107 Duty Before Heart

Viscarrian

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“What are you talking about?? This is nothing but a false accusation!” Gretta feigned innocence as she voiced her words out, standing before Azazel who had his back turned against her.

historical

“Oh.” Azazel softly uttered, “so you didn’t poison Anna then?”

He unhurriedly turned to look at her with an unreadable expression that sent tiny shivers crawling up the back of her skin. Gretta couldn’t possibly make out what the iceberg was thinking and decided to keep her little act in check.

“If you really want to accuse me, why don’t you outrightly say it rather than beat around the bush!”

“Cause I see no use in saying it, you know the truth yourself and you’re not so foolish to think I’d fall for your petty acts!!”

Azazel really couldn’t understand the mentality of this woman, he’s known her sly antics for a long time and he’s never really taken serious action against it, but this time, it was completely different.

She messed with a soul and being the keeper of the limbo, she had risked his duty.

.....

If Anna eventually died from the hands of his own family, the heavens won’t spare him for being reckless about a special soul and he’d have to pay the price for Gretta’s stupidity.

That was something he wasn’t going to easily overlook and she had messed with his temper.

Gretta gasped in horror when a thundering sound erupted from the sky and the air inside the hall room went suffocatingly thick, to the point she really thought she couldn’t breathe anymore.

“Gretta Marquis, do you admit to your crime of taking the life of a special soul?” The voice speaking at the moment didn’t sound like that of Azazel. It sounded inhuman, like he had called upon his divine powers to deal with the situation and Gretta shockingly took a step back, staring at Azazel whose bloody red eyes were fixed on her.

“You can’t do this! I’m more like a sister to you!” Tears brimmed in her eyes after realizing his intention, he was really going to punish her for it!

“Duty comes before heart.” He reminded her in an icy tone that made her face turn paler like that of a ghost.

When he stretched out his right hand, a long golden staff appeared in his grasp, followed by another threatening thunder strike that made Gretta’s heart jump.

“Do you admit to your crimes, or do you need the truth to be forced out of you??” There was a strange message in his menacing tone, indicating that there’d be severe consequences if she even thinks about lying to the supreme heavens.

“But I_I didn’t kill her, I’m being judged wrongly!” Gretta couldn’t believe it, she was about to be punished all because of an ordinary human girl. Was she that special to the heavens???

“Gretta Marquis!” Azazel’s inhuman voice amplified in the hall, “you’re placed under hard labor and shall be accordingly dealt with, your release will remain indefinite till we’ve seen how remorseful you are for your act.”

“Hard labor??!” Gretta shook her head at the punishment being given to her and immediately went on her knees. Hard labor was one of the severe punishments she couldn’t possibly find herself in, “I had no intention of killing her, I just wanted to teach her a little lesson and_”

“Silence!”

Gretta’s lips sealed when the foot of his staff hit the tiled floor with a powerful thud, leaving it to shake in accordance to his power and he pointed the staff at her.

“No, wait!!”

A powerful crimson colored light emitted from the top of the staff and went straight at Gretta, seizing her in place as Azazel’s cold gaze remained unfazed by her pitiful expression.

Instead, a cold chuckle left his lips and he tilted his head at her, “this is something very miniscule compared to what Roshan ‘will’ do to you when he finds out you’re the mastermind behind the poison Anna consumed.”

Gretta’s eyes horrifically widened at the mention of Roshan, ‘no, Roshan can’t find out about any of this, she can handle any punishment, but Roshan mustn’t find out about any of this.

“I’ll take the punishment, don’t tell Roshan any of this, I beg you.”

He saw the fear in her eyes and scoffed in disdain, averting his stares from her as he took a deep breath, “fine, I’ll help you keep your little secret, but that doesn’t save you from the punishment you totally deserve.”

With that being said, the crimson light grew stronger, only for Gretta to slowly weaken and eventually vanish out of sight.

The crimson light died and the staff vanished from Azazel’s grip. The heavy atmosphere finally swept away like crumbling ashes and the hall looked calm.

Azazel’s eyes turned normal but his fist clenched. He was really disappointed in Gretta to say the least and his punishment for being reckless would have been way worse.

He turned sideways, roughly running his fingers through his silvery white hair. He stared out at the night sky, trying to figure out the next step to take when a familiar feeling rushed through his nerves, like a quick jolt to his brain and his eyes widened when a voice he had grown too acquainted with spoke in his head and his eyes slightly widened.

‘Roshan??’

A complacent smile adorned his captivating face and he moved away from the window, feeling satisfied like he just figured out the answers he needed.

~

Ark Ville

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Roshan was about to concentrate more when he noticed Anna dropping herbal creams on a tray, humming to herself and looking ready to go somewhere.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“Hmm? I’m going to Nicholas’s room.” She responded without turning to look at him, but Roshan’s expression had dimmed at her response.

“Why? It’s late.”

“I know,” she agreed, “but he has an event tomorrow morning so it’s important he gets treated before then.”

Roshan raised a brow, still not getting it, “it’s not right you go into another man’s room at night.”

He had completely let the thought of speaking with Azazel skip from his mind, but the lady he was talking to barely paid him any attention as she got to her feet with the tray.

“I won’t be long, you should focus more on connecting with Azazel, tell me how it goes when I come back, okay?” She smiled and before he could stop her from leaving, she had left the room.

“This woman..!!..”