Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix - Chapter 134

Chapter 134: His Undesired Today And Her Nostalgic Yesterday
Asura couldn’t react fast enough to her sudden change. In the space of him, realising it was her flesh body, she suddenly sat down at his study table and placed all his documents in order with an amazed glance, her fingertips and eyes quickly reading the agricultural ideas he made, some not even shown to the merchants.

‘This woman… Why is it so soon? I don’t have the strength to crush her family yet!’

Asura clenched his fists tightly as he looked at Delta, who stood beside him; she tried to comfort him but understood the complicated relationship between Verana and Asura.

“Please allow us some private space, Miss Delta.” Verana Drakkur spoke in a polite yet arrogant tone as she glanced at Delta with a charming smile, but Asura noticed Verana’s eyes showed the true colours of this woman… A snake ready to devour him whole.

Delta nodded reluctantly as she exited the room.

‘….’

“Why are you looking through confidential documents, Miss Drakkur?”

Asura played along with Verana. He acted polite but cold as he moved closer to the desk and pulled the documents away from her slender fingers.

“I apologise, Lord Asura. I am merely impressed with your talent; the moment I read, I became engrossed.”

Verana stood elegantly before walking towards Asura with a charming smile. Yet he felt disgusted as he smelled her sweet perfume, reminding him of his nightmare. ‘No, this scent is wrong… this is the scent of my dreams with that doll. The fake Verana!’

“Is it possible for you to share this agricultural technique? As you know, the people of my territory are struggling with their harvests and…”

“Why would I share it with you for nothing?” Asura interrupted Verana; he smiled faintly while placing the documents in a locked drawer.

“Then how about we marry as previously arranged by our parents? I would offer ten thousand gold and myself to you?”

‘Yourself? That tainted body, sure… It may be pure now. Yet why should I forgive such a foul woman?’

Asura sat at the table, leaving only the documents he deemed too difficult for her to decipher, while here, the codes and different runes were something he created with her all those years ago… A feeling like a dagger stabbing his heart appeared as he remembered those sweet days once again.

‘Those damn dreams!’

“Lord Asura, are you alright? You look pained…” Verana’s soft hands touched Asura’s, and he felt sickened as he pulled away instantly.

“Don’t touch me… never approach me again.” Asura stood and glared at Verana, causing her beautiful ruby eyes to widen as she looked surprised.

“Am I not good enough to enter your eyes compared to the princess?” Her blood eyes watched him, focused like a snake. Asura knew he needed to play along and find a reason to reject her without causing suspicion.

“Miss Drakkur, please leave. I do not wish to talk any longer. Thank you for the supplies delivered, but your presence disturbs me…” He felt unable to respond like normal, because of the frequent dreams and…

Before he realised, she came close, stepping towards him, pressing her voluptuous chest onto his chest and wrapping her arms around his neck… Her soft lips touched his earlobes, whispering.

“Do I disturb you this much? Is it because of my element? The foul rumours that follow it? But please relieve yourself, Asura. I can only use my clones for battle and simple tasks.”

“My talent is combat, not seduction!” Verana pushed herself away, showing a frustrated expression…

‘Damn… She’s acting… you seduced me so good I gave you my entire life, my family…’

Asura grabbed her wrists, stopping her from moving away completely, and he looked into her eyes. There was a hint of desire… but the biggest emotion seemed to be curiosity and that look he remembered before she sullied it all.

“Verana… Don’t tempt me. I am engaged to three women already; I want to protect Wolfsheim, the Phoenix Glade, not destroy it because of a war.”

“Asura… Are you afraid of me?”

“!!!”

Asura pushed Verana away before glaring at her with a dark expression… “Get out! I will cancel our engagement and send it to the queen to review!”

His emotions became unstable… His memories clashed with reality… There were too many similarities to their nostalgic time, the time of his first love. A vulnerability that any man suffers, he can make many brave remarks…

But she was his first, the spark that made him believe he could achieve something despite being a No-mag!

Verana smirked slightly, crimson eyes watching Asura’s face, filled with frustration and anger.

She moved close to his ear once more…

“I do not care if you hate me. If you give me a chance, I will prove myself to you. There is no time to become enemies.”

Her voice contained hints of seduction, but he felt her seriousness… She caressed his cheeks gently… Asura remained silent before pushing her away and pointing towards the door…

“Get out!”

“Until we meet again… My future husband.” Her hand held the basic plans for his agricultural revolution. In return, she took off the necklace around her neck… and tossed it onto the enormous table as its heavy weight slammed down on the parchments.

‘The necklace of Drakkur!? The mother serpent!’

“Why…”

Asura grasped the pendant, his fingers tracing the black snake’s lovely scales. Since becoming more dragon, he could tell poor scales from beautiful ones. This is the sign of the heir to Drakkur…

Passing it to him is saying… “You are the next heir.”

“…” Verana left with a faint smirk…

Asura collapsed into his chair… clasping the necklace within his palm… Helia appeared… And stroked his hair gently with a sad expression… She had many things to say, but sometimes learning through actions and experience was better than words… She could only comfort him as he reflected on the pain and happiness of his first love.

