She Belongs To The Devil

While the Princes and Princesses were busy listening to Damien's side of the story, the rumor about the arrival of a mysterious man who also happened to have red eyes had spread around the castle like wildfire.

A few of the guards and maids who had seen Damien couldn't keep that information to themselves. They didn't mind sharing it with the others since their Crown Prince hadn't specifically asked them to keep the secret.

And almost all of those who heard about Damien was in a panic. Though they weren't afraid of their Crown Prince anymore, they couldn't say the same about the new visitor.

"Who is he anyway? Is he one of the Princes of Wyverndale?" one of the guards asked the one who had shared that new information with him.

That guard speculated, "I don't think he is a Prince. If he was then he would have come together with the others."

"He could have gone his separate way after they arrived here in Brenalia. And maybe he is just joining in now," another one made his own guess.

And yet another one joined his hands together and prayed, "Whoever he is, I just wish that he won't hurt anyone here. I had heard that vampires cannot control their hunger."

"What makes you think that he is a vampire? Maybe he is like our Crown Prince or maybe he is something completely different," the first guard replied.

And the second guard put forth his concern, "I hope that he is something completely harmless. It's bad news if he is a vampire. And even if he is like our Crown Prince, I don't think he would have control over his blood lust. I had heard that our Crown Prince built up his tolerance by drinking a small amount of blood every day for the past ten years.

I doubt that anyone else would have the same dedication or control."

The rumor soon reached the ears of the King as well. His advisor happened to see Damien. And since red eyes were extremely rare in this part of the world, he instantly noticed that feature of Damien.

He went to the King's study where the King was busy looking at some documents. He bowed to the King and put forth his concern, "Your Majesty, I am sorry for coming here to see you at this hour. But it's something which I thought couldn't wait until tomorrow."

Kind Walter raised his gaze from the files on his desk to look at the advisor. And he asked authoritatively, "What's the matter?"

The advisor politely bowed again and then he revealed the news while keeping his head down, "Your Majesty, just a while ago, I saw a young man with our guests. He wasn't one of the Princes from Wyverndale. At least, he didn't arrive here together with the others."

"Where are you getting at?" the King asked again since the advisor seemed to be beating around the bush too much.

And the advisor instantly blurted out, "He had red eyes. Just like our Crown Prince."

The King felt a chill run down his spine. He kept on gazing at his advisor and he didn't realize it but he was holding his breath.

"Your Majesty?" the advisor gave a concerned look to the King and asked, "A-Are you alright?"

The King finally drew in a deep breath and asked, "If they had one more then why did they hide him? Were they afraid that I wouldn't allow someone with red eyes to stay here as a guest? Or do they have some hidden agenda?"

As a King, he couldn't help but think the worst. His guests were from a powerful Kingdom. And a faraway Kingdom at that which was ruled by the Devil. Who could tell what the Devil was thinking? What if they came here with a bad intention?

The advisor shook his head and replied to the King, "I wanted to find that out so I tried to lurk around. But they all headed towards the residential area. And they were all following the Crown Prince. So, I didn't have the opportunity to put someone to eavesdrop on their conversations."

The King thought for a while and then got up on his feet. "Follow me," he ordered his advisor and then headed towards the residential area of the keep.

A few of the Royal Guards also followed after them.

Soon, they all reached the common room where everyone was still sitting down and talking.

When they saw the King, they all got up on their feet and bowed. And though they had done nothing wrong, everyone panicked a little because they could guess what the King would think after seeing a new face.

Kenneth swiftly stepped forward and then asked in a polite voice, "Your Majesty, is something wrong?"

At first, the King pretended as if he didn't even see Damien there. And he said to his son while maintaining a soft smile on his face, "I just wanted to talk to you. But it looks like I interrupted the fun gathering."

Kenneth then replied respectfully, "You could have called me if you wanted to talk to me, Your Majesty. You didn't need to come here yourself."

The King put his arms behind his back and said, "It's alright. I wanted to stretch my leg for a bit." He then finally glanced at Damien and said, "And who is this gentleman? I don't believe we met earlier in the dinner."

Everyone stood there with bated breath. They weren't sure what they were supposed to say to the King or how they were supposed to explain the situation.

Damien involuntarily glanced at Kenneth, expecting him to speak on his behalf. He didn't want to accidentally say something that would make the King suspect the Royals from Wyverndale.

And Kenneth also happened to look back at Damien at the exact same time. He understood what was expected of him.

Kenneth then cleared his throat and said to his father, "Umm… it's quite an interesting story actually. Why don't I tell you in private?"

The King didn't press his son but he did make a request, "Sure thing. But can I at least know the name of our new guest? And know who he is?"

Kenneth glanced at Ariel and then at Damien.

Damien gave a slight bow and then introduced himself, "Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Damien."

And Ariel quickly added from the side, "He is our childhood friend."

"Ah! I see." The King nodded his head and then he couldn't help but ask again, "So, when did you arrive here? Did you also come here by our ship or…?"

Kenneth furrowed his brows and sighed. "Father…" He gave his father a look as if to ask him to stop the questioning and then head back to the study.

However, Damien thought that he looked more suspicious by avoiding answering the question. So he confidently looked straight into the King's eyes and then lied, "I teleported here from Hell."

Everyone, the King, his advisor, and the Royal Guards behind him were stunned. They weren't sure if they were hearing the right thing or if they were getting auditory hallucinations.

And Damien confirmed that they weren't hearing things. "I arrived here a while ago. I thought that I would be teleported to Wyverndale. But since I wanted to see Ariel, I ended up teleporting here."