Chapter 183 - Pleasant Dream

"Why do you ask questions with answers you are aware of?"

"Faustina," the king walked towards her. But Faustina could only see the king's shoes from her lowered gaze.

"D-don't come close."

The king flinched in response, but his expression eventually softened as his eyes caught the red in Faustina's cheeks, which spread to her ears.

"Why?" The king asked.

"I-I might misunderstand, Your Majesty," Faustina tried to answer despite her blurring vision. "I don't… I don't want to misunderstand anything."

The king then lifted Faustina's gaze as he raised her chin with his fingers.

"Misunderstand what, Faustina?" 

"Th-that I... you…"

The king stared at Faustina intently, and then to her parted lips.

With his thumb, he caressed her bottom lip.

"Faustina," the king leaned his lips towards hers, and then he leaned into her ears. "You are not misunderstanding anything."

The king stared at her baffled expression and her dimming gaze.

The mana absorption was showing its toll. Her gaze that was beginning to dim as her flushed cheeks began to be more visible to his eyes and the huffs on her breath emphasized her body unaccustomed to the irregular amounts of mana being absorbed.

This was why he cannot get close to her, no matter how much he wanted to.

Faustina's knees wobbled and impended to fail, but the king was able to catch her before she fell.

"Noah…" Faustina stared at the king.

The king recognized her dimmed and dizzy expression. She was now on a state of reverie.

"You wouldn't remember this either, huh…" The king smiled as he wrapped an arm around her and then carried her body to his arms.

Faustina's clothes fell down a bit. The king's eyes then found their way to her chest, and then to her half-closed eyes and parted lips.

"I can't do it yet," he said as he placed her down to the soft mattress. "Not now."

Faustina couldn't understand what the king was saying, but she felt as if she wanted to be held. 

As if she was intoxicated.

The king knew this very well. At the greenhouse, she became like this too. It was one of the stages of mana absorption. The one who is providing the mana will have to bind themselves to the one who absorbs them to avoid these types of symptoms. Years of studies by the Clairvoyants showed that the souls need to be bound to prevent these symptoms from showing.

"The joining of bodies together to have mana merge as one," said the king as he stared at Faustina, who was looking at him with dizzy eyes. "Of course, I can't do that."

Faustina stared at the king who was being blurrier and blurrier in her vision.

"Why… are you here, My King…?"

The king stared at Faustina intently. 

"I am here to claim a dungeon." The king exclaimed as magic revolved around his palms to the tip of his fingers. He then touched her hair, making the glamour come back. Soon Faustina's black hair became grey, and then she was Faustina Feuerlon again.

"Dungeon…?"

"Yes, a dungeon." The king exclaimed. "I have to find the cure for the Vice-Captain, so I will be sending Lorenz in his stead to guard you."

Faustina only stared. 

"You won't remember this, Faustina, but I want you to call me 'Noah'. My real name." The king exclaimed. "It won't be long after we part ways. After you accomplish your goal and after I put the Forsaken to justice."

"Yes," the king stared at Faustina who was unresponsive, caressing her cheek. "After a while, you will be with your master again, and everything here will become nothing but a distant memory."

The king stared at Faustina's lips, and then to the creased on her nightgown, showing her chest. He then leaned his arm to the fabric of her clothes and smoothed them out.

"So, call me Noah." The king exclaimed. "Let me cherish a memory that only you and I made. Before it's all over. Before we both accomplish our tasks."

The king then leaned to kiss Faustina's forehead.

"Sleep, Faustina." The king exclaimed as he parted away from Faustina. "Close your eyes before the night will be over."

Faustina's eyes closed then. The king's gentle expression began to vanish from her vision.

"I pray that dawn will never come," the king exclaimed as he walked away. "But it shall."

"Goodnight, Faustina."

Faustina felt as if she was in a reverie. A pleasant dream. In that dream, she had seen the king. He came to her room, and he had embraced her. But Faustina couldn't ascertain whether the king was affectionate or if he was simply worried over her—like someone who is worried over a fragile glass to fall. Faustina doesn't know what has gotten into her. All of a sudden she felt weak, to the point her knees have wobbled, making her unable to stand.

