "We will take a leave now."

 Chapter 354 - The Disagreement

    King Conall was sitting on his own throne in the presence of the elders of the Siccaldi clan, Wulfric, Nigel, and Fenris. As Adeline had asked, Nigel had informed the King about the vampires plotting a war against Wyverndale.


    And all of them were having a meeting to discuss their course of action.


    "So our archenemies are going to make their presence known?" one of the elders summarized what the alpha said to them.


    King Conall nodded his head and sighed, "Yes. From what Nigel told me, it looks like they are going to let Wyverndale know of their true terror."


    "Hmm��" the elder rubbed his chin and went into deep thought.


    Everyone else in the room was also baffled by what they heard. If the vampires were to attack Wyverndale, and if they were to use their vampires in the battle, then there was no way that Wyverndale would come out as the winner of the war.


    And if Mihir was to win the war then it wouldn''t take any time for those vampires to attack Aberdeen as well as the other Kingdoms of the continent.


    As everyone went quiet, King Conall took the liberty to speak again, "Nigel here suggested that we also participate in that war, not as regular humans but as the werewolves. I have already gone through the possible courses that we can take in this war, and none of it gives the favorable outcome than forgoing our secret."


    There was an instant commotion in the throne hall when the King said that they were going to let the world know about their dear secret.


    "How can we give up on our secret when we have protected it by keeping our lives in line and also by taking countless lives?" one of the elders instantly protested that mad idea of the King.


    And another one also agreed, "Yes. The war is coming for Wyverndale, not for Aberdeen. So why is it us who have to sacrifice? We can send some forces if we must support Wyverndale, there is no need to send our werewolves in the middle of the slaughter."


    "I was also thinking the same." Another elder with white hair and a heavy voice showed his concern, "How can we send our werewolves where humans are going to drop dead left and right? All of our wolves will go into a frenzy. We don''t want our werewolves to turn into Ravagers now, do we?"


    Nigel was trying really hard not to lose his mind when the elders were being so inconsiderate about helping Wyverndale when he was sitting right there with all of them.


    He cleared his throat and countered them in a calm voice, "I wouldn''t have suggested sending our werewolves to the battle if there was such a danger in the first place. I know how hard it is to control our urges when we can smell the human blood."


    "So why did you suggest it, Nigel?" One of the elders chuckled and spoke in a taunting voice, "I am sure that there won''t be any war without bloodshed."


    Nigel held his anger and revealed, "According to the information that I got, one of my brothers has successfully infiltrated the enemy by posing as a supporter of their cause. And I can ask him to trick them into separating the human soldiers from vampire soldiers. If we can make that happen then the werewolves can freely fight with the vampires."


    "If��" that elder emphasized that word and went quiet.


    None of the elders were convinced with the idea of risking their lives when it wasn''t even clear how many vampires would be in the battle and if they would be attacking separately.


    King Conall sighed and then said to everyone, "Why don''t we do this? As we do not have sufficient information about this war, let''s stop the discussion for now. But let''s not forget that if the war comes to Wyverndale then it is only a matter of time that it will also come to Aberdeen."


    "So when we have sufficient information regarding this war, we will discuss this matter again." The King ran his gaze at everyone present in the room and ordered, "In the meantime, I want us to be ready for the worse. I want all the werewolves to focus on their training so that if we have to participate in the war, all of us will be well prepared."


    The elders didn''t object to this order of the King. All of them knew that being prepared was always better than running in blind if things boiled down to joining the said war.


    After the meeting was over, everyone dispersed except the Royals.


    For Fenris, sitting in meetings like this was a very new experience. Though he had not turned into his werewolf form yet, it was already apparent to everyone that he would turn soon. Thus, he was allowed to take part in the meetings involving the matters of the werewolves.


    But if it was up to him, he would love to be excluded from such meetings. He was so used to being an outcast that when he was suddenly pulled into the werewolf business, he was having a hard time adjusting.


    This was the first time Wulfric was hearing about the war so he asked Nigel, "So, when did you receive a letter from Wyverndale? How come I didn''t know about this beforehand?"


    Nigel avoided the eye contact and nodded, "I received the letter about a week ago. I didn''t want the news about the vampire to spread around when I didn''t even know if they were real." He glanced at King Conall and said, "So I just talked with His Majesty."


    "So they are real��" Wulfric muttered to himself as his pupils dilated. The newer generation of the werewolves had never encountered a vampire so none of them believed that they were real. They all thought that vampires were just a myth and nothing more.


    King Conall then spoke as he restlessly tapped his feet on the floor, "No matter what the elders are saying right now, I personally believe that we will have to help out Wyverndale. So, I want all three of you to train even harder."


    "All three?" Fenris raised his brows and asked in a panic.


    The King firmly replied to Fenris, "Yes, all three." And he continued in a bit of a softer tone, "Don''t worry, I won''t send you to the battlefield when you have not even turned yet. But there is no harm in trying to catch up with your brothers."


    "I will try my best," Fenris smiled at his father who had started to talk nicely with him ever since his eyes started to turn amber.


    This was another thing that Fenris was having a hard time adjusting to. He was so used to hearing his father''s harsh tone that the softer voice made him feel like puking.


    But there were other things that he liked. He could feel his strength increasing day by day. And rather than watching his brothers training, he could join them in the training.


    "Okay, all of you are also dismissed for now," King Conall said as he got up from his throne.

 Chapter 355 - Give Up!

    After the King left for a break, the three of the brothers also went outside the throne hall.


    Fenris was also curious about the letter that Nigel ''received'' from Wyverndale so he asked as they strolled, "So, did Adeline send the letter to you asking for the help from Aberdeen?"


    Fenris specifically asked if the letter was from Adeline because even though Nigel didn''t say it, he was sure that Wyverndale wanted help from the werewolves. And Adeline was the one who could have asked for help from the werewolves.


    "Yes, Adeline was the one to send the letter. From what I heard, father''s health is degrading and Adeline has not yet told him about the war. She is handling everything related to it." Nigel pursed his lips and sighed.


    The fact that he was not there at Wyverndale always haunted him no matter how much he denied it and no matter how much he tried to think of Aberdeen as his new home.


    Fenris also felt sad to hear that King Dragomir''s health was degrading.


    After an awkward silence for a while, Fenris asked again, "And how is that Devil Prince? Does Adeline talk about him in the letters?"


    Nigel gave a glare to Fenris for talking about Theodore but it was already too late.


    "Devil Prince? What Devil Prince?" Suddenly, Wulfric was also interested in the conversation.


    Fenris disregarded the glare from Nigel and answered, "The Prince with whom Adeline is engaged."


    "What? Adeline is engaged?" Wulfric furrowed his brows and pouted, "Why didn''t the two of you never tell that to me? You two have so many secrets that I don''t know of, it''s not fair!"


    Fenris rolled his eyes and said in a monotone, "You''ve not even met Adeline. Why do you care?"


    Wulfric noticed how Fenris''s mood back-flipped when he asked if Adeline was engaged already. He had a sinister grin on his face when he taunted Fenris even further, "Oh, I get it. Someone already stole Adeline, right? Are you calling him a Devil Prince because he stole the very woman for whom you were really willing to change yourself?"


    Fenris was in no mood to be teased by Wulfric, that also because of Theodore. He turned his head to face Wulfric and glared at him.


    Wulfric instantly jumped to the side and shouted, "Whoa, boy! Dim that golden glow of your eyes. There''s no need to get provoked at such small things. I was just trying to have a little fun. Tsk! You''re not fun anymore."


    Fenris then glanced at Nigel and questioned him seriously, "Are they still together? When are they going to get married?"


    Nigel also took a step away from Fenris and replied softly, "Yes, they are still together. I don''t know when they are going to get married but I think they will do so soon enough."


    "Give up on Adeline already! Find someone else like you always used to." Wulfric tried to poke Fenris with his words again but then he noticed that Fenris was ready to punch him.


    "Just give up!" Wulfric shouted again and ran away while laughing madly. He enjoyed testing the limits of Fenris. Ever since he showed the signs of turning, Wulfric would try to provoke him on purpose.


    Fenris sighed and tried to calm himself down. He would always get angry and easily irritated, another downside of the early werewolf phase.


    Fenris then asked his cousin, "Nigel, didn''t you feel like ripping the throats off of those old geezers when they were talking badly about Wyverndale? Even I was angry from the way they were talking. How did you manage to stay so calm?"


    "It takes time and a lot of willpower to control the anger." Nigel gave a sad smile to Fenris and added, "And also ever since I harmed Adeline in my rage, I consciously try to avoid putting myself in such a situation. The guilt that you feel afterward is too heavy to bear."


    "That was one eventful day! Thankfully the Devil Prince was able to heal Adeline." Fenris chuckled and whispered, "If Adeline''s fianc�� was someone else then maybe I would have been persistent about winning her over. But there is no way that I can top that Devil. There is no one better suited to Adeline than him."


    Nigel smirked at how maturely Fenris had started to behave. "So you''re not hung up on Adeline anymore?"


    Fenris sighed again and said, "Well, agreeing that someone else is better than you is a different thing and getting over the woman you desired is another. But I do hope that I will stop feeling this way for Adeline."


    Nigel gently patted Fenris on his shoulder and tried to console him, "We tend to find love in the most unexpected place. You will find someone who will love you enough to make you forget about Adeline."


    Fenris stretched his arms and tried to change the topic, "I wonder when I will turn into my werewolf form��" A slight smile appeared on his face when he said, "I am really curious to see how I will look. And I am curious to know how it feels to transform into something completely different."


    Nigel also smiled and excitedly shared, "Well the transformation itself is really a painful process. But once the pain is over, you will feel like your soul has been freed. Oh, the happiness you feel when running through the forest under the moonlight��"


    Nigel took in a deep breath and said, "I hope that you will break through soon. Maybe you will transform in the coming full moon."


    The two of them were already close to Nigel''s quarter. And they went inside the quarter. Fenris wanted to spend some time with the twins to blow off his steam. Those bundle of joys would do that job perfectly well.


    "You''re back." Rhea gave a warm smile to Nigel and greeted Fenris, "Hey Fenris, nice to see you after days! Don''t be a stranger just because you are turning, okay?"


    Fenris smiled and nodded, "I won''t. I am just crammed with all of the training sessions and whatnots. So I didn''t quite get the time to visit as often as before."


    "Okay, enjoy yourself with the twins." Rhea glanced at Nigel who was already lying down with the twins and said, "I will go and get some fresh air. I have been dying to go out."


    "Sure. Take your time," Nigel gave a smile to his wife and resumed playing with the twins.


    After Rhea went out, Fenris also sat down on the bed and picked up his niece. "Hey, Niylah! I''m sorry that your uncle didn''t come to see you. You missed me, didn''t you? You missed me, right? Right, baby?"


    Niylah was giggling and was trying to grab Fenris'' hair.


    Nigel was happy to see that Fenris was back to being his usual cheerful self.


    Soon, they were joined by Wulfric. He could not stay away and miss out on all the fun. He stole baby Ramon from Nigel''s hand and showered him with kisses. "Hey, little wolf. Want to ride on uncle and go to explore the forest?"


    Nigel folded his arms and gave a glare to Wulfric.


    Wulfric defensively shrugged his shoulders and tried to brush off what he just said, "What? I was just joking! Why would I make a toddler ride on my back? That also in my wolf form! I have never done that before, trust me."


    Fenris silently chuckled and whispered, "He did that once."


    "What? He did that?" Nigel furiously shouted at Wulfric and was ready to kick him.


    Wulfric instantly jumped out of the bed and ran away while still holding Ramon.. And Nigel ran after him to get his baby back from that careless man-child.

 Chapter 356 - Already Late!

    After Theodore and Azriel left the Palace, King Dragomir and Princess Adeline went to the King''s Court to discuss further about the marriage and other things.


    Adeline was sitting in front of the King''s desk and Dragomir was scribbling something on a piece of paper. After he was done scribbling, he looked at Adeline and said with a huge smile on his face, "I was writing the things that I need to prepare for the wedding day."


    He chuckled to himself and confessed, "In my excitement, I agreed for the marriage ceremony to be held so early. Now I will have to rush the preparations; from sending the invitations to stocking the grains."


    "Oh..." Dragomir picked up his brush again as if he suddenly remembered something and spoke as he wrote, "First and foremost, I will have to ask the Royal Tailor to prepare the wedding gown for you. You will have to go on a procession after the marriage. So that is the most important thing on the to-do list."


    Adeline was looking at her father with a wide smile on her face. She recalled the day when he was so opposed to the idea of her getting married to Theodore. And she looked at him now. Her father looked more eager for the wedding than her.


    He looked at Adeline and said, "Adeline, you need to give measurements to the Royal Tailor immediately. And I will prepare a draft for the invitations. The staff will copy it and after I put my seal on it, we will have to send all of our messengers to deliver the invitations."


    He rubbed his bearded chin and added, "I wonder if the guests will be able to make it here in time, considering how close the wedding is already."


    Adeline chuckled and tried to calm her father down, "Father! You don''t have to be so stressed out about the guests not coming. There are still 14 days left before the wedding. The messengers will take three days at the most to deliver the invitations. The guests might have to travel for two or three days in carriage depending on where they live��"


    Suddenly, the carefree expression on Adeline''s face also changed to that of a panic as she continued, "They should arrive here at least a day or two early so that they can be well-rested for the ceremony. They will just have 6-7 days to prepare themselves for the wedding ceremony."


    Adeline pursed her lips and began to tap her fingers on the desk, "Uh-huh, yes, it''s already way too late! We have to start everything from today itself. It''s better if we send out the invites today, especially to Aberdeen."


    She took a deep breath and said in a whisper, "I don''t want Nigel and Rhea to miss out on my wedding as well."


    Now it was Dragomir''s turn to mock his daughter. He laughed and teased her, "Okay, so you agree that we are in a rush, right?"


    "Yes, we sure are," Adeline took a deep breath in and asked her father, "Father, will you write the draft of the invitation then? If you need any extra help I will send Bennett here. In the meantime, I will call the Royal Tailor and have my measurements taken."


    "Sure, send Bennett in. The more hands the better," Dragomir said as he noted something on his to-do list.


    Adeline nodded and rushed out of the room. She went straight to Bennett''s room and knocked on the door, "Bennett, I need to talk with you."


    Bennett instantly opened the door of his room and was a little surprised to see that the Princess was on his door rather than calling him to her room. "Your Highness, is something wrong?" he asked, a bit worried.


    "No, nothing is wrong." Adeline paused for a second and informed him, "Um�� you are the first person whom I am telling this to�� er�� my marriage has been fixed with the Second Prince of Romania. And it''s after two weeks. So?"


    "Your marriage has been fixed?" Bennett interjected in between and exclaimed. "When? And why so fast?"


    Adeline gave a burst of nervous laughter and answered, "It was fixed this afternoon." She gently rubbed her temple and added, "Well, we liked each other and the marriage was kind of�� fixed."


    There was an awkward silence between the two and after a while, Bennett said with a smile, "Congratulation! Your Highness. I am really happy for you."


    Adeline smiled brightly and thanked him.


    Bennett then cleared his throat and asked, "Is there anything that I can do for you, Your Highness?"


    "Yes." Adeline then finally ordered him, "Will you send someone to call the Royal Tailor here? And His Majesty is going to be extremely busy so I want you to help him with whatever he needs."


    "I will be right on my way, Your Highness," Bennett bowed to the Princess and walked away.


    Adeline smiled to herself and was about to enter her workroom when suddenly, she heard Edwin''s voice, "So, sister, you are getting married?"


    Adeline turned around to see that Edwin was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and a wide grin on his face.


    Her cheeks turned red and she nodded her head. "Yes, I''m getting married. Theodore and Dragon Immortal were here to ask my hand."


    Edwin sighed when he heard ''Dragon Immortal''. The smile on his face faded when he said, "Dragon Immortal came to see me in my workroom along with His Majesty. He almost scared the life out of me."


    He shuddered as if he recalled the incidents of the test. And after taking a deep breath, he spoke cheerfully, "Congratulations, Adeline. I am really happy that my youngest sister is going to get married soon."


    "Thank you, brother," Adeline smiled to make her dimples even prominent.


    Edwin suddenly looked into Adeline''s eyes and proudly said, "Oh! Earlier, our father agreed to make me your Personal Advisor. It seems like he has finally forgiven me for causing all the troubles."


    "That''s great to hear," Adeline was happy to know that one by one, everything was finally falling into place.


    Lillian was finally where she belonged, her marriage was fixed with the love of her life, and the inner circle of her allies was increasing.


    One issue that she was unable to resolve yet was the upcoming war. She remembered the letter that her father let her read in the morning.


    One part of her wanted to believe that the Vampire King was really interested in maintaining the peace between the two kingdoms.. But another part of her was telling her that the letter was just a lie and something worse was coming her way.

 Chapter 357 - The Banter

    King Reginald was holding his arms behind his back and pacing back and forth in his throne hall. Lord Horace was watching the young King getting all restless for the matter which was not even in his hand.


    Horace tried to make the King sit down on his throne and focus on the most pressing everyday matters instead, "Your Majesty, it has just been a day since you sent the letter to Wyverndale. You should give them some time to think about the message that you sent."


    "What is there to think?" Reginald abruptly stopped pacing and turned to face Lord Horace.


    And he shouted in an agitated tone, "Wasn''t the proposal that I sent a good deal? I mean�� talking about peace and stuff sounds lucrative when the two Kingdoms have been in a cold war for decades!"


    Horace smiled and tried to make the King understand that the messenger of Wyverndale was not a vampire, "Yes, the things that you wrote were very attractive. But even if the King of Wyverndale had sent a reply as soon as he got your letter, it will still take two days for the letter to reach here."


    Reginald rolled his eyes and sighed, "Right! Then I should expect the letter to arrive by tomorrow." He walked towards his throne and sat down lazily.


    Ever since he sent the letter, the only thing that he could focus on was getting the reply and going to Wyverndale with the proposal of marriage with Adeline.


    He couldn''t wait to bring Adeline to Mihir.


    Horace wanted to say something to the King but when he noticed that he was already lost in his daydream, he didn''t even bother to talk with the King. He knew that Reginald was on edge ever since he sent the letter and he didn''t want to get on the bad side of the King by constantly disturbing his dream.


    However, Reginald''s sweet daydream was interrupted when Rebekah barged into the throne hall while shouting, "Reggie! What nonsense is this? How could you do that to me?"


    Reginald narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows when he heard the shrilling voice of his sister. "What the hell, Rebekah? Can''t you talk a bit softly? You will burst my eardrums at this rate!"


    "The hell with your eardrums!" Rebekah disregarded what Reginald just said and shouted again, "First tell me, why have I stopped getting my dose of the potion? The good one?"


    Reginald rolled his red eyes and then spoke without showing much seriousness in the matter, "It''s not just you who has stopped receiving those longer-lasting potions, it''s everyone. So just shut your sharp mouth and take it somewhere else. Don''t irritate me more than I already am."


    But Rebekah stomped her feet and then walked even closer to his throne. And she demanded to know why? "If you don''t want me to irritate you then just answer my damn question. It''s that simple to get rid of me. Why have we stopped getting the good potion?"


    "Argh!" Reginald gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. And he answered in a menacing voice, "We have stopped supplying the good potion because the witch who can brew it has been imprisoned. And until we can find some other witches who can concoct the potion that is similar in quality, we are going to use the old potions and save that good one for future use."


    Rebekah drooped her shoulders and asked angrily, "Why was that witch imprisoned? Can''t we just break her out and bring her here? Why do we have to abide by the rules and revert back to using the low-quality potion when we can just bend the bars and bring that witch back with us?"


    Reginald jumped out of his throne and stood right in front of his sister. He flicked a finger on her forehead and then asked, "Why are you so dumb? Do you even have a brain up here?"


    Rebekah slapped back his hand away from her and glared at the King, "Why? Did I say something that was super smart and your dumb brain was unable to pick it?"


    The red-headed King chuckled mockingly and said, "Don''t try to act as if you are the brightest kid in the town. Do you really think that a metal bar can hold a witch? They can melt it with their magic and get out in one second!"


    He then flashed the information that he got from his spy, "According to George, that witch was being confined by using some kind of magic. We won''t even be able to touch the barrier without getting shocked, literally."


    Reginald sighed and then smiled as if he was bitten by something funny. He circled around his sister and boasted, "Also, why would I break that witch out when my dearest Adeline was the one to put her behind the bars? I don''t want to let her labor go into the drain."


    Rebekah covered her ears and knitted her brows in tune, "Oh, for god''s sake! Just stop saying that name in front of me. The first day that you told me about her, I was really excited. But now, it''s getting a little too much, Reggie. You have started to sound like a madman."


    The King shrugged his shoulders and defended himself, "What''s wrong with taking Adeline''s name? She is a great woman and from what I''ve heard, a great warrior. You should set her as your role model and try to do something meaningful with your life. Don''t think that you can leech me forever. I won''t even let you visit the Palace once I marry you off."


    "Ugh!" Rebekah winced and then grabbed her hair as if she was going to pull them out of her head. "Enough with the praises for Adeline! I cannot stand it anymore. Please! Either bring her here already or just stop talking about her altogether."


    "I''m going to bring-"


    Suddenly, she wrapped her arm around Reginald''s neck in a chokehold and teased him, "And who says that I am going to marry anyone? I''m going to stay right here and take over the throne after you die."


    Reginald coughed and then tried to break free from her chokehold. He pulled her hand a little and scolded her in a ragged voice, "Are you trying to kill me right now or what? Let me breathe, you little arsehole."


    Rebekah laughed and then let go of her brother. And she taunted him, "If you ever take Adeline''s name in front of me before you marry her first, then I am going to choke you until you pass out. Or worse, the moment you take her name, I''m going to put a curse on you saying that Adeline will reject you."


    Reginald wrinkled his brows and gently rubbed his throat. "You''re not even my step-sister, you''re my own sister! How can you be so cruel to your own brother?"


    "You wanted me to do something meaningful with my life, right? This is me doing meaningful things." Rebekah showed her tongue to Reginald and whooshed away.


    "That damned brat! She cannot stand my happiness!" Reginald glared towards the door.


    He shook his head and walked towards his throne so that he could sit down and daydream about Adeline again.

 Chapter 358 - Invitations

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    It was already nightfall. By now, everyone in Wyverndale Palace had already seen or heard about the angelic man who came with a marriage proposal for Adeline.


    Several rumors were already starting to spread around the Palace like wildfire. Some were saying that the suitor was Adeline''s secret lover because of how he was openly hugging Adeline. Some were saying that the suitor was too handsome for Adeline. And some were saying that the Prince was from a small Kingdom so he was simply after the Kingdom and not after Adeline.


    King Dragomir was well aware of how the rumors in the Palace worked. Even a small irrelevant issue would go around and turn into something big just because of the baseless rumors.


    And not wanting the matter regarding Adeline and Theodore to turn into something that was not, the King decided to send the wedding invitation to those inside the Palace first.


    "If I give them something real to talk about then they will stop spreading nonsensical rumors," Dragomir thought to himself as he rolled the last invitation letter that was to be sent to the quarters of the Royals.


    Several clerks were still copying the invitation letters that were to be sent out to the distinguished guests from influential families and to the Royal families of the neighboring Kingdoms.


    Dragomir looked around at everyone who was working around him. And then he ordered Bennett who looked like he had finished the assigned quota of letters already, "Bennett, will you call the messengers?"


    "Sure, Your Majesty," Bennett got up from where he was sitting and ran out of the workroom.


    Adeline had already given the measurements for her gown. After returning back to her quarter, she had to answer a lot of questions to her personal maids. They were really happy to know that the Prince of Romania was a good man and also a handsome one.


    "If you like him then that''s all that matters," Hawisa smiled and lovingly caressed Adeline''s hair.


    Before having dinner, she went to the stable to talk with Arion and feed him as usual.


    "I felt Theodore and Azriel''s presence today. Were they here?" Arion asked as he munched on some grains.


    Adeline smiled and shyly updated him on the recent development, "Yes. They were here. Theodore and I are going to get married after two weeks."


    Arion almost choked on the grains that he was munching on. "What? You two are getting married?" Arion gave a surprised gaze to Adeline.


    Adeline gently rubbed Arion''s neck and nodded.


    "Finally! My two masters are going to be together!" Arion happily rubbed his head against Adeline''s shoulder.


    "Ooh! Someone''s here!" Arion whispered to Adeline and went back to acting like a normal horse.


    Adeline also quietly fed Arion and waited for the lurker to either come to her or go away so that she could freely talk with her pet.


    After about five full minutes, the person lurking in the shadows finally stood behind Adeline and spoke very cautiously, "Umm�� Adeline�� how are you?"


    Adeline was not expecting to hear that voice at all. She thought that it was either Raphael or Alan, but to her surprise, it was Nefriti.


    Adeline turned to face Nefriti and gave a surprised smile. "Nefriti! I''m good. And what about you?"


    Nefriti gave a mirthless smile and replied, "I''ve been better."


    There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. The only sound that could be heard for a while was Arion chewing his grains. Even he could feel the tension in the air.


    Adeline took the initiative to talk and said, "It''s been quite a long time since we last talked. I never even saw you around the Palace. What have you been busy with?"


    Nefriti looked down because she was reminded of the last time they had talked with each other �C when she had helped to kidnap Adeline.


    "Nothing much." She scratched her head and spoke with an embarrassed tone, "I was mostly staying at my maternal uncle''s place. I couldn''t bring myself to face you after what I did that day. Umm... I heard that you had even forgiven Edwin. So I dared to come to you to ask for your forgiveness."


    Nefriti took a deep breath in and forced herself to look into Adeline''s eyes. And she remorsefully said, "Adeline, will you forgive me for that day? I was blinded by greed for the throne and I did things that I had never imagined myself doing. And there hasn''t been a day when I haven''t regretted that decision of mine."


    Adeline tried to read Nefriti''s face and she could indeed see a hint of disdain and remorse in her eyes. But she was unsure if Nefriti was really trying to make amends or if she had some other hidden motives.


    Like the saying, once bitten twice shy, Adeline was wary of forgiving Nefriti.


    Nonetheless, she decided to play along and said, "If you really regretted what you did for all this time then it would be cruel not to forgive you."


    Nefriti''s face lit up and she asked with a tinge of excitement, "Does that mean you are willing to forgive me for my foolishness?"


    Adeline smiled and nodded her head, "Yes."


    "Thank you so much, Adeline." Nefriti happily clasped her hands together. And she didn''t waste a second to congratulate her, "And I got the invitation from His Majesty. I was so surprised when I got to know about your wedding, but I''m really happy for you. Congratulations!"


    "Ah! Father already sent out the invitation�� Thank you!" Adeline''s cheeks turned red thinking that everyone in the Palace now knew about her wedding.


    Indeed, everyone in the Palace had already received the invitation. Some of the Royals were happy to know that Adeline was getting married, some didn''t really care, while some of the Princesses who had seen Theodore with their own two eyes were jealous.


    Adeline returned back to her quarter after feeding Arion and walking Nefriti back to her quarter.


    She had her dinner and excitedly waited for Theodore to show up. She wanted to ask what he would be wearing for their wedding. And she also wanted to get his input on how he would want the quarter to be redecorated.


    Theodore appeared in her room at his usual time.


    "Theo! I was waiting for you." Adeline swayed her hips as if she was a happy child.


    But unlike what she had expected, Theodore burst her bubble of happiness, "Er�� I was thinking of sleeping over at Azriel''s tonight. I wanted to thank him for helping us out today."


    "Hmm��" Adeline pouted her lips and gave a puppy-eyed look to Theodore. And she complained in a baby-like voice, "But you said you wanted to make a baby tonight!"


    Theodore burst into laughter all of a sudden and pulled Adeline for a hug. He then lovingly bit Adeline''s cheek and whispered, "We have a lot of time ahead of us to make babies. Don''t worry about that."


    "So, you really are going?" Adeline asked while tightening her arms around Theodore.


    "Yes." Theodore gently stroked Adeline''s back and asked, "Will you be able to sleep alone tonight?"


    Adeline sighed and replied, "Okay, I will." She finally left her grip on Theodore and asked before he left, "Tell Azriel that I have forgiven him�� a little.. I will forgive him completely if he keeps on behaving well."


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 Chapter 359 - Clinging

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    Azriel was already deep in his sleep when Theodore teleported to the bedroom. Theodore kept on watching Azriel for a while, contemplating whether or not to wake him up. He was sleeping so peacefully that for a moment, he thought of returning to Adeline''s chamber.


    But in the end, he decided to stay. He stretched his arms and his back and then aimed at the empty spot on the bed. A mischievous grin appeared on his face before he jumped as noisily as he could.


    Azriel gasped and instantly sat up on the bed. He swiftly turned to check if the ceiling had fallen on his bed.


    But he was surprised to see that his younger brother was spreading his arms and legs and was pretending to be asleep.


    He narrowed his eyes and asked Theodore, "Uh�� what are you doing?"


    Without even opening his eyes, Theodore said in a monotone, "Having a sleepover at my brother''s place. Any problem?"


    Azriel scoffed in disbelief and folded his arms. "Er�� yes! I have a problem because it so happens that that brother is me. And neither you had asked my permission for a sleepover, nor did I invite you."


    Azriel poked Theodore with his leg and tried to push him off of the bed. But Theodore was sticking on the bed like some glue. Azriel gave up trying to push him and sighed, "Can you go back to your own room? Or��" he satirically coughed and said, "Or wherever it is that you sleep at night�� making babies."


    Theodore opened his eyes and gave an intense glare to Azriel while Azriel was flicking his brows and was chuckling.


    Theodore rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket to cover himself.


    Azriel raised his brows and asked, "Oh, baby brother! Didn''t you hear what I just said? Why are you making yourself comfortable? Just go and spend the night with your wife-to-be." He landed back on the bed and closed his eyes. Then said while sighing, "And leave me and my bed alone."


    Instead of listening to Azriel, Theodore turned to face his brother and wriggled closer. He wrapped Azriel''s arm with both of his hands as if he was a small baby and closed his eyes.


    Azriel laughed quietly and asked, "What is it? Why are you acting like a baby? Wanted to reminisce our past?"


    Theodore also smiled and said, "You always used to make me sleep with you when I was little. And Samael used to get jealous saying that you loved me more than him."


    A wistful smile appeared on Azriel''s lips when he recalled their childhood. It seemed like a distant memory now, the heaven, the family, and that life.


    "Samael and you used to fight all the time. Not that you two don''t fight now!" Azriel chuckled and asked, "By the way, I heard that you two have equal strength now. Did any of you manage to increase your power level or are both of you at a stalemate?"


    Theodore clicked his tongue and answered, "We both are at a stalemate. I cannot wait to surpass him and get that sword."


    "What''s the deal with you and that sword? Why do you want it so desperately anyway?" Azriel was really curious to know why Theodore was after that sword that could wield hellfire.


    And Theodore answered truthfully, "I was not planning to but I happened to see a vision accidentally. In that vision, I was using that sword. And I genuinely feel like I need to have it, no matter what."


    Azriel opened his eyes and turned to gaze at his brother. A few worry lines appeared on his forehead as he was concerned for Theodore. "Doesn''t your vision bring trouble for you? That was the sole reason why you were kicked out of Heaven. So why are you so hellbent on gaining that sword? Maybe, you got that vision so that you could avoid it."


    Theodore took a deep sigh. He puckered his lips and he seemed like even he was still in doubt. "I also thought about that vision a lot. I don''t know why I was wielding that sword but it really looked like I needed to. And�� I don''t know�� I didn''t want to deliberately look into the future and seek answers. So for now, I think I will just try my best to have that sword in my possession, in case I need it in the future."


    "Just make sure that you don''t make a foolish mistake as you made in the past. Visions aren''t to be played with." Azriel sounded really serious when he gave that piece of advice to his brother.


    They were quiet for some time. Azriel waited for some time for Theodore to reveal his true intention behind coming to his place.


    But after a while, he gave up waiting and asked, "So, why are you here anyway?" He scoffed and added, "And why are you willingly sleeping on my bed and clinging to me. It''s very unlike you."


    Theodore tightened his grip on Azriel''s arm and shrugged, "Nothing much. I just wanted to say thank you. Adeline and I are finally going to get married, all thanks to you."


    Azriel smirked and teased his brother, "Your brother is great, isn''t he?"


    And rather than taunting Azriel, Theodore smiled and simply accepted, "Yes, he is."


    Azriel furrowed his brows in disbelief. "What? Did you just agree that I''m great? Is something wrong with you today, baby brother? Did you get so happy that a few veins of your brain ruptured? Or did you finally lose it after living on for millenials."


    Theodore opened his eyes just to roll them at Azriel. "Shut up! Just take the appreciation when I''m giving it to you. Don''t make me regret coming here."


    "That''s more like it." Azriel smiled again and said, "You are not you without your crankiness."


    Azriel let out a sigh and questioned as if he was still in disbelief, "Honestly, I don''t know what Adeline saw in you�� But then again, she has her quirks. Not a single woman had dared to slap me in my long and lonely life. And she did that without even flinching or giving it a second thought."


    "Be thankful that all she did was slap you." Theodore remembered what Adeline had told him before coming to his brother''s place. And he passed on that message, "By the way, Adeline said that she has forgiven you a little. She said she will forgive you completely if you behave well."


    A wide grin appeared on Azriel''s face. He felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off of his head. The guilt that had been eating him up was now lessened to some extent. "Tell Adeline that I will never betray her trust again."


    And he said in a whisper, "I hope that everything that I did will make her forgive me completely�� when she knows of it."


    For some reason, Theodore felt a little sad. Both the brothers closed their eyes to get some sleep.


    And Azriel could tell that he was going to wake up tomorrow with a numb hand.. Theodore had fallen asleep while clinging onto his hand, just like he used to when he was a toddler.


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 Chapter 360 - Seducing Out The Information

    After taking a one-day break, George returned from Mihir to Wyverndale to continue spying on everything that was happening in Wyverndale. He reached to his hideout place in the Golden Street before the sunrise and crashed for a while to recuperate the energy that he expended while running.


    When the sun wasn''t even shining, he heard the sound of countless hooves running across the street. He would have ignored it if it was just a few horses. But the sound of hooves almost didn''t stop.


    "Why are they taking out so many horses at once? Did something big happen when I was gone for a day?" George got up from the bed and then went and gulped down a vile of potion before stepping closer to the window and opening the curtains.


    He narrowed his eyes on the street and he could tell that the ones riding the horses weren''t the typical soldiers but the messengers. "Hmm�� why are so many messengers taking off? Is something about to happen soon?"


    "I have to find out whatever it is. It does seem like a big deal considering the countless messengers being sent out." George carefully studied the face of the messengers that passed by the street. He picked up a target and smirked.


    Then he quickly put on his clothes and went to the roof of the house that he was hiding at. He kept on watching his target until his eyes could catch them. And then he jumped across the roofs of the houses like a blur and caught up with that messenger in no time.


    He sneakily followed that messenger so that he could trap them when they would reach a secluded area.


    After a while, that messenger was about to cross a narrow path through the forest. George ran a little further ahead and lay down while blocking the path. He then pretended to be asleep.


    The messenger arrived at where he was in no time. He could hear the horse neighing loudly and the messenger getting off of the horse. A sweet smell entered his nose, almost prompting him to grab that messenger and dig his fangs.


    "Sir, are you alright?" he could hear a sweet voice calling out to him and he could feel that messenger leaning closer to him.


    He slowly fluttered his eyelashes and opened his eyes. He seductively stretched his arms and looked into the light brown eyes of the woman who was already enchanted by his looks.


    He held his head and pretended to not know how he was sleeping in the middle of the road. "Where am I? How did I get here? Ugh! My head hurts so much."


    That messenger gulped and took a deep breath in before asking, "Sir, will you tell me where you live? I can help you get back to your home."


    "Will you help me get up first?" George offered his cold and slender hand to that woman.


    And she happily took his hand and helped him up. While she was flustered and lost in his cold touch, George managed to sneakily take a look at her and her backpack that was loaded on the horse. It looked like the scrolls were in her backpack.


    "Sir, you are so cold. Let me help you to get to your home," the messenger offered her help again.


    George smiled and gladly took her help. "Yes, please. I don''t think I can walk. My legs are so numb." He put his arms around that woman''s shoulder and acted as if he was not even able to handle the weight of his own body. And he asked in an enchanting tone, "Will you take me to the Golden Street? I live there."


    The woman couldn''t deny when a handsome and helpless man was asking for her help. So she walked him to her horse and then asked, "Sir, will you be able to get on the horse on your own? I will have to climb first."


    "Yes, I will manage," George gave a warm smile to that messenger and watched her get on her horse.


    He didn''t waste any time and easily mounted the horse. The messenger made the horse turn around and then they headed towards the Golden Street.


    While on the way, he sneakily looked into the backpack that was sitting in between him and the messenger. He took out a scroll and carefully opened it. He then pretended to rest his head on that woman''s back and read the contents of the scroll.


    His red eyes almost popped out when he realized that the scroll was an invitation to the wedding ceremony of none other than Princess Adeline. He rolled back the scroll and thought to himself, "Oh lord! Why is this happening? And how? Last I checked, Princess Adeline was not seeing any suitors."


    He wanted to know if there was any mistake from his side when gathering information so he rested his chin on that messenger''s shoulder and asked in his melodious voice, "Milady, is some disaster befalling the Kingdom? I think I heard a lot of horses running around. I don''t know if I was dreaming or if it was real though."


    That messenger was barely managing to focus on the path when she heard him speak so close to her ear. And before her mind could register that the marriage was still a secret to the public, she ended up revealing it to George, "No, it is rather the opposite. A great thing is about to happen. Our Future Queen is getting married."


    George acted to be surprised and asked, "Really? With whom?"


    "I heard that he was the Second Prince of Romania," that woman replied very readily.


    And George finally asked what he had wanted to ask, "Second Prince huh? Was he seeing the Princess for a long time?"


    The messenger shook her head and denied, "No. We had never seen the Prince before. He came to the Palace yesterday and everything was fixed. Everyone in the Palace is surprised by how fast everything is happening."


    "Hmm. So everything happened in a single day��" he let out a quiet sigh and thought to himself, "How did that Second Prince come out of nowhere and made the Princess agree to a marriage? That also on the very day when I was not here?"


    They were approaching the Golden Street already, so George asked the messenger, "Milady, you can drop me off here. I live close by."


    "Sure." The messenger stopped the horse on the side of the road and then before George got off from the horse, she asked, "Sir, do I need to walk you to your house or will you manage on your own."


    George got off from the horse and then gave a polite smile to the messenger. "I''ve already troubled you a lot, milady. And my legs feel a little better than before. So, I will walk on my own." He gave a gentle bow added, "Thank you for showing kindness to me."


    "No problem, sir," the messenger smiled while blushing. And then she headed back to where she was originally going.


    George took a deep sigh and his face looked like dark clouds, ready to downpour at any moment.. "The King is going to be so mad when he hears this news."

 Chapter 361 - Fake

    George was very restless by the time he reached his hideout place.


    "What do I do? Do I run back to Mihir again and inform the King about this unfortunate development?" George paced back and forth while holding his arms behind his back.


    "No! He might even kill me for delivering this unfavorable news! He is one unpredictable vampire." He took in a deep breath and pushed his dark hair back in frustration.


    He dropped on his bed and replayed his conversation with the messenger and what he read in the invitation letter. He was trying to find some leverage that he could have missed.


    "So that Second Prince came to the Palace yesterday�� and the marriage was fixed yesterday itself��" he tapped his finger on his forehead and kept on whispering to himself, "and the marriage is after two weeks�� why is it going to happen so fast? Normally, the preparations for the Royal wedding take months or even a year! So what''s going on here?"


    He closed his eyes and tried to think of the reason that could have prompted the King of Wyverndale to fix the marriage so urgently.


    "Is the King joining hands with some powerful Kingdom?" he clicked his tongue and tried recalling the name of the Kingdom from where the groom was. "Romania was it? Yes! But that''s a very small Kingdom across the oceans."


    He felt like pulling his hair out when suddenly he remembered something, "Wait! Second Prince of Romania? But there''s no Second Prince in Romania. As far as I remember from what the Minister of Trade once told me, there''s only one Prince in Romania. All the others are Princesses. I remember him saying how beautiful the Princesses were."


    George got up on his feet and clapped his hands. "Aha! That''s it! I got some leverage that will help me avoid some dangerous fate. If I say that the Prince is fake, then His Majesty might not be angry at me."


    "But look at my rotten fate! How come I happened to serve under that child? I am on my nerves even when none of this is my fault! I think I should just quit my position and spend the rest of my life in seclusion."


    He gently patted his head and tried to put his frustration away. "I can do that later on. For now, I will have to inform the King at the earliest. He could get mad at me if I''m late at delivering this message.


    He then went to grab a few vials of potions from his bag and kept them inside his pocket.


    He was mumbling to himself and trying to make himself believe that the King wouldn''t be angry at him, "That fake Prince might have tricked King Dragomir into fixing the marriage so soon. If our King makes the King of Wyverndale aware about this matter and prevents the Princess from marrying a fake Prince, then it will be easier for King Reginald to win over the heart of both father and the daughter."


    He looked out of the window and then thought to himself, "Okay. I don''t have any other option than to head back right away. To avoid the crowd, I should take the longer path."


    George stretched out his hands for a while and also his legs. "I should have waited for a day or two to deliver the message regarding Lillian''s imprisonment. Then I could have given both the news at once."


    "Nope! Then he would have blamed me for this sudden marriage saying if I had brought the news about Lillian just a day earlier then that suitor could have been him instead of that fake Prince. I did the right thing by running that very evening."


    "Now, I shall do the same�� delivering the message right after finding it out myself."


    In the blink of an eye, he leaped out of the back window and then ran at the speed of lightning.


    ---


    Adeline was inside King Dragomir''s workroom and she and Dragomir were checking off the things from the to-do list.


    Dragomir was speaking while ticking on the paper, "Invitations sent, gown measurement given, called the carpenters for redecoration, tasked the Royal chef to come up with menus for the wedding banquet, assigned money for the granary to stock the raw foods��"


    Adeline watched a lot of things getting ticked off the list and thought, "Our father does know how to work a lot. He got so many things done already."


    Even though she was excited about the wedding, her mind was also stuck on the letter that the King of Mihir had sent.


    Her father was too immersed in planning out the wedding and it seemed like he had completely forgotten about the letter.


    So, when Dragomir put down his brush, Adeline asked, "Father, have you written a reply letter to the King of Mihir?"


    Dragomir scratched his head and said, "Ah! I forgot that I had received a letter from Mihir." He massaged his temples with his fingers and closed his eyes for a while. And then he looked at Adeline to say, "I think we should have the meeting after the wedding is over. I don''t want our moods to be ruined if things go south in that meeting."


    Adeline would have liked it if the meeting was held as soon as possible. But what her father said was also sensible. As far as she could tell, the meeting wasn''t going to end well. So, she thought that waiting two weeks to hold the meeting was not such a bad idea.


    She nodded her head and smiled, "I think you are right. We should avoid anything that could cause trouble before the wedding."


    "On that note," Dragomir pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and said, "I should send them the letter saying the same. I completely forgot about it yesterday."


    Adeline smiled at her father. "I will return to my workroom then. I have to catch up on a few things."


    "Sure."


    Adeline walked back to her workroom while thinking about the things that she had to do. "Okay, regardless of when the meeting with the Vampire King is going to be held, I have to hold a meeting informing all the Generals and other related people to talk about the war. It''s better to start preparing now."


    "Oh," Adeline smiled and thought, "It would be nice if I could teleport to Aberdeen and personally invite Nigel and Rhea. I will ask Theodore after having the meeting first."


    Adeline then went to her workroom and listed the names of people who she trusted and who needed to know about the upcoming vampire war.


    She then gave a sound to her assistant, "Bennett, will you come here?"


    When Bennett appeared in her room, she handed over the list of names and asked him, "Will you gather everyone on the list for an urgent meeting? I need all of them to be present in the meeting room after an hour."


    Bennett took the list and saw that the list included names of all the Generals and a few others including his. And he asked, "Is the meeting going to be about the said war, Your Highness?"


    Adeline sighed and confirmed, "Yes.. We need to start preparing without wasting any more days."

 Chapter 362 - Brainstorming

    The meeting that Adeline had called started from midday. All eight of the Generals, Bennett, Edwin, Raphael, and two of the councilmen who looked after the foreign affairs and treasury were present in the meeting.


    Unlike what Adeline had thought, the meeting wasn''t over within an hour or two. It went on for hours and it still wasn''t over.


    If Adeline just had to relay the information about the war, then probably the meeting would have been a short one. But she had to make everyone believe that creatures called vampires existed and that the King of Mihir was also a vampire.


    And considering how none of them, except Adeline, had ever encountered a Vampire in real life, it took some time to convince them of the threat that was looming over them like an eclipse.


    After hours of convincing, they were finally discussing the ways they could tailor the training of the soldiers so that they would at least have a small chance of killing those bloodsuckers.


    "Yes, exactly!" Adeline agreed with what General Osmond had proposed, "If they train to fight while being blindfolded, then their sense of hearing will improve a lot. And in this case, that is exactly what we need."


    "A question, just how fast can they run?" General Herwin asked while scratching his head in frustration.


    "From what I''ve heard, the vampires can run at a great speed. The turned vampires can at least be kept track of with our eyes but the pure-blooded ones will just look like a blur to us," Adeline sighed and began tapping the tip of her brush on the paper.


    The more she explained about the vampires, the more she felt that they were going to have an unwinnable war.


    Her only hope was her brother Nigel. She wished that the werewolves would come to their aid.


    The room went quiet for some time. All of those who were present in the meeting were brainstorming other possible things that could be advantageous to them.


    After a while, Raphael asked Adeline, "Ade, you said that the vampires'' weakness is their heart, right?"


    "Yes, they can be killed if a wooden stake is driven to their heart," Adeline gave a defeated look to Raphael. She had no idea how they were going to do that when the human eyes wouldn''t even be able to keep track of vampires'' movement.


    Raphael then suggested an idea. "Why don''t we upgrade our weapons accordingly? I had come across an artisan who had designed an interesting weapon called a crossbow. It is an automated bow which can shoot up to six arrows at once."


    "Six arrows at once?" Adeline''s interest peaked when she heard that.


    "Yes," Raphael nodded and then continued to explain, "So, why don''t we mass-produce that weapon? And instead of the metal arrowhead, we can make the wood''s tip really pointy. That crossbow throws the bows at a greater speed than our normal bows. So, those wooden bows might just do the trick."


    He shrugged and added, "I mean our archers are pretty good at aiming. So, even when they shoot at a rapidly moving target, at least one arrow out of those six could hit right on the chest."


    "That actually sounds really good." Adeline smiled and noted it down in the paper. And she looked at everyone present in the room and asked, "Are there any other suggestions?"


    ---


    In the forest behind the outer village, all the witches of the Mystic Coven were standing outside while surrounding a round black object. This was the fourteenth time that they were doing this in a matter of two days.


    "Okay, everyone cover your ears!" Tabitha ordered her fellow sisters as she walked close to that object and then lit up a thread that was hanging from that object like a tail.


    Tabitha also backed away from the vicinity of that object and joined the others while covering both of her ears.


    That object flew high up in the air and made a loud exploding sound. The moment it exploded, its color changed from black to glowing yellow.


    The witches who were watching that object from down below began to cheer and clap. Their test was a success.


    "We did it!" Tabitha whispered as she proudly looked at that object.


    That object almost looked like a tiny sun and it worked the same way as the sun. It gave brightness to a considerably large area. The light from that object had entered through the tall trees and a part of the forest looked like it was under bright daylight.


    And it didn''t just give the brightness. It also gave the warmth like the sun. Meaning, it would affect the vampires just like the sun.


    Agnes tied her hair into a bun because she was feeling a little too hot. She fanned herself with her palm and asked the High Priestess, "Will these flares be able to kill the vampires?"


    Tabitha wiped the sweat beads off of her forehead and answered, "If they have not taken their potion that protects them from the effects of the sun, then yes, they''ll burn to their death."


    They kept on watching the flare and after about two minutes, the light dimmed down and slowly it died altogether. The remains of that flare turned into ashes and disappeared.


    ---


    Councilmen Gilbert, who was folding his arms and staying quiet until now finally spoke, "Your Highness, since we already know where they are planning to ambush us, why don''t we secretly put traps? As the fight will happen in the plain ground, we can dig holes and put huge wooden stakes in that holes."


    Adeline thought for a while and said, "The idea is nice. But what if our own soldiers fall inside those holes?"


    General Osmond then came up with a solution, "Why don''t we ask the witches to do some kind of spells on those holes? They can make the holes to activate only when stepped by the vampires. Can''t they make it happen?"


    Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line and noted it down in her paper. "I will ask them if that is possible or not."


    Then suddenly, another General looked at Edwin and asked, "Prince Edwin, can''t you ask for help from Frostford? I''m quite sure that the witches and wizards will be an equal match to those vampires. I have seen a witch throw away an elephant just with a flip of her hand. So, I''m pretty sure that sending a couple of vampires flying away won''t be much of a big deal to them."


    Everyone in the room gazed at Edwin and looked for a positive reply.


    Prince Edwin sighed and explained, "My mother has already riled the King of Frostford up against Wyverndale. If I tell my uncle that I need them to fight from the side of Wyverndale, then he will know that I''m playing a double role with King of Mihir."


    He sighed again and added, "But let''s see. I will try talking with my uncle. I might end up gaining their support."


    A tinge of relief appeared on everyone''s face, including Adeline''s. She had already asked a lot from Edwin and she couldn''t bring herself to ask for more. But she was thankful that someone else did the job for her.


    She gave a grateful look to Edwin and said, "I will trust you to it then, brother."


    Then she looked at everyone and concluded the meeting. "I think all of us have already exhausted our ideas for now. But if you come up with some new ideas, then feel free to share them with me, no matter how ridiculous they sound. I know that conventional ways won''t work in this war."


    "And�� everyone��" She added while getting up and collecting all of her papers, "Please don''t forget that you are not to disclose what we discussed here today to anyone else until I say so, not even to the King."


    She glanced at everyone in the room and said in a serious tone, "I will first sit down in the meeting with the vampire King. And after hearing what he says, I will slowly break the news to the King if things really go down to war."


    Before they dispersed, Raphael cleared his throat and stopped his sister, "Adeline, I had yet to say something."


    Everyone thought that it was something they shouldn''t miss so all of them paid attention to Raphael.


    Raphael gave a warm smile and tried to cheer his tired sister up by saying, "Congratulations! I got the invitation letter from His Majesty. I''m really happy for you."


    And everyone else also followed the suit and said simultaneously, "Congratulations, Your Highness."


    Adeline''s mood elevated in an instant.. She gave a cheerful smile and thanked everyone.

 Chapter 363 - Furious King

    It was already nightfall by the time George reached the capital of Mihir. But rather than heading straight for the Palace, he headed towards the place of the witch that he knew.


    That witch''s place wasn''t too far away from the Palace, so he thought of visiting there first. "I don''t think any disaster will befall the Kingdom if I meet the King 10 minutes late. He doesn''t even know that I''m coming anyway. So I should be fine until I keep my mouth shut."


    After reaching the witch''s place, he went inside without caring to knock on the door.


    A beautiful young witch with long dark hair was working on some kind of potion. And she almost dropped the whole pot because of the sudden intrusion. "Lord George! You startled me!" she complained in a soft voice.


    "I''m sorry! But I really needed to see you." He hastily turned around to reveal his burnt back. The outer layer of his pale skin had peeled off.


    And his back looked so red and gruesome that the witch covered her mouth and gagged.


    After gaining her composure, she asked, "Oh dear lord! What happened to you, Milord?"


    George tore off the remaining part of his shirt and threw it aside. And replied, "I was already used to taking the potion that lasted for a whole day. And I forgot that I was carrying the ones that only covered around three hours of sunlight. I was running back and got burnt in the way."


    He sat down in front of the witch and added, "Thankfully, I was carrying the vials in my pocket. I searched for a shade and took a vile. I almost burned alive!"


    "I''m so sorry to hear that, Milord. I will heal you right away." The witch then pointed her palms at George''s back and began to chant the healing incantation.


    A white light came out of her palms and slowly and gradually, the skin on George''s back began to heal. The color of the skin also turned from red to porcelain-like texture like before. After his skin was healed, she took the liberty to give a gentle massage to George.


    George didn''t deny it because the stiffness and soreness from his back were disappearing.


    As he had predicted, the healing process was completed within 10 minutes. George got up and turned around to face the witch.


    The witch was resisting her urge to take a peek of George''s bare chest.


    "Thank you, Gina. I will come and pay you after I complete my work in the Palace." George said with an enchanting smile on his face.


    Gina smiled back and nodded her head.


    George clicked his tongue and asked, "You don''t happen to have a man''s cloth, do you?"


    Gina gave a nervous chuckle and shook her head. "I''m sorry. But I have a shawl that you can use to cover up your body. Shall I lend it to you?"


    George didn''t have the luxury to pick and choose so he smiled and agreed, "Sure. That will do."


    He wrapped around the shawl on his upper body and then zoomed out like a gust of wind.


    George reached the Palace in no time. He went straight to the throne hall and bowed to the King who was scribbling something on the paper. "Your Majesty, I have a��" he took a deep breath in and continued, "I have bad news."


    Reginald''s gaze shifted from the paper to George. He couldn''t help but notice the weird choice of George''s cloth. He would have teased George if he wasn''t wearing a concerned expression on his face. "What is it? What made you return back so soon?"


    George looked down and then blurted out, "King Dragomir is sending out the invitation letters. Princess Adeline''s marriage has been fixed with a?"


    Reginald jumped out of his throne and stood right in front of George before he could even finish his sentence. "What did you just say?" Without wasting any time, he grabbed George''s neck.


    But before the King could choke him, George finished his sentence, "��fake Prince. I don''t think they know that the Prince is a fake one."


    Reginald narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. He glared at George for a few seconds and ordered, "Explain!" He was still holding George''s neck, ready to snap it if he spoke one wrong word.


    Without flinching, George explained everything to the King, about how there was no Second Prince in Romania but King Dragomir had been fooled by someone saying that he was the Second Prince.


    He also theorized that the marriage was being held so fast so that the fake Prince would get to marry the Princess before King Dragomir would get the chance to discover the lie.


    "My King, if you give this news to the King then I am sure that things will work out in your favor," George also gave the idea to the King so that he wouldn''t be punished simply for delivering bad news.


    Reginald finally left George and then gave his suggestion serious consideration.


    Even if George hadn''t hinted the King to talk with King Dragomir, and even if the Prince wasn''t a fake one, Reginald would still have tried to sabotage the wedding. He would even have resorted to kidnaping the bride from the altar. And when it was clear that the Prince was fake, there wasn''t much thinking to do.


    "That''s it! I''m going to Wyverndale tomor? tomorrow?" Reginald stopped and spat on the ground in order to correct himself, "Today! Now! I''m going to Wyverndale right now."


    Lord Horace didn''t even dare to speak because he could see the fire in the King''s eyes. He knew that he would die the moment he would try to oppose the King.


    "Guards!" Reginald shouted at the top of his lungs, almost bursting the eardrums of vampires in the vicinity.


    His Royal Guards immediately appeared in front of him and bowed.


    "Prepare the finest carriages and horses right away. We are heading for Wyverndale right now."


    The guards didn''t dare to ask why they needed the carriage and the horses. They simply bowed to the furious King and whooshed away.


    Reginald then glanced at Lord Horace and ordered him, "Please prepare the finest vials of potions and other items that I might need in this trip. And also prepare expensive gifts that I can offer to the Princess."


    Suddenly, Princess Rebekah appeared in the throne hall out of nowhere. She wasn''t hiding her excitement when she asked, "You''re going to Wyverndale in the carriage? Can I come with you? Please, please, please!"


    Reginald glared at Rebekah as if he wanted to give a flying kick to her.


    But Rebekah kept on insisting, "You didn''t even take me to Wyverndale the last time you went there. And I haven''t had a chance to ride a carriage in a long time. I promise that I will behave. So, will you let me join you? Please!"


    Rebekah pressed her palms together and gave a puppy-eyed look to Reginald.


    "Ugh! Stop staring at me like a ghost!" Reginald pushed Rebekah''s head away in disgust and shouted, "Go and pack your things before I change my mind."


    Rebekah jumped and hugged her brother in excitement. "Thank you so much, Reggie!" She then zoomed out while shouting, "Don''t leave without me!"

 Chapter 364 - Gloat

    The next day, Adeline had already finished getting ready to give a visit to Nigel and Rhea. In her excitement, she had already finished the preparation more than an hour earlier.


    She was sitting in front of her dressing table and was practicing how to break the news about her marriage. "Guess why I''m here? Hint �C it has nothing to do with the war!"


    "Tsk!" She clicked her tongue and glared at her own reflection. "That''s no way to give such great news."


    She narrowed her eyes and hummed for a while. And she whispered to herself, "Maybe I should go like this �C Rhea! Your wish has been granted! You are going to attend my marriage. That also just after two weeks! You''re very lucky!"


    She pulled her upper lips in disdain and scoffed, "You''re very lucky? Why the hell would she be lucky when you''re the one who is getting married?"


    "Ugh!" she drooped her shoulders and pressed her lips into a thin line. "Maybe I should just take an invitation letter with me and hand it over to them. They will know on their own after reading the letter."


    She covered her face and scolded herself, "Adeline!! Why are you being so nervous? It''s not like you''ve done something bad and you are going to give an excuse to them. Just say whatever comes to your mind when you meet them."


    She took a deep breath in and uttered under her breath, "Just make sure that they will attend your wedding."


    She got up and paced around the room for a while. But her nervousness wasn''t going away for some reason. So she decided to go to her workroom even when she had already notified her father saying that she would be going to Aberdeen with Theodore.


    Dragomir had readily agreed to her request just so he could hear about the twins when Adeline would return from her little trip.


    Adeline walked out of her castle while thinking about all the things that she had yet to do before the wedding. She wanted to head towards the King''s Court but when she was halfway, she changed her mind when her eyes fell on the back gate of the Palace.


    "I think I should check on her. I wonder how she is doing in her new home." Adeline narrowed her eyes and then headed straight for the dungeon.


    Hans greeted the Princess as soon as he saw her in front of the entrance of the dungeon.


    "Mr. Hans, I''m here to check up on Lillian. How is she doing? Is she showing her aggression?" Adeline asked the guard while he was lighting up the lantern.


    Hans took a deep breath in and replied, "Yes, Your Highness. She is quite a handful. She hasn''t been eating her food ever since she came to the dungeon. She was threatening me saying that she was going to starve herself to death. And she constantly tries to scare me saying that she will turn into a vengeful spirit and haunt me and the Palace."


    Adeline scoffed and the corner of her lips slightly curved upwards. "Yeah, right! As if she could take her own life! You don''t have to be scared of her threats. She will start eating when she cannot tolerate her hunger anymore."


    Hans carried the lantern in his hand and walked down the stairs to lead the Princess towards the cell where Lillian was kept.


    Adeline ordered him as they went further ahead, "And if she still refuses to eat after about a day or two, ask the kitchen staff to bring some liquid food and force-feed her. She is not dying such an easy death and neither is she turning into some spirit."


    "Yes, Your Highness. I will make sure to do that," Hans agreed to the Princess.


    Adeline reached in front of Lillian''s cell. A dim orange glow from the magic circle was constantly being emitted from the cell.


    Lillian was sitting on the narrow bed and was leaning on the cold stony wall while vacantly staring at the iron bars in front of her. She didn''t show any kind of reaction even after sensing Adeline''s presence.


    Adeline turned to look at Hans and nodded her head signaling him to leave them alone. He placed the lantern on the ground and then walked away while relying on the dim light being emitted from the torch at the other end of the dungeon.


    Adeline walked closer to the bar and enjoyed the look of despair on Lillian''s face.


    She then cleared her throat and asked in a mocking tone, "So, ex-queen Lillian, is this dungeon cell to your liking? I hope that the guards aren''t very rude to you."


    Lillian spoke in a dry whisper, "Came to gloat, Addy? Just go away," and rolled her eyes and turned her head away.


    Adeline smiled and agreed. "Yes, of course. I came here to rejoice in your pitiful state. It took me years of preparation and tons of courage to finally put you in there. So, yes, I am enjoying seeing you like this�� dirty and lifeless."


    Lillian got out of her bed and slowly and weakly walked towards the bars. She rested her palms on the transparent magical barrier and stared right into Adeline''s eyes to say, "Don''t think that you won by putting me in here. You don''t even know the surprise that is waiting for you."


    Adeline pouted her lips and asked while staring right back at her, "What surprise, Lillian? The war? Or the vampires?"


    Lillian''s face dropped when Adeline mentioned the vampire war.


    And Adeline chucked and mocked Lillian, "Are you that dumb to assume that Edwin would conceal such an important bit of news from me? Or did you think that Edwin is still on your side and he is somehow working to get you out of here?"


    Lillian clenched her fists when her threat didn''t even faze Adeline. But she still tried to provoke her, "You wouldn''t have been smiling this much if you knew just how much of a threat the vampires are. Keep on smiling while you can. The vampires will come and wipe everyone out, along with that smug smile off of your face."


    But Adeline didn''t let those words get to her. "You think that I have just been sleeping and lazing around? Let them come. Wyverndale will be ready to fight them back."


    "We''ll see." Lillian inhaled deeply and smirked. "Ohhhhh�� I cannot wait for the day when they will defeat you and take over this Kingdom."


    The witch cackled like a madwoman and screamed while spreading her arms, "I just got a new purpose of my life. I was mad to think of taking my own life. No! I won''t die before seeing the piles of dead bodies all over Wyverndale. I will bathe myself with your blood when that day finally comes."


    "Dream on!" Adeline shrugged and smiled, "If that motivates you to endure the cold wall and smelly air of this dungeon then I would be more than happy to let you dream."


    Adeline picked up the lantern from the ground and said smugly, "Ooh! And before I go, I have some good news for you. Ah! Sorry, my bad! It''s a piece of bad news for you."


    Adeline held the lantern right in front of Lillian''s face and said, "I''m getting married to the Devil''s brother. It''s all thanks to you for playing the role of the matchmaker. Hadn''t you kidnapped me and sent me to the Devil''s Cave to be devoured then I would have never met my soon-to-be husband."


    "So when you die, I''m going to ask the Devil to prepare a special place in Hell, just for you."


    Adeline smiled and winked at the dumbfounded Lillian before walking away with a sass.

 Chapter 365 - Devour

    Adeline felt really good when she boasted to Lillian and walked away.


    She was chuckling as she walked towards her quarter. And she was mumbling to herself, "Oh, the look on her face when she realized that I was getting married to the very Devil whom she thought would have devoured me."


    "I had never thought that boasting would bring so much satisfaction." She chuckled again and thought, "I hope that it will keep her awake for several days."


    Her sense of satisfaction and victory was very short-lived though.


    Her face turned gloomy all of a sudden and she prayed, "Let her rethink about the day that she had asked General Osmond to take me to the Devil''s Cave. I hope she figures out how I was back at the Palace. And I hope that the General''s daughter''s murder will burn her from the inside. I hope each and every murder that she did will eat her heart."


    Adeline reached to her room while thinking about all the things that Lillian had done until now.


    She sat down on her bed and clicked her tongue, "Argh! I shouldn''t have gone to see that witch before leaving for Aberdeen. Now my mood is rotten!"


    She then lay flat on her bed while spreading her arms and legs.


    And suddenly she heard a voice, "Whoa! How could you not notice a tall and handsome man like me? Is my charm decreasing or what?"


    Adeline smiled and turned her head in the direction from where the voice came from. She grinned and asked, "Theo, when did you come here?"


    Theodore teleported on the bed and instantly straddled Adeline and pressed her wrist with his palms. He leaned close to her lips and asked in a seductive voice, "First tell me, how come you didn''t even notice me? Have I stopped being appealing to you?"


    Adeline closed her eyes and laughed. She then looked back into his amber eyes and said in a complaining tone, "Theo! You know that''s not the case. Of course, you do appeal me a lot."


    She raised her head to peck his lips and said, "I just had a few things in my mind and I happened to not notice your presence. That''s all."


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and asked again, "You happened to not notice my presence? How can you not notice the presence of a charismatic Prince like me? The blinding light coming off of me should be enough to garner your attention."


    "Noooo! You just didn''t say that��" Adeline laughed out loud and asked, "Blinding light? What''s that even supposed to mean?"


    Theodore pouted his lips and left his grip on her hands to straighten his back. "Nevermind that. Let''s go."


    "Awww!" Adeline put her arms around Theodore''s neck and pulled him in. "Is my soon-to-be husband angry at me?"


    "Yes," Theodore gave a smoldering look to Adeline.


    Adeline caressed his jaw and slowly moved her thumb to his lips. She pulled him and gently brushed his warm lips with her lips. And she asked in a whisper, "Still angry?"


    "Uh-huh!" Theodore''s eyes were now stuck on Adeline''s lips. His lips parted a little, wanting more of her.


    Adeline bit his lower lip and gently pulled it. She was just planning to tease him but when his breath met hers, she could barely resist kissing him. She held his beautiful face and fully claimed his lips, giving soft and warm jabs with her hungry lips.


    Theodore was not the one to resist either, no matter how much he wanted to pretend to be angry with her.


    He completely rested his heavy body on her and was lost in her warmth. His hands automatically trailed down her curves and stopped on her voluptuous hips. He slid his hand under her hips to pull her up so that he could slide his knees under her.


    Adeline knew what he was going to do so she moaned as a way to protest through her sealed lips. She pulled away from the kiss and whispered, "Not now, Theo!"


    However, Theodore''s eyes had already turned red with burning desire. He was not going to be satisfied with a mere kiss. He wanted all of her. Now. He wanted to worship her with his tongue from her head to her toe.


    "Theo! We''re going to be late!" Adeline protested again as Theodore''s hand slid under her gown and up her thighs.


    "Shh�� I will be quick. I cannot wait for the nightfall to devour you." Theodore kissed her, this time with more hunger and passion. He brushed her lips with the tip of his tongue and pried her mouth open.


    Adeline gave up trying to protest and parted her lips invitingly. She felt the forceful thrusting of his tongue that came in like burning flames of desires. Her whole body went weak from that sweet taste of his mouth.


    She moaned in his mouth when she felt his hot fingertips on her sensitive area. She curled her toes and pressed her heels on the bed as he kept on rubbing her and making her excited for what was about to come.


    Theodore kept his promise to be quick as the foreplay ended soon enough. He pulled her legs and slammed his hips against her with one swift movement.


    Adeline arched her back like waves of the ocean when she felt him entering her body.


    He nipped her neck and her shoulders. And also began to thrust his hips at a rapid speed. Each and every inch of his body was screaming in pleasure from the warmth of her body.


    Adeline bit her lower lips to stop herself from moaning too loudly.


    She wrapped her legs around his waist and tightly grabbed his hair as he moved further down towards her bosoms. The gown that she wore while taking hours was loosened within a matter of seconds. And he was sucking on those gorgeous and soft breasts of hers.


    She was writhing and moaning in pleasure that he was giving her. Their bodies moved against each other in sync. Theodore was attacking her from everywhere and it was hard for her not to reach the ecstasy within a matter of a few minutes.


    Theodore also reached the height of sensation. He lifted his head up and pushed back his feather-like hair away from his sweaty face. He was breathing heavily so he took a moment to catch his breath. He then glanced at Adeline and gave a loving smile.


    He leaned down again to grab a quick peck of her lips. And he whispered, "I bet that we can stay locked up in this room for days and won''t ever get bored."


    Adeline smiled and hugged him tightly.. "We will have each other to entertain ourselves."

 Chapter 366 - You!

    After getting out of the bed, Theodore was helping Adeline to tie up the loose lace of her gown. "Is it tight enough?"


    Adeline had gathered her silver hair and was holding the tresses at the front. She tried moving her shoulders and it seemed to be comfortably tight. "Yes, it''s good."


    After tying up the string, Theodore then brought her hair to the back. Her hair was also a mess. The waves that Osanna had made were almost gone now. "Ah! I think I should help you comb your hair. It looks a little out of the place."


    "Really?" Adeline went and stood in front of the mirror and yes, it looked like she just got out of the bed, which she did.


    She glanced at Theodore who had followed her and asked, "Do you know how to comb my hair."


    "I can pretty much manage my own hair, so combing yours shouldn''t be much of a problem." Theodore made her sit down on the chair and then asked, "Pass me the comb, will you?"


    Adeline opened the drawer and rummaged through it to search the comb. Theodore''s eyes fell on the dragon pendant and a soft sigh escaped from his lips. His pupils dilated as if he was recalling something.


    He was brought out of his train of thoughts when Adeline passed him the comb, "Theo, here you go."


    Theodore gave a smile to Adeline''s reflection and grabbed the comb. He took a part of Adeline''s hair and he began to brush through them ever so softly.


    Adeline didn''t even feel that he was combing her hair. It just felt as though he was playing with them.


    "Can I pin your hair?" Theodore asked with excitement.


    Adeline raised her brows and smiled. "Sure," she replied a little skeptically.


    Theodore searched for perfect pins himself and after a while of brushing and putting on the pins, he put down the comb. He asked her to see if it was good. And it really was. He had rolled a small section of her hair and pinned it above her ears. It looked as good as when done by Osanna.


    "Oh my! Where did you learn how to do a woman''s hair? Are you sure you''ve never done this before?" Adeline asked while excitedly checking out her hair in the mirror.


    Theodore proudly held his head high and replied, "I am the Devil Prince who can beat up all the monsters of Hell in one go. So doing your hair was as easy as eating a pie. The Devil Prince doesn''t need to learn anything, everything comes very naturally to him."


    Adeline couldn''t help but grin while looking at him.


    She then got up and grabbed his hand. And she teasingly asked him, "Devil Prince, will you do the honor of teleporting me to Aberdeen now?"


    "Of course," Theodore pulled one of his hands away from Adeline''s hold and then said, "But before that, let''s take the precaution of concealing ourselves." He then cast the invisibility spell on both of them and also toned down his aura to the minimum.


    "Okay, we are all set to go." Theodore held Adeline''s hand and then the two of them teleported to Aberdeen.


    Theodore teleported Adeline in front of Nigel''s private chamber. He looked around to make sure that no one was around. And then he gently knocked on the door.


    "Yes, who is it?" They heard Nigel''s voice from inside the room.


    Adeline took a glance at Theodore and after getting a nod from him, she softly and teasingly spoke, "Guess who?"


    There was a moment of silence before Adeline and Theodore heard the footsteps quickly approaching towards the door.


    It was Nigel who opened the door. At first, he looked around in bewilderment when he didn''t see anyone around. But then he noticed a subtle dark aura in front of him and guessed correctly, "Adeline and Theodore?" He was staring at the dark aura while curling his brows.


    "Yes," he heard a soft whisper of his sister. He smiled and stood aside so that the two of them could enter the room.


    Rhea didn''t see anyone so she asked, "Who was it?"


    Nigel quickly closed the door and smiled, "They will show themselves."


    "What do you mean by that?" Rhea asked while rocking baby Niylah in her arms.


    Nigel didn''t need to answer because both Theodore and Adeline appeared in the middle of the room.


    "Oh my god!" Rhea widened her eyes in disbelief and almost instantly, her expression changed into that of excitement, "It''s our sweet couple!"


    Rhea rushed towards Adeline while still holding Niylah and then gave Adeline a side hug. "How are you, Adeline?" She glanced at Theodore and gave a gentle bow to which Theodore replied with a nod.


    "I''m all good," Adeline replied with a huge smile on her face.


    Nigel also came forward and tightly hugged his sister, "I was waiting for you to come. There are so many questions that I wanted to ask."


    He then turned towards Theodore and gave him a hug, "Theodore, it''s nice to see you again. I hope that you didn''t mind bringing my sister here."


    Theodore patted on Nigel''s back while saying, "Oh, I wouldn''t. Don''t you worry about that... Besides, we came here today because we both have something very important to tell you."


    Nigel pulled away from the hug and stared at Theodore with an unsettling look on his face. "Something important? Di-Did something happen?"


    Theodore gently chuckled and put his hand on Nigel''s shoulder. "Relax, we didn''t come here with bad news." He then glanced at Adeline who was by now, poking her niece''s chubby cheeks, and asked her, "Adeline, why don''t you give them the good news?"


    Rhea''s face lit up with curiosity when she heard that there was good news. Her eyes involuntarily traveled to Adeline''s belly for a fraction of seconds and she asked with a wide grin, "You have good news for us? Do tell us please."


    Nigel also turned around to face Adeline and then perked up his ears to hear the good news.


    Adeline wouldn''t have complained if Theodore would have given them the news but she knew that she was the one who needed to do the honors.


    So she took in a deep breath and cleared her throat, "Er�� Theodore and I are�� ge?"


    But before she could complete her sentence, someone was shouting from outside, "Nigel! I''m coming in."


    Nigel didn''t even get the chance to deny or say anything in response.


    Fenris flung open the door and rushed inside only to turn into a statue after seeing Adeline and Theodore in the room.


    His eyes were stuck on Theodore and he softly growled, "You��"

 Chapter 367 - First Transformation

    Adeline and Theodore''s hearts sunk when they heard the voice coming from outside. Before they could do anything about it, Fenris was already inside the room. And when they saw Fenris, both of them let out a sigh of relief because he already knew about the little secret of Theodore.


    But they were in for a great shock by what happened after.


    Fenris glared at Theodore and suddenly, his eyes turned amber in color.


    "His eyes!" Adeline thought to herself while staring at Fenris.


    Fenris'' expression changed that to an outraged one for some reason. He clenched his fists and gritted through his teeth, "You�� why are you here? And how dare you step in my territory?"


    Theodore kept on staring at him with utter calmness. Then he turned to look at Nigel and asked while circling his index finger around his temple, "Has his screw come loose? What is he saying?"


    "What did you just say? Are you trying to say that I''ve gone mad? You come to my Kingdom and then you try to insult me?" Fenris snarled at Theodore and began to inch closer to him with the intention to fight him.


    "Fenris! Shut it already!" Rhea shouted as she went to Ramon''s side to make sure that he wouldn''t get scared.


    Nigel gave out a nervous chuckle and sprinted towards Fenris. He tightly held Fenris and tried to speak calmly, "Fenris, why are you getting agitated for no reason? Just go outside okay? The twins will get scared if you start to shout like this."


    Fenris closed his eyes and tried to control his anger. He also apologized, "I''m so sorry! I don''t know why I''m feeling this way."


    "Okay, just go to your quarter for now. We will talk later," Nigel patted on Fenris'' back and tried to send him away.


    However, Fenris got triggered again and screamed, "Why should I be the one to go? Why can''t he go away?" Suddenly, his scream turned into a low and deep growl, "Why do you always treat me like crap and praise him? Why does everyone push me away?"


    Fenris'' eyes glowed again and this time, it looked worse than before. Sharp claws protruded from his fingers and everyone in the room heard a loud crack coming from his back. And he let out a very painful growl while arching his back as though his back had been broken into half.


    "Oh no!" Nigel had a look of horror on his face while looking at Fenris.


    They heard another crack from Fenris'' thigh and he fell to the ground on his knees.


    Nigel slowly stepped away from Fenris while softly warning Adeline and Theodore, "Uh! I think we all should run. This is his first transformation and there''s no guarantee how he will react after transforming completely." Nigel then shouted with urgency, "Rhea, get the babies."


    Theodore narrowed his eyes at the troublemaker and offered to help, "There''s no need to run. I will take him to the forest outside."


    He slowly walked and stood in front of Fenris and then looked down at him. His bones were constantly breaking and he was roaring and snarling in agonizing pain. Theodore understood why Fenris was acting so bizarrely. His mind wasn''t in the right place.


    Theodore then grabbed Fenris by his broken arm and almost instantly, both of them vanished from the room.


    Rhea sat down on the bed after taking a sigh of relief. She was so troubled when Fenris started to turn right there in the middle of their room, near her precious babies.


    Nigel looked at his babies. Thankfully, both of them were peacefully sleeping beside Rhea even in the middle of that commotion. He glanced at Adeline who was still trying to comprehend what she had just witnessed.


    He then glanced back at his wife and then said, "Rhea, I will go and check on Fenris. Don''t leave this room until I come back." After getting a nod from Rhea, he closed the door of the room and ran at the top of his speed.


    Adeline took a deep breath in and then turned around to look at Rhea and the babies. "Are you okay?" she asked Rhea who was holding her head.


    Rhea pushed back her curly hair and tried to give a smile to Adeline. "Yes. I''m glad that Theodore was here when Fenris turned. Else it could have turned into a disaster. So many things could have gone wrong."


    Adeline walked and sat down beside Rhea. She put her arms around her shoulder and hugged her. "Nothing went wrong. So, don''t be so sad."


    But Rhea wasn''t having it. She sighed in anger and frustration and said, "But what if you two weren''t here? What if Fenris had done something to?" Rhea covered her mouth with her palm and the rims of her eyes were filled with tears.


    Adeline hugged Rhea even tightly and gently stroked her back. "Even if Theodore wasn''t here, I''m sure you would have grabbed the twins and would have run away before Fenris fully turned."


    Adeline didn''t want to say it but she said it anyway, "And I think Fenris might not have been triggered if he had not seen Theodore. I''m sorry for coming in unannounced and putting all of you in danger."


    Rhea raised her head to look at Adeline and smiled, "Don''t say that! You know that''s not true." She chuckled and added, "Well maybe he was a little triggered after seeing Theodore. But today''s the full moon. Fenris was already showing the signs. He would have turned at night anyway."


    Rhea sighed again and said with irritation, "He should have already been taken to the dungeon. I don''t know why they let him run around freely on the day of the full moon when they already knew his condition."


    "Maybe they were waiting for evening or nightfall." Adeline clicked her tongue and said, "Anyway, it''s all over now. Theodore will help him out."


    "Yes, let''s not concern ourselves with that matter." Rhea then put a wide smile on her face and asked while holding Adeline''s hand, "So, what is the good news that you were going to give us?"


    Adeline smiled and looked down. Earlier, it had taken every bit of courage in her body to bring herself to give the news. But it went to waste because of Fenris. And it took some time for her to build up that courage again. She was surprised at herself for being so nervous for no reason.


    And while Adeline was coming up with her words, Rhea couldn''t keep her curiosity in and she blurted out, "By any chance, are you pregnant?"

 Chapter 368 - One In A Million

    "By any chance, are you pregnant?"


    Adeline furrowed her brows and instantly denied, "P-Pregnant? No!" She didn''t know how and why Rhea came to that conclusion. So she tried to emphasize, "We''re not even married, Rhea. How can I get pregnant?"


