The Hidden King's Stolen Wife
Chapter 146: Monstrously Sadistic

Chapter 146: Monstrously Sadistic

Prince Ricard could smell the blood and hear the screams even before he reached the infirmary. He strolled there, the booming sound of falling structures and pleas for mercy ringing down the hallways like wedding bells in his ears.

He let out a low whistle, his eyes shimmering with sadistic bloodlust as he deeply breathed in the metallic scent that lingered in the air. It was an intoxicating smell, and his veins throbbed with desire, his fingers flexing and unflexing themselves as magic gathered and faded at his fingertips.

"Do you smell that, dear brother?" he asked. He let out a low whistle. "It seems like Duke Elsher has been busy."

Raziel merely frowned, wrinkling his nose as he stared at his brother with unhidden disgust.

"You are sick."

"Oh, Raziel," Ricard said, laughing a little too merrily against the cacophony of screams in the background. "You merely do not understand the joy of blood. It is unfortunate that you are a healer, not a fighter. I imagine you would be even more monstrous than me."

"That will be difficult to beat," Raziel calmly replied.

"It will not," Ricard said, his grin stretching. "What will be truly difficult to beat is the monstrosity of our little brother. It is a shame that he is hiding it, rotting away in that little old cell he is currently in. Though..." he tapped his chin, "I suppose it must be rather spacious, seeing as to how almost half of Orion’s soldiers have fallen in the church."

Raziel merely looked ahead as Ricard chuckled at his own comment. Even without Raziel entertaining his silly little notions, Ricard was thoroughly amused by his own thoughts. There was even a little skip in his step as they continued down the hallway, and when they arrived, Ricard sighed in delight.

It was exactly as they had expected.

The walls and floors were coated in layers of fresh blood, or at least, what was left of the walls and floors. A chunk of the infirmary had been blasted clean, the bare bricks opening to allow fresh air in. When they stepped closer to the infirmary, it became obvious that there were no clean spaces to step on, and there was no choice but to let their boots pad through the sticky pools of red liquid.

Orion Elsher stood like a demon, bathed in blood from head to toe, standing right in the middle of the bloodshed. Surrounding him were endless corpses which no longer had any identifying factors. Most of them were piles of flesh and bone, their faces torn and their clothing ripped to shreds.

Ricard let out a low whistle. If only he was Rafael. This would’ve been so much more fun.

"You, Duke Elsher, are a horrible son-in-law, destroying your father-in-law’s place like that," Ricard said with a click of his tongue. Then, his lips parted to form an ’o’ shape as he suddenly recalled something. "Wait. I’ve got it wrong. I forgot― you’re no longer a duke. I should be addressing you as General Elsher instead."

Orion slowly turned his head at the sound of Ricard’s voice. When his eyes met with Ricard’s, the latter only smiled even wider. The corners of his lips stretched almost painfully as he focused on the color of Orion Elsher’s eyes.

Poor Princess Soleia. She was so right, but no one believed in her. Orion Elsher’s eyes were so purple that even the red of his sclera couldn’t mask how obvious it was. Anyone who knew his original eye color would surely be able to tell the difference if they had only paid just a little more attention.

Ricard then looked away from Orion, turning his attention to the woman who was lying on the bed. She was a perfect doll, lying as still as one, and as untainted as one as well, as though she was in a glass cage. Orion Elsher had made sure that her side of the room remained untarnished, and she was perfectly safe and oblivious to what happened on the other end.

How romantic.

"I didn’t realize that Raxuvia’s princes were such busybodies who enjoyed sticking their noses in other people’s business," Orion said, taking a step forward. His ear studs pulsed with a green light as he took another step closer to them. "Leave while I still allow it, and return to your kingdom. This isn’t your fight."

"On the contrary," Ricard said with a laugh. "That is my woman on the bed. It is unfortunately my fight, and make no mistake, it is with great pleasure."

Orion let out a roar as he charged forward, his fist shooting out just as it had been doing for the last few minutes. But even though his hands had never missed even once when fighting against the king’s men, they hit nothing but the floor this time, causing the building to rumble and dust to fall from the ceiling above.

Ricard and Raziel easily jumped out of the way, their own respective carnelians glowing a bright red in preparation. Ricard grinned, and he reached for the waterskin that was hidden underneath his coat. His thumb brushed against the cork, uncapping it before he waved his hand over the mouth of the pouch to withdraw its contents.

A stream of reddish brown emerged, trailing after Ricard’s every movement. He stood a little forward while Raziel stood slightly behind him, taking a more defensive position.

Orion’s eyes narrowed. He had fought against many men and beasts, but fighting against magic practitioners had always been a wild card.

He steadied himself and charged forward, trying once more. When Ricard lazily moved his hand, the trail of blood followed. It hardened into a sharp blade and made an attempt for Orion’s neck, but the latter easily dodged it.

Ricard didn’t flinch. He tried again, moving once more. This time, he swiped his hand a little faster. Orion tried a different tactic― instead of dodging it, he tried to grab at it with his hand. However, right as his hand was about to make contact with the blood sword, it split into two and completely evaded his hold.

Orion braced his neck for the impact, his eyes widening in surprise, but the contact did not come. Instead, he felt a brief nipping pain at his ears, and instantly, his muscles felt a lot weaker than before. Exhaustion bled through his body, and he stopped, suddenly dropping to one knee while his hands braced against the floor to support his lethargic body.

By his side, two sharp clinks sounded. When Orion looked over, his mouth ran dry.

His jade ear studs had been easily removed, lying shattered in the pool of blood.