“Helia… I don’t understand. With this, I could usurp her entire title and land….”

“If you choose to accept it… you will lose a reason to get revenge, but what would you gain? Do you not think there are more than your memories alone in the past? There were many things you never realised or understood.” Helia spoke softly.

“There is a reason she brought it now… Think carefully… Also, that scent was not perfume but a natural scent… Now think why you might smell the same scent from a lifeless doll…”

These were all the hints she could give him, any further, and there might be more changes to the timeline that she couldn’t fix or repair.

Helia faded soon after… Leaving Asura alone with his thoughts.

Delta knocked on the door; she watched Verana board the carriage before returning to Asura, only to find him sleeping on the small black throne, where he whispered Verana’s name.

Delta left soon after, putting a blanket over his body.

“That woman… Why does she have such a strange effect on Lord Asura?”

****

⁜ Verana POV ⁜

Verana boarded the carriage; she ordered her guards to depart straight away… Inside her large carriage, she giggled softly as she held the agricultural designs Asura had worked so hard on…

“Hmmm? Is my sister so happy with some pathetic pieces of paper?” Verena waited inside the carriage, her form not the same as usual, but she looked identical to one maid from the Drakkur palace.

“You killed a maid to serve as your doll again!?”

“Hey~ big sister, the prince is so demanding. She wouldn’t sleep with him, but now it’s neither cheating nor rape because she will accept as it’s me controlling the body~ hahaha!”

“Disgusting!”

Verana threw a sharp bolt of shadow magic towards Verena… Who dodged swiftly, but it tore through the maid’s chest, causing the two to be separated, leaving both sisters facing each other as it pierced through the carriage door… Causing her to glare at Verana…

“Big Sis, that hurt~” Verena held a tearful expression as she acted like a child…

“Young Lady, are you okay!?” a knight shouted from outside.

Verana ignored her annoying younger sister… She turned towards the knight with a charming smile… “Everything is fine! We hit a bump, and the spell I was practising shot out of my control. Oh my, these roads need to be repaired!”

The carriage continued as Verena healed her clone, dressed in the maid’s clothes once more… “Hmmm… why do you seem different?” She noticed the bright face of her sister, this was something she had never seen before. The small pieces of paper in her hand made her smile even more.

Verena recalled Asura’s face.

“Could it be!? Big sister fell for that damn former no mag?” She teased her sister… who remained silent, pretending to ignore her as she gazed out the carriage window…

“He is a wonderful man and will make a splendid lord.”

Verena couldn’t believe her ears… She almost burst out laughing until she saw the serious expression of Verana.

“Sister, are you insane!?” She rushed over, grasping Verana’s shoulders and shaking her. “You are taking this engagement seriously? To those Fenix bastards?” Verena cursed.

“Silence, Verena! You know nothing! If you dare mess anything up… I will castrate that scum you are sleeping with!”

“Huh!?” Verana’s demonic aura caused Verena to gulp… Never… Never had she stood against Verena. No matter how much she pushed her, Verana would just let it happen and pay no heed.

“You…”

“Really?”

Verana smirked, holding her little sister’s cheek gently before grabbing her throat and tightening her grip, forcing Verena to submit, unable to refuse because of their bloodline oath…

“Remember your place, Little Sister. I know of your plans to kill me, to make me one of your little dolls and to aid that scum from the east to take over our duchy.”

Darkness filled the carriage, creating an evil, malevolent aura that crushed Verena’s soul…

“H-how did you?”

“Our blood oath… Tells me everything… So remember… You cannot betray me; you cannot kill me, or you will lose everything…”

‘Asura Fenix… Even as a No-Mag, you didn’t change… Even after that suffering…’

Verana transformed at that moment, her back filled with deathly wings, tattered and covered in black smoke; she grabbed her sister once again. Her fingertips grew long claws, and her eyes became cold and empty of emotions, filled with a dark light.

“Now… Go to the capital… Play your games with that scum prince… But if he dares to harm you or our people, I will rip him limb from limb… along with his entire kingdom.”

“S….sister… you…. how are you stage five….!?”

“Hahahaha…. after suffering such torment… selling my soul for power is nothing! This time, it will be different…”

Verana transformed fully… A monstrous appearance similar to Mu Xue mixed with Helia, but darker… With hair-like blood cascading over her body and tattered black wings spread wide, covering the carriage with shadows, Verana smirked evilly at Verena, whose face turned pale.

“You… are undead…!?”

The next moment, the sharp claws of Verana penetrated her sister’s head, deleting all of her memories of today and replacing them with ones she would deem acceptable.

“Go… Little Sister… Make sure you enjoy your time playing house with that prince. Soon… I will bring you something fun to play with… Hahahaha.” Verana released Verena… Who collapsed unconsciously…

“Soon… Asura Fenix… I will win your heart… Even if I must suffer once more…”

Verana returned to her human appearance; she wiped away the sweat dripping from her forehead… What was strange was that her chest made the sound of two different hearts beating.

“Even if you have forgotten… I will never forget our nostalgic time together, Asura…”