Chapter Twelve
_ It seems confusing
* * *
After thirty minutes, Raphael finally finished pouring the healing magic on her. Ariana looked at Raphael, who had finished, and noticed that his skin had become pale. Ariana automatically grabbed Raphael's hand and spoke with concern...
"Raph, are you tired?!"
"...."
Raphael tried to deny it, but Ariana spoke carefully
"Are you eating well?!"
Raphael hesitated because Ariana is someone he cannot lie to, so he sighed. Ariana frowned hard and said with a somewhat childish anger
"Raph, if you neglect your meals, I will not allow you to treat me."
"..."
Raphael was surprised and his eyes shook.. the woman in front of him is crazy, she would do it. Ariana observed that, then spoke with a warm smile
"Raph, please take care of your health."
Her gentle smile was contagious, Raph smiled and looked directly into her eyes...
The stillness and eye contact brought warmth to the room. Ariana stepped back first with a smile and excitement
"Shall I go down and bring you food from the kitchen?!"
Raphael laughed and shook his head in refusal
"I will eat the sweets today with you to regain my energy and then I will sleep, and tomorrow I will make sure to eat all my meals."
"Promise me that..."
"..."
"Promise me that you will take care of your health and will not neglect any meal under any circumstances."
Ariana extended her pinky finger in front of the surprised Raphael. It was a big declaration that he hadn't thought about, and he knew it would be difficult to implement. After hesitation, he linked his pinky with hers
"I promise you that."
"..."
"Are you satisfied now?!..."
He looked at her with a smile and asked her. Ariana nodded happily, so Raphael added playfully
"It seems that Marshall will cry from happiness if he hears that."
"Marshall?!"
"He is my private servant."
"He seems friendly."
Raphael laughed playfully and said in a warm voice
"He has been with me since I was five, back then he was still a young man. I heard that after his first appearance, he moved to serve me, but he was competent enough for my mother to choose him, because I was a bit hard to please."
He smiled embarrassedly as he spoke about himself. Ariana laughed playfully and said
"Raph sounds like a naughty child, I would like to ask about your childhood someday, but it's late."
And she pointed to the clock with a playful smile. Raph laughed when he found that the time had passed midnight. Raphael stood up ready to leave and said with a smile
"You should rest, alright. Time always passes quickly with you."
Ariana laughed and confidently puffed out her chest with pride; she looked cute
"Because I am a wonderful person."
Raphael laughed and patted her head playfully and tried to tease her
"Good girl."
"I am not a child..."
Ariana frowned deeply. Raphael stopped that then remembered
"Oh, Aya, I almost forgot."
"..."
Ariana watched what he wanted, so Raphael pulled out a small white pouch about the size of a child's fist and opened it...
A delicate silver necklace appeared, from which hung a pure white silver jewel about the size of a small fingernail. It was dazzling...
Ariana looked in confusion at Raphael and urged him to explain
"It is a Mora, a magical jewel that has some magical uses. It can be used as a communication device and keeps your body warm, so don't ever take it off."
He pointed it at Ariana, who asked in confusion
"Isn't Mora a black dark jewel?!"
"Let me put it on you first..."
Ariana, despite the embarrassment, turned around and shyly moved her hair. Raph was no less embarrassed than her, but he continued speaking in a practical manner
"As I heard from Ivan, Mora is a dark jewel from the depths of hell, but it possesses the strongest absorption capacity for pouring magic, so I decided that it would be the suitable jewel for you. Even if you are far away, it will connect you to me, but you must give me any notification when it returns to black to recharge it."
Raphael finished putting on the necklace and she turned around with excitement
"Raph, I have an idea."
"..."
Her head bumped into Raphael's chin lightly. Ariana composed her embarrassment and said
"Sorry, but the idea I have is wonderful."
Raphael nodded to her with a smile
"What is your idea?!"
"To charge the magical tools with gentle Mana."
"Good idea, but Ivan beat you to it."
Ariana laughed playfully and said
"Alright, I will accept the loss, but I will find many ways to help you."
"I agree to being helped, but first you must take care of your safety."
"Agreed."
Raphael shook her hand with a smile, and before leaving he said
"Tomorrow I might not come. I have a lot of work and the banquet will start after tomorrow, then I won't be able to come at night, is dawn okay?"
Ariana tilted her head
"Will you come daily?!"
"For now, yes, until I stabilize your body, then we can return to our usual schedule."
She smiled playfully and said
"You are welcome at any time, but Raph, inform me first... don't surprise me like this."
"Alright, I'll see you the morning after tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Sweet dreams."
Splash!!!
* * *
I could barely leave the room. I feel a great void when being away from her. What is this foolishness I am thinking about?! ...
I reached my room and changed my clothes quickly and thought about today's events. The madness that was happening all day; meeting Aya calmed the feeling of annoyance that afflicted me..
