Gideon was not feeling too well about the things that had just occurred. Valerie perhaps thought that Azazel had frightened him so she comforted the child and promised that Azazel will never hurt him as long as she is there. Kaiden decided to butt in as well and said that he will even swear an oath to El, in which he received a forehead flick from Valerie and a scolding that he should not take oaths lightly.
Gideon retreated to his room, locked the door, and paced around in a circle in full panic mode.
'Did I change too much of the novel that it is rushing to return to its original plot?!'
In the original novel, A twelve-year-old Kaiden will meet Azazel in the town market. Valerie stood in between the two and there Azazel explains that Kaiden needs to return with him back to the capital for his own safety. Valerie at first hesitated but after a few days of Azazel's pestering, she finally broke and hands over the child thinking that it indeed would be the best. She gave up Kaiden for his own good because she cannot help him when he was being bullied by the other children or the fact his powers were growing stronger day by day that Gabriella's Charm ceased to be useful whenever he was upset.
What she did not expect is that Kaiden would think that his aunt who he had already viewed as his mother figure abandoned him as well.
So when Kaiden met his father Luciel, the two did not have a joyous reunion, and instead, they both stared at each other with bitterness. Azazel and the other subordinates of his father tried their best to raise him but they were Full Fledged chaotic demons that did not fully grasp the importance of values and morals. Kaiden was spoiled rotten and only "took" from people. Never giving back because nobody deserves his favor especially after everyone "stole" everything from him.
And after that, he ruined Gideon's life.
He shuddered just thinking about that possibility, not even knowing what actually happens to this character scared him out of his wits. Gideon sat down on his bed thinking about his next move. He didn't want that ending to happen to him but apparently, he cannot change the plot. He just gave a middle finger to the author back in his world.
'Fuck you and your shitty writing!'
Kaiden tried entering the room but the door was locked so he had to knock.
"Deon? Are you ok? Can I come in?"
"Ah-" Gideon was caught off guard and he scurried off his bed to unlock the door.
"I'm alright Kaiden, I was just resting"
"Why did you need to lock the door?"
"That's.."
"Are you still scared of that man? Didn't I say that I would protect you? Don't you trust me?"
"KAIDEN!"
Gideon was getting overwhelmed already by the harsh reality he was facing. Kaiden's questioning only made his mood worse.
"It's not that I think you're weak and it most certainly not that I don't trust you"
'It's more like I'm terrified of what you'll do to me'
"So don't overthink it, I was just thinking about the way Ms. Valerie was talking to the man like she knew him for a long time"
"Hmm… well at first I didn't know him but when I heard Aunty Valerie mention the name of Azazel, that's when I realized that he's Gabriella's Friend"
'In these two years, we never once spoke about your family. It was always about how your day went, new books you read, and basically anything else that wasn't about your family or problems. But hearing you talk about your mother as if she's a stranger…'
Gideon did not feel right about this development but his feelings were set aside as Kaiden continued to speak.
"They probably made some sort of agreement back then but maybe that Azazel guy didn't fulfill his end so Aunty didn't want to go with him"
"Haist, let's not think about grown-up problems anymore… what's important is that you teach me how to use my powers"
Gideon decided it was best to change the topic because he didn't want to influence anything in the story. The only thing he wanted was to change his ending but it did not mean that he needed to change everything else. Kaiden was bound to end up having his heart blackened whether he wants to or not, so the least he can do is stay on Kaiden's good side so that Kaiden doesn't go all the way and destroy everyone.
'I'm such a good person,' Gideon narcissistically thought to himself.
And so the two boys went back to learning how to control the basics of their abilities.
Back at the Capital, Azazel had already returned and leisurely made his way to Luciel's Office. He didn't even have to knock because he already heard the man say "Come in Azazel"
'Ahh... I'll never know how he keeps doing that'
Azazel entered the room with a smile and closed the door behind him.
"I have returned Luciel"
"Mn, it seems like you failed your task… that's something that doesn't happen quite often"
'Truly a man who goes straight to the point'
Azazel still kept his composure and went ahead of himself to open one of the cabinets to grab some whiskey and two glass cups.
"It's not that I failed since technically you only told me to go look for Valerie" He said with amusement as he walked up to the man sitting behind his desk that had piles of paperwork next to him.
"Well, I was under the impression you'd also bring her to me considering that's how you "look" for people" Luciel's crimson eyes glanced upwards to meet with Azazel's Golden gaze.
"Well Valerie is stubborn like an ox, Just like… a certain someone"
Azazel's words trailed off. No one dared to mention Gabriella in front of Luciel, not even himself. He poured out whiskey for the both of them to help brush over the topic. But unexpectedly, Luciel still stayed on the topic.
"Stubborn like Gabriella who still won't let me have a happy life" he bitterly states as he angrily slams the pieces of paper on his desk before grabbing the glass of whiskey and drinking it in one go. Azazel's eyes glanced down and saw that the papers he had been holding were all personal letters written to Luciel by Gabriella when they were still "together"
"It's been a decade since she left us Luciel, There's nothing we can do"
"It's easier said than done… But I don't expect much from you since you did betray her once"
"I betrayed her because she asked me to, the same way she asked you to-"
Azazel suddenly felt like he was suffocating and suddenly forced to kneel down. He glanced down and saw the blood-red energy that already slithered up to his neck without him noticing.
'He really wants to kill me!'
Azazel countered by digging his nails into his palms enough for them to start bleeding and held the snake-like energy that was around his neck. His Specialty was Blood Sacrifice, the price of his power was the price of blood. Either it was his blood or others but it was more powerful if he sacrificed himself directly. The Energy dissipated and he was finally able to breathe.
"You…" He angrily stared at Luciel while Luciel looked indifferent as if nothing happened. With the swing of his hand, however, the wound on Azazel's hand was patched up by the "snake" and it slithered back to its owner.
This action had basically just said "If I wanted to kill you I would have done so" as if Luciel knew what Azazel was thinking while he held him by the neck.
"Make sure to have Valerie sent here as soon as possible since…" Luciel glanced at the letters once again "I'm pretty sure Gabby hid something from me"
Azazel had already recovered from the incident and fixed up his attire "I don't think it's possible for Valerie to come here, however… I did find something interesting. I'll monitor it for now and once I'm certain of it, I'll bring it to you"
Luciel dismissed Azazel and fixed the pile of Gabriella's letters before putting them away in his drawers. He's still a little frustrated by the turn of events. He felt as if Azazel was hiding something from him but at the end of the day, he can only wait for the results.
"Being left in the dark sure fucking sucks…" he mumbles as he picks up an actual report by the other nobles.
'I guess this is my karma for doing the same to you back then,