The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: Promenade of Stolen Children by Adamn Taylor

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In the underground world, screams of the man could be heard echoing through the passages which was near to the Grand Hall as Laurence Hawthrone was being tortured by Vladimir.

"AHHHHH!"

Laurence screamed in pain when he felt the hot iron rings tighten around his body. It felt worse than the pain he had been feeling until now. And it was because Vladimir had given Laurence a break he needed from the torture so that his body remembered what the absence of pain felt like before he would start to inflict the pain again.

"Rings any bell?" questioned Vladimir. "These are specialized iron rings. Perfectly hot, which will compress your soul and body, and as much as you wait for death to arrive to stop the agony, that is never going to happen. How does that thought feel right now?" Vladimir stared at Laurence, listening to the music that came from the vampire's mouth.

"I am sorry!" Laurence apologized Vladimir. "I never knew she would go through such pain. If I knew it I would have prevented it!"

"Hm?" Vladimir stopped walking and looked into Laurence's eyes. He snapped his fingers, and the iron rings released the vampire before disappearing in thin air. "You didn't know she went through pain or what your family put her through?"

Laurence gasped for air, his body twisted in pain, and he could not keep his gaze on Vladimir. "I swear to God! I was only doin-"

"Oh, hush now. If you loved God, both of us know you wouldn't be here right now, but in Heaven. But seeing how you have been living as one of the precious guests in my abode, I believe you have been extremely naughty, or should I say a fucker who needs to be fucked?" questioned Vladimir.

Laurence shook his head in desperation. He knelt on his knees, pressing his forehead against the ground. "I never meant to hurt her! It was never my intention!" In the past, he and his other family members had come to believe that Constance had no actual family, and because of her poor background, she couldn't have a future with him. He was the King who had to rule Devon, and he had to use the benefits by marrying a woman of high standing stature. "I loved-"

"Do you want me to castrate you?" threatened Vladimir, his eyes flaring up to have Laurence close his mouth. "If you haven't learned yet, this is Hell, and I am the Devil who runs this place. Speak lies by using Constance's name and I will rip that tongue of yours and feed it to yourself."

The previous King quickly closed his mouth when he felt the stranger who claimed himself to be the Devil place his shoe on top of his head. He knew this was Hell, but he didn't know that the Devil truly existed. And even though he was not alive as he was in the living world, Laurence was still scared.

Vladimir put a little more pressure on Laurence's head. He then laughed, "I will take the repayment for every single tear that was shed from Constance's eyes because of you. For the pain you have caused her and the never-ending suffering and humiliations she went through," but Vladimir didn't put more pressure, and he took away his leg from Useless's head.

Laurence felt shivers run down his body. He had gone through pain in Hell, but this mental torture that the Devil was inflicting in his mind, he felt every drop of fear fall into him.

"Odin!" Vladimir called his servant, and the servant quickly made his way to where his Master was while keeping at least ten steps distance between each other so that he didn't enter the torture zone.

"Yes, Master," Odin bowed his head, ready to be of Vladimir's use.

"Bring the next sinners in line. I am sure it would be quite a party to have all of them together and make them meet each other," Vladimir hummed. And Odin quickly nodded his head.

Odin signalled the guard who had a stag-like face, and on Odin's hand gesture, three more people arrived at the spot. Vladimir looked at the sinners, his eyes calm and collected while the other three looked like they were gasping for air and looking around the place to see where they were right now.

"Welcome my fellow Sinners," Vladimir had a smile on his face. Hell worked in a way where, the more souls collected in this place, the stronger it turned. The three people who had appeared were Laurence's parents Morganna and Alan Hawthrone. The third one was young, and Vladimir looked at the young man. "And who is this that we have today? Looks like a fresh soul."

Odin quickly moved to the side where he could see the third person who had appeared, and he said, "Master, this is Master Calhoun's cousin brother. Markus Wilmot."

Vladimir continued to stare at the young man who had a pretty face, said, "And what are his sins?"

Odin scratched the back of his neck as he didn't have all the details. "He harmed Master Calhoun and tried to poison him by using the girl named Elizabeth, who is Lady Madeline's sister."

"The wolf girl? I guess I will need to withhold her antidote then," hummed Vladimir.

"Laurence?!" Morganna asked, surprised on seeing her son.

"Mother?" came the surprised tone of Laurence, "Father is here too," his eyes then widened as they were brought in here for the same reason he had been summoned. "It's so good to see you both-"

"Oh, shut up!" Morganna rolled her eyes at her son.

She hadn't expected to see her son here, and it felt like eons had passed since she had last seen him. At the same time, she didn't forget how Laurence had ordered people to put her in the dungeon, and his bastard son had killed her!