The Royal Banquet was surrounded by the prestigious crowd who shone in the dazzle of the golden ballroom with their glistening jewellery and conspicuous dresses.
But Jaquer was in no mood for revelry. He sat in the corner, sulking away from the crowd and drinking his wine in silence.
His heart burned with betrayal.
How would it not?
The princess he loved was bestowed upon the very demon his kinson took pride in killing.
Being an esteemed hunter of the Pyran Kingdom, it was a disappointment to lose to the bloody demons and have your lover sold to them for peace.
He could blame no one but himself, but also despise that demon name Venor.
Venor Cythil, the demon's commander, the name that dared to cause a fracas in the mortal realm and win.
Jaquer gulped down his wine with the curse name lingering on his head.
He swore to kill each of them until the entire race is wiped out, without a single instance to procreate.
The hatred within Jaquer towards the demon ran deeper than the roots of Wild Fig.
He loved Princess Hader, the third child of King Rayfold II. Ever since he met her at the ball party at the age of 16, he knew she was it.
The love of his life, his probably first and last love.
Jaquer's plan was simple. He intended to hunt demons, become the strongest demon hunter, and ask for Hader's hand in marriage after defeating the strongest demon.
But after six years of being in that league, he soon realised that it was just a fantasy, a teenager's dream.
With a heavy heart and a drunk mind, from the corner of his eye, he glanced at Venor.
His long hair clutched in a clumsy braid, eyes glowing like garnet, and his body taller than everyone in the room, with broad shoulder shot Jaquer's heart.
Jaquer didn't want to admit it, but Venor was an impressive man with a height at most reaching 6'7" while he was a decent 5'7.
His jealousy, fueled by the wine he drank, grew with sadness and loss. And now the goblet was empty after chugging the content in one gulp.
Finally, the drunken man decided to stand from his seat and walk towards the cupbearer with his empty goblet.
Soft tunes of the piano ran in the background, carried by a flute and violin, while the merry people danced.
Ignoring all the noises, with heavy drunken eyes, he signalled the cupbearer to pour him wine.
The latter bowed his head and served his master before walking away towards other lords whom Jaquer didn't recognise.
He had no noble friends. After devoting his life to intense training, he had no time to gossip about merchants and gamble with others.
His hunter team was his best friends, but none of them were invited. So he was nothing but a lone figure in the luxurious building, shining in gold.
What an irony for him.
He shook his head and turned towards his seat.
But before Jaquer could register, he crashed into a solid surface and lost his balance in the drunken state.
"Watch where you are walking, little thing."
The voice was undoubtedly familiar to Jaquer. And nobody—nobody on the earth dared to call him 'little thing', except Venor.
Trapped between the arms of the enemy was the least thing he expected to happen.
His eyes filled with hatred, stared intensely at the ground before being pulled up and getting pinned to the wall.
"Little thing, for the first time in my life, I wasted my money to look ample, but you dare to ruin my dress?" The demon said while tilting his head to get a good view of the prey trapped between him and the wall.
On the other hand, Jaquer's mouth twisted into a miserably sneer as he backed away from the devious.
"I cannot help if a demon is incapable of walking right. Oh, but how can a demon be right? Their entire existence is wrong." Jaquer replied with the same wit and pushed Venor right after he completed his statement.
But even the strongest demon hunter was weak against the demon in front of him.
"Let me go, you stink of filth!" Jaquer dared to spill venom while meeting the eyes of the taller man.
Venor raised his brows in response, while gently stroking Jaquer's chin with his long claw.
"You ruined my dress, isn't it human courtesy to apologise?" He asked and resumed his action on the latter's chin.
Jaquer tried to back away with disgust, but he couldn't. With no way of sliding away, he held Venor's right hand as he tried to take it away from his face.
"Don't touch and let me go before I—"
Jaquer couldn't complete his sentence as he froze in his place with his eyes wide, and goosebumps appeared all across his arms and legs while current thundered through his nervous system.
Did Venor just lick his finger?
He lifted his head and looked at his left wrist, which was grasped in Venor's hand.
"What the fuck did you just do?" This time, Jaquer's voice was loud. He screamed, to be accurate. The voice came out of his mouth, bringing attention and unintentionally unfiltered.
The background music stops, and the entire ballroom ceased to silence.
Trapped between a demon's arm, Jaquer became the piece of art for others to look at.
After a few seconds passed of complete silence in the ballroom, whispers flared amongst the attendees.
In the end, Jaquer was done.
His face turned bright red with embarrassment, and with final strength of dignity, he pushed Venor with all his might.
Finally, he succeeded.
At that moment, he wanted nothing but to leave this shit of the banquet and get fresh air to free his mind.
But peace never comes peacefully. It comes with war.
His hand was captured by the demon, who pinned him to the wall a few moments ago, before he could lunge out of the hall.
The demon dragged Jaquer like a rag doll towards the king.
"Isn't cursing the Royal Family a substantial crime, Your majesty?" Venor asked the King with Jaquer still bound beside him.
Venor was Royal's kinson with marriage. But the marriage wasn't held yet. How shameless one can be to defame the other with an identity he was not provided yet.
"You are not a Royal—" Before Jaquer could rebuke, the King cut him off.
"Yes, it is, Son-in-law." It was obvious. The king didn't want to get on the bad side of the demon.
His entire Kingdom was dependent on this marriage, and the truce was yet to be signed.
Betraying a mere pawn for the kingdom is what a great king does.
Beside him stood the crown prince. With a gentle smile on his face, he claimed, "If you are concerned and feel enraged by his behaviour, the Court shall take the matter of punishment into their hand; you need not worry, Brother-in-law."
At least the crown prince tried a kinder approach.
Jaquer, on the other hand, felt disappointed by both of them. He struggled to loosen the grip on his hand, but after continuous failed attempts, he stopped embarrassing himself and stayed still while tapping his foot with impatience.
He also sent a set of glaring eyes towards the Crown Prince.
"Two-faced bitches." Jaquer cursed, whispering in a low mumble.
"He just cursed both of you," Venor said innocently to the Royal men.
The demon had a speacial ability to hear whispers. After hearing the statement, Jaquer's steady breath stuck in his throat, and he couldn't help but cough aloud.
"If you don't believe me, shall I whisper in your ear what he just said, Crown Prince?"
With visible blue linen under his eyes and troubled eyes, the Crown Prince shook his head and hand simultaneously as he replied with a bitter smile, "We believe you, Brother-in-law. Please register the matter in our hands, he will be bestowed his deserved punishment."
"How can I trouble my in-laws for a little troublemaker like him? Since he dared to offend the High Commander of Demon's Realm and insult my in-laws, the prestigious Royal family, I hereby declare his exile to Demon Realm, to serve the Red Garden Citadel estate owner for the entire course of 7 years."