Chapter 272: Third Arc (Fallen Heart) – 37. The First Night V

Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 37. The First Night V

In hesitation, she turned her body to face him. Her hands were holding the blanket, making sure it stayed in its place and didn't show her body.
"Can you tell me now?" Her eyes looked at his cold face. Even though the look in his eyes wasn't as intimidating as before, it didn't mean she let down her guard. Yet she felt a strange sensation in her body. Afraid was not a word that matched what she felt nor did excitement. But she could feel her adrenaline rushing. It kept her heart beating fast. Even her sleepiness couldn't dim her eyes.

"It's a long story. Where should I start?" Angel said. Just like Rose, his eyes were on her. He didn't know if she would believe him or not, but he didn't mind telling her the truth.

"How about starting from the last time we met at Asteria? What happened after that? Why did Asteria's royal family do to you? Did you betray them?"

"I never betrayed anyone." After a tired breath, he spoke again.
"You already know that I won Asteria's hunting competition, right?" he asked.

"Yes. I've heard it."

"There's a tradition in Asteria that the competition is a way to determine who deserves to be the next king of Asteria. King Gervis didn't like my victory and thought that I disobeyed his orders to lose so he decided to punish me-- Although I did it to save Ilex…” There was a bitter feeling in his heart when he remembered how he tried to do everything just to prove his innocence yet in the end they threw him away like trash.

"What was your punishment?" asked Rose curiously.

"50 lashes," he replied. Somehow those words made the scars on his back throb since he could still remember the pain clearly.
"I couldn't move for a week after that. They used it to spread bad rumours about me, gain the other nobles' trust and execute me," he continued.

Rose frowned with a puzzled expression.
"You couldn't move for a week after the punishment?" she said in disbelief. 50 lashes was a light punishment for a soldier who had disobeyed the king's orders and the wounds should not that severe.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips.
"They didn't use an ordinary whip, but used a special weapon to punish me."

This was the first time she heard that a kingdom using a special weapon to punish someone. Although it still sounded strange to her, she decided to continue her questions.

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"Is that their main reason for slandering and executing you?" asked Rose since she had got a bit of a picture of what he said.

"Yes. To cover up the evidence, King Gervis purposely assigned Ilex and me to the Southern border. They executed me there and threw me at the Whitedevil Rose so no one could take my corpse. That way, no one can prove my betrayal. "

The story made her forehead furrow even more as her confusion filled her head.
"Then how did you survive it all?" It was the first time she heard of someone who could survive after being thrown at that deadly plant.

"I died... But a mysterious power within me revived me." From the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice, Rose could tell how serious his words were, but how could she believe them? All of it sounded like such an obvious lie.
"I lost my mind and sanity. I walked through The Dead Forest for days. All I knew was, killed everything that stand in my way but a woman's voice brought back my consciousness." Unfortunately, his search for the woman's identity was fruitless, neither was the shadow that killed his father.
"After I regained my consciousness, I was already in Euphorion. The rest, as you have heard from the others. I killed the late King Xenos and took over the throne."

Rose fell silent and tried to swallow all his explanations, but she couldn't. Her logic rejected all of it and screamed it was an obvious lie. But why did a king like him say a cheap lie like that? Why did he have to lie when there was no one he could fear in this world? To get her sympathy? If so, wouldn't it be better if he put a better story than this?
"So you're saying you're an undead?" A trace of sarcasm was evident in her tone since she knew Angel wasn't one of them.

"I'm a human. I know my story sounds like a lie but I'm telling the truth. Believe it or not. It all depends on you." Without saying a word, Angel could already guess from Rose's expression. There was no sadness or disappointment in his heart since he knew, this sounded absurd, even to himself. That's why he was always asking himself what kind of creature was he? He had even asked the doctor to examine him and make sure he was a human, not an undead.