Corvus kissed Estelle’s hand after they finished their dance. He was a perfect gentleman from the beginning to the end. No wonder his son grew up being a fine man. The only difference was Alan had this softness and delicate kind of beauty while Corvus was strong and had an evident vibe of war veteran. Dressed in white attire didn’t help much. He still seemed like ready to go to war if needed. 

“Can we talk?” Estelle held back Corvus’s hand before the general released her. Her eyes looked behind Corvus where Alan was talking to one of the guards, instructing him about something. He had his wounded arm covered with a long sleeve, his already porcelain white face was even paler. But he must be nervous because the event this evening told him that the Draco heir was up to no good. 

“This is about Alan.”

It would be weird to reject and staying in the same place would definitely attract attention. Had no other choice, Corvus then followed Estelle naturally to the empty balcony. Autumn wind breezed softly, the cold air made Estelle in her gown shivered. 

“Here. Wear this.” Corvus took off his outer cape and helped Estelle cover herself. He acted as natural as possible because for some reason this young woman made him nervous. Alan once said Estelle was so different from Andromeda and Holden, but not in a really positive way.

“So…” Corvus cleared his throat. “About… my son?”

Estelle smiled at Corvus. A know-it-all kind of smile. 

“I want him, Sir.” Estelle said with confidence. “Won’t you give him to me?”

“That’s not up to me to accept.” This was awkward. Estelle asking Corvus to hand over Alan like he was a thing felt so wrong. “It’s all between you and Alan.”

“I was almost engaged to that foolish heir of Draco.” Estelle stared straight at Corvus’s gray eyes. “Thanks to Mister Winter stepping in before he could act his role as a staged hero, nothing has been finalized at this point.” 

Silence. Corvus didn’t expect this a slightest bit. He had some of his underlings planted inside the palace as one of Andromeda’s guards. But even for them, to find out about Andromeda’s plan was not easy. That woman was secretive even to her own daughter. So how could Estelle know?

“Princess, I don’t really understand what you’re saying right now.” For Corvus, it would be safer to play dumb. After all, Holden usually sent him to the watch over the border. As someone with a high status and one of the direct bloodlines of founding generals, he was unusually distant with the current king.

“For now, whom I marry still could take the throne. My cute brother is yet to be crowned as the king.” Estelle looked at the palace garden, but her eyes were void of any emotion Corvus could comprehend. 

“I don’t think Alan is…”

“Do not lie to me by saying Alan doesn’t fit the role. You want him to be the king.” Estelle smiled again. Her smile was so sweet and was not expected to come from someone who proposed a marriage forcefully. “So… your answer? Sir?”

“I can’t force him to be with you.” 

“Why? You are his father. You can tell him what to do.” Estelle cornered Corvus just like a starving beast would do to its prey. She playfully added in a questioning manner, “Am I wrong?”

Corvus was not sure how to answer that. Really. For him, it would be ideal and a dream come true if Alan truly reigned as a king of Alrauna. But even the man himself had this big plan to make prince Cain take the throne. 

“I…” 

“My brother doesn’t want to be a king. You want Alan to rise in status. Am I not a good option?”

This time, it was not Corvus who answered.

“...Please do not degrade yourself as an ‘option’, princess.”

Alan appeared from behind the curtain. Estelle didn’t seem surprised at all. After all, she had recognized Alan’s presence and she knew, even if other people would not dare following her, Alan would take the risk. He’s way too curious and calculative to let Estelle do as she pleased.

“I let the two of you talk privately. Please pardon me, princess.”

Estelle just nodded at Corvus. She also gave back his cape. 

“Here…” Alan was going to drape his cape over her shoulder, but she boldly stepped forward to embrace him. She tightly held the man in front of her, leaving him speechless. 

“Princess…”

“Let me be like this for a while.”

It was awkward to let his hand hang in the air. He sighed, smiled a little and finally draped his cape to cover the slim body who embraced him like he was everything.

Alan honestly didn’t know since when Estelle liked him this much. At first, he just followed her whim. He thought once Estelle got bored, they would just simply separate. Never he predicted, far from being bored, Estelle grew this obsession for him.

They both knew it was unhealthy and yet she wasn't willing to stop. 

“Alan…”

“Yes?”

“Do you like Cain more than me?”

Alan wanted to curse. What kind of question was that? Why must Estelle act like Cain is another princess fighting with her to get him?

“You seemed to really want him to be the king.” Now Estelle stared at Alan. Her cheek pressed on his chest, she could hear his heartbeat clearly. “You pay more attention to him.”

“He’s the son of King Holden. It’s natural.” Alan patted her head. “You love him right? He’s your brother.”

No answer. Estelle just tightened her embrace. “Alan.”

