A usual event - III

Clink

The tip of rapier hanging around her waist slightly touched the floor as she knelt while bowing. The cold sweat on her forehead clearly visible through the thin layer of smoke, her golden-silver hair dishevelled at sides.

"Hmm..."

The light voice of the woman fell on her ears when the small pipe on her lips moved a bit away. Her face hidden behind a veil, she lay sideways on the wide throne.

Her gaze was simply fixed on the floor rather than the knight kneeling in front of her.

"So they hath fled...?"

To that question, what answered it was the silence of the knight on the floor. What it implied was clear to the woman.

She put aside the small pipe from which smoke continued to rise.

After pausing for a few seconds, she pulled her body forward to get up from the throne. A serious look ascended her lips.

Her oversized white dress covered her whole body. No sounds of footsteps audible; she steadily walked down the stairs. That was to approach the person kneeling in front of her.

"Lift theeself..."

At those words, her golden eyes trembled lightly. Yet her body refused to move.

It was because she was feeling the weight of her mistake all.this time.

"Reinfer's gallant knight."

Elyria couldn't just stand up even after that non-threatening tone of speaking. That was till a cold air grasped her neck.

Acacia's words were not something she should be ignoring.

Immediately realising that it wasn't a request but orders, Elyria swiftly stood up. Acacia was facing her with a calm gaze. Her eyes were barely visible to Elyria.

It was different than what she had thought. But the gaze she could feel on her body was not a bit threatening.

Elyria was expecting to get detained or stripped of her knighthood for the failure she had brought in. Severity of situation on one side.

"Verily, there is no time to tarry."

Elyria gripped the hilt of her rapier with a resolute and determined expression in her eyes. The gaze simply awaited orders.

A light smile formed on Acacia's lips for a split second. Though unnoticeable, Elyria thought that she was smiling. But...

'No...'

Surley, that must've been her imagination. No one had ever seen Acacia smiling for a long time. As Elyria was immersed in her own thoughts, a sound that followed was enough to make her flinch.

Clank

The huge door behind her opened with a loud sound. Elyria and Acacia's gazes switched towards the source of it simultaneously.

The guard standing outside the door was rushing hastily with something in his hands.

Elyria glanced at Acacia, giving her a light nod. As soon as the guard reached there, she grabbed the scroll of paper. Handing it over to Acacia.

But when she opened it and read its contents, a heavy silence along with a tense air spread across the room.

'What was written in it that made her silent...?'

That question couldn't make its way out of her mouth. The silence didn't last long, though. Acacia let out a light sigh before speaking.

"Thou, my trusted knight, thy task is set: find thou the unwarranted entrants!"

Elyria didn't waste a single moment upon hearing that. She kneeled with her left knee and left fist touching the ground.

A solemn gaze filled with loyalty directed towards Acacia as Elyria bowed in front of her.

"As you command, my king."

Saying that, Elyria moved her body up to stand up. Without making a sound, she turned around and walked out of the door.

Thud

Seeing the door shut, Acacia turned towards the throne. The huge tree behind it, through whose canopies passed the faint moonlight, stood tall.

The stars falling one by one, visible amidst the cramped yet small openings between the leaves. Her lips seemed to tremble lightly at the sight.

For a few minutes, she stayed silent. Gazing over the stars in solitude. And then the words on her tongue flowed out.

"What does thou seek in this place?"

A cold aura emanating from behind her wasn't enough to make her flinch. With a calm reaction, she turned around to see someone walk out of the shadows.

Even though there were some oddly strong people standing within that group, she showed no signs of fear.

That's the kind of person—no, being, she was. Anyone who was aware of that fact would get goosebumps over his body.

In the current era, a certain name has been forgotten. Given how the Aranthia Kingdom was isolated from the world for so long, it was bound to happen.

...What was that name again?

---------------------------

-Eternal dawn. The sun that never sets. Despite her features looking a lot more similar to those of night, that being was an exception.

'He' glared at the screen as the line at the end of those sentences blinked nonstop. What more could 'he' have written?

That was the moment 'he' happened to come across his greatest foe. A writer's block. That was the first time he couldn't continue writing it.

But then something wandered off in his mind.

-'Is it necessary to plan every little thing? Can't some details that others might not even notice be just random?'

Those were the nonsensical thoughts that ended up creating a character even he had very little understanding of.

-No. That wasn't random. She was night, and at the same time, she was day. A being that was...

SCREECHH

"Kuh-"

He lightly groaned in pain while touching his head. A sharp pain ran across his head.

His deep blue eyes squinted, displaying how bad he was trying to resist the pain. But then again. Wasn't it oddly suspicious?

'Is it because it's been too long...?'

He glanced in front of him to notice the backs of people following the person with a lamp in her hands.

There they were making their way to a place he had no idea about. How did they end up there? Why was it that they were sneaking inside the Aranthia Kingdom?

Multiple questions, but no answers. He swallowed the bitter feeling quietly while listening to what they were talking about.

"Young lady, Are you aware that what we are doing right now is committing a crime worthy of imprisonment for a few years?"

"It won't be a crime as long as no one finds out."

"What if I end up handing you over to the knight order?"

"Do you think I will hesitate to fight back?"

A nervous silence graced upon them as soon as she asked that question. The unknown woman was aware that the words she just heard weren't to be taken lightly.

If it were someone else, maybe it wouldn't have been an issue at all. But this person was a disaster in the woman's opinion.

'Aliana Rosenstein... Everything is a mess when she is involved.'

The woman thought with a bitter smile on her lips. Her face wasn't visible, but her lips could be perceived a bit well.

That wasn't the first time that she had gotten involved with Aliana. Nor would it be the last.

Was it just fine to go with the flow? The woman aside, even Jaden had the same question on his mind.

That situation was similar to what he had witnessed when Dragon King Solas showed up in the elven forest. She just had to go and say something absurd enough to make the other person shut their mouth.

Maybe that was the oddest thing. But...

'Who is this person? Are we going to meet the empress of this place too?'

It might be a light thing to say that Jaden was nervous, but it was pure facts. That wasn't the first time he had a feeling that something absurd was going to happen.

First Dragonaria Kingdom, then Augustus Kingdom, followed by the elven forest. And now it was the Aranthia Kingdom.

All places he had been to, none of those places let him have a breather. Aliana's actions on top dragged them into all sorts of situations. Even so, he couldn't hate her completely.

'In the end she saved us too.'

Her actions might've been absurd, but nothing went wrong when they were together with her.

That was one of the reasons why Jaden chose to follow her without questioning. If he had been there way before the condemnation event, then maybe things would've turned out differently.

But he at the moment had no actual goals. Even returning to his world wasn't his goal.

And of all, he was bound by a soul contract too.

That's why he could just observe the story unfold. The writer had become a reader of a story completely different than he had written.

'But, why can't I remember anything much about Aranthia Kingdom?'

That thought made him swallow his own saliva nervously.

'I surely remember writing something... but...'

What was it about? He had no clue. That's what made him shut his mouth and simply follow the group.

It wasn't a story that had a definite ending.

'That shouldn't be any of my concern right now. What I should be worrying about is...'

What was the reason they were entering the Aranthia Kingdom? He couldn't help but wonder that while looking forward.