Chapter 68 - Their Agreement

LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV

I still have a lot to consider if I would dare fight against Mr. Asterbelle. I should take him out on my own, but I know for sure that he wouldn’t face me alone; he would probably hide a backup enforcement for me to have a hard time dealing with. However, I am now confident that I could at least put his life at risk once he faces me, especially with the fact that I have the Grimstone from the Moon Goddess to my advantage.

King Dawn continued to babble regarding his remaining tactics, which I didn’t pay attention to. I almost dozed off before he could finish, so he decided to end it there.

“We still have a week before we take action. I can’t let you in the battlefield if you’re going to dilly-dally,” Dawn said, gesturing to me to head upstairs where I can have a good night’s rest.

It’s unfortunate to see that Yve just ignored me until we went to the fourth floor. She was just walking ahead of me, with Dawn by her side. The hallways were dark. “Since when did the two of you get so close?” I pouted my lips.

Yve turned around to glance at me. I expected that she’d be the one to reply, but she remained silent and let the king speak. “I’m going to use her for our upcoming battle. You won’t mind that, right? She’s immortal now anyway.”

The vein in my temple moved, agitated by how he sounded like he was using her as a pawn. Someone he could easily throw and abandon in the front lines to use as a sacrifice, so that he could take a step forward to the Blood Moon Pack.

A typical move of a king.

I stopped my tracks, and so they did, both turning around to face me. “I have a condition, Dawn…”

“For what?”

I breathed in heavily as I stared at him directly in the eye. “I would only cooperate with you if you swear not to bring Yve there,” I said in such an authoritative tone for him to know that I wasn’t kidding around. “Actually, change that. I’d only go with you if you could turn Yve back into a mortal. I can’t bear the thought that you’d continually use her according to your desires,” I concluded.

Dawn raised his eyebrows as he crossed his arms. “Who are you to order me around when you couldn’t even do your task as a hidden member and markswoman correctly?” he replied, which made me gulp. “You might’ve forgotten about how you got here alive, so let me remind you of your place: you’re in the same spot as Yve; both of you are just my underlings.”

The atmosphere began to feel like a burden on my shoulders. Jazpher wasn’t mistaken when he warned me not to get on the bad side of Dawn.

I hurriedly bowed my head in humiliation. “I-if you don’t do as I say, I really won’t be there for you during your war against the Asterbelles. I’d side with them if I must, just to force you to make Yve a human again. That’s all I have to say,” I said with my voice trembling before I ran to the room designated for me.

***

The next morning, I woke up to the sight of Jazpher standing by the entrance to my door. I got up and sat straight on the bed, looking at him to let him know that I was getting awkward with his presence.

“Miss Asterbelle, you’re being summoned by the King down the lobby. Get yourself dressed up; there’s a banquet happening,” Jazpher announced, then left the room without waiting for me to reply.

Banquet? For what?

I shook my head in confusion as I stood up from the bed and finished showering. I wore the purple dress that was hanging in the closet, which was probably chosen by Dawn based on his preference. “I could never understand what’s running through that king’s mind,” I whispered to myself. I stared at myself in the mirror, disgusted by how the horn was stuck in my forehead. I didn’t tie up my hair, so it could still somehow get covered up with my bangs.

Even if I was just on the staircase, I could already hear the noises that came from different people. I was immediately greeted by one of the maids the instant that I stepped foot in the lobby. She led me the way, so I gave her my thanks.

“You’re dazzling today. You slept well?”

Dawn had his attire paired with the same color as mine, which didn’t even suit him. I almost laughed at his appearance if only I didn’t forget that he was the king.

“What’s this for? Aren’t you busy with the preparations for the war? How did you still have time to manage this banquet?” I asked him consecutively.

Dawn glanced at both of his sides. "Ah, this?" He took a sip from the glass of blood that he held. "Wasn't this what you were wishing for, so that you'd join with me rather than betray me and go to Brian?" he continued.

"What do you mean? Can't you just get straight to the point?" I frowned.

Dawn placed his glass on the table, brushing his hair up. "This banquet was arranged for the sole purpose of everyone witnessing how Yve would turn from a half-blooded vampire back to a human," he clarified, which gave me hope that he actually meant to follow what I told him yesterday.

I was left wondering why he suddenly had a change of mind since he was called by Jazpher to fix something. I spent my time roaming around the area, only to stumble upon Yve. She still didn't seem to remember who I was. She wore a plain, black-fitted shirt that was paired with a knee-length skirt of the same color.

"You've been gazing at me every single time that you come to this place. Do you perhaps know who I am?" Yve asked me, her voice full of curiosity.

I smiled at her. "I could say the same thing. You wouldn't notice that I'm gazing at you if you weren't glancing my way to see me," I said to make it sound like it was her who was searching for me despite having no memories about us.

Yve rolled her eyes as she attempted to walk away. As much as I wanted to stop her, she voluntarily halted when the speakers made a deafening noise that was soon followed by Dawn's announcement: "Everyone, please gather 'round our special member for today, Yve!"

Just like the king ordered, we formed a circle with Yve in the center. Dawn further discussed what this ceremony would be for, mostly about how it was the first occurrence. No one could determine if it would actually be successful or not, since it has already been a long time since Yve was turned into a half-blooded vampire.

After a few minutes passed, Dawn came back to where we all were, and he came right in front of Yve. He firmly held one of her hands as he placed his left hand above her right shoulder. Those expressions in Dawn's eyes clearly tell me that he wants to make it a success.

"To increase the chances of this working out, I need you, Yve, to deeply think about the desire of wanting to turn back into a human. If you wouldn't do so, it might just make this a futile effort. Everyone's here for you; no one's going to harm you even if you're no longer going to be immortal," Dawn mumbled.

Yve looked at me for a second, so I raised my eyebrows, asking her why, but she only reverted her attention back to Dawn as she gave her reply, "I don't want to be a human."