“Yes?”

Estelle opened her mouth but after thinking about it once again, she decided not to continue. She just lightly pecked the advisor’s thin lips. “No. Nothing.”

***

The ground was shaking. It was unnoticeable at first, just causing the crystal lamp to swing a little. But as time went by, the marble floor cracked more, splitting the ground. The gap between spaces grew wider and a giant thorny serpent rose up from underground. It screamed hoarsely, producing a strong wave that sent some small-statured ladies losing their balance. 

The noble ladies who still can run scattered all over the place, seeking protection from the guards and knights. 

“JORMUND!” 

The beast called Jormund seemed to be controlled by something. The beast with no intelligence is supposed to not recognize their name. But not only did he respond to people who shouted, he even whacked people around him with his gigantic tail. His yellow eyes with thin black pupils shone brightly, as if searching for something. The guards, which consist of fire elementalist mostly, tried to burn the epidermis of the beast. But it’s like burning hard stones. When Jormund fought back by slamming them with its tail, they were like being whipped and burned at the same time. 

Jormund’s eyes search for something. It was clearly manipulated by a powerful summoner. When it spotted its target, its eyes gleamed devilishly. 

It was Selene Amalthea it’s after. The beast roared again, causing a heavy pressure. It opened its mouth and the already long fangs grew even longer. Jormund was so ready to devour her in one bite. It moved forward very fastly. 

Selene was not weak. She used to work as one of Holden’s special forces. Her expertise was poison, hence the title ‘poison master’. But as a part of a special force, her instinct when facing danger was exceptionally strong. Selene jumped while holding her dress, successfully avoiding a fatal blow by just a millimeter. Jormund’s fang stabbed her dress and caused the gorgeous fabric to tear. 

“Mom!” Cain shouted when he saw Selene landed on the other side of the room. She was at a disadvantage here since she was unconsciously pushed to the corner by the earth beast. She had no weapon nor was she an exceptional elementalist like her son. 

When Jormund was about to start another attack, Rigel came forward shielding Selene with his body. The red haired man formed several fire arrows and sent them directly to burn the inside of Jormund’s mouth. It worked since it burned the soft tissue. The beast was hurt badly and it whacked his tail haphazardly. Lumi used this chance to jump from its body to its head and stabbed one of its eyes with her wind sword.

But Jormund was a venomous being. Even its blood was acidic. Because of some miscalculation, its blood splattered on Lumi’s dress when she retracted her sword. The weapons created by wind were sharp and would not get rusty. But Lumi as its user still has to be careful. Afterall, having a powerful weapon wouldn’t mean anything if she was hurt. She landed next to Rigel, her dress and leg was burned by the acidic blood.

“Missy!”

“I am fine! Keep the fire burning!”

Cain hit the floor with his fist. A water wall was erected in an instant, shielding both Rigel, Selene, and Lumi from the gigantic serpent. Jormund’s outer skin was covered in hard soil. Water element couldn’t do much to him. After shielding them, Cain formed a magic circle to summon another beast on par with Jormund. 

Silver big roots appeared magically. It was thorny just like Jormund. The roots stabbed the gigantic serpent and slowly lost their silver color. The roots started darkening as the silver color seeped to Jormund’s skin. 

“The hell was that?” Rigel asked in a low voice. 

“Cain summoned a beast plant.” Lumi answered. She bit her lip, trying to hold back from groaning in pain. 

Summoning a big beast plant and maintaining a defense wall consumed too much energy, Cain had to choose where his concentration was directed. Lumi and Rigel understood this in unison. 

“We had to move. It’s easier to attack if we are all on the same side.”

Selene nodded. But Rigel knew Lumi had difficulty moving her right leg. Without saying anything, he scooped her body and jumped together with Selene to Cain. 

After gathering in one place, Rigel gave Lumi to Selene while he helped Cain to defeat Jormund. 

Rigel wished he could just burn this creature to death but his element simply had disadvantage facing Jormund. Burning the ‘earth’ was nonsense. He had never felt so useless in his life before this. But the fact that he had a lot of power still stands. Rigel gripped Cain’s shoulder, transfering power as much as he could. His fire could not defeat earth. So what? His prince was a strong water elementalist and summoner. Rigel would gladly assist as his energy tank. 

Cain could feel a rush of energy filled him. He manipulated the roots he summoned to multiply. More silver roots injected silver ‘poison into the beast. The roar it caused was deafening. After Jormund showed signs of being weakened, Cain manipulated water to destroy it. Just like a hard stone being broken by the attack of a wave, Jormund slowly shattered into pieces. One of its yellow eyes, which had not been stabbed, slowly darkened, losing its light. 

Jormund had been defeated.