Ayra was being stared by Cedric like a hawk. Her face was full of unwillingness as Cedric had forced her at a corner. She had no choice but to obey the demon that had set his eyes on her. She knew that he wouldn't stop at anything until his intentions were fulfilled.

Ayra dropped her eyes on the table, blinking few times to adjust her mind and when she pulled her eyes up, her gaze was determined. Exhaling and breathing through her lips few times, she uttered in a breath, following his lead like usual,

" Y..Yes...It.. was him.."

She spoke and turned her eyes over Cedric to see him smiling. He was happy just because she had proven him guilty. Her thoughts were puzzled and she hoped that he wouldn't be punished for her crime severely.

Mr.Lincon including Mr.Levon and the rest of Jury members were left with no words. They had come to punish the queen but now, things had taken an awkward turn. It was easy for them to punish the queen but when it came to Cedric, they had to think twice. Because punishing the king of Basarisk had another literal meaning which was threat to kingdom.

The atmosphere returned to stiff as they all took a while to proceed with the things that were happening around. Mr.Lincon cleared his throat to earn everyone's attention. Crossing his palms on the desk in a serious posture, he questioned shifting his eyes around the room,

" King Cedric, do you accept this claim?"

" I do!", came the fast response from Cedric who was getting irritated slightly for spending too much time with this cold headed men. He didn't know why were they persuading the matter if it was already claimed that he did hurt the beast.historical

This idiots!

A flicker of surprise flashed across Mr.Lincon's eyes upon his response. He pondered thoughtfully and at the end decided to end this matter since they had no other clues. His mind told him that there were other stories behind this incident but as for now, Cedric was the sole culprit and all the blame was pointing at him.

Mr.Levon was also surprised by the outcome. Before coming here, he was notified by Queen Angelica about the incident. But he promised to keep it secret since King Robert didn't want it to pass on Jury's ears but the woman couldn't hold down her vengeful nature. She was insulted by them badly in the past.

Mr.Lincon kept his voice low when he spoke to his other members but most of their conversation was overhearded by Ayra since her vampire abilities had the power to speak everything more profoundly than them. Her heart thudded when they mentioned something about thunderstrike. She assumed that it was one of the punishment and her heart swelled in fear.

She couldn't help but pulling her eyes up to lay on Cedric who had no fear in his expression.

This man..Why did he had to take the blame when she did nothing as a wife..

A new surge of guilt came inside her heart when she remembered how many times he proved that he was doing his best to become the better person for her.

Wasn't it enough for you?

She questioned herself but only got silence as her response. As she dwelled in her own thoughts, Mr.Lincon had ended his secretive meeting with the members.

His eyes returned to face the crowd as he declared in an authorized voice,

" Since we have witness and culprit both admitting that King Cedric has really harmed our magical beast, he will be punished accordingly. Henceforth, we are expecting him to meet us in next full moon in our old official palace. His punishment will be given in that place. The case is closed but we would like to have few more words with Lady Ayra before writing the punishment since she is the sole witness."

Cedric straightened up from his chair, yawning and mumbled before walking out first before others,

" I am going outside, Princess."

Ayra was left to continue the further meeting with the Jury while he left for the outdoor indifferently. His imposture was looking like he didn't care about what punishment they had for him. Ayra could only bite her lips together to stop her aching heart and watched his retreating figure from the corner of his eyes.

Darkened greeted his cold silhouette when he stepped one of the corridor. He was walking aimlessly without caring about anything else around. When he was going to cross the middle space, a sudden voice halted Cedric in his track,

" Why did you do this?"

Recognizing the familiar voice, Cedric stopped on his way, turning around to smile at Sienna innocently,

" Sister, I am surprised to find you greeting me here."

Sienna looked up at the man that she admired all in her life in disbelief. Her eyes were swollen and she looked like she had been crying for a long time. Her makeup was washed away. Her appearance was enough to define that she was crying or was going through a miserable state. Above all, she was hiding all along in this corner without poking her nose into the Jury's room anymore. Cedric could vaguely sense that why was she standing here all alone without anywhere else. Some people found peace by venting out their anger and Sienna was one of them.

Sienna stepped forward boldly, her eyes glaring at Cedric as she questioned furiously,

" Why did you do this to me, brother Cedric? You know that I won't be able to endure. Then why?"

Her voice resounded cracking as she approached her vulnerably. Cedric smirked down at her lowly. Clearly, he had no sympathy for the girl who was following him in all his life.

His response bounced off clearly, pushing the pain of knife deeper into Sienna's chest on purpose,

" Every child needs to take responsibility for what her parents did today or tomorrow.. I just showed you that."