Chapter 169 â Excessive Force (2)
Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan
Raphaelâs eyes were filled with murder, and Eucaly was terrified.
âTell me what he promised you!â He roared. âWhat was your price for killing my wife?!â
His voice was filled with both fury and terror, his broken heart at the realization of how nearly he had lost Annette, and Eucaly almost wet herself as he snarled at her. Her breath caught and then she passed out.
Wordlessly, Raphael tore at the bars. The only thing that would satisfy him was killing her. He had finally learned what love was, he had learned what it was like to be loved, and he had almost lost everything. Because he had believed his fatherâs flattery, like a fool.
âRaphael! Raphael, what are you doing?â
âRaphael, stop, stop. Calm down, we have to keep her aliveâŚâ
ââŚWhy?â He growled.
He would never be so far gone that he couldnât hear Annetteâs voice. Gently, she stroked his arm.
âThere are still more things she might know. We might even turn her into a weapon against His Majesty. We might even be able to find evidence against him.â
Raphael paused. This was enough to placate him, and he drew a deep breath. She was right. It would be better if they could get evidence, and his anger wasnât helping.
All he cared about was protecting Annette. He would no longer use his sword to subdue others, or to win a higher position in society. He would use it to protect the first person who had ever really loved him, his whole life.
He didnât even care about becoming Master of Swords. It was something he had longed for all his life, but as long as Annette was safe, he needed neither wealth nor glory. She was his treasure. It embarrassed him to think it, but it was true.
It was as if he had discovered some great truth of the world. The anger faded from his eyes, and they took on their usual brilliance. Which was when he noticed the pair of worried eyes watching him.
âRaphaelâŚâ Annette whispered.
It felt like a gift when her lips shaped his name. He wanted to caress her soft cheeks, and he tossed the broken bar from the cell aside, forgetting everything else. His fingers felt strangely cold, but he barely noticed.
But Annette did. Her eyes shook with shock, and she pointed at the bar he had just flung aside.
âRaphaelâŚtheâthe bar, it stuckâŚâ
Raphaelâs eyes widened.
The bar was stuck upright and humming into the stone floor, dug in as easily as a shovel sank into mud. Annette caught his wrist, her hand trembling, and lifted it up between them.
âYour hands are glowing,â she whispered. âTheyâre glowing, can you see it?â