New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

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Archdemon Empress Luna

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"We didn't have time to plan, Empress." Luna shot back, and her tone was as sharp as the jagged edge of the glass on the window. "We just figured it out that today was your engagement with your beau. So our only fault was we made the wrong choice to celebrate with you."

"Don't worry." She reassured her. "We would never make the same mistake again."

"I already told you during the Tea Party, mother. Whether you live or die isn't important to me. Your existence doesn't matter. Why would I go through all that trouble to kill you and include other people in Hell? I am not that petty. I have lived without your existence. The Aristocrats haven't done anything to my wife and me. We are powerful together. You can't hurt us. If we want to kill you, it will be quick. We don't need these elaborate schemes unless if we wanted to be as dramatic as you." Apollyon explained with a tired sigh. "If this were you framing me up because I don't want anything to do with you after meeting me, this tactic wouldn't win me over."

"It came from your own mouth that you would set the thrones on fire. Your grandparents have heard it, Apollyon." Princess Ourania's Prussian Blue eyes protruded as she stood up from her throne in anger. "They have ears at each side of their head. How can you throw that threat around so easily? That's because you have done it before!"

"Did I set your thrones on fire?"

"We will wait for the five minutes you promised."

"I don't claim any mother had the same face and mind as you," Apollyon replied through his teeth with forced restraint. "You are blaming us for something we didn't do. So what do we get from ruining your engagement party?"

"You just want to see me upset!"

'Bitch, please.' Luna gritted her teeth in frustration.

At this point, she would choke Apollyon's mother just to shut her up. 'You aren't that important to our life.'

"What's wrong with you?" She was the type of woman who had no right to be a mother and raise a child.

That child would be like her—a hot, beautiful mess of an old hag.

Luna can't believe this shrew had married another man when she couldn't even take good care of Apollyon when he was a child and, ultimately, Princess Sapphire.

Disgusting!

"I'm only committed to making my wife happy," Apollyon replied. "Seeing you upset is not on my list-to-do." If Princess Ourania went overboard, she will the first name on Apollyon's Kill-List. "There is nothing that can change your mind. Believe what you wanted to believe if that helped you sleep at night."

"Apollyon!" Apollyon's mother was now shrieking. "Why couldn't you just respect me?!"

"Respect is earned, Princess Ourania. Unfortunately, that isn't innately applied to creatures who are older than the one you are asking from."

"I give birth to you! Couldn't you accept who I want to marry?" Now, she had resorted to begging after insulting them? What the f*CK? "Can't you just be happy with my decision?"

"I don't care if it was the horse you married and not the Knight!" Apollyon bellowed, and Luna flinched. It was clear that he was fed up with her. "What do I have to do to make you believe that it wasn't me?"

"I am your mother!" Tears fell from her beautiful eyes as she screamed. Her voice was strained. "Why can't you just forget the past and love me as you should?"

"You see, Princess Ourania. I can't love someone who gets off on hurting her loved ones on purpose. Thank you for removing yourself from my life. You might be the one who gave birth to me, but I am not a part of you. I am not an extension of you. You don't own me."

"Apollyon—"

"I am tired of this argument." Apollyon's response was cool and soft. Dangerous. "We can't get anywhere with this." One word that might set him off might push him to kill. "It's a repeating cycle. King Oberon. If you would like Princess Ourania to handle this from here, we will excuse ourselves. I refuse to talk to a child any further."

"Well, then." King Oberon told him in a loud, booming voice. "You know the accusations thrown at you. I want you to tell us what happened and defend yourself."

"King Oberon. You became the Summer King for nothing. The Fair folk have the ability to determine truth from lies. So listen carefully because I am just going to say this once."

"I was on the isle on Sir Tristan's side before the explosion while my wife was near Princess Ourania--"

Luna cut her husband off, deciding that she should be the one to continue the story, "I was looking up at the ceiling as I watched the little fairies, throwing flower petals above our heads. Then, I heard my husband's voice from behind, and I faced him with excitement. I thought he teleported to me that I immediately hugged him without my knowledge. We exchanged a few words after that, but it didn't feel right. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw my real husband, who was in shock. Our eyes met before he saw the man with me, and Apollyon was aghast when he saw that he looked like him. I tried to hold on to the fake Apollyon's torso so that he wouldn't escape as I feigned my ignorance. The impostor quickly figured out that I caught him. Before he dropped the red stone, he told me that he picked the wrong target."

"He picked the wrong target?" Raising an eyebrow, King Oberon's posture stiffened. "Tell me about this stone. What did it look like?"

"There was no evidence anymore when it turned into a parched substance. It is red, yet it can reflect images like a mirror. The moment he dropped it on the floor, it caught fire, creating a massive explosion." Luna repeated just what she told Apollyon.

King Oberon gasped when he heard her description of the object. "That sounded close to a Hephaestus stone."