Tangled By Fate

Chapter 142 - THE BLOODY PICTURE

"What about Arthur?" Veronica asked them. "What sort of magical powers does he possess?"

Merlin and Darius looked like they were looking at the dumbest girl they had ever seen. In the end, Darius opened his mouth, "Miss, Arthur is the Master of the Magic Tower. There isn't any magic spell he doesn't know. He mastered controlling fire, wind, water, earth, ice at the age of fourteen. He is the youngest master of the Magic Tower in history."

Veronica felt a tingling sensation in her heart. Something was swelling inside her. The man who loved her, the man who protected her from any harm, the man who helped her to see the world was such a powerful person, she never knew. She saw many aristocrats act like they were gods and that commoners were nothing. But, when the most powerful man in the world was beside her all this time, she felt nothing. Realizing how humble he was, her heart brimmed with pride.

Looking at her expression, Darius rubbed his clean shaved chin. "You really didn't know, huh. Then, it is true that you lived your whole life in the temple. How was your life there?"

"It was a safe place and yet a boring one. I've always felt that I never belonged there. That place and those rules weren't for me," as she told them what she truly felt, she looked down. She wouldn't say she didn't miss that place but that was it. She didn't want to go back and live that life again. Her life may be dangerous now. Even so, she enjoyed this life more than her regular cleaning duty.

Darius and Merlin exchanged glances. Afterward, Darius patted her back. "Don't worry about it. You are going to live here. This is your home now. Moreover, you are the Mistress of this house. You can do whatever you want. Even if you don't do anything, it's fine. No one will dare to say anything to you. Just chill out."

Veronica raised her head and smiled at him. "I will do that." She suddenly recalled Arthur's portrait and decided to ask them about it, "I have seen a portrait in the hall. It was Arthur's portrait. It was horrible. Why did the artist paint something like that?"

"By something like that you mean bloody?" Darius smirked. "Why not? It's the most glorious story of Arthur. Hasn't he told you his story?"

Veronica replied, "I was curious but I never asked. I thought he was an ordinary librarian. I did see some pictures of an old couple but I've never seen his pictures. Since I didn't see the couple in the house, I thought maybe they died and he took over the family library. He never talked about them and so I didn't pry. I assumed it was a hurtful past. I gave him space so that he could tell me eventually."

Darius and Merlin gaped at her before Darius asked, "Are you really a woman? I doubt it."

"What do you mean?" Veronica couldn't understand the meaning behind his words.

"All the women I saw up until now got curious about Arthur. They would cling to him and ask him about his personal matters. I'm not sure how he dealt with them." Darius sighed in frustration and stated, "I think I can understand why he fell for you. You are different from other women and more charming in the eyes of a man. if I was in his place, I would have done the same."

Veronica's face was tinted with a red hue. "Umm… I don't think that's the reason. It happened after the war celebration."

"Oh, you are talking about the battle between Riverhill and Synetia. So, he confessed in Synetia?"

"No… from Synetia, we went to the Govin desert, and then he saved me there. I fell into a coma. After I woke up, he told me that he… liked me." Her face was as red as a tomato. She remembered his confession and how he touched her all over. Just thinking about that was making her body grow hot.

"He certainly took a long time to confess." Merlin looked confused.

"He certainly did." Darius asked her, "When was it revealed that you were a blessed child?"

"It was the next day." Veronica could remember everything the leader of the desert tribe told them.

'Then he confessed before he knew she was the blessed child. But why did he do that? Didn't he want to marry her because she is the blessed child?' The same question swirled in Merlin and Darius's minds.

Veronica thought of something and questioned Darius, "Why did you say a bloody scene was glorious? Why is it glorious for Arthur?"

Darius hesitated before saying, "Since he didn't tell you, I will tell you all about him. The reason his portrait is bloody is that he is the most bloodthirsty Master this tower has ever had."

"B-blood thirsty?!" Veronica exclaimed as she couldn't believe him.

"That's true," Merlin sang along. "Most certainly he had to win the competition to get the title of the Magic Tower. The rule of the competition is to kill your opponents. The Master of the Magic Tower must survive even if he has to kill his closest ally."

Veronica gasped. "That's terrible!"

"Oh well, it wasn't that bad for Arthur." Darius' tone was full of regret. "That poor kid had no friends or allies. He mercilessly killed his opponents like some street dogs. Those animals weren't better either. They bullied and tortured Arthur whenever they got a chance. Arthur couldn't do anything since he wasn't blue blood. But in the competition, everyone was equal."

Merlin added, "I heard that he enjoyed killing those opponents. He was smiling when he tore apart their bodies. I think that's when everyone started to fear him."

Veronica was speechless. 'No way… how could my kind, reliable lover act like this? I don't believe it.'

"Even before he met you, he used to kill at least ten people every day. He killed anyone who annoyed him. The smell of blood was so thick that it could be smelled from anywhere in the tower. Ovior couldn't take this bloodshed anymore. He got fed up."

"What did he do?"