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It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
( Psalms 118 : 8 )
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Ze was frozen in his spot. His eyes were focused on the person sitting on the bed, who had yet to notice him. She was looking out the window of the room at the greenery of the Elven palace.
The person who always shouted glanced at him with a smug look. The elf girl who took care of Callista was already familiar with Ze arriving without notice. Nala didn't care as he was the one who came in as she kept sleeping.
But a cute flame jumped in joy at his arrival.
~Kyuuunnn~
With his cute cry, he attracted the attention of the person who had yet to notice him. Her head turned towards him as her eyes focused on him.
With the evening sunlight bouncing off her fair skin and her black hair falling on the bed, she sat there like a portrait. Even without any makeup, her natural beauty was enough to enchant any man.
She slowly opened her mouth.
"Wh-
*Bang*
Before she could speak, the door to the room opened with a bang. With the sound, a familiar figure entered - the one and only king of the Elves. With his silver hair and golden eyes, he had enough charm to enchant even men. He entered the room, panting out of breath and sweating.
The mighty figure of the king of Elves was anything but mighty.
"You left without me!" he voiced his complaint.
The king had run here in less than 30 seconds, from his office to the chamber, which was at least a mile away and included stairs. His subjects were shocked when they saw him running, but he didn't have time to care.
Ze didn't turn to look at him; his focus was all on Callista. Ignit, who had had enough of his negligence, was sitting on his head, which made it look like his head was on fire.
"I greet your majesty," the elf girl who was standing beside the bed greeted her king.
Fran, the elven king, nodded his head in response. He then straightened his clothes and messy hair using magic and moved toward the bed. He crossed the standing Ze and sat on the chair placed near the bed.
"Are you feeling fine?" he asked with a voice full of worry, his elven charm added to it.
Callista was looking at Fran as he asked, his silver hair like mithril and his golden eyes like morning sun, he was absolutely enchanting. But when he asked her how she was feeling with his enchanting voice, her cheeks turned a bit pink, and she looked at her hands which were gripping her sheet.
"I-I am o-okay," she replied in a shy voice.
"A-ah, y-you are f-feeling f-fine," Fran became flustered when he saw her blush and reply shyly.
"Y-yes."
"A-are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
"N-no, everything is nice."
The atmosphere was getting pink between them as they both replied, unable to look each other in the eye. But the air around Ze was getting heavy and dark. Ignit, not knowing the situation, just sunk into Ze's hair.
"A-Ah, then i-it's fine," Fran said relieved.
"Ah!"
"E-Eat and rest for now. We... We can talk tomorrow," Fran looked at the elf girl who was in her maid uniform, who nodded in understanding her king's command.
"I will do my best, your majesty," she replied.
With that, Fran got up from his seat, smiled at Callista, and turned to leave. Callista looked panicked as they were leaving, so she reached out and grabbed Fran's hand.
"W-Wait!" her voice echoed.
Fran was flustered due to his hand being grabbed by his old flame. Her sapphire blue eyes, looking into his, stirred buried emotions.
"Can I-I ask y-you something?" she asked with a flushed face.
Callista's flushed face and watery eyes were enough to do critical damage to Fran, the hundred-year-old virgin. His heart was beating fast, and he was getting ready to give everything she would ask for.
"What is it? Is anything bothering you?" Fran asked in a soft voice, trying to hide his broken dam of emotions.
"Hmm," Callista's eyes scanned the room cautiously.
Fran noticed her cautiousness, maybe because of the elf girl whom she didn't know.
"It's okay, everyone here cares about you. They won't harm you, I can guarantee," Fran assured.
"Hmm, okay," she bit her lips, "Well, who are you?" she asked.
"..."
"...."
"..."
"What!?" Fran tilted his head in confusion.
"I don't know why I am here or who you are?" she asked innocently.
Callista, who asked the question, couldn't hear the heart of an elf cracking.
"It's me, Fran. We met in your hometown, Rittor," Fran sat on the chair, "We became acquainted when my party and I were staying there. You met Ryker there?"
Callista just tilted her head at Fran's words.
"Yes, Rittor is my hometown, but I have never seen you there," Callista fully shattered the poor man's heart with her innocent words. "Am I that easy to forget?" Tears started to form in Fran's eyes. "Even though we did many things together."
Callista started to panic at the sight of Fran's face showing pain and sadness. "No, it's not like that. I just don't-"
Callista was trying to calm Fran, who was becoming like a child who lost his toy. But Ze just watched the whole scene without moving. His intuition was saying something was wrong. 'What's happening? (⊙_⊙)?'
"That's what I'd like to know," Ze replied. 'What the fuck is going on?' he couldn't help but think that. The king of elves was crying like a child because his crush said she didn't know him. Did he go unnoticed like some background character? That couldn't have happened.
He was one of the heroes who participated in the last battle, and for fuck's sake, he was an Elf. What kind of idiot would forget meeting an Elf? Maybe someone like him, but someone like him is like one in a trillion.
Ze thought back to all the words Callista said and started to deduce the situation they were in. To confirm his deduction, he took a step forward. "Do you remember me?" Ze asked.
Both of them turned to him at his question. Callista's eyes focused on his face, trying to remember where she had seen him. "No, I don't remember," she answered.
