Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Skreee!

After Cassis slew the beast, Deon began to close in on him. In order to protect Roxana’s mother, Cassis had rushed head first at the monster. However, in doing so he had also suffered getting struck by the carantul’s venomous stinger. The injury had hampered his movements even more.

Roxana’s mother gasped as her eyes fell on the dead demon lying at her feet, before collapsing to the ground herself. Her face was as pale as ash. Meanwhile, Deon’s focus had not wavered away from Cassis once as he moved straight toward him.

Wham.

“Kegh!”

Cassis reeled as Deon’s strike caught him directly on the side of his head. He considered using his spear to prop himself up, but before he could try, Deon’s foot kicked his chin.

“D... Deon Agrece!”

Cassis spat his enemy’s name out like venom.

Drip, drip.

Blood spread across his forehead, then dripped down to the grass below him. Deon then pushed the tip of the spear he was holding into one of Cassis’ magical cuffs. Without warning, a horrendously sharp pain shot through the Blue Heir’s body. Deon had managed to force the cuffs to engage level five restraint. Cassis convulsed uncontrollably as the excruciating pain seemed to be searing his intestines. As he writhed on the ground, Deon lifted his foot to hover over him.

Roxana’s mother’s view of the two young men was somewhat hazy as she was still in shock by what had almost happened to her to fully take in the renewed battle. Then as if she were waking up, her eyes grew wide as she took in her surroundings. Her lips began to tremble as her breath quickened even more.

“Hey, are you hurt, Lady Sierra?” Jeremy asked uneasily.

“N-No... P-Please don’t...”

She appeared to be muttering to no one in particular.

“Stop. Just stop. Please don’t kill him.”

“Uh... Just calm down. I’m not exactly thrilled here either, ya know.”

“Please... Please don’t kill Achille.”

Oh, brother...

It soon occurred to Jeremy that the glazed look in Sierra’s eyes was a clear sign that he could not expect her to come to her senses. She did, however, manage to keep her gaze fixed on Cassis who was splayed on the ground with Deon standing over him. Her entire body shook violently. Deon then turned his icy stare in Sierra’s direction. The way he was looking at her seemed to aggravate Jeremy all over again.

“What the hell’s the matter with you?!”

But before he could lay into his half-brother any further, the one person who could restore order in the midst of that chaotic scene suddenly appeared.

“Sis!”

Jeremy greeted Roxana brightly. Betraying zero emotion, Roxana arrived with Emily at her side.Her eyes traveled from her mother to Jeremy, then to the dead carantul to Deon, before finally landing on Cassis who Deon was holding down with his foot.

“Emily, take care of the rest of the demons.”

After giving the order, Roxana began to walk forward. By then, there were only a few monsters left in the surrounding area. The slime and bile Roxana was covered in served as evidence of her battles while trying to reach the yard.

“What is my mother doing here?”

She spoke calmly while looking over at her mother. Jeremy took advantage of the opportunity to answer his sister.

“I think she got worried and decided to come looking for you.”

Roxana only responded by scowling briefly.

“Is she hurt anywhere?”

“N-No, it doesn’t look like it.”

“It’s still too dangerous for her to be here, so please escort her back to her room, Jeremy.”

The young boy was preparing to protest but sensed there was more to Roxana’s mood than she was letting on, so he simply nodded.

“All right.”

However, before he had reached her mother, a shrill voice that almost sounded like a cackle suddenly cut through the air from behind them.

“Sierra!”

Maria was practically wailing. She had evidently followed Roxana out of the glass chamber, but after catching sight of Sierra, she raced forward.

“Sierra dear, are you all right?! What happened here? I thought you were in your room! Don’t tell me that monster attacked you!”

Maria began to frantically search Sierra’s body for injuries. It wasn’t until she had confirmed with her own eyes that Roxana’s mother had escaped harm that she breathed a satisfied sigh of relief. As all signs of worry disappeared from her face, she caught sight of her son.

