Following Xia Sang's hurried footsteps, Ivina felt a vague sense of unease.
"Are we there yet?"
"We're almost there."
The atmosphere was eerie. The castle, usually brightly lit, was unusually dim today. After walking down the long corridor, Ivina sighed, looked up at the pitch-black night sky, and thought that the night was so dark it seemed to swallow people whole.
She quickly lowered her head, shook the feathered cap on her head, and quickened her pace.
"It's just ahead, Ivina, look…"
She realized she had already reached the heavy iron door. If she reached out and pulled the door handle, she could leave... forever.
"In the future, I mean the future... I'll be with you every moment of your life. Ivena won't be absent from Lo's life... Is that okay?"
As she lightly touched the iron door, those words flashed through her mind.
She hesitated.
"Xia Sang, I can't leave... at least not now." Ivina took a few steps back, moving far away from the tempting door.
"Are you joking? You've come this far; there's no turning back now..."
"I'm sorry, I can't leave." What she was thinking now was to rush into Luo's arms immediately. Indeed, she couldn't leave him.
Before Ivina could react, Xia Sang grabbed her hand tightly. "Come with me!"
"Gla. Visata Witch. Are you trying to escape?"
The voice behind her was so piercing, cold to the bone. But it was a voice she knew well. That magnetic voice that spoke so gently.
In that moment, she almost stopped breathing.
"Answer me."
"No… let me explain." She dared not turn around, facing away from him, but at least she had the courage to speak.
"Insolent witch. Do you know who you're speaking to? Turn around and kneel!"
Ivina and Xia Sang were pinned to the ground by several towering vampires.
But she did not look up until Xia Sang spoke.
"It's the King… we've been betrayed."
Startled, she raised her eyes to meet those blood-red orbs staring intently at her.
Red eyes? Lo, no, was she the ruler of the vampires?
She let out a soft laugh, finally feeling like she had been deceived.
"You left without permission, Vistata witch. Do you know your crime?"
"Let me explain." It was the only thing she could think of, the only words her mind could form.
"Ridiculous. The facts are clear. I don't want an explanation." For the first time, he stepped toward her, towering over her.
"The Master has nothing to do with this. I was the one who persuaded her to leave. Whatever punishment the King deems fit, Xia Sang will bear it alone."
Xia Sang bit her lower lip. She was so foolish to let a moment of jealousy ruin the entire plan.
She knew that Luo~Dandel was the king, and she knew that Ivina was following her plan exactly, even approaching him faster than expected. Yes, she was fully aware of all that. But because she couldn't control her jealousy, she had ruined everything.
She scoffed at herself. She knew that the charge of desertion was a death sentence, but at this critical moment, she couldn't bear to let that innocent woman die for nothing. Since she had caused the trouble, she would take full responsibility.
Ivina looked at Xia Sang in surprise. She had never imagined that she would speak up for her like this. Was this loyalty?
"If the master dies, the servant cannot live!" At these words, the faces of the informant maids turned pale.
"Lift your face." He couldn't stand her pitiful expression.
Ivina showed no reaction.
"Slave Xia Sang, inciting the master to violate the rules, sentenced to imprisonment!" He looked down at Ivina's still lowered head. "What, do you feel nothing at this sentence? Do you not even lift your head? … Then, what about the torture?"
"Look at me!" His patience was exhausted, and so was his gentleness toward her.
Luo forcefully lifted Ivina's chin.
Tears streamed down her pale skin from the corners of her eyes.
"Why won't you listen to my explanation?"
"Because it's no longer necessary." He didn't want an explanation; he just wanted her to admit her mistake obediently. Perhaps, perhaps he would forgive her.
"Then, this has nothing to do with my servant. My explanation is—I really want to leave here, not stay for even a second!" She stared at him. Those blood-red eyes, so mesmerizing under the night sky, were also terrifying.
At that moment, she realized that the deep gray eyes she had once been so captivated by might no longer exist. In their place were those blood-red eyes, cruel enough to send a chill down one's spine. Was this the aura of an emperor? So cold-hearted.
When she finally gathered the courage to speak, it was a sarcastic remark she hadn't even expected herself. She heard the sound of his clenched fists grinding against his bones.
Closing her eyes in silence, she knew her fate.
Because vampires are cold-blooded, after all.
"Ah..."
In plain sight, he roughly picked her up.
"The order I just gave. Execute it immediately!"
Luo Heng carried Ivina into the palace, while Xia Sang was roughly dragged away.
It was a ironic scene.
Xia Sang felt a wave of bitterness in her heart. She had committed such a grave sin, yet you could forgive her?
Unexpectedly, this was the outcome, and the vampires murmured among themselves.
A witch who had committed a crime, yet she remained unscathed?
A strange glance flashed through the crowd. It seemed that everything had to be reevaluated.