The question was answered in the next instant. Surprising everyone, the beauty fell to the ground before Veles, resting her fair forehead against the feet of her King without regard for her image as a lady.
At that moment, Veles fiery attitude immediately softened. “Little Flower, what are you doing on the ground?”
He swooped downward, trying to help this concubine of his up. How could he not know why she was here? But, there were some things he couldn’t back down on as a King. How could he face his people if he showed favoritism?
Among his women, the two he liked the most were his fiery Nina and the soft and docile Mina. He hadn’t been with Mina for long, but after getting used to Nina’s crass attitude, he truly enjoyed Mina’s caring personality. He couldn’t even bear to “overwork” her like he usually did with his concubines. With how fragile Mina’s body was, whenever he noticed even a hint of pain of her features, he would immediately stop. He knew that Mina would never complain, so if he didn’t, who knew how much damage this little beauty would take?
Veles frowned when he noticed how steadfast Mina’s kowtowing was, it even took him some effort to pry her from the ground.
“Husband…” Mina sobbed. She had never asked Veles for anything before, but she felt sweet in her heart when he saw how much he cared for her. How could she bear watching her husband and her father fight?
Veles gulped, holding onto Mina. “Alright, I won’t kill him. You’ve never asked for anything before, so how could I as your husband not give you a gift in this lifetime of ours?
“But, Mina.” Veles lifted up her delicate chin. “There cannot be a next time. As a King, I can only be so magnanimous. Also, your father must face consequences for his actions. Do you understand?”
Mina nodded vehemently, unable to stop her tears as she burrowed her little head into Veles’ large chest. She, too, didn’t understand why her father had done such a thing. She remembered that her father had agreed that as long as she was treated well, their alliance would last forever if Veles so chose.
From youth, Mina had been born with a very fragile body. So, despite the fact that she was already nearing her 25th year of life, she was still at the mere foundation stage. Because of this, and the fact her mother had died long ago, her father had always doted on her, protecting her with every fiber of his being.
Although Veles did indeed treat Mina well, the truth of the matter was that her father couldn’t possibly know that for sure! So, why would he risk attacking and angering Veles?! If Veles wasn’t the kind man Mina knew him to be, wouldn’t her father’s actions be putting her in danger? A lesser man would have immediately used Mina as a hostage to tie down her father’s actions. Whichever way you looked at it, this was a foolish action!
‘Does my father not care about me anymore?’ When Mina thought of this, the tears streamed out with even more sadness. It was as though she lost all strength to go on.
Veles understood exactly what Mina was thinking, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could only hold onto her as he gave out orders. He didn’t trust anyone else to since he wouldn’t hand Mina over to a man, and the competition in the Imperial Harem was something he was disgusted by. Plus, while Nina would console Mina without jealousy, she would also taint her innocence, so Veles couldn’t have that.
“Bring him back alive.” Veles began to speak in much more calm voice. “Kill those who resist, and capture those who don’t. I want a full understanding of what this is and why it happened.” After he calmed down, Veles realized that it might be a good thing that he had. If he just killed the barbarian king, what would he get out of it? He would lose warriors, and those he had left would likely be injured, all while he never found the true culprit.
After Veles finished handing out orders, the elders of the clan began to move in an orderly fashion, heading off to war in a flash. Sending saints would just be a waste, so many of them remained here. In the end, the only people who remained in the hall were two of Dyon’s personal guards as well as one of the two dao formation elders Dyon brought along. Aside from that, there was Dyon, the sobbing Mina, and, of course, Veles – those who weren’t mentioned were just some sainthood guards who patrolled the palace grounds.
“It seems we won’t be able to end this meeting of ours peacefully.” Veles said bitterly. “Don’t worry, the barbarian clan isn’t too large, we’ll just overwhelm them with numbers and get answers. The matter will be dealt with long before four days from now, the Viserion Clan with be at your Angel Clan within two days.”
Dyon nodded. The only thing left was to find wherever Luna had scampered off to before leaving to their next destination. However, before he even got an opportunity to finish the thought, the petite figure of his wife appeared around the hallway, entering the room with her graceful disposition.
With a smile, she greeted King Viserion who accepted her goodwill. Dyon didn’t seem to notice that from her entrance, to her taking a position to his right, she hadn’t once looked him in the eye.
“I bid you two farewell.” King Viserion waved his hand, calling for an escort. He would have normally taken them out personally, but he had to tend to Mina right now.
That was when the situation changed so drastically that from start to finish, Dyon, for the first time in his life, felt as though he was a puppet on the strings of somebody else…
He felt a delicate hand slip into his, but when he turned to smile toward Luna, he noticed that although she was trying to hide it, there was a faint puffy redness to the bottoms of her eyes, and tears were threatening to swell again. Her calm disposition had seemingly shattered no matter how she tried to bury it.
“Lun – …” Dyon didn’t get a chance to finish his words when he suddenly felt a ring forced onto his finger. It was much too small for him, seemingly sized for Luna’s dainty fingers, so it was pushed onto his pinky.
In that instant, loud alarms began to blare as guards rushed from the hallway Luna had just come from. King Viserion’s retreating figure froze, he knew exactly what that alarm was for and he suddenly knew that it was no coincidence that the Sacred Treasury guards were rushing in from the same hallway Luna came from…
The silver ring Luna had forced onto Dyon’s hand suddenly began to shine and vibrate along with the blaring noise before it shattered completely, allowing a thick ancient tome to fall into Dyon’s hands before the eyes of everyone.
No one spoke. Even if they tried to, they would be drowned out by the sounds of the alarm that seemed to only get louder.
All of Dyon’s relief disappeared in a flash. An agonizing pain erupted from his chest, threatening to make him faint on the spot… But he wasn’t injured… This was truly a wound of the heart.
The last thing that happened before Veles roared in anger, pointing toward the could as though he had lost his mind, was Dyon’s cold gaze descending upon Luna.
In that final moment before they began running for their lives, Dyon stamped out the last bits of affection he had for this woman. Never again would he call her his wife. Never again would he protect her as his. Never again would she get another chance.
Luna finally gathered her courage and looked up to face Dyon’s gaze, only for her to freeze the moment she met it.
“That was your last chance, Luna Moon.”
Luna felt like her world was collapsing, somehow, amidst all the noise, these were the clearest words she had ever heard in her life. Dyon callously stripped her of the Sacharro name, making his stance clear: From this moment forward, we are no longer husband and wife.