253: Trust Me

Trust Me

"Dragon Immortal punished you? What do you mean by that? What was the punishment?" Adeline asked while a hint of curiosity loomed over her eyes.1

Edwin had no intention of hiding anything from Adeline. He was already done being the bad guy. He wanted to start over his broken relationship with Adeline, and he wanted to build their improved relationship by founding it upon trust and mutual understanding.

Thus, he came clean with his half-sister. "On the day of the test, the Dragon Immortal placed a curse on me. Or let's say, he placed a restriction upon me. I guess he did that thinking I would get back to being the villain I was if I was not restricted."

"And what kind of curse did Az… I mean what kind of curse did the Dragon Immortal place upon you?" Adeline asked with a deep frown between her brows. She could not believe that Azriel had not just toyed with her but with Edwin as well. Not that she was concerned for Edwin but it was just that she was really angry at the self-proclaimed God.

Edwin took a quick glance at Adeline to gauge if he should continue saying what he was going to say or not. He saw that Adeline was really waiting for his answer. So he took a deep breath in and then revealed everything, "He said that if I ever tried to betray the Future Ruler, meaning you, then I would die in an instant."

"Also, with every wound that you get, my soul will be scarred. And the moment my soul reaches its limit, I will cease to exist. The Dragon Immortal said that I won't even enter the cycle of reincarnation. So as I said earlier, I wanted to serve you because of this very selfish reason."

Adeline subconsciously held her breath when she heard that. She was unable to decide if that was good for her or bad for her. And she was even more confused regarding Azriel's intention. And she thought to herself, "Why would he put such a curse on him? Is this another sick trick that he used against me?"

Edwin analyzed Adeline's facial expression again. She did not seem to be judging him right now. She rather looked a little puzzled and lost so he continued, "I know that you might still be thinking if you could really trust me or not. And I know trusting me will not be easy for you. But trust me when I say this…"

Edwin leaned forward and then placed his arms on the desk in front of him. And then he tried to make her trust him by speaking the truth, "It is true that I cannot even think about doing something bad to you. The day you returned back victorious from the test, I was really mad at you thinking you stole my rightful place as the Future Ruler of Wyverndale. But then my heart and my whole body started to act out as though I was really about to die."

His eyes darted around in fear as he continued, "And I am sure that if I ever betray you, I would die in the next moment just like the Dragon Immortal said. I had promised the Dragon Immortal that I would pledge my loyalty to you. And I am here to do just that. I am here to fulfill my promise. And also to save my own life."

Edwin took a deep breath in and added, "I have to live long enough so that I can make amends to my previous action. Or at least try to do lots of good deeds so as to compensate for the sins that I have done. He showed me a glimpse of Hell and I would never want to go there when I die."

Adeline did not want to accept it, but she felt great satisfaction when she heard him say that. Azriel had shown him Hell! And he had made him pledge his loyalty to her. And what more… if he ever tried something funny like overthrowing her, then he would die!

But she still could not tell what Azriel had in his mind. She had seen him acting all nice and friendly just to trap her like a pitcher plant. He had made her go through something worse than Hell.

And she thought, "I should tell everything to Theo. And I should get his opinion about this matter. Who knows, that fake God might be planning something like before. I did a great mistake back then by not telling Theo everything. I am not going to make that same mistake again."

Her train of thought was disturbed by Edwin when he abruptly got up from his seat and then bowed his head to her. And then he asked in a confident way, "So, please, Your Highness. Let me serve you. I would like to protect you from any harm that might befall you. And I would also like to help you with anything that you need from me."

Adeline narrowed her eyes and asked with a little suspicion, "You are not lying to me, right? You know that I can always ask the Dragon Immortal and check if what you said just now is true or it was completely made up."

Edwin shook his head a few times and then answered, "I would never dare to make something up like this. I know how powerful the Dragon Immortal is and I fear him. I would never try to defame him like this."

Adeline crossed her palms and then thought for some time. "Well… if he cannot hurt me then I guess there is no harm in getting him on my side. I might even be able to use him as a shield against that witch. Or he himself might protect me from his mother. He has to… if he does not want to die. And one thing that is good about Lillian is that she will do anything to save her dear son…"

She took a deep breath in and then looked Edwin in the eyes. And then she said while exuding an authoritative aura, "Since it was the Dragon Immortal's wish, I will respect his judgment and I will accept your loyalty." She did not trust the Dragon Immortal but seeing that he feared Azriel, she made it sound as though she only accepted his service because of Azriel.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Edwin bowed again. Then he placed his fist on his chest and announced, "I hereby pledge my loyalty to the Future Queen of Wyverndale. I will do anything and everything to protect you and serve you."

Adeline nodded her head and smiled awkwardly seeing him overdoing it. And then she dismissed him, "You must be dying to meet your wife and your daughter. Why don't you spend a few days with them? You can then come back here when you are ready."

But Edwin looked very determined to never leave Adeline's side. "I will come back from tomorrow. You can think of me as your personal bodyguard." And then he finally left the workplace.

And Adeline wondered how he spent those two years in isolation. She thought that he must have felt really restless when he didn't know what was happening outside his quarter and what was happening to her.

Adeline heaved a great sigh of relief. She had considered Edwin as one of her two main enemies. And with his fate being bound to her like that, one of her enemies was automatically neutralized. Now with Edwin on her side, she could just focus her time and energy on Lillian.

If Azriel had not betrayed her, she would have thanked him. But she had vowed never to forgive him for what he did, no matter what. Even if this whole thing with Edwin was done out of the goodwill of his heart, Adeline was not going to forgive him. The bad things that he did to her far outweighed the good things.

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