C2: "Mister Fairy!"
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He blinked in confusion. Wait, that's it? Because they're bored, they accepted it just like that? In a hurry, he bowed yet again when he realized what the honorable being said. "I'm incredibly thankful, Your Lordship! If there is something you need, please do not hesitate to ask me of it!"
"First, this princess of yours... from which empire does she belong to?"
"The Obelian Empire, Your Lordship!"
"Un. Let us make haste, then."
The knight furrowed his eyebrows. The words the honorable being uttered left him puzzled. Earlier, it seemed that they were just a little interested but now... they said to make haste?
Before the knight knew it, both him and his stead were engulfed by the swirling snow, and disappeared from the vast plains.
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In one of the gardens of the palace of Obelia, a heavy weight brought almost everyone to their knees. Only the highly skilled managed to keep standing as their senses sharpened in alert. The pressure appeared from nowhere, the source unable to be detected. If that was the case, it was as if it engulfed the entire palace.
Felix Robane positioned himself in front of the emperor and the princess once he perceived the falling object from the sky. It landed several meters away, a dust cloud covering its figure. "Your Majesty, please allow me to handle this."
The cloud dissipated, along with the pressure, and revealed... Octavius?
Octavius Vaughn Bastien was someone Felix had known since he was young. He was the eighth son of Count Bastien and had grown up to be a respected knight. House Bastien was loyal to the throne and had always been since the founding of Obelia.
They were known for their loyalty and lack of self-preservation. Loyalty to the throne, their life for their emperor. Felix heard that when Octavius caught wind that the princess was bedridden, the younger knight had asked for a leave and expected that he would be gone for a while.
Since he left, it had been more than a month and the princess was already doing a lot better.
But what confused Felix was the pressure in the air before Octavius' appearance. Had he caused that? If so, why? "Y... Your Majesty! Your highness!" The disoriented knight, who had fallen from the sky, instantly knelt down. "Blessing and glory upon the Obelian Empire!" Came his shaky response.
"Octavius, what's going on? How come you-" Felix lowered his sword once he saw the younger knight shaking. "- fell from the sky? Did someone send you flying again?"
"T... That's not it, Sir Felix!" Bright fuchsia eyes widened in panic. "I... I heard that her highness was sick and... so I sought for help but..." The volume of his voice lowered, the rest of his words obvious enough for them.
His help was late and the princess had already recovered.
"If that is the case, did you succeed?" No matter how many times Felix glanced around, there was no one else in the garden except for them. His hold around his sword tightened. He shouldn't disregard the idea that someone might be impersonating Octavius.
"Y... Yes, I have."
"So," the emperor, Claude, spoke up. "Where is your help then?"
Octavius felt the pressure on his shoulders. He wasn't even aware of how he had gotten back in the first place! Things happened far too fast than what his head could process and up until now, he was trying to get his thoughts together.
"You scare the poor knight too much, emperor. After he begged for this one's help to cure your lovely princess, you pressure him like so?" A voice as soothing as flowing water sounded from above and they all watched as a figure descended from the sky.
Long hair resembling the earth after rain tied in a ponytail, smiling eyes as dark yet as sparkling as a brightly lit night sky; the teen landed gracefully right in front of Octavius. He held a disposition that rivalled a noble. As he smiled, it almost appeared as if he looked down on them.
"I wonder if Sen would allow me to knock some sense into you." Almost instantly, Octavius, Felix, and the princess stiffened at the stranger's words. The emperor leaked murderous intent, his jeweled eyes promised a night of torture in the dungeons.
"W... Who's Sen, Mister Fairy?!" The princess, who feared for the life of that annoyingly beautiful stranger, intervened. For Athanasia, the fairy-like teen radiated an aura that soothed her nerves. Even when she should have been nervous, something about him calmed her down.
His bright mysterious obsidian eyes landed on her and Athanasia was a little captivated. She had never seen such mesmerizing black eyes before. They had always seemed so ordinary and dull but on him, they were as pretty as the golds in the palace!
"Would you, perhaps, wish to meet Sen, lovely princess?"
"Who are you?" Claude demanded, slightly twisting his body so that the stranger wouldn't have a clear view of Athanasia.
