21. Going to Balzatine Kingdom-1

Seiran's eyes twinkled. She walked in a brisk step toward Danial, greeting him enthusiastically. He is finally out after talking to the emperor for almost thirty minutes. Seiran is bored while waiting for him.

"Danny, can we tour inside the palace? I heard the scenery here is the best, especially at night! Let also go take a look around the Amethyst Palace, the sacred temple. Please? Please?" She said in an exciting tone.

Danial chuckles. This girl is always brimming with energy. Her smile somehow put Danial's troubling heart at ease. His hand playfully ruffled Seiran's blond hair. Nodding his head as a sign that he agreed to accompany her.

Her almond-like eyes are glistening with excitement. She is easy to coax, as long as you know the right way.

"Thank you, Danny!" Seiran hugged Danial's sturdy arm, and her cheeks are painted in rosy color. Yes, a date with Danny! She cheered inside her heart, even though on the outside, she retained a bashful expression. Her graceful demure suddenly turned into a scowl. Her eyebrows knitted in displeasure once she remembered that her oldest brother is still here. She glanced at her awaiting older brother, lips pursing in aggravation. A moment later, she bitterly asked him, "Are you going to follow us too, big brother Arthur?"

Arthur is not a dense person, and he can understand the meaning behind her scowl. The man waves his hand in a halfhearted gesture. He would not be a third wheel and disturbing these two lovebirds from taking a stroll, a.k.a date. Seeing them being lovey-dovey with each other might irked him. He prefers to eat real food rather than being stuffed to the fullest with dog food. His innocent heart might blacken at this rate.

"No, I'm tired. I will go home first. I had already sent my document to the person in charge, and my duty here is done. Both of you can tour around. Please go back before midnight, alright?" Arthur said in a flat tone. Needless to say, his complexion is not good, and exhaustion is visible on his face.

If not because of his superior sternly reminding him to hand over the document, he absolutely will not go out. Today, he had a torturous monthly inspection. As a secretary, Arthur is responsible to cater all the necessary documents and files. He needs to give them to the accounting department for auditing. Well, corruption is everywhere. So, a monthly inspection is to be expected. Arthur yawned. He just wants to go back and grab his much-needed rest. "If you come back later than that, our father will flip out."

Seiran rolled her eyes. That's right, how can she forget about her first and the most annoying walking light-bulb, her own father, Duke Arklight? Seiran is glad that her father is nowhere in sight. He will definitely disturb her plan and following them everywhere, stalking them without even bothering to stay hidden. After that, he will be preaching them, spouting lengthy nonsense about everything. Duke Arklight acted like a grumpy and narrow-minded old man. A complete opposite of Lady Liliane. She would be worried for her daughter's safety. Every mother does. Even so, she never restricted Seiran's freedom.

There's one perturbing incident that happened in the past which evoked a salty taste inside her mouth. Because of this incident, boys are thinking twice before asking her out. They are acting like a scalded cats that fear hot water.

Those guys would resolutely be hardening their resolve and steeling their tiny bit of courage before they are daring to openly pursuing her. Unfortunately, their advance gets halted without even managed to take a step forward. Yeah, because of the disturbance of the four musketeers of Knight Household.

Flashback.

One day, a boy in Seiran's magic class had brazenly asked her out in front of many students. Seiran, who is flustered, wants to reject him on the spot. She accidentally looked around and was dejected. Perhaps, under the expectation and scrutinizing eyes of the others, she forced herself to accept his invitation.

The boy hollered in victory. He said in an exciting tone, he will escort Seiran from her house. Seiran adamantly refused his unkind offer. After deciding where to meet, the boy ran towards his friends, grinning like a Cheshire cat. His friends praised his bold action, and their crisps laughter reverberating in the class. Seiran, however, shook her head in solemn.

So, she and that boy, whose name is Eric Klein, the son of Lady Rose, a palace concubine, went out together that night for an abrupt date.

Coincidentally, the news about them going to the town spreading out like a wildfire and arrived at the ears of her father and brothers. Being the nosy person with over protectiveness in their personalities, they stalked her and Eric. Of course, Seiran and the boy are obviously aware of their disturbance. They openly following them around, eyes glaring dagger on the poor, trembling person beside Seiran.

Eric felt uncomfortable throughout the date. He keeps flinching as his eyes met the piercing eyes of the scary Duke Arklight and frequently jumping in scare. Abnormal occurrence keeps happening to him, as someone is definitely targeting him. When he tried to buy sweet or cotton candy for her, those things amiably frozen in the air, dropped onto the ground, and shattered to pieces. Eric even dared to hold her hand but yelped in pain instead. As if his hand is scalding by a hot iron. True to this notion, his fair skin turned alarmingly red, and whips marks appeared around his hand. The injury is not that serious, but Eric's face is ashen as time ticks by.

Nevertheless, Seiran praised Eric's stubbornness and his persistent nature in staying with her. He managed to send Seiran back to her home, immediately running away, faster than the lightning itself, with tail tucked between his legs.

Seiran's eyeing her father and brothers, who are peeking behind a pillar outside their mansion. They inadvertently had abandoned the idea to stay hidden. She could only release an exasperated sigh at their childishness.

A strange thing occurred the very next day. When she went to class, that boy is clearly avoiding her. As if she is a plague.

When compared to his jolly laughter from the previous day, that morning, Eric was kind of stunned at his place when they accidentally come across each other. He stared at Seiran with utter disbelief as if just encountering his demise. Initially, his eyes are soulless, as if he had just back from visiting a sick person. His face is pale, eyes red and puffy, with dark circles adorned below his eyes.

