29 It was not an Acciden

I was put to bed by Eric by the time we came back to my dormitory floor. I tried to resist but he was adamant to not let me go anywhere else. He also told me to stay in bed tomorrow, which is the entrance ceremony of the academy.

"I am fine Eric, really." I tried to explain to him. "You can see that I am all good and well. Derrick, please help me out." I pleaded to Derrick who was by my door.

"I am sorry my lady, but I am with young master Eric on this." Derrick said with an apologetic smile. "You need to rest after this ordeal."

I looked at Eric with pleading eyes.

"No means no, Ysa." Eric said in authority. "After what happened today, I am reluctant to let you out. You have sustained grave wounds, and I was nowhere near when that happened. I am such a failure." His eyes were filled with sorrow that my heart ached seeing him like that.

"Eric, it was not your fault." I tried to console him. "It was just an accident."

"You don't understand Ysa. If something bad happened to you, I do not know what I would have done." Eric looked at me with bloodshot eyes, a mix of anger and sorrow were seen in them. "How can I face your parents if something happened. I could not even imagine living with the guilt of losing you." He bowed his head, hiding his face from me.

My heart ached from Eric's words. I saw how this little boy turned into a young man all these years. I have also lived my life in this world with him, my family, and the others by my side. I can just imagine the pain he was going thru, if ever I was put in his shoes. I also cannot bear to lose him if our roles were reversed.

I gently brushed his hair with my fingers to comfort him. I understand where he was coming from.

"I am sorry Eric. I understand your feelings."" I said gently. "But at least let me attend the entrance ceremony tomorrow morning. After that I will go back here and rest the whole day. I will be extra careful, I promise. Is that a deal?"

Eric looked up and I gave him a gentle smile just to reassure him. He sighed deeply and then nodded.

"Alright. But after the entrance ceremony, you go back here as you said and rest, okay?" Eric said with a serious tone.

"Yes, of course." I raised my hand as a sign of pledge. "Big brother, you really are the best." I encircled my arms around his neck and hugged him. I heard him sigh.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that." Eric complained.

"Haha, I know." I teased him.

"You rest for the night." Eric tucked me in my bed gently. "You need to wake up early if you want to attend the entrance ceremony." He smiled.

"I understand." I smiled and slowly closed my eyes, feeling my body exhausted with the events today.

"Sleep well, my Alyssa." I heard Eric said while sleep was embracing me. I felt a light touch on my forehead and then sleep has taken over me completely.

**

"Sleep well, my Alyssa." Eric whispered and planted a kiss on Alyssa's forehead. She was fast asleep to have known such compassionate action from Eric.

Eric slowly walked out of Alyssa's room, careful not to make any loud noises to wake her up. He gently closed the door and he sighed deeply after.

"That is foul you know." Derrick who was standing by the door said. "We had a deal to compete fairly for Alyssa's heart." He gave Eric a cold glare.

"Well that is one of my advantages as a brother figure." Eric smiled mockingly.

It was like there was electricity between the glare of these two fine young men when they heard someone approaching from the other end of the corridor. Both of them were alert as to any intruder that could endanger their beloved Alyssa.

"To see two guard dogs standing watch by my future crown princess side at least give me relief." The voice of Noctis was heard.

The moonlight from outside the window reflected on the Noctis' golden hair, his eyes were like burning fire. Eric looked at Noctis with intense cold eyes while Derrick bowed his head as respect.

"What brings you here your highness." Eric with respect but with an edge in his tone.

"The wizard is waiting for us downstairs." Noctis said.

"That b*stard is here?" Eric said seething his anger. "What does he want?"

"He said that he wants to talk to us." Noctis replied. "He found something odd after the autopsy on the chimera's body. I thought you might want to listen to it too."

"Thank you for the consideration your highness." Eric bowed his head, now grateful for Noctis' consideration.

"No need for formalities while inside the academy, right." Noctis reminded Eric. "And I consider you as a friend, Eric." He patted Eric's shoulder to show his friendly gesture.

The three men go downstairs to where Kyle was waiting. When the three arrived, Kyle was there holding the autopsy reports.

"I am sorry to visit this late." Kyle said with a flat tone. "But I think it is best you hear this because tomorrow will be a busy day for all of you."

Kyle was appointed as the Great Wizard of the Argentine Kingdom at a very young age and had lived at the Magic Tower as the head wizard ever since. He knows the workings of the Royal Academy and so he knew that the entrance ceremony was one of the busy moments of the student's daily life in the academy.

Noctis and Eric sat across Kyle while Derrick remained standing by Eric's side. All of them had a serious look on their faces.

"You start, sir wizard." Noctis said with a tone of superiority. The Magic Tower is a separate organization from the Royal Academy, and so the hierarchy within the nobles still stands.

"Yes, your highness." Kyle replied in a nonchalant manner. "After I have made an autopsy on the chimera's corpse, I have found a specific type of plant not commonly found around here. It is called the morning frost weed."

The three young men was all ears to what Kyle was explaining. They have heard of this weed but they do not have any idea what it can do.

"The morning frost is just a normal weed to us in the human world, but for the beings in the demon they are like a drug that can have a boosting effect on their bodies." Kyle continued. "The chimera was able to escape its cage because of the boost it had after digesting this plant."

Hearing about the demon realm gave shivers on the three young men.

"As I know, this plant only grows near the entrance to the demon world." Eric was the one to voice out what was in their mind. "The entrance to the demon world as I know is far from the capital and is being guarded heavily. How can such a weed be here, and who was the one that fed it to the chimera?"

"That is not all." Kyle said. "I found traces of this in Ms. Alyssa's dress."

Kyle was holding a small transparent pouch. It contains some kind of white powdery substance.

"What is it?" Noctis asked in curiosity.

"This powder is calcua powder. It is a kind of drug." Kyle replied. "This was banned in the human world for the drug effects and because for creatures from the demon realm, it is some sort of drug that triggers their hunger and craving."

The three young men all gasped after hearing Kyle's words. With such evidence, they knew that this was not an accident, and someone was targeting Alyssa specifically.

"This is outrageous!" Noctis cannot contain his anger. He stood up with rage. "How dare they target Alyssa?!"

For sure all the three young men had the same sentiments.

"I am still investigating this further. This is the first time that the Magic Tower had such an incident. We will surely do our best to find the culprit your highness." Kyle bowed as an apology.

"Be sure to find the culprit. I will make sure that they will pay a heavy price for this." Noctis said in anger. "Eric, I leave you in helping the head wizard and the Magic Tower on this investigation. I trust on this."

"As you wish." Eric bowed his head. His face was calm, but he was gripping his hands hard, leaving his palms with light bleeding.

After the meeting, all of them dispersed and go to their rooms. Eric and Derrick was walking side by side.

"Derrick, stay by Ysa's side at all times." Eric ordered. His face was as cold as ice. There was a glint of killing intent is his eyes.

"No need to tell me that young master." Derrick replied. "I will always be my lady's side and protect her." He also had a deathly glare.

Both had their anger flared up to who was the one behind Alyssa's attack.

"I will find out who did this." Eric swore. "They will never see day light again after I catch them."

Edited by: nalyn