Late at night, Zion, who had not fallen asleep, wandered around the lake near the palace. The air had become quite chilly, as if winter was approaching.
As Zion looked at the lake, ripples formed. A submerged voice flowed out from the shadows reflected between the ripples.
“Come out.”
“This is a ghost, a ghost.”
Hills jumped down from the tree. Seeing this, Zion opened his mouth with an expressionless face.
“Why are you here?”
“We have to finish the conversation we had during the day.”
In Hills’ one hand was a tempting red apple. After casually wiping it with his sleeve, he took a bite that made a crisp sound and said,
“As I said before, you know it yourself, right? That you’ve already transcended being a human.”
Zion stared at Hills standing in front of him.
Zion’s mood had not been good all day. To be precise, it had been since he had appointed the guy in front of him as the captain of the knights.
As expected, the guy was the same person as the crown prince of the Shalbon Kingdom.
Just that fact alone was enough to make him feel sick.
The last thing Hills said did not leave Zion’s mind, making his mood even worse.
[What kind of relationship do you have with Irina that you’re involved to this extent?]
[Well…]
Hills, who had been pondering, chuckled.
[I’ve known her… much longer than you have.]
Recalling that remark, Zion clenched his fist tightly. Veins popped on his clenched fist.
The phrase ‘known much longer’ brought up quite a lot of imagination. Naturally, when thinking about Irina’s life, there would be many parts he didn’t know.
There would have been relationships with others before, and many other experiences.
But it wasn’t just for those reasons that he was sensitive and anxious.
‘Who is she, really…’
Even though he tried not to ask, he kept having doubts about her identity. Her suddenly changed personality and the relationship with the guy standing in front of him.
A primal fear arose.
One day, it felt like she would disappear from his sight like a mirage.
Moreover, the identity of the guy standing in front of him was also ambiguous. Zion didn’t hesitate to ask.
“What are you?”
“Haven’t you ever called my name?”
“I’m not interested. Just answer the question.”
At Zion’s cold tone, Hills clicked his tongue.
But when he thought about it, Hills himself had hardly ever called Zion’s name. He didn’t want to either.
Hills looked at Zion squarely.
“Do you think I’ll tell you if you ask?”
“I can’t keep someone like you, whose identity hasn’t been verified, next to Irina.”
“Oh, so tell me? Somehow, Her Majesty the Empress already knows my identity.”
At Hills’ words, Zion’s expression noticeably hardened.
“I told you. I’ve known her much longer than you have.”
As soon as the words ended, a branch snapped and charged at Hills.
Fortunately, Hills jumped agilely and landed on a high tree.
Suddenly attacked, Hills widened his eyes and shouted at Zion.
“Why are you attacking all of a sudden!”
When the apple that had been in Hills’ hand rolled and touched his foot, Zion came to his senses.
Hills brushed off the dirt that had touched him while dodging.
“I don’t have time to fight with you. Let’s talk quickly and finish. I don’t like to see you either.”
At Hills’ words, Zion’s expression crumpled once again. But Hills didn’t care and continued.
“You. Even though you pretend not to on the outside, your power is fluctuating, isn’t it? You’re barely controlling it.”
“…”
“It might explode soon. ‘Boom’.”
Hills exaggeratedly spread his hands and made a sound effect.
“In fact, whether it’s a peace treaty or whatever, I don’t care if you die or not. But,”
Hills’ expression suddenly became serious.
“I can’t stand it if our Empress gets hurt because of you.”
When Arundel was mentioned, Zion noticeably hardened his face.
In fact, the reason he obediently put him in the position of captain of the knights was here.
Power was a convenient yet threatening tool. Perhaps it was the ability that contributed the most to putting him in the position of emperor.
His outstanding magical talent was overwhelming compared to others.
He received proper magic education when he entered the palace at the age of 10. From then on, magic grew rapidly as if it had caught fire, and he even grabbed the title of the empire’s best magician.
But that was as far as it was good.
As the guy standing in front of him said, one day he felt his power fluctuating. It felt like it would break everything if he didn’t do his best to catch it.
Fortunately, that moment was only once, and he didn’t think much of it.
But many things changed from that day on.
‘The day Irina ran away from the Empress’s Palace.’
It was from then on.
When he found out that Irina had run away, his energy fluctuated. It was an uncontrollable power. The exploding power destroyed everything around him.
So he released his power like crazy and sat quietly in his chair like a dead body. He hadn’t eaten or slept for days. He couldn’t even feel time passing.
But his body was functioning normally. He didn’t feel hungry or tired.
Like an immortal being.
Since then, there have been times when he felt like he couldn’t withstand the power that was surging up.
Of course, if he clenched his teeth, he could suppress the fluctuating power, but as the guy said, the limit was coming.
He hated to get help from this guy, but when he thought of Irina, it wasn’t a matter of pride.
It felt like all the blood in his body would dry up just thinking that she was wronged by his power.
Zion, who had finished thinking, opened his mouth.
“So, what can you do?”
“First, find out about the source of the power.”
“What’s next?”
“I have to think about it now.”
“So you don’t have a clear solution.”
At Hills’ vague words, a sneer crossed Zion’s face.
But Hills, lost in thought, didn’t answer right away. Then, as if something had come to mind, Hills raised his head.
