Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 155 The Royal Treatment

"L… Let go of my hand this instant!"

"No."

One tone was more demanding than the other, but the one that was sterner prevailed — how could it not when Rhys did the complete opposite as Vicky's demand and even pulled her closer to him?

And he did not just pull her closer, he wrapped his arm around her neck, and since Rhys was an entire 2 feet taller than her, Vicky's feet were almost lifted from the ground; her legs, violently swaying as she slammed her right foot onto Rhys's right shin; hoping to completely make him lose balance from the pain.

But alas, all it did was cause a loud clang to ring in the air as Vicky's entire body shook from the force of her own kick. Although she is obviously not the physical type, she is still a Noble; she is confident that her kick could destroy thin walls and even bend metal pipes. And yet, not only did Rhys not even flinch, she even found herself slightly trembling as her foot was just bounced back.

And as soon as she realized that, she no longer hesitated in using her abilities as a ball of water appeared right in front of her.

"Vicky, no!" And as soon as Lance saw that, he instantly stretched his hand in his direction as if it would actually do anything… it did not. What did happen, however, was everyone almost hearing the sound of something being gripped and tightened hard — in this case, it was Vicky's neck.

"Khugk…" The whites in Vicky's eyes started to show themselves; the water ball that she summoned, just flopped to the ground as her blood and breaths no longer had anywhere to go. Her red hair which was fervently glowing just moments ago, now flickering as the light it held started to fade away.

"Mr. Rhys, please!" Lance raised both his arms in surrender, rushing to the rest of Lina's cousins to make sure they wouldn't do anything, "Let go of my daughter, please."

Rhys, however, wasn't listening at all as he just tightened his grip on Vicky's neck even stronger; his thoughts, very slowly digging up his memories of the death of his mother. If he only had this kind of strength then, then maybe he could have just snapped Sylas's neck in half and saved her.

Even now, even when he is surrounded by Nobles who are treated like the gods by some people, none of them can do anything since he is literally holding one of them hostage just by his strength alone.

This is justice.

Power is the justice that Rhys had been seeking, it has always been.

"R… Rhys?"

And as Rhys was lost in his own thoughts, a faltering voice whispered in the air. Rhys could really only blink a couple of times as the familiar voice entered his ears before slightly lightening his grip on Vicky's neck.

Lina, who had been unconscious for hours, finally woke up. She seemed completely confused at first since her upper body was practically hanging upside down from Rhys's shoulder, but she quickly lifted herself up, albeit clumsily as soon as she woke up.

She removed herself from Rhys's shoulder, almost losing balance as she did so. She didn't seem to mind, however, as she just groggily let out a chuckle and rested her hand on Rhys.

"Fuck…" She almost retched out, wobbling where she stood as her face was completely just looking at the ground, "...Did I drink vodka? Did you get the name of the wine? I felt like I was fucking hit by a truck and sent to another worl—the fuck are we?"

It took a moment for Lina to realize the heavy atmosphere that was veiling the air. She first noticed the old walls adorned with veins that were probably older than her; strange, but still very much oddly familiar to her.

"Right, we were on our way back to—" Lina turned to look at Rhys before her eyes fell on Vicky, who was probably just seconds away from having her soul be plucked away by Hermes. She then turned to look up at Rhys; looking back and forth between him and Vicky before finally turning her attention toward the other people who were in the parking space.

She looked around for a good few seconds, but as soon as her eyes landed on her other cousins, she quickly came up with her own conclusion.

"Don't tell me you guys are still after my life?" Lina scoffed as she rolled her eyes, "Rhys, you can let go of her now."

"...I don't think that's advisable," Rhys breathed out, "Once I let go of this girl, I am sure they are going to kill us."

"Them…? Pft," Lina almost snorted as she glanced at her other cousins, causing most of them to either flinch or frown, "They might look like that, but my cousins are sweet. They're like my siblings."

"Siblings…?" Rhys could really only blink a couple of times as he heard Lina's words, which could not seem to be farther from the truth. Just moments ago before she woke up, they were going to throw her out of the palace so they could kill her.

"What the… where's Addy?" Lina scoffed as she once again focused on her cousins, "You RGB twats aren't complete without her. And Rhys, seriously… you can let go of Vicky."

"Mr. Rhys, please!" Annabeth's voice trembled as she finally garnered the courage to speak, "Let go of my daughter — I promise you that no one here is going to hurt you. And I know this might sound like I am threatening you, I am not… but if you step out of those walls, they will come after you and Linette. So, why don't all of us just keep our hairs on, have a cup of tea, yes?"

"What is my guarantee that Lina and I will be safe?" Rhys did not let himself be swayed by Annabeth's caring tone as Vicky's neck still remained completely gripped by his arm.

"Because no one has actually attacked you so far, not even once," Annabeth looked Rhys in the eyes, "You're still alive, with not even a drop of your blood anywhere on the castle."

"Only because I was able to escape the traps — your husband would have been the one painting the floor if I didn't pull him away."

"Traps…?" Lina's left eyebrow slowly began to rise as she looked back and forth between Rhys and Annabeth, "Just what exactly did I miss while I was fucked?"

"You weren't drunk, Lina — your uncle drugged you."

"He did what now?" Lina blinked a couple of times as she looked at Lance, "You are going to have to explain that to me later. Just… why don't we just all relax like Annabeth there said and talk this over tea, maybe wine to get rid of my hangover? No? Then maybe—"

"Let… let me talk."

And before Lina could finish her words, a quiet but extremely hoarse whisper scratched the air. Everyone turned to look who it was, only to see Vicky still struggling to breathe from Rhys's grasp.

"The trap…" Vicky's hand then very slowly stretched toward his father, pointing at him with her trembling finger, "...Only dad has access to it."

"What…?" Rhys squinted as soon as he heard that before he looked at Lance, who only slowly closed his eyes in response before taking in a short but very deep breath.

"We…" Vicky gasped, "We… I… did not even have any idea that… that this bitc—that Lina is here."

"Only he has access to it?" Rhys's eyebrows began to lower as he glared at Lance, "But he told me that it was one of you that reactivated the traps."

"That's impossible, Rhys," Lina placed her hand on Rhys's shoulder, "Only the heir apparent is given access to the traps of the palace — it is sort of cultural in a way."

"Then—"

"I wanted to test you, Mr. Rhys Wilder," the hint of panic in Prince Lance's voice was nowhere to be heard anymore as he cleared his throat and interrupted Rhys, "I wanted to test you if you truly are capable of protecting Linette or any of my daughters."

"I do not like being—" Rhys's teeth were about to show themselves, but he finally let go of Vicky as he realized something, causing her to drop on the floor and get on her knees, grasping her throat as she coughed up vehemently. Even with this, however, only Lina went to her side,

"Wait…" Rhys glared at Lance, "...Why would I protect any of your daughters?"

"Because you are to wed one of them, Mr. Rhys Wilder," Prince Lance once again cleared his throat. His words, causing everyone to just drop their arms to look at him in confusion. Even Vicky, who was literally gasping for her breath, turned to look up at his father,

"To keep the bloodline as strong as possible."

"Lance…" Lina looked at his uncle in the eyes as his statement instantly sobered her up. And for the first time, Rhys could finally hear a sort of posh accent in Lina's words,

"...You're right fucking mental, are you?"