"I am very serious, the vampire Princess tried to drown her, while the viscount wanted her blood."
Sevastian looked between the King and Elysia, who took a few bites of her food. "Did you kill them?" He asked. He was well aware of what happened to anyone who dared to anger the King.
"Unfortunately, I could not kill the Princess because her father begged, and I do not think she is worth breaking the relationship I built with the King," Azreal paused to drink from his golden goblet. "For the viscount, I killed him." He added, his voice void of emotion.
A moment of silence passed between them. "That is quite a lot, I am glad that you are well and safe now." Sevastian said to Elysia.
"I need to know all that happened when I was away. I do hope you have good news for me." Azreal stated, his cold eyes fixed on his food.
"I do, I found the woman who poisoned Elysia. She is in the dungeon as we speak." Sevastian announced, making Azreal and Elysia pause eating and lift their heads to look at him.
"Do you? How did you find this person?" Azreal asked.
"Rohan and I questioned the guards who were on duty that night. Apparently, she had slept with one of the guards as a bribe to let her through the gate, claiming she worked in the brothel," Sevastian explained.
Azreal wiped his lips with a napkin, before placing it back on the table, "Those bastards broke their loyalty over a whore." He spat out menacingly.
"Unfortunately, Your Majesty. We visited the brothel and asked of her, but as expected, she had lied to the guard." He continued, without looking away from the King.
"You visited a brothel?" Azreal's brow raised, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"Regrettably, I had to. We could not find anyone who fit her description, but as we proceeded to leave, a woman approached us and gave us a hint that helped us find the woman." Sevastian continued, ignoring the amusing look from the King.
"We will speak about your visit to the brothel later, but go on, where did you find her?" Azreal said.
"A bakery, she worked there. The woman who we identified as Rose did not resist, it was almost as if she did wanted to be caught. For someone who created so much chaos against the king, one would except that she would want to be careful with her movements. The woman was very stubborn and bold." Sevastian explained.
"Hmm, you mentioned that she followed you willingly?" Azreal asked.
"Yes Your Majesty, and there is something else we discovered when questioning her, she admitted to poisoning the dragons, which turned them rogue." He added.
Azreal narrowed his eyes at Sevastian, "Do you believe her?" He questioned.
It took a moment for Sevastian to reply, "Rohan believes she is telling the truth, her composure and movement did not match one who was lying."
"I did not ask you what Rohan believes, I am asking you, if you believe she is telling the truth." The King questioned again.
A sigh escaped Sevastian's lips, "I have no reason to believe otherwise. She even gave the description of the cave where the poisonous flower was located. It is hard to doubt her, Your Majesty." Sevastian answered sincerely.
"Very well then, how about the guards? Are they also in the dungeon?" He asked.
"Yes, they are."
"I would like to see them for myself," Azreal announced, raising from his chair. He tilted his head to look at Elysia. "Return to the chamber, and rest when you are done eating, I will visit you when I am done taking care of my affairs." He said to her, his voice softening.
"Very well, Your Majesty." Elysia replied, a polite smile gracing her face.
Sevastian noticed the change in Azreal's demeanor when he spoke to Elysia, the tension between them had lessened. It was not hard to tell that something had happened to bring them closer.
"Sevastian, let us leave." Azreal said to his advisor, his voice returning back to normal.
Azreal and Sevastian made their way to the dungeon where the two guards were kept, the King wanted to have a little talk with them before visiting the woman who had singlehandedly caused him headaches.
The door cracked open, allowing light to penetrate into the room, waking the men who were bonded tightly to a chair, their clothes covered in blood and dirt.
"Y-your Majesty." James' eyes widened as he saw the King walk towards him, a chair was placed in front of the men, where Azreal made himself comfortable. "P-Please, forgive us." The man whispered.
"James, I must say I am quite disappointed that you are the one sitting in this dungeon. I always believed you were a smart man, I suppose I thought too highly of you," Azreal said, his voice calm and collected.
"Trust me, Your Majesty, it was definitely a mistake. I will never repeat it again. I swear on my mother's grave, I swear on everything I have." James pleaded, his eyes widening with fear.
"A mistake? A mistake is when you replace a spoon with a fork. Allowing a stranger into my palace is no mistake James. Would you let a stranger into your home?" Azreal asked, his fingers moving to the tools lined up in a tray, before settling on a small knife.
"F--forgive me, Your Majesty, I-i did not mean to do so." James said, tears streaming down his face.
A piercing scream broke from James' lips as the King dug the pocket knife into the man's manhood. "Ahhhhh, P-Please-" James screamed in agony, saliva dripping from his mouth helplessly.
"When I ask you a question, I expect you to answer James. Would you let a stranger into your home?" Azreal asked again, his voice growing darker and darker, with his hand still on the knife.
James groaned in pain, as he tried to wiggle his way out of the chair. Azreal twisted the knife making the man cry even more. "Last chance James, would you let a stranger into your home?" The King's voice lowered, filled with venom.