Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 125: The Royal Seal

Chapter 125: The Royal Seal

Back in the royal Palace, Tobias and Alistair had just arrived from an undercover mission when their mother, Lady Agathe, told them about what had happened in the orb room during their absence. Although they were both disappointed at the fact that she hid her identity from them, taking her to the town square and publicly whipping her for the crowds to see was an extreme course of action to take, even to them...and Lady Agathe had to agree with her sons on that note.

"I do not understand why she deserves to be punished so severely." Lady Agathe said to her sons who followed her past the hallway, her expression scrunched into concern. "The least they could do was send her out of the kingdom if she posed that much threat to them, and I think it is unfair to punish her because of her Father’s mistake as she did no harm to the family. I have not had any interaction with Ivan’s chosen bride before, but I can tell that she is harmless. Her blood on the pedestal though is still the only puzzle I’m seriously trying to solve."

"None of what we’re saying will matter if we can’t stop what’s happening from happening." Alistair uttered in slight irritation as he glanced at his brother who hadn’t changed his demeanor. "We don’t currently hold that much power to go against the decrees of the four Lords, and I’m half sure Carina talked them into it with that sly daughter of hers. Considering Eamon just arrived a few days ago, he’s being a mummy’s puppet, nothing else."

"You are right about that." Lady Agathe nodded her head in agreement before heaving her chest and exhaling tiredly through her lips. "Situations like this are the type that make me wish the Queen Mother was still alive. If she was still here, the circumstances wouldn’t have escalated to the heap, and now I’m wondering how your cousin will react when he returns with your Father and finds his woman at the brink of death."

Lady Agathe’s worried expression warped into panic, and she turned to look at her sons. "What will happen then?"

"I am still wondering how Eamon got his hands on those scrolls." The silent Tobias butted in with a contemplative gaze, "the last time King Muzan paid a visit to Vesunard, it was only a week after his return that he got assassinated, and the mystic Orb was mysteriously gone from the pedestal too. Where did he get the time to draft a new decree when his return from Vesunard at that time was a hasty one? And even during those weeks after his return, I was with Ivan when his Father tried to talk him into following the judgements and ruling in his place. To put it simply, why would he do that if he already made a decree in favor of Eamon?"

"Even if the decree is fake, which I suspect it is, there’s no proving it." Alistair massaged the back of his neck as they felt strained. "It has the royal seal stamp and signature, that is enough proof that the court needs. According to the rules once a new King gains the throne, a new seal is made, and the old one is destroyed. We were all there when King Muzan’s royal seal got burnt so we can avoid unnecessary complications like this one."

"Destroying the seal doesn’t mean it can’t be replaced with the exact same thing, but there should be a distinction between the two." Tobias’ eyes moved to his Mother who was also understanding the point her son was trying to make, and she asked.

"When are you going to tell Ivan? It’s important for him to know about this."

"Who do you think sent us on this troubled mission in the first place?" Questioned Alistair, "visiting the maker of the seal was Ivan’s idea. After the royal court meeting, we had a private conversation concerning our doubts, and that’s when he brought up the idea." A slow smile lifted Alistair’s lips as though he was secretly impressed.

"I never understood his reasons till we visited the maker of the royal seal, and now it makes accurate sense why he wanted to know more about the seal stamp. His assumptions were right to some extent."

Tobias nodded in agreement, but his eyes flickered with concern. "Do you think–"

"Tobias." Hearing someone’s voice mention his name with urgency, Tobias lifted his head to see Ivan approaching him from the door that led one into the vestibules, whilst he cocked his head to the side upon realizing Ivan’s distress.

"Ivan?"

"Where are the Four Lords? Where’s my little lamb?" He asked in haste, cause for all he knew he was back in the Palace, but the sharp pain in his chest hadn’t stopped. To make it worse, he couldn’t find her within the Palace vicinity.

"She’s at the capital’s main Town square." Alistair dropped the location. "You better hurry though, your little lamb is about to get poached under the sun."

