Tangled By Fate

Felix drew his blade and interrogated him, "Tell me, was Joana's death was simply a suicide? What did she know?"

Lord Alexander's expression abruptly changed. He glared at Felix and threatened him, "Don't you dare to utter her name with your filthy mouth."

Felix stubbornly said, "I have every right to utter her name. She is my lover and the mother of my two children."

"Shut your mouth!" Lord Alexander barked. "I don't want to hear anything about your children!"

Felix squinted his eyes. "I assume you knew."

Lord Alexander replied with a distorted expression, "Well of course. That's why I had to punish her."

"Then I guess her insanity wasn't just an act," Felix's voice turned cold.

"No, it was real. After what happened that day, she couldn't just stay sane. Haha! That's the best way to break her down." Lord Alexander's eyes sparked with madness.

Felix had a bad premonition. "What did you do?"

"What do you think I did?"

Felix came closer. The tip of his sword touched Lord Alexander's neck. "I don't have time for this. Looking at your face makes me disgusted. No wonder she left you for good."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Lord Alexander shouted. He didn't want to hear that Joana left him or betrayed him. Just thinking about that made him go crazy.

Felix persistently asked, "I won't ask you again. What did you do to her?"

Lord Alexander suddenly quieted down. Then, he looked at Felix and grinned. "I married her. We spent three days together. Do I have to fill you in with the rest?"

The eyes of Felix grew wide in shock. If there was a 1% chance that it was true, he didn't have to imagine what happened after the marriage.

At that time, Felix didn't know what to feel. His lover was pregnant, and she was forced to marry her blood-related cousin.

A sin. It was a grave sin.

No wonder she became insane.

As a man, as a lover, as the father of his children, how could he accept that?

"You monster!"

Felix's grip on his sword tightened.

Lord Alexander saw his immense fury and burst into laughter. "Ahahaha! She is mine! There is no way I will hand her over to you!"

"…" Felix's sword shook. He truly wished from the depth of his heart.

'No! This isn't right. If he dies, his suffering will end as well. I can't let him go that easily.'

Thus, he planned to burn him alive in front of everyone in his state.

Flashback ends –

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In the capital city of Synetia, Arthur and Felix went to the local market.

It was noon. People were bustling there. Felix slipped inside the huge crowd.

Arthur tried to quicken his pace but there were just too many people. When he almost thought that he lost Felix in the crowd, he found him in front of an alley.

Felix smirked when he saw Arthur sweating in the heat. "How does it feel to be in the crowd again?"

"Terrific." However, Arthur didn't seem amused.

Felix chuckled. "I thought you would love to be far from the tower. Am I wrong?"

Arthur reminded him, "I'm a man with a family now."

"…" Felix thought, 'I shouldn't have teased him. Now, he is showing off in front of me.'

With his somber expression, he took the man with the family to a restaurant. The restaurant was popular for its cheap and delicious food. It was lunchtime. Couples, families, and travelers were eating there.

There was only one space that was left in the corner. The curtains in that corner were blocking the window, not allowing the sunlight to approach the table. Surprisingly, the round table had only one chair as if only one specific customer was allowed to sit in that chair.

They saw an old man sitting on that specific chair. The old man was sitting there idly. He wasn't eating. He had a toy in his hand.

Felix stepped forward and stood in front of him. He took off the shawl from his head and revealed his face. "Mr. Maximilien, it's been a while. How are you doing?"

Upon hearing his voice, the old man raised his head. His face beamed as he saw Felix. "Isn't this Felix? Oh, my dear boy, it's been so long. How are you?"

Felix politely replied, "I'm doing fine. I've brought a friend with me today. I told him about you. Now, he is interested in hearing stories from you. No one is as good as you when it comes to stories."

Mr. Maximilien laughed out loud. "Haha! You flatter me, my boy. I have told you so many stories. I don't think I have any more stories to share with you."

Felix assured him with a smile. "If that's the case then I hope you can tell us the old stories. I would love to hear those stories again."

Mr. Maximilien granted his wish by saying, "Very well then. Bring your friend and join me."

Arthur brought two chairs and introduced himself, "I'm Arthur from Utahill, Mr. Maximilien. I'm a librarian. I love stories and Felix told me about you."

Mr. Maximilien was glad that the young man talked to him so politely. Nowadays, it's hard to find polite, humble people. "Good boy, Arthur. I'll tell you any kind of stories you want to hear."

Arthur's eyes looked at Felix before asking the old man, "How about a story of a basilisk?"

"Basilisk?" Mr. Maximilien frowned. He tried to remember if there was any story like that. When he remembered, he said, "Ah yes, I know a story about a basilisk. A serpent-like creature capable of destroying other creatures by way of its deadly stare. I knew a basilisk who was known as Ravato. It was the last basilisk in the world. It was a female.

"Female basilisks are cruel and fierce. Ravato was no different. Her greatest enemy was Romano, a giant dragon. One day Romano and Ravato had a deadly fight. Ramano won."

"Ravato bled so much that it turned into a river. The legend says that whoever drank her blood turned into…"