Tangled By Fate

"I'm not sure how you can do that when you can heartlessly kill children who have nothing to do with you."

Veronica bit her tongue after this slip of a tongue.

She hurriedly added, "I mean a leader has to be wise. He has to let go of personal feelings and bring justice to his people.

"I understand that your father is some kind of lord in your realm, and you want to take over after him, but do you think it is the right way to become a wise lord?

"Think about the people you are going to rule. If you only think about snatching power from your eldest brother, you can never become a good ruler.

"Now I realize why Dastan cooperatively brought you to me. He wanted an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. He thought I was going to kill you and so did you.

"I think you are just like me. Naïve and simple-minded. People like us can't become good rulers, you know. It's because we trust people too much and then get betrayed. When our backs are stabbed, we can do nothing but watch."

While she was talking about betrayal, the scenario where she saw Arthur playing with other women floated in her mind.

She opened her mouth and wanted to talk more but nothing came out. 

Urulas stole a glance at her. "You talk like you have experienced betrayal."

"Not enough to lose my life," Veronica bluntly retorted.

It was a bitter subject. None of them wished to continue it.

Afterward, the two of them didn't talk for a long time. 

Two days later, they finally came out of the oldest forest, Rivelden. They crossed a river and found themselves in a small country named Ganda.

"How long will it take for us to reach Tybu?" Veronica asked.

"Let's buy a map first," Urulas suggested.

They went to a bookshop and bought a map. Under the sun, they opened the map.

"We are right here," Urulas pointed out. His finger then slid to the right corner. "Tybu is right here. From this distance, it seems we need four months to get there."

Veronica responded unhurriedly, "Four months it is. We will be able to sightsee the surroundings. In the meantime, teach me how to wield a sword and shoot an arrow."

"Sure, we can do that," Urulas agreed with a smile. His eyes gentle gazed at her.

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Meanwhile, in the Magic Tower in Tybu, Ovior woke up from a deep slumber. Someone was shaking his body.

He furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance. He had been working tirelessly for months. Now that he got some time to rest his eyes on his desk, someone was disturbing him.

He groggily opened his eyes. Noticing his secretary Catherine's worried expression, he straightened his back. 

"What is it this time?"

"I think Arthur… he succeeded," she reported in a hushed tone.

Drowsiness washed away from Ovior's eyes. He stood up from his chair.

"Why do you think so?"

Catherine shared her opinion, "It's a mess up there. It's too hard to breathe."

"I'll take a look. You finish the work I left for you." After instructing her, he left his room.

Catherine was left alone in Ovior's office. 

"I don't like anything that's happening." She clasped her hands as though she was praying. "Ver, where are you? I don't believe you are dead. Come back and save us all."

Ovior took a magical lift upstairs. Catherine wasn't wrong. 

The air was tight. It was indeed hard to breathe. It felt like something was weighing him down and he couldn't inhale oxygen as much as he wanted.

The magical board reached a certain floor. Ovior had to cover his mouth. 

A toxic odor filled up the area. The sickening scent contained a skin-burning fragrance along with fresh blood.

It was so disgusting that Ovior almost puked.

'Thank goodness that my stomach is empty. There is nothing to throw up,' he thought.

He stood in front of a certain door and knocked lightly. When he heard no reply from inside, he twisted the knob and opened the door.

When he entered the room, he almost became blind. Thick, black clouds formed on the floor. The fog carried that stinky smell.

Ovior frowned and coldly looked around. 

It was a mess. The room was a complete disaster. Piles of human bodies were kept here and there. They were all dead. 

It didn't look like a magic tower anymore. If someone said it was a gate of hell, it would be more believable. 

Ovior's stomach was empty, but he felt like throwing up after seeing the barbaric scene. He covered his mouth and walked forward.

In front of him was a pool. Before, this pool was for the senior employees to enjoy swimming. But the water pool was replaced with a blood pool.

In the middle of the pool, someone was standing there, naked. His tanned body was soaked in human blood. His dark raven hair reached the pool and the edge of the hair brushed over the pool of blood.

It seemed like the man was performing some kind of ritual. 

Ovior clenched his fist in anger and anguish. 

"Do you think if you do this she will come back?"

At his question, the man in the pool paused what he was doing, However, he didn't look back. 

Ovior shouted, "She is dead!"

Before he could blink, his body was thrown away in the corner. The pressure on his check was too much. He coughed blood.

He took a moment to realize what happened. His friend didn't move. A gust of wind shoved him away.

He looked at his friend in disbelief. 

He wondered, 'What did he just do these few months to gather this much power? What does he want to do with it?'

Realizing that his friend was too blinded by power, he decided to go back. There was no point in talking to a deaf. 

Outside the room, he met two people. They looked at him worriedly.

Zinnia took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from the corner of Ovior's mouth.

"I heard from Catherine that you came here. Did you fight?"