Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 146: Who Breaks First

Chapter 146: Who Breaks First

The next day, Ivan visited Caddel in his private cell.

Unlike the last one he was previously placed in, this particular side of the dungeon was more tolerable to stay in when compared to the first one. Recently, he had been drowning pensively in his thoughts, but his senses were quick to alert him when Ivan suddenly emerged from the darkness, his amethyst eyes glinting with a mysterious light that drew Caddel’s attention to him, and he wondered candidly what else these supernatural creatures of the night could do apart from possessing such lethal powers.

If he didn’t hear the rumors wrongly, the vampire Lord was no longer just a vampire but part Demon now.

"Here to kill me?"

"Not yet." Ivan answered plainly before snapping his fingers, and without anyone’s assistance, a wooden chair that was resting at a corner mystically moved to where Ivan stood, and the vampire King took his seat like he had all the time in the world to spare. Judging from his white tunic and the black breeches he wore, Caddel could guess that he had the appearance of someone who just finished training, whatever physical training it might be.

"Why are you here then?" Caddel questioned further, black lines forming across his forehead as he dared to look Ivan in the eye, and that was the exact reason why Ivan couldn’t kill him. The hunter’s boldness, his obduracy was one that mysteriously intrigued Ivan even during their first meet-up. He felt the hunter would be of better use to him, but to avoid jumping into unnecessary assumptions, he was going to monitor the hunter till he senses any improvement... or disappointment.

"Allow me to brief this up quickly." Ivan subtly began.

"You see, how I do things is that I come here, ask a few easy questions, you answer them correctly, and how I feel considering your answers at the end of it, makes it easier for me to make my final judgments." The vampire King asserted without a hint of humor, the frost in his eyes returning. "We can always handle this the easy way without having to go through torture, and when I say torture, I mean internal torture, you know that feeling when it hurts inside? I won’t rub in the details, but from my experiences, it’s not something a mortal can survive. So let’s begin, shall we?"

Crossing his leg over the other, Ivan reclined against the chair and asked, his voice echoing lightly within the premises. "First question, why did you sneak into the Palace disguised as a royal Fletcher?" He cocked his head, crimson eyes holding his silent inquiries, and he added. "Terrible things happened that night, things like the Queen Mother getting poisoned and found dead in her Chambers, then the next day, a servant whose duty was to stay close in case the Queen Mother needed anything fled from the Palace, just after the tragic incident, but unfortunately, she lost her life in the hands of a hunter. Care to explain to me your motive for that night?"

"I do not have issues with the Late Queen Mother, I barely know what she looks like." Caddel answered candidly, his voice bitter. "I have no idea what you’re trying to deliberate on by telling me all this but it won’t work. Yes, I played in the hands of a royal Fletcher so I could take his spot, but I only did it so I could seize the opportunity to find my sister, whom you abducted! And don’t deny it cause I know you did it. I saw you that night, I saw everything, and those crimson eyes..... they were the exact replica as the one I saw that night, behind the bushes."

"Hold on, did you say abducted?" Ivan blinked upon hearing this, and his eyes narrowed inquisitively as he tried to discern what he had just heard. "Is your sister among the girls that were said to be missing from EmptyHollow? Two young maidens are missing presently from the Kingdom, one is at the age of nine, the other one is sixteen if I’m not wrong." Ivan pondered deeply on the matter, hoping he didn’t guess the ages wrong, but then Caddel’s confounded reaction to what he had said made him know he had hit the jackpot.

It made sense why the hunter obviously disliked him, but then his dislikes were on matters that sounded apocryphal.

"You’re awfully mistaken then, I have nothing to do with children." Ivan cleared his doubt considering the abduction before proceeding to say. "EmptyHollow is about to be raided by witches, and for reasons that are still unknown, they are abducting humans, most especially the younger ones. I can count with my fingers how many warlocks I’ve seen and gotten rid off, but they are all useless since they fail to provide valuable information about their Queen, and what she intends to use those humans for."

