CHAPTER 25: RELATIONSHIP

"Madam Perseus! Madam Perseus!"

Aries, Agi, and Libra were alarmed after seeing Perseus look not quite right.

Perseus has been glued to her seat with her eyes losing their cheerfulness. She was like a statue. They notice it after the appearance of Dark Kurumi.

A violent push from outside the door shocks them. The door crashed to the wall opposite it. Leo entered the room and strode toward his wife with very cold eyes. His angry footsteps sounded in the room.

Aries and her friends didn't dare make a sound or breathe roughly at the sight of their furious general. They were afraid that if they moved even a bit they might get killed by him accidentally.

"Perseus," Leo called as he placed both his hands on Perseus' cheeks gently.

He also moved Perseus' face to look at him. Because Perseus didn't seem to hear him, he touched Perseus' forehead with his before closing his eyes. After he opened it again, the irises of his eye had turned bright. A strong aura was released by him and channelled to Perseus, banishing the invisible dark string that controlled her.

Perseus gasped a moment later and her eyes fluttered.

"Dear...?" Perseus was surprised to see her husband in front of her.

"Is something wrong? What happened?"

"You have been controlled, honey."

The chilliness slightly manifested in his eyes before it was gone. It turns soft after looking at his wife again. He also felt glad that his wife was alright.

He wanted to find the person who controlled her. After he found them, he would break all their bones. Then, cut up all their meat and fed it to his lions. He had four pets in his room shared with his wife.

"Really? I didn't notice or feel it. Thank you for saving me, dear."

Perseus kissed Leo's lips lovingly just for a moment before releasing him. Leo calmed down and no longer released the scary aura.

Aries and her friends let out a sigh of relief. Despite seeing the lovely moment between Leo and Perseus, they were afraid to ruin it. Because of that, they just kept quiet and stood stiffly in their seats.

"Ah, yes, I forgot! What happened to Kairi and his brother?"

Perseus turned to the image in the centre of the round table.

"Err, their last test was interrupted by the members of the Deorc Star, Dark Kurumi," Agi answered her.

"What?!" Perseus was startled.

Leo narrowed his eyes as he gazed sharply at Agi and all of them. They all gulped in fear again. Perseus put her palm on his eyes.

"Dear, you're scaring them." Perseus chided.

Behind her palm, she could feel Leo was rolling his eyes.

"Sagittarius, explain what happened in the last test."

He pulled Perseus's hand away and kissed it. He has no embarrassment to show his love for his wife. They all know it anyway.

"Yes, sir. While his highness and Rafiz were resting at 12th Street, their image was erased suddenly. We asked Madam Perseus about it but madam didn't answer. So, I asked Aries to check on them while we all were trying to make madam conscious again..."

Agi turned to Aries. He also changed his call toward Kairi with respect.

Aries has raised a group of fairies in Antonia but she doesn't bring them with her if she goes outside. This was because the fairies would die if they moved outside of Antonia.

The fairies only listened to her and she told them to search Kairi and Rafiz. From the eyes of the fairies, she saw the situation where Kairi and Rafiz went separately in two ways. She instantly ordered the fairies through their mind to follow both of them.

"Aries found them separated and surrounded by the fake us. Soon, Dark Kurumi appeared near him but he was unable to do anything to his highness because Rafiz who was separated earlier returned to his side and protected him." Agi continued his explanation.

"They need help!" Perseus turned to Leo.

Her face showed her nervousness for the safety of their future king.

"Don't worry, Madam Perseus. Dark Kurumi has left without injuring both of them. Now, our soldiers have deployed to pick them up. Virgo, Pegasus, Cygnus, and Eridanus have also left with them." Libra interrupted.

"Good. I will manage the search for Dark Kurumi. His presence posed a threat to us. Perseus, come with me." Leo would not let Perseus stay here. It was better to be with him.

Perseus sighed before looking at Agi, Aries and Libra.

"If something else happens, please tell us." Perseus left with Leo.

"Let's wait at the palace gate for their return," Agi told Aries and Libra. There was no need to be in this room anymore.

Aries and Libra nodded and followed him. As for Kairi and Rafiz, they had rested on a sidewalk because Kairi's knees were weakened due to Dark Kurumi's presence.

"Sorry, Rafiz." Kairi apologizes.

"What are you sorry for? There's no need. By the way, it seems we're still in the forest." Rafiz smiled at him.

"No... It's because..." Kairi went silent for a moment.

