Chapter 156: My Fiancée Wants Me Dead
The tall, luxurious mansion entered my view as the car drove smoothly onto the grounds. As the two guards stationed outside the grand wall opened the gate, we entered inside. After driving a short distance up the paved path, we finally arrived at the front doors of the Veridius Mansion.
A maid was already waiting attentively. She opened the car door and showed the way as Leviya exited gracefully. From behind her, I also stepped out. As my eyes traced around the familiar mansion, it was exactly the same as before. Not that I actually expected anything to change.
My gaze tracked toward Leviya, who started to walk inside the mansion without waiting for me.
’Damn! Something is definitely off. She wouldn’t have come to my family’s mansion for no reason...’
I quickly stepped forward and walked right beside her, asking one last time.
"Can you tell me now? Why did you suddenly come here?..."
Leviya’s steps halted as she finally turned toward me. Her cold emerald eyes bored into me like she was genuinely considering if I was worth keeping alive.
’Damn, she is actually thinking of killing me in my own mansion. What a witch!’
"I didn’t come here myself. I was called..."
Her voice was icy, utterly devoid of any normal emotions.
"Who called you?..."
"Your mother..."
"..."
My mouth shut completely closed. I remembered something and quickly closed my eyes. When it comes to my mother, all of my casual thoughts vanished as I remembered her strict face. She was a demon wearing human skin. If I consider Leviya as a dangerous girl, then my mother is hundreds of times more dangerous.
Not that I am saying she was actually going to kill me—if I behave. She is just a little too strict. If I didn’t listen to her commands, I would be dead for sure. But I still respected her, as she had never questioned my personal choices. She had never pointed finger at my laziness. She gave me the free will to choose whatever path I walked and never gave me any pressure to lift up the heavy responsibilities of the family. That is the exact reason why I have been able to live by myself however I want.
But if someone asks me if she is kind? Nah—never in the world would I ever say that. Why would I? She didn’t actually care about me in actuality. If she had, the constant assassinations at the academy would have long stopped by now. Yeah, she already knows that I fight paid goons every single day, but she didn’t care enough to focus on my well-being and just left me to handle it. So I would never call her kind, not in a million years.
I nodded and stepped forward to enter inside the mansion. Behind me, Leviya also walked, following me inside.
Just as we entered the grand foyer of the mansion, the head butler welcomed us with a warm, familiar smile.
"It is an honor to meet you again, Young Master and Young Miss."
"Yeah, yeah. Your hair seems to be becoming more and more white. You should take a retirement, old man, Theron."
I spoke casually as I walked inside.
"No, Young Master. I still have many years left to serve this place."
"Tchh! You should live your life peacefully! You deserve it!"
The old butler smiled and replied calmly.
"I already feel perfectly peaceful serving this family."
"Sigh... Whatever..."
The mansion was in its usual, pristine state. As it was already evening, the maids and servants were bustling in and out of the living rooms, pausing to bow respectfully when noticing us.
"So where is my mother?..."
The butler replied while straightening his posture as he remembered the Matriarch’s order.
"My lady ordered me to tell you two that there is some important conversation she wanted to announce to you both. So both of you should be present at tonight’s dinner."
My head turned blank as I stared at him. My mouth opened and closed in pure silence as the butler bowed low and quickly turned back to his duties before I could ask him any more questions.
’What could be so important to call both of us together? Has some new problem arisen?...’
Without wasting any more time, Leviya walked right past me. She stepped up the grand staircase and went toward the guest room to wash up. I also stepped toward my own room, letting the burning question remain as a question. There was no need to scratch my head over it when I was just going to know about it in a little while anyway.
I entered inside my room, washed myself off, and got ready for the dinner wearing a set of clean, casual clothes.
As I exited my room, I walked down the staircase, making my way toward the dining room. Just as I entered, my gaze first landed on my mother. She had the exact same black hair as mine, with the same piercing golden eyes. Or more appropriately, I am the one who inherited her striking traits. She looked beautiful even though she was already a century or more older than she looked.
Sitting in the chair right in front of her, wearing that same sickeningly sweet smile, was my dear fiancée.
’Damn, that is not fair. Why does she only behave unkindly with me? Did I steal her plushies or something in the past? Well, I don’t quite remember... But it is still entirely possible...’
