22: His Wrath

"All of you, leave. I wished to have a private conversation with my son." With a wave of her hand, the three maids that were with her, as well as her guards bowed at the two of them before leaving the vicinity.

When they were finally left alone, the Queen turned to the direction of the boy.

"Are you not going to show some respect for your mother?" The Queen spoke in a sweet manner, however, the cold glint in her eyes spoke everything that her mouth could not say.

If they were not within the Palace, then the situation could have been different. Knowing that the Emperor's ears and eyes were everywhere, of course, she had to act accordingly. However, if she was given a chance, then she would kill the boy, right then and there.

"You flattered yourself too much, woman. You actually have the nerve to call yourself my mother? Have you forgotten that you are merely a lowly slave whom my father, the Emperor brought back from a fallen Kingdom?" A grin full of mischief suddenly etched on Rowan's face as he looked straight on the Queen.

"Such big tone!" The Queen angrily shouted after hearing this remark. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. His words hit a soft spot that she tried to bury deep within her mind.

"I guessed you are too preoccupied with your new status that you failed to realise that I am always like this, woman. However, I would give you a chance. I know that you have a lot to say right now, so go ahead. Enlighten me. After all, this might be your one and only chance to speak to me like this. I would make sure that the next time we met, your head would merely be a decorative object for my blade," Rowan nonchalantly replied.

"You!" The Queen almost spat out venom as she glared at the boy menacingly. Anger flared across her face at his pithy insults. Her knuckles whitened while she clenched her fists tightly.

In the end, the Queen took a few deep breaths, trying to suppress her trembling body in anger. She knew that she would be in trouble should this continue.

Forcing a smile, she once again faced the boy with a calm demeanour. "My Prince. You are courageous indeed. You really are Princess Ophelia's son. You know, sometimes I wondered what it was like if you became my son instead." The Queen flattered her long lashes, as if trying to seduce a grown man.

Seeing this, Rowan could not help, but smiled even more. Though he came here with a different thoughts in mind, he found himself in a situation that he had never dreamed of.

"If I might ask, what happened to the sweet boy who used to hide behind his mother's dress whenever we met?" The Queen inquired, having noticed that the air around the boy completely changed. Even the way he spoke and held himself was not what she remembered him to be.

"You seemed…" she paused, her eyes scrutinised every details of the boy. "Different."

"Is that so?" Rowan responded, still unperturbed about how the woman gazed at him.

"Did you come here to seek revenge for your mother? If so, then come. I would give you the opportunity to do that." The Queen closed her eyes upon saying this. She even spread her arms, awaiting the pain that might accompany her when the boy made his move.

However, moments later and nothing came. Opening her eyes, she saw the boy that was still in front of her. He had not moved an inch. He only stared at her with a stoic face, devoid of any emotions. His gaze actually sent shivers down her spine.

"What are you doing? I am giving you this golden opportunity so just take it before I changed my mind."

"Even without your consent, claiming your lowly existence would be an easy feat. Death would actually be a mercy for someone like you. However, killing you on the spot would not be able to quench my thirst for vengeance, and I am even willing to let bygones be bygones for ruining my mother. However…" Rowan paused for a moment. His eyes suddenly shone with wrath as a powerful wave of violent fury rose inside of him. His whole body quivered with rage as he eyed the Queen in front of him.

"I am willing to go as fas as to forget everything, however, you made one grave and terrible mistake. You actually dared to touch what's mine!"

"What? What are you talking about?" The Queen was taken aback. Her brows immediately met at the center, and her face contorted into confusion. She stared at the boy like he had grown a third head.

Rowan, on the other hand, gritted his teeth. He met her gaze with menacing glare. "You might not know this, but your wicked schemes claimed the life of someone very important to me." Unable to control his emotions, his eyes glowed crimson as his mana suddenly skyrocketed. It almost pierced through the clouds above.

The Queen staggered backwards by the sudden surge of mana. Her eyes snapped opened when she felt the powerful killer intent that was directed at her.

With a loud cough, she fell to the ground while clutching her neck. She gasped for air. It felt like an invincible force gripped her neck, making it impossible to breathe.

Realizing that she could not get out of her situation, she suddenly laughed like a madwoman.

"Even if you killed me right now, it would not change the fact that your mother, as well as the person, whoever he, was won't come back to life. There would not be any miracle!" The queen managed to shout in between gasp of air.

"Mommy?"

The two were suddenly interrupted when they heard a small voice. The Queen quickly snapped her head on her back and saw her son, looking at her with an innocent gaze.

"Mommy? Big Bwader Rowan?"

"My baby! Urgh!" She tried to stand, however, the invincible force became even stronger.

With a loud thud, she once again fell to the ground. This time, her knees was almost crushed upon impact.

