Sona placed the box on her desk with an elegance that came naturally to her, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "I made some cake; I would like if you tried it," she said, her tone oddly formal for someone offering dessert.
"Oh? You made this yourself?" he asked, already reaching for the lid.
Sona adjusted her glasses and nodded, her voice carefully composed. "Yes. I've been refining my recipe. Serafall said I should let someone outside the family try it."
"And naturally, you thought of me." Arthur gave her a teasing grin. "I'm honored. I didn't know I held such a prestigious place in your heart."
Sona gave him a sharp look, though her ears turned faintly pink. "Don't flatter yourself. You just happened to be nearby."
He chuckled, opening the box. Inside, the cake looked flawless—light pink frosting smoothed to perfection, with a small swirl of whipped cream and a dainty strawberry on top.
"Well, it looks divine." Arthur took the fork she handed him and sliced off a neat bite. "Let's see if the taste matches the aesthetic."
He popped it into his mouth.
And froze.
The smile on his face stiffened.
He blinked once.
Then twice.
The flavor was... confusing. Somehow dry and soggy at the same time. The sweetness was overpowering, with a weird tang that lingered too long on the tongue. Something about the texture reminded him of a soggy cracker soaked in strawberry syrup and regret.
Sona, waiting expectantly with her hands folded behind her back, leaned forward. "Well? How is it?"
Arthur, chewing very slowly, raised a thumb. His smile was still frozen in place, the corner of his mouth twitching as he struggled to swallow.
"It's... great," he said, finally managing to get the words out. "Really. I can't wait to finish the rest."
Sona's eyes narrowed slightly, reading the strain behind his cheerful tone. "Are you sure? You made a strange face for a moment."
Arthur waved his hand and forced a relaxed chuckle. "Oh no, no, that was just... a surprise at how good it was. Truly. You might have a future in dessert warfare."
"Warfare?" she repeated with a raised brow.
"I meant cuisine!" Arthur added quickly, wiping his mouth. "Definitely cuisine."
Sona tilted her head, unconvinced. "Would you like another slice?"
Arthur paled. "You know, I'd love to… but I have to keep my appetite balanced for… um… sword training. Very strict regimen."
Sona folded her arms, looking mildly amused now. "Right."
He cleared his throat and glanced toward the window. "Still, I appreciate the gesture. Really. You didn't have to go through all this effort just to please me."
Sona's lip twitched. "I'll take that as a compliment. You know, other than my sister, you are the only one who ate my cake."
Yeah, I know that. Now I know why Serafall said not to share it with anyone. Shit, I feel like my stomach is upset. And I should have put my guard up when she wished me off. Arthur thought.
Which itself is something nobody is able to pull off because of devil characters.
🔹🔹🔹
[Undisclosed Location]
"Throximus has been safely captured by Nazarick." A man with ash-grey skin said.
He was wearing full body armor. He had a bright red eye, which he inherited from his mother. While he was not as big as Throximus. He was still big compared to average humans. And he was sitting in a chair at a round table. The Round Table looks like a replica of the table in the conference room on the ninth floor.
[IMAGE HERE]
He was Azeroth. Second son of Ancient One, the child between Ancient One and Aurora. One of the smartest children of Ancient One and the leader of the Rebellion.
And all 12 seats at the round table were occupied.
"Azeroth, do you think Throximus will be able to pull it off? And even if he did do it according to the plan, then how will he escape? If my guess is correct, Father must have put him on the ninth floor. So after he stole the 'golem,' how will he escape?" The one spoke was an old man with white hair. He looks like someone who is already on his deathbed, but the way he carries himself is that of a power. Like no one stands above him.
His name was Albris, and he is Ancient One son from Esdeath.
Hearing Albris, the remaining 10 members didn't say anything as they looked at Azeroth. They also like to know how Throximus will escape from Nazarick.
Even though Thoximus is strong, nobody believes he is strong enough to fight all the way up to the 1st floor and escape the Tome. Excluding the fact that in every floor there are thousands of booby traps and special troops, it won't be weird that the next time they hear about Thoximus, it's his funeral.
"Do you know, Ancient One placed a [Gate] on the ninth floor so that his wives from the Underworld can visit him. A private one. Excluding the [Gate] on the sixth floor, Amphitheatre, this is the only [Gate] that connects Nazarick to the outside world."
Albris's eyes narrowed. "And?"
"So after Throximus do-what-he-need-to-do he can escape through this [gate]." Azeroth said, to which nobody showed any reaction.
Because entering and exiting Nazarick was that easy, then anyone with a bit of brain can do it. Since there is no news about anyone successfully entering the tome and coming out unscathed till now, it's not easy.
"The ninth floor is residential for Albedo and your mother; the second they found out about Throximus's escape, it took another second for them to teleport to the throne room and use the administrative system. Following is something we all can easily predict." Albris said.
"Well, if I showed you guys all my cards, there wouldn't be any surprises left, would there? Anyway, on a completely different topic, I have finally confirmed from Ophis about Ancient One's other form. Currently we know his five forms, including the Doppelganger, which is said to be his true form. Next is Incubus, the form that he used to conceive us. Then there's the Blacksmith form; we don't know its race as of currently. Next is Angel form. And lastly, the bird-man-like form: we don't know anything about this form, not even its race, other than the fact that this form was strong enough to fight Ophis. Now we only need to know his sixth form, but nobody has seen or heard about it; even our mothers only know about its existence. After we find that and the weakness of all of his other forms, then we can officially start our coup d'état."
❌❌❌
How was the chapter? If you have any advice for me, please comment on it.
please leave a review and comment, if you like Fan-fic.
I posted 20 advanced chapters on Patreon, If you want to support me, check it out. You only need 3$ to become my Patreon.
patreon.com/Clockwork439