Ensnaring his Dark Moon-Chapter 288: He is a victim too

Aleister glanced at her, "We all make choices. Good choices. Bad choices. I have the blood of innocents on my hand. I killed people who did not serve me any purpose. I protected a few people I wanted to protect and killed everyone who hindered my path. I might not have forced myself on any girl but I have slit the throats of many. Some had tried to seduce me, some had ulterior motives, some wanted the throne, some wanted to poison me...’’

’’It is different...’’ Esme argued. How could Cardan and Aleister be the same? Aleister was abandoned by everyone when he was just a child. Even though those were misunderstandings but the young Aleister did not know that. He must have felt like he was not loved or needed by anyone.

"You are different. You went through things. You were so young and they threw you into the enchantment forest and battlefields. You were neglected, and sick, and you suffered alone. How is it wrong if you grew up to be cold and detached? The circumstances shaped you."

Aleister smiled, "A father wilting away at the memories of his dead lover while sitting on his throne, a mother trapped in a deadly dungeon who would not give it a second thought before using her son for her motives and revenge, and a court full of officials who looked at him with expectations at times and disdain at moments for his unpure divine powers. What makes you think that Cardan had not suffered?’’

Esme did not know what happened with Cardan. She knew the matters from the surface so when she heard it, her heart wavered slightly.

’’You killed that head gardener, an innocent man who was hypnotized," Aleister said.

Esme stiffened, ’’I was not in my senses. I felt like I was compelled. I didn’t even remember anything.’’

’’Cardan was compelled too.’’

Her face blanched.

Aleister gently stroked her back, ’’Didn’t I tell you? We make choices. For ourselves. For people we love. Cardan chose his mother, to bring her back from her insanity by getting her revenge fulfilled.’’ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

’’He was wrong...’’ Esme breathed, ’’He was so wrong. I don’t know why he wanted to possess me. What could I possibly give him? I don’t know why he killed King Alexander. That man was already dying in guilt and pain after losing his wife, sister, and child and then abandoning you because he could not face you. I don’t know why Cardan let Duke Maverick fall deeper for his dead wife and then destroyed the only part of her soul. He was so so wrong, Al.’’

’’I’d do worse, my dear moon,’’ Aleister said softly.

Esme was stunned.

’’I’d do worse if it involved you. I would ruin everything, Esme if any harm were to befall you. I don’t have many morals at my disposal but if anything happened to you, if you were harmed in the slightest then I would lose every shred of rationality I have. We make choices for people we love,’’ he repeated the words as he said, ’’I will make mine if you were involved. Cardan made his because his mother was involved. Even when she hurt him, controlled him, manipulated him, used him, hurt him, all he wanted was to end her sufferings. He wanted to free Marilyn of her thirst for revenge and take a breath of life at least once.’’

Esme fell quiet. The remaining restraint towards accepting Cardan kept shattering, ’’He was wrong...’’ she mumbled softly, leaning her head against his chest but she could not deny the truth. Cardan... is a victim too.

Aleister sighed, "When did I say that he was right?" When she looked at him with a surprised gaze, he shook his head, ’’I never said his actions were justified. What I am trying to say is that I am not the right person to chastise him when I know that I would be just as unscrupulous for you.’’

Even if she was not harmed. Even if she just came to him and told him she wanted someone dead, he would kill. If she said she wanted someone to be harmed, he would torture. If she asked him to make someone lose their sanity, he would manipulate.

’’At the end of the day, it’s the choices we make and for the people we make them."

The person who made the biggest mistakes in this whole fiasco was his father who could not protect his woman, his mother who fell for a married man and gave in to her impulses....

And the person to be held responsible, the culprit? Marilyn.

Atlas was not her belonging yet she manipulated the opinion of the court, she used everything at her disposal to marry him. He didn’t love her but as cold as she felt, she was coaxed with the fact that he belonged to her. Then he fell in love with a human and she killed her without hesitation.

He used his powers at the risk of being dethroned and let the woman be reborn. If he wanted Adeline to stay safe, he would either have found a way to get rid of Marilyn or would have stayed away from Adeline.

But he thought Marilyn was a friend, not a foe and he let her keep her position while he abducted Adeline, snatched her from the mortal world, and made her fall for him all over again.

When Marilyn tricked Adeline into going to the mortal world to meet her family, Atlas should have trusted himself, his love for Adeline, and her love for him but in a moment of fragility, he lost belief in himself and gave in to his weaker thoughts. He slept with Marilyn...

And that heartless woman put a curse on her own child so that he would need to see her once in a while to breathe. Just so she would not suffer when Atlas discovered her schemes, she did that to her own flesh.

Aleister knew that his mother, Adeline was innocent. He would be lying if he said his heart did not ache for her. But her innocence turned into evil in this whole ploy.

His father was just a man hopelessly in love. He loved Adeline and wanted her at any cost. And Aleister understood that too. Because he loved Esme and a selfish part of his heart knew that even if she wanted to leave his side someday, he might never let her go.

If he was in his father’s place, he might have done the same. He might have abducted Esme and made her fall for him all over again. But keeping Marilyn alive to become a potential threat to his woman? He would not have let that happen.

Even if Marilyn was a friend, he would have gotten her out of his life for the woman he loved. Because why would his woman be called just a ’lover’ when another woman was referred to as his ’Queen’?

That’s something his father never cared about or put many thoughts into. So what if the court members opposed it? So what if the Dark Castle won’t accept a mortal goddess, a human Queen?

A love that did not possess the audacity to overthrow the power of the throne and politics was bound to go up in flames.

Theirs was a love bound to be doomed the moment his father tried to balance everything instead of choosing one.

And Marilyn? Since she wanted revenge, she could have had it. She had it already.

But she involved Adeline’s family. King Alexander’s only wife and son died, and the future heir to the throne of Visteria was gone just like that, for someone else’s grudge. God Zephyr fell from his throne just because he supported his friend in going after his happiness...

Aleister himself suffered for years because of the curse Marilyn placed on him.

His brother suffered at her hands too. And, Esme who was unrelated to everything, started doubting her sanity because of the nightmares of the witch illusion and Marilyn did not taint her hands for all of that. She made Cardan do everything. She made him do things beyond his morality ever since he was young.

And with every life he took, his blood must have turned colder and his heart numb.

She killed Adeline. She could have killed Atlas if she was capable of it.

But she pulled everyone into this hellfire that the three of them had started.