Chapter 26 - Tell Me (Ch.26)

"And for this purpose, you endangered the life of the Saint of the Kalavan Deep! Risking the wrath of the Deep, the very source of our magic!... This is a crime beyond just Chantria's life!" Prince Dewei hissed.

This time, Chantria did not intervene, she was still trying to process the reality that Amir had intended to manipulate her into consummating their bond.

"Dissolving the harem was a hard decision on her too! She did it for your own good! To give you the freedom and choice none of you had in this!" Dewei raged.

It did not matter if it was the poison, or the aphrodisiac, neither was any less wrong than the other.

It was a complicated situation, Saint Chantria had played a part in pushing her bonded lovers to this point but Chantria knew that was no defence for what Amir had done.

And from what Prince Dewei had said, it seemed Saint Chantria had tried to make amends in her own way.

"I... I'm sorry... I just..." Amir broke down into sobs and Chantria shook her head slightly, although she was not familiar with the laws of the Kalavan Deep, it seemed Amir Naeem would not be easily saved.

There was no way to argue his innocence, and all evidence was enough to convict him of murder.

Who could prove that he truly had not intended to purchase poison? In the end, he had been the one to feed it to Saint Chantria.

But even so... Chantria's mission was to save this man. As silly and stupid as everything he had done was, Chantria still had to do something.

"Is the punishment for harming me certain death? I made it out alive, in such case, are there no alternatives?" Chantria asked Dewei.

Dewei shook his head slightly, breathing a quiet sigh.

"Amir Naeem is condemned to death by imperial decree, once the imperial command is given, it cannot be withdrawn without good cause."

"Challenging the imperial decree is challenging His Imperial Majesty. Are you certain you want to take this risk? To protect him?" Prince Dewei asked Chantria.

"We can't just let them kill him as they please!" Zevon exclaimed.

"And you would have my sister risk defying the imperial decree?! Do you even know the consequences attached?!" Prince Dewei snapped fiercely.

Everyone had an opinion and Chantria's head was already spinning from all the angry voices and the tension in the room.

She barely knew anything about this place she found herself and now there was such an urgent situation and so much information to take in at once.

"Host's mission is to save Amir Naeem, now that host sees the difficulty of this mission, does host wish to back out?" The voice of the Harem System sounded in Chantria's mind.

"I thought you said backing out was not an option." Chantria thought back to the Harem System.

"Host may choose to back out from certain missions, however this decision has consequences attached to it." The Harem System said back to Chantria.

"Consequences...what kind?" Chantria asked the Harem System.

"Refer to the status screen for further information." The Harem System replied.

As the Harem System said this, the status screen was pulled up in Chantria's vision and displayed on it was the last status update.

HAREM MISSION: SAVE AMIR NAEEM!

MISSION LEVEL: HARD

MISSION STATUS: 20% COMPLETED

REWARD: 30% BASIC INFORMATION (UNLOCKED)

50% BASIC INFORMATION (LOCKED)

HIDDEN MISSION: COMPLETED

MISSION STATUS: PENDING

REWARD FOR HIDDEN MISSION: HAREM JOURNAL

At the bottom of the status screen was a new bar that read 'Forfeit mission.'

Chantria tapped on it with her mind and a new screen popped up, the contents of it sending a cold chill down Chantria's spine.

FORFEIT MISSION TAGGED 'SAVE AMIR NAEEM'

CONSEQUENCES: ALL REWARDS GAINED WILL BE RETRIEVED.

2- AMIR NAEEM'S INEVITABLE FATE- DECAPITATION!

PROCEED TO FORFEIT MISSION? YES OR NO?

Chantria's eyes widened at the sight of the word 'decapitation', she immediately tapped on the No button and dismissed the status screen.

"I take it host intends to proceed with the mission?" The Harem System asked.

"I will do my best." Chantria decided.

"Splendid! Good luck on your mission Host!" The Harem System said before it's presence faded from Chantria's mind.

Chantria then lifted her gaze to Prince Dewei who awaited her decision.

"I am the one whose life was endangered. I should have a say. We are a couple, we will settle our affairs between

ourselves... tell me how I can save him." Chantria insisted in a serious tone.