X: Oblivion

Sven pushed Adelaide away from him. He was finally able to pick up the cloak on the floor to cover up the princess in a quick manner.

"Adelaide, you are my brother's fiancé." He reminded the woman, moving away from her. "You shouldn't be doing this." He added, getting a bit angry.

"But your royal highness, you promised me." The woman started crying again, trying to get close to him once more. "You said you'll be with me after my mother's death." She added, sobbing.

"My only promise is to take care of you, but not in this kind of way, Adelaide. We grew up together. You are like a little sister to me." He tells the woman, who sobbed louder upon hearing his words.

"So everything that you have done for me didn't have any meaning at all?" She asked in between her cries. "I thought you love me." She added.

Sven looked at her in dismay, his anger getting to him. "You're talking nonsense, Adelaide. Leave." He spat, turning away from the woman.

"But your royal highness." She called out again.

"No! End of discussion!" He shouted towards the woman. "Please leave, before I lose all my patience." He added, this time trying his best to calm his voice.

The princess was about to come near him once again, but there was a sudden knock on the door. Adelaide, who was suddenly in shock, quickly ran towards the door to leave, still crying. The server that was at the door was quite surprised but suddenly fixed her expression to bow to the King.

"Your royal highness, I'm sorry to interrupt but, Miss Lilith would like to see you." The server tells him, motioning towards the lady behind her, who was looking at the princess running away in the hallway.

She then looked over the King's direction after hearing the server talk. "Oh no. It's okay, I can come back tomorrow." She said, assuming something bad might have happened so it was not the right time to be in his presence.

Sven fixed his posture seeing the woman. "No. Lilith, it's fine." He assures her, calming himself down. "But if it's possible, can we not talk here in my office?" He asked the woman, as he didn't want his bad mood to worsen, remembering what just happened in the room.

Lilith quickly nodded. "Yes. Of course, Sv-" She cleared her throat. "Your royal highness." She corrects herself, acknowledging who he is now.

Sven took his white coat hanging on the top rail of his chair. He quickly wore it on as he was moving towards Lilith. He signaled the server to leave them, before motioning a direction with his hands for the lady. "Please." He said to her, telling her to move first.

They made their way toward the right wing of the castle, out of a big door that was guarded by two royal soldiers. He guided her through a connecting bridge that has a view of a frozen pond. They stopped in the middle of it.

Lilith suddenly felt a cold breeze that brushed her reddening cheeks, as if she was just drinking alcohol. She immediately hugged herself feeling the coldness, even though she was wearing a red velvet long-sleeve dress underneath her thick white mantle.

"Lilith, are you cold?" Sven observed how she shivered, quickly taking his coat off.

"Oh no, your royal highness. Please keep it on. I'm okay." She said, waving her hands to decline his offer.

Sven was suddenly surprised by the sudden politeness.

"Lilith, I would gladly prefer if you call me pretty boy, rather than your royal highness." He spoke, with convincing eyes looking at her.

"But I think that's a rude way to call you." She tells him. "I didn't know you were a king." She added.

"Then at least call me by my first name." He said, giving her a small smile.

Lilith observed his gentle expression that was completely focused on her. She didn't know why it was so far-fetching that makes her want to trust him, but she remembers how everything that was happening right now could be just another trap. So she brushed off the idea, and just shook her head. "I'm sorry, your royal highness. I won't be comfortable doing that. Please let me address you properly." She said, giving him a small bow.

Sven sighed. "Okay. I know you don't trust me, and the peace treaty isn't official yet, so I'll let you be, for now." He said, accepting defeat.

Lilith suddenly felt better with his response. She didn't want any misunderstanding that might occur if in any case all of the things that were said earlier were a bluff.

"So why did you want to see me, Lilith?" The king asked the woman.

"I just wanted to know.." She started but stopped to think of better words on how to present her curiosity without sounding impolite. Sven eyed her with questioning eyes, urging her to continue. "I just wanted to know if there's a kind of portal when crossing your city from outside the borders, to make people that aren't from here, forget about some people they've met in the past that are from the Kingdom?" She finally finished her question in one breath.

