14- Release Me

On their way, Zephyr held an unbothered expression on his face that was disturbing Azura.

She had never seen him this displeased nor ever did what could infuriate him before.

And his anger now was hurting her.

"Zephyr-"

"Do not talk to me at the moment,"

"Why? Will you be like this the whole time?"

She attempted to make him listen, hoping to reduce this wrath but to no avail. He was not ready to listen. 

"I don't want to say something I regret, Lady Azura, that is all." 

He cut her off sternly, not bothering to glance at her even.

Pricking her heart at his coldness towards her. Because he was all she ever had after losing her parents at ten.

"Please," She called him in a broken tone, "Don't do this to me," 

His jaw clenched yet he didn't look over. 

Among the few people he was soft towards, he didn't feel good treating her like this too. 

Narrowing her eyes, she opened her mouth to justify but he changed the topic.

"How long till we reach the village?" He asked coldly. 

"It will take a week. It is far from here," Jay replied. 

"I see,"

"Come on, don't be like this with her. Who does she have apart from you?" Yor complained, gesturing to him to easen up. 

"Then she should have thought about her actions. If I had made a decision for us then it must be for our betterment," He responded strictly, standing firm on his words.

"You are not her husband nor her owner, you cannot force her to be how you want," Lady Red mumbled, letting a 'tch, tch, tch,' sound of disappointment.

"She has to, she is my partner-"

"Good Lord, sometimes you frustrate me, Young Lord," She groaned.

Holding her head, bewildering her nephew at her display of frustration.

"Huh?" His mouth gaped, failing to grasp even now.

"What did I do? Are you finding me in the wrong?"

"Nothing," 

Shaking their heads, they knew it was futile to talk so they continued their journey.

Later the week, after giving her silent treatment, he was engrossed in his surroundings while passing through a beautiful field of flowers.

"Wow, so pretty," Delvin beamed.

"We will be there in a few hours now," 

"Hey, listen," 

Grabbing a flower excitedly, Delvin shifted to Zephyr who was lost in his thoughts.

"What?"

"I have heard Delphia has a lot of greenery, is it also like this?" He questioned.

He was always dreaming to travel the world and explore new places.

Zephyr smirked proudly, "Of course,"

"My country is the best among all, it is a sight to behold. You will find yourself on cloud-nine there," He enunciated, always praising his home wholeheartedly. 

"Really?" Delvin's face glowed.

"Well, at least it was how I last saw it." 

Zephyr ended in a dry chuckle, wiping off his glee. Realizing he unintentionally stung his old scars, Delvin looked down sadly.

"Who knows what that monster has done to my country now?" Zephyr muttered, wrath coming to his features.

"Delphia has been shut for a year now. No news of it got out nor came in," Delvin whispered.

Also wondering how a vicious dragon could possibly maintain the beauty of a land.

He only knew destruction as the ruler of the Abyss after all.

"I won't forgive him for what he had done. He must return what is initially mine," Zephyr growled.

Resolved to cross all paths and do anything for his country.

"Just yours? What about others?" Delvin chuckled nervously. 

"I am the future king of Delphia," 

"Say that to me when you will stand in your land," 

Delvin challenged, arching an eyebrow that instantly pissed him off, earning a hiss from him.

"Watch, I will,"

"I am here to watch, Zephyr," 

"Damn you, if Katlan was here, he would have taught-" 

Zephyr was about to mention the name which hurt him the most but paused and fortunately before it could agonize him, Jay spoke up.

"We are here," 

"Is this the place?" Yor asked as they nodded.

The wires on the boundaries were rusted, houses were made of mud, not the best condition. 

Furrowing his eyebrows as he had seen more developed villages in Delphia, Zephyr blurted out. 

"What a poorly maintained place,"

"Shh,"

Pulling his arm, Delvin gave him a signal to not degrade something openly like this.

"What?" Zephyr whispered from confusion.

"It's not a good habit,"

"Why should I care for these people?" 

"Come on, Zephyr, have compassion once," Delvin sighed. 

"But, I am not lying, look, do you find anything good-"

Before they could continue their argument, they heard a scream from afar, alarming them instantly.

"Father!!" 

"What's with the ruckus there?" Yor spoke, scanning the area to study the situation.

"Hey, what happened here?" 

Marcus dominantly asked the horrified guy who pointed at the Church with his trembling hands.

A guy was on his knees, sobbing badly while extending his hands out.

"Father, no!! Please, come down!!" 

Calling out miserable to a ninety years old man standing on the edge of the Church's roof.

"I beg of you, come down!"

He was crying constantly, his weak bones were visible from afar, frightening everyone in the surroundings.

The innocent villagers had never seen someone killing itself, moreover in a Church. 

"That's him! Jonas! The guy we are looking for!" Marcus called hastily.

"What is he doing!? Is he out of his mind?!" 

They growled, shocked about the condition they found him. That was not how they expected him to be. 

Not a crazy old geezer.

"Release me, Aldina!!" 

He screamed with tears streaming down his face, like he was frightened of something, holding his hands out in the air.

"Stop him!- NO!"

Turning their horses, they attempted to reach, to help and stop that madness of his.

But, they were far and not giving them a moment, he jumped from the roof of the Church.

Killing himself right in front of their eyes.