“Well…”
Their eyes met through the cold air.
“Once your identity is revealed, there will be an answer within.”
Zion’s hair fluttered here and there in the wind as he stood facing him.
****
Knock, knock-
Arundel unexpectedly visited Zion’s office.
There was no need for a reason to be with him now. As long as it didn’t interfere with work, Arundel naturally spent time with him.
However, today there was a different purpose.
[You. Your energy is getting stronger, isn’t it? You can somehow manage it now, but soon you won’t be able to control it and it will run wild.]
She was curious about what she had heard in the conversation between Zion and Hills. It sounded serious even at a glance.
Since she had eavesdropped, she couldn’t ask outright, so she planned to subtly probe Zion.
‘Is there anyone…?’
But for some reason, there were no guards in front, and there was no response when she knocked on the door.
Arundel cautiously opened the door. And what caught Arundel’s eye was…
“…!!”
Zion and Hills were holding hands.
“Ah…Oh…Did I interrupt…?”
As flustered Arundel tried to close the door again, Zion pushed Hills away and walked over quickly.
And he caught the closing door just in time.
“What’s the matter?”
“I came because I have something to talk about, but if you’re busy…”
“I’m not busy.”
Zion retorted. Hills got up from his seat and greeted Arundel.
“Hello, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Oh… No, yes.”
This kid, why is he speaking informally?
But Zion also spoke informally to him. Fortunately, Zion seemed not to care how Hills spoke.
No, to be precise, he seemed not to want to be overly conscious of Hills’ existence. So whether he spoke informally or showed a rude attitude, he treated him like an invisible person.
But Arundel was different.
Arundel was momentarily confused about whether to speak informally or formally. But seeing Zion’s reaction, she decided to speak formally.
“What was…the situation just now?”
Arundel, who was curious about what they were doing to be holding hands so affectionately, asked.
Zion and Hills’ expressions twisted at the same time.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s nothing.”
And the answer came back at the same time. Both of them didn’t seem to be in a good mood, so Arundel didn’t ask any further.
“You.”
Zion looked at Hills with cold eyes.
“Can go now.”
“Yes, yes.”
As Zion gestured, Hills pouted his lips and left the office.
‘Suspicious…’
Arundel stared at the back of Hills leaving.
This wasn’t the only time she had encountered such a scene. Regrettably, it was the third time.
The first time she saw a similar situation was when she was passing by a nearby lake.
On the way to Zion’s office, she heard Hills’ dissatisfied voice, so she approached and they were holding hands just like now.
At that time, she quietly pretended not to know and passed by.
The second time was when she visited the office like now. Then too, they were holding hands. As soon as Arundel was discovered, Zion coldly pushed away Hills’ hand.
And now she was facing the same situation again.
Zion held Arundel’s hand and squeezed it tightly. As Arundel tilted her head at his sudden action,
“Purification.”
Zion muttered.
And as if tired, Zion flopped down on the sofa. He put his hand on his forehead and spoke in a low voice.
“I’m tired.”
Arundel was very curious. About what Zion and Hills were secretly doing.
Zion hated touching others terribly. But seeing him holding Hills’ hand, she thought it wasn’t an ordinary thing.
Moreover, she had never seen him so tired before.
“What were you doing?”
Arundel sat by his side and asked. Zion did not respond.
Feeling something was off, Arundel brought her face closer to check on him.
And at that moment,
“Heek!”
Zion pulled her arm, causing Arundel to lose balance and fall onto his body.
Thanks to that, it ended up looking like Arundel was pouncing on Zion who was lying down.
Surprised, Arundel tried to move back, but Zion’s firm hand didn’t let go of her.
“Just a moment. I want to stay like this for a while.”
Arundel relaxed the strength of wanting to get up because of his tired voice. As a result, Arundel’s body overlapped with Zion’s.
It was embarrassing to be lying on top of Zion like this, but feeling Zion’s warmth wasn’t unpleasant.
‘I should get up from Zion…’
The original purpose was slowly evaporating.
As Arundel quietly placed her head on Zion’s chest, his heartbeat could be heard thumping.
“Don’t listen.”
Because it’s embarrassing. Although Zion spoke in his usual tone, the quickening heartbeat indicated he was nervous.
The comparison of Zion’s usually composed demeanor and the rapid heartbeat didn’t quite match, causing a moment of laughter.
When Arundel lightly laughed while on top of him, a gentle vibration passed to Zion.
At that moment, Zion’s body stiffened as if frozen.
“Damn it, I’ve dug my own grave.”
As Zion got up, Arundel on top of him also naturally rose.
As she sat between his legs, there was something hard underneath…
“…!”
Surprised, Arundel jumped up.
‘What…what is this, could it be what I’m thinking…?!’
Even though Arundel was usually clueless about male-female relationships, she couldn’t not notice a man’s physiological response.
There had been many events between them, but facing his desire directly like this was a first for Arundel.
Arundel stammered with her mouth agape and tried to take a step back. However, Zion grabbed Arundel’s arm as she tried to move away.
“There’s nothing to be surprised about. Just being next to you does this to me.”
Even though it was a physiological phenomenon, one would expect some embarrassment. However, Zion was surprisingly shameless.
“It’s just that you didn’t know.”
