Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

The northwest part of the continent, the Kingdom of Thevailes.

Though generally known as a kingdom of knights, Thevailes, a nation surrounded by mountain ranges on its western and eastern borders, was also hailed as the Land of Rocks. The capital city of Thevailes where the Royal Palace was located was built in majesty on the side of a mountain.

Yet despite the name, rather than the brown of the earth, the capital of Thevailes was white--from its people, to the buildings, to the snow that would fall the greater majority of the year; thus was the reality of the North.

Despite it being the middle of the night, the North's young king was sitting on his throne.

Pale skin that would make one think of a child of winter, deep-set eyes the colour of the lightest gray, short platinum blond hair almost a silvery white–-they were characteristics of the Vailes royal bloodline.

With thick dark brows to balance his handsome face, the man in his late twenties sitting on the throne had a strong charismatic appearance. Clad in a pure white military garb, only the black undershirt and the luxurious golden epaulettes on his shoulders broke the monotonous colour of his white royal coat lined with a silver emblem.

In the forefront of the dark grand throne hall lit up with ominous blue flames, his charismatic appearance shone like a beacon of light.

King Samer Vailes, Ruler of the North and the King of Thevailes.

His light gray eyes were fixed on his kneeling knight who was updating him about matters that he ordered in secret, and his trusted subordinate did not fail him, handling everything without letting others know.

Contrary to Megaris whose knights wore black, the knights of Thevailes had a white uniform that would allow them to easily blend in the snow. From the crest on his outer coat, it could be seen that this knight was an officer with a high rank.

Sir Rechard, Captain of the Royal Knight's Second Brigade.

"Your Majesty, our sources say the possibility of Keiren Ivanov siding with us is quite high as long as we push our negotiations forward," the knight informed with a polite tone.

Samer's thin lips curved into a smirk as his eyes glittered with amusement. "Of course, he would, Rechard. Other than us, no one can help him to take his brother down the throne."

The knight agreed, "After all, with the nobles hesitating due to the royal family's absolute authority, he could not rely on inside supporters. It was no secret that he was humiliated when the throne was given to his younger brother instead of him. He would be feeling more pressured now that his brother has married. The moment Megaris gains a legitimate heir, Keiren Ivanov would lose qualifications to inherit the throne unless he causes a civil war."

"He shall be a useful piece. While we wait for our army to expand and accumulate resources for the next war, we will focus our attack from the inside to weaken, if not break, the authority of the Royal Family of Megaris."

"Your Majesty is wise," the knight praised. "Should we initiate contact with the prince the moment he returns to his duchy? Though he initially refused our offer last time, his brother's marriage should have shaken his resolve--"

As they continued to talk, the atmosphere changed. It felt like the air inside the throne hall became abnormally still, giving a different vibe which alerted the two of someone's arrival.

All of a sudden, black smoke appeared near the steps of the elevated platform of the throne. A  figure in a large black robe, his head covered in a hood, appeared inside the throne hall out of nowhere.

The knight immediately pulled his sword out of his scabbard and pointed it towards the intruder. "Who dares be insolent in the North? State your name--"

Thud!

The body of the knight flew towards one of the pillars supporting the side of the throne hall by an invisible energy. Pinned against the stone pillar behind him, the knight resisted in vain. Before he could say a word, he could feel his throat constrict and he suddenly could not say a word.

Clank!

At this point, unable to breathe, the knight passed out and the sword in his hand fell on the marble floor.

The entire time, the King of Thevailes said nothing, his leisurely posture sitting on the throne not even changing, as if he was not even a bit surprised or agitated by what he witnessed.

Even though the intruder showed outright violence in front of him, he was not scared. His gray eyes calmly looked at the mysterious individual, waiting for his next actions.

The hooded intruder moved the hood of the robe back and revealed a peerless face.

It was a woman. She looked like she was in her late twenties or early thirties, a mature beauty with long dark locks and deep brown eyes that would make any sane man captivated by her looks. However, rather than her appearance, any person's first impression of her would be about her strong commanding presence, which showed she was not someone to be taken lightly, possibly meaning she's a person of high status or an important identity.

"King of Thevailes, you are as the rumours say," she said in a voice that seemed kind and friendly, contrary to her earlier action. "You sure are not easy to threaten."

The corner of Samer's lips curved into a lazy smirk. "Is there any reason for me to feel threatened? If you had come with intentions to kill me, with your ability, I would be dead before I even realized your arrival. The fact that I am alive means you came to me for a different reason."

Everything about her screamed that she was someone highly dangerous, but Samer was not afraid of death. If he was, he would have never shown his ambitions of conquest to the other kingdoms which caused many enemies to aim to assassinate him. For a militant like him, not even the possibility of him losing his life would intimidate him. At most, he would simply pity that he was unable to expand his kingdom's territory during his reign as a king. That was all there is to it.

'The ability to manifest out of thin air, is that something a human is able to do?' Samer could not help but be interested. 'Or is she perhaps someone from the lores of old, the rumoured existence beyond humankind? If I have a troop composed of people like her, it will be impossible for my army to lose...'

The woman smiled at him.

"Very well, King of Thevailes." She introduced herself to him, "I am Zaria Lynx. You can simply call me Zaria."

"I believe I don't have to ask anything and you will directly tell me your motives," Samer commented, not intending to call her by name. His fingers lightly lapped the armrest of the throne as he waited.

"Acting cold to an ally is not a good attitude, human. After all, I am here to help you to defeat the King of Megaris."

Samer simply stared at her for a while for her bold claim. He lazily rested his elbow on the armrest, his head tilted a little to rest his fingers at the temple of his head. "And how will you do so?" His tone was flat as if her answer didn't excite him at all.

The Black Witch found the human king's arrogance amusing, but as someone whose age numbered in the thousands, she was used to dealing with people like him, people who thought they had the right to look down on everyone else. Thus, she played along with his ego, speaking to make him feel that she was saying something important.

"I know his weakness," Zaria answered.

Still, Samer remained composed and not a tinge of excitement showed in his eyes. He continued to sit lazily on the throne. "And what is it?"

"His wife, Seren Ivanov," she replied.