It has been three weeks since I got married to Sam, and it's been three weeks since I've last seen my husband. Sam said nothing the last time we talked. He just stared at me cluelessly, as if he'd snap my neck or cut my tongue since I overstepped. He didn't do it, fortunately.

But after that, he left in a rush. We never saw each other, nor did he come back to our quarters. If only I've known I'd become a neglected wife…

​​

"What will you do, then?" I snapped back to the current lapse upon hearing Yul's voice. My eyes searched for him. He perched on the seat on my side while Silvia was across from me.

For three weeks, Yul and I would often spend some time together over tea, only today that Silvia joined us in our usual spot in Avolire Garden.

A sigh slipped past my lips as I leaned back. "I don't know. Maybe, pressed his buttons to the point he wants to kill me?"

Yul's nose scrunched up, couldn't hide his dismay about my answer. "Are you, perhaps, a masochist?"

There's no fun in talking to this guy.

"What our little sister meant is, if she knew, she could've evoked more emotions from him, he'd rather stay with her than go." Silvia translated my words for someone like Yul to understand.

She offered me a kind smile, and I could not express how grateful I was for her presence today. Did she know how hard it was to keep a decent conversation with Yul?

If I had a choice, I would rather be alone than spend every tea time with him. However, Yul would always visit me to the point I gave up on sending him away.

"But that's still a silly thing to do since the only emotion you can evoke from the devil is anger," Yul asserted as he picked up his teacup and sipped elegantly.

"You haven't noticed it yet, but Hell is a little different from before, Yul." Silvia chuckled, covering her lips with the back of her hand. "If not, we wouldn't be sitting here enjoying the weather and catching up over a cup of tea."

I pursed my lips at Silvia's remarks. If Sam didn't have the slightest change, these two had already taken the lives of their siblings… or their siblings who supported the current king had taken their lives.

"Sivi, what was Sam like in the past?" I perked up as I thought everyone in here had a different image of Sam.

My question seemed to get both their attention as I noticed the brief hesitation in Silvia's eyes. So, to not pressure her, I added,

"It's alright, if you don't want to talk about it. But I will appreciate it if you tell me what kind of brother he is."

"Kind." Silvia answered after a moment of silent which took me by surprised. Did I hear her say Sam was kind? I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

The obvious doubt in my eyes faded immediately when Yul uttered, "You quite have a bad image of your husband to be looking at Silvia with those doubts in your eyes."

"I just... didn't expect that," I reasoned out with an embarrassed tone. "He intimidated even you two, so I didn't expect that."

"I would've cut your tongue if you 're someone else." Yul's eyes darkened as the atmosphere dropped. I felt like shivering.

"But it is a fact, Yul." Silvia intervened as she put down the cup on the saucer. "Even though he is our king, Hell is someone who can take our lives if he pleased."

"Sivi, aren't you contradicting your claims previously?" I blurted out in dismay.

Silvia only chuckled and shook her head a little. "I'm not, baby sister. Hell is being lenient and kind for keeping us alive until now."

Oh… so, that's the meaning of kindness to her. Her answer rendered me speechless I could only smile in silence.

"But he used to have a warm side as well." I bat my eyes upon seeing the subtle smile that appeared on Silvia. "I don't think I'm in the position to speak more about his childhood, so what I am going to tell you is how he was as a brother to me."

Close-lipped, I clutched on my skirt. I had a vague idea that Sam didn't have the best childhood, but hearing it from Silvia sounded different. It was as if it'd break my heart once I came to know the details.

"As you've known, the palace is like hell itself. It looks marvelous from afar, but inside, it's like a battlefield. Especially, with the presence of other pureblooded clans, we ought to be the best among the best." Silvia turned her gaze to the lake, as her mind took her back in time.

"Pureblooded vampires are naturally strong, however, that didn't mean we are naturally smart. So, aside from honing our strength and abilities, we have to be perceptive as well if we don't want to lose our lives. For little girls like us, Cassara and I would've lost our lives multiple times if not for Hell."

I smiled as I listened to her pristine voice. So, Sam was like that.

"He would go beyond as to accompany us to sleep whenever things get chaotic and volunteer to receive punishments in our stead just so we could get away with it." Silvia's tone grew bitter, as if her mind saw awful memories she didn't want to recall.

Just seeing her reaction pricked my heart. Receive punishment just so his sister would be left unharmed?

"The rules within the palace back then were so strict and punishments even for minor mistakes could be life-threatening," Yul spoke upon noticing that Silvia couldn't continue anymore.

His tone was solemn as his jaw tightened. Life-threatening punishment even for the slightest mistake, he said… I gulped as I felt my chest tighten.

"But to prevent us from getting tortured, punished, Hell will step in. He'll be gone for several days or weeks, and come back with several broken bones or just had bruise all over." Yul paused as he cleared his throat. "And yet, he'd smile at us as if nothing bothers him."

I didn't know what to feel. To feel sorry for them? To get mad at the late king? Or just feel remorseful for judging all of them were naturally wicked?

To grow up in such an environment, no wonder they were all twisted in a way.

"As we grow older, we became stronger and smarter as a way to protect him from receiving punishments. However, it's not like we're the only ones whom he protects. We still had our younger brothers and sisters, and Hell did the same to protect them."

Yul's tone suddenly grew colder as his eyes sharpened. I furrowed my brows in complete puzzlement.

"He protected them, us, but at the same time, his kindness had angered our father. So his punishments increased to the point he fell unconscious, and during those times, our youngest brother… died."