"What is your na?" Nyria asked the red-haired man.
Everyone who heard her was shocked and frightened at the sa ti. This young man had just dug his own grave. Of all the mbers of the royal family, he had to block the path of Snow Princess Nyria, who was now also known with another title, Tyrant Princess.
Now that the Tyrant Princess herself had asked his na, he was as good as dead.
These were the thoughts running through the minds of everyone present, yet none dared to voice them in Nyria’s presence.
However, what shocked them even more was the red-haired man himself. Instead of falling to his knees to beg for forgiveness, he did not even respond to her question, remaining frozen in place.
The poor young man must be too terrified to speak.
With a frown, Javier muttered, "The Princess has asked you a question. How dare you not answer her?"
The young man’s lips parted, a faint tremor visible upon them. His eyes, though hidden behind white blindfolds, seed on the verge of tears. Just as he was about to say sothing,
"Junior Brother Lucifer," Lyra called from the side as she approached. "Here you are. I have been looking for you everywhere."
Turning to Nyria, she offered a deep bow and gave her greetings before continuing, "Snow Princess, Junior Brother Lucifer did not an to block your path. As you can see, he is ill and cannot see. He had no intention of disrespecting you."
"His eyes may not work, but his tongue functions perfectly well," Javier retorted, referring to Lucifer’s earlier silence. "We might as well remove his tongue too if he does not intend to use it."
Casting a brief glance at the robe Lucifer was wearing, he continued, "Tsk, tsk. How did a blind weakling like you beco a Core Disciple of the Thunderbane Sect?"
Ignoring the obvious insult, Lucifer murmured as he turned toward Nyria, "Lucifer Morningstar is my na. You have a beautiful voice, Snow Princess."
A ripple of gasps swept through the crowd as they witnessed the audacity of this young man, who was not even descended from any notable family. Even Lyra was slightly taken aback by how casually Lucifer addressed Nyria, as though he were her equal.
Javier was about to lunge at Lucifer and slice off his head for such insolence, but Lucifer continued speaking, unfazed by the palpable bloodlust radiating toward him.
"A smile would suit your serene face even more, Snow Princess. It would make the white moon in the sky lose confidence in its own beauty."
For the first ti, Nyria’s cold, expressionless face changed. A chill ran down her spine the mont she heard those words. It took her less than a second to recognize the red-haired man.
Those chosen words, that accent, that voice, everything pointed to one person.
He was not Raj, whom she had t in the Forest of Gumiho two years ago.
He was...he was Taranis El Thunderbane, the man with whom she had spent her childhood, the man who had seen her vulnerable side, the man who had made her feel emotions she had never known before, and the very man she had fallen completely and helplessly in love with.
"Wh-what do you know? You cannot even see," Nyria retorted, trying to maintain her strong facade, though her lips were already trembling and her words beginning to falter. "Besides, I have no reason to smile."
"Are you certain you have no reason to smile, Snow Princess?" Taranis asked in the guise of Lucifer.
"I... I do not know."
"But you are already smiling, Snow Princess."
"What would you know? You cannot even see."
"I do not need eyes to see your face, Snow Princess. The dance of the heavens is enough to assure of it. Besides, look upward. The white moon could not bear to remain when you smiled."
Nyria, who had been subconsciously carrying a faint smile upon her lips, lifted her gaze to the sky, only to find that the white moon, which had been glowing just monts ago, was now completely hidden behind the clouds.
"I... I will have your head for such audacity, Lucifer Morningstar," Nyria murmured, doing her utmost to glare at him.
"All of the Hundred Sky Mountains belong to you, Snow Princess," Taranis replied. "Why would you ask for only one peak?"
He did not state it plainly, yet Nyria understood the aning concealed within his words. Why ask for rely my head when my entire being belongs to you?
Nyria advanced toward Lucifer with the deliberate, asured steps befitting a Princess and said with a piercing glare, "You must be punished for your audacious behavior."
"Snow Princess, Junior Brother Lucifer has only recently joined the Sect. He does not know the customs of the royals," Lyra said as she intervened, the worry evident in her voice. And why would she not be worried? No one had ever survived Nyria’s severe punishnts.
"No, he must be made an example of, or others will begin to take the authority of the royals lightly," Javier spoke up, having waited for this very mont, the corner of his lips curling upward.
From within her robe, Nyria withdrew a jade token and, placing it into Lucifer’s hand, declared, "Participate in the Battle of Heirs of the Azure Sky Competition and try to survive."
"B-but Snow Princess, only the heir of each Sect is permitted to participate in the Battle of Heirs. He is rely an outsider—"
"That is why I gave him my jade token," Nyria said before Lyra could finish her words. "He will participate on my behalf."
Doran, who had been observing everything from the background until now, stepped forward and addressed Nyria. "Elder Sister, we should leave. We have already wasted too much ti."
It was not as though anyone was waiting for them. The reason he urged her to depart was because he feared his Elder Sister might incur even greater hatred from the subjects of the Hundred Sky Mountains if she remained any longer.
"Let us go," Nyria said, casting one last glance at Taranis before turning away.
With a smirk upon his face, Javier tapped Lucifer on the shoulder and whispered, "Enjoy the festival. It may be the last one you witness."
In the eyes of everyone present, including Javier, Nyria had delivered a rciless punishnt to Lucifer, a blind man.
rely participating in the Battle of Heirs, an event reserved solely for the heir of each Sect, would mark Lucifer as a target that must be eliminated. Moreover, if he lost, it would be considered an insult to Nyria since he was participating on her behalf, so loosing would result in nothing less than imdiate execution. And if by so miracle he managed to win, then the entire Bane family would be after his life.
Nyria had given him a punishnt befitting the Tyrant Princess. Whether he won or lost, he was certain to die.
User Comments
0 comments from readers