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Three young ladies in maid uniforms stood around a king-size bed, staring admirably at Kira's passed out form, and they wouldn't stop giggling every time she let out a soft snore.
"My father once visited the human realm alongside His Majesty, and they crossed paths with some humans" one of the ladies spoke.
"Really?" the remaining two asked in unison, wanting to know more.
"Yes. My father said humans are fascinating creatures, and seeing her just proved that theory" she nodded at Kira's sprawled legs and facial expressions as she slept.
They all laughed quietly. "But come to think of it, Maria" another said, facing the lady who spoke earlier. "What is she doing here in the heavenly palace? I mean, why did Aleksandr bring her here and make her sleep on His Majesty's bed?" she asked, with a perplexed frown etched on her face.
Maria shrugged her shoulders, then signaled them to come close, as though she had some secrets to share.
"I might be wrong, but I heard Aleksandr talking to some armies about it. He said His Majesty had brought her over to be his sex slave" Maria whispered.
"Huh?" they gasped.
"Of course, why else do you think His Majesty would allow a human into the heavenly palace?"
Just at that moment, the door burst open and their eyes grew wide when they saw King Daniil standing outside the door with his fists clenched tightly by his sides, and his eyes narrowed, brewing with anger.
Aleksandr, who stood beside King Daniil shook his head in disappointment, even him couldn't believe these maids would have the guts to speak about their King in such a disrespectful manner. He felt pity for them, as he already knew the consequences of their disrespect.
"Your Majesty" Maria and her minions called, their voices laced with shock and fear enveloped their faces.
Knowing they've landed themselves in a big mess, they quickly fell on their faces and remained silent as they couldn't dare to utter any words.
"I see you're well-informed" King Daniil growled, his voice dangerously low.
"No, no, no, your Majesty, I'm just… "
King Daniil didn't give her any chance to defend herself. He gave her a sharp look, his eyes flashed red and Maria became mute—she couldn't make any sounds, no matter how wide she opened her mouth.
"Take them away, they are stripped off their heavenly roles and should be sent to the human realm to be reborn as a deaf and dumb beggars!" King Daniil's voice was firm, leaving no room for arguments.
But Maria and her minions' eyes grew wide in fear, the life of a deaf and dumb beggar suddenly flashed before their eyes. They realized it's not going to be easy for them, they couldn't stay silent anymore, and began shaking their heads desperately. Maria can't speak, and hence, she nudged her minions to plead with King Daniil to have mercy on them.
"Please, your Majesty, have mercy on us. We promise we'll never make such…"
"Would you rather be reborn as ants?" King Daniil's question shut them up immediately. "Take them away" he ordered Aleksandr, as he turned away from them.
Aleksandr called the two guards outside the room, and relayed what King Daniil had ordered, and they executed it without any questions.
"Should we go to see the gods and goddesses, your Majesty?" King Daniil clenched his jaw at Aleksandr's question while he stared out the window. "They have been gathered and waiting for you since you brought the human girl back"
There was a brief silence. King Daniil shifted his gaze from the window to Kira, he tilted his head with a small frown etched on his face as though he's thinking about something serious.
"Assign some responsible maids to keep her company" he said after the silence.
"But she's still sleeping, your Majesty. Why don't we send someone in when she's already awake?" Aleksandr suggested.
"She's awake and just pretending to be asleep"
"No, she's not…" Aleksandr's words were muted when he saw Kira's eyelids moving. "Oh" he laughed silently at her failed attempt at fooling King Daniil.
"You stay guard at the door, I'll be back soon" with that, King Daniil exited the room.
Aleksandr strode towards a couch beside the bed and sat down, then reached for a basket of grapes and began munching on a few.
"Alright, you can get up now he's gone" he said.
Kira snapped her eyes open, sat up and began looking around frantically, and curiously.
"Are you feeling okay?" Aleksandr asked her, while looking behind her head. "I guess I hit your head pretty hard"
Kira frowned, then touched the back of her head and hissed when she felt a sharp pain. But she ignored that, since that was the least of her problems at the moment.
"Where am I?" she asked instead.
Aleksandr nodded as he shoved a handful of grapes in his mouth, his eyes fluttered closed as he savored the grapes' taste. A deep frown etched Kira's face as she impatiently waited for him to eat up, and answer her question.
"As you already know, we're in the immortal realm, the heavenly palace to be precised"
Immortal realm? Heavenly palace? Kira wondered. These terms were new to her, in fact, she didn't know an immortal realm existed and it seemed like she didn't even know.
"And here" Aleksandr gestured around the room. "Is the god of war, dragon King Daniil's room" he said.
"God of war?" Aleksandr nodded. "Don't tell me that you're talking about gods and goddesses here, like real gods and goddesses"
"I am" he replied. "The immortal realm consists of different gods and goddesses, and King Daniil is the ruler of them all"
Kira stared at him unbelievably for a while, then let out a hysterical laugh. Aleksandr raised his left brow as he watched her laugh out her guts, he knew she did not believe him.
"Really? gods and goddesses? In this modern world? Who are you trying to fool? Me?" her voice was filled with doubts, then she laughed again. "Listen, young man…"
"Oh, I bet you, I'm not young at all"
Kira ignored his statement and continued. "I don't know what drama you and your weirdo friend are playing, but I would rather not be a part of it. I have a sick younger sister at home, who's waiting for me to bring money for her medications. I don't have time to waste on you and your friend, so if you're looking for someone to play along with your drama, then search further and let me go back home to my sister" she said in one breath.
While Kira was saying all these, Aleksandr had finished eating his grapes. He threw his head back on the couch, closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep—it's obvious he's pretending, though, as he would rather not answer Kira's queries.
"Are you listening to me, sir?" Kira asked, but there's no answer.
She glared daggers at Aleksandr, contemplating on what to do next. And without many thoughts, she hopped off the bed and dashed for the door in attempt to escaping.
But unfortunately, she couldn't pass through the open door. A pained gasp left her mouth as she tried to run past the door, it felt as though she just ran into a wall.
"Ouch" she cried, holding her forehead.
"Don't think of running away, Miss. His Majesty has set a barrier before he left, you can't escape" Aleksandr explained. "And don't even think of trying to convince to break the barrier, I can't break his Majesty's barriers and no one in the entire immortal realm can…no one" he emphasized on the *no one*.
Kira was frustrated, she glared maliciously at the door. At that short period of time, her mind wandered to many places and the most important was her sick sister who desperately needed her.
"I. Want. To. See. Your. Friend" she growled angrily.
★★★
Meanwhile, the gods and goddesses are already in the palace, waiting for King Daniil's arrival. Murmurs arouse among them as they wondered what explanation their King would give for bringing a mortal to the immortal realm.
"His Royal Majesty, King Daniil has arrived" a guard announced.
They all got on their feet, and bowed respectfully as King Daniil walked up to his throne. He gestured them to take their seats after he's sat down. His eyes glanced around, he didn't need anyone to explain anything because he already knew their purpose for the meeting.
"We just had a meeting a few hours ago. Why are we having another meeting now?" he asked them anyway.
Everyone was exchanging glances, each waiting for the other to get up and say something. A bang on the table caught their attention, and they looked towards King Daniil, but quickly looked away when they locked eyes with his angry gaze.
"Aren't you here because of the human girl?" King Daniil asked, and they quickly nodded in agreement. "Then speak!" he boomed.
Though, there was another silence, but Dmitri broke it. "Your Majesty, humans belong to the mortal realm, and on no account should they venture into the immortal realm"
"Yes, she should be killed" Mariya said, letting the whole courtroom fall into silence.