"Theo, will you take my father to your fountain? Maybe your fountain can cure his illness."
Adeline had seen the magic of the Fountain of Eternal Youth with her own eyes. It had cured Theodore's deep wounds within a matter of a few minutes. And it had also cured her own wounds, not just once but twice. So she had her reasons to believe that her father could be cured even if there were no visible wounds on him.
However, from what Theodore had heard from Adeline earlier, about the King having a weak heart and fainting because of extreme stress, he thought otherwise.
But still, he didn't want to dismiss Adeline's request. So he nodded his head, "I can take him there… that is if he will be willing to come with me."
Adeline had a wide grin on her face. In all that tension that she was having, this felt like a silver lining to her. "Thank you! I will talk to my father and will try to subtly convince him."
It was already evening and Adeline didn't want to delay in this matter. She wanted her father to get cured today if he agreed to it.
So she asked Theodore to quietly follow her. "I will talk with my father right now. Will you accompany me? If he… faints again then I want you to immediately rush him to your cave."
"Sure." Theodore got up and straightened his clothes. He also smoothed out his hair and took in a deep breath. For some reason, he felt as though he was going to take the most difficult examination of his life. "Let's go!"
Adeline chuckled looking at the way he was behaving so nervously. "Relax, Theo. I will try not to shock my father too much so that you don't have to appear out of the blue. And if he agrees to go with you, then I will properly introduce you to him a while later."
Theodore vigorously nodded his head. Adeline's words didn't calm him down even a bit.
Adeline couldn't help but smile seeing him like that. She held Theodore's hand and asked softly, "You sure you are going to be okay?"
"I guess we will find out. Let's go before I run away," Theodore pressed his lips into a thin line and pulled Adeline out of the room.
The closer the two of them were to Dragomir's workroom, the nervous they were. Adeline also couldn't help but feel anxious because she was going to talk to her father about Theodore, the same topic which had managed to knock her father unconscious for half a day.
The two of them reached in front of Dragomir's workroom while holding each other's hand. Adeline stole a quick glance of Theodore and then left his hand before knocking on the door.
King Dragomir's assistant opened the door and greeted Adeline.
"May I talk to His Majesty? I need to discuss some matters with him urgently," Adeline asked the assistant while trailing her eyes inside the room.
Theodore was standing beside Adeline like a statue. Of course, no one else except Adeline could see him right now but because of his nervousness, he was pretending to be invisible even though he already was.
The assistant gently bowed his head and replied, "I am sorry, Your Highness. But His Majesty is not here. He went to meet the Deity late in the morning."
"He went to the Dragon Crypt?" Adeline was shocked to hear that in his condition, the King had gone on that long journey. That also to meet Azriel.
"Yes, would you like to leave a message for His Majesty? Or Your Highness can tell me if it is something that I can help you with," the assistant gestured his hand inside the room and added, "Would you like to come inside?"
Adeline shook her head. "No. It is something I need to discuss with His Majesty. I will find him later then. Thank you!"
Adeline swiftly turned on her heels and walked towards her own room. She clasped her hands together because she was now really worried. She was worried that her father went there to ask something to the Deity that she would not like.
"Else why would he go there the very next day he finds out that I am in love with the Devil?" she thought to herself.
She bit the inside of her lower lip and glanced at Theodore. He also had a few worry lines on his forehead.
As soon as she and Theodore entered the room, she locked the door and asked, "Theo, will you go and check what my father is up to? I have a very bad feeling about this."
---
After the long and tiring journey in the carriage to the Dragon Crypt, King Dragomir was looking up at the steep hill that he still had to climb in order to meet the Deity.
However, he was surprised when Azriel suddenly appeared in front of him. "Dragomir! What a pleasant surprise!"
Dragomir was also surprised to see the Deity coming down to receive him, which was very unlike him. He bowed his head to the Deity. "Likewise, Dragon Immortal."
All the Royal Guards behind Dragomir also bowed their head in awe. It was very rare for them to get to see their Deity.
Azriel smiled and held out his hand for the King to hold. And he said, "I could not bear to make you walk this hill now that your hairs have become grey."
"That is very considerate of you, Dragon Immortal," Dragomir gratefully replied as he gently placed his palm on the Deity's hand.
In an instant, Azriel teleported Dragomir to the meeting room where they would usually chat. He asked his maids to serve tea and then asked the King, "So, what brings you here, Dragomir? Is everything fine with the Kingdom?"
Dragomir was not yet aware of the misfortune that was about to befall his Kingdom. So he nodded his head, "Yes, the Kingdom is fine, Dragon Immortal. I came here to ask for a personal favor."
"Oh! I would be happy to help you with anything. Please, feel free to tell me what troubles you." Azriel leaned back comfortably on his chair and waited for Dragomir to talk.
The maids came in with trays in their hands. They served hot chamomile tea to the King as well as their master and left the room.
King Dragomir was darting his eyes around, trying to think of a way to tell what he had actually come here for. There was no easy way to tell it so he just blurted out, "The Devil that lives on the Hill of Grimmer Death has done some kind of trick on Adeline. She told me yesterday that she wants to marry him."
He then joined his hands together and pleaded to the Deity, "Please, Dragon Immortal, will you do something about it? I cannot let my daughter ruin her future. Will you please lift whatever spell that Devil has used to corrupt my daughter's mind?"
Azriel could not even look Dragomir in the eyes when Dragomir asked that favor from him. He grabbed his cup of tea and began to slurp it noisily.
If only Dragomir knew… that it was not the Devil but it was the Deity who had actually cast spell on his daughter…