The Flower and the Flame

After heading inside the castle, the group of four was separated. Zivko moved along with the Princess as Alex stayed with Drenald, who was going to act as his guide.

Alex was worried about what Zivko might do, in fact there was no better chance than this. 

He was very close to leaving Drenald and going to see what was going on between Zivko and Aurora.

'But that might get me kicked out of her team…' 

Drenald cleared his throat, "I'll be honest, tomorrow's the ceremony, and I do not plan on wasting my night guiding a Forsaken fool, so I will explain things quickly."

Alex was somewhat bothered by his mischievous tone, but he had no choice but to listen. He nodded wordlessly in response. 

"First, you are only allowed to be on the first and second floor. The armory is below, and the infirmary is in the seventh room on the second floor. Since you managed to become a part of Princess Aurora's team, by a string of fate, you will have to occasionally be present in their meetings." 

"Where do they take their meetings?" 

Drenald thought for a moment before answering, "I don't know. They always change up, if you want to ask anybody, ask Astra or Cecilia."

'Astra rings a bell… I haven't heard of Cecilia, though.'

"Is her full name perhaps Astra Belvoir?" asked Alex, remembering the proud noble he saw in Alos.

Drenald's eyes slightly widened, maybe surprised that a Forsaken like Alex knew her name. 

"That is her name. Her House is very influential, especially in the Asyla region, and Cecilia is also of the same House. Which means you must stay humble and know your place in front of them, as you do in front of me."

Alex was slowly getting used to his repetitive insults, but he was still managing to learn a good amount of information from the talkative, short man. 

He nodded, "Yeah… I've also heard of a man called Erart. I was told he can check on my ability, any idea where I could find him?" 

Drenald answered, "Erart? He's at the infirmary. In any case, your stay is going to be on the second floor, the first room. If you ever meet any of the Belvoirs, be on your best attitude. I am not joking, they could easily ruin your entire life." He paused for a second, before chuckling, "Like it's not already ruined."

"You really enjoy talking down to people, huh."

Drenald gave no response, already walking away. Alex exhaled, finally alone… Before Drenald quickly remembered, "And you can't go to the throne room unless you're told to!" 

"Sure.." replied Alex.

Now, Alex had to investigate more on two main things. First, he had to go see the other members that followed the Princess, and second he wanted to meet Erart.

However, he didn't know how to even meet the team, so he had to put it aside for now, until he found a way to do so.

At the very least, he can get a moment of silence from that short, talkative man.

***

He was walking down the red carpet enveloped down on a hallway, going to the infirmary at a steady pace.

Observing the area, there were windows set next to each other covering a small distance between them. 

The view outside was nothing special, it was a dark, cold night with wind howling outside. 

Alex had never been to such a place in his entire life, so everything was new to him. 

Small round tables held pots of flowers—each one more mesmerizing than the last, but there was one that caught Alex's attention the most. 

He gazed at it, full of surprise. To his knowledge, it was a Carnation, red and white frilly edged flowers. 

The red and white combination, especially on a flower, attracted him. Even its scent was something special. 

In some way, it reminded him of Princess Aurora. 

'But why? Is it the scent?' 

He wasn't even sure why it reminded him of her, but the thought persisted.

After a few more seconds of looking at the flower, he chose to leave it be and continue ahead. He can't waste any more time. 

Minutes passed till he finally reached the infirmary, to meet Erart. 

He knocked on the door twice, then an aged voice came from inside. "Come in."

Alex swallowed, then opened the door. Seeing the room, there was an old man, and it seemed like two nurses. 

They were all sitting on a chair, perhaps speaking about something. 

"I haven't seen your face before." The man spoke with a slight smile.

Alex raised his brows, as he was snapped out of his thoughts. Unknowingly, he was standing next to the door, staring at the three doctors. 

Subconsciously, he bowed and introduced himself. "I'm Alex. I am a new member of Princess Aurora's team."

The man nodded as the two nurses continued talking to each other, Alex not being able to hear them. 

The man got up from his seat then pulled in another chair, he made some distance between him and the nurses then put another chair next to his. 

"Come, sit down." 

Without much hesitation, Alex went and sat down next to the man. 

The man raised his hand, palm open, gesturing for a handshake. "You can call me Erart. I work for His Majesty."

Alex nodded, feeling a bit happier knowing the man was Erart. He felt out of place, and he was unsure whether he went to the right infirmary or not. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Alex shook his hand, as he was replied.

After shaking each other's hands, Erart leaned his back on the chair. 

"So? Do you need a Core Recovery or a Starlit Relic?" 

Alex shook his head, confused by Erart. Starlit Relic was a new term to him. However, he knew about Core Recovery. 

It was a healing process used to heal a person's Core Mechanism after it was damaged, for many different reasons. 

"No. I've come to ask you to inspect my Core Mechanism, I heard from Henry you could do it." 

He wanted to learn about the Starlit Relic, but he would be wasting time. 

"Henry? I see. Well, of course. It's only thanks to my Concept I am able to do such things, if you are curious." 

Alex replied, "Interesting…"

Erart smiled. He got up from his seat, then stepped closer to Alex. He put a hand on top of Alex's right shoulder, and another hand on top of his head. 

His hand felt frail and aged, but Alex felt the mana practically radiating from his hands. 

From that moment, he knew Erart wasn't appointed here for no reason. He was experienced. 

Alex started to feel his Core burn. On normal occasions, it was supposed to hurt more than getting skinned alive. 

However, Alex felt no pain at all. In fact, he felt relaxed and was eased for the first time in a while. 

In a sense, he wanted this to continue forever.

His eyes started closing, out of relaxation. Alex couldn't even resist, he couldn't resist the beautiful feeling. 

Just as he was going to close his eyes and fall for a deep slumber, Erart took his hands off him. 

Suddenly, he came back to his senses and instantly woke up. There was a tinge of that feeling still in his body, but nothing compared to what it was earlier. 

He rubbed his eyes, then looked at Erart. Erart sat down quietly, but now, his smile was nowhere to be seen. 

His expression had changed entirely. Calm, but serious, like a man who had just seen something he shouldn't have. He held his composure, but just barely.