A translucent blue window appeared before them.
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[STATUS WINDOW]
Gate Clearance: Successful
Reward Issued: Yes
EXP Gained: +50
Bonus Reward: transparent sword (Enchanted Grade)
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Princess Eva jumped to her feet, a wide smile on her face, her hands reaching towards the sky,"I reached level 9, thanks, Alex. I couldn't have done it without you." A sword appeared out of thin air and fell in between them; its blade was transparent like glass.
Alex stood up and reached for the sword, surprised to see such a transparent blade."Congrats, Princess, you should keep this sword, you have done the heavy lifting." He handed the sword to her.
She examined the sword in her hand. She didn't feel like taking it since she had gotten a more important gift, her increase in level."Well, it is a nice sword, you should keep it, Alex. If not for you, I could have never killed that monster."
He denied, "No, I can't keep it; I am not high-level, and I think it will help you more than me." She felt sad when he mentioned level; she knew he was level 1 and that it must have hurt him to see her reach level 9 while he was still stuck on level 1.
She wanted to say no, but suddenly he extended his hand forward, towards her face. She closed her eyes, bracing herself as she tried to block his hand, but stopped midway when Alex said,"You can keep the sword. Also, you have blood on your cheek; we should exit the gate." She was frozen in her step as someone of the opposite gender had for the first time touched her cheeks, only her family had done before. She just nodded absentmindedly.
Alex looked around and saw that the exit gate had opened up. He grabbed the Princess's hand and slowly took steps towards the exit. He didn't find any slime attacking them, probably because after dealing with the boss monster, they must have run away, for no one controlled them.
Princess felt her hand being grabbed by Alex. She was still shocked by the previous action. She followed Alex absentmindedly: "He touched my cheeks, he touched..." A loop ran through her mind, and only when they exited the gate did she come back, as she was hugged tightly by her mother, Empress Catherine Fairwind.
Immediately, she cried in her mother's arms,"I… I didn't know what to do. The slimes wouldn't stop attacking me. I thought I was going to die, Mother. I was so scared."
"Yes, I know, don't worry, now you are safe, and no one will do any harm to you, your mother will protect you." Empress Catherine comforted her daughter; she ran her hand down her daughter's back as she calmed her.
Alex was also immediately hugged by his mother, he didn't cry, he didn't want to cry as he had already cried enough times today, and he wanted to become strong and he had read in his books that strong people don't cry, her mother's eyes were filled with tears as she examined him, she felt bruises and wounds around his body, she cupped his face,"Don't worry, my baby, your mother will protect you, I am sorry you had to deal with so much."
Alex looked at his mother's crying face and couldn't help but bury his face on her shoulder as tears broke out,"I was so scared as the slimes kept on attacking me, I didn't want to leave you, mother, I love my family." His mother slowly comforted him as she, too, couldn't hold back her tears anymore, and they both broke out, crying in each other's arms. Alex was her first child, and he had even brought her back from death's door; she couldn't imagine how she would have lived if something were to happen to him."Don't worry, everything's fine now."
- - - -
Both mother and child duo did not eat dinner and went to their children's respective chambers to help them fall asleep. Both children fell asleep to their mother's lullaby, and only after some time did their mother leave them in the chamber and made exit.
Both Empress and Duchess were seated in the tea room, the same place where they had been informed of the gate earlier by the guard.
Duchess Sera Azurestorm's azure eyes were swollen red due to crying. Empress Catherine Fairwind, seeing this, teased the duchess,"I didn't know you could cry; I only saw you making others cry."
Duchess, embarrassed by teasing, rebutted,"When did I make others cry? Don't spew nonsense. I just couldn't stop myself when I saw his bruised body."
Empress nodded; she, too, would have broken down in tears, but as an empress, she had to hold herself back and make her daughter stronger to face the world.
Empress stood up from her seat and bowed to the grand duchess. It was the first time she had bowed to her. Sera was shocked by such an action. She immediately stood up and put her hands on the empress's shoulder."What are you doing?"
Empress, without lifting her head, thanked,"I can't bow to Alex, but I can bow to his mother, thanks to your son; my daughter came back alive." She had a reputation to maintain; she couldn't bow to a child, but to his mother it would be acceptable, since her daughter had been saved by Alex.
Duchess insisted,"No need for that, we are friends, and Alex was also helped by the princess; if not for your daughter, he wouldn't have made it out."
Empress lifted her head, her eyes were filled with tears, she too couldn't have imagined a life without her daughter, she had already lost her firstborn son, and if she were to lose her daughter as well, she wouldn't have been able to continue to live.
Sera understood Catherine well; it pained her, too. She was well-versed with her friend, Catherine, and knew how much it must have hurt her to learn that her daughter had been trapped inside the gate. She consoled the empress for some more minutes before they bid their farewell and retreated to their chambers to sleep.
Duke Shane Drakethorne had gone outside the city to deal with beasts that had appeared recently, so Sera felt her chamber lonely as she opened her door and looked at the bed that was empty. She lay down on her bed and fell asleep. She was mentally stressed out today, and the only thing that could help her was sleep.
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