He calmly walked towards the child who was sitting on the wooden railing of the balcony. Staring at the barely lit area above them. There was no moon, nor stars to be seen, moreover there wasn't even an actual sky. Large branches with thick leaves covered the area above them.
She sat there, with a doll on her hand as she raised her arms up front. She was humming a soothing lullaby, causing plants to move around her. Lyon simply watched at the exit to the balcony. It took her a few minutes before she could notice him.
She turned around and waved her hand, the smile on her face looked different from how she smiled when they first met. It looked more dull and sad, he thought that maybe it was because of the food on the table.
"Hey!" Lyon called out to her.
He was about to walk closer to her when the plants around her began hissing at him like snakes. He stood frozen as Mili calmed them down before waving her hand once more causing them to disperse like rats.
"Ar't yu ful?" She asked him before standing on the railing.
He gently nodded before finally being able to walk towards her. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her. She smiled as she tried to reach the black sky above them but was immediately pulled down when Lyon released her.
"Don't sit there cause it's dangerous, alright?" Lyon spoke with a concerned voice.
"U ar't not my Moder!" she gave a sarcastic reply.
The two of them laughed before Lyon leaned his arms on the wooden railings and wandered his eyes around the forest. From afar he could see small lights circling around each tree, stretching from the ground to the top of the trees.
"Mili, mother has ordered you to return to the table" a voice called out.
Lyon turned his head and saw Mili's older sister standing at the doorway, leaning to it as she stood there with her clothes that looked graceful despite not having extravagant designs. She immediately turned her head when their eyes suddenly met.
Her face immediately turned red as a tomato. She hastily walked inside leaving Lyon to stare alone at the empty sky. The wind was growing cold as the night continued. The scent of leaves lingered in the air as its rustling sound echoed.
"Haaa~~"
He gave out a heavy exhale as he headed inside again, but for a moment he felt the same ominous presence that appeared in the palace baths before. He turned his head but saw nothing but the large trees that filled the forest.
"Mr. Lyon, I was assigned by Mother Odagaia to assist you to the chamber you are supposed to stay in" A woman called out to him.
She wore a traditional maid dress that had its colors altered, being dark gray with black trimmings while her apron maintained a white color. She had both her hands laid flat below her abdomen as a sign of obedience to her master, Odagaia.
They walked from the dining room to the hall that he had passed earlier with high ceilings. He thought that he would return to the balcony up front and would ride the owl again. But to his surprise he was guided to the lower sections of the tree.
He was led to a single doored room, he was about to grab the handle of the door when the maid opened it for him. Entering inside it was much larger than the room he had awoken to, it had a large king-sized bed on the left side of the room with a long sofa on the opposite end.
The room was quite spacious despite having a large quantity of furniture it could still fit around 3 more king sized beds. He walked around the room and was amazed with it's splendid wood work. From the design of the furniture to the smallest designs that were carved on the wood.
"Well then, I will now take my leave…" the woman said.
"May I request a glass of water?"
"Certainly, it will be delivered to your doorstep in a few minutes"
The maid left the room as she closed the door, immediately he laid down on the soft and warm bed that was offered to him. Despite having such splendid designs the room felt lonely, there was nothing much for entertainment. It was just a large room filled with living necessities, there was not even a single window to peek to the outside.
He quietly sat there awaiting the arrival of his drink. Staring at the wooden vent that continued to push in fresh air inside the room. Despite not having any other form of ventilation the room was cool, anyone would have a good rest time in such a place.
Slowly his eyes began to feel heavy as his body felt light. Why was he sleepy when it was only a few hours when he had woken up from his long slumber. But it was not only him who had that feeling. Most folks who have eaten on that table are already having beautiful dreams in their own homes.
He didn't want to, but he ended up falling asleep either way. After a while he started to become restless causing him to wake up time after time. It was only about a few hours later that he had awoken feeling all groggy.
Placing his hand on his head. With his blurry vision he saw a faint figure sitting at the sofa directly in front of him. He could hear rustling coming from the figure, as it looked like she was fixing her sitting position.
"Did I wake you up?"
Lyon gave out a strong yawn as he scratched his head, messing his black hair.
"No…" He replied.
He rubbed his eyes gently as his vision slowly cleared up. In front of him sat Mili's older sister. Despite not having a window the room was fairly lit by some lightshrooms placed at the ceiling.