    "You know you don''t have to get married to get pregnant." Rhea had a smug smile on her face and she was flicking her brows at Adeline in a teasing way. "You two already did it, didn''t you?"


    "Di-Did what?" Adeline felt as though all the blood in her body was rushing to her cheeks and ears.


    Rhea pressed her thumb on Adeline''s knuckles and teased her even further, "Oh, darling, you know what I''m talking about. You don''t have to be so shy."


    Adeline was already nervous and Rhea was making her panic even more. "How could you tell? Can everyone tell that we already�� umm�� that we already did it?"


    Rhea gave a smile as her theory was proved and she answered, "Well, I''m not sure if others can tell but I can somehow. Let''s just say that I''m really good at finding it out."


    Adeline gulped and tried to reassure herself that her shenanigans with Theodore weren''t found out by others back at Wyverndale. "Maybe she found it out because she is a werewolf. Maybe she saw some changes in our aura or something," Adeline thought to herself.


    "So�� you really aren''t pregnant?" Rhea asked again.


    Adeline''s face dropped a little. And after contemplating for a few seconds, she replied, "I don''t know if I will ever get pregnant. Theodore recently said that the chance of us having a baby is one in a million. Humans and angels aren''t supposed to mate, to begin with, and��"


    "Oh, honey��" Rhea pursed her lips and gave a warm hug to Adeline. "I''m sure you two will get lucky."


    "I hope so," Until now, Adeline hadn''t been this upset regarding how slim chances they had of giving birth to their own. But when she shared it with Rhea, she almost felt like crying her heart out. "I would love to have a baby boy that looks just like him."


    Rhea gently caressed Adeline''s hair and whispered, "You will. I know it."


    Adeline swallowed the lump that she was feeling in her throat and then took a deep breath in before saying, "Rhea, you should start preparing to travel to Wyverndale. Theodore and I are getting married and I want all four of you to be there, along with the other Royals of Aberdeen."


    Rhea pulled away from the hug and then stared at Adeline with her jaw wide open. "You two are getting married? When?"


    "After thirteen days," Adeline said with a grin on her face.


    "Ahh! I should have guessed this when you said you had good news. I was a little ahead of myself and ended up guessing that you were pregnant." Rhea laughed and then tightly hugged Adeline again.


    She rocked Adeline side to side while congratulating her, "I''m so happy to hear that, Adeline. Congratulations! And yes, of course, all of us will be there for your wedding. How can we even miss such a happy occasion?"


    "I will be counting you in then." Adeline was beaming to hear that her favorite brother and sister-in-law would be attending the wedding. She glanced at the sleeping twins and thought, "Our father would be so happy to see these cuties."


    Rhea then excitedly asked Adeline, "What did His Majesty say about Theodore? And how come the ceremony is going to be held so fast? Tell me everything."


    ---


    Outside, in the rainforest, Theodore had tied up Fenris to the trees with the chains made out of his mist. Nigel was also standing beside Theodore, painfully watching every bone in Fenris'' body breaking and reforming.


    Theodore had also concealed the area so that the sound of Fenris'' cries wouldn''t attract the attention of other werewolves. He didn''t want the others to find out about him and his powers, especially since some of them would be seeing him on the wedding day and would know that he isn''t a normal human.


    "How long is the transformation going to last?" Theodore asked Nigel because no matter how much he disliked Fenris, he couldn''t keep on seeing him going through that excruciating pain. "Shouldn''t he have fully transformed by now?"


    Nigel was nervously biting his cuticles and was thinking the same. "He should have transformed by now. But sometimes, it can even take hours for the transformation to complete. And since this is his first time, it might even take longer."


    He sighed and added, "Also, I am pretty sure that transforming without the full moon is making it harder for him. It''s like he missed his natural process and directly jumped to the higher level of transformation. He is turning himself out of will rather than because of the effect of the full moon."


    Theodore glanced at Nigel and asked, "Should I turn him back to his human form then?"


    But Nigel shook his head, "No. The incomplete transformation will make it even harder for him the next time he turns. If he endures the pain this time, then it will be easier from the next time."


    Theodore nodded his head and came up with an idea to trigger the werewolf even further. He walked a little closer to Fenris, maintaining just enough distance so that Fenris wouldn''t be able to reach him.


    And then he cleared his throat to say, "Fenris, you used to be mad for Adeline, right?"


    Fenris'' teeth had already turned into fangs and he snarled at Theodore and tried to bite him.


    "Ha!" Theodore poked Fenris on the forehead and mocked him, "You still like her, don''t you?"


    Fenris desperately tried to break the chains that were tying up his hands so that he could claw Theodore. But even if the chains seemed to be made out of nothing but air, they were way too strong, enough to hold Fenris in place.


    Theodore leaned in and then looked Fenris in the eyes with a very haughty look on his face. "Yes, you do! Then I''m sure that you would want to hear a piece of good news." A smirk appeared on Theodore''s face before he said, "Adeline and I are getting married very soon. And you are invited."


    Fenris glared at Theodore for a second, even in his half-conscious state, he could tell that Theodore was not lying. The feelings towards Adeline that he had suppressed for years came boiling out in the form of fury. He growled and then used all of his might to try and break free from the chains.


    He had one goal in mind and that was to break himself free and fight Theodore. He transformed his hands and legs and tried to pull the chains. It was still not breaking. And he directed all of his rage and his hatred towards Theodore to fully transform into his werewolf form.


    And there he was�� in his magnificent form.


    Fenris'' body was covered with white fur while his head was covered with black fur with a small patch of white fur on his forehead that almost looked like a crescent moon.


    Nigel took a sigh of relief while staring at the charismatic wolf.


    Theodore glanced at Nigel and smiled. And Nigel gave a thankful nod to him.


    Fenris was taking his time to catch his breath. His eyes fell on his white paws and he was moving them as if to check if they were real or not.


    Nigel came and stood beside Theodore. He lovingly rubbed Fenris'' head. He was still all tied up so he looked at Theodore and asked, "I think we should let him run around for a bit. I will run along with him to make sure that he won''t run towards the settlement."


    "Sure." But before he unchained Fenris, Theodore glanced at Nigel and said, "By the way, I wasn''t lying when I said that I was getting married to your sister."


    "What? Really?" Nigel exclaimed and hugged Theodore with excitement. "That''s so nice to hear! Welcome to the family, Theodore. When is the wedding ceremony��"


    While the two were all happy and excited, Fenris was looking down on the ground and was digging a hole with his claws.. He was going to bury the emotions that he had for Adeline.

 Chapter 369 - Turn Her

    Around a dozen of shiny and strong horses were galloping through the roads of Mihir, reined by the Royal Guards of King Reginald. Two grand-looking carriages were following those horses at the fastest possible speed.


    Among the two carriages, one was carrying the King and the Princess while the other was filled with several luxurious gifts.


    Rebekah was sitting by the side of the window and was blankly staring outside at the empty fields that went on and on as far as her eyes could see.


    She sighed and moved her gaze to see her brother who was sitting right in front of her. "Reggie, can''t we abandon this carriage and run? We would have reached Wyverndale hours ago if we had done that."


    Reginald was also already feeling suffocated by that sluggish ride. He was already bored out of his mind and that thought of running had crossed his mind at least a couple of times.


    However, he tried not to show his boredom and scolded Rebekah, "You know we can''t do that, Rebekah. We cannot sneak to Wyverndale because we are not going there to spy on them. We are going there for a diplomatic reason."


    "Diplomatic reason my arse!" Rebekah rolled her eyes and bluntly said, "We are going to get you a girl."


    Reginald smiled and nodded, "True. But since both Adeline and I are the ruler and to-be ruler of our respective Kingdoms, it is going to be a diplomatic meeting rather than just a normal one."


    "So��" Reginald stretched his shoulders and explained why they had to use the carriage, "��we have to go through proper routes and by using proper means of transportation. We have a reputation to maintain as the Royals of the powerful Kingdom."


    Rebekah went silent and resumed staring at the boring fields where one or two houses and people used to pop up every once in a while.


    But she got bored within a minute. She yawned and then again began to pester Reginald, "Then, can''t we go ahead and wait in a guest house near the Palace? We can regroup after the carriages arrive there. And we can ride the carriage before entering the Wyverndale Palace. No one will know."


    Reginald sighed at the dumbness of his sister. And he spoke in a monotone, "Of course, they will know! We are yet to cross the border of Wyverndale. And if we abandon the carriage why would they let an empty carriage enter the border?"


    Rebekah pouted and replied cleverly, "Nobody knows how you look like, idiot. We can ask one of the guards to pose as you. Simple!"


    And as if he was the man of great virtue, Reginald folded his arms and denied, "That is called deceiving. We are going to Wyverndale to expose a man who is deceiving the Princess and the King. And we cannot do the same thing! How will we be any different from that fake Prince?"


    "Argh!" Rebekah gritted her teeth and ruffled her hair in frustration. "Why are you pretending to have never deceived anyone before? Did you hit your head somewhere? Why are you being so stubborn about traveling in this damn tortoise?"


    Reginald smiled trying to conceal his irritation. "And why are you being so stubborn about running? We do that all the time! Weren''t you the one to say that you wanted to travel by carriage? Well, we are! So shut up and let me have some peace."


    Rebekah jumped out of her seat and sat beside Reginald. She started to pull his sleeve while trying to convince him, "If we reach there sooner then we can use that time to take a look around the market of Wyverndale''s capital. I want to enjoy for a bit, try some local foods, and purchase some interesting items."


    Reginald sighed and pulled his hand away from Rebekah. He closed his eyes and turned away his head. "We can take a look around the market after the meeting is over."


    His lips curved up a little when he further imagined the exciting possibility, "Maybe Princess Adeline might offer to show us around. It would be a great way to spend some time with her."


    Rebekah sneered at that hopeless romantic brother of hers. "I don''t want to be the third wheel if that happens. Ugh!"


    "If you hated the idea of meeting your future sister-in-law that much then why did you even tag along?" Reginald glared at Rebekah with anger and shouted, "If you are that against the idea then it''s not too late to return. We are still in the territory of Mihir. So, get out of the carriage and go back to the Palace. I''m sure you can entertain yourself."


    "Okay, okay, alright! If you''re not in a hurry to meet that Princess then I am fine waiting for one more day to actually reach Wyverndale and roam around." Rebekah scoffed and then went back to her original seat.


    Reginald let out a quiet sigh because it was true that he was dying to meet Adeline. And spending another day on the road was not ideal. However, he was adamant about going in the carriage. He was sure that if he was to do as Rebekah had suggested then he would end up going to the Palace without waiting for the carriages to arrive.


    No matter how angry Rebekah was with her brother, he was the only one that she could talk to in that long arse journey. So she ended up asking him a question, "Reginald, what is your plan after?"


    "After what?" Reginald asked with a tinge of frustration in his voice.


    But that didn''t deter Rebekah from talking with him. "After marrying the Princess. I mean, are you going to keep her a human or are you going to turn her into a vampire?"


    "Of course, I will turn her. I cannot let her die in a few decades when I have centuries ahead of me." Reginald replied without even thinking for a second.


    And Rebekah asked again because she was curious to know her brother''s future plans. Him being the King, his one small action would affect the fate of the whole vampire race. "Then are you going to marry a pure-blooded vampire to give birth to your heir?"


    Reginald curled his lips in disdain and asked, "Why would I do that? We can have a child after I turn her."


    Rebekah suddenly had a serious look on her face. And she said a bit sternly, "Because even if you turn her and conceive a child, that child will not be as strong as us. And the ruler of the vampire race cannot be weaker than other vampires."


    "Ugh!" Reginald lied down on the seat and tried to shut his sister, "Don''t talk about all this and jinx my future before it can even start. I will think about it when I will be ready for it. For now, do me a favor and please�� please let me sleep. I''m tired from answering all your stupid questions."


    Rebekah sighed loudly and stood up. She was feeling cramped by sitting in that little wooden box for the whole night and almost the whole day.


    She kicked Reginald''s seat with her shoes and then bluntly said, "I''m going to stretch my legs. I will be back after an hour. I''m pretty sure this thing will be right here when I get back."


    Reginald just turned away his head and didn''t even try to stop her. He was rather happy to know that his ears would finally get some much-needed silence.


    Rebekah kept on glaring at him and waited for him to say something. But even after waiting for a while, he didn''t speak a word. She sneered and gave an air punch to him. She looked out of the window and waited for a house to show up.


    A sinister smirk appeared on her face when she saw a man working on the field a little far ahead.. "That will also work," she mumbled to herself and jumped out of the window.

 Chapter 370 - Emergency

    The next day, a border patrol guard of Wyverndale was riding one of the fastest horses through the evening sun that shone throughout the land.


    He was taking the fastest and shortest route from the border to the Palace because he had to inform the King about the sudden and unexpected visit from the King of Mihir.


    "Uh! They sure know how to create a fuss, coming to another Kingdom unannounced. We can''t even stop them from entering. They aren''t bringing in that many guards and neither are they carrying any weapons!"


    "Uff��" the guard sighed as he neared the Wyverndale Palace. "I hope that they will at least take half an hour more to arrive here. Else the King is going to get mad at all of us at the border for being incompetent."


    Once he was inside the Palace, he directly took the horse in front of the King''s Court, jumped down from the horse, and then ran inside as if his life depended on it.


    He knocked on the door and restlessly said, "Your Majesty, it''s an emergency."


    "Come in," the second he heard the King, he went inside and then blurted out, "Your Majesty, the King, and Princess of Mihir are heading for the Palace as we speak. We did not have sufficient reason to stop them from entering. Neither they were coming here with an army, nor were they carrying any weapons."


    Dragomir dropped the paper that he was holding and then leaned back on his chair. He took a moment to process what he just heard and then asked, "They are heading here as we speak? They already crossed the borders?"


    Dragomir asked in confusion because he had clearly mentioned in the letter that he was going to meet them after two weeks. Also, the messenger that he sent to Mihir wasn''t even back yet and the King of Mihir was already here�� which did not make sense to him.


    "Yes, Your Majesty. They might arrive within half an hour. I took the shortest route just so I could pre-inform you about their arrival." The guard replied while constantly looking down at the floor.


    "Did they state the purpose of their visit?" Dragomir already guessed the answer but he asked just to reconfirm.


    "They were saying that they are here with diplomatic reason and that they needed to talk to you and Princess Adeline."


    Dragomir raised his brows in surprise and asked, "Princess Adeline? Are you sure that they specifically took her name?"


    The guard finally looked the King in the eyes and nodded, "Yes, I am certain that they mentioned Her Highness'' name."


    Dragomir let out a sigh and asked, "How many of them were there in total?"


    "They were 16 in total. Twelve Royal Guards, two coachmen, and the King and the Princess." The guard kept his answer short and to the point.


    "Is there anything else that I need to know," Dragomir asked while sighing for the umpteenth time.


    "No, that''s all, Your Majesty."


    Dragomir nodded and then relieved the guard, "Then feel free to take a rest and have some food before you leave for the border again."


    The guard had thought that the King would be angry at him but he was thankful that he didn''t get such reactions. "Thank you, Your Majesty," the guard gratefully bowed to the King and then left.


    A deep frown appeared on Dragomir''s forehead after the guard left him alone. "They know that Adeline is already announced as the Future Ruler? Else why would the King specifically mention her name? Maybe they really want to make sure that peace will last in Adeline''s ruling period as well��"


    "Anyway, we will know what they really want in the meeting. As they are already here, I cannot just make them turn around and ask them to come back later." Dragomir took a deep breath in and then got up from his seat.


    He began to walk towards Adeline''s workroom while mumbling to himself, "But they sure like to push things and act on their own."


    And he couldn''t help but think, "Why such a hurry though? Is something about to happen in Mihir? Are they going to be under attack by some other Kingdoms? Are they being so forceful because they need a strong ally or something?"


    "Adeline, are you in there?" Dragomir knocked on Adeline''s door.


    Adeline was catching up on some issues with the war when she heard her father''s voice. She was going through a letter sent by Tabitha stating that one of their experiment was a success and they were able to create a flare to help in the war.


    "Yes, father," she hurriedly gathered all the papers which had information related to the war and shoved them in one of the drawers.


    She managed to open some random file and pretend to be going through that when her father opened the door to her room.


    Without missing a beat, King Dragomir said with a serious tone, "Adeline, we have an emergency. The King of Mihir will reach here within 15-20 minutes. I want you to alert all the guards in the Palace since you said that you would be looking after the security on the day of their arrival. I will prepare the meeting room."


    Adeline abruptly got up on her feet. She felt as though a spear had been pierced through her heart. And she asked with a bewildered look on her face, "He is coming here? Now? But we clearly asked him to come here after the wedding!"


    "Yes, we did. But I have no idea why he thought that he could simply show up unannounced." He further informed her how many of them were coming and expressed his amusement, "I have to agree, the current King has some guts coming to our Kingdom unarmed. I guess he really wanted to show that he is here for peace."


    "I''m sure that is the reason," Adeline gave a mirthless smile to her father. She couldn''t tell him that the King of Mihir didn''t need any kind of weapon because he was the weapon. And she was pretty sure that all 16 of them who were coming were vampires.


    Dragomir frantically scratched his brows and reminded Adeline to put on a good show, "Either way, he will reach here shortly so we will have to treat him well. I don''t want the meeting to be an awkward one just because he came a little early than we expected."


    "I understand. I will alert all the soldiers and join you." Adeline promptly understood what she had to do.


    Dragomir immediately rushed outside to do everything that he could in such a short period of time.


    And Adeline also ran right after him to inform the General who was in charge of the guards of the Palace. She didn''t waste any time in ordering Bennett or anyone else to pass on the information because way too much time would be wasted in just explaining and re-explaining the same thing.


    Adeline couldn''t quite shake the sour feeling in the pit of her stomach. "The audacity!" She hated it that the Vampire King was coming there so suddenly.


    She was cursing the Vampire King as she ran.. "Why the hell is he here? I''m sure as hell that he is up to no good."

 Chapter 371 - Armed And Ready

    "I thought I would at least have two weeks to give special training to the guards before that Vampire King would come here. But he sneakily arrived before I even got the chance to select the soldiers for the training." Adeline was blabbering to herself along the way.


    Adeline ran towards General Keith''s workroom which was situated beside the armory of the Palace. She didn''t even care for the general courtesy to knock on the door and just barged into the room while shouting, "General! It''s an emergency."


    The General instantly got up and bowed to the Future Queen and waited for her to explain the matter with a very serious look on his face.


    "The Vampire King that I told you all about, he is on his way to the Palace with other 15 people, most probably all of them are vampires. He said that he is here for a peaceful meeting but I highly doubt that."


    Adeline stopped to breathe in and then ordered the General, "I want the dungeon area highly guarded. Don''t let any red-eyed people get near Lillian. And I also want the King''s Court and the King to be highly guarded at all times."


    "Also make sure that all other areas of the Palace have enough guards so that they won''t dare to sneak around."


    After Adeline gave the orders, General Keith bowed and said, "I will do as you say, Your Highness. One quick question though, shall I brief the guards about the type of threat that we are dealing with?"


    Adeline wrinkled her brows and then denied, "No, I don''t think that would be a good idea since the concept of some supernatural creatures living among us won''t be that easy to digest in a matter of 15 minutes. Even if they do believe, it will only make them panic. So we will keep that details for later."


    "Sure."


    Adeline instantly ran away from there without any particular destination in mind. Among all the people of the Palace, she was the one who was in a great panic; she was the one who knew that one wrong move or one wrong word in the meeting, then those monsters could go into a rampage.


    "Ahhhhhhhh��" Adeline clenched her fists and let out an exasperated yet controlled scream.


    "Theodore�� I should call Theodore. I think I should ask him to stay in the meeting room�� while being invisible," Adeline thought to herself and then made her way towards her quarter. "If they have some evil plans then I might need his help. I am no match for those bloody vampires."


    Before she made her way to her private chamber, she passed through her personal armory and an idea crossed her mind. "Sword! I should bring that Cerberus sword with me."


    As she could easily hide it, she thought that it could be an added advantage to her. "I know Theodore will be there but I might have to protect myself. You never know what might happen."


    Adeline went in and grabbed the sword. "Hide," she spoke the magic word and then carried it in her hand with a plan to hide that sword somewhere in the meeting room.


    She was already starting to hear the commotion outside. She could hear the Palace Guards marching here and there. She could hear the squad leaders ordering their squad around. Amidst all that, the whole Palace was in a state of orderly chaos.


    Adeline hurried to her private chamber and didn''t waste a beat to kiss her ring to summon Theodore.


    "Hey, Ade?" Theodore''s cheerful smile disappeared the moment he noticed the distraught look on Adeline''s face.


    "Adeline, are you okay?" Theodore furrowed his brows and instantly went ahead to reach for Adeline. "Why do you look so defeated? Did somethi�C Ouch!" Theodore bent down and grimaced in pain all of a sudden.


    "Oh, I''m so sorry!" Adeline hastily kept her sword aside and apologized, "I''m sorry! I was holding the sword that Lucifer gave to me. I forgot that you wouldn''t be able to see it."


    She bent down to look at Theodore''s face and asked, "Hey, did I hurt you that badly? But the sword was still in its sheath��"


    "No, it just happened to poke just the right area," Theodore took a deep breath in and straightened his back. And he asked, "What is all this noise? Is something going on in the Palace?"


    Adeline frantically nodded her head and blurted, "The Vampire King is coming for the meeting without giving any notice. He will arrive here soon so I want you to be there in the meeting room with us to make sure that he or any other vampires won''t be able to pull some trick on us."


    Theodore didn''t need to hear any further explanation. He instantly agreed, "Let''s go to the meeting room then. You want me to show myself or conceal?"


    "Concealing would be better for this meeting. If he says that he wants to talk just with the King or something like that then you won''t be able to sneak in." Adeline hastily spoke as she went and picked back her sword.


    Adeline was already walking when Theodore carefully pulled her and pressed her back against his body. He could hear her heartbeat beating way too loudly and he wanted to calm her before they went to the meeting room.


    And he whispered to her, "Stay like this for a moment. I need to use your scent to conceal mine. The vampires have sharp noses so they might know that someone else is also present in the room even if they don''t see me."


    Adeline''s stiff body gradually loosened and she leaned her head on Theodore''s broad chest.


    Theodore rested his chin on her head and kept on holding her for a few more moments.


    Adeline''s heartbeat also began to calm down a little. And he whispered, "You don''t need to worry about this stupid meeting too much. If worst comes to worst then I''ll knock all of those vampires out and teleport them back to where they belong. So, don''t take too much pressure, alright?"


    "Alright." Adeline took Theodore''s hand and kissed him on his knuckles. "Thank you!"


    Theodore kissed Adeline on her cheek and lovingly whispered, "You don''t need to thank me. You know I''d do anything for you." He let go of his hold on her and said, "Now let''s go."


    Adeline nodded her head and headed for the door.


    Theodore performed the necessary incantations on himself and he closely followed Adeline.


    Upon reaching outside, Adeline was glad to see that the guards were already armed and in position. She turned around to take a look at Theodore.. Though she couldn''t see him, she could feel that he was very close by.

 Chapter 372 - Foreigners

    When Adeline approached the King''s Court, she saw that the guards had lined up on both sides of the path. And upon entering the court, she could see that it was equally heavily guarded as outside the court.


    King Dragomir was sitting on his throne as though he had no tension whatsoever. Adeline walked up to the platform and then asked him, "Father, where are we going to have the meeting? Are we going to have it right here?"


    "Oh, no. I am just sitting here to let them know that they are in my Kingdom�� just to give that young King an inferiority complex." Dragomir replied very calmly. In fact, he was way calmer now that the time of Reginald''s arrival was closing in by the second.


    "To give him an inferiority complex?" Adeline kept on looking at her father to try and understand what he meant by that.


    "I cannot let him think that he has power over me simply by showing up here like this. I have to assert my dominance and looking down on him from the throne is a great way to start." Dragomir chuckled after sharing one small trick that every ruler would need to use in times like this.


    "After greeting them from here, I will take them to the meeting room that we had used when Theodore had come over," he detailed out his plans while adjusting the crown on his head.


    A small smile curved up on Adeline''s lips as she looked at her confident father. Adeline would have loved to be like her father, carefree and calm, but given the circumstance that was simply impossible for her.


    Adeline was holding the sword behind her back until now. And she informed the King, "Father, I will be right back. I want to make sure that everything is in order in the meeting room."


    "Of course." Dragomir also ordered his daughter, "And I had also asked the maids to prepare some tea and pastries. Make sure that they will bring it in the meeting room after everyone settles down."


    "I will," Adeline smiled and bowed her head before heading towards the meeting room.


    There were two squads of guards standing outside the door of the meeting room. Adeline called both the squad leaders and ordered them, "When the guests arrive, make sure that the guards stay outside the meeting room. But if the King of Mihir insists on taking them inside, I want one squad from our side to be present in the meeting as well."


    "Understood, Your Highness," the squad leaders bowed and went to their position.


    Adeline then opened the door to the meeting room and then went inside to find a nice spot to hide her sword at.


    She glanced at the sofa where she sat the last time and thought, "Father and I were sitting here the last time so I think this will be our place today as well." She then pushed the sword below the sofa where she sat the last time.


    She made sure that she wouldn''t accidentally step on it and then walked out of the room to check on the kitchen staff of the court as the King had asked.


    Theodore was enjoying tip-toeing behind Adeline while making sure that he wouldn''t bump on anyone. But he abruptly stopped on his track because his sharp ears caught the sounds of the hooves of the horses and the rattling noise made by the carriage in a distance.


    "Let''s see all of you up close then," Theodore thought to himself and teleported outside the King''s Court to wait for their arrival.


    The guards at the Palace gate opened that huge metal gate to let in the guests. As the horses and the carriages passed by, the guards couldn''t help but stare at the foreigners.


    All of the Royal Guards of Reginald had long hair; some had hair that flowed below their shoulders while others had hair that reached their waist. Everyone had a few common traits and they were their red eyes and extremely smooth and pale skin.


    And when they rode against the current of the wind in their horses, they almost looked as though they were the perfect human beings in existence.


    Reginald and Rebekah were also curiously looking outside their carriage window to see what the Wyverndale Palace looked like.


    They were amazed to see that the Palace area was really huge, unlike their own Palace. There were so many quarters scattered inside the Palace that Rebekah wondered out loud, "Okay, I''m going to say it�� are we inside a Palace, or are we inside a village? There is a whole settlement in here! Just how many Royals live here?"


    Reginald was also looking around with wide eyes and said, "I think I will have to build a separate quarter for Adeline once we get married. She is habituated to living in such a large area, she might feel cramped in our Palace."


    Rebekah glared at her brother with a repulsed look on her face and she thought, "He doesn''t even let me have a new bed and he is already thinking of building a new quarter for the Princess whom he hasn''t even had a proper conversation with."


    After a while, the carriage came to a halt in front of the King''s Court. The Royal Guards climbed down their horses and then took out trays and trays of expensive gifts they had brought for the King and the Princess. After they finished lining up, the coachman opened the door of the carriage for the Royals.


    Reginald and Rebekah elegantly got out of the carriage. Both of them were adorned in clothes made out of light golden colored silk. Their red hair and red eyes looked even more prominent because of the subtle color of their clothes.


    The guards of Wyverndale who were in the vicinity couldn''t take their eyes off the guests because of their cold yet elegant appearance.


    The Royal guards walked on either side of the Royals while carrying the gifts. And all of them began climbing the steps of the King''s Court.


    Rebekah whispered to her brother in her softest voice possible, "Oooh! I never saw you packing all these fabrics and jewelry. You sure know how to spoil a lady. Good luck, brother!"


    "I have to spoil her a little to win her heart," Reginald smugly whispered back to his sister.


    Theodore, who was walking a little behind them also heard what they were saying. He instantly understood the real intention of King Reginald.


    "Dream on, boy!" A soft chuckle slipped from Theodore''s lips at the thought of seeing a defeated look on that puny King''s face after getting rejected by Adeline.


    Rebekah turned around and looked a little baffled.


    Reginald flicked his brows to his sister to ask what was wrong.


    "I think I heard someone laugh," Rebekah whispered, still confused if she was just imagining it or if she had indeed heard someone.

 Chapter 373 - Breaking The Ice

    The guests from Mihir entered the throne hall of the Court in an orderly fashion. Everyone''s eyes fell on the King who was sitting on the Dragon throne. He was exuding such a confident aura that even the vampires were intrigued by the old and fierce-looking King.


    Reginald, on the other hand, was fascinated by the young and beautiful Princess who was standing below the platform. She was wearing a gown that had been dyed with a hint of orange color. Reginald thought to himself while his lips curled up, "She is radiating like the morning sun."


    "That red-headed bastard!" Adeline screamed in her mind.


    She was dumbfounded when her eyes fell on the man who was walking in the middle of his Royal Guards. "He is the same vampire that I stumbled upon in the market! He is the Vampire King?"


    No matter how shocked she was to see him, she still tried to keep a straight face as his eyes were not moving away from her. "What is he staring at? Does he also recognize me?" Adeline thought to herself while gently tapping her foot under her gown.


    The guests stopped a little further away from where Adeline was standing. All of the guards bowed their heads towards the King. And Reginald greeted the King while meeting Dragomir''s eyes, "Your Majesty, I hope that you will forgive me for coming in unannounced."


    Reginald glanced at his Royal Guards and then gestured them to present the gifts that he had brought, "Please accept these souvenirs that I brought from Mihir for Your Majesty, and��" he glanced at Adeline again and continued, "��Her Highness."


    "And he knows me!" Adeline thought to herself as she gave a soft smile and a slight bow to King Reginald.


    King Dragomir gave a nod to King Reginald and spoke, "I''m sure that Your Majesty had your reasons to visit us earlier than we expected." Dragomir then glimpsed at his Royal Guards and then gestured them to accept the gifts brought by Reginald.


    While they were taking the trays from the vampires, King Dragomir walked down from his platform and then stood in front of King Reginald. "All of you must be tired from the long journey. Why don''t we go in for some refreshments?"


    "I would love that," Reginald happily agreed.


    "Please," Dragomir gestured towards the direction they were supposed to go and then led the guests to the meeting room that was pre-prepared.


    Adeline also quietly walked beside her father and Reginald kept on smiling and watching her from behind. "I hope she will join the meeting without me asking directly," Reginald thought to himself.


    Rebekah was also all smiles as she walked beside her brother. Now that she had seen Adeline herself, she could understand why her brother had been mad about her. She even thought that if she was a man then she would have loved to have Adeline as her wife.


    "She is so pretty! Like an innocent doll," Rebekah was internally squirming as she watched the elegant walk of Adeline. "I wish I could tease my brother right now�� I so want to hear how he would put forth the marriage proposal. I hope he does it the romantic way rather than being too political and blunt."


    Reginald noticed that the further they went in, the more heavily guarded the area was. All the guards bowed their heads to the Royals of both the Kingdoms as they passed by.


    Reginald didn''t think much of the presence of way too many guards though. He was practically a King from the enemy state. It was a given that the Wyverndalians would heavily guard their King.


    The guards pushed open the door to the meeting room after which Dragomir and Adeline went in first and Rebekah went in after them. Reginald waved his hand to his guards and signaled them to wait outside the meeting room.


    After the four of them were inside, Dragomir motioned his hand towards the sofas where Theodore and Azriel had sat the last time and said, "Please, take a seat."


    After Reginald and Rebekah settled themselves, Adeline and Dragomir also took their respective seats.


    To break the ice, Dragomir took the initiative to ask Reginald, "King Reginald, how is your term going on as the King of Mihir? I hope that it is sailing smoothly."


    "Yes, King Dragomir. It is indeed going very smoothly, apart from small protests from the villagers every now and then." Reginald replied while comfortably leaning back on the backrest of the sofa.


    "Ah! Protests sure give us some headaches. I hope that the issue has been resolved by now." Dragomir was genuinely interested to know if the internal conflict was anything serious or if the issue was something minor that had already been taken care of.


    Reginald stole a quick glance of Rebekah and then smiled at King Dragomir. "Yes, I''ve already solved the issue from the very root."


    Rebekah gulped lightly and a content smile appeared on her face. And she thought to herself, "That lot sure had a lot of tasty ones��"


    Reginald then glanced at Adeline to strike a conversation with her. "I had heard that Princess Adeline was announced as the Future Queen of Wyverndale. I hope it is not too late to congratulate you."


    Adeline glanced at the blood-red eyes and forced a smile and replied confidently, "I''m still the Future Queen so I guess it isn''t too late for that."


    Reginald liked how straightforward she was. "Congratulations! I hope that you will be a great ruler when the time comes."


    "Thank you! Your Majesty. I sure hope that I will be able to walk on the path my father has shown me." Adeline replied while giving a grateful smile to her father.


    A few of the maids bowed from the door and walked in while carrying the trays of a teapot, cups, and a variety of pastries. One of the maids brewed the tea on the spot and a few others served the Royals. After making sure that all the Royals had their teacups and their desired pastries, the maids left the room and locked the door behind.


    Adeline was curiously watching Reginald and Rebekah to see if they would touch the food or not.


    Rebekah would have opted out of the pastries if she was not noticing the frequent gaze from Adeline. Just to make sure that she looked normal, she ended up eating a whole piece of pastry in one go.


    Reginald, on the other hand, enjoyed the hot sip of his tea. And he took the silence as an opportunity to steer the conversation in his own direction. "King Dragomir, I''m sure that you are wondering why I came here so urgently. First and foremost, I want to say that this matter concerns Her Highness Adeline."


    Reginald successfully grabbed the attention of both the father and the daughter.


    And King Dragomir asked, "What about my daughter?"

 Chapter 374 - The Proposal

    "What about my daughter?"


    Reginald didn''t directly want to jump in and say that the Prince that they thought was a Prince of Romania was in fact a fraud. He wanted to build a good image of himself in front of the King and the Princess at first.


    Thus, he put on his decent face and then began weaving his story, "I know that our Kingdoms didn''t exactly look eye to eye during the late King''s term. But after the responsibility of the throne fell on me, I wanted to change that."


    Rebekah almost wanted to giggle hearing her brother speak in the softest voice which he had never done before.


    She began looking around at the paintings of beautiful sceneries that were being hung in the walls of the meeting room in order to distract herself and not end up slipping out a burst of laughter or two.


    Reginald looked at Dragomir and kept on building the context, "I wanted to have this meeting way before. So one day, I came to Wyverndale to see the people and villages for myself. I wanted to familiarize myself with Wyverndale and its people before I had a meeting with you."


    Adeline leaned back on her chair and watched that liar of a King as he kept on spinning the lies. She was thinking to herself, "Wanted to familiarize yourself, yes, but to extract information and attack on Wyverndale later on�� And look at the audacity! He doesn''t even fear to say that he came here like a thief."


    Dragomir was unable to hide his displeasure upon hearing that King openly admitting that he had sneaked into Wyverndale before as well.


    Reginald was quick enough to pick up their feeling towards him. He knew that if he would pause for a second after confessing that, it would be like giving King Dragomir the opportunity to speak against him.


    So, without missing a single beat, he instantly put on an apologetic face and said, "And I accept that I went a little out of my way by sneaking into your Kingdom like that. I deeply apologize for my behavior. I hope you can forgive me by thinking of me as a young King who is just learning his ways."


    Adeline found Reginald to be very repulsive. She was willing to listen to what he had to say about the peace between the Kingdoms. However, she couldn''t digest a word that he was saying. Everything that he said felt like poison to her, no matter how softly he was talking.


    Adeline was cursing that Vampire King in her mind, "Look at this man talking so smoothly. Had I not known about his wicked plans already then he would have duped me with his sweet talks."


    "But I am glad that I came here that day." Suddenly a smile appeared on Reginald''s face and he shifted his gaze from Dragomir to Adeline, "Princess Adeline, I don''t know if you remember it, but we happened to meet each other in the market the day I came to visit Wyverndale."


    Adeline looked into his blood-red eyes and replied a bit satirically, "I do remember, Your Majesty. Your red eyes are hard to miss. Had I known that you were the King of Mihir then I would have gladly familiarized you with Wyverndale myself."


    And that idiot King did not get the satire and gave a wide grin to Adeline, "I would love that. I hope you will give me a tour after the meeting is over."


    Adeline forced a smile while regretting saying that. "Like hell, I will! Why did I even expect him to get the sarcasm," she thought to herself.


    Dragomir could sense that Adeline was fuming inside so he filled in the silence, "Of course, King Reginald. We shall show you around."


    To make the atmosphere less weird, Dragomir asked a question, "So, you were saying that the matter that you were going to discuss concerned Adeline. May we know what it is?"


    "Yes, of course." This was the moment that Reginald was waiting for. He confidently looked at King Dragomir and started, "Ever since I happened to meet Adeline on that day��"


    His eyes trailed towards Adeline and he spoke like a love-struck kid, "I couldn''t help but think that a marriage between you and me could be a great way to establish peace between our Kingdoms."


    He paused for a moment so that Adeline and Dragomir could register what he just said in their minds.


    There was pin-drop silence in the room for a while.


    Theodore smirked and thought, "Ah! He finally said it�� Now let''s hear my dear''s response and then watch him get his heart crushed." Theodore was leaning on a wall with his legs crossed and was observing everything happening in the room with great interest.


    "Di-Did he just put forth a marriage proposal?" Adeline was dumbfounded and looked around the room while getting nervous. She was looking for Theodore but he had concealed himself from her as well so that she wouldn''t be distracted by him in the meeting, or accidentally give away that there was another person present in the room.


    Rebekah, on the other hand, furrowed her brows and looked past her brother because she felt like she was hearing an extra heartbeat in the room. But the sound was so dim that she thought she was hearing the heartbeat of someone who was standing outside and let the matter slide.


    "You are implying that you want to marry Princess Adeline?" Dragomir finally broke the deafening silence in the room with his stern and direct question.


    "Yes, King Dragomir." Reginald didn''t hesitate one bit to confirm.


    And he even got an opening to share the future plans, "Princess Adeline would still be the Queen of Wyverndale even after we get married and I would still be the King of Mihir. But we could run both of the Kingdoms together, share resources, open several roads for trade, share the culture, and whatnots."


    "Argh! This fool brother of mine! He made it sound so political��" Rebekah adjusted her position and busied herself with the paintings again.


    Reginald gave an assertive look to Dragomir and added, "In my opinion, there is no better path to peace than the marriage between us. I''m sure you know it yourself, King Dragomir."


    Dragomir gave a light chuckle when he played that ''You''ve also done it'' card on him.


    Adeline was waiting for that mad King to stop blabbering so that she could outright reject him. She was itching to shout and say ''No, thank you!'' to his proposal.


    And the moment he stopped talking, she tried her best not to sound furious or irritated and said, "I''m sorry to disappoint you, Your Majesty. But my marriage has already�C"

 Chapter 375 - The Rejection

    "Already been fixed. Yes, I am well aware of that." Reginald calmly completed Adeline''s sentence.


    Adeline, Theodore, and Dragomir, all of them were in for a surprise when he said that he already knew about Adeline''s marriage.


    "You are aware of that? How?" Adeline narrowed her eyes at Reginald and then bluntly asked, "And why did you come here with the marriage proposal if you already knew it?"


    Reginald was still unfazed by that sudden sharpness in Adeline''s voice. He thought that he held the ultimate card up his sleeve.


    And he responded to Adeline''s question with a smug look on his face, "I heard whispers and rumors regarding your marriage. Since I already had a plan to ask your hand in marriage, it was only natural for me to want to know more about the background of my competitor."


    Theodore raised his brows and glared at Reginald. He fisted over his mouth and thought, "O��kay! This is starting to get a little personal."


    And as if it was him who found everything out after checking facts and reconfirming everything, Reginald asked with a bit of arrogance flickering in his eyes. "While doing the digging, I happened to know that your marriage has been fixed with the Second Prince of Romania. Am I correct?


    "Yes, indeed. The whispers and rumors were very true." Adeline was also not backing away from showing her arrogance. She had nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of.


    King Reginald took a deep breath in as if he was going to give the Princess really bad news. And he said with a sad tone, "That is the exact reason why I had to come here so urgently, Princess Adeline."


    All three of those from Wyverndale were curious to know what that ''urgent'' was.


    Reginald looked at Adeline as though he was greatly sympathizing with her and said, "Princess Adeline, I think you were too gullible while accepting that Second Prince''s marriage proposal. I don''t know what that man said to you or how he managed to make you agree to the marriage. But what I know is that��"


    He sighed and continued while looking sorry, "I am sorry to say this but�� there is no Second Prince in Romania. There is only one Prince there. So whoever came to ask your hand in marriage was a conman."


    "Uh-huh! Not feeling personally attacked there," Theodore was trying hard not to appear in front of that puny King and slap him tightly across the face.


    Reginald, on the other hand, was expecting to see the stunned expression on both the father and daughter''s faces. However, he didn''t get any change in their facial expression whatsoever. All they did was look at each other as if it was not a big deal.


    The lost Rebekah was also now focused on the conversation because she could feel the tension rising in the air.


    "You already knew that he was not the Second Prince of Romania?" Reginald glanced at both father and daughter in bewilderment.


    Adeline gave an awkward smile and nodded, "Yes, we are well aware of that."


    Reginald''s face as well as heart dropped when he heard his own dialogue in reply. He went silent for a while. He was feeling like the greatest fool right now.


    "Oh no!" Rebekah slowly and steadily turned her head to see the expression on her brother''s face. She was afraid that he would do something stupid in his rage. Thankfully, he didn''t look like he was about to lose his calm any time soon.


    Reginald clenched his fists but maintained a composed expression on him. And he cursed his spy for not gathering the information correctly, "Wow! I became a fool because that fool did a half-arsed work. George�� I will deal with you once I get back."


    He was still adamant about winning over Adeline though. Just because they happened to know that the Prince was a fake, he was not going to give up on Adeline.


    So he tried to understand why Adeline was marrying a fake Prince so that he could use something and try to persuade Adeline to marry him instead of that fake Prince. "If I may ask, why did you agree to the marriage when you know that he is a fraud?"


    Adeline was already feeling agitated by this Vampire King. She wanted to shout why he cared about her personal matter. But she couldn''t do so because she knew that nothing good would come out of provoking that Vampire.


    So she tried to smile and speak softly, "He is not a fraud, Your Majesty. I have always known him for who he really is." And she even took the blame upon herself, "I was the one who falsified his identity because of some reasons which I cannot disclose."


    Adeline gave a gentle bow and even apologized so that the Vampires would leave that instant. "I did not know that it would create such great confusion. I would like to sincerely apologize for that."


    Adeline cleared her throat and even went as far as to say, "I really love that man so I hope that you will understand why I am rejecting your proposal. I hope there will be no hard feelings between us and our Kingdom just because of this."


    The second Reginald felt that his window of opportunity was closing, his anger began to manifest on his face as well as body. His pale face and cold face looked as though it would burn anything that came in contact with him.


    Dragomir could clearly see that Reginald was furious because of Adeline''s rejection.


    Dragomir would have loved to ask Reginald to leave before things got bitter. He disliked that lawless young King for spying on them for all this time. But he was a wise King. He knew that asking him to leave without any wife would strain the already bitter relationship between the Kingdoms.


    As Reginald was already here and was looking for a wife, he tried to diffuse the situation by saying, "King Reginald, like you, I am also eager to build a good diplomatic relationship between our Kingdoms. And it so happens that I have 5 unmarried daughters, apart from Adeline."


    Dragomir genuinely thought of arranging a meeting of Reginald with all five of his daughters, one by one. "Why don''t you meet them and see if you like any one of my unmarried daughters? They are also Princesses of this Kingdom and our�C"


    But Reginald disregarded everything that Dragomir was saying and glared at Adeline. And then he spoke in a low growl, "Who is that fraud that did some kind of dark magic on all of you weak humans? Who the hell is he?"


    "He is the Hell!"

 Chapter 376 - Verbal War

    Reginald was struggling not to show his fangs that were already itching to bite the human King for assuming that he could set him up with any of his daughters.


    Reginald wanted Adeline, and Adeline only.


    And as Dragomir was going on and on without even caring to pause and let Reginald express if he was interested to see any of his other daughters or not, Reginald finally lost his cool.


    Reginald dug his nails in his palm and thought, "Why is this old fool trying to convince me to marry his other daughters rather than convincing Princess Adeline to marry me? Isn''t marrying me more beneficial than marrying some nameless and title-less man who is clearly after the throne?"


    And since both father and daughter seemed to be spellbound by that nameless man, he assumed that the nameless man had asked some dark sorcerer to perform some kind of spell on them.


    Reginald wanted to know who the Princess'' fianc�� was so that he could get rid of that spell that was affecting the woman he had his eyes on.


    However, his mind was clogged with the fury that was rising like a storm inside him. And he couldn''t pretend to be the ''nice man'' anymore.


    He glared at Dragomir and Adeline and he roared as he would always do in his Palace, "Who is that fraud that did some kind of dark magic on all of you weak humans?


    "Who the hell is he?" Reginald''s eyes looked even redder when he snarled those words out of his mouth.


    "He is the Hell," Dragomir slammed his fist indignantly on the armrest of his sofa and roared back at Reginald like a furious dragon. A small crack appeared on the armrest after that. Dragomir was that angry at Reginald when he referred to him as a weak human.


    And Dragomir further shouted at that spoiled brat, "You''ve been testing my patience ever since you came here, young man. Do you think that you can come to my Kingdom, spy on us, raise your voice against me and my daughter, and simply get away with it? Who do you think you are? The last I checked, your authority doesn''t work here!"


    Reginald was even more riled up when some human shouted back at him. He sprung up on his feet and then growled again, "I was asking you nicely, you old man."


    "Oh, dear," both Adeline and Rebekah were looking at their respective family and were panicking inside.


    Rebekah didn''t want her brother to lose his control and end up massacring everyone in the Palace while Adeline didn''t want her father to lose his control and end up provoking that psychopath vampire.


    Dragomir also got up on his feet and chuckled mockingly, "Oh that was you asking nicely? Then we sure have a huge cultural gap between our Kingdoms."


    "Yes, we from Mihir tend to lean a bit towards violence." Reginald cackled furiously and threatened Dragomir even more, "So don''t make me shake that information out of you. Tell me who he is so that I can get rid of that nameless man for you. I know you never wanted some random commoner to marry your daughter."


    At this point, Reginald wasn''t even thinking before speaking. He was spouting anything and everything that came into his constipated mind.


    Theodore pinched his lips with his fingers so that his laugh wouldn''t slip out. "It''s good to know that I''m a random commoner," he thought to himself while trying hard to hold in.


    Adeline scoffed and was ready to give a mouthful of reply to that bloody vampire but Dragomir instantly defended Theodore.


    "What makes you think that I want to get rid of my gem of a son-in-law?" Dragomir sneered in disdain and tried to crush that arrogant King''s ego, "If I had a hundred chances to choose between you and him, then I would choose him as my daughter''s husband every�� single�� time."


    Theodore placed his palm over his chest and admiringly glanced at his father-in-law for taking his side. "He would choose me every time? Gem?" Amidst all that shouting and cursing happening in front of him, he was smiling like a baby.


    Reginald sighed and fisted one hand on his waist, and with his other hand, he adjusted his red hair. And he gave a demeaning look to Dragomir, "You wouldn''t have said that if you knew just how dangerous I am and how powerful."


    Rebekah could tell that her brother was about to expose himself to those foreigners. And she instantly got up and grabbed her brother by his arm. "Reggie, there''s no need to be this angry. Please take your seat."


    But Reginald grabbed Rebekah''s wrist and threw her hand away. And he scolded his sister for interfering, "Shut up and let the men do the talking, Rebekah. Don''t make me regret bringing you here."


    Adeline clenched her fist and shouted internally, "Let the men do the talking? Seriously? And he wanted me to think that he would let me run this Kingdom if I were to marry him!"


    Rebekah was not going to back down. She was already used to her brother''s threats so she took a step forward and urged both of the Kings to calm their heads, "Why don''t you both sit down and talk calmly? I''m sure we can reach some kind of agreement here."


    Dragomir softened his look a bit after hearing the apologetic voice of Rebekah. And he tried to speak a bit softly, "If it were you who had done the talking from the beginning then maybe we would have something left to talk about, but now I''ve had enough."


    "Father��" Adeline, who was also equally angry as her father, also got up from her seat and tugged her father''s sleeve. "The Princess is right. Nothing good will come out of this meeting if both of you start to fight like this. So why don''t we all sit down and talk?"


    Reginald rolled his eyes at the King and thought, "At least the Princess looks more sensible than this old man."


    Adeline would have loved to send those vampires away as soon as possible but the pit of her stomach was starting to churn thinking that the rejection from her might provoke that Vampire King to attack Wyverndale sooner than he had planned with Lillian.


    So, she at least wanted to send them away without angering them.


    However, Dragomir promptly rejected it, "I''m sorry, Princesses. I don''t think there is any more talking left to do." He glanced at Rebekah and hinted at her to drag her brother away, "I would be glad if you would show yourselves out."


    "Your daughter is clearly interested in talking so why are you being an eyesore?" Reginald couldn''t help but demean Dragomir.


    Rebekah wanted to facepalm herself. "Oh, the ego of his!" she thought. And she tried to prevent the hell from getting loose by suggesting, "Why don''t we take a break and resume this meeting again?"


    "Or Princess Adeline and I could have a separate meeting. I can see that the two of us are at least willing to talk unlike someone here," Reginald gave a glare to Dragomir as if he wanted to snap Dragomir''s neck then and there.


    If he wasn''t Adeline''s father and someone else, then he would have probably done that by now.


    Dragomir was no less than Reginald. He had already realized that Reginald wasn''t after peace but after Adeline.


    And he said with finality, "Neither am I giving any of my daughters to you and nor are you staying a second longer in my Palace." And he furiously shouted, "Now gather your guards and get the hell out of my Kingdom before I push you out myself."


    Reginald mockingly sat down on his seat and crossed his legs. And the fanatic King openly challenged Dragomir, "I''m not going anywhere until I get what I want. Let''s see how you will push me out of here."


    Dragomir chuckled in frustration and shook his head. This brat was constantly testing him, so much so that he felt like drawing his sword and cutting off his tongue.


    And he spoke in a slow yet piercingly cold voice, "I thought you would be different than your father, but you are even worse than him. At least he had the common sense not to come to my Kingdom unarmed and verbally attack me."


    "You think I can only attack you verbally�� and that I''m unarmed? Let me prove you wrong.." Reginald thought to himself and smirked.

 Chapter 377 - Gladly

    The egocentric King didn''t take a second to close the gap between him and King Dragomir.


    Adeline had only blinked and Reginald was already choking her father while showing his elongated fangs.


    And he snarled like the animal he was, leaving Dragomir bamboozled, "That is where you are wrong, you old geezer. I am completely armed."


    "And so is he." Reginald heard a voice coming out of thin air and something unseen grabbed his hand that he was using to choke Dragomir.


    "What the hel�C" before Reginald could even complete his sentence and before Dragomir could register what was happening right in front of his eyes, Reginald was sent flying.


    Reginald''s back hit the stone wall of that meeting room and a huge crack appeared there.


    Seeing her brother being thrown into the air by something unseen, Rebekah also went into defensive mode and bared her fangs.


    Adeline clasped her mouth with her palm and screamed in her mind, "No, no, no, no, no�� this should not be happening."


    Dragomir''s jaw and eyes were wide open upon witnessing the horrific form of the brother and sister. He was in utter disbelief that he was in the presence of such heinous creatures who were successfully disguising themselves as humans.


    "Monsters!" a soft gasp escaped Dragomir''s lips before he sat down on the sofa with a thud.


    "Father!" Adeline inhaled sharply and held her father''s arm to make sure that he was not having another heart attack because of the shock.


    Reginald got up and dusted off his clothes as if nothing had happened. He took an attacking position and he screamed madly, "Who the hell did that? Don''t hide and attack like a coward! If you have any guts then show yourself and fight like a man."


    An amused chuckle resounded throughout the meeting room and everyone in the room heard a passing whisper, "Gladly."


    A gust of wind hit Reginald''s face and sent his red hair floating behind his back. Reginald saw a swirling gust of mist as though a tornado was about to form right in the middle of the room.


    "What is happening? Is it Theodore?" Dragomir asked Adeline in a whisper while massaging his neck.


    "Yes," Adeline confirmed while her eyes were glued on the mist.


    And as the mist settled down, everyone in the room could see a tall and handsome man adorned in black clothes. Theodore put in extra dramatics just to tease that vampire who wanted to steal his girl.


    Rebekah''s jaw dropped down to the floor upon seeing the most handsome man that she had ever encountered in her life. And even Reginald''s eyes were stuck on Theodore''s perfect face for a second.


    Theodore looked at Reginald with his piercing eyes and smiled. "Hello, doggy!" Theodore pointed at his teeth and mocked Reginald, "You got a little something stuck in your teeth right there�� a little overconfidence."


    Reginald was enraged to hear that insult from Theodore. He hardened his face and swung his fist right at Theodore''s face at his vampire speed.


    But Theodore just moved his head and dodged that punch like nothing. "Too slow!"


    Reginald snarled again and threw a barrage of punches at that man.


    However, none of those punches matched with Theodore. Theodore calmly moved around his body like he was doing some kind of exercise routine and dodged every attack.


    Reginald was starting to get agitated because he was feeling like a loser in front of everyone.


    Theodore, on the other hand, was so relaxed that he even introduced himself to Reginald amidst all that, "Oh, where are my manners. I forgot to introduce myself to you."


    When Reginald punched him, Theodore grabbed Reginald''s fist and opened it to give him a handshake, and said, "I''m that same random commoner that you desperately wanted to meet. The name''s Theodore. And I will soon be Adeline''s husband."


    "What?" Reginald paused his futile attacks to process what he just heard. He pulled his hand from Theodore''s grasp and asked, "What are you? You''re no human."


    "Whatever I am, it is none of your concern." Theodore gave a flick on Reginald''s forehead which was enough to make Reginald skid back a little.


    Theodore gave an intimidating smirk and then ordered in an aggressive voice, "Enough with the bickering. Now that you know that I''m far stronger and faster than you, why don''t you accept your defeat? Nobody needs to get hurt today because of your ego. Do as King Dragomir asked. Take your dogs and leave."


    "Not without defeating you, tricky bastard!" Reginald slapped himself on the chest and challenged Theodore, "I know you are a dark sorcerer. Stop with your trickery and fight me without using your tricks."


    It was taking every strand of willpower for Theodore to stop himself from crushing that overconfident kid just because Reginald happened to be out of his jurisdiction.


    Thankfully to Theodore, Rebekah instantly ran to her brother''s side and wrapped him in a chokehold, "Reggie! Stop being a fanatic! Come back to your senses!"


    Rebekah already knew that her brother was going to be in great trouble if he provoked that man any further. "Can''t you see that he is far stronger than you? Why do you have to insist on marrying Princess Adeline when her marriage has already been fixed? You can get any other girls you want."


    "But I want her!" Reginald grabbed Rebekah''s arm and flipped her over to hit Theodore.


    Theodore was caught off-guard and both he and Rebekah were sent flying with great force. Both of them crashed on the door, causing the door to be broken into pieces and fall apart.


    "Theodore!" Adeline was shocked to see that Reginald was powerful enough to do that. Adeline wanted to run to Theodore but her father already looked pale and she couldn''t leave his side.


    "Argh!" Rebekah winced in pain as shards of the wood had pierced through her thigh and very close to her chest.


    And as Theodore was below Rebekah, several pieces of wood had managed to pierce him as well. But he didn''t care about himself and wanted to help Rebekah as she seemed to be in great pain.


    Rebekah was still on Theodore, so he gently shifted out and helped Rebekah pull out those woods, "I''m going to pull the out the stakes. I''m sure you will heal."


    The guards of both the Kingdom who were standing outside could now see everything that was happening. They were all puzzled to see Theodore. And since none of the Kings had given out orders yet, they were not sure if they were supposed to intervene or not.


    And without caring that his sister was hurt, Reginald shouted at his Royal Guards, "What are you looking at, you fools? That man is an intruder and he is trying to kill the Princess.. Pin him down and beat him to a pulp."

 Chapter 378 - Chaotic Room

    The vampire guards didn''t immediately respond to the order from their King because no matter what he was saying, everyone could clearly see that Theodore was not trying to kill Rebekah but was helping her instead.


    Reginald became even more furious when the guards were standing outside the broken door like statues.


    He ran towards Theodore and Rebekah himself and picked the still-healing sister in his arms while screaming, "How dare of you to hurt my sister?"


    Rebekah was also burning with anger by that madness of her brother. She slapped him across the face and screamed, "You''re the one who hurt me, you arsehole! Put me down before I lose my mind!"


    Reginald gritted his teeth and was about to throw his sister again.


    Theodore sensed it and he had enough of that vampire throwing a temper tantrum like a loser. In the blink of an eye, Theodore took Rebekah from his arm, put her down on the sofa, and went back to give a tight punch to Reginald.


    "Enough!" Theodore''s loud voice resounded throughout the meeting room as well as outside.


    Reginald was sent flying again and slammed against a painting on the wall. His nose started to bleed because of the punch from Theodore.


    Reginald held his nose with his palm and looked up but the bleeding didn''t stop. And he barely managed to give a ''threat'' to Theodore, "How dare you hit a King like this? I''m going to wipe everyone out from Wyverndale''s face! I''ll kill you all!"


    "No, I will kill you, you rabid dog. Don''t provoke me any further because I might just do that." Theodore''s eyes had already turned into their devilish color. His face no longer reflected the charm of his but the terrifying devil that he tried hard to keep at bay.


    Theodore''s back was facing towards Adeline and Dragomir. And that was when Adeline saw all the pieces of wood sticking out on his back.


    She felt a stinging pain in her heart seeing Theodore hurt. She would have probably panicked even more if it wasn''t for Theodore''s black clothes which were concealing the blood.


    "Let me haul your arse back to where it should be." Theodore''s growl echoed as he slowly inched forward while thinking of teleporting that troublesome King to his own Palace and throwing him there.


    But the vampire guards assumed that Theodore was going to hurt Reginald. They felt that their King''s life was in danger and like a breeze, they entered the meeting room to guard their King and attack the threat.


    The moment Adeline felt several gusts of wind in the room, she knew what was going on. "No, no, no! This is getting worse!"


    The Royal Guards of Wyverndale were left utterly baffled when all the enemies vanished from before their eyes. Before they could think what could have happened, they heard Adeline''s voice, "Guards! Protect the King!"


    A squad of the Royal Guards instantly marched inside the room to find Dragomir and Adeline in the opposite corner of where the fight between Theodore and the vampire guards had already begun. And they immediately formed a human barrier in front of the King and the Princess.


    The other guards of Wyverndale who were outside were now in battle mode and were guarding the door.


    Adeline had called the guards because there were too many vampires jumping at Theodore at once. While he would be occupied by a few, she didn''t want the other vampires to hold her or the King as a hostage to gain leverage over Theodore.


    "What is going on?" A Royal Guard asked as his eyeballs were frantically trying to catch those who were fighting at the front.


    Another guard tightened his grip on his sword and shield, and replied all confused and scared, "I have no idea�� But they all look like monsters." He whispered while pointing his brows at one of the vampires who was standing still, "Look at that one''s teeth!"


    Adeline, who was listening to their conversation couldn''t blame them for being scared of something which they had never expected to see in their life.


    She stepped closer to the guards and whispered an order in one''s ear, "If they try and attack, either behead them or pierce right on their hearts. Don''t hesitate to kill them if they attack. And don''t speak too loudly because they have a sharp hearing. Pass the message along."


    That guard nodded and did as Adeline said.


    Dragomir wondered what his daughter had said to them but he was too busy taking in deep breaths and exhaling in order to calm his old heart. Though Theodore had taken him to the fountain to cure him, it seemed like his illness had flared again.


    After everyone got the order, the humans in the room were trying to keep up with the fight but their eyes were barely able to see what was going on. All they could see was a passing blur, and hear banging noises and cries every now and then.


    Rebekah, on the other hand, was still laying down on the sofa and was waiting for the wound on her thighs to heal. It was pretty deep. Though she was sitting away from that fight, her eyes were filled with horror.


    The predators had become the prey.


    And this was probably the first time that Rebekah feared someone this much. She was clasping her hands together and was anxiously thinking, "Just what is that man? How is he stronger than the purebloods? And how is he fighting so many of them at once?"


    Though Theodore had been nothing but nice to her, she got scared. Theodore was punching, slapping, and slamming the most powerful vampires of their land like they were nothing but insects. And he had already knocked four of them out cold.


    Two of the vampires were standing in front of Reginald while his broken nose was healing. And the remaining six had surrounded Theodore and were attacking him all at once.


    A vampire swooshed in from behind while Theodore was busy with another one, and he punched at the stake that was still protruding out of his back.


    Theodore winched in irritation. He tilted his head and growled, "You shouldn''t have done that!"


    Theodore furiously threw the vampire who was trying to bite him from the front and turned around to grab that backstabber by his neck. He pulled out a stake that was pierced on his thigh and punctured that backstabber''s chest while avoiding his heart by a few hairs'' gap so as not to kill him.


    "Aaaarrrghhhhh!" that vampire shrieked in pain, almost deafening all the other vampires.


    Each and every vampire present in that room felt their heart getting colder upon realizing that Theodore could kill any one of them with ease if he wanted to.


    Theodore gave an evil grin to that vampire and whispered, "That''s what you get for trying to backstab the devil."


    Adeline was holding her breath because that cry sent goosebumps all over her body.


    She took a deep breath in and thought to herself, "I just need to stay out of the fight. Theodore will knock them all out in no time. It will all be over before you know it."


    Life would be a lot easier if everything went as planned.

 Chapter 379 - Bloodlust

    Reginald tapped two of the guards who were protecting him and gestured them to distract Theodore. And he shouted, "Kill everyone outside! Massacre everyone. Don''t leave a single person alive in this Palace."


    And immediately on cue, those two guards ran out of the room. The other four guards who were still standing also followed the suit and ran outside, leaving Theodore.


    Adeline''s heart dropped when she heard Reginald shout that order. She felt weak in her knees imagining the corpses of her family members.


    Theodore was confused for a fraction of a second as to stay inside and protect Adeline and Dragomir, or to chase after those vampires who were already grabbing a human each, ready to bite their head off. Some were already sinking their fangs on the guards and panic was ensuing all around the King''s Court.


    In the end, Theodore thought of knocking out those six vampires at first.


    Theodore trusted Rebekah to stop her brother if he was to do anything bad to the humans inside.


    As they were standing still, Theodore teleported from one vampire to another and poked them on the right nerves of their neck so as to make them all unconscious. To make sure that they wouldn''t wake up any time soon, he went around and broke one of their legs each.


    He was making it look like he was snapping some twig, and the human guards were watching him in action while being stunned.


    "That is Princess Adeline''s fianc���� no wonder she chose him," one of the guards who recognized Theodore from the last visit thought to himself as he pressed the puncture wound that he got from the vampire bite. He was so awestruck while watching Theodore that he didn''t even feel his blood dripping down his neck.


    Without wasting a second, Theodore teleported inside the meeting room�� only to see all of the guards lying wounded or knocked out on the floor.


    Rebekah was lying in one corner and her head was bleeding. Still, she was dragging herself towards her brother to stop him from committing the greatest mistake of his life.


    Adeline was sweating and running towards the sofa to get the sword that she had hidden earlier.


    And on another corner of the room, Reginald had pinned down Dragomir to the floor and was already sucking his blood from the neck. Dragomir already looked pale as if all of his blood was about to be drained from his body.


    That was the last straw that Reginald could pull for Theodore to snap.


    Almost in an instant, Theodore''s massive wings spread in the room. His large and sharp horns came into view. And his razor-sharp claws protruded from the tip of all of his fingers, ready to slay that bastard.


    He flapped his wings and grabbed Reginald by his hair. "Leave him!" he growled like a true monster.


    Reginald had yet to see Theodore''s massive and dangerous version so he refused to let go of Dragomir''s neck.


    Dragomir on the other hand was directly seeing Theodore in that terrifying form. Those red eyes of Theodore sent cold and sharp pain in his heart. And he was confused about who he was more scared of, Reginald or Theodore.


    Theodore then pierced all of his claws on Reginald''s shoulder so that he would scream in pain and open his mouth, freeing Dragomir from him.


    And Reginald did just that. He shouted because he could feel burning pain as though his shoulder blade had been sliced through. His golden robe was now laced with his dark red blood.


    The moment Reginald removed his fangs from Dragomir''s neck, Theodore grabbed Reginald by his red hair again and slammed him against the floor with such a great force that a huge crater was formed. A few of the bones in Reginald''s body cracked that instant.


    If the room had not been on the ground floor then they would have fallen down to the floor below.


    Rebekah, Adeline, and Dragomir, who were on three different corners of the room, were all holding their breath because of what they were seeing. They all knew that Theodore was going to kill Reginald at any instant.


    And just like what they had thought, Theodore grabbed Reginald by his collar and floated midair. And his voice resounded everywhere as he furiously screamed at Reginald, "You just invited your own death, kid! You should have quietly left when I had given you the chance."


    Reginald finally saw Theodore''s devilish form clearly. His eyes, his horns, his wings, everything screamed danger. And it finally dawned upon Reginald that this man could have been the Devil Prince that Horace warned him about.


    However, it was already too late. He had already awoken the devil and he was going to pay for it.


    Dragomir was about to faint because of the extreme blood loss. But he knew that if Theodore was to kill Reginald, then the two Kingdoms could enter into a great war. So with his feeble breath, he shouted, "Theodore��"


    Theodore turned around to look at Dragomir but all Dragomir managed to say was, "Don''t��" and he fainted.


    And it just made the bloodlust that was burning inside of Theodore to erupt like a volcano.


    Theodore screamed and grabbed Reginald''s neck with one hand and with his other hand, he slowly dug his claws inside Reginald''s chest with the intention of clawing out his dead heart.


    Reginald was struggling in pain but couldn''t even scream because he was being choked.


    From where Rebekah was lying, it seemed as though Theodore had already killed Reginald.


    "Noooooooooooooo��" she gut-wrenchingly screamed and wailed to mourn the ''death'' of her brother.


    And in the heat of that moment, she pushed herself up from the cold floor and ran to where Adeline was.


    One of the knocked-out vampires had been woken up by Rebekah''s scream and Adeline was bending down to grab her sword, just in case.


    But right at that moment, Rebekah pushed her down on the ground and turned her up to claw her heart out as an act of revenge.


    Rebekah managed to do all that within a matter of two seconds.


    Rebekah looked dead into Adeline''s stunned eyes and whispered as a drop of her tear fell on Adeline''s chest, "I''m sorry!"

 Chapter 380 - Princess Vs Princess

    "I''m sorry!"


    "Why?" Adeline had a betrayed look on her face. Rebekah had done everything she could to stop her brother earlier. And never had it crossed Adeline''s mind that she would do what she was going to do.


    But reality had already set in Adeline''s mind. She already knew she was in a kill or be killed situation.


    Adeline locked Rebekah''s attention on her face and stealthily slid her hand under the sofa. "Why are you doing this, Princess? You don''t need to do this."


    "Because however he was, he was the only family I had!" Rebekah screamed in agony and spread her fingers as though they were claws.


    That scream drew Theodore''s attention. A chill shiver entered his heart when he saw Rebekah straddling Adeline. Everything slowed down for him.


    Rebekah gave out a battle cry and her hand was inching closer and closer to Adeline''s heart.


    His deep and menacing voice echoed, "Nooooooooo!"


    He immediately pulled out his claws from Reginald''s chest and threw Reginald away.


    Theodore was about to give his wings a flap to cross the distance between him and those two.


    However, that vampire guard who had awoken grabbed his wing and literally hung on it. He sank his teeth on Theodore''s wings without wasting a second and the imbalance and pain made Theodore topple on the floor.


    Adeline was already ready to fight Rebekah the moment Rebekah had straddled her. She had already managed to grab her sword.


    So when Rebekah''s hand was inches away from smashing into her chest and crushing her heart, Adeline also gave out a loud cry and forcefully thrust her hips.


    Rebekah''s bottom got hit which made her flop down on her head. Adeline had exerted so much force that Rebekah''s already clotted wound on her head began to bleed again. Using that distraction, Adeline grabbed Rebekah''s waist with both of her hands and rolled her over to be on top.


    Adeline drew her sword without one bit of hesitation and aimed at Rebekah''s heart.


    But no matter how fast she was trying to act, Rebekah was faster than her. She managed to drag herself a little before the sword could stab her heart.


    Still, the sword jabbed Rebekah at the side of her stomach before she could pull herself up and away from Adeline''s hold.


    Rebekah held the side of her stomach and tried her best to suppress her scream so as not to boost Adeline''s confidence. But the pain was so excruciating that she thought she would die just because of a stab in her stomach, not even her heart.


    She wanted to see what Adeline had stabbed her with but she only saw Adeline pretending to hold something.


    "Stop the madness, Princess," Adeline was shouting while pointing her fist at her.


    But the pain was getting too unbearable for Rebekah. She was sweating profusely within a matter of mere seconds. Her eyes were blurry, her heart was clenching like never before and she thought she was about to die for real.


    "I''m not going down without taking you with me!" Rebekah screamed deafeningly to mask her pain and she was ready to attack Adeline again.


    She bare her fangs and jumped at Adeline like the predator she was.


    Both of them fell to the floor with Rebekah on top of Adeline.


    However, she jumped right into the Cerberus Sword. The sword passed clean through her stomach.


    "Aaahhhhhh!" Rebekah felt that same worst pain again. She rested her head on Adeline''s shoulder unable to even lift her head.


    The hilt of the sword that was in between them was poking Adeline''s stomach. She was breathing heavily. She was even trembling because vampire or not, Rebekah still looked like a human, and she had stabbed her.


    She felt like Rebekah''s weight was increasing by the second. Adeline tried to push her aside but was unable to. Maybe she was already worn out because of all the trauma that she was going through.


    Rebekah, on the other hand, felt like something colder than her was spreading from her stomach to all over her body.


    Rebekah whispered with her forced breath, "What did you do to me?" She forced herself to push her head up, only to see that her hand had already turned ash-grey, the color of dead vampires. She was even more furious.


    Adeline also saw the rotting face of Rebekah. The veins had already started to clot and looked darker than her grey face. Only a few chunks here and there were yet to turn into that rotting color.


    Adeline felt light-headed and wanted to vomit, not because of Rebekah''s rotting face, but because of the sudden guilt for killing Rebekah.


    But Rebekah still had some fight left in her. With her remaining energy and life, Rebekah grabbed Adeline''s hair and jerked her neck to the side.


    She buried her fangs on Adeline''s neck with the intention to rip her head off.


    "Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhh!" Adeline closed her eyes and cried while holding onto her dear life. Rebekah wasn''t just digging her fangs but was also pulling on Adeline''s chunk of meat to tear it off.


    Before Rebekah was successful, Adeline felt some icy cold liquid dripping on her chest and running towards her neck.


    She clenched her teeth and forced her eyes open to see Theodore�� with a heart on his hand.


    Theodore himself looked shocked by what he had done. He kept on staring at that dead heart of Rebekah.


    Adeline pushed Rebekah''s mouth open to release herself from her fangs and then rolled her to the side with the last bit of her strength.


    Adeline was breathing in and out very noisily as if she was trying very hard not to wail like a baby. But even though she didn''t wail, her warm tears started to roll down her temple.


    She was so overwhelmed by the death of Rebekah and her near-death experience that she didn''t have the strength to push herself up and check on her father or Theodore or anyone else.


    She wished that all of this was just a nightmare and she would soon wake up before the darkness inside of her would swallow her whole.


    Adeline was about to lose her consciousness when she heard Theodore, "No�� no, no, no��"


    Theodore was still standing right where he was. "What have I done?" He looked terrified and restless for some reason.


    He reverted back to his normal form and hastily kneeled down beside Rebekah''s body. He put the heart back in the hole in her chest and covered her chest with his palm.


    And he was whispering madly, almost as though he was possessed by something, "Please don''t be dead.. Please don''t be dead. Wake up! WAKE UP!"

 Chapter 381 - The Father

    Theodore was acting very bizarrely unlike Adeline had ever seen him before.


    "You cannot die! Wake up!" Theodore kept on shouting and frantically shaking Rebekah''s dead body.


    He felt the invisible sword on her stomach and even pulled that out and threw it aside. And he pressed on that stomach wound as well when a gush of blood flowed out after pulling out that sword.


    "Theodore��" Adeline tried calling him to bring him back to his senses. But her voice was too feeble and weak.


    Several Royal Guards rushed inside. Some of them took Dragomir to get treated, some began gathering the knocked down bodies of the vampires even though they were not sure what to do with them. And some rushed towards Adeline.


    "Your Highness!" A guard panicked to see Adeline''s chest and neck covered in blood. As she was not moving, he thought that she had already died.


    He was greatly relieved when Adeline moved her head to look at him.


    A few other guards joined and he asked after heaving a sigh of relief, "Let us take you to the healer."


    They had brought a stretcher to carry the Princess. As one side was occupied by the dead body of Rebekah, and Theodore; and the other side by the sofa, the guards were trying to find a way to shift the Princess on the stretcher without hurting her any further.


    But Adeline waved off her hand and asked, "No, just help me up."


    "But Princess�C"


    "Please��" she asked in a whisper.


    The guards followed her order and helped her up on her feet.


    She was still bleeding from the puncture wounds on her neck. But she didn''t want to leave Theodore who was now desperately trying to wipe off the blood from his palms.


    "No, no, no, no, no��" Theodore was whispering frantically while rubbing his palms.


    The guards helped her kneel beside Theodore. As the Princess was being stubborn and was not willing to go to the healer, a guard ran to get one of the healers. Two of the guards kept on standing behind her while a few others were standing close by.


    Adeline held Theodore''s palms and stopped him from rubbing them anymore. "Theodore! Look at me!"


    Theodore was still looking at the dead body of Rebekah, with his downturned lips and crushed senses.


    And she forced herself to speak louder, "LOOK AT ME!"


    Theodore looked into Adeline''s teary eyes. Adeline guessed that he was behaving like that because he had killed someone from Earth. And she tried to console him, "Theodore, you did not kill her. I did. She was already dying from the wounds that my sword gave her."


    "But I was the one who stopped her breath!" Theodore whispered very guiltily. "And I shouldn''t have done that�� I could have just pushed her away from you. Why didn''t I do that?"


    He pulled his hand away from Adeline''s hold and grabbed his hair with his bloody hands. "I made a mistake! I made a great mistake! An irreversible one��"


    Adeline furrowed her brows and spoke consolingly, "Theodore, please calm down. I take the responsibility for her death. I was the one who stabbed her twice."


    "No, you don''t understand��" Theodore began pulling his hair.


    It crushed Adeline''s heart to see him in that state. Even though she was already too weak to even keep on sitting by his side, her heart did not allow her to leave her man.


    "Oh, Theo��" she raised her hand to stop him from pulling his hair. But her hand stopped midways when she heard a thunder out of nowhere.


    Everyone looked shocked because there was not a single cloud in the sky.


    And then they saw a series of lightning followed closely by thunders.


    "Oh, God!" Theodore held his head with both of his hands and began panicking.


    The moment Theodore took the God''s name, everything around him stopped moving altogether.


    Adeline was reaching out her hand and was looking at Theodore. A drop of blood that dripped from her neck was stuck midair. The guards were looking out of the window with surprised expressions on their faces. Even the birds outside were stuck midair. There was absolute silence.


    Everyone and everything were frozen in time.


    And Theodore knew what to expect.


    Soon enough, a blinding light covered the room. The light was so bright that Theodore closed his eyes and on top of that, he covered his eyes with his wrist so that he wouldn''t be blinded by that light.


    After a few seconds, the light dimmed down a notch or two and Theodore heard a heavenly voice echoing in the room, "Theodore�� how I hoped that this day would never come."


    Theodore removed his wrist from before his eyes but he bowed before even taking a look at his father. "Father, I offer you my greetings!" he said in a firm but a guilt-ridden voice.


    And then only Theodore peeked a glance of his father. He was adorned in an eye-blinding white robe as always. His grey hair and beard still were of the same length that they used to be when Theodore last saw his father.


    His serene yet turbulent face was directly glaring into Theodore''s soul.


    And he spoke in a painfully calm voice, "I could have gone several millennials without seeing you but you�� you know how to drag me down to Earth."


    Before his father would give some unthinkable punishment to him, Theodore kowtowed to God and pleaded, "Father, I made a mistake. Please forgive me for this time. I will never�C"


    "Never what?" God screamed so furiously that the Earth also trembled with fury for a few seconds.


    Theodore kept on kowtowing to God and didn''t even dare to utter another word.


    "Look at me!" Theodore instantly lifted his head up to see his father the moment he heard the order.


    And his father began to scold him by bringing up everything that Theodore had done before.


    "Do you think this is the first time you made such a grave mistake? Do you think I have not overlooked your past mistakes? I have overlooked countless of them, Theodore. And you know it in your heart."


    He pointed at Adeline and shouted, "This girl right here, she had the lifespan of three years old. She should have died after you brought her back from your cave. But you had to intervene and give her your powers."


    He gave a menacing glare to Theodore and growled, "And you changed everyone''s fate just because you saved this soul. You even changed your own fate and your brother''s fate just because you saved this child."


    "And you didn''t stop there, Theodore.. You kept on piling up your mistakes just because I was silent."

 Chapter 382 - Unforgivable Sin

    "And you didn''t stop there, Theodore. You kept on piling up your mistakes just because I was silent."


    God gave a furious look to Theodore and threw in his other sins, "You may not have directly killed other Earthlings but you have led countless of others to their deaths �C the witch of Mystic Coven, the villagers of Mihir, the maids of Edwin, the General''s daughter�� I can go on and on."


    The almighty glanced at Adeline and back at Theodore. "I should have intervened the moment you shared your power with a human, that also a child at that. Yet, I turned a blind eye even when I knew you would end up falling for her if I let her be."


    "Just like you took a pity on this child, I pitied my son." He paused for a while, despising his son whose hands were laced in the blood of one of his creations. "But that was a big mistake from my side. I should have snuffed the bud of love before it had even begun."


    In the almighty''s eyes, Theodore had crossed the divine order by saving the child whose lifespan was just three years old. He had caused turmoil in the path that was already set.


    And he believed that saving Adeline was where everything started. He believed that it was Theodore''s greatest mistake. And that small pity that Theodore took on Adeline caused everything to snowball and lead to today''s unfortunate event.


    However, Theodore did not think that saving Adeline from her horrible fate during her childhood was a mistake.


    And even when he was in the wrong right now, Theodore defended his actions back then, "Father, I agree that I committed a great sin today. I am not denying that. But choosing to save Adeline was not a sin. We are allowed to choose our own fate, father. That is what I did. I chose my fate. I chose her."


