"My lord, Lady Rui Abstle sent you apology gifts, hoping that you would forgive what she and her companion did to you during the last meeting."
Yohan's unsettling smile was back on his face and he held a small body in front of Zadkiel. It was small and thin enough to be nothing but useless jewelry. And yet Zadkiel chose to reach out and take the gift.
He wanted to believe that Yohan Strout would be foolish enough to gift him mere pearls as a gift. And with that faith in his mind, Zadkiel closed his hand around the gift box.
It felt heavier than he expected it to feel. There was no necklace this small that would weigh this much. Unless it was a cursed artifact, this box should not be heavy at all.
"You are playing with fire by doing all this you know. One of these days, you will be burned badly by your arrogance. Is this a crushed artifact you brought into the royal palace?"
Zadkile could not help but ask, his curiosity taking hold of him. He would have opened the gift right now to check why it felt cursed if not for the fact that Yohan would be in trouble if he did.
But Yohan was calm and did not look to be in trouble. Instead, he looked almost happy when Zadkiel questioned him.
"Hmm, you worry too much, my friend. Why don't you open the gift first and see what is inside."
Zadkiel was a spectacle but he did as Yohan had instructed him to do. It was not his neck that was on the line here so Zadkiel was willing to believe Yohan's words.
It was a beautiful dagger, purely ornamental at first look. It was embedded with jewels and gave off no magical aura.
But as soon as Zadkile gripped it, his body surged with the energy he had never felt before. He felt as if he could kill god with this dagger and he instantly let it go. It had been a terrifyingly beautiful feeling for him.
He was even willing to say that it was addictive in the way it warped around his body and urged him ahead.
"T-This is-"
pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ "Just something I found in one of the dungeons. It's magnificent, right? If you have this, you will be able to defend yourself from any danger. Although it would be a stretch to kill the queen with this dagger, you might be able to injure her."
Zadkile was intrigued by the dagger and Yohan's words. More so since Zadkile could see that they were true. He could harm the queen if he had this dagger.
'But why would Yohan give such a thing to me? If it can be used on the demon queen, it can be used on him as well.'
"I know what you are thinking but you also know that I am not a full demon, right? Such daggers are called demon killers so they hardly have any effect on humans. Now, will you take this peace offering or not."
Yohan held the dagger in his hand and made a small cut on his finger. It healed instantly because of Yohan's human blood. Before anyone knew it, Yohan was giving the dagger back to Zadkiel.
Zadkiel looked at the dagger with a hidden smile on his face. Finally, he had a worthy weapon. But he needed more power if he wanted to cut off the little goddess as well.
"My friend, I've heard that this dagger is a paired item. One for the demonic half and one for the angelic part. You won't happen to know where the other part is, right?"
Zadkile asked with a greedy look in his eyes. He needed this intoxicating power so that he could be free.
"Hmm, the other half of it? Well, I might just happen to know where it is. I will think about giving it to you if we become even better friends."
It was the formation of a new alliance that was built on mutual interests. Both parties were ready to take any advantage they could get but they were also cautious of each other.
They were beginning to have a good time when an alarm sounded throughout the palace. Every guard was on alert as they waited for the news.
"Royal consort, our dear guest, kindly do not panic. Someone is trying to break out of the prisons so we will go and stop them right now. There is no need for you to panic."
The guard reassured Yohan and Zadkiel, realizing that he needed to keep them safe no matter what.
But both Zadkiel and Yohan were trained soldiers who were leagues better than these foot soldiers. They could hold thier own and they decided to slip past the guards to see what was going on.
And it was just as Yohan had expected things to be. The rebels were trying to get thier members out of the prison with the help of tricks and breaking in.
There were a few familiar faces involved in the break-out as well, such as Jay and Emma. Yohan could have helped them out if he wanted to.
"Are you not going to help your friends out? It looks like you know these rebellions quite well."
Zadkiel asked with an interested look in his eyes. He looked between Yohan and the screen, trying to figure out what would happen next.
"Huh? Why should I help these people out just because I know them? It's their greed that got them into this mess so they also need to get out of there with their efforts."
Besides, whatever favor Yohan owed these people had been repaid when he helped Huye out. He no longer needed to help them out.
"Ah, I see. So it's a rough relationship you have with these guys. Anyway, you are stuck in the palace until these people either run away or you are allowed to go back. We should go back to our tea session."
Now that things had become more clear, Zadkiel no longer cared about what was going on.
He knew that the little goddess would have taken this opportunity to get out of the prison and into the open. She would also come for Zadkiel soon to ensure she had not lost her hold on her weapon.
Zadkiel would be ready for her but he needed that angelic dagger first. This time, he would free himself, even if he had to fall.
………………….
"My queen, our prisoners are running away. Should we kill them all?"
The queen's loyal servant asked as he bowed in front of her. He wanted nothing more than to serve his queen in whatever capacity he could. But the queen looked uninterested in anything that was going on in front of her.
This was the second time someone had tried to run away from the prison and thier queen had not cared about them.
"Hmm, let them run. It's not like they will not be back soon anyway, it's cute how these ants try to fight back with me unsuccessfully, right?"
The servant found nothing funny about a rebellion. He was worried about his queen and what it meant for her rule.
Why did she not care about her reputation and what was going on with her reputation? How could she remain this closed off?
"Oh yeah, what is going on with my consort? He did not come to visit me today. Is something wrong?"
The queen questioned with an annoyed expression. Her consort was the only one who could move the queen these days.
The servant sweated as he thought about what to say to the queen. Her consort was currently busy with someone else but would the queen accept this answer from him?
"Ahmm, my queen, your consort is with a guest. Shall I call him here?"
The queen paused whatever she was doing and blinked in surprise.
"He's with a guest? Well, this is something I will have to go and check out on my own soon. I was not aware that my dear consort had friends."
The queen spoke with jealousy in her voice and the servant sighed tiredly. It was going to be another busy day for him it seemed.