CHAPTER 501: A LOOK ALIKE?

The fight drew attention as expected. With the large fluctuation of magic in the air, it was hard for anyone who could manipulate magic not to feel it.

They were considerably far from the ballroom for the sounds to easily get there, but the last crash was pretty loud. As expected, the door behind us burst open once again with several knights rushing in

"What is going on here?" Silvanius’s voice boomed. No one answered, they were probably too stunned to

Silvanius’s jaw clenched; he marched towards Abrielle, his eyes assessing the damage already done.

His eyes drew to Aurelius, who had someone pinned to the wall "Why don’t you ask your wife, Father?" Aurelius sneered, his voice thick with emotion, with a lump in his throat.

Silvanius, puzzled, walked past Abrielle, his feet stopped, and shocked gasps echoed around him from the knights.

"How is that possible?" One could not help but blurt out.

Silvanius stared at the woman Aurelius had pinned against the wall. Oh dear Lord, he was so close to crushing her throat.

"Seraphina, " the emperor muttered but it wasn’t possible. He was dancing with her before coming here. It must be an imposter.

Seraphina didn’t answer, she was clawing for her life. Aurelius was on the verge of killing him. Abrielle rushed in place, her grip firm on his wrists

His head snapped at her, Abrielle shook her head. "We can’t let her die. We need answers." She reminded him.

Then glanced at Evelyn, "Make sure she can’t run away." Evelyn was sceptical of the command. It was the empress of Heliosa who was pinned to the wall.

She could not disobey Abrielle.. Evelyn tore her dress and then moved towards Aurelius to tie Seraphina up.

Silvanius finally snapped out of his daze. "What is going on? Who is this imposter?" He asked.

Aurelius didn’t look away from Seraphina. He didn’t want to take the slightest chance. "This isn’t an imposter. I am certain the imposter is the one you danced with." He sneered

Evelyn has successfully tied up Seraphina’s hands and legs. She was too weak to even move. Aurelius grabbed Seraphina, then dragged her along. "This is Empress Seraphina, she lured Princess Abrielle all the way here to kill her, and if I hadn’t arrived on time, she would have gotten away with it," Aurelius announced.

Silvanius’s head was processing things a bit too closely. "That is a heavy allegation. Seraphina is at the ball." He defended his wife. How was he going to explain that his wife tried to kill his daughter?

Aurelius scoffed at his father. The same condescending gaze he always gave Silvanius. The emperor fist balled, he knew he had lost respect before his son’s eyes.

"Then let’s take her to the real empress; maybe they can shed some light on us." Without a word, Aurelius tugged Seraphina, pulling her along with him. Everyone followed.

The doors of the ballroom burst open, and everyone’s attention was drawn to it. Their faces went pale once they saw the empress lookalike beaten and covered in blood.

Lyra was the first to react before her other siblings and she rushed towards Aurelius..

"What is the meaning of this?" She snapped at him. Aurelius’s cold blue eyes swept over her. "Where is your mother?" He asked.

Her eyes turned sharp. She thought Aurelius wanted to embarrass her mother. "Of course, Mother is right there." She sneered pointing at the position where ’ Seraphina’ was standing earlier

"Mother," she stuttered, then glanced at the one in Aurelius’s hold, then back to the empty spot. Her eyes went wide with her mouth falling agape

"Where is mother?" She asked, her eyes found her elder brother Theodore who stood not too far away with his jaw clenched. Murmurs and whispers flew around.

The empress had disappeared, and Aurelius came in with a look-alike. There was no sign of Seraphina in the room.

Aurelius’s eyes went back to the pale Silvanius. "I guess we have our answers, Father. The empress undoubtedly tried to assassinate my sister." He hissed.

Abrielle marched in front of Seraphina, she didn’t doubt her identity for a moment.

Her eye met with Aurelius, as if they had a sibling telepathic link he understood her at first glance.

.

Aurelius tossed Seraphina on the floor. She whimpered, her body ached because of the pain. Aurelius drew his sword to everyone’s astonishment, then pointed it at Seraphina’s neck.

"Better start talking. Why did you want to kill Abrielle?" His murderous intent filled the room.

Aurelius chuckled, even Abrielle felt the chills going down her spine. He was even scarier than Cedric who was called a devil at this point.

"You better not lie to me." He added.

Seraphina smirked unaffected by his threat.

"If I lie, what will you do? Kill me? We both know I won’t be living for long." She snarled. The moment she lost, her death warrant was made, this ruthless bastard won’t let her live.

Aurelius glanced at his father, and Silvanius felt his stomach churn. He knew his son too well at times he wondered where Aurelius got his villainy from. It was his fault that his son turned out like this.

"Who knows if you tell the truth I might just consider not burying your children with you." He said. Lyra was stunned, and she rushed to her brother’s side, completely helpless. Aric was shaking while Theodore remained calm.

They all knew what their brother was capable of. Seraphina’s smirk finally fell.

"They are innocent, how can you spill their blood? You monster." She spat at him. Her eyes filled with intense hatred it could kill

"Monster..." Aurelius scoffed, that was hypocritical coming from her

"We all know who the real monster here is. I am being patient now, so tell the truth slowly why you want her dead, and what you meant by ’you could have killed her when you had the chance?’ " Aurelius acted like the villain he was in Seraphina’s story.

If she had the chance, she would have killed him long ago, but Silvanius was too protective of this boy. Silvanius protected Aurelius behind the shadows with all his might.

Her lips parted about to speak. Aurelius interrupted her. "Think twice before you speak. I can smell a lie from a mile away."