Aria’s Tales - Chapter 24 2.9 Unfallen The Fallen

For the first time in the century, the Demon King’s face went pale. Then it went ghastly when Sevianna flew closer towards him and turned back, exposing her wings for him to see clearly. They were real and not illusions.

She was a fallen angel!

Everyone had reached this conclusion. Their weary hearts shook, and sweat formed on their forehead. No wonder she had been so confident earlier! No wonder she could meet eye to eye with the Demon King! She was a fallen angel, one who could annihilate a country if he or she ever went berserk. They were known to be immune to dark magic and for having insane physical strength! Even if there was a master of all kinds of martial arts, it would still lose against the fallen angels’ brute strength.

While everyone was shocked and were observing Sevianna with fear and interest in their eyes, their Demon King was trembling very slightly. The eyes he used to look at Sevianna completely changed. There was loss, pain, and guilt. He could no longer have the courage to go against her. Now, he fully believed Adounis’ words.

He knew. He knew it was a curse. That when angels fall in love with someone besides their own brethren, their love will be tested and they will become a fallen. He knew this because the person he had truly fallen in love had to suffer because of him. They fell in love. And she fell from grace. The severity of this curse comes with the fact that angels were too prideful. The angel he had fallen in love could not accept her new identity and –

The Demon King closed his eyes to suppress the pain. She was originally so carefree, so lovely, and so tender. But all because of him, she chose to leave the world. It was as if everything was just but a dream. Unfortunately, Adounis’ younger brother was the reminder to his greed and the fact that she was no longer here. He had terribly wronged his own son.

“Forgive me.” The Demon King softly said. He, himself, didn’t know to who he was really asking for forgiveness – to Sevianna, to his lover, or to his son. But seeing that familiar black wings had made him lose all his mental strength.

Everyone was stunned silly at his low-key apology. What the heck did they just heard? Have they gone deaf?! Why was today’s banquet so tumultuous!?

Sevianna glanced dully at the Demon King, but she neither accepted nor refused his apology. She appeared too lazy to acknowledge him. The people who saw her actions could not help but feel a bit of anger swell up in their hearts. Even if she was a fallen angel, this was still their Demon King ah! To insult him would be insulting them!

But to add another shock to their already weak hearts, the Demon King sighed in relief at Sevianna’s reaction. At the very least, she didn’t refuse him. He was more afraid that she would get angry for he knew that fallen angels can have quite a short temper.

Sevianna turned away from him and cautiously went back to Adounis’ side. Her eyes were vigilant, clearly telling him not to touch her wings again.

But for some reason, the more she showed a lively reaction against her wings being touched, the more Adounis wanted to. He’ll have to wait for the perfect opportunity though. His stubbornness forbade him to give up on this amusing discovery.

Sevianna didn’t seem to feel assured at his silent affirmation, so she had half of her attention on Adounis while half was spent munching on food for the most part of the banquet.

The birthday party finally officially started and the storm ended. There was still uneasiness in everyone’s hearts, but they dared not show it in front of the King.

Sevianna watched the fiasco from afar. She couldn’t find any motivation to be a part of the celebration, so she stayed on the balcony while Adounis, who was reluctant to be apart from her, had to take his eyes off of her for a minute to give his present to his father.

Sevianna leaned leisurely on the balcony railings. The moonlight shined on her and reflected on her dress was its bright red rays. It contrasted greatly to her off-white dress. People who saw her suddenly found themselves mesmerized. She looked like a beauty who was bathed in blood. And to the devils’ troublemaker personality, that was such an arousing temptation.

“May I know this lady’s name?” A young androgynous voice brought Sevianna back to reality from her deep thoughts. She looked at Adounis’ younger brother and felt troubled in her heart. True, Sevianna was grateful for this man for giving her the freedom in her original fate. This was because only those who have dual auras have the chance to kill other dual auras. She had been so immune to everything, so to find that someone could physically hurt her, Sevianna had laid her life in front of this guy and begged him to kill her.

“Sevianna.” Her impression was not that bad mainly for the fact that she could also feel his dual aura. She gave him a bit of her hard earned respect.

He must not have expected her to reply as his eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed with satisfaction. “A pleasure to meet you Miss Sevianna. I am Herald.” He proceeded to reach for her hand, intending to kiss the back of it. But Sevianna never liked to be touch, Adounis was recently the only one who could. She rapidly moved back while dragging her wings with her.

Herald’s outstretched hands froze midair and his face held a half awkwardness and a half hopelessness. Was she perhaps disgusted at him as well?

Sevianna looked like she didn’t seem to know what occurred to herself as she found herself saying. “I don’t like physical touch.” She turned her gaze to the garden outside and ignored his obviously sparkling eyes. What was wrong with this guy?

“Sevi~” Adounis called out from the entrance to the balcony. His eyes seemed to be twinkling. He looked incredibly happy.