Drinking tea with her, eating anything becomes a delicious flavor when eating together...
Suddenly I remembered the promise. It is a really difficult matter. Killing a hundred monsters is simpler than that. When I am with Aya, I can taste food.... but I always used to not know the taste of what I eat... It's difficult. Aya, what are you thinking? Is my food more important than your life? She is truly a crazy girl...
I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I found delicate rays of light streaming from the window...
It seems that the sun has begun to rise. I stood up with energy and when the bell rang, Marshall entered with the servants, and knowing their duties, the servants prepared the bath and Marshall prepared the clothes as usual. After they finished, everyone left except Marshall. Marshall bowed
"Are there any other orders, Your Majesty?"
I nodded in negation, but then remembered the promise and said shyly
"When I finish my bath, prepare a quick breakfast for me in the office."
Marshall looked with twinkling eyes and a happy face and said
"I follow your orders."
And he left quickly. I felt strange, but I was relieved to some extent...
I washed and put on my clothes and moved to my private office to start my work today. I found Marshall present in the office with the food cart. I looked in confusion but remembered that I told him to prepare it, so I sat on the sofa and began eating the food which consisted of fish soup and meat and cheese sandwiches. Despite not feeling its taste, I finished my plate and ate two sandwiches quickly, then returned to my desk. I looked at the smiling Marshall, happy as a child who received a prize
"Tell Roalf to come to my office when he arrives."
Marshall bowed and left. Even though the day is still in its beginning, I feel energy and the desire for the day to end quickly. Then I remembered, why don't I try the communication tool? I pulled out my magical stone and put my magic on it, then thought of Ariana...
The white stone glowed blue and light began to emerge from the jewel until her image began to form. She looked at me in shock through the image manifested by magic. Her shape was cute, her hair was tied up and her nose was a bit red; it seems she just finished her bath..
I felt embarrassed, but I spoke playfully
"Good morning, Aya."
* Raph, good morning... how does this thing work?
"It seems I forgot to tell you. Hold the jewel and think of me, and if it glows, it means the connection has started..."
I was actually laughing because just imagining Ariana thinking of me made me feel a tickle in my heart..
Ariana frowned and said
_ It's silly, but...
"..."
_ Never mind, I will talk to you at another time, Marian is coming now... By the way, the office is beautiful..
I laughed at her sweet compliment then said
"Why don't you visit me someday?!"
_ I will think about it, but you must welcome me warmly..
"You just come, then I will decide."
_ Raph! Don't you notice that you become annoying sometimes..
"Alright, I will think about my behavior too.."
_Raph is mean... goodbye.
I laughed at her childish annoyance and turned off the jewel. I don't know how she was able to cut the connection, but I am sure she is a smart person...
I was enjoying myself and started working with energy and Aya was intruding into my thoughts from time to time, but I wasn't annoyed, rather I felt comfortable. In a moment, there was a knock on the office door
"Come in"
"Mir Roalf greets His Majesty."
Roalf entered with a tired face despite his well-groomed appearance as usual. I looked at him with thought then spoke
"What is my schedule for this week?"
Roalf took a deep breath and spoke calmly
"Today is Monday afternoon, you have a meeting with the Halafa delegation regarding the mountain road that connects Cassian and Halafa, and you have a meeting after it with the Council regarding modifying the tax, and the meeting may continue until before the first party of the Silver Dragon Festival of Cassian... Your plans during the festival: the first day is a party with foreign delegations only, in the presence of Prime Minister Duke Ariston, Foreign Minister Marquis Burton... and the head of the noble faction, Duke Silvano. There will be nothing in the party except a musical show and a dance troupe that has been hired to entertain the guests..."
"..."
"The next day, you have a meeting with the Council at ten, and in the afternoon you have lunch with King Nathan, the Prince of Halafa and the Foreign Minister of Tatian. The Crown Prince of Rondan apologized for the lunch due to some business. After lunch, you have a meeting regarding the situation of Trisan... and in the evening, the second party will attend, only male nobles with foreign delegations..."
"The third day, as usual, a morning meeting at ten with the Council, and at lunch you will have time for rest. In the afternoon, you have a tour around the horse arena with the Crown Prince of Rondan and the Prince of Halafa, and maybe the Princess of Nathan will attend.. and after that, you have some papers to see and sign.. and in the evening the party will start and there will be all the nobles in the empire, male and female."
"The fourth day, you have a morning meeting with the Council, a lunch meeting with the delegations, and after that, you have a meeting with the head of the temple, Patriarch Steve Rokshan, regarding the last night of the year... and in the evening, the party will be as the previous day for the nobles and delegations."
