"I am the one pursuing her! She doesn't even love me!"
Those words echoed through the ballroom and into the minds of everyone present. Adounis had never lied before. Which could only mean...
"What the heck! Are you serious?!"
Even Adounis' "bastard" younger brother was stunned. He looked at his potential future sister-in-law with a complicated gaze. Ever since stepping foot in the castle today, he had felt a nagging sensation—there was a familiar aura in the air that only he might have noticed from a distance. When he saw the girl, he realized then.
She had both light and dark auras, just like him.
He finally found someone he could relate to! But just as he was internally screaming with joy, he noticed his older brother's intimacy with her. A great reluctance stirred in his heart. On one hand, he was determined to befriend this lady, even planning to take things further. On the other hand, his only close relative was in love with her. Furthermore, he had already assumed that they were mutually in love.
Who would have thought? His older brother was still pursuing her! Did that mean he had a chance?
While everyone had been stunned by his confession, Sevianna was looking at Adounis' back with glazed eyes. She looked like she wanted to cry. For as long as she could remember, no one had ever placed themselves between her and danger to protect her. Even Brand, when he saved her, had only done so by focusing on the monsters. He had not even spared a glance to see if she was alright.
And yet, against his father, Adounis had unhesitatingly stepped in front of her, blocking her from whatever harm had been directed at her.
She subconsciously touched her chest and felt her dead heart beating once more. She dared not believe it, but her own heart kept proving her wrong. She was definitely falling in love again.
Sevianna kept her attention on Adounis—on his voice, his words, and his expressions. She wavered.
Why not? Hadn't she asked herself this before? Why not?
Lily: 'Sevianna might not be the most complicated soul, but she definitely is a difficult one. Are you alright, master?'
Sevianna: ...
Lily: 'Master?'
Sevianna: *is too absorbed in her acting to answer*
Lily: 'Okay...'
If she no longer cared for her life, why not? Sevianna closed her eyes and contemplated. There was no longer any need for her to be afraid. If she died in the process, if she broke from this surreal dream, then it would be fine.
The Demon King was also in a dilemma. He did not want to hurt his son, but if he had to use force to wake him up, then he would! He exerted more force, causing his eyes to glow red and his hair to whip wildly.
At the receiving end of his invisible power, Adounis stubbornly held his ground with his meager strength. In fact, the fact that he could still stand was proof of his power. Others would have long been flattened to the ground.
Sevianna sensed that Adounis was reaching his limit, and her heart ached at the thought that he was hurting himself for her. She moved before she could think twice.
She pulled the pale Adounis behind her, and with a wave of her hand, she nullified the Demon King's power. The raging winds abruptly stopped, and the surroundings stilled. Sevianna's eyes glowed a brighter red than the Demon King's. A furious look appeared on her once stoic face.
"Enough. This is ridiculous." Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but it reverberated in everyone's hearts.
She instantly won the praises of the faction secretly against the King. If they were to seek a regime change, this girl would definitely be a marvelous candidate for queen! Or so they thought.
The Demon King's eyes widened. He was the one controlling his strength, so it was only natural that he would know exactly how much was needed to counter it. But what did this girl do? She waved her hand!! This isn't right!
"Impudence! You are only a slave!" he spat in a moment of fury.
Adounis' heart trembled at his father's words. He knew all too well how much resentment Sevianna held toward this one word. He hastily glanced at her, and it was clear—she was livid! Adounis suddenly wanted to destroy the collar. But he remembered that he hadn't captured her heart. He adamantly refused to act until he was 100% sure her heart truly belonged to him!
Sevianna's furious expression twisted into something more manic. How many times must she hear this word before it ceases to exist? How does one make it cease to exist?!
She stomped her foot on the ground, shattering the floor beneath her and sending debris floating through the air with her invisible force. "Your Majesty," the viciousness in her eyes and voice was unmistakable to everyone present, "did you want to die tonight?" She grinned maliciously from ear to ear.
The Demon King shuddered, cold sweat beading down his back. What was that? He, who had lived through hell itself, actually felt scared of a little girl?!
Adounis wore a helpless expression. His face was no longer pale, and the strength he had expended was gradually returning. He wasn't worried about Sevianna going berserk, but he feared she might get hurt. Even though she seemed resilient against magical attacks, there were experts here skilled in all kinds of martial arts. Against them, Sevianna alone—he was seriously concerned.
He gently touched Sevianna's arm, startling her, and cautiously pulled her into his arms. "There are experts here. Do you really have to fight?"
Sevianna blinked in surprise. He was worried she would get hurt? She was touched, though she brushed it aside. He was right; there were indeed experts present.
The floating debris suddenly fell to the ground as Sevianna finally calmed down. Everyone watched, astonished, as the girl who had been on the verge of going berserk was placated just like that. Some people in the crowd even sighed in relief. When they realized what they had done, they quickly glanced around the room to see if anyone had noticed.
