The hidden door creaked loudly as Draven peeked through the opening. It was quiet. Eerily quiet. So, he cautiously entered and once he stepped near the canopy of the king sized bed, he saw a pool of blood. It was already dried, and there wasn't anyone in the room. When he opened the canopy, he nearly shrieked in terror once he saw the hideous carcass of the Emperor.
"Brother…," he whispered.
It seemed like the Emperor was poisoned to death since he couldn't see any blood around the corpse of his brother. The blood must be from the knights that protected the Emperor with their lives. That only meant that this spelled defeat to them. There was no use going against them. If only there were reinforcements that could change the tide of the war. But no… there was a menace in the opponent's ranks. That woman… that crazy beautiful woman. She let him go, but why did he still have this foreboding that nothing would go their way? Yes… indeed, they were already doomed.
As a last resort, he entered the passageway once again to hide from their prying eyes. Though he knew that there weren't any escapes from the eyes of that woman. When he climbed down the stairs cautiously. There weren't any more sources of light from the passageway once he climbed up earlier; but why were the torches lit up?
"There you are… Grand Duke Luiva."
Draven trembled from that familiar voice he always heard when he was managing the grand duchy. He was his trusted friend and aide, but why was this man so ardent on killing him? He didn't do anything wrong as far as he could remember.
"Mahaze, why are you with them? I treated you like a brother, so why are you doing this to me?"
"Grand Duke, you're the one who took me from my family."
"I saved you that day!"
"Saved? Laughable. Did I ever say that I wanted to be saved? Do you remember what you told me when I asked you to also save my family?"
"What…?"
"You, who claimed that you saved me, told me that the people left in my village were evil and they required no saving since they were abandoned. Do you know how it felt? Those people cherished me, made me happy, didn't discriminate against genders, and it was peaceful living there that I wanted no more than that. Yes, you treated me like a brother, but did you treat my family as your own? No. When I took the time to investigate the matters in my village, do you know what I ended up with? Desolation. The village was ravaged, my people were killed and they turned into bones, and they weren't given any proper burial. What's more, the flag of the Grand Duke Luiva stood there."
"That's right. I took their lives. What of it?! I did it for our ancestors, to glorify their teachings to us. Those evil people deserved to die!"
"It seems like you still don't know what you did wrong. You're the one who is hopeless. Unsheathe your sword, Grand Duke Luiva. I will at least grant you honor before your death."
"... what?"
"What is that sword for then?" Mahaze asked as he gestured at the sword hanging from Draven's belt.
Draven's eyes shook, his hands trembling as he settled his hand on the hilt of the sword.
"I know you are a genius when it comes to swordsmanship, Grand Duke. I've seen you practice your sword a lot of times in the duchy. I know I can't contend with you, but I will still give my best and life to this battle. Even if I perish, Sir Struan Ancel will do the rest for me."
"..."
"If you're not going to come, then I will. Defend with all you've got."
"Wait, Mahaze!"
"Ha!"
With a shout, Mahaze put pressure on his legs and charged towards Draven with his full force. He swung his sword that contained the might of his arms. Draven immediately unsheathed his sword and blocked Mahaze's attacks. Truthfully, Draven still hadn't experienced real battle in his life. He did practice the sword, but he never had anyone to spar with. Now, Mahaze, who he considered a brother, was fighting with his life on the line for revenge. Why was he risking his life when he just eliminated the threat in his life? Just like how his mother tried to kill him everyday. He was given food laden with poison that he couldn't eat anything served by the maids. He could only trust his father, the former Emperor, and his older brother, the now deceased Emperor.
"Draven!!!"
"..."
He can't.
With a swing, blood spurted from Draven's stomach. He coughed out blood as he stayed conscious for a few moments, before the light in his eyes disappeared. The blood from his wound pooled on the stone floor to Mahaze's metal boots. Mahaze kneeled and a single tear trickled down on his cheek. When he went up the stairs leading to the Emperor's room, he exited through there, confident that the mission of eliminating the Royal lineage a success.
In the passageway, where the battle just ended, a lone woman appeared from the shadows and kneeled before the corpse of the man. Draven's cold body healed with the help of Emersyn. She opened a portal to Locruna and settled the body of the rich ground of her world. She gathered dense mana around the atmosphere and purified them bit by bit. When she took a little bit of energy from her body and infused it with her deep red blood, she slowly circulated what she gathered in Draven's heart and blood vessels. It succeeded as the man completely absorbed the pack of energy she gave him. Then, Emersyn began doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation to supply oxygen through his brain and lungs.
In the fifth minute mark, Draven took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. His body was aching all over, but it was at best, bearable. He took his hazy gaze on the woman before him that was opening and closing her lips.
"Draven," she called.
That was weird… he never gave her his name. So, how did she know? Maybe… someone tipped her off or something? But why did it have to be this woman?
"If you can sit up now, you need to eat."
"..."
"Don't worry, I didn't put poisin in it. I love cooking, so I can't do that."
"..."
Again, how did she know?
"Draven."
"How am I alive?"
"I breathed life into you."
"... why?"
"I saw the battle, and I knew then and there, that I need you."
Draven wanted to scoff at the absurdity, but he was afraid at the woman that gave him a second life.
"Why…?"
"Don't bother. Let's just eat. I prepared broccoli and bacon soup. I know it's pretty foreign to you, but you need to eat. It has been three hours since you died. Your stomach can't handle solid food for now."
"... why?"
"Hmm… let's see… I really need someone who could handle a part of my land. All the capable people that I couldn't trust died along the catastrophe of one of my enemies. The only people I had are ordinary citizens. I am currently training a few of them since we really need to establish rules with a fresh start. Now that I found you, you can help me. The only problem is you came from the planet that discriminated against women."
"..."
Emersyn sighed when Draven decided to be silent. She gently took his hands and made him sit up slowly. The man's eyes widened at the gesture. Emersyn settled a small table in front of him and a steaming soup of broccoli with a garnish of bacon presented itself to him. She took a spoon and scooped up the soup. She cooled it down with her breath to a warm temperature.
"Here," she said as she hovered the spoon before him.
"..."
"Come on. You need to eat. I can't have you do something while starving."
"..."
He quietly opened his mouth and Emersyn gently put the spoon in his mouth.
"Is it too hot?"
"... no."
"Good. One more," she said as she repeated what she did earlier. She giggled and continued, "This really reminded me of my son. He likes it when I am the one feeding him even if he already knew how to eat by himself."
"..."
"Good job. One more..."
"..."
"... okay, last one. Great job. Do you want seconds? I can take out more."
"... I am full."
"Oh my, that's good. Can you hold my hand? I'll bring you to one of my guest rooms."
"..."
"Are you worried?"
"... no."
He didn't know why was she doing this to him, a complete stranger. However, for some reason, he felt warm inside. The way she always repeated her words before a spoonful of soup was… he didn't know the word, but it was… anyway, he found it pleasing to his ears and heart. He wondered… if his mother was like Emersyn, would he also feel this warm inside? Just thinking about it was already pleasing. Was this the warmth that he had missed? It seemed so… Emersyn's son must be so happy with a mother like this. Now, he knew what was the problem with Mahaze. Indeed, he did something unforgivable to the one he treated like his brother.
"Emersyn…."
"Yes?"
"I want to apologize to Mahaze," he whispered.
"You can after you recuperate, okay? I promise."
Ah… a promise…. This time, he was sure that he could rely on a woman.