9.5 Hugging Pillow

Short Chapters because I think to end with Ceri Nefia.

———

The surroundings were very dark. Walking down the stone slab hallway, one could only spot a lantern every 20 meters.

Even the lantern hanging on the wall provided no reliable lighting and because of the darkness accompanied by medieval underground interior design, it provided a very eerie atmosphere.

Walking in this creepy hallway was a person wearing a royalty cape that didn't fit this interior which had cobwebs in the corner of the wall.

Carrying lighting in his hand, he stopped at one spot, as he looked beyond the metal bar.

A person contained inside the jail was a young, beautiful girl whose face was filled with innocence, as if the place called prison didn't fit her.

Upon getting closer to her prison, the light provided him with more vision as he saw the untouched minimum food one can give to a person.

"Sire, Dion-" one of the guards standing by asked the man carrying the lantern.

*swish*

However, along with the sound of the wind getting cut, somebody's arm got cut.

"Next time you say my call my name is the moment your head will fall," the man carrying the lantern, Dion intimidated the guard.

"Grrh...I am sorry for my mistake, Sire Opik Nefia." the guard whose arm cut gritted his teeth to endure the pain and to suppress the unnecessary groan that may come from his mouth.

"Where is this place? Why are you using my father's name? You should stop all this and release me! If my father found us, you will not escape easily!" the girl inside the prison exerted power from within herself after judging the man in front of her containing the power to command people.

"Kukuku, you guys haven't told her yet where this underground prison exactly is? Hahaha, talk about bad hobbies," Dion laughed like a madman and said while looking around the guards.

"Since you want to know where this is so much, I'll generously tell you. This place is just below the king's castle. You, Ceri Nefia, a princess of Midom Kingdom, were kidnapped inside the most secured place and imprisoned just below the same place." Dion sarcastically spoke to Ceri.

Ceri swayed her head in confusion, causing her pink hair that lost its softness to sway sideways. She couldn't understand what this man was saying.

"No, you must be lying! After all, if it is as you said, my father would've-" Ceri's emerald-clear pupils shivered as she tried to deny what Dion said.

"HAHA! I'm saying it's because your father has died that he hasn't come to your rescue even after five days," Dion tried to sway Ceri's heart even more.

"No! There's no way my father- the mighty king of Midom Kingdom to di-" Ceri couldn't believe what Dion is saying nor did she had the reason to believe.

*bam*

However, on the next instance, she had no choice but to believe because the mighty king of Midom Kingdom, the very father of Ceri...

The chopped head of Opik Nefia was thrown inside the jail.

Ceri widened her eyes seeing the head of her father. It was hurt almost beyond recognition. One of his eyeballs was crushed. The still fresh blood flowed down to his jaw along with the countless cut mark around his face.

"Sire," just before Dion had the time to enjoy Ceri's despaired face, one of his subordinates rushed to him and called him.

"What is it? I was getting at good part..."

"I apologize. I have come to terribly inform you that a few [Resistance] Members has escaped." his subordinate kneeled on the dirty stone slab floor.

"Oh is that so? Relay this order to everyone else. destroy every single location near the Midom Kingdom. I permit you to use the [Monster Flute]. You shouldn't let even a single [Resistance] escape."

"Understood." the subordinate transformed into a streak of black lines with a single word.

"Sire, if it doesn't trouble you, do you mind answering my question?" one of the brave guards asked Dion.

"Go ahead," Dion said leisurely. He wasn't easily provoked unless his subordinate call his true name inside the Midom Kingdom

"If it is about [Resistance] and their goal, why don't we just kill Ceri Nefia? That way, not only will we entirely crush the [Resistance]'s hope, but it will also erase the chance of the brainwashed getting dissolved."

On the other side, the guy who got his arm cut off completely stopped the bleeding by splashing the health potion on it. Now that he had the leisure, he intently listened to what Dion was about to say.

"She has the blood her father didn't have and the worth behind this blood is worth risking the failure of the plan. That pink hair of her is the proof of the bearer of 'Maiden Bloodline.'"

"We can use her blood for ourselves or sell it to the Achuatu Kingdom or the Niema Kingdom."

"The Achuatu Kingdom doesn't care about the other kingdom and the Niema Kingdom is happier now that the Opik Nefia is down. We can benefit compared to the risk of keeping her alive." Dion said without pausing a breath.

"As expected of Opik Nefia-sama. You're looking far ahead into the future," the guard shamelessly bootlicked Dion.

Afterward, Dion judged that Ceri wasn't in a state to communicate and watching her same crying face bored him.

Nevertheless, he satisfied his goal of replenishing himself from the stress of dealing with [Resistance].

"The food served to you is made of your father's body." Dion sent out a blatant lie and left the spot.

.

.

.

*shhikk*

From the darkness, a dagger emerged and it stealthily and quickly slit the throat of a guard.

The other guard tried drawing his blade to resist the assassin but because his sheath was on his left side and he wasn't used to utilizing his remaining left hand,

The sword he drew got stuck on the sheath and the small mistake decided his death as the dagger pierced his throat.

"Princess, I've come to rescue you."

***