<strong>Fear. </strong>
A word so alien for Abel for a very long time. When he first came to know the fear of loss, he named it his proof of love for Aries, which she could depend on. Loving Aries was so easy, but Love itself was tough. Yet, he told himself he was tough enough.
Therefore, this fear was just one of his many demons to slay. Abel could safely say he had broken free from that weaponized cage, only for another fear to resurface unannounced and gnarly. This time, much more dreadful than those crazy-making circling anxiety.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with him?" Conan inquired, staring at Abel, who was sitting on the armchair inside the emperor's chambers.
Abel had been silent since parting with Aries after dropping her in the Rose Palace. And he had been staring at that pebble, rolling it mildly in between his thumb and index, his arm propped against the armrest.
"He dared raised a sword against the empress. Letting him walk away after that insolence is unforgivable." Conan seethed as his fist trembled, recalling how his brother's knight attacked Aries. His anger, however, slowly subsided when a sudden thought crossed his head.
<strong>Who killed that man?</strong>
"Why is Tony taking so long?" Abel inquired calmly, keeping his eyes on the pebble in his hand.
"She would be here with the grand duke any moment."
"I see."
"Your Majesty, now that I think about it, who killed that person?" Conan raised the question after reaching a dead end and couldn't make a guess. His question stopped Abel from rolling the pebble.
"That knight… is a pureblooded vampire. To kill him using…" he trailed off as his eyes fell on the pebble in Abel's fingers. "... to kill him using that, it's alarming. Maximus and his small militia are already troublesome enough. Dealing with another crazy is the last thing we need right now."
<strong>Abel knew that. </strong>
For someone to take down a pureblooded vampire with just a pebble was amazing and alarming; it depends on which perspective they were looking on. In this matter, it was alarming for them since they had so many things to lose.
Things and people Abel couldn't afford to lose.
"Once Maximus entered the palace, we'll shut it." Abel slowly lifted his eyes to Conan. "No one will ever leave this place until one of us dies."
Conan's jaw tightened, knowing Abel had always planned to use the imperial palace as the battlefield, lest a fight breaks out.
"And about this unknown person or force?" he inquired, only to hear Abel's correction.
"Just a person," said Abel. "It's not a group. Just one."
"Is he a friend?"
<strong>Knock Knock!</strong>
"Your Majesty, I had arrived with your son." Suddenly, Isaiah's voice was heard from the other side of the door. He waited for a moment, and despite not hearing a word inside, he pushed the door open.
Entering the emperor's chamber was Isaiah with Sunny on his side and Leon on his back. Sunny greeted a lively, "grandpa!" as she skipped her steps inside, jumping on the divan while hugging her stuffed bunny Mister Moon.
"We rushed here the moment we heard your call," Isaiah spoke, stopping near where Conan was sitting. "And I also heard that you let Maximus off, Your Majesty."
Leon, Sunny's uncle, stopped near Isaiah. His expression grim, eyes fixed on Abel.
"I smelled the blood of a La Crox reek in the capital," he remarked through his gritted teeth. "The La Crox will never support a traitor of the sovereign."
"You've been away from the mainland, Leon La Crox." Abel leaned back, resting his leg over the other.
"And even if I am away from that place for a decade, there is no way our clan will pledge to a man who got the throne by force," Leon argued, only showing emotion now even after spending the past month as part of the background in this place. "Our family had been loyal to the king all this time, and our clan leader had sworn that once the king enters an eternal slumber, he and every clan leader who had supported the king would join him."
"Well, surprise, surprise. It seemed all those clan leaders are not as loyal as you think they were." Conan snorted. It wouldn't surprise him if those people who had supported the king, his father, would turn their backs at times of weakness.
"No." Leon adamantly refused to accept Conan's ridicule. "I don't think that's what happened."
"Of course, that's not what happened." Sunny blinked innocently, watching Abel, Leon, Conan, and Isaiah turn their attention to her. "When the royal family fell, all the clan leaders died or were forced to enter the eternal slumber, which was the same thing. Many things changed, Uncle Leon."
Her explanation sounded like the clap of thunder in Leon's ears. He had been with her all these months, but never once did Sunny mention anything about this. She only told them about the fire in the palace and how she saved the king in the nick of time. There were no other details involved, and they didn't ask because they thought that was all she knew.
"When Tilly left the mainland, things just escalated because the king had been nagging her to be his heir," she continued, and Leon already knew it, but not the other three men with her. "I think the current king used Tilly and Uncle Leon's absence to execute his plans to overthrow the throne."
Leon balled his hands into a fist as his eyes shook. "Sunny, why are you just saying this now?"
"Uncle Leon didn't ask, and even if you knew about this earlier, there's nothing you can do." Sunny shrugged and then faced Abel with her adorable countenance. "I don't like the current king, and I think he doesn't like Sunny because I kept sending his men's heads back to him over the past few months. He'll kill Sunny."
Abel just stared at his adorable granddaughter, who didn't even have any emotions despite knowing her 'dilemma.' It only made sense, since Abel had felt some uninvited guests some days, only for them to disappear. He didn't think Sunny was the reason for their infiltration to fail over and over.
"I understand where your anger is coming from, Leon La Crox," Abel spoke leisurely, casting Leon a cursory look. "But Tony is right. There's nothing much you can do, but the enemy is marching here, so be patient. You can settle the score later."
"Now, onto a much important matter. Someone else killed that La Crox after attacking the empress." His eyes then fell back on Sunny. "Tony, you mentioned back then, you know someone who wields a spear, which he called Maleficent."
"Mhm." Sunny nodded while Leon furrowed his brows, knowing all the members of the Grimsbanne and those who lived on the mainland with them. "Mister Fabian is his name. His weapon hides in a form of a skull ring, and I think it's really cool how he rubs it with his thumb before wielding it!"
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