Angel Monarch-Chapter 342: The Prince and the Princess

The words echoed in the awfully silent room. It took a second for their meaning to register, but soon every member of Thea's family knelt before Victoria and Henry… Everyone except Thea…

She just continued standing and staring at both. Despite attending the same school for a year, she never once suspected the girl whom Thea bullied daily was the daughter of the most influential person in their world.

Her mind couldn't comprehend it. She wanted to kneel out of respect for their leader's daughter, but none of her muscles obeyed her desperate commands.

Her face showed increasing fear until tears began streaming down her pale cheeks.

She believed her execution was neigh, since there was no other reason Victoria would've invited her.

At this point, Thea had already accepted her own death, but she still wanted to beg for her family. They didn't even know the invite's purpose! They didn't deserve to die for her own stupid mistake!

Thea opened her mouth as sobs escaped her mouth, but before any words could've left her throat, Victoria spoke again.

"You don't need to kneel. I invited all of you as guests. Today me and Thea got into a minor altercation, and I grew curious about her familial background!" Said Victoria while continuing to smile.

From the ground, Luzia shot a death stare at her daughter, for causing even the smallest inconvenience to their Goddess's daughter!

Victoria waited seconds before her patience ran out, and she intervened. She sighed in annoyance and reached her hand through the fabric of reality.

Her hand passed through one portal. Simultaneously, three others emerged close by. From each, her right hand reached out and gently lifted every family member.

Thea watched in awe as Victoria's one hand tripled, but it was even more amazing to see her actual portals from up close.

Thea momentarily forgot the situation, then heard angry footsteps approaching.. From the corner of her eye, Thea saw her mother's hand approaching her face rapidly.

She covered before the palm, waiting for the stinging pain of her mother's slap… It never arrived…

Her mother's face passed through another portal and stopped a centimeter away from Victoria's own cheek.

The small girl's expression turned solemn, and the seriousness within her gaze intensified. Suddenly, Luzia felt like a prey in sight of a predator, like death itself stared up at her.

Her lone hand trembled as Victoria smirked.

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"What is it Mrs. Luzia? Won't you hit me, just like your daughter?… Please tell me… When did I give you the right to use violence in my presence? Or perhaps you are stronger and better than me, so you can ignore me?… Are you truly that powerful?"

Victoria's voice became lower with each word, and as Luzia tried pulling her hand out of the portal, it grew as small as her wrist.

"Maybe I should keep your hand as a souvenir of your insolence! If you are only using it to beat your child, I don't think you deserve it!"

A line of blood appeared around Luzia's wrist as the portal closed down further. Thea's mother took a glance at her hand, then looked towards Victoria and bowed her head, keeping her decorum intact by not showing pain.

"I deeply apologize for acting out! I never usually hit my children, but when I heard about the incident with my daughter, my anger took over! My actions are inexcusable, so take my hand or my head as payment for my daughter's life!"

The silence creeped back in.

Thea stared at her mother with teary eyes, as her words continued to echo inside Thea's mind.

"You would truly sacrifice your life to save your daughter?" Said Victoria, after thinking for a while.

Luzia stayed bowed and nodded. "Of course, my Princess! I would give up everything for my children, even my or my husband's life!"

Blood continued to drip from Luzia's wound as the portal cut deep into her wrist.

Moments later, Henry reached his limit. He placed a hand on Victoria's shoulder and addressed his girlfriend.

"My Love, I think you scared them enough. Can we get back on track? This wasn't the reason for inviting them!"

Victoria's eyes grew wide, as Henry's words brought her out of the trance-like angry state. She blushed from embarrassment and released Luzia's hand.

The woman calmly lowered her hand, gazing at Victoria. Though the portal's wound rapidly healed, blood still fell in droplets from her fingers.

Thea hurried to her mother's side, wanting to check on the wound, but Luzia was having none of it.

She bowed in front of Victoria and prepared to thank her for the generosity, but the small girl was faster.

"Sorry, Mrs. Luzia… I got carried away… I also won't hurt any of your family, including Thea… I wanted to apologize to her as well, since it was my loss of control, which caused such a huge issue earlier today…"

Victoria bowed from the waist, in a gesture of humbleness, stunning everybody except Henry. Her boyfriend just gently smiled at this display, while scanning the four guests' faces for any malicious intent.

"It wasn't my intention to cause such a problem, but your words hurt, and my mind went blank in that moment… Luckily, most of my abilities stayed locked, so I didn't cause anything permanent!"

