She Belongs To The Devil

"Adeline! Adeline!"

Adeline heard Edwin\'s voice calling her from behind. She was already near her quarter. She was ready to retire for the day after attending the long training exercises and also going through the paperwork of the court.

She turned around to see that Edwin was running towards her as though his life depended on it.

"Brother… slow down! I\'m not going to run away!" Adeline giggled at her brother thinking he was probably coming after her to get her permission regarding something.

"Adeline, I had been waiting for you to return from the training… But it looks like I missed you when you were in the court. Bennett said that you just left the court so I ran to get a hold of you." Edwin huffed and gulped to moisten his dry throat.

Adeline now looked concerned. The matter looked serious. And she asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

He rested his palms on his knees and said, "I had wanted to meet and talk with you but you were sick for two days and busy in the training camp for the next three days. So I didn\'t even get the chance to properly talk to you."

He took in a deep breath and looked around. They were in the middle of the path and there was a chance that someone would accidentally hear them. So he straightened his back and asked Adeline, "Can we talk in private?"

Adeline\'s heart skipped a beat because the matter not only sounded serious but also secretive. "It can only mean one thing…" she thought to herself.

"Sure. Let\'s go to my quarter." Adeline gestured Edwin to follow her and the two of them walked towards Adeline\'s meeting room in her quarter.

Once they were inside, both of them settled down. Edwin looked very frantic and on edge.

"What\'s the matter, brother? Did something big happen?" Adeline furrowed her brows and asked.

Edwin inhaled deeply before reaching his pocket and taking out a paper. He handed it to Adeline without saying a word.

Adeline grabbed the letter and quickly skimmed through the contents of the letter. Her throat parched and her hands shook slightly. Dark clouds loomed over her face by the time she finished going through the letter.

She rested her head on the headrest of the chair and closed her eyes. She took a staggering breath through her mouth and tried to calm her pounding heart.

Adeline sighed in frustration and mumbled, "So it\'s really happening… The war…"

Edwin\'s face was equally filled with tension. He also heaved a sigh and muttered, "Yes, it\'s really happening."

Though Adeline had already put all offensive as well as defensive tactics for the war in motion, a small part of her wished that the war would never come knocking on their door.

Adeline sneered dejectedly and mumbled, "It was a wishful thinking that that egoistic Vampire King would try to reflect upon his own mistake and leave us in peace."

Edwin clenched his fists together and grumbled, "He already had his eyes on Wyverndale. He would have tried to claim our Kingdom one way or another. He didn\'t get to capture it by marrying you, and now he reverted back to his original plan."

Adeline crumbled that letter in her hand while imagining it to be the neck of that psychopath.

She irately pushed back her silver hair and asked Edwin, "So, what have you decided, brother? Will you go to that Kingdom as he demands?"

"I had already agreed before to play the role of the double agent. If that is what you still want then I will do as you say." There was not a single sign of hesitation in Edwin\'s eyes when he said that.

And Adeline liked her brother\'s courage.

She threw the letter on the table in front of her and tried to warn Edwin one last time. "You already know how dangerous that Vampire King is. If he even suspects that you are playing a double agent\'s role for Wyverndale then he might not even think twice before sinking his fangs on you."

"Are you willing to take that risk?" Adeline kept on glancing at her brother to see if he would show any hesitance. However, even after saying that, all she could see in him was confidence.

Edwin gave a light smile and replied, "Adeline, I am already aware of what might happen to me if he was to find out. I know I have to be really careful. But you know me…" His smile widened as he said, "I have been a conman for almost all my life. So deception comes naturally to me."

Adeline gave a nervous chuckle at that response from Edwin. And for a second there, it would be a lie to say that Adeline didn\'t feel like Edwin would deceive her and not the Vampire King.

But she brushed away that thought to the side because she knew that even if Edwin wanted to deceive her, it wasn\'t physically possible for him. Adeline was thankful towards Azriel for cursing Edwin. She sometimes felt bad for him, yes. But right now, his curse was her boon.

Adeline nodded her head and ordered Edwin, "Then you should prepare to go to Mihir and meet Reginald. Make him believe that you hate me and that you are on his side. And try to extract as much information as you can. Your first mission will be to find out the number of vampire soldiers that he has."

Edwin gave a nod to Adeline and said, "Sure. I will do my best to find that out." He cleared his throat and asked, "And also a question."

"Go ahead."

"I am pretty sure that they will try to extract information from me as well, especially about Prince Theodore." Edwin tapped his feet on the floor and asked, "So… how much information should I reveal to them? They already saw his powers and his devil form. And because of that, I cannot simply feign ignorance."

Adeline pressed her lips into a thin line and thought with a frown on her forehead. And after some careful consideration, she replied, "Try to scare them as much as possible. Make Theodore the Devil to be reckoned with. And make them believe that if they are to attack us then they will face his ultimate wrath.

But at the same time, make sure not to give the details of his power, just tell them how terrifying they are. Exaggerate as much as you want."

Edwin gave a sly smirk. He understood why his sister was saying so. And he was impressed with how clever she was.

He nodded his head and said, "Doing so will break the spirit of those vampires. That\'s clever thinking on your part."

Adeline gave a knowing smile.

After discussing the specifics that Edwin was to do while he was in Mihir for a while, Edwin suddenly remembered a very important thing he had to say to Adeline. "Sister, I almost forgot to give you a good news. I thought that I had already told you."

"There\'s a good news?" Adeline gave a doubtful look and asked, "What is it?"

Edwin puffed his chest with pride and gave a wide grin.. And he informed his sister, "King Leonel has agreed to support Wyverndale."