I shook my head, letting go of any nonessential thoughts as I stepped forward.
Sylvia, my mother, was so deep in conversation with Leviya that she didn’t even notice me coming into the room.
As Leviya paused while talking, they finally looked over at me together.
My mom’s calm expression, which was filled with a little warmth earlier, vanished immediately as she gestured for me to sit on the chair beside her.
’Sigh... Mommy’s order.’
I sat there involuntarily, looking at Leviya with a sidelong, knowing glance, trying to ask what the grand announcement was about. But she ignored me completely.
’Ughh... It seems even if she remains quiet, she is still going to annoy me. Her very presence is an annoyance for me. Shitty, two-faced bitch!’
Just as my frustration was reaching its peak, Sylvia spoke first, breaking the heavy silence.
"So, how was your academy life? Did you enjoy it, Azrael?..."
I looked at my mother, thoroughly surprised at her sudden, casual question.
’Why is she asking me that when she already knows how much trouble I have been through all my academic years... Enjoying? Well, yeah, all of that was actually enjoyment, but not for me! It was for that two-faced girl...’
But since I couldn’t tell her that out loud, I wore a small, fake smile and replied calmly.
"It was nice. Thanks to someone’s great generosity, I enjoyed my whole academy life to the absolute fullest..."
Sylvia nodded without showing any ounce of emotion.
"So, mother, can you tell us why you called me... I mean us, here? What was that important conversation about?..."
This time, even Leviya looked at her expectantly. She also didn’t have any idea about what the conversation was going to be about.
As both of us looked at her seeking an answer, she calmly picked up her cutlery. She cut her meat elegantly with a single motion, took a small taste, and then finally looked back at both of us.
"It is time for you two to get married."
I looked at her, entirely shocked. My mouth opened and closed like a fish. Marrying her? The person who wanted me dead? Is she asking me to die early?
Just as I cursed myself under my breath, the words slipped out of my lips.
"Is it really necessary for us to marry that early?..."
Sylvia glanced at me while putting her cutlery gently down on the plate.
"Yes."
"But we are still young! I haven’t even completed my last trial of the stage-1 of the Ascension Realm!..."
Sylvia’s expression turned even colder than it already was as she looked at me with her sharp golden eyes.
"I am not telling you two to get married immediately tomorrow. I am telling you two to get yourselves together. You are getting married at the very end of this year."
My eyes widened at her sudden, unyielding command.
"But, it—"
"It is my order, Azrael. Don’t forget who makes the final decisions in this house. And I promised her late mother that I would take proper care of her."
My mouth snapped closed at the mention of her ’late’ mother. I remembered that the girl sitting beside me was entirely alone. Her father was an unknown figure whom I didn’t know anything about, but her late mother was my aunt. She used to act incredibly kind to me, but because of some terrible disease, she died early. After that tragedy, my family had taken the responsibility of taking care of Leviya. Not just because she was my mother’s friend’s daughter, but because her mother had done something which made my mother, the great figure, indebted to her.
As I glanced at Leviya, checking her expression, she remained quiet. She likely didn’t want to talk about that sensitive matter related to her broken family.
’Sigh... I feel pity for... Wait—what am I even thinking? She is a scheming bitch!’
Suddenly, beside me, Leviya stood up. She stepped back from her dining chair and turned around smoothly.
"Come with me..."
I stared blankly, feeling surprised at her sudden, invitation. I looked over at my mother, but she didn’t even give me a second glance. Her focus was entirely back on eating her dinner.
I stood up as she led me out of the mansion and toward the quiet garden. The corridor was relatively empty; most of the servants had already left, leaving only a few behind for handling other work in the large mansion.
I looked at her with a sidelong glance, not knowing what was going on in her calculating mind.
As we walked outside inside the garden, passing through the area containing different kinds of beautiful, fragrant flowers, she finally stopped in a small clearing. She turned around and looked squarely at me. Her emerald eyes were freezing cold, as if she didn’t have any emotions left inside her.
"So? Why did you call me out here?..."
A small, chilling smile curved on her lips, which didn’t quite match her eyes. A sharp dagger suddenly appeared in her hand out of nowhere. She casually checked its sharpness with her thumb.
"Well, I just thought that I should take proper responsibility for your life."