"Kairi, don't worry. I'm not angry about you and Dark Kurumi." Rafiz understood it.

"Sorry, Rafiz. I am afraid that you would leave me or ignore me after knowing who Dark Kurumi is..."

"Sigh... I would not. Don't assume negatively about me, Kairi. Whoever he is to you, I don't even care about it."

"But, Rafiz... Dark Kurumi is... My blood-related brother." Kairi slowly told Rafiz.

He finally exposed it while closing his eyes. He awaits Rafiz to ridicule him. After all, he has a brother who was a Deorc Star user. Same as Rafiz.

Isn't that ironic about their relationship? It was not like he wanted a substitute for Dark Kurumi. He was truly earnest about having Rafiz as his brother.

"That's it?" Rafiz's words startled him.

He opened his eyes again and saw Rafiz was tilting his head to the right while looking at him.

"You both don't look the same. Are you sure he's your brother?" Rafiz questioned him.

"Rafiz, what are you saying? Aren't you mad that I might have replaced him with you?" Kairi didn't understand.

Why didn't Rafiz feel angry with him?

"Why would I do that? Although he is your blood-related brother, I am still your brother too. So, what's the problem if I replace him? It seems to me that you like me more than him. In fact, I'm glad I can replace him. He's not suitable to be your brother if he's with the Deorc Star." Rafiz crossed his arms over his chest.

Kairi was amazed. He was relieved to know that Rafiz didn't change and chuckled at Rafiz's claim of him. He always forgot that Rafiz will never betray him.

"Why are you laughing? Is that funny?" Rafiz was a little puzzled.

"I'm sorry. Don't worry, I won't call Equiterance Uurya my brother anymore. I only have you now."

Equiterance was his family name.

"Uurya? That's Dark Kurumi's real name? Why do I feel like I've heard that name before?" Rafiz thought for a moment before remembering something.

Now, he was starting to get suspicious of Dark Kurumi's true character.

"How can he become a member of the Deorc Star? Is it me the only one who didn't know? What's the purpose of him entering the Deorc Star? As far as I know, he has no blood relationship with the Deorc Star family. That's right. He was chosen by Dark Ries since he has the dark emblem chain of Deorc Star users and can use the power. But, the most suspicious thing is that he's in the same family as Kairi... What's going on here…?"

He doesn't understand how Dark Kurumi was accepted as one of the Deorc Star users when he comes from the Knight Seeyer's clan, a clan that was their enemies.

"Uurya is no longer my brother since... Since he killed our two siblings. We have four siblings. I am the youngest child while Uurya is the third child. He killed our brother and sister and then, was no longer allowed to set foot in the clan."

Rafiz turns to Kairi again who explains a bit about his past.

"Why did he kill them?" Rafiz wanted to know.

"I don't know. No one knows why except there were rumours that say he wants to seize his place as the clan head. Our father was the clan head. So, between the three of us, we were trained to be his next heir."

Rafiz was startled to hear it.

"Does he want to be the clan head?"

"I don't know. I said it's just a rumour. After all, if he wants to be the clan head, why does he have to kill our sister but not me? You don't think it's weird?"

Kairi felt complicated now that he thought about the past.

"True... Just now, he doesn't have killing intent towards you. But, do you not want to get revenge for your siblings?"

"Actually... My siblings and I were not very close. In fact, I don't really like my eldest brother and sister either. They always bully me. Except for Uurya… He always stays away from me so I don't feel he is bad. Only, he just dislikes getting near me."

"That's strange… Well, it's not like Kairi knows any secrets about Dark Kurumi. I shouldn't think about it either." Rafiz thought in silence.

"They're over there!"

Someone scream startled them. They turn to look in that direction.

"Who are they? There are so many!" Kairi stood up after a long rest on a stone.

"Antonia's soldiers. They seem to have come to pick us up. Look, there are our friends with them."

Point Rafiz with his chin after seeing Virgo, Pegasus, Cygnus and Eridanus among the soldiers. They all were riding horses.

"Did we finally complete the test?"

Kairi was not sure whether they passed or not since it was interrupted by Dark Kurumi. Rafiz just shrugged.

"I don't know. Dark Kurumi bothered us earlier. So, maybe our test was stopped."

"Erk! Will they continue the test after we're safe?"

"Maybe... Why, Kairi? You already admitted defeat?" Rafiz teases him.

"It's not like that..." Kairi turned depressed.

If there was another test, he was not sure how he could complete it. This was very tiring. He even lost his appetite during Dark Kurumi's presence.