The curtain was opened to let the sunlight light up the room. The door towards the balcony was also slid open to let the wind inside the room for better ventilation.
The room, which was dark, turned bright. The morning hue slipped through the open space. There is the scent of flowers flowing inside the room, more so because it is already springtime.
The flowers were blooming beautifully around the empire. The harvest festival would be held later on.
The woman, who has her hair in a neat bun and a maid outfit, walked towards the large bed. She adjusted the pillow and blanket that were already neatly placed on the bed again.
"Your Highness. It was a lovely day to walk out under the sun."
She repeated the same thing every day; it was already a routine for her, even though she knew no one was listening. She just couldn't stop; if not, the emptiness would consume her. A professional she is, but she is still a human with emotions.
"Today is the start of spring; the preparation for the harvest festival will start the day after tomorrow."
She adjusted the flowers in the vase on the table next to the bed. She sprayed water to make sure the flowers would not wilt too soon. This was a gift, after all. She should take care of it on her superior's behalf.
When she was done with the flower, she stepped back to look at the empty bed.
"It was lonely without your snarky remark, Your Highness."
A smile emerged on her face before she walked out of the room, looking back for a while to make sure not even a single speck of dust would occupy this room. It will be her failure if she lets that happen.
×××××
"It was such a shame that both of them did not die."
The glass was twirled around in a circular motion, and the purple liquid inside the glass followed the movement before the glass was brought towards a pair of red lips.
"But I would say that with just one death shaking the hearts of the citizens, we should have focused on the crown prince from the start."
The empty glass was put down on the table before it was filled again with the same liquid.
"You have done a good job."
"Anything for you, my queen."
She raised her hand to touch her subordinate's hair, who was kneeling beside her. The subordinate hummed in contentment.
"What do you want as a reward?"
The subordinate raised his head to look at his queen. He opened his eyes, revealing his one pure black and one white pupil, to look at his queen with lustful eyes.
"I want you, my queen."
The queen's lips rose upward.
"Such a naughty and demanding fool."
The queen trailed her hand from his hair towards his face, touching his face with a delicate move before stopping behind his ear. The subordinate enjoyed the touch.
"Anything else?"
"I do not dare to ask for anything else because you are the one I want, my queen."
"Hm, I like to hear that. You are so much better than Leret."
"Thank you for the compliment."
The hand grabbed the knot behind the ear, pulling the knot and making the mask covering the subordinate's face fall.
"Why are you covering this beautiful face?"
"No one is worthy of looking other than you."
The queen caressed his face gently.
"Come, I'll give you a pleasant night."
×××××
In a room, the darkness illuminated the room, with the only source of light being the moon in the sky.
A sigh escaped the lips, and the sound of birds chirping broke the silence of the night.
"What should I do, birdie?"
A finger scratched the bird's head, and the bird tuned a melody.
"The plot has changed; how does that happen?"
Chirp.
The bird tilted its head like it said that he didn't know the answer. A sigh emerged again.
"A variable. Someone has changed the plot; I hope there is only one. It would be bad if something major changed before I could make a move."
A hum was made, and the teal eyes rested on the dark sky.
"I need to investigate what happened in the palace in detail; rumours are not helping much."
A finger tapped the railing of the balcony. The night wind blows, sending chills down the spine.
"Let's hope the female lead will meet with the male lead like what has been written. If not, I need to do something."
A sigh was exhaled from the same lips again, dreading thinking about the plot that was swirling in the mind. The plot problem that this person wishes to ignore completely but will eventually get pulled into action later on.
'Becoming a side character is much better.'
"Oi, close the door. It's cold!"
The person flinched when a sudden voice rang from inside the room. The bird had already flown away.
"Yes, sorry."
The person closed the door to the balcony and went back to bed. Let's just think about the changes later, when time is finally free. The plot was not changed that much after all.
×××××
The heavy footsteps were made on the wooden floor. His body slumped down against the wooden wall. He let out a hiss when he felt like his skin was burning.
"What the hell happened there?"
The golden eyes shone in the dark. A ragged breath was let out because of the sudden increase in heat in his body. He was not injured or had any open wounds. This is all the result of his inner body.
His organs felt like they were being twisted, his skin felt like it was on fire, and his head was pounding. He needed to take shelter somewhere else rather than stay in the open space when he suddenly felt this immense pain.
It was normal at first—a stinging feeling around his torso and face, like he had been punched. He could still move at that time. But then, a few minutes later, he suddenly collapsed without managing to move his body. He coughed out blood that he was sure could fill up two piles to the brim.
Based on his condition, he knew something really bad had happened to that kid.
Leviathan clicked his tongue, then closed his eyes. Until the kid is saved, or rather, is not in a life-threatening condition anymore, he can move. What could have happened to the kid to make him paralyzed like this?
Leviathan should gather some information and news from Dradgim. He needed to know what had happened to his sealing partner. What he knew was that his partner was still alive but in critical condition. He can use up his power after his partner is stable to go back to Dradgim for a bit to heal him.
If not, Leviathan would still be in this condition, bearing the pain of whatever has caused it. The string of their sealing can still be felt by him, so he can search for his partner after he manages to move a little.
He groaned while moving his body into a more comfortable position. But then he made the decision to just turn into his snake form and curl himself in the corner.
'Don't you dare die.'
It would be a pity if he lost someone valuable as his partner. It was not easy to find someone with blessed blood.
Little did he know, he would fall into a deep slumber after he closed his eyes.
×××××
"You are reckless."
The light in the area was too bright for human eyes. It would be hard for anyone to see the surroundings when they were in this place like it was their restriction when coming in here. But it was not a problem for these two.
"This is the only way."
"He will die."
"He will live."
"How are you so sure? Just because you have given him a second chance won't make him immune to death."
"That is something you don't need to know, Seth."
Seth was not going to let it slide. The person in front of him had broken many laws.
"I am controlling them, but you won't be telling me anything. How arrogant. You should know your place."
The white-haired woman looked up at Seth, not having any energy to form any sort of argument right now after her abuse of power.
"This is the only way, if not—"
"If not, this world would turn into chaos. What did you care if that was their fate?"
"Shut up if you don't know anything."
Seth narrowed his eyes at the glare that was given to him. He would not feel guilt or remorse if this world collapsed or was destroyed. There are many worlds he needs to take care of. Losing one is not a big deal—not like this is the first time.
"Handle this on your own. Punishment shall await you, Teresa."
"I'm well aware of that fact."
Her wish is just to have made a better decision.
Without knowing it, her action may have led to something much worse.