The fairy-like teen chuckled. "This one is the being this poor knight begged for help. Are you not glad?"
"Y... You?" Octavius couldn't believe his eyes. He had always imagined the honorable being to be a wise old man, not a young teen with no filter in his mouth. Yet who stood before him, protecting him from the emperor's heart-stopping gaze, was a teen who seemed to be just a few years younger than him.
"House Bastien is a family more loyal than anyone yet you treat this knight like this? How low have Obelia had fallen I wonder." A bright concentration of mana suddenly appeared and charged towards the stranger.
For a moment, when no one else noticed, the honorable being's eyes flashed a ruby jeweled before returning back to obsidian. Octavius wanted to dodge but he was rooted in place due to fear.
Somehow, he really regretted searching for the honorable being. Grandfather, what kind of trouble have you gotten me into?!
But that blast of mana disappeared at the sound of a snap.
Baffled, everyone glanced at the honorable being who had snapped his fingers. Something as powerful as that... disappeared so easily? "Claude de Alger Obelia, the current owner of the throne, is this how you treat your guest?" He lowered his hand, eyebrow arching in arrogance.
"Well, I suppose I should not have appeared unannounced."
"Answer the question," Claude repeated after observing the stranger. "Who are you?"
With snort and a mocking glint in his eyes, the honorable being bowed. "I am Idris Drayce, Your Majesty, a magician who followed the rules of Khione."
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Khione; an existence that had long been forgotten by the masses. Only a few noble families and the royal families in the world knew of their existence. Although they knew that Khione existed, no one knew if they were a man, a woman, or a group of people.
Khione was famous for their three rules that they abided by. If broken, their soul will undergo unimaginable torture for a thousand years and have it scattered, erasing one's very existence.
However, no one knew what these rules were and if Khione was still alive or not.
There was one more thing that Khione was famous for; as long as one entertained them, they wouldn't cause a scene.
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"L... Lord Drayce!"
Octavius ran after the younger teen who sprinted by several maids. How did it come to this? How did he, Octavius Vaughn Bastien, become a babysitter to someone not that much younger than him?! Grandfather, this honorable being you told me about... how is this honorable?!
The knight watched as the magician stopped by the garden, eyes fixed on the flowers. "Octi, why not loosen up a little? Someone as young as you should not be stiff."
"I... I'm a knight though."
"That doesn't matter." Octavius watched as Idris picked up a flower. Even though he wanted to reprimand him, the knight obviously can't. Idris seemed to do whatever he wants on his own pace and even Octavius, an accomplished knight, failed to keep up with him.
A bright white glow with hints of blue caught his attention and he watched with fascination as Idris' mana covered the flower in his palms. When it died down, the flower was encased in a clear spherical ice. "What is that for, Lord Drayce?"
"It's Idris, Octi. And I plan on putting this in my collection!" With a snap of his fingers, the flower in ice disappeared as Idris stood up.
"Octi."
"Uh, yes, Lord Dr... Lord Idris?"
"Could you get the maids prepare tea and snacks?"
Octavius blinked, unsure why the younger teen asked him of that out of the blue. "As you wish." He turned around, not noticing how Idris' eyes changed for a fraction of a minute before it returned to normal.
"You may reveal yourself now."
The presence felt oddly familiar but he couldn't pinpoint out who. His memories were still a bit blurry because that little knight interrupted him that day before yesterday at the plains. Idris watched as a figure walked out from behind the tree across him.
It was a figure clad in black robes, hair resembling black expensive silks and eyes as ruby as his original color. "Idris Drayce, am I correct?" The black magician crossed his arms over his chest, ruby eyes analyzing him from head to toe.
However, Idris noticed something... odd.
"Why are you a child, magician? An adorable one at that. Is this a new hobby of yours? Do not worry, I swear on my name that I will not make fun of you irregardless of your reasons." Somehow, Idris felt like it was appropriate to say those words.
His sincerity was genuine and that irked the black magician even more.
"On another note, you somehow seem familiar. Magician, have you been passing by the Forest of Khione? If so, that explains why your mana sounds familiar."
"Are you done talking?" Came the unamused question by the black magician. "You really know how to talk, don't you?"
