k"Is that the main issue right now, Dimitri? I got poisoned and you did not even bother to investigate the incident since you claimed you didn't do it. Do you hate me so much that you don't care about my situation or your child's?" Agnes' voice dripped with pain and hate.
"You… you…" before Dimitri could say anything, Agnes interrupted again.
"Take me back to my room, Patriarch." She averted her gaze, which turned cold and icy.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Agnes… You haven't answered my question yet… Why the hell is your child weird?" Dimitri fumed in anger, his fingers trembling. He hated it when Agnes acted like she was graceful and demure, when she was a green snake under the green grass.
The Patriarch raised his hand up. "Enough!" A ripple traveled through the air, sending shivers down everyone's spine. However, Dimitri's eyes turned into a surprised one, he did not believe that his father had used the silent spell on him, and the worst part of it all was that he was unable to break it.
'Is this some movie or what? The family is a mess,' he suckled on his little fingers.
"Hear me and hear me well," the Patriarch's voice thundered like a thousand storms. "From today henceforth, there will be no crown prince. All the legitimate sons have the right to the throne. Let the throne belong to the one who proves himself, not the one chosen by deceit. Let fate be the dictator."
Immediately after he finished his words, he withdrew the spell. Artherine, who had been trying to mask her displeasure all this while, could no longer bear the weight of the burden in her heart. "Patriarch, you can't just change the rules that have been in the Pendragon family for ages," her voice laced with malicious venom.
"And you are changing the rules because of Agnes and her child? What about me? What about my child who is the rightful heir?" she yelled at the top of her lungs, rising to her feet with her baby in her arms.
"I do not accept this, Patriarch, this is unfair to me!" Hot tears streamed down her face.
Seeing this, Dimitri hurried to her side, patting her shoulders before pulling her into a hug. "Father, I object to that idea. Not only would it lead to bloodshed, but it would also be so unfair to Artherine and her child. And besides, you can't make the rules when I am the emperor." His hands unwrapped from Artherine's body as he walked closer to his father.
His body tensed, his veins popping out underneath his skin. "I AM THE EMPEROR!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
However, the Patriarch only spared him a glance, his cold blue eyes staring at his son with slight disappointment. "If you have any objections, meet me at the arena." Then he turned to Artherine, who had been wailing. "If you have any objections, Artherine, we might as well poison you and your child to make it square."
At his words, Artherine's face turned pale as her hand tightened around her son, who opened his mouth wide as soon as the Patriarch had finished his words.
"W… why would you do that? I'm innocent." She blinked nervously, cold beads of sweat forming on her face.
Dimitri's hands clenched into fists, his fingers digging into his palms, his jaws clenching, his chest heaving heavily up and down. But he could not utter another word to his father's challenge.
Seeing her in a discomposed state, Agnes' lips curved up into a slight smirk before wearing her nonchalant mask again.
"Let's go," the Patriarch waved his hand in the air, a rune formed underneath him, Agnes, Plum, and the little baby. Before the blink of an eye, they disappeared into thin air.
After they had disappeared, Dimitri's fingers tightened around the chair in front of him before slamming it against the wall. Then he moved on to the golden goblets and vases, smashing them on the ground, flipping the table upside down.
Every single sound of the objects shattering made Artherine shiver, her back bent slightly forward to shield her son. "Dimitri, stop this tantrum and get yourself back together," she yelled angrily at the top of her lungs.
The sound of a vase shattering against the wall echoed through the room again, which made her flinch.
"Dimitri, get your ASS back together!" This time, her words finally got through to him.
Dimitri slumped on his knees, his ragged breath filled the air. "This is not the time to wallow in shame or frustration. You better pick yourself together because this is WAR. Your father has crossed the line," she walked slowly around him, avoiding the broken shards on the ground, her grey long gown sweeping through the dirt.
"I thought we could get rid of Agnes and the baby, but we have failed. And now that she has the Patriarch backing her, it will no longer be easy to deal with her. We have to top our game, Dimitri. Or have you forgotten what she had done to you—the disgrace she had brought upon you," she drawled, rubbing salt into his wounds.
Dimitri gritted his teeth, his chest still heaving. "I haven't forgotten it." He took a deep breath before standing up to his feet. "We will make sure that child will never be able to ascend the throne," he added, his eyes turning cold.
Artherine froze, her gaze brooding over him. "You are quite heartless, Dimitri. I mean, the child carries your blood after all."
Dimitri shot her an angry look.
"I mean, I have to be sure you haven't grown a soft spot for her now that she gave birth to your child," she quickly added.
"I would never," he walked towards her, his hand caressing their baby. "Draco," he muttered.
Artherine looked up to him with a confused gaze. "His name is Draco Pendragon."
A smile curved on Artherine's lips. Dimitri stared lovingly into her eyes before stretching forward, claiming her lips. The moaning sound of their kissing echoed through the room, which had been reduced to nothing but disaster.
...
Meanwhile, inside the palace and outside the palace were thrown into chaos, the dark sky rumbled, as heavy rain poured down the streets. The soldiers barged into residents' homes, killing their newborn babies.
"No, my baby is not the star of doom," a mother's wail pierced through the storming rain, as she held her baby tightly close to her chest. But a slap from one of the soldiers sent her slamming against the wet, old, moldy wall. Blood spattered from her lips. However, she still refused to let go of her child.
"Let go of the baby," one of the soldiers yelled.
The woman looked up at the soldier, her eyes turning to a pale shade of purple. "Ytinrete lla rof mo odeb lilw u… gasp." The woman's lips opened wide as she choked on her blood, her purple eyes turning to their normal shade, before her head fell down on the ground, splattering the running water that was red in color.
"Why did you kill her? We are not supposed to kill anyone except the newborn babies at the specific time," one of the soldiers said, his voice laced with sadness as he stared at the sword piercing through the mother's back down to the baby she was shielding.
"The wretch was casting a curse spell," the other spat out, their bodies dripping from the heavy rain. A few blocks from there, another family was trying to escape through a portal, but they were caught by the soldiers.
"NO, NO, NOOO!" Heart-wrenching cries echoed through the walls of the city. Even the fury of the storm could not drown it.
In another part of the city, a little girl around the age of eight years hid underneath a cart that was abandoned on the street. Her amber eyes watched as the boots of the soldiers splattered the water as they marched through the city. Her hand clenched around her baby brother.
"Check the cart," one of the soldiers' voices echoed.
The girl immediately went still, her eyes widened in horror, her little heart thudding in her chest. She watched as a pair of boots walked towards her. The thunder roared, lightning flashing through the sky.