Chapter 4

A few minutes after closing his eyes, a familiar crying voice once again rang in his ears.

“We will meet again…Wait for me…”

Draven jerked from his seat. He felt as if that woman was whispering beside him, but the moment he opened his eyes, expecting to see her, the spot on his side was empty. Inside that quiet study room, there was no one but him.

Collecting himself from the influence of that dream, he stood up and called for his servant. “Erlos!”

The door swung open, but only enough for a head with silver hair to peek in. Mischief could be seen in its owner’s eyes. “Yes, sire? You called?”

Draven gave him a flat stare, saying nothing. The young elf slowly blinked, and then entered the chamber with a wide grin on his face. “Ahem. Your orders, sire?”

Sometimes, Draven wondered what loose screws allowed him to accept such an unruly servant. If it weren’t for the fact that Erlos was his most capable subordinate, he would have long thrown him out of the palace.

“Why are you smiling?” Draven asked in his usual cold tone which never seemed to carry any kind of emotion.

He stopped smiling immediately, “It’s nothing sire. I hope you had a nice rest.”

“I could have rested properly if you had stopped your useless chattering with the other servants.”

‘Serving a boring man like you is already tough. Is it wrong to find my own entertainment?’ he thought and saw Draven glaring at him with those fiery red eyes as if he could guess what was going on in his mind.

“Apologies, Sire,” he immediately bowed.

Draven knew that the young elf could talk nonstop if given the chance, so he interrupted him. “Inform Leeora to meet me in the morning.”

“Yes, Sire,” Erlos left.

Not long after Erlos left to execute the order given to him, Draven also went out of his study, intending to return to his own bed-chamber. There were no servants within the hallways and there was no one standing guard outside his bedchamber to open the door for him.

Draven’s stride remained unaffected. With just a gaze, the door of his bedchamber opened on its own. However, he paused mid-step when he saw something that irritated him.

“Erlos!”

Elros’s sensitive ears caught the loud call even though he was already several hallways away. He was panting by the time he ran back towards the frowning king. “W-What happened, sire?”

“What is that creature still doing in my bed?” Displeasure and annoyance were clear in Draven’s red eyes.

The elf didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. ‘Oh my king! How could you call a delicate human girl like that? No wonder despite your handsome face, you remain unpopular with the females of the kingdom.’

“Get her out of here. Throw her out somewhere among the humans,” Draven instructed.

‘Throw her out. So inhuman…’ Erlos thought wryly. ‘Ah, he is not human anyways…wait, neither am I. But I have a soft heart! Unlike my cruel master, I am as soft as cotton!’

However, the elf could only keep those thoughts in his head. “I have received your orders, sire.”

Soon after, a handful of palace servants arrived inside the King’s bed-chamber. They carried that frail body covered in bandages outside while a couple remained to clean the bed.

Draven, who was standing by the window, was eyeing everyone inside his chamber, causing the spooked servants to move faster than intended.

When the human girl was being taken out, he caught a glimpse of the side profile of her face which was partially covered by her long mahogany hair. A strange sensation enveloped him. He narrowed his eyes at her, but by then, she was taken out of his chamber.

‘What was that?’ he asked himself.

Even after all the servants left, Draven continued to stare at the door of his bed-chamber, but no matter how much he thought, he could not figure anything out.

After everyone left, Erlos returned to check around the King’s bedchamber, making sure that nothing was amiss. Though the young elf was a carefree lad who took liberties of talking freely with Draven, he was quite meticulous when it came to work, the epitome of a responsible servant. He was so good with his work that he was the only personal servant trusted by the King—he alone was enough to look after every need of his master, sometimes as a butler, sometimes an aide, even though he should be only a manservant…

There also stood the fact that only the naughty Erlos could tolerate bad-tempered Draven on a long term. It was well-known among the palace servants that the King didn’t like people in general, and they tended to avoid him as much as they could.

“Sire, the bed is ready. Do you need something else?” Erlos asked.

Draven walked towards the bed. “Have you informed Leeora to see me in the morning?”

“Yes, sire. I had sent the message.”

Hoot!

At the loud sound, the elf’s head turned towards the window. A large snowy white owl sat at the window sill, shaking off its feathers as if to ward off the chill of the night.

“Ah, Midnight is here,” Erlos exclaimed and went towards the window to pet it. Draven ignored the two and simply lay in bed.

While glancing at his master, Erlos whispered to the bird. “Have you heard yet? He brought a woman to his bed!”

The owl had a look of wisdom on its large eyes as it hooted in affirmation.

“One will get his tongue cut while the other will get his wings torn out.”

Before the King could make good of his word, the owl clawed at the elf, as if to say ‘This is your fault’, and then fled away as if its life was at stake. Erlos also stepped out of the bedchamber in a hurry, covering his mouth as he ran away.