Sold To The Cruel Prince-Chapter 24: His Demand

"Explain."

Hearing the darkness in Theron’s tone, Kael’s voice lowered further, barely more than a whisper.

"My Liege, my family has served yours for generations. Our duty is to protect you, even from things that cannot be easily understood." His fingers curled tightly at his sides before he forced the words out. "She’s... not right, sire. That woman may be a curse."

The temperature around them seemed to drop.

Theron’s gaze sharpened instantly. His hand curled slowly into a fist.

"Say that again," he said quietly.

Kael instantly realized his mistake, but the warning came too late.

"Call her a curse once more," Theron continued, his voice calm in a way that made the threat far more terrifying, "and I will personally erase your entire bloodline."

Kael froze.

Theron stepped closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming.

"Not just you," he added coldly. "Your brothers. Your cousins. Every servant in your household. Even the dogs that guard your gates."

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Then Theron turned away from him as if the conversation had already ended. He walked toward Aveline without another glance.

Behind him, Kael swallowed hard, his fists tightening at his sides as he tried to steady his breathing.

But sire...

He lowered his head slightly, muttering the words under his breath so quietly that even he barely heard them.

She found me.

That thought alone sent a strange chill down his spine.

And somehow... that was even more unsettling than her endless talking.

Theron walked slowly toward the graves.

Aveline was leaning against one of the headstones, her shoulder resting against the cold stone as if she had simply grown too tired to sit upright. The lantern beside her flickered softly, its light trembling in the evening breeze.

The glow fell across the two simple tombstones that were nothing elaborate, and nothing worthy of the people buried beneath them. Only their names were carved into the stone, and not their titles.

There was no mention that they had once been the Viscount and Viscountess, and no trace of the respect they had held in life before they were murdered so brutally.

To anyone passing by, the graves might have belonged to two forgotten villagers.

Theron’s jaw tightened slightly. They deserved better than this.

The lantern light shifted again, and his gaze moved to Aveline.

The golden glow brushed across her face, catching on the thin trails of tears that had dried along her cheeks. The faint shimmer made them look almost like silver threads against her skin, delicate and painfully fragile.

The sight made something in his chest tighten again. It always did.

He lowered himself beside her and gently rested a hand on the top of her head. "Aveline."

She startled awake.

Aveline had been cleaning the graves earlier, brushing away dirt and fallen leaves with careful hands. At some point, exhaustion had overtaken her. After crying for so long, she must have leaned against the stone just to rest for a moment.

And then she had fallen asleep against her father’s tomb.

Her eyes fluttered open in confusion before she quickly wiped at the dried tears on her face. When she turned and saw him sitting beside her, her expression softened with tired recognition.

"Theron..." she whispered.

Her voice sounded hoarse.

Her nose was completely blocked from crying so much that she had to breathe through her mouth.

Before she could say anything else, Theron pulled her gently toward him. He did not even think about it. The movement came naturally.

Aveline leaned against his chest, and the moment she did, the tears that had already dried on her cheeks began flowing again.

She remembered, remembered who he was now. He was the man who had bought her.

Yet in that moment, none of it seemed to matter as much as the quiet familiarity of his presence. Somewhere deep inside her, she still longed for the boy who once was her closest companion.

The one she could selfishly lean on without thinking about consequences.

"Where were you?" she asked quietly, her voice breaking. "I was alone..."

Theron closed his eyes briefly.

"I’m sorry," he murmured.

His hand moved slowly over her hair, patting it gently as if she were still the same girl who used to cry over small things years ago.

"I’m sorry," he repeated softly.

A short distance away, Kael stood hidden in the shadows of the trees. The wind carried the faint whisper of his liege’s voice to him.

Kael’s hands clenched again.

Surely this woman was dangerous. His liege had just broken royal protocol. A prince did not apologize to commoners.

Yet here he was, whispering apologies to her like a man who had forgotten his own crown.

"I promise you, Little Hare..." Theron murmured, his fingers tightening slightly against her back. "I won’t leave you again." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

A short distance away, Kael’s jaw tightened.

He could not bear to watch any longer.

Without a sound, he slipped deeper into the shadows, letting the darkness swallow him whole.

Theron remained where he was, holding Aveline as her quiet sobs slowly faded into uneven breaths. He wasn’t sure how much of what he had said she had truly heard through her tears. In truth, the promise was meant as much for himself as it was for her.

He stayed beside her until she finally calmed down.

When she pulled away at last, she took out a small handkerchief and wiped her face briskly, clearly embarrassed by the tears. Without another word, she turned back to the graves and resumed cleaning them, brushing away the dirt she had missed earlier.

Theron said nothing.

He simply knelt beside her and helped.

Together they cleared the remaining leaves and dust from the stone until the two simple headstones looked as neat as they possibly could under the dim lantern light.

When they finished, Aveline remained kneeling there for a moment longer. She looked at the graves quietly, a soft sense of peace settling over her expression.

For years she had tried to come here, to see them properly, but circumstances had never allowed it. Standing here now, she could only hope that wherever her parents were, it was kinder than the world they had left behind.

"Don’t worry about me, Father... Mother..." she whispered softly. She bowed her head as she spoke.

"I’m doing fine."

Her lips curved faintly, though tears slipped down her cheeks again despite her effort to smile.

Theron waited patiently until she finally rose to her feet.

"I’m making arrangements for Theodore to take over this estate," he said.

Aveline’s head turned sharply toward him.

"You’ll do that?" she asked, surprise lighting her face. "Father wanted the same thing. Legally, Theodore should inherit the estate, not Mortimer. That was the whole reason Mortimer kept Theodore imprisoned. If the matter goes to court, the judge will definitely rule in Theodore’s favor."

Theron watched her closely.

There was genuine excitement in her eyes.

For a brief moment, he wondered what exactly had made her so happy. Was it simply the thought of fulfilling her father’s wishes... or was it the other wish her father had once spoken of?

The one about her marrying Theodore.

"But the final decision is yours," Theron added quietly.

Behind his back, his hand curled into a tight fist.

No matter what she said, he had already made up his mind. Even if she wanted to stay here, he was not going to leave her behind in this place.

He wanted her beside him.

"What do you mean?" Aveline asked.

"He’ll inherit this estate only if you come with me," Theron said.

For a brief second, Aveline’s smile faltered.

She had almost forgotten... Forgotten that he had bought her.

For just a moment, she had allowed herself to imagine staying here a little longer... in peace... visiting her parents’ graves whenever she wished, keeping the small piece of home she still had left.

She opened her mouth to respond.

But before she could say anything, a voice echoed from somewhere beyond the grove.

"Aveline! Wait for me!"

Theodore.

Theron’s hand immediately closed around her shoulder, firm enough to stop her from moving.

"What do you say?" he asked.

Aveline didn’t answer.

She wasn’t even looking at him.

Her gaze had already turned toward the direction where Theodore’s voice had come from, and she never once looked back at Theron.