Chapter 62

ARTORIUS' POV

It hurts.

I laid back in the bath and stared at my hand. I could see how deep the cuts were now.

The wounds on my hands still hurt. Blood stopped coming out but the pain still stands. It would be better to wear a glove to the party.

Both the slap and the blood weren't part of the ceremony, it was something I thought of out of the blue. Luckily it was approved and no one questioned it further.

"What if it doesn't heal in time?" Amelia asked as she swam towards me.

"They will heal soon enough," I replied.

As I cupped water into my hand, I realised how bruised both of my hands were. Other than the open cut on my right hand, I had bruises as well due to training. It never crossed my mind till today.

I need to stop overtraining.

Amelia jumped out of the bath and dried herself. I took a minute extra to relax and take in the sweet scent of the condiments mixed with the water.

My room's door opens and footsteps enter the room. I looked out the doorway to see Felix entering with my clothes.

"Here are your clothes," He says before turning to me. "We will leave in fifteen minutes."

We make eye contact and I get up from the bath. "Go and get ready then," I told him while grabbing the towel off the rack.

He averts his eye from me and looks the other way. "I was about to,"

I wrap the towel around my waist and walk outside the bathroom. Felix turns around and begins to leave the room.

"Wait, Felix," I called out. "I have something to ask."

"Yes?" He turns around.

"Did you sharpen my sword?"

He blankly stares. "Yes, I did. Is it not sharp enough?"

I shook my head. "No, I was just curious. The sharpness seems fine," I tell him before turning around.

Felix leaves the room and closes the door behind him. Amelia jumped onto the bed but her fur was still not dry.

"Sit on this," I told her before throwing my towel at her. "No need to give the workers a bigger headache."

She dodges the towel but jumps back onto it. "Hey! Careful where you throw it!" She exclaimed.

Amelia rolls around on the towel as I start to wear my clothes. But I began having difficulty with the pins on my trousers.

"Do you need help?" Amelia asked as she watched me struggle.

I ignored her and managed to close the pins. "Nope, never need help!" I exclaimed triumphantly.

Amelia was still not dry enough and I had no choice but to help her. I gently start drying her off with the towel. Her fur starts to become fluffy and goes back to its original form once again.

"There, all good!" I told her before putting her back on the bed.

Amelia hopped around on the bed in excitement before sitting still on the bed again. Now it was time for me to get ready.

I walked over to the mirror on the wall for a better look at the clothes. It was just like I asked.

The crimson-coloured coat fit perfectly along with the beige vest that went along with the outfit. Everything including the jabot blends together into an outfit that stands out for even my standards.

Even the pins and the buttons stand out with their golden colours. The golden design on the wrist of the coat goes well with the gold on the rest of my outfit.

I looked into the mirror and saw Amelia stare at me with eyes of awe. She didn't make a sound but just stared at me while I fixed my hair.

"What are you staring at?" I asked her as I turned around.

Her jaw was open in awe. "You look completely different," She said in telepathy.

"Thanks for the compliment!" I replied while admiring myself in the mirror. "Let's go now."

She dashed towards me and I picked her up. She managed to climb up to my shoulders as I began walking to the door.

But before I could open the door, I remembered my watch.

I walked back to my bedside table to take my pocket watch. Then I remembered about the other item I had to grab.

It was right beside my watch and I grabbed both of them. Placing both of them inside my pocket silently and turning around.

"Ah, you're ready," Vincent says as we make eye contact.

He wore his usual black suit and bowtie. Except for this time he wore his black vest for the first time.

Another accessory that was different from his usual uniform was a sword that he carried around his waist. I noticed it as I walked out. It was coloured the same as his outfit.

"Everyone's ready?" I asked as we walked down the hallways.

"Alexander is ready. He's waiting at the foyer," He replies in a rather hushed voice.

We trot through the long hallways and make it to the stairs. Alexander notices our footsteps and turns around.

He waves to me and I give a small wave back. It was surprising he would be acting nicely with me after what happened after the knighting ceremony.

"Looking like a true king," Alexander complimented. "The coat matches your hair really well."

I smile back at his compliment. "Only one thing is missing, my crown," I said as I looked past him.

Though I was allowed to wear one, I chose not to. It would only get in the way.

The carriages were coming into the driveway one by one in a line. Two of mine and one of Alexander's

Alexander walked closer to take Amelia from my shoulder. It surprised me how much he warmed up to her, though I couldn't say the same for Amelia.

She still enjoyed being pampered by people. Alexander was careful and gentle with her. Strange they both bond well even though they never spoke to each other.

All of us heard the sound of multiple footsteps approaching. I turned around to see who it was just like everyone else, only to be greeted with a surprise.

Kathlyn was standing before us, wearing a white dress that flowed below her knees. Her shoulders were bare and flower-like shapes on the cuffs. A necklace in the shape of a Phoenix was tied to her neck, shining in the sunlight that snuck into the foyer.

"Did I keep everyone waiting?" Kathlyn says in a panicked voice.

"N-not at all," Vincent replied. "We are still waiting for Felix."

Without realising it, I kept staring at her. I only noticed when she turned her eyes towards me and our eyes locked.

"I-is something wrong?" She asked. "You've been staring since you saw me."

I panicked and quickly averted my eyes. "N-not at all!" I replied hastily. "Your dress was just… surprising."

The tailor wasn't lying.

Alexander let out a soft giggle that I could hear behind my back. I shook my head and turned around, trying to get a hold of my mind once more.

I took Amelia from his arms and she was not hesitant at all. Though she was also giving me a mischievous stare just like Alexander.

