My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 70

I had to say that if Aryan had planned to infuriate Sariel, he had done an amazing job. The future king was a second away from exploding.

"Sariel… Calm down… Please…" I whispered softly, being certain he would hear it.

With his fierce temper, I could already imagine him slashing Aryan's throat with his claws. I only hoped that he would decide to focus on me before a disaster would have happened. He looked into my eyes and my pleading gaze. His fiery pupils slowly faded, turning gray. I sighed in relief. Sariel stroked my hand on his shoulder and smiled at me. Then he instantly changed his expression, turning his eyes on Aryan.

"Sir Desai seems overly concerned about my love life. I can assure you that I always make my own choices, and I am not planning to have anyone choose my partner. As for my marked one, I will not abandon her," Sariel stated, composedly.

Aryan chuckled, looking Sariel in the eye. He was intentionally provoking him, challenging him, but I couldn't guess what his reason for acting this way was. He could have done it out of boredom, yet I had a feeling that it was more complex. It looked as if he was testing Sariel's patience, waiting for him to snap.

"I apologize, Duke Calvet. I didn't mean to offend you." He bowed down, but his words and sudden courtesy couldn't be any less sincere.

"Can we skip this sudden debate concerning a mere human? We have more important issues," the Princess grumbled as she gazed at Sariel. "Duke of Calvet, could you report to us how you handled the attacks?"

Her voice was full of mockery. I guess she already knew that Sariel hadn't found out who was behind those attacks. She was waiting for him to admit his failure.

"My people managed to capture the attackers, but unfortunately, they all committed suicide the moment they got caught," Sariel explained reluctantly.

Princess Elora raised her eyebrows. "Are you saying that not only have you not prevented the attacks, but you also haven't found the culprit?" She scoffed.

The commotion filled the room. I could see Duke Orseolo grinning wickedly as if he was celebrating some kind of private victory.

"It's been merely three days. I can assure the Princess and the noble representatives that the culprit will be found very soon," Sariel claimed firmly.

"Duke Calvet couldn't keep his own city safe, and yet he usurps the right to take over the throne and rule the entire vampire world?" Princess Elora ridiculed.

The murmurs spread through the hall again. I could hear voices getting louder. The agitated remarks grew clearer as those against the Duke became more and more confident in attacking him.

"Princess Elora!" Sariel roared, his deep voice silencing the commotion, "No ruler can avoid every single strike of those who try to endanger the lives of their subjects. You wouldn't know since you have never had this kind of responsibility. My people work tirelessly to punish those who jeopardized the well-being of New Argent City's vampire population, and to make sure to oppose any event like the one that happened in the future," he stated.

Most of the representatives began pointing at the Princess and mocking her brat-like, unreasonable arguments. The majority agreed with the Duke. No matter how badly she tried to claim her authority, she didn't have an ounce of the respect her father, the king, had. She frowned, raising her chin up as if she was declaring she wasn't going to give up. Initially, I assumed that I was her problem and that she was acting out of jealousy, but now I could see that she was aiming for power. She wanted Sariel as a woman, but she also despised him because he could easily get the position she, as a royal, should have claimed.

"May I ask where the Duke was on the day of the attack?" Elora smirked, delivering another punch.

"I was out of town, dealing with private and business issues," Sariel replied calmly.

"And what business might you have within the northern werewolves' pack territory?" She snickered viciously.

Sariel frowned and clenched his fists.

"Outrageous! The Duke collaborating with wolves?!" One of the representatives shouted.

"Duke dealing with dogs?! Is he siding with them?! This is an act of rebellion!" Another one fumed.

The enraged uproar spread among the crowd. The representatives stood up from their seats and pointed at Sariel as if he had already been found guilty. Aryan looked around, his eyes wide open as if he was watching a greatly entertaining show. Duke Orseolo burst out in malicious laughter, satisfied with such an outcome.

"The "food" should go as well. I don't wish to keep Duke Calvet starving." She smirked wickedly.

Sariel looked at me nervously, then frowned. "I refuse. She will stay here and-"

"I insist!" Elora called out in her commanding voice. "Come inside, human." She pointed at the door in front of her.

I gulped and glanced at Sariel. He clenched his teeth, but nodded, telling me to obey. My hands and feet were shaking. I didn't like the idea of being locked with the most powerful vampires living on this planet!

The door closed and I ended up inside a round room filled with drinks and appetizers. Even if my stomach was rumbling, there was no way I would have taken anything from those tables. There were seven noble vampires with me, and except for Sariel and Elora, they all kept their hungry eyes on me all the time. Sariel held my hand, and I told myself that I would be safe as long as my hand stayed within his grasp…

"Duke Calvet, I wanted to speak with you… alone." Elora's loudly voiced words were supposed to mean order from a royal.

Sariel gritted his teeth, glaring at her. It was obvious that rather than talking to Sariel, she wanted him to leave me among other nobles alone and unprotected.

"Oh dear Duke, don't you trust that the noble members are civilized? I think you may leave your things behind for a while." She chuckled coldly.

"Fine," Sariel hissed, letting go of my hand. Then he followed the Princess outside the round room, and they both quickly disappeared behind the closed door.

I took a deep breath, thinking that I would gladly use some sort of invisibility cloak if I had one. I was about to look for a wall I could blend into, but as soon as I turned around, I bumped into Aryan.

"Hello there, beautiful Lilith." He grinned slyly, "It's time to get to know each other a little better."