Second Arc (His Art of War) - 78. Two Feelings
"Destroying rat nests?" asked King Eudon in confusion. Even though he knew what the word 'rat' meant was a spy or an intruder, but of course, getting rid of them was not that easy.
Angel smirked. He extended his hand as he cast his Evil Eye spell. The dark aura from his hand formed hundreds of black eyeballs that quickly spread throughout the castle and the city.
While King Eudon petrified in shock, his eyes widened. This was the first time he had seen someone use this spell before his eyes. Even though magic was not the Heart family's speciality but he knew Evil Eye was one of the most difficult spells, besides that it required high concentration.
'His power exceeds any royal family's descendant. That's why King Gervis was so afraid of him...' He didn't doubt Angel's swordsmanship after seeing his fighting abilities in the hall, he also didn't doubt Angel's magic power because Angel could use his power in the Magic Shield, but mastering high-level spells was different. Because the spell did not only require high magic power but also high concentration and a focused mind. In other words, apart from high magic power, the caster must be able to control his mind and emotions well.
Angel closed his eyes, trying to concentrate and let pieces of images enter his head. Traces of fear on people's faces, the servants who were busy tidying up the castle. Traces of battle that were scattered all over the city and also where the rebels were hiding. As minutes passed, the more rebel hideouts he found, he even found the rebel troops who were still hiding in the castle basements.
'How many enemies does the Heart Family actually have?' In fact, he was confused about how King Eudon and Rose had been able to maintain their position as the royal family with this many enemies over the years.
When he was about to stop the spell, he saw Rose treating Artheur who was lying weakly on the bed. She wiped the sweat off Artheur's forehead gently. Her eyes fixed on him. She was silent for a moment, then her face slowly drew closer to Artheur. Seeing this, Angel's heart was pounding, his feelings flared up, his jealousy came back over his heart.
As Rose got closer and her hand began to touch Artheur's face, Angel's concentration broke as he could no longer control his emotions. He opened his eyes and gritted his teeth, resisting the pain that pierced through his body as he staggered backwards a few steps.
"Your Majesty!" Frost approached him in worry.
Angel raised his hand, ordering Frost to stay in position. Quickly, he returned his usual expression.
"I'm fine." He realized he shouldn't feel jealous or anything since he didn't have any relationship with Rose. But somehow, his personal feelings continued to bother him and even made his emotions continue to flare up. He took a deep breath to calm himself and spoke again.
"I've found the rebel's hideouts. Voiceless Snake inn near the north gate, Glorious Sweet pastry shop near the square, Mushy Swallow bar near the east gate, Red Night cellar in the south outpost tower and this castle's basement." Then he turned his gaze to Frost.
"Clean them up!" he ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Frost bowed, before turning and leaving. He knew Angel's emotions were unstable amidst the spell, that's why the spell stopped suddenly and Frost was sure, right now, the pain due to his spell failure was still piercing Angel's body. But even though he was worried about him, he knew very well what Angel's nature was like. Angel would never let the others know of this.
Meanwhile, King Eudon could only remain silent without being able to say anything. He realized that neither he nor his kingdom had a chance against Angel. He had no choice but to make Angel his ally. Because with his power, Angel was not only able to kill the Heart family but he was also able to destroy the entire Zephyrus and nothing could be worse for a king than to see the kingdom he protected destroyed.
Angel turned his gaze to King Eudon.
"Our business is finished. Thank you for your cooperation. I'll take my leave."
King Eudon only nodded slightly to answer him.
Then Angel walked towards the exit.
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Meanwhile, in another room. Rose took care of Artheur with caution. She wiped the sweat on his forehead gently, occasionally she checked his wounds, especially the ones on his neck. From King Esteve, Rose learned that the neck was the Fallensoar Family's weakness. That's why Angel targeted Artheur's neck and head during the fight because it was the only part of their body that could be injured.
Rose paused for a moment watching Artheur who occasionally frowned in pain, reminding her of when she treated Angel five years ago. Her mind was deep in thought.
'If five years ago I insisted on staying... If five years ago I hadn't given you sleeping drugs... Would we end up like this?'
Shortly, she realized that the bandages wrapped around Artheur's neck had not been properly tied. She brought her face close to Artheur slowly to examine the bandage. To be honest, After reuniting with Angel, her mind was confused and her feelings continued to flare up. Love, hate, anger, confusion, sadness, disappointment all mixed in her heart and it all made her unable to concentrate on treating Artheur or do anything properly. It was unusual for her to either apply the medicine in the wrong place or wrap the bandage without tying it like this.
Her hand sustained Artheur's head slowly, making sure he didn't move his head and neck too much, but of course, she couldn't do this alone.
She turned to the nearby servants.
"Help me to fix Prince Artheur's bandages."
The servants approached and held Artheur's head carefully. While Rose fixed the bandages around his neck. She checked one more time, making sure she had tied it properly.
"Put him down," she said when finished.
The servants lowered Artheur slowly while Rose's eyes remained on him. Her guilt returned to her heart, even though Artheur had tried to help her, fighting for her but her feelings did not change.
'Forgive me, Artheur ... It looks like we weren't meant to be. I hope after this you can forget about me and find another woman who is better than me. '