She Belongs To The Devil

Lillian cupped her son's jaw and gave him a kiss on his forehead. She then gave an approving smile and praised her son, "From the way you had shut me off before you were kept under the house, I was worried that you might have disagreed with my plan. But I was right to make all the arrangements before you were released. Now all you need to do is sit and wait for the right time."

Edwin did not like the sound of it. Sitting and waiting meant that there were already some people working for whatever his mother was planning.

So he asked his mother again, "I need to do nothing? Then may I at least know who will be working for us? And how?"

Lillian gave a sinister smirk and then boasted about her new allies, "I have managed to strike a deal with the new King of Mihir. They will attack Wyverndale within six months and overthrow King Dragomir. Then you will be appointed as the new King of Wyverndale while King Reginald will be the Emperor."

Edwin was stunned to hear what his mother just said. He was already surprised by the murders that his mother had committed. But now she was even ready to cause mass slaughter just for the sake of satisfying her ego. She was ready to invite war to the same Kingdom where she had spent more than half of her life in.

"Are you that happy that you are not even able to speak?" Lillian laughed maniacally because she felt that her plan had impressed her son greatly.

Edwin chuckled nervously and nodded his head. "Yes, I am happy to know that. Why don't you tell me everything in detail? I think I should know all the details since I am at the center of this war."

"Yes, of course. You should know all the details." And without even doubting for a second that her son might really not be in her side anymore, she divulged all the details that there were to know about the war.

The only detail that she did not reveal was the secret of the Royals of Mihir because that was not her secret to tell.

Other than that, she did not leave out anything.

The whole time, Edwin did not speak much. He listened to his mother and tried remembering even the tiniest detail so that he could later work on how to deal with that incoming war.

If it was old Edwin then he would have gladly accepted his mother's assistance in helping him become the King. But this Edwin knew where to draw lines. He knew that he could never have the throne of Wyverndale in his lifetime. So he was not even tempted a bit.

Rather, he was worried about the safety of Adeline, which also meant his own safety. Being tied to Adeline meant that his life was hanging by a thin thread. And he was going to do anything and everything to live for one more day.

He was even ready to sacrifice his own mother for the sake of his selfishness. They say that love is like a river, always flowing downwards. And that was true in his case as well. No matter how much his mother loved him, he loved his daughter more than his mother.

He wanted to see his daughter grow up. He had already promised his daughter that he would not leave her again. So he wanted to fulfill that promise. Other than that, there was nothing more that he wanted.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Wait for me here. I have something for you." Lillian hastily went to another room and came back with a plate in her hand. The plate was full of different kinds of handmade sweets.

She placed the plate on Edwin's lap and said, "You loved the sweets made by grandmother. So I brought some on my way back from Frostford. Your grandmother is already so old but she never gets tired of making these sweets."

Edwin felt really guilty for what he was going to do to his mother. He took a piece of sweet and stuffed it in his mouth. And the taste of sweet made him feel very nostalgic. He remembered how he and Alan would steal the sweets and run away. And he remembered how Lillian would hold them by their ears and make them apologize to grandmother.

He didn't even realize that his eyes were filled with tears as he chewed on the sweets. He felt as though the sweetness was mocking his bland life. All these years, he ran after something that was never his. And in pursuit of some silly title, he did not even cherish all the small moments that had the real essence of happiness.

And he felt sorry for his mother because she had not realized until now how she was running after some meaningless things and ruining her own life. Yes, she could not get the love of her husband but she had him and Alan.

Edwin wanted to hug his mother and say to her that he was there for her. He wanted to ask her to forgo everything, to stop the war, to stop the madness.

But from what she told him, he knew that it was already too late to stop what was coming.

"Edwin, are you crying?" Lillian's voice broke the chain of Edwin's thoughts and brought him back to reality.

Edwin smiled and wiped his tears. "I just felt a little nostalgic. I miss grandmother."

Lillian caressed her son's cheek and smiled. And she suggested to him, "You should go and meet her then. You can also have a chat with your maternal uncle regarding this war. He is willing to give you full support so it is only fair that you at least go and meet him."

Edwin nodded his head in agreement. Though his main interest was to talk about the decreasing trade rather than the war. But as he already made his mother believe that he was ready to become the King, he had to play along so that she wouldn't suspect his betrayal.

And in order to make her believe that he was in her side, he tactfully disclosed that he was working for Adeline, "Mother, I have also already made some of my own moves. I apologized to Adeline and made her believe that I was willing to be loyal to her."

He chuckled and continued, "And that foolish girl got so manipulated by my apologies that she ended up promising me the title of her Personal Advisor."

Lillian raised her brows in disbelief, "She made you her Personal Advisor? Oh, dear! That poor girl!"

"I have basically wrapped her in my fingers. And with me as her Personal Advisor, I can move her like a chess piece." Edwin gave a wide grin to his mother and Lillian couldn't be any prouder.

But only time would tell Lillian how wrong she was to trust her own son.