Thea's eyes widened once more as she recalled her own words. She called Victoria an orphan and said her parents died in The War of Three Alliances, which wasn't entirely untrue.

Her adoptive father did perish in the war. Everyone knew his name, including Thea… Bran, the Peacemaker!

The man who ended the war. Whose own celebration was on May 12th, two days from now!

The already wide pit in Thea's stomach grew. She felt the need to vomit from embarrassment, shame, anxiety, fear, and anger towards herself.

She couldn't believe those words left her mouth. Thea thought herself a kind person, but upon realizing her own words and bullying, she began hating herself.

Since she already faced monsters, and was well on her way to join the military, she treated school as a joke, where she could release her stress, even if it hurt other people.

Her only luck was Victoria's generous, kind, forgiving, and humble nature. Anyone else would've sent Thea straight for execution, but Victoria even apologize for something she didn't make.

"There is no need to apologize, my Princess… It was all my fault, and I'm deeply sorry for all the hurt I've caused… I've no excuse for my behavior throughout the year, and will accept any punishment!"

Thea closed her eyes as she awaited Victoria's next words, which would determine her entire life.

If the girl decided, Thea could get executed, or banished from the Angelic Order. She could also punish her by banning Thea's entry into the military, which would bring immense shame to her family.

Victoria had lots of punishments she could've used, each justified in Thea's opinion. However, the small girl wasn't nearly as vengeful as her mothers.

She smiled gently at Thea and reached through space to touch her face. Thea's dark silver eyes opened and stared into Victoria's own white ones with specks of dark blue hidden in its depths.

Her scar stretched with the smile, creating a strange contrast of violence and joy.

"I faced much worse people than a mere bully, but if you truly want punishment, then I give you one… Come and enjoy a meal with me and Henry! That's your punishment!"

Thea stared at Victoria with her mouth agape. Behind her, both her father and brother chuckled, finally breaking the solemn atmosphere.

"Oh, my, that would be divine indeed! Thank you for the invitation, my Princess, and Prince Henry! I always wanted to taste the Empress's Joy's cuisine, but as a lowly administrator in the military, I never managed to make a reservation!"

Marc, Thea's father, spoke with a bright smile. He walked up to Henry without fear and reached out for a handshake. The prince returned the smile, extending his own hand and grasping the father's solidly.

"Low administrator, my ass! You command thousands of soldiers! You were even responsible for part of the assault on The Broken City! Your and your wife's tactical thinking made it possible for our troops to take the city!"

Marc's eyes widened in surprise, and his speech became less firm.

"Y-you… You read the report?… B-but aren't you too busy? My commanding officers must've made better, more concise accounts of the battle… They never would've mentioned me!"

Currently, the Angelic Order's military was still in peril. The leadership and rankings remained undefined.

Some regular commanders had higher ranks than Evolved, which brought discourse to between the two groups.

Most Evolved believed no regular human should command them, while the regulars wanted the opposite. Sadly, this conflict continued on, since nobody had the time to fix it yet.

There was also the problem of middle management. Lieutenants, Captains, Sergents, Majors, even Colonels were missing from the command structure, bringing disarray to any military action.

Henry was working on developing a new structure that would fit their current enormous military, but lacked free time to make any significant progress.

"I enjoy reading reports from the lower members of the command structure. Those higher ups always leave out important details, or 'fail' to mention other people's bravery during conflicts!"

While Marc was still stumped, Henry took a step away and reached out towards Marko, Thea's brother. His face stayed much more stoic, showing no emotion even when grasping the prince's hand.

"And you must be Marko. I read you provided excellent support in The Battle of Barcelon. I'm sorry for the lives lost in that battle… We miscalculated about the Stellars, and didn't expect them to return so soon…"

Henry showed shame on his face, as if it was purely his fault so many died in that battle.

Marko just snorted and smirked, which surprised Henry.

"It wasn't anyone's fault. Stellars are way too powerful to be predictable… Also, even without their help we would've never captured Barcelon! Our attack diverted attention, enabling the conquest of other city-states! Everyone died in that battle, knew this beforehand, so don't shame them by taking away their sacrifice!"

A moment's silence passed between them before Henry's exhausted sigh and nod. He continued making small talk with everyone, including Luzia and even Thea.

Afterward, he spread his arms and motioned for everyone to take their places at the round table.