The party continued as usual, and the regent was satisfied with Irelina’s revelation. Although she was disappointed by her son’s rudeness towards her and the Emperor of Horos, she was still grateful that Irelina had marked her place in the palace as ‘a woman to be watched out for.’
Meanwhile, walking together in silence, Sidañian throbbing chest felt happy. Every graceful step they took sounded like a faint cadence of melody. He did not want to end the night to be with her. Slowly, Irelina removed her arm from him. He was slightly stunned as he smirked and let her be. She has nothing to fear. Her fierce and bold personality made her stand out despite her beauty. She pondered why her parents hid her face for a long time. But for now, she was pleased and later focused on finding the evidence against Dianthus.
“Did I play my part perfectly?” Sidañian breaks their silence.
“Of course, you did very well. I owe you a lot, Sadi. How do you want me to compensate you for the remaining days of your stay here? She asked.
He pouted and looked disappointed, “Well, I’m sad because you won’t sleep with me.”
“Seriously? Is that all you care about what’s between your legs?” Her tone was annoyed.
He laughed and said, “I can’t believe you have a vulgar tongue, Lady Irelina.”
She crossed her arms. “Just tell me what you want.”
He grinned. “Then, let’s do what you want to do the most.” Yet his blood runs hot through his veins, and his stare lusts to touch her skin.
Abruptly, he grabbed and pulled her waist closer to him. Irelina was astonished as he held her chin closer to his face. The moonlit radiates their shadows on the walls—a perfect scene to get intimate. The glitters in her stunned eyes were innocent yet with a sense of caution. She did not feel aroused by his touch nor his gaze towards her lips.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
“I find you interesting. Your peculiar beauty makes a man’s heart pound wild.” The feeling of his strong sense of desire towards her.
“Huh? What are you bluffing about?” She averted her gaze away.
“I’m serious; your golden eyes are dazzling, and your lips are tempting. I want to kiss you right here, right now.”
His thirst for her body grew more like wildfire as he softly touched her lips with his finger and slowly reached his lips to hers. Irelina frowned her brows and pushed him away. He was startled by her strength.
“Stop toying around,” she looked away.
She blushed, her heart beating fast. She felt a sudden anger and looked at Sidañian with a hateful glare. She did not want to be played around like a fool. Sidañian eyes were in awe with the prick of rejection in his heart; instead, he burst into laughter. ‘Jerk!’ in her troubled thoughts.
“Are you going to tell me what you want? Because if not, then I’m leaving.” She was annoyed and walked away.
Sidañian gently grabbed her right arm. “Fine, fine. I apologize for my misbehavior. But what I said is true. You need to entertain me while I am here.”
“Are you serious?” She irked.
“Yes, I am serious more than you ever thought of.” He smiled at her.
“Fine.” She held her chin and thought deeply.
She was about to say something when the wall mirror caught her eyes. She looked surprised and loudly said to herself. ‘You got to be kidding me! Is this what I looked like?! I looked like myself, Iris.’ She paused and held her face, looking in the mirror. ‘The only difference is our eyes and skin color, but everything is identical.’
“Haven’t you seen yourself in the mirror?” He asked.
“No, I haven’t,” she kept staring at the mirror.
‘Huh? That’s bizarre not to see herself in the mirror.’ He wondered.
Suddenly, a dreadful feeling prickled her heart. She looked at the mirror as her reflection rippled. ‘Am I hallucinating?’ she wondered to herself. She stared at it and saw a strange dark gray cloud in motion like a spiral vine from the darkness. The gooseflesh she felt behind her nape shivered through her cold feet—an uncanny feeling she had never felt before.
“Hey, did you see that?” She said while Sidañian stood behind her.
"I didn’t see anything. All I can see is our reflection.”
‘Can’t he see anything? Or is it just me? Then, she mumbled. “There’s something cloudy beyond the mirror—”.
Irelina felt ominous staring at the mirror for too long, and it seemed someone had taken her breath away. Her eyes glared in fear when two evil eyes gazed at her. One was red, and the other was green. They were sirens like hers. It was gothic and unpleasant―a hissing sound whispered to her ears. Her pulse stopped beating for seconds when they called her “AZA―REL” and drew a wicked smile on their faces. She coughed blood and kneeled on the floor. ‘What the—’ seeing the blood on her hands. Her body trembled as if it reacted to their hails.
“Irelina!” Sidañian exclaimed. He half-kneeled and held her shoulders. He was worried, thinking, ‘There’s so much blood…’ He felt troubled.
She vomited blood and her distorted voice. “I don’t know...there’s...something in the mirror.” She paused, feeling the rupture in her throat as she pointed to the mirror with her weary eyes and said, “Didn’t you see it?”