The man looked at her surprised for a second before tilting his head to the side with a grin. "Are you talking about some kind of magic, beautiful?" He asks her.

Lilith closed her eyes to mentally slap her forehead, thinking that Sven might have assumed that she was making a joke out of his kingdom. "I'm sorry. I know that there's no such thing as that." She tells him, before opening her eyes and looking away, as she suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

Sven shook his head. "Oh, no no. I'm not making fun of you. I was just surprised by the question." He assures her. "Why did you think so?" He continued.

Lilith looked at the man, slightly confused. "Huh?" She asked.

"Why did you think we had some kind of portal?" He completed his question to make it more clear for the lady. Sven was becoming skeptical, and he was afraid that the woman knew something.

"Oh. I actually can't tell you the reason because I'm not sure yet. I'll try to find out tomorrow." He explained to the man.

Sven just nodded. "Okay, then. If you are already sure, don't hesitate to look for me again." He tells her so she nodded and smiled in response.

"Does it always snow here your highness?" Lilith asked, changing the topic.

"Well it's always cold throughout the year, and snow falls every six months. That's the only cycle here. We don't get other seasons." The king explained to her.

She nodded in agreement, before looking around the environment she was in.

Everything was white. The gigantic castle she was in, the grounds where the snow landed and the clothes both of them were wearing. Even the complexion of the man beside her seems to be almost close to white. Everything she can see was white.

When you can only see white...

The note she had read in the morning suddenly popped into her mind. She suddenly felt dizzy, and her head pounded badly. She placed a hand over her forehead and closed her eyes as if she was in pain.

"Lilith, are you okay?" The King suddenly held her shoulders.

She didn't want to bother the man with her condition, so she pushed herself to look back up at him, placing her hands back down. "Yes, don't worry your highness. I'm okay." She attempted to convince him. "But, would it be okay if we go in now? I think the cold wind might be causing me a migraine." She requested.

"Oh. Yes of course. Let's go." He agreed right away, so they both started to go back towards the big door.

Sven personally sent Lilith to her chambers to make sure that the lady would be safe on her way there. He didn't want her to feel dizzy again or to collapse without him beside her. He assumed that since the Mafia land was always warm most of the time, the woman wasn't familiar with the cold weather yet, so her body reacted badly to it, and since he was the one who brought her outside, he felt responsible if anything bad would have happened to her.

Lilith apologized before giving him another bow when they arrived at her door.

Once the door was closed, he immediately turned around to go to his chamber too, but he was stopped because a familiar face that just entered the hallway greeted him. "Hyung." The man called for him.

"Jaxon, why are you still up? You need to have your rest." He tells his little brother.

He showed him the thing he was holding. "I got thirsty so I just got some bottled water from the pantry. My fridge ran out of it." He explained, before motioning towards the door he was in front of. "Who was that?" He asked him.

"It's one of our guests from the Coterie City." He answered quickly.

Jaxon just nodded. "It's too bad that I haven't met them yet. I was so busy with the party earlier." He tells him, before staring at the door because, for a second, he thought that the woman built, who just entered the door, was kind of familiar.

Jaxon only knows that Carina, Nathalie, and Travis were the ones who crossed their borders, because that was the only update that Sin had told him, so he didn't know why that woman from the door looked a lot like the woman she was forced to forget.

"You'll get to know them tomorrow, don't worry." The king shot his brother a quick smile, to assure him. They started to walk away from Lilith's chamber.

"Did everything go well with your proposition for them?" The young Prince asked the King.

"I can say it went well. But it's not yet official. We'll get our answer tomorrow." He explains to his brother. "Is everything okay with Adelaide?" This time, he was the one to ask Jaxon.

He wouldn't forgive himself if he found out that their relationship was ruined because of him. His brother would always be his only weakness.

"Yeah. She was drunk from the party. Before I went to the kitchen I visited her chamber to tuck her in." He explained to his brother. Sven just nodded.

For a moment, his confusion and anger about what the princess did earlier, clouded his mind once more, but he made a mental note to let it slip away since she was drunk, and also for the sake of his brother.

