BXBX NOVEL Chapter 20 20 - To Venture Out In The World
It had been a long tiring day for everyone, and by the time everything grew quiet it was already deep into the night. Venturing into the dungeons under the castle, Rose led Haruki to the assassin\'s cell. Even after being warned to leave them alone by Rose, Asuka followed right behind them.
Moss and dust had claimed the dungeon, and the smell of blood reeked through the floor. With every other foot, snarling rats snooped around in a frenzy, judging for themselves the nature of three strange visitors. Stopping by an empty cell, Rose turned to face the young duke, and although her stern expression was now gone, she seemed no less terrifying than she did in the barracks.
"What happened to the assassin?" Haruki asked, looking into the empty cell.
"I cooked him alive," her voice devoid of emotions, made his skin crawl with discomfort, "Forgive me, but it was the only way to get him to speak."
Laying his eyes at the pile of ash in the middle of the cell, Haruki could only imagine the hell that had transpired within these decrepit dungeon walls. Gulping his angst, he took a deep breath to stop his hands from shaking, fortunately, this time it seemed to have worked.
"The queen, who is she?" The very moment he uttered those words, the grave realization of his own error hit him.
"What do you mean?" Rose questioned with a glaring frown, "Has the academy failed your memories, young duke?"
"Miss Rose!" Asuka rebutted, scowling at Rose\'s insulting remark, "Master had severe blood loss recently, I would\'ve assumed that you of all people would know the complications with that."
Clicking her tongue, she let out a grunt. The shift in her personality was not only terrifying but also deeply cumbersome. \'Perhaps the fight flipped some sort of switch inside her?\' Haruki\'s guess wasn\'t far from the mark, and yet he couldn\'t be certain because of the lack of information.
"I know she\'s our neighbor, but!" Shifting his shoulders back, he turned to look at Rose, "I want to know what kind of person she is and why she would hire a bunch of assassins to kill me."
Folding her hands, Rose tried to recall the memories from her most recent encounter with the queen. It had been in a formal setting at a ball, where the only distinct characteristic about her was how much of an inconvenience she was to everyone else attending the event.
"Queen Margaret….She\'s an absolute narcissist," Tapping her chin, she went deeper into thought, "She\'s also rumored to sense the future, I have not the slightest clue whether those rumors are true, but if they were, you\'d think she would\'ve been able to prevent her husband\'s untimely death."
Realizing that she had spoken too frankly about her thoughts, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands. To her relief the only people present in the dungeon were Haruki and Asuka, or else that statement could\'ve riled up some serious troubles.
"Apologies," She mumbled, her eyes down cast in shame.
\'Her demeanor changed again,\' Haruki thought, looking right at her.
"Anyway, what can we do about this mess?" Haruki asked, contemplating his next step forward.
A moment of silence ensued in the dusty dungeon. Lacking education in political disputes, none of them had any idea about what they should do next. If anything, they were better off doing nothing at all. As the silence continued to linger between the three, Haruki finally decided to break the ice.
"Maybe we should get some rest first, we\'ve all had an eventful day after all," exchanging glances the other two nodded their heads in approval.
On their way back to the upper castle, Haruki decided to take a bath before heading off to bed. Sending Rose off to her own chambers, he made his way to the bathhouse with Asuka. Quickly taking off their clothes, they finally relaxed a little by dipping into the exquisite warm bath. Surprisingly, the bathhouse was the least affected by the fight, and the parts that had essentially turned into ruins were being repaired by Moriyana\'s more athletic slaves.
"Have you played chess Asuka?" Staring blanking into the air, he remembered something from his past.
"Chess? Unfortunately not, master, should I have?" Her sincere answer left Haruki a bit disappointed.
"I had a chance to learn, but never took it," Confined to her bed, the image of his mother flashed before his eyes. She would often spend her time alone playing against herself, and ever so often when Haruki couldn\'t go out to tend to the field because of the weather and such, she would invite him for a game, only to be brushed off and being told to rest her head. "Maybe, it would\'ve helped if I did."
Reminiscing over his memories, his mind began to doze off. Resting his head against Asuka, he let himself be carried by a dream. Watching over him, a light blush took over Asuka\'s cheeks. Brushing his hair away from his eyes, she planted a brief kiss on his forehead.
"Rest well Master, I\'ll take care of you," She whispered, nuzzled up by his neck.
As Haruki\'s consciousness drifted away, he found himself walking a dark path. The path itself seemed to lead nowhere and yet he felt compelled to indefinitely follow it. Soon enough, a figure emerged in the distance, and just from a single look, he knew who it was.
"Asmodia," Tired of her games, he let out a sigh.
"You\'re too slow Haruki, at the pace you\'re moving it would take centuries to resurrect me in the real world," Holding her finger directed at him, her silhouette turned into mist and flew directly into him, "Perhaps this will help speed things up a little."
A piercing cold ran through his very soul, bringing him quivering to his knees. Glaring back in the direction she once stood, he found nothing but eternal dark. The very next moment a pair of lips breathed right into his ears.
"Wake up!" they shouted.