Chapter 641 - Unnecessary Guilt

Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)

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Archdemon Empress Luna

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King Oberon addressed Sloth with his lips curling in rage, "Aren't you satisfied with what you have done to my daughter, Ghoul Prince?"

Sloth was slow to face the Summer King and he  simply shrugged, "No, I'm not satisfied. I want the Summer Princess to be hogtied with heavy stones attached to her neck and throw her into the river to die."

King Oberon slapped her Familiar so hard that his digits had left a dark red mark on Sloth's pale cheekbones.

Luna gasped at the Summer King, not expecting that this stone-faced male Fae would lose control. 

"Served him right." Queen Titania muttered along with a smirk.

Every spectator in the Colosseum cheered, marveling at the royal drama unfolding in front of their eyes.

Good!

More fodder for gossip!

"My daughter didn't deserve  this and your accusations!' King Oberon jabbed a finger at his armored chest.

Sloth merely smiled, his green eyes bright, as he caressed his clenched jaw. "My daughter might be cold and selfish but I had never seen her harm anyone."

Apollyon's outstretched arm shot out between them as he pointed out, "How about what happened at the Royal Infirmary, King Oberon? You were there when the Princess almost hit Xerxes with her crystal spears as it plummeted from the ceiling and this was also how she attempted to hurt my wife. All of you knew that the werewolf was unconscious but she still threatened him so that she could control Princess Sapphire." He accused his own grandfather calmly in favor of Luna's familiar, "Did you interfere to secure your granddaughter's safety?"

"That was an exception." King Oberon stated, "We aren't certain that your mother had attempted to hurt your wife, Vampire King."

"Whether she actually attempted to murder my Empress doesn't matter. She accepted the challenge, she lost so she is guilty of the sin." Ravin spoke up with a smirk, "You are already ancient enough to know this, King Oberon. Aren't you the one making the rules in the colosseum? Like the Empress had pointed out… don't tell her that the rule makers are  the only ones allowed to break the rules?" 

"I will kill you, ghoul prince!"

Sloth raised an eyebrow at the Summer King's outburst. "Before you do that, you should look at your hands."

King Oberon did.

Mouth agape, his dark eyes widened in fear at the black and blue webs spreading throughout the hand he used to slap her dangerous Familiar. The stench of rotten flesh permeated from his fingers.

"People in this Realm can be obsessed with finding the cause of their suffering. When they can't handle the truth of blaming themselves, they blame others instead. I am slowing down the effects for you, My King." Sloth told King Oberon who stared at the Archdemon like he was a personification of death. "I wish you well and I hope you find the right cure. Let this be a lesson for the Summer Faeries not to touch the Ghouls without consequences."

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Luna was a solitary figure sitting at a log in the middle of a forest.

It was similar to a raised island of solitude separating her from her husband and her familiars, creating a distance between them.

The world can wait.

She needed something more--clarity of thought without distractions.

Apollyon, Ravin and Sloth had granted her the freedom to reflect and contemplate alone.

Her resentment and anger over the Summer Monarchs still festered just below the surface.

Every time something triggered it, it simmered until they boil over. 

She had made an escape from a difficult situation and she gave herself time to process everything. Still, Luna remained overwhelmed as she swung her pale legs on the cold aquamarine pool to calm herself from the emotional fall-out caused by their actions at the arena.

Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted and she had taken that wisdom to the letter.

A quiet mind can give her an adequate perception of the world.

This was why she had returned to the waterfalls Princess Sapphire had taken them to when they landed on the summer Courts.

As she looked up at the slow-moving large cotton clouds, Luna contemplated her role in this Realm. Distraught, Luna swallowed hard as she fought the overwhelming rush of tears in her eyes. 

She didn't think that the time will come that she will question her own values—to reconsider right and wrong in her quest for justice.

Yet, Luna had wanted to run away from the colosseum to untangle these complicated emotions buried in her heart. 

Why was she feeling guilty about what Sloth did to Princess Ourania? 

She should feel ecstatic about her victory but it just didn't make any sense. 

'Didn't you take part in killing Sir Tristan? Your familiar just obeyed your orders. Weren't you happy to inflict the same pain Apollyon's mother had inflicted on you when you thought you almost lost her baby?' She asked herself as she wiped the tears staining her cheeks, 'Didn't you want her to suffer from losing the one she loved?'

'Yes, but Princess Ourania wasn't successful in erasing her heiress' existence.'

Was there really a need to punish her?'

Luna dug her fingers through her scalp as she sniffled in frustration.

'I did this so Princess Ourania would learn her lesson.' Nodding in agreement, Luna told herself as she justified her actions. 'After  this incident, she wouldn't dare do this again to her and to others.'

'I—m s—orry.' 

The sound of Princess Ourania's apologies was permanently carved into her brain. 

'Did she really mean it?'

'Do I forgive someone who tried to kill me and the people I love?'

'Do I need to hold on from this pain or do I need to let it go and forgive her?'

Her thoughts passed through the present to float gently in the breeze and drift away into the sky.

Light footsteps made soft crunches behind her and she stayed still because Luna already knew who it was. 

"Husband. Didn't I tell you  that I want to be alone?"