The long-awaited welcoming party turned into a disaster. The party hall of Melchoir's residence is trying to become a sea of horrible blood, leaving the survivors with terror because it has nothing to do with it.
"This is why Marquess Hadrian is sending letters one by one personally to you regarding his marriage to Lady Rheannon. Not that Lady Rheannon will kill you, but our enemies will definitely decide to enter into a contract with the devil. Now you can see what the result will be if you try to mess around," Calore generalized to the survivors.
Hadrian said nothing, stood up calmly, and left everything to Calore. His dark eyes darted around his party hall, which was still bleeding profusely, and at his relatives who were mostly looking down in fear.
"Actually, until when are you going to behave like this to the head of your family?" sighed Calore disappointedly. "Nevertheless, we still apologize profusely for the unpleasant incident tonight. Remember that this incident did not come from Lady Rheannon but from you, who chose to remain silent."
Calore immediately ordered the maids to escort the relatives back to their rooms. Hadrian was still silently watching everything, afraid to open his mouth or even move a finger.
Hadrian wasn't sure what to do if he moved the slightest bit. Maybe he'd draw a sword and slash whoever's head it was in front of him in his rage about tonight's events.
I mean, how could the family he'd been trying to believe in turn out to be a betrayal? Hadrian had even defended them before Rheannon, but instead, they were targeting his adopted son!
"The relatives have been escorted back to their rooms, Your Grace. We're just cleaning up the mess," Calore reported.
"Yes, clear this hall. Then…" Hadrian stared at the bloodiest part of his hall. "Burn all the corpses that are there."
"Yes, Your Grace. According to your orders," Calore said obediently. "I would also like to report that Young Master Desmond is currently with Sir Ichabod and Lord Chas in his room. Lady Rheannon was also there."
Hadrian left the bloody hall and walked to his son without saying anything else.
The halls of his residence were eerily quiet when Hadrian passed by. He believed that his maids were busy carrying out Calore's orders to clean everything up from the roots. He was also sure that less than an hour ago, the alleys he had passed just now were filled with screams.
"Desmond?" rebuked Hadrian as he entered his son's room.
Inside the room, Desmond sat propped up on his bed with Rheannon and Chas sitting on one side of the bed. Ichabod stood not far from them, his expression showing so many questions.
It was Ichabod who first noticed Hadrian's presence. "Your Grace," he greeted. "Young Master Desmond and Her Grace are not injured."
Chas himself quickly stood up, getting out of the way of Desmond's presence. Even though his expression differed from Ichabod's, Hadrian knew something had just happened.
Hadrian glanced at everyone.
"I better get out of here," Chas said. "If allowed, I want to join in interrogating the surviving rebels."
"Yes, of course," Hadrian said. "Show Lord Chas the way, Sir Ichabod."
"Yes, Your Grace. This way, please, Lord Chas."
After Chas and Ichabod left, Hadrian drew closer to Desmond. He sat on the other side of his bed, across from Rheannon.
Hadrian's dark eyes scanned Desmond, looking for any injuries he might have overlooked. Luckily he found no wounds on Desmond's body, but he caught a shiver in his body.
Hadrian tried to touch Desmond slowly. Tonight his sweet and gentle son just saw his father chop off the heads of demons and humans. The sight must have shocked and frightened him.
Not only that, the party he had been waiting for, the party that had been prepared for a long time and in such a way, was supposed to be his birthday...
It all turned into a bloody night.
"I… want to sleep," Desmond muttered.
Hadrian and Rheannon exchanged glances.
"Do you want me to accompany you?" Hadrian offered as gently as he could.
Desmond shook his head slowly in response. The boy rested his head on the pillow and slept with his back to Hadrian.
"Mom and Dad head out then," Rheannon said. It was Hadrian's first hearing Rheannon refer to herself as a mother. "Rest comfortably, Desmond."
Rheannon tried to stroke Desmond's head, but he quickly pulled the blanket over his body.
Rheannon took Hadrian out of Desmond's room.
"Desmond will be fine. Everyone related… has been caught," Rheannon said reassuringly when she saw Hadrian looking worriedly at Desmond's room guarded by two of his knights.
"This is the first time Desmond has turned you down. I was perturbed about his situation," Hadrian admitted.
"Any child would be shocked when they… got hit by something like this," says Rheannon. They started to leave the hall. "His birthday party turned into a disaster. For the rest of his life… Desmond will never forget this night."
Hadrian clenched his fists tightly. His anger flared up again. "Isn't there a way to–?"
"Erase today's memories?" Rheannon guessed. "Even if there is once, I will not do it. Today will be a lesson for Desmond."
"You said I was too hard on Desmond. Now you are acting like this?"
"This is the most important day for Desmond. Anyway, I changed my mind a bit about Desmond. We really shouldn't be too soft on him," said Rheannon.
"What do you mean?" asked Hadrian, not understanding.
"The future that awaits Desmond is harsh." Rheannon stopped in her tracks and gave Hadrian a severe look. "Desmond is a demon controller and has great divine power. Worst of all, High Priest Meical has already met Desmond."