Fern is the younger sister of a famous author known for 'The Promise Under The Moon.' At just fourteen, she was the first to read her sister's debut novel. Despite knowing the story inside out, she couldn't hold back tears when her favorite characte...
"Stop right there if you don't want me to hurt this kid," the man with a sneaky grin says. Archduke Willard stops and stares back at the criminal, then chuckles and grins widely at him. "Do you really think... my sword can't reach you?" Archduke Willard asks, still smiling, his expression turning dark and menacing.
"Ah... Let's pretend you don't recognize me," Archduke Willard says with a smile, gripping his sword in his right hand.
"Should I know you?" the man responds sarcastically, to which Archduke Willard laughs. "There's only one way to find out," he says. Without warning, he throws the sword straight at another man's neck, slicing it in a mere second, startling the man holding his daughter hostage.
The man, still holding Althea as his hostage with one hand and a knife in the other, suddenly feels an overwhelming fear wash over him as he recognizes the person standing before him. "Y-You...!" he stammers, trembling while staring at Archduke Willard.
"You're..." he trails off, a profound sense of fear creeping over him as he locks eyes with Archduke Willard, who smiles menacingly, his expression dark and foreboding.
Looking around, the man sees chaos erupting as Archduke Willard's subordinates spring into action. Some try to flee, while others engage in combat, swords clashing and spells crackling in the air as a battle unfolds within the auction house.
Feeling utterly trapped and unable to escape, the masked man drops to his knees and begs for forgiveness, but he is met with disdainful disdain from Archduke Willard.
"Forgiveness? Why should I spare your life?" Archduke Willard's voice drips with anger. "When you dared to threaten my daughter's life by holding a knife to her neck!"
As Archduke Willard raises his sword to strike, Althea rushes forward, placing herself between her father and the kneeling man.
"Father! Stop!" she cries, locking eyes with him.
"Althea... Step away from that criminal," Archduke Willard orders, his anger still evident.
"Father... Please, don't take his life. This is not right," Althea pleads, her eyes pleading with her father. For a moment, Archduke Willard's expression softens as he takes a deep breath and gazes at his daughter.
"Then what exactly is right?!" Archduke Willard demands, his gaze fixed on his daughter. "This man just threatened your life. Isn't it only right that I take his in return?"
"But he didn't kill me, Father," Althea argues, her voice firm as she defends the man who held her hostage just moments ago.
"Thea! What part of 'get away from that man' do you not understand?!" Archduke Willard's voice rises in anger.
"You shouldn't have been here in the first place, and weren't you supposed to be out with that woman?" he scolds, gesturing angrily. Meanwhile, his subordinates have already captured the man who had been kneeling behind Althea, tears streaming down his face.
"But he didn't do it! He asked for forgiveness—" Althea tries to explain, but her father cuts her off.
"I do not wish to argue about this, Thea. It's best for you to stay out of it and go back home now. The knights will escort you," Archduke Willard says, turning away from his daughter.
However, Althea is stubborn. She immediately calls out for Keilbuss, the dragon.
"Keil, come out. I know you're watching," Althea murmurs. Suddenly, a man sitting in an empty chair, casually drinking wine, appears before her.
"Yes? Your Royal Highness?" Keilbuss smiles. "You called?"
"Take me back to where I was twenty minutes ago," Althea requests, her gaze unwavering on Keil.
"Now... don't tell me you're disobeying your father's orders, Your Royal Highness," Keil responds with a smile.
"Stop calling me that. I'm not some princess," Althea retorts, crossing her arms. Keil chuckles at her response.
"But you are considered a princess in Khisfire Elzura, the kingdom ruled by King Leonid Valor Crawther, your father's older brother," Keil points out, causing Althea to sigh.
"So, yes, you are a princess," Keil adds, prompting another sigh from Althea as she shakes her head. "Just... take me away before Father sees us," Althea says, and Keil nods in agreement. Just as Archduke Willard turns around after speaking with a knight, his eyes widen in shock as he sees Keilbuss about to teleport with his daughter.
But it's too late for him to react. Althea and Keil vanish, leaving Archduke Willard frustrated, upset, and worried about where his daughter has gone.
. . . .🦋
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Well...took me awhile to update, was busy at school since I'm about to graduate from senior high school now, can't wait to be on stage! ^^
And thank you for everyone who have waited for seven months for this update, I appreciated it. I know the feeling of waiting for a story to update and it took so long for that to happen, I do apologize for the lack of commitment in updating chapters regularly.
I did have some trouble of creating a few chapters and having trouble of how to end this story...something that everyone might expect...or not expecting for the ending to be like that.