Even when he left her alone, Adounis still had half of his attention focused on Sevianna. So when he saw Herald come to her, he immediately abandoned the prime minister he was talking to and rushed forth. He will never be assured to leave her alone when he hadn’t gotten her heart. But just as he was about a few steps away, he heard her words. He was so elated that when he called her name, he subconsciously dragged it sweetly.

Sevianna felt her heart shake. Something is wrong with this guy too! What did they want?! She frowned her brows in annoyance.

Adounis didn’t seem to feel her displeasure and directly went to interlock their hands. Under Herald’s disbelieving and slightly pained eyes, Adounis gently led Sevianna inside the ballroom. Sevianna didn’t really care, so she let Adounis what he wanted.

In the end, it was like this. She may not have been disgusted with him but she clearly didn’t like any man to touch her but Adounis. His older brother said that she didn’t love him but he begged to differ. Her actions were enough to act as an evidence that she also had feelings for Adounis. Herald smiled bitterly. He didn’t wish to go against his older brother at first but he found his resilience when he found out her identity. He was ready to fight, but just as he initially expected, they were mutually in love.

Sevianna was led by Adounis to the dance floor who then turned towards her and bowed. “May I have this dance?” He reached for her hand and gave the back of it a fleeting kiss.

Sevianna trembled and tried to pull her hand, but Adounis’ grip had tightened. She glared at his curved, smiling eyes and felt helplessness surged in her heart from dealing with a stubborn person. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed in annoyance. “Fine.”

Adounis beamed at her reply. He placed his hand around her waist and held her hand on the other – purposefully brushing his fingers on her wings and making her shudder. He earned another “loving” glare from his partner and he gave a sugary sweet smile in return. He gently led the red-faced girl to a slow dance.

The orchestra was very attentive. Seeing that Prince Adounis with his lady was about to dance, they changed their jazz music to a slow classic one. A violin led the accompaniment.

Sevianna was boiling in a mix of anger and embarrassment. She might have been the Chieftain’s daughter, but she was given the cold shoulder. She knew nothing about social etiquettes and had gone along with her intuition when she entered the ballroom. And she knew nothing about dancing!

Adounis naturally noticed her sloppy steps. With amusement in his eyes, he pulled her even closer – more like carried her slightly and let the flat side of her shoes step on his feet.

Sevianna’s eyes widened. She was too surprised at his actions that she didn’t notice their abnormally close proximity. Their faces were only about a few inches apart. Her cold heart melted a bit and she subconsciously leaned her head to his chest, causing Adounis’ heart to beat fast. And she could hear them clearly.

The Demon King watched this scene with sadness in his eyes, but he couldn’t help ignite the spark of hope in his heart. Since he wasn’t able to get the love of his life, his son should have his! He was now in remorse at his earlier actions. Why didn’t he thoroughly investigated things before taking action?! He must not let things get in the way of their future. Then, he paused. He wondered if it wasn’t too late for him and Herald.

“Your majesty!” A man who looked to be in his late thirties with dark green hair stood across the Demon king at an angle. His brows were knitted, expressing his dissatisfaction.

The Demon King narrowed his eyes dangerously. He called it! There were definitely pests who wouldn’t let his son have his way, especially this brat who couldn’t wait to climb even higher. “What?”

His short reply startled the prime minister for a bit. “My own daughter came home at the edge of her life. Isn’t Prince Adounis going to take responsibility for this?” He had wanted to confront Adounis himself earlier. But who knew that before he could even speak, he quickly left and went back to the girl! He had to get her daughter in Adounis’ harem right away before the fallen angel! Or it would be too late by then. He, at the very least, knew his limits and know that he had nothing that will work against a fallen angel.

How could the Demon King not understand his thoughts? But he had already wronged the girl as soon as they met, he believed it would only be a sign of disrespect to his lover if he made another mistake. The Demon King’s expression darkened as he scrutinized the prime minister.

“Jaquis, you are said to be the second strongest.”

The Demon Kin’s voice was cold, but Jaquis didn’t notice after getting praised by the Demon King, himself. “I am not worthy. I am not worthy. His majesty is the strongest.”

A sneer escaped the Demon King’s lips. This fool didn’t even try to deny it and merely said he was still number one. Then, he grinned from ear to ear.

“Perfect timing. I heard the Lychnus Kingdom just sent a hero to kill me. Why don’t you wait for him at the border?” He said it unhurriedly while watching Jaquis expression turn from delighted to blanch in a split second.

“Y- Your M- Majesty?” Go to the border? Jaquis didn’t care if he was forced to do a mission. It was normal. But what terrified him was the fact that the Demon King actually asked him to go to the border! This was basically driving him away!

The Demon King didn’t look at him anymore and raised his hand, sealing Jaquis’ fate.