"The last day, there will be no morning meeting as you requested, we will start the schedule from three o'clock, and you have some paperwork. Then in the evening, it will be the final party and it will be attended, as in the previous two days, by all the nobles and delegations, in addition to the heads of the temple led by the High Priest Patriarch Steve Rokshan. At the end of the party, the temple will participate with Your Majesty in lighting the sacred fire of the guardian dragon Los Cassian, after which you will deliver your speech in the last minutes before the end of the year. After the end of the day, we will set off magical fireworks for the entire empire to watch."
I sighed and almost felt sleepy listening to the long schedule, but I looked at Roalf and said thoughtfully
"Will Duke Leopard Rathan come to the party?!"
"Your Majesty, Rathan province is suffering from great problems. Although we have provided support, the situation is going from bad to worse. The Duke and his wife are repairing damage here and there, so the Duke said he apologizes to Your Majesty.. He decided that when matters are fixed, he will be under your command, Your Majesty."
"Leave him, he is a loyal person so I trust his ability."
Leo, this man is one of the people that my enemies are trying to exclude until I become without limbs. Rathan province was a rich province until six years ago; after I took over, the province began to collapse. It was difficult to take care of it as it is a far province, so I gave greater power to Leo to protect the province. If it were someone else, the province would have collapsed long ago... I am thinking about making Rathan an independent duchy... let matters improve then I will turn it into that...
I looked at Roalf, who was waiting for orders, and I forgot that I had entered a vortex of thoughts while he was present, then I thought
"Roalf! Do women really love flowers?!"
"Pardon?!"
"Do women really love flowers?!"
Is the question strange? Why did Roalf's face become complex?! I looked at him closely until he finally answered
"Yes, Your Highness. From my own experience, my wife Catherine loves for me to give her flowers from time to time. Gifts are something that softens women's hearts."
"...Why did I feel that the flowers I gave her didn't please her?..."
"Pardon?!"
It seems I muttered a bit too loudly, so I coughed in awareness of the situation then said
"Thank you, Roalf, you may leave.."
I felt the complex looks of Roalf, so I felt embarrassed. Am I acting strangely or are they?! It seems very confusing...
It was a strange day, I can't believe I'm thinking of Raph all the time...
When Raph called me and spoke to me, I felt like I would die of embarrassment. I tried to be as natural as possible, but it's very difficult..
Why does Raphael act in such a heart-confusing way? I stood up from my place and began wandering in the room here and there. I feel bored, if only I had something to do...
* * *
I opened the official list of nobles to distract myself with names, although I had previously formed a list of potential enemies and allies, but I returned to read it...
At the head of the nobles was the Duke of Rathan, Leopard Rathan..
In the novel, which used to start with the birth of Silvano's heir and the death of the original Ariana, then the time skip after six years; the war and the conspiracies that happen. Leopard Rathan had become the Archduke of Rathan. He was the right hand of Raphael. From the events of the novel, there was a friendship between the two since childhood. Even after Raphael de Cassian was defeated and killed in the war between the Emperor and the noble faction, Rathan continued to fight the temple until he died in the end at the hands of Rokshan. The temple thinks it gained power after the Emperor's death and tries to join Duke Silvano, who will become the regent. But Philip reveals the corruption of the temple one by one. And there is something related to the saints... a part I didn't understand. After that, the temple collapses after the second war between the new Emperor and the religious power. Because the corruption of the temple was obvious to the people, many supported the new Emperor and the temple was defeated. But for countries that relied on the power of religion, he decided to allow people from the temple who didn't participate in that mess to return to the temple, on the condition that the temple becomes neutral and its role is limited to simple matters far from politics. He appointed Ivan Jerome as the next head of the temple, but he refused and decided to go into isolation and travel after protecting the new Emperor's side for a while..
Ivan was one of the people who, even though he was from the temple and was loyal to Emperor Raphael, was a person worthy of respect and had helped in the destruction of the temple greatly, until it was said he destroyed the house by the hand of its owner...
In the novel, Raphael died, Leopard died, and Ivan retired. Casper and Bryan were not mentioned for their roles in the novel, and their families were absent in the narrative. Count Cain Syrus, the Supreme Commander of the Army...
"My lady!"
I sighed from the pain in my head from too much thinking. I looked at Marian
"Mari, what's happening?!"
Marian smiled brightly and said
"The necklace you are wearing, my lady, is very beautiful. The master's taste is beautiful."
I really felt truly embarrassed, and I looked at Marian and said sincerely
"Raph is a very kind friend."
"A friend?! Only..."
"Maaaariaaan"
Marian laughed and said
"My lady, I don't know his identity, but he seems like a noble. Is he one of the knights?!"
I laughed hard. Girls of this era consider knights as their dream men, unlike our era where athletes and movie stars are the dream men of girls of my era....
But haven't I become a person of this world? But I didn't think of this or that, maybe because I lived half my life trying to live, I forgot how to live. And it seems the real Ariana was the same...
But maybe this life will be different, I hope so.
...... To be continued ......