"Maybe because he has grown?" Fran asked Callista, but she shook her head.
"Then, how old are you?" Ze asked his question again.
"Hmm, I am turning 24 this year," she answered.
"No, you are turning 41 this year," Fran rebuked.
"I am 23, okay. Do I look that old to you?" Callista questioned the Elf's eyesight, which could clearly see a water drop falling miles away.
"Clearly not," Fran truthfully answered.
Ze confirmed his deduction with her answer. "Fran, we need to talk," Ze called him, gesturing with his head to come.
Fran and Ze moved away from the bed to talk. They stood at a distance away from Callista, who was confused by their words. Fran bent his tall frame to talk with Ze, who was only 5 feet. Even though it was weird that the king was bending to talk to someone, no one objected.
"I think she has amnesia," Ze said in a low voice.
"It seems so," Fran agreed, finding the conclusion correct after he connected the dots. He turned and looked at Callista, who had an amused look on her face. Her eyes were focused on them.
"Not only did she lose her memory, but she also looks younger too," Fran said.
"That's because my healing magic output was high," Ze said smugly.
Fran just side-eyed him. "Can't you bring her memories back?"
"No, memory manipulation takes a toll on the person it's used on," Ze shook his head. "And Callista is a normal person who doesn't know how to use magic."
"So, we just have to wait for her memories to return?" Fran asked worriedly.
While both of them continued their secret talk, Callista's eyes lingered on them. Her eyes were focused on Ze's head where a cute flame was sitting and listening to their conversation. She wondered how the kid had yet to notice his head burning.
While she was thinking about Ze's burning head, Ze and Fran finished their talk. They both turned back to her with a worried expression. Ze moved forward, his steps echoing in the empty room. He slowly lowered his posture, getting into a kneeling position like a knight before his king. He knelt in front of Callista.
Callista, who was confused by his action, looked to the tall Elf, but he stood still in silence, showing no emotion. Ze opened his mouth. "Forgive me, Your Highness. I was supposed to protect you, but due to my negligence, you were put in danger," he looked up with teary eyes. "Not only were you harmed, but you also forgot about His Majesty, your husband."
Callista tilted her head in confusion, with a big question mark above her head.
"Even though he is standing before you, you couldn't recognize him," Ze wiped his tears of sadness. "I am sorry, please punish me."
Both Callista and the Elf girl turned towards Fran, who just stood still. His golden pupils looking distant as if reminiscing.
"It is my fault, I am sorry," Ze begged.
"W-What are you saying?" Callista asked with a shaky voice.
"You got caught in the enemy's ambush and were harmed. I brought you here urgently, and even though we were able to heal you..." Tears fell from Ze's face. "B-But now you have forgotten everything. I am so sorry."
"Wh-What?" Callista was becoming increasingly confused.
"I'm sorry if you can't believe my words." Ze searched his coat and pulled out a tattered book that looked like a diary that had been through hell. "I'm sorry. I couldn't even protect your diary." Ze extended the tattered book towards Callista.
Callista reached out with her shaky hands and took the tattered diary. She slowly opened the book, and inside was a burned picture. Callista held the picture in her hand and looked at Fran.
In the picture, Fran and Callista were happily smiling as Fran put a ring of flowers on Callista's hand. Callista's mouth opened in shock, and her hands trembled. The picture fell onto her lap as her body lost strength. Callista's body leaned to the side as she lost consciousness.
"Your Highness," Ze got up urgently to catch her.
The elf girl and Fran rushed over. Ze checked on Callista. "She just fainted," he said as he laid her down. He turned to the elf girl. "Take care of her."
Leaving Callista in the care of the elf, Ze moved out of the room with Fran following him. Fran turned back to look at Callista before closing the door. Ze and Fran walked in silence along the corridor, not uttering a single word. With an awkward atmosphere between them, they arrived at Fran's office.
Ze entered first, and Fran followed. Hearing the door close with a *clack*, Ze turned to Fran. "Fran..."
But he was caught by the collar and lifted, meeting angry golden eyes.
"Why did you lie?" Fran roared, veins bulging on his face.
Ze smiled at his anger. "Didn't you want her? Now, she is yours."
"I didn't want her like this. I wanted her to love me on her own, not be manipulated into it," Fran, unable to control his anger, tightened his grip.
"What? Then are you going to say that she married a bastard who abandoned and left her to die?" Ze snickered. "She will be really happy," Ze said sarcastically.
"That's for her to decide," Fran said furiously.
"Come on, Fran. You know it too, that it will only bring her pain. Now, you can keep her happy," Ze opposed.
"You bastard, you can't be happy with fake memories. It's just fake. I don't know what you think love is, but you can't be happy like that."
"Really?" Ze looked into Fran's eyes, which were full of anger. Fran, likewise, looked into Ze's eyes, but this time he felt pain in them. A pain he could not comprehend. Fran loosened his grip on Ze, lowered him to the ground, and took a step back.
"Why are you doing this?" Fran asked, his anger fading from his voice.
"It's easy. Don't you remember our deal?" Ze said as he straightened his clothes.
"How could I forget?" Fran remembered it, feeling a chill down his spine at the memory of that day.
Ze turned and sat on the sofa, looking at Fran with a vicious smile that made him shiver.
"He broke the deal."
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