Dilan told Ariel everything she wanted to know.
That was the deal he made with her, and he wouldn't leave out anything just to protect her from the bitter truth.
Understanding her Power the best, Ariel Silvertale knew that Dilan spoke nothing but the truth. It may only be his truth, the truth he knew.
It might not be the real truth in some scenarios but it was more than enough for the Princess of Haven not to realize that her hair was disheveled and that her expression was far from the elegant calm and distant expression she usually had.
"Your Majesty, what happened?!" Tenur asked in shock. He rushed toward the Princess of Haven and even spoke in a formal manner without realizing it.
He looked at the blank and stupefied face of their future Queen and shuddered for a moment.
'What did he do to her???' Tenur asked himself and uncontrollable anger erupted from within him. However, before he could get up and leave the room to do something he would certainly regret, Ilia grasped him tightly.
"You're dead the moment you leave the room with the killing intent you release right now…because he will kill you if I won't do it!" She announced coldly, tightening her grasp around Tenur's arm.
The sound of cracking bones could be heard ringing through the room, forcing Tenur to halt in his tracks.
He turned back to Ilia, his eyes filled with anger. Yet, the moment he looked at the Archangel, he saw something from the corner of his eyes.
Ariel was gritting her teeth and grasping her armor above the heart.
"If you don't retract your killing intent at this instance, I will rip your heart out of your chest!" Ilia promised, a blade of condensed light forming around her left hand.
She was ready to end Tenur, who was the cause of Ariel's pain.
Tenur realized this as well when he understood that his killing intent was enough to twist Ariel's soul, causing unbearable pain. All that just because of the Soul Contract she signed with Dilan.
He retracted his killing intent in an instance and saw that Ariel's tension dispersed. She looked much better now and Ilia could focus on fixing her hair before Ariel fully regained her senses.
"You are already here…that's good." Ariel merely said when she saw the two Archangels. She got up from her chair and left the room without any explanation.
"What did you ask?"
…
"Was it that bad?"
…
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
Ilia and Tenur had many questions but they didn't receive an answer. Ariel Silvertale left the room with a heavy heart and she only stopped when she walked past Dilan and the others.
"...Can I come again when I have more questions?" She asked after a few seconds, slightly hesitant.
Ilia and Tenur noticed this hesitation and they looked at each other, not sure if they heard the Princess of Haven properly.
Did she just hesitate?
"Of course, you can come over. Even if you have no questions, you're always welcome!" Dilan announced, attracting a few glares from the sidelines.
"But bring a few more people next time, if you can!"
"Why? Don't you guys hate us?" Ariel responded quickly but Dilan just motioned his fingers lightly as if he wanted to say 'No No~'
"I want you to bring some sparring partners for them. It would be best if they're as strong as possible, strong enough to defeat the strongest Demi Gods. That way, the hatred of my people will rise even further and it will slowly turn into competitive spirit and motivation as long as I won't make a mistake."
Dilan was not yet sure how he should make use of the resources at their disposal but he was pretty sure that some Demi Gods with thousands of years of combat experience were helpful to strengthen his people.
Providing the Undying Group with an opportunity to beat up some Elite Essence Angels, or possibly even Archangels, was even more enticing.
Dilan hoped that he could help his people to become even stronger that way, not because he would feel better that way, but because they wanted to get stronger on their own accord!
"If that's what you want."
Ariel gave him a nod and walked past him, ready to leave as Dilan's voice rang out from behind her.
"Look more often on the Divinity Messenger from now on!"
Ariel Silvertale didn't say anything and she continued to step through the hallway. She seemed steadfast and as if nothing in the whole Universe could shake her.
However, what only Tenur and Ilia could see right now was that the Princess of Haven was unable to keep up her poker face. The corners of her lips curled upward involuntarily and she grasped her chest once again…this time not in pain…
Dilan looked behind Ariel, ignoring the glares from all around him.
"Is she your lover from a past life?" Siegfried asked all of a sudden, not sure whether he saw it correctly or not. The tension between Ariel and Dilan was a little weird, not like that of ordinary friends. Were they really merely old acquaintances?
Siegfried was not sure but he would still tease his uncle if possible.
However, instead of ending up teasing his uncle, Siegfried realized that he teased his aunts who began to stare daggers at him.
"...I was just joking…" He mumbled while Dilan didn't say anything.
"Do you guys hate me for what I did today?" He just asked, his voice serious yet also calm.
He took a look around and noticed that the others weren't able to meet his eyes. Only Siegfried didn't seem to be bothered about anything.
There was something else that squirmed through Dilan's mind but he didn't want to say that at first. He was pretty sure that he had already been harsh enough to his friends and family today.
He basically forced them to accept moving to the territory of the Angel's Haven Alliance, the same alliance that caused them to be stuck underground and shivering in fear for several months.
However, he quickly realized that the Angel's Haven Alliance, or Ariel, was not the problem.
"...Or do you guys hate yourself?"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