Then, his body started to tremble in fright, legs wobbling like jelly and his eyes looking everywhere except at her. His lips are quivering. The body is shaking and swaying dangerously like a leaf. At this rate, he might faint on the spot if Seiran scolds him. Soon, Eric bolted to the outside of the class, his miserable wailing echoing in the hallway.

The rest of the students shook their heads. Pity is visible in their eyes. They seemed to know something, yet, they never divulged any information about him to the clueless Seiran.

Seiran, by now, is weird out by his reaction. Hence, she approached Eric's friends, demanded an explanation. His friends also put a transparent distance when they saw her, which annoyed Seiran. As if they are seeing a grim reaper with his scythe looming over their trembling statures.

She suppressed the vex in her throat and asked again. Her voice is softened, and she maintained the graceful smile on her lips, reassuring them that she only wanted to inquire about Elric's mental well-being. The guys relaxed their stiff posture while exchanging glances between them. Finally, the boy with dark brown hair replied in a low voice. His name is Adrian.

"Duke Arklight and your brothers appeared inside his carriage and teleported him to the middle of nowhere. They...uhh, threatening him to put a stop on his foolish delusion, and never approached you with impure intention again, or they cut out his family jewel. One of your brothers, Commander Sean Knight, has intentionally scalded him in a place where no one could peer over(cough). He healed him, and torture him in the same way, and healed him again. He suffered for ten minutes. Once the carriage stopped at the palace, the coachman found him unconscious on the carriage's floor. Sweats cascaded over his forehead, his clothes drenched with them. Of course, the coachman is spooked out."

Adrian's friend, the one with tied long black hair, sombrely said, "The Royal Physician found nothing is wrong with him. Even so, Eric acted strangely for the rest of the night. Lady Rose is aggrieved by the incident, yet, Eric never tells anyone except us. Since he cannot prove the involvement of The Knight's with his messy condition. Hence, the incident got buried just like that."

"Eric is traumatized by the incident, as he cries miserably to us this morning. He asked us to hide him from you. He felt that if he meets you, the nightmarish event might evoke itself. Before he can run away, you miraculously appeared in front of him." Adrian guiltily added. "Seemed like he had also experienced a night terror. He cannot sleep for the rest of the night. That's why he looks like that."

Seiran facepalmed once she heard that. She covered her face with her palms, groaning inwardly. Those guys! What the heck do they do to the poor innocent boy?!

Adrian and his friends bowed their heads and rushed after Eric.

Dare did Seiran said after that day, boys are no longer vehemently flaunting themselves around her, even the snobbish brats from the palace. They are tip-toeing around her. Treating her with the same amount of respect and fear. Which comes from his possessive family and not her. Nevertheless, after that, none have the bravery to pursue her.

"What are you thinking about?" Danial pinched her soft cheek, snapping Seiran from reminiscing her dull past.

Seiran hissed in pain. She intends to smack the naughty hand, though Danial evaded it. He grinned.

"You frown. What kind of thing burdening your mind, my lady?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm...Ooohhhh!!! Look at that, Danny!" Both reached a big pond located at the center of the five palaces.

The pond is surrounded by lush Jasmine flowers on the river bank. There's a well-decorated cottage in the middle of the pond, painted in the glittering gold lining. A white canopy laid overhead, with a translucent silver curtain adorned around the edge.

The cottage is connecting by two sturdy, wooden bridges laid across the pond, illuminated by colorful lanterns that hung from the roof tiles on each side. The place is brightly lit with those magical lamps and beautiful lanterns. The pathway leading to the cottage is dribbled with pebbles, and on either side, flowers bloomed beautifully. Their colors are vibrant in the dark. Fireflies lazily swayed around like twinkling stars.

The scenery at night is indeed breathtaking. The water is as clear as the transparent crystal, flowing in the calm current. You can see the fishes swimming around, with the splotch of the small waves sometimes dribbled on the water surface as those creatures inside living their life to the fullest. The chirping of cicadas chanting across the bushes enlightened the tranquility of the area.

Seiran and Danial are bashfully intertwining their hands and walking side by side toward the bridge. Both faces are flushing in red, hints of anxiousness are evident inside their eyes. They are slowly trudging the pathway until they stopped just below the white canopy. Seiran and Danial reluctantly unlatched their intertwined fingers. Warm feelings lingered on their palms, missing the needy touch.

Seiran put her hands on the handrails. She inhaled a deep breath. The sweet smell of flowers, fresh scent of lush greenery, and comforting fragrance of the person beside her mix together, lulling her into an oasis of serenity amidst the bustling night. Danial stands closer to her, eyes enthralled by her beauty. Her whole persona is illuminated by moonlight, and a silver halo shrouded her body, cast the image of an angel who has just descended from heaven.

Danial blinked his eyes. An acquaintance has emerged in front of his eyes.

This woman's image is envisioned inside his head, alternating between Seiran's and her. They seemingly had semblance with one another. While Seiran is young and brimming with youthful energy, the woman had a mature countenance and was composed in nature.

Vividly envisioned inside Danial's mind is a woman with a fair complexion, skin almost sickly pale, and rosy cheekbones. Her long reddish-brown hair surpassed the waist with a beauty mark just below her full luscious lips. Her thick, lush eyelashes fluttered lazily above her hooded amethyst orbs.

Both have the same graceful smile tugging from their lips.

Two unalike voices overlapped, yet they bring out the same flutters feeling inside his heart.

"Prosecutor Kang?"

"Danny?"

Danial wakes up from his trances. He shook his head to erase the woman's image, and his eyes landed on Seiran's sulking face.