#captianimarum

' you're good, but-- ' for now, mitsuru has the upper hand. he sinks his fingers into the depth of dyed white hair, gripping at joongi's scalp. the tug is a threat, the slide of his cold knife against han's warm throat; he holds it there steady, a promise and threat in equal measure. ' the real joongi-han died. what a poorly fashioned double you are. ' yank. kuroiwa is careful not to lance joongi's throat, pricking merely a bead of blood at the apex of the adams apple. he adjusts his posture, weighing his knees into joongi's upper back. the effort is to keep him pinned. ' answer me truthfully and i will release you. who are you servicing by attacking me? the jingweon? why? '

Ooph!

" Ah! Joker! M-My apologies! “

𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓. How many times had this scene played in front of her mind's eye, with her smirking at Dion, knowing very well how she held the superior position in this exchange? More than once had Anabella Rosfield relished the thought. You need my Black Shields, she had heard herself say with sweet poison dripping from the tip of her tongue. This must frustrate you, doesn't it? Only hearing herself mocking him in her mind had brought a smile to her lips.

Cruel satisfaction for all the times he tried to be rebellious. But now that Anabella sat here at the other end of the table in one of the various dayrooms of the castle, past imaginations brought merely a scowl to her features. Gone were the excitement and elevation she had expected from the exchange.

" My Black Shields will not act as the frontline if Titan can possibly appear, " the empress replied, leaning back in her seat. This was ridiculous—she should make the demands, and Dion should have come to her on his knees to request her troops. The troops she had funded with the treasures of her homeland. " He will wipe them out in minutes. If we are lucky enough. "

And she was not willing to lose her position at the council due to a lack of numbers in the military. Rosaria's forces remained strong; she had made sure of it. But Sylvestre's command was the stronger claim, it seemed, and after all attempts at pressing him in the opposite direction, Anabella could do little else but oblige. How vexing. Dion must have planted a thought in his mind; otherwise, he would not have come to the conclusion that Rosaria and Sanbreque needed to fight as one against the Dhalmekian troops at Twinside.

" Have you fought against the Dhalmeks before, Dion? Have you seen them on the field? "