The Letter (2)

"What is this, father?" I asked, looking at the letter

"That is an order from the king for us to report to him." My father replied

"Us?" I asked in confusion

"Yes, the king has ordered both you and me I. The matter he wants to discuss with us is our house." He clarified, "There have been rumors that we have dealings with the demon realm." He finished, going through some paperwork

The kingdom and the demon realm were in a state of cold war. The demons would send small forces to test the kingdom's borders, trying to find weak spots within the border. When they were eventually defeated, the demon realm would call them rouge and claim they did not know what they had planned.

"What did you do, father?" I asked, as my tone turned cold

I had everything planned and ready for the academy, and now thanks to my father, all that was in jeopardy.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." My father's reply caught me off guard, so much so that he gained the advantage.

"How do you know things that many have spent their entire lives searching for?" He asked as he finally looked up at me.

For a moment, I felt dread coming from his soulless black eyes, and although he kept it contained, his shadow was 'telling' a different story.

He was furious, and I could 'read' his killing intent in his shadow.

"Father, I've had no dealings with the demon realm." I said in a cold tone, trying to hide my unease

Suddenly, all the hatred and killing intent disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"If I find out that you have been lying to me and had dealings with the demon realm." He paused for a moment. "I won't hesitate to kill you." He said in a cold tone that sent chills down my spine.

What the hell?! I thought to myself. I know he hasn't been too fond of me, but to come out and say you will kill me is crossing a line.

The tension in the room became so thick, as neither one wanted to back down from the other. As I was looking my father straight in the eyes without showing a hint of fear. I gave him a smirk as I released my killing intent.

For someone as powerful as my father, my killing intent was nowhere as powerful as his. But still, for a fifteen-year-old to have this amount of killing intent, it surprised my father for a moment, but it was all I needed.

"Be careful, father." I began as I reigned in my killing intent, "If you come for me, I will make you pay." I finished as I headed for the door.

"We will leave in three days. Make sure you are prepared by then." That was all he said to me as I headed out.

Closing the door to my father's office, I saw both Cas and her mother talking for a moment before they noticed me and stopped talking.

"Young lord Ma…." Serya began before I cut her off

"Cas, let's go. We need to prepare for a trip to the capital." I said without stopping and headed straight for my room.

"Master?" Cas said with confusion

"Later." That was all I said.

As we headed for my room, I couldn't help but think about everything that had just happened. Why would my father react like that? To say you would kill your son. Something was wrong. I was missing a vital piece of intel.

The main question I had to figure out was why my father hated demons so much. The next question was who was setting us up and what they would gain from this.

The kingdom had a strict no-tolerance policy when dealing with demons, and if a noble was found to be consorting with demons, that was essentially a death sentence. So, the fact that someone was able to convince the king that we were making deals with demons was very concerning. What made it the most frustrating was that I had no clue who it could be.

My first instinct was to blame duke Whiteguard, but my gut told me it was not him. No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't figure out who it could be.

It wasn't until Cas embraced me that I realized we were back in my room.

"Shadow Domain." I said, and darkness enveloped us.

"What's wrong, Ci?" Cas asked with concern as she saw the darkness envelop us.

Looking at Cas for a fleeting moment, something told me she couldn't be trusted. But it was just a quick thought, and I quickly dismissed it.

"Someone is claiming that we are making deals with demons and have been summoned by the king for an official inquiry." I said, teeth clenched with frustration.

I was beyond angry, I've come so far, and now I've been completely blindsided by this situation. Honestly, I have no clue how to get out of this. The king, all this time, has been looking for an excuse to get rid of our House, and now that excuse has been handed to him on a golden platter.

"So, what's the plan?" She asked, looking at me

"The plan is for you to meet up with Liz and guard her." I said flatly

"What?" She screamed

"I can't take you as the letter said that we would present ourselves before the king, and aids are not allowed." I lied. "I need you to protect Liz in case anything happens. Someone may take advantage, and I need you there in case they target her." I said, lying to her once again.

"I won't let you go by yourself." Cas said with a firm tone

"Don't worry." I began as I gave her a warm smile. "I don't plan on losing. Whomever they are may have struck a blow against me, but if you think, I will just lay and take it. Then you don't know me at all." I finished as I clenched my fist. "Whomever they are, just made a grave mistake, and they will pay."

Little did I know that the event to follow would drive me to the point of despair, and only due to the intervention of a particular individual would I be saved, and a new relationship would be forged, as older relationships would be destroyed.

But one thing was inevitable, and this event will be the first step toward becoming the villain I so desperately tried to avoid.