Chapter 104: The Chariot [II]
"You might be the Duchess in name, but watch how you speak to the Holy Sun, Princess Seles!"
"How could you even defend that monster?"
"The Association had agreed to forgive his past sins because of your constant meddling, but even after they showed benevolence towards his previous crimes, he committed another one."
"He is a monster wearing human skin, Princess. Stop thinking of him as your husband."
The nobles around her continued whispering their opinions as Seles’s hand clenched even tighter, drawing deep crimson blood onto the pristine white floor of the throne room.
"Enough!"
Aurelion’s calm voice silenced all the whispers at once.
"Everyone except Duchess Seles, please leave for now. We will resume this meeting later."
Some of the nobles looked displeased but nobody dared to voice their objections. One by one, they bowed and left the throne room, leaving the siblings alone.
Only then did Seles finally break down completely.
Her body, which had remained upright and strong throughout the entire meeting, finally crumbled to the ground.
Aurelion appeared beside her without a sound and caught her falling body.
"Brother, please save him. I beg you, please."
"You think I wouldn’t want to do this, Seles?" His voice was heavy. "Even when everyone believed he was dead after disappearing across the Crimson Mist as a criminal, only you and I believed he was still alive."
"I was the one who helped you clear his name, even when everyone called me a foolish emperor for caring about the reputation of some dead criminal."
His voice trembled slightly.
"He is my best friend, Seles. He is my brother in arms."
Aurelion looked down at her.
"Do you really think I wouldn’t save him if I could?"
His voice was filled with helplessness.
"But my hands are tied. There were countless people who saw him killing the Ruinbringers and Ruvian. Not to mention, he even killed Big Sis Amyra mercilessly."
"Even if he had a reason for doing all of that, the strength he displayed might be beyond the Transcendent. He finally reached the path that only I had managed to walk in the last thousand years of history across the three continents... and now he has too."
"Not to mention, the woman he left with him seems even stronger than he is."
His expression grew grim.
"The nobles across all three continents are terrified of him now. To them, he and Lillian are threats that cannot be trusted or controlled."
"So tell me, Seles... how am I supposed to save him?"
Seles’s soft sobs could no longer be held back as Aurelion’s expression cracked, seeing his sister in so much pain.
Eventually, Seles managed to calm herself and for a moment, she said nothing but ther gaze sharpened.
"Make him... the Northern Duke, brother."
Her voice was calm.
"Once he becomes the new Duke Ruinbringer, you can protect him openly, and we can turn this into a battle of succession within the Ruinbringer family. Nobody would be able to interfere."
"As for Ruvian’s death, it will simply be because he coveted the Dukedom of Ruinbringer and challenged Zenith for it, only to lose his life."
"This is the only way."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Please, brother... I am ready to take full responsibility for the rest of my life if he ever causes trouble again."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"But if he dies..." She paused. "I will kill myself too, brother."
Her eyes remained locked with her brother’s.
"And that death will be your responsibility."
"But the others won’t accept this, Seles."
He argued but Seles’s gaze turned cold.
"Then they will learn the consequences of going against not one but two of the strongest people across the three continents."
She didn’t flinch.
"If they won’t accept it willingly, then they will learn to fear defying the monster they are trying so desperately to eliminate."
There was no hesitation in her voice anymore.
"Seles...?"
Aurelion’s eyes widened in disbelief as if he couldn’t believe this was the same little sister who had always cared about everyone around her. The same girl who had once tried to protect even those who had wronged her and now she was calmly talking about slaughtering anyone who dared oppose her.
Seles no longer cared about hiding her true persona.
She simply stared at her brother, waiting for the answer she already knew he would give.
"I..."
***
Everything that followed went according to what Seles and Aurelion had agreed upon.
Aurelion himself stepped in and mediated the matter, making Zenith the new Duke Ruinbringer in exchange for pardoning all his crimes.
Seles was overjoyed, but she became even busier pushing back against every rumour and piece of news daring to defame her husband. With the help of her network, it was barely a problem before she turned all kinds of rumours into praises.
And soon, the day of the succession arrived.
All the nobles who had once said all kinds of terrible things about him, all those who had once considered eliminating him, came to the ceremony carrying all kinds of gifts.
Seles herself prepared to the extreme, as this was the first time she was going to meet him again.
Her husband.
A month had passed since they had last seen each other, with most of their communication happening through communication crystals. Zenith had been busy with the tasks of inheriting the estate he had nearly ruined himself, while she had been busy repairing his image.
Once Hope arrived at her palace, the two of them moved towards the newly established capital of the Ruinbringer family, Arcandal.
It barely took any time before they arrived in Arcandal. The entire capital was buzzing with excitement as they prepared to welcome their new ruler, and Seles herself couldn’t contain her excitement at the thought of seeing him again.
Although she had spoken with him through the communication crystal, he barely talked because of all the work he had to handle. And even when he did talk at length, he rarely shared anything beyond what he was currently doing.
Still, even those simple conversations had been enough to make her giggle at night as she imagined their reunion and all the things she would say when they finally met again...
...but as she stood at the doors of his palace and saw him sprinting towards her with his arms open and the softest look in his eyes, she couldn’t do anything.