Suddenly, the force that bound her slowly loosened. When she felt it, she quickly turned around and saw Rowan who now eyed her son with a menacing glint in his eyes. Her eyes immediately widened when realisation hit her like tons of bricks.

"No! Don't you dare!"

Bang!

Before the Queen could even move, a loud bang suddenly echoed in the area. Her eyes widened like saucer plates. She felt like time itself slowed down as she looked back at her son.

What she saw almost made her heart jumped out of her chest. Her beloved prince was already on the ground, unconscious. The crimson liquid that rapidly dripped from his head was the last straw.

"No! How dare you! I would kill you!" The scene in front of her was like a torment in her mind. It was followed by the tensions of all her muscles, then her inability to think clearly.

At that moment, the normally rational and calm Queen now looked like a ferocious beast. Even her liberal opinions as well as her ability for nuance were gone. Her fists curled tightly into a ball.

She was now blinded with an uncontrollable rage. Suddenly, dark mana enveloped her whole body, and her six inner circles glowed brilliantly as they circulated around her heart. However, before she could do anything, the invincible force one again found its way on her neck. However powerful she was, she was rendered powerless against the invincible force that once again pinned her to the ground.

"Let me go, now! I swear, I would kill you even if its the last thing I would ever do!" Some saliva flew out of her mouth, but she did not cared. All she knew was the rage that was burning within her.

"I would not kill you, but I would make sure that you would wished to be dead everyday with what I am going to do. I would let you experience the agony of losing someone dear to you."

"Don't you dare! No! I swear, I would turn you into a bloody pulp once I am finished with you! Let me go, now!" The Queen squirmed strongly, trying to get out of the force that binded her, but to no avail. She could only watch as Rowan walked past her and towards her still unconscious son.

"What are you going to do? Please! Not my baby! I would not be able to live without him! No!"

The Queen's voice was now considerably lowered as she pleaded for her son's life. However, Rowan just stared at the bloodied boy with an emotionless face.

He used to play with the kid whenever he had time. After all, he was still an innocent child and had no idea of what his mother was like. However, at this moment, Rowan could not find it in himself to spare his life. He just stared at his motionless body with an expressionless face. It seemed that all of his emotions had gone away with Kalliste's death. All that was left to him was a hollow feeling that slowly engulfed his soul.

Without any hesitation, Rowan summoned a sword.

Upon seeing this, the Queen screamed like a madwoman as she once again squirmed out of the invisible force, only to fail miserably.

Rowan just spared a glance at her direction before speaking, "I wanted you to watch how I would kill your beloved son. Feel what I felt, as you slowly, and painfully lose your sanity. And when you reached the point where death was your sweetest escape, then I would find your soul from hell, drag you back, and torture you again and again and again," he slowly said with a dead voice.

There was a sharp emphasis with his every words that pierced straight through her soul. However, she could not do anything. She was helpless against the overwhelming power that forced her to complete submission. Tears finally ran down her face as she was forced to watch how Rowan gripped her son's neck, almost crushing it at the process.

"What is going on here? Third Prince Rowan! Let your brother go! Now!"

A new ray of hope emerged when the Queen suddenly heard the Emperor's voice. She quickly looked back and saw the Emperor approached them. "Your Majesty! I beg of you. Please rescue our son! That boy had gone mad and wanted to kill my son! Urgh!" The Queen struggled to move, ignoring the crushing of her bones.

Seeing the situation, the Emperor narrowed his eyes upon his sons. One was already on the verge of death while the other one was like a madman.

"Prince Rowan. As your Emperor, I command you to let them go, or you would receive punishments!" The Emperor roared, his voice could be heard all over the Palace.

However, Rowan merely looked past his shoulders. The moment their eyes meet, the Emperor suddenly took a step backwards.

'Those eyes! What in the world happened for him to have such gaze? Those were the eyes of someone who gave up their worldly emotions just to gain overwhelming power and might! But how?"

"No! Your Majesty! You have to do something! My baby!"

The Queen's loud voice brought him back to reality. He gritted his teeth as he was forced to intervene.

'It would be hard to defeat someone who already reached a level of such caliber. However, it would be manageable to force him to sleep," At that thought, the Emperor concentrated his powers on the prince.

"Magnienis Agoetus!" Just as the words escaped his lips, a cluttered, bronze blaze of fragments suddenly enveloped Rowan's whole body.

Having realised what the Emperor wanted to do, Rowan snapped his head towards his father.

"Stay out of my business!" He roared and was about to attack his father when he suddenly felt drowsy. His body became heavy and his eyelids slowly dropped.

Before he knew it, the welcoming darkness hugged his consciousness, but not before hearing the words of his father.

"Redectum Vexelio."