"So, why don't you tell me more stories about what happened with your little getaway?" The king asked his brother, to let their conversation continue in a lighter mood and also to catch up with him at the same time.

Jaxon gave him a small laugh, his eyes hiding in the process. "Okay, Hyung!" He excitedly tells his brother before starting to speak about millions of stories that he experienced when he was still in the Mafia land.

"A peace treaty?" Huxley asked over the screen.

It was the next day after Sven's offer and Carina is now on a video call with his partner.

There was an office that was provided for her by the King. It had everything she needed. A computer, a telephone, her desk, and another desk for Travis to use, who was adjacent to where she was situated now.

He is with Lilith. She woke up early to ask Travis to investigate something for her. She's looking a bit pale like she had a lack of sleep. She wanted to drink as soon as she woke up but Carina scolded her and offered for her to drink some tea instead.

"Yes," Carina confirmed, nodding towards the screen.

Huxley has his hand over his chin, thinking. Carina was just watching him, taking a sip of her warm coffee. It was the coldest morning she ever encountered all her life, so she wanted to feel warm. "Okay. Tell them we're coming." The man answered.

Carina almost choked on her drink when he heard his answer. She made an incoherent sound that made Travis and Lilith glance in her direction for a second. She placed the cup down. "That's it?" She asked the man, surprised at how he could just give out his decision so easily.

The man nodded. "Yes. It's a good plan. I mean, it's not going to give us any harm to sign the papers. It's only going to give us bigger opportunities." He explained to the reluctant lady.

"I know. But what if this is also a trap? They could've just killed the dead queen they were talking about, to look like they were also attacked by the Republicans." She tells him.

"I get your point, but it's impossible for it to be just a trap since they also lost a member of their upper hand. In the Korean hierarchy, it's not allowed to kill a monarch by another monarch because they will be beheaded for treason." He tells her. "And you knew damn well that ever since this King Sven got the throne, he never did anything that is against his laws. He is loved by his people." He added.

Carina made eye contact with Travis to check if the man was telling the truth, and his assistant nodded. He glanced back towards Huxley. "And how the hell do you know all of that?" She asked the man on the screen.

Huxley chuckled. "Carina, my ancestors had a special history with the Korean monarchy so I and Lilith were home-schooled to learn about all this stuff." He explained to the woman.

Carina rolled her eyes at him. She hated how knowledgeable he was in a lot of things, but that's just how everything works out for the both of them leading the mafia land. They balance each other out.

The Coterie City is a mix race community but most of the people surrounding her, be it an ally or an enemy, were Asian people, so she needed to learn a lot of things about it and that's the reason why she hired an Asian assistant herself too, to know more about the different culture. His adopted brother, in addition, is also Asian.

"You need to take Julian with you when you go here." She suddenly tells Huxley, when her thought lingered around her brother.

Huxley nodded to her request quickly. "Of course. Both families need to be present." He assures her. "Oh by the way." He added, making Carina focus his attention fully on the man once more. "He is injured. He got into an accident last night." He continued.

Carina suddenly panicked. "What?" She shrieked. "How is he?" She asked, her voice mixed with panic and concern.

"He's okay. He was drunk driving. He bumped into another car. The impact wasn't that strong, the doctor assumed. It's just the direct trauma of his outstretched arms with the force on the steering wheel when he hit the other car. His right arm was fractured a bit though, but the doctor says he just needs to take his medication and put on a cast for less than two weeks since it's just a little injury." He explained the situation to Carina, to make her feel complacent.

Carina was still surprised about what happened but she slowly calmed down when she found out that he didn't have any serious injuries. "How did you find him?" She suddenly asked Huxley.

"One of my men was checking the streets downtown where the accident happened. He recognized Julian so he called me right away." He said. "Oh, he's here in my mansion right now. He said he didn't want to be alone in your mansion so he preferred to stay here. Do you want to talk to him?" He asked the curious woman, standing up to start walking towards where the young man was.