"Just don’t kill anyone in front of the public, and yes, come back the minute you’re done." Tobias advised, pushing his brother aside. Ivan didn’t wait to hear the rest as he exited the Palace once again using the main door.

—--

"The town square is unusually crowded today of all days." Macho made his comment as he priced weapons from a blacksmith, and he used one hand to shield his face from the sun. Maurice remained quiet as he picked a book from the shop beside the blacksmith where Macho stayed purchasing new daggers.

"Why is it crowded today?" Macho asked the blacksmith who handed him the weapons he had purchased. The blacksmith, who seemed lost for a moment, peered out from his shop before returning his gaze to Macho.

"Didn’t you hear? Someone has made herself the initial scapegoat for the royals to taint. The vampires are not the type of people I would trample upon and come out of it alive, you can join the crowd if you’re that interested in knowing what is happening."

Listening to the blacksmith, Maurice’s brown eyes moved from the book to the gathered crowds not too far ahead.

"They said it’s a ’she’, but I don’t know if I should rejoice or not since I’m unsure of the condition our members and leader are in. This has nothing to do with us, let’s go."

"Hold on." Maurice was quick to stop Macho, but he didn’t avert his gaze from the growing crowd. "I want to have a look, it’ll be quick."

Informing Macho, Maurice didn’t wait for his approval as he began to approach the place where the crowds had gathered. Maneuvering his way through so he could get a good look, Maurice stopped in his tracks when he heard the lashing sound of a whip as though someone was being flogged. For a moment, he felt an adrenaline rush as merely the sound of the brandished whip brought back painful memories of his tortures.

On the left side of the platform stood the vampire prince he hardly recognized, and there was a princess who had a malicious smirk on her lips standing beside him. When his eyes moved to who was being beaten without mercy, his gaze scrutinized the female whose back was being relentlessly lashed amidst the sound of her cries. The tip of her golden-blonde hair was already tainted with blood, and her hair was presently covering her face, obstructing his view.

"Maurice." Macho eventually caught up with him, almost out of breath from having to struggle through the crowds. "It’s not safe to be here, we have to leave."

"This... this isn’t right." Maurice shook his head at the grievous sight, and his fingers curled into fist at his side. "Someone has to question this madness..!!"

Before Maurice could raise his voice, the sudden intervention of the vampire Lord he recognized had everyone, including him, fall into a deep oppressive silence. Fortunately the beating had stopped, and Maurice could feel himself finally breathing, unaware that he had been holding it all the time he watched the unknown female get lashed.

Not everyone in the kingdom was familiar with the last prince of EmptyHollow, but at his arrival, it didn’t turn out to be a hard guess. The gathered crowds, who felt shivers run down their spine immediately began to disperse out of fear, and not everyone still had the opportunity to look up at the vampire Lord they always heard of, but hardly reveals himself except during battles.

"Let’s go! Come on!" Grabbing Maurice’s wrist, Macho dragged him away till they got mixed with the dispersing crowd.

Looking at his little lamb whose body still shook from the pain she was forced to incur, Ivan’s gaze faltered at the sight. He quickly freed her hands from the rope that had her binded to the poles, but before her body could drop to the ground, she felt herself fall into the embrace of Ivan who then crouched on one knee as he kept her steady against him. He removed his coat and placed it around her body, shielding her exposed back from the sun, but he was careful not to make it come in quick contact with her back.

He carefully lifted her into his arms, preparing to take her away from there while ignoring his siblings existence.

"I hope you’re aware that that human is presently undergoing trial." Eamon’s voice had Ivan halting on his steps. "She is an accomplice to the same man who killed our Father. What you are doing will only alter serious consequences on your side, consequences that could put your status at risk, and I am sure you don’t want that." He warned calmly, but in truth, all he wanted to do was trigger the risk of Ivan losing the throne.

Ivan’s gentle gaze lowered to his little lamb whose trembling fingers were clutching against the fabric of his shirt, her face buried in his chest. "Hold on to me." His voice was low, but it was charged with emotions. "You’re safe in my arms. You won’t have to suffer like this again, It’s a promise."