    His father abruptly shouted at him again in his terrifyingly resounding voice, "But at what cost, Theodore? At the cost of countless other lives that were sacrificed for her safety. At the cost of sending the destiny of countless other entities into disarray."


    "A whole new reality was created because you meddled in the affairs of Earthlings like you always do." The creator sighed and put his hands behind his back.


    He softened his voice a notch and said to his son, "But I let that reality play out because no matter how you are, you are still my son. And I thought that you would do the right thing without me intervening."


    He heaved a sigh and said in a loathing voice, "But you always love to prove me wrong."


    He turned away from that guilty son of his and stared out of the window. He looked very disappointed when he said, "How many times do I need to overlook your mistakes? How many times do I have to ask you not to meddle with the Earthlings'' affairs?"


    "I didn''t cast you down to Earth to have a love affair or marry a human. I sent you here so that the humans wouldn''t misuse the Fountain of Youth." He turned to face Theodore again.


    The Immortal then waved his hand in front of him and a view of King Dragomir appeared in front of Theodore. "But you are the one who is misusing it by bringing in the humans and saving their lives when they should have already moved on to the afterlife."


    "This King should have died two years ago. But you kept on saving him time and again." He blew a gentle breeze from his mouth and Dragomir''s image vanished like a puff of smoke.


    For Theodore, Dragomir had given more love to him in the past couple of weeks than his father did in a couple of millenials. And when his father brought up the issue of all of his loved ones'' extended lifelines one by one, he could feel a knot at the pit of his stomach.


    He felt angry at his father for always making his life difficult. He felt like shouting back at his father but he knew better than that.


    But still, Theodore mockingly tried to use the ''God''s creation'' card on the creator, "I did what I did because I fell in love with one of the very creations of yours which I despised in the past. Shouldn''t father be happy that I now love your creation?"


    This was the first time Theodore had courageously spoken against his father. He still held the grudge against his father for casting him out for uncountable years because of one small mistake.


    "Yes, but you only love one in particular." His father let out a burst of frustrated laughter. "I didn''t know you have become bolder than before, Theodore. You still have the guts to argue with me after committing an unforgivable crime."


    He pointed at the dead body of Rebekah and chastised Theodore, "You already know that you cannot cross this line. I cannot forgive you when you have killed an Earthling."


    "I am well aware, father. I have sinned and I am guilty." Theodore was in no position to ask for forgiveness and he knew it. So he bowed down and accepted his mistake instead. "Please, punish me in any way you see fit."


    Theodore didn''t want to extend his father''s stay more than what was necessary. The more he stayed, the more ''mistakes'' his father was going to bring up and the more severe the punishment.


    The almighty narrowed his eyes at Theodore. He had already decided on a punishment before even coming to Earth. And he said in an unrelenting voice, "A life for a life. That is going to be your punishment."


    Theodore''s heart jumped inside his chest the moment those words from his cold father pierced his ear like a sharp arrow. His eyes widened and his breathing got heavier and heavier. His heart turned freezing cold.


    Being an immortal, Theodore never had to fear death. This was the very first time he was getting this strange feeling in his heart. He felt like he was dying just from the words of his father.


    "So this is how my life ends�� At the hands of my own creator��" the heavy words ran inside his mind like a thunderstorm.


    If he had gotten this punishment before he had met Adeline then he would have simply closed his eyes and accepted his death. But he had dreamt about spending his life with Adeline. And the thought of having to perish away like this gave him unbearable pain.


    He tried to swallow the lump in his throat but it was going nowhere. The churning in his stomach became worse. And he felt like pulling his own heart out and throwing it away because of the coldness.


    After taking a deep breath in, he asked his father while looking at the floor and trying to prevent his voice from breaking, "May I at least say my final goodbyes to Adeline?"


    There was a deafening silence for a few seconds, which felt like years for Theodore.


    Adeline, who had turned into nothing more but a statue, defied the freezing of time and dropped her warm tear.. But it stopped midways and got frozen in time.

 Chapter 383 - Punishment

    "Why would you say goodbye to your human? Are you going somewhere?" Theodore''s father asked in a monotone.


    Theodore shot a quizzical glance at his father who was talking in riddles. He furrowed his brows and stuttered, "Y-You''re not going to kill me?"


    The almighty was silent for a while but Theodore could swear that he was deliberately doing that. And he could swear that instead of anger, he saw sadness in his father''s ocean blue eyes.


    "What parent kills their own child? Do you think of me as being so cruel?" His father asked while a hint of sadness lingered on his face.


    But it quickly faded away and his ferocious expression overtook. "Well, I''m crueler than that."


    "It''s not your life that I am going to send to the afterlife today. It''s of those who have over-lived." The almighty walked around Theodore and then stood while facing Adeline.


    Theodore''s heart was crushed into a million pieces when his father stared at the unmoving body of Adeline. "Father, ple�C"


    "But don''t worry," the creator instantly cut his words and said, "I won''t wipe all of them. You took one life so I''m going to do the same. An eye for an eye."


    Theodore instantly dropped his head to touch his father''s foot and held his leg tightly. And he began to plead to his father as though he was a baby, "Father, please don''t do that. I will die even if you don''t take my life. So, please, take my life instead. Don''t punish her for my sins."


    At this point, Theodore''s eyes were already tearing up. And he kept on begging in his broken voice, "If you ask me then I will throw myself into the pit of hellfire. But please, spare her life. She hasn''t even lived a quarter of her life yet. Please, father! Please! Spare her!"


    The almighty kept on glancing at his son who kept on clinging onto his leg and kept on crying and begging for mercy.


    Theodore hadn''t pleaded this much when he was being thrown down to Earth.


    The father in him looked at his son with pitiful eyes. He even stretched out his hand to caress his son''s head. But he folded his fingers into a fist and pulled his hand away.


    He also pulled his leg away from his son''s grasp and then stood a little far away from his son''s reach.


    Theodore was bawling as he had never before. He was touching the floor with his forehead and began punching his fist on the floor. The thought of having to lose Adeline gave him immense pain than the thought of his own death.


    His father clenched his fists behind his back. It hurt him to see his son in that state.


    He wanted to forgive his son and hold his son in his arms. They were meeting after such a long time.


    The almighty heaved a sigh and said in a bit softer voice, "I wouldn''t have heeded to your request if it wasn''t for Azriel who has sacrificed so much for his little brother''s happiness. I won''t take this human of yours with me."


    Theodore immediately pushed his head up from the floor to look at his father with grateful but wet eyes. He was about to bow to his father and thank him.


    However, his father was too proud to be that soft. And he wanted to punish his son for breaking the one rule that he wouldn''t tolerate.


    So he instead announced another punishment in an unrelenting voice, "But�� I will take her father away. And that is my final verdict."


    Adeline''s eyes moved a little upon hearing those words from God. All this time, she was able to hear and see everything that was happening in front of her. And she had been screaming and crying in her mind the whole time.


    She wanted to break free out of the trap that her body was in and wanted to scold God for being so cruel to his own son, and to her mother, her father, and her. "What have we ever done to receive such a cruel fate?" she was constantly banging her hand at the walls of her conscious mind and was wailing.


    She wanted to ask God all what''s and the why''s. But all she could do was quietly listen to the father and son. She couldn''t even shed the tears that were already accumulating in her eyes.


    Theodore was now irritated at the irrational decision of his father. He frantically glanced at the frozen body of Adeline and he didn''t know how he was going to face her if her father would die because of what he did.


    He finally broke down and raised his voice at the all-powerful celestial being, "Father, why are you doing this to me? Please, punish me instead. Why do you have to take his life? He hasn''t even done anything. I committed the sin so punish me directly. Why are you making all this so complicated?"


    God firmly replied in his fearsome roar, "Because I want you to know the pain of losing your family member. It is the greatest punishment one can ever get. And I want you to rethink before you take such actions from now on. Let his death be the constant reminder for you to stay away from the path of sin."


    "I already know I sinned. And I will stay away from that path. So, plea�C"


    "I already said it is final. I will send in a reaper to collect his soul," The almighty roared with finality, sending a series of tremors in the vicinity.


    Both Theodore and Adeline were terrified that he would add in some more punishment just because Theodore tried to protest against him.


    Theodore still gave a pleading look to his father and begged for his father-in-law, "Father, King Dragomir has done great deeds in his lifetime. Please don''t let his life end this way. At least let him walk his daughter down the aisle. Don''t take away that happiness from him because of the dispute between us."


    The almighty was not immune to emotions. And his son''s pleading look melted his hard resolve.


    He silently thought to himself, "Oh, my dear son. If only you had pleaded this much for yourself�� if only you had fought with me like this all that time ago�� I wouldn''t have been a fool and cast you down here."


    He gazed at his son and said a little softly, "So be it then. I will send a reaper within this month to collect his soul. And don''t mistake this as a favor to you. I did it for the sake of that poor man. Make sure to make his remaining time memorable."


    Theodore was a little bit relieved to hear that his father had at least agreed to that request of his. "Thank you for your benevolence, father. And I am really sorry to have disappointed you and mother. Please tell her that I am ashamed of my action and that I miss her."


    The last word pinched God''s heart a little. But he didn''t say anything to console his son.


    He simply disappeared from the room without even conveying how much his mother missed him every day, and without expressing how much he himself missed his son.

 Chapter 384 - Fury And Pain

    The moment the almighty vanished from the room, the time resumed flowing normally.


    To those except Adeline and Theodore, the time seemed to move very normally as if nothing had happened. The guards kept on looking outside the window wondering why the lightning occurred out of nowhere. The birds began flying again.


    Those who were outside also started to run around to complete the tasks that they were doing.


    Adeline''s blood and tear that were stuck in time finally dropped. And Adeline gasped loudly as though she was choking, attracting everyone''s attention.


    She had never felt this suffocated and this helpless ever in her life before.


    The moment Theodore heard Adeline gasping for air, he immediately crawled and knelt in front of her. His head became a little clearer than before and he was finally able to give his complete attention to Adeline.


    "Adeline! Are you oka�C" he felt as if his heart was plucked out and tossed into the hellfire when his eyes finally landed on the four huge puncture marks on Adeline''s neck. In his panic, he had forgotten that Adeline was bitten by Rebekah before he pulled her heart out.


    Blood was still gushing out from those deep wounds of Adeline. The light orange gown of Adeline was already soaked in her blood. And on top of that, Rebekah''s blood made it look like Adeline had lost way more blood than what she actually had.


    And Theodore even suspected that his father had only pretended to spare Adeline''s life because she was already dying. His fingertips and feet went cold and numb in an instant and he began to have cold sweats.


    Adeline, on the other hand, was devastated because God himself had stated that her beloved father was going to die within a month.


    And upon hearing if she was okay, Adeline instantly broke down. All the mixed emotions that she was feeling until now came bursting out like a tsunami.


    She put her arms around her waist and curled up into a ball. She began wailing without caring about the agonizing pain in her neck that became worst with her crying. Her throat was already dry and her cries sounded so broken that everyone feared she would hurt her throat.


    One of the guards panicked and ran to check where the healer had reached. And another guard asked in a freaked voice, "Your Highness, please let us take you to the healer. You seem to be in a lot of pain."


    But there was no answer from Adeline.


    The guards had no idea why she was crying all of a sudden, and neither did Theodore. Theodore had no idea that Adeline had heard all the conversation between him and his father.


    So, naturally, he also assumed that she was crying because of the physical pain that she was in.


    "Adeline��" Theodore spoke with great difficulty. He feared to even touch her at first thinking she might have been hurt in other places as well. The bloodstained cloth was making it harder to tell.


    And hearing her gut-wrenching cries, Theodore forgot all the scolding that he got from his father a minute ago and said, "Adeline, let me take you to the fountain."


    Theodore was about to touch her knee with the intention to teleport her to his cave. But Adeline saw his hand approaching her and slapped it away in fury and screamed, "No!" And she continued to cry.


    "Adeline!" Theodore furrowed his brows and asked in a whisper, "Adeline, why are you denying it? Please don''t be so stubborn and let me take you there. You will heal in no time."


    Adeline abruptly raised her head to directly look at Theodore. Her eyes had already turned red and were swollen. Her face looked very flustered.


    She was angry at Theodore for even suggesting that after everything that happened. She wiped her eyes and nose with the back of her palm and she furiously yelled at Theodore, "I don''t want to heal at the cost of another life, Theodore!"


    "Just leave me alone!" Adeline turned her gaze away from Theodore and began to silently shed her tears again.


    A cold shiver ran along Theodore''s spine. He understood that Adeline was able to hear the unfortunate talk, the unfortunate side-effect of still having Theodore''s demonic power inside of her.


    "Adeline, I''m�C"


    "No!" Adeline raised her palm in front of his face and let out her fury, "Don''t say a word to me right now. Just. Leave. Me. Alone. You''ve already done more than enough!"


    Those words crushed the hearts of both of them. Adeline didn''t want to say it but the anger overtook her rational thoughts. And the guilt that was eating Theodore up was magnified even further by her words.


    The guards and the healer came running inside the room. The healer had brought a huge box along with him. The moment he reached near Adeline, he instantly knelt down and opened his box.


    "Your Highness, I''m going to clean your wound." The healer had not seen all the drama so he couldn''t see the tension in the air. He carried on with his task without waiting for the reply from the Princess.


    Theodore felt his heart clenching. He couldn''t even look eye to eye at Adeline because of the accusing glare that she was giving him. If he could turn back time then he would have done things differently, a lot of things.


    The pain and frustration became unbearable to him. He wanted to teleport to Hell and vent out his anger where he was allowed to. But there were a few things that he needed to take care of first.


    "I will teleport all the vampires back to Mihir. And I will ask everyone in the Palace not to spread today''s event outside the Palace." He dared to look at Adeline''s angry eyes and asked as softly as he could, "Summon me when you are ready to have a talk with me."


    "I won''t appear in front of you until then." The moment the last sentence came out of his mouth, Theodore regretted it. He was afraid that she would never want to see him again. He was afraid that he would never get to have the life that he dreamt to have with his beloved.


    Adeline also felt pain in her heart because she could hear the anguish in his voice.


    She regretted how she shouted at Theodore when everything that he did was to protect her. And she didn''t know how and when but Theodore''s father had said that Theodore had saved her father time and again.


    And she knew very well that Theodore didn''t deserve those harsh and cold words from her when he had literally clung to his father''s feet and begged not to do anything to her and her father.


    The more she recalled the conversation between Theodore and God, the more breathless she felt. And the blood loss was making her feel dizzy.


    Theodore kept on staring at Adeline for a while thinking it could be his last time seeing her. He pressed his lips together disappointedly and let out an exasperated sigh. And he slowly got up with a very heavy heart.


    "Theodore��" his feet stopped mid-air when he heard a soft whisper from Adeline.

 Chapter 385 - Dumping The Garbage

    Theodore instantly dropped down on his knees and looked at Adeline''s pale face. "Did you say something?" he asked with a hope that she would ask him not to leave.


    Adeline reached out her hand to gently touch Theodore''s face. And she whispered while hanging on to the last bit of her consciousness, "I''m sorry for getting angry."


    Theodore looked at her with a guilty look on his face and whispered, "You are allowed to lash out at me and even stab me a few times for what I have done." If Adeline would feel at peace after hitting him or stabbing him then he was even ready to happily accept the pain.


    "Mmh!" Adeline winced because she felt something sharp piercing her neck. Theodore glared at the healer who was piercing a sharp needle on the already wounded Adeline. He felt like picking him up and throwing him out of the window.


    But Adeline''s feeble voice stopped him. "Don''t think too much, okay? About whatever I said."


    Adeline didn''t care about the pain and tried her best to stay conscious. And she pleaded while she still could talk. She could feel that she was going to faint anytime soon. "And don''t take me to the fountain. We will talk after I get treated."


    "I love��" Her hand dropped from his face and she succumbed to her unconsciousness.


    Theodore immediately held Adeline''s hand before she fell down on the floor. The guards and the healer also caught her from all sides.


    "Lay her flat on the clean area," the healer shouted and ordered everyone.


    "I will do it," Theodore didn''t want everyone touching his wounded woman and unintentionally causing her pain.


    He carefully picked her up in his arms and looked around. The only place that looked somewhat clean and void of all the dust and debris from the fight was the stretcher that the guards had brought after the fight was over.


    So, he took her there and carefully placed her down on that stretcher.


    The healer was already kneeling beside Adeline and a guard shifted his box full of many tools and medicine.


    Theodore had never seen a human healer at action because he never had to. And the way he was approaching Adeline''s neck with a needle and some kind of thread in his hand, Theodore felt very anxious.


    He grabbed the wrist of that healer before he could pierce Adeline''s skin again and asked angrily, "Are you sure poking her with that thing is the right idea? Won''t that make the wound even worse?"


    The healer didn''t know anything about Theodore. So he had nothing to fear. And he shouted back even angrily, "Are you the healer? No! Get away from the Princess and let me do my work before it becomes too late!"


    If it was any other damn time then Theodore would have kicked that middle-aged man right on his smug face. But he didn''t want to create any fuss, that also when Adeline''s life was on the line.


    Thus, he let go of that healer''s wrist and slid aside to give him space.


    Theodore opened his mouth to say something to that healer again but he suppressed his words when he heard a commotion outside.


    "What do we do about these monsters? They are starting to wake up!" One of the guards shouted in panic while looking at one of the vampires twitch his hand.


    And the other one was also visibly panicking and blabbering, "Shall we take them to the dungeons? But how do we know they won''t easily break everything and get out?"


    Theodore could hear them from inside the room. He glanced at the roughed-up Reginald who was passed out and was lying in the other corner of the room.


    Theodore''s blood boiled the moment he lay his eyes on that self-entitled brat. "Had he not interfered today then none of these things would have happened. I should have killed him before father came down to Earth!" Theodore clenched his fists and bit his anger.


    Theodore gave a soft glance at Adeline and thought, "But that could have led to even more deaths of humans I care about�� Let me just dump everyone back to Mihir real quick."


    Theodore got up and then walked to stand beside Rebekah''s dead body. He felt sorry that her life was cut short like this. He gently picked her body in his arms and disappeared from the room.


    Two of the guards had not seen Theodore in action earlier. And they were surprised to their core. They looked at the other guards but they didn''t seem to care as if they had seen more than that already, which they had. So those two decided to keep quiet and not distract the healer by talking.


    But they were soon drawn to the other side of the room when Theodore suddenly popped out of the thin air. They watched him gather the vampires into a pile. And again, he vanished along with that pile of unconscious vampires.


    Theodore had carefully placed Rebekah''s body in one of their carriages. And he dumped all the others in another one. He had already knocked out the coachmen as well and dumped them in the carriage along with the others.


    "Okay, let''s go back to your filthy nest. But first, let me make sure that the throne hall is empty." Theodore vanished from there and reappeared in Mihir Palace. He roamed around and found the throne hall within a couple of seconds.


    "A human. No one else." Theodore took a note and before Horace could notice him, he went back to Wyverndale.


    Theodore was closely being watched by the Royal Guards of Wyverndale. They couldn''t believe that someone or something like Theodore existed.


    Theodore didn''t care about the onlookers and dragged the carriage with Rebekah a bit closer to the other one. He was going to teleport both the carriages at once.


    He touched both of the carriages and vanished, leaving the guards baffled at what they were seeing. However, none of them were despising Theodore. They were glad that they had a powerful monster on their side who helped fight off those ''less powerful'' monsters.


    "Holy heaven!" Lord Horace got startled when the carriages appeared inside the throne hall.


    He was confused to see a tall man in the middle of those carriages. And got scared to his core when he recognized those carriages.


    "Wh-What did you do? What trick are you playing?" he stuttered as that man inched closer to him with a deadly glare. He noticed all the blood on Theodore''s body and hastily screamed, "Guards! Intruder!"


    In another few seconds, a few of the guards appeared inside the hall. They were equally baffled to see the royal carriages there.


    Theodore wanted to scare all of them so he changed into his devil form as he walked closer to Lord Horace.


    Everyone saw him slowly transform into a beast like they had never seen before. The guards didn''t even dare to stop Theodore or go near him.


    Horace instantly put two and two together and knew exactly who Theodore was. He almost lost his balance when Theodore towered in front of him.


    Theodore then gave a fiery stare to Horace and said in his resounding voice, "Ask your King not to make the foolish mistake again. None of those from Mihir should step a foot in Wyverndale.. The moment I find that any one of you crossed the border, I will personally drag all of you to Hell."

 Chapter 386 - The King!

    Theodore didn''t bother sticking around in Mihir more than what was necessary. He instantly disappeared from the throne hall after almost scaring the soul out of that poor old man and Reginald''s guards.


    Lord Horace''s knees gave out and he fell back on the floor the moment Theodore was carried away by the dark mist of his.


    "Chief Advisor!" One of the guards rushed to his aid and helped him get up and sit down on a chair.


    Lord Horace was so shocked by that encounter with the Devil that he was grabbing his chest and was coughing violently.


    "Bring some water for him!" that guard shouted to the others.


    One of the guards instantly ran out of the hall to get water while the others were not sure what they saw and what they were seeing in the hall.


    Everyone was too stunned by Theodore''s devil form, so much so that they didn''t even bother to do something about the horses and carriages that were inside the hall. And they didn''t even think that even greater shocking news was waiting for them inside those carriages.


    After that vampire returned with a glass of water, Horace gulped down the whole glass to cool down the burning sensation in his heart. And immediately after, he threw that glass on the guard in front of him and screamed, "Open the carriages you fools! Do I have to spell out each and every task to you lot?"


    The guards finally rushed to open the doors of both the carriages. And to their horror, they witnessed the dead body of the Princess in one and the piles of bodies of the guards in the other.


    At first glance, they thought that all of those who had gone to Wyverndale had been killed and their King had been held as a hostage because he was nowhere to be seen.


    They were not used to seeing the dead bodies of their fellow mates because the vampires were pretty much invincible. They were the predators. And no one dared to kill them. So the guards, especially the newly turned ones believed that the Royal Guards were all dead.


    Seeing the appalled expression on everyone''s face, Lord Horace asked with a trembling voice, "What is it? Why do you all look like you saw something terrible?"


    One of the guards stammered while looking at the ash-grey body of Princess Rebekah, "The Princess is dead!"


    And another one added in terror, "They have all been murdered!"


    Horace forced himself up and rushed to see the carriages for himself. He stood in front of the carriage that had Rebekah''s body with a hole in her chest. Her heart was lying in a corner of the carriage.


    Horace felt a sharp pain in his heart upon seeing that horrifying state of the Princess'' body. And he collapsed to lose his consciousness, unable to bear the sight.


    "They are not dead you idiot!" Another guard shouted and hit the guard who said that everyone had been murdered. "Help me take them out of there," he ordered everyone around.


    They immediately gathered around and tried to pull the vampires out of the carriage. However, the vampires were crammed in so badly in that small space that it was almost impossible to pull them out without breaking the carriage.


    One guard took the initiation to break and pull the wall of the carriage and others also followed immediately after.


    Some of the Royal Guards who were on the top fell down to the floor. When they pulled the remaining guards aside, they discovered that their King was lying face down at the very bottom. He was being pressed down and suffocated by the weight of all the guards for all this while.


    "The King!" one of the guards shouted and rolled Reginald to lay him flat on his back.


    He had bruises on his neck because of the strangling and clawing by Theodore. His light golden clothes were all tattered, bloody, and dusty. His chest had five huge puncture marks which were slowly but surely healing.


    The guards who were witnessing the most powerful of the vampires in that pitiful state were all terrified of the Devil that they saw earlier. If he could do that to their King, they knew that they wouldn''t stand a chance in front of him.


    But what surprised them was that the Devil had just killed one of them and not all. However, they were really thankful that their King had survived.


    "We would have to wake up the last King from his slumber if both of his children were dead," one of the pure-blooded guards thought to himself. "Thankfully it looks like His Majesty will heal after some time."


    He then carefully carried Reginald in his arms and said to the other guards, "I am going to take His Majesty to his chamber. Help the others." He also pointed his brows at Lord Horace and asked, "And someone take this old man to the witch and get him healed."


    That guard carried the King to his bedchamber and lay him on the bed. And he swooshed outside and came back after a few seconds while carrying a maid in his arm.


    He lay her down and hastily asked, "Help the King out of his clothes and clean his wounds."


    "Sure," that maid replied in a whisper while holding her breath. She was really frightened to see the beaten-up King.


    The guard lifted his foot to run but he turned around and suggested that maid, "And try to get out of the room before the King wakes up. I don''t think he will be in the best of his mood."


    The maid nodded and then instantly began to work. She tore off the King''s clothes and pulled them from under him by exerting great effort. She threw the dirty clothes aside and ran to the bathhouse to grab some water and clean towels.


    She ran back to Reginald''s room and started to clean the wounds ever so lightly. The King was already flinching and was moving his fingers. She was afraid that he would wake up before she would finish cleaning him up.


    She finished cleaning the blood on his chest and she slowly moved her hand to clean the blood on his neck.


    Suddenly, Reginald flung open his deadly red eyes and grabbed her wrist. She inhaled sharply and stuttered, "Your Majesty, I was just cleaning your wounds. I will take my leave now." She tried pulling her hand away from his grip but he did not leave her.


    He glared at her face and in the next seconds, he sank his fangs on that poor maid''s wrist.


    That maid closed her eyes and tolerated the pain thinking he would stop after drinking for a while.


    But he never did.


    Reginald''s wounds were healing at a faster rate when he drank the human blood. And after nearly a minute, all of his wounds were completely healed. Even then, he didn''t stop.


    The maid began feeling light-headed and cold. She knew that she would die if that vampire didn''t stop any time soon. "Your Majesty��"


    Reginald was furious the moment he heard the whisper. He jumped out of his bed and broke that maid''s neck before she could even blink. And her body dropped dead on the floor.


    He looked down at the dead body and nonchalantly said, "Sorry! You were too loud."

 Chapter 387 - A Promise

    After satisfying his hunger, and killing his prey, it finally dawned upon him that he was supposed to be in Wyverndale and not in his own chamber.


    "What the hell? I was fighting that Devil until a while ago. How am I here?" Reginald pressed his head and tried to jog his memory but he was unable to recall anything that happened after he was strangled, clawed, and thrown.


    Reginald had already passed out when Theodore had pulled his claws out of his chest and threw him away like a ragdoll. And he had no idea yet that his sister had been murdered.


    "How long have I been out for? How come I am already here? Did the guards carry me and run? But they wouldn''t do that when I was wounded. Then I was out for two or three days? What happened after I passed out? Did I successfully kill King Dragomir? That would be a punishment to Adeline for rejecting me."


    There were thousands of questions in his mind. He looked at the maid who he had already killed and scratched his head. "Was she the one to take care of me for the whole time? I should have thanked her before feeding on her."


    He sighed and gave a sound, "Guards! Is anyone out there? Don''t you all know how to take care of your ill King?"


    He went to find some clothes to wear while he waited for someone to show up.


    The guard who had brought him in earlier came inside and greeted the King, "Your Majesty!"


    "What day is it today? Where are the others that went to Wyverndale with me? Didn''t you all try to feed blood to me or call in a witch to heal me quickly?" he bombarded that terrified guard with all sorts of questions.


    From how leisurely the King was behaving, and what he was asking, the guard guessed that the King didn''t know that his sister had been killed. And that scared him.


    Reginald put on a trouser and was about to wear a robe on his upper body when he heard that guard saying in a whisper, "All of you arrived here about five minutes ago. That De-Devil teleported all of you here along with the carriages."


    He gave a shocked look to that guard and asked, "He teleported us?" He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Where are the others? What about Rebekah? Is everyone here?"


    This was what that guard feared the King would ask. He did not want to be the bearer of the bad news and have the King vent out his fury on him. But he had to.


    He pointed his foot towards the door, ready to run away if the King would try to kill him, and then lightly broke the bad news to the King, "Everyone is in the throne hall. They are slowly regaining their consciousness�� except Her Highness."


    "Rebekah? Why isn''t she waking up? Is she badly hurt?" Reginald frowned and asked as he walked towards the door.


    He recalled how he had hit her head with a sofa when she tried to stop him from harming Dragomir. He felt bad when he recalled it now. And he thought to himself as he ran towards the throne hall, "I don''t think I smacked her head that badly��"


    The guard let out a deep sigh when the King ran out. He was thankful that he didn''t have to answer the King. Or else, he didn''t know if he would be alive right now. "I think I should stay away from him for a few days," he thought to himself and went the other way to avoid the King.


    Reginald reached to the throne hall to see a commotion and a very bizarre scene there. The carriages and horses were in the middle of the throne hall, taking a lot of space. And the guards had surrounded one of the carriages that was not torn apart. They were discussing something among them.


    "Why are you all standing there and chatting? Is something interesting going on?" he satirically scolded the guards for creating a scene while he was unconscious.


    All of the guards immediately ran to the other end of the throne hall out of fear. They all knew not to stand near the King right now.


    And the moment they all ran, Reginald could clearly see inside the carriage. His eyes fell on the rotten and unmoving body of his sister.


    He could not believe his eyes at first and he went into denial. He laughed and looked at the guards who were standing with their heads down.


    And he asked while chuckling, "Did Rebekah ask all of you to take part in this stupid prank? What did she bribe all of you with? Extra blood or extra potion?" He laughed again and licked his lips to clean off the blood.


    "Come on! You can laugh you fools." He looked at the guards and teasingly urged them, "I already caught all of you trying to fool me with this silly makeup on her. Just laugh already!"


    However, the guards kept on looking down on the floor. All of them were scared for their lives and didn''t even dare to say half a word.


    He then walked closer to the carriage and he finally saw a huge hole in her chest.


    His jaw dropped. His eyes widened. His heart clenched. And his whole world seemed to crumble down all at once.


    "Rebekah��" he whispered in a broken voice and gently poked his sister, still thinking that she was somehow faking her death.


    "Rebekah! Stop it already!" Streams of tears rolled down on their own as he patted her cold and hard cheek.


    And he pleaded to his sister, "I''m sorry for hurting you back there in Wyverndale. You know that I was not in the right state of my mind. You''ve hurt me enough! So wake up like a good sister you are."


    He thought that some witch had helped her create an illusion and even tried poking the hole in her chest.


    To his utter dismay, there really was a hole in her heart. And he finally noticed the heart that was lying not too far away from her body. Reginald clasped his mouth with his palm. His throat became lumpy and his whole body started to shiver.


    He was devastated when he realized that Rebekah was not playing any joke on him. His heart shattered into a thousand pieces when it finally settled in his mind that his only remaining family had also left him.


    And Reginald finally broke down. "No, no, no, no! This can''t be happening!" He climbed inside the carriage and held his sister''s cold corpse in his arms.


    He hugged his sister and began to let out a gut-wrenching cry, "Oh, Rebbie! How could you do this to me? How can you leave me all alone? You said that you were going to be the Queen after my death! How can you go into slumber before me?"


    He gazed at her ash-grey body and shouted, "You''re not even sleeping! You''re dead! You cannot even wake up now! How can you betray your brother like this?"


    He hugged her again and screamed, "I hate you! I hate you so much! Why do you have to make me hate you so much, Rebbie?"


    "You did not even let me say sorry for everything that I did to you today! I''m sorry! I am so sorry for being such a terrible brother��"


    He kept on screaming, crying, and cursing himself for hours.


    And when he finally calmed down a little, he touched his sister''s head and promised her with a furious look on his face, "I swear that I will avenge your death, Rebekah.. I will kill them. I will wipe them all out!"

 Chapter 388 - Taking Charge

    Back in Wyverndale, when Theodore went to the Palace to check on Adeline, he saw that the Palace was in a state of chaos.


    Those guards who were severely hurt in the commotion were getting immediate first-aid care from their fellow soldiers.


    The Royals were pestering the Palace Guards by asking why they were being confined in their quarters, what was going on outside, if they were under attack, and things like that. The Palace Guards were not sure whether to be truthful to them or to lie.


    They were waiting for the order but both Dragomir and Adeline were unconscious and were undergoing treatment.


    As both of those with the authority were unconscious, Theodore took it upon himself to give out the orders to the General who was responsible for the Palace Guards.


    "Who is your superior?" Theodore asked one of the guards while he was on the way to see Adeline.


    That guard bowed and politely replied, "Our superior is General Keith, Your Highness."


    "Do you know where he is?" Theodore asked again.


    The guard pointed inside the meeting hall and replied, "He is observing the Princess'' treatment at the moment."


    "Okay," Theodore nodded and went to find a middle-aged man inside the meeting room apart from all the others who were there when he left earlier.


    Theodore went to him and asked, "General Keith?"


    "Prince Theodore!" It looked like he was already aware of who Theodore was and he bowed, "Thank you for protecting our King and the Princess. I heard from the others that you bravely protected both of them."


    Theodore was not sure how much he had heard but he assumed that his Devil form was not a secret anymore, at least not to the guards. So he said, "I think some of the guards are already aware of who I am. But I don''t want that to be open information."


    And he immediately ordered General Keith to mobilize the Palace guards to handle the situation. "Please order the guards not to reveal my true identity to the Royals or any civilians. Let it be limited among the soldiers."


    "Of course, Your Highness. Your secret will be safe with us," General Keith politely replied.


    Theodore further gave out other orders as well, "The Royals seemed very eager to know what has happened here. Give them the news of the assassination attempt, but only to the Royals and those inside the Palace."


    Theodore clenched his fists and added, "There is no need to cause mass hysteria by revealing it to the civilians at the moment. We can break that information slowly."


    "And do I tell them about the existence of the vampires?" the General asked because he had no other way to explain the damages inside the King''s Court.


    "Yes," Theodore nodded his head and agreed, "Let everyone inside the Palace know that the vampires were the ones to attack. Everyone needs to know about their existence so that they won''t get petrified if they encounter one in the future."


    The General bowed while saying, "I will relay the information right away. Is there anything else that you need me to do?"


    Theodore thought for a second or two and questioned, "I believe that Adeline shared the distinct characteristics of the vampires in a meeting �C their eye color, temperature, and their pale skin?"


    "Yes, we were briefed in the meeting." From that question of Theodore, General Keith assumed that their Princess had a lot of trust in her fianc��. He seemed to know a lot of things, even those things that the King himself didn''t know yet.


    "Hmm��" Theodore recalled something that Reginald had said in the meeting earlier and said, "Make everyone aware of how the vampires look like when they aren''t baring their fangs. It seemed that the vampires were spying on Wyverndale the whole time. While relaying the information, make sure to ask everyone to report if they see anyone with red eyes."


    Theodore took a glance at Adeline who was still on the stretcher and added another order, "And if anyone asks to see the King or the Princess, tell them that they aren''t allowed to do so until they regain their consciousness."


    "I don''t want anyone with ill intention to harm them while they are in the vulnerable state. Make sure that at least two Royal Guards are with them at all times, even when the Royal members visit them afterward." Theodore already knew that the so-called family members of Adeline were greedy and cunning, so he didn''t want to take any chances.


    Theodore then gave a nod to the General and said, "That is all for now. I will have Adeline shifted to her own quarter. Have the Royal Guards sent over there."


    General Keith bowed to Theodore and agreed without questioning his authority. "I will do as you ordered, Your Highness."


    After General Keith left the room, Theodore went to see that the healer had already finished stitching up Adeline''s wound. He was preparing something in a small bowl.


    Theodore stood beside Adeline and asked that healer, "How is she doing now? Is she out of the danger yet?"


    "Yes, Your Highness. I have stitched her open wounds and her bleeding has already stopped." The healer replied with a soft tone and a polite bow. The guards had already made the healer aware about who he had scolded earlier and also who Theodore really was.


    And afraid that the Devil might do something to harm him, he blurted out some information to let Theodore know that Adeline still needed him, "The Princess has fainted due to shock and fatigue. She has also lost some blood so I am currently preparing an herbal tonic for her to rejuvenate. I will also prepare some medicine for her wounds so that they will not get infected."


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and asked worriedly, "There is a chance that her wounds could get infected?"


    "If it is not taken care of properly then yes, it can," the healer felt like he shouldn''t have said that. He didn''t want to get pierced by the Devil''s claws right in his heart.


    But Theodore went quiet as though he was thinking of doing something. He couldn''t even take Adeline to his fountain because she had clearly asked him not to.


    Suddenly, his eyes twinkled because he remembered that the witches of the Mystic Coven could heal the wounds in no time. "I should bring them here," he thought to himself as he leaned down to pick Adeline up.


    He gently picked her in his arms and asked the guards, "I''m taking her to her quarter. All of you meet me there."


    Theodore instantly vanished from the room, almost scaring that healer.


    He took Adeline to her private chamber and carefully lay her down on the bed. He pushed her bloody hair away from her face and neck and pitifully glanced at her. Her wounds had been closed but they looked even scarier because of the threads.


    "Why didn''t I remember about the witches sooner?" he thought to himself and got ready to teleport.


    But before that, he held her bloodstained hand and whispered to her, "I''m sorry I couldn''t protect you back there. But I promise I will think of a way to protect you without angering my father. I will find a way.. There is no way that I am seeing another scratch on you."

 Chapter 389 - Shared Pain

    Some of the Princes, Princesses, Queens, and concubines had gathered around the King''s Court after they were finally allowed to do so by the Palace Guards.


    The Royals then bombarded questions to the guards who had witnessed the terror of the monsters. And the guards and the General were trying their best to answer all of their questions without scaring the Royals.


    However, all of them were terrified to hear that the King of Mihir looked like a human but was a monster in disguise. And that he and the other similar monsters had attacked the King and the Princess and both of them were undergoing treatments.


    "Can I see the King?" Queen Claricia was worried about her husband''s health and she wanted to check how he was doing.


    However, General Keith denied that request from the third Queen, "I''m sorry, Your Majesty. I don''t think that is possible at the moment. I''ve been ordered not to let anyone meet His Majesty and Her Highness until they regain their consciousness."


    Queen Vultrada, who had been listening to the conversation suddenly chimed in, "You are the highest in command right now. So whose order are you taking?"


    "The to-be Prince Consort is here to handle the situation," Keith kept the answer short and tried to wrap up his conversation with the Queen.


    Queen Vultrada was furious for no reason. And she rudely shouted at the General, "He is not even married to the Princess yet and he is already taking charges of the Palace? How can you blindly follow that outsider?"


    Keith was already starting to get agitated by answering the Queens when he had to take care of so many other things.


    So he dismissed the rude Queen saying, "We all have witnessed how he was the one to protect the King and the Princess from getting assassinated today. And I recognize a capable leader when I see one. So I am not blindly following him but I consciously decided to follow him."


    And without waiting to hear the reply of Queen Vultrada, he bowed to Queen Claricia and left.


    "Such impudence!" Queen Vultrada scoffed and rolled her eyes at the General. "Who is this Prince Theodore that everyone is already defending him? I bet he is just here for the throne and by the looks of how things are going, he is already succeeding at it."


    Edwin and Raphael were also standing close by while listening to the conversation between the Queens and the General. And needless to say, both of them were angered by how Queen Vultrada was talking about Theodore.


    Edwin took the initiation to shut down the Queen and replied harshly, "Queen Vultrada, you shouldn''t be spouting anything that comes to your mouth. Prince Theodore doesn''t need a small Kingdom like Wyverndale. He has a whole realm to rule."


    Raphael immediately covered Edwin''s mouth and nervously laughed. "I''m sure Edwin meant to say that Prince Theodore is not after the throne."


    Raphael then added with a serious tone, "And I guess Prince Theodore is just making sure that the Palace doesn''t fall apart without the proper guidance right after such a tragedy. There is no harm in doing so."


    Vultrada glared at both the Princes and left from there without a word.


    Queen Claricia still looked frantic and she asked the Princes, "You two are close to Adeline. Haven''t you seen her? How is she and how is the King?"


    Raphael''s face dropped the moment Claricia asked about Adeline. "We also don''t know for sure. I was in my quarter and by the time I was allowed to get out, I heard that something bad had already happened here. I''m also hearing the bad news just now."


    "Do you know where they are? Are they still in there?" Claricia asked while looking inside the King''s Court.


    Raphael pursed his lips and shook his head. But after knowing that Theodore was here in the Palace, he was sure that wherever they were, they would be safe. So he held Queen Claricia''s hand and consoled her, "Prince Theodore is a very trustworthy person. I''m sure he is taking care of both of them."


    Edwin also stepped closer to the queen and said in a polite way, "I will have someone call you the moment we hear that we are allowed to visit. For now, why don''t you return to your quarter and rest? Do not stress too much over it."


    Claricia sighed heavily and nodded her head even though she didn''t want to leave just yet.


    Edwin gestured the Queen''s personal maids to escort her back to her quarter.


    And when she was taken away, Raphael whispered to Edwin with an appalled look on his face, "Those damned vampires were bold enough to come to our palace unannounced and attack the King and Adeline. They are bad news!"


    "And they said that they wanted to have a peace talk! Peace my arse!" Edwin let out an exasperated sigh and whispered, "The prophecy from the Mystic Coven is coming true. Now there is no way that the war is going to stop."


    Raphael furrowed his brows and asked Edwin, "I think I heard one of the guards saying that their Princess was killed?"


    "Yes, I think I also heard someone saying that," Edwin took a deep sigh and mumbled, "I have a feeling that that King will finally remember me."


    "Oh, yes. You were supposed to be our agent before all this nonsense about the peace talk, right?" Raphael asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.


    "Yes. And I am going to make sure to act really well if they happen to remember me." Edwin was not sure how much of an impact he would be able to make but he was going to make sure that those bloody vampires would pay for what they did today.


    Edwin clenched his teeth and put his palm under the collar of his surcoat. He winced in pain when his finger touched what felt like closed wounds. He clenched both of his fists and thought to himself, "I was supposed to protect Adeline! And she got hurt that badly. There is no way I alone could have protected her if I literally share her pain like this."


    All this time, Edwin had felt the agonizing pain that Adeline had felt in the fight. He was in his workroom and was clinging on for his dear life when Rebekah had bitten Adeline. Apart from bleeding like Adeline, he felt every bite and every prick that Adeline felt.


    And now, he was more determined than ever to protect Adeline''s life and ultimately his.. "I have to find some ways to defeat those bloody vampires�� I have to convince the witches and wizards to side with Wyverndale�� no matter what it takes."

 Chapter 390 - Healing Completely

    Theodore returned to Adeline''s private chamber with Agnes and Sybil in under a minute. He instructed Agnes to heal Adeline''s wounds completely.


    And then he teleported Sybil to the King''s private chamber where he was being guarded by his Royal Guards. The guards almost jumped at Theodore and Sybil thinking that they were the vampires.


    "It''s me!" Theodore raised his palm and gestured the guards to calm down. And he informed them, "I have brought a witch to help His Majesty to heal his wound."


    Theodore glanced at the healer who looked a little offended and said, "I''m sure the wound will eventually heal but I don''t want the King to be bedridden for several days when his wounds can be healed within a minute or two."


    Theodore then introduced Sybil to everyone, "Her name is Sybil. And she is mute. I''m sure she won''t need anything but if she does then be cooperative to her."


    "Yes, Your Highness," the guards bowed and replied simultaneously.


    Theodore then instructed Sybil, "Heal His Majesty and wait for me to come by. I will teleport both of you back home."


    Sybil gave a soft smile and nodded. And she instantly seated herself beside King Dragomir to begin casting a healing spell.


    Theodore went back to Adeline''s room. By the time he was back, Agnes was already working on the healing spell on Adeline.


    He heard a knock on the door and then went to open it. The Royal Guards who were looking after Adeline were there as requested by Theodore. He asked one of them to call the personal maids of Adeline and asked the rest of them to wait in the meeting room.


    And he walked to Adeline''s private chamber to see the progress of the spell.


    He stood near the window and observed Adeline''s wound closely. And he thought to himself, "The wound is disappearing pretty quickly�� I think I should suggest King Dragomir to let the Mystic Coven stay inside or near the Palace. Their services will come pretty handy."


    The sound of someone running inside the room was heard. Theodore thought that it was Adeline''s personal maid but it was the healer who had come running to give the herbal tonic to the Princess.


    That healer saw that some middle-aged lady in a white dress was sitting beside the Princess and was mumbling some language he did not understand. From the way she was holding out her palms near the Princess'' neck, he jumped to the conclusion that she was about to strangle the Princess.


    "Hey, who are you? And what do you think you are�C" he abruptly stopped shouting when he saw that the wound on the Princess'' neck had almost healed as though she wasn''t hurt in the first place.


    And he was stunned to see that this lady was doing something to those same deep wounds that he had stitched so diligently and was making them disappear.


    His knees gave out at the thought of potentially losing his job and he stumbled backward. Luckily, Theodore was quick enough to appear behind him and catch him and the bowl of medicine.


    "I believe this is for the Princess?" Theodore asked that healer as he sniffed the tonic. He wrinkled his nose in disgust because the smell was pungent.


    "Yes, Your Highness. It will be good for her health," the healer replied while hanging his head low.


    Theodore gave a nod and dismissed the healer, "Thank you for helping Adeline. If other medicines are to be fed to her then feel free to prepare them and bring them here. If not then you may take your rest."


    The healer peeked at Adeline''s neck and now the wound had disappeared without any trace. The lady was also done mumbling. He then shook his head and replied, "Her wound seems to be already healed. So, other than this herbal tonic, she won''t be needing anything else. I will be on my way."


    That healer left the room feeling grateful towards Theodore. When he had heard that Theodore was the Devil, he had thought that he would be maniacal and cruel. However, he found the Prince to be the complete opposite of what he had imagined.


    The maids came running inside as the healer was exiting the room. To make sure that they wouldn''t cry or make any noises, Theodore stood near the door of the private chamber and calmly introduced himself to them, "Greetings to both of you. I''m sure Adeline has told you about me. I am Prince Theodore, her fianc��. It is nice to meet both of you."


    Both of the maids kept on staring at Theodore for a few seconds, not knowing if they were imagining things or if some angel was in front of them.


    Theodore pressed his lips together and ordered them to make it less awkward for both the parties, "Adeline was wounded earlier but there is nothing to worry about now. Her wounds have completely healed. But her dress is very dirty. I would appreciate it if you would clean her up and help her change into a fresh and comfortable dress."


    "Okayes," Hawisa blurted out a word that didn''t make much sense while Hawisa just kept on staring at Theodore as though she was trying to register his face in her mind.


    Theodore forced an awkward smile and turned around to see Agnes. "Will Adeline be okay now?"


    "Yes, she will be fine. She will wake up after some time." Agnes glanced at the bowl that Theodore had kept aside on the table and suggested to him, "I think the maids can feed that tonic to her. My magic can only do so much. That tonic will help her restore her energy."


    Theodore gave a nod and turned to see those stunned maids again. And he directed them while pointing at the bowl, "That is a tonic that the healer prepared. Feed it to her and make sure she won''t choke."


    Hawisa managed to give a bow while Osanna was still giving a stare to Theodore.


    Theodore went outside to the meeting room and informed the guards, "The personal maids will take care of the Princess. Meanwhile, stay alert and be on your guard. Let no one in. And also ask her guards to surround this quarter and keep on patrolling."


    Theodore thought of teleporting the witches back and visiting Hell to relieve himself of the anger, frustration, agony, and everything that he had been suppressing till now. "I would hate it if I lost my calm in front of these humans," he thought to himself while getting mentally prepared.


    "I don''t think any stray vampires are lurking around in Wyverndale�� But let''s not take chances," Theodore thought to himself and then informed those guards out loud, "I will head out for a while. Just in case those vampires are still around, I will have some of my followers stationed inside and around the Palace for the time being."


    "We would appreciate that Your Highness," one of the guards replied, not knowing what kinds of followers Theodore had.


    So as not to scare the guards, Theodore clarified to them, "All of my followers are from Hell and they might look somewhat intimidating."

 Chapter 391 - Evolved

    "All of my followers are from Hell and they might look somewhat intimidating."


    All the guards were stunned to hear that the Palace would be surrounded by the creatures from Hell. They didn''t know whether that would be counterproductive or helpful. But still, no matter how shocking it sounded, they all tried their best to keep a straight face.


    However, their fear still outpoured from the fa?ade plastered over their faces.


    To make them feel less scared and more secure, Theodore further stated, "I will only send those who aren''t a danger to humans. Also, they are great warriors and will be a great match to those vampires if they dare to attack again."


    "And I will ask them not to show themselves out in the open. But I don''t want the guards to fight them just in case someone sees them. So pass around the message to the others as well." Theodore could tell that the guards looked a little reassured.


    After that, Theodore returned the witches and brought back some of his followers like the chimera, dire wolf, faeries, and the likes.


    He also untied Arion who was restless for all this while after hearing about the attack on Adeline. Arion had stayed put only because he could feel that Theodore was there in the vicinity. After comforting Arion for a while, it was finally time for Theodore to comfort himself.


    He looked around the Palace one last time before disappearing into the darkness.


    Theodore teleported himself to a deserted corner of Hell. He then fell down on his knees in an instant. All this while, he had been feeling as though an unbearable burden was pushing him down �C the burden of being the cause of Dragomir''s imminent death.


    Adeline had said not to think too much about the things that happened and about the things that she said. However, overthinking was inevitable.


    The more he thought about it, the more he felt like a useless son and a useless man for his woman.


    And it triggered him to transform into his Devil form again. He spread out his black wings and roared while facing the sky. A small tremor was sent throughout Hell and his roars kept on echoing and scaring the heart out of all the demons in Hell.


    He dug his claws on the ground and threw the dirt towards the sky as though he was hitting his father, "Why father, why? Why is it that you value those filthy creatures so much?"


    He gave an angry glare towards the non-existent sky and debated as if he was talking to his father, "They don''t even deserve to live on Earth! They all should be brought down to Hell for being so nasty."


    Theodore screamed again and flew for a while. He came across a big boulder which he picked up and threw towards the sky, imagining his father at the receiving end. And he began screaming again.


    "They murder, rape, and eat those precious superior creations of yours daily! Why is it that when they do it, it is acceptable to you? But when I kill just one of them to protect your fragile creation, I''m the villain in your eyes!"


    "Why do they get the privileges that I cannot even dream about? Just what is wrong with your head, father? Why are you so clouded by your ego that you cannot even let me have a glimmer of happiness and love in my life?"


    "Why are you so unfair to your own son? What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?" Theodore got so infuriated while recalling back to his past that he wanted to somehow get back at his father.


    For a split second, the thought of killing each and every species on Earth also crossed his mind. He thought of sending the Earth to the ruins and killing himself afterward, just to take revenge on his father.


    But that would essentially mean killing Adeline and his future with her as well, and he hit himself on the head for even thinking that.


    Theodore''s desire for taking revenge on his father became so extensive that his desire began to encompass everyone in Hell. Everyone''s hidden and suppressed desire for revenge began to come bursting out of them.


    All the monsters and demons of Hell started roaming around to exact their revenge. Chaos ensued everywhere in Hell. They turned against each other for the trivial of things like breathing noisily or blinking twice in a row.


    Theodore kept on venting out his anger to the rocks, mud, sand, and boulders. He was bashing at his father for being a hypocrite and was smashing the boulders imagining them to be his father.


    He pretended a rock to be Reginald and clawed out a piece of that rock imagining it to be that vampire''s heart. He wished that he had pulled out his heart rather than that of Rebekah.


    Theodore was so consumed by his anger that he didn''t even realize that he was absorbing the aura of revenge from each and every creature residing in Hell, even Lucifer, and Lilith. He was acting like a living magnet that attracted those sweet aurae.


    Suddenly, Theodore stopped everything that he was doing and stood very still as though something was happening to him deep down.


    Theodore had absorbed too much aurae at once. The powers flowing inside of him became too much for him to handle.


    He grimaced in pain and pressed his palm over his chest. And the next thing he knew, he convulsed and collapsed on the ground. He felt as though he was being suffocated from the inside. He wanted to tear off all of his clothes because he felt like they were constricting him.


    However, all he could do was scream in pain and squirm around on the ground and in the air.


    In order to keep up with the increased power, Theodore''s body began to evolve to contain it.


    He floated in the air as though he was being possessed. His horns began to crack and that cracked areas were filled with glowing lava-like substances. His muscles bulked up more than before. And the feathers at the rims of his wings became razor-sharp, though they still looked soft and shiny black like before.


    Theodore''s pain stopped after quite a while. He stood on his two feet while spreading his wings and filling his lungs by taking deep breaths. He inspected his claws and his feet.


    He couldn''t see any changes in him but he felt�� invincible.


    And there was one way to test his theory.. "Lucifer�� let''s see how true that is."

 Chapter 392 - Bitter

    Adeline''s personal maids finished cleaning the blood and dirt from Adeline''s body. And they also changed Adeline''s gown, bedsheet, and pillow cover. It took a lot of effort for Osanna and Hawisa to accomplish the task because Adeline was still unconscious when they did all that.


    "Why is our dear Adeline not waking up?" Hawisa held Adeline''s palm and kept on gazing at the serene face of Adeline.


    Osanna heaved a deep sigh and mumbled, "She is the strongest woman I know, and also the most fearless. Just how monstrous were those people from Mihir to have sent Adeline into this state?"


    Osanna covered Adeline''s body with a warm blanket. And she went over to grab the bowl of tonic. "Hawisa, how do we feed this to her? Can she even swallow it while she is unconscious? Won''t she choke?"


    "I�� have no idea," Hawisa was as clueless as Osanna. She thought for a while and suggested, "I think we should wait until she wakes up."


    They then waited for some time hoping Adeline would wake up before trying to feed her the tonic. But it looked like Adeline was not waking up anytime soon.


    So Hawisa offered to open Adeline''s mouth while Osanna fed her the medicine.


    However, the moment that tonic entered Adeline''s mouth, she curled her lips in disgust and coughed out the medicine.


    She opened her eyes as if she was ready to shout in anger. But she controlled her anger when she saw Hawisa towering over her face. "Hawisa? What�� where am I?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust and grazed her tongue with her teeth. "And why is my mouth all bitter? Pass me some water please."


    Hawisa and Osanna turned into statues for a while because they were confused about whether to cry or laugh.


    They ended up hugging Adeline and happily crying.


    "We were so worried about you Adeline," Hawisa whispered while shedding the tears of joy.


    Osanna broke off from the hug and teased Adeline, "If we knew that you would wake up the moment you would taste this bitter medicine then we would have done that hours ago."


    "Oh! So that was the taste of medicine?" Adeline laughed while her eyes were filled with tears seeing her maids rejoicing upon her waking up.


    However, her joy was short-lived as all the memories of what had happened came flooding into her mind. Several worry lines appeared on her forehead and she tried to jump out of the bed to go and see her father.


    "Adeline! What are you doing?" Hawisa held Adeline by her arm and made her lie down again. "You are still weak. You cannot leave this bed like this. Please stay calm."


    But there was no way Adeline would be able to stay calm while knowing that her old father was hurt badly. She tried to force herself up while saying, "I have to see my father. Where is he?"


    Both Osanna and Hawisa kept on holding Adeline down on the bed.


    And Hawisa informed the Princess, "His Majesty is alright. A guard came here a little while ago asking about your health. He said that the King was demanding to know how you were. The King has already regained his consciousness and he is currently resting in his own chamber."


    Adeline calmed down a little after hearing that and she stopped struggling to get out of her bed. "What about his wounds? He was bitten by that so-called King." Adeline frowned as she recalled the horrible scene that had happened in front of her eyes.


    "Prince Theodore brought the witches to treat your and His Majesty''s wounds." Hawisa updated the Princess.


    Adeline''s eyes widened a little because she just realized that her neck didn''t hurt at all. She lightly touched on the area she had been bitten and she felt nothing, the wounds had already disappeared.


    "Where is Theodore?" she glanced at her maids and asked with a little hint of sadness in her eyes.


    Hawisa pointed towards the meeting room and replied, "He gave some instructions to the guards and left about an hour ago."


    "The guards are waiting there?" Adeline questioned them again to which Hawisa gave a nod.


    Adeline tried to get up from the bed again, only to get a glare from both Hawisa and Osanna. So instead, she politely asked, "Will you call one of them, please?"


    "Only if you finish this bowl of medicine," Osanna gave an innocent smile and presented the bowl full of that bitter and green liquid.


    Adeline promptly held her breath as the pungent smell entered her nose.


    "It is for your own health, Adeline." Hawisa helped Adeline to sit up on the bed and Osanna passed on the tonic.


    Adeline reluctantly took the bowl and took a deep breath in. She pinched her nose with one hand and with the other she chugged down the herbal tonic in no time.


    She gasped and then asked again, "Now will you call them?"


    Osanna went and sent in one of the guards to Adeline''s room. Adeline asked that guard about the current situation of the King, the Palace, the ruined meeting room, and everything that she had missed.


    And that guard answered each and every question of her in detail. And he concluded, "Prince Theodore has already looked after everything so, Your Highness does not need to worry about anything right now. Please rest for the night and replenish your health completely."


    Adeline smiled and dismissed the guard, "Sure. Thank you for your concern."


    She felt grateful towards Theodore after hearing everything that he had done in her absence. And at the same time, she also felt sad. "I scolded him for no reason�� How am I going to face him? I shouldn''t have been that mean to him when I was the one to call him here in the first place."


    She wondered how everything would have turned out if she had not summoned Theodore to stay in the meeting. "Everyone in the Palace would probably have been massacred. And Wyverndale would have been limited to legends and history."


    "But father��" Adeline gulped at the thought of her father. She was not ready to lose him yet.


    Her thoughts were disturbed by Hawisa who suddenly asked Adeline, "Princess, is Prince Theodore a wizard? I swear I saw him disappear right in front of my eyes. But Osanna says that I was just hallucinating."


    "Of course you were!" Osanna frowned at Hawisa and asked, "How can someone disappear into thin air? I haven''t even heard any witches or wizards doing that."


    Hawisa sneered and threw a satire, "You were completely lost in your own world at that time for you to notice anything."


    They kept on quarreling with each other until Adeline took it upon herself to stop them. "Hawisa wasn''t hallucinating. He can teleport."


    "Ha! See, I was right!" Hawisa proudly smiled until she heard Adeline saying the remaining bit.


    "And he is not a wizard. He is the Devil whom I met when I was three." Adeline didn''t think that it was fair to keep them in dark anymore when these two should have been the first ones to find out about Theodore''s true identity and her relationship with him.


    "De-De-Devil?" Osanna dropped straight to the floor.


    Hawisa looked at Osanna and chose to ignore her.. Her mind had stopped working upon hearing that the one who she thought was an angel was in fact a devil.

 Chapter 393 - Arch Enemy

    Theodore flapped his massive wings and headed towards Lucifer''s mansion. And while he flew over Hell, he saw the aftermath of the wave of revenge that he had unintentionally incited.


    Several creatures were injured and were lying around the ruins of the buildings and structures. Some were helping those injured get up on their feet, some were cleaning up the ruins and debris, and some were utterly confused as to what had happened to them.


    And Theodore thought to himself as he watched them from above, "Uh! I''m sorry everyone. I didn''t mean to do this to all of you, but I''m thankful to all of you."


    Theodore landed in front of the red and black mansion with a thud. His wings sent a blow of wind inside the mansion and also dust along with the wind.


    Cerberus came running outside while happily wagging his tail. He had smelled Theodore. However, his paws came to an abrupt halt when he saw the new look of Theodore. He gave a low growl to Theodore but he was not attacking him yet because he was confused if the devil in front of him was Theodore or not.


    "What? Even he can tell that something changed in me?" Theodore thought to himself while holding his breath.


    Theodore wanted to call his brother but he was afraid that Cerberus would recognize his voice and would start licking him.


    Cerberus slowly inched closer and closer to Theodore. Theodore thought of flying inside the mansion but he didn''t want that three-headed dog to think of him as an intruder and jump at his wings. So he kept on holding his breath and staying as still as he could.


    Cerberus, on the other hand, was amused by the new set of horns of Theodore. It looked as though volcanos would erupt out of those horns if they were disturbed. He sniffed Theodore''s horns, his tattered clothes, and his wings.


    "Oh, come on Lucifer!" Theodore was screaming in his mind as the hellhound towered over him, "You know I''m already here. Why don''t you just come outside and take your familiar away?"


    Cerberus returned back to sniffing the horns again. He contemplated for a while and he ended up licking the horn. The moment he licked Theodore''s horn, he heard a sizzling noise and when he looked at the horns now, the licked part was not glowing. It was as if the glowing parts were really made out of burning lava.


    Cerberus'' all six eyes twinkled at that newfound discovery. He wagged his tails very rapidly and licked Theodore''s horns as if he was licking popsicles. He watched the lava dimming and making a sizzling sound, and then happily watched as the horns lit up again.


    Theodore blinked his eyes and was trying to figure out what noise he was hearing above his head. He looked up at Cerberus'' mouth to check that was where that noise was coming from.


    He saw Cerberus sticking his tongues out and staring at his head in awe. "Hmm�� it doesn''t look like Cerberus is producing that sound. Are my horns doing that?"


    Theodore furrowed his brows and touched his horn, only to flinch and scream, "Aahh! Why is it so hot?"


    When he flinched, one of his wings happened to get slammed on the ground. And a huge crack appeared where it had slammed.


    Cerberus was now amused by that crack. He stretched out his front legs and gave a play bow before jumping over that crack and digging his claws to make that crack even bigger.


    Theodore kept on staring at Cerberus and that crack. And he glanced at his own wings. He noticed that the feathers around the rims of his wings had a little different shine to them.


    Theodore folded his wings and tried touching those feathers. And as he had suspected, those feathers were as sharp as his claws. "Whoa! I bet I can slice anyone and anything with these��" Theodore was impressed by his evolved set of wings.


    Theodore was so focused on examining himself that he forgot he was standing right next to his arch-enemy.


    And when Cerberus was bored with digging the ground, he turned to look at Theodore again. He was already sure that the person was Theodore, so he jumped on Theodore making him fall back to the ground. Then he immediately began licking Theodore all over his face and body.


    Theodore was petrified by that wet greeting and as usual, he screamed on top of his voice, "Lucifeeeeeeeeerrrrr!"


    Theodore tried to hold off Cerberus'' head but there were too many heads for his hands. "Lucifeeer! Get your arse out here!"


    Lucifer came outside with half-opened eyes and an angry look on his face. Before he even reached where the two of them were, he took off his shoe and threw it on Theodore''s head.


    "Aah!" Theodore closed his eyes and massaged his forehead. "Why are you hitting me? Your dog is already abusing me! Don''t be like him."


    However, Lucifer didn''t listen to his brother and walked closer while shouting, "Why are you such a pain in the arse? You wreaked havoc all around and you still have the guts to come here and shout my name? Don''t be such a sc�C"


    Lucifer abruptly stopped scolding Theodore when he saw Theodore''s glowing horns. "What the hell?" He narrowed his eyes and crouched down to get a closer look at Theodore''s horns. "Why are they glowing? You evolved?"


    Theodore gave a death glare to his brother and shouted, "First get this monster off of me! Don''t make me use these horns as skewers!"


    Lucifer curled his upper lips in disdain and aimed his fist at Theodore as if he was about to hit him on the forehead. But he controlled his anger towards his brother and gestured Cerberus to go inside, "Cer baby, go inside now. Playtime is over."


    Cerberus immediately got off from Theodore''s body but instead of going inside, he rolled over and lay down beside Theodore while using his wings as his pillow.


    Theodore glared at Cerberus and turned to give a ''Am I a joke to him?'' look to Lucifer.


    Lucifer disregarded the look and asked, "Tell me what happened? How come you triggered the lust for revenge in all the creatures? And how did you even manage to do that? Isn''t your ability to create chaos limited only to a certain area? How come you affected the whole realm?"


    Theodore had forgotten about his worst day but Lucifer''s questions reminded him of those terrible things again.


    He took a deep sigh and looked up at the red and burnt atmosphere of Hell. And he softly whispered, "I met father today."


    Lucifer''s body went numb upon hearing the mention of their father and he sat down on the ground, stunned. "What did you do to provoke him that much?" he asked without caring if he sounded rude.


    Theodore took a deep sigh again and answered, "Nothing much. I killed one of the cursed humans. I killed a vampire who was about to kill Adeline."


    Theodore chuckled at his own bad luck and said coldly, "And I got a wedding gift from our father dearest. He is going to kill Adeline''s father for my doing."


    Lucifer covered his mouth with his palm. He could imagine just how painful it was for Theodore. He didn''t dare to say a word to console his brother because he was lost for words.


    Lucifer simply lay on the empty wing of Theodore and stared at the burnt cloud together with Theodore.

 Chapter 394 - Wrong Time

    Hawisa and Osanna were both sitting at the foot of Adeline''s bed while facing Adeline. The Princess truthfully explained most of the details about her and Theodore''s story. Both of the maids were on their toes the whole time they were listening to the story that was full of exciting, sad, as well as unexpected details.


    When the story finally ended, both Hawisa and Osanna took some moment to process the out-of-the-world love story.


    Adeline couldn''t tell if the maids were mad at her or if they were just shocked when she looked at their faces.


    Finally, Osanna broke the silence and spoke while her eyes still looked dazed, "You met your fianc�� when you were three and we are knowing about it just now? Just how ignorant were we to have never even noticed that you were hiding such a huge secret from us?"


    Adeline took a deep breath and then apologized to the seemingly hurt maids, "I''m sorry that I kept it from both of you until now. I was�� I don''t know�� afraid maybe��"


    Both the maids sure felt bad that Adeline hid such a great thing from them. However, both of them understood why she did that. It was not every day that a human and a devil would fall in love with each other.


    Hawisa shifted a little closer to Adeline and lovingly placed her palm on Adeline''s knee. "We had never heard, neither seen a devil being kind and loving. So, I''m pretty sure that we would have acted very differently if you had told us before today that you were in love with a devil."


    "Maybe we wouldn''t even have given you a chance to explain everything in detail and would have probably complained to the King or done something drastic. So, I don''t blame you for not telling about Prince Theodore." Hawisa gave a soft smile, reassuring Adeline that she did not need to be so apologetic towards them.


    Osanna also gave a polite smile and added to what Hawisa had said, "If we hadn''t already known about the good deeds that Prince Theodore did today, then we would probably still be struggling to accept the fact that you are going to be married to the Devil."


    "I''m so glad that you two aren''t mad at me right now," Adeline smiled and opened her arms to hug both of them.


    While she was tightly hugging her caretakers and the closest women she had to a mother, her tummy decided that it was the right time to growl. All three of them ended up bursting into laughter considering how loud the growl was.


    It was already very late at night by the time they were done sharing the heart-to-heart conversation. And none of them had dinner yet.


    So Hawisa suggested, "Adeline, why don''t we bring dinner to you? Sorry, we were so consumed in listening to the story that we even forgot to keep track of the time."


    "Yes, that would be perfect. I''m really hungry. And I need to get this bitter taste off of my tongue." Adeline wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips.


    Osanna chuckled and lovingly pinched Adeline''s cheek. "Okay. We will make sure to bring something sweet as well so that you can wash off that aftertaste."


    Adeline''s eyes twinkled when she happily clasped her hands together and said, "I would really appreciate that."


    Both Hawisa and Osanna left the room to get dinner for Adeline. After they left, one of the guards knocked on the door and said from outside, "Your Highness, we are right outside. If there is anything you need or if there are any intruders then please give a shout."


    "Sure, I will. Thank you!" Adeline replied from inside and lied back down on the bed. It felt really new to have the guards watching over her at all hours.


    She tried to consciously keep her mind out of today''s incident and everything that went wrong. She tried thinking of the good times she had with her father. But that only made her want to cry.


    She thought of sleeping until her food came but only if falling asleep was that easy, especially when there were so many things going on in her head.


    And she recalled saying to Theodore that she would talk with him after getting treated. Though she didn''t want to keep on bothering him by summoning him, she couldn''t wait to talk things out with him.


    So she brought her hand closer to her face and admired the ring for a while before finally kissing it.


    She waited for some time for Theodore to appear in the room. She kept on darting her eyes around the room but�� nothing. "Why is Theodore not here yet?" she furrowed her brows and tried kissing the ring again.


    She waited for a minute or two but again, Theodore was nowhere in the room. "Did something happen to the ring?" Adeline now began to panic.


    She sat up on her bed and thought while aggressively rubbing and kissing the ring, "Or did something happen to Theo? No, no�� what could possibly happen to him?"


    In her anxiousness, she happened to forget that she had already used the summoning quota of her ring for that day. However, it was already midnight. So when she kissed the ring again, the dark mist hovered on the floor right in front of her bed.


    And as if the ring had waited until the maids to arrive for it to work, both Hawisa and Osanna also entered the room while carrying the trays and a small bed table.


    "Oh no!" Adeline wanted to do something about the situation but it was already too late.


    It so happened that right when the maids entered the room, Theodore appeared on the floor in his Devil form. His massive wings were spread out on the floor and his glowing red eyes were staring directly into the souls of those poor maids.


    "Adeline, we brought some hot soup and some sweeeeeaaahhhhhhhhhh��" Osanna screamed at the top of her voice and threw the tray full of food at Theodore.


    Adeline widened her eyes and clasped her mouth with both of her palms.


    Theodore flinched when the hot bowl of soup fell right on his face. He licked his lips and sarcastically said, "Tastes good. Would have been nice if I got to enjoy the full bowl."


    He then picked up a sweet that was on his wing and put it in his mouth. And he got up while chewing it and flapping his wings to get the food off of them.


    All this while, Hawisa looked as though she was stuck in time. Only her hands were trembling and the table in her hand was giving out rattling noises.


    "Huaaahhhhhhh!" And as though her mind finally resumed working again, she finally let out a muffled scream and her hand happened to jerk involuntarily.


    Although she already knew that it was Theodore, she ended up throwing the table at him and passed out on the floor with a thud.


    "What happened? Is there an intruder?" The guards pushed open the door and barged in all at once, almost bumping themselves onto the maids and Theodore.. They abruptly came to a halt before they poked themselves into Theodore''s spread-out wings.

 Chapter 395 - Huge Crow

    "Oh, we''re sorry, Your Highness," the guards recognized Theodore because the change in his looks was not that drastic to make him unrecognizable. They immediately ran back outside so as not to make the matter even more awkward.


    Theodore picked up the table and put it on the bed. Adeline didn''t know whether to feel sorry or to laugh at how things turned bizarre and awkward for all of them.


    Osanna finally came to her senses and she apologized to Theodore, "I''m so sorry!"


    "I thought you were a huge crow and unintentionally threw the food on you. I''m so sorry, Your Highness," Osanna took out a kerchief from her apron pocket and handed it to Theodore while bowing to him in fear.


    And she scolded herself silently, "Really? A huge crow? I won''t blame him if he turns you into a crow in his anger!"


    However, Theodore just chuckled and wiped his face and neck to clean the soup from him. "It''s okay. I know that I look pretty scary with these horns and wings."


    Before things got any weirder between Theodore and her maids, Adeline asked Osanna, "Osanna, why don''t you call someone to help you take Hawisa with you? I think she will catch a cold if she keeps on lying there on the floor."


    "Oh, sure!" Osanna had completely forgotten about Hawisa. She tried patting her cheek lightly to wake her at first. But it didn''t work. So she went outside to call for some help.


    A guard came inside and took Hawisa with him.


    Osanna then looked at Theodore who was pulling out the food that was stuck on his feathers and then looked at Adeline.


    And she said to Adeline, "I will bring some food again and clean up this mess that I made. Umm��" she cleared her throat and trotted to go near Adeline. And she whispered in her ear, "Shall I prepare a bath for the Prince?"


    Adeline was not sure if he would like that so she asked him, "Theo, shall I get the bath prepared? You can take a quick bath while I eat."


    Theodore gave a delighted smile and nodded. "That would be lovely."


    Adeline then nodded to Osanna and sent her away.


    Theodore folded his wings and walked to the bedside. He finally got the chance to properly look at Adeline''s face. And he asked while giving a sorry glance to her, "How are you feeling?"


    "Health-wise �C better than before, mentally �C I''ve been better," Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line and gave a mirthless smile.


    Theodore felt a prick in his heart when he heard that. He looked down and sighed. And he slowly and softly whispered, "I''m so sor�C"


    But before he could say sorry, Adeline stood up on her knees and gave him a soft kiss. She gave a loving smile to him and gently caressed his cheek, leaving Theodore wondering if he even deserved that pure-hearted soul.


    She then looked at the glowing horns and asked, "I don''t think your horns looked like this before. Why do they look so different now?"


    Adeline was about to touch his horns but he abruptly held her wrist and said, "Careful! They are hot."


    "They sure are�� you look so hot in them," Adeline gazed at his face, his muscular body, and his wings while appreciating their beauty with her eyes.


    Theodore smiled while looking at his awe-struck woman and warned her again so that she wouldn''t try to touch his horns or wings, "I happened to evolve a while ago. These horns are literally hot and the feathers at the edges of my wings have become as sharp as blades. Be careful and don''t touch them."


    Adeline questioningly raised her brows and asked, "You evolved? How?"


    "I somehow happened to absorb every lingering aurae that were in the underworld. And my previous form couldn''t handle it, so I evolved." Theodore tried to answer her question but he was unsure if she would get how evolving worked.


    Adeline of course had some more questions. But it was regarding herself. "It is possible to evolve? Then would my body have also evolved if Azriel had not sealed my powers?"


    Theodore wrinkled his brows and replied with some hesitance, "I don''t think that would have been the case. Evolving happens for us celestial beings. I don''t think you would have��"


    Adeline immediately gave a smile so as not to make Theodore think that she was sad.


    Before Adeline could ask any further questions, Osanna returned to the room with a fresh set of food.


    Theodore stacked the pillows and helped Adeline to sit comfortably. He also properly arranged the bed table in a way that would make it easier for her to eat from it.


    Osanna was watching Theodore take care of every little thing for Adeline''s comfort and was smiling thinking that Adeline was a lucky woman to have found someone like him. She set the bowls and plates on the table and informed Adeline, "I have asked the other maids to prepare the bath. They will be done shortly."


    "Okay, thank you!" Adeline gave a grateful nod to Osanna who was already cleaning the spilled food from the floor.


    Theodore kept on standing beside Adeline while maintaining a safe distance. He did not want to revert back to his normal form without cleaning his wings first. So he watched Adeline staring at the food as if she was staring at his face and smiled while thinking, "I must say, her food is my greatest rival ever!"


    Adeline started by eating a sweet made out of condensed milk. A wide grin appeared on her face as the bitterness from her mouth was replaced with the heavenly sweetness. And then only she began to eat other food.


    They all heard a really soft voice from behind the door after a while, "Your Highness, the bath is ready."


    And Adeline replied, "Okay, you may take your leave."


    Adeline already knew from the guards that Theodore had ordered them not to reveal his true identity to other non-soldiers. So she wanted to respect his decision and make it easier for him to protect his identity by sending the unwanted people away.


    Theodore was carefully listening to the footsteps. And when he was sure that the maids had already left, he turned to Adeline and said, "I will be back in a few minutes then."


    "Sure, take your time." Adeline gave him the sweetest smile before he teleported himself to the bathhouse.


    Osanna immediately came running towards Adeline with an excited look on her face. "You are one lucky woman! How can someone with horns and claws be so gentle and caring? I cannot believe it!"


    Adeline chuckled at that remark from Osanna. And she agreed to her, "Yes, I am indeed lucky to have him.. I didn''t fall for him for no reason."

 Chapter 396 - Uncovering Lies

    After cleaning the floor, Osanna looked to check if Adeline was done with her food. As expected of Adeline, she had already cleaned all of her plates and bowls.


    So Osanna cleared Adeline''s bed table and asked, "Shall I bring some food for Prince Theodore as well?"


    Adeline recalled how he had commented about the soup and remembered him saying he was in the underworld. "Yes, bring him something hot and tasty. I bet he hasn''t had his dinner yet."


    "I thought so too. I will be right back." Osanna then went back to bring some more food.


    Though it was way past midnight, almost everyone in the Palace was still awake because of the terrifying incident of today. They were all on their guard. Thus, it was easier for Osanna to ask the chefs to heat up some more food every now and then.


    Osanna returned with food in no time. She set the bed table beside Adeline and placed the food. And she also took out a blanket from the wardrobe in case Theodore needed it later on. She handed it over to Adeline while saying, "Your fianc�� might need it if he decides to stay over."


    Adeline''s ear turned red as she took that blanket from Osanna''s hand. Thankfully her ears were covered by her hair.


    "I will go and stay with Hawisa. She has woken up but she still looks a little disoriented." Osanna hinted to Adeline that she wouldn''t be back to disturb the two of them.


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "Sure. Both of you should also have something to eat and rest for the night. It''s already too late."


    "Goodnight Adeline," Osanna greeted Adeline before she left with a wide smile on her face.


    After waiting for a while, Theodore was finally back in the room. He had discarded his dirty clothes and was covering his lower body with the towel.


    He furrowed his brows when he saw the table full of food and asked, "What are these food doing here? Didn''t you eat?"


    "Oh, I had it brought for you. You must be hungry," Adeline replied while patting on the bed and asking him to sit down.


    Theodore got on the bed and wriggled inside the blanket.


    "Here, let me help you," Adeline covered his upper body with the blanket that Osanna had given her earlier. She also gathered his long and wet hair and secured them at the back so that they wouldn''t interfere while he would eat.


    Theodore felt overwhelmed by the warm gesture from Adeline. And he couldn''t help but ask, "Aren''t you angry with me?"


    "Why would I be angry at you? For protecting me and my father? For protecting this Kingdom?" Adeline pretended not to know why he was asking that question. She smiled at him and said, "Have the food first. And then let''s talk while lying down."


    However, Theodore couldn''t keep on pushing the conversation that they would ultimately need to have. So he insisted on talking and asked, "You know what I mean, Adeline. You heard the conversation between me and my father, didn''t you?"


    Adeline was also equally stubborn as him. So she picked up the fork and picked up a piece of boiled potato. And she held the fork in front of his mouth, "Open your mouth."


    Theodore took in a deep breath without averting his gaze from Adeline''s face. He gently held Adeline''s hand and ate the food from the fork. He then took the fork from her hand and said, "I don''t want to make you take care of me when I should be the one doing so. Please lie down. I will finish everything in no time."


    Adeline wasn''t at the best of her health yet. So she smiled and nodded her head before lying down beside him. She kept on watching her man gobble down the food as fast as he could.


    After he was done eating, he put the table in a corner and got back inside the bed. He lay down beside Adeline and tucked himself inside the blanket.


    Theodore''s face was already clouded by resentment towards himself.


    So, before he could say anything bad about himself and start apologizing again, Adeline held his hand and asked him, "Theo, He said that you prevented my father''s death. Why didn''t you tell me about it�� that my father''s life was in danger and you saved him?"


    Theodore tightened his grip on Adeline''s hand. He had hidden things from Adeline and now it was going to be out in the open. He hoped that Adeline wouldn''t get angry at him for hiding those things from her until now.


