Amber Sword

"Dear sister, how long do you plan to pretend to be asleep?"

The young man stood by his cousin’s bedside, tilting his head, observing her for quite some time before smiling and speaking. His tone was so sweet and gentle it seemed like honey could drip from it, yet the sarcasm within his voice was chilling.

Delphire coughed softly, a pathological blush crept onto her pale cheeks, and her curtain-like dense eyelashes slowly opened, revealing bright, clear eyes staring at her brother. Deep within her eyes lay an inescapable weakness, but also a burning flame of hatred.

"What do you want to do, Acker?"

"You heard what I said earlier, didn’t you? Don’t you know what I want?" The young man leaned forward, gazing into his sister’s eyes. "Hand over the Broken Sword Ring of Yan Castle, and I’ll spare you today."

"What if I say no?" Delphire somewhat fearfully looked away.

The young man sneered, grabbing her chin and turning her face back. He greedily looked at her face, the face belonging to his sister: "Do you think I don’t dare to touch you, dear sister?"

"You’re insane!" Delphire read the frenzied possessiveness in her brother’s eyes and began to tremble, unsure if it was from fear or anger. The girl’s face was already pale, and now it shed its color entirely, becoming nearly translucent, like jade.

"Such a perfect masterpiece, yet my senile uncle managed to produce a daughter like you."

The young man grinned darkly, moving a hand down to press against her chest. "I’ll count to three, tell me where the Broken Sword Ring of Yan Castle is, or don’t blame me for being unkind."

"One."

"Two."

The Countess shivered slightly but stubbornly closed her eyes. She was well aware that her brother was not the type of man who kept his word, and if she spoke here, she was sure to face a miserable fate.

"If you touch me, Acker, you’ll never get that ring for the rest of your life." Delphire forced herself to calm down and replied icily. The Broken Sword Ring of Yan Castle had been passed down through generations since the Xifah Dynasty, a token belonging to the Earl of Yan Castle. To the Yanbao Family, the ring was like the Holy Sword to Erune, the Flame Blade Odefis to the Cruz Empire; without this ring, the position of Earl of Yan Castle would never be legitimate.

"Wrong answer, three." The young man sneered: "My dear sister, you got one thing wrong. Do you think this ring is really that important to me? The position of Earl of Yan Castle will be mine sooner or later, with or without those external things, it doesn’t matter to me. Comparatively, I’m more interested in you."

With that, he tore off the first copper button on Delphire’s chest.

"Ah—!" Delphire felt a chill on her chest, as a patch of snow-like skin was exposed, and she couldn’t help but scream: "Acker, you’re truly insane!"

The Countess finally felt fear, struggling violently. But what she received in return was the young man’s somewhat frantic reply: "Yes, I’m crazy, dear sister, but you asked for it!"

Saying so, he pushed the weak and helpless Delphire back onto the bed. "I’ll give you one last chance, Delphire, the ring of the Yanbao Family." Acker roared.

"I’d rather die than give it to you, Acker." The Countess helplessly shed tears.

"Then go ahead and die."

But just as the young man’s voice fell, a cold voice responded: "Yes, I also think some beasts should go ahead and die."

"Who!"

This sudden voice made Acker jerk back in fright, but he only saw the door behind him scatter like paper, a black longsword stabbing out from it, immediately in front of him the next moment.

"No," the handsome young man let out a shrill scream: "Damn it, Anurek, where are you!"

...

Nia quickly regained consciousness after a brief period of losing it, as if slowly awakening from a long dream. She only remembered that she seemed to have had a nightmare, a nightmare containing a demon she least wished to see.

A dialogue gradually became clear from this dream:

"Brand, after the matter of Ambeser, I want to go with you to Tonyger."

"Princess..."

"What’s wrong, not welcoming me?"

"No, I’m just a bit puzzled. How could Her Highness the Princess suddenly want to visit such a remote place? Honestly, if possible, I’d rather stay in Ambeser."