Chapter 451 - Manipulative King

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Archdemon Empress Luna

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"You don't know how much I love you and miss you, but King Gwythyr, your father, was determined to keep us apart!" In an instant, the light, airy voice lowered as she pounded her fists against the table, breathing hard. "It breaks my heart, but I have no choice to leave you alone because I am a mere Empress who has no power over the Vampire Realm."

Empress Ourania's statement raised questions inside her mind, but she didn't dare to speak them because she already knew the answer.

The Vampire Realm came from a patriarchal civilization, and Apollyon had told her that.

He learned things from his father and whether he was a good teacher or not was questionable. Luna shouldn't be surprised that the Empress had no power despite her rank if it was the King who said so.

"A King assessed the state of the Vampire Realm. King Gwythyr was the one who make decisions and rule accordingly. Your father had a dual nature. He was either seated in benevolence and strength, fixing the long-standing discrepancies of the Kingdom and guiding the Kingdom towards peace. Sometimes, he was corrupt, oppressing the weak out of the need to control."  The Empress explained. 

Luna watched her clench and unclenched her fists as she continued, "He was unpredictable and he could switch and easily go to the extreme sides of the spectrum. King Gwythyr had taken the throne with grace and humility but when someone challenged him, he can act from a place of fear, scrambling to uphold his image and power to protect his ego because he considered me a threat."

"I simply followed your father's wish, Apollyon. It was his wish that I separate myself from you. I have to act like I don't care about you so that he can't use you against me. To control me. " Her voice trembled as if she was trying her best not to lash out at them. "But you couldn't blame the King anymore for your woes when you killed him yourself. So, now you made it your sacred mission to torment me just like how he made the both of us suffer!"

"You are lying!"

"You got everything wrong! You just confirmed my suspicion, Apollyon! Your father, that bastard, had brainwashed you to hate me! " When she spat those words out, she exhaled a loud breath as if a large thorn was removed out of her chest.

"No. I chose to believe him! What he told me about you matched your actions as I grew older!" Apollyon shot back as he slammed the table this time. Empress Ourania and Luna flinched as the circular table made of ironwood cracked under Apollyon's palms. "You don't have to lie and neither would you twist this sick narrative in favor of you just because King Gwythyr was dead! He didn't show me much affection except for being the provider and I am alright with it. But. You! You didn't even try so don't change my mind anymore!"

"Husband. Please." Luna's hand gripped the back of his thigh. "Sit down."

Apollyon didn't listen as he jabbed a finger at his mother.

"I don't believe you! I will not allow you to twist our history! It was father who told me that you have washed your hands off me. You gave me so that he could take care of me since I was the heir he desired. That you were done with me after you successfully provided him a heir." Apollyon's face was flushed as he bared his teeth. "He let me know as a young boy that you don't have maternal instincts left in you to care for a child in this unwanted marriage, claiming that it should be your parents who should raise me because they were the ones who forced you! You would rather be alone in Scleranthus and paint your artwork on your heart's content than deal with me."

"Apollyon." Luna made her voice louder as she stood up from her chair and circled an arm around his back, urging him to sit down. "Don't lose your cool."

"Apollyon!" She repeated sharply since Apollyon must not have heard her request the first time. "Let's change the subject into a less explosive one please." 

Why are Faeries from the Summer Courts so.... volatile?

When she squeezed Apollyon's biceps to the point of bruising, that was when her husband turned his head and looked at her with bloodshot eyes.

Apollyon's dead blank stare focused on her face as if he realized for the first time that she was right there with him.

There was a pounding in her ears when she saw that fiery gaze consumed by his rage. 

Apollyon pulled his chair back and sat down.

Luna followed and flopped back to her chair from all this blazing tension.

Clearing her throat, Empress Ourania heeded her call and changed the subject. "I was glad to know that no one from the Summer Courts coerced you into visiting the this Realm. It was your decision to see your family. The Summer Monarchs. And If Princess Sapphire hadn't told you that I was alive,  you wouldn't even dare to set foot in here. I don't understand why you  visited the Spring Realms first instead of prioritizing your family."

Apollyon shifted his strategy, and this time, he kept his rage under wraps. "It's our decision. Most especially, my wife did convince me to visit the Summer Realm."  He added, his face smooth and expressionless. "My Empress wants me to see and talk to you if I still need to tie up loose ends between the both of us. Well, it turned out that the loose ends didn't exist in the first place."

"Apollyon." There was a hesitation before Empress Ourania spoke as if she was weighing her words. "Are you not happy that I'm alive and well after all those years where you thought that I was dead?"

A bark of laughter was caught in his throat but he tried to wear an inscrutable expression, instead. "I don't feel anything except apathy. I  accepted that you are as my dead as my father for a long time. It wouldn't make a difference."