Chapter 13: Broken Crowns and Bittersweet Blood

Ethan leaned in impossibly close to Iris's ear, his heart hammering against his ribs. Slowly and gently, he sank his sharp fangs into her soft neck, making a tiny, clean cut. Iris went completely still, her breath catching as the crimson liquid began to surface. Ethan pulled back slightly and touched the blood with his fingertips. The moment his skin met hers, the imprinting magic flared, and his fingers completely absorbed the hybrid blood.

Iris weakly opened her eyes and stared at him through the dim candlelight.

"Did the heaviness vanish?" Ethan asked softly, his face still inches from hers.

With a rapidly racing heartbeat, Iris managed a tiny, tired nod. "Ye... yes..."

Before she could say another word, her vision went black. The sheer exhaustion of the night finally caught up to her, and she completely collapsed, her head dropping straight into Ethan's lap as she fell into a deep sleep.

Ethan gently shook her shoulder. "Iris? Hey, did you faint?"

From his lap, she gave a tiny, barely audible whisper. "I'm just... so tired..."

Ethan froze for a second, a soft, almost villainous smirk slowly playing on his lips. He leaned down, his lips brushing past her hair as he whispered into her ear, "Your blood... it tastes sweet. Just like you."

He looked down at his own hands. To his absolute amazement, every single injury, cut, and raw bruise he had sustained from Maxi and Cecelia's torture tools had completely vanished. His skin was perfectly smooth. He quickly checked Iris, and a wave of relief washed over him—her fever was gone, and her battered body was fully healed too.

"Ha... it actually worked," Ethan breathed, a soft smile crossing his face.

The moment the healing process finished, the demonic hybrid pressure completely left his body. His pitch-black hair faded back to its natural shade, his sharp fangs receded, and his eyes turned back to normal. But the sudden shift back into a human form drained the last of his energy. A massive wave of sleepiness hit him all at once. His back slid down against the hard, rocky cave wall behind him, his eyelids growing impossibly heavy.

Within seconds, Ethan drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep, with Iris resting safely on his lap.

---

Meanwhile, a massive shockwave was about to hit the royal palace.

The heavy grand doors of the estate were violently thrown open. A woman stumbled inside, completely breathless, covered in deep purple bruises, and bleeding from untreated wounds. It was the Duchess. Her long, shimmering silver hair was a tangled mess, and her striking blue eyes were wide with sheer exhaustion. She was running on bare, bleeding feet, barely able to keep her balance as she dragged herself down the corridor.

"Dear... ah..." she screamed out, her voice cracking with pain.

She threw open the doors to the Duke's private office. The Duke, who was sitting at his desk calculating the manhunt, gasped and immediately rushed toward her. "Betty!"

He caught her just in time as her legs completely gave out. She fell heavily into his arms, her consciousness slipping away.

"Betty, my love! Open your eyes!" the Duke panicked, holding her tight against his chest. He whipped his head toward the hallway and roared, "Someone bring water, now!"

The servants rushed into the room, trembling as they handed over a fresh glass. The Duke sat right there on the floor, cradling his battered wife. He took the glass and gently held it to her lips. "Open your mouth, Betty. I am right here. Drink."

The Duchess drank greedily, her throat parched. The moment she finished, she threw her arms around the Duke's neck, hugging him with a desperate, suffocating tightness as she burst into brutal tears. "AAAAAA!"

The Duke's heart broke seeing her in such a state. "What happened to you? Where have you been all this time?"

Hysterically sobbing against his shoulder, Betty tried to explain through her gasps for air. "They... they took me, honey... I was taken, prisoner! They locked me away in chains and heavy handcuffs... I was bleeding so much..." She buried her face in his neck, shaking violently. "I thought... I thought I would never see you or Maximilian ever again..."

The second the name Maximilian left her lips, the Duke completely froze. The color drained from his face, and his voice died in his throat. He couldn't say a single word.

Sensing his sudden, eerie silence, Betty pulled back, her blue eyes searching his face. "Honey...? Where is Maxi? I want to meet him right now. I miss my son so much."

The Duke stared at the floor, his jaw clenching. "We... we cannot meet him, Betty."

Betty frowned, a nervous, forced smile touching her lips. "Why? Is he out on a mission? Is he away with someone?"

"No," the Duke whispered, his voice cracking with immense grief. "We cannot meet him... ever again."

"What do you mean?!" Betty's voice rose, panic instantly flaring in her chest. "Stop joking around with me! Where is he?!"

When the Duke didn't answer, she grabbed him by his collar, violently shaking him. "Hey! Stop playing games with me! What are you saying?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her tears spilling over. "I want my son right now! He is our next heir! Where is my boy?!"

The Duke remained perfectly still, his expression turning completely hollow and emotionless. "Betty... our son is dead."

The Duchess went entirely rigid. "Wh... What? No... that's not true. Hey, it's a lie, isn't it?" She completely lost control, a wild panic taking over her mind. "No! He isn't dead! Call him into the room right now! This is just a sick joke, right? Tell me he's just playing a prank on me! Yes... that has to be it!"

She scrambled out of his grip, standing up and screaming into the empty hallways of the mansion. "Maximilian! Maxi, dear! Mommy is home! Come on, let's go eat; I'll make your favorite food for you! Maxi!"

Silence echoed back. No answer came.

"Hey! Baby, coooooome to Mommy!" she shrieked, her voice breaking.

Finally showing a flash of raw emotion, the Duke stood up and grabbed Betty tightly by her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Betty! Our son was killed by my prisoners!"

The Duchess gasped, her eyes widening in horror. "What...?"

"Maxi was alone in the room with the prisoners," the Duke growled, his voice trembling with rage. "They killed him, exploded his body, and ran away."

The finality of his words hit Betty like a physical blow. The grief instantly twisted into a furious, unhinged rage. She looked at her husband—the man who was obsessed with dark magic and human experimentation—and snapped.

With a deafening smack, she swung her hand and slapped the Duke across the face so hard his head whipped to the side.

"You did this!" she screamed, her voice dripping with pure hatred. "You and your pathetic experiments! You ate away my son! You destroyed my destiny, you absolute fool!"

The royal servants frantically rushed forward, grabbing the hysterical Duchess. "Madam, please calm down! Let's take you away to rest!"

"Let go of me!" she shrieked, thrashing against their grip, trying desperately to claw her way back toward the Duke. "You killed him! You killed my boy!"

The servants quickly dragged her out of the office, closing the heavy doors behind them.

The Duke stood completely alone in the center of the room. He slowly reached up, his fingers touching his burning cheek where his wife had just struck him. Her words echoed over and over like a curse inside his mind: You ate away my son... You fool...

A dark, demonic energy slowly radiated from the Duke's skin. His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he stared down at his desk.

"I will never let you both live," the Duke whispered into the empty room, his voice shaking with a lethal promise. "I will make sure you both die in the absolute depths of hell."

Driven by pure, unadulterated fury, he grabbed a heavy ceramic flower vase from his desk and violently smashed it onto the floor, shattering it into a thousand sharp pieces.

---

[Chapter Ended - To Be Continued]