    And he blurted out the instances he had interfered with Dragomir''s fate, "The first time, it was your sixteenth birthday and I didn''t want to make you sad on your birthday. The second time, your eligibility test was right around the corner. And I didn''t want to distract you and keep you from achieving your dream. And third, well you already know it. I took him to the fountain."


    Adeline felt a pinch in her heart knowing that Theodore had done so much for her without her asking it from him.


    And she curiously asked him, "What kind of danger was he facing? Did he already have a heart problem two years back? I remember him getting tired very quickly when he had danced with me on my sixteenth birthday."


    Theodore pressed his lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes. "It was Lillian."


    Adeline''s face dropped the moment she heard Lillian''s name.


    Theodore explained what she had done to the King, "The time I saw him in your birthday, I saw traces of dark energy in his body. It was slowly making him sick but the symptoms were so unnoticeable that it could have passed as the effects of old age. I had absorbed the dark energy from him at that time."


    "And the second time, Lillian broke the boundaries, quite literally. She summoned a succubus from Hell and was making it devour your father''s life force. But I�C"


    "What?" Adeline abruptly interrupted him and asked, "You mean she was actually harming my father when she had drawn that magic circle around the Palace?"


    Theodore nodded his head apologetically and added, "I lied to you and also made Agnes lie for me. I''m sorry I did that. But I had already taken care of the problem. I threatened that succubus to drain the life force out of Edwin instead of your father. That was why Edwin was on the verge of dying before the test."


    Adeline widened her eyes and was dumbfounded to learn that Theodore was behind that condition of Edwin.


    Suddenly, something struck her mind. She looked at Theodore and asked, "Wait! Was that woman with horns, wings, and tail the one you are calling a succubus? The one I thought you were��"


    "Cheating on you with?" Theodore chuckled and agreed, "Yes, she was that succubus. When you saw us that night, I was actually ordering her to suck the life out of Edwin. You got so mad at me that night. We had our first fight, remember?"


    Theodore added while remembering that night''s incident and chuckling, "You were so jealous of that succubus. I was afraid that you would stab me with your sword."


    "Hey! I was not jealous! And I was definitely not going to stab you. I was just�� going to poke you but I resisted," Adeline pouted like a baby. Recalling that night now after knowing the truth, she felt very embarrassed of herself.


    And seeing her cheeks turning red, Theodore started to laugh even louder. And he teased her further, "So you were going to poke me, huh?"


    Adeline buried her face in her pillow and started to laugh as well.

 Chapter 397 - Grateful

    Theodore''s face turned serious after a while as he recalled what his father had told him, that he had indirectly caused the deaths of a lot of humans.


    And he spoke in a serious tone, "I wanted Lillian to feel the pain of losing someone dear to her but things didn''t go as I had planned. Those maids lost their lives instead of Edwin."


    Adeline didn''t want Theodore to go through the guilt trip again so she tried consoling him, "Theo, but you did extend my father''s life. The maids didn''t deserve to die, yes. But we can''t change it by lamenting over it now. What we can do is be careful from now on."


    "I should have been careful today," Theodore took in a deep breath when the memory of him holding Rebekah''s heart began flashing in front of his eyes. "Your father would have lived even longer had I not�C"


    Adeline immediately covered Theodore''s lips and said assertively, "Before you apologize again, I want to say that I am very grateful to you. My father would have been another victim of that witch had you not interfered. I got to have him by my side for two more years because of you, Theodore."


    Adeline gently placed her palm on his cheek and tried to make him understand that those extended two years were already a blessing, "And do you know what that also means? You probably even prevented Wyverndale from falling to ruins."


    "If something were to happen to the King before a future ruler was selected then it was guaranteed that there would have been power struggles for the throne. And considering how Lillian and Edwin were the ones with most military backing, either one of them would have been ruling over Wyverndale right now."


    Theodore had a disgusted look on his face when she mentioned that. "Ugh! I cannot even imagine one of them ruling Wyverndale."


    "Exactly!" Adeline had a wistful smile on her face when she recalled the precious moments that she shared with her father in the past two years. "And I got to share so many beautiful memories with my father in the past two years."


    Her eyes teared up a little and she began talking in a suppressed voice, "I got to learn so many things from him, I got to introduce you to him, I got to gift my mother''s portrait to him, and I even got to collect two more birthday scrolls from him."


    "We shared so much laughter together." Adeline was trying her best to control her tears and not cry in front of Theodore. However, she was constantly wiping the tears that refused to stay inside her eyes.


    And she said in a whisper while sniffing, "So you don''t have to keep on apologizing, Theo. You averted the danger away from my father several times. And now the death finally caught up to him�� It would have caught up to him sooner or later."


    Adeline stared blankly for a while and whispered sadly, "But it would have been better if it had caught on much later��" Adeline then couldn''t control her pent-up emotions any longer and she ended up bursting into cries.


    Theodore shifted closer to Adeline and wrapped her in his embrace. And he softly whispered, "I know. I also would have loved it if we could have lived together as a happy family for much longer."


    Adeline kept on wailing breathlessly while burying her face in her pillow. And Theodore didn''t try to stop her. He kept on holding her and stroking her back.


    No matter how much Adeline tried not to cry in front of Theodore, she just could not help it.


    No matter how rational her brain tried to be, her heart was not convinced and couldn''t accept that she would be losing her father soon.


    After crying to her heart''s content for quite a while, Adeline calmed down on her own. "I will wash my face and come," she whispered to Theodore and got up while hiding her face.


    She didn''t want to show her swollen eyes to Theodore and abruptly jumped out of the bed. But that almost made her tumble because her legs were still weak.


    "Careful, Adeline!" Theodore hastily got off the bed to help Adeline. "Let me carry you."


    He picked Adeline up before she could say anything and teleported her to the bathhouse. He would have loved to walk there while carrying her but there were onlookers in between Adeline''s private chamber and the bathhouse. And he did not want the guards to get the wrong idea.


    Adeline was also glad that he teleported her instead of insisting on carrying her and walking like he used to. She quickly cleaned herself with the cold water. After splashing her face, she somewhat felt refreshed and the burden that she was carrying in her heart felt somewhat lighter.


    Adeline then thought about what she was going to say to her father. "Should I tell him that his time is limited? Or should I just let him be oblivious?" She sighed and thought again, "If I was in his place then I would have loved to know it��"


    "Are you ready to go back?" Theodore asked his woman who had been staring at her own reflection in the water for quite a while now.


    Adeline was jerked back from her thoughts. She got up and nodded, "Yes. Let''s go."


    It was not necessary to pick her up again but Theodore did it anyway. He gently carried her in his arms and teleported back to the room. He then lay her down on the bed and tucked her inside the blanket.


    Theodore also got inside but was almost startled by Adeline who shouted as if something had happened to her, "Ugh! The pillow is so wet."


    She threw her pillow down from her bed and tugged the pillow Theodore was sleeping on, "Share it with me." She was giving a sweet smile as if she had not just cried her eyes out just minutes ago.


    "Sure," Theodore was not sure if her mood was now really okay or if she was just pretending to be okay. He thought that the latter was true.


    Theodore lifted his head and pushed the pillow towards Adeline.


    Adeline wriggled closer to Theodore and put her arm and leg on him. And she closed her eyes with a smile on her face because the warmth from Theodore made her feel very comfortable and sleepy.


    And she whispered to him in a drowsy voice, "Theo, thank you for everything that you have done for me. Thank you for giving me a second chance at life. Your existence has been a boon to me. So don''t go around asking to die instead of me or anyone else. Your life is too precious for me. You should keep on existing till eternity so that I can also keep on existing through you�� as your memory."


    Theodore felt a lump in his throat when he heard her say that. He couldn''t even speak. He simply hugged her and gave her a warm kiss on her forehead.


    And he thought to himself, "I hope we both will get to live till eternity�� together. Eternity would be a punishment for me if I would have to live on without you."


    And as though Adeline had read his mind, she whispered again, "Eternity sounds a little scary though.. But we will make a lot of memories together, enough to last with you for eternity."

 Chapter 398 - How To Kill...

    King Reginald was standing in one corner of the underground tomb where all the Royals, those who were dead and those who were in eternal slumber, were kept in their respective coffins.


    The Royals would go into eternal slumber when they would feel that their body was too weak to carry on living. And before death would catch up to them they would go to slumber to conserve their energy and keep on existing.


    Reginald''s parents had also done the same. And both Reginald and Rebekah were also to do the same.


    However, Rebekah was not that lucky to rest peacefully in the coffin. Her dead body lay in the coffin beside her mother''s.


    Those who worked in the Palace were paying their final respects to the late Princess and were wishing that her soul would pass on to the afterlife.


    Reginald was staring blankly at the coffin when Horace came to him and asked, "Your Majesty, you should also pay your final respect. We will then nail the coffin."


    Reginald let out a deep sigh and without saying a word, walked towards the coffin. He caressed his sister''s cheek for one last time and whispered to her, "I hope you will get to reincarnate into a loving family, Rebekah. Farewell."


    He then gestured the workers to close the lid and hammer down the nails. After they were done, Reginald picked up a wild rose and placed it on top of the lid. He gazed at the copper plaque with Rebekah''s name written on it. He gently patted on the name as if to make her sleep.


    And he turned around and walked away before the tears that were filling the rims of his eyes would cross the barriers.


    Reginald went to his throne hall and sat down while immersing himself in the grief of his sister''s death. Though it was way past midnight, nobody dared to take a break or get a wink of sleep when their King was still in the throne hall.


    And even though everyone was awake in the Palace, the silence was as deafening as the cemetery in the night.


    After about an hour or so, Reginald finally gave an order in a barely audible voice, "Bring George to me."


    Even that weak voice from the King was enough to send chills down everyone''s spine. They all knew that George''s lifeline was going to be erased.


    And the Royal Guards who had gone to Wyverndale were even more terrified thinking what punishment the King had in store for them for not being able to save the Princess.


    George had stayed back at Mihir after he had arrived the last time to give the information about the ''fake Price''. So after getting the order from the King, one of the guards ran over to George''s home to fetch him.


    While waiting for George, Reginald focused his attention on the Royal Guards. Reginald was finally ready to hear the details about his sister''s murder. "Did any of you see who killed my sister and how?"


    He had already suspected that no one would have been able to carve Rebekah''s heart out other than the Devil. He wanted to confirm his suspicion and know the other details about the murder.


    One of the guards came forward and answered, "I saw the Devil ripping her heart out from behind her. The Princesses were fighting against each other. Our Princess was already winning but that Devil came at her from behind."


    "Came at her from behind��" Reginald chuckled to himself as though he had already lost his mind.


    That guard immediately knelt in front of the King and bowed, "I could not save Her Highness from that Devil''s clutch. Please punish me as you see fit, Your Majesty."


    All the other Royal Guards also knelt down in that instant and repeated that guard''s words. "Please punish us as you see fit, Your Majesty."


    Reginald started laughing for no reason again. "Punish�� punish�� What shall be your punishments?"


    Reginald abruptly stopped laughing like a madman because the guard who had gone to fetch George was now back. George was now standing beside all those who were kneeling in front of the King.


    "You summoned me, Your Majesty?" George bowed his head with a very bad feeling at the pit of his stomach.


    The death of the Princess was yet to be made public. And George had no idea that a great tragedy had already occurred. But looking at the Royal Guards, he was sure that something went off in Wyverndale. "I didn''t know that you were already back from Wyverndale. Had I known before then�C"


    "Had you known before then what?" Reginald leaped a great distance and stood right in front of George. And he snarled, "You would have escaped after giving the half-arsed information?"


    "Your wrong information cost me my sister''s life!" Reginald''s mind was now taken over by vengeance. He grabbed George by his neck and screamed, "That fake Prince turned out to be the Devil! And turns out both the King and the Princess were well aware of his identity!"


    "Had I known it before then maybe I would have taken a different approach. Maybe I wouldn''t have gone there without any preparation. Or maybe I wouldn''t have gone there at all!" Reginald kept on blaming everyone but himself for the death of his sister.


    George was desperately trying not to pass out while the King lifted him in the air by his neck.


    And then in the next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He could feel Reginald touching his heart. He wanted to stop the King from pulling his heart out but he was helpless.


    Reginald was deliberately taking his time to kill George and put him through as much pain as he could. "You don''t deserve a heart when my sister didn''t get to have hers because of your negligence."


    Everyone in the hall didn''t even dare to breathe in the fear that they would anger the King and draw his attention to them.


    Reginald finally pulled George''s heart out and dropped his body. His body turned ash-grey in no time and the heart hardened like a rock. Reginald threw the heart on that dead body and then turned his fiery glare towards the shaken Royal Guards.


    He would have loved to rip out the hearts of all of those guards who were kneeling before him.


    But he controlled his urge to kill and to their relief, he said, "I am equally guilty as you all are for Rebekah''s death. I cannot blame any of you for not being able to save her when even I couldn''t do so."


    Reginald didn''t want to lose any more purebloods when there were already so few of them.


    He then went back and sat down on his cold throne. He rested his head on the headrest of his throne and reflected back to his encounter with the Devil. The agonizing pain became fresh in his mind when Theodore had sunk his claws in his chest.


    He closed his eyes and whispered to his advisor in a melancholic tone, "Lord Horace, I should have believed you when you said that there was some entity powerful than vampires. He was very close to killing me as well."


    Horace had already gathered all the information from the Royal Guards. He knew everything that the Royal Guards had seen. So he knew that Reginald barely managed to escape with his life.


    The King clenched his fists and pressed over his heart. He recalled how Theodore''s sharp claws were already slashing his heart. He narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, "He could have and should have killed me when he had the chance. He made a mistake by not killing me."


    Reginald turned his head to the side and glanced at Horace with vacant eyes. He then asked his source of knowledge, "How do I kill that Devil?"

 Chapter 399 - Ghost

    "What�� on�� Hell? Even hellfire can''t kill you?" Lucifer was grabbing his long silver hair with both of his hands and was pulling them. However, unlike his body language, he looked rather amazed by what he was seeing.


    "It is very hot though. But yes, it is not affecting me at all!" Theodore tried catching the tall flames of hellfire and kicking them.


    ---


    "Theo�� Theo��" Adeline gently nudged Theodore who was sweating profusely. But he was not opening his eyes. Theodore was burning up and he was also breathing heavily. Adeline feared that something was wrong with him.


    And to wake him up, she punched him on his chest while calling him a bit loudly, "Theodore!"


    Theodore inhaled sharply and instantly sat up. However, Adeline was towering over him and he ended up bumping his head with her.


    "Aah!" Both of them exclaimed simultaneously while pressing their forehead.


    "Did something happen to you, Theo?" Adeline immediately pressed her palm over his forehead and said in a concerned voice, "You are burning up. And you were sweating a lot."


    Theodore removed the blanket from his body because he really was burning up. He realized that he was covering himself up with both the blankets. And he chuckled while fanning himself with his palm.


    "What''s there to laugh about?" Adeline looked at him concerned. "Are you not feeling well?"


    He vividly remembered his dream so he explained it to her while still fanning himself, "I think I was feeling hot because of the double blanket. And I had a really funny dream because I was feeling hot. So I cannot help but laugh."


    Adeline also started to fan Theodore and asked him, "What dream?"


    "I saw that I was standing at the pit of the hellfire. And somehow it was not burning me. Lucifer''s reaction to that was too funny and I can''t even��" he started to chuckle again.


    Adeline smiled while looking at her man who had already lost his towel in his sleep. She put her arms around his neck and said, "So, when are you going to bring your clothes and some belongings here? It''s not too ideal for you to go back and forth just to get your clothes."


    Theodore pressed his lips into a thin line and asked, "I''m naked, aren''t I?"


    "Uh-huh! Completely naked!" Adeline giggled and looked at his face. She pinched his chiseled jaw and gently shook his head. "Bring your belongings by today, okay?"


    Theodore looked at her with a wistful smile on his face. "There are still ten days left for the wedding. And��" he inhaled deeply before asking, "And will our wedding even take place as planned after everything that happened yesterday? I wonder if your father would even agree to our marriage�� He�� he looked terrified of my devil form."


    Adeline also pursed her lips because she was also worried about the same. And if he were to say no to their marriage then she had already thought that she was not going to argue with her father during his final month.


    Adeline returned back to her zone and put a big smile on her face. "Theo, get dressed and come back. Then take me to my father''s quarter. I haven''t seen him since yesterday''s incident. He might be worried about me if I don''t visit him sooner."


    It was not that she was still unable to walk properly. She was already feeling much better even though she only got a few hours of sleep. She asked him to take her to her father''s quarter so that Theodore wouldn''t run off to Hell and actually try to throw himself in the hellfire.


    She didn''t show it in her face but when Theodore told her about his dream, she got terrified to her core. She was afraid that he might end up doing that out of spite towards himself.


    Theodore kept on gazing at Adeline with an intent look on his face. He could see her smiling. But he was not fooled by Adeline''s smile because he could clearly hear her hammering heart.


    Though she was trying to act all normal, he could tell that she was feeling restless. And he asked concerned, "You''re going to be fine by yourself, right? Should I call your maids before I go?"


    Adeline gave a playful look to him and teased him, "I would rather be the only person to see you naked."


    Theodore covered his eyes with his palm and his shoulders moved up and down because of his suppressed laughter. Adeline was glad that she could make him laugh.


    He managed to control his laughter and finally said, "Okay then, I will get dressed and come right back. We will visit King Dragomir together." Before teleporting himself to his bed back at the cave, Theodore tightly hugged Adeline.


    Adeline''s eyes widened at that surprise ''attack'' from Theodore but they softened immediately after. A soft smile crept up on her lips from his warm embrace.


    After Theodore went to get dressed, Adeline got out of bed to go to the bathhouse.


    Adeline had already forgotten that the guards were still there in the meeting room. And when she crossed from the meeting room in her long white gown and her long silver hair, she accidentally scared the half-asleep guards.


    "Aaahhhhhh! Gh-Gh-Ghost!" one of the guards on watch duty alerted all the other guards. It didn''t even take him a second to draw out his sword and point it at Adeline.


    And of course, the guards scared Adeline as well. "Aaahhh! Where? Where''s the ghost?" Adeline fisted both of her hands and turned around thinking there really was a ghost behind her.


    Another guard who had deciphered the misunderstanding smacked the head of the watch guard and apologized to Adeline, "We''re sorry, Your Highness. He must have had a nightmare."


    Adeline sighed in relief. She turned towards the guards and ordered them, "All of you must be tired. Why don''t you take a break or change your shifts?"


    "All of us are on duty right now, Your Highness. We can only rest when another battalion will arrive. It will probably take a few more hours for them to arrive here." One of the guards briefed Adeline.


    Adeline nodded her head and said, "Oh, then I hope they will arrive here soon."


    By the time Adeline was back from the bathhouse, Theodore was already back in the room. "Theo, you''re already here!" Adeline gave him a smile and said, "Umm�� I have yet to get changed. I will call Haw�C"


    "Okay, I''ll help you," Theodore didn''t even let her finish her sentence and walked over to her wardrobe. He pretended to know where her gowns were and touched his chin. "Hmmm�� which gown will you wear today?"


    Adeline had a big grin on her face. She shook her head and pulled out a gown from the other side of the wardrobe.


    "Oh, I was going to look there," Theodore pulled the gown from her hand and unfolded it. "It will look perfect on you."


    "Of course it will," Adeline raised her head and boasted. And without any hesitation, she took off her nightgown.


    Theodore happily helped her get dressed. After helping her with her dress, he carried her towards the dressing table and made her sit down on the chair.


    "Adeline�� are you awake? I''m coming in," Hawisa shouted from outside and pushed the door open before getting an answer from Adeline. Osanna had forgotten to warn her that Theodore would probably be inside the room.


    And when she opened the door, she was shocked to see the Devil helping Adeline with her hair. "Oh! Umm�� Sorry. Please continue."


    Adeline gave a smile to Hawisa. Theodore was way too immersed in Adeline''s soft hair and he didn''t even notice that Hawisa was still peeking from the door.


    Hawisa was unable to take her eyes off that unbelievable scene and she kept on admiring the beautiful couple.

 Chapter 400 - Till Eternity

    Adeline and Theodore were walking hand in hand while being followed by Adeline''s guards close behind.


    Outside, they could see that the maids and servants were in some kind of rush. Everyone was carrying either trays, large containers, or some items and was in a great hurry. And all the rush made both Adeline and Theodore forget that it was only yesterday that a tragedy had happened. The Palace was already lively.


    "What''s going on? Is there some event today?" Theodore asked Adeline while looking around him.


    Adeline was also equally surprised as Theodore. "I don''t think any event was planned for today. I should have known if there was."


    When they reached in front of the King''s quarter, they saw Dragomir outside in the front yard. He was giving instructions to General Keith and also to the head of the servants and court maids.


    Adeline had thought that her father would be in a sour mood but unlike what she had thought, he seemed to be enthusiastic for some reason.


    When his eyes fell on Adeline and Theodore he happily waved at them, "Adeline! Theodore!" He walked towards them and put his arms around both of them. "Ah! I''m so glad that both of you are okay."


    Theodore was not expecting Dragomir to act so normally even after getting terrified of his devil form yesterday. So he was taken aback by that warm gesture from Dragomir.


    When Dragomir pulled away from the hug, he saw that Theodore was visibly stunned for some reason. He patted Theodore on his shoulder and asked in a concerned voice, "What''s the matter, Theodore? Is everything okay with you?"


    "Yes, everything is fine with me." Theodore gave a smile and asked the King, "And what about you, father? Shouldn''t you be resting?"


    Dragomir laughed and dismissed the idea of resting, "I''m already back to my normal health." He gently patted Theodore on the head and praised him, "Thanks to a certain someone who was able to bring the witches to heal my wounds."


    Theodore''s heart was filled with a fuzzy feeling from that pat on the head. It was a feeling which he had never felt before.


    And Theodore thought to himself while his eyes glistened in the morning rays of the sun that directly fell on his heavenly face, "What is this feeling? Is this how it feels to get validated by a father? Getting praise from him? Or is this guilt that I''m feeling? Or am I becoming more and more human?"


    Theodore had no answer to his questions and he kept on staring at the human who he had started to address as ''father''.


    He watched how Dragomir was holding Adeline''s hand and was showing his concerns towards the safety of his daughter. He watched how he embraced Adeline again after hearing that she was completely fine. And he observed how he still treated Adeline like a little girl even when Adeline was already an adult.


    "I guess this is how fathers should be." Theodore took a deep breath in and looked up at the clear sky to hold his tears. "It would have been great if I could learn a thing or two about fatherhood from him�� It would have been lovely if I could watch him play with his grandchild."


    "Theo? Aren''t you coming in?" He was brought back from his thoughts when Adeline called him.


    Dragomir and Adeline were already heading inside the quarter, so he also followed the two of them.


    The three of them sat down together and Adeline asked her father, "Is something going to happen in the Palace today? I saw a lot of servants and maids preparing for something�� a feast maybe?"


    Dragomir shook his head and denied, "Feast? No, they are preparing for the wedding banquet. I asked them to gather the materials and clean the utensils." Dragomir cleared his throat and emphasized again, "There isn''t any kind of feast happening today."


    Adeline could tell that her father was not being truthful but she let him be. She had an important thing to tell her father. She glanced at Theodore for reassurance and when he gave a nod, Adeline put on a serious expression on her face. "Father, there is something that happened yesterday which only Theodore and I were able to witness."


    Dragomir''s expression also turned serious as both Adeline and Theodore looked troubled. And he didn''t need to be a mind reader to know that they had some bad news that somehow concerned him.


    Adeline dug her nails in her palms and forced herself to reveal the bad luck of her father. She made sure to tell everything in proper detail and order so that her father wouldn''t blame Theodore for his inevitable death.


    Dragomir was silent the whole time. And even after Adeline had finished explaining, Dragomir kept on blankly staring at the floor beneath his feet.


    "So God himself decreed my death��" he mumbled to himself.


    Dragomir had already heard from General Keith about how Theodore had taken care of that Vampire King and everything else afterward. He was over the moon to have such a powerful and formidable entity as his son-in-law.


    And he was already flying high in the clouds with the preparations for the wedding of his dear daughter. But suddenly, he felt as though some unseen force had pulled him and slammed him on the ground.


    The empty look on Dragomir''s face pierced Theodore''s spirit. Even though he was a celestial being and way superior to the old human, Theodore knelt before Dragomir to apologize, "Father, please forgive me. Because of me, you had to pay the price."


    Dragomir was stunned to see the son of God kneeling before him. He also instantly fell on his knees and looked Theodore in the eyes, "Theodore�� Don''t add an extra sin in my bag by kneeling before me. I would be damned if I blamed you for my death even after everything that you did for me and my daughter."


    He gently pressed his palm on Theodore''s hand and said, "I am rather happy that I could save my daughter''s life by giving my own."


    Dragomir looked at his crying daughter and smiled with eyes full of tears. "Yes, I do feel a little sad to hear about my death. But I have already lived my life to the fullest. I''ve already seen that there is to see."


    Dragomir looked back at Theodore and gave a wistful smile. "And after I walk Adeline down the aisle and hand her over to you, I will have nothing to regret. I can pass on peacefully."


    Adeline couldn''t take the sad talks anymore. She abruptly got up from the chair and went to stand at the corner of the room. She kept on taking deep breaths through her mouth to ease the lump in her throat. And kept on silently shedding her tears.


    Dragomir looked at his daughter and back at Theodore. And he asked him, "Theodore, please take care of my daughter in my absence. She is one stubborn kid. She will pretend to be okay even when she is hurting."


    "She hides her emotions and she keeps many secrets if she feels that doing so will protect you or anyone who she holds dear. Make sure that you understand her without her telling you explicitly that she is hurting. And please, always stand by her side and guide her like you always have been."


    Theodore quickly wiped a drop of tear that had escaped from his eyes and nodded his head. "I will stand by her side.. Till eternity."

 Chapter 401 - Welcome Back!

    "Alright!" Dragomir finally broke the silence with a clap. He got up from the floor and gestured at Theodore to get up on his feet as well.


    He peeked a glance of his daughter who was still crying in the corner of the room and he asked Theodore, "Why don''t you two prepare a report of everything that happened yesterday in detail, including everything that God said and did. I want that report on my desk by noon."


    Theodore blinked twice in confusion. "You want a report? But we did tell you everything."


    Dragomir gave a sly smile to Theodore and passed a sarcastic remark, "Did you think that becoming the Prince Consort was an easy job? From now on, you will be sharing half of the burden of Adeline''s work. After ten days, I will formally assign a workroom to you. You will be starting to perform your duties after ten days, so might as well start practicing from today."


    Theodore pouted his lips and said a bit awkwardly, "But I''ve never written a report until now. I don''t know how��"


    And Dragomir gave a wide smile to tease Theodore even further, "You cannot get away from the paperwork no matter what excuse you make. Even if you hide in Hell, I will find you and make you prepare the reports."


    Adeline, who was crying and listening in to their conversation, ended up bursting into chuckles.


    Both Theodore and Dragomir were glad to hear the soft chuckles from their beloved person.


    "Sure, I will learn from Adeline and we will try to finish it by noon," Theodore smiled and gave a gentle nod to Dragomir before walking over to where Adeline was standing. "Adeline, let''s go."


    Adeline wiped her tears with her palms and nodded her head. She glanced back at her father. Dragomir was looking at her and was smiling. And he softly said to her, "Don''t worry about me. I have some affairs to take care of. And I promise I will fully enjoy the remaining days with you and everyone else."


    Adeline gave a weak smile to her father and walked out of the room. Theodore also walked by her side.


    The two of them arrived at the King''s Court. Before heading to her workroom, Adeline wanted to look for her Cerberus sword that she had lost after the fight. "Theo, let''s go to the meeting room first. I want to look for my sword before it gets lost. It was powerful enough to mortally wound the vampire. I don''t want to lose such a valuable sword."


    "Sure, let''s go look for it."


    When they reached the meeting room, the servants were busy picking up the debris from yesterday''s fight and were cleaning the mess.


    The servants bowed to the Princess and the Prince. Some of them resumed their work while some of them just pretended to. They were too spellbound by the divine aura of Theodore that they were unable to look away from him.


    Adeline straightaway darted her eyes around the meeting room to look for her sword. It didn''t take her long to locate the magnificent sword which was lying under a sofa.


    "Found it." She excitedly grabbed her sword. But her smile faded away as the sword was laced with Rebekah''s blood. She let out a huge sigh and looked for the sheath. After finding both the items, she carried them with her and walked towards her workroom.


    "Revelare," she whispered to that sword so that Theodore could also see it. She didn''t want to accidentally poke Theodore again.


    Adeline tightened her clutch around the sword. She had not been able to shake off a question from her mind and finally asked Theodore, "Theo, did you already know that this sword had the potential to kill vampires? Did Lucifer gift this to me because he already knew that I would need it to defeat one?"


    Theodore admiringly glanced at the sword. "I don''t think this sword''s main purpose is only to kill the vampires. As Lucifer was the one to gift it, I believe that it can kill other monsters and demons as well, apart from the higher-level demons and the celestial beings."


    "Hmm��" the value of that sword became even higher in Adeline''s eyes after hearing that. So she happily asked Theodore, "Theo, next time you meet Lucifer, say to him that I am really grateful towards him. This sword played a huge role in saving my life."


    "I will," Theodore gazed at that sword again and thought to himself, "I should also thank him. The wound inflicted by this sword bought me some time for me to shake off that vampire from me and save Adeline."


    Once inside Adeline''s workroom, both of them got themselves busy with preparing the written report as Dragomir had asked them. Adeline taught Theodore how to properly compile all the events, what details to include, and many more.


    "I never imagined coming up with one sentence would be so hard," Theodore scratched his head and looked defeated.


    After almost two hours, he was still on his second line when Adeline had already written about four pages.


    Adeline chuckled and replied, "You will find it to be easier with time."


    Adeline was absorbed in her writing again when Theodore furrowed his brows and asked again, "Does anyone here have kids here?"


    "Kids?" Adeline thought for a while and nodded, "Yes, some of them do. Why?"


    "I think I heard a toddler giggling just now," Theodore pouted his lips and placed the brush above his upper lip as he was bored.


    Adeline, on the other hand, widened her eyes and dropped her brush from her hand. She ran towards her window to peek outside.


    "Is something wrong?" Theodore dropped the brush and asked while getting up to see what she was looking at with a stunned expression.


    And before he could reach the window, Adeline excitedly ran back towards her door, "Theo! I think Nigel and Rhea are here with the kids."


    "Really?" Theodore looked more excited than Adeline because he ran past Adeline and went through the door without even opening it.


    To speak the truth, Theodore was bored out of his mind trying to rack his brain for the past two hours. And the moment he saw the opportunity to escape from that boredom, he grabbed the chance and ran.


    Adeline couldn''t believe that Theodore had ditched her and ran alone. "Hey, don''t cheat! Wait for me, Theo!"


    But Theodore kept on following the sound and running as if he was in some kind of unspoken competition with Adeline. And Adeline kept on running after him while trying to catch up.


    The sound of soft giggles led the two of them towards the throne hall. As they had suspected, Nigel and Rhea had indeed arrived after two whole years.


    Adeline and Theodore''s eyes were blessed with the lovely sight of King Dragomir playing with both of the twins. Nylah was pulling Dragomir''s beard while Ramon was trying to bite Dragomir''s finger.


    "Adeline, Theodore, look who are here?" Dragomir happily lifted both Nylah and Ramon and showed the babies to them.


    "What a great surprise!" Adeline ran towards Nigel and Rhea who were standing at the foot of the throne and hugged both of them.. "I''m so glad that you decided to come early. Welcome back!"

 Chapter 402 - Family Dinner

    The hall that was gloomy until a while ago was now filled with laughter and happiness. The King had forgotten everything that he heard from Adeline and was enjoying his first meeting with his grandchildren.


    Theodore and Adeline were busy catching up with Nigel and Rhea. Though they had met just a few days ago, there were a lot of things that had happened after that.


    After half an hour or so, Dragomir ordered the guards to take the luggage to Nigel''s quarter and briefed his children, "I have prepared a family gathering tonight to welcome Nigel and his family."


    "So there is a feast tonight!" Adeline gave an accusing look to Dragomir, to which he laughed and responded, "I wanted to keep it a secret to surprise you. And it was worth it to see you laughing."


    "Yes, it was a nice surprise," Adeline replied like a pampered baby that she was while hugging her dear brother.


    Dragomir then looked at Theodore and asked him, "Theodore, be there in the gathering, okay? You are already a part of this family now."


    Theodore was nervous as well as excited at the same time. He felt very honored to have been invited to a family dinner and he accepted without thinking too much, "I will be there, father."


    Dragomir then glanced at Nigel and Rhea and suggested, "You two must have been tired. Rest well and prepare for the family dinner tonight."


    "Yes, father. Thank you for the warm welcome." Nigel gratefully bowed to his father. He was overwhelmed to hear about such a grand welcome dedicated to the four of them even when a tragedy had happened just yesterday.


    And Nigel thought to himself with a sad smile on his face, "You sure know how to melt my heart, father. At this rate, going back to Aberdeen will be really hard."


    He didn''t know yet that it was going to be even harder.


    ---


    As the light from the sun started to fade away, the light from the torches and lanterns started to take over. The whole Palace looked brighter than usual.


    The maids and servants were busy preparing the grand dining hall which was seldom used. They set up around fifty sets of cutleries for the Royals. Dragomir''s wives, concubines, children and their spouses, and grandchildren were going to gather and have dinner together.


    King Dragomir was readying himself for the dinner.


    He was wearing his grand clothes and was checking himself in the mirror. "I hope this will make me look good in the painting," he mumbled to himself.


    When Dragomir had first planned tonight''s family dinner, he had not thought that this would turn out to be the last family gathering that he would probably have.


    And after knowing that his end was near, he wanted to immortalize one of his happiest moments with all of his family members. Thus, he had called a few painters to capture the gathering tonight.


    "Are the painters here?" Dragomir asked his assistant who entered his room.


    The assistant bowed and politely replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. They are already inside the grand hall and are preparing themselves."


    "Good. And what about the others? Has everybody arrived in the hall?" Dragomir asked while getting ready to head out.


    "Yes, Your Majesty. All of them are waiting for you."


    "Let''s go then." Dragomir walked ahead of his assistant. After walking in silence for about a minute, Dragomir asked his assistant, "Laurence, call the meeting of the council tomorrow, will you? I want to have my will written down."


    Laurence''s feet stopped for half a second when the King brought up the topic about his will out of nowhere. "I will, Your Majesty."


    Laurence looked at his King from behind and he could tell that something was definitely up.


    Dragomir was looking around the scenery of the Palace as though he was trying to imprint each and everything in his mind.


    When he finally reached in front of the grand hall door, Dragomir took a moment to himself. He put on a smile on his face and asked the guards, "Don''t announce my presence. Just open the door as silently as you can."


    The guards were confused by that peculiar request from the King but they did what he asked.


    The moment the door opened, Dragomir could hear the chatter and laughter of his family. Everyone looked very cheerful and was talking and gossiping with each other. The twins were the star of the dinner as expected. They were being passed around as though they were the family''s brand new toys.


    The fake smile on Dragomir''s face turned into a real one, and a very wide one at that. "I hope they will remain this happy even after my death. I hope no one will turn against their new Queen once I''m gone."


    "Father! Are you going to keep on standing there?" Adeline playfully waved at him and pointed to the seat at the head of the table. "I saved a seat for you," she jokingly said to her father with a bright smile.


    Everyone in the room stood up and bowed their head when Dragomir entered the room. They waited for him to take his seat and when he gestured to everyone, they all sat back down in their respective chairs.


    Dragomir looked at Nigel''s family and happily welcomed them again, "I hope everyone got to meet the newest additions to our family. Nigel, Rhea, thank you for giving me those beautiful grandchildren. Circumstances had us apart but I am extremely happy that I got to see them."


    Nigel and Rhea looked at each other and smiled. They were overjoyed to have received so much love from everyone.


    Queen Claricia''s happiness was incomparable to everyone else''s. Their arrival added so much joy and sweetness to her dull life that she was full without even eating.


    When the maids finished serving everyone in the hall, Dragomir said in a softer voice than usual, "Everyone, please enjoy the dinner. And feel free to eat and talk without any restrictions."


    The moment Dragomir said so, Raphael raised his hand and asked while pointing at the painter behind him, "Your Majesty, is it really necessary to be watched by them while we eat? They are making me nervous."


    Almost everyone in the hall burst into laughter, including Dragomir. Dragomir then answered his son who was pouting, "It is hard to gather all of you here, so I seized the opportunity. We might not get an opportunity like this again. So try not to focus your attention on them and just act natural, Raphael."


    Only Theodore and Adeline understood the real meaning behind the King''s seemingly normal sentence.


    Adeline instantly looked down and tried to control herself from bursting into tears.


    Theodore could sense the mental struggle that Adeline was having. So he placed his palm on her clenched fist under the table and gently patted as if to calm her down.


    Adeline took a deep breath in and raised her head. She looked at her father and everyone around the table. Everyone was putting their differences and yesterday''s trauma aside and were happily dining and laughing.


    "If only this could last forever," she thought to herself while looking at her father.

 Chapter 403 - Small Talks

    After the dinner was over, the Royals gathered around in small groups and were spending some time together.


    Rhea and the twins were surrounded by Queen Claricia and a few other concubines who were closer to the Queen.


    "I can''t believe how cute these two are. They are the perfect combination of both of their parents," Raphael''s mother praised the babies while gently pinching Nylah''s cheek.


    Claricia was holding baby Nylah and she agreed, "Yes, they are blessed with both of their parent''s good genes." And she hinted at Rhea, "I hope they will grow to be very strong like their parents."


    Rhea was sitting beside her mother-in-law while holding Ramon. She smiled at Claricia to say, "I hope they will." In a world full of dangerous creatures, she hoped that her children would inherit the werewolf gene so that they would be able to protect themselves.


    Dragomir also joined them shortly because he could not stay away from those bundles of cuteness. He looked at Ramon and called him, "Hey sweetheart, want to come to grandpa?"


    Ramon giggled and hid his face in Rhea''s belly. Dragomir''s mood was instantly elevated by those playful little grandkids of his.


    Juniper and Joyce also joined the group shortly after. Juniper greeted Rhea and she asked her daughter, "Say hello to Aunt Rhea."


    Joyce held her mother''s gown and softly greeted, "Hello, Aunt Rhea."


    Rhea gave a bright smile to the shy girl and asked, "Hi! You came here to play with your brother and sister?"


    Joyce''s eyes twinkled and she asked, "Can I?"


    "Of course, you can." Rhea gestured Joyce to come closer and turned Ramon around to face Joyce, "You want to shake his hand?"


    While the baby lovers had gathered in one corner of the hall, Margery, Muriel, and a few other Princess had gathered around in another corner. They were gawking at Theodore ever since the dinner was over.


    Margery dug her nails in Muriel''s thighs and took a deep sigh. Muriel slapped away her twin''s hand and scolded her, "Ouch! That hurt!"


    Margery sighed again and whispered to her sister, "How does that Adeline have such luck? How come she is engaged to that angelic man?"


    Muriel also sighed and whispered back, "I wish I knew." She looked down and then hit Margery on the leg. "I think we should stop drooling over our brother-in-law. I feel like we are sinning."


    Margery was not looking away from Theodore just yet. "He is not officially our brother-in-law yet. This is our last chance to look at him before he gets married to our sister."


    "Ah! Right!" Muriel glanced back at Theodore and said with a wide smile, "Let''s look at him to our hearts'' content today. And we won''t lay our eyes on him after he officially becomes our brother."


    Adeline, Theodore, and Nigel had gathered up in another corner of the room and were having some casual talks.


    Soon enough, they were joined by Raphael. He squeezed himself in between Adeline and Nigel and put his arms around both of them. Then he teased Nigel, "Hello brother! I see that you''ve already met my sister. I hope that you are not planning to win her back and steal the position of her favorite brother from me."


    Nigel threw away Raphael''s hand and turned to face him. He gave a proud smirk to Raphael and said, "Oh please! I never lost my position and I don''t need to win her back. Don''t have your head high up in the cloud. Adeline and I have the strongest bond."


    Suddenly, Edwin appeared behind Nigel and said in a monotone, "I can prove you wrong."


    "Whoa boy!" Nigel flinched and cocked his head to the side because it had been a long time since he heard that voice.


    And he couldn''t help but furrow his brows at Edwin because ever since they were little, they had hated each other. He was still unable to accept the fact that Edwin and Adeline were now on good terms.


    Edwin stood in front of Adeline and held out his hand.


    Adeline didn''t know what he was asking for so she gave him the used napkin that she was still holding.


    Edwin handed it back to Adeline and said, "Give me your hand. I''m going to prove to Nigel that he is wrong. It is me who has the strongest bond with you."


    Nigel was narrowing his eyes and folding his arms while looking at what kind of trick Edwin was going to show. Raphael was also equally curious. Theodore, on the other hand, had already guessed what Edwin was going to do.


    Adeline placed her palm on Edwin''s hand. She had no idea what Edwin was up to.


    Edwin flipped Adeline''s hand and gently rubbed her wrist. And he did what everyone had least expected. He scratched Adeline''s wrist with his fingernail but gently enough so as not to give her any bruise. It caused Adeline''s skin to redden though.


    "And how does that prove that you and Adeline have the strongest bond?" Nigel raised his brows and mockingly asked.


    Edwin gave a smug smile to Nigel and rolled up his sleeve to show the exact mark on his wrist as well. "See�� Do you believe me now? Adeline and I are bonded for real."


    Nigel''s brows twitched at that declaration of Edwin. And he slowly uttered under his breath, "That''s not the kind of bond we were talking about��"


    Raphael was horrified and repulsed for some reason. He poked Edwin''s leg with his pointed shoe and scolded him for turning the fun atmosphere into a horrifying one, "This is the cursed bond, you twisted dim-wit! This isn''t something to brag about!"


    Theodore awkwardly pressed his lips together and tried not to laugh while looking at the horror-stricken face of Nigel and Raphael.


    Adeline, on the other hand, was rather amused to see the effect of the curse of Azriel. She was scratching her wrist time and again to see the same effect on Edwin''s wrist almost in an instant.


    She then tried hitting her wrist and Edwin was the one to shout in pain. Adeline gave a sorry smile to him and pulled her hand away from his hold.


    Now Raphael was also amused. He wanted to see if Adeline''s pain would be transferred to Edwin or if both of them would feel the pain. So, he sneakily pinched Adeline on her arm.


    He pinched her so hard that both Adeline and Edwin jerked in pain and screamed simultaneously, "Aaaahhh!"


    Everyone in the hall was now staring in their direction to see what was wrong.


    Adeline and Edwin glared at Raphael and were ready to punch him in the gut.


    Raphael nervously laughed seeing their death stare. "Hey! I just wanted to see if both of you would feel the pain or just one of you. That''s all."


    Raphael happened to peek a glance at Theodore. And he almost wet himself when he saw Theodore''s glowing red eyes staring back at him.


    And a whisper automatically escaped his lips, "Please don''t kill me��"


    Theodore was just teasing Raphael. But his reaction made him want to tease Raphael even further. So he narrowed his eyes at Raphael as if he was very angry.


    Almost in an instant, Raphael screamed like a baby and ran out of the room at the top of his speed.

 Chapter 404 - Nostalgia

    The next few days passed by in the blink of an eye. The Palace was taken over by the wedding vibe.


    As Adeline was the Future Queen of Wyverndale, her marriage was going to be one of the important events that the Kingdom would see.


    So all of the Royals were busy preparing the clothes, shoes, and jewelry for themselves. They were also busy ordering and purchasing the perfect gifts for the bride and the groom.


    The maids and servants were also equally busy accompanying their masters or following their orders. The kitchen staffs were among the busiest ones since they had to prepare a banquet for around five hundred guests who would arrive for the wedding banquet.


    It was also announced to the public that their future Queen was going to get married.


    And as expected, Adeline''s wedding was the talk of the villages. The people of the Golden Street were extra excited because the procession would take place after the marriage and they would get to see their Future Queen along with the Future Prince Consort.


    ---


    It was a hot afternoon so, Nigel and Rhea were resting in the airy living room of Nigel''s quarter along with the babies. Queen Claricia had also joined them.


    There was a frantic knock on the door and they all heard Adeline''s voice from the other side, "Rhea, are you inside? I need your help. It''s urgent."


    Adeline sounded so tense that they all thought something bad had happened. Rhea took a huge leap from where she was sitting and instantly opened the door�� only to see Adeline covering herself up with a full-length hooded cloak in that hot weather and smiling.


    "Ummm��" Rhea gave a questioning glance to Adeline and asked, "You�� needed my help with something urgent?"


    "Yes," Adeline peeked inside the room and when she saw the people who she was comfortable with, she asked, "May I come in?"


    "Of course," Rhea fully opened the door and pulled Adeline inside the room with a wide smile. "So, what is it?"


    Adeline went and stood in the middle of the room. She looked at everyone with a shy yet happy look on her face.


    Everyone was curious to know what she was really up to. It didn''t look like she needed any help with something. And their questions were answered when she slowly took off her cloak. Everyone''s eyes were glued to Adeline, including the babies''.


    Rhea covered her mouth with both of her palms while looking at Adeline. Claricia went and sat beside Nigel and Rhea to get a proper look at Adeline. And Nigel was fisting over his mouth and was on the verge of tears.


    Nylah and Ramon were playing on the carpet. And Ramon flopped on his back after seeing his beautiful aunt in her extravagant wedding gown.


    "So, my wedding gown came in today and I was trying it on." Adeline gave a nervous smile and asked everyone, "Well, how do I look? I need honest answers."


    Adeline was wearing a white gown made out of pure silk. The gown had a boat neck design which had diamonds embedded lace sewn along the neckline. It enhanced her slender beauty bone even further. The sleeves of the gown were fitting and full length.


    The gown was cladding her body tightly till her waist to reveal her slender upper body. And below her waist, the tiny pleats of the gown were making the gown look fuller.


    Adeline was also wearing the veil on her head which came down to her hips. The veil had flower patterns on it and was of the same color as the gown.


    "Does it look bad?" Adeline asked while furrowing her brows because none of them were saying anything.


    "Come on! You know that ''bad'' and ''you'' can''t be said together in a sentence." Rhea had a wide grin on her face when she said, "You look absolutely stunning, Adeline."


    "Just like a moon goddess," Claricia added to what Rhea had said.


    "Oh, you two are now exaggerating it," Adeline gave a shy smile and looked at the toddlers crawling towards her.


    Queen Claricia chuckled and then said, "Oh, darling! We are doing anything but exaggerating. Prince Theodore might even faint when he sees you in this gown."


    Adeline chuckled and then focused her attention on her brother who had been trying hard not to look at her. "Nigel, how do I look?"


    Nigel looked up at his sister with teary eyes and smiled. He was feeling nostalgic while he recalled the very first day of Adeline''s training.


    Nigel wiped his tears and said to his sister, "I feel like it was just yesterday when I carried you on the first day of your training. You were so excited to wear the battle uniform which looked similar to everyone else''s. Look at you now�� You''re already wearing your wedding gown."


    Hearing her brother''s words, Adeline''s eyes were also filled with tears.


    Nigel stood and went to hug his sister. "Time flies so quickly! My little sister is all grown up��" he whispered while his eyes filled with tears again.


    "Did you expect me to stay little when you already have your little ones?" Adeline laughed while wiping her tears.


    Nigel also chuckled and said, "I would have loved that. But that would be too selfish of me."


    Rhea picked up both the toddlers so that they wouldn''t disturb the sweet moment between the two grown crybabies.


    Queen Claricia was over the moon seeing the bond between the two of them. "Oh, these two are making me cry!" she whispered while chuckling and wiping her tears.


    Nigel and Adeline finally stopped crying and pulled away from the hug. And Nigel asked Adeline, "What about Theodore? Is his dress prepared?" He wrinkled his brows and asked, "Where does he even get his clothes prepared? In Hell or here?"


    Adeline laughed and answered her brother, "He has very talented maids in his cave. They sew his clothes for him. I believe that his wedding dresses are also ready already."


    ---


    "Holy hell!" Theodore face-palmed himself and sat on his bed. "I forgot to ask the maids to prepare a new dress for me! I even forgot to tell them that I''m getting married!"


    Theodore dropped on the bed on his back slapped himself. "How can you forget such an important thing? What the hell is wrong with you?"


    Theodore''s lips curved downward and he whispered, "Well I was busy at Wyverndale Palace�� And it skipped my mind��"


    He slapped himself again and shouted, "How can it skip your mind? How? Now go naked at your wedding! There are only three days left and I have one maid who can sew."


    He sighed loudly and threw his legs childishly. "I cannot even use magic for it. The dress will vanish once the magic wears off. And I don''t want my wedding dress to vanish��"


    "What should I do? Shall I ask for help from Azriel and Lucifer? Or shall I ask help from Adeline?" He slapped both of his cheeks at once and whined, "No! Azriel and Lucifer will just make fun of me and Adeline might get angry if she finds out how careless I was."


    "Argh! I''m doomed!"


    Out of the blue, his room was filled with sudden brightness. And that brightness kept on getting brighter and brighter until it became hard for Theodore to even open his eyes.


    A very familiar fragrance entered Theodore''s nose and his heart was filled with sudden warmth.


    And a soft whisper escaped his lips, "Mother?"

 Chapter 405 - The Mother

    "Mother?" Theodore''s eyes widened with hope.


    Theodore instantly jumped out of his bed and looked around his room. And to his utter disbelief, the Goddess herself was standing near his door.


    She was wearing a golden robe that matched her eye color. Her long silver hair was floating around her as though they defied earth''s gravity. And her face�� she looked so serene that one would find inner peace just by looking at her face.


    Theodore''s heart was flooded with all kinds of emotions when he saw his mother after such a long time. He wanted to be mad at her for not visiting him even once, he wanted to complain to her about his father, and he wanted to lay on her lap and have her stay beside him forever.


    He had so many things that he wanted to tell her that he couldn''t decide what to say at first. And he kept on gazing at his mother without even covering the distance between them.


    The Goddess opened her arms with a warm smile on her face. "My baby, aren''t you going to greet your mother?"


    The moment she said that, Theodore smiled and ran to his mother. He hugged her very tightly and buried his face in her silver and aromatic hair. His heart was instantly filled with the warmth that he had been missing for so long.


    And he couldn''t help but ask his mother in a complaining tone, "Mother, why didn''t you come to me? Did father restrict you from visiting me? You knew I missed you so much but why did you choose not to come here?"


    The mother gently caressed her son''s hair and kissed him on the head. "Oh, my poor baby! I''m sorry I took so long to come and meet you."


    She rested her cheek on his head and spoke in the softest voice possible, "I couldn''t bring myself to visit you, Theodore. I did nothing to prevent you from being cast down from Heaven. And how could I ever show my face to you when I couldn''t even speak a word against your father?"


    Theodore raised his head and looked into the eyes that were similar to his. He felt sad that his mother had been punishing herself. "Mother, you didn''t need to be so harsh on yourself. All you needed to do was visit me from time to time."


    "I know. I''m sorry I did not." His mother also looked sad.


    He took a deep breath and put on a smile on his face and assured her, "But now that you are here, everything is fine." He hugged his mother again and happily said, "I forgive you."


    The Goddess felt as though half of her burden was removed when Theodore said that to her. She gently patted her pampered child''s back and kept on hugging her until he clung to her.


    After quite some time, Theodore finally let go of her hold and then took her outside to the garden.


    His mother praised his garden and said with a tranquil smile, "You have grown really beautiful plants and flowers here. I always wanted to touch these plants in real."


    Theodore smiled and asked, "How often did you watch me?"


    "Enough to keep track of how you had been doing." She sighed and said, "I was really disheartened to see you go through that pain�� the pain of having to return back to loneliness after getting the taste of companionship."


    She then immediately glanced at her son''s face and happily said, "But I am finally happy that you two are back together. And��" she stood in front of Theodore and cupped his cheeks with her hands, "And I am ecstatic to see that you are getting married to that lovely girl."


    "Congratulations! My baby," the Goddess was beaming with so much happiness that it was contagious.


    Theodore also happily replied, "Thank you, mother." He then pressed his lips together and asked her, "Why don''t you stay for my wedding? I have plenty of rooms here. I''m sure you will feel comfortable. Adeline would also be happy to meet you."


    The Goddess took a sigh and turned around to admire the beautiful bush of roses. "I''m not sure if I should. I came here on a whim and I haven''t even notified anyone up there."


    "They will know on their own." Theodore walked close to her and asked again, "Azriel will also come to the wedding if you are thinking that you would be alone. And I would be really happy if I don''t have to take fake parents with me on my wedding day."


    The Goddess chuckled when she heard Theodore mentioning fake parents. And immediately after, she became sad.


    "Alright, I will give it some thought and tell you by the end of the day." She then held out her hands while saying, "But first, let me do what I came here to do."


    She produced a set of clothes in her hand and said to Theodore, "I heard someone was in the need of wedding clothes."


    Theodore''s eyes twinkled with happiness when he saw the fine clothes, probably woven by the angels. "You are my savior!" he said while smiling happily and taking the clothes from her. "I cannot thank you enough for this, mother."


    The Goddess was glad that she picked up the courage to visit her son. Seeing him happy and smiling from up close was worth everything. "I had it made a long while ago in case I visited you someday. And I heard you complaining about not having a dress. So I thought that you could wear this to your wedding."


    "This is perfect," Theodore hugged his mother again and ran inside to safely put that dress inside the wardrobe.


    The Goddess also followed her son inside and then asked him, "Theodore, why don''t we go and meet your brothers while I am already here. I don''t want them to think that I only care about you."


    "But you care more about me, don''t you?" Theodore tilted his head like a cute puppy and asked his mother.


    The Goddess laughed like a softly flowing river and caressed Theodore''s cheek. "Of course. You are my pampered one after all. I came here because of you, didn''t I?"


    Theodore was beaming with happiness from that confession of his mother. He was already planning to taunt Azriel with his mother''s words. He was mischievously thinking to himself, "I am going to brag to him for several years now. It will be fun to see his getting agitated."


    He offered his arm for his mother to hold and said to her, "Let''s go then.. I will take you to the Dragon Crypt."

 Chapter 406 - Tugging For Affection

    Azriel was as affected by the wedding vibes as everyone else in Wyverndale.


    His rebellious younger brother was going to get married to a human, that also on earth, and by following the human tradition. So, he was bound to be affected.


    "Ah! I''ve never been invited to a human wedding ceremony before. I am so excited to finally have been invited to one." He was talking to himself while trying on the golden robe that he had prepared especially for the wedding ceremony.


    "I want to see how humans get married when they don''t even have floating clouds to bring the bride and the groom together."


    "And how do they make the flower petals to shower?" He thought for a while and made a guess, "Do they have the servants to hang down from the ceiling and throw the petals down with their hands?"


    "But that doesn''t sound right�� Do they even shower the bride and the groom with flowers? Ooh! I''m already so curious."


    He winked at his own reflection in the mirror and complimented himself, "Everyone is going to be dazzled by the light that will grace them." And he smugly smiled while saying, "I hope I don''t steal the limelight from Theodore."


    Right then, his room was filled with the dazzling light that almost blinded him. And Azriel''s cheerful expression changed that to the one of horror thinking he was visited by his father.


    "He is not here to punish me as well, is he?" he thought.


    But when the light settled down, he saw his beautiful mother instead. She looked as fresh and pure as the blooming lotus and kept him stunned.


    "M-Mother��" Azriel had not expected to meet his mother and he was in for a great surprise.


    "My beautiful boy," the Goddess spread her arms and smiled at her son.


    Azriel flew towards his mother and greeted her with a warm welcome. "Mother! What a pleasant surprise!"


    The rims of her eyes were glistening with tears when she held Azriel in her arms.


    Theodore had a huge grin on his face when he trotted towards the two of them and enveloped both of them in his arms.


    Azriel gave a side-eyed look to his brother and sneered, "You jealous little brat! Can''t you even let me have her to my own for a minute?"


    "I can''t," Theodore widened his grin and lay his head on their mother''s shoulder.


    They had met each other after countless years. So they sat down and talked about their lives, especially their mother''s. She already knew almost everything about her sons so there was no need to reiterate their life events to her.


    After talking till nightfall, Theodore asked his mother again, "Mother, so what have you decided? Will you stay here for my wedding ceremony?"


    She stayed quiet for a while and thought about it. And she asked some questions regarding the wedding, "I believe that you are going to use an alias as the Prince of some nation. So are you going to go alone to the wedding or are you going to take some�� people with you when you ''arrive'' for the wedding?"


    Theodore glanced at Azriel and smiled. And he replied, "Azriel will use his illusion to transform some of mine as well as his followers into humans. And we will be pretending to arrive at the Palace in a lot of carriages."


    The Goddess nodded her head and asked again, "Then what about after the wedding? Will you first bring my daughter-in-law to your home and return back to the Palace afterward? Or will you be staying there in the Palace effective immediately?"


    "I will stay there," Theodore had a huge smile on his face when he said that.


    The Goddess kept on staring at her son with a soft smile on her face.


    Theodore pressed his cheeks with both of his palms and asked, "Is something wrong with my face? You''ve been staring at me for quite some time now."


    She laughed softly and gently patted Theodore''s head. "You look so beautiful when you smile. It used to be a rare treat back in the past to see that precious smile of yours. But now I see that you''ve started to smile a lot."


    Azriel jumped up and knocked on Theodore''s head while complaining, "He has even started to hug me a lot. And it''s like he has reverted back to being a baby. He keeps on coming to my place and invades my bed."


    "So what?" Theodore rubbed his head and glared at Azriel.


    Azriel sneered at Theodore and then fisted over his waist. "So I don''t have a peaceful life anymore. I''m always on my guard wondering when you might pop into my room and start taunting me."


    The Goddess was watching both of them bantering with each other as they used to when they were kids.


    After spending some time with her sons, she became greedy. She wanted to be by their side for a little longer.


    And she finally gave her decision, "Theodore, I will be staying until your wedding then."


    Both Theodore and Azriel stopped fighting with each other and looked at their mother. Theodore happily gave her a hug. "I appreciate it. My special day will be even more special if you are by my side."


    Azriel then instantly announced, "Mother will stay with me."


    Theodore abruptly turned his head toward Azriel and protested, "Mother is here for my wedding so she is my guest. That means she is going to stay at my place."


    Azriel glared at Theodore and shouted back, "She is already going to attend your wedding. How much more do you want? Also, aren''t you busy with all the preparations for the wedding? Can you even look after mother''s needs and accompany her all the time?"


    "I��" Theodore clenched his fists because he knew that he wouldn''t be able to give complete attention to his mother. So even though he was unwilling, he agreed to Azriel, "Alright��"


    "Alright what?" Azriel gave a teasing smile to his brother.


    Theodore sighed in frustration. He then chewed his anger and spoke in a controlled tone, "Alright, you may host our mother in your place."


    Azriel smirked and sat beside their mother. He put his arms around her shoulder and teased Theodore again, "Aren''t you going to meet Adeline? She might be waiting for you. It''s already late. Now shoo away!"


    "Oh, right!" Theodore abruptly got up on his feet and was about to rush off. He then gave an apologetic look to his mother and asked her, "She will keep on waiting for me and might get worried. I will inform her that I''ll be staying here and will be right back."


    The Goddess gave a nod while Azriel shouted, "What? Does that mean that you are going to hover around me until mother stays here?"


    Theodore gave a taunting smile and replied, "Yes, I will be here whenever I have free time and I am going to sleep here as well."


    Azriel half-closed his eyes and stated, "I''m not going to share my bed with you. I always wake up with numb hand whenever you sleep with me."


    Theodore shrugged and casually brushed him off. "Sure. Feel free to sleep on the floor then. I won''t force you to share the bed if you are that against it."


    "Hey! I''m not��" Before Azriel could finish his sentence, Theodore was long gone from the room.

 Chapter 407 - Holy Goddess

    When Theodore arrived at the Wyverndale Palace, he did not find Adeline in her room.


    He pouted his lips and uttered to himself, "Now where could she be? It''s getting harder and harder to get a hold of her these days."


    He thought for a while and whispered, "Maybe she is at Nigel''s quarter. Or at the King''s quarter�� Let''s try Nigel''s place first."


    Theodore teleported himself in front of the living room''s door and then gently knocked, "Nigel, is Adeline here?"


    He instantly heard the giggling sound of the ladies from inside the room.


    Nigel opened the door for Theodore and welcomed him inside, "Theodore, we were just talking about you. Come on in."


    Theodore went inside to see the people he would usually meet at Nigel''s place �C Rhea, Queen Claricia, and the twins. And of course, Adeline was also there.


    The twins were at the peak of their energy even though it was already very late for them to stay awake. And the others were lounging around and talking.


    Theodore glanced at Adeline who still had a huge smile on his face and asked, "What were you ladies talking about? You all sounded very happy."


    Queen Claricia glanced at Theodore and complained about Adeline, "Our Adeline here was very frantic and wanted to rush to her quarter saying you two had planned to meet and that you would keep on waiting there. And Rhea and I had bet with her saying that you would come here looking for her."


    "And we won!" Rhea gleefully added and laughed again. And she further teased Theodore and Adeline, "Oh, to be so in love�� you two can''t even stay without seeing each other for a day, can you?"


    Theodore stole a glance of Adeline and agreed without even a hint of embarrassment, "Yes, I don''t know about Adeline but I can''t sleep without seeing her."


    "Oooohh!" Nigel and Rhea hooted and chuckled simultaneously, making Adeline''s ears and cheeks turn red.


    Rhea then poked Adeline on the thigh and asked, "Theodore said he can''t sleep without seeing you. What about you, Adeline? Can you live a day without seeing him?"


    Theodore went and sat in front of Adeline and gave a whimsical grin to her. And he waited for her answer.


    Everyone else was also attentively looking at Adeline as though she was going to give some kind of a powerful speech.


    Adeline pressed her cold palms over her cheeks and nervously laughed. "Why are all of you looking at me like that? You all are making me nervous!"


    "Oh, come on, Adeline!" Rhea gently nudged her and said, "Don''t break the heart of our dear Prince. He is waiting for your answer so eagerly."


    Adeline looked deep into Theodore''s amber eyes. Even in the dim light of the lantern, Adeline could see her own reflection in his eyes. She gave a soft smile to him and spoke to him in her sweet voice, "I don''t think I can go a single day without seeing you. I get worried thinking that something might have happened to you."


    Theodore smiled back at her and said, "I was right to think that you would be worried."


    Theodore wanted to inform Adeline about his mother''s arrival. But before he could do so, Nigel sat beside Theodore and then asked him, "So, brother, are you going to come here before the wedding day and make me wash your feet, or should I prepare to travel to your cave?"


    Theodore laughed and patted Nigel on his shoulder, "Come on, Nigel! Do you think that I am that heartless to make you come to my cave just to wash my feet?"


    "Thank goodness! I don''t need to prepare the carriage to go to your cave." Nigel heaved a sigh of relief and added, "I didn''t want to break my promise to you and I was seriously contemplating about it."


    Theodore glanced at the twins and said to Nigel, "How could I trouble the father of those cute babies to leave them and travel that far? You know I''m not that cruel."


    And then he gave a sly smirk to Nigel and further added, "I will come here on my own. And guess what? I will be generous enough and let you give me a bath before I get dressed for the wedding."


    The ladies in the room burst into laughter after hearing that snide remark from Theodore.


    And Nigel pressed his lips together into a thin line and nodded, "So that''s how it is."


    Theodore also nodded his head and replied with a sarcastic smile, "Yes, that''s how it is."


    Nigel kept on nodding his head while saying, "Sure. A promise is a promise."


    Theodore laughed and then focused his attention back on Adeline. And then he gave a coded message to her that he wouldn''t be sleeping with her tonight, "Adeline, my mother came to meet me after millenials. So, I will be at Azriel''s place tonight. She will be staying there."


    Adeline kept on staring at Theodore with a dumbfounded look on her face. Her jaw was wide open because this was the first time he had mentioned that his mother was visiting him.


    "You mean the Holy Goddess is at the Dragon Crypt as we speak?" Adeline asked in a stunned voice.


    When Adeline put it that way, everyone else in the room was also stunned.


    "The Goddess is on Earth? We are sharing the same world as her right now?" Queen Claricia was clasping her hands together and stared at Theodore with sparkling eyes.


    Theodore smiled at those divinity-struck humans and nodded his head. "Yes, the Goddess is on Earth and you are sharing the same world."


    Claricia instantly got up on her feet and faced in the direction where the Dragon Crypt was. She joined her hands together, closed her eyes, and then bowed her head to the mother of the world. "Oh, Holy Goddess, please accept my greeting."


    Now everyone in the room was raising their brows and were looking at that devotee.


    Theodore then cleared his throat and directed his words at Claricia, "Your Majesty, our mother will be attending the wedding ceremony. You can meet her and greet her face to face on that day."


    Claricia abruptly turned around to face Theodore and asked breathlessly, "The Goddess will be th��"


    And before the Queen could even finish her sentence, she collapsed on the floor because of extreme excitement.


    Nigel instantly went and picked his mother up in his arms. And he called her while gently patting her on the cheek, "Mother! Mother! Can you hear me?"


    "Er�� I don''t think I should have said that.." Theodore widened his eyes and kept on looking at the unconscious Queen.

 Chapter 408 - It Is The Day

    Adeline was suddenly woken up from her sleep when she heard a loud clanging sound from outside. It sounded as though someone had dropped a huge metal pot to the ground.


    "Is it morning already?" she thought to herself while rubbing her eyes. She could already hear the Palace bustling with noises and excitement.


    It was the morning of the much-awaited wedding day, or to be more precise, early morning. Everyone in the Palace was so busy with the preparation for the wedding that those remaining three days passed by like a fleeting second.


    "So, it is the day��" Adeline took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled from her mouth.


    She opened her eyes to glance outside the window and saw that it was still pitch black outside. "Everyone must have a lot of things to do today. It''s going to be a very busy day today," she thought to herself while heaving a sigh.


    She caressed the empty side of her bed. It had been three days since she had slept alone. "Waking up to the empty bedside sure does feel weird."


    She smiled and whispered to herself, "But from tonight, I will get to wake up with him by my side without any restraints or fear of getting caught." She covered her face with both of her palms and let out a happy squeal, "I''m going to get married today!"


    And a sudden wave of emotion hurled inside of her chest and stomach, making her feel really anxious.


    Just like every other bride, Adeline was also nervous now that her big day had finally arrived. She began fidgeting her foot and whispered while still laying down on the bed, "I hope everything will go as per the schedule."


    She interlaced her fingers together wishing that no surprises would occur on her important day. She was a little afraid thinking that the mad vampire king might pull off some stunts to sabotage her wedding day. "I really hope our wedding will go without any hitch, especially from that vampire."


    Though she was nervous and a little afraid, her heart was also filled with great expectations from today''s several events. Adeline was beside herself with joy. "Finally�� the two of us will be husband and wife from today onwards."


    Adeline lightly pressed her bouncing heart and the corner of her lips pulled up in cohesion. "I will finally get to call him my husband."


    She turned to her side to stare at Theodore''s pillow and she imagined him calling her his wife. She buried her face in her pillow and giggled to herself. "I think I will faint when he addresses me as his wife for the first time."


    Before she could further drown herself in her imagination, she heard a knock on the door.


    And without waiting to hear her reply, Osanna shouted from behind the door, "Adeline! I''m so sorry! I know it''s just three in the morning but we need you to wake up. We have so many preparations to do. We have to give you a beauty bath, do your hair and your makeup, and then..." And she kept on going on and on.


    "Okay, I''m coming! I''m coming!" Adeline climbed down her bed and chuckled after listening to that long list of things that Osanna blurted out, "I was already awake. In fact, I couldn''t sleep much because of the nervousness."


    She opened the door to her room and was instantly greeted by the warm smiles from her maids.


    "Adeline! It''s your wedding day!" Osanna wrapped Adeline in her embrace and squealed happily.


    Hawisa also gleefully hugged both of them and said, "Our little Princess is going to be the most beautiful bride today, we are going to make sure of it."


    "I trust the two of you," Adeline pulled away from the hug and gave a wide grin to those excited ladies.


    Hawisa then instantly changed her tone into a strict one and calmed down the excited younger ones, "Okay, there is no time left for chit-chat. The wedding starts at 12 which means we will have to get Adeline ready by 11. And we just have 8 hours in our hands to do everything."


    "Just 8 hours? Oh, dear lord! We are already late!" Osanna widened her eyes and panicked. "Maybe we should have started preparing her since yesterday."


    Adeline was looking at the panicked look on both of her maids and was thinking what could possibly take so much time that the 8 full hours would also be less for them to prepare her.


    And she sarcastically asked, "Are you going to grow some wings on me or something? We have so much time in our hands. Don''t panic so much you two!" And she couldn''t help but chuckle at the irony that she was the one to console her maids when it should have happened the other way around.


    In another quarter, King Dragomir was also already awake. Though he had already delegated each and every task to the others, he still couldn''t get much sleep.


    So, he was sitting on his study desk while staring at what looked like a large sheet of paper.


    He was looking at the portrait of Auvera that Adeline had gifted him. He caressed the beautiful face on that paper and talked with his late lover, "Auvera, today I am going to hand our daughter to the Devil Prince. He is a very nice man. And he loves our daughter very dearly."


    He smiled with his tearful eyes and kept on saying, "He fought for her and does anything and everything for her. After today, I won''t have any regret even if I die tonight. I hope I can see you again."


    A drop of his tear landed on the painting of Auvera and fell down right on her eyes. It looked as though Auvera was also crying.


    "Oh, dear! I made a mess!" Dragomir hastily dabbed the rim of his sleeve to wipe that tear off of the painting.


    Dragomir sighed thought that Auvera could indeed see him and hear him. And wondered whether Auvera was also crying alongside him. If she was then he hoped that she was crying because of happiness and not sadness.

 Chapter 409 - A Special Ride

    In the Dragon Crypt, the Dragons and the Wyverns were getting ready to transport the maids and the servants of Azriel who did not have wings.


    "All right everyone," Azriel clapped his hand and briefed those maids and servants of their role and duty today. "I am going to make you look like the humans. And in the wedding, you all are to pretend to be Theodore''s close relatives."


    He then asked them, "All of you have already picked up a name that sounds like human names, right?"


    "Yes, master," came a reply from everyone.


    Azriel then asked them again, "And you have also thought of the relationship with Theodore, right?"


    "We have, master," they replied again.


    Azriel gladly nodded his head and advised them, "Make sure the relations don''t clash with each other. You might need to talk with the humans and when you do so, they shouldn''t be suspicious. Make sure you blend well."


    They bowed their head to their master and one of them spoke on everyone''s behalf, "We will try our best not to disappoint you, master."


    "You better not!" Azriel looked at everyone and informed before moving out, "Okay, you all know the plan, right?"


    They all nodded their heads but Azriel briefed them again nonetheless, "First, we will head to the Hill of Grimmer Death. I will transform all of you, including Theodore''s followers. And we will fly to Wyverndale."


    He pointed at the Dragons and Wyverns and further added, "When we reach close enough, I will transform my babies into the carriages. And we will enter the Palace like any normal human beings would."


    Azriel then clapped his hands and instructed the Wyverns and Dragons, "Okay, all of your job right now is to carry these wingless unfortunate ones and take them to Theodore''s place. I will see all of you take off and will teleport to my brother''s place. I have to brief Theodore''s followers as well."


    "Now, go on. Move! Move! We don''t have much time." Azriel watched them get ready for a while but got bored and said, "Okay, I believe all of you are capable to take off without supervision. I will head out first then."


    "Umm�� master!" One of the maids of Azriel held out her hand to stop her master but he had already vanished until then.


    ---


    Theodore and his mother were already at the cave. Theodore was laying down on his stomach and was watching his mother. She was preparing a wedding gift for Adeline.


    He keenly watched his mother''s slender fingers that were preparing the gift and complimented her, "Adeline will surely love this unique gift from you."


    A hint of doubt lingered on the Goddess'' face though. "I know she is more into swords and daggers. But I really hope she will like it."


    "She will," Theodore reassured her while gently touching the gift.


    Theodore''s maids were in the common room, packing the gifts that Theodore had prepared for all the Royals. His followers who were chosen to go to the Palace were all nervously waiting for the arrival of Azriel.


    And those who were going to be left out from the once-in-a-lifetime event of their master were pouting and sulking around.


    The blood fairy poked the banshee and asked her, "Make sure you pay attention to each and every detail of our master''s wedding ceremony. You are going to share each and everything in detail with me later."


    The banshee firmly nodded her head and reassured her friend, "I will even sneak some food from the wedding. I know you just drink blood but you can keep that food in your room as a souvenir of our master''s wedding."


    "You will do that for me?" The blood fairy happily held that banshee''s hand and her eyes sparkled with excitement.


    Suddenly, all of the maids'' and followers'' attention was grabbed by the loud neighing sound quickly followed by the galloping sound of a horse.


    A maid ran outside to check but before she could even reach the door of the common room, Arion appeared there. And he proudly asked, "Where is Theodore? I came here for him."


    Everyone of course knew Arion. So the maid pointed towards the corridor to Theodore''s room and replied, "Master is inside his own bedchamber."


    "Okay, I will go there then." Arion slowly walked towards Theodore''s room.


    When he was outside the room, he neighed to let Theodore know that he was there.


    Soon after, Theodore opened the door with a surprised look on his face and asked, "Hey, buddy! What are you doing here? Did you run away from the Palace?"


    "Everyone was busy so I sneaked out," Arion casually replied and Theodore instantly shouted, "What? Why would you run away? Adeline will panic if she finds out that you are missing."


    Arion neighed as if to mock Theodore and said while looking at Theodore''s face, "Of course, I came here after asking Adeline''s permission. I had already informed her yesterday night."


    Arion tapped around while smelling the flowers of the garden and said, "And as for what I am doing here, I obviously am here to take my master to his bride''s place. How could I miss this rare opportunity to accompany my master on one of his most important days? I am not going to allow you to ride some tacky carriage."


    Theodore couldn''t believe his ears when Arion said that he was here to pick Theodore. He smiled at that loving familiar of his and hugged Arion''s neck.


    He then said while gently scratching Arion, "I was thinking of teleporting there to the wedding venue but I am more than happy that you are here to give me a ride."


    The Goddess was folding her arms and was standing at the door while watching the two of them. "I see that the bond between the two of you is as strong as ever."


    "Mother Immortal! I had heard that you were here. I am blessed to see you." Arion glanced at the beautiful Goddess with his big eyes and happily jumped around.


    The Goddess gave the softest smile to Arion and went to pet him.


    Azriel also appeared in the garden and when his eyes fell on Arion, he asked in a surprised tone, "Oh, the winged horse is also here?"


    "Oh, the winged dragon is also here!" Arion said in a mocking tone and glared at Azriel. "Hmph!" and he swiftly turned his head away from Azriel.


    Azriel raised his brows and commented, "I see that the winged horse is still mad at me." He also turned his head away from Arion and then briefed Theodore, "Your ''relatives'' will reach here shortly. And then I will busy myself with my illusions. Is there anything else that we have missed?"


    Theodore shifted his gaze from Azriel''s face to his chest and nodded, "Yes, I think you should cover your bare chest with some suitable clothes. I don''t think humans would appreciate a half-naked deity."


    Azriel looked down at his body and then looked back at Theodore. He gave an awkward smile to his brother and his mother. And then cleared his throat to say, "Er�� I think I was so excited that I forgot to put on my cloth. Please, excuse me."


    Azriel then instantly vanished like a puff of smoke.

 Chapter 410 - Anxious Bride

    "Reginald, I''m asking you for the last time. Please don''t act so impulsively. I''ve told you several times that the Devil is invincible." Lord Horace grabbed Reginald by his wrist and tried to stop him from doing something stupid yet again.


    Reginald cocked his head and let out an exasperated breath. He pulled his wrist away from Horace and spoke in a displeased tone, "First of all, you are forgetting that I am no longer your friend''s son but a King."


    He slowly turned around to face Horace and spoke while gnashing his teeth at the old man, "And secondly, I am not going to kill the Devil. Not today. I''m just going to kill the civilians and sabotage the wedding."


    Reginald clenched his fists and bare his fangs while snarling like a vengeful monster, "I cannot let them enjoy when I am still mourning my sister''s death. I''m going to sacrifice at least a thousand humans and offer their blood to my sister''s soul."


    Reginald had gathered around a hundred turned vampires in his courtyard. He was going to rally them to Wyverndale.


    His plan was to blend in with the humans who would gather in the Golden Street today. And the vampires were going to go on a killing spree during the procession of the newlyweds.


    Reginald was even willing to sacrifice those hundred pawns of his if it meant that he would get to slaughter ten times more.


    A sinister grin lurked on Reginald''s face while he whispered, "I''m going to instill fear and sow the seeds of doubt in everyone''s heart by making that Devil reveal his true form in front of them."


    "And I am going to make the living civilians believe that such tragedies will keep on befalling them because their to-be Queen chose to marry the Devil."


    Reginald turned to face those hundred vessels that he was going to use for revenge. He then ordered in a loud voice, "Alright! Let''s move now. We shall reach there by the late afternoon if we move now."


    ---


    The cool summer breeze was frolicking with the curtains and was gushing inside the room every once in a while to cool down the nervous bride.


    Adeline was anxiously sitting in front of her dressing table mirror. She was clasping her hands so tightly that the knuckles had already whitened. Her heartbeat was taking leaps as the time for her to walk down the aisle was closing in.


    Her maids were hovering around her and were giving the final touch to Adeline''s bridal look.


    Osanna secured the golden tiara on Adeline''s hair. She then held the mist-like veil on top of Adeline''s cascading silver waves of hair and said, "Okay, now for the final piece��" She pinned the maiden veil and gazed at Adeline''s reflection to check how it looked. A satisfied smile appeared on her lips.


    Hawisa and Osanna finally finished waving their magic wands on Adeline. They themselves were stunned when they saw the completed bridal look of the Princess.


    She looked so captivating that the two of them were unable to look away from their darling Princess whom they had practically brought up as their own.


    And Hawisa couldn''t help but take Adeline''s hand and kiss her. "Our baby Adeline is now a breathtaking bride," Hawisa smiled at Adeline while her eyes were starting to well up.


    Osanna was already crying so she swiftly turned around to wipe her tears.


    And Adeline started taking in deep breaths to calm herself down. Even though she was going to get married to the man of her dreams and the love of her life, her body was refusing to listen to her. Her heartbeat kept on elevating and she could feel an unsettling knot in her stomach.


    Maybe it was because she was excited, or maybe it was because she was afraid. Or maybe it was both. Maybe she was excited to begin the new chapter of her life together with Theodore. But at the same time, afraid to know what those new chapters of her life had in store for her.


