Chapter 184 - Uncontrollable Emotion

What was he doing?

The king had already teleported back towards the knights, who were waiting for him. He made a detour to Magierstadt to 'recharge' himself with mana. They would, after all, venture to a dungeon. The king would need more than a Clairvoyant spell.

He ought to come to her.

It was what Sheila told him. Abe's cure into his deep slumber lies into the very dungeon near to the continental cliff. She said that Abe was cursed with a magic that was beyond her magical prowess.

** A while ago, in the caste

"Do you seriously believe her, Your Majesty?" Asked Elliot. He was clearly suspicious of Sheilalev. 

The king was already armored and had just sheathed Blade of Feuersturm. The king eyed Roth, who was beside his brother, Elvis. The moonlight reflected its cold rays of light into the metal of their chest plates. The said dungeon was said to only appear at dark, so it was just logical to venture to the dungeon as soon as they can.

"Is there a reason for me to doubt Sheilalev's words?" Asked the king.

"But—"

"Elliot," Elvis scolded.

Of course, the king was suspicious. Sheila was a smart, sly woman who was in allegiance with the first king. Her father, Julian Ortfalcon, and all their predecessors, were Alexander Octavius I's loyal servants. Even if she was helping him on surface, she was still serving another king. 

"The dungeon would be visible before the break of dawn. The teleportation magic is being worked upon by the Clairvoyants, Your Majesty." Said Captain Roth.

The king nodded.

"Now then, if you'll excuse us."

The knights then made their exit, leaving the king alone in his throne room. 

He reached towards his chest plate. This was the point of time the clock seal would move towards the first king. 

The clock hand then shifted towards the first and foremost number. The king closed his eyes as he let him take over his body.

The first king.

The soul possessing the vessel is now different. From gentle eyes to sharp, and cold ones.

"Sheila."

From the dark corner of the throne room stood Sheilalev. 

"Your Majesty."

The first king stared at what 'he' was wearing. An armor. "Where is this child going?" 

Sheilalev could see nothing, but she could perceive the mana that was emanating from 'that' person. She walked towards that mana, but kept her distance.

"He is to claim a dungeon, My King."

"A dungeon?" The first king narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"It is for the Vice-Captain's cure."

The first king stared at Sheila with a measuring gaze.

"Is that true?"

"Yes," Sheila answered. 

The first king did not look pleased. "What are you planning? Do you know what will happen if he awoken?"

Sheila didn't give her response.

"Are you defying me, Sheilalev?"

A shiver ran down to Sheila's spine as the first king asked darkly.

"N-no, My King," she exclaimed. "I-I have taken precautionary measures. When the ninth king returns with the cure, Abe's memories shouldn't be able to recover quickly."

"But there is the risk of this man having his memories return, doesn't it?" The king said this as a matter of fact, not a question. "You are being very lenient with him, Sheilalev. What are you trying to do? Do you not want to soil your hands?"

Sheila thinned her lips.

Ever since the first king heard of Faustina wanting to know about Nebel, he became on edge and wanted everything associated with that insignificant town that was gone 700 years ago to be kept from her. Sheila didn't understand why, and that was a big thing. She would usually find out the king's intentions after he arrives to a certain decision—but it's different now. He was doing this out of something that involves a bigger picture.

And Sheila cannot figure out what it was—

But she was trying to.

"I have taken precautionary actions, My King." Sheila said calmly. "When have I disappointed you?"

The king only stared. It was true. Sheila never failed to complete a task he had assigned. The first king then stares at the nothingness.

Was he really on edge?

He then shook of his thoughts. His time was running out. It was getting shorter than before due to the vessel's body being compromised. He had to state his business and hear Sheila's reports.

The clock hand was impending to move.

The time is ticking.

--

Sheila caught the king to her arms the moment the clock hand finally struck to IX. She embraced the familiar feeling of the king's body. This man, who used to be a boy several years ago, had grown into someone who she had failed to reach. 

This was the only contact she had with him.

"Your Majesty."

He slowly drew away from her.

The ninth king.

"Sheila," he said. "How long was it?"

"An hour," Sheila answered as the king finally drew away from her. His lingering warmth was still in her arms. 

"Magierstadt's exam is now over, correct?"

Sheila nodded. "I believe it is. The lady also passed the exam, as per Orwell Lotheringwood's reports."

The king managed to muster a small smile.

"I see."

Although Sheila cannot see his expression, she could notice his emotion from the fluctuating magic around him. The king was happy and relaxed. It was a different air from before—when all his movement seemed to be measured, calculated, and cold. Even with a smile he didn't hold emotion.

But now…

"Are you going to her, Your Majesty?" Sheila asked. "You do realize that we, the Clairvoyants, can supply you with the lacking mana in your body, right?"

"I am aware, yes."

Then why? Sheila wanted to ask. "You know there is no need to go to the lady. She is probably resting right now. Taking a detour to Magierstadt would only strain your body further. You would not gain anything from it."

The king stared at Sheila.

"Do not worry about me, Sheila. I have weighed the pros and cons before I came up with the decision."

'I know,' Sheila wanted to answer. Of course the king did that already. But she can't stop now. Not when he's getting strayed further and further away from her. Before he would just be in her arms—always—without fail. But now, he was searching for something different.

Someone different.

"It is already this late. You should return to your palace," said the king as he turns away from her.

Sheila bit her lips, and then mustered all the courage as she ran towards the king and hugged him from behind.

"Why?" Sheila murmured; her voice was muffled as she pressed her face to the king's back. "Why are you trying to save her life, My King?"

Sheila tightened her embrace as she clings to the warmth that only she—from the past—had all to herself.

"We could simply have her sustain your body in exchange for her life. The forsaken can be brought to justice without her assistance." Sheila exclaimed. "You claimed to take the best action, yet why? Why are you trying to save her? What will you gain from it?"

The king didn't move, let alone answer.

His lingering warmth, that was the only thing that kept Sheila aware—aware that he was still here.

"It is true. All what you said, Priestess." The king answered. "But I have seen despair. She lost someone dear—a parent—the same as I. We suffered the same fate, being played by the Forsaken's hand."

Sheila bit her lips.

"She is a naïve child, yet she is determined." The king said. "What do I have to lose if I try to keep her alive?"

Sheila drew away from the king; shoulders slumped, and head bowed down.

"Do you want to keep her by your side?" Sheila asked.

The king didn't answer.

"The both of us know you can't." Sheila muttered as she turned away from the king, taking her leave. 

"You, of all people, should know that you cannot do decisions that would benefit the other rather than benefit you. You are the king of Feuersturm Empire. Your life matter more than hers. Please reconsider your decisions, Your Majesty."

**

The king knew Sheila was right. But all his calculations were going astray as he nears her.

The girl brimming with mana.

Faustina.

She had stirred something inside him. All the gaps and empty spaces were getting filled with her warmth. The first time he felt that kind of sensation, he couldn't help but crave it.

At first, the king thought that was the case.

But in his dreams, he had seen her smile, laugh, and cry; the memories of her in the castle had rendered the entire palace silent as she had taken her leave. The letters that she sent were entirely different to the ones she sent to Lotheringwood. The king felt an unpleasant feeling in his chest upon knowing this—and from that moment on, he retracted all his thoughts and then he decided to come back to his old ways of life.

To conceal all emotion and act for what was best.

The king touched his lips.

The softness of her skin still marked onto him. Her delicious mana was still on the tip of his tongue.

"What an uncontrollable emotion, indeed."