But she still had the strength to pull the hem of the king's clothes.

"Don't… go."

The king glanced towards Faustina.

She could only see his blurry face. Faustina couldn't see the king's expression, but she heard a low chuckle from him. 

"I can't stay, Faustina. Your mana is going to turn unstable the longer I am here." He said as he caressed her cheek as tentatively as he could. "Even if you're getting better at staying conscious now, it still isn't very healthy for you."

Faustina sat down and then crawled towards the king. The king's eyes widened as Faustina dr.a.p.ed her arms around his back, and then buried her face to his chest.

"Here… my mana… you can simply absorb all of it, don't you, Your Majesty?" Faustina asked. "You can simply take my life to sustain yours. What is holding you back?"

The king was taken aback for a while, but he managed to get his composure. He then pushed Faustina gently.

"Faustina, my fair maiden, you are on a state of reverie—"

"You're always like this." 

The king's sapphire eyes widened as he sees Faustina's eyes brimming with tears. Slowly the tears began to pour down until Faustina sobbed silently. The king stared at her chocolate-brown eyes. They were still hooded, which implies that she was still half-conscious.

"Faustina—"

"You are confusing. I can't read you at all, Your Majesty. One moment you're Noah, the next is you're another. One moment you are kind, the next is you're cruel. Sometimes you would answer my questions, sometimes you would just leave me confused. Why?" Faustina continued to sob as she stared at the king. "I don't understand. Anything. Why? Why are you this cruel, Your Majesty? Why am I this confused?"

The king stared at Faustina as she sobbed like a child. Her face was flushed and her tears had gleamed from the night. There was no artificial firefly in the room. No one could see him. Or her.

The king swallowed all of what was left in his reason. He then went closer to her, and then he lifted her chin.

"Do you still think this is all a dream, Faustina?" The king asked with eyes narrowed into an agonized squint. He was holding himself back for her. All of his decisions have been calculated ever since, but now, he was allowing himself to be governed by his emotions.

Just this once.

"Why are you so cruel…?" Faustina sobbed.

"Cruel?" The king then leaned to Faustina's neck. She was brimming with mana. Just being close to her fills every gap, and every emptiness he had. 

The king then stuck his tongue out, and then licked the side of her neck; unleashing a small gasp from her.

Mana.

Faustina's mana surged into his veins as he held her. His tongue traveled upwards—to the base of her ear—and then gently bit after he had licked.

Her taste. Her mana. 

All of her attributes were making him lose track of all reason. At first, it was because of the mana that filled his empty, and lacking vessel—but then it slowly transitioned to something else. Something more than that.

But that ought to be put to a stop. 

So he recalculated his actions and only acted on what was the best to take. 

"Your Majesty…"

The king slowly drew away from Faustina; and then, that is when he noticed the tears on the corner of her eyes. She was staring dizzily at him with an expression he had never seen once in his life.

And that was enough to bring him back to his senses.

What was he doing?

The king stared at Faustina's disposition—her nightgown was now creased, and the hem of her dress was lifted up to her thigh. The king closed his eyes and then tried to recompose himself.

But his tongue had tasted her skin, which matched the sweetness of her mana. 

How can he compose himself and calm his nerves, knowing that?

The king opened his eyes as he stared at her. He shouldn't do anything further, or all his efforts would go to vain. He was going this far to avoid THIS very thing from happening. The one who gives the mana has to bind themselves to the one who absorbs. That can only be done with him claiming her. He cannot do that. It would be too cruel for Faustina—who had lost everything in one night. The king decided he would search for an alternative as he keeps her close until they both fulfill their task. 

She would sustain his life without binding her body to his.

"You have to go to sleep, Faustina." A magical circle appeared before Faustina, which then surrounded her with a blue-colored mist. Her hooded eyes dimmed until she slowly fell to the bed. "I didn't want to forcibly send you to sleep… but I had to."

That was right.

The last thing the king would want…

Is for him to do something that only he would be able to remember.

"Good night, Faustina." The king then walked towards the balcony, shutting the glass doors with magic.

"May you have a pleasant dream."