Chapter 22: ᴛᴇɴᴛʜ.
"No! Stop that! Don't hurt him!" Fuyu screamed while trying to stop the guards from taking Sho away from her.
She just learned that the king agreed to Sho's decision. He will be the one to get Fuyu's human blood and the king will extract it from his body and displace it with demon blood. He is the one who will suffer for a hundred years. He followed the guards to the fairground and they pushed him down, making him kneel as his wrists are bound with shackles.
He got a collar around his neck and chains were connected to the four corners of the place. His feet were also bound and he was just staring blankly at nowhere. She kept on struggling from the servants until she finally got the chance to run to his side. He smiled faintly when he saw her crying. He reached for her cheeks and wiped her tears. It is his first time to see her crying because of him, not with hatred and anger but with concern and worries instead. She shook her head and cried more. She can't bear to see him suffering because of him.
"No.. don't do this, please? It should be me. It should be me suffering instead of you." She sobbed while trying to remove the shackles from his wrists.
"It's fine, love. Focus on taking care of yourself and our little one. Yuuki is excited to meet his baby sister." He held her hands and placed kisses on it before resting his palms on her growing belly.
It took them years to have another child. The prophet said that after having Yuuki, she will never have any more children. At least, while she is still under the spell, he can call the little princess a love child. She will be a princess and will grow up seeing her parents in love with each other. This also might be the right time for Fuyu to make it up with Yuuki, after those years she was gone and was not able to give him the love that he deserves as his mother.
The king stepped out from the kingdom's hall and saw the creatures gathering around to witness the first day of the crowned prince's sufferings. Yuuki followed but then, he rushed towards his mother's side and persuaded her to go back inside the kingdom. Sho volunteered for Fuyu's position because he has been planning to have one more child with her. If she will be the one to receive the sufferings, she will lose the chance to bear their last child. Of course, he will never let that chance go.
"Okaa-san, please. Let's go back inside. You need more rest for the little princess." She kept on struggling but when Sho assured her once more that he would be fine, she kissed him softly before going back inside the kingdom.
Yuuki brought her back in her chamber and she sat down on the bed. She placed her hand on her growing belly and gently caressed it. She doesn't want their little princess to see how her father suffers because of the tradition. Yuuki knelt in front of her and rested his head on her lap. It's been a while since he felt like a child in his mother's arms.
She shut her eyes when they heard Sho's endless screaming and groaning because of the long whip that is being lashed to his back. As always, the king has no mercy. The blood that will come out from the wounds is the human blood. The creatures who served the crowned prince for years protested his decision because they know that the princess never loved him. They were forced to accept his final decision.
"I want to see your father." She mumbled when silence enveloped the whole place. Yuuki helped her to get up from her seat and they went out once again.
Their eyes widened when they saw Sho's bare back full of wounds from the whip. It is bleeding severely. She rushed to her husband's side as he was still kneeling on the ground. His demonic powers weakened since he got human blood. She started crying again as she hugged him gently.
"Don't cry. I will not die from these wounds." He said in a hoarse voice. It is just the first day but she wants them to stop the tradition already.
"Do you want to continue?" The king asked and she turned around and glared at him. Why is she getting mad when they are just following the tradition?
"I will continue." Sho mumbled. His ego is also at stake now that he started it already. He can't back out anymore just because of this mild pain. As long as he can endure it, he will do it for Fuyu.
Perhaps, he is really in love with her. No, from the start, he is already in love with her. He waited for this day that she would get worried for him. He is supposed to be tough but Fuyu takes it all and makes him soft, just only to her. At one point, the king is jealous of their situation. He is thinking of possible outcomes if the queen is also in love with him. Is he that difficult to love?
The creatures saw a black hole forming above them and they called their attention. They all looked up and their eyes went wide when they saw the queen descending down from it. Gia stretched her arm towards Fuyu and the younger one reached for it. The guards and soldiers formed a circle around them, positioning themselves to attack if ever there's a guardian around. She held Fuyu's hand tightly and smiled at her.
"Okaa-san!" Fuyu called for her and a huge number of nephalems appeared behind Gia. They were caught off guard.
"I'll take you away from here!" Gia screamed and Sho immediately used his demonic powers to break the chains and shackles on his body to stop what the queen was trying to do.
"You can't take her and the little princess away!" His black wings appeared and he soared up to take the princess back.
"Little princess?" The queen asked but Shohei was just behind her. He reached for Fuyu's arm and pulled her to cage her in his arms.
Sho fell on the ground when the eldest among the nephalems attacked him with a light ball. Fuyu screamed and struggled from Shohei but when the king tried to take the queen back, his mind went blank when he saw his identical twin.
"You're not supposed to exist." The king mumbled when a smirk formed on Reiki's lips while having the queen in his arms.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone