The banquet continued with gentle waves of laughter, finally granting everyone a moment to breathe.
The poor souls had been subjected to too much shock, and that night, sleep eluded them all. Thankfully, their bodies were not as susceptible to fatigue as humans', or else the higher class might have sported dark circles by morning.
Meanwhile, in a grey tent nestled deep within a forest, Brand held a stack of papers with trembling hands. He clenched them tightly, tearing them apart as if his life depended on it. He panted, his eyes bloodshot and his face red with rage. He was truly furious.
Sevianna had been taken away by the demon crown prince!
The papers he tore apart were reports from his guards' investigation. The identity of the man who had taken Sevianna was clearly written in bold letters.
The demon crown prince, Adounis!
Brand seethed with anger. He might have been calmer if the man's identity had been simpler. He couldn't believe his bad luck! His nemesis' son had successfully bewitched his trump card! Fuck!Brand's chest heaved as he struggled to contain his urge to go insane.
Sevianna was too valuable, too precious. He refused to hand her over without a fight!
His eyes snapped open, the glow within them reflecting his obsessive determination. He raised his hand, and one of his shadow guards silently materialized. "Tell the Marshal we're heading to the Antitheus Kingdom."
His orders shook the shadow guard to the core. The Antitheus Kingdom was the heart of the demon's territory. His master was actually planning to expedite their operations! Excitement and anxiety welled up within him. He quickly bowed and vanished, failing to notice that his master's expression was not right.
"Brand~" A sweet voice called out from outside the tent. It was Myla.
Brand's contorted face softened momentarily, but then he frowned. The way Myla had called him somehow reminded him of when Sevianna was still a pure angel. She had the habit of dragging out her words when they spoke. Restlessness gnawed at his heart.
He couldn't wait to take her back.
Without waiting for Myla to enter, Brand roughly flung the tent open, startling her as she approached. He fixed his penetrating gaze on each of the girls outside. "Pack up. We're heading to Antitheus."
The girls simultaneously widened their eyes. Already? Hadn't they planned to go there a year after making an alliance with the Stella Kingdom? Stella hadn't responded to their request, but they had confirmed that they had received it. They were just waiting for an answer. What had happened?
Everyone looked at each other, then to Diffei. Since Diffei and Brand were both adventurers and had known each other longer than the girls, she held senior authority. Previously, it had been Sevianna who ranked higher than them.
"Brand, what exactly happened?" Diffei asked, a bit of pride sprouting in her heart. She could finally assume her rightful position as Brand's first lady. She waited for Brand's answer, but he remained silent.
He merely cast another, colder glance, then turned back to his tent to start packing.
His cold demeanor suddenly enveloped the girls like an icy wind, leaving them feeling chilled until he departed. Their hearts quivered with the thought that something terrible might have occurred. Perhaps Stella had rejected their request? Or had one of the kingdoms backed out?
Little did they know, Brand was on edge simply because he couldn't wait to get Sevianna back.
The road to the Antitheus Kingdom was gloomy. Deathly silent and eerie, it unnerved the girls, unaccustomed to such an atmosphere. Seeking distraction, they decided to "play" with Brand. They initiated a game to see who could attract his attention first, engaging in outright seductive behavior.
Brand didn't have time to indulge in their games. Thus, he didn't react to Diffei's flying kiss, Sheena's innocent yet coquettish look, or Kinma's subtle physical touch. But when Myla tried to act cute by making a heart shape with her hands and peering through them while fluttering her eyelashes, he snapped.
"Enough!"The girls were startled and scared. What had they done wrong?
Before they could voice their grievances, Brand directed them to sit in the extra carriage they had taken for storage purposes. They were stunned, but they couldn't disobey him, as he naturally had control over all of them.
Brand covered his face with both hands in dismay. He hadn't had the desire to pay attention to them because he was being haunted by the memories he had with Sevianna. Myla's actions had prompted him to remember his days before he decided to betray her, and the intense feeling of guilt and loss made him snap at them.
He could still recall the first time they met.
It was a bright day, yet her bloodcurdling scream had startled the forest awake. When he arrived, he found a white-haired girl desperately clutching her shield. He found it amusing that she didn't realize her shield was powerful enough to withstand even a high-class monster's special attack, while the monster attacking her was merely middle class.
He focused on dispatching the monsters before turning his attention back to the girl. Her eyes sparkled under the sun's rays, and her cheeks flushed with a shade of red that made his heart skip a beat.
From that day forward, he would sneak out from his training to seek her out. She later confessed that she had also snuck away from her own town to see him. His heart warmed at the thought. During their strolls through the forest, he learned a lot about her. She adored furry creatures, had a penchant for creating heart shapes out of anything, and enjoyed flying with her beautiful, pure white wings to the tallest tree.
She was uninhibited, a free soul unaffected by the darkness pervading the world.
However, when one of the opposing factions schemed and killed his parents, his sanity shattered. This time, the perpetrators were disciples from the dark temple.
