- I am guilty before each of you. - he declared loudly. – I am to blame for dragging you into what could be our common ruin. I’m sorry that I don’t give you the right to choose, the right to retreat. My fault. But there is no other choice. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

He paused to make sure that everyone remained in their original places and exuded the utmost attention. His heart was relieved, but the tension remained.

- My wife... Your queen... - he spoke these words with reluctance and stiffness. – She became a traitor to our people, betrayed our trust, our boundless love... She became a striking sword, cutting off the heads of our supporters, our people.

- Oh, well, why are you so slow? - Raphael drawled. - Just tell it like it is...

The king frowned in disgust at the vampire, clenching his fists to the point of pain, feeling his nails dig into the pads of his palms.

- She’s been killing your people for years, hiding behind an innocent face and a title. - Raphael finished for him. – How many heads did the great Riliya miss? Perhaps we should start with everyone’s favorite Queen Catherine?

As if scalded by boiling water, Horel stared into Raphael’s bloody eyes and pursed his lips as if he was ready to cry like a little boy.

- Surprised? You raised the witch yourself who killed your beloved spouse. Just as her black magic has woven a web around every nook and cranny of the kingdom, she has penetrated into the minds of all the inhabitants of Riliya, creating an excellent alibi and the image of a caring queen. You gave her the right to do that. And yes, it’s your fault and no one else’s.

He finished off Horel by planting a venomous sting in his heart, decomposing his insides from pain and shame.

- You have deprived your daughter of her mother and a bright future with your own hands. - Raphael added and addressed the following words to the magicians. – While your king behaved like a weak-willed rag, you were forced to follow his stupid orders, to be content with the fact that your skins were relatively safe, although it was only an appearance. You have never been safe and now everything is much more acute. Each of you will soon feel the real wrath of Queen Lilian. There will be no one left who could avoid her bad mood.

- Who gave you the right to interrupt and humiliate our king? - Aizen burst out, who jumped up from his seat, grabbing the sword hanging on his hip. His grip was like steel, and he took the king’s insult as an insult to himself.

- Who gave the right? - Raphael laughed out loud and commented in bewilderment. – I am free to give myself all the rights I need, and no pathetic king of Riliya can be above my own desires. So, in continuation of my words, I have enough personal experience to know the ins and outs of the essence of your imaginary queen, a witch who hides behind magicians and uses you for her own purposes.

He spat out his words with disgust, and pent-up pain at the return of memories to the day when Lilin lynched his entire people with someone else’s hands.

- It’s easy to guess that soon your quiet days will spill rivers of blood if you are blind and stupid. Therefore, you have only one way out. You must unite with me, your princess and our allies and give all possible help that your conscience is capable of to resist the utter cruelty of Lillian.

- You claim that our queen is a witch, but at the same time, you need our help to defeat her? Isn’t that funny? - Aizen snapped. – You brought the great magicians to their knees with your own hands, and now you’re asking for help? Seriously? This is ridiculous!

- That’s right. - Raphael pursed his lower lip and nodded. – I don’t need your help, but the princess needs it. I promised her not to touch any of you, so in fact, I will have to cover your asses, but if you don’t organize yourself, it will only distract me and annoy me. And I don’t like to get annoyed. -Raphael said with a caustic warning.

Aizen felt a fierce desire to punch this pompous vampire who doesn’t put anyone in anything. If there was a question that someone was annoyed at this moment, it was all of them, all gathered in this hall, to whom the vampire was getting on their nerves just by his appearance, not to mention his excessive arrogance.

- And what do you say, silent king? - Raphael threw the "bone" to Horel, as if he were a dog.

- We will provide all the necessary possible assistance that will be needed from us. - there was an exhausting weariness in his voice, and his shoulders slumped as if he was ready to collapse exhausted at any moment. – We need to develop a strategy to work in tandem. We can’t go bare-handed to a person using black magic.

- Of course, of course. - Raphael smiled broadly. – Your strategy will be to cover the rear, you are not capable of more yet, unless you agree to accept it.

He raised his hand, which was oozing fresh blood, and disgust immediately surged on the king’s face.

- What does that mean? - Horel muttered, at the same time pointing with his hand to Aizen, who was ready to boil, to be silent.

- My blood will have a fairly short-term effect, but it will be enough to heal minor wounds, strengthen your stamina and strength. For an effective tandem. But the choice is yours, to accept or not.

The King swallowed nervously and once again looked at the vampire’s outstretched hand. Did he want Horel to lick his hand in public, or did this gesture mean something else? In any case, it was too humiliating, he couldn’t get over his pride.

- Our healers will take samples of your blood to develop a cure sufficient for all our soldiers. - The king replied, looking away from the outstretched hand. - Unless, of course, you change your mind.

- Correction. Unless you give me a reason to change my mind. My blood is worth a lot. - he spun on his heel on the spot. – I expect that each of your magicians will be able to cover the backs of my guys, without unnecessary problems or previous childish insults.

He casually dropped the last words before leaving the throne room, giving the magicians time to discuss everything in private and disembowel from their king the answers to their questions that the vampire had planted in their minds.