114 His Highnessâs Interest
Viscarrian
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âWhat were you thinking? Sending your own relative to the underground prison??â Lady Odette stared in disbelief at Azazel whose blue eyes were nowhere near reality.
He was sitting on a chair in the solar room, legs crossed while tapping his fingers lightly on the arm of the chair.
âIf you feel bad for her, you can always join her. Sheâll appreciate the company,â came his heartless offer and that made Lady Odetteâs brow rise in obvious hesitation. She discarded it quickly and wore a look of discontentment.
âIâm highly disappointed in you Azazel, I thought you were the smartest in the Astaroth family, and to say you made this decision because of a lowlife human is nettling.â
âFunny how you complain when all I did was send her to hard labor. You knew the consequences of her act, but you didnât stop her.â He said in a not so quiet tone, âGretta is still young so letâs assume she made a mistake, but youâre older and hopefully wiser, yet, you didnât stop her.â
âMind your words and think twice before putting the blame on me, I would have stopped her if I had a clue about it, why waste her energy in taking the life of someone whoâs going to end up dying anyways?â She harrumphed.
Azazelâs stern blue eyes snapped at her the moment she said it and his tapping finger paused mid-way, barely touching the arm of the chair.
.....
âHow did you know?â
âAnd what makes you think Iâd tell?â She snorted before casting him a threatening glare, âget Gretta out of that sickening place, else, Iâll make it my mission to make sure Roshan finds out about everything and how youâre secretly anticipating Annaâs death.â
Azazelâs gaze momentarily darkened like ice in winter due to the sudden threat, but he said nothing in response, silently wondering how the prying woman came to know about his intentions.
She strode to where he sat and placed a comforting pat on his shoulder, âRoshan will eventually get his memory back and if he does that before Annaâs death day, you and I know itâll be impossible to stop him from saving her.â
A scoff left Azazelâs lips, âand who says Iâm scared of Roshan?â A mirthful smirk appeared next, causing the almost triumphant smile on Odetteâs lips to fade drastically.
âRoshan might be my brother, but I also have a duty to fulfill as the keeper of the limbo, Annaâs death day is close, I can feel it and she will die.â
âAnd Roshan?â She tried to intimidate the iceberg further, âhow will he react when he realizes his own brother knew about Annaâs death since the very day he brought her here? How will he react when he finds out that you knew Anna is his reborned wife, but said nothing to satisfy your own selfish intentions.â
She tried to sense a little tension from Azazel who just looked neutral about everything and he finally said; âHe wonât stop it, even if he wants to, he will figure it out, as well as my selfish intention and besides, no one in the Astaroth family is a saint.â
âWhat if he picks a fight?â
âEven more interesting, Iâll just give him one.â
The moment he said it, a triggering feeling surged into his head, leaving the iceberg to close his eyes for a few minutes and when he opened them back, an unreadable smile formed on his lips.
âSpeak of the devil.â He uttered before shifting his gaze to Odette whose face immediately went pale-stricken as she knew exactly who Azazel was referring to.
âWant to say hi, Aunt?â
âIâm done with this conversation!â She haughtily walked out, leaving Azazel alone in the solar room and when he closed his eyes, he tsked.
âYou bastard, you finally chose to use the mind Array.â He cursed the glacier in his head.
~
The maids who were seriously eavesdropping on the conversation instantly shuffled themselves back to work when Lady Odette walked past them with quick steps.
From the look on her face, it was easy to tell she was in a very foul mood and not even the maids dared to speak or pass a greeting as they kept themselves busy with one or two things.
The moment she was completely out of sight, a maid stopped what she was doing and hmphed out her displeasure, âhis highness Roshan really shouldnât get involved with humans at all. I mean look at what one human girl is causing to the Astaroth family.â
âMore to say sheâs a lowlife and not up to his highnessâs standard,â another maid who was skillfully dusting the stairs added, âI canât help but wonder what his highness sees in her.â
Another maiden who carried an appalling look on her face whispered to the two gossiping maidens, â humanâs can not be trusted, after what his highness had to go through in their hands, Iâm surprised to see heâs still mingling with them.â
âIs it possible sheâs using a magic charm?â
âAll you ladies know how to do is gossip all day.â Becca unhurriedly walked past while holding a tray of fresh milk on a glass.
Her unforseen presence startled the three maidens who were almost bowing their heads to apologize for eavesdropping, but after seeing it was neither the head-maid or lady Odette, their minds settled.
âI think Anna is nice,â Becca continued with a smile, âand she has good conviviality, you all should really leave the innocent lady alone.â
âSince when did you start supporting a human?â Asked a maid who eyed Becca from head to toe, but Becca met the maidâs stare with a smile as though she pitied her.
âIâm not supporting anyone, Iâm just looking at things from Annaâs view. She has suffered enough already and backbiting about her all day wonât change the fact that his highness Roshan has a lot of interest in her.â
She turned to look at the corridor where Odette had angrily taken and her brows rose, âoh, and I think lady Odette is coming back....â
âWhat?!â The maidens immediately panicked and dismissed themselves from the stairs, leaving Becca to stand alone at the top of the grand stairs since everyone had chosen to disappear from sight.
âThat scared them real quick.â She smiled at the result before shaking her head hopelessly and heading towards Gemmaâs chamber with the tray of milk.
âI hope theyâre both alright.â She murmured to herself while thinking about Annalise and Roshan with a look of genuine concern.
~
Ark Ville
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The sky had visibly turned dark blue and Anna laid her back on the soft leaves resting on the ground, looking up while counting the thousand stars that twinkle brightly in the sky.
âSo many of them.â She whispered to herself, unaware that a certain glacier had his gaze fixated on her. He watched as her expression turned into one of curiosity, then doubt, followed by a twinkling spark in her eyes as she continuously gazed at the stars above.
âAre you done?â
His voice broke her from her thoughts and she met his gaze, a bit surprised to see he was done already.
âI should be asking you.â She got her body into a sitting position as hope glinted in her eyes.
âDid you reach Azazel? Please donât tell me you lost interest again.â
âI did.â He clicked his tongue, âand that white-haired jerk dared to call me bastard before I could say anything.â
Annalise couldnât help but chuckle lightly at his expression, already looking displeased like a child whose candy got snatched from him.
âIâm sure your parents really had it full with you.â She joked heartily, but her giggling slowly faded after seeing the light in his eyes weaken and he averted his gaze.
âSomething like that.â
Anna slowly shifted closer to him, she could see he was holding back a lot of things that concerned his parents and families. To be honest, only Levi and Gemma happened to be the odd ones out of all of them.
âCan I ask you something?â
He remained silent for a while, quietly pondering on whether to say yes or not.
âWhat?â
She took a deep breath and she barely knew how those words slipped from her mouth.
âWhat was the relationship like between your parents?â