<strong>Chapter 68 – Faith</strong><strong>in</strong><strong>the</strong><strong>Monarch</strong><strong>(1)</strong>
There was a tense moment of silence between the two of them, before Kasser leaned forward in concern.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and she blinked and nodded.
“Yes, I’m okay.”
<em>Is</em><em>this</em><em>guy</em><em>purely</em><em>na?ve</em><em>or</em><em>just</em><em>soft-hearted?</em>
Kasser had faithfully kept his contract with Jin. But since Jin betrayed him, he must have been so infuriated with her.
Eugene remembered the day when Kasser barged into her chambers with a frightening expression. That day was full of resentment and anger, but looking back, he indeed deserved to be that furious with Jin.
<em>Even</em><em>though</em><em>she</em><em>lost</em><em>her</em><em>memory,</em><em>it</em><em>seems</em><em>most</em><em>likely</em><em>that</em><em>she</em><em>is</em><em>the</em><em>one</em><em>at</em><em>fault</em><em>here.</em><em>But</em><em>after</em><em>knowing</em><em>of</em><em>the</em><em>memory</em><em>loss,</em><em>the</em><em>King</em><em>did</em><em>not</em><em>disy</em><em>any</em><em>hint</em><em>of</em><em>anger</em><em>nor</em><em>brought</em><em>up</em><em>that</em><em>topic</em><em>again.</em>
He did not even press her to regain the memories she lost at the earliest possible moment. He just replied to everything that she asked, gave her what she needed. And now, he wanted to escort her around the kingdom. He is such a busy man, but that only cemented his genuinity in the offer.
Her feelings of frustration soon subsided.
<em>‘f</em><em>he</em><em>knew</em><em>that</em><em>I</em><em>am</em><em>not</em><em>Jin—as</em><em>a</em><em>matter</em><em>of</em><em>fact,</em><em>an</em><em>entirely</em><em>different</em><em>person…</em><em>How</em><em>will</em><em>he</em><em>react? </em>She worried.
“Then, can we go outside without escorts?” she resumed, and Kasser sighed.
“No, we cannot go without them.”
“If that’s the case, can we go with only one escort? Or I’ll just shut myself indoors and stay depressed,” she huffed in her chair, and Kasser stared at her in silence.
How could she make her depressed state a tool for makingpromises? But what’s odder is the fact that the very word sounded awkwarding from her lips.
<em><strong>Phwoosh!</strong></em>
A re had suddenly erupted.
Kasser rose to his feet and hurriedly went to the windows to assess what was happening. Intrigued, Eugene did the same and followed him. She stood beside him and watched as the sunny skies were riddled with yellow smoke.
“Huh….” Eugene breathed in wonder, since her time here, she hadn’t seen any res used. And she’s been here for three weeks, ever since the active period had begun. She watched in childish amazement as the res gradually began to change colors.
Seeing the res a couple of times, she began to feel dread settle in her stomach. She remembers that red res meant danger in the active period. And she doesn’t know when it will be, but she could feel that any moment now, it wille. Her hands suddenly felt mmy, her chest constricting as she kept watching the res continue to burst above them.
And from beside her, Kasser moved. With quick hands and feet, he opened up the windows and ran towards the balcony. He stopped at the edge, ncing down, and let out a shrill whistle. Eugene followed him, and stopped beside him once more, ncing downwards as well, wondering what the rush was about.
“What are you looking for?”
“Abu.”
As soon as he said that, Eugene saw a ck horse galloping towards them.
“Your highness.” a voice piped up from behind them, making Eugene jolt in surprise. She swiftly turned around and saw a knight, bending his knees to the ground as he offered a sword to the king’s direction.
As if expecting it, Kasser swiftly took the sword and turned back to look at her.
“My Queen.”
“Yes?” she squeaked, and she looked at him, but his attention wasn’t on her.
“Let’s just discuss the selection of the escort when I return.”
“Alright. It’s not urgent anyway.” she agreed, waving him off, when he suddenly hoisted himself over the balcony. In his hand was the sword, whilst the other clung on the rails as he prepared to jump over.
Eugene gasped in surprise as she saw him do so, and eximed.
“Don’t! That’s dang–”
But he jumped off, effectively cutting off any of her protests. Eugene brought a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream and rushed to the rails, when she caught sight of Kasser, engulfed in blue wisps of energy,nding him safely to the ground.
It was the first time she was seeing the king openly use his Praz since the re exploded. And as she watched him jump and swing his legs to ride the horse nearing him in great speed, no longer was Abu a horse.
The blue energy wrapped around him, and when it gave a burst, Abu was transformed into a ck leopard.
She gasped as she watched them jump over walls and ran vertically. Feeling the adrenaline leave her body, her knees gave out from beneath her, making her fall to the floor, as her grip on the rails remained.
“Your Grace!”
“Are you alright?” Thedy maids rushed out to the balcony to support her.
“I’m fine. I was just a bit surprised,” Eugene mumbles, as they grab her and gently escorted her back inside. She clung to them as her support. They sat her on a sofa, fussing over her before one of them left to bring her some warm tea.
The head servant restlessly moved around the sofa…
“Are you all right?” she asked again, and Eugene waved her concerns off.
“It’s not a big deal. No need to report this frivolous happening to the King.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The reason why Eugene was astounded was not that she was shocked, but because she got carried away. After all, it was not every day that she just witnesses such an unrealistic, mystical scene.
<em>It</em><em>was</em><em>indeed</em><em>wonderful.</em>
Then, images began shing through her mind like a motion picture—the King leaping from the balcony with only one hand grasping the railing, him jumping veiled in his Praz in the shape of a snake, and hopping on to the back of Abuwhich turned into a beast—all of these scenes kept reying inside her head like a photo album.
But she knows it wasn’t a fake video produced with a fancy special technique, all of it was real—which she had just witnessed right in front of her eyes.
She brought up the teacup to her lips as soon as it was slightly cooled down with both of her hands. Her heart throbbed. She was mesmerized with the King’s facial expression as he leaped over the railing of the balcony.
He seems a little indifferent, but he knows his strength very well. It seems she can now understand what this <em>charisma</em> was needed to reign over the people meant.
The door of the reception room opened as Marianne rushed in. Eugene smiled as she gazed at her ghastly pale face.
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