Damien noticed how the little king's previously dull face lit up like fireworks and could see how much this meant to him.
The little king eagerly led him and Tristen through the palace corridors till they came upon a beautiful door.
But the little king frowned when he saw two silver masked people standing guard in front of the door as if they were his sister's personal protectors.
Damien could guess why Drake stationed two of his men here and what it could be other than to monitor the girl.
The little king still walked forward and said in a forced polite tone, "Please make way. I want to see my sister."
One of the silver men didn't even bother to turn his head towards him and said, "Sorry, Your Majesty. We can only obey Lord Shade's orders."
"Well, well, if it isn't the little king and his guests. Hey, why are you two standing in his way? Didn't I say that it's okay for our little king to visit his sister? After all, how else can you convince your sister, aren't I right, little king?" Drake asked with a shifty smile as he patted the little king's shoulder.
The little king forced a smile again and said, "Thank you, Lord Shade."
Drake smugly smiled and then looked at Tristen and his friend, making him ask, "But forgive my rudeness, may I ask why Your Highness might want to talk with his sister? I suppose that is why you are following the little king with your friend, am I not right?"
Drake felt a bit suspicious of these two, wondering why the little king who was so protective of his sister would let someone like Tristen meet her.
He also wondered who Tristen's friend was, who kind of looked as if someone he knew, but he couldn't tell who. It only confused him even more.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Damien's disguise was made up purely using his ethereal energy, so not many could easily see through him. But he wasn't really worried about people finding out his disguise since it would only support his story of being a low-key friend of Tristen's even more.
Tristen smiled and said, "I heard about the favor you wanted from the little king's sister, and since you said you would agree to my request of having peaceful talks once the little king's sister agrees to your request, I decided to help out as well. Who knows, maybe I or my friend, Godnim here could help convince her."
Drake squinted his eyes, feeling that it made sense since he indeed put out such a condition though he never expected someone like Tristen to take it seriously. He thought Tristen would have left by now, and his request for holding a session of negotiation was only customary to prevent the wastage of precious resources and time.
Still, since what Tristen said was only beneficial to him, he said with a wave of his hand, "Alright. I hope she listens to reason since otherwise...my patience can sometimes be too thin."
The little king pressed his lips together but didn't say anything as he went inside.
Damien inwardly scoffed and wondered if the injuries Valentina gave him that day were still present on his face, especially the claw injuries on his face.
He remembered how horrendous those injuries looked at that time and wondered if Drake was using his blue mask to hide it as well.
Drake saw how this Godnim person was glancing in his direction and asked, "You...which family are you from?"
Damien smiled and said, "I am a simple person, detached from all worldly chains. So I don't have a family but just a simple traveling scholar. I will be on my way then. See you later, Lord Shade."
After Damien went in, Drake scoffed, seeing this devilishly handsome scholar, "Hmph, a scholar indeed. I bet he uses those looks of his to beguile girls when no one sees him. As expected of Tristen's friend, heh."
As Damien entered, he was surprised to see a young girl with grey hair lying on the bed with a small knife in her hand.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})However, what really surprised him was her sickly pale appearance which made her look older though still retaining her youthful looks. It was a mix of both, making her appearance quite peculiar though one could see that she was still a beauty.
Her eyes looked extremely vigilant, and seeing her brother, her expression relaxed. But seeing the two men behind him made her knit her brows as she slowly pressed the knife against her chest, "Don't...come near…"
"Relax, big sister. They are here to help you," The little king said in a worried tone as he sat beside her, making her put her knife down slowly since she trusted her brother.
"Hello, I am sorry I can't properly greet you two. I hope you both understand. And please call me Ai since you two are friendly with my brother," The girl said in a fragile tone that could make one's heart bleed with sympathy.
"Of course, we understand. That's also the reason we are here," Tristen said with a reassuring smile.
Damien then quickly took a look around the room to see if anyone was spying on her room and also used his senses.
But just as his eyes were looking around, he suddenly raised his brows, surprised at spotting something.
He saw a pair of legs behind the curtain, which was obviously someone trying to hide themselves though they surely sucked at hiding.
Damien wondered if this was a clumsy spy, but then he noticed the girl's eyes occasionally glancing towards the curtains with worry apparent in her eyes.
'Don't tell me…' Damien guessed what was going on in his mind and quickly walked towards the curtain to see who it was.
"Don't please!" The girl cried out, seeing Damien walking towards the curtain, much to the little king's confusion.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})But it was too late, and Damien acted as if he didn't hear her and immediately parted the curtains to the side to reveal a certain someone whom he didn't expect to see.