Among them were the Fetcher brothers. They had attended the birthday party not only out of respect for the Demon King but also to support Sevianna. They knew the King despised hybrid children, and Sevianna had a similar aura to theirs.
Adounis' younger brother was even more convinced that Sevianna was a hybrid, like himself. To counter dark magic, one must harness their own light attribute and blend it with their dark attribute. The same principle applied when confronting light magic.
Unfortunately, he could never have known that fallen angels were immune only to dark magic. Light magic could actually inflict damage upon them.
The Demon King was vexed. Why was it that both this girl and his other son had the ability to nullify his magic? Even if he considered the fact that they were hybrids, he still couldn't believe they were superior. Instead, he believed that the two attributes in their bodies should be constantly clashing, never finding harmony, and ultimately harming the host's body. He turned away from the evidence in front of him and continued to glare hatefully at Sevianna.
'Sevi, don't tease the Demon King so much. Don't forget that one of the wishes was to make Brand fail his mission,' Lily said, bouncing in Sevianna's mind.
Sevianna was dumbstruck. '... I forgot. I really meant to kill him...'
Lily was sweating. 'Then what are we going to do? He is already hostile towards you. He'd never take your warnings seriously.'
'It's okay, Lily,' Sevianna thought. 'If Adounis' younger brother had never come into the picture, I would have been in a tight spot.'
Lily stopped bouncing and tilted her head, confused. 'What do you mean?'
'His mother was an angel,' Sevianna said matter-of-factly. 'If my speculations are correct, the King and the angel were mutually in love. And for an angel to fall in love with a devil... My guess would be that, just like how I came to be, she was fallen.'
Her eyes narrowed as she tried to hide her pain. 'And, like me, she had wanted to commit suicide.'
Lily's eyes sparkled in understanding, but dimmed as she still couldn't connect Sevianna's words to the current situation. Sevianna didn't leave her in suspense.
'The angel succeeded. And the King blamed himself while cowardly hiding away behind his "bastard" son.'
Sevianna glanced at Adounis, then at the Demon King. 'Fallen angels are his weakness.'
Adounis saw the flash of determination in Sevianna's eyes and felt a surge of anxiety. Was she really going to continue fighting? What should he do? He hadn't been able to bring all his secret guards together in one place without arousing suspicion. He wasn't confident that what he had at his disposal was enough!
Adounis was worrying over nothing, but he didn't know it. He could only watch helplessly as Sevianna took three steps forward. His hands clenched and unclenched, preparing himself to immediately order his guards to help her.
"Is it just my identity?" Sevianna asked, raising an eyebrow.
The Demon King frowned at her question. What was she talking about?
"If I show you my identity, would that be enough?" she continued.
'What was there for her to show?' The Demon King couldn't understand what she meant. There was nothing more for her to reveal. Her aura and abilities had long given her identity away.
Wouldn't she just make the King angrier by verbally confirming that she was a hybrid? Everyone thought so.
Sevianna didn't care what they thought in their hearts, nor did she care that her questions went unanswered. She lowered her eyes for a moment, and with renewed courage, she decided it was time.
"Release."
The air abruptly surged, and black feathers danced wildly in the storm. Then, it exploded, sending everyone stumbling back from its great force. When they looked toward the source, they found a gorgeous pair of black wings stretching out from the girl's back. They unfurled as if they had just woken up, lazily sweeping down to her feet.
Sevianna felt the weight she had been missing on her back and suddenly had the urge to sit down. It's fucking heavy!
She knew it was her own fault for not getting used to them when she transmigrated, so she quickly berated herself for forgetting this important matter.
Meanwhile, everyone stared with wide eyes at her black wings.
That's right—black! Even though fallen angels were the rarest beings in this world and nobody had seen one for centuries, they still knew what they looked like! They resembled humans, no longer bearing halos or pure white-feathered wings. Instead, they had black, abyss-like wings—huge enough to cover two people.
Adounis stared longingly at those black wings, left in a daze as his vision was filled by them. They seemed to tease him, stretching before lazily falling. Since he was behind Sevianna, he was directly on the receiving end. They were truly beautiful, resembling silks. He wondered how they would feel.
Unable to resist, he reached out and touched them.
"Eek!"
Sevianna flew a few steps away, feeling the electrifying touch on her wings. She yelped in surprise. Her wings were surprisingly sensitive! She suddenly feared their activities in bed.
She didn't hide her aggrieved expression as she looked at Adounis with accusing eyes. Why would he touch without permission? Who told him to touch? No touching, okay?
Adounis's face slowly turned red as he noticed her lively expressions. Where had the cold-faced beauty gone? He clenched the hand he had used to touch her wings, still feeling the sensation. He was overjoyed to find that the silky feathers really did feel like silks!
He wanted to touch them again, but Sevianna's reaction made him hesitate. He didn't dare to act out of line, lest he make her angry.
Though he refrained from attempting it again, his lips trembled as he struggled to contain his smile.