Chapter 63: Into Hell

"Oh! Welcome, Feronia! How has it been!"

The first guest to arrive was Empress Feronia, the empress of the forest elves. Her long dark blue dress hugged the ground as she walked through the doorway with grace and elegance.

"My my! Alaric!" She exclaimed with joy. "It's been a while since we have talked!"

She came up to me with a big smile on her face and put her hands forward. We shook hands and gazed at each other for a moment.

Feronia had brought her husband, as expected. Duncan Luxton, the emperor consort of the Luxanor empire.

Both of them were quite aged, just like our fellow emperors. She brought no one else with her other than him, lucky for me.

"How are you, Duncan?" I asked him as I shifted my focus. "You have aged quite well!"

He chuckles at my compliment. "I can say the same for you, Alaric!" He exclaimed. "It's an honour to attend Prince Amadeus' birthday once more."

"Oh no, the honour is mine to have you!"

Their butler awkwardly chimed up from behind me and greeted them with a formal bow.

"Good evening, your highness," He says in a clear and slow voice. "I will be your assistant for the night."

He gets up from his bow and smiles at them. "Please, follow me to the ballroom. The party will start when all the guests have arrived."

Feronia looks at the butler and then looks at me. "We will meet you at the ballroom then," She said while her husband grabbed onto her hand.

"Of course!" I told her with a joyful smile. "You can meet my family there as well. Amadeus is quite excited to meet you all!"

I moved out of the way and let the couple through. We bid our small farewells to each other as they walked away from the foyer with their assistant.

Any minute now.

More and more guests would start to show up as time passed on. After Feronia came Iris Curtis, the Queen of the Triveni kingdom. She brought no one with her but dressed as well as she should for the party.

A lush green dress that was wide at the waist. Seeing her, people would guess she is in her mid-twenties. But her actual age is nearly forty.

We go over our formal greetings and her assistant takes her away. When I thought she brought no one, I was wrong. Her butler followed behind her, hidden away behind her.

Not long after, another guest arrived.

Lucious Woods, king of Leopold kingdom. He brought along a guest that I did not expect to arrive at the party.

Astrid Brant, count of Derval.

"Peace be upon you, Woods," I greeted him as he entered.

Woods was surprised to hear my greeting and see me in the foyer. "O-oh, greetings!" He exclaimed. "It's nice to meet you at the foyer, your majesty."

We shake hands and my eyes shift between the two wolf beasts.

Though Woods was also a wolf, he was much skinnier than Astrid. While Astrid towered over him with his bulky body and silver-coloured hair, Woods was scrawny and awkward, barely showing the power he has.

"Greetings, your majesty," Astrid said in a deep voice that I didn't expect. "It's an honour to be in the presence of you, my lord."

"Enough with the formalities," I told them both. "Please, follow your assistant to the ballroom. A few guests have already arrived and my family is eager to meet you both!"

Astrid lets out a soft chuckle. "I see! We shall waste no more time then!"

Woods seemed reluctant but he followed the assistant without another word. I watched the two follow their assistant till they were out of my view.

Woods hadn't told me about who was coming. He only let me know that he would bring one guest along with him. But I would've never thought it would be Astrid.

It makes things harder as Astrid and Artorius have had a scandal. It would be dangerous to put those two close by.

Wait where did I make them sit?

Before I thought more about it, my attention was drawn back to the foyer. The figure of a tall pointy-eared man approached with his robe dragging along the pavement outside.

It was Elric Wyot Roswitha, Emperor of Tenebris.

ARTORIUS' POV

Lanterns lit up by fire decorated the wide streets of the capital. Everywhere you looked, there was a golden light that shined through the corner of each alley.

A crowd of citizens stood on the sidewalk as royal carriages trot through the city. Guards barricaded the road to clear off any traffic, letting us through with ease.

Amelia and Kathlyn both gawked outside their windows. Amelia wagged her tail with excitement while Kathlyn smiled from ear to ear.

"The lights are so beautiful!" Amelia exclaimed to me in telepathy.

"Mhm," I replied while staring at the pair.

A glitter came from Kathlyn's neck as we drove past. It was the necklace that I bought for her. The Phoenix was shining from the lights outside, making it look like a Phoenix.