    ---


    "The bridegroom and his party have arrived. Open the gates," One of the Palace Guards ordered those who were guarding the iron gate of Wyverndale Palace.


    They pushed the heavy door open to welcome the main guests for today and the stars of the event.


    Those who were posing as Theodore''s foot-soldiers entered the Palace first and lined up alongside the Wyverndale soldiers. And when the path was cleared for the Prince to enter, all of the eager onlookers were in for a great treat to their eyes.


    Theodore rode inside the Palace in his magnificent black horse like a Prince who was set out to conquer the world. His raven-black hair rhythmically floated behind him as Arion galloped forward.


    The black ceremonial robe that he was wearing outside his tight-fitted white shirt was also flapping behind with the pressure of the wind. He had tucked his shirt inside his fitting black trousers. Needless to say, his seductive body and his captivating face kept everyone gaping.


    "I see why Princess Adeline rushed the marriage. Who would want to let this angelic man escape away?" One of the guests who caught the sight of Theodore thought to herself.


    A guard who knew about Theodore''s real identity thought to himself, "Who could tell that this man is the Devil Prince? His looks and wits are incomparable to any mere mortals like us."


    Not a single soul who saw Theodore could badmouth about him, regardless of their knowledge about him being the Devil.


    After Theodore, several carriages entered the Palace. Among them, Azriel and the Goddess were sharing a carriage. Thankfully, the carriage was an enclosed one and several potential fainting was avoided.


    ---


    "Adeline, I know that you must be feeling really anxious right now. But please, will you at least drink this juice? You haven''t had anything yet and I''m afraid you might feel nauseous in the ceremony." Hawisa was holding a glass of guava juice in her hand and was trying to make Adeline drink some.


    But Adeline turned the other way and said, "I don''t think I can swallow even a drop of it." And she resumed breathing in and out again.


    Osanna clicked her tongue and tried to get to Adeline, "I pity Prince Theodore. I''m worried that he will blame himself if Adeline feels dizzy during the ceremony."


    Adeline gave a corner-eyed look to Osanna and snatched the glass from Hawisa''s hand. She knew Osanna was trying to manipulate her into drinking the juice but it worked.


    Hawisa and Osanna smiled at each other when Adeline gulped down the whole glass of juice.


    Hawisa was retouching Adeline''s lip color when a court lady came to inform them, "It is time for Princess Adeline to move."


    The moment Adeline heard that, she felt like the juice that she gulped down in a whim was going to come out. But she was able to suppress it by talking to herself, "Adeline, you are going to be a loving wife and he is going to be a great husband. Now walk your arse up there to the altar and kiss your groom. Everything will be fine then."


    Adeline didn''t realize that she was talking out loud. And both of her maids were raising their brows and were looking at her with great amusement.


    "Hawisa, Osanna, please help me reach the garden without tripping okay?" Adeline turned around to see them staring at her. She furrowed and asked, "Is something not right?"


    "No, we were just admiring your enthusiasm to kiss the groom," Osanna grinned and instantly went around and stood behind Adeline.


    Osanna helped to lift the gown while Hawisa offered her arm for Adeline to hold.. And they set off towards the extravagant wedding venue.

 Chapter 411 - Are You Happy?

    Unlike the other Royal Weddings that took place in the Wyverndale Palace, Adeline and Theodore''s wedding was going to be the most extravagant one to date.


    Adeline had insisted to her father that her wedding be held in her mother''s garden instead of inside the hall as was the tradition. Adeline wanted to feel close to Auvera on her important life event. And it was also her way of offering respect to her birth mother.


    And as demanded by his daughter, Dragomir had put on his best effort to decorate the venue.


    Adeline and her maids were now walking along the narrow path of the garden. There were tall elm trees and blue jacaranda trees on either side of the path. Adeline walked on the freshly fallen jacaranda flowers that had paved the path blue.


    "Please tell me no one is looking at me yet," Adeline was keeping her head low and asked Hawisa nervously.


    Hawisa smiled and calmly replied, "The trees are hiding you as of now. And they have not announced your presence yet. You are yet to meet His Majesty. So, don''t worry."


    Adeline was going to exchange her vows with Theodore in the large lawn that sat in the middle of her mother''s lavish garden. The lawn was also surrounded by the elm trees and jacaranda trees that protected the guests from the harsh midday of summer.


    Adeline took a short sigh of relief and slowly raised her head to take a peek at the lawn, which was still at some distance. From the gaps of the trees, she could see that the seats were packed on both sides of the aisle. Even though there were around five hundred guests there, they looked less in comparison to the large lawn.


    Before she could take a peek of the altar, Hawisa pointed at the shade that was near the entrance and reminded the Princess, "Adeline, the King is waiting for you there. You need to stay there with His Majesty until it is time to walk down the aisle."


    "I got it," Adeline hoped that her father would be able to calm her down.


    "Father," Adeline called the King who was facing the other way.


    Dragomir instantly turned around to look at his youngest one. And the moment his eyes fell on Adeline, he began to wipe his tears.


    "Oh, my baby! I knew you would make the most beautiful bride," he said with a tearful smile and opened his arms for his daughter.


    Adeline had hoped that her father would help to calm her nerves but he ended up making her tear up. "Father..." She hugged her father while trying her best to hold her tears from falling down.


    Dragomir looked into Adeline''s sapphire eyes and asked her, "Are you happy?"


    But that triggered Adeline even more and the streams of tears began rolling down her cheeks.


    She sniffled and dabbed her cheeks with the back of her palms and replied while crying, "Of course I am happy, father. You are here with me��" she staggeringly inhaled through her mouth and whispered while trying to control herself, "��so I am overjoyed. I feel like the luckiest bride in the whole world."


    Dragomir gave a wistful smile and wiped his tears once more. And he gave a kiss on Adeline''s forehead and said, "Then I am also happy. And I am the luckiest father in the world because I got the most beautiful, intelligent, and brave daughter like you. I am so proud of you."


    Adeline teared up again after hearing her father. She tilted her head and looked at her father with great love and mad respect. She hugged her father again and said, "I love you, father. Thank you for always loving me. And always standing by my side."


    Hawisa and Osanna were anxiously looking at the father and daughter duo and were waiting for them to stop crying. The guards had already gestured to them that they just had five minutes until they entered the venue.


    Hawisa dared to disturb the father and daughter moment and politely said, "Your Majesty, it is almost time. We need to prepare both of you."


    "Sure, sure," Dragomir cleared his throat and finally let go of his daughter.


    Hawisa instantly began helping Adeline wipe her tears while Osanna helped the King.


    Hawisa was frantically looking at the guard every now and then who was signaling her how many minutes she had. Hawisa did some retouch to Adeline''s face and tried her best to make Adeline look as fresh as she could in the limited time she had at hand.


    The guard finally raised a single finger in the air and it was time for the bride and her father to make the entrance.


    A maid came to Adeline and handed her the bouquet that she was to hold. The beautiful bouquet consisted of a variety of white flowers including Lilly of the valley, Freesia, Myrtle, and Rose.


    "Shall we?" Dragomir offered his arm to his daughter. Adeline gave a soft smile and held his arm.


    Adeline''s heart began to pound as she was now standing at the entrance.


    Some of the guests were already turning around and were gazing at her. Adeline tightened her grip on her father''s arm and looked down at the aisle that was decorated with fresh petals of white roses. She also noticed that there were tall vases decorated with white peonies, petunias, and orchids beside the foot of seats alongside the aisle.


    The guards at the entrance finally announced the presence of the King and the bride. The lawn was filled with soft and melodious music. And all of the guests stood up from their seats and turned their heads to look at the bride.


    Each and every one of the guests was mesmerized by the beauty of Adeline. Not a single one of them cared to pass comments or speak while Adeline and Dragomir walked down the aisle. They were all dumbfounded and were too busy gawking their eyes at the fairy that had graced them with her presence.


    Those who had never seen Adeline were too eager to see how Adeline looked. They had a hard time believing that someone as incredibly handsome as Theodore would even have a match on Earth.


    However, when they lay their eyes on Adeline, they couldn''t help but think that the bride and the groom were a match made in Heaven.


    After walking halfway down the aisle, Adeline finally got the courage to raise her head and peek at her man.


    And when her eyes fell on the raised altar, she felt as if she was directly staring at heaven''s gate. She could see the clear blue sky through the huge wedding arch. Wisteria vines were cascading down the arch, and right in front of that arch stood a fallen angel.


    "I have never seen something this beautiful in my life," was all that Adeline could think as she gazed at her man on that altar.


    Her majestic man was also already gazing at her. Adeline couldn''t see it just yet but the rims of Theodore''s eyes were already glistening with tears of joy. And his thought also aligned with that of Adeline, "I have never seen someone this beautiful in my life. How did I get so lucky?"


    Adeline''s unruly heart finally calmed down as though it had finally found its home. Her nervousness, fear, doubt, everything disappeared the moment Theodore gave a loving smile to her.


    Upon reaching the end of the long aisle, Dragomir handed over Adeline''s hand to Theodore and gave him a hug.


    He looked into Theodore''s amber eyes and said with a smile, "I''m entrusting my heart to you, Theodore. Keep her happy and safe."


    Theodore nodded and smiled, "I will keep her happy and safe.. I promise you."

 Chapter 412 - Unification Of Souls

    Adeline and Theodore now stood on the altar facing each other. They exchanged an excited smile as they were about to commence their new relationship. They didn''t speak a word, there was no need to. Their wet yet eager eyes were telling each other how happy they both were.


    Those hundreds of distinguished guests who were there to observe the union of two souls sat back down in their respective seats that were painted in white.


    Azriel and the Goddess were sitting on one side of the aisle. Both of them were beaming with happiness and they weren''t able to take their eyes off of the most beautiful couple. Theodore and Azriel''s followers were all sitting behind the celestial ones. Needless to say, they were the most excited of the bunch.


    On the other side of the aisle, King Dragomir, his Queens, and the Kings and Queens of the three neighboring Kingdoms had occupied the first row. The Royal Family was sitting behind them and the other guests had occupied the remaining seats on both sides of the aisle.


    The Priest then resumed the ceremony, "We all are gathered here in the presence of the Deity of Wyverndale," he bowed to Azriel and continued, "and in the presence of all these witnesses to join together Prince Theodore and Princess Adeline in the holy matrimony��"


    The Priest continued to speak but to Adeline, everything seemed to disappear. All that she could see was the Devil she fell in love with.


    And it was the same for Theodore. Adeline''s long lashes that held deep mysteries, the natural blush on her cheeks that competed with the artificial blush, her expectant lips that awaited the kiss, everything about her was so bewitching that Theodore was hopelessly lost.


    "I love you," Theodore couldn''t help but say in an undertone.


    Adeline gave an enchanting smile and she also mouthed, "I love you."


    Adeline was suddenly pulled out of her enchanted world when she heard the priest saying, "��let them speak now, or else forever hold their peace."


    The priest raised his head from the book he was holding and glanced at the guests and an empty aisle.


    Adeline also looked to her side, fearing that Reginald would somehow come to stop her wedding. Theodore could hear her escalating heartbeat and understandably so.


    After waiting for about 30 seconds, the Priest kept the book aside and passed the ceremonial dagger to the Princess. He then held the Goblet of Union in his hand and announced, "The bride and the groom may seal your marriage."


    Adeline let out a huge sigh of relief and smiled at Theodore before pricking her finger and letting a drop of her blood fall in the Goblet.


    She then passed the dagger to Theodore and he also repeated what Adeline did.


    The moment Theodore''s blood dropped in the Goblet, everyone got to see the unexpected yet magical scene.


    Some unseen force lifted both Adeline and Theodore in the air. And while the blue magic potion began to swirl in the Goblet, the two of them began to swirl around each other.


    To the witnesses, it looked as though they were two of the most beautiful angels who were elegantly performing a dance midair. Their clothes and hair that were floating around slowly added perfection to the ''magical dance''.


    "Whoa! What is happening?" Azriel looked a bit concerned thinking it was Theodore''s doing. "Is he that excited that he forgot so many people are watching? Just what is he thinking dancing like that and revealing his powers? The humans are going to know!" he thought to himself and immediately got up on his feet to save the skin of his brother.


    He then pretended to wave his hand as though he was the one who made them hover in the air. When he looked behind at the guests, he could see a few pairs of questioning eyes.


    He gave a dismissive smile to them and to make it seem less suspicious, he ended up adding his own flair to the event. He made the pink and white rose petals to shower down out of nowhere. The petals fell on the bride and the groom as well as on everyone else present in the ceremony.


    Both Adeline and Theodore were confused by what was happening at first. But when their eyes fell on Azriel, they thought that it was his way of showing his love towards them. And they held each other''s hand and happily laughed while twirling.


    "He sure knows how to be dramatic and steal the show," Theodore whispered to Adeline while chuckling and pulling her close.


    Adeline also giggled and agreed, "He is not dramatic, he is the drama."


    The guests were all awe-struck because no one had ever witnessed such a spectacular wedding ceremony ever before. Everyone began cheering for the couple as well as the Deity.


    "I guess this is what it feels like to have the Deity on your side. You are always showered with his blessings," one of the guests whispered to her husband.


    The husband nodded and said while happily clapping, "I''m glad that we came to attend the ceremony even with such short notice. We are also being blessed by the Deity himself."


    While everyone was captivated by the show that Azriel had put on, the Goddess had a mysterious smile on her serene face because only she knew what was actually happening.


    The Goblet of Union was supposed to unify the two souls into one. And that was exactly what was happening. Theodore had the soul of a demon while Adeline had the soul of a human. And in the unification process, Theodore''s demonic soul won over Adeline''s human soul.


    When the Goblet''s content fully turned red, Adeline and Theodore descended back to their own position but refused to let go of each other''s hands.


    Both of them had no idea that something in Adeline had already changed.


    The Priest raised his palms and then blessed the unified couple, "With God''s blessing, you may together have life everlasting. And may love flourish forever. I now pronounce you husband and wife."


    He then glanced at Theodore and finally said, "You may kiss the bride."


    Theodore gently tugged Adeline''s palms and pulled her close to him. He gazed at her already inviting lips and leaned down to seal their marriage. Both of them closed their eyes and gave each other the most memorable kiss to date. They gladly accepted each other as their life partners, to have and to hold.


    After everything that the two of them went through, the little human finally belonged to the Devil.

 Chapter 413 - Running In Circles

    The bride and the groom walked down the altar while holding each other''s hands. All the guests cheered them and congratulated them as they walked towards the exit of the lawn. They were first going to take a round through the Golden Street and return back to resume the ceremony.


    A few of the Royal Guards escorted them towards the open carriage that was waiting for them at the exit. And in the absence of the bride and the groom, Dragomir had prepared a lavish spread of lunch to keep the guests entertained.


    Theodore held out his hand for Adeline when he reached in front of the carriage. And he asked with a broad smile on his face, "Wife, shall we go on a ride?"


    Adeline gaped at her husband while holding her breath. She was getting a ticklish feeling in her heart. And if no one else were around her at that moment, she would have squirmed and squealed with excitement when Theodore called her his wife.


    For now, she held in her excitement and replied in an elegant voice, "I would be pleased, dear husband." She smiled and held Theodore''s hand.


    And when the two of them settled down in the carriage, several squads of guards along with a band walked ahead of the carriage. The carriage slowly followed them and they were again followed by the cavalries. And at the very last, Theodore''s followers who were disguised as his guards also joined the procession.


    The band started to play melodious music and the parade began.


    Theodore took Adeline''s palm and intertwined his fingers with hers. He touched her ear with his warm lips and whispered, "I never got the chance to tell you�� you are radiating in this white gown. I could keep on watching you in it till eternity and I wouldn''t even get tired."


    Adeline brought his knuckles close to her lips and gave him a kiss. And she teased her husband, "If you love it so much then you can watch me for the whole night. I won''t take it off till tomorrow."


    Theodore bit his lower lip and chuckled. And he replied in a hushed tone, "Oh, it''s a pity that I already have plans for tonight. I''m going to need you to take the dress off."


    Adeline covered her lips with her slender fingers and suppressed her laughter.


    Though the village was a bit far from the Palace, the crowd had gathered from the gate of the Palace itself.


    The citizens were eager to take a look at their Prince Consort. And boy, were they pleased? The moment their eyes fell on the heavenly couple, they all forgot the trouble that they went through while waiting for hours in that summer heat.


    And when Adeline and Theodore looked at them and waved their hands at them, the crowd went mad with excitement.


    "Oh my god! The Prince Consort looks like an angel! An angel just waved at me!" A girl screamed from the crowd.


    "He also waved at me!" Her friend jumped with joy and hugged that girl.


    Not just those girls, everyone else''s reactions were similar, regardless of their age and gender.


    Adeline, on the other hand, was trying her best to smile at the crowd. She feared that the vampires would be among the villagers and would start the rampage at any moment.


    Even in that noise from the crowd and the sound of the band, Theodore could hear Adeline''s hammering heart. He guessed what her fear was. So he tightened his grip on her hand and reassured her, "I don''t feel their presence. You don''t need to be afraid. Nothing will happen."


    ---


    "Your Majesty, I think we have been running around in circles ever since we entered the pass." One of the vampires breathlessly said to the King. He pointed at the huge stone at the foot of the hill and added, "We have already come across that same rock at least 7 times."


    Reginald was already furious because no matter how much they ran, they were unable to cross the Jhomla pass and get to Wyverndale.


    And when that vampire pointed it out, Reginald felt as though he was trying to call him a fool for not recognizing the path.


    So he furiously shouted, "Are you trying to say that I forgot the path that I took just a week ago? Or are you trying to call me a fool?"


    That vampire instantly lowered his head and apologized, "I did not mean it that way, Your Majesty. Please forgive me."


    "Then what did you mean by that?" Reginald spilled all his rage on that poor vampire and snapped his neck. When that vampire dropped on the ground, he shouted at that vampire, "We crossed from here more than 7 times you said? Well, let''s check your theory by having you as the landmark."


    He glared at the rest of the bloodsuckers and shouted, "Does anyone else want to be a landmark?"


    Everyone lowered their heads in fear that they would also be rendered unconscious.


    ---


    Azriel and the Goddess were enjoying some fine wine while standing in front of a small pond and enjoying its view.


    "So, how are you feeling right now, mother?" Azriel asked while swirling the wine in the glass.


    The Goddess breathed in the fresh air of earth and answered, "Jubilant. I''m really happy for Theodore." She took a sip of her wine and added, "I was worried that he was going to spend the rest of his life all alone. But now I can rest in Heaven peacefully, knowing that he is going to be loved."


    "I''m happy to see you this lively," Azriel stole a glance of his beautiful mother and smiled.


    The Goddess lovingly caressed Azriel''s golden hair and was about to say something, but they were disturbed by Queen Claricia who happily squealed from behind, "Holy Goddess, may I spend a moment or two with you?"


    "Of course, Claricia," the Goddess turned her head and gave a soft smile.


    "You know my name?" Claricia clasped her mouth with her palm and was astonished. There was no great honor than that for her.


    After regaining her composure, Claricia talked with the Goddess for a while, she mostly expressed how blessed she felt to be in the Goddess'' presence, and left.


    The Goddess then glanced towards the hills and gently lifted her glass as though she was celebrating something. She had a crafty smirk on her face when she took the sip of her wine again.


    ---


    Reginald and the other vampires ran for about half an hour. And to Reginald''s annoyance, he came right where he had left from earlier. Meaning, he came to the same spot where he had left that ''landmark'' earlier.


    He got so furious that he screamed at the top of his lungs and punched that large rock. He broke that rock into several small pieces and shouted, "Who the hell is playing a trick on us? This is not funny!"


    All the vampires were afraid to even blink and breathe. They stood behind Reginald as if they were mere statues. They all already knew that there was no other option than returning back to their own Kingdom. But they feared to speak because they didn''t want their neck to be snapped, or worse, get killed.


    Some of those vampires even contemplated running at the very back of the group and then running away for good. They feared that the King would vent out his anger on them even after returning to Mihir. They all cursed their luck for being chosen for this mission.


    Reginald kept on venting his anger on the rocks nearby. And he looked around while shouting, "Who is playing this dirty trick on me? Show yourself! Come on! Fight me face to face."


    If only he knew who was playing that trick on him�� he would know that he would be turned into ashes faster than the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 414 - Uninvited Guest

    Adeline and Theodore returned back to the Palace after greeting the people of Wyverndale and getting their blessings.


    They finally got to have some food and it was time for them to exchange gifts.


    This part of the ceremony was initiated by the bride and the groom by exchanging gifts with each other.


    First, it was Theodore''s turn to present his wedding gift to his wife. One of his followers climbed to the altar and handed him the gift that he had prepared for Adeline.


    Theodore then handed over a beautiful bouquet of red roses to Adeline. And he lovingly looked into Adeline''s deep eyes and said, "These red roses signify eternal love. May our love be as deep as this color red and may the love between us last till eternity."


    Adeline was more than happy to receive those lovely flowers from Theodore which she knew was from Theodore''s garden. She beamed and thanked him, "Thank you for the lovely flowers. I will treasure them with all my heart and I will treasure your love along with these."


    Theodore was happy to know that Adeline liked the bouquet that he had prepared himself. And what more? He had enchanted those flowers so that they would never wilt and lose their original beauty.


    It was now Adeline''s turn to present her gift to her husband. A maid came while carrying a tray and Adeline picked up a small box from the tray.


    She then opened the box to take out a ring and held out her palm for Theodore. And she asked, "May I?"


    Theodore looked at the ring and at Adeline and then smiled. "Of course," Theodore gave his hand to Adeline and she put that ring on his finger.


    She held his palm with both of her hands and said, "Just like there is no beginning or ending to this ring, my love for you is also the same �C never-ending. In my absence, I hope that this ring will remind you of me and my love for you."


    She then glanced at her own ring and whispered so that only he could hear, "And since you had gifted me a ring, I thought that you should also have one so that we could pair."


    Theodore couldn''t help but lean forward and give Adeline a soft kiss in front of everyone once again. He then smiled at her and said, "I love it. Thank you for loving me so dearly."


    The guests were clapping and cheering for the newlyweds. Some of them were confused as to how the two of them were so in love when they had just met recently. And those who knew were happy to see that they were still so much in love even after all the things that they had to go through.


    After the couples exchanged the gifts, everyone else climbed the steps of the altar and gave their blessings as well as the gifts. And in return, they got a package containing a golden coin that was specially minted for the wedding and also a few other things like wine and aromatic candles.


    And when everyone finished gifting the couple, the guests were led towards the hall.


    It was now already evening. The hall was well-lit with countless lanterns and a few chandeliers full of candles. The hall was prepared for the ball and thus, a piece of soft and slow music was already being played in the background when the guests, the Royals, and the newlyweds walked inside.


    Raphael acted as the spokesperson of the ball. When the guests had gathered around while leaving an open space in the center, he announced, "We all know that for a father, his daughter is the crown jewel of his heart. And we all know that this is a special moment for the bride and her father. Everyone, please put your hands together for our beloved King and the beautiful bride."


    Theodore and Adeline were standing while holding each other''s hands. When Raphael announced that, Theodore took Adeline towards her father and handed her over saying, "I am giving her back just for a dance."


    King Dragomir burst into laughter when he heard Theodore. He patted his cheeky son-in-law on the shoulders and said, "Relax, I won''t take her back after already giving her hand to you." And he sarcastically said, "And thank you for allowing me to have this dance with my daughter. I am really honored."


    He laughed again and took smiling Adeline to the center of the dance floor.


    A different piece of music began filling the atmosphere of the hall. Everyone watched the graceful dance that the father and daughter were performing.


    Dragomir gazed at those happy eyes of Adeline and complimented her, "You do look very happy. I am glad to see you like this." He took a sigh of relief and said, "My little girl is all grown up."


    Adeline admiringly looked at her father and said, "I will always be your little girl. Thank you for everything, father."


    While everyone was busy watching the father and daughter dance, the Goddess, who was standing a little further away from everyone suddenly turned her head to see a mirage of her husband beside her.


    "Missed me already?" The Goddess asked the almighty with a satirical tone and a smirk on her lips.


    The almighty had a calm expression on his face. He gazed at his wife and asked, "Am I not allowed to miss you? You didn''t come back for three days."


    He gently caressed his wife''s silver hair and said, "And I was a little hurt. You didn''t even think that it was necessary to inform me that you would be visiting Earth and also staying here for a few days."


    The Goddess turned her gaze away from her husband and poked him with her words, "After looking at the things that you''ve done, I don''t really feel like returning back at all." She folded her arms and spoke in a dispirited tone, "Who knows, maybe I will stay here with one of my sons."


    The God sighed and asked in a defeated tone, "My beloved, tell me what do I need to do to receive your forgiveness? You disregarded my verbal apologies already. What else can I do to make you come with me?"


    The Goddess shrugged her shoulders and spoke mischievously, "Oh, I don''t know�� maybe try lowering your pride and meet your son? This is his big day and you are partly already here."


    The almighty gazed towards the center of the hall where Adeline and Theodore were sharing their first dance now. He frowned after looking at Theodore and said, "Love, you know he did wrong and I had to punish him, both the times. Why is it me who has to lower my pride? Why can''t you scold him for not complying with my rules?"


    The Goddess gave a stern look to the God and answered, "Maybe because you are the parent and you are supposed to be forgiving?"


    She then lovingly gazed at her son and daughter-in-law and said in a bit softer voice, "I know that you didn''t just come here to take me back. You came here to witness your son''s wedding. So why don''t you just go there and give them both your blessing? Do you have to be so full of pretentious ego?"


    "I don''t have any ego. And even if I do, it''s definitely not pretentious." He looked away from the newlyweds and dismissed what his wife was suggesting.


    The Goddess sighed and held his hand. "I know you are dying to meet Theodore, and also Adeline. Don''t worry thinking how he will react and just go already! He was your pampered one after all. You even bestowed the divine eyes to him when we two were the only ones who should have had it�� I am sure he will forgive you eventually."


    After getting nudged by his wife repeatedly, he finally took a step towards his son.


    The moment he took that step, his mirage turned into the real him and the whole hall was frozen in time again. The only ones who could still move were Theodore, Adeline, Azriel, and the Goddess.


    Both Adeline and Theodore were confused at first when the music suddenly stopped while they were still enjoying their dance. But it didn''t take long for them to realize what was actually going on.


    "On no! Why is he here again? What did we do now?" Adeline''s eyes widened with fear and her heart acted as though it was about to jump out of her mouth.


    Theodore was in no better condition. He clenched his fists and thought, "Is he here to take the King already? Doesn''t he even know how to be a little considerate?"


    Adeline noticed that Theodore''s father was looking at Theodore with his scary eyes. And she thought that he was there to do something to her husband. So when God was approaching nearer and nearer, she hastily stepped in front of Theodore and glared at the almighty.


    She was even ready to fight God himself if he was going to do anything to her husband.

 Chapter 415 - A Wish

    Both Theodore and his father were surprised when Adeline defensively stepped in front of Theodore like that.


    Theodore''s father glanced at his daughter-in-law and asked a question to gauge her heart, "Are you willing to fight me for Theodore''s sake?"


    Adeline didn''t stop maintaining her eye contact with the almighty when she answered fearlessly, "Please forgive my impoliteness, but if Lord Immortal is here to fight his son then I am more than willing to put my life in the line for my husband''s sake."


    "Adeline! Don''t say such things!" Theodore tried to pull her aside and away from his father''s direct line of sight but Adeline insisted on standing in front of him like a shield.


    The God was lost for words for a while. But after a few seconds, he merrily laughed at that reaction from the newlyweds, especially Adeline. And he said to Adeline, "Ease up, child. I am not here to snatch away your husband or give punishments to anyone else."


    Both Adeline and Theodore were relieved to hear that the God was not there to punish anyone, unlike the last time he was here.


    The God took a glance at Theodore, he looked like he was not ready to have any conversation just yet.


    The almighty had obviously heard everything that Theodore had said to him when Theodore had lashed out in Hell. But he was not angry, rather he was sad thinking that he might have pushed away his son a little too hard.


    He then looked back at Adeline. Then he said in a soft voice, "I am here to witness the wedding of my son and give my blessing to the newest member of our family. I came uninvited but I bear no ill will."


    Adeline''s look also softened a little after hearing the God talking calmly. She tried to smile at him, but she could not quite bring herself to do it. So she bowed instead and thanked him, "I am deeply honored by Lord Immortal''s warm gesture."


    The almighty gently touched Adeline''s head with his palm and accepted her greeting. When Adeline raised her head to look back at him, he immediately asked her, "Child, I know I have been a little harsh to you. But I would like to make up for it by offering you a wish as your wedding present. Is there anything that you wish for?"


    Adeline''s eyes instantly twinkled and they involuntarily trailed towards her father.


    And God was quick enough to add a restriction to the wish, "You can of course ask for anything, except your parent''s lives."


    The spark of hope that had appeared in Adeline''s eyes was gone in a flash. No matter how hard she tried, she could not hide the displeasure from her face.


    She was even thinking of running away from the almighty''s sight, and as though Theodore predicted what she was going to do, he gently held her by her shoulders.


    Adeline took in a deep breath and then gave a wistful smile to the God. And she dismissed him as politely as she could, "I am unable to think of anything at the moment. But I greatly appreciate the gesture. Thank you for your blessing."


    The almighty gave an understanding nod. He lightly caressed his daughter-in-law''s hair and said, "If you don''t have any wish right now then you can use it in the future. Make your wish when you can think of something that you truly desire."


    "I will make sure to do as you say," Adeline bowed her head again to the God.


    He then shifted his attention towards Theodore. He had thought of a lot of things to say to his son. But when the time came for the real interaction, all that he could say was, "Congratulations on your wedding, Theodore. I hope you are happy with your decision."


    For Theodore, even that little phrases from his father meant a lot. Adeline finally stepped aside and Theodore took a step towards his father. He gazed at his father and even though the almighty didn''t say it, he knew that his father was sorry.


    Theodore took one more step towards his father and hugged him to everyone''s surprise. The almighty was stunned and kept on standing like a statue. Theodore then said in a soft voice, "I am so happy that you came here today, father. My wife and I got the blessing from both you and mother. We are really grateful."


    The invisible barrier that the God had created between him and his children melted away like a mere candle from the warmth that he got from Theodore. A genuine smile appeared on his face and he even hugged back his son.


    And then he said to Theodore, "I know you will want to do anything and everything to protect your wife. But always remember not to go too overboard when doing so. Think before acting impulsively. Or you can always ask me for advice if time gets difficult."


    Theodore''s heart warmed from those supportive words of his father. He parted from the hug and smiled. "I will remember you if I ever get stuck. I hope you will answer my prayers."


    The almighty caressed Theodore''s black hair and nodded, "I will answer them. I''m sorry that I ignore them until now."


    He patted Theodore on the shoulders and walked back towards his wife. Azriel was standing beside King Dragomir. And all this while, he was also pretending to be a statue fearing that their father would punish him for the things that he did to Adeline.


    And when God passed by Azriel, he heard his father saying, "I can see you move, Azriel. I don''t know why you are pretending to be frozen."


    Azriel widened his eyes a little but he still kept on standing still. He was in no mood to indulge in some conversation with his father and end up getting that punishment.


    The almighty stood in front of his wife and asked in his softest voice, "Will you return back to Heaven now? I hope you will."


    The Goddess gave a reassuring smile and agreed. "I will come back after spending a little more time with my sons and my new daughter-in-law."


    "Sure. Take your time but do return back." He gave a peck on the Goddess'' forehead before vanishing from Earth.


    And the moment he vanished, the time began flowing normally as though it had never stopped.


    Azriel finally let out the breath that he was holding in until now and fanned himself with his palm. And he thought to himself, "That was very clever of me to have pretended not to see or hear him. I bet he bought that.. Now I can go around playing the Deity peacefully."

 Chapter 416 - Dance

    The hall was once again filled with a melodious piece of music. People continued their conversations from right where they had left off. And the surrounding that was deafeningly quiet just a moment ago was now filled with merry sounds of laughter, chatter, and cheering of the guests of the wedding.


    Theodore gently began grooving to the music so as not to look weird while everyone was watching them ''dance'' and he swiftly hugged Adeline from behind. He gave Adeline a warm and apologetic kiss on her bare shoulder.


    He had seen how dejected she felt when she couldn''t use that wish to save her father. And he also felt bad that he hugged the same man who was going to take Adeline''s father away from her.


    So he gently whispered to his wife, "I''m sorry, Adeline�� For everything that happened just a while ago. You can vent out your anger on me later."


    But Adeline was not that petty to envy or get angry at the affection that Theodore had shared with his father. Rather, she was at least at peace that the warring father and son reconciled with each other. So she gently shook her head to gesture to him that she was not angry.


    After dancing for a while, Theodore made her twirl and turn to face him. He looked at that woman who was hopelessly in love with him. And he teasingly whispered again, "So�� you were even ready to fight my father, huh��"


    Adeline chuckled and said in an undertone, "I know! What was I even thinking? I was so stupid." She knew that she must have looked stupid to both of the powerful father and son, but she did what she could think of at that moment.


    However, to Theodore, she was anything but stupid. He leaned in and spoke in her ear very lovingly, "You were very brave to have stood up against God for my sake. I am very glad to have a wife like you."


    He then immediately added in a serious tone, "But don''t ever say that you would die for my sake. Do you think that I will be able to live with myself if you were to act so rashly?"


    "Theo��" Adeline furrowed her brows and was about to give her reasoning but Theodore instantly interfered in between and said rather firmly, "If you ever do such a thing in the future then I will jump in the hellfire the very next moment. So, don''t even think about it."


    Adeline put her arms around Theodore''s neck while dancing to the beat. And she apologized to him, for he looked saddened by her earlier action. "I won''t do that again. Are you happy now?"


    Theodore gave a bright smile and nodded. "Yes, very."


    In the audience, Nefriti was watching the two of them dancing with a genuinely happy look on her face. And she mumbled to herself, "Oh my god! They look so sweet together. Ah! They are very much in love, aren''t they?"


    And someone who was standing beside her answered her rhetorical question, "Yes, they are madly in love with each other."


    Nefriti furrowed her brows and turned her gaze towards the person who had answered her. She saw a handsome young man who was yearningly looking at the couple at the center. She felt as though his eyes were reflecting some pain rather than admiration.


    Sensing her intent gaze, Fenris turned to look at Nefriti and asked, "I believe that we have never met?" He then gave a slight nod to Nefriti and introduced himself, "I am Prince Fenris of Aberdeen."


    Nefriti smiled and greeted him back, "I am Princess Nefriti of Wyverndale."


    Fenris slightly lifted his brows and said with a gentle smile, "So you are Adeline''s half-sister."


    Nefriti smiled back and looked into his light brown eyes that had a golden hint to them. And she guessed, "And you are Nigel''s cousin?"


    "Yes, I am. If you will excuse me��" Fenris tried to close the conversation and then go and find his brother but Nefriti pointed towards the dance floor and asked, "The floor will be open for everyone after this piece of music ends. May I ask you for a dance?"


    Though Fenris was not really feeling up for it, he didn''t want to be rude to one of Adeline''s sisters. So he reluctantly accepted to dance with her.


    The music that the newlyweds were dancing to finally ended. And just like Nefriti had said, Raphael asked everybody to enter the dance floor with their partners and enjoy the night.


    The moment it was announced that everybody could join the dance floor, several excited couples rushed in while holding each other''s hands. Fenris and Nefriti also joined the dance floor, one of them was visibly more excited than the other.


    Azriel also wanted to take part in the dance. "Dragomir, I am going to dance with my mother. I think you should also enjoy this moment with your wives." Azriel flashed a smile to Dragomir and walked away in search of his mother.


    "Enjoy this moment with your wives��" Dragomir repeated what Azriel had said to him in his mind. And his gaze fell on Queen Claricia. No matter how absent husband he was to her, she never stopped loving him and caring about him. When he recalled everything that she had done for him, he felt a pinch in his heart because he had not even returned a quarter of her love.


    He took a deep breath and walked towards the place where Queen Claricia was standing. He held out his palm for her and asked his confused third wife, "May I have this dance with you, Claricia?"


    Claricia was over the moon to hear that from the King. She lightly placed her hand on his palm and she smiled while she stuttered, "Of-Of course, my King."


    Dragomir gave a soft smile to that selfless wife of his and took her to the dance floor. They were followed by the jealous eyes of all the other women of Dragomir but that didn''t stop them from enjoying the dance.


    Claricia was beaming with happiness just from that small gesture of the King. And Dragomir wondered why he never gave any attention to any of his women, especially to Claricia since she was like a second mother to Adeline.


    But it was now already too late for that. All he could do now was say thank you. "Claricia, I am very lucky to have found such a gem like you. Please forgive me for not appreciating your effort and not reciprocating your love."


    "Don''t say such things, my King." Claricia gave the warmest smile and said, "I have always understood your position.. And it has always been enough for me to get to see and love you from afar."

 Chapter 417 - Affectionate

    While most of the guests and Royals were enjoying the wedding ball, Prince Edwin was standing outside the hall with his maternal uncle, King Leonel of Frostford.


    King Leonel was a tall and thin man. He had black hair, which he liked to keep short because of the springy curls. His thick eyebrows and dark brown eyes would give an impression that he was forever mad for no reason.


    Unlike his sister Lillian, he didn''t have the gift of magic. But he had made up for that shortcoming of his by establishing himself as the most powerful and ruthless King of Frostford to date.


    He had managed to do so by choosing the most powerful witches and wizards of the Kingdom to side with him. They would even be ready to kill or get killed for him. Such was his manipulative power.


    Right now, Leonel was not in a good mood because he just found out today what had happened to his sister.


    And he asked Edwin in a betrayed voice, "Edwin, why didn''t you write a letter to inform me that your mother was captured and imprisoned? Did I have to come all the way to Wyverndale to find it out?"


    Leonel turned his head to the side to look at his nephew and sternly said, "And it wasn''t even you who broke the news to me. It was Juniper."


    To be fair, with everything that was going on in the Palace for the past weeks, it completely escaped Edwin''s mind that he needed to update Leonel.


    He apologetically looked at his maternal uncle and asked for forgiveness.


    And in response, Leonel asked, "Don''t you have anything more to ask other than forgiveness? I can have some of my minions sneak into the dungeon right now and make them study the barrier. There might be some way to break Lillian free."


    Edwin pressed his lips together and awkwardly kept on holding his breath for a few seconds. He was trying to think of a way to clear the air between him and his uncle without giving an impression that he had betrayed his mother.


    And the Prince politely replied, "No, let''s not do anything at the moment. I would like to have a detailed meeting with you first. And I will let you decide how to move further ahead."


    Edwin then tried to make his uncle understand why he had not tried to have a meeting sooner, "I had been planning to visit Frostford and having a meeting with you. However, I got really busy in the Palace, especially after that Vampire King attacked the King and the Princess."


    Leonel looked up at the stars and let out a sigh. And he thought to himself, "And I thought that damned vampire would be capable enough to rally the soldiers and take over Wyverndale. But he ended up falling victim to his lust and went berserk before even commencing the plan!"


    Leonel had no idea yet that Edwin already knew everything that Lillian had planned with Reginald. So, he tried to act as though he didn''t know anything about the vampires and said, "I had never thought that such creatures still walked the Earth. I thought they were just limited to the myths. I was really shocked when Juniper told me about it."


    Edwin pursed his lips and didn''t know whether to call out his uncle or just play along. "I think I need to have that meeting soon," he thought to himself and then asked Leonel, "Your Majesty, I hope you will be staying here tonight?"


    Leonel rolled his eyes and replied harshly, "I came here with the intention to spend the night here but I don''t think I can do that after knowing that my sister is being kept locked up in some cold dungeon."


    Edwin turned to stand face to face with Leonel and asked him, "Uncle, I really need to discuss a lot of things with you. Will you please stay? For my sake."


    Leonel furrowed his brows and examined his nephew''s facial expression. Edwin looked as though he was in desperate need of help. And Leonel guessed that Edwin wanted to plan his mother''s escape. So he agreed, "If you insist then, sure, I will stay for the night."


    Edwin happily smiled and clasped his hands together. And he suggested, "Let''s go to my quarter after having the dinner. And we will discuss everything then."


    ---


    After a whole hour of dancing to the tune, it was finally time for dinner.


    The maids asked all of the guests to follow them back to the lawn.


    The torches and lanterns that were hung around the posts and kept on the tables were making the lawn almost as bright as the day. And the setup looked really beautiful.


    The servants had already set up around 35 large round tables for the guests. Each table had seats for 15 guests. The cutleries were already in place.


    And each table was full of varieties of dishes like sirloin steak, fricassees of chicken, grilled chicken breasts, salad with yogurt, roasted potatoes, and many more, accompanied by the varieties of fine wine and beverages.


    Adeline, Theodore, Azriel, and the Goddess, settled down at one of the tables in the middle of the lawn.


    The Goddess was not able to take her eyes off of her daughter-in-law ever since she sat down beside her. She gave a warm smile to Adeline and complimented her, "You have very beautiful eyes. It''s full of hope and innocence."


    Adeline had already turned red after sitting with her mother-in-law. She stole a peek of the Goddess and looked back at her plate again. And she softly replied, "Everything about Mother Celestial is very beautiful."


    The Goddess let out melodious laughter and gently caressed Adeline''s silver hair that looked very similar to hers. And she appreciated Adeline, "Adeline, I am very happy that you chose to see good in my son. He is one lucky man to have found a wife like you."


    "And I am also very lucky to have found him." Adeline then gave a loving gaze towards Theodore who was sitting on her other side.


    She then glanced back at the Goddess and said with a polite smile on her face, "Mother, I didn''t even get to thank you properly for the lovely gift that you had bestowed upon me earlier."


    She gave a gentle bow and said courteously, "Theodore told me that you made that harp all by yourself. It is really beautiful. I''m sure that the music will also be equally beautiful. Thank you for such a considerate gift. I will make sure to listen to the music every day."


    The Goddess was pleased to know that Adeline was impressed by her gift. She then instructed on how the harp worked, "I have enchanted the harp with my power. Whenever you feel like enjoying the music, just give it a double-tap and it will begin to play the music according to your mood."


    The Goddess gently patted on Adeline''s palm and said, "You work too hard, sometimes a little too much. Make sure to give yourself some time and enjoy the beauty of life, the music, the food, and everything there is to enjoy. Life is fleeting, make sure to stop and appreciate little joy in life every now and then."


    The rims of Adeline''s eyes were glistening in the light from the lantern. Her heart was filled with a warm feeling. She swallowed her tears and nodded her head, "I will try to enjoy, mother. Thank you for your invaluable advice."


    Adeline gazed at the Goddess and wondered if Auvera would also have been this affectionate towards her. It was in times like this that she wished her mother was still alive.


    And as if the Goddess read Adeline''s mind, she pulled Adeline into her warm embrace. She gently stroked Adeline''s back and whispered to Adeline, "You are such a lovable child.. I now know why my son fell for you."

 Chapter 418 - Tease

    King Dragomir had spent the entire time on the dance floor with Queen Claricia. So they both walked towards the lawn together.


    And the King and the Queen also joined the same table as the bride and the groom.


    After settling down on the table, King Dragomir gave a polite bow to the Goddess and expressed his regret, "Holy Goddess, I''m so sorry that I couldn''t offer special treatment to you. I hope you will forgive me for that."


    The Goddess had a serene smile on her face when she replied, "You don''t have to ask for forgiveness, Dragomir. I am the one who demanded to stay anonymous. Besides, I got to enjoy the ceremony and the beautiful Palace of yours to the fullest, thanks to that."


    Dragomir was delighted to hear that the Goddess had enjoyed her time. "Then I am relieved."


    The maids came to serve food to the King and the Queen who had recently arrived at the table. After they served the dinner, King Dragomir glanced at the Goddess and asked for permission, "I will now have my food."


    The Goddess laughed softly and replied, "Yes, please. You don''t need to be so polite, Dragomir. Your daughter is married to my son. We are now relatives, meaning we are now equals. Don''t treat us like we are someone very distant and far away from your reach."


    Dragomir couldn''t believe his ears when the Goddess said that they were now equals. He could tell how Theodore learned to be so humble even when he was one of the most fearsome Devils who practically ruled Hell.


    Dragomir bowed his head to the Goddess again and thanked her, "I am really grateful towards you for thinking of us mere mortals as your equals." He then glanced at both Theodore and Azriel and added, "And I would like to thank you for raising such beautiful and humble sons."


    The Goddess gave a proud look towards her sons and was happy that they had built a good reputation for themselves even after being cast out from Heaven. "I am lucky that they turned out to be who they are today."


    After a while, some more people joined the dinner table. Nigel, Rhea and the babies, and the Royal family of Aberdeen, all of them sat down to enjoy dinner with the bride and the groom.


    Wulfric was the most excited one at the table at the moment. This was one of the few times when he was allowed to travel to another Kingdom, that also with all of his family.


    And his happiness knew no bounds when he got to see the woman his brother had fallen in love with and lost.


    He happened to sit directly in front of Adeline at that round table. And he could swear that any man would have fallen for that beauty in front of him.


    Wulfric gave a wide smile to Adeline when their eyes met and he instantly stroke a conversation with her, "Sister�� can I call you sister?"


    Adeline reciprocated his smile and replied, "Of course, Prince Wulfric."


    "You remember my name?" Wulfric excitedly raised his brows and asked.


    Adeline chuckled at that innocent question of that wolf and replied, "Why wouldn''t I remember the name of the Crown Prince of Aberdeen?"


    "Besides," she took a quick look at Nigel who was busy feeding his kids, and said, "Brother Nigel used to talk about you a lot. I am very happy that you came to the function today. I finally got the chance to meet you."


    "Sister is too kind to me." Wulfric gave a smile as though he was hypnotized by Adeline and said, "I am the one who is happy to meet you."


    Wulfric turned his gaze towards Theodore and greeted him with a gentle bow. "I have heard great things about you, Prince Theodore. I hope to never get on your bad side like my brother here." Wulfric gave a teasing grin to Fenris. He was greatly enjoying the unspoken tension in the air between Fenris and Theodore.


    Theodore gently laughed and replied to that eccentric kid, "As long as you don''t go after what''s mine, you should be fine."


    Theodore glanced at Fenris and Fenris, on the other hand, turned to glare at his brother who was trying to cause trouble for his pleasure.


    Wulfric was trying hard to suppress his laughter and he almost choked on the soup that he was having.


    Those who didn''t know that Fenris had a thing for Adeline were left baffled. King Conall was especially concerned when Wulfric said that he didn''t want to get on the bad side like his brother.


    And Conall thought to himself while munching on some chicken breast, "Did Fenris cause some trouble? Or was Wulfric talking about Nigel?"


    King Conall wanted to ask what he had missed but he didn''t think that now was the right time to bring up the question.


    There were still two seats left at that table. And Raphael and Nefriti joined much later after not finding any favorable tables to sit at.


    "I hope I am not too late to join the dinner at this table," Raphael asked Adeline while settling down in an empty chair. "I was busy at the hall taking care of something and came to find that almost all of the seats were packed."


    Adeline shook her head and replied, "No, we aren''t going to get up any time soon so feel free to enjoy the dinner to the fullest."


    "Ah! That''s great then." Raphael rubbed his hands together and looked at the food, "I''m starving from all that shouting back there on the dance floor."


    Nefriti got to sit right beside Fenris. She looked at that handsome face again and said in a soft voice, "Prince Fenris, we meet again."


    Fenris turned his gaze away from his mischievous brother and looked to see the Princess who he had danced with. His face instantly lit up when he saw that bright and smiling face of that Princess again.


    Nefriti then teasingly asked Fenris, "Don''t tell me you saved this seat for me."


    "Hey!" Fenris chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. And he teased her back, "Who knows? Maybe I did."


    While dancing with Nefriti, Fenris got to know a few things about her. And one thing that he admired about her was how openly she had shared about herself, even the most embarrassing things she had done in her life. She had also readily accepted that she had tried to harm Adeline and how deeply she regretted it until today.


    Nefriti giggled at that answer from Fenris. She gently pushed Fenris with her palm and softly whispered, "You''re such a tease!"


    The youngsters on that table were all raising brows and smiling while looking at the two of them. Adeline was also smiling widely, secretly hoping that the two of them would get along together.


    And Wulfric, being the mischievous one, coughed and blurted, "New couple alert!"


    Fenris was smiling at Nefriti while his leg was poking Wulfric''s leg under the table.


    However, that didn''t stop Wulfric from making weird noises and teasing his brother who was trying to avoid getting angered and hitting him.


    "I will make you pay after returning to Aberdeen," Fenris clenched his fist and silently thought to himself.

 Chapter 419 - Private Chamber

    After the dinner was over, and after lots of suspense and surprises, the wedding ceremony of the Future Queen and Prince Consort finally concluded.


    Those guests who had come from other countries were all staying in the Palace. And those whose houses were relatively near departed from the Palace.


    After bidding goodnight to the guests, Adeline and Theodore were led by Hawisa and Osanna towards the newlywed''s chamber. Adeline''s private chamber had already been refurbished to adhere to the needs of both Adeline and Theodore. And from today onwards, it was going to be both of their rooms.


    The maids stopped in front of the main door of their private chambers. "Have a goodnight, Your Highnesses," Both Hawisa and Osanna gave a wide smile and bowed to the Prince and the Princess. And they ran away from there while giggling and covering their mouth with their palms.


    Adeline chuckled after seeing those women who were more excited than her regarding her ''first night'' together with Theodore.


    While Adeline was following the maids with her eyes, Theodore wrapped her into a warm embrace from behind and kissed Adeline on the neck. And then he whispered in a sultry voice, "Ah! Finally, I am alone with my wife."


    Theodore couldn''t help but lightly nip on Adeline''s neck and shoulders. Adeline held in her breath and bit her lower lip. She lightly caressed Theodore''s head and asked in a whisper, "Theo, let''s go inside first, shall we?"


    He lightly bit Adeline''s ear and said in a hushed tone, "Uh-huh�� I think that''s a good idea." His hot breath sent his words reverberating through Adeline''s whole body.


    Theodore then swept Adeline off of her feet, and Adeline wrapped her arms around her husband''s neck.


    He pushed the main door open and carried her inside the meeting room which was now turned into an antechamber. "Whoa! Your father really did a great job, didn''t he?" Theodore couldn''t help but stop to admire the new look of the room.


    To the right of the antechamber was the bathhouse and to the left was their bed-chamber. The meeting room and dining hall had been shifted to the adjacent room, meaning that the whole area was going to be their private chambers from now on.


    Theodore trailed his eyes around that antechamber to see a small tea table and two chairs in the middle of the room. The room was decorated with beautiful tapestries and paintings. The one that caught Theodore''s eyes was the beautiful painting of the dinner that he had with the Royal Family.


    "That painting is our wedding gift from His Majesty, right?" Theodore asked Adeline and she nodded in response. He walked closer towards the painting while still holding Adeline in his arms. He smiled while looking at one particular person and said, "Look at you�� so beautiful."


    Adeline pointed at Theodore''s face in the painting and proudly teased him, "Even this Theo can''t take his eyes off of me."


    Theodore looked into Adeline''s deep blue eyes and smiled. "True, I can guarantee that even if a hundred Theo were to exist then none of them would be able to look away from you. All of them would fall for you."


    Theodore stole a peck of Adeline''s lips and happily carried her inside their bed-chamber. There were new pieces of furniture like a new wardrobe and a table and chair for Theodore. His belongings had already been arranged by the maids.


    Their bed had also been changed. It was now more spacious than the previous one, not that they really needed the bed to be that wide. After all, they were always going to spoon and cuddle with each other the whole night.


    Though both of them were amazed to see that an elaborate baldachin had been placed over the bed. And for their first night, the baldachin was decorated with white Lily of the Valley flowers while the bed was covered with soft white rose petals.


    Theodore gently placed Adeline on the decorated bed and said in a seductive whisper, "I was thinking of sleeping but I don''t think we should let these decorations go to waste."


    Adeline giggled and shook her head to say, "As if you were going to sleep��"


    Theodore smiled looking at his chirpy wife. Before diving on the bed, he helped Adeline to take off her shoes and then glanced at her head. There were a lot of things there and he wondered how she could carry those weights on her head for the whole day.


    "Let me help you take those shiny things off first," Theodore pulled Adeline back up and the two of them got busy for a while, trying to figure out how to undo everything, from the tiara and veil to the pins.


    After they were finally done with Adeline''s hair, she turned her back towards Theodore and asked, "Will you help me take the dress off as well?"


    But instead of his answer, she heard a soft sound of clothes falling on the floor. She turned around to see that Theodore had already taken off his ceremonial robe and was slowly unbuttoning his shirt.


    Adeline instantly parted her lips and blew out hot air from her lips. Her eyes were stuck on her husband who looked as seductive as ever.


    This was the first time Adeline was seeing Theodore in clothes other than black in color. And to add to that, in the clothes that recently came into fashion. Theodore''s toned body shape was looking more prominent and tempting in that white shirt and black trousers that were so tightly and neatly fitted to his body that Adeline was almost drooling.


    Theodore gave a teasing smirk and his deep voice echoed in the chamber, "I will help you out�� but when the time is right. Meanwhile��" he undid his cufflinks in a seductive manner and said, "��you can enjoy watching me disrobe."


    Adeline raised her brows and said while peeking at Theodore''s chest that was showing from the first two button that he had undone already, "Oh, trust me, darling. I am enjoying the show."


    Theodore laughed and shook his head. "You''re not even shy anymore��"


    Adeline sat on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed. She flipped her hair to the side and gazed at Theodore with a tilted head. She gave a teasing smile and asked, "What''s there to be shy about? I''ve already kissed every inch of your body and you''ve already explored every nooks and cranny of mine."


    "Ah! I''ve already made you so shameless." Theodore gave a smoldering look to his brazen wife. He took off his shirt to reveal his tight muscles that were so appealing that Adeline bit her lower lips and held her breath.


    He dropped the shirt on the floor and stood tall in front of Adeline. Adeline let go of her warm breath which caressed Theodore''s stomach and subtly tickled him.


    Theodore then raised his hand to hold on to the post of the baldachin and flexed his muscles even more.. He looked at his wife whose eyes were fixated on his chest and stomach and he said in his desperate whisper, "There are a few good inches where you haven''t kissed yet."

 Chapter 420 - First Night

    "There''s are a few good inches where you haven''t kissed yet."


    Adeline couldn''t resist herself when her husband was standing in front of her in his best possible seductive pose. She raised her hand and asked while softly running her fingers over his toned stomach, "Hmm�� where?"


    Theodore then asked her in a ragged whisper, "Why don''t you help in unbuckling my trousers? I will show you a place you have yet to kiss."


    Adeline gave a knowing smile and complied with her husband''s request.


    Theodore''s grip on the post tightened with every warm and soft kiss that he got where he had asked. The Devil was hyperventilating with pleasure, his eyes glowing bright red. He ran his fingers through his black hair.


    He arched his back and moaned in ecstasy, "Ohhh! This feels so great�� I sh-should have as-sked for it sooner."


    Adeline breathlessly looked up at his ecstatic expression and wiped her lips with her thumb. "Did you like it?" she asked after getting up and putting her arms around his neck.


    "Immensely��" Theodore grabbed Adeline by her waist and pulled her in. And he claimed her lips like never before.


    He pushed his tongue inside her mouth like a strong summer wind and swept the taste of her mouth. He licked her lips and sucked them as hard as he could.


    "Mmm��" he could hear Adeline''s exasperated moans but they were also equally laced with pleasure.


    He let go of her lips after she was almost breathless. But he was not going to rest, not even for a second. He was going to make this night an extremely memorable one for both of them.


    While Adeline was grasping her breath, he nipped Adeline''s cheek and sucked on it as though he was biting a very juicy apple. And he slowly moved down to her slender and beautiful neck. He was kissing and nipping and biting and licking all over her neck and shoulders.


    His hands were also equally busy as his mouth. He squeezed her butt and pushed her in as hard as he could.


    He could hear Adeline''s excited whimper every time he squeezed her and bit her. Then he slowly moved his hands up her smooth curve to rest them on her breasts. The hard he squeezed her treasures, the harder she moaned and clung to him.


    She was done catching her breath and was already grabbing his hair. She pulled his face up from her neck and showered him with soft pecks all over his face.


    Her blue eyes looked deeper when she looked into his glowing red eyes. She complimented him in a whisper while she was lost in the depth of his eyes, "Theo�� I love these lovely eyes of yours." She kissed him on both of his eyes and whispered in his ear, "I love you so much."


    "And I love you more than anything and everything," Theodore whispered back and swiftly pushed her on the bed.


    But Adeline slipped out of his grip and got on top of him. And Theodore raised his head to ask, "Hey, hey! I was planning to please you to the fullest today. Are you trying to run away already?"


    Adeline laughed while shaking her head. "Do you think I would try to run away from you on the day of our wedding? Let me help you out of your clothes." Adeline glanced at his tight trousers and whispered, "They look really hard to get out of."


    Theodore gave a devilish smirk and calmly rested his head back on the pillow. "Sure. If you were to help me out of my clothes then I am willing to put on tight clothes every day."


    Adeline wrinkled her nose and gave a teasing glare to Theodore. Then she pulled off his boots and also his trousers.


    She gave a mischievous smile to Theodore and looked at his broad chest as if she was going to do something.


    Theodore raised his brows and asked skeptically, "Er�� why am I getting scared of you?" Theodore covered his chest with his palms and narrowed his eyes at Adeline. "What are you planning to do to me, you she-devil?"


    Adeline covered her mouth and laughed out loud at that reaction of his. "Nothing! What would I do to you?" She glanced at his chest again and said, "I just want to sleep on you, that''s all. Ready?"


    "Wait! Ready for what?" Theodore shouted with a confused look in his eyes but Adeline was already standing. And in the next second, she jumped on his broad chest like a tigress pouncing on her prey.


    "Ouch!" Theodore pretended to be hurt by her. He then put his arms around that cheery woman''s tiny waist and rolled her over.


    To Adeline''s surprise, they were no longer in their room after rolling over. They were in the room which she had once been in two years back.


    The cheerful look on her face instantly turned serious when she realized where they were.


    They were now in the room that had bright light, cloud-soft bed, accompanied by the melodious sound of the small stream and cherry blossoms that were constantly falling on the bed.


    "Theo��" A small frown line appeared in between Adeline''s brows and she asked, "Ar-Are you okay? Being in here?"


    Theodore gave a reassuring nod to Adeline and kissed her forehead to make that frown disappear. "Yes. I wasn''t sure if I would be okay but after reconciling with father, it seems like I can finally be inside this room without feeling nervous."


    Adeline put her arms around him and pulled him down for a tight and long hug. "I''m glad to hear that."


    Theodore inhaled the sweet aroma of Adeline''s hair and whispered, "You wanted to sleep in this room long ago. And I had always wanted to fulfill that wish of yours. I finally pulled up the courage today."


    He raised his head and looked around the room, and said with a soft smile, "It feels good to be in this room, especially since I am with my beautiful wife right now."


    Adeline was so touched by his gesture that her eyes were filled with tears of joy and her heart was filled with immense love towards her husband.. And she pulled him again to give him a kiss of gratitude.

 Chapter 421 - Getting Through To Leonel

    "Would you like something to drink, uncle?" Edwin nervously scratched his head and asked King Leonel.


    Leonel was sitting on a chair with his leg crossed. Though he was the guest at Edwin''s quarter, he was comfortably leaning back on the chair and was sitting there as though he owned the whole place.


    He gestured towards the empty chair that was in front of him and asked Edwin, "Why don''t you take a seat first? I don''t need anything to eat or drink."


    A deep frown appeared in between the King''s thick brows when he said, "What I need right now is to hear you. If we are to break my sister out then we need to take action before the night ends."


    Edwin gave a dejected smile to his uncle and complied with his order. He took a seat and before he could even speak, he heard King Leonel asking him, "So, what''s your plan?"


    Edwin heaved a deep sigh and tried to start the conversation politely. However, he couldn''t think of a way to begin the conversation without sounding offensive.


    So he decided to be straightforward and blunt like he always used to be and began, "Uncle, I don''t know what my mother told you and how she convinced you to help the King of Mihir, but��" he recalled how his mother had threatened to hurt his wife and his daughter and his voice turned sour, "But what I know is that whatever she tried to do for my sake was going to be the death of me."


    King Leonel understood that Edwin was aware of the war that Lillian was trying to bring into Wyverndale.


    So he didn''t try to play dumb anymore. "What do mean by ''death of me''? And what''s with the tone that you are talking?" His dark brown eyes became darker and he asked with suspicion, "Don''t tell me you didn''t come asking for my help to break your mother out because you somehow betrayed your own mother."


    Edwin averted his gaze away from his uncle for a few seconds and replied after an awkward scoff, "It''s not like that, uncle."


    Leonel was quick to notice a hint of hesitance in Edwin''s eyes and he instantly raised his voice to confront his nephew, "Edwin! I had never in my life thought that you were even capable of thinking bad about your mother. What did you do? Did you betray your own mother? Is that why you were trying to avoid me? Because you were ashamed of yourself?"


    Edwin wanted to lash out at his uncle for assuming things on his own and not giving him a chance to talk. But he controlled his anger because he knew that he needed his uncle as an ally, not as an enemy.


    So he politely tried to make his uncle understand why he did the things that he did. "Uncle, yes, I did betray my mother''s trust but�C"


    "So I was right!" Leonel indignantly slammed his fist on the armrest of the chair and roared. "How dare you�C"


    Edwin swiftly cut his uncle''s words and pleaded, "Uncle, please hear me out first. There''s a very genuine reason for why I did that."


    Edwin furrowed his brows and asked King Leonel, "Were you aware that my mother is a dark witch?" He wanted to know how much he had to explain to his uncle to give the full context to him.


    "Of course I am aware!" Leonel narrowed his eyes at his nephew and tried to make him feel indebted towards his mother, "She had told me that she had to tap into the dark side to save you. Are you even aware that you were a stillborn child, you ungrateful brat?"


    Leonel sneered in a derogating way and glared at Edwin. "Your mother fell into the trap of the dark side for you and now that very child betrayed her. My sister sure came with an amazing fate."


    Edwin let out an exasperated sigh. He was tired of how both the brother and sister had the tendency of not listening to the others. But he wanted to give his best shot at making his uncle listen to him and making him understand everything.


    So he tried to speak again, "Uncle, I am really grateful towards mother for giving me life, not just once but twice. But that does not give her the right to take my life away."


    "She��" Leonel was now a little attentive to what Edwin had to say because this was the second time he had mentioned about dying. "She tried to kill you?"


    "I am sure that my mother wasn''t doing that on purpose at first." Edwin adjusted himself on the chair properly and began explaining what he meant, "I had been cursed and my lifeline is connected with that of Adeline''s. And mother had planned to assassinate Adeline by inviting the war."


    Edwin''s pupil dilated as he further explained his woes, "I had asked my mother time and again not to do anything rash for my sake. I had warned her that my life would be at stake if she tried to do anything to Adeline. And I had told her time and again that getting rid of Adeline was not an option."


    Edwin furrowed his brows and tightened his fists. "But when I was on house arrest, she went behind my back and made a deal with that Vampire King. And because of her, that mad King got the courage to come here to Wyverndale and also attack us."


    Edwin adjusted his collar while recalling the day he thought he was going to die because of the pain that he had gotten from the attack on Adeline. "My mother made Wyverndale vulnerable to attacks�� and Adeline and I would have been dead if it wasn''t for Adeline''s husband who saved her in time."


    Leonel felt a prick in his heart when he heard that the King he had chosen to follow had almost killed his dearest nephew.


    Edwin glanced at his uncle. To his relief, it looked like he was finally getting through to him. "Yes, I did betray my mother but she was the one who had betrayed me first. And after hearing what she said to me after getting captured, I don''t know if she ever loved me for real. I think she just raised me as her tool to exact revenge on my father."


    "Why would you say that? Of course, she loved you," Leonel tried to defend his sister although he himself was not so sure about his sister anymore.


    Edwin gave a wistful smile and shook his head. "If she had loved me then she would have never threatened me with my wife and my daughter''s lives. She said she would kill us all."


    In an attempt to console his disheartened nephew, Leonel said, "She must have said that in her anger, Edwin. No mother wants her children dead."


    Edwin knew that his uncle was now vulnerable to emotional manipulation. So he used the sympathy that he was getting from his uncle to ask for his help, "Uncle, I think you already know how immature and mad that Vampire King is.. He will bring nothing good for Frostford if you side with that enemy of humans. Why don''t you help Wyverndale instead?"

 Chapter 422 - Will You Help?

    "Why don''t you help Wyverndale instead?"


    King Leonel was left dumbfounded by that question of Edwin for quite a while. He had agreed to help Mihir during the war because Lillian had been persistent enough and had made Leonel believe that that was the right thing to do for the sake of Frostford and also for Edwin.


    Leonel had believed that Adeline wouldn''t make a capable Queen and he was willing to end the treaty with Wyverndale so that he could get support from the ''stronger and more capable'' ruler, namely Reginald.


    But now that Edwin was telling him that he was basically going to give a death sentence to his nephew by siding with Mihir, he felt guilty for blindly believing in his sister.


    However, he was not satisfied to know that his nephew had abandoned his mother because he was now cursed to share the lifeline with the Future Queen who both of them hated. And Leonel hated it even more that all that Edwin could do was give up his potential throne and beg for that very person''s life who had snatched the throne from Edwin.


    "Edwin, isn''t there a way to remove that curse from you?" Leonel asked his nephew thinking that Edwin had been cursed by some dark witch or wizard.


    "Didn''t Lillian try to help you with that? She is one of the most powerful witches, she should have been able to undo any curses. If the curse is removed then we can go through with the original war plan. That Vampire King was immature to attack like that but they would make great allies in the future."


    Edwin pressed his lips into a thin line and sighed, "I was cursed by the Dragon Immortal. And I don''t think anyone can undo the spell that the Deity himself cast on me."


    Leonel raised his brows in surprise after hearing that. And he greatly wanted to know something, "What the hell did you do to piss off the Deity?"


    "Er��" Edwin gave an accusing chuckle and replied, "That was also my mother''s fault, more or less. The Deity got angry that I was alive even when I had no lifeline. And to make the matter worse, mother had transferred the life force of two of the maids to me just a day before the test."


    He cleared his throat and also accepted his mistakes, "And the Deity also saw through me. He knew that I had sinned a lot and�� he was furious at me. So he bonded my lifeline to the future ruler of Wyverndale and asked me to stay loyal to the future ruler. I am glad that he didn''t kill me then and there in the test. He gave me a glimpse of Hell though."


    Edwin glanced at his uncle and said with all sincerity, "I want to walk on the path of virtue from now on so that I don''t have to spend my afterlife in Hell."


    Leonel cleared his throat and straightened his back after hearing that Hell was real. But he still narrowed his eyes and asked, "I''m not against you for trying to be good but... isn''t it better if you live the rest of your life away from forced loyalty? Maybe there is someone powerful enough to undo the curse by Deity as well. I can help you search for such sorcerers."


    Edwin smiled and shook his head. "I have seen the extent of Dragon Immortal''s powers. And I can guarantee that no mere mortals can break his curse except him."


    And Edwin also added very calmly, "Though I was forced to be loyal to Adeline by the Deity, I don''t regret it now. Adeline could have made my life a living Hell right now if she wanted to, but she has been so good to me when I had done nothing but torture her in the past."


    Leonel gently touched his chin with his finger and thought for a while. In the ceremony, he had seen how Adeline and Edwin looked close to each other. At that time he had thought that it was pretentious smiles and talks from both of them. But now that he heard Edwin taking the side of Adeline, he knew that those happy faces were not pretentious.


    "Well�� if Adeline is treating you well then I don''t think there is any reason for me to worry about you." Leonel took in a deep breath and then asked his nephew, "So tell me, what do you need me to do? Though I believe that siding with Mihir would be beneficial for Frostford, I don''t think I can risk the lives of my nephews and their families for a few more trunks of gold coins."


    Edwin clapped in his mind after finally hearing what he had wanted to hear from his uncle. "Uncle, you already know that we humans are no match for those vampires. And I know for sure that they are not going to stop the war. If Wyverndale has to fight those vampires then there is a very slim chance that Wyverndale would turn out victorious."


    Edwin gave a pleading look to King Leonel and asked him, "The witches and wizards of Frostford are the only matches for those vampires in terms of power. So I want to ask for your help in the war. Please help Wyverndale instead of Mihir."


    Leonel folded his arms and replied somewhat reluctantly, "Not everyone in Frostford has magical powers, you know that. If that was the case then we wouldn''t have been forced to take sides of one of the biggest nations. What if those vampires attack Frostford first?"


    "Then I will ask Adeline to send soldiers from Wyverndale to support Frostford. She will help." Edwin shifted to the edge of his seat and said, "But I will make sure that Frostford won''t get attacked. Mother had introduced me to the King of Mihir through a letter. And I will make sure that no harm will befall Frostford. I will think of a way."


    Both of them went quiet for a while and Edwin suggested an idea, "Frostford doesn''t need to explicitly deny helping Mihir. You just need to pretend to help them when in reality, you will be helping Wyverndale. That way we can ensure Wyverndale''s victory without bringing doom to Frostford."


    Leonel lightly nodded his head and gave it some thought. Edwin also kept quiet so that his uncle could ponder upon it and give him an answer that would be favorable for Wyverndale.


    With every second that passed, the nodding of Leonel''s head became faster and faster.


    And he replied in the end, "Well, if we do as you say then I will support Wyverndale. But on one condition, Wyverndale has to win the war no matter what. I don''t want to face the wrath of those vampires. If Wyverndale loses and they find out about our betrayal, they will wreak havoc on Frostford as well."


    Edwin beamed with happiness and said, "If Wyverndale is to get support from Frostford then I am sure we won''t lose the war."


    Leonel smiled and then said, "Then we have a deal."


    After a while of talking out the details, Leonel took a sigh and asked Edwin, "And what about your mother?"


    Edwin exhaled noisily and replied, "I think Wyverndale will be safer if she stays in the dungeon.. I don''t want her to singlehandedly massacre everyone in this Palace."

 Chapter 423 - Confession

    Adeline and Theodore woke up in each other''s arms in the softest bed and to the delightful environment.


    Theodore gave a warm smile to Adeline and greeted her in his deep morning voice, "Good morning, my dear wife." He leaned forward and gave a peck on her smiling lips.


    Adeline lightly touched Theodore''s lips with her thumb and greeted him back, "Good morning, my dear husband."


    Both of them giggled because of the new ''titles'' that they had earned after the marriage.


    They stayed in their warm embrace for a few more minutes. And after some time, Adeline unwillingly asked Theodore, "Theo, we should return back to the Palace. We need to attend the breakfast with our guests from Aberdeen."


    "Right!" Theodore sighed and pouted.


    That little reaction of his didn''t go unnoticed by Adeline. She pressed her lips together and apologized a bit sadly, "I''m sorry that we didn''t even get to have a peaceful honeymoon. A few days of getaway would have been nice."


    Theodore didn''t realize that his discontentment was that apparent on his face. He quickly tried to make amends and replied, "We can always go on our honeymoon when things about the war and everything quiets down a little. For now, let''s focus on things that need our immediate attention."


    Adeline gave him a wide smile and nodded, "Okay."


    Theodore pecked Adeline''s lips several times and made her giggle before teleporting back to their room in the Palace.


    ---


    Adeline and Theodore warmly welcomed their guests from Aberdeen to the dining hall of their quarter.


    Queen Mother Blevine and Queen Tasha settled down on either side of King Conall in the round table. Queen Claricia sat beside her mother, followed by Nigel and Rhea. And Prince Fenris and Crown Prince Wulfric also settled down beside Adeline and Theodore.


    Adeline gave a gentle smile to King Conall and apologized to him on her father''s behalf. "Your Majesty, King Dragomir sent a message saying he wouldn''t be able to attend the breakfast with us. He said that he had to attend a meeting with the King of Tarrin."


    King Conall gave an understanding smile to Adeline, "There''s no need to apologize, Princess. We already got a chance to share the dinner with His Majesty yesterday. I''m sure he has to keep all of his relatives happy. It''s understandable."


    "Then we shall begin the breakfast," Adeline gave a thankful nod to the King and turned around to gesture to the maids to serve the dishes.


    The maids and servants were already on standby inside the dining hall so the moment they got the signal from the Princess, the maids served the food to everyone.


    "Please enjoy your breakfast," Theodore gave a polite smile to everyone before taking a bite of his toast.


    Adeline was cutting the sausage into bite-size pieces but the knife slipped and a piece of sausage jumped out of her plate. For a second, Adeline pouted and stared at that piece of sausage as if it had betrayed her.


    Theodore smiled softly and put his toast aside. "Let me help you," he pulled Adeline''s plate closer to him and began to cut the sausages for her.


    Queen Mother Blevine couldn''t help but admire the beautiful newlyweds, "Oh, aren''t you both in so much love. The two of you perfectly complement each other."


    Both Adeline and Theodore had forgotten for a while that they were sitting at the table with others. They smiled at Queen Mother, and Adeline shyly thanked her, "That is very kind of you to say so, Your Royal Highness."


    King Conall also agreed with his mother, "Yes, you two are a lovely couple. I wish you both a life filled with love and happiness."


    "Thank you for your good wishes, Your Majesty," Adeline smiled and bowed and Theodore also gave a slight nod.


    King Conall then took the chance to talk about the war directly with the Princess, "Adeline, we had heard from you asking for help for the upcoming war. I had even held meetings with the related people to discuss the same. But we are extremely sorry that we couldn''t reach the unanimous decision sooner."


    His brows furrowed and his expression turned grim. Everyone could clearly see a look of disgust on his face when he said, "I had never thought that those filthy bastards would be so bold enough to directly attack His Majesty and you�� that also inside the Palace."


    The whole mood of the breakfast turned from sweet and cheerful to serious.


    Adeline put down her knife and fork and sighed. "None of us had predicted that they would come to Wyverndale like that. So, please don''t be sorry."


    "But I do still think that the war is bound to happen." Adeline looked at the King and put forth her request for help in person, "So, I still expect the support of the werewo�C"


    Fenris coughed violently pretending that he had choked on something.


    And Adeline realized that she was about to expose herself that she knew about the secret of the Siccaldi clan. Nigel, Rhea, and Claricia kept on eating as though nothing had happened, as if they had not heard something very concerning.


    And Adeline cleared her throat and instantly tried to correct the slip of her tongue, "��warriors of Aberdeen. I had heard from my father that the warriors of Aberdeen are very brave and skilled. So it would be a�C"


    "You know something about us, don''t you?" King Conall abruptly asked Adeline. He could sense the change in most of the people''s aura, they were scared. And he could also hear their elevated heartbeat. He was sure that he didn''t hear it wrong. He was sure that Adeline was about to ask for help from ''werewolves'' and not ''warriors''.


    King Conall had asked that question with such a calm face that nobody in the room could tell if he was furious or not.


    Nigel and Fenris prayed in their heart that Adeline would deny knowing their secret. They didn''t want the King to get angry at all of them. Or worse, they didn''t want the King to reject Adeline''s plea for help.


    However, Adeline did just the opposite of what the boys wanted. She confessed.


    "Yes, Your Majesty. I am well aware that some of the people of Wyverndale are special. And to be honest, I need the support of werewolves in the war. We all know how powerful vampires are when compared to humans. We humans cannot defeat an army of vampires, not without the support of an equally powerful ally."


    Nigel lightly face-palmed himself. Fenris completely avoided having eye contact with their alpha. Wulfric, Blevin, and Tasha were looking at Adeline with wide eyes. And Claricia, Rhea, and Theodore were looking at the King.


    Theodore was especially being attentive to the King''s facial expression so that if he was to lose his control, he could defuse the matter before anyone in the room got hurt.


    The whole room went pin-drop silent.


    Everyone, except Adeline and Theodore, was holding their heart in their palms and was praying that another mishap would not occur in the Palace.


    They all were crossing their fingers and were waiting for the response of the fierce alpha.

 Chapter 424 - Spilling The Secrets

    "For how long have you known our secret?" King Conall directed his question to Adeline in a low growl.


    Adeline replied in a soft voice, "I have known it for two years, Your Majesty. I happened to be the second one to know about brother Nigel''s transformation."


    "Hmm��" King Conall folded his arms and went silent.


    There was an awkward and deafening silence in the room for quite some time.


    Yes, King Conall had already considered that if they were to fight the vampires then they would need to send their werewolves rather than the human soldiers. If the war was to come to Wyverndale then he was ready to give up on the secret that the clan had protected so dearly.


    However, when he heard that Adeline already knew about their secret, and when he saw the other faces that clearly said they had deliberately broken the law of the clan by not reporting the leak, King Conall didn''t know what to think of it.


    He didn''t know what other laws his closest family members had broken already. And that feeling of betrayal was unsettling for him.


    As the situation was getting uncomfortable by the second, Theodore took the initiative to say, "King Conall, we are well aware that the secret is very tightly protected by your clan. However, in our defense, I would like to say that we happened to stumble upon your secret by chance. And as it was never our secret to tell, we have never told a soul about the existence of werewolves. You can trust us."


    King Conall chuckled all of a sudden as though he had finally lost it.


    His maniacal laughter was making everyone in the room very nervous, especially Fenris because he was the only person to whom his father could mercilessly lash out on.


    Rhea was closing her eyes and was thanking heaven that she didn''t bring the twins along with her to the breakfast.


    After a while, King Conall glared at everyone with glowing yellow eyes and rumbled, "Even my son kept this huge matter hidden from me�� even after knowing that it is a huge offense to not report it to the clan."


    He then glared at Theodore and growled, "How can I trust an outsider''s words when even the closest family members of mine have already lied to me?" He slammed his fists on the table and made a bizarre accusation to Theodore, "Who is to say that you didn''t sell our secret to those nasty vampires?"


    Adeline clenched her fist under the table but tried her best to defend Theodore in her softest voice, "Your Majesty, my husband is not an outsider. He is already a part of Wyverndale''s Royal family. He is not the person that you are thinking he is. And trust me when I say this, your clan''s secret is safe with us."


    However, the wolf was not ready to listen to anyone. He turned his glowing amber eyes at Adeline and raised his voice at her, "Princess Adeline, how long has it been since you met your husband? Fifteen days? A month? How can you know about the character of a person in that short duration of time?"


    "Uncl�C" Nigel was about to defend both Adeline and Theodore but the alpha didn''t give him the chance to speak and kept on shooting rude questions at Adeline, "And the most important question, how come he already knows about our secret? Doesn''t this prove that you have a loose mouth, Princess Adeline? And I cannot trust a word that comes�C"


    "Enough!" A loud roar resounded throughout the hall, sending a series of panic among a few of those present there.


