The Fraud Heir to The Strongest Clan

During the commotion on her ruined wedding day, Shina saw a memory which she had thought wasn't hers.

In that dreamlike memory, she was rallying angels to rebel against the God King.

Then when Shina was travelling to Sekhtar she gained new fragments of memories that seemed connected to each other.

She saw a beautiful giant phoenix named Velhai. She remembered this phoenix as someone who assisted her in everything she did in overthrowing the evil God King.

And when everything fell down, when Oneirah lost the war, she and the fallen angels were banished to hell.

Now Shina understands.

Those memories were hers... it belonged to her past self, Oneirah.

Strangely, when she and the others watched Angelus be sealed in the crimson star, she felt a sting in her heart. She couldn't help but think how much suffering the fallen angel had gone through and was about to go through. Does he really deserve so much pain?

A couple of hours had passed and Dheinyrus had returned. His face had minor bruises, his dark hair was a mess. The leather coat that he wore was now full of tear from the otherworldly battle he had just fought.

Everyone in the castle watched with bated breath until the end of the fight. They all unconsciously prayed for Angelus' permanent fall.

Their savior, Dheinyrus Theocheirós was now walking tiredly back to the steps to the castle. His whole body was dripping wet and full of grains of sand sticking to him.

He took the steps slowly until he reached the entrance up top, the balcony to the throne room where everyone anxiously waited. And when he finally was in the same room as the others, none dared to speak.

In truth, they couldn't help but be terrified of him.

After seeing what he just did to the powerful being who enslaved and tortured their race for centuries, no one could blame them for fearing him even more than before.

His strength was a sight to behold, yet one that fuels nightmares at the same time.

Shina was the first person he looked at. It was as if her heart had a natural reaction to just keep racing every time he looked at her that way... When his golden eyes were trying to hide his deepest emotions, but only she could decipher the feelings behind that cold gaze.

Dheinyrus walked past through everyone wordlessly. They couldn't help but follow his mystique with their eyes.

Then, he suddenly stopped, his back facing the crowd.

He said:

"Princess Shina, follow me."

His voice was different from usual. It sounded almost like an exaggerated calmness.

She lingered for a bit and looked at him with a worried expression. As Dheinyrus proceeded to walk, she did as well.

Fiorelle and the crowd watched the two as they went to the hallway out of the throne room.

Moments later, Shina was inside Dhein's office. He closed the door and looked at her, his face pale and his eyes glazed.

Then, he collapsed.

Shina gasped, her eyes widening as she instantly kneeled on the floor.

"Dheinyrus?! W—What's wrong?!"

Fear overflowed in her head watching Dheinyrus desperately gasping for air. Veins were popping up on the skin of his neck and forehead. His eyes were becoming watery and red, they looked like they were about to fall out from their sockets.

Shina could do nothing but hold his hand and watch in horror.

When he opened his mouth to try and speak, Shina focused all of her attention to his words.

"The... pressure."

Hearing those words, Shina immediately knew what was wrong.

Dheinyrus fought underwater where the pressure was immensely high, then launched himself to the stratosphere where the pressure abruptly dropped. Of course his whole body was going to have a negative reaction.

He had only been gritting his teeth through it all this time.

"Can't breathe—" he said with a hoarse voice.

Shina's face became even paler.

But she knew she had no time to panic. She was the only one Dheinyrus could rely on now.

Shina took Dheinyrus' arm and put it around her shoulders. And then using all of her strength, she lifted his weight to the king-size bed and, with a grunt, laid him flat on his back.

The girl rushed to the door and very slightly opened it with just enough space to pop her head out.

She then yelled:

"Water!!! Please give me some drinking water!!!" before locking the door again.

While she was waiting for the servants to bring some water Shina rushed back to Dheinyrus' side and began to undress him.

Even though he was already fighting for every bit of oxygen he could get, Dheinyrus still cooperated. Shina cursed herself for being inefficient although in truth, she wasn't.

A few seconds later, someone knocked on the door. Shina dashed towards it and took the tray with a glass of water before locking it once more. Absolutely no one can see Dheinyrus in this state.

She placed the tray on a table at his bedside. Then she continued to take off his wet clothes.

Throwing the dark coat to the floor, she began to unbutton his white shirt. It was only then that it hit Shina...

Once the unbuttoning was complete, a strange, unexplainable feeling coursed through her body.

It was her first time to see Dheinyrus like this.

His body was...

'Wow,' Shina could only say in her mind.

Something wet was coming out of the corner of her lips. When she realized that she was beginning to literally drool, she almost wanted to slap herself.

'In this situation?! Seriously?!' she scolded herself.

If she could close her eyes while treating him, she would. But alas, she had to fight her own mind and get through it.

Dheinyrus was now half naked. There were instances when Shina would forget why she was even there in the first place. When her eyes was already glued to the muscles in his arms, his chest that was inviting her face to bury itself on it, and his abs that she almost wanted to li—

That was it. Shina slapped herself.

"W—What the hell are you doing?!" Dheinyrus uttered while fighting for his life.

Shina didn't get to respond as the hardest part was about to come. She removed all the armor from her suit.

To help a person suffering from decompression sickness, it was very important that they were kept warm and relaxed.

"Breathe, Dheinyrus," she whispered. The princess began to lie down with him on the bed.

She grabbed the blanket and wrapped the two of them under it. Their bodies were hidden under the sheets while their faces remained outside. The night wind was cold, especially here in Sekhtar. A mere blanket was obviously not enough to warm Dheinyrus up, so Shina used her body as well.

Shina felt her cheeks burning after she pressed her body against his. She was wearing a versatile suit but after removing all the armor and weapons from it, only a thin fabric was between their skins.

Gradually, she felt Dheinyrus' breathing become more steady.

She borrowed the power of the spirit of peace to further calm his systems down. He would need more than this but for now, this was all she could offer.

"I'm sorry, Dheinyrus," she unknowingly blurted.

Now breathing steadily, Dheinyrus weakly replied.

"For what?"

After a brief silence, Shina answered.

"For being useless."

She felt him shift slightly.

When he didn't respond, Shina continued.

"I came to this place thinking I would save you for once. But in the end it's still you who does everything for me. I can't do a single damn thing for you."

Without noticing it, Shina's arm was already wrapped across Dheinyrus' chest, her claws gently digging into his shoulder.

"Maybe this is why the gods deemed me unworthy to be your wife. They knew I was only going to be your burden."

Her eyes widened when she felt Dheinyrus' hand holding her arm.

He spoke.

"There's something you need to know."

Shina looked up at him, his face was now back to normal and he was breathing better too.

"What is it?" she asked, anticipating the worst.

Then he answered.

"I love you too."

For a brief moment, it was as though Shina didn't hear what he said. She wondered if she was just imagining things.

Shina blinked and lifted her gaze to look at him.

"Sorry, can you repeat that?"

Dheinyrus turned his head to fave her as well. His mesmerizing golden eyes got her completely drawn in and made everything else fade in the background.

He smiled softly and then repeated:

"I said I love you too."

When it finally registered in her mind, Shina covered her mouth with the sheet, her widening eyes became watery.

"Am I dreaming?" she asked.

Dheinyrus slowly leaned in and kissed her in the lips.

"Are you?" he whispered.

Not even an hour later, Shina was crying again. She noticed that she had been crying a lot lately...

But this time was completely warranted. Hearing him say those words brought her happiness more than anything else she could imagine.