‘Something in the mirror?’ He looked, and there was nothing in the mirror. He wanted to help her. He gritted his teeth because he was not a healer.
Irelina was in pain. She was trying to gasp for air. The blood vessels in her eyeballs were thickening and reddening. ‘I can’t breathe, and I feel my chest being ripped apart. I can’t think straight. Who's Azarel?’ She tightly pressed her chest and the dripping blood on her lips.
“Stay here. I’ll go get some help.” Sidañian anxiously said.
She grabbed his arm, and he looked unsettled. “Don’t disrupt the party. Find…Medi—sus and…bring him here discreetly, please. He’s the palace doctor.” She was losing her voice.
“Alright, I’ll do as you say, so please stay conscious.” She nodded to him as he stood.
He hastily returned to the Golden Empire Hall. There were blood stains on his hands and knees. It was the first time he had felt so anxious and mad. He furiously clenched his fist. He quickly asked one of the knights to bring Medicius to him urgently. Upon knowing the reason, the guard agreed and went inside the hall to look for Medicius.
The crowd was surrounded by music and noise. Everyone was chattering and enjoying the party. Medicius and Castaeus were conversing with the Viscounts and a few ladies. The knight stood and bowed behind Medicius and whispered to his left ear. His eyes widened, and Castaeus noticed his furrowed look.
“I’m sorry, but I must go. Something urgent came up.” Medicius said in a hurry.
“Sure, sure, go ahead.” Viscount Sepaius said.
He left the group and hurriedly went to the entrance hall. Castaeus also excused himself from the group. He quietly followed Medicius. Sidañian looked restless, waiting when Medicius saw him outside.
“Where is she?” Medicius was worried.
“I left her down the hallway not far from here; let’s go,” Sidañian said, and they rushed to where she was.
Castaeus hid behind the opened door and noticed them running in a rush. ‘Why are those two together?’ He felt suspicious but decided not to follow them. When they arrived, Irelina had already fallen unconscious on the floor.
Medicius quickly held her wrist. ‘Her pulse is abnormal. What the hell happened?’ and said to Sidañian, “We need to bring her back to the Regent’s Palace.”
Sidañian agreed. He placed his palm on the floor and formed a purple portal stride sigil. Medicius carried Irelina, and the rune glowed as they disappeared. The bloodstained on the floor dissipated like dust. Ella was about to leave Irelina’s room when they suddenly appeared in front of her.
“What happened?” Ella exclaimed.
Medicius quickly laid Irelina to bed.
“Ella, get a warm bowl of water to clean her up,” he said, and Ella quickly did as told.
He rechecked her pulse and said, “She’s not in danger, but she lost a lot of blood.” Sidañian was behind him. “I must get my medical bag and return as soon as possible,” Medicius added.
“I can help you to get it fast,” Sidañian said.
“Thank you. But before we go, let’s keep her condition secret for now,” Medicius said.
“Is there any reason why we need to hide her condition?” Sidañian furrowed his brows.
“They shouldn’t know. People are already talking about what she did earlier, so let’s keep it to ourselves for now. I will inform His Majesty when the time comes.”
Sidañian was unconvinced, thinking, ‘That arrogant King treated her like nobody.’
“Tsk,” Sidañian reacted and said, “Alright, let’s go,” He formed the same portal stride as they left.
They returned in a few minutes, and Ella had changed Irelina’s clothes. Medicius told Ella not to worry. He fed Irelina with the vitality potion and let her rest for the night.
Sidañian returned to the guest palace after Medicius thanked him for his help. Before going to bed, he pondered about what had happened. ‘She said there was something dark in the mirror. But I didn’t see anything. Is it because she was the only one who could see it?’ He halted, and his eyes widened, pondering, ‘Could it be someone who used dark magic against her? But that’s impossible. Dark magic uses spells or certain rituals that require an item that belongs to the owner. She wouldn’t notice it unless her body reacted to something else. Is she not aware of her ability?’ He was deeply puzzled about Irelina’s mystery.
Before the night was over, the guards of the north wall were fighting against the monsters from the Land of Satanus who tried to break into the barrier wall when they heard an ominous loud howl from afar as their feet felt the rumble from the underground.
“What is going on?!” They all felt petrified.
Their eyes looked terrified when thick red mist-like clouds slowly covered the Land of Satanus. General Eideuz Albert took the command and shouted to be vigilant for sudden attacks from the shadow demons. But they felt more alarmed when they heard an evil voice echoing behind the red mist, calling, “My children—” The general immediately sent a magical message to Castaeus Coldēus, who was intoxicated and soundly asleep on his cozy bed.
Sidañian also received the same urgent magical message from the General of Helleus with the sudden disturbance and implemented precaution and protection to the empire while waiting for his return.
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