After the event, the Royal Family went back to the palace early. With Helios around, the King and Queen cannot continue to discuss something serious. Helios himself could feel something was amiss but he let it be.
After all, some official issues cannot be known to anyone even to their royal kin. As a member of the royal family, Helios was taught to understand and wait for his turn. But aside from this, another matter was hovering around his little brain.
The little flower girl at the wedding. She was naive, dreamy, and attractive enough to catch the attention of many. That included him. His lips unknowingly formed a grin. That grin ignited the greed in his blood.
'...just you wait, little one, you'll be mine sooner or later.'
...
After arriving in the palace, Helios excused himself and went on his way. This was the perfect time for the royal couple to talk. In their room, the heavy atmosphere was apparent. They sat on separate seats beside the fireplace.
Despite the privacy, no one wanted to speak. Unable to bear the pressure, Leticia, the Queen, spoke.
"Do you have any idea?"
The King, Enares, didn't look at her. He stared at the fireplace burning and lost in thoughts. She sighed and continued to speak.
"But... you know it's impossible for them, right?"
Finally, Enares answered.
"The witch... she should know something."
His voice was full of aloofness. Even though he wanted to deny the existence of the mythical witch, this event slapped the truth to their faces.
'If she interferes…'
Enares closed his eyes, contemplating. Although she didn't entirely know what's cooking in the brain of her husband, Leticia knew that she had to pay more attention to that witch.
"Witch's permission, is it? That Eric, do you think they have a strong connection to that witch?"
"No."
Presenting her plausible idea, Enares instantly dismissed it without second thoughts. Leticia started to wonder.
"Why?"
Leticia stared at Enares intently.
"A powerful individual won't attach themselves to mortals without a price..."
He spoke the next words as if he experienced it himself.
"...If they did, there would be a heavy price awaiting for them."
Chills run down to her spine. Leticia didn't know why but she suddenly felt scared. As if the person before her wasn't the same person she married. Trying to hide her unease, Leticia stood up and said.
"Then so be it. We'll talk about it again tomorrow. We can do nothing without any pieces at hand. Let's retire for the night."
She tried hard not to be obvious. She thought that she succeeded but Enares neither looked at her nor followed her to bed. He left with a sentence.
"I'll go to study."
He said in an unnervingly low voice and walked out of the room. Leticia tried to brush off what happened but she couldn't lie to herself that it even haunted her to sleep.
...
Enares arrived at his private study. Unlike the usual king's office with glamorous decorations, this room only had a wide big table and a few important books on the side. The design was simple that you wouldn't think that it was an important room. There's just one window, big enough to provide lighting to the room whenever necessary.
Yet, instead of sitting on his desk, he walked to the corner of the bookshelf. He faced the shelf as if finding something of the right position. Suddenly, he raised his arms and glowing dark orbs surrounded his hand.
[Secret Passage]
A dark glow of light lit up a mysterious pentagram underneath Enares's feet. Five strings of that dark light from each end rose up and curled around his feet to all over his body. It was sucking his glowing white mana and converting it into murky dark light.
Finally, the pentagram became a full-fledged pitch-black hole. The strings of dark light became a dark hood making one unable to recognize Enares. He was unfazed by the situation leading to a conclusion that he was used to it.
Cloudy grayish smoke formed mystical stairs beyond the dark hole. He lay down one foot on the stair step. The dark hole rippled like it was a dark water mirror. The second foot next, Enares was sucked into an unknown place.
The distorted insides of the hole could make one lost in the darkness. Enares moved forward, obviously familiar with the path around this dimension. He soon arrived at the place he wanted and passed through reality.
Beyond the dimension, Enares arrived in a studio-type room without doors or windows. Only him, the rough and dusty texture and smell of brick walls, and the presence of another person were present inside.
"Master."
A bass low pitch voice of a grown-up man was heard within the dark. He was brimming with loyalty and worship despite his hidden but slightly leaking murderous nature.
"How is he?"
Enares asked as he sat on a cold throne-like seat within the room. It was unknown why he distorted his voice using magic to speak but his cold tone and indifferent nature were apparent.
"He was mourning as usual."
A flash of cold glint glowed within the darkness. Although the man couldn't see it, he could feel the dangerous shift of the atmosphere.
"I've decided."
"Ha!"
The man knelt down in the darkness ensuring that he was in front of the only seat in this room. His tone was serious and grave, willing to throw his life in every situation.
"Blind him."
When Enares said his orders, the man was slightly thrown off. He didn't want to be obvious and wanted to ask why but he couldn't. Enares exuded this aura that was telling him that there wasn't anything that would retract his order.
Helpless by himself, the man took a deep breath, he collected all the resolve that he could muster up. Finally, he answered his master.
"Without fail."
With that, he disappeared into thin air. No one knows who, what or where he would go but Enares didn't leave the room. He sat there all by himself imposingly, alone.
Minutes passed by, a much darker presence cluster formed a figure. The dark man was shady and mysterious but most of all he was extremely dangerous. He even made Enares shed a bit of cold sweat at his arrival.
"Are you sure about letting him do the job?"
Enares composed himself back to his usual self and answered.
"This would be very beneficial to our plans."
"If you say so."
The man's nonchalant attitude could be said to be blasphemous before the country's king. This was enough to prove that he was powerful enough to make Enares cower and forgive his rudeness. For now, Enares had a very important matter to ask him.
"Do you know the witch?"
The man blinked several times in the darkness and laughed.
"Hahaha! What now? Is she bothering you?"
He was treating Christina as if she was nothing. Enares was relieved for a moment until the man said--
"You better not mess with her, your majesty. Even I cannot promise your safety. Take your father and grandfather for example."
Turns out the man was laughing at him. Enares started to have a headache and explained.
"She's not interfering with any of my plans right now. I'm just concerned about her presence in this country. She pulled a stunt in a wedding ceremony of one of the nobles in this country. I had to know more about her."
The man thought about something and gave Enares a piece of advice.
"Best if you don't mess with her as much as possible. In terms of power, we're toe to toe but she had the world's permission which I don't have. But I can~"
Enares's ears perked up. If there's a way for this man to get stronger than the witch that would be the best for him. Little did he know, he was already running around the palms of the man. He was even hiding his wide dangerous grin, taking advantage of the darkness.
"Human sacrifice."
Enares couldn't believe what he just heard.
"Again?"
Clearly, it wasn't the first time but he already gave him the souls of the deceased in the last war.
"No."
"Then, what do you want?"
The man pressed down closer, face to face, with Enares. He looked at him with his glowing blood-red eyes. His every word was full of thirst for a blood bath.
"World Domination."
Enares sucked a deep breath. He wanted to process what the man had just said. The man was satisfied at his reaction.
'Ooh~ would you look at this... most people would refuse or retaliate against his conditions but he…'
The man sneered without being obvious.
'What a horrible bloodline, isn't it? Don't you think so too, lady witch?'
"But...how?"
"HAHA-HA"
That question made the man laugh maniacally. When he calmed down, he pointed one finger to his forehead.
"Haa…"
His evil smile turned murderous, not directed at Enares. He tapped lightly on Enares's forehead in a hypnotic rhythmic pattern with bloodthirsty mirth printed on his blood-red eyes.
"Think, my lord. Think."
With that, he faded into darkness and left Enares all alone.