The Devil wanted more.

The Devil’s hunger for Adeline’s body took over.

Theodore carried Adeline to his bed and pushed her down. He climbed on top of her, his eyes red, and then started to kiss her neck. And bit by bit he moved upwards to her lips and kissed her vigorously. He placed his hand on Adeline’s smooth leg and slowly slid it upwards.

But a soft moan left Adeline’s lips in between their kiss and she grasped his hand from trailing further up from her thigh.

And in that anger he bit her lips, filling his mouth with a sudden metallic taste.

Adeline gasped and shouted, “Aaah! Theo!”

When Theodore heard Adeline’s voice, he stopped immediately. He blinked his eyes hard and when he opened them again, they were back to golden. He was out of his Devil-trance.

He looked at her lips and there was a small cut. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me.” Then he quickly got off from her and covered his face in disgrace.

“What was I thinking pouncing on her like that? What is wrong with me recently? Why do I lose control when I am around her?” Theodore was scolding himself quietly when he felt Adeline’s hand on his shoulder.

Adeline felt that he was regretting his behavior from earlier. She rubbed his shoulder and tried to console him, “Theo! I am not hurt that badly. Stop sulking!”

Theodore looked at Adeline with guilty eyes and spoke in his deep voice, “What if I had hurt you more? I was just not myself.”

Adeline pressed both of her hands on his chiseled jaw and looked at him with a bright smile, “You did not. And that is the fact.”

She changed her position and then sat by facing Theodore. “Alright, forget about all this. Let’s pick up our conversation back to where we left it in the morning.” The expression of her face turned serious, “Tell me everything that you know about my kidnapper.”

Theodore was not ready to have this talk, especially after some new pieces of information that he found out today. But he had already promised to Adeline that he would tell her everything that he knew.

When waiting for Adeline earlier in the Palace, he happened to come across Lillian and was curious. Now, he just wished that he had not touched Queen Lillian today and looked at her past. But it was too late to wish that now.

Nonetheless, Theodore took a deep breath in and then started with a question, “How much do you remember about the day that you were brought here?”

Adeline tilted her head and pressed her lips together. She tried to think back her old memories and said, “I remember General Osmond bringing me to the mountain’s top in a horse. I was asleep most of the way here though. And after that I remember playing with you in this room. And maybe you took me back right? I woke up in my own room some time later.”

Theodore rested his chin on his hand and nodded his head. Then he started his narration, “Firstly, what I want to say is that I just came across the real kidnapper accidently. You need to know that, I feed off of the revengeful aura that any beings emit and grow stronger with that. And people tend to emit it the most; it is the reason why I live near the settlement of the livings.”

Adeline was pouting her lips and was nodding her head. Theodore would always have these interesting things to tell about himself. And the more she would learn about him, the more she would feel intrigued by the Devil.

Theodore continued with his explanation, “And when I had visited you in the training ground when you were five years old, I could feel Osmond was emitting a very heavy dark aura. I was interested to know what made him so revengeful so I could boost his revenge even more.”

Adeline’s forehead creased and her lips puckered when she heard him talking about making a person even more revengeful.

Theodore shrugged his shoulders as if nothing was wrong with that and kept on speaking in his deep voice, “I touched Osmond and saw through his past. That’s when it got personal, because I saw that he was the one to drop you in front of the cave and that he was ordered by someone to bring you here.”

Theodore had a hint of fury in his eyes. “And that person was none other than that witch, Lillian.”

Adeline was stunned when she heard the name. Though she had never really interacted with Queen Lillian and did not know her that well, she still did not want to believe that her kidnapper was none other than her father’s wife. She had to make sure again, “Lillian as in First Queen Lillian?”

Theodore tightened his fists and gritted his teeth. Then he nodded. He had more reasons to be angry about than Adeline’s kidnapping.

After learning about the name of the real kidnapper, Adeline racked her mind to know why she had the need to stoop so low. After all, she was a harmless child at that time. Then why? What would she gain when Adeline was lost?

Adeline rubbed her forehead and whispered, “So, the invisibility spell that I had was casted by her… Why would she have a need to kidnap me? I had heard that she was good in witchcraft and would occasionally help those who needed her help. But I had never imagined that she had such evil intentions as well.”

Theodore pursed his lips because that was not the only evil that she had done. And he could not even comprehend how Adeline would react when she would know each and every thing that Lillian had ever done to her and others.

Adeline suddenly peered at Theodore with confusion, “But I still don’t understand one thing, why was the General so full of revenge? It can’t just be because he had to kidnap me against his will.”

Theodore’s expression turned grim. “Lillian took his beloved daughter’s life right in front of his eyes. Because I had returned you to the Palace and that witch did not get what she wanted… Your death… So she took another innocent life instead.”

Adeline gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “She killed his daughter… She KILLED?” Adeline’s heart was pure and the thought of someone killing a living person was just too much for her. Of course, she was also preparing herself since her childhood to fight in a war if it was to ever happen. But taking an innocent life just like that… it was unacceptable for Adeline.

“I will have a word with my father about this. I will make her pay for what she has done.” Adeline stated with a determined tone. General Osmond had lost his daughter because of her and she wanted to at least help him get his revenge by punishing Lillian.

She swiftly got off from the bed and asked Theodore “Take me back to the Palace.”

Theodore sighed and ran his hand through his black hair. He still had a lot more things to say. “I don’t think that will be a wise choice right now. You should not rush your decision.”

Adeline exclaimed, “Rush?” Her eyes were starting to be filled with anger. She pointed and jerked her hand towards the direction of her Palace and shouted, “She has been roaming freely for more than a decade already, after committing such a grave crime. And you are saying I am rushing my decision?”

Theodore was also feeling as restless as the Princess. He could even kill Lillian just by snapping his fingers but the problem was that he was not allowed to. He was not allowed to interfere in the matters of humans like that. And he did not want to face another retribution from the almighty.

Theodore calmed himself down and spoke in a low and deep tone, “There are few more things that you need to hear first. Please, I want you to sit down.”

But Adeline was one stubborn Princess. “I don’t have time to sit down Theodore; Lillian has been left unchecked for too long. She needs to be punished right away.”

Theodore spoke a bit sternly to make Adeline comply with his request, “Then punish her for all the crimes she has committed and all those that she is committing as we speak.”

Adeline scoffed in disbelief, “You mean there’s more?”

He nodded and spoke in his soft voice, “Yes, and I am just going to tell you the ones that are relevant to you.”

Adeline felt a pang in her heart. “That is relevant to me? Just how much crimes has she committed? Tell me what else she has done to me?”

Theodore clenched his jaw and his eyes started to glow. He slowly iterated everything that he saw in his vision, “The same night that she killed Osmond’s daughter, she also wanted to kill you using the forbidden magic on you. She was in your room and had cast a spell but fortunately my powers that are inside of you repelled her.”

After a chilling silence, he continued again, “And that is only the first time. Over the years, she has repeatedly tried to harm you one way or another… but fortunately all her attempts were unsuccessful.”

Adeline felt blood rushing to her head. She was feeling strong hatred towards Lillian. She clenched her fist and shouted again, “That’s it, let’s go. She needs to be punished.”

Theodore took a deep breath in and gritted from between his teeth, “There’s more…”