Chapter 52: They don’t deserve it
Seraphel
"Surprise...suprise?" My voice shook terribly as I looked from Azriel to Seraphel’s family. The royal guards aggressively shoved them down, forcing them onto their knees against the cold marble floor.
What the hell was going on here, and why the hell were they in the palace?
"Your Highness," Eiren’s soft, melodious voice echoed through the silent room as he lowered his head in a gentle, elegant bow.
Azriel slid his hands to my waist, lifting me effortlessly off his lap. As he stood up, he extended a hand back toward me, silently inviting me to join him. Without breaking eye contact, I reached out and took his hand, letting him lead me down the steps of the dais.
"So, these people are your family, right, Seraphel?" he asked gently, pointing a slender finger toward the three figures kneeling on the ground.
"I..." I wanted to speak, to tell him that they weren’t my family. But I was trapped in Seraphel’s body now, and he was right—they really were his legal family.
I just couldn’t figure out why they were here in the Asmodeus palace, or what Azriel meant by punishing them. "What is happening?" I asked quietly, trying to make sense of the situation.
"What do you think is happening, Seraphel? I told you before that I am going to punish those who have hurt you, and that is exactly what is going to happen."
My eyes widened in total shock as the weight of his words hit me.
Was he actually going to kill them right here? Looking through Seraphel’s lingering memories, I knew they had done horrific, unspeakable things to him. But they were still this body’s only living relatives. If they were executed like this, Seraphel wouldn’t have any family left to return to once I finally managed to escape this story.
But they literally sold him into slavery, my subconscious hissed back at me instantly.
That was true. They were monsters. But my modern morals kicked in, and I couldn’t just stand by and watch a literal execution happen right in front of me.
"Are you going to kill them?" I whispered.
Azriel grinned, leaning in to brush a stray lock of hair away from my face. "What else do you think I would do? Play games with them? Of course I am going to kill them," he murmured in his softest, most polite voice, his crimson eyes shifting back to the trembling trio. "In the most painful way possible."
"But they don’t deserve to die!" I argued, trying to keep my voice down. "You shouldn’t kill them."
"Oh, you foolish little lotus. These people tortured you, and you still think they don’t deserve death? Do you honestly believe they care about you at all?"
"I—" I tried to speak, but I was violently cut off by Seraphel’s uncle. The man slammed his forehead against the hard marble floor, kowtowing over and over again until a pool of dark blood began to smear across the pristine stone.
"Your Highness, have mercy!" the uncle shrieked, his voice cracking with terror. "If Seraphel has done anything wrong to offend you, please punish him only! We have absolutely nothing to do with him!"
The betrayal was quick, and it hit me like a slap to the face. Why the hell was he so quick to throw me under the bus, as if he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to get rid of me?
"Yes, Your Highness!" the aunt chimed in, her voice shrill and desperate. "Seraphel has always been a useless, cursed child! If he brought trouble to your palace, then punish him only! He is not the innocent creature you think he is. He has slept with countless men in the dirty district and deserves to die for corrupting your royal body with his trash! Punish him only, Your Highness!"
These absolute trash bags, I thought, my jaw tightening as I gritted my teeth in pure fury.
Here I was, actively trying to save their miserable lives, and they were already orchestrating my death to save their own skins.
Did Eiren seriously not tell them a single thing before dragging them in here?
I glanced over at Eiren. He stood with his shoulders held high, his posture rigid and elegant, his eyes focused entirely on the wall. He acted as if he hadn’t been the one to bring them to the throne room in the first place. He had intentionally kept them completely in the dark, which perfectly explained why they were running their treacherous mouths.
Unable to stand there and listen to them slander Seraphel’s name anymore, I slowly pulled my hand away from Azriel’s grip. I walked down the remaining steps toward them, deciding to play along. I wanted to see if they would fall for the bait, or if there was even a fraction of human decency in them to ask for forgiveness after everything they had put this poor boy through.
"Do you really think what you’re saying is right?" I asked, stopping a few feet away from them.
Quiet murmurs instantly broke out among the high ministers, their whispers rippling through the court as they watched the drama unfold.
Azriel didn’t move a muscle; he simply stood on the steps, his arms crossed, watching me with a dark, fascinated curiosity.
Seraphel’s uncle raised his bloody face, pointing a trembling, accusing finger directly at me. "You evil, ungrateful boy! I heard the rumors about how you bewitched the prince with your dirty body, and now our innocent family has to pay for your sins! You have completely ruined us!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Ruined you?" I countered, a cold laugh escaping my lips. "You were the ones who sold Seraphel off like livestock! You made his entire life a living hell! How can you stand there and say that to me?"
Seraphel’s aunt raised her head next, her eyes wild with hatred as she screamed at me, completely ignoring the dangerous atmosphere of the room. "You are the one who made our family suffer! You have brought nothing but pain to our household since the day you were born! You should be begging for our forgiveness and acting grateful for all those years we raised you as our own!"