[ Master has invited you for tea. Please follow me] With this the man started walking without even slowing down for a bit. He was too fast on his toes. It was all thanks to Severus who was holding Desella's hand or else she would have lost here. The hall was grand, painted with red wallpapers. It looked so vibrant that it was blinding her eyes. All in all, they had interiors of red and gold and this made Desella wonder what type of man would be head of such an organization.
Severus had told her about Onyx, but the information was as useless as he was. It was just a priest organization but Desella could tell from the ongoing blood scent that this was not a simple corporation of some saints. Call it her instinct or guts but the scent of blood was the highest she had ever experienced after coming back to life and this revelation made her hairs crawl. She tugged on Severus' sleep hinting to listen to her, but Severus just shushed her. Like her, he could also sense faint blood in the air. He might not be an entity but his several years of experience in the battlefield told him that things are not as peaceful as it seems.
Desella was antsy the whole time but the warmth coming from Severus' hand made her restless heart at peace. Soon they reached in front of a room. The door looked exactly the same as the door of the Chamber of secrets. Desella and Severus were shocked when they saw it but did not show it on their face.
The skinny man knocked on the door two times. Soon a bell chimed from inside and the skinny man slowly opened the door as he bowed on the ground. "Master they are here"
Severus and Desella did not bother to bow down. The skinny man saw the disrespect shown by them. He gritted his teeth in anger and was going to push them down, but a heavy voice stopped his actions.
"Thanks Mars. Now you may go back and see that no one interrupts me"
The owner of the heavy voice was a tall and skinny man wearing the same red robes with half face hidden behind the hood. The only thing that separated him from others was that his robes had golden embroidery that looked regal.
The skinny man cupped his fist as he signaled them to go inside. Severus and Desella followed the cue as they went inside. Once they were in, the door behind them was closed.
Thud!
[What is with all these red jokers?] No worry said inside his mind.
Severus "..."
Well not going to deny it. This suits them.
The man in front of them signaled them to take seats on the plush red velvet sofas.
[So much red is making me red from anger]
Severus as usual ignored him.
"May I know what honor I have earned to meet with a reincarnated guy."
Desella was shocked and even Severus too as for the bird….
[Now I am used to such shocks]
Severus didn't deny it. "Yes, I am and there is a very important reason for me to come here"
"May I know the reason?"
"What do you know about the map?"
The old man's smile stiffened. "What map?"
Severus smirked when he herds his comment. "Can we drop this act sir? I know that you are aware that I am Severus, the shadow knight of Crown prince and ex-general of Rivera kingdom and you are none other than the head of Onyx organization, Vlass Rege. Am I right for Master Vlass?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAH.
The man in the red robe laughed heartily. His laughs shook the entire room.
Desella wondered whether this man had gone mad or what.
Soon his laughter stopped as a sharp grin appeared on his mouth. "Indeed, you are correct and somehow I can guess what you want to know but I will only answer your question in personal"
Desella" ..."
[Pervert]
Severus "..."
Desella was about to get up and leave but Severus stopped her. "She is not an outsider. You can trust her if you can trust me"
Ha!
"It's not about trusting kid but the things inside this room will only harm her if she stays here for a longer period of time. I see you have done a lot for her to bring her out from the darkness. I doubt you want to waste your efforts and put her life in danger again.
Desella shivered unknowingly.
Severus was stumped for words. He didn't know how much this man knew about him or Desella. Keeping her here will settle his heart but it might prove fatal for her. He was hesitant to let her room in someone else territory. At this moment Noworry who was perched on Desella's shoulder flapped his wings. [Don't worry. I will be there with her so you will be at ease.]
"It's okay Severus. I believe they won't harm me. Let me go. This is your only chance to find out what was the actual reason for your miserable fate. Although you show that you don't care about your past, I can feel how much it troubles you. You cannot even sleep at night peacefully because of it. I don't want you to suffer like this Severus so let it be"
Desella stood up from the sofa with a smile. The bell chimed again and the skinny man from earlier came inside as he cupped his fist.
"Yes master"
"Have Miss Desella a tour of our silver garden. I bet she will like it"
"Yes master"
The skinny man soon led her out of the room. Now there were only two of them present inside the room.
"So, what about Desella?" Severus asked with a hint of danger however the red-robed man just waved his hand casually. I do not mean to harm her. She is the existence of dark so if she remains here, she will be subjected to pain and agony since we are the followers of Holy light. It may even trap her, so I suggested she goes out."
Severus nodded in understanding. "But How do you know about her?"
"Let discuss her later and I am sure there are several things you want to know aside from her"
"Indeed, there are but I am quite curious about one thing"
"What?"
"Why are you helping me? I am a traitor and the one who is going to kill the current King of Rivera. I wonder what motivates you have to help someone like me"
Hahaha.
"You are a funny kid. If it's about motive than let's say I have some personal feuds with him, so I am helping you so that you can wipe out his existence"
"Why should I believe you, master Vlass?"
"You can always choose not to believe me, Severus"
Wa!
They were playing tai-chi with words now. What to say? They both had glib tongues. Severus cursed under his breath. He really wished for that damn bird right now. He was always good with epic comebacks.
Severus just accepted his fate.
I guess there is no other option left for me than to spill beans.
"This morning I saw the crown prince inspecting a map. It had a circle on it with triangles on each corner. Although I am not sure but since I have decent knowledge about directions, I am assuming that those triangles are the 13 shrines of Hades in Rivera kingdom and in the center, there is a tomb of the first emperor of Rivera kingdom but the thing that puzzled me was that all these palaces had no connections with each other. They are just like scattered fragments of a map."
Vlass clapped his hands in amazement. "I knew it. Hell, I was sure that her child could never be dumb as people said"
In his excitement Vlass said something strange and Severus being a keen one picked it up.
Her?
"Who are you referring to?"
As Severus asked about her mother both Vlass and he went nervous. Suddenly the tension in the room increased and a heavy atmosphere engulfed them. For a long time, no one said a word. Later when Vlass felt like he could no longer handle this burden alone he shared the truth of Severus' life.
"Kid about the map, Bravo. You are very close to conclusion and as for your mother…."
Severus' anxiety hit another peak recently. Although he didn't show it, he was actually very nervous. Who knows what he's going to hear next about his mother?
"Let me start from the beginning so everything is clear to you. Okay?"
Severus nodded his head in approval.
"So here it goes...."
----------------
Inside a luxurious bedroom, a man who was drop dead handsome was sipping wine as he was looking through an orb.
"Wow!"
"Finally, he is so close to the truth. Off why is he so smart but then again, he is my kid. I would have kicked his ass off if he had inherited his mother's dumb personality."
Maid inside the room "...."
A golden lion who was Hades' pet "...."
Audience "...."
Such Narcissism!