She Belongs To The Devil

Nigel furrowed his brows worriedly and shot arrows of questions towards her, "Adeline, are you alright? What was that just now? You looked like you were in great pain."

Adeline gently rubbed her forehead and shrugged it off, "Just a little headache."

But deep down, she felt as though it was not just a normal headache. The pain felt different. It was as though she was not hurt physically but somewhere… somewhere else... somewhere deep down. But she couldn't exactly pinpoint where.

And she was right. The human soul that rested inside of her used to be azure blue in color. But after the unification ceremony in the wedding, her soul had a hint of red – the color of Theodore's soul.

And when she expressed her earnest desire to grow stronger and faster, that hint of red in her soul spread even more, almost devouring half of her human soul.

"Are you alright now?" Nigel was still worried about his sister. He thought that the guilt and pain that she had been suppressing in her heart till now was starting to manifest in her health.

Adeline nodded. "Yes, the pain in the head is gone now."

Nigel gave a sorrowful look to his sister and asked, "And what about the pain in your heart?"

Adeline's felt a prick in her heart when he asked that. Of course, the pain in her heart was not going to go away so easily. Rather than answering her brother, she looked down at her hand and began digging nails on her knuckles.

Nigel was also feeling the same as Adeline, in fact, he was feeling even more pain than her. Everything was heightened for him because of his werewolf side. Even the pain.

However, he still tried to act tough in front of his sister and said, "I know that it is painful… knowing about our father's fate beforehand. But I think the pain would lessen if you stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault that those vampires were born with advantages."

Adeline sighed and replied, "If only I had my advantages as well…"

And that statement from Adeline made Nigel wonder, "Maybe things would have been different if I was here at that time? Our father wouldn't be dying if I was the one to kill that vampire instead of Theodore, right?"

He had asked Adeline to not feel guilty but he himself couldn't help but feel that way. He felt guilty that he couldn't help his family even when he possessed the required advantages to win against those nasty vampires.

Both brother and sister went down their own guilt trip.

And after a while of silence, Nigel asked, "Since you asked me to stay here for some more time, I am guessing that our father cannot escape his future? Can't Theodore make his father change his mind?"

Adeline sadly pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Theodore already pleaded with his father." Adeline frowned and spoke with a sneer, "He even caught his father's feet and literally begged. But his father didn't change his decision even after all that begging."

The chamber was filled with painful silence again.

After a lot of courage, Nigel finally asked the most important question, "When…" He cleared his throat and asked, "How much time does our father have exactly?"

Adeline felt a burst of pain in her heart and clenched her fists. She was reminded how close the day was already. "Fifteen days at most."

Nigel tightened his fists and grimaced in great pain. "Fifteen days…" He felt more pain rushing throughout his body when he repeated those words.

He dug his claws even deeper in his palm while taking in deep breaths. He was trying hard not to break down and not to lose control over his wolf side.

---

In the dining hall, the hot set of breakfast had arrived a long while ago.

Everyone was already having their breakfast.

Wulfric had already gobbled up everything that was in both of his plates. He was feeling embarrassed because of his earlier actions and it was harder for him to act normally when he was sitting right beside the Devil. And now that he had already finished eating, he was tapping his feet restlessly while looking away at the walls.

The others were trying to make normal conversation with Theodore, especially the King. But he was feeling really nervous after knowing the secret.

And in his nervousness, he asked Theodore, "Your Highness, if I may ask, will you also be aiding us in the war?"

Theodore almost choked on the scrambled eggs by that question of King Conall. He coughed and drank a whole glass of water.

King Conall got a glare from Fenris and he immediately apologized, "I am sorry if I overstepped by asking that question."

Theodore shook his head and smiled. "No, it's alright." Theodore ran his fingers through his silky hair and answered so as not to give high hopes to those participating in the war, "I would have already wiped out the whole vampire race for attacking Wyverndale but… my hands are bound by my father. I am not allowed to intervene."

Everyone in the room was visibly disheartened by Theodore's answer. The King had especially hoped that Theodore would help out in the war. Because having the literal Devil by their side on the battlefield would mean that the war was already won by them.

Theodore saw that disheartened look on King Conall's face. And in order to motivate them, he offered, "But I will be helping with the training of the soldiers of Wyverndale. If you want then I can separate some time for the werewolves as well. We can do battle simulations every now and then to make the werewolves feel like they are fighting the real vampires."

The werewolves in the room were now looking at Theodore with sparkly eyes.

The alpha was even more delighted by that offer from the Devil Prince. "You would do that for us?" He gave a gentle bow and happily thanked Theodore, "It would be an honor to receive the training from you, Your Highness."

The door of the dining hall opened and Adeline and Nigel entered the hall. Nigel was carrying a golden harp in his hand which he carefully placed on the floor.

Adeline smiled and apologize to everyone, "Sorry, we had to go through the piles of gifts to find this harp. So it took us quite some time."

"The food is already cold! You two took really long time." Rhea said in a complaining tone. She then playfully smiled at Nigel who was now sitting beside her and teased, "Don't tell me you two had been hugging each other and crying. The two of you always do that."

Nigel simply sighed and looked down, confirming what his wife had said.

"Hey, I had–" Wulfric was also about to complain because he had to keep on sitting in the hall, waiting for them, even when he had already finished his food a long time ago.

However, his mouth was left hanging when the calm and beautiful piece of music from the harp filled the room.

Everyone in the room had been feeling uneasiness in their heart because of the war, because of the sad news. But as soon as the music played, everyone felt at utmost peace.. They felt as though the music had touched their soul.