His grim mindset had overshadowed his precious memories, altering the way he looked at Sevianna. He knew she was powerful, even if she didn't realize it herself. She had the strength to contend with high-level disciples.
He hesitated. Then, when one of the disciples ambushed him on his way to the forest, nearly taking his life, he made his decision. Seeing Sevianna running towards him with concern, he acted as if his last words before losing consciousness were, "Help me... revenge."
In a fit of rage, Sevianna swiftly healed the unconscious Brand and pursued the disciple to their temple. There, she unleashed her fury. It became a battle between light and dark magic. Despite the disciples' numerical and qualitative advantage, Sevianna proved more than capable of wreaking havoc in their territory.
Brand arrived just in time to witness her swiftly dispatch the last disciple. His heart sank, but joy filled him when he saw the piles of enemy corpses. Turning back to Sevianna, he noticed her cold gaze had softened, mirroring his own.
She smiled sweetly, her bright aura still shining despite being covered in blood. "Brand~! I did it~!"
He experienced a moment of happiness, until he noticed the light aura around Sevianna dimming and a black fog emerging—a manifestation of dark attributes. To his horror, her beautiful white wings began rapidly darkening.
He remained rooted in the same spot as the darkness completely engulfed Sevianna's white wings. But things did not end there. All of Sevianna's white hair had also turned black, and in the intensity of her emotions at that moment, her pale blue eyes glowed red.
Brand literally witnessed the transformation of an angel into a fallen.
He had not expected for things to actually work out. Despite his awareness of their strength, history, and appearance, he knew that they were rarer than the rarest treasure in the world. His heart raced with excitement. But before he could utter a word, he saw Sevianna's horrified face.
She cautiously held her blackened hair with both hands, trembling. Then, as she dropped her wings in despair, she finally saw their pitch-black color.
Abruptly, she looked at Brand in terror and disbelief. He had made her like this. He was the reason why she had turned into this. All these thoughts raced in her head, but Sevianna still held onto a glimmer of hope—she didn't want to believe it.
Yet, Brand's greedy eyes as he watched her had revealed the terrible truth.
"Did you plan all of this?"
Devastated, she unfurled her black-tainted wings and beat against the air, each stroke echoing her inner turmoil. Ignoring Brand's desperate calls, she soared away into the desolate sky, her solitary silhouette disappearing into the vast expanse, swallowed by the darkness of her newfound reality.
Brand was anxious. Where was she going? What if other people saw her? What if those bastards saw her?!
He immediately broke into a run, chasing her endlessly. Finally, he stopped on a cliff and watched as she disappeared towards the horizon.
Who knew where she was heading.
The obsession was there. In his heart, it had already taken root, and a bud had formed. He was determined to get her.
Brand was both an adventurer and a blacksmith. His father had taught him the basics, but by the time he met Sevianna, he had surpassed him. Now, he frantically racked his brain, concocting various schemes to ensure she would never leave him again.
He talked to a variety of people—the merchants, the enchanters, the brokers, and even to a dark disciple that he had captured. None of the things they mentioned seemed to be enough for him.
Until the first time he went to the slave market, when he was hit with a wave of inspiration.
He worked on the slavery collar for years, all the while searching for Sevianna's whereabouts. He learned that she had been disowned, but he was too busy to care. Finally, he was able to finish the slavery collar, and his attention completely shifted to the search for Sevianna.
Along the way, he met Diffei. She had helped him defeat a dragon that was blocking their path. He didn't know how they grew close, but when he met Myla next, she had already assumed the title of being his "lover."
He really didn't care about those things. He was more focused on looking for Sevianna and making her his.
Long after he finally got a clue of Sevianna's whereabouts, Diffei, Myla, Kinma, and Sheena had all taken on the title of being his "lovers." But he had a confession to make—he had never touched any of them. If helping them down from the carriage or offering encouragement as a gentleman were the criteria for entering a relationship, then he should have thousands of lovers in this world already.
On a bright day, reminiscent of the day they first met, Brand finally found Sevianna. But his heart clenched in horror as he beheld her standing on the edge of a cliff, gazing down into a chasm of molten lava. With a shudder, she took one fateful step forward.
He immediately tried to reach for her as if the world would end if she fell.With a desperate effort, he managed to pull her back from the brink. Turning her around, he unleashed a torrent of scolding.
"What were you thinking?! That's molten lava! Even the immortals fear it! Do you have any idea what you were about to do?!"
Sevianna only looked at him dully. Her face looked a bit annoyed at the fact that she had been interrupted.Brand was angered by her expression. She still had the nerve to look annoyed when she had almost killed herself?!
He decisively placed the slavery collar around her neck. With a bit of magic in his voice, he made his first order, "You are not allowed to kill yourself!"
Sevianna's face went pale. Her blank expression shattered as she stared at him in disbelief, her hands trembling as they reached for the collar.
"Brand, you bastard! What is this?!" Her face flushed with anger.
Brand let out a sigh of relief. Finally, the turmoil in his heart eased. He met Sevianna's furious gaze head-on.
"You belong to me."
And after years of appearing cold, he finally smiled.