I tore my eyes off Kathlyn for once and looked outside, trying my best to not

The sound of everyone's cheer as we went past was muffled inside the carriage. If I cracked the window open a little bit I might be able to tell how loud they were being.

"Papa, why are they cheering for us though?" Amelia asked me.

"Huh, I don't know," I answered. "Perhaps it's because of respect. People go frantic when they see someone they respect."

Her curiosity was satisfied with my uncertain answer. "I see!" She said joyfully. "So they respect us?"

"Yes,"

The carriage started to go uphill, meaning we were close. Just over this small hill is where the castle is, and our stop.

"The capital is really beautiful, "Kathlyn muttered. "The lights and the people's cheers, all of it is truly gorgeous!"

A smile breaks on my lips. "I'm glad you're enjoying the trip so far,"

"I've enjoyed every moment of it!" She turned to me. "Thank you for unintentionally fulfilling your promise!"

Her sudden grin made me look away. It was all too sudden.

"N-no problem…" I said as my voice drifted away.

She chuckles softly, noticing my flustered face. "I think we are almost here, right?"

"Mhm, the castle is just over this hill," I told her to change the topic. Let's get ready to get off."

As I said that, Amelia quickly jumped onto Kathlyn's shoulders and curled around her neck. She looked like a muffler made of crimson fox wool.

Kathlyn was surprised at first but smiled and scratched Amelia's head.

"Seems like she's ready," I said while holding back laughter.

However, Kathlyn lets out a laugh that made me laugh as well. The carriage levels out and we come to a halt right in front of the gate.

All the people that were on the sidewalk were now swapped with soldiers. I heard Alaric tightened security but I didn't know how tight it would be.

Guards standing with full suits of armour. They all wielded a halberd that towered over each other. They were ready for action, even keeping a sword with them just in case.

The carriage began to move again as we entered the walls of the castle. The yard was decorated well with small lanterns tied to a string. Similar to the string lights from my past life.

Though the guards did not stop outside the castle. Inside there were more guards, all lined in formation, shoulder to shoulder and holding one hand on their scabbard.

It was a menacing sight to behold as we entered, but it was for a reason. I can't see why Alaric is taking such drastic measures but I will take his judgement with an open mind.

The carriage comes to a halt and Ron gets off his seat. He opened the door for us and held it open with a grin on his face.

"Enjoy the food here," I told Ron as I stepped out. "I'm sure there will be good food tonight. Especially high-quality wine."

Ron nods. "I sure will!" He exclaimed happily.

I turned back around to help Kathlyn get off the carriage, as usual. She took my hand and got down, holding her dress up with her other hand.

"Where's Alexander?" Kathlyn asked.

"Behind us, I suppose,"

In front of us were Vincent and Felix. They both were stretching their legs, ready to start our plan. Alexander got off as well, looking for me in the darkness of the pathway.

Without wasting any more time, I took Kathlyn's hands and started to walk away from the carriage.

"Let's go then," I told Felix and Vincent as we got closer.

The two of them moved out of the way, letting us pass before them. The door was open in front of us with guards lined up all parallel and shoulder to shoulder. An odd sight to behold.

As we walked closer to the door I spotted a familiar figure standing before us inside the castle. Hunched back with his hands held behind his back. A royal gown lay behind him and a faint smile was on his face.

We entered through the massive doorways and were greeted by a line of well-dressed butlers all shoulder to shoulder, similar to the soldiers outside. In front of us was the old emperor that invited us to the party.

"Welcome back, Artorius!" He exclaimed with happiness. "It's good to have you back so soon."

He puts his hand forward for a handshake. "Greetings, your majesty," I greeted him back. "I didn't expect to be back so soon."

We shake hands and he bellows out a laugh. "It's your second home now!" He says sarcastically.

Alaric's eyes lose contact with me and it shifts towards Kathlyn. She noticed his glare and greeted him formally.

"G-good evening, your majesty," She said while doing a curtsy. "I-it's a great honour for me to be in your presence."

He seemed taken aback by her words. "My! Who is this beautiful woman, Artorius?" He asked me.

I acted to be flustered and shied away. "She's an old friend of mine, your majesty," I replied. "We were separated at a young age. Fortunately, we reunited in an odd way and I decided to bring her along."

"What a lovely reunion then!" Alaric cries out. "Come, come. Let's not waste any more time here. Meet the birthday boy and the rest of the guests!"

