At the sa ti,
in the very center of the Palace where the king's palace resided.
The palace, the bedroom.
Within the enormous bedroom spanning nearly sixty square ters, nurous candles and oil lamps were lit, illuminating the place brightly. However, this brightness did not bring much vitality; even in this hot sumr night, the entire room still appeared eerie and cold.
A luxurious wooden bed was placed in the middle of the bedroom, as lonely as a canoe drifting in an ocean. On the bed lay an elderly man with a face full of wrinkles, the king of the Blue Lion Kingdom—Donnas Austin.
At this mont, Donnas's face was pale, and the exposed skin was an eerie black in color. So areas were already decaying; even though ointnts had been applied, a faint stench still lingered.
A thin blanket covered his body, his chest heaving, nose and mouth struggling to breathe, and the life force of the sleeping King Donnas appeared weaker than the flickering candlelight beside him.
Suddenly!
"Cough—cough!"
The sleeping King Donnas jolted awake, opened his eyes, and felt a suffocating sensation. A thick phlegm clogged his throat, making him want to cough but unable to, his face flushed red. Under the loose skin, veins bulged as he exerted himself to sit up, trying to attract the attention of others to help him.
But the two guards standing at the bedroom door seed to have turned deaf, allowing His Majesty to pound on the bed, making "bang, bang" sounds, standing motionlessly in place. Under the swaying candlelight outside, the shadows of the two guards cast onto the bedroom floor slightly twisted, like souls struggling after being tempted by demons.
"Bang, bang, cough!"
King Donnas continued to pound on the bed, his fists clenched tightly, knuckles whitening, and veins bulging on his temples as he opened his eyes wide. His mouth opened, yet he couldn't breathe any air, like a fish tossed onto the shore by waves.
Then, at that mont, King Donnas suddenly felt a heavy blow on his back as if soone had struck him. His whole body jolted, his throat loosened, and the clogged phlegm was coughed out onto the floor.
"Wheezing, wheezing..."
Donnas began to take deep breaths, his chest heaving violently, making the sound of an old bellows being pulled.
At this ti, the two guards outside the bedroom finally heard the noise and stepped forward to co in. However, a figure was faster than them—it was Mr. Delon, the palace butler. He had been stationed outside the bedroom, but due to his age, he couldn't stay awake and dozed off. Awakened by the commotion in the bedroom, he hurried in to check on the situation.
Seeing Donnas sitting up, leaning over and gasping for air, with sticky saliva still dripping from his mouth onto the blanket, Mr. Delon imdiately understood the reason.
He approached, gently patting Donnas's back, causing him to cough again and expel the remaining phlegm from his throat. Using a handkerchief to wipe Donnas's mouth, he then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
"Barely...phew...still alive," Donnas said, panting as he replied.
"In that case... Your Majesty, should you continue resting?"
"Forget it, now that I'm awake, I might not be able to sleep anymore tonight," Donnas waved his hand, his face, tornted by the strange illness, appearing particularly pale at this mont. He spoke, "How about you chat with about what's been happening lately? How are my two sons—William and Richard? They haven't caused any trouble, have they?"
"No," Mr. Delon shook his head, "both princes are doing well. Eldest Prince William took the initiative to cut palace expenses, saying it's to find a physician to heal you, Your Majesty. Yesterday morning, the Eldest Prince even ca to see you, but since you were finally asleep, he didn't dare disturb you, and he left. He also reminded not to ntion it to you, lest you get disappointed."
"Well, William is indeed good," Donnas nodded, then asked, "What about Richard?"
"Second Prince Richard..." Mr. Delon hesitated slightly and said, "Lord Richard is also very concerned about you, Your Majesty, but he's been busy recently, so..."
"So, since his last visit, he hasn't cared about anymore, is that right?" Donnas spoke, slowly closing his eyes as if calming himself.
"Your Majesty..." Mr. Delon spoke softly, "perhaps Lord Richard is still upset with you; after all, you did indeed wrong him several years ago..."
Donnas opened his eyes, remained silent for a mont, and then spoke slowly, "I was impulsive about the matter three years ago, but if he hadn't been involved in those strange affairs related to sorcery, how would I have misunderstood? Since it happened, what can be done?
Should I, the king of a kingdom, apologize to him and ask for his forgiveness? Even if I apologize, I doubt he would accept!" By the end, Donnas's face showed a trace of anger.
"Your Majesty, please calm down," Mr. Delon hurriedly said, "naturally, Your Majesty cannot apologize to Lord Richard; however, it's possible to punish those who fanned the flas back then. It is said that the news initially ca from an attendant in Prince William's palace, and then..."
"Let's not bring that up." Donnas waved his hand, "The reasons behind it, William has already explained to in detail, and it wasn't the attendant's issue. A few years ago I made a mistake, so must I make another mistake to make up for it? Richard...let him endure it. After all, I am his father! I can't, for the sake of fairness, chill William's heart, can I? Moreover, is there fairness in this world?
You should know, I have high hopes for William. Whether in deanor or approach, he's far superior to the younger . I believe that entrusting the Blue Lion Kingdom to him will make it more prosperous, and as the next king, he mustn't have any blemishes.
As for Richard, after enduring so grievances, William will compensate him later with the best fief and tax exemption. He should be pleased! After all, the matter earlier ended up being a misunderstanding of a few people close to him, confining him for a while.
The ones killed, which he claid were valuable assistants he nurtured with great effort, I saw as nothing more than ignorant peasants and bumpkins, not even considered fine maids. They were killed, and in exchange for a lifeti of wealth, what is there to be dissatisfied with?
Even he needs to endure it, for I am his father, and the king of this country! Everything on this kingdom's land is my property, and everyone must obey ! I am not dead yet, so I do not allow anything against my will to exist. I—do not wish to hear any negative voices!"
"Uh, yes," Mr. Delon dared not refute, only replied with gleaming eyes, "But... Your Majesty, isn't it a bit early to say these things now?"
"Heh." Donnas laughed, seeing through Mr. Delon's thoughts, and said, "Don't worry, I understand my health condition. Though this strange ailnt tornts and my body weakens day by day, I can still hold on for now. Speaking of which, when the birch trees outside the city turn yellow co autumn, I still wish to see them."
"Ah, that's good, that's good," Mr. Delon said repeatedly, his expression sowhat complex as if sothing crossed his mind.
Engrossed in conversation, Donnas did not notice Mr. Delon's unease and continued talking.
During their chat, a candle ignited in a corner of the bedroom burned. The candle core lengthened as it burned, making a "crackle" sound, causing the fla to gradually beco unstable. Suddenly, an invisible force appeared, snapped off a section of the candle core, and the fla beca stable again.
Neither Donnas nor Delon in the bedroom noticed this, nor did they observe an invisible pair of eyes gradually leaving the palace and rising into the sky.
...
Deep in the night, the darkness intensified. The night sky was filled with resplendent stars.
A transparent invisible tether floated in the air, with one end connected to Richard sitting cross-legged in a bedroom in the northwest palace, while the other end linked to Richard's star body projection in the sky.
The energy from the star body projection spread in various colored light spots.
Richard extended his consciousness, beginning to absorb and assimilate the imnse energy. Although, without "opening a magic source," the absorbed energy couldn't be stored, it helped him familiarize himself with the process and strengthen spiritual power.
In the distance, a massive figure, unlike any bird, quickly swept by...
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