"I'll just go and sit inside the carriage," I said as I ran my hand through my hair.

The rest followed behind me as I tried not to get flustered again. Ron saw me heading his way and bowed down in response.

"Good evening, your majesty!" He greeted me. "Wearing quite the elegant outfit!"

"Greetings to you too, Ron," I said as I stepped inside the carriage. "Drive safely and slowly today. I'm not in a rush."

He smiled from ear to ear. "Will do!"

Why is he in such a jolly mood?

I step inside the carriage and cool off from the outside heat. Though it was past five and the sun was setting, it was still warmer outside than inside the carriage. The multiple layers of clothing added extra heat.

Ron holds the door open for Kathlyn as she walks towards the carriage. He greets her the same way and compliments her dress.

"Gorgeous dress, Miss Kathlyn!" I faintly heard from inside.

"T-thank you! It was my design!" She replied to him.

I put my hand forward, as usual, to help her get inside the carriage. She takes my hand and gets inside before taking her usual seat.

Ron closes the door of the carriage and doesn't waste any time getting to his seat.

I sit and stare outside the window, trying not to look at Kathlyn. Her dress was eye-catching and I found it hard not to stare.

"Heh," Amelia chimed in through telepathy.

"What?" I asked her?"

"Oh, nothing," She said back. "I was just thinking how hard you are trying not to stare."

Damn this dragon.

Outside the sun's light barely shone through the trees. Since the estate was on a hill, the sun set fairly quickly over the horizon and was shaded.

A gentle breeze always flowed through the forest here. It kept the weather cool and never made me feel as though it was too hot.

My eyes were still getting dragged towards Kathlyn. I looked past her to see Felix step outside the estate in a rush.

"He's here," I muttered.

"Felix?" Kathlyn replied to me murmuring to myself.

"Mhm, we can finally set off,"

Felix walks past our carriage to the front. He was in quite a rush and didn't check back to see me.

I stared at him as he entered his carriage. Not long after, the entourage begins to move slowly.

"You can enjoy yourself," I told Amelia.

"Huh!? How could you tell I was nervous?" She asked, flabbergasted.

"Your body language says a lot," I replied to her.

"But… you will be going into danger. I cannot just relax while you throw yourself into danger!"

Her words caught me off guard and I realised something I never thought of.

I turned my face away from the window outside and looked at Amelia. She was staring back at me with her yellow eyes shimmering with water. I picked her up and placed her on my lap.

"Okay, then I will give you a job too," I told her through telepathy, gently smiling physically.

"What job?" She asked curiously.

"Stay with Kathlyn as her bodyguard. If anything goes wrong you call out to me no matter what happens." I explained to her.

She seemed happy and yelped. "Okay! I got it!" She said, wagging her tail in excitement.

Kathlyn notices our interaction and giggles to herself. My attention gets drawn from Amelia and I let go of her.

"How adorable!" Kathlyn says, noticing me. "It's like you both talk to each other just by staring at each other."

She isn't wrong.

"Oh really?" I laughed. "Maybe it is like that!"

Amelia jumps over the table and goes onto Kathlyn's lap, as usual. It makes me wonder if she is happier with me or her.

The carriage slowly heads out of the forest and into the clearing. Our attention turns to the right where we can see the capital, slowly lighting up as the sun sets for the evening.

Even though the capital looked glamorous from here, my eyes were still more attracted to Kathlyn. The capital skyline was nothing compared to her.

ALARIC'S POV

Everything has been managed. The show will begin soon.

The castle has been turned into a party house. Servants rush around to prepare for guests for when they arrive, the lingering smell of food coming from the kitchen. Everything is going according to plan.

I walked around the foyer, waiting for the guests to arrive at the party. It seemed that everyone would arrive at the time we expected, just past six.

Each guest has a personal butler that was appointed to them. Upon entering they will be greeted by their personal butler and taken to their seat.

The only reason I am standing here is because of Artorius. I'm curious to see who he brings into the castle.

"Father!" Amadeus' voice calls from behind. "Where have you been?"

I turned around to see him rush down with excitement on his face. I smiled back at him as he ran into me with open arms, embracing me with a warm hug.

"I've been here the entire time," I told him. "What is it?"

He looked at me after breaking off from the hug. "I thought we all would be present inside the ballroom," He said with a skeptical tone.

"No," I said. "I'll be greeting the guests at the foyer."

His lips went from a smile from ear to ear to a small smirk, nearly frowning. "Oh, I see," He said before turning around.

"Wait for around twenty minutes. After it's seven I will come as well," I told him before he could leave.

He didn't reply and left me. I turned back around to see the foyer doors open.

The light blue sky turned dark as the sun set behind the castle. Slither of light coloured the blue sky in a dark hue as clouds were barely seen, outlined in their lighter shade.

A line of soldiers stands outside. They lined side by side in their suit of armour in perfect posture, ready to strike if danger is sensed.

It reminded me of Zenith. I hadn't seen him for the majority of the day. The last time I saw him he was with Sylas and Kody.

"Where is Zenith?" I asked the butlers that were lined up at the doorway.

"He must be with Sir Sylas, your majesty," One of the butlers answered. "Do you wish to meet him?"

"No, it's fine," I said. "I just wanted to know where he would be."

If he is with those two, he would be fine. They will be at the ballroom when all the guests arrive.

Zenith was stationed to be a guard at the door. He will be observing the room along with the group of spies to keep track of where Artorius stays. This way, he will never break out from my eyes and always be present.

I finally have the mad king in my grasp.