𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍

7: What's the matter, my prince? Envious?

As Eness turned the corner to leave, Ariton maliciously pressed a boot on her cloak.

His intention was to trip her and make her fall. He wanted to make her subject to the same laughter and teasing murmurs he had been subjected to because of her.

But he wasn't prepared for one thing.

The moment his boot touched the hem of Eness' cloak, was the moment he unconsciously gave her access to his mind.

You see, for a sin's power of role to be activated, contact is warranted.

For a sin to look inside a demon and find out their desires and intentions, contact of the demon and anything that belongs to the sin is needed.

While for humans, it gets easier. To dig through a human, a sin simply needed to glance their way. All their innermost thoughts will come flowing out like water.

But prince Ariton was a demon, and when he made the mistake of placing his boot on her cloak, she saw it all.

Her mind's eye dug deep into him, searching. Her cerulian gem heated warm against her chest as she dug. She was determined to find it, and she did. What he was envious of.

Peacocks? Eness thought.

But nonetheless, she got an idea.

She snapped back to consciousness, a moment that seemed to drag on forever as she searched through his mind was roughly a measly five seconds.

She pulled off her cape and did a quick, graceful frontward somersault.

In a flash of gold, she transformed into a Crimson Peacock midair, before landing gracefully on the floors in her new form.

(Peacock form)

Crimson Peacocks were a vibrant crimson red all over, from their heads to their spry decorative feathers. A rare type of bird not easily obtained in Flameheart.

And here she was, flaunting red feathers that she spread proudly in a flair.

The crowd, including her sisters, gasped in surprise.

To her sisters, it seemed like Eness was full of surprises today.

Peacock Eness glanced towards Ariton and said in a honeyed singsong tone, "What's the matter, my prince? Envious?" She spread her feathers widely, and this time the court erupted in laughter.

Not at Eness or any of her sisters, but at prince Ariton.

The whole empire knew about his obsession with the rare species of bird. They even knew how he had once challenged the Duke of Thornclaw, who possessed more than him to a duel to try to claim his peacocks.

Ariton lost spectacularly, a failure that was quickly remembered when Eness transformed.

Ariton's face was red with embarrassment and anger. He was absolutely livid. If he didn't hate the sin of Envy before, he definitely did now.

The laughter seized, and Eness transformed back to her true form, the thigh slit on her dress more apparent without the cloak.

Ariton looked at Lucien, expecting his brother to speak on his behalf about this disrespect, but Lucien could not.

His crimson eyes were fixated on Eness, he was staring at her in slight admiration.

Eness raised an arm, and in a flash of gold, her fallen cloak was back on her shoulders.

She looked over to her sisters with a smile, and they all returned smiles back.

"I believe that dinner is provided," Eness started, staring at the emperor, who grunted slightly in response.

"Now if you'll excuse us. We are absolutely famished." Lucinda quipped, as the sins departed from the courtroom, a courtier leading them towards the expansive dining hall.

Lucien watched Eness walk away with her sisters. He smiled at her. Not a shadow or a ghost of a smile, like he had presented the others with, but something different. An impressed grin.

He was impressed. In one night, a sin managed to defend her sister, set his knuckle headed brothers straight, awe his court, and silence him.

A sin with more guts and bravery that he hadn't seen in any woman since his past flame.

A sin who flickered a spark of annoyance and respect in him all at once.

He sighed and ran a hand over his jaw.

A sin whose name he did not know.
_________________

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬. 💗❤️☺️
𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 💗
~𝐃𝐞𝐳𝐢🦋