“Deon, were you the one who killed that beast? Well done! Well done! I’ve never been so proud of you in my life!”

As Maria gleefully commended her son, Jeremy found it difficult to bite back his disgust.

“What the hell are you even saying, old lady?! That asshole Deon’s the one who sent that monster heading straight at Roxana’s mom!”

“He what?!”

Maria’s eyes became round with disbelief.

“N-No, don’t...”

Everyone turned toward the sound of the thin, whimpering voice.

“Please don’t. I’m begging you...”

Sierra’s hands were shielding her face, but her frightened eyes were peeking out from between her slender fingers. She seemed to be trapped in a loop of muttering gibberish. Overwrought with despair, Roxana’s mother locked her blue eyes on Deon. Soon tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“Please... Don’t kill my Achille!”

The exclamation appeared to catch Maria off guard. She stopped tending to Sierra for a moment to shoot a rather ugly glare at her son.

“Why did you have to kill Achille back then, Deon?!”

But her question only seemed to make Sierra even more despondent. Maria then tried to renew her attempt at comforting the sobbing woman.

“Sierra dear, please calm down. That isn’t Achille. See? Look carefully. He doesn’t resemble your Achille in the least.”

In a flash, Roxana marched forward while Deon seemed to be waiting for her to close in. Then the very moment she stepped close enough...

Slap!

Roxanna smacked him hard across the face. As Deon’s head turned from the force of the strike, his black hair whipped through the air. When he returned his gaze to look at his assailant, his red eyes locked on the identical crimson orbs staring back at him. Deon glared at Roxana with laser-like intensity, but the icy glower she gave him in return suggested that she was not intimidated in the slightest.

“It wasn’t enough for you to mess with my toy, so you decided to put my mother in danger? How dare you?!”

Deon stared lazily at Roxana as he reached to stroke the cheek she had slapped. At this point, it was turning slightly pink. He slowly opened his mouth to answer her.

“Is this the thanks I get for apprehending your rogue toy?”

“I never asked you to.”

Maria and Jeremy watched the two with bated breaths.

“Moreover, whatever it is you’re up to here has made it clear that you overstepped.”

She then lowered her cold stare to where Cassis was lying. He hadn’t fallen unconscious, but with the restraint level of his magical cuffs at five, there was nothing he could do about Deon. His vision was growing hazier by the second, and the blood spilling from his head was dying the grass surrounding him red.

“This one’s mine. If it is necessary to dole out any punishments, I will take responsibility for that.”

Roxana looked straight up into Deon’s eyes again before issuing him a forceful order.

“Now step aside!”

Deon stared down at her with a deep and placid gaze. After the two stood still like that for some time, he gave her a crooked smile, then finally replaced his foot on the grass.

“Well, I suppose I had enough fun for now, so I’ll call it a day.”

Against all expectations, he suddenly stretched his hand out towards Roxana. Jeremy suddenly tensed like a coiled-up spring, but the outstretched hand didn’t appear to intend to strike.

“I haven’t seen you look this angry in ages. I must say it isn’t an unwelcomed sight.”

Deon caressed Roxana’s cheek as he spoke. His cold fingertips gave her the chills.

“Still, it would have been more fun...”

Roxana didn’t move a muscle as she coolly waited for Deon to end his menacing act. However, he continued to watch her with a sneer.

“...if you wept like you did back then.”

He had whispered the last part so that only Roxana and Cassis—who was only close enough since he was still on the ground—could hear him. Roxana suddenly felt a sting where Deon’s hand had grazed her cheek. A thin, blood-red line of droplets began to well up on her fair skin.

As they began to roll down her cheek, the tiny red beads resembled scarlet tears. After staring at her for a moment longer, Deon removed his hand. By then, Jeremy was hurling an assortment of curses at Deon. He even appeared ready to attack his older half-brother if necessary. However, just as he had done earlier, Deon simply ignored his little brother.

Roxana continued to stare frigidly after Deon as he finally made his exit, then a moment later withdrew from the yard herself.