    Even the strongest and mightiest alpha felt a chill shiver run down his spine when he heard that bone-chilling voice accompanied by a pair of blood-red eyes that were glaring down at him.


    "Theo��" Adeline tried to make Theodore sit back down on his chair before he would reveal his secret. But when she looked at his eyes, she knew that it was now already too late.


    Theodore gave a piercing stare to the alpha and spoke in a controlled voice, "I don''t care if you are the King or if you are the alpha. Nobody disrespects my wife. And before you run that loose mouth of yours, try to listen to what others have to say first."


    "F*ck!" Fenris held his head with both of his palms and cursed inwardly. He was now worried about his father now that he had awakened the Devil.


    Unexpectedly, Wulfric, who was sitting right next to Theodore, sprung up from his seat and then confronted Theodore, "And don''t you dare disrespect my father. Don''t you even know how to talk to your elders?"


    Fenris closed his eyes and sighed at that unnecessary boldness of his little brother.


    And Theodore, who stood taller than Wulfric, chuckled at that question from that na?ve little puppy. "Oh, puppy! You have no idea how old I am. So why don''t you stop butting in where it is not necessary?"


    "What?" Wulfric rolled up his sleeve with an intention to hit Theodore. "Say it again!"


    "If we are to talk about seniority then I am older than everyone present here!" Theodore ''said it again'' in his terrifying voice.


    "Sit down, Wulfric!" Fenris grabbed Wulfric''s cloth and forcefully made him sit.


    But Wulfric tried to fight Fenris instead while shouting, "Why are you stopping me instead of defending our father? Shouldn''t you be happily taking this chance to hit him for marrying the woman that you liked?"


    "What? You liked Adeline?" Queen Tasha exclaimed from the other end of the table.


    "Is that what is important right now?" Fenris screamed back at his mother while at the same time putting Wulfric in a chokehold so that he wouldn''t end up making an enemy out of the Devil.


    Fenris then shouted at Wulfric, "Can''t you see the color of his eyes? Can''t you see his terrifying aura? Stop being a hero where you don''t need to be!"


    All this while, Adeline had been fisting on her waist and blankly staring at the cold pieces of sausages on her plate. The atmosphere of the room got so chaotic in a matter of a few minutes that she wondered whether she was in a classroom full of kids or whether she was in a hall full of grown-ups.


    Finally, when it got way too noisy for Adeline to handle, she also lost her calm. She took the ceramic plate that was in front of her and then smashed it against the floor with great force.


    Everyone''s attention was now on Adeline. They were all wondering what had happened and they were looking for the source of that shattering sound that they just heard.


    Adeline took a deep breath in and put on a forced smile on her face. She pointed her palm towards Theodore and then spoke loudly and clearly, "Some of us are already aware who Theodore is. But to those who don''t know him, let me properly introduce my husband to you."


    She glanced at the King and said, "He is the Devil Prince of Hell.." She nodded her head and added following some gasps and confused expression in the room, "Yes, I married a Devil."

 Chapter 425 - Reconciling

    "Yes, I married a Devil."


    That confession from Adeline elicited a variety of reactions.


    Wulfric, who was trying to claw away Fenris'' chokehold, abruptly let his hands hang loose. And he looked up again to see Theodore. This time, he realized why his brother was trying to hold him off. He could see the terrifying dark aura that was looming around Theodore.


    The Queen Mother was ready to take out a little cross sign that she always carried in her small purse. She was going to slap that cross across that ''evil'' Devil''s face and send him back to Hell.


    Thankfully, Queen Claricia noticed her mother touching that cross and grabbed her mother''s hand. She shook her head and gave that ''don''t'' do anything stupid'' look to her mother.


    Queen Tasha was still waiting for Adeline to laugh and say that she was messing with all of them.


    While the alpha now knew why he had felt that paralyzing sense of danger running along his spine. It was a feeling which he had not felt in a long time. And when Adeline revealed that Theodore was a Devil Prince, that feeling of danger made sense to him.


    Conall knew Adeline was not lying because he had already seen that domineering look in Theodore''s red eyes, that told him Theodore was not a person to be messed with.


    While everyone was busy processing that secret that Adeline just revealed, Theodore''s rage subsided and he sat back down.


    Adeline also breathed out her frustration and spoke in a softer voice than before, "And no, I didn''t just know him for 15-20 days, Your Majesty. I have known my husband for my whole life. So I know very well he is not how our world portrays him to be. Neither is he a secret-seller nor is he an evil being."


    King Conall looked down at his plate after getting that ''personal attack'' from Adeline.


    Adeline further clarified, "And just to make it clear, Theodore was the first one to find out about Nigel being a werewolf. In fact, he found it out before Nigel himself. And Theodore broke the news to Nigel and me before Nigel even knew about the strict laws of your clan."


    This time, Nigel also chimed in to support his brother-in-law, "And honestly, uncle, Theodore was the one to take care of the confused and newly turned me."


    Nigel gave a thankful glance to Theodore and said, "He was the one who explained to me about the creatures called werewolves, the werewolf curse, and how the curse ran in some blood."


    "When in reality, it should have been the duty of the Siccaldi clan to explain all that to me, and not after I turned but before!" Nigel decided to voice his dissatisfaction with the rigid ways of the Siccaldi clan.


    And he continued putting forth his grievances, "Shouldn''t the potential turners be made aware beforehand that their body might go through some changes someday? What''s with all the secrets among members of the clan? Shouldn''t this information be known to everyone in the clan?"


    King Conall sighed and repeated the same standard script that every elder of the clan would have said, "You already know why, Nigel. We did what we did because we had to protect ourselves from others. The fewer people know of this curse, the better."


    But Nigel was not going to hide his resentment towards that rigid law of the clan anymore. He tightened his fists and raised his voice up a notch, "What if the curse-bearers are far away from the Enchanted Valley like me when they turn for the first time? There is a high chance of them turning into Ravagers."


    He clenched his teeth while recalling how he found himself in Adeline''s room that night. "I was lucky that Theodore helped me revert back to my human form in time. Else I don''t know whom and how many people I would have hurt�� the Palace was full of people that day."


    King Conall had no words to say to Nigel. Everything that he said was true. And the hall was once again filled with silence.


    After a while of that uncomfortable silence, Theodore took the initiative to speak again and tried to lighten up the mood. "King Conall, there is no secret on Earth that I don''t know. And same is true with Heaven and Hell. So there is no point in arguing over that matter now."


    "Also," he looked around at everyone in the hall and added, "All of you now know my secret as well. So why don''t we call it even and discuss the matter that is actually important."


    King Conall felt so small and insignificant in front of Theodore that he didn''t even know if he deserved to sit at the same table as him after insulting him earlier.


    He stood up and bowed low in front of Theodore, surprising almost everyone present there. And he asked, "Prince Theodore, please forgive me for my anger outburst earlier. I said a lot of things that I shouldn''t have."


    And he put forth his apology to Adeline as well, "I am sorry that I jumped to the conclusion, Princess Adeline." He dared to raise his head and look back at her and said, "I should have been more careful with the selection of my words. I''m sorry I accused both of you for things that you never did."


    Adeline smiled. Finally, it looked like the King was going to listen to her request. "But I am glad that you outright said everything in front of my face. I got the chance to clear your doubts. So, I guess it''s a win for both of us now that everything is out in the open."


    Wulfric also got up from his seat and bowed to Theodore, "Prince Theodore, please forgive me for trying to beat you earlier."


    Theodore smirked and passed a snide remark, "Don''t worry, little pup. You wouldn''t even have been able to touch a single strand of my hair even if you had tried to."


    Fenris and Nigel burst into laughter, imagining Wulfric trying to go against the Devil. And the others also followed them soon after. The hall was now merry once again.


    After the laughter subsided, Adeline took the chance to put forth her plea for help again, this time with all sincerity, "King Conall, like I was saying earlier, the war is coming to Wyverndale. We humans alone won''t be able to go toe-to-toe with those vampires. So, it would be a great relief to us if we get support from the werewolves to fight those vampires."


    Before any sign of hesitance would appear on King Conall''s face, Adeline emphasized, "I know doing so will make everyone aware of the existence of the werewolves. But we need to protect our Kingdoms and lives before protecting our secrets."


    Adeline knew almost everything about the Siccaldi clan so she stroked the final chord hoping that would get to King Conall.


    "And I don''t think you need to be worried about humans looking at werewolves as their enemies.. I think they will look at you as the glimmer of hope if they were to know that the werewolves can fight as well as defeat those vampires."

 Chapter 426 - Whats Wrong?

    King Conall''s eyes dilated as he thought for a while about what Adeline had said. And after some pondering upon it, he finally nodded his head. "You are right. If we stand up against the vampires then at least the people of all the four Kingdoms will look at the werewolves as their allies."


    And he touched his chin and said more to himself than to the others, "Those are the people whose validation matters to the werewolves as of now�� because of the open borders and common treaty with Wyverndale."


    King Conall glanced at Adeline and Theodore after heaving a deep sigh. And then he pledged to support Wyverndale. "I will be ready for the war, Princess Adeline. We will send the reinforcement whenever you demand."


    Adeline let out a sigh of relief after hearing that. Her face beamed with happiness as she gained the ally that she had desperately wanted to have by her side.


    Theodore was also happy for his wife. He had also been worried regarding the war. And now that the werewolves were onboard, his worry lessened a little.


    Nigel was impressed with his little sister. "She sure knows how to handle any kind of situation and turn them in her favor," he thought.


    Adeline really had her way with the words. She was able to speak the right things and address the concerns of the King. And she was also able to persuade the King into agreeing to help her.


    Even Fenris and Wulfric were impressed by her because they would have never been able to turn things around once their father would get angered.


    "What about the other Kingdoms? Tarrin and Frostford? Will they also help?" King Conall was also well aware of the power of the magic wielders of Frostford. "The witches and wizards would also be of great help to fight against the vampires."


    Adeline took a sharp breath in and forced a smile. She cleared her throat and said, "Brother Edwin had said that he would try to ask for their help in a meeting a few weeks back. We all got busy with the wedding so he hasn''t yet talked with his uncle I think."


    "That means there''s a chance that Frostford will also join this war? From Wyverndale''s side?" Nigel raised his brows and asked with some skepticism lingering in his eyes.


    Adeline was sure that Edwin would try to talk to his uncle, however, she was really unsure if the King of Frostford would agree to help�� since he was already an ally to the Vampire King from what she knew.


    So she answered in a surficial way, "Well, it depends on King Leonel. I don''t know if he would agree to help us. The news about the existence of vampires has already spread across the Kingdoms and I don''t know if he would be interested in lending hands."


    King Conall then extended his help to Adeline, "If you require me to help in persuading the King of Frostford then do tell me. If we face those vampires with a united front then I am sure they won''t stand a chance. So I would like to help in any way I can."


    "Thank you so much, Your Majesty. I really appreciate your kindness." Adeline gave a smile full of gratitude to the King of Aberdeen.


    As the breakfast was now already cold, Adeline asked the King, "Your Majesty, I will ask the maids to bring in hot breakfast for us. I hope that it won''t delay your departure time."


    King Conall smiled and said, "I would love to return back to Aberdeen with a full belly. I don''t mind having hot breakfast and being a little late."


    Adeline gave a soft chuckle and nodded. And then she called out for her maids. She gave the instruction to Hawisa and after she left with the order, Adeline turned to look at Nigel and asked, "Brother, I had forgotten to ask you in the rush of the wedding�� are you and Rhea going to stay for a few more days, along with the kids?"


    Nigel gave a sad smile and looked at his alpha. And then he turned to look at Adeline and replied, "We have already stayed here for so many days. We will return along with everyone�� today."


    Adeline and Theodore exchanged a knowing glance with each other.


    Adeline didn''t want her brother to be away during the last days of their father. And she definitely didn''t want him to regret for not being by their father''s side when he would be on his deathbed.


    So she tried to persuade her brother to stay for a few more weeks. "Brother! You haven''t stayed long enough. Won''t you stay back and let me play with the twins for a few more weeks? I haven''t even spent enough time with them yet. And I''m sure our father would love to spend some more time with them."


    Nigel gave a sad look to Adeline. He didn''t even try to put on a fake smile this time around. "I know he would have loved to spend more time with his grandkids. To be honest, I would have loved to stay for some more time."


    He gritted out the words even when he was feeling sharp pricks in his heart, "But�� let''s be real, Adeline. We all need to prepare for the war now."


    He glanced at the King and then at Adeline. And said, "And I might have to train the other wolves and get them battle-ready."


    Adeline wanted to tell her brother the real reason behind that request but she didn''t want to say it in front of everyone, especially not in front of Queen Claricia. She didn''t want to make her feel devastated, at least not right away.


    Theodore noticed her dilemma and decided to help her out. He stretched out his arms as if he was tired and said, "Ahh! I feel like putting on some nice music while having breakfast. The talk about the war ruined the mood."


    He then looked at Nigel and asked, "Nigel, there''s a harp in our room. Will you help Adeline to bring it here? I would have brought it myself but I don''t feel like moving a muscle right now."


    "Hmm��" Nigel was confused as to why Theodore would want to listen to the music out of the blue. But he agreed anyway, "Sure."


    Adeline glanced at Theodore and gave a short smile before getting up from her chair. She was so glad that Theodore would know what to do without her asking for his help. She was thankful that he was so understanding.


    She reached for the hall''s door and Nigel followed her.


    Both of them walked towards Adeline and Theodore''s private chamber. Nigel could tell that something was not right. He could hear his sister''s heartbeat that was crossing the normal limit right now.


    And judging by how Theodore had sent both of them out of the hall, he knew that whatever Adeline had to say to him was something that had to be hidden from the others. So he silently walked beside Adeline until they were inside the chamber.


    And he finally asked with a curious look on his face, "Adeline? Tell me what''s wrong?"

 Chapter 427 - Cruel Almighty

    "Adeline? Tell me what''s wrong?"


    Adeline averted her gaze away from her brother and let out a shaking breath. She couldn''t quite bring herself to look into her brother''s sapphire eyes that were full of questions.


    "Sister��" Nigel stood in front of her and tilted his head to look into her eyes. "You know you can tell me everything, right?"


    Adeline''s long lashes gave way to her eyes and she looked at her brother''s knitted brows. She nodded her head. "I know."


    She nervously scratched her forehead and pointed towards the chairs in the middle of the antechamber. "Why don''t we sit down first?"


    Nigel''s heart was now starting to race. He got an unsettling feeling in his gut that whatever she was going to tell was a piece of bad news.


    They both took a seat while facing each other. Adeline was clenching her hands so tightly that they were sweating already.


    She took a deep breath in and took some courage to open her mouth. But instead of words, a series of feeble sounds coated with pain escaped her mouth. And almost at the same time, warm streams of tears trickled down her cheeks.


    Nigel felt a pinch in his heart upon seeing his sister so vulnerable. He pulled his chair to shift closer to Adeline and took her hands in his. "Adeline�� is the news that bad?"


    Adeline painfully nodded her head. And she spoke while gasping for breath in between her cries, "Father�� our father�� he doesn''t have much time left on Earth."


    Nigel''s grip on Adeline''s hands loosened. He was left stunned when he heard what his sister told him. A searing pain erupted in his heart and spread through his veins. He felt a burning sensation in his throat and his eyes fought off the urge to cry at that instant.


    He gulped real hard and then asked Adeline, "How do you know that? Is he�� is he sick?"


    Adeline lowered her head to look at her hands where her tears were landing. A soft whisper came out of her mouth in response, "He was. But Theodore had already taken him to the fountain��"


    Nigel raised his brows to form a questioning look on his face and demanded clarification from his sister, "Then what is it? Why are you saying that he doesn''t have much time?"


    "You know how Theodore took the life of that Vampire Princess to save me, right?" Adeline wiped her tears and looked at her brother.


    Nigel nodded and asked, "Yes. But what does it have to do with our father? Did that Princess do something to our father that was fatal to him?"


    "The thing is��" Adeline''s eyes welled up again and she paused. She didn''t know how her brother would take it after knowing that their father''s death was indirectly invited by Theodore''s action.


    "Adeline, tell me already!" Nigel held Adeline''s shoulders and prompted her to spill everything out faster. The curiosity was killing him already.


    "The thing is, Theodore''s action of taking a life made his father furious. And as a punishment to Theodore, he said that he was going to take our father''s life��"


    Adeline wanted to clarify how their father had already lived more than his lifeline but the difficult feeling in her throat prevented her from speaking out another sentence. She was trying not to start crying again and was choking in the process.


    And that gap gave time to Nigel to get angry, not at Theodore, but at God. He had known Theodore long enough for him to be able to hate that gem of a Devil. But he was pissed at God because he felt what he did was unfair.


    He dropped his hands away from Adeline''s shoulders and rested his head on the low backrest of his chair. He was then glaring at the ceiling as if he was directly staring at God. The pain in his heart was growing numbingly. He clenched his fists and dug his claws in his palms to prevent himself from turning.


    And he asked in a low growl, "Why would he do that? How can the almighty be so cruel? Why would he punish Theodore?"


    "And��" he clenched his teeth to stop himself from speaking any further but he couldn''t help but voice out his disappointment, "��how can it even be called punishment for Theodore when our father is the one who is going to die? And it is us who is going to suffer?"


    "Maybe God already knew that Theodore had started to see a father figure in our father��" Adeline spoke while dabbing her palms over her cheeks.


    She sniffled and glanced at her brother. She could see the veins on his hands bulging like never before. She feared that he was angry at Theodore and feared even more that he might turn into a wolf and run to fight Theodore.


    So she quickly tried to emphasize that Theodore was also a victim here. "And knowing that his father figure had died because of his actions would make Theodore spiral into insurmountable guilt. Having to drown in the sea of guilt is the greatest punishment ever."


    Adeline recalled the countless times Theodore had apologized to her and said, "I have already seen that guilt in his eyes. He is suffering more than us�� silently��"


    Nigel felt bad that he had unintentionally made himself sound as though Theodore wasn''t the one who was suffering. "No, I meant to say that Theodore didn''t do anything wrong. Those vampires were the ones to infiltrate Wyverndale and attack innocent people. All Theodore did was defend. And why does our father have to pay the price? For receiving his help?"


    Adeline didn''t have an answer for her brother. To be honest, she also had the same question for her father-in-law.


    She wanted to ask what was wrong with Theodore interfering with the inhabitants of Earth if it meant that the wrongdoers were getting punished right here on Earth rather than waiting for them to go down to Hell. They were going to get punished for their crimes either way.


    Nigel inhaled deeply and shakily. He looked at his sister''s face as she had now stopped making any sound altogether, not even the sound of breathing.


    She was holding her breath and was spacing out. In her deep eyes, Nigel could see pain, fear, anger, and more than anything�� guilt.


    Nigel called Adeline in his sad voice, "Adeline, why do I see guilt in your eyes? It''s not your fault. I am not blaming you or Theodore��"


    And he heard Adeline''s barely audible voice, "If only I was a little stronger�� or a little faster�� If I was able to kill that vampire on my own then this tragedy wouldn''t have happened."


    As if her body was hearing her request, she felt extreme pain in the middle of her forehead. She tight-shut her eyes and clasped her forehead. She crouched down a little while letting out a guttural sound.


    "Adeline? What happened?" Nigel was about to touch her cheek with his now bloodied palm but before he could do so, Adeline opened her eyes and leaned back.


    She took a deep breath in and just like that, she looked completely fine despite how she had acted just a moment ago.

 Chapter 428 - Soul

    Nigel furrowed his brows worriedly and shot arrows of questions towards her, "Adeline, are you alright? What was that just now? You looked like you were in great pain."


    Adeline gently rubbed her forehead and shrugged it off, "Just a little headache."


    But deep down, she felt as though it was not just a normal headache. The pain felt different. It was as though she was not hurt physically but somewhere�� somewhere else... somewhere deep down. But she couldn''t exactly pinpoint where.


    And she was right. The human soul that rested inside of her used to be azure blue in color. But after the unification ceremony in the wedding, her soul had a hint of red �C the color of Theodore''s soul.


    And when she expressed her earnest desire to grow stronger and faster, that hint of red in her soul spread even more, almost devouring half of her human soul.


    "Are you alright now?" Nigel was still worried about his sister. He thought that the guilt and pain that she had been suppressing in her heart till now was starting to manifest in her health.


    Adeline nodded. "Yes, the pain in the head is gone now."


    Nigel gave a sorrowful look to his sister and asked, "And what about the pain in your heart?"


    Adeline''s felt a prick in her heart when he asked that. Of course, the pain in her heart was not going to go away so easily. Rather than answering her brother, she looked down at her hand and began digging nails on her knuckles.


    Nigel was also feeling the same as Adeline, in fact, he was feeling even more pain than her. Everything was heightened for him because of his werewolf side. Even the pain.


    However, he still tried to act tough in front of his sister and said, "I know that it is painful�� knowing about our father''s fate beforehand. But I think the pain would lessen if you stop blaming yourself. It''s not your fault that those vampires were born with advantages."


    Adeline sighed and replied, "If only I had my advantages as well��"


    And that statement from Adeline made Nigel wonder, "Maybe things would have been different if I was here at that time? Our father wouldn''t be dying if I was the one to kill that vampire instead of Theodore, right?"


    He had asked Adeline to not feel guilty but he himself couldn''t help but feel that way. He felt guilty that he couldn''t help his family even when he possessed the required advantages to win against those nasty vampires.


    Both brother and sister went down their own guilt trip.


    And after a while of silence, Nigel asked, "Since you asked me to stay here for some more time, I am guessing that our father cannot escape his future? Can''t Theodore make his father change his mind?"


    Adeline sadly pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Theodore already pleaded with his father." Adeline frowned and spoke with a sneer, "He even caught his father''s feet and literally begged. But his father didn''t change his decision even after all that begging."


    The chamber was filled with painful silence again.


    After a lot of courage, Nigel finally asked the most important question, "When��" He cleared his throat and asked, "How much time does our father have exactly?"


    Adeline felt a burst of pain in her heart and clenched her fists. She was reminded how close the day was already. "Fifteen days at most."


    Nigel tightened his fists and grimaced in great pain. "Fifteen days��" He felt more pain rushing throughout his body when he repeated those words.


    He dug his claws even deeper in his palm while taking in deep breaths. He was trying hard not to break down and not to lose control over his wolf side.


    ---


    In the dining hall, the hot set of breakfast had arrived a long while ago.


    Everyone was already having their breakfast.


    Wulfric had already gobbled up everything that was in both of his plates. He was feeling embarrassed because of his earlier actions and it was harder for him to act normally when he was sitting right beside the Devil. And now that he had already finished eating, he was tapping his feet restlessly while looking away at the walls.


    The others were trying to make normal conversation with Theodore, especially the King. But he was feeling really nervous after knowing the secret.


    And in his nervousness, he asked Theodore, "Your Highness, if I may ask, will you also be aiding us in the war?"


    Theodore almost choked on the scrambled eggs by that question of King Conall. He coughed and drank a whole glass of water.


    King Conall got a glare from Fenris and he immediately apologized, "I am sorry if I overstepped by asking that question."


    Theodore shook his head and smiled. "No, it''s alright." Theodore ran his fingers through his silky hair and answered so as not to give high hopes to those participating in the war, "I would have already wiped out the whole vampire race for attacking Wyverndale but�� my hands are bound by my father. I am not allowed to intervene."


    Everyone in the room was visibly disheartened by Theodore''s answer. The King had especially hoped that Theodore would help out in the war. Because having the literal Devil by their side on the battlefield would mean that the war was already won by them.


    Theodore saw that disheartened look on King Conall''s face. And in order to motivate them, he offered, "But I will be helping with the training of the soldiers of Wyverndale. If you want then I can separate some time for the werewolves as well. We can do battle simulations every now and then to make the werewolves feel like they are fighting the real vampires."


    The werewolves in the room were now looking at Theodore with sparkly eyes.


    The alpha was even more delighted by that offer from the Devil Prince. "You would do that for us?" He gave a gentle bow and happily thanked Theodore, "It would be an honor to receive the training from you, Your Highness."


    The door of the dining hall opened and Adeline and Nigel entered the hall. Nigel was carrying a golden harp in his hand which he carefully placed on the floor.


    Adeline smiled and apologize to everyone, "Sorry, we had to go through the piles of gifts to find this harp. So it took us quite some time."


    "The food is already cold! You two took really long time." Rhea said in a complaining tone. She then playfully smiled at Nigel who was now sitting beside her and teased, "Don''t tell me you two had been hugging each other and crying. The two of you always do that."


    Nigel simply sighed and looked down, confirming what his wife had said.


    "Hey, I had�C" Wulfric was also about to complain because he had to keep on sitting in the hall, waiting for them, even when he had already finished his food a long time ago.


    However, his mouth was left hanging when the calm and beautiful piece of music from the harp filled the room.


    Everyone in the room had been feeling uneasiness in their heart because of the war, because of the sad news. But as soon as the music played, everyone felt at utmost peace.. They felt as though the music had touched their soul.

 Chapter 429 - I Need To Tell

    In the afternoon, the Royals of Wyverndale were busy bidding goodbyes to the guests from other Kingdoms.


    Nigel went to the guest quarter where his alpha was staying at. And he truthfully asked King Conall to let him stay back in Wyverndale for a month more. The alpha couldn''t deny after knowing the truth. So he let Nigel and Rhea stay back.


    "Fenris has a lot to catch up on. I had thought that he would be able to learn the ropes faster if you and Rhea were to train him�� He gets easily scared when he trains with me." King Conall expressed his wish to Nigel but he wasn''t sure if it would be right to ask Nigel to train Fenris when he was going through the emotional storm.


    Nigel read between the lines and could decipher what the King had wanted to say to him. It was written all over his face. So he offered, "Then why don''t you leave Fenris with us? We will return back to Aberdeen along with him."


    "Wouldn''t I be asking too much?" the alpha looked at Nigel with sorrowful eyes. He could guess how Nigel was feeling by that sudden news about King Dragomir''s life that was about to end. And Conall was afraid that deep down, Nigel also blamed him for having separated him from his family.


    Nigel put a smile on his face and shook his head. "I think it would be better to have Fenris with me. I would rather put my mind in the training than let it wander aimlessly. Also�� I might need someone to restrain me when that day finally arrives. I don''t know if I can�� suppress the wolf side."


    King Conall gripped Nigel''s shoulders. He was not that good at expressing emotions other than harshness and anger. But this time, he allowed himself to hold his nephew in his arms. "I''m sorry you are going through a difficult time. Stay strong."


    Nigel let himself loosen up his stiff back and let his uncle hold him.


    After a while, they pulled away from the hug before it got awkward. And King Conall said as he stood up to put on his shoes, "I will leave Fenris to your care then."


    The alpha turned his head to look at Nigel and said with a soft smile, "And while you are here, feel free to demonstrate to the humans what to expect from the werewolves. We might be fighting on the same battlefield. They should not fear us and we should learn to fight alongside them."


    Nigel raised his brows and asked, "And what about the el�C"


    "Don''t worry about the elders. I am the alpha. And I am making the decision on behalf of the pack." King Conall flashed a smile while his eyes glowed red for a fraction of seconds.


    Nigel was happy to hear the alpha''s willingness to change. He pressed his fist against his heart and knelt before his alpha, "Thank you, alpha, for taking the initiative to change our pack''s ways. I am really grateful."


    The alpha chuckled and replied satirically, "Someone gave me an earful this morning. That made me question our rigid norms. So, let''s see, how this decision of mine goes."


    Finally, the guests from Aberdeen were the last ones to leave from Wyverndale. Fenris also stayed back with Nigel as was agreed.


    ---


    All of the Royals of Wyverndale went back to their normal routine after the hangover of the wedding was finally over.


    Nigel briefed Adeline on what his alpha had told him, about allowing him to show their werewolf form to the humans. Adeline was beyond grateful towards King Conall for keeping his side of the promise so soon.


    "That would make my job so much easier," Adeline smiled with a sigh of relief. "If the soldiers get to see you and your powers then their morale will increase again. You will be their beacon of hope�� hope to win the war."


    Nigel smiled at that enthusiasm of his sister and ruffled her silver hair that had grown a lot. "First we have to make sure that we don''t scare them. We will see if the werewolves will be their beacon of hope or beacon of fear."


    "Nevermind that." Nigel sighed and asked, "Tell me, when will the training begin from? I will separate a few hours for Fenris'' training and after that, the wolves will also join the training with the humans."


    Adeline looked at her brother''s eyes. She knew he was trying very hard to hide the fact that he was sad. So she didn''t try to impose the burden of training on him right away. "Why don''t you take a breather for a few more days?"


    But then Adeline saw the burning fire in her brother''s eyes. He looked at her with determination, "No, I''m already itching to train my muscles. I have already taken enough rest after arriving at Wyverndale."


    Adeline could understand her brother because she was also itching to go to the training ground and sharpen her rusted muscles. She hadn''t got the time to train for the past few weeks and she was already missing the feeling of the dirt on her sweaty face and that rush that she would only get while fighting an opponent.


    She smiled and nodded, "Okay, then. The training will start from tomorrow in the training ground for the soldiers. We will begin at 8 in the morning. Feel free to join us when your wolf training will be over."


    "Sure," Nigel lovingly patted Adeline''s head.


    He trailed his eyes around as if he was considering something. And he said to Adeline, "I think I will tell our father about my wolf side. I don''t want to keep him in the dark in his last days."


    He glanced at Adeline to see any hints of possible retaliation but there was none. "Do you think he can digest the news?" he asked to indirectly get her approval.


    Adeline softly chuckled to say, "He digested the fact that his son-in-law is the Devil, even after seeing Theodore in his Devil form. So I am sure he won''t be that shocked to know that his son is also quite marvelous. I bet he will be happy."


    "I sure hope so," Nigel mumbled to himself. To be honest, Nigel was sitting on the fence regarding that matter. He was unable to think if telling his father that he was a werewolf would be a good thing to do.


    He was afraid thinking that his father would end up hating him. He was afraid he would end up hurting his father''s feelings for hiding his true nature until now.


    But after getting that gentle nudge from Adeline, his confidence about showing his beast side to his father increased. "Where is he right now? I don''t want to delay it anymore."


    Adeline stared at the wall and tried to recall his schedule. But suddenly she remembered something, "I think I saw him heading towards Queen Claricia''s quarter. You might find him there."


    "Okay, right where he needs to be," Nigel thought to himself.


    He was about to run out of the room but Adeline held his sleeve and asked, "Don''t tell him about the war. I don''t want his last days to be full of worries."


    "I won''t." Nigel nodded and thanked Adeline before running to see his father.


    When he reached his mother''s quarter, he paused right outside the door to his mother''s chamber. He smiled while listening to their laughter and happy voices that the walls had failed to conceal from his sharp ears.


    "They seem to be having fun." He took a deep breath in and thought, "I hate to be the interruption but I don''t have much time left with father. I have to let out everything that I have hidden from him.. Now."

 Chapter 430 - No Regret

    Nigel knocked on the door of his mother''s chamber without wasting a second. "Mother, it''s me."


    "Come in, Nigel," he heard his mother''s laughter-filled voice from the other side of the door.


    He took a deep breath in and put on a smile before entering the room. He saw that his father and mother were sitting by the window while the soft wind that was blowing inside was helping them to bear the summer heat.


    Nigel gave a gentle bow to both of his parents. "Please excuse me for being a bone in the soup right now. I feel like I am spoiling your fun."


    Dragomir gave out a chuckle and patted on the chair beside him. "We were just sharing our fond memories about you. Come, take a seat." And he playfully added, "We can make fun of you right in front of you."


    Nigel smiled and lovingly gazed at the picture-perfect smile of his parents. They looked so happy that he was having second thoughts about ruining the mood.


    However, Dragomir was quick to notice the sadness on his son''s face. Nigel''s smile had turned into a sad one without him realizing it.


    So Dragomir asked his son, "What is it, Nigel? You look tensed."


    Nigel was caught off guard by that question from his father. He gave a nervous laugh and tried to leave the room, "No, I was just thinking that maybe I should drop by a little later. I don''t want to disturb the two of you."


    "Don''t be like that, Nigel. Come sit with us." Dragomir said as though he was giving an order.


    And Nigel felt compelled to do as his father had asked.


    "So, what is it? Is something bothering you?" Dragomir was now giving his full attention to his son.


    The burden of the secret that Nigel had been keeping inside his heart felt heavier by the moment. And now that he had already ruined the happy mood, he thought that he would as well spill out his secret to his father.


    He looked into his father''s eyes and slowly and carefully began, "Father, there is something that I need to tell you�� about myself."


    "Sure, feel free to say anything," Dragomir now fully turned to face his son.


    Claricia was also curious about what Nigel was so eager yet scared to share with his father. And she also listed to her son carefully.


    Nigel took a deep breath in again and asked, "Father, have you heard of the creature called werewolf?"


    "Nigel!" Claricia immediately shouted and glared at her son. She wondered why he was bringing it up when the elders hadn''t officially agreed to reveal the secret yet. She didn''t want her brother to be angry again.


    However, Nigel quickly retaliated to her glare, "The alpha has already given me permission."


    And the warning glare that Claricia was giving her son softened.


    Dragomir had deep frown lines on his forehead. He looked at the mother and son and felt as though they were talking in some foreign language. "Werewolf? Alpha? What are you two talking about?"


    Nigel clasped his hands together and explained everything quickly, "The Siccaldi clan is a cursed clan. And some of the members can turn into wolves when they reach of age. I am one of those. I turned for the first time on Adeline''s birthday. And that is the reason why I had to leave for Aberdeen, so that people of Wyverndale wouldn''t be in danger because of me."


    Nigel waited for his father to give some kind of reaction �C scared, disbelief, angry, betrayed, anything. But Dragomir had a vacant expression on his face as if everything Nigel just said to him went over his head.


    And then Dragomir burst into laughter. "You two are trying to play a joke on me�� How did you even come up with such a lame joke? But that was funny nonetheless."


    He kept on laughing for quite some time but when Claricia and Nigel didn''t join him, he controlled his laughter and glanced at both his wife and son''s faces.


    Two things crossed his mind seeing their dead serious look. Either they were really good at acting, or they were�� telling the truth.


    Dragomir curled his brows and asked his son, "Wait! You were not joking?"


    Nigel looked down and apologized, "I am sorry that we kept such a big secret from you. But we had no choice because of the clan''s law. Even I found out about it only after turning into a wolf myself."


    Dragomir kept on looking at his son with thousands of questions looming over his face. But he didn''t know where to start from. He didn''t even know what would be the right questions to ask in such situations.


    He didn''t know if he should be feeling betrayed by his wife and son, or if he should be concerned about his son''s condition. He was utterly bamboozled.


    Dragomir took a deep breath in and finally asked, "Tell me everything in detail." He thought that he would decide how to feel after hearing out his son.


    Nigel gladly did as his father had asked. He explained everything there was to know about the werewolf clan, about his wolf side, about the other wolves, everything.


    Dragomir keenly listened to his son. By the time Nigel finished telling his story, Dragomir knew how to feel. He gave a hug to his son and whispered with glistening eyes, "I am proud of you, my son."


    Nigel''s worry and anxiety that he had been feeling for a while now subsided as soon as he heard those magical words from his father.


    Dragomir looked at his son with a wide smile on his face and lovingly pressed his hand on his cheek. "I never knew I had such a special child�� But I am glad that you decided to tell me now. And I am sorry that you had to go through all that pain alone."


    Nigel smiled and shook his head. "I was away from home but I was never alone, father. You don''t have to feel so sorry towards me. I had my pack and my wife and brothers. They helped me a lot."


    Dragomir nodded his head. "I am glad to hear that they took good care of my son."


    The room went quiet for some time. Dragomir was thinking how little he knew about the world even after living for so many years.


    There were so many creatures dwelling on Earth that he didn''t know about. There were places that he had never been to, the food he had never tasted, and so many things that he had not explored.


    And he was saddened that he would never get to explore more. "Maybe in my next life��" he quietly thought to himself.


    He then adjusted his eye''s focus on Nigel and asked him, "Can you show me what your wolf form looks like? I would love to see it."


    Nigel smiled and agreed without hesitating for a second. He went and stood a little further away from his parents and warned his father, "I might look like I am in pain but I have already overcome it. You don''t need to be concerned about me no matter how difficult the turning process looks like."


    Dragomir gave an eager nod and watched his son as he fell down on all his four. He could hear the sounds of bone cracking and see his son writhing. But that just lasted for a few seconds.


    Dragomir''s eyes widened and his jaw dropped as a majestic large wolf with a coat of grey and white fur stood tall in front of him. "Wow!"


    Dragomir instantly got up from his chair and went to hug the wolf. The fur felt so soft against his old skin that he felt really happy. Happy that his son looked fluffy and harmless, and not like some gruesome monster.


    "I don''t think I will have any regret now. I bet there is nothing more beautiful left to see.." Dragomir thought to himself as he hugged his son once more.

 Chapter 431 - A Crack

    After meeting her brother, Adeline went to her quarter to find that Theodore was already sitting on his desk and was going through some papers that he had asked from the Generals.


    A soft smile crept on Adeline''s lips seeing her husband all serious and working. Her feet automatically led her towards Theodore and she stood behind him to peek over what he was working on.


    "Oh, so you''re getting yourself acquainted with the Wyverndale army?" she asked while wrapping her arms around his shoulders and resting her head over his.


    Theodore smiled and replied, "Yes, the sooner we start the training, the better. And I wanted to see how we could divide the soldiers into groups to make the training effective and worthwhile."


    Adeline brought her lips close to his cheek and kissed him. "I will make sure to prepare a room for you to work in by today."


    Theodore looked at his wife and put his demand, "Make sure my workroom is right next to yours�� so that I won''t have to teleport every time I want to see you."


    Adeline giggled and kissed him again, "Sure, love."


    ---


    Adeline got a hold of a court maid on her way to her workroom and ordered her, "Prepare the room that is next to my workroom by sundown. Prince Theodore will start working from tomorrow morning so make sure that he will have everything that he will need."


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    After giving orders to the court maids, Adeline went inside her workroom and sat down. She was going through the reports that Bennett had prepared for her. He had summarized everything that she had missed during the past few weeks that she spent in preparation for her wedding.


    "Ugh! There''s so much to catch up on." She felt a small prick in her heart and gently rubbed over her chest. She sighed and mumbled to herself, "Argh! The workload is giving me physical pain now."


    She bit the stomp of her brush while recalling what she had to do, "I have to attend the meeting with all the Generals after lunch. I have to formally introduce Theodore to them. And I need to slowly break to them about the existence of werewolves."


    A small frown appeared in between her brows. For some reason the pain in her heart was persistent. But she ignored that thinking she was just getting anxious because of all the difficult tasks that she needed to do.


    She fisted over her chest and thought, "I need to mentally prepare the Generals so that they won''t be shocked when the wolves attend the training tomorrow."


    Adeline hurriedly began shuffling through the pages of the report in order to finish reading them faster. But suddenly, she gripped the cloth that was over her chest and grimaced. She leaned down a little and groaned, "What is wrong with me all of a sudden?"


    The pain that she felt in her heart had now increased significantly. She wasn''t able to ignore it anymore.


    She breathed in through her mouth while lightly beating her chest. "Is it because I didn''t eat properly for the past two days? And I didn''t even get to have a proper breakfast this morning."


    Adeline sighed and grabbed the glass of water on her table. She gulped down the water but the pain didn''t seem to go away.


    She got up and began taking in deep breaths. "Maybe I need to take a stroll and get some fresh air... and maybe eat something."


    She gritted her teeth and flinched when she felt a sudden increase in pain again. "Maybe I should go and see a healer. I think I need some medicine rather than just fresh air and food."


    Adeline took a few steps towards the door but then her foot stopped midways. The prick in her chest changed into pangs. She felt as though something was stabbing her chest. Her breathing got heavier and heavier. She clenched both of her fists on her chest and couldn''t help but make a series of painful groans.


    She was already drenched in cold sweats by now. Even breathing became painful for her. She wanted to go back to her chair and sit down for a bit but her legs refused to move an inch. Nor could she crouch down.


    It was as though she had been paralyzed by the stinging pain in her heart which was slowly spreading throughout her body.


    "Is anyone there��" she tried calling for help but her feeble voice couldn''t pierce the thick walls of her room.


    And as if the pain wasn''t already enough, it kept on escalating even more. Her heart became so bitter that she felt like scratching all over her chest and pulling that bitter pain out of her body.


    Then as though that was the only option that she was left with, Adeline pressed her trimmed nails over her chest and tried to dig in.


    Something unexpected happened when she did that.


    Her eyes widened when she saw the orange glow being emitted a few inches above her heart.


    Adeline furrowed her brows and whispered shakily, "What? The magic circle�� that binds my demonic power?"


    "What is happening to me?" Adeline swallowed forcefully and tried to touch that magic circle with her trembling hand. She desperately tried to push that magic circle back inside her chest but her hand was passing right through.


    And instead of returning back to her body, that circle began to shake. "No�� This isn''t supposed to happen!" Adeline clenched her jaw and tried to think of something that she could do to free herself from the pain. But nothing came to her mind.


    The shaking became so violent that it looked like the demonic power that was sealed by that circle was fighting to break through and merge with Adeline''s body once again.


    Adeline''s quivering knees finally gave out and she collapsed to the floor. And her whole body began to shudder in response to that magic circle.


    That violent shaking of that magic circle made Adeline go through the worst pain that she had felt only twice before. One time was when her life was about to slip away after getting bitten by Rebecca, and the other time was when Azriel had cast this inscription spell on her.


    "Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh��" the room and the hallway were now filled with Adeline''s gut-wrenching screams. It sounded so raw and painful that she finally caught the attention of Bennett and a few guards.


    They all barged inside Adeline''s workroom only to see the pitiful state of Adeline, soaked in sweat, crying in pain, and trembling as if she was possessed.


    They would have known that something magic-related was affecting Adeline if only they were able to see the glowing magic circle that was performing a deadly dance on Adeline''s chest.


    Bennett was the first one to sprint towards Adeline. He gently patted Adeline''s cheek and looked at her with great worry. "Princess! What''s wrong?" he asked as if she was in any condition to answer him.


    "Aaaahhhhhhhhh��" her screams filled the room once again when suddenly her back popped and arched.


    A loud crack sound was heard by everyone. It sounded as though she had broken some bones in her back. But in reality, it was the sound of the magic circle cracking.


    Adeline kept on arching her back. Her head and heels were supporting her whole body weight while she writhed in agony.


    "I think we need to take Her Highness to the healer," A guard urged Bennett who had been staring at Adeline cluelessly.

 Chapter 432 - Changeling

    Theodore was still going through the papers and was trying to devise a training schedule. He was thinking of ways how he could help the soldiers �C humans as well as the werewolves.


    "I hope father won''t mind me using my powers to help them train. All I will be doing is guiding them, not anything more," He thought to himself and rummaged through the drawer to find new sheets of paper to jot something down.


    Out of the blue, he felt an excruciating pain in his heart. He banged his hands on the table, almost breaking it, and grimaced in anguish. It was the kind of pain that he hadn''t felt in a while.


    He tried to get up from his chair but stumbled down to the floor.


    His eyes turned red and his breathing got heavier.


    "Adeline!" he guessed that it had something to do with Adeline because he only felt this kind of pain when he was linked with her.


    "Adeline�� I have to�� get to her��" He grunted in agony and pushed himself up from the floor.


    He was barely managing to stand when he decided to look for her in her workroom. He instantly teleported to her workroom and his eyes widened in horror.


    Adeline was indeed in a lot of pain. She was wriggling on the floor, crying and screaming.


    And the guards were trying to pick her up from the ground but they were having a really hard time doing so without hurting her. The guards and Bennett were so focused on Adeline that they failed to notice Theodore''s presence in the room.


    "Leave!" Theodore''s threatening voice echoed throughout the room.


    And it managed to scare everyone in the room, except Adeline. Adeline was too much in pain that she was completely unaware of what was happening in her surroundings.


    Bennett glanced at Theodore with a bit of a relieved look on his face. However, when he looked at the Prince who also looked like he was struggling to even stand up, he was unsure if he would be able to help Adeline. "Your Highness, she needs immediate treatment."


    "I''ll take her," Theodore managed to keep a neutral expression and voice. And he staggered towards Adeline.


    He then crouched down and glanced at the magic circle that had a huge crack on it. He knew that it was the culprit behind both of their pain.


    Theodore gently placed his palm below Adeline''s head. He wanted to carry her in his arms but he didn''t trust himself that he could do so. His pain was a thousand times worse than what Adeline was going through at the moment.


    But he still tried to suppress that pain and focused himself so that he could teleport.


    The couple vanished right before everyone''s eyes. Thankfully, everyone was already aware of who Theodore really was.


    Theodore teleported to Azriel''s place because he was the one who could repair the magic circle that had somehow broken.


    Azriel was lounging in his own room when the two of them appeared on the floor right in front of him.


    "Theodore?" Azriel was now crouching beside them in the blink of an eye.


    Theodore breathlessly asked Azriel, "Az, I don''t know what happened. I found her like this. The magic circle��"


    Azriel already knew that there was a problem with the magic circle. Looking at how Theodore was also reacting to Adeline''s pain, he knew that somehow Adeline''s demonic powers were able to break through the seal and were already starting to spread through her body.


    Azriel swiftly carried Adeline in his arm and took her to his bed. He gently laid Adeline down and found Theodore sitting at the edge of the bed. Both of them already looked worn out from the amount of pain that they had already endured. His heart ached to see his brother and sister-in-law in that state.


    He glanced at Theodore and stated what he was going to do, "I will repair the seal right away. Please hold on for a while."


    Theodore nodded and spoke through his clenched teeth, "Do it fast."


    Azriel focused his attention back on Adeline. He held out his palm over the broken magic circle and his fingertips began to emit azure light.


    Just when he was about to start chanting the spell, he heard his mother''s voice, "Stop! I don''t think you should be sealing her powers."


    Theodore looked at their mother and wanted to explain Adeline''s condition to her. But he was unable to even mince out his words as the pain had already crossed his bearable limit.


    Azriel looked at their mother''s face who was already standing beside him. And he said what Theodore couldn''t, "But mother�� her fragile body can''t handle such great powers. She''s only a human."


    However, the Goddess thought otherwise. "Is she?"


    "Mother?" Azriel asked in a confused voice. He was unable to understand what she meant by that because last he checked, Adeline was a human.


    She held out her hand over Adeline''s forehead and gave an elegant flick. A round but matterless object levitated in the air from Adeline''s forehead. It was glowing �C half blue and half red.


    Both Azriel and Theodore were left utterly stunned. They couldn''t believe what they were witnessing. They didn''t know how or when Adeline''s soul had changed.


    The Goddess then glanced at her sons and asked with slightly raised brows, "Do you still think she is just a human?"


    "She is a changeling!" Azriel exclaimed, still in disbelief.


    The Goddess returned Adeline''s soul back to her body and asked Azriel, "So, you know what to do, right?"


    Azriel firmly nodded his head and instantly began to chant a counterspell to the inscription spell that he had cast on Adeline.


    The azure glow that was coming off from the tip of his fingers began to spread throughout the orange magic circle. The orange glow of that circle gradually began to decrease. And the 8 runes that were on that circle started to disappear one by one.


    With every rune that disappeared from the circle, Adeline''s pain was gradually decreasing, and so was Theodore''s.


    By the time, four of the runes had disappeared, Adeline''s pain stopped altogether. She could finally breathe the air without screaming and open her eyes to properly look around her.


    She saw the Goddess looking at her and smiling at her with a serene look on her face like always. She returned a feeble smile to her.


    She then noticed that Azriel was performing incantations on her magic circle. As the pain had disappeared, she thought that he was slowly sealing back her demonic powers.


    Adeline felt someone holding her hand. It was Theodore.


    He was now sitting on the bed, on the opposite side of Azriel. He gently massaged Adeline''s palm with his thumb and he whispered to Adeline, "Don''t worry. Everything is going to be okay."


    Adeline could feel that her body was already far better off than just ''okay''. She was feeling unusually well so she gave a smile to her worried husband.


    She heard Azriel clearing his throat and she turned to look at him.


    Azriel was going to remove the last rune from the magic circle after which Adeline''s demonic powers would all be released at once. So he warned her, "Brace yourself for the pain that is about to come. It is going to give more than just a sting."


    He looked at his brother and warned him as well, "Theodore, same goes for you. Trust me, the pain is going to be a lot worse than before."


    Both Adeline and Theodore glanced at each other and tightened their hold on each other''s hands.


    Adeline hastily took a deep breath fearing that she would die because of lack of oxygen if a pain worse than before was about to hit her.


    Azriel also took a deep breath in and warned again, "Okay, here it comes."

 Chapter 433 - Vibrant

    Adeline slowly fluttered her eyes open. It took a few blinks for her eyes to regain focus. She stared at the ceiling for a while. The texture on the rocks looked clearer for some reason. And somehow, she could also focus her eyes to see inside the slight cracks in between the rocks.


    "I wonder how my eyesight improved." She trailed her eyes around and she was amazed by how vibrant the colors looked than before. She could see colors that she never knew existed.


    "Is it the side effect of that circle breaking? I hope nothing bad happened."


    She could see a faint purple aura that was hovering around her. Soon, her attention was caught by the golden aura that was hovering around in the room.


    Her eyes followed the golden aura to the far corner of the room that she was in.


    "Azriel?" she thought to herself while looking at the Dragon Immortal who was sitting on a chair. He was resting his chin on his palm and was sleeping peacefully.


    "Where are the others?" She thought and looked around the room but there was no trace of Theodore, nor the Goddess.


    She took in a deep breath and placed her palm over her chest. She could no longer feel the pain that was there a while ago. "It looks like Azriel mended the magic circle again," she thought to herself and wondered why Theodore didn''t take her back to the Palace with him.


    She sat up on the bed, feeling more energetic than ever. She looked at Azriel again to wake him up. But he looked like he was so deep in his sleep that she didn''t feel like disturbing him.


    She sighed and began fidgeting her fingers. Suddenly, she recalled the insurmountable amount of pain that she went through after Azriel had warned her.


    Adeline felt uneasy in her heart just by recalling that pain. She had felt as though thousands of knives had been plunged into her heart all at once. And that pain coursed through her veins as though the blades of swords were moving through her while cutting and burning her everywhere.


    She shuddered from that memory and her whole body was covered in goosebumps. "I hope I will never have to go through that kind of pain ever again," she thought while rubbing her shoulders.


    Adeline then furrowed her brows and tried to think past that pain. But there was nothing that she remembered after a certain point. "Did I pass out? I must have��"


    She looked at her sound asleep brother-in-law and wondered, "Is he sleeping because it''s night already? I wonder how long I was out cold for."


    Adeline waited for a while hoping that Azriel would wake up on his own, or that Theodore would come to take her back. But she got bored of waiting within a matter of a few minutes. So she coughed loudly, hoping to get Azriel''s attention.


    Azriel was instantly on his feet the moment he heard Adeline coughing. And in the next moment, he was pressing his palm over Adeline''s forehead.


    Adeline was a little surprised by that sudden ''attack'' from Azriel.


    He heaved a sigh of relief thinking, "The fever is finally gone." And he took Adeline''s hand in his palm to check her pulse. "How do feel now? Are you in any kind of pain?" he asked with a tensed look on his face.


    Adeline didn''t understand what was there to be so worried about. "Er�� I feel fine."


    "You were unconscious for two days straight. You scared all of us, especially Theodore and your father." Azriel said with a frown.


    "What?" Adeline was shocked to hear that. "I was unconscious for two whole days? Where''s Theodore? I need to go back to the Palace."


    Adeline was going to jump out of the bed so Azriel pressed her shoulder and made her stay put on the bed. "Theodore is taking care of everything in the Palace, training, paperwork, everything. You don''t need to worry about those things right now. You should worry about yourself."


    "Oh, is that so��" Adeline''s lips curved up a little knowing that Theodore was covering for her with the works. "Father knows that I am here?"


    Azriel nodded and scanned his eyes on Adeline for any signs of discomfort in her. And he asked again because he was unconvinced, "Are you sure you are completely fine now? Our mother had to use her magic to keep you from shivering. Your body was not readily accepting the change."


    Adeline furrowed her brows because she didn''t understand what he meant by her body was going through change. All she knew was that she was completely fine now.


    However, Azriel was still giving her that worried look so Adeline gave a smile to him and said again, "For real, I feel alright. In fact, I feel far better than before. I can''t pinpoint it but I think I feel kind of��" she pumped her fist and said dramatically, "powerful."


    Azriel chuckled at that reaction from Adeline and gently patted her on the head. And then he added with all seriousness, "You are powerful, alright. You are now a changeling after all."


    "Changeling?" Adeline curled up her brows and asked, "What''s that? Did something bad happen to me?"


    Azriel squinted his eyes and shook his head, "It''s not bad. It means you are now a higher being than a human. To be more precise, you are now a human who is changing into a demon."


    Adeline felt a hammering in her chest. She kept on staring at Azriel with wide eyes, not really knowing how to react to that statement. She didn''t know whether to be happy or sad. She didn''t know if that meant she was turning into some kind of a monster like a vampire or maybe even something worse than that.


    "I''m changing into de-demon? How? Why? Since when?" Adeline''s face was full of question marks.


    Azriel sat on the chair beside the bed and broke the news to her, "According to our mother, you began to change after the unification ritual in your wedding. That ritual wasn''t there for no reason or just for the show. It does actually merge the couple''s soul together."


    "And now I am a half-demon?" Adeline asked, her brows never resting in their original position.


    "Correct," Azriel nodded his head.


    A few frown lines appeared in between Adeline''s brows and she asked again, "Then does that mean Theodore is now half-human?"


    Azriel laughed at the thought of Theodore changing into a half-human. "That would be fun. But no. He is still a Devil."


    Adeline pressed her lips together and nodded. She was thankful that their unification ritual didn''t adversely affect Theodore. If he was to grow weaker because of her then she would have felt like an eclipse in Theodore''s life.


    Suddenly, something stroke her mind. "Wait!" She glanced at Azriel with her curious eyes and asked, "What about the seal? Did you seal it back or��"


    She was staring into Azriel''s blue star-like eyes. She was able to zoom in on the magnificent glowing hue of his eyes and she completed her question, "or did you break the seal completely?"

 Chapter 434 - Bet

    Azriel wrinkled his brows and replied in a confused voice, "I thought you knew already. Didn''t you hear anything that we said while�� oh, right! You were in a trance when mother showed us your soul."


    "She showed you my soul?" Adeline was impressed to hear that because she had no idea it was even possible to separate a soul from its body... while a person was still alive. But then again, it was the Goddess that Azriel was talking about. What could be impossible for her?


    "Yes, she did. And she asked me to release your demonic power that I had sealed inside of you. You are now a stronger vessel to hold that power so there is no need to keep it sealed anymore." Azriel flashed an awkward smile to Adeline.


    Adeline''s happiness was beyond measure. The power that she had wanted very badly was now finally at her disposal. "I am back to my old self!" she wanted to stand on top of the mountain and scream at the top of her lungs.


    She glanced at Azriel with a bright smile. She wanted to thank him. But then she saw a hint of guilt in his eyes.


    And she felt bad that she hadn''t yet told him that she had already forgiven him for everything. "Umm�� Azriel��" she was going to bring up that topic but Azriel interrupted her.


    He got up on his feet and asked, "You said you aren''t in pain, right? Then shall we check the extent of your power? I bet you want to feel that power that is coursing through your veins again."


    He held out his hand for Adeline and said with a challenging grin, "Shall we have a duel until Theodore comes back? Let''s see how many seconds you can last against me."


    Adeline took his hand and accepted his challenge with a wide smile. "If my old powers are back again, then I bet that I will last more than some seconds. I will say that I will at least last for two minutes."


    Azriel flicked one of his brows and helped her out of the bed. "We''ll see about that. If you last for two minutes then I am going to dance for you."


    Adeline chortled and playfully said, "You better be ready to dance then."


    Azriel then swiftly created a domain in the world of his illusion. He pulled both himself and Adeline inside that domain which looked like a fighting arena that he had created when testing the strength of the children of Dragomir.


    Adeline instantly felt literal chills running down her spine when she looked around the familiar illusion. She wondered if she still had that power and courage in her that she had displayed in her test. "I hope I have not rusted," she thought to herself.


    She took a deep breath in and looked at her opponent. Azriel was already standing at the far end of that large fighting arena and was ready to attack. She could clearly see his smug smirk while he was looking at her and asking, "Are you ready?"


    Adeline gave an equally smug smirk and nodded her head. "Ready."


    The second her word dropped on the floor, Azriel whooshed forward at a speed faster than the lightning.


    However, unlike in her test, Adeline was able to clearly see Azriel and could even tell that he was going to strike her with his right hand.


    Adeline bent both of her knees and prepared herself for old tactics �C defending herself. She had yet to know if she could take a direct hit from the fallen angel or not, and she didn''t wish to find that out that early in the fight. So, she pushed herself off from the ground and jumped backward.


    She had thought that she would just cover a short distance with that jump. However, to her and Azriel''s utter surprise, she happened to fly all the way across that arena, only to be stopped by the padded wall.


    "Argh!" Adeline grunted and landed head down on the floor.


    And she was even more surprised when she didn''t feel that much pain from that little accident.


    Azriel raised his brows in amusement and said, "Well, well, what do we know�� Looks like your power has increased from before." He went and gave hand to Adeline while saying, "Theodore''s evolved power might have boosted yours as well."


    Adeline grabbed Azriel''s hand tightly and gave a sinister smirk, "We are still fighting, remember?"


    Taking advantage of that distracted opponent, Adeline swiftly pulled him and at the same time, kicked him hard on his gut.


    Azriel tried to suppress his groans but he couldn''t hide how he was feeling. He held his stomach and almost fell down on his knees.


    Adeline grinned and came in with a hammer kick, aiming at his head.


    Azriel was already on his guard by now so he disappeared and reappeared behind Adeline. And he immediately threw a powerful kick on Adeline''s back, making her flop down on her face.


    Adeline let out a series of painful moans and lay flat on her back. She saw Azriel preparing to punch her and she shouted, "Hey! Not fair! You can''t use your teleportation powers like that! That''s cheating!"


    "It''s not cheating if I make the rule." Azriel came at her with a deadly glare. He seriously looked like he was going to finish Adeline off.


    But that didn''t faze Adeline. She rolled over from his direct line of sight and ran.


    Azriel focused his attention on Adeline. He was stunned to see again that she was running around the arena at an extremely fast pace. He could tell where she was, obviously, but he was sure that the humans wouldn''t be able to detect her exact location if she ran like this.


    Adeline was charging herself up to give a huge blow to Azriel. She ran on the wall and then catapulted herself towards her brother-in-law with a pointed heel aiming at his chest.


    Azriel was loving seeing her display of powers.. "But I have to win. I don''t want to dance!"

 Chapter 435 - Dancing And Singing

    "Come on, Azriel! Loosen up your stiff body. Sway your hands and hips as well. It''s not dancing if you are just moving your feet." Adeline folded her arms over her chest and pouted.


    Azriel flipped his head backward and groaned, "Argh! Why did I have to be so overconfident and place that stupid bet? Ahhhhhhhhh!"


    Adeline giggled and began to clap her hands in a beat. "Follow the beat and dance again. If you want then I can show you and you can copy me."


    "Do I have to? Let''s call off the bet." Azriel drooped his shoulders and glanced at Adeline with a sullen face.


    Adeline was not going to let him off the hook that easily. She jumped up from the chair and shook her finger at him. "Ah! Not going to happen! Bold of you to ask to call off the bet when I already won it."


    "Okay, copy me now." Adeline then began to show some steps while counting simultaneously, "One, two�� one, two, three�� five, six, and seven, eight��"


    Azriel glared at Adeline and crossly blew his golden strands of hair that were dangling in front of his face. He unwillingly raised his hands and started to copy Adeline.


    Adeline grinned widely and encouraged Azriel even more, "Yes, that''s how you dance on Earth."


    After a few minutes, Azriel was already immersed in the dance. Adeline was clapping her hands and Azriel was dancing while humming to the beat.


    They didn''t even realize that Theodore was now standing in one corner of the room and was covering his mouth tightly while watching Azriel dance like a puppet. And Adeline was clapping her hands and controlling Azriel''s moves as though she was the puppet master.


    "No one can escape from her clutch, can they?" Theodore thought to himself and this time, he laughed openly.


    Azriel''s hands stopped mid-air when he heard Theodore''s laughter. He gave an awkward smile and instantly went to acting high and mighty.


    Theodore spoke while still laughing, "I was worried thinking that Adeline would get bored if she had woken up already. But I am relieved to see that you are entertaining her pretty well."


    Azriel glared at Theodore who walked towards them, chuckling and teasing him while making stiff hand movements. And he shouted at his brother, "Hey! Cut it out! Pretend that you saw nothing."


    "Why?" Theodore stood behind Adeline and held her in his warm embrace. "Is Adeline the only one who is allowed to see you dance? Can''t your brother watch it? Are you already biased towards your sister-in-law?"


    Both Adeline and Theodore giggled in harmony.


    Adeline excitedly glanced at Theodore and proudly clarified, "Azriel had made a bet that I wouldn''t even last a few seconds against him in a fight. And I had said that I would at least last for two minutes. He boasted to dance for me if I lasted that long. I lasted for three whole minutes."


    "Is that so?" Theodore tightened his arms around Adeline''s waist even more. "I am so proud of you. And I am happy to hear that your strength is now back."


    "It''s all thanks to you," Adeline took Theodore''s hand and kissed him and Theodore placed a loving kiss on her head.


    Azriel rolled his eyes at that lovey-dovey couple and sneered. "Didn''t you come to take your wife? She is fine now. I don''t need to attend her anymore." He made a chasing gesture to both of them and grumbled, "Now shoo, both of you. I need some me-time."


    "Oh come on, Azriel. Don''t be such a mood spoiler." Adeline looked up at her husband and made him a scapegoat, "Theodore saw you dance, so now it is his turn to sing a song."


    "Hey, hey! Now don''t give such wicked ideas to him." Theodore made Adeline face him and immediately changed the topic, "So, when did you wake up?"


    However, Azriel was already jumping and clapping his hands at the idea of his brother singing a song. He wanted his brother to get humiliated as well.


    So he had a sinister smirk on his face and provoked Theodore, "Your wife is asking you for something and you are denying it? I thought you would do anything for her, baby brother. But I see that you have now changed after getting married."


    Adeline also pretended to be hurt by Theodore and asked with a puppy-eye, "Is it true? Did you change just after two days of getting married?"


    Theodore playfully narrowed his eyes and corrected Adeline, "Three days. And no, I haven''t changed."


    Adeline then gave a grin and asked again, "Then sing a song for me."


    Theodore scratched his head and took in a deep breath. "I�� umm�� I don''t know any songs that the humans hum��"


    He cleared his throat and said with a hint of shy look in his eyes, "But�� let me try to make one for you."


    "Really?" Adeline''s eyes were sparkling with excitement.


    Azriel also stood in front of Theodore and asked with disbelief in his eyes, "Really?"


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and asked, "Do you want to hear a song or not?"


    Both Azriel and Adeline briskly nodded their head.


    Theodore then fixated his loving gaze on his wife. A warm feeling ran in his heart and a smile automatically appeared on his lips.


    And to everyone''s surprise, even Theodore himself, he began to hum a song. A melodious song started to echo throughout the dragon crypt.


    "Look, my dear, we''ve come so far


    Walked in fear, yet here we are


    You took my hand and filled my heart


    There''s no land where we''ll part"


    Adeline''s eyes watered, her heart was filled with love, and his song touched her soul. She covered her mouth and kept on listening to her husband.


    "Let me hold you in my arms forever�� forever��"


    Theodore took Adeline''s hands in his and placed them on his shoulders. He put his hands on her waist and began to slowly dance. And he continued singing.


    "I''ll walk alongside you, blizzard or heat


    Moments with you can never be beat


    Look, my love, we''ve come so far


    Walked in fear, yet here we are��"


    "Let me keep you in my heart forever�� forever��"


    "Oh, Theo��" Adeline smiled with her eyes were full of tears. And she sprung towards Theodore to violently claim his lips.


    Azriel turned away his head and began to whistle to make his presence known.


    Both Adeline and Theodore ended up giggling again.


    Adeline touched Theodore''s forehead with her own and praised her husband''s effort, "That was a beautiful song. I loved it."


    Theodore smiled and replied, "That was a childish song. But I''m glad that you liked it."


    Suddenly, Azriel shoved a glass container in between the love birds and shouted, "Stop acting all mushy in my room. Here!" Azriel glanced at Adeline who was now looking at him and said, "Mother left this for you before she returned back to heaven."


    "Mother left already?" Adeline took the glass container full of soft pink pills and gave a questioning glance to Azriel.


    And Azriel explained, "Yes, she left. She wanted to wait until you woke up but she had some urgent matters to take care of."


    He pointed at the jar and added, "Those are the healing pills. Any kind of injuries will be healed in a matter of a few seconds if you take one of those. Mother left it as a parting gift for you."


    Adeline hugged the jar and whispered, hoping her mother-in-law would listen, "Thank you, mother. I hope we will meet again."


    "Azriel��" Adeline handed that jar to Theodore and surprised Azriel with a hug. "Thank you for taking care of me. And thank you for supporting Theodore and me."


    Azriel blinked his eyes several times and patted Adeline''s hair. "That''s no need to thank me. Any brother would support his younger brother and sister-in-law."


    Adeline pulled away from the hug and looked into Azriel''s eyes. She could tell that he still hadn''t forgiven himself. And she knew what she had to do to make him forgive himself.


    "Azriel, I never got the chance to say this before. So I am saying this now. I have forgiven you, completely. And so should you. Don''t you dare to look at me with those guilty eyes the next time we meet."


    Azriel could see Adeline''s sincere smile. All of a sudden, he felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from his heart.


    He returned Adeline''s smile and whispered, "Thank you!"

 Chapter 436 - Old Times Sake

    The next day, Adeline and Theodore were both getting ready to head towards the training camp that Theodore had set up in the army base. The base that they were going to was close to the Palace.


    After returning to their room yesterday, Adeline and Theodore got busy with cuddling and kissing. And Adeline had yet to catch up on the things that she had missed in the past two days.


    "Theo, you said that the wolves had joined the training, right? How is the response from the soldiers?" Adeline asked while Theodore was helping her wear the battle armor.


    "They were a little skeptical to accept that their Prince was a werewolf. And even after seeing him in the wolf form, they were not quite convinced that the wolves would be of much help against the vampires. But their opinion changed by the end of the first day''s training when they saw the strength and agility of the puppies."


    Adeline was happy to hear that. "So now the two species have blended well together?"


    "Yes, the soldiers are now hopeful. They are training hard." Theodore finished tightening the buckles on Adeline''s armor.


    And he continued speaking while making sure that Adeline was fully geared up. "And all of them are eager to get their chance to go against the werewolves. But I doubt that they can even take a single blow from the puppies, especially from Nigel."


    "Hmm��" Adeline grabbed her normal sword and then said, "Okay, let''s head there then."


    ---


    Adeline and Theodore walked around the camp where Adeline could see that the soldiers were divided into platoons consisting of 50 soldiers each. And the lieutenants were warming up their troops.


    Theodore was briefing the routine to Adeline that he and the Generals had planned for the training. "So, for an hour, the lieutenants make their soldiers go through basic warm-up exercises. After that, each platoon will fight against another platoon like a mock battle."


    "Side-by-side, the archers will train to use the crossbow that Raphael had ordered from the artisan he knew. And then�C"


    Adeline raised her brows and asked, "The crossbows are already delivered?"


    Theodore nodded his head slightly. "For now, we only have 100 pieces. So the archers are taking turns to practice. The remaining pieces will be delivered soon."


    Adeline''s eyes were beaming to know that everyone was very serious, and she was glad to know that the training was going on smoothly.


    Theodore again continued to brief her as they approached the raised platform from where they could have a much clearer view of the large base. "After the mock battle session, they will be allowed to rest or get healed if they were hurt. Then��"


    Theodore glanced at a white tent that was at their far-right and informed, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, the Mystic Coven will be the guests of the Palace from now on."


    Adeline raised her brows and followed Theodore''s gaze to see a tent that was very different from the rest. "They are here as well?"


    Theodore gave a nod. "I asked them to actively be present in the training arena so that the soldiers can be immediately healed. I don''t want the wolves to go crazy if some soldiers get injured and they were to smell human blood."


    "Furthermore, the witches would also be able to control the wolves if such accidents were to happen with the humans." Theodore was now glancing back at Adeline and he asked, "I hope that you are okay with it. I took the liberty to take decisions on your behalf."


    Adeline gave a reassuring smile to Theodore. "Yes, of course, I am okay with it. It was very thoughtful of you to invite them here."


    Adeline slightly tilted her head while looking at the man who had led the armies of demons, and she said, "Thank you for sharing my burden. And thank you for sharing your own experience to help us out."


    Theodore lightly pinched Adeline''s cheeks and shook his head. "You have to stop saying ''thank you'' every time I do something for us. I am already your husband. It is my duty to help my wife."


    And he instantly continued, "And after the mock battle amongst themselves, I put them through a battle simulation where they will have to get used to the speed of vampires. I''m not as good as Azriel with illusions but I''d say I am pretty decent."


    Adeline was looking at Theodore with appreciative eyes. She was even doing a little clap subconsciously when she said, "Wow! They will be fighting illusions of vampires? I would also love to take part in that simulation."


    "Of course." Theodore gave a sweet smile to Adeline.


    They heard someone clearing their throat. Adeline turned around to see General Osmond standing behind her. "General!" Adeline gave a wide smile to him and gave a gentle nod.


    Osmond gave a gentle bow to Adeline and asked, "I heard that you were not feeling well. Have you recovered now?"


    Adeline happily nodded her head and said, "Yes. I have recovered fully."


    Osmond wanted to chat with his dearest student for a bit but duty came first. He took a deep breath in and informed the Prince and the Princess, "It''s time for the mock battle. I will announce them to begin."


    Adeline gave him the permitting nod and the General faced the crowd and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The Princess is here to see all of your performance. Make sure to give your best. Begin!"


    The moment Osmond gave the order, all the platoons charged at their opponents.


    The training ground was filled with the loud roars and battle cries of thousands of soldiers. The sound of metals clanking and soldiers running made Adeline get an immediate adrenaline rush.


    Adeline watched the battle with great enthusiasm and for a moment, she also felt like running down to the battle ground and joining the battle.


    And as if someone heard her wish, Nigel, Rhea, and Fenris arrived.


    "Hello, sister!" Nigel gave a challenging smile to Adeline and asked, "I heard that someone was now a changeling. Want to test your power against me? For old times'' sake?"


    Nigel didn''t need to ask twice. Adeline gestured everyone to clear the area for the two of them and drew her sword, "For old times'' sake."


    General Osmond threw his sword to Nigel and he sat beside Theodore to watch the two of his former students duel. "Oh, how I miss the old times."


    Nigel and Fenris also went and sat beside them. Fenris already knew what to expect but Rhea had never seen the two of them go against each other. So she was the most excited to witness their duel.


    Adeline pointed her sword at Nigel and shouted, "I heard that your power increases when you are in your wolf form. Don''t hesitate to turn if you think you can''t handle me."


    Nigel was happy to see that his sister''s confidence was back. "I hope I don''t need to turn.. I used to go toe-to-toe with you back when I was just a human, remember?" He instantly pushed himself from the ground and charged at Adeline.

 Chapter 437 - Toe-to-toe

    Nigel raised his sword above his head and leaped in the air. He covered a distance unimaginable by normal humans. And when he was about to land, he swung down his sword on Adeline who was not backing away from where she stood.


    Adeline blocked the attack from her brother by holding her sword above her head.


    The two swords clanged against each other. And because of the force that Nigel was exerting, Adeline''s sword shattered right in the middle.


    "Careful!" Theodore shouted from the side as he saw the fragments of sword directly falling on Adeline''s head.


    However, before the metals could hurt Adeline, she jumped back and avoided the possible injury.


    "Are you alright?" Nigel asked while scanning Adeline''s body.


    Adeline threw away the broken sword from her hand and smiled. "Never better," she shouted and charged at Nigel without any weapons in her hand.


    Nigel dropped his guard a little seeing that his sister was unarmed. However, that was a mistake.


    Adeline hit Nigel with a full-powered roundhouse kick right on his head. The impact was so great that Nigel collapsed to the floor and banged his head.


    Adeline felt a cold shiver in her heat thinking that she might have taken things a little too seriously. She crouched down and asked Nigel, "Brother, are you hurt badly?"


    However, Nigel gave a low growl to Adeline and immediately jumped back on his feet. He waited for Adeline to take her instance as well and said, "A single kick can''t put me down, sister. Don''t worry!"


    Nigel threw away his sword and fisted his hands in front of his face. And then he asked Adeline, "Come at me with everything you have. I will do the same. I guess we both have improved a lot since we last fought."


    "I agree," Adeline smirked and guarded her head with both of her fists.


    The two of them circled around each other for a second and both of them charged at each other with their fists. Adeline dodged the incoming uppercut and landed a sharp fist on Nigel''s gut.


    A low grumble escaped his throat. Nigel skidded a few inches away but managed to hold his ground.


    Adeline came at him with a kick. Nigel grabbed her leg and swung her around as though she was a cotton pillow. And he threw her to the far end of the platform.


    Rather than landing roughly on the ground, Adeline stepped on a post and pushed herself towards Nigel. She landed a punch on Nigel''s face and sent him flying away.


    But Nigel instantly did a backflip and got up on his feet. Adeline was coming at him again. And this time, he dodged her kick and his uppercut matched her jaw.


    Adeline got thrown in the air and crashed on the floor. "Arghh!" Adeline grunted and pressed her jaw where she got a small bruise. A small crack had appeared on the rocky floor but nothing happened to Adeline.


    Adeline pushed herself up and glared at her brother, now with an intention to end this fight. She threw a barrage of punches on her brother, most of which he managed to block at a great speed. Both of them were already sweating and out of breath. But they were getting nowhere near winning against the other.


    The fight looked like they had reached a stalemate.


    And just when General Osmond was thinking of calling a tie, Adeline grabbed her brother''s hand and flipped him down. She pinned Nigel down and with a swift motion of her hand, she pulled out a dagger from her thigh and pointed it at Nigel''s throat.


    Adeline gave a smile to Nigel and teased him, "Looks like your habit of losing to me hasn''t gone yet."


    "Oh, but I beg to differ." Nigel gave a sly smile to Adeline and immediately began his transformation.


    "Hey! I already won!" Adeline wanted to retaliate but it was already too late. She could already hear Nigel''s bones breaking.


    She swiftly got up from him fearing that her brother''s transformation process would get disrupted by her weight on him. And she stood a little further away from him so that he wouldn''t be able to surprise attack her.


    Adeline watched in amazement as her brother transformed into a huge wolf right in front of her eyes.


    "Whoa! Now that I think of it, I never saw him in his wolf form, did I? I had just imagined how he would look based on Theodore''s description�� But he looks far more magnificent than my imagination."


    This was the first time she was seeing her brother''s full transformation. The last time she saw Nigel transforming was when he had accidentally attacked her with his claws. She had just seen her brother''s mangled body at that time and Theodore had to instantly teleport the puppies away from her as her blood was driving both of them crazy.


    And while she was praising her brother''s look with wide eyes and open jaw, she forgot that she was in the middle of the fight.


    Nigel leaped forward in the air. His fluffy fur soared gallantly because of the gentle wind that caressed his body.


    Adeline kept on watching her brother, still in a daze. "I wonder why I never asked him to show me his wolf form," she thought to herself while holding her breath.


    "Adeline! Want to get crushed or what?" she heard Rhea''s panicked voice from a little further away.


    Adeline finally snapped out of her daze just when Nigel''s paw was inches away from reaching her body. She dodged the claws and slid under the wolf to get to the safe side.


    Nigel gently landed and immediately turned around and howled. The howl was so loud that it now attracted the attention of a few platoons who had already completed their mock battle.


    "Wait! The Princess is going against the wolf Prince?" one of the soldiers screamed with excitement.


    Those who had finished the mock battle ran closer to the platform to get a better view of the fight.


    Nigel went on the attack mode again. He ran towards Adeline.


    And Adeline also ran towards the fluffy wolf.


    Nigel leaped in the air again while aiming both of his paws on Adeline. But he made sure not to reveal his claws as his claw venom was lethal to humans. He just wanted to pin Adeline down and finish the battle.


    Adeline also leaped in the air and held out her fingers as though they were her claws.


    Both of them clashed midair and tried to push each other down.


    But both of them landed on the floor, still using their whole strength to push each other to defeat. They looked as though they were arm wrestling.


    The two of them kept on going back and forth, attacking and defending themselves for quite a while.


    However, it was already evident to all the onlookers that their strength was equal.


    "I had only heard the rumors that our Princess was the strongest among all the Royal children. Now I know they were not just rumors." One of the soldiers praised Adeline.


    And the other agreed, "Yeah, look at her go toe-to-toe with the wolf Prince."


    Rhea was clasping her hands together and was looking at Adeline in awe. "I never imagined that she would be of an equal match to Nigel even in his wolf form��"


    Rhea had a wide smile on her face when she thought, "This essentially means that she is as strong as the alpha."

 Chapter 438 - Illusions

    After the match between the brother and sister ended in a tie, General Osmond ordered the soldiers to gather in a single group. As this was the test phase of the training to check the effectiveness, there were only a total of five thousand soldiers on the ground right now.


    All of them were facing the empty side of the battlefield. They were all glaring at that barren side of the land as if they were seeing enemies.


    Osmond then briefed the soldiers, "Listen up! The drill is the same as yesterday. You are not to draw out or use any of your weapons in this training exercise. All you have to do is try to locate the illusions that are coming your way. Try to keep your eyes on their movements. Get used to their speed."


    And he also added, "And today, Princess Adeline will also join alongside the guests from Aberdeen."


    Adeline excitedly glanced at Theodore. She was ready to see how real Theodore''s illusion would feel.


    Theodore didn''t tell her anything at the moment because he wanted her to be as surprised as the soldiers were on their first day. He didn''t want to spoil the fun for her by warning her beforehand. So he simply smiled at Adeline. "Do your best."


    "I will," Adeline smiled back at her husband and also at Osmond. Then she ran after the werewolves who were already heading towards the training area on their two feet.


    Adeline, Nigel, Rhea, and Fenris went and stood at the front of all those soldiers. They could have stayed at the back of the soldiers but Adeline didn''t want to give herself any privilege.


    After all of them were in battle-ready position, General Osmond glanced at Theodore and asked, "Shall I give the signal?"


    Theodore gave a nod and Osmond hit a warning gong.


