Kitanna
Chapter 259: PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL

Chapter 259: PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: LONELY ~ JONGHYUN SHINEE & TAEYEON]

Cortez raised his brows; he knew that the man was never going to let them go like that. There was no point in arguing while Axilla’s life was in danger. He nodded,

"I’m willing to stay," his words came as a surprise to everyone in the room, including Venantius.

"That was easy...are you trying to trick me here, boy?" Venantius asked, his eyes narrowed.

Cortez smirked, "What’s the point of tricking you? I’m in your kingdom, defenseless. I wouldn’t be foolish to pick a fight with you. Give me the antidote and show me where the girl is.." he said with a calm voice.

Venantius pressed his lips, looking at his son while trying to read his mind to know if it was a trap, but Cortez’s face gave nothing away.

Cortez, who had a blank look on his face, asked, "Why? You don’t like how I trade?" He now relaxed on his chair, comfortably taunting Venantius with his smile. The look of frustration he had when they walked in was now replaced with a relaxed and calm look.

Cortez knew what Venantius was playing at; he was trying to annoy them with his words and actions, thereby making them unstable in their judgment. And Venantius had been winning the game all along, starting from when he sent them a letter about Axilla. The man just wanted attention, and they’ve been entertaining him all along. Cortez decided to switch everything up.

Venantius cleared his throat. He didn’t expect Cortez to accept that easily. "I thought merchants bargain; is this how you’ve been trading all these years? That’s risky," he stated, his proud voice now reduced to a calm one.

Cortez smiled, "I trade by understanding my customer’s preference. You’re the type of customer who doesn’t trade by bargain, so it’ll be a waste of time to do that. You said what you want, I accept. We should conclude our trade now, don’t you agree?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

Venantius uncrossed the leg he had crossed, adjusting his position on the chair. He said, "Dominique, show them to the room and also feed the girl the antidote." He ordered his aide, who was lurking outside the room.

Dominique walked inside and bowed; he noticed the look of defeat on the supreme king’s face while his son now had a smug look on his face. The aide twitched his lips, "This way, Your Highness," he opened the door.

Cortez got to his feet, dipping his hand inside his trouser pocket; he started walking out of the room with Chantal behind him. Cortez stopped in his tracks and said, "I’ll prefer if I’m addressed by my name while I’m here."

Venantius raised his eyes, discovering a new way to taunt the boy. He tipped his chin, "I can’t agree to that, my son should be addressed with the way he deserves-"

"Suit yourself," Cortez retorted before leaving the room.

Venantius dropped his shoulder; he wasn’t expecting that. He was going to annoy the boy; that was the only way he could talk to him, but the boy was now immune to it.

"He is indeed your son." Heiron, who had stayed back, said.

Venantius raised his face, "Why did you stay back to mock me?" He asked.

Heiron shook his head, "I wouldn’t do that; you already have a pitiful life. I wouldn’t want to add to that," he replied.

Venantius frowned, "What do you mean pitiful? I have everyone where I want them, and you’re in my kingdom. Do you think I would let you leave here alive?" The man asked, trying to stand his ground.

Heiron smiled, "All I see is a lone wolf crying for help. If you want to get close to him, annoying him wouldn’t work; you should apologize for what you did." The older man advised.

Venantius scowled, "What did I do so wrong? I only tried to eliminate my weaknesses; if Cortez didn’t have any weakness, he wouldn’t have given in so easily," he retorted.

Heiron nodded his head, "It’s very obvious you had the wrong orientation about life. If family is a weakness, why do you now reach out to him? Isn’t that foolishness on your side?" The man said without mincing words.

Venantius sighed, "If I didn’t do what I did, he would have siblings who would contend with him for the throne. Nobody would agree, but I did what others feared to do but was also necessary. Like Almaria tried to kill Kitanna so her son could take the throne." Venantius tried to justify his actions.

Heiron smiled, "Don’t use Almaria’s case because Kitanna was never her child to start with. No lion should ever eat its own cub no matter how hungry it is, but you did it and it’s shameless. Don’t try to justify your actions with things that don’t make sense. Not just to Cortez, you should apologize to every life you ended, all because of your selfish interest. That is my advice to you." The older man said calmly, his blue witty eyes reading the man’s expression.

Venantius sighed, "If he is truly my son, he would never forgive me. It runs in our blood never to forgive; that was why I came for your son even when I knew it was Deonisia who instigated everything."

"If that’s an apology, I think it should be directed to my grandson and not me. That’s if he chooses to forgive you," Heiron remarked, tapping his finger on the table.

Venantius rolled his eyes, "Apologize? Why will I do that? Mhm," he cleared his throat and looked away.

Heiron got up from the chair, "I think you should apologize sincerely to Cortez, let him forgive you. Who knows, he might choose to forgive you or not, but make sure to get his forgiveness first. Forcing him to stay here never works; you’re only grooming him to kill you later. Because right now, you’re his worst enemy."

Venantius didn’t say anything; he stared blankly at the space. "I’ll take that as a tip for keeping you alive while you’re in my kingdom."

Heiron smiled, "You should let your pride go; there’s an old saying, pride goes before a fall. It’s not always necessary to be prideful. And yes, my grandson knows I saw your face that night. I would never let bad blood run in my family." Saying this, Heiron left the room.

Venantius, alone in the room, tried to sniffle back the tears that were forming in his eyes. He watched the warm glow coming from the film candlelight, which cast his defeated shadow on the wall.