Idris faked a smile. "I apologize then. What use is my mouth if I do not use it, after all?" Lightning crackled between the two, obsidian black and ruby red sent each other identical glowers.
"Lord Idris," Octavius arrived to witness the stare down between the honorable being and the magician who saved the princess. "The tea and snacks you wanted have been prepared." His eyes flickered towards the magician. "Should I ask the maids to prepare another cup?"
Idris waved a hand. "No need. This little magician won't be joining me."
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Lucas watched as the so called honorable being and his escort left. He leaned against the tree he had been hiding in earlier and wondered why that thing would be here in Obelia of all places.
What that thing mentioned earlier was true.
He had passed by the Forest of Khione several times before. However, Lucas had never seen that thing before.
In the Forest of Khione, it was rumored that Khione themselves still lived in that place. It was never mentioned if they perished or not but what was clear was that they used to live in that place. And the plains near the forest served as their practice grounds.
Thus, the plains brimmed with mana that only the people who followed the rules of Khione were able to use.
From what Lucas had witnessed earlier, that Idris Drayce truly was a follower of Khione. "Hmm, I should keep an eye on that guy."
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Athanasia blinked as she craned her neck to stare at the beautiful teen standing in front of her. She didn't expect to bump into him at all! Lily, help me! It unnerved her how he stared at her with unblinking eyes.
Did he notice something unusual?
Did she act too suspiciously?
"Lovely princess, would you like to have a cup of tea with me?"
His voice was like a beautiful twang of a harp, as if every word he said had a melody. Athanasia wanted to hide. She wasn't sure how she should treat this unknown character. In fact, she had never read about him before! An honorable being?
Follower of Khione?
Idris Drayce?
Perhaps he was someone from the sequel? Before she passed away, there were rumors about a sequel for Lovely Princess and the basic features of the protagonist were leaked at the time. Hair as cool as ice and ruby jeweled eyes even more magnificent than the ones the emperor possessed.
Besides, it was mentioned that the protagonist also had de Alger Obelia in his name but the person inviting her tea at this moment didn't have it. So, who exactly was this honorable being one of the knights said?
Instead of dawdling and pondering about his identity, Athanasia decided to accept his offer, unaware of that undecipherable glint in his eyes. The tea he had the maids prepared tasted sweet, accompanied by a variety of finger sandwiches that children wouldn't make a mess of.
Athanasia had to lament to herself how there was another person who treated her like a real child. Although she had already gotten used to it, there were times when she felt a longing to be treated like her actual age again. As she took a sip of her tea, her jeweled eyes peered towards the odd magician.
The teacup almost slipped from her hold. It was only a fraction of a second but she swore she saw her reflection in another pair of jeweled eyes, ones that resembled saccharine rubies. She blinked back in shock and stared again but only that enchanting obsidian eyes stared back at her shimmering with amusement.
"Why so shocked? Did you see something you shouldn't have?"
The princess wanted to say that yes but she bit back her tongue. Something about his tone gave her a sense of danger. If she acknowledged that she saw those jeweled eyes on him, what would he do? But Athanasia wasn't too stupid to mention it. After living with someone who made her feel on edge every single second, she knew what to say.
A gullible smile appeared on her lips and with the slight tilt of her head, she knew she was the perfect picture of innocence. Yet Idris Drayce's lips curled into a smirk, as if he saw right through her. "What do you mean, Mister Fairy? Athy loves Mister Fairy's eyes, that's all!"
Athanasia inwardly cried for help when he snorted at her. She didn't care who it was; someone just please help her get out of this situation!
"This one does have the most beautiful pair of eyes you'll ever see in your entire lifetime."
Eh..? The princess blinked back in shock, his reply a little unexpected. With his lips curled at one corner, eyes brimming with teasing, Athanasia wanted to hide in her room for the rest of the day. How come this weird person was teasing her?!
The odd magician arched his elegant eyebrow at her speechlessness. "Come, lovely princess, tell this one what you like about this one's eyes."
... HE'S A HUGE NARCISSIST!
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I FINALLY UPDATED! It's two days earlier but I was a little impatient.
I wonder what you guys think of Idris so far?