A night with a moon and the stars.
The cold night wind slowly came inside from the opened sliding door to the balcony and touched his exposed skin.
The cold feeling intensified when he could feel the wind touching his sweating skin.
He raised his shaking hand to touch his neck.
'I am sweating too much.'
He had been sweating since then and couldn't stop his body from shaking. It is not a cold; this happened just now. He had woken up from sleep because of the sudden heat.
He had been shaking since he woke up, and he even tried many things to make it stop, but it was futile. He did not feel a lack of anything or an intense fear that would make his body shake like this. It was just a little shaking, but he became annoyed when it continued for an hour.
He should have a good sleep today and enjoy his rest after the duel he had with Rezal this evening. But after he woke up, he couldn't find himself falling asleep again. He feels refreshed.
But he somehow knew what was happening to him right now.
'How do I want to control this aura?'
He looked at his hands to find the same white mist coming out of his skin, just like every time he tried to activate his aura.
But now he didn't even need to think of activating it; his aura was just there. Like he had achieved a stage where his aura control was now visible the entire time. But he still can't take full control of how to use the aura appropriately.
If he had not been aware of his condition, he may have hurt Rezal more than he liked. He felt a sudden strength around his body and noticed his aura was leaking during the duel.
His aura managed to flow and envelop his sword at that time without him managing to prevent it, and he didn't want to know what would have been the amount of damage if he had not held back his swinging at that time.
Maybe he would give Rezal a broken bone, or two, or maybe more.
He does not yet know how much strength this aura is capable of. The explanation of aura in a book he reads is very vague and simple.
[Aura can do much more damage than magic.]
[Aura is like a flow you need to control all over your body.]
[Just think of your aura as a droplet of rain that flows down your entire body.]
[Not like magic, which is more about controlling nature outside our body.]
The book gave the same kind of explanation about how to open your aura, not how to control it fully or the damage it could cause to its user.
Maybe he should have read more older books than just newly written ones. He should have access to the book in the imperial library in Diamond Palace. But this will risk him being exposed.
He needs to gain control of his aura before something bad happens to the people around him.
Every time he touched something now, his aura would envelop it. It looks like he needs a proper teacher to teach him how to use aura, rather than just a book. Books won't tell him if he ever did something wrong anyway.
"Sigh, I need to talk with Sir Raihan tomorrow."
He closed the balcony door, but when he felt the heat in his room, he decided to leave the balcony door open for tonight. Having a night breeze is better than staying in his room while sweating like this.
He went back to his bed and laid down. Trying to sleep again.
He has a class tomorrow, fortunately just one in the morning. Thus, he can go meet Sir Raihan right away after the class.
He closed his eyes, letting himself drown in the mattress. He didn't know when, but he eventually fell asleep after counting sheep in his head.
Unbeknownst to Michaelis, something came in from his opened balcony door. The thing climbed the bed and looked at Michaelis' sleeping figure.
The thing managed to cast a big shadow from the reflection of the moon. Its skin is shining under the moonlight.
Hiss.
The snake opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs. The big snake positioned its mouth on Michaelis' neck.
The snake took a moment to inspect Michaelis' body and wrapped Michaelis' body with its bigger one. After a few minutes of securing Michaelis' body tightly, the snake embedded its fang into Michaelis' neck without waiting.
Michaelis opened his eyes wide at the sudden pain, but he couldn't move. His hands, his head, and even his fingers can't be moved. He could feel the cold reptile skin on his skin. He wanted to scream, but his mouth was also wrapped.
He is struggling to move; not even his aura that had come out since then managed to help him get loose from this snake's tight grip.
His mind was cloudy; he couldn't think of anything because he just managed to pay attention to the sharp pain in his neck and the blood being sucked out of his vein. The snake is drinking his blood.
Michaelis' eyes were slowly closing. He is losing too much blood in a short period. His face was also becoming pale.
He didn't know how long, but the snake finally pulled its fang from his neck. Blood oozed out of the opened wound. He managed to see the golden eyes of the snake before he passed out.
Hiss.
The snake unwrapped Michaelis' body before dissipating from the room without leaving any traces behind.
×××××
"Your Highness."
"Ha!"
He opened his eyes widely at the sudden shaking of his body. He looked around and touched his neck to check on something.
"It's gone."
"What is gone, Your Highness?"
He looked up to see Riri.
"Riri?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I'm Riri. Are you perhaps still thinking this is a dream? It is already morning, Your Highness. It is wise for you to wake up and be ready for geography class with Sir Dru."
Michaelis blinked in confusion before he touched his neck again.
'Is that a dream?'
The feeling of being bitten and the feeling of his unmoving body are real. But was it just a dream?
"Your Highness, I have prepared your bath."
Riri walked towards the balcony and opened the curtain and the sliding door. The light coming from outside blinded him a bit. He winched.
'Didn't I open the door last night? Is that also a dream?'
He touched his head to get rid of whatever was swirling in his mind. He will just assume everything that happened last night was a dream because he somehow feels refreshed waking up right now.
His fatigue is all gone. His body is also not shaking or feeling hot anymore.
But his aura is still there. That was confirmation for him that he might just be dreaming because he was worried about his aura too much.
"But a snake. Isn't that too much?"
He murmured and then let out a sigh. He walked towards the bathroom to freshen up and clear his mind. He would just put aside the weird dream last night.
It is impossible for a snake that big to have managed to come up here without being noticed anyway. Moreover, since when do snakes drink human blood? Don't they just spit venom?
Michaelis just forgot that he is now living in a fantasy where everything is possible.
When he looked in the mirror and found nothing on his neck, he let out a relief-filled sigh. Yup, he believes now that everything is normal. His mind is just trying to play with him.
"Riri, I'll go meet Sir Raihan after the class today."
"Noted, Your Highness. Should I prepare your training outfit?"
"Yes, thank you."
He closed the door and discarded his clothes. He let his body be touched by the warm water in the tub.
'Let's just focus on my aura for today.'
×××××
"You are in big trouble, Your Highness."
Michaelis' sweat dropped when he looked at the serious face of Sir Raihan.
"Busted."
He then looked at the light-blue-haired male who was sucking on a lollipop.
'Why is Celix here too? I already met him for a checkup yesterday.'
Fortunately, he didn't have any internal injuries.
"I'm in big trouble?" He asked, acting clueless.
"Yes, very, very big. How long have you practised on your aura, Your Highness?"
He is fidgeting. Maybe he should just be honest.
"A year, something like that. I don't quite remember."
He put his hands on his back and looked away from the piercing gaze. Now he knew why Rezal was scared of his father. Sir Raihan is scary when he is angry. He had never seen Sir Raihan angry at him, but now he knew he was walking on an eggshell.
Sir Raihan won't tolerate any bullshit right now. Michaelis also didn't think lying would be wise at the moment.
"Are you trying to die, Your Highness?"
"Wait, I might die?"
Oh no. Stupid question; of course he can die. He had died once, after all. But he might die while practising aura without knowing it. This feels like when he is playing with a dangerous chemical in chemistry class without his lecturer's observation.
"Yes, you might be blown away. Without any traces left behind."
"That's a harsh way to tell a kid, Rai."
"Shut up, Celix."
Sir Celix just shrugged and continued sucking on his strawberry-flavored lollipop.
"So tell me, Your Highness."
Michaelis gulped. Sir Raihan's red eyes look scary right now.
"Why are you practising aura if you already know it is forbidden?"
Sir Raihan's grip on his scabbard tightened. Michaelis watched in horror.
Right now, he really wanted Riri to take him away from here. Where is Riri when he needs her?