    The moment Adeline heard the sound of the gong, she saw a whole army a little far away from her. She focused her irises to get a clear view of the enemies. A cold shiver crept under her skin when she saw that everyone''s eyes were glowing red in color.


    Adeline breathed out slowly and mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen next, which she guessed that whatever it would be, she was going to hate it.


    Another loud gong spread throughout the training area.


    And the moment it was heard, all of the soldiers behind Adeline started to charge straight ahead. Adeline also began to run in the direction of the red-eyed illusion after seeing that the wolves had already reached halfway to the enemy.


    As she had expected, the vampires also began to charge towards them at their full speed. "All I have to do is get my eyes to get used to their speed, right?"


    Adeline had thought that she would just see a blur running towards her but to her surprise, she could see every one of those illusions very clearly. "I guess my eyes are already good at keeping up."


    Adeline soon caught up to her brother. The wolves had already turned themselves and were running on all their fours.


    Adeline flashed a smile to Nigel and then surpassed him. Nigel wanted to warn Adeline seeing her running blindly right in the middle of the army of the ''vampires''. However, he couldn''t telepathically communicate to Adeline in his wolf form unlike with other wolves.


    A few of the keen soldiers noticed that their Princess was not just strong but fast as well. Her speed looked impossible to be attained by a human.


    "Is she even human? How can anyone run that fast?" one of the soldiers thought while trying to keep track of the Princess with his eyes.


    It didn''t take long for Adeline to be surrounded by the fake vampires. She had thought that they would simply run past her or run through her as they were just illusions.


    But could she be any more wrong?


    A vampire tightened its fist and punched Adeline right on her chest.


    "Arghh!" Adeline crouched and growled in pain.


    Before she could even recover from that strike and try to think what was actually going on, Adeline felt a punch on her cheek and a kick on her thigh.


    The vampires not only didn''t run past her, but they also didn''t lose the opportunity to strike the unguarded Princess. And when those vampires hit her, she could feel their touch as well as the pain as if they were a hundred percent real.


    "Damn it!" Adeline gritted her teeth and finally came to her senses after getting hit by at least five vampires at once.


    Adeline then tightened her fists and gave out a loud and frustrated cry. And she slammed her fist on the chest of a vampire that was standing right in front of her.


    Goosebumps ran all over her body when she felt her fist inside the ribcage of that vampire. She even felt cold liquid dripping on her fist as though it was very real.


    Before she was grossed out even further, that illusion vanished from in front of her. She quickly glanced at her fist but to her relief, she didn''t see any blood. "It felt so real��"


    Adeline immediately focused her attention on a horde of vampires that were surrounding her. Without wasting another second, she kicked and punched those illusions. Some of them vanished with her single punch in their heart while some of them took four to five punches.


    After a while, she cleared the small patch around her and took a breather to look at the wolves and the humans around her.


    She noticed that the wolves were biting and clawing those illusions and were making them vanish with no problem. "As expected of them," she whispered with a faint smile on her face.


    However, that faint smile faded when she realized that out of those five thousand soldiers, not even some five hundred were still standing.


    Her eyes widened and her body shuddered when her eyes fell on the ground. "No�� nooooo��" The ground was now almost full of the soldiers who had fallen down from the attack from those illusions.


    None of them were bleeding or injured. However, they seemed to be in a lot of pain. Some even looked as though they were already dead.


    Adeline felt a painful hammering in her heart. "Will this be our fate if we go against those vampires?" she thought while lightly beating her chest with her fist.


    She was having a panic attack at the sight of those ''fallen soldiers''. She struggled to breathe in that battle armor. And her feet refused to move an inch. She even started to get cold sweats and was visibly panting.


    While she was letting her guard down again, she heard the voice that she thought she would never hear again, "Hello, murderer! Are you ready to get your payback? Because I am so ready to get it..."


    Adeline felt a piercing sensation in her heart and shrill pain in her head. Her whole body went numb when she raised her head to look at the source of that familiar voice.


    "Princess?" Adeline panicked even more when she saw the half-dead body of Princess Rebekah.

 Chapter 439 - Hard-skinned

    "Princess?" Adeline''s eyes were filled with horror when she saw the sight that she had not been able to erase or suppress from her mind. She saw the person who would often haunt her in her dreams.


    Rebekah already had a hole at the side of her stomach. Her hands were already starting to turn grey. And her face... it had immense hatred towards Adeline.


    The memory was very fresh in Adeline''s mind. The memory of the day she bathed in Rebekah''s cold blood. Though she had already rationalized that kill as self-defense, the guilt that she had buried deep down in her mind came swirling out in the open.


    A sinister smile appeared on Rebekah''s face as she tightened her fist. "Die!" she screamed before slamming that fist right on Adeline''s chest.


    Adeline was thrown away with just a single punch and harshly landed on the ground.


    Though Adeline had skillfully fought against Nigel just a while ago, she wasn''t able to block the attack from Rebekah. For one, she was consumed with her guilt and she wasn''t holding her ground properly. And second, Theodore had made sure that the strength of the illusion of Rebekah was comparable to the original one.


    "Princess, are you okay?" one of the soldiers, who was nearby, came to Adeline''s aid. He helped her sit properly.


    Adeline was in pain and was breathing heavily. She got a direct hit that was too powerful and her battle armor could do nothing to stop that force. It was just made for the purpose of stopping metal arrows and swords, not fists of vampires.


    Adeline nodded her head and replied, "Yes, I am alright. It just stings a little."


    She saw Rebekah walking towards her very leisurely, with a deadly glare on her face. "You should worry about yourself. Run to the other side," she hastily warned that soldier and tried to get up.


    That soldier followed the gaze of Adeline and saw that a scary-looking vampire was heading their way. "But it is my duty to protect you, Princess. I cannot just run away. I will distract her and you should take cover."


    "No! You don''t understand! I am her target. And she is too strong." Adeline raised her hand and tried to stop that soldier from doing anything stupid.


    However, he was already running towards Rebekah to tackle her head-on and buy some time for Adeline.


    But as expected, Rebekah crushed that soldier as if he was a mere ant. He came flying and landed right next to Adeline. He lay completely unmoving on the ground. The whites of his eyes were showing as though he was dead.


    "He would have died for real if this was not an illusion," Adeline thought to herself as she tore off her gaze from that soldier and pushed herself up.


    She clenched her fist and screamed, "Why?" She was a little angry at Theodore for doing this on the first day of her illusion training.


    Adeline''s eyes were filled with tears as she ran towards Rebekah. She didn''t want to go through with it again �C to kill Rebekah all over again. But she knew that this was a part of her training. She needed to get rid of her guilt and her empathy towards the enemy.


    She had to, if she was to survive the war. And even more so if she was to lead her soldiers to victory.


    "Arrghhhh!" Adeline screamed and aimed her punch on Rebekah''s already wounded part of her stomach.


    However, Rebekah was able to grab Adeline''s wrist and throw her a few meters far. Adeline tumbled to the ground again, but instead of the surface, she realized that her landing was cushioned by the soldiers who were already down.


    "I''m going to finish what I couldn''t do last time�� You''re going to die!" Rebekah screamed and came at Adeline while baring her fangs.


    Adeline''s heart was now filled with rage rather than pain. She was not going to let the vampires crush her soldiers like maggots.


    She was now fired up. She instantly got up on her feet and shouted back, "Not today!"


    Both the Princesses ran towards each other at the top of their speed.


    And when they were in each other''s range, Rebekah grabbed Adeline by her hair and jerked her to the side to bite her.


    However, it was not just Rebekah who was grabbing her opponent, it was Adeline as well. Adeline was using her left hand to choke Rebekah. The grip was so tight that Rebekah was struggling to breathe.


    Adeline then screamed while her eyes were on the verge of flooding, "Let me finish what I couldn''t the last time. See you in hell."


    Adeline made her fingers imitate the claws and using a great force, she dug her hand into Rebekah''s chest.


    Rebekah let out a gut-wrenching cry and attracted the attention of a few soldiers who were around them.


    Adeline could feel Rebekah''s heart. She hesitated for a millisecond, however, she forced herself to think that she was in a real war. And in a real war, she knew that even a moment of hesitation could decide between life and death.


    So she let out a broken cry and pulled out Rebekah''s heart with her bare hand.


    Adeline had thought that she would be consumed by guilt all over again if she killed the illusion of Rebekah. But contrary to what she had thought, she felt relieved�� as though she had accomplished something.


    "Is it wrong to feel this way?" she couldn''t help but question herself.


    Nigel had also turned his head in time to witness his sister in action. His white and grey furs stood up upon seeing his innocent sister''s this side.


    "Adeline�� she has become hard-skinned." He sighed in his mind and looked at Adeline with admiration, "I thought you were too young to be facing the war. But it looks like I was worried for no reason."


    Unlike earlier, the illusion was working a little too well. Adeline could feel the cold heart in her hand. She could see that her hand was soaked in blood. She could smell the metallic smell of blood, it was a little too strong to not notice.


    She was already feeling lightheaded by the sight of the heart. And the smell made her want to empty her gut then and there.


    "Theo!" Adeline screamed in her mind while holding her breath, "Did you have to go through all these details? I thought you said your illusion wasn''t that good! This feels way too real!"


    When she looked at the body of Rebekah, she could see the gruesome details that she had caused. There was a huge hole in Rebekah''s heart. Blood was dripping down her body like a waterfall. Her body had already turned grey and looked ghastly.


    "Here goes my sleep!" Adeline knew that this illusion was going to haunt her for the next couple of days.


    Adeline pushed the body away from her and looked around her while breathing heavily. There were some eyes on her, some looked at her with admiration while the others looked at her with fear. Both kinds of looks were from her own soldiers.


    She then heard a loud sound of a gong and in the very next moment, all the illusions cleared up.. The battleground swarmed with red eyes was now purged of those unsightly beings.

 Chapter 440 - Ruthless Killer?

    After the illusion faded away like a puff of smoke, all the soldiers who were down on the ground then got up at once as though they had all been playing hurt or dead.


    "What the��" Adeline had almost believed that all of them had ganged up on her to scare her and make her emotionally unstable in the middle of the fake war.


    But then she remembered the test. She was greatly hurt during the first part of the test but as soon as the illusion of Azriel wore off, so did the wounds and blood.


    Adeline glanced at her hand to see that it was not soaked with blood anymore. "As I thought." Adeline glanced towards the platform where Theodore was standing and thought with a faint smile on her face, "If he had asked the soldiers to act then we would be fighting tonight��"


    After all of the soldiers were back on their feet, General Osmond screamed at the top of his lungs, "Those who were still standing by the end of this exercise, well done. Try to maintain the same in the coming training as well. And those who were defeated, try to do better the next time."


    "That''s it for today from me and Prince Theodore. Rest for a while and your lieutenants will look after your further exercises." General Osmond concluded the training and all the soldiers dispersed from the ground.


    Adeline looked around to search for the wolves. She saw them entering two of the tents. "Why are they going�C Oh! They have to get dressed. But finding a place to hide or change the uniform is a little impractical for them if they were in a real battle..."


    Adeline took a deep breath in and headed towards the platform. She could feel her soldiers glancing at her as she walked.


    She met their glance and when she did, they didn''t dare to speak to her. However, that didn''t mean that they just glared at her or turned away. They proudly bowed to their Princess.


    Adeline smiled and gave a polite nod to them.


    After reaching the platform, she was greeted with a proud smile from General Osmond.


    He walked in front of her and praised her, "Adeline that was not bad at all. I was worried if you would be able to react in time. And I was also worried that you would get angry at me after finding out that I had concealed some information about those illusions."


    Adeline chuckled and shook her head. "Why would I get angry? I know that no matter how much we train, there will still be surprises on the actual battlefield. We might not have access to all the information. So the concealed information gave me a jerk of reality."


    Osmond proudly patted Adeline''s shoulders and said with a wide smile, "But you did well compared to how the others did on their first day. Even Nigel took some time to get used to the fake vampires. But you managed to kill around a dozen of them on the very first day. Well done."


    Adeline gave a slight nod to her teacher and said, "It is all thanks to you, General Osmond. You trained me well."


    General Osmond felt really happy when he heard the praise from the Future Queen. However, he was also a little worried after watching her kill those vampires left and right. Though he couldn''t quite make out her expression from that far, he could tell that she was killing them mercilessly.


    And he was a little worried that he might have created a ruthless killer out of Adeline.


    "Adeline, do you��" Osmond was about to ask something to Adeline but he stopped midways when he saw her eyes.


    The little sparks of excitement that she had in them a while ago were already gone. She now looked like she was thinking back to how she killed those illusions. And he thought to himself, "Maybe it is slowly starting to pull her down �C the weight of those she killed."


    So he instead said, "Adeline, take some time to reflect back to the exercise as if it was real and not fake. Think back to what went right and what went wrong. And try not to bury yourself in guilt. Wars are like this, you will see deaths all around you. But you need to learn to forgive yourself."


    Adeline took a deep breath in and nodded her head.


    General Osmond then took his leave, "I will go and talk with the soldiers now. You should also rest."


    Adeline glanced at Theodore. He was standing a little further in front of her. The moment her eyes met his, he averted his gaze from her and looked at his hands as though he was growing a tree there.


    Adeline stood in front of him and glared at him without saying a word.


    And Theodore instantly blurted out, "I know I shouldn''t have done that on the very first day and scared you. And I know I went a little overboard with all the vivid details. But I did that so that you will learn more about the brutal truth of the war. All wars are nasty and there will be a lot of unexpected turn of events and I wanted to make sure�C"


    Adeline clenched Theodore''s cheeks and made him stop mumbling on and on. She indeed was angry at Theodore but she knew that he was doing it for her sake. "Theo, thank you for not cutting me any slack just because I am your wife. Thank you for treating me like any other soldiers."


    She smiled at him and continue, "I don''t want you to go easy on me on the training because that will only make me weak in the real battle. Come at me with the hardest hurdles so that I can be the best version of a changeling."


    Theodore released a huge sigh as if he had been expecting Adeline to lash out at him for the stunt that he pulled in the battleground. "Oh, I am so glad that you aren''t pointing your sword at me for using Rebekah."


    Adeline pouted her lips and said, "But yes, that was a bad move. I almost lost my breath. I panicked that much after seeing her."


    Theodore looked down again and apologized, "I am sorry for scaring you. I thought that you would also need to get rid of your trauma by tackling her directly." He glanced back at her and whispered, "I sometimes hear you mumbling in your sleep."


    Adeline bravely smiled and nodded, "Yes, that day still haunts me. But that doesn''t mean I should always run away from that memory. This might just be a way to get used to the harsh reality and possible future reality that is undoubtedly coming my way."


    ---


    "Your Majesty," a vampire that Reginald had sent to scout the border bowed to the King after returning back to the Palace.


    Reginald had deep frowns in between his brows when he asked, "Tell me you have news that I want to hear."


    That vampire nodded his head and briefed the King, "Yes, Your Majesty. There aren''t any barriers on the border now. I successfully went to the other side of the hills."

 Chapter 441 - More Energy

    King Reginald had a sinister smile on his face when he learned that the foul magic that prevented his vampire pawns from entering Wyverndale on the day of the wedding was now lifted.


    His blood-red eyes darkened with vengeance. And a thunderous voice echoed throughout the room, "Then the war is in motion from today."


    His hauntingly maniacal cackle pierced the ears of all the vampires who were in the vicinity. And their heart shuddered. The intimidation that was emanating from the Vampire King was comparable to the one that they got from their encounter with the Devil.


    Reginald hardened his face and narrowed his eyes. His pupils dilated as he was recalling Adeline''s face. And he whispered in a grim tone, "Adeline, it doesn''t matter if I didn''t get to taste your body. I''m going to taste your blood."


    He licked his upper lips as if he could already taste Adeline''s sweet blood. "I am going to enjoy every drop of your blood."


    And he let out a maniacal cackle again.


    ---


    After talking with Theodore for a bit, Adeline went to the tent where the Mystic Coven members were currently in. She wanted to personally welcome her guests.


    When she entered the tent, she noticed that it was more like a first-aid center rather than the resting place for the witches. The tent had around two dozen soldiers who were laying down on the bed.


    The witches were busy healing the soldiers who were hurt in the mock battle against the other soldiers.


    Agnes saw the Princess coming in and immediately ran towards her to greet her.


    "Princess Adeline! I had heard that you had some health-related issues. I am glad to see that your health is back to normal." Agnes smiled and gave a bow to the Princess.


    Adeline nervously scratched her head and whispered, "It''s not back to normal though��"


    "Do you still have some complications?" Agnes looked a bit concerned and she instantly offered, "If you have then let me heal you."


    Adeline waved her hand and shook her head. She smiled and replied, "No, that''s not what I meant. I meant to say that my health is better than before."


    "Oh! Right!" Agnes face-palmed herself and gave a wide grin, "Prince Theodore had said that you were under the Dragon Immortal''s care. I don''t know why I thought that I could be a better healer than the Deity himself."


    Adeline laughed as she saw a hint of jealousy in Agnes'' face. And Adeline didn''t want the witches to have an inferiority complex against the Deity so she calmly said, "No, Agnes. You are a great healer. It''s just that this time I had to be healed by Dragon Immortal."


    "Your health was that bad?" Agnes looked very worried for the Princess.


    Adeline squinted her eyes and bobbed her head. "Kind of."


    She then smiled at Agnes and reached out for her hands while saying, "I will be coming to you to get healed from now on. I am so glad that I have your coven in the Palace now. Thank�C"


    Adeline''s hands had only brushed Agnes'' fingers when Agnes pulled her hands as though she had just touched burning coals. Agnes'' breathing became uneven and she glanced at Adeline with a shocked expression on her face.


    "Agnes? Is something wrong?" Adeline raised her brows and tried to touch Agnes'' hand again.


    However, Agnes jerked back her hand again and winced as if she was in pain.


    Adeline looked around at the other witches to ask for help but most of them were focused on healing the patients. She didn''t think that disturbing them was an option.


    Adeline gently touched Agnes on her soldier and shook her. "Agnes? Are you alright?"


    Agnes abruptly flung open her eyes and almost made Adeline jump.


    She glared at Adeline and whispered, "I sense the presence of demonic power inside of you."


    She closed her eyes and grimaced again. She then gave a confused look to Adeline and asked in a whisper, "Why do I feel like we already had this conversation in the past? But at the same time, I don''t have the memory of it."


    Adeline simply gave a nervous smile and looked away.


    The Princess was surprised when suddenly, she felt Agnes'' hand on her stomach. She flinched but didn''t say anything and let the witch do whatever she was doing to her.


    Agnes looked like she was checking Adeline''s health. She had an excited expression on her face at first but after a few seconds, her face dropped.


    "Umm�� is there any problem with me?" Adeline believed so because of the way how Agnes looked disheartened.


    Agnes grabbed Adeline''s hand and took her outside of the tent. And she said in a low voice, "I assumed that you were pregnant. But you are not. Then that means��" Agnes gulped and asked, "Forgive my impudence but�� did Prince Theodore turn you into a demon? Is that even possible?"


    Other than the celestials, the knowledge about her being a changeling was only known to the wolves and General Osmond for now. Though the soldiers also got to witness her extraordinary powers today, they could only make a speculation. They didn''t know any definite answer behind her powers.


    But considering how the witches were already so close to her, Adeline thought that it was only fair that they got to know about her changes.


    Adeline pursed her lips and cleared her throat. And she answered the curious witch, "It wasn''t intentional but when Theodore and I performed the unification ritual, something happened. The Dragon Immortal said that I am now a changeling."


    Adeline further gave the details to Agnes and after listening to Adeline, Agnes went into deep thought.


    Adeline kept silent thinking that Agnes was trying to digest this new and bizarre piece of information.


    However, Agnes'' mind was working on something else. She was worried that if Adeline was to sustain some kind of injury in the training, then would she even be able to heal the Princess.


    Healing someone wasn''t an easy task. They needed to take something from nature and transfer that energy to the injured person.


    Agnes rubbed her chin with her finger and thought, "If the Princess is now a superior being than a human then we will need to use a lot of energy from nature. We have to study how much more power we will need to add up to heal her."


    After a while, Agnes glanced at the Princess and then put forth the request. "Princess, our ability to heal depends upon who or what we are healing. And now that you are a half-human and half-demon, I think our previous level of powers absorption won''t be adequate to heal you. So, I will have to perform some tests on you."


    "Sure. What kind of tests?" Adeline readily asked with a smile.


    "Er��" Agnes hesitated for a while and then asked after Adeline kept on giving a questioning gaze to her, "If you get wounded then please come to us before you see anyone else. I want to know how much energy I will have to use to heal you."


    Adeline nodded her head without hesitating. "Sure, I will do that."


    Adeline then gave a wide smile to Agnes and said, "I didn''t get to formally invite you to the Palace or welcome you when you all arrived. But thank you for leaving the comfort of your peaceful home and coming to live with us. I will forever be indebted to your coven."


    Agnes was glad that Adeline still talked and behaved like before, like when she was just a human. She smiled at her and said, "We have considered Wyverndale as our home. So it is only natural that we help in the ways we can."


    They chatted happily for a while and Adeline suddenly remembered something. "Agnes, I am sorry I am already asking favors from the coven but, is it possible to cast some kind of magic in clothing items so that they can expand and contract to match the body size of the wearer?"

 Chapter 442 - Knocking On The Door

    "Adeline! Adeline!"


    Adeline heard Edwin''s voice calling her from behind. She was already near her quarter. She was ready to retire for the day after attending the long training exercises and also going through the paperwork of the court.


    She turned around to see that Edwin was running towards her as though his life depended on it.


    "Brother�� slow down! I''m not going to run away!" Adeline giggled at her brother thinking he was probably coming after her to get her permission regarding something.


    "Adeline, I had been waiting for you to return from the training�� But it looks like I missed you when you were in the court. Bennett said that you just left the court so I ran to get a hold of you." Edwin huffed and gulped to moisten his dry throat.


    Adeline now looked concerned. The matter looked serious. And she asked, "What did you want to talk about?"


    He rested his palms on his knees and said, "I had wanted to meet and talk with you but you were sick for two days and busy in the training camp for the next three days. So I didn''t even get the chance to properly talk to you."


    He took in a deep breath and looked around. They were in the middle of the path and there was a chance that someone would accidentally hear them. So he straightened his back and asked Adeline, "Can we talk in private?"


    Adeline''s heart skipped a beat because the matter not only sounded serious but also secretive. "It can only mean one thing��" she thought to herself.


    "Sure. Let''s go to my quarter." Adeline gestured Edwin to follow her and the two of them walked towards Adeline''s meeting room in her quarter.


    Once they were inside, both of them settled down. Edwin looked very frantic and on edge.


    "What''s the matter, brother? Did something big happen?" Adeline furrowed her brows and asked.


    Edwin inhaled deeply before reaching his pocket and taking out a paper. He handed it to Adeline without saying a word.


    Adeline grabbed the letter and quickly skimmed through the contents of the letter. Her throat parched and her hands shook slightly. Dark clouds loomed over her face by the time she finished going through the letter.


    She rested her head on the headrest of the chair and closed her eyes. She took a staggering breath through her mouth and tried to calm her pounding heart.


    Adeline sighed in frustration and mumbled, "So it''s really happening�� The war��"


    Edwin''s face was equally filled with tension. He also heaved a sigh and muttered, "Yes, it''s really happening."


    Though Adeline had already put all offensive as well as defensive tactics for the war in motion, a small part of her wished that the war would never come knocking on their door.


    Adeline sneered dejectedly and mumbled, "It was a wishful thinking that that egoistic Vampire King would try to reflect upon his own mistake and leave us in peace."


    Edwin clenched his fists together and grumbled, "He already had his eyes on Wyverndale. He would have tried to claim our Kingdom one way or another. He didn''t get to capture it by marrying you, and now he reverted back to his original plan."


    Adeline crumbled that letter in her hand while imagining it to be the neck of that psychopath.


    She irately pushed back her silver hair and asked Edwin, "So, what have you decided, brother? Will you go to that Kingdom as he demands?"


    "I had already agreed before to play the role of the double agent. If that is what you still want then I will do as you say." There was not a single sign of hesitation in Edwin''s eyes when he said that.


    And Adeline liked her brother''s courage.


    She threw the letter on the table in front of her and tried to warn Edwin one last time. "You already know how dangerous that Vampire King is. If he even suspects that you are playing a double agent''s role for Wyverndale then he might not even think twice before sinking his fangs on you."


    "Are you willing to take that risk?" Adeline kept on glancing at her brother to see if he would show any hesitance. However, even after saying that, all she could see in him was confidence.


    Edwin gave a light smile and replied, "Adeline, I am already aware of what might happen to me if he was to find out. I know I have to be really careful. But you know me��" His smile widened as he said, "I have been a conman for almost all my life. So deception comes naturally to me."


    Adeline gave a nervous chuckle at that response from Edwin. And for a second there, it would be a lie to say that Adeline didn''t feel like Edwin would deceive her and not the Vampire King.


    But she brushed away that thought to the side because she knew that even if Edwin wanted to deceive her, it wasn''t physically possible for him. Adeline was thankful towards Azriel for cursing Edwin. She sometimes felt bad for him, yes. But right now, his curse was her boon.


    Adeline nodded her head and ordered Edwin, "Then you should prepare to go to Mihir and meet Reginald. Make him believe that you hate me and that you are on his side. And try to extract as much information as you can. Your first mission will be to find out the number of vampire soldiers that he has."


    Edwin gave a nod to Adeline and said, "Sure. I will do my best to find that out." He cleared his throat and asked, "And also a question."


    "Go ahead."


    "I am pretty sure that they will try to extract information from me as well, especially about Prince Theodore." Edwin tapped his feet on the floor and asked, "So�� how much information should I reveal to them? They already saw his powers and his devil form. And because of that, I cannot simply feign ignorance."


    Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line and thought with a frown on her forehead. And after some careful consideration, she replied, "Try to scare them as much as possible. Make Theodore the Devil to be reckoned with. And make them believe that if they are to attack us then they will face his ultimate wrath.


    But at the same time, make sure not to give the details of his power, just tell them how terrifying they are. Exaggerate as much as you want."


    Edwin gave a sly smirk. He understood why his sister was saying so. And he was impressed with how clever she was.


    He nodded his head and said, "Doing so will break the spirit of those vampires. That''s clever thinking on your part."


    Adeline gave a knowing smile.


    After discussing the specifics that Edwin was to do while he was in Mihir for a while, Edwin suddenly remembered a very important thing he had to say to Adeline. "Sister, I almost forgot to give you a good news. I thought that I had already told you."


    "There''s a good news?" Adeline gave a doubtful look and asked, "What is it?"


    Edwin puffed his chest with pride and gave a wide grin.. And he informed his sister, "King Leonel has agreed to support Wyverndale."

 Chapter 443 - New Witch

    The next day, Prince Edwin''s maids had already prepared necessary items for his travel to Mihir. As this travel was a secret mission, he had told Princess Juniper that he would be traveling to the border to investigate the condition of the outposts.


    "What if those vampires are lurking near the borders? I don''t want you to get hurt." Juniper clung onto Edwin''s shirt as if to stop him from going.


    Edwin turned around to face his wife with a smile on his face. He lightly squeezed her cheeks and tried to console her for the umpteenth time, "Jun, I will be back before you know it. You don''t have to be so worried."


    Edwin lovingly pecked Juniper''s lips and reassured her, "Besides, Prince Theodore is sending the Chimera with me as my bodyguard. A demon will be guarding me all the time so I will be fine."


    Juniper took a ragged breath and wrapped her arms around Edwin''s neck. No matter what her husband said to her, there was no way she would be completely free of her worries.


    "Be on your guard, okay?" she whispered to Edwin and kissed him passionately.


    Edwin gave a loving gaze to his wife. And he nodded, "Okay."


    "Let me help you with the robe." Juniper helped Edwin put on his Royal robe before he left for the journey.


    And while she was doing so, Edwin asked her, "Where is Joyce by the way? Is she already attending her class?"


    "Yes, she is already with her teacher." Juniper patted Edwin''s shoulder to let him know that he was ready to leave.


    "Did you tell her that I will not be home for a few days?" Edwin had asked his wife to do so because if he would tell his daughter he was leaving, then she would start to cry. And he couldn''t stand to see tears in his daughter''s eyes.


    Juniper nodded with a sad smile. "She was crying when I told her." Juniper realized that she shouldn''t have said that. And she instantly tried to joke about it, "It pains me to see our daughter making it so obvious that she loves her father more than me."


    Edwin ended up bursting into laughter and hugged his wife. "I''m sure she loves both of us equally."


    "Father!" Suddenly, both of them heard their daughter''s voice coming from outside the door. Her voice was soon followed up by the loud banging on the door. "Father! Father!"


    Juniper gave a sorry look to Edwin and rushed to open the door for their daughter.


    "Baby! Did you run away from your class?" Juniper leaned down and asked her daughter in a soft voice.


    But Joyce ran towards her father without answering her mother. She stood a foot apart from her father and shouted, "You promised that you wouldn''t leave!"


    Edwin smiled and squatted in front of his daughter, "Joy, I''m not leaving you forever�� I''m just going away for a few days."


    He gently held his daughter''s baby hands but she pulled her hand away and shouted in her sharp voice mixed with anger and tears, "No! Don''t go!"


    To everyone''s surprise, her little hands threw a flame of fire on the curtain.


    Both Edwin and Juniper felt a pinch in their heart. They were both reminded of Lillian.


    An inaudible whisper left Edwin''s lips, "No��" He covered his mouth while gazing at the curtain being engulfed in flames.


    Juniper hastily looked around and grabbed a jar of water. She splashed the water on the curtain and sighed in relief. The fire was under control.


    However, Joyce was scared by what she had done and she began to cry. She was scared that her father would scold her or hate her for being weird.


    Edwin hugged his daughter and got up while lifting her in his arms. "It''s okay, sweetheart. It''s okay. There is nothing to be scared about."


    But Joyce buried her face on her father''s shoulder and kept on sobbing. "Why do I do bad things? Is something wrong with me?"


    Both Edwin and Juniper looked at each other. They were both surprised that their daughter had already begun manifesting the magic but she was hiding it from them.


    Edwin gently caressed his daughter''s loose curls and tried to console her. "There is nothing wrong with you, Joy. It means that you are a special child. All you have to do is learn how to control your magic. And you will be a great witch someday."


    Joyce lifted her head and glanced at Edwin''s face. She sniffled and said with downturned lips, "But being a witch is a bad thing. Grandmother was punished because she knew magic."


    Juniper clasped her mouth and turned around to hide her tears. She felt defeated as a mother for not being able to sense some changes in her daughter.


    Edwin, on the other hand, couldn''t believe that his little kid was so perceptive of what was happening around her.


    But she had such a wrong belief about the witches and magic just because of one wrong person. He was enraged that his mother kept on haunting his present even after she was locked up in the darkest dungeon.


    Edwin put on a smile on his face and wiped his daughter''s tears. And he corrected her belief, "Being a witch is not a bad thing, Joy. Your grandmother was punished because she used her magic to do bad things. There are a lot of good witches who use their magic for good things."


    Edwin recalled that the Mystic Coven was now residing in the Palace. And he asked his daughter with a bright smile on his face, "The good witches can make flowers bloom with their magic. How amazing is that? Do you want to meet them?"


    Joyce pouted her lips and nodded her head.


    And he said to his daughter, "I will ask aunty Adeline to take you to them, okay? I''m sorry I cannot take you there myself. I have to help your aunty with something."


    Joyce simply looked down and kept silent.


    Edwin kissed Joyce on the forehead and said, "I will bring some sweets for you when I return. Will you allow me to go now?"


    Joyce smiled and nodded her head.


    Edwin walked towards his wife and gave Joyce to her. When she was in her mother''s arms, Edwin softly asked her, "Be a good girl, okay?"


    "Okay," Joyce looked sad again but she didn''t cry or shout this time.


    Edwin then glanced at his wife and said, "I will ask Adeline to introduce Joyce to the Mystic Coven. Maybe they will agree to teach her."


    Juniper nodded her head while trying hard not to show even a shred of sadness on her face. "Take care of yourself. Do not do anything rash."


    Edwin chuckled and joked before leaving, "You treat both me and Joy the same. Am I your kid or what?"


    Juniper laughed and Joyce was the one to answer, "Father is also a child like me."


    Adeline had already ordered the carriage to be prepared for Edwin. By the time Edwin reached in front of the court, the carriage was already loaded with some necessities and waiting for Edwin.


    Princess Adeline was also standing by the carriage along with Prince Theodore and the Chimera called Kira.


    Edwin rushed to their side and apologized, "I''m sorry to keep everyone waiting. Something came up that I couldn''t avoid."


    He quickly explained everything about his daughter to Adeline and asked a favor, "Please convince the witches to take Joyce in as their student, will you? I don''t want to send her to Frostford."


    Adeline gave a comforting smile to her brother and agreed, "Don''t worry about my niece. I will ask the coven. And I am sure that they would be more than happy to teach Joyce."


    "Thank you for being so reliable. I will be back soon then," Edwin gave a gentle bow to Adeline and Theodore and got inside the carriage.


    Theodore had already instructed Kira several times about his duties. But he still warned him one last time, "Do not leave Edwin''s side. And if you feel that he is in trouble, don''t hesitate to use the pendant I gave you. I will be there to pick you both."


    Edwin was listening to Theodore from inside the carriage. And he couldn''t help but smile. He peeked out of the window and thanked Theodore.


    The carriage then set off towards the enemy territory.

 Chapter 444 - Out In The Open

    "So, our family got our own witch huh." Theodore glanced at Adeline and smiled.


    But Adeline looked somewhat nervous by that news. She heaved a sigh and nodded. "I guess we do. I really hope that she will grow up to be a good-natured witch like those in the Mystic Coven."


    Theodore had seen the same restlessness in Edwin as well. And it didn''t take a genius why they were so worried regarding Joyce. They were worried that she might end up walking on the dark path of her grandmother.


    He placed his palm on Adeline''s shoulder and squeezed her gently. And he reminded her, "If she is provided with the right guidance then she will definitely turn out to be as responsible as her aunt. Don''t sweat too much."


    Adeline took a deep breath in and put on a smile. "Then I better work on providing that right guidance right away."


    There was still a few hours left until the training would begin. So Adeline headed towards Edwin''s quarter to take Joyce with her.


    On her way though, she came across King Dragomir and Queen Claricia. Dragomir was carrying the twins in each of his arms and was strolling around while mumbling stories to them.


    Though the twins didn''t understand what their grandfather was saying to them, they rarely cried when they were with him. And Claricia would sometimes get jealous of her husband.


    Adeline bowed her head to both of them and she happily greeted them, "Your Majesties! It''s nice to see that both of you are enjoying your time with the twins."


    Queen Claricia gave a wide smile and said, "The twins are guests of a few days. And your father insists on spending his free time with them."


    Adeline felt a sudden pang in her heart and she thought to herself, "Father is the one who is the guest��"


    Dragomir noticed the change in Adeline''s mood and he instantly tried to steer the conversation, "So, where are you heading to? Don''t you have to go to the specialized training today?"


    Adeline had told Dragomir that Theodore was giving special training to the soldiers to send them to the outposts near the northern borders. And she had also told him that she was also attending it to improve her defensive ability against the vampires.


    "I will go there in a while. Something came up that I have to urgently take care of." Adeline gave a bow and was about to walk towards her original destination.


    However, Dragomir interrupted her by asking, "What''s that urgent? Did something happen?"


    "Er��" Adeline didn''t see any reason to hide it from her father so she shared, "It looks like Joyce got the magic in her blood. Edwin said that she showed a sign this morning."


    Dragomir gaped his mouth for a second and finally smiled. "That''s a good thing then. So you are going to meet her now?"


    "Yes." Adeline cleared her throat and further elaborated, "Edwin asked me to introduce her to the Mystic Coven. He said she accidentally lit a curtain in a fire and was scared of her magic. She might be in the need of some immediate guidance. It might ease her if she gets to see others using their magic."


    "Oh!" Dragomir glanced at Claricia and gave the twins to her. "I will come with you then."


    Adeline was more than happy to have her father accompany her.


    After reaching a little further away from Claricia, Adeline asked her father, "You haven''t told Queen Claricia yet?"


    Dragomir was walking while resting his hands on the back. He sighed and looked up at the clear summer sky. "Every day I meet her thinking I will break the news to her. But�� I just cannot bring myself to tell her. She is always happy and smiling�� and I don''t think I am ready to take away that smile yet."


    Adeline glanced at her father''s sad face. She pressed her lips together and focused her eyes on the brick-laid path.


    "I heard that Edwin left for the border." Dragomir changed the subject again and glanced at his daughter''s face.


    Adeline nodded her head but didn''t say anything else in response.


    Dragomir carefully studied Adeline''s face. She looked absent-minded. He contemplated for a while and was ready to brush aside his thought. But he just couldn''t keep quiet anymore so he finally asked, "Did they declare the war already?"


    "Ye�C" Adeline was startled by her own slip of the tongue. She had forgotten for a second there that she had been keeping the war a secret from her father.


    She cleared her throat and quickly corrected herself, "War? Who and�� against whom?"


    Dragomir chuckled mirthlessly and went to staring back at the clear sky. "You know who I am talking about Adeline. That vampire�� did he declare a war?"


    Adeline nervously scoffed and tried to brush that question. "I don''t know why you are asking that or who gave you that impression. But you can rest assured. No one has declared any war."


    Adeline was technically not lying to her father since Mihir had not openly declared the war yet.


    However, Dragomir was not ready to accept that answer from Adeline.


    He said in a slow and serious voice, "Adeline, I have been alive for more than sixty years now. And I have been a King for around forty. So no one needs to tell me when my Kingdom might face a war."


    Adeline clasped her palms together tightly and her heart began to hammer in her chest. She couldn''t think of anything that she could say to counter her father''s argument.


    Dragomir sounded a little disappointed when he continued, "I know that brat of a King won''t stay quiet after he lost his sister and also his pride. And I have been paying attention to what you have been doing, Adeline."


    He gazed at Adeline and highlighted a few of her actions, "New weapons, rigorous training, powerful allies�� you are preparing for the war, aren''t you? And please, don''t lie to me."


    Adeline felt something sour spreading in her heart. She could feel the pain in her father''s voice.


    And she apologized without even daring to meet her father''s eyes. "I''m sorry for hiding it from you, father. I didn''t want your last�� I didn''t want to give tension to you."


    Dragomir gulped hard and said, "I understand your point of view. You want me to be happy and spend my last few days leisurely. But if I can do something to help you and our Kingdom in my remaining time, then I will happily do so."


    Dragomir gave a slap on Adeline''s back as if he was punishing her for her lies. And he asked her, "Don''t make this old man get mad at you, child. Share all the details about the war with me after we go back to the Court. I might be of some help."


    "Sure," Adeline agreed in a guilty whisper.


    Dragomir then walked in silence for the rest of the path. Even if it was for a few minutes, he wanted to let Adeline know how silence from their loved ones felt like.


    Adeline felt bad for underestimating her father''s abilities to perceive things and his ability to handle shocking news.


    "But I guess the war was never that much of a shocking news for him. He must have anticipated it ever since that vampire attacked us," she thought and sighed. She glanced at her father but couldn''t dare to say a word to him.


    Thankfully, they arrived near Edwin''s quarter after that painfully silent and awkward walk. And they heard a sweet voice.


    "Grandfather!" Joyce came running towards King Dragomir when she saw him approaching the quarter.


    Dragomir laughed and spread his arms. And he picked up the cute four-year-old in his arms. He then spoke with her in a soft tone, "Hey, my sweetheart. I heard that someone can do magic."


    Joyce looked away as though she was afraid.


    And Dragomir asked in a friendly tone again, "I like magic. Do you want to show me what you can do?"


    Joyce''s mood was instantly lifted.. She smiled and enthusiastically nodded her head.

 Chapter 445 - Meeting The King

    After traveling in the carriage for almost two days, Prince Edwin finally entered the capital of Mihir.


    He curiously looked out of the window to see what this enemy Kingdom looked like. He wanted to know the reason as to why the previous King, as well as the current King of Mihir, were interested in capturing Wyverndale in the first place.


    And after looking around, he guessed why.


    "The humans and vampires are living together without any kind of segregation or barrier between them." He deduced that much by looking at the types of houses.


    Some of the houses were small and made out of normal bricks and woods with open windows. And the other houses were normally made out of bulky rocks with very small windows. And the latter kind of houses looked big and spacious as well.


    Edwin guessed that small and airy houses belonged to humans while the big and sturdy houses belonged to vampires. Kira had confirmed his theory by spying inside some of the houses on the go.


    Similar kinds of houses were clustered together. However, as Edwin had noticed, there weren''t any barriers between those clusters.


    "And humans are afraid to carry out activities through which they can earn adequate money like opening shops or trading. They are just doing the bare minimum to survive.


    My guess is that the only ones who fearlessly make money are the vampires. But the population of vampires seems to be low compared to the humans."


    Edwin narrowed his eyes and thought, "Meaning they were after the prosperity of Wyverndale. If they were to control Wyverndale, then the other Kingdoms would also be practically theirs. And Tarrin�� they would also be able to get their hands on the diamonds, gold, and silver of Tarrin."


    When the carriage approached closer and closer to the Palace, Kira whispered to Edwin, "Prince Edwin, I can sense a lot of vampires in the vicinity. So I am going to make myself invisible. I will be right beside you all the time so you don''t have to get scared when you are inside the Palace."


    Edwin smiled at the man with a chameleon''s tail and gave his approval. "Sure. Thank you in advance for taking care of me."


    Kira disappeared from Edwin''s view in the very next second.


    After showing the jade token that Lillian had entrusted him with, Edwin''s carriage was let inside the grim-looking Palace.


    He got out of the carriage and looked up at the tower that stood tall in the middle of the castle. He felt chills in his bones when he saw a pair of glowing red eyes glaring back at him. Edwin swiftly averted his gaze from the tower and inhaled deeply.


    "Your Highness, let me show you the way," Edwin heard a soft voice coming from his side.


    He turned his head and saw a young woman. To his relief, she didn''t have red eyes. Edwin gave a nod and began to follow that maid.


    She took him inside the main entrance of the castle and up the stairs cut out of stones. The smell of this place alone was making Edwin feel nauseous. The air felt moist and carried the metallic as well.


    Edwin was directly led towards the meeting room by the maid. She gave a knock on the door and announced Edwin''s presence, "Your Majesty, His Highness Prince Edwin has arrived."


    "Let him in," came a cold reply from inside the room.


    When the maid opened the door for him, Edwin took a few seconds to enter the room. He hoped that Kira got inside the room before him and then went inside.


    The last time this Vampire King was in Wyverndale, Edwin didn''t get to see him. Now that Edwin looked at the King who was sitting on a golden chair with his legs crossed, his chin resting on his palm, and his judging eyes looking down at everyone, he got a vibe that this King had a god complex.


    Nonetheless, Edwin bowed to the King and boosted his god complex even more, "Greetings, Your Majesty. I had been wanting to see you in person ever since I heard about you. I am blessed to finally be in your presence."


    A side of Reginald''s lips curled up to form a crooked smile. "I see that Queen Lillian raised a sweet talker." He then gave a complacent smile to Reginald and gestured at the empty chair in front of him, "I am not complaining though. Please take a seat."


    Edwin gave a polite smile to the King and took his seat. He took a glance at the others in the room. There were three other people in the room, two humans and one vampire.


    Reginald then pointed at his trusted people and introduced everyone to Edwin. "He is my Chief Advisor Lord Horace, he is my Head General Lord Carlos, and he is my Vampire General Lord Evans."


    He turned towards Edwin and introduced him, "And everyone, this is Prince Edwin of Wyverndale. He will play a crucial role in our war instead of his mother from now on."


    Reginald clapped his hands and began with a serious tone, "Alright! What I want is simple. I want to rule this continent. And to do that��" he glanced at Edwin and continued, "Prince Edwin will help us march our soldiers to Wyverndale via the roads of Frostford."


    Reginald then had Carlos and Evans lay out all the plans in detail for Edwin. Edwin kept on listening to them but found nothing new. He already knew everything from his mother and the plan was pretty much the same.


    However, at the end of the discussion, he still wanted to confirm one thing. Edwin glanced at Evans and asked, "When you mentioned that you would be sending the highly trained assassins to Jhomla Pass as a decoy, did you mean you would be sending a team of vampires?"


    Evans'' lips slightly parted to reveal his sharp canines. He smiled and agreed, "Yes. Even a small number, say around a hundred or two hundred of them can kill a lot of humans if they run wild. So, that''s our best bet."


    Edwin found this as an opportunity to pry about the total number of vampire soldiers so he asked, "Just a hundred or two hundred of them can go against a hundred thousand soldiers of Wyverndale army? Even if they can, don''t you think Wyverndale would only send a battalion of their army and not the whole division when they know that their enemy is less in number?"


    "Hmm�� that''s also a good point," Evans tapped his temple with his finger as if he was thinking of a solution.


    And Edwin asked his actual question, "How many vampire soldiers do we have in total? Maybe we can increase their number so that they can lure the whole division to the north."


    Evans took a deep breath in and glanced at Reginald as if to get his permission. Reginald gave a slight nod and Evans replied, "We have around four thousand vampire soldiers." He clicked his tongue and added, "But we want to use most of them in the actual battle in the west and in the capital of Wyverndale."


    Reginald then cut in between and asked Edwin, "Can''t you convince that old geezer to deploy a whole division of capital to the north?"


    Edwin wrinkled his eyes and replied with a little hesitation, "You know how stubborn King Dragomir is. He won''t listen to anyone, not even his favorite daughter Adeline."


    Edwin pretended to be angry when he took Adeline''s name and continued to make an excuse, "So even if we..."


    Edwin''s voice died down in the background when Reginald heard Adeline''s name.


    "Adeline��" Reginald chanted her name in a longing whisper and smiled.


    He slowly ran his finger along his lower lip and mumbled, "Can''t wait for that day�� when I will finally end your life by draining you of your blood."


    Edwin batted his eyes at Reginald to see if he was serious about killing Adeline or if he was just bluffing. When his eyes met Reginald''s bloodthirsty eyes, all he could see was the intent of a killer.


    Reginald closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath. He was imagining the sweet smell of Adeline and the sweet taste of her blood.


    A soft moan escaped his lips and he kept on mumbling, "If I can''t have the most beautiful flower all to myself, then I will pluck it and end its reign over its beauty. No one is allowed to enjoy her��" his face hardened with anger when he further whispered, "....especially that Devil."

 Chapter 446 - Secret Weapon

    Even though he was mumbling, the room was too silent so everyone present there heard what Reginald was saying.


    "I''m going to make that Devil watch me as I ravish his wife. I''m going to make him hear her screams and cries for help. And when I''m done, I am going to kill her right before his eyes." Reginald covered his mouth with a palm and chuckled like a psychopath.


    Those from Mihir were already used to hearing such things from the King. But they felt embarrassed that the King was sounding like a lustful monster in front of their guest.


    Lord Horace gave an apologetic smile to Edwin and said, "What he means to say is that we have to win the war. Please don''t get offended by his remarks. Princess Adeline is your half-sister after all."


    Edwin forced a fake smile and shook his head. "Why would I be offended when I don''t even consider her as my relative? She is as good as a stranger to me."


    However, deep down, Edwin was imagining holding a stake and stabbing that Vampire King in his heart over and over again.


    It was taking all muscles in his body to keep himself from reacting to that King''s disgusting remarks on his sister. If he was powerful enough like his mother then he would have already snuffed the cold heart out of him.


    Edwin had a hard job maintaining his heartbeat at a normal rate so as not to give away that he was angry. Thankfully, Edwin''s heartbeat was overshadowed by that of Horace, who was equally angry as Edwin.


    Horace gave a glare to Reginald to make him stop spouting such derogatory remarks again but Reginald glared back at him and shouted, "What? Why are you the one being offended? It''s not like I am talking about your daughter."


    Horace clenched his teeth and fists. For a split second, he felt like spitting on Reginald''s mouth that was spewing rubbish. But he controlled himself and looked away from that cynical King, making it obvious that he was angry.


    Edwin let out a silent sigh and looked at the King. He looked so confident when he said all those things that it almost looked like he was sure that he could win against Theodore.


    He wondered if it was just his overconfidence or if he actually had some means to subdue the Devil. "Your Majesty, I am a little worried about the Devil though. You have already seen how dangerous he is. And I can guarantee that he will not stay quiet when we attack Wyverndale. He can single-handedly wipe out half of the army in a heartbeat if he desires."


    Edwin sensed the fear in everyone''s eyes but Reginald''s. And he continued asking, "So, how do you plan on defeating the Prince of Hell?"


    Reginald folded his arms over his chest and chuckled. He then whispered in a mischievous tone, "I have a secret weapon." He winked at Edwin and didn''t say anything more than that.


    Before Edwin could ask some more questions about that ''secret weapon'', Reginald stood up from his seat followed by others as well.


    Reginald was already bored after hearing his Generals explain the war plan for hours. He didn''t have any energy left to extend the meeting for a minute more.


    Also, he didn''t have anything else to say to Edwin at the moment. For now, he just needed to know that Edwin would carry the torch passed on by Lillian. And he had already confirmed that Edwin was on board with them so he was ready to end the meeting.


    "I hope we will be working together for the mutual gain and wondrous future." Reginald extended his arm towards Edwin for a handshake while saying, "Let''s rule everyone."


    "Let''s rule everyone," Edwin gave a smile and shook Reginald''s hand.


    Unexpectedly, Reginald grimaced in pain when Edwin''s hand touched his. The mighty King jerked his hand away and groaned as if he was still in pain.


    "Your Majesty! Did I do something wrong?" Edwin glanced at Reginald''s hand and saw a burnt mark on his palm.


    Reginald furrowed his brows and looked angry. But he shook his head and spoke in a controlled tone, "No, nothing''s wrong. Lord Horace will see you to your carriage. We will keep in touch."


    "Sure. I''m looking forward to fully supporting you." Edwin gave a bow to the King who walked out of the room in a hurry.


    Lord Horace then walked closer to Edwin and gestured towards the door, "I will lead you back to your carriage. Please follow me, Your Highness."


    Edwin and Lord Horace then walked out of that meeting room and climbed down.


    While walking downstairs, Edwin wanted to know whether Reginald''s secret weapon against Theodore was just a bluff or if it was real.


    Edwin, being the oldest one among all the children, never knew what it felt like to have an elder brother. But after Theodore became a part of the Royal family, Edwin got that feel from Theodore. Theodore was very protective of everyone, including him.


    And if there was something out there that could potentially harm Theodore, he needed to know what it was.


    "Lord Horace, His Majesty was talking about some sort of weapon against the Devil. Do you know what it is?" Edwin pretended to be scared of Theodore and dramatically added, "I am just asking to be sure that whatever he has planned can defeat that Lord of Hell."


    However, Lord Horace sighed and replied, "No one knows what he has planned. He simply asked us to believe in him. I hope that he really has something powerful enough to subdue or end that Devil. I hope that our King won''t underestimate the Devil again."


    Edwin also sighed and whispered with some disappointment, "I hope so too."


    It was now Horace''s turn to ask something to clear his doubt. "Prince Edwin, earlier I noticed something for a fraction of a second. You looked angry at King Reginald." He glanced at Edwin and said somewhat vaguely, "I hope that you are fully on our side."


    Edwin smiled and nodded, "I am fully on King Reginald''s side. It''s just that�� I was a bit shocked to hear a King talk that way about a woman. I consider Adeline as my enemy but that doesn''t mean I can endure hearing such foul intention."


    Edwin had seen Lord Horace''s face when Reginald had bluntly said he wasn''t talking about Horace''s daughter. And Edwin knew he could connect to Horace to clear his suspicion. "I also have women at home. And it pains me when men disrespect them."


    Lord Horace chuckled with satisfaction from Edwin''s answer and agreed with Edwin, "Yes, it''s hard to stand our King at times." He took a deep sigh and said while clenching his fist, "But he is the King we''ve got. And it is my duty to support his dream but..."


    The two of them arrived in front of the carriage and Edwin gestured to the coachman to get ready.


    "...But his dreams have now started to become too self-centered and spiteful and sickening." Horace laughed nervously and brushed the matter aside, "Forgive me, Your Highness. I don''t know why I''m getting a little emotional today."


    Edwin smiled and spoke understandingly, "It''s okay to show emotions at times." He glanced towards the tower behind him and said, "I hope that he will not stray from the main goal though."


    The coachman bowed to Edwin and said, "The carriage is ready, Your Highness."


    Horace forced a smile and agreed with Edwin, "I hope so too. Or else, all of our efforts will be for nothing." He then bid farewell to Edwin. "Have a safe journey, Your Highness."


    "Thank you!" Edwin gave a slight nod and got back inside the carriage.


    The carriage began to run and they were at the outskirts of the capital in no time.


    Edwin was staring at his palm and was lightly rubbing his thumb against the thick ring that he was wearing.


    Kira suddenly appeared in view and he sighed, "Ah! Finally, I can breathe properly. I had to hold my breath as well as my anger when I was inside that meeting room."


    Edwin glanced at Kira and said, "That makes the two of us. Thank you for enduring that stupid King''s words though. It must have been hard for you to hear someone denigrate your master."


    Kira bare his fangs and agreed. "I was barely hanging there. I wanted to crush his skull."


    Kira then pointed at Edwin''s ring and asked with a sly smile, "Are you thinking what I''m thinking?"


    Edwin smirked and asked, "So you also noticed it huh?"


    Kira''s smile widened as he flicked his fingers and said, "It would be safe to assume that silver is lethal to those vampires."

 Chapter 447 - [Bonus Chapter] Checking The Progress

    After traveling for another two days, Edwin and Kira were finally back at Wyverndale Palace. It was already afternoon when they reached there.


    And by that time, Theodore and Adeline were also already back from the training camp.


    Adeline went to welcome her brother back to Palace. And after exchanging some pleasantries, Adeline asked Edwin, "How did the meeting go, brother?"


    Edwin sighed and replied, "Ugh! It was a pain!" He put on a smile immediately and said, "But I gathered some useful information. I bet that you will be happy to hear them."


    Adeline happily clasped her hands together and gave an appreciative smile. "As expected of my brother. Let''s discuss your findings directly in the meeting. I wanted to keep the war away from our father but he found out anyway. So he has called a meeting in the evening."


    Edwin pressed his lips together and furrowed his brows. "At what time?"


    "At five." Adeline glanced at both Edwin and Kira and asked, "You both should freshen up and rest for a while. And both of you should attend the meeting later."


    Kira was a bit surprised to know that he was also being called for the meeting. But he was more than happy to be included. He smiled and agreed very enthusiastically, "Sure, Your Highness. I will be there."


    Kira headed towards his guest quarter while Edwin stayed back to ask something.


    "Adeline, did you talk with the coven? What did they say?" Edwin asked with a frown line in between his brows. He was tapping his fingers on his palm very restlessly.


    Adeline giggled seeing her brother getting restless for no reason. And she informed him, "Relax brother. They gladly agreed to teach her. Besides, it was our father who asked the High Priestess so there was no way they were going to reject."


    Edwin was left speechless after hearing that his father was the one to ask the favor for his daughter even when all he had done was disappoint his father. After a few seconds, he managed to mumble, "He was the one to take Joyce to meet the coven?"


    "Yes. Actually, we both went there along with little Joy." Adeline also informed him about the further developments, "The witches have already prepared the training schedule for her after discussing with her personal tutor. She is going to be busy from now on."


    Edwin lightly patted on Adeline''s shoulder and thanked her, "I was so worried about Joyce thinking I would have to send her away from me. But you arranged everything for her. I am really grateful."


    Adeline gave a smile and said, "I didn''t do much. Joyce was lucky that her magic manifested when the coven was already here."


    "She''s also lucky to have an aunt like you. Please keep on taking care of her in the future as well." Edwin patted Adeline''s shoulder again and turned around to head towards his quarter.


    And Adeline shouted from behind, "You don''t have to say ''Please'' as if I am a stranger. I will look after her even if you don''t ask me."


    Edwin smiled to himself and whispered, "I know."


    He recalled Juniper saying to him how Adeline had taken care of both of their needs while he was on house arrest. The current teacher looking after Joyce was also arranged by Adeline. And he knew that Adeline would obviously take care of Joyce without him asking her.


    ---


    Later in the evening, a lot of people were present in the roundtable meeting with the King. There were the Generals. The representatives of witches and the werewolves �C Tabitha and Nigel respectively. There were the spies �C Edwin and Kira.


    And the others were Theodore, Adeline, and Raphael.


    Bennett was also invited to the meeting but he had some urgent family matter and he left early after getting Adeline''s permission.


    Everyone was waiting for the King to arrive. And most of them were prepared to get scolded by the King for hiding the news about the war.


    After waiting for about five minutes, the King arrived in the meeting room. He adjusted himself in the seat and waved everyone to take their seats. "Let''s begin the meeting."


    Almost instantly, Dragomir glared at everyone in the room with his cold eyes and spoke in an intimidating tone, "First of all, I am very disappointed in all of you for keeping me in the dark."


    "Please forgive us, Your Majesty." Everyone in the room was lowering their head.


    On the other hand, Theodore was not used to these kinds of meetings. And he was busy arranging the sheets of papers provided to him in case he needed to jot something down in the meeting.


    When he looked up from the paper, he found everyone lowering their heads. He pouted his lips thinking that they were all praying to his father and began doodling on the paper.


    Dragomir was successful in scaring the life out of most of the people in the meeting room with his long silence.


    After getting his fill, Dragomir chuckled to everyone''s surprise. He cleared his throat and then said in a little softer tone, "But I am happy to see that all of you are already loyal to your Future Queen."


    Everyone let out a sigh of relief after seeing their King''s light mood.


    And Dragomir continued to speak, "All of you are already aware of most of the details about the war. So I am not going to repeat it again. What I want to discuss right now is the progress that we''ve made till now. And things that we can do to maximize our chances to win the war."


    Dragomir glanced at General Osmond and asked, "Osmond, a brigade of your soldiers have been receiving specialized training from Theodore. Are there any improvements? How is the response from the soldiers?"


    Theodore''s attention was finally back to the meeting after hearing his name.


    And General Osmond briefed the King, "The response is positive. They are saying that their senses have adapted better to the speed of the vampires. Their reflexes to the illusion attacks have also improved. The response from the archers is also positive regarding the crossbows."


    Osmond gave a praising glance to Theodore and proposed to the King, "In my opinion, we are ready to roll out the specialized training to all divisions. With time, I believe that the soldiers will be able to tackle the attacks from real vampires."


    Dragomir glanced at Theodore and gave his go-ahead, "Theodore, I will entrust the soldier''s specialized training to you then."


    "I will work on it," Theodore gave a little nod and waited for the others to speak again.


    Dragomir then glanced at Nigel and Edwin and spoke with a slight smile on his face, "We might not have cold humans with superhuman strengths on our side. But I''m happy to say that we will have powerful allies on our side �C the witches and the werewolves."


    All the Generals had a smile of relief on their faces. Most of them had heard the rumor that they already had Frostford on their side too, and hearing it from the King made their heart ease up.


    And Dragomir ordered the Generals, "All of you should work together with the related incharges of Frostford and Aberdeen to make a proper battle plan."


    Dragomir''s attention was then on the spies that returned home from Mihir.. "I believe that Prince Edwin has some intel on the battle plans of the vampires. Why don''t you share it with us?"

 Chapter 448 - Silver Armors

    Edwin glanced at everyone in the room and he met several curious eyes. Some eyes were curious to know the intel while some were curious to know how he had the intel in the first place.


    He cleared his throat and asked Adeline, "Do we all know that I am working as a double agent?"


    "Oh!" Adeline lightly slapped herself on her forehead and cleared it to everyone present in the room, "We have successfully managed to make those vampires believe that Prince Edwin is on their side."


    Everyone in the room was now attentively listening to Adeline.


    "They believe that Edwin is after the throne of Wyverndale and think that they can use him as their pawn. What they don''t know is that Edwin is just infiltrating their inner circle to know their battle plans and other important details."


    "Prince Edwin is now in their inner circle? That''s really amazing!" General Keith looked at Edwin with praising eyes.


    Not just him, everyone was looking at Edwin with amazement, even those who were against him after he was found guilty of tax embezzlement in the past. They could see that he was trying hard to atone for his sin.


    Edwin was thankful that Adeline didn''t mention how he was just walking on the path paved for him by his mother. He was sure that people would despise him if they knew that it was his mother who was the one to incite the war in the first place.


    Adeline proudly looked at Edwin and said to the others, "And brother Edwin has some important details to share with us. So, let''s hear him and decide how to move further."


    He gave a thankful glance to Adeline and started with his major findings of the meeting with King Reginald.


    "The first detail I would like to share is the total vampire soldiers at their disposal. According to their Vampire General, there are four thousand of them. It may sound very less but they can pretty much face a division of our human soldiers all on their own�� if our human soldiers don''t get support."


    Edwin glanced at Tabitha and Nigel and continued, "We already have witches and werewolves on our side. But they might not be able to fight while side by side protecting our human soldiers from the vampires."


    General Osmond cleared his throat and corrected Edwin, "With Prince Theodore''s specialized training, our human soldiers won''t need protection like they are completely new to the war. They can at least defend themselves from the vampire attacks if those vampires get past the witches and werewolves."


    Edwin smiled and nodded his head. "I''m sure that our soldiers will be able to defend themselves. But what if I tell you that they can defend themselves better if we were to make changes to their armors?"


    "Make changes to their armors? Why? What''s wrong with their current armors?" General Herwin asked while furrowing his brows.


    Edwin glanced at Kira who was acting very stiff. He wanted to make him feel included so he asked Kira, "Mr. Kira, why don''t you share what you saw there in the meeting when that Vampire King shook his hand with me?"


    Kira''s tail curled up in excitement when Edwin asked him to speak in the meeting comprised mostly of the humans. He glanced at Theodore for permission to speak.


    And when he got a nod from Theodore, he explained what he saw, "When that Vampire King''s hand touched Prince Edwin''s silver ring, he reacted in pain. And I could see that silver had the same burning effect on those vampires as the sun."


    Everyone''s interest peaked when they found a new weakness of those vampires.


    Kira glanced at Edwin and said, "And while returning back to Wyverndale, we were discussing how we could use their weakness against them. We came to a conclusion that if we were to coat our soldier''s battle armors with a thin layer of silver, then vampires would be wary of touching our soldiers."


    And Edwin added to what Kira said, "They won''t be able to hurt our soldiers without hurting themselves first."


    "But don''t the vampires have super healing abilities?" General Herwin asked very skeptically, "What can a little burn from silver do to them? The silver will only increase our cost of war. We don''t want our future generation to carry the burden of our debt, do we?"


    Edwin calmly looked at General Herwin and further elaborated his point, "Yes, the vampires can heal faster. But in the war, every second matters. They won''t harm the human soldiers unless they want to lag because of their pain and get mauled by werewolves or burned by the witches."


    Everyone went quiet for a while. They all pondered upon this new piece of information brought by Edwin.


    And finally, King Dragomir broke the silence, "Yes, I agree with Edwin. Silver armors can be a great advantage to our human soldiers. The vampires will be forced to go after werewolves or the witches and wizards, leaving our human soldiers for their human armies."


    Dragomir tapped his finger on the table and said more to himself than to the others, "There will be better power balance among the opponents just by introducing the silver armors."


    He then looked at everyone and came up with an idea to reduce the cost of war. "We all know that Tarrin is rich in precious metals'' mines. They also own plenty of silver mines as well. As this battle not only affects us but all of the Kingdoms in the south, I am sure they won''t mind extending their help to us."


    Adeline had been holding in that idea for a while now. But the moment her father brought Tarrin up, she instantly agreed. "Yes, our treaty also states that they will have to send help if Wyverndale faces any war and vice-versa. We already have plenty of fighters so they can help us financially by providing silver at a minimal rate."


    Dragomir nodded his head and jotted something down on his paper. He then glanced at Adeline and asked, "As soon as we finish the meeting, remind me to write a letter to Tarrin."


    Dragomir suddenly felt a chill in his heart and thought, "If I resort to writing a letter then it might be too late��"


    He inhaled sharply and glanced at Theodore. "Or even better, I want Theodore to teleport me to Tarrin. I will seal the deal today itself."


    Most of the people in the room could see that their King was restless for some reason. And they wondered why he was in such a haste to make the deal faster, so much so that he was asking Theodore to teleport him to Tarrin.


    Theodore and Nigel both felt a sudden pang in their heart. They were reminded that King Dragomir barely had a week left before he would vanish from this world.


    Theodore dug his nails on his palms and suggested in a soft voice, "It''s already late today. Why don''t we go there first thing in the morning tomorrow?"


    Dragomir looked outside the window and realized that it was already dark outside. He sighed and agreed. "Okay, we will go there tomorrow at seven in the morning."


    "I will be ready," Theodore couldn''t even look Dragomir in the eyes anymore. And he began to aggressively blotch his paper with ink, while at the same time making sure not to show any kind of emotions on his face.


    On the other hand, Adeline''s mind was diverted when something sweet entered her nose.


    She looked towards the door thinking, "Something smells good." She thought that the guards outside were having some food. And she got this sudden hunger and desire for that food.


    However, she realized that it was not the food that she wanted. It was the black and purple aura floating around in the room. She guessed what kind of aura it was when every inch of her body screamed to her to absorb that aura.


    She was very close to giving in and absorbing that aura, but then she saw its source. It was emanating from no one else but her father.


    Adeline''s heart was crushed to see that her brave father was afraid. She looked at King Dragomir with pitiful eyes and thought, "He isn''t just afraid�� he is terrified!"


    She quickly looked down at her papers and started taking in deep breaths to control her tears as well as her urge.


    Yes, Dragomir was terrified. But he didn''t fear death like Adeline had assumed.. He feared leaving the Kingdom and his people behind when they needed him the most.

 Chapter 449 - Letting Out More Secrets

    Dragomir''s restlessness disappeared when Theodore agreed to take him to Tarrin. "At least I will be able to help Adeline with this issue before I go," he thought to himself and sighed.


    Adeline looked up to see her father when her hunger died down. The aura that was enticing her had disappeared already. And her restlessness was also reduced to some extent.


    "By the way," Dragomir then focused his attention towards Nigel and asked, "How many werewolves can fight in the war?"


    "There aren''t a lot of werewolves among us who have already mastered the battle techniques in their wolf form." Nigel thought for a few seconds and replied, "Maybe around two thousand of the werewolves will be able to participate in the war."


    "Hmm��" Dragomir noted that number down in his paper and then glanced at Edwin. "Edwin, do you have any rough idea as to how many witches and wizards would be able to come to our aid if we were to ask for their help?"


    Edwin pointed his palm towards Nigel and answered the King, "Just like the werewolves, there aren''t many of those who have already mastered their magic. Maybe around a thousand of them can fight properly."


    When Edwin''s eyes met with Nigel''s, Edwin finally didn''t see detest in those sapphire eyes. A very subtle smile appeared on Edwin''s lips.


    Dragomir finished jotting down the number of magic users as well and then wondered out loud, "So, we will have three thousand of those who can go against the vampires. I wonder if that one thousand gap between us and the enemies will make a huge difference or not."


    Tabitha, who was silently listening to the conversations finally put forth her voice, "We can also increase our defense by wearing the silver battle armor. We have successfully managed to create a cloth that can expand or contract based on werewolves'' changes. We can use that to create battle armors as well."


    "Er��" Nigel squinted his eyes and gave a soft chuckle. And he let everyone know, "I am not really supposed to be disclosing this but I think I need to."


    Dragomir saw Nigel hesitating even after saying that so he nudged his son with his words, "What is it Nigel? Feel free to share. Everyone here is tight-lipped." He chuckled and added while flicking his brows at Adeline, "I have firsthand experience."


    Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line and awkwardly looked away when her father gazed at her.


    Nigel then glanced at Edwin and asked, "Edwin, will you pass me that silver ring of yours?"


    Edwin''s heart almost jumped with excitement when Nigel took the initiative to talk with him. He gave a smile to Nigel and nodded, "Sure."


    Edwin didn''t know why Nigel asked for his ring but he took it off anyway. And then threw it at Nigel.


    Nigel caught the ring but he immediately winced in pain and dropped the ring on the table. He then opened his palm to show it to everyone. In the middle of his palm, a layer of his skin had peeled off just by that brief touch of that ring.


    All the others had the same question at the tips of their tongues.


    And Nigel answered their unasked question, "Silver is lethal to werewolves as well." He darted his eyes on everyone and then asked in a polite tone, "If the word about our weakness gets out then our kind will be in trouble. Please keep this secret to yourselves."


    Everyone in the room agreed in unison to their Prince''s request.


    General Osmond then asked his former student, "Then won''t it be a problem if we wear the silver armor? We might accidentally collide or run into each other during the battle."


    However, Nigel thought otherwise. "I think wearing the silver armor will be better for the humans. We werewolves have trained ourselves ruthlessly to be able to keep our wolf instincts in check."


    Nigel inhaled the air and exhaled another secret, "But if we give in to our wolf instinct even for a second then we might end up attacking the humans on our side. We are attracted towards human blood just like the vampires."


    Those who didn''t already know about this turned stiff all of a sudden. One of the generals was even close to declaring Nigel as a monster to be feared.


    However, Nigel was quick enough to let them know that werewolves wouldn''t deliberately attack humans.


    "The effect of human blood on the two species is different though. Human blood makes vampires stronger while it is a curse to us. If human blood even touches our tongue then we will be stuck in our wolf form forever."


    Nigel then confidently looked at everyone and stated, "But as I said earlier, only those who have absolute control over their wolf instincts will participate in the war. The chances of them losing their control after smelling human blood is less than a single percentage."


    Dragomir lightly tapped the table and said, "And even that one percent chance of any mishaps happening in the battlefield will be nullified if werewolves will be repelled by the silver armor. Am I correct?"


    Nigel agreed to his father. "Yes. So, please, I urge the human soldiers to use it."


    General Herwin, who was always a champion at raising concerns and picking a fight, asked Nigel with a stern voice, "If Prince Edwin hadn''t found out about this silver thing then you and Princess Adeline were ready to look away from that one percent error?"


    Herwin glared at Adeline and asked in a similar rude tone, "When we are talking in thousands, even that single percent means a lot, Princess. Were you going to sacrifice our soldiers by letting the werewolves join the battle alongside us?"


    Nobody in the room liked the way he accused Nigel and Adeline, especially when they had gone through a lot of troubles to bring in the werewolves as allies.


    Nonetheless, Nigel still managed to reply calmly, "Adeline and I were depending on Edwin to persuade the Vampire King into sending their vampire soldiers to a different location than their human soldiers. That way the werewolves would be able to fight the vampires without holding back."


    Adeline put on a smile and gritted from between her teeth, "Yes, General Herwin. We were going to try our best not to mix the werewolves with the humans. And if that didn''t work out, we would have searched for some other option. We were never going to overlook that small chance of error."


    It was now Dragomir''s turn to speak sternly. "And if nothing had worked out then I would have authorized the werewolves to fight alongside the humans."


    "Sometimes we have to make small sacrifices to reach the bigger goal. That is a cruel choice I would make as the King, but it is a choice I would have considered nonetheless. Especially if it meant that by getting aid from the werewolves, we could save a hundred thousand lives at the expense of ten or twenty."


    This was also a lesson from Dragomir to Adeline. He wanted to let her know that sometimes, rulers would have to make a hard choice.. He wanted her to know that sometimes she would have to minimize damage than completely avoid it and that it was okay to do so.

 Chapter 450 - Any Weakness?

    The meeting went on for one more hour. And when King Dragomir finally believed that all of the immediate issues were taken care of in the discussion, he invited everyone present in the meeting to have dinner with him.


    All of those present in the meeting were heading towards the dinner hall in King Dragomir''s quarter. Dragomir wanted everyone to connect better so that they would be comfortable with depending on each other for the coming war.


    Dragomir and Theodore were walking in front of everyone. As all the others behind were busy talking among themselves, Dragomir took this opportunity to ask something that was bothering him recently.


    "Theodore," Dragomir softened his voice even further, almost into a whisper, and asked, "have you met your father recently? Has he told you anything about the exact day he will be sending the grim reaper? He said he would be sending someone for my soul within a month, didn''t he?"


    Theodore was walking with his arms behind his back. And when he heard the King''s question, his grip on his wrist tightened.


    Dragomir took a deep breath in and looked up at the moon. "And I always go to bed thinking that it could be my last night and wake up the next day thinking it could be my last day."


    Dragomir pressed his lips into a thin line and turned to Theodore to flash a sad smile when he realized his mistake. He had forgotten for a moment that this subject was far too sensitive for Theodore than to anyone else.


    Theodore instantly looked away and kept his eyes on the path. And he replied in an undertone, "I met him on the wedding day but he didn''t mention anything regarding the exact day."


    Theodore suddenly felt Dragomir''s arm around his neck and was slightly startled.


    Dragomir was a few inches shorter than Theodore and thus, he made Theodore slouch a little. He then said to Theodore in his fatherly voice, "Theo, you know this is not your fault, right?"


    "Oh, but it is!" Theodore countered in a bit louder tone.


    Dragomir playfully tugged Theodore''s long hair and chuckled when he heard Theodore squeal. And then he asked in a serious tone, "Would you have rather let my daughter die?"


    Theodore felt a prick in his heart and he shook his head, "No."


    "So, you have your answer. You did what you needed to do." Dragomir patted Theodore''s shoulder and pleaded to him, "Now don''t sulk around for another century. Get over it already."


    Theodore''s brows creased for a second. He guessed why Dragomir wanted to know the exact day.


    And then he firmly promised his father-in-law, "I will let you know when your time is about to come to an end. At least fifteen minutes early so that you can say your final goodbyes to your children." This was the only thing that Theodore could think of that he could do for Dragomir.


    "Is that possible?" Dragomir gave a hopeful look to Theodore.


    Theodore nodded his head and assured Dragomir, "Yes. I have a way."


    Dragomir finally smiled and sighed in relief.


    ---


    Everyone sat for dinner together with a variety of dishes spread on the table.


    The Generals were especially happy that they were sharing the meal with their King and their future Queen. They would only get to sit at the same table with them on very few special occasions. And getting invited to dinner when there was no such special occasion meant a huge deal to them.


    And instead of indulging the Generals in the work-related talks, King Dragomir was having small talks with them �C asking them about their family, their personal taste in food, and things like that.


    He was doing it for Adeline so that she could connect to the backbones of their Kingdom on a personal level.


    While Dragomir and Adeline were busy with the Generals, Edwin called for Theodore''s attention and spoke in a low voice, "Theodore, I wanted to ask you something."


    "Yeah, sure," Theodore gave a nod and put a piece of boiled carrot in his mouth.


    Nigel was sitting in between Edwin and Theodore. And he backed off his head when Edwin brought his face dangerously close to him in an attempt to whisper to Theodore.


    Edwin then asked Theodore, "Is there anything that can work against you? Defeat you?"


    "Why?" Theodore took another bite of the carrot and asked sarcastically, "Are you trying to get rid of me?"


    Edwin gave a ''do I look like a madman to you'' look to Theodore and said in a serious voice, "It''s a serious matter, Theodore. I didn''t want to ask this to you in the meeting earlier because I didn''t want everyone to get scared if there really is something that can even defeat you."


    Theodore was already opening his mouth to answer but Nigel was ticked off by Edwin''s question. He couldn''t help but get suspicious of that capricious half-brother''s intention.


    And he angrily asked Edwin, "Why do you need that information anyway? Why does Theodore need to reveal his weakness to you, that is if there are any to begin with?"


    Edwin gave a gentle smile to his brother. He could understand why Nigel would be angry at him. So he clarified, "I tried to instill fear in that Vampire King''s heart by saying that he would never be able to win against Theodore. However, he didn''t show a hint of fear."


    A cloud of worry hovered in Edwin''s eyes when he further revealed, "Rather, he was saying that he has a secret weapon against Theodore. So, I am just trying to know if that vampire was just bluffing or if he really has something."


    Nigel looked satisfied by Edwin''s answer and Theodore answered Edwin, "There are three things that can defeat me. One is obviously God and a few celestial beings, the other is Hellfire, and finally, any weapons that were forged in Hellfire can do considerable damage to me."


    Nigel narrowed his eyes and mumbled, "That Vampire King is no God, I don''t think he can conjure up Hellfire, and as for the weapons��" he gave a questioning glance to Theodore.


    Theodore simply smiled and cleared their doubts, "Only a handful of ancient demons own weapons forged in Hellfire. And those demons aren''t that easy to summon to Earth. Even if they are summoned, they won''t attack their Prince just because some pathetic vampire asked them to."


    Theodore gave a smile and confidently said, "So, unless he can travel to Hell, defeat those demons, and take that weapon for himself, I doubt that he will come into possession of such weapons."


    Both Nigel and Edwin sighed in relief. They already knew that Theodore wasn''t allowed to attack that Vampire King if he had something up his sleeve that he could do to potentially harm Theodore. Theodore would just have to abandon the battlefield which meant that the others would have to face the wrath.


    So, knowing that there wasn''t much that Vampire King could do came as a great relief to the brothers.


    And Edwin whispered, "So, he was just bluffing to me then."


    ---


    King Reginald was impatiently pacing back and forth in Gina''s house. He was waiting for some magic to happen but all that he could see was dark clouds hovering in the room and nothing more.


    Gina, the witch, was sitting in front of a magic circle and was chanting some ancient spells. She was convulsing very badly as though she was going through a great shock after getting hit by the thunder. She looked like she would die any moment now but still, she kept on chanting her spells.


    However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t evoke the being from Hell that the King had asked for.


    She abruptly opened her eyes and collapsed on the floor. She was already covered in sweat. Her ears were bleeding from the cursing and shouting of her ancestors.


    Reginald was furious at another failed attempt. He disregarded Gina''s condition and screamed at her, "If you are unable to perform such a simple task then what''s the point of you being alive?"


    "I''m trying my best, Your Majesty," Gina whimpered while the warm tears rolled down her temple. And she screamed in her mind, "And it isn''t an easy task to suddenly channel dark energy!"


    Reginald angrily walked over that magic circle and strangled that already struggling witch, "Try harder! If you aren''t successful by tonight then I will pull out your heart and eat it."

 Chapter 451 - Summoning Someone

    Reginald pushed that witch to make her lie on her back and then stormed off after growling, "Pull yourself together within five minutes. If I don''t see you working on the spell by the time I am back then you know what I am going to do."


    When Gina was sure that Reginald was pretty far away from her home, she finally let her emotions flow out of her eyes.


    She wailed in agony and pain and hatred towards the King. "What did I ever do to receive this fate? I should have run off to some distant Kingdom when this monster killed George."


    Gina recalled how George used to be so kind to her even when he was also a vampire. And then she recalled the corpse of George that had a huge hole in the chest. She was never that close with George but she had never cried as much in her life before as she did after finding his body in that gruesome condition.