"Witches?!" Caddel’s eyes snapped wide in apprehension at the mention of witches, his pupils contrasting facilely. He had heard rumors about witches in the past, but he never believed they existed. Back then, he had heard stories of witches from a strange land who could control the elements and summon creatures from the otherworld. They were feared and revered by many, and their powers were unmatched by any mortal being. This story had been a long time ago, but he never believed in it.

He assumed they were all blasphemy.

"But.. you’re the one I.."

"Ever heard of shapeshifters? People who can take the exact form of a different person?" Ivan stopped him there with a simple inquiry. "What I believe you saw that night wasn’t me, those vermin were manipulating your mind and vision. I don’t abduct people, I take them in front of you, and when I do, I kill the witnesses. If I did it, you’d be dead, so thank your lucky stars if you have one."

"My sister was taken by witches..?" Caddel’s mind drifted to that night when it all happened, what he had seen before the figure vanished, but he didn’t know about the existence of witches at that time and those crimson eyes, he only knew of a certain creature who possessed crimson eyes and super reflexes. Due to Lord Ivan’s infamous reputation, he believed that he was the one responsible for the abduction of those girls and now that he thought deeply about it, he felt stupid for miscalculating his target. Lord Ivan wasn’t someone known for lies, and that made Caddel believe that there might be some truth to his words.

"I never killed the Queen Mother or any servant." Caddel truthfully said to Ivan, "I and my members have no hand in the death of either of them. My only crime was disguising myself as a royal Fletcher, so if I’m to be punished, it needs to be fair."

"You won’t be punished until the real culprits are found. You’re still a suspect in this matter, and you have no proof to support your claims!" Ivan rose to his feet, drawing a closure to their conversation. "Think hard, and wisely. There is a chance that your hands are indeed clean– but I won’t accept the fact that you saw nothing that night- - or perhaps, you’re refusing to share it with me. However, I won’t force you to spill, but the sooner you speak, the quicker are your chances of getting freed from here. When you’re ready, you know where to find me."

Turning around after subtly revealing his suspicion on Caddel, Ivan left the dungeon, leaving the suddenly paranoid hunter to himself. His eyes shook at the memories of what led him to flee from the Palace that same night, and truly, he did see something, but how can he say it without getting dragged down?

—-

Since it was the day of coronation, Ivan was immediately huddled with all sorts of royal activities that he needed to see through before evening approached. He hadn’t laid eyes on his little lamb due to how busy he had gotten over the previous days, and this particular day was no exception. Due to his new role as King, there was a need for tolerance, and he had to learn the art of exercising patience till they gave him some breathing space.

In the end, Ivan was met by the dusk as he stood at the balcony, his solemn gaze lingering on the eerie light of blood moon as it inevitably made its way to the twilight sky. The hours when his little lamb would leave him was drawing nearer, it was getting closer than he imagined, whilst his fingers tightened their hold against the balustrade as he took a deep breath.

"It’s quite unusual seeing you here." The voice of Tobias made Ivan’s eardrums twitch, but he didn’t turn around to look at the vampire who joined him, and Tobias leaned his back against the balustrade before casting a side glance at his disturbed cousin.

"You’ve always wanted to gain the throne, but it’s your coronation and you look like someone who’s in desperate need of oxygen." He commented before turning around to gaze at the approaching blood moon. "It’s been years since I last witnessed a blood moon, are you sure you’ll be able to handle it?"

"Handle what?"

"I heard your little lamb is leaving after the coronation." Tobias’s gaze moved to meet Ivan’s eyes that held his silent agony, and he tilted his head slightly. "I’ve never seen a love story like yours before, so..... peculiar."

"She wants to leave." Ivan softly uttered, ignoring how the mere thought of it was pulling painfully at his heartstrings. "I gave her my word, I won’t break it based on a one-sided desire."

"Hmm.. I see." Tobias hummed, "let’s see who breaks first then, your words, or you." Tobias gave his shoulder a pat. "Get dressed, the guests are starting to arrive."