The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-539

The demon walked towards Marina, and he pulled Marina close to him, waiting for one of the demonesses to speak. The man was as tall as Calhoun, and he had brown straight hair with a small patch of beard on his chin.

"I was telling how much you love Marina and how much you are going to miss her," said Astrate before opening the portal to the living world.

"That I will," agreed the man. "It is why she's the person I trust to do the job, isn't that right, Marina?"

"Yes, Darian," and Dairan hugged Marina, while her eyes met Astrate's who only stared back at her.

The demon instructed, "I heard that the angel is currently trying to hunt down the demons, and this is the right time. All you need to do is lie and make him believe that you are a human. Make him fall in love with you so that he falls from his position in Heaven. Once that happens, he will help us to rise against the angels."

Marina nodded her head, and she stepped into the portal.

Seeing Marina disappeared in the portal, Astrate asked, "Not that it means anything, but do you think she will succeed? A demon making an angel fall in love? What if it goes the other way?"

Darian's expression turned sour for a second, and he turned to meet Astrate's eyes, "That won't happen. Marina is loyal to me, and if it were to happen, I will kill her with my own hands in a way where no one can ever find her."

Madeline took her hand away from the surface of the water, which was helping her to interface with the demoness who had killed her mother. Astrate continued to stare at her with curiosity in her eyes. From what Madeline saw, her mother was with the demon named Darian, but she had fallen in love with Paschar. It also seemed that Marina didn't enjoy Hell and wanted to live in the living world.

"Found anything of any importance in there, dear?" questioned Vladimir and Madeline stood up from the spot she had earlier been sitting.

"Is it possible to know how long has Astrate been here?" asked Madeline.

Vladimir tilted his head, looking at the soul that swam away and he said, "Years. Probably around the time when Pashchar decided to return to Heaven."

Calhoun frowned hearing this, "That only means the woman who attacked Madeline in the abandoned village was not Astrate," Vladimir nodded his head.

"True, it might be a false projection. Seems like Darian has been following you for quite some time now," Vladimir raised his eyebrow while looking at Madeline.

"I don't think Astrate holds anything important more than what we already are aware about," explained Madeline to them. "The only information is that...I think before my mother entered the living world to meet Paschar, she and Darian were together."

"My my, that is some whirlwind romance," commented Vladimir.

"You said it was Astrate who killed Marina, and if Astrate didn't mean any harm, it only means that she didn't want your mother to end up in Darian's hands," concluded Calhoun and Madeline nodded her head. "All we need to do is find and kill this demon," saying this, Calhoun looked at Vladimir.

"What? I don't deal with pesky demons who want to steal my throne here," responded Vladimir in a dramatic tone.

"How do we find him then?" demanded Calhoun.

"I can find out through my demons on where to find him, but if he's changing his appearance to his advantage, that would be slightly problematic," Vladimir rubbed his chin. "But let's see what my demons come up with. There should be at least a hint to track him down."

When the time came to take leave from Hell, Vladimir opened the portal for the couple, and he said, "You don't have to ask for anyone's permission or wait for me, Calhoun. Feel free to walk in and out of Hell whenever you please. I gave some thought and then realized I am too attached to the throne of Hell to pass it to you. You can live your life in the living world."

Calhoun stared at Vladimir before saying, "Thank you for the help."

The next day, both Madeline and Calhoun stepped out of the mansion. Calhoun had work in the quarters of the High House, and Madeline needed some air, which was why she had tagged along with him.

"Lady Madeline, would you like to have some tea?" asked a man who worked for the High House. It had been fifteen minutes since Calhoun had gone to speak with the members of the High House, while she had decided to wait not too far away from where the meeting was taking place.

"I am fine thank you," Madeline offered the person a smile whilst she waited for Calhoun.

When the man left, Madeline faced her palm upwards, and a snowflake appeared in her hand. She realized how she had taken after her mother's ability, and it made her happy to think that there was something that belonged to her mother, that was with her now. It was unnerving to think that the demon named Darian had followed them until here and by coming to where her parents were, she had possibly exposed them to danger.

The double doors of the room opened, and Madeline saw Calhoun step out of the room while he spoke to Helena in a low tone. The head of the High house listened to him with a grim expression on her face. With a nod, the woman stepped back inside while Calhoun made his way to where Madeline was.

"Are they still trying to dissolve the High House?" asked Madeline softly.

"The people who tried to oppose are now dead and cannot be found anywhere. It has instilled a sense of fear in others' minds so that no one rebels against the current system of the High House," replied Calhoun. Noticing the frown on Madeline's forehead, he said, "The ones who were killed were the ones who had caused many other troubles in the past. They would have been executed in the future."

When the door opened again, some of the men and women walked out of the room with murmurs and whispers of disagreement.

"You don't have to worry about it," assured Calhoun. "Matters like these are trivial. I need to go and collect a parchment from the magistrate that was sent out by Theodore two days ago. I will be back in a minute, and we can leave from here," said Calhoun and Madeline nodded her head.

Seeing Calhoun's back as he went to another room, Madeline turned to look outside the window from where she could hear the sound of the carriages passing on the road.

The High House meeting quarters was quiet, and the place felt almost empty and isolated. Madeline continued to stare outside until she heard the footsteps approach towards her, and she turned to find Calhoun making his way to her.

"Where do you want to go?" asked Calhoun, and Madeline smiled.

"I have never been to this town before. Why don't you suggest and I will tell you," stated Madeline.

He stretched his hand forward, and Madeline placed her hand in his, "Let me take you to this beautiful place that I know of," and they stepped out of the quarters of the High House. The coachman opened the door to the carriage, and Calhoun and Madeline got inside before leaving from there.

Back inside the quarters, Helena signed the papers that held the information about the demons and the fallen angels to come forth, while they would be given protection like the rest of the creatures who were part of the living world. It had to be sent to the concerned authorities, who were in charge of all the towns and villages. It also had the details of the meeting that took place last evening.

Handing it to the young man who was an associate of the High House, she said,

"Make sure to see that they are delivered to the right people. We don't want people coming back to us that they weren't informed about it."

The young man bowed his head, and when he stepped out of the room, he caught sight of the King of Devon, who walked in the direction of where he stood.

When Calhoun's eyes looked towards the window where he had left Madeline not more than five minutes ago, his eyes narrowed.