Carina shook her head right away. She was about to be angry with his brother after finding out that he was staying in Huxley's home, but her anger changed into a panic. She suddenly felt flustered about seeing Julian's face after the conversation they had yesterday morning. "No, it's okay. Let him rest." She tells him, and the man once again nodded in response.

She suddenly remembers how her relationship with Huxley was changing. She would always think that they would hate each other for the rest of their lives, but she never imagined going back to having a casual conversation with him again ever, and now, he's even taking care of Julian for her.

"Huxley." She calls towards the man, who just looked at her with a questioning look.

"Thank you." She muttered, giving him a small smile. Lately, every time he talks to the man, her mood seemed to always get better.

The man made a confused look, before moving his ears a bit toward the camera. "I didn't hear what you said, what was that?" He made fun of the grateful woman.

"Mister Jung Huxley, don't be so full of yourself." She rolled her eyes, not wanting to repeat the words.

Huxley laughed, before giving her a grin. "You're welcome, Carina." He tells her.

A server suddenly knocked on the door. "Hey, you should be here first thing tomorrow." She reminded Huxley, before giving the opening door a quick look. It was a server.

Huxley nodded towards her. "Yes, queen. Don't miss me too much." He teased, making Carina give him another eye roll before dropping the call.

She gave her full attention to the server by the door, who bowed to her soon as they locked eye contact. "Miss Carina, your highness is on his way to see you." She advised her, before giving her another quick bow to leave the room.

A minute later, the King entered her office making the three of them in the room stand up. They gave him a small bow, and the King also did, specifically toward Carina. "I heard you already talked to your partner." He tells the lady.

Carina crossed her arms in her chest. "I just finished talking to him. Isn't the King too eager to make peace with us?" She asked the man, with one eyebrow raised.

Sven chuckled. "I told you last night, we don't like wasting time." He reminded her.

Carina sighed in defeat. She didn't like how the man wasn't affected by her attitude one bit. She felt exhausted trying to push his button every time they talk. "Okay fine. We agree. We will sign the peace treaty." She finally tells him.

Sven continued smiling. He wasn't even surprised. It's as if he predicted that they will agree with the proposal anyway.

He moved towards the woman, before offering his hands to her. Carina who finally gave in to stop the mental competition with the king, took his hand to shake it.

"I hope to make more proposals with you in the future." The king tells her after they let go of each other's hands. The woman just nodded in response.

The king then glanced toward where the other lady in the room was. "Lilith, are you feeling better?" He asked the woman who was just quietly watching the two of them, same with Travis.

The woman nodded. "Yes, your royal highness. You don't need to worry about it." She assures him.

Sven's expression suddenly looked pained. "Hey, we are partners now. You can finally drop the politeness." He tells her.

"But-" Lilith was cut off when a man suddenly barged inside the room.

"Hyung, I'm sorry for being late. I need to eat breakfast with Adelaide." The man said, entering the room with a big smile on his face. He bowed to Carina to greet her and to apologize to her simultaneously. Carina just smiled and bowed to him in return.

Lilith blinked her eyes a couple of times with his arrival as if she was seeing a ghost. She observed Carina and Travis' faces quickly. She's completely confused about why it looked like they didn't know the man who just entered the room when all of them were just together around one table three nights ago, and to make it worse, Jaxon also looked oblivious. She quickly turned to the side to hide her face. Jaxon couldn't help but notice her.

The king tapped his brother's shoulder to get his attention. "Miss Carina, Travis, and Lilith, I would like you all to formally meet my only brother. This is Prince Jaxon." He introduced the man beside him. Jaxon immediately felt surprised by the last name his brother spoke.

Lilith gulped and heaved a heavy sigh before turning toward the direction of the siblings. She looked straight into the man's eyes, whose smile suddenly faded upon seeing her face. His eyes gradually turned into a confused ones.

It's real. The person they both thought they saw yesterday was real. They weren't hallucinating.

She immediately broke eye contact with the man and bowed to him. "It's nice to meet you, Prince Jaxon." She muttered, trying her best for her voice not to come out shaky.

She suddenly felt devastated when she heard the man's response who bowed in her direction too. "It's nice to meet you too, Miss Lilith." He said, his expression suddenly turning cold.