He was waiting for me.

Alaric turned around and started to lead us to the ballroom. It's strange to have so many butlers lined up for no reason.

Felix, Vincent and Alexander all followed behind us as we walked through the castle. The decorations on the ceilings and the walls gave the atmosphere of a party.

Kathlyn held on tightly to my arm as we walked down the hallway. She seemed nervous from walking through the wide hallways with tall ceilings. Her head looked around frantically, trying to grasp the situation she was in...

The entourage of our group walked for a while, going up to the second floor. None of us exchanged a single word. Only the sound of our footsteps filled the silence as we walked through the decorated and well-lit hallways.

"Here we are!" Alaric says before stopping in front of a behemoth door.

Voices of all sorts came through from behind the door. There must be a lot of guests who came before us. Not that it changes anything now.

The door went all the way up to the ceiling and was closed. Behind the door would be what I assumed was the ballroom.

The colossal doors start to slowly open wide. It makes no sound but the speed of the door determined how heavy the doors were.

Alexander suddenly came up from my right side and whispered to me.

"Here it begins," He whispers.

I take a deep breath to prepare myself to enter the party of doom.

The doors fully open and Alaric begins to walk through. I was on high alert now and so was everyone else.

"Some guests have arrived already," Alaric said as we all stepped inside. "We are just waiting for a few more people to come and we can start with the party."

Everyone's chatter stopped as the doors opened. When we entered everyone was dead quiet. All the guests were silenced by the emperor's presence.

"You came!" A young voice shouted out, breaking the silence.

Amadeus came dashing towards me with the biggest smile I'd seen on his face. Alaric was shocked to see how attached he was to me, and so was everyone else including me.

He ran into me and embraced me with open arms, taking me back a few steps.

"I'm glad you came!" He cried out.

Why am I put on the spot…

I gently patted the young prince's head and smiled awkwardly. "Of course, I would!" I exclaimed. "It's your birthday after all."

The guests at the party stared at us with a smile. Everyone saw it as a wholesome interaction between the two of us.

But the moment turned sour when I noticed a man I never wanted to see again.

In the crowd of all the guests, a man stood out like a sore thumb. The same grey-haired wolf that I remembered. Astrid Brant.

He looked at me with a disgusted look. A glitter of fury raged in his eyes as he stared deep at me, wanting to rip me apart.

Amadeus broke off from the hug and looked to my left, noticing Kathlyn.

"I'm sorry but, I've never seen you," He said. "Are you perhaps Artorius' lover?"

Her face turns tomato red as the clueless prince tries to guess her status. She hides her face with her hands out of embarrassment.

"N-not at all!" She shrieked. "I-I'm just a friend of his!"

Giggles went around the ballroom. I felt the embarrassment but managed to laugh it off.

Amadeus, realising his mistake, shied away and apologised for his misconception.

"I was taken aback by your beauty when you entered," Amadeus explained. "Seeing you lock onto his arms I thought you were a noble too!"

"Well, Amadeus," Alaric chimed in. "How about you start over from scratch."

Thank you, old man.

"A-ah! You're right!" He said frantically. "Ahem, my name is Amadeus, Prince of the Rigel empire. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He said before putting his hand forward.

Seeing the formal greeting, Kathlyn recovered and shook Amadeus' hand.

"Good evening, your royal highness," She greeted while bowing down gently. "My name is Kathlyn Watson."

Amadeus was puzzled by the lack of a title at the end. But he looked past it and shook hands with her without questioning it further.

He turned his eyes back to me. We made eye contact and his smile became bigger.

"Did you bring me anything?" He asked. "Many have brought me quite a lot of gifts."

Amadeus proceeds to lean towards me a bit more and hide his mouth with his hand.

"But, truth be told, most of the gifts aren't to my liking," He whispered.

I let out a soft chuckle. "Of course, I brought you a gift!" I said softly. "My chauffeur should be putting it where it should be."

His eyes lit up with excitement. "W-well, you didn't have to! But thank you!"

The party was going just as expected. But one thing that really threw me off was the glare that Alaric was giving me while Amadeus and I interacted.

Not only that, the presence of Astrid made me feel as though the party will not be as enjoyable as I thought.

This has put me in a really tight spot.