The Crown and The Rose
Chapter 21: The Agony

Chapter 21: The Agony

The Crown

Phillip is standing outside the door with a blank expression. The moment I open the door Phillip’s face twitches a little.

"Your Highness, if you keep sneaking around like this, you might get into some unwanted trouble." Phillip’s eyes flicker over the room behind me which is dimly lit with my light magic. "And even if you are sneaking around, please try to be more careful about it."

I chuckle nervously and scratch my cheek as I glance over the room behind me, "Well, I had some business to do with the vice president."

"But what did you do with Seraphina?" Phillip’s eyebrows raise in curiosity.

"I tied her up inside the dorm room," I answer shortly.

"And how are you supposed to deal with her when you get back?" Phillip inquires further.

"Well..." And I don’t have any answer to that question, "I will see when I return. You don’t need to worry."

Phillip watches me for a brief minute before sighing, "Fine then. I am not here to inquire about your well-being here anyway. The lord Vermilion awaits your presence, Your Highness."

My breath catches in my throat as Phillip’s tone shifts to a more serious one. Tension starts to build in the pit of my stomach and crawl up my spine. Anxiety is making my stomach roll. "Why?" I ask, trying to keep my face as straight and bland as possible but the slight tremor of my hands is giving me away.

"Your Highness," Edward stands beside me, "Try to keep your cool. The lord must want to see you for some reason. Please go ahead and fulfill his wish, you don’t need to worry about us." He looks over his shoulder to glance at Erick, who is now sitting on the ground, his legs folded. "I will take care of Erick."

"Okay," I nod, "I am counting on you." I then turn to Phillip, "Lead the way, Phillip."

"Yes, Your Highness." Phillip spins around and starts to walk down the dimly lit hallway as If he knows the place like the back of his hand. "This way please."

I start to follow him.

"Hey Phillip," I break the silence as we leave the dormitory building, "How did you know that I was there?"

"Lord knew," Phillip answers shortly as his eyes flicker over my waist.

Oh yeah, that’s right. The slave circle.

Slave Circle has some kinds of specialties about it. It can inform the master of the location of his slave. It can force the slave to obey his master and prevent the slave from harming his master. It can punish the slave if he disobeys his master and the punishment is not actually pleasant. It hurts like hell. It doesn’t actually kill you but the pain and agony it causes you makes you want to pray for death.

I haven’t gone through the punishment yet but I can’t guarantee I never will because of course I am the demon lord Vermilion’s slave.

"Your Highness, are you aware of how students raise their ranks here?" Phillip abruptly asks as we start to climb the spiral stairs. It’s colder here tonight than in the morning. I shiver a little.

"Yeah. Why?" I ask, bewildered.

"Because the hell is about to open the doors," Phillip says sternly and I freeze in my place.

"W-What?" I can feel sweat forming on my hairline and my pulse thumping in my throat, my muscles tense. "W-Why now?"

Syx has a method and an opportunity to raise the ranks of the students, or an opportunity to make them kill each other, legally. The mock festival. This festival lasts for three days. And the context of this festival is to see how much the students have grown and how much they can show their potential. This is not a mock battle but an actual one. This is the true hell that even the demons fear. But I don’t understand why Vermilion suddenly decided to open the gates to the hell this soon of the year. It’s usually at the end of the last term.

"I don’t know, Your Highness." Phillip just shakes his head, he stalls a few steps ahead of me as he notices that I am not following him anymore. He looks really tensed, "I just told you because the event is dangerously near. I wish the best for you, Your Highness."

"P-Phillip, you are kidding with me, aren’t you?" I try to gulp down the horror clutching my throat but it’s futile. My eyes are wide and my pupils are trembling disturbingly, "There is no way I can survive such a brutal event! Lord Vermilion mustn’t be so cruel!"

A sudden heart-shattering howl leaves the depth of my chest as an unbearable agony immobilizes my entire being and hot blood starts to cloud my vision. It feels like someone is piercing my whole body with hundreds and thousands of swords and daggers. As if someone has just injected a flow of volcano in my veins. I fall on my knees and almost slipe but before I can meet my death, Phillip catches me.

"Your Highness!" He exclaims but all the worldly sound is shut away as my heart is playing a dangerous rhythm in my ears.

Someone take this pain away. Please. Please. Please! Someone kill me! Kill me. Kill me. I want to die. Die. Die. Die.

"You disobeyed me." A cold voice rings through the cold space. My breathing stutters and my heart is almost squeezed out of my chest. With agony in my eyes, I look at Vermilion. "You must obey the commands I give you, my prince." Vermilion is standing at the end of the staircase and peering down at me. His eyes have a predatory glint in them.

I grit my teeth to bite my pain down. "M-My lord, what did I do?" My voice is hoarse and my eyes are so red that they are about to bleed.

"You questioned my judgment." Vermilion languidly starts to walk down the steps, his eyes never leaving mine.

"M-My lord, have mercy!" Phillip begs as he holds me up with a bit of effort.

"I do not wish for you to meddle, Phillip." Vermilion shoots him a glare and he shudders. "You can leave him with him. You now may leave." He dismisses Phillip, the last ray of light of my survival.

"Y-Yes my lord." Phillip’s hands tighten around me before eventually letting me go. He casts me a brief apologetic glance before scooting down the stairs.

Now I am all alone in the tiger’s den and there is no one to save me. My eyes don’t leave Vermilion’s glowing red eyes, my every nerve is pulsing and my heart is hammering inside my chest. I subconsciously take a step back and my leg slips. My breath catches in my throat and I gasp as I can feel myself tipping over the deathly spiral stairs. But suddenly a pair of strong arms envelops me in them and prevents me from falling.

My breath hitches and I look up to the owner of the arms. My eyes go wide as I spot Vermilion cradling me against his chest. His expression is the same bland and cold but there is something, something in his eyes that is beyond my knowledge. He suddenly slides his arm under my knees and holds me up, his other arm supporting my back. I am so shocked that I am struck speechless. My pain is subsiding as the warmth of Vermilion’s body envelopes me in them.

"M-My lord?" I blurt out.

"I would suggest you keep quiet, Your Highness." Vermilion’s eyes are fixated on the stairs ahead as he presses me firmly against his chest and climbs the stairs. His expression is so blank and emotionless as if he is having no difficulty holding me up. As if I weigh nothing to him.

I remember his cold suggestion from before and remain quiet, not daring to even breathe as I lay in his arms stiffly. Vermilion carries effortlessly into his office, his arms are firm around me, holding me close to his chest, yet I can’t hear his heart beat. He sets me down on the coach at the side which seems unnecessary as nobody really dares to come here let alone sit.

"Your Highness, I want to make you the president of the student council." Vermilion abruptly states and I flinch.

"W-What?" I blink.

"Yes." Vermilion straightens up on his long legs and takes a step back as if he is trying to maintain a distance between us. "But for that, I will have to judge your potential first. I will have you become the elite that Seraphina is and the only way to do that is by making you participate in the mock battle."

"B-But why?" I stutter a little as I tilt my head back and look him in the eyes, not quite understanding the situation I am in right now.

Vermilion’s eyes narrow a bit and his voice drops, "I see. So Your Highness hasn’t figured it out yet."

And something dawns on me and a sudden grin spreads across my face, "My lord, I will be the next president of the student council!" I exclaim.