"I apologize for barging in without any permission. I apologize as well for not giving a formal introduction. My name is Elizabeth Florentina Alutreta, first born of Lady Odagaia "Mother of the Forest" It is a pleasure to meet Avaritia's youngest royal knight and the person dubbed as The Reaper"
She calmly introduced herself, bowing her head as she spoke. Both hands were placed above her long silky nightgown. Her skin glowed like the moon while her gown was illuminated by the lightshrooms above them
Lyons face turned red like a tomato when his eyes gazed upon Elizabeth's bare skin as her gown had no sleeves. He could even see her cleavage despite the distance they had from one another. Her curves were also displayed by her clothes as her face turned beet red.
"I-I see. It is a pleasure for me as well. I also would like to thank you for allowing me to rest in this place"
"No, It is alright. But the reason I am here is that my mother has given me a task…"
"A task?"
"Yes. I am to persuade you to help out on tomorrow's hunt…"
"Hunt?"
She cleared her throat before speaking another word.
"Well you see, the mana within the Gluttire forest is quite unstable. And if one was to be around large unstable mana then they would either mutate or die. That's why once every year, the people of this forest perform a hunting challenge"
Lyon nodded as a sign of interest in what she was talking about.
"The goal is to kill and return with the largest number of mutated creatures within the forest. The challenge lasts for a whole day and the whole forest is your hunting ground. Since you are a guest, mother asked me to persuade you to join this event… and if you decide not to…"
Elizabeth slowly placed both her hands on the opposite sides of her shoulder creating an X with her arms that pressed her chest. She slowly dragged the strings of her night gown downwards as she gave him the same look when she was pinned down on the owl.
"... I am to seduce and offer you my body…" She said with a trembling voice.
Lyon was astounded as to how far she would go just to get him to join. He took in a deep breath and rubbed his hair.
"You don't need to force me. I'll gladly accept your offer" He gladly replied.
She sighed in relief as she lifted her hands up. She bowed her head before standing up and walking towards the door.
"I apologize for the sudden intrusion. Also thank you for accepting our request" She bowed once more before leaving the room.
Lyon could hear a faint voice coming from the voice, it was Elizabeth talking to someone. She was being calm down as she continued to rant about the embarrassment she had done. Lyon smiled as he glanced at the door, giving out a little laugh.
"Hunting huh?... I wonder how long has it been since I last hunted with the commander"
A vision of Metoki had suddenly popped inside of his head causing a stinging sensation that was painful enough to make cower. He felt dizzy as his head continued to spin around, he waved his hand at the table next to him and hit a glass of water.
The glass fell and spilled the water inside, but Lyon's reflex kicked in and he was able to get the glass up before all the water got spilled. He lifted it and drank it despite his head feeling like it was spinning. Slowly everything returned to normal, but for some reason he forgot why his head was in pain.
"What was that?" He asked in confusion.
He looked around and felt a faint presence lurking around the room. But even with his special eye he couldn't see anyone. He didn't even know how his very own eyes work. He laid back down on his bed staring at the ceiling.
As Lyon continued once more in the large and soft bed offered to him. Avaritia was not doing well. Ruckus continued to storm the castle while a few citizens pounded the castle doors begging for their families to return to them.
The tragedy that struck Avaritia inside the stadium caused people to run wild. While the knights kept the situation as bloodless as possible, rumors still continued to spread about the Zeitoid family's betrayal.
After the event Metoki was brought into the castle along with his family. Tears ran through his face as he saw Jiniya's disturbed face. When he was told about the hideous crime he had committed, his world along with his parent's lives crumbled.
But Arthur was the one keeping their heads attached to their bodies. He was one to attend the trial instead of the family. Their family was already killed the moment people knew about what happened that day inside the stadium.
Lyon knew nothing of Avaritia's current situation. Jiniya was having problems mostly about her missing mother. Lily continued to stay by Metoki's side trying to get him to his optimistic self. While Ursula was confined in a room inside the palace treated by the best doctors who existed.
"What are you planning, Arthur?" Charles asked him.
"Planning? Does the King think that I am scheming something against Avaritia?" Arthur replied with a smirk.
"I told you that I would have your head chopped if anything was to happen to those people… Yet, according to the knights who arrived there you were nowhere to be found! I'll repeat my question Arthur, what on earth are you planning?" Charles' tone sounded more fierce as he glared at Arthur.
"And what more to think that you disappearing would cause one of our best blacksmiths family to do something such as treason. Arthur I-... Get out of here!" The king shouted at him, rubbing the center of his brows and sighing in disbelief.
"As you wish" Arthur lowered his head with his right hand on his abdomen.
He turned around and walked towards the door wearing a sadistic smile on his face.
Chapter End.