    She cursed herself for separating from her coven and insisting on staying there in Mihir even when she knew that the Kingdom was full of those monsters.


    "I couldn''t leave the humans of this Kingdom in the mercy of those vampires." She covered her face with both of her palms and kept on cursing herself, "But instead of limiting my contact only to the humans, I never realized when I got closer to these vampires instead."


    "Now it''s already too late!" Gina gripped her hair and pulled it while crying, "Serves me right for my careless action! For abandoning my loving sisters... for getting enchanted by these damned cold-blooded killers."


    She wanted to keep on crying for the whole night but she suddenly stopped.


    Gina suddenly remembered that time wasn''t stopping for her. Reginald would be back soon and she needed to be back to her work by then. She frantically wiped her tears and tried to jump up.


    However, she felt as though the ground was moving. So she slowly rolled to her side and gently sat up.


    Her eardrums had burst from the earlier encounter with her ancestor''s voices. She had to heal herself first, which was easier said than done. And it was times like these that she missed her coven even more.


    No matter the challenge, Gina managed to heal herself within a minute. She then went to her kitchen and cleaned the caked blood around her ears. She splashed her face with cold water.


    And also rubbed her neck with the clean water to remove that filthy stench of that vampire. It didn''t smell in reality, it was only in her mind. But she kept on rubbing until she turned her neck red.


    Finally, she walked back to her room which she used to cast spells earlier and quickly redrew the magic circle with the ashes from the thousand years old oak tree.


    Her breath began to quiver again when she looked at the magic circle. "I hope it works this time�� And I hope that the ancestors will stop cursing me�� I know I will go down the dark path if this spell becomes successful. But if I don''t succeed then I will go down before I even live my life to the fullest."


    She was still holding the urn in her hand and was looking at the magic circle when she heard the swooshing sound. She inhaled sharply and turned around to see that Reginald was already back again.


    Reginald had originally asked her to provide the result within a month when he had first assigned the task to her.


    But for some reason, he kept on pressuring her to successfully cast the spell at the earliest possible day. And today, it looked like he wasn''t going to leave her alone until she was successful.


    "Y-Your Majesty, I am about to s-s-start. It took some time because I had to heal my-s-self first." She stuttered while touching her chest with her chin, fearing to even gaze at the King''s dreadful eyes.


    "Then what are you waiting for? Start already!" Reginald''s growl echoed far and wide, not just inside her house.


    Gina was startled by that sharp voice of the King. And she almost dropped the urn containing that precious ashes. It would have been another headache for her if her last stash of the ashes were to get fouled.


    She quickly placed that urn in a safe place and then sat back to perform the spell once more.


    Before starting her summoning spell, she furrowed her brows while looking at the magic circle. She had not yet tried to combine the blood spell with the summoning spell until now.


    "Maybe I should give it a try. If I am able to create a bond then there is a higher chance of the evoked one appearing here��" Gina thought to herself and didn''t waste any time in carrying out her plan.


    She bit her thumb to create a wound and splattered her blood on the circle.


    She had forgotten for a second that she was with a vampire.


    And Reginald immediately shouted, "What do you think you are doing? Are you that eager to��" he pinched his nose and gagged as though he was having difficulty in controlling his hunger.


    When Gina''s gaze fell on the struggling King, she felt a pang in her heart. And she immediately apologized, "I''m so sorry, Your Majesty! I was trying to make the spell work."


    Reginald forced himself to turn away from Gina and walked a little further away from her. No matter how much he was threatening Gina saying he would end her life, he knew that Gina was the only one that he could rely on right now. And he didn''t want to accidentally kill his greatest piece of the battle.


    So he dragged himself out after grumbling, "I will be right back. Carry on without me."


    Gina closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She gulped the lump in her throat. She had thought that it would be her end when she saw Reginald''s elongated fangs from between his fingers. She was glad that he decided to run away rather than pounce on her.


    After taking in a few deep breaths, Gina was now finally comfortable enough. Reginald''s absence was helping her to have peace of mind. And without any delay, she began to chant the summoning spell to call a specific being from Hell.


    Soon, her surrounding was covered in dark mist that was swirling around her and that magic circle. The more she chanted the spell, the more pain her body was in. She could feel the dark energy coursing through her veins and she could hear the screaming of her ancestors again.


    However, this time, she pushed those voices behind her head. She kept on enduring the excruciating pain that her body was going through and kept on chanting the spell.


    The mist was getting thicker and thicker. The air was getting hotter by the second as though she herself was teleported to Hell.


    Reginald was now back inside the room. He was just in time to witness the lightning that was hitting the dark mist. And when the lightning and thunder stopped, he could see the silhouette of someone standing in the middle of the magic circle.


    "Please be her�� please be her��" Reginald was chanting in his mind while waiting for the mist to clear.


    He heard an irritated voice of that woman, "Ugh! It had been a while since I was forced to come to Earth. I swear if you are that same bitch who summoned me years ago then I will��"


    The voice suddenly stopped when the mist completely cleared from the room.


    "Well, well, well��" Her voice turned sweeter this time.


    Reginald was gaping at that woman in front of him with wide eyes. He wasn''t expecting a being from Hell to look that beautiful and seductive. He was almost drooling at that sight.


    That woman let out a soft and captivating chuckle upon seeing his eyes lost in her beauty. She easily stepped out of the magic circle without any restraint. She then closed the gap between her and Reginald with her long and smooth legs.


    She seductively ran her hot finger on Reginald''s cold jawline and whispered in an alluring voice, "Wasn''t expecting to see such a handsome man here on Earth."


    She didn''t even hesitate to lick and kiss Reginald''s lips. "Mmmm... You taste so good!" she moaned in satisfaction.


    She then winked at that spellbound Vampire King and she asked, "What''s your name, sweet boy?"

 Chapter 452 - A Deal With The Demoness

    "What is your name, sweet boy?"


    "I''m Reginald," the captivated King replied breathlessly.


    She gave an alluring smile to him and complimented him in a whisper, "That''s a very beautiful name. I love it."


    "Thank you!" his reply also came out in a whisper. It hadn''t even been a minute since Reginald saw her but he was already lost in her beauty.


    Her almond-shaped eyes had light grey irises. Those grey eyes looked as if smoke storms were trapped in them. She had a tall nose, bow-shaped lips, and a defined jawline. Her silky black hair fell down to the curves of her hips. She was as tall as Reginald and her body was well-proportioned.


    Everything about her was so perfect that it would be an impossible task to find even a single fault in her.


    Reginald was darting his eyes on her while thinking to himself, "After seeing that demon that was summoned previously, I had thought that a similar hideous creature would appear this time as well. But her�� who would even call her a demoness? She is an angel!"


    "Even Adeline is nothing in front of her!" Reginald couldn''t help but admire her ethereal beauty. He had already fallen head over heels for her.


    How could he not fall for her when even an angel was maddened by her beauty, so much so that he ended up committing a sin and was now serving as the King of Hell?


    She literally made an angel fall from heaven. So there was no way that lustful men like Reginald wouldn''t drool upon seeing her.


    Lilith rested her wrists on Reginald''s shoulders. She glanced back at the witch who was lying unconscious on the ground and returned her gaze to Reginald.


    And then she asked him, "Sweet boy, are you just going to keep on ogling me, or are you going to tell me why you summoned me? I assume that you were the one who wanted me here?"


    Reginald was finally back to his senses. He was fighting his urge to gaze back at her breasts while he answered her, "Yes, ancient one. I was the one to summon you. I need a favor from you."


    Lilith took her hands off him and backed off a foot. She narrowed her eyes and looked down at Reginald''s outfit. She looked back at his red eyes and asked, "Judging by the extravagant clothes that you are wearing, I am assuming that you are from a rich and powerful family?"


    Reginald nodded and spoke with confidence, "I''m sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I am the King of Mihir, a powerful Kingdom on Earth."


    "So you''re a King. Interesting." Lilith began walking around the room while checking all the interesting ingredients of witchcraft that were on display.


    She leaned down to get a closer look at a snake that was kept in a jar full of some kind of liquid. And she asked again, "And you are not a human, correct?"


    "I''m a pure-blooded vampire." Reginald proudly boasted to the first demoness.


    Lilith dipped her hand in the jar and took the snake out. The dead snake suddenly began to slither around her hand.


    Reginald''s eyes had sparkled in awe upon seeing that slithering snake.


    He was about to ask something but Lilith won the race between the lips and asked first, "So, what does a powerful Vampire King want from me?"


    She turned around to look at Reginald again and guessed, "You must be in a deep problem to have called me here. A problem so great that even the powerful predator like you cannot solve."


    "Reginald eyed at the snake that was now slithering around Lilith''s neck. And he answered, "I will be going on a war with the neighboring Kingdom. And I need your help in defeating someone."


    "You need me to fight your war? Don''t tell me the mighty Vampire King requires my aid to go against some mere humans!" Lilith cackled while caressing the snake that was now resting its head on her palm.


    Reginald furrowed his brows after hearing the demoness belittling him. But he couldn''t say anything to her since he needed her. So he replied in as polite a voice as he could, "I wouldn''t have asked for your help if I would just be fighting the puny humans."


    Reginald''s face darkened with anger when he took Theodore''s name, "The Devil Prince will be fighting this war from the enemy Kingdom''s side."


    Lilith stopped petting the snake and glanced at Reginald with full attention.


    Reginald kept on explaining the reason behind calling Lilith, "We might be able to defeat him if a lot of us pure-blooded vampires go against him at once. But I don''t want to leave my victory to chances."


    "A demon who we summoned before told us that only you would be courageous enough to go against Theodore. So I specifically called you to ask this favor." Reginald took a step closer towards Lilith and asked in a pleading tone, "Please defeat Theodore for me."


    Lilith scoffed at that boldness of Reginald and asked him, "First tell me, why on hell would Theodore be involved in this Earthly war? Did you do something to provoke him? Because as far as I know him, he won''t give a damn about anyone except himself. So why would he take sides unless you were foolish enough to anger the Devil?"


    Reginald clenched his fists and said in a hoarse voice, "He is the one who angered me. He killed my only sister!"


    "He did what?" Lilith was shocked to hear that Theodore had killed an Earthling.


    Reginald clenched his fists even tighter and said while glaring at the snake, "And he will take the other Kingdom''s side because he is now married to that Kingdom''s Princess. He is enjoying while I am mourning my sister''s death."


    A chuckle of disbelief escaped from Lilith''s mouth. "Theodore is married to a human? Oh, glorious hell!"


    She looked up at the ceiling and laughed to her heart''s content. "I must have been living under a rock to not have heard this news. That cold and awkward man is married! That also to a human!"


    "Oh, I need to meet his wife. I want to know what kind of a woman managed to shoot the arrow of love in that fool''s heart." She kept on laughing for quite some time.


    From the way Lilith was talking about Theodore, Reginald felt that Lilith and Theodore were close. A chill shiver ran in his heart. He thought that that demon had tricked him into summoning Lilith and thought that he was now in big trouble.


    "As if one of the beings from Hell wasn''t already enough an enemy!" he cursed himself in his heart.


    But contrary to what he had thought, Lilith asked him, "So, if I fight Theodore in this war then what''s in it for me? How are you going to repay me?"


    "Er��" Reginald pouted his lips in confusion. He had no idea what a demoness would want. The only thing that he could think of was money so he asked, "Will gold coins work?"


    Lilith sneered and put that snake back inside the jar. It stopped moving the second it left Lilith''s hand.


    Reginald was a little disheartened to see that the snake was never alive. He guessed that it was reanimated only because it was touching Lilith''s body.


    She stood in front of Reginald and replied with mockery, "Oh, sweet boy! I have enough gold to last me a few thousand years." She ran her tender finger over Reginald''s cheek and whispered, "Offer something better."


    Reginald couldn''t think of anything so he asked Lilith, "If there is something that you want in return then please tell me. I will provide it to you if it is something I can offer."


    That was the answer that Lilith wanted to hear. She gently rubbed her thumb on Reginald''s lips and gave a mysterious smirk.

 Chapter 453 - Wail

    The next morning, Theodore took Dragomir to Tarrin as he had promised.


    As Theodore left early in the morning, Adeline felt a bit lonely without him. It hadn''t been much since she started to spend most of her time together with Theodore. But she realized how much she was already dependent on him to spend her free time.


    The training was also canceled for today since it was unsure how much time the King of Tarrin, Ventura, would take to agree with the deal that King Dragomir was going to propose.


    And Adeline didn''t have many things to do to keep herself busy at the moment.


    "Ugh! The staff in court won''t arrive this soon. What am I going to do for the next three hours?" To be honest, she didn''t even feel like working on anything. So she flopped down on the bed and rolled to lay on her stomach.


    She then spoke in a muffled voice, "I can''t even go meet the twins. They are with Queen Claricia. And I can''t even see her in the eyes because father hasn''t told her yet�� I might end up spilling it like I spilled the news about the war to father."


    She turned her head to the side and sighed, "He is going through so much trouble because of that��"


    She bit her lower lip and kept on blankly staring outside of the window.


    After god knows how many minutes, she heard howls from the forest. "Ah! I think I should go and check on Fenris'' training. I wonder how he is coping with his change."


    Adeline got up on her feet and put on her old training uniform. She wanted to join the training with them.


    When she finished getting ready, she went to the window and jumped out of it. Now that she was a changeling, she could easily land on her feet while jumping from a great height. Jumping a story was no big deal for her.


    She ran at the top of her speed while feeling the morning breeze pass through her. For a while, she felt liberated from her worries when the fresh forest air was filling her lungs.


    Adeline soon found the spot where Nigel, Fenris, and Rhea were training. Two of them were in their wolf form while Rhea was monitoring them.


    "Hey, Adeline! You want to join us?" Rhea asked Adeline who looked breathless from the run.


    Adeline gave a smile and asked, "Can I? I hope I won''t be disturbing you all."


    Rhea nodded her head and said, "Of course, you can." She pointed her brows at the two wolves while saying, "They are busy practicing their telepathy right now. So, there isn''t much to disturb."


    "Oh!" Adeline had hoped to fight with them but watching the wolves taking turns to point their paw at each other and nod their head also looked fun.


    By now, Adeline was already familiar with all of their wolf forms.


    She watched Nigel biting his own tail with great interest. "Ooh! Are they showing tricks to each other right now?"


    Rhea giggled and replied, "It looks like Nigel challenged Fenris to do the same."


    Both Adeline and Rhea abruptly burst into laughter when Fenris began to chase his tail and go round and round until he fell to the ground.


    Time passed very quickly when Adeline watched the wolves showing their tricks and making a fool out of themselves.


    Nigel had noticed how gloomy Adeline had been recently and he was deliberately turning himself into a fool to make his sister laugh. He gazed at his sister with his amber eyes as she let herself loose.


    After spending some quality time with the werewolves, Adeline returned to her quarters to get ready for the court.


    She buried herself in files and reports and kept herself occupied until her father and Theodore returned late in the afternoon.


    Dragomir called her to his workroom and when she was there, he handed her a file with a huge grin on his face.


    Adeline glanced at her father and Theodore with excitement. She took the file from Dragomir and asked, "King Ventura agreed to provide us with the required silver?"


    Dragomir puffed his chest and held his head high. And he playfully answered, "Did you think that he would disagree with my request when I personally went there to convince him?"


    Adeline laughed and shook her head, "I had confidence in you, father."


    Dragomir then boasted even more, "Ventura even agreed to provide 20 percent of the silver at free of cost. Apparently, he was very impressed by the presence of Dragon Immortal at your wedding. And he was loathing himself for not bringing enough gifts for your wedding. He said that it would be your post-wedding gift."


    Adeline''s jaw was wide open after hearing that. She questioningly glanced at Theodore and he gave her a nod, "Your father is saying the truth."


    "This is amazing!" Adeline ran around the table and tightly hugged her father. "Thank you so much for doing all this in such a short time."


    Dragomir laughed contently and said in a loving voice, "Anything for you and Wyverndale."


    ---


    The days passed by.


    With each day, the training for the soldiers was becoming more intense in nature.


    Adeline began working together with the councilmen to draft the budget for the war.


    Everyone was giving their all and working overtime in preparation for the war. They didn''t have the luxury to even waste a minute if they wanted to win.


    Adeline and Theodore were the ones who have had the most work among everyone. They had the whole responsibility of the Kingdom on their heads.


    Both of them were also drowning themselves in work in an attempt to forget about what was imminent.


    However, no matter how much they tried, the sadness would always find a space in their mind and heart.


    Adeline didn''t say it out loud but with each day that passed by, she was secretly hoping that her father-in-law would show some mercy and forget about the punishment.


    "Can''t sleep?" Theodore put his arms around Adeline and completely invaded Adeline''s side of the bed.


    Adeline was surprised when she heard him. She was facing the other side but he still knew that she hadn''t fallen asleep yet.


    Adeline let out a sigh and replied in a whisper, "I was about to."


    She turned around to face Theodore and gently placed her palm on his cheek. His warmth was the one thing that was preventing her from breaking down. She found solace in his arms.


    Theodore took her palm and lightly kissed her fingers. "You have been working very hard these days. Don''t you get exhausted?"


    Adeline gave a soft smile and answered, "I do. But this is no time to take things lightly. We can rest properly after the war is over."


    Theodore put Adeline''s palm back on his cheek and put his arms around her waist again. "I hope that day comes soon."


    Theodore brought his face close to Adeline''s and kissed her. "Now close your eyes and get some sleep. You won''t be able to think properly tomorrow if you don''t get enough sleep."


    Adeline moved her hand from his cheek to his waist and wriggled closer to him. "Goodnight dear husband."


    "Goodnight love," Theodore waited for Adeline to close her eyes and he also fell into slumber quick enough.


    It hadn''t been many hours since Theodore fell asleep. He was suddenly startled when he heard a high-pitched loud cry that was so loud that his ears were hurting.


    Theodore''s heart began hammering at such a fast pace upon hearing that wailing that he had difficulty in breathing.


    His throat parched within a second and his palms and feet went cold. He glanced at Adeline who was still sleeping peacefully. And his heart ached even more.


    He didn''t have the courage to wake his wife up but he knew he had to.


    Theodore gently shook Adeline by her shoulder and whispered painfully, "Adeline, I heard the banshee''s cry."

 Chapter 454 - One Last Time

    "Adeline, I heard the banshee''s cry." The whisper pierced through Adeline''s sleep and woke her up in an instant.


    Adeline gasped sharply and her lashes batted open in terror. She was unsure if she was dreaming or if Theodore had whispered to her for real.


    She glanced at Theodore to see that he was looking back at her. She felt a sting in her heart upon seeing him awake. Because it could only mean that she had indeed heard Theodore giving her the warning that she wished she never heard.


    Even in the dim flickering light from the lantern, she could tell that he was serious. However, Adeline was still in denial. She furrowed and kept on giving a pleading look to Theodore as if she was asking him to say that he didn''t mean what he said.


    But Theodore had spoken but the truth.


    He tightened his grip on Adeline''s shoulder and gravely urged her, "Adeline�� we have to go. Now. I''m sorry to say this but��" it was very hard for him to say the next sentence but he forced it out of him anyway, "We don''t have much time with him."


    In the very next moment, Adeline''s heart rate spiked so high that she was able to hear her heartbeat.


    A chill shiver ran down her spine and down to her toes. Her tears were stuck in her throat. Her lips curved downwards. And her breathing sounded forced, almost as if she was choking.


    "Okay," she managed to breathe out a single word and nodded.


    Theodore sat up on the bed and gave a hand to her, "Come, let''s go."


    After Theodore urged her, all she could do was feebly take his hand and agree to him. She didn''t want her father''s soul to drift away from his body before she would reach his room.


    She wanted to properly say goodbye to her father.


    She wanted to be with him in his last few moments here on Earth.


    She wanted to hug him and say that she loved him. In fact, there were so many things that she wanted to say to him that her head started to spin as she tried to wrap her mind around those things.


    "Adeline, hurry up!" Theodore urged her again and grabbed his shirt.


    Adeline gathered her emotions that were already going haywire. She swiftly got up on her feet and climbed down the bed. She gazed at Theodore who used his magic to dress in an instant.


    And in the next moment, he held Adeline''s hand and teleported inside the King''s bedchamber.


    Adeline glanced at her father''s bed. Dragomir was sleeping so peacefully that Adeline had to stare at his stomach for a while to check if it was heaving.


    She breathed in shakily and sighed. He was still breathing�� at least for now.


    Theodore leaned close to Adeline and whispered to her, "I will call the others. You should wake him up and tell him what''s about to go down."


    Adeline didn''t want Theodore to leave her alone. She didn''t think she could tell her father that his time was about to be up if she was left alone. But she knew that she couldn''t be selfish and keep Theodore from going.


    "Be quick," Adeline whispered back to Theodore and he instantly disappeared from the room.


    Adeline turned her gaze towards her father again. She took a deep breath in and took a step towards Dragomir''s bed. But when she did, she realized that her knee was barely holding up. Her legs were violently shaking and so were her hands.


    So she called her father from where she was. "Father��" she spoke but her voice disappeared before it came out of her lips.


    She cleared her throat and tried calling him again, "Father!"


    "Hmm��" Dragomir answered while he was still half-asleep. He turned his head to where Adeline was. "Adeline?" He furrowed his brows and blinked several times to get a clear view.


    And from the look of horror on his daughter''s face, he didn''t need to guess why she was there in his room.


    Still, he was as calm as the midnight sea. He sat up on the bed and shifted to make some space. He then gave a soft smile to Adeline and held out his hand. And he asked in a calm and soft voice, "Adeline, why are you standing there? Come here."


    Adeline clasped her cold palms together to stop them from trembling. Her heart was already hammering inside her chest and the pain of having to lose her father was slowly taking over her. She could feel her whole body turning cold.


    Up until now, she was doing everything in her power to stop herself from breaking down in front of her father. She was trying her best to put on a brave face.


    However, the moment she heard her father''s loving and warm voice, a dreadful thought ran inside her mind. "I''m never going to hear his voice again! I''m never going to see him... ever again!"


    The stinging pain in her heart became unbearable. She couldn''t pretend to be brave anymore.


    "Father!" She cried in despair and ran into her father''s arms one last time.


    Adeline buried her face in her father''s chest and bawled in agony. She wanted to say so many things to her father but all she could do was cry.


    Her loud cries garnered the attention of the Royal Guards and they came running inside to check on their King.


    "Your Majesty, are you al�C"


    Dragomir gestured to them to keep their voice down. And he asked them to stand where they were so that they could witness that there was no foul play in his death.


    Though the guards were confused, they did as the King had ordered them.


    Dragomir then lovingly caressed Adeline''s silver hair and kissed her head. His heart got crushed upon hearing his beloved daughter crying hysterically. She was already out of breath and was coughing and choking while clinging onto him.


    His eye rims were glistening with tears, ready to roll down like a waterfall. He wanted to ask Adeline to stop crying but he couldn''t speak a single word because of the nasty lump in his throat. So he tightly hugged Adeline instead and looked up to control his tears from falling, but to no avail.


    Adeline felt the warm drops of tears on her scalp and the pain and guilt in her heart that she was trying to suppress multiplied exponentially.


    The guilt of being the cause behind her father''s death swallowed her whole again. "Father, I''m so sorry for�C"


    "Shhh��" Dragomir already knew what she was going to say and didn''t let her ask for his forgiveness. "There is nothing you need to be sorry about, my child. This was God''s will and his will alone."


    Dragomir pushed Adeline back to look into her eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes were swollen and red. He wiped the tears off her face and asked her, "Adeline, consider this my final wish. Don''t blame yourself anymore if you wish to let me rest in peace."


    "But�C"


    "No buts!"


    Dragomir heard commotions outside. He had previously asked Theodore to call all the Royals when his death would be near. And he wondered if Theodore had informed all of the Royals by now.


    He had asked to spread the rumor that he was having heart failure. Dragomir had to act the part before the others would start to swarm in.


    But before that, he wanted to show his one last smile to Adeline so that she would always have a good memory of him.


    He wiped his tears and smiled as brightly as he could.


    He held out his hand again and asked his daughter, "Adeline, promise me that you will be a great Queen."


    Adeline took his hand and nodded her head, "I promise to protect our people and our Kingdom."


    Dragomir patted on his daughter''s palm and asked again, "And promise me that you will not drown yourself in grief. Or else I will become a ghost and come to tickle you."


    Adeline gave a wistful chuckle but her eyes were filled with tears again. She looked into her father''s deep blue eyes and whispered in a voice full of sorrow, "I love you, father."


    Dragomir wiped a drop of tear that had managed to escape again and wrapped Adeline in a warm embrace. "I love you too, my beautiful child. I will keep on watching you.. So, don''t you dare be sad."

 Chapter 455 - Peaceful Sleep

    The dim light from the lanterns started flickering wildly as if they were also in agony upon witnessing the death of their King approaching nearer and nearer.


    Dragomir could feel his body getting colder and weaker by the second as though his life force was slowly being sucked out of him. He began feeling lightheaded. And he could tell that he had at most five or six minutes left.


    He pulled away from the hug with his daughter and said in a melancholic tone, "I think I should lie down."


    Adeline''s brows creased and she asked despondently, "Father, are you in pain somewhere? Should I get you something?"


    Dragomir smiled and shook his head. "No. Just stay by my side and I will be fine."


    When he was about to lie down, Theodore appeared back inside the room with Nigel and Queen Claricia.


    And both Claricia and Nigel ran towards the King''s side while Theodore disappeared again.


    "My King!" Claricia climbed on the bed and sat beside Adeline. "Theodore told me that you were having some difficulty." She looked around frantically and asked, "Where are the healers? Aren''t they here yet?"


    Dragomir had tried countless times to tell Claricia about his ill fate. But he could never bring himself to reveal the news to her.


    He was being selfish. He wanted to see Claricia''s innocent and pure smile for a bit longer.


    Claricia glanced back at the Royal Guards and shouted at them, "Why are the two of you just standing there like statues? Go and bring the healers! Quick!"


    The guards were confused because from what they were seeing earlier, they had just thought that the father and daughter had some disagreement and were finally apologizing to each other. It didn''t look like the King was in any kind of pain or health-related difficulties.


    Adeline turned her head away from the Queen and started to sob without making any sound. Nigel stood behind Adeline and pressed her head against his chest. He hugged her tightly while fighting back his tears.


    Dragomir shook his head to the guards who were giving a questioning glance to him.


    "There''s no need to call the healers." He then held Claricia''s hand, which startled her.


    Claricia gave a worried glance to her husband and protested, "Why not? Your hands are already ice-cold!"


    "Claricia, nothing will work now��" Dragomir gave a sad glance to his wife and swallowed his tears.


    Claricia felt a sharp and bitter pain in her heart. She was innocent but not dumb. She read between the lines and knew what her husband was trying to say to her. And the swollen eyes of her husband, and Adeline who was sobbing continuously only confirmed what she was thinking.


    Claricia''s hands and feet went numb. She was feeling as if someone had pushed her from the cliff and she was freefalling to her death.


    Theodore appeared in the room again, this time with Rhea and Fenris. They all came closer to the King''s bed and surrounded him.


    Claricia was not ready to accept that her husband, who was laughing and playing with the grandchildren till late in the evening was now suddenly going to��


    "No! No! No!" She violently shook her head and wiped her eyes with force.


    Her eyes fell on Theodore and she hastily made a request to him, "Theodore, I have some medicine that can give relief to the heart. Will you take me back to my room?"


    She tried to get down from the bed in order to walk towards Theodore but Dragomir held her wrist and stopped her. "Claricia, please try to understand. I already know that I am dying. There is nothing that can stop it now."


    "No! Don''t say such ill things about yourself. Please say that you are just testing all of us. Please!" Claricia lowered her head and silently shed her tears.


    Even though she wasn''t making a sound, Dragomir could tell that she was crying from the way her shoulders were shaking.


    He gently placed his palm on her shoulder and lovingly rubbed his thumb. "Claricia, the thing that I love the most about you is your innocent smile. Don''t let your smile wither away just because I won''t be here."


    Claricia looked back at him and shook her head. "Please don''t keep on speaking as if this is your last day. I won''t accept it."


    "Nigel," Dragomir called his son''s attention.


    Nigel turned around to show his reddened eyes. He had been crying along with Adeline.


    Dragomir then asked a favor to his son, "Nigel, you know that Wyverndale will soon be flooded with those vampires. If the situation gets too dangerous here then take your mother to Aberdeen. I won''t be here to protect her."


    Nigel gulped hard and nodded, "I will protect her. You don''t have to worry about her, father."


    But Claricia held Dragomir''s hand and denied, "No, I am not going anywhere. And neither are you."


    Dragomir suddenly clenched his chest and coughed. His condition worsened even more. He could feel his consciousness slowly chipping away.


    He let out labored breathing and said in a soft voice, "Claricia, I don''t think I can hold on for long. Let me rest my head on your lap, will you?"


    Everyone in the room was now scared. Adeline could see and smell everyone''s fear.


    Claricia shifted closer to Dragomir and Theodore came to help him lie down. Dragomir rested his head on Claricia''s lap and tightly held her palm.


    He was a little scared but he was mostly happy. He was happy to be surrounded by his loved ones when he was on his deathbed. For him, there was no better way to die than this.


    Dragomir''s eyesight was now getting blurry. He could hear some more footsteps entering the room. He tried to see who came inside but his eyesight was failing him. He could hear some of the voices that he recognized though.


    He gestured for Theodore to sit by his side, opposite Adeline. And when Theodore was there, he asked, "Are everyone here?"


    Theodore looked around and answered, "Those whose quarters are close are here. Some of them are yet to arrive." Theodore couldn''t teleport everyone to the room because not all of the Royals were aware of his identity.


    Dragomir then asked Theodore, "Will I slowly lose all my senses and die? I can''t see clearly anymore."


    Adeline felt a hammering in her chest when she heard her father. She quickly turned to face him and so did Nigel. They could sense their father dying. And nothing gave them this kind of bitter pain than having to see their father drifting away.


    "The experience is different for everyone," Theodore gave a quick reply and continued to dart his eyes around the room. And when Alan entered the room, Theodore said to the King, "Everyone is here now."


    "Good." Dragomir was fighting hard to keep his eyes open but he was feeling very drowsy. He felt like he would get the most peaceful sleep if he closed his eyes now.


    He turned his head towards Theodore. He could see his figure even though it was a little blurry. And he asked his son-in-law, "Tell everyone to live harmoniously. Tell them that I loved them all."


    Dragomir''s eyelids slowly shut close.


    And almost at the exact time, Adeline and Theodore saw a hooded dark figure carrying a huge scythe standing at the foot of the bed.


    The Grim Reaper was there to collect Dragomir''s soul.

 Chapter 456 - Final Goodbye

    The Grim Reaper''s very presence was grim and cold.


    Its face was covered with its hood which was the darkest shade of black. Its dark clothes alone gave the feel that not even light could escape past it. Its skinny and lanky fingers were holding the scythe on its shoulder.


    And it was staring straight at Dragomir as if it was staring right into his soul.


    Adeline''s heart froze upon seeing that terrifying dark figure. Upon seeing the death. The coldness in her heart spread throughout her body and rendered her immobile.


    Now that she knew that her father''s time was up for real, she was shaken to her core. She wanted to scream and shout and cry but she couldn''t move a muscle.


    All she could do was helplessly watch the grim reaper hold out his hand and spread its lanky fingers.


    "Nooooooooooo��" Adeline heard Claricia screaming in grief and she was startled out of her petrifying daze.


    She instantly turned towards her father just in time to see a glowing blue thing, the size of the marble, escaping from Dragomir''s glabella. It hovered in the air and was slowly being pulled towards the Grim Reaper.


    Adeline held her breath and followed the soul with her blurry eyes.


    "Adeline! He won''t hold my hand anymore!" Claricia began to panic. "Maybe it''s because his hands are too cold." She lifted Dragomir''s palm and rubbed it to warm it up.


    Everyone in the room knew what it meant. Some of them instantly broke down into tears, some consoled the others, while some of them ran out of the room.


    Claricia glanced at Adeline and asked, "Adeline, will you rub his other hand? And someone should add more blankets."


    Adeline clasped her mouth with both of her hands. She ended up breaking down again. She looked through her tears and shook her head to Claricia.


    Claricia''s lower lip began to tremble but she was still refusing to believe that her husband was no more. She wasn''t shedding a single drop of tear. She lightly caressed Dragomir''s grey hair and asked in an undertone, "He is just resting. Why are you all crying for no reason?"


    Nigel lifted his hand to hold his mother in his arms but he stopped midways when his eyes fell on the unmoving body of his father. The pain in his heart surged too much and all he wanted to do was run to get rid of the pain. He swiftly turned towards the door and sprinted outside because he knew what was going to happen to him.


    Fenris and Rhea glanced at each other and they also ran after him.


    Adeline gently touched Claricia''s shoulder and shook her. She didn''t want Claricia to go into denial or go into shock. "Mother��" she whispered pleadingly. She wanted Claricia to accept the truth.


    Adeline''s whisper was finally able to get through to Claricia.


    Theodore, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen in the room. He was somewhere in the sky of Wyverndale, blocking the path of the Grim Reaper with his massive black wings.


    "Lord Immortal!" The Grim Reaper bowed his head and greeted Theodore.


    Theodore glared at him with his fiery eyes and growled, "Where are you taking him? Heaven or Hell?"


    "I''m afraid that I cannot divulge the information to you." The reply came in a distorted voice.


    Theodore narrowed his eyes and asserted his dominance, "Let''s get this straight, Reaper. I am the Prince of Hell. And if he is about to go to Hell, then I would love to take him with me. And if he is about to go to Heaven, I would love to escort him till the gate."


    Theodore''s horns glowed as if the hot lava was about to erupt out of them. And he shouted at that Reaper again, "So answer me unless you want to face me in a duel. I am sure there are others who can take your position."


    The Reaper was being wary of Theodore at first because there were instances when the demons would snatch the souls if they detected the aura that they desired in those souls. Such missing souls would mostly end up becoming vengeful spirits as demons would always snatch the souls with a negative aura.


    However, even though Theodore was threatening him, the Reaper didn''t see such ill intention behind Theodore''s request. So he agreed without further delay, "Prepare to escort him to Heaven, Lord Immortal."


    Theodore let out a huge sigh of relief after hearing that Dragomir was going to Heaven.


    He gave a nod to the Reaper and shifted to the side. The two of them then ascended at the speed of light.


    And after a while, Theodore could see the thin membrane-like air that was glistening and waving constantly. It was the portal that would lead to the Heavenly realm.


    Theodore closed his eyes and prayed to his father, "Father, please let me enter the Heaven realm. I want to escort my father-in-law to the gate."


    He opened his eyes and took a deep breath in before entering through the portal. He also braced himself for impact and readied himself to fall down if his father didn''t listen to his prayer.


    It looked like his father listened to his prayer as he was able to pass through the portal.


    The moment they crossed that portal, they were welcomed by the blindingly bright light falling upon them.


    Theodore flinched as he had abruptly traveled from the dark to the light.


    Theodore looked around to see fluffy clouds everywhere. The golden and white light was making the clouds sparkle. In the distance, he could see the huge white gate that stood tall in the middle of those beautiful clouds.


    "The gate still looks as glorious as before," Theodore pressed his lips into a thin line and glanced at the two tall statues of the angels spreading their wings. Those statues had been acting as the gate since the beginning of time.


    They flew for some more. The gate got bigger and bigger until the Devil looked like a small bird in comparison.


    They were finally in front of Heaven''s gate. The Grim Reaper and Theodore landed on the cloud.


    The Reaper then held out his palm and released the soul of Dragomir. He bowed to Theodore before leaving to collect another soul.


    Theodore watched Dragomir''s soul slowly taking the form of Dragomir, the way he had left Earth.


    Dragomir was now laying down on the clouds. He was wearing a white robe. And he was glowing as though his soul was also emitting heavenly light.


    Theodore went and sat down beside Dragomir.


    Dragomir slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he noticed was Theodore.


    The moment Dragomir noticed Theodore, he instantly blurted out without even sparing a look around him, "Theodore! I just had the most realistic dream ever."


    "Everyone had gathered in my room. And then I felt really sleepy so I closed my eyes. But then I saw a bright light and my memories started to flash in front of my eyes. I thought I died for a second there."


    Dragomir laughed and tried to pat on Theodore''s knee. But his hand went right through. He furrowed his brows and tried to touch Theodore again but the same thing happened.


    "Father�� it was not a dream," Theodore gave a sorry look to Dragomir.


    "Oh�� right��" Dragomir smiled wistfully and sat up. He looked around to see nothing but clouds and a huge gate beside them.


    Theodore got up on his feet and gave his hand to Dragomir.


    Dragomir was confused but he still took the hand. And this time, to his surprise, he could touch Theodore.


    Theodore pulled Dragomir up on his feet and he said, "I didn''t get to say goodbye to you while you were still on Earth. So I followed you here."


    Dragomir gently caressed Theodore''s raven black hair and smiled. "I''m sorry I made you run around so much during my last moments."


    "No, I was happy that I could gather all your family members just in time," Theodore looked away in an attempt to hide his glistening eye rims.


    Dragomir then stared at the huge gate and asked, "So, is this Heaven or��"


    "It''s Heaven." Theodore sniffled and added, "Hell isn''t this bright."


    Dragomir smiled and wrapped Theodore in a last embrace. "Theodore, thank you for being such a loving son-in-law. I am at ease knowing that Adeline will be loved."


    "I''m going to miss you. We all will," Theodore closed his eyes and hugged Dragomir back.


    "I will miss all of you as well." Dragomir then pulled back and took in a deep breath, "I should probably go inside then��" He gave a sorrowful look to Theodore and said in a sad tone, "Adeline must be crying her eyes out. You should be by her side."


    Theodore nodded and forced a smile. "Goodbye, father."


    "Goodbye, Theodore." Dragomir patted Theodore on the shoulder.


    He took one last look at Theodore''s angelic face and then headed towards Heaven''s Gate.


    To both Dragomir and Theodore''s surprise, they saw a familiar figure appearing at the gate.


    "Dragomir! You''re finally here��"

 Chapter 457 - Unexpected Encounter

    Dragomir''s feet stopped midways upon hearing that sweet voice that he had yearned to hear again. His eyes curved up in the shape of a crescent moon upon seeing the beautiful love of his life again.


    "Auvera!" Dragomir''s eyes were filled with tears of joy. An ecstatic smile danced on his lips after seeing his beloved after so many years. He couldn''t contain his excitement at that unexpected encounter with his long-lost love.


    She looked as beautiful as he could recall from his memory. Her silver hair was cascading down like the wave of the waterfall. She was wearing a white gown. And the light that her soul was emitting was making her look no less than a fairy. And she still looked as young as she was when she had left the Earth.


    "Dragomir, come here already," Auvera spread his arms and called him inside Heaven.


    Dragomir forgot that he was already old. After seeing the young Auvera, he thought that he was also in his youth. And he ran towards her as he used to at a young age. He stepped inside Heaven and lifted Auvera in his arms.


    "Auvera! It''s you!" He made her spin while happily laughing at this unexpected reunion.


    Auvera also laughed with joy. "Yes, it''s me. I missed you so much!"


    Dragomir finally put her down but kept on hugging her dearly. "You don''t know how much I missed you, Auvera. And now I am finally with you. I''m sorry I made you wait for so long."


    Auvera lightly stroked Dragomir''s back and lovingly whispered, "You don''t have to be sorry, silly. I''m glad that you took your time to come here. I would have been mad at you if you had followed me sooner."


    Dragomir gave a nervous laugh and said, "I would have been mad at myself as well. I still had so much to do back on Earth. But alas, death caught up to me. Now that I am here with you, I am glad that it did."


    They lovingly gazed at each other''s faces and shared their smile. There were no moments this magical compared to the one right now. The feeling of reuniting at Heaven felt surreal to both of them.


    Auvera caressed Dragomir''s grey beard and giggled.


    Dragomir flicked his brows asking why she was giggling.


    Auvera replied while still giggling, "You look so different than I remember."


    "Ah!" Dragomir clicked his tongue and chuckled while scratching his grey hair. "I forgot that I grew old."


    Auvera gleefully laughed at that reply. Her face then turned a little bit eager and she asked her husband, "Dragomir, how is our daughter? She must be all grown up by now."


    Dragomir''s smile now reflected sadness. His pupils dilated remembering their daughter crying when he was on his deathbed.


    But he replied proudly, "She has grown up to be an exact copy of the younger you. She is as brave and intelligent as you and as strong as me, no, even stronger than me. And guess what? She will be the Queen of Wyverndale."


    Auvera was delighted to hear that accomplishment of their daughter. "Our daughter will be the Queen?"


    "Yes, she will be crowned soon," Dragomir felt really happy to see the excitement on Auvera''s face. And he felt prouder when she praised him for raising their daughter well.


    Auvera couldn''t keep on ignoring the man who was standing outside the gate and was staring at the two of them all this while. She hid her face from that man''s view and asked Dragomir in a soft whisper, "Don''t look right away but who is that man in black cloth outside the gate?"


    But Dragomir instantly turned around to see outside the gate.


    "Hey! I said don''t look," Auvera lowered her face even more to hide from that man.


    Dragomir turned back at Auvera and laughed seeing her cheeks turn red. "Don''t be shy. He is our son-in-law."


    Auvera misunderstood and gave a horrified look to Dragomir and asked, "Why is he here so early? Did something bad happen to the both of you? Were you perhaps attacked by some�C"


    Dragomir pressed his finger against his lips to urge her to stop jinxing and he clarified, "It''s nothing like that." He took one glance at Theodore again and said with a smile, "Our Adeline chose someone very special. He is a fallen angel, Theodore. He just came to see me off."


    "He is a fallen angel?" Auvera was impressed by her daughter even more. "She is one special child then, our daughter."


    She finally shifted to the side so that she could clearly see Theodore. She gave a warm smile to him and waved at him.


    Theodore happily waved back at her from where he stood.


    "Why isn''t he coming in here though?" Auvera asked Dragomir.


    "I don''t think he is allowed in here." Dragomir didn''t want to spoil the mood by saying the whole story so he asked, "I think we should go inside." He gave a sad smile and said, "I asked him to go back to our daughter but I think he won''t leave till he sees me here."


    Auvera gazed at the beautiful angel and said to Dragomir, "He must respect you a lot then, for him to escort you here and keep on watching you."


    Dragomir fully turned around to face Theodore. He put his arms around Auvera''s shoulder and smiled at that stubborn Devil. "Yes, he is a wonderful man. I couldn''t have asked for anyone else as our son-in-law."


    Auvera looked up at Dragomir''s face and all she saw was sincerity in his words. It was very apparent to her that Dragomir also equally respected and loved him.


    Auvera looked back at Theodore and cupped her mouth. Then she shouted excitedly, "It''s nice to meet you, son-in-law. Tell Adeline I love her. And tell her that her parents are happy up here."


    Theodore couldn''t express how grateful he was when his mother-in-law took the initiative to talk to him. He also cupped his palms over his mouth and replied in a loud voice, "I will relay the message to Adeline. She also loves you and misses you a lot."


    After that brief exchange of words, Theodore was finally content. He was happy after seeing the beautiful view of the loving couple and he added while waving his hand at them, "I will go back to Earth now. Goodbye!"


    "Goodbye!" Both Dragomir and Auvera waved back their hands at him.


    Theodore had a huge smile on his face as he turned around. He spread out his magnificent wings, surprising Auvera, and then flapped them to travel back to Earth.


    Now that he was heading back home, he wished he could teleport to get to Adeline faster. However, that luxury was evoked when he fell from Heaven.


    Nevertheless, he flapped his wings at a great speed and zoomed back to Earth.

 Chapter 458 - New Monarch

    By the time Theodore was back at the Palace, the Royals were already taking turns to spend some final moments with the late King.


    Adeline and Claricia were sitting in one corner of the room while holding each other''s hands and giving emotional support to each other.


    And apart from that, the protocol for mourning their beloved King''s death had already begun in the background.


    The Royal Guards were already on their way to inform about the tragedy to the King''s assistant Laurence and all the council members.


    All the guards and the government officials were going to be busy in preparation for mourning and then passing on the monarch power from Dragomir to Adeline.


    Theodore went and sat down beside Adeline. He was sad to see that Adeline was now looking like an emotionless doll. She was blankly staring at the dead body of her father. She was so lost that she didn''t even realize that Theodore was now sitting by her side.


    Theodore feared that Adeline would start to cry again if he was to say anything to her at the moment. So he just let her remain silent and slowly let her accept the death of her father.


    After a while, Claricia saw Nigel outside the King''s chamber. He had returned to take his mother to his quarter. He didn''t want his delicate mother to get sick.


    Claricia gave a hug to Adeline and left.


    Adeline finally noticed Theodore by her side and asked in a whisper, "Theo, are you alright?"


    Theodore had also been staring at the King''s serene face. He turned his head to see Adeline and nodded.


    Adeline intertwined her fingers with Theodore''s and rested her head on his shoulder. Her dry eyes were giving pain to her so she said, "I''m going to rest my eyes for a while. Wake me up if someone needs me or if I need to do something."


    "Do you want me to take you to our room?" Theodore wanted her to get some proper rest.


    However, Adeline denied it. "No, I am fine here. I don''t want to leave father alone."


    Most of the family members had already left to rest for the night. They had to prepare for seven days of mourning, funeral, and coronation without getting any breaks in between. So they needed to get some sleep when they could.


    Adeline, on the other hand, didn''t want to leave her father with only maids and servants to attend to him.


    Theodore simply kissed her head and lightly patted her hand. He wanted to tell Adeline that her father was not alone. But he thought that waiting for the right time was necessary. For now, he let her rest.


    Morning finally arrived. It was probably the longest and hardest night for everyone who already knew about their King''s death.


    Royal messengers had already been sent to all three Kingdoms as well as the relatives of the Royals.


    Flags of Wyverndale were already lowered to half to mourn the loss.


    And when the morning sunlight fell on the land, the Palace announced the sad news to the public by ringing the huge bell nine times.


    Those who heard the bell instantly fell down on their knees and began to cry and grieve. Those who were far were later informed by the messengers who walked around the villages and announced the news.


    The whole Kingdom went into a great shock upon hearing that traumatic news.


    Dragomir was the greatest King that Wyverndale had ever seen.


    During the course of his reign, Wyverndale didn''t go through any major wars. The Kingdom walked down the road of peace and prosperity. All four nations of the south were united by the treaties and were dependent on each other for trade and easy livelihood.


    Dragomir was the pillar and the father figure to all the citizens. And to have lost such a King sure came as a shock to all of them.


    On the first day after the King''s death, all the close, as well as distant relatives of the Royals, arrived at the Palace to pay their final respect to King Dragomir.


    While that was happening on one side, Adeline was already busy with the meeting with the council. In the meeting, the councilmen formally recognized her as the new Queen of Wyverndale.


    After that, a closed ceremony was held in the throne hall where all the Royals and the councilmen had gathered to formally greet their new Queen.


    The coronation would take place after the funeral but she needed to perform the funeral and other duties as the Queen. So, she was going to formally get the title in this ceremony.


    A councilman stood beside the throne and addressed everyone, "I am deeply sorrowed by the untimely demise of our beloved King. I express my condolences to the Royal family and I hope that we will soon overcome this traumatic event together. But no matter how sad we are, we cannot leave the throne empty."


    "Thus, we have gathered here to welcome our new Queen, Her Majesty Adeline to take her rightful position that was bestowed by Dragon Immortal and agreed upon by the late King."


    He looked at the small crowd in front of him and asked, "If anyone wishes to challenge the decision of Dragon Immortal and the late King then now is the time to speak."


    Of course, there was no one who dared to go against the Deity and the late King.


    So the councilman gestured Adeline to come to the platform and take her rightful dragon throne.


    Theodore held Adeline''s hand and escorted her to the foot of the platform.


    Adeline carefully climbed up the few stairs. She was still in an emotional wreck and it was a little hard for her when she saw that throne. She got flashbacks of her father sitting on that throne, laughing, talking, and giving out orders.


    Her eyes instantly welled up and her throat got sore. If it was up to her then she wanted to turn around and run away to where her father was kept right now. She wanted to shout at her father that she was not ready for that huge responsibility yet.


    But she knew that she didn''t have that choice.


    She deeply inhaled through her mouth and exhaled. She lightly touched the armrest of the throne and then touched her heart.


    And she promised her father, "I will try to be a good heir, father. I will at least try to be half as good a ruler as you."


    Adeline quickly wiped her tears and then confidently turned around to face her family. She sat on the cold throne, ready to take on the responsibilities as the Queen of Wyverndale.


    After she took her seat, the councilman asked the Royals to greet their Queen one by one. Theodore was the first one to climb on the stage.


    The Devil Prince bent on his knee and took the Queen''s hand. He looked into Adeline''s eyes and said firmly, "I pledge my loyalty to you, Your Majesty. Long live the Queen." He smiled at his wife and kissed her on the knuckles.


    Likewise, all of the Royals followed Theodore and pledged their loyalty to their new Queen.


    With the new monarch on the throne, Wyverndale was about to go through some turmoils, beginning with a great war that the Kingdom had ever seen.


    And Adeline had to lead that war.


    But Adeline was determined to protect her Kingdom even when the future seemed very uncertain at the moment.

 Chapter 459 - A Gift

    For the next three days, the tall gates of the Palace were opened for the public to come inside and show their final respect to their beloved King.


    The people from far and wide flooded inside the Palace, wearing black clothes and carrying flowers. They were crying and bowing to the late King. Some were even refusing to move aside to give way to the others. It really showed how much respect they had towards Dragomir.


    On the fifth and sixth days, the dignitaries and even some Royals from the other three Kingdoms came to Wyverndale. And the seventh day was reserved for the government officials.


    When everyone got the chance to see King Dragomir one last time, the funeral was finally held to let the King rest.


    A lot of people attended the funeral, including all the Royal family members and the dignitaries of the Kingdom. Even Azriel attended the funeral while disguising himself as a commoner.


    "If father is watching us right now then he would be really happy to see you here. Thank you for coming," Adeline told Azriel with a soft smile. She had seen how devoted her father was to the Dragon Immortal and she was sure that he would be smiling.


    "Dragomir was a great King. And he also became my relative. So how could I not come?" Azriel replied with a sad smile.


    Dragomir''s body rested beside his father, who was the King before him, in the Royal Cemetery that was situated in one of the sacred hills of Wyverndale.


    After the funeral, the flags were finally raised back to their original glory. The mourning period was officially over.


    Wyverndale now had to prepare for the coronation of their Queen.


    ---


    It was the night before the coronation day. Adeline walked inside her bed chamber with a heavy heart and tired body after preparing for her big day.


    She had to make an appearance to the public with the crown on her head. And she would need to give her first speech as the Queen of Wyverndale.


    Adeline had sat together with the council members and prepared her speech. But knowing that the war was already around the corner, she was worried that whatever she would say to the public in her speech tomorrow would be a hollow promise from her side.


    And it was eating her up from inside.


    She lay down on the empty bed and couldn''t help but miss her father. "If he was still here then I would have fought the war without a single worry in my mind�� Now I need to make sure to maintain the trust of the public towards me."


    She sighed and pondered, "I wonder what they will think about me when the war strikes. Will they blame me?" She covered her face with her palms and whispered, "But I am the cause. I had to bump onto that Vampire King that day!"


    The pressure of the coronation day and the nervousness were making her think a lot of things and put a blame on herself unnecessarily.


    Adeline heard the door creaking open and she quickly collected herself. She got up on her feet and welcomed Theodore with a smile, "Theo, you''re back."


    Theodore had gone to escort the carriages that were sent from Tarrin.


    He wrapped his arms around Adeline''s waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Yes, I''m back."


    Theodore sounded very tired so Adeline asked him, "Did something happen on the road? Are the silvers safely brought here?"


    "Yes, the silvers have safely arrived here and locked up." Theodore lifted his head and looked at Adeline. He pouted and complained, "Arion has become very wild. He was nagging all the way saying that I have become heavier. He said his back hurt when I know that he can even carry an elephant on his back."


    Adeline chuckled after listening to his complaint. And she took Arion''s side, "He is not wrong though. You have become heavier. Your muscles have become bulkier ever since you evolved."


    She tried to hold his biceps using both of her palms but her palms were nowhere near touching each other. "See��"


    Theodore flexed his biceps even more and asked, "You don''t like them?"


    Adeline hugged his arm and asked back, "Who said I don''t like them?"


    The two of them joked around for a while and then changed into their bed robes.


    "So, tomorrow is going to be your another big day huh?" Theodore smiled at Adeline and sat on the bed. He admiringly looked at his wife.


    But Adeline''s nerves were already back again and she was starting to get restless.


    "Let''s get some beauty sleep then, dear wife. We have to look good for tomorrow." Theodore stretched his arms and yawned.


    However, Adeline didn''t want to sleep yet. She was afraid for tomorrow. And she felt as though the night would pass in a blink if she slept. She didn''t want that.


    So she sat down on Theodore''s lap before he could lie down and put her arms around his neck. "Yes, tomorrow is going to be very busy. But I don''t want to sleep yet."


    She sighed heavily and then confessed to Theodore, "To be honest, I am really scared. I don''t even know if I can be any good as a Queen. What if I fail to protect what my father has built for all these years?"


    Sadness spread all over her face and she whispered in a sad tone, "I wish father was still here��"


    That was the wish that would never come true and it just broke her heart all over again.


    Theodore lightly caressed Adeline''s waist and gazed at her sad face.


    He had first thought of waiting for the right time to tell her that her father was happy. But it never felt like a right time when the whole nation was mourning. He then thought of waiting for her to ask him the right question �C whether Dragomir was in Heaven or Hell.


    However, she never asked it because she feared that she would not like the answer.


    "I don''t know if I can bear the weight of the crown," Adeline furrowed her brows and sighed.


    Theodore felt that if she knew about her father''s soul, then she would at least happily be ready to bear the burden of the crown.


    "Adeline," Theodore pushed her silver hair back to look at her beautiful face. He kissed her cheek and said, "I have something to show you."


    Adeline turned her gaze from the wall to Theodore''s face and asked childishly, "You have a gift for me?"


    Theodore nodded with a wide smile on his face. "You can call it a gift."


    He then patted on the bed and asked, "Sit here. I literally have to show you something�� a piece of my memory to be precise."


    Adeline''s interest had now peaked even more.


    "Close your eyes," he ordered.


    He had never shown his own memory to her before so she happily obliged.


    Theodore touched Adeline''s forehead with his fingers and closed his eyes as well. His fingers emitted a subtle glow.


    And when he opened up his memory to her, Adeline''s mind was transported to the place filled with clouds.

 Chapter 460 - Beautiful Memory

    "Dragomir! You''re finally here��"


    ''Adeline'' turned around upon hearing that voice.


    And when she did, her eyes widened and got stuck on that person. Adeline saw her own reflection on the other side of the huge statues, only more mature, glowing, and beautiful.


    "Mother��"


    Adeline was stunned to see her mother in that memory of Theodore. A wave of warm and fuzzy feeling swept her heart seeing her mother who looked like an angel in that dreamland-like place.


    She tried to make sense of what Theodore was showing her... if it was indeed his real memory or if he was showing her some illusion to ease up her grieving heart.


    If he was trying to ease her heart then he was doing a bad job because it made her miss her mother''s warmth that she never got to have.


    But before she could figure out the authenticity of that vision, she heard another familiar voice from her side, "Auvera!"


    "Father?"


    Theodore''s head in the memory turned slightly so that both her parents were now in view.


    "Dragomir, come here already," she saw her mother spreading her arms and calling her father.


    And to her heart''s content, she saw her father running towards her mother and carrying her in his arms.


    While she was staring at her parents hugging each other and laughing with joy, she was thinking, "Theo is showing me his memory, right? Else why would he ask me to close my eyes and put his fingers on my forehead? Then doesn''t this mean... this actually happened?"


    She tried focusing on the surrounding that her parents were in. She could see beaming clouds, pure light, and the feet of gigantic statues. "Holy Heaven! This must be heaven... My parents reunited in heaven? My parents reunited in heaven!!"


    Adeline laughed and jumped with excitement in her mind. She would have covered her mouth and cried or cheered for her parents if it was up to her to move the body. She would have run up to them and would have hugged both of them if only she was seeing them for real and not seeing them through Theo''s memory.


    Even though she couldn''t do all that, she did tear up with happiness.


    Her heart was filled with something beautiful when she watched her parents laughing and talking with each other as if they had never been apart.


    She felt as though those light and fluffy clouds around her were filling up in her heart. And that feeling brought her so much joy that she felt as though her heart got a pair of wings and it flew around her parents.


    And the guilt that Adeline was carrying in her heart finally disappeared. It finally settled in her heart that one day or another she had to let her father reunite with her mother.


    Adeline glanced at the happy face of her father and thought, "It was very selfish of me to think of keeping him by my side forever. Look how happy he is. He already did everything that he could do for everyone else. Now he can finally rest happily with mother by his side. He deserves this."


    Adeline''s heart pounded suddenly when her mother directly looked in her direction and waved her hand. "Mother�� she can see me?" Her hand automatically raised in response and waved back at her mother.


    For a second there, Adeline had completely forgotten that she was looking at Auvera from Theodore''s perspective. She was so immersed in that memory that she felt as if her mother was really smiling and waving at her.


    Though that feeling lasted for a few seconds only, Adeline''s heart was exploding with overwhelming emotions. This ''almost real'' exchange of greeting with her mother was going to be the memory that she would be cherishing her whole life.


    And to make that memory even sweeter, her father also turned towards ''her'' and looked at ''her'' while hugging her mother. They looked so beautiful together that her heart warmed up again.


    When she had thought that she had seen it all, she heard her mother''s sweet voice again, "It''s nice to meet you, son-in-law. Tell Adeline I love her. And tell her that her parents are happy up here."


    Adeline''s heart melted upon hearing those words from her mother. Those words that she had longed to hear for all these years.


    She whispered in her mind, "And I am happy down here with your son-in-law. I hope you weren''t too worried about me for all these years. I love you too, mother."


    She would have loved to say ''I love you'' to her mother in person but she was happy when Theodore said that in her stead.


    And when both Auvera and Dragomir waved their hands at Theodore while saying goodbye, Adeline couldn''t be any happier.


    Though it was a final goodbye from them, knowing that they were in heaven made Adeline finally accept both of their deaths. They were happy and back together. There was nothing more than that which Adeline could have asked for her parents.


    Theodore finally lifted his fingers from Adeline''s forehead and Adeline was out of that beautiful piece of memory.


    When she opened her eyes, she smiled widely while her eyes were still wet after witnessing that bitter-sweet memory.


    Adeline jumped on Theodore to hug him for that wonderful gift.


    She had forgotten that her strength was pretty much higher than before and she exerted a little too much force while jumping. And Theodore tumbled backward on the bed and she fell on top of him.


    "Ahh-ahahaha��" Theodore gave out a little grunt and giggled at that fierceness from his wife.


    Adeline pressed her lips on his cheek and whispered to her loving husband, "You have no idea how happy I am! Thank you so much for showing that beautiful memory, Theo. I will treasure that memory forever."


    Theodore tightly embraced Adeline and lovingly whispered back, "I am glad that I followed your father''s soul. I had no idea that I would see your mother there. It was a wonderful surprise even for me."


    Adeline lifted her head and then asked something that was bugging her, "By the way, did your father remove your banishment? Are you allowed back to heaven?"


    Theodore pursed his lips and shook his head. "No, I didn''t actually enter heaven. I was just outside it. I was already following your father''s soul and flying towards Heaven before remembering that I was banished. When I approached near the heaven realm, I prayed to let me enter."


    The corner of his lips pulled up a little when he added, "Thankfully, father did listen to my prayer. Else I would have hurt my wings and fallen back on Earth. It happened whenever I tried to forcefully enter that realm. I had given up after a few tries because the wings hurt as hell."


    Adeline felt a pinch in her heart. She brought her brows together and asked in a complaining tone, "Why would you do that then? What if you weren''t allowed to enter this time as well and you ended up hurting yourself?"


    Theodore shrugged off his shoulders and simply replied, "Then I would have healed in a few days."


    "Besides, I wanted to make sure that my father-in-law reached heaven safely. And I also wanted to show a glimpse of him entering heaven. Luckily, I got to witness something even better and so did you. So, shouldn''t you be smiling instead of complaining?" Theodore pouted like a pampered baby.


    Adeline gave him a huge grin and leaned down to kiss her husband fervently.


    When both of them were breathless, Adeline finally lifted her head. She gave a peck on the tip of his nose and smiled at him again. "Thank you, dear husband."


    Theodore lifted his head to steal a sweet kiss and whispered, "And getting to see you happy was worth the risk."

 Chapter 461 - Hellish Energy

    Both Theodore and Adeline were already in their deep sleep.


    It was already past midnight so there was no reason not to be.


    However, Theodore was woken up from that sweet and deep sleep by a sudden burst of hellish energy that he caught.


    "This again!" Theodore opened his long eyelashes and furrowed.


    "Who is opening the door to hell when Lillian is in that dungeon? Are the dark sorcerers as common as maggots these days?" Theodore heaved a sigh of frustration.


    He wanted to go back to sleep but he could not bring himself to do so when he knew that someone even more dangerous than Lillian could have been plotting against the person and things he cared about.


    "I guess I will have to sniff out this sorcerer, whoever or wherever they are."


    Theodore had felt this surge in hellish energy a few times recently. He had been ignoring it since there were a lot of things going on around him. But he couldn''t quite ignore it any further.


    He turned to look at Adeline. She was smiling once in a while in her sleep. He smiled and thought, "She must be having a good dream."


    He gently lifted her hand that she was wrapping around his chest. And then slid off the bed as lightly as he could.


    He snapped his fingers and changed into his normal black outfit. He would have teleported in search of that beacon of negative energy immediately but he suddenly recalled when Adeline had found her with that succubus at night and had fought with him.


    Theodore didn''t want something like that to happen again. So he scribbled a note and left it on his pillow before leaving the room.


    The note read �C "Went in search of some anomaly that I sensed in the natural order. Nothing much to worry about."


    Theodore went out in the open and then expanded the domain of his senses to pinpoint the area where someone from Hell was present. His eyes turned red when he sensed that presence on the other side of the mountains and hills.


    "Mihir!" He growled in anger because he already guessed who could have been behind that anomaly.


    He cast the invisibility spell on himself and teleported to the pinpointed area without wasting any time.


    The moment he reached that area, he used his magic to freeze everyone around, a trick which he learned from his father. However, it was not as perfect as his father''s magic because he would only be able to freeze the beings, not time. And he could only freeze them for around 30 seconds.


    It was practically useless but right now, it was the most effective magic for him to sneak and see who he was going to be dealing with.


    The aura that he was catching was pretty strong for any lower-level demons. So he needed to be careful, especially if it was someone who had some beef against him.


    "Lilith! What is she doing here?" Theodore furrowed his brows upon seeing his old acquaintance again after two years.


    "Was she about to kill that brat King?" He wondered because Lilith was towering over Reginald and was glaring at him. While Reginald was sleeping on his bed almost looking like an innocent child.


    He quickly looked around the room that he was in. He didn''t see any witch, nor did he see any magic circle. "How did she come here then? Maybe she came here after being summoned by some sorcerer nearby."


    "But why?" Theodore had so many questions but he wouldn''t be able to figure them out without directly asking Lilith.


    So he decided to teleport Lilith back to Hell and interrogate her. Even if a fight would break out between them, there wouldn''t be much problem if they were doing it in Hell.


    He managed to touch Lilith right when his magic wore off. But before she could react to Theodore''s presence in the room, Theodore had already teleported her near his gambling house.


    Lilith swatted Theodore''s hand off her shoulder the moment they reach Hell. She glared at Theodore and asked in a calm yet threatening tone, "Why the hell did you bring me back? I had some work to do."


    Theodore folded his arms and questioned her in an equally threatening tone, "And what kind of ''work'' does a demoness have on Earth?"


    "That''s none of your business, Mr. married man." She rolled her eyes at Theodore and looked around to realize that she was way too far away from her home. "Ugh! Why did you have to bring me here? It reeks of men."


    Lilith was readying herself to teleport back to her home but Theodore spread his wings and enclosed her in the middle of his wings.


    "What do you want?" Lilith screamed in irritation.


    And Theodore replied without missing a beat, "Answers."


    Lilith knew how stubborn Theodore could get when he wanted to be. She had heard all kinds of gossip about him. So she just sighed and met Theodore''s burning red eyes. "Fine. Shoot your questions."


    "How did you go to Earth?" Theodore asked in a monotone.


    Lilith also replied in a similar uninterested tone, "Isn''t it obvious? Someone summoned me."


    "Who? And why?" Theodore kept his questions short because he wanted to get those answers fast.


    Lilith gave a mocking smirk to Theodore and threw a satire at him, "Well, aren''t you good at making enemies, Theodore? And even better at defying your father''s order?"


    She gave a curious gaze at Theodore''s horns and continued to mock him, "Think back to what you did and who could have summoned me there. You will get the answer to the ''why''."


    "That vampire wants to take his revenge on me. That I know. Maybe he asked you to fight me in the war�� end me, most probably." Theodore narrowed his eyes when he recalled Edwin mentioning that ''secret weapon'' to him.


    Lilith snapped her fingers and winked at Theodore.


    However, Theodore wanted to know her true intention. "But you looked like you were going to murder that vampire in his sleep. Are you going to fight me or fight him? Did that brat manage to piss you off as well?"


    Lilith bared her fangs and let out a grim cackle that resounded throughout the nearby area. She then narrowed her eyes and replied seriously, "Oh, I am going to fight you, Theodore. I would never miss a chance to fight you."


    "You know you can challenge me right here and now if you really want to fight me.." Theodore pointed the sharp tip of his feather at Lilith''s neck and challengingly growled at her, "Let''s settle the score once and for all."

 Chapter 462 - Demo Fight

    "Let''s settle the score once and for all."


    Lilith stiffened her body when Theodore''s sharp blade-like feather poked her neck while his other wing was pointing the sharp feathers all over her back. A little pressure from him or one wrong move from her and she was sure that his feather would slice her throat clean.


    Lilith curled her upper lip in contempt and mocked Theodore, "It''s funny how you corner me first and then ask me to fight a match that I would lose. Is this how you got that poor woman to marry you? By cornering her first and then threatening her into submission?"


    Theodore''s blood boiled in fury upon hearing that accusation from Lilith. He leaned a little closer to Lilith and snarled at her, "Don''t you dare poke your nose where it doesn''t belong! And keep my wife out of this."


    He didn''t realize it but when he leaned his body a little, his feather left a small cut on Lilith''s neck. And her blood slowly dripped down her neck.


    The smoke storm in her eyes swirled angrily and she questioned Theodore out of genuine concern for Adeline, "Don''t tell me this is how you treat your wife as well. If you are then I am going to do everything in my power to rescue that poor woman from your clutch."


    However, Theodore took that as a threat that she was going to abduct Adeline. He instantly clutched Lilith''s throat and screamed, "Don''t threaten me with my wife, Lilith. I won''t tolerate it if anyone tries to hurt her in any way."


    Lilith held Theodore''s wrist and dug her claws on him. She loosened his grip on her neck and shouted back, "That was not a threat, dammit!"


    "Then what was it?" He glared at her with an intention to rip her throat apart at that instant but he controlled his rage only because he had wronged her in the past.


    "That was a warning to�C" Theodore tightened his fingers around her neck again and choked her before she could even complete her sentence.


    "I don''t need your warning." He clenched his jaw and minced out his words, "And what the hell are you trying to achieve by siding with my enemy on Earth? Are you still trying to exact your revenge on me?"


    He had thought that the two of them were already past that after she almost beat the life out of him. "Didn''t you say that we were even after that fight we had? Why are you trying to interfere in my life again? Are you still not satisfied after beating me until I was half dead?"


    Lilith dug her claws deeper into Theodore''s wrist and pulled his hand away from her throat. She kept on holding his wrist and shouted in anger, "We were even. Yes."


    "But then I got an amazing deal from that Vampire King." Lilith''s eyes softened a little as if she was recalling the reward that Reginald had offered her in return for fighting against Theodore.


    She looked back at Theodore again with equal fury as before and growled at him, "And I was no way going to miss that deal just because we had already made amends."


    Theodore sighed and tried to make her back out of that deal with Reginald, "Lilith, look�� First of all, you already know that getting involved in earthly affairs is a taboo for us."


    Lilith rolled her eyes and threw Theodore''s hand away from her hold. "Says the man who is married to an Earthling and killed another one!"


    "And I already got punished for my deeds." Theodore softened his gaze as well as his voice and proposed to the woman who considered him an arch-enemy, "What kind of deal did that vampire offer you? I am sure I can also arrange the same things or maybe even something better. Just don''t respond to the summoning from him anymore."


    But unlike what Theodore had expected, Lilith gave a disgusted look to him. And in the next second, she displayed her true demon form.


    She spread out her wings adorned with brown feathers. Her legs now looked like that of some kind of bird. And two sets of horns protruded from her head. One set was long and thick while the other set looked more like secondary ears than horns.


    Lilith wielded smoke storm in both of her palms and furiously shouted, "I would need to be insane to make that deal with you."


    Theodore wasn''t sure what triggered her. But he also produced his dark mist in both of his hands and still tried to reason with her, "Then let''s not take our personal grudge to Earth. If you still want to vent out your anger on me then I am ready to let you fight me, fair and square."


    Lilith sneered and shouted, "You don''t have to ''let'' me fight you. I will fight anyway."


    And without any warning, she released arrows made out of the smoke and shot them right on Theodore''s face.


    The smoke hit Theodore''s eyes before he could think of anything. And the smoke made his eyes burn as though flames had been poured into his eyes.


    And when he was distracted by that, Lilith came flying at him and punched his nose.


    Theodore clenched his jaw in irritation and shouted, "I thought you wanted to fight fair and square. How is smoking my eyes fair?"


    "That''s called thinking smart, you whining baby." Lilith came flying at him again while pointing her heel on his chest.


    However, Theodore was able to grab her leg even with his eyes closed. And he slammed her down on the ground as hard as he could so that she wouldn''t be able to get up on her feet until he could open his eyes again.


    While waiting for his eyes to burn less, he felt his horns itching and his body was asking him to release something that was pent up inside of him. He went with his feeling and let out whatever he was holding in.


    He felt something hot spurt out of his horns and in the very next second, a pungent smell of something burning entered his nose. It was accompanied by Lilith''s scream of agony.


    Theodore immediately forced his eyes open even if it was still burning.


    He was horrified at the scene in front of him. Lilith''s wings and her clothes had caught fire.


    "What did you do to me, you arsehole?" Lilith was screaming and patting on her clothes to try and put out the fire that was slowly engulfing her.


    "Oh hell!" Theodore looked around in a panic in search of something he could use to put out the fire. He hastily picked up some dirt from the ground and threw it on Lilith.


    Lilith glared at Theodore and screamed in agony, "Teleport me to a water source, you fool! And hurry up unless killing me was your intention all along��"


    "I wasn''t going to kill you!" Theodore picked her up while shouting at her.


    He teleported her to the bathhouse that was in his gambling house. Thankfully, the large common bathtub that the staff of the gambling house used was full of water. He swiftly threw Lilith in the tub without any mercy.


    The fire finally died. Half of Lilith''s feathers were burned already and she had some minor burns on her wings.


    Lilith kept on floating on the water feeling defeated by that single move from Theodore.


    Theodore tapped his feet nervously and apologized, "I had no idea that my horns could do that. I evolved recently but I didn''t get the chance to check what my body can do yet. I didn''t mean to burn you like this."


    Lilith got up on her feet and pushed her wet hair away from her face. She gave a sly smile and said, "Thanks for letting me know that you evolved. And I am glad that we fought today. Else I would have been caught by surprise in that war. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go back to my home."


    "Lilith!" Theodore knitted his brows in tune and asked, "Do you really have to fight in that war? That also from that bastard''s side? You can''t stand men, right? Reginald is the worst kind of man that you will ever cross your path with."


    Lilith gave a side-eyed glance to Theodore and replied in a monotone, "I''ve already figured out that much on my own. That''s why I was contemplating whether or not to kill him before you abducted me and brought me back here."


    Theodore restlessly brushed his hair with his fingers and asked in a frustrated voice, "Then why are you insisting on supporting him?"


    "Because he can give me what I want," Lilith replied with conviction.


    And before Theodore could further interrogate her, a swirling smoke engulfed her and she vanished from his reach.


    Theodore''s scream resounded throughout the bathhouse after Lilith disappeared, "What is it that you want, Lilith? Arghhh! You could have at least tried asking me!"

 Chapter 463 - Happiest Pet

    A part of Theodore was screaming to him to chase Lilith to her territory and get her to back out from the war no matter what. Or at the very least, make her answer his questions. That way, he could prevent some potential disaster later on in the future.


    However, another part of him warned him not to provoke Lilith because she was very unpredictable. And because of his provocation, he didn''t want her to cause harm to Adeline in any way.


    All this clashing of his thoughts was unbearably maddening for him. And he didn''t want to return to his wife while his mind was not in the right place.


    "I have to let out my emotions while I am still here. I don''t want to accidentally say something mean to Adeline, that also on her coronation day."


    Theodore already knew where he needed to be at the moment. And he readied himself for teleportation.


    "Well, I have been putting off this fight for a long while now." Theodore was already excited just thinking about the duel with his brother. "I can''t wait to make him forge that flaming sword for me."


    He happily rubbed his palms together and whispered, "Let''s go!"


    As usual, when Cerberus smelled Theodore''s presence, he came running outside to greet him.  But Cerberus didn''t see Theodore anywhere outside. He wagged his tail and ran around while trying to follow the smell, but to no avail.


    Theodore was hovering high up in the air while proudly fisting on his hips. He was looking down at Cerberus and was smiling widely.


    "Why didn''t I think of this trick earlier? I could have avoided all those dangerous encounters till now."


    Theodore shivered after recalling Cerberus licking his horns the last time. His brows suddenly curled closer and he looked stunned.


    He gave a loving gaze to Cerberus who was now barking loudly. And he thought to himself, "Thankfully, no accident occurred that day when he licked my horns." Theodore scratched his horn and thought, "I should be extra careful when I am around him. These horns have proven to be dangerous."


    "What?" Theodore was startled when he heard his brother''s loud voice coming from beside him.


    Theodore narrowed his eyes at Lucifer and asked, "Let''s go and fight. I am going to finally surpass you today."


    "Tch! aren''t you a little full of yourself today?" Lucifer gave a side-eye to Theodore and then focused his attention on Cerberus.


    Cerberus was now sitting down while looking all sad and whimpering.


    Lucifer looked back at Theodore and asked, "At least go and show your face to him before we leave. He hasn''t seen you for quite a while, you know."


    "What?" Theodore swiftly looked away from his brother and denied, "I''m not insane to go there myself and willingly become his prey."


    Lucifer stretched his arms and yawned, "Alright then. Have a good night. I have nothing more to say or do with you."


    Theodore was pouting and was giving a challenging look to Lucifer as if he was saying with his eyes that he knew Lucifer was just bluffing.


    However, Lucifer began flapping his wings and flew lower and lower.


    "Wait!" Theodore clenched his fists and unwillingly said, "Fine! I will go and meet him."


    Theodore stopped midair and looked back at Lucifer. And he asked in a soft voice, "Will you at least come with me?"


    Lucifer face-palmed himself and scolded Theodore, "You''re not a kid anymore, Theodore! Why the hell are you still so scared of Cerberus?"


    Theodore wrinkled his nose and whined, "I''m not scared of him. Well�� maybe a little." He looked down at Cerberus and added, "He might lick my horns and my horns were acting up a while ago."


    "What do you mean by acting up?" Lucifer furrowed his brows and asked.


    "I nearly burned Lil�C" Theodore abruptly stopped and cleared his throat. And then he continued, "��burned someone alive. I don''t want such an accident to happen to Cerberus."


    Lucifer kept on glaring at Theodore for a while to see if he was lying or speaking the truth. He found that Theodore was indeed saying the truth so he agreed with him. "Okay. Follow me."


    The two of them flew down to the ground and landed right in front of Cerberus.


    Theodore stood there like a statue and waited for Cerberus to fiercely attack him.


    But unlike the other days, Cerberus sat down in front of Theodore and met his eyes. He kept on looking at Theodore without pouncing him. He was giving that irresistible look to Theodore as if today he wanted Theodore to pet him on his own.


    His puppy eyes were too cute to handle, even for Theodore.


    In the end, Theodore let out the breath that he had been holding all this while and gave in to Cerberus.


    "Alright, alright! Here goes nothing!" Theodore sighed and raised his hand to pet Cerberus.


    His hand shivered like a leaf when it slowly approached Cerberus''s head that was in the middle of the other two.


    Cerberus was wagging his tail and was excitedly sticking out its tongue. He rolled his eyes up and kept on looking at Theodore''s hand and waiting for a pat.


    Lucifer was folding his arms and was staring at his brother with half-shut eyes. He was resisting his urge to grab Theodore and rub him on Cerberus.


    Theodore held his breath again and finally touched the fur of Cerberus. He pressed his palm firmly and ruffled the fur.


    Theodore''s eyes sparkled and so did Cerberus''s eyes.


    Theodore happily glanced at his brother and said, "His fur feels softer than the fur of those puppies�� I mean the fur of the werewolves."


    He giggled and used both of his hands to rub two of Cerberus''s heads.


    Lucifer smirked and went to stand by his brother''s side so that he could pat the remaining head of his familiar. "See, he is not as bad as you made him sound. He is just like a regular pet."


    Theodore pouted and complained, "He is just behaving like a good boy today. I don''t know why he hasn''t licked me yet."


    Lucifer hugged his hellhound and tried to make his brother understand the behavior of his familiar, "All that my Cer needs is love, which you didn''t offer. So he took it by force. If you pet him then he won''t bother you that much. Isn''t his behavior similar to your familiar?"


    Theodore chuckled and shook his head, "My familiar doesn''t lick me�� He insults me."


    "Serves you right." Lucifer also chuckled and then added, "But hey, at least you get to know what Arion is actually thinking. You don''t have to guess."


    Theodore smiled and nodded. "Yes. He tells me everything without any filter. He was nagging me the whole day saying I got heavier."


    The two brothers shared a few more conversations with each other while petting Cerberus.


    Though Cerberus was in literal Hell, that moment made him feel as though he was in Heaven. He was the happiest pet. How could he not be happy when Theodore was taking initiative to stroke him on the head and give him lovely scratches?


    "Alright brother, show me your new tricks. Let''s go!" Lucifer finally sent Cerberus inside the mansion.. And the brothers headed towards the portal to go to their fighting zone.