The King Needs Her

"My knights have been on the move since the incident and I hope to find out the culprit in the near future. But you have to remember, they are definitely not ordinary people..they can break through the heavy guard and plan the massacre carefully," after the crying subsided, the King began to speak seriously.

Apart from speaking a few sentences, Miraila only cried and sobbed. She found herself to be a very annoying person and wondered why King Sigmar did not quickly get fed up and ordered the executioner to hang her neck.

"But—"

"You want to know why I keep you in the palace?" King Sigmar smiled at her again.

"Because you will never again leave my side,"

"What? why?"

"Because I need your blood, Lady Miraila. The blood of the Phoenix clan is what keeps me alive and strong," Sigmar replied without going around in circles.

Mireila immediately recalled the previous night. When she was still in a state of shock and not fully conscious. King Sigmar bit the back of her hand and drank her blood. The girl was now sitting slightly away from the king. It still seemed strange to her.

When Mireila still hadn't fully digested the king's words—she saw a kind of white light covering her head.

"That's silencing magic. When the king explained to you about his needs of Phoenix blood, the magic would activate," Aleron commented.

"W-what is this?" Mireila looked at Aleron suspiciously.

"I didn't do it..I'm just here to make sure this magic works. It was an ancient magic spell that kept the Phoenix clan secret with the Allandur royal family. Anyone who knows this secret won't be able to tell anyone," Aleron explained.

It didn't take long, the light disappeared from her.

"There is someone who knows King Sigmar's secret and uses it to attack him. The king cannot live without regularly drinking the blood of members of the Phoenix Clan. The enemy cannot touch him..therefore they thought that if all the members of the Phoenix clan were annihilated, the king would no longer have a Phoenix blood supply. He will die and so will the future of the royal family," said Aleron again.

Mireila felt her head spinning at this moment. Too much information. It seems odd and impossible. But the king actually drank her blood. Mireila had no reason not to believe it.

"Why does king sigmar have to drink our blood? Are you cursed or—"

"Cursed? No, lady Miraila. My ancestors did this knowingly..in exchange for strength and longevity—we made a pact with Ornlu, the god of nightmares. Every king who leads Allandur can only live by routinely drinking the blood of Ornlu's enemies, namely the descendants of the Phoenix," Sigmar responded with a hint of pride.

"What if you don't get Phoenix blood?"

"That means I'll be weakened to death. Let's just say, your blood is the medicine I have to take for the rest of my life. I was worried when I heard the village of Acheron was burned..Lady Brigitta, who gives me blood every night, asked permission to return to Acheron to attend the festival. If you're dead too—then it's only a matter of time until I weaken and die," Sigmar smiled as if it was a trivial matter despite the fact that it was a matter of life and death.

"Then what about the knights, palace maids and doctors I've interacted with all this time? Don't they know that I'm from Acheron?" asked the girl again.

"Lady Mireila, it seems that you quite understand the situation you are in right now. But the servants and knights who serve the king directly, cannot leak this to anyone outside the palace. . . aleron has performed silence magic on them," King Sigmar explained.

"Yes, even though it's difficult and drains my mana," complained Aleron quietly even though he was still smiling.

"Let me explain your current situation again, Lady Miraila..maybe right now those who massacred the Phoenix clan didn't know there were survivors. You are the last of the Phoenix Clan. The king needs you alive. That's why I will cast protection magic on you."

Without waiting for approval, Aleron lowered his hood. He was still quite young with bright copper-red hair that was striking to the eye. His eyes are gray and he has a dimple on his right cheek. The presence of freckles around his nose also impresses him like a teenager. But Mireila must not forget that he was still the master of the magic tower and one of Allandur's best magicians.

Aleron touched the girl's shoulder and she closed her eyes while chanting an ancient Latin spell that had the impression of horror. It was as if he was summoning a demon right now. But a golden orange glow now enveloped her body and vanished in seconds.

He said it was protection magic, but Mireila didn't feel anything special had happened to her.

"I also created an illusion to hide the color of your eyes, Lady Mireila. Now your eyes are blue..people will easily recognize you as a descendant of the Phoenix with your emerald green eyes," said Aleron again. Mireila felt her eye area, she had to remember to look in the mirror later to see the changes.

"So do you want some more soup?" Sigmar asked.

Mireila shook her head vigorously.

"Don't hesitate, you will live with me until I die. We must be more familiar with ourselves," said the King.

"Your Majesty is not eating?"

"I can't enjoy ordinary human food. It tastes bland and I can barely swallow it. Apart from the blood of the Phoenixes..I used to quench my thirst by drinking the blood of other women," he said with a smile.

"Oh," Mireila felt uncomfortable.

"You don't need to sympathize with me, it's not that bad," said the King again.

"Besides, you must remember that you are now my concubine, so that it is easy to explain to everyone why I come to your room every night," said King Sigmar again.

Mireila gasped. Concubine he said? So everyone would think that she was one of the king's women?

"But it's just for pretending, is it?" Mireila narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, just camouflage. Or—do you really want to be my concubine?" Sigmar grinned, showing his charming smile.

"No, Your Majesty," Mireila shook her head firmly.

"Oh my, lady Mireila you don't have to say no right away, do you? At least you can put on a blush or a nervous face," Sigmar laughed.

"When you're done, let me take you to your room." King Sigmar rose from his seat and stretched out his hand, asking Mireila to welcome him and walk beside him.