Chapter 4

A few days earlier before the trial was even announced;. Inside a hidden dungeon under the Royal Palace, Lyon was watching the princess. Placed in a box-like room where a large pool was present, the smell of sea water filled the air as the sound of water rushed from large holes on the four corners of the rooms.

He stood above an elevated section of the room where water could not reach him, gazing at the princess as she walked across the water that had a depth of between 1 to 2 feet. Her hand gracefully swung as if it was dancing along with her light brown skin. 

Lyon kept an emotionless face as the princess glanced back at him before she sat cross legged at a platform meant for sitting. Her lower body was submerged under the crystal like water that was brimming with mana, her hand forming a sign which caused the water to suddenly go wild.

She kept her calm, closed her eyes and tried to control the mana that was going rampant, the pool continued to be filled with water slowly rising to her neck. Until Lyon pulled a lever beside the door closing the large circular holes with metal panels which stopped the water.

Lyon watched as numerous creatures made of water suddenly arose from the fierce waves, the Princess concentrating her mana to her hands was able to create a creature of her own. It was numerous water tentacles that fended off the creature that were created by the rampaging mana.

The water’s color suddenly grew darker, Jiniya’s face started to look uncomfortable. Fighting a rampaging mana is not an easy job, for mana is both the most amazing and terrifying force to ever exist in the world.

Gradually the water near Lyon had started to turn shallow along with the other corners, water was piling up towards the Princess, as she was held tight forcing her to gasp for air. Her heavy breathing caused Lyon to place his hand on another lever.

“N-NO!” She screamed. Her hands still formed the sign despite being consumed by the water, she took one deep breath before submerging her whole body under the water. Her hands had finally broken its formation, she moved her body inside the towering water that had already reached the ceiling.

Lyon was amazed as the rampaging mana had calmed itself and formed a circular pyramid-like structure inside the room. The princess continued to dance as the water slowly returned to normal, its color turning light and the pyramid slowly dissolving.

With the water back to normal and calm, Lyon pulled a lever which drained the whole room. Walking slowly towards the princess as the metal boots from the armor he wore clanged against the cold and still wet floor with a towel on his hand, she looked at him with proud eyes.

“You did well,” Lyon praised.

She giggled like a child before taking the towel from him, covering up her light brown colored body as Lyon gave her another one which she used to dry her hair. He walked back to where he stood before and took a pair of clothes placed on a chair. 

It was a simple dark blue dress made out of the most expensive silk and had a few lines of golden thread. Jiniya’s face turned beet red as she saw her undergarments on top of the clothes Lyon was holding, she immediately grabbed all of it before gesturing her hand.

Lyon nodded as he turned around, the sound of her hustling to wear the dress echoed through the room for there was not a single window. Looking at his hand Lyon stared at the shiny golden crown, a sudden force made him wobble almost dropping the precious crown.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yes” 

The princess held out her hand and tapped Lyon, he slowly turned around to see the princess in such a majestic dress. She gave out a warm smile that lightened the dim room before lowering her head a little. Lyon held the crown with both his hands and slowly placed it atop of the princess’s head.

She then held out her hand to let Lyon assist her as they walked towards the only door inside the room. Jiniya took a glance behind her as Lyon opened the door for the two of them, she saw a piece of her memory wherein she and Lyon were joyously playing in the pool with her mother watching the two of them.

Walking down a fairly wide corridor lit by dozens of candles, Lyon felt an ominous presence coming from the far end of the corridor opposite of their location. Continuing to walk they had reached an intersection where a few knights were passing by.

Seeing Jiniya, they immediately bowed their heads before walking towards a set of stairs. The presence gave Lyon a bad feeling so he started to haste his pace towards the set of stairs pulling the princess with him, a bright room appeared in front of them as they exited the stairs.

Filled with knights and a few nobles, with their eyes turning to the stairs they lowered their heads as Jiniya walked by them. They made their way to the throne room following a red carpet on the floor with edges embedded with gold.

“Welcome back, my lovely daughter. How was the training?” a familial voice called out to them.

Lyon looked at the only place the voice had come from, sitting on a chair made out of solid gold, wearing lavish clothings and a shining golden crown on his head. It was the King, Jiniya rushed towards her father and gave him a long tight hug.

Following behind her Lyon bowed his head with his right arm on his stomach and his hand pointing to the left. The King smiled, looking at Lyon who had grown up to become a responsible and trustworthy knight. A nostalgic image appeared in front of the King as he saw the appearance of Lyon when they first met, a frail child filled with scars and bruises wielding a sword.

“It has been a while since I last saw your face, Lyon. Raise your head” The King spoke with a calm voice. 

Lyon raised his head and saw the king with a large grin on his face. It has been almost a year and a half since Lyon was sent to help on defending a border domain of the kingdom which was being attacked by the Invidian Kingdom. 

"Has my daughter been troubling you?" the King spoke.

A terrifyingly fierce glare pierced through Lyon's armor, he scoffed a little before giving out his reply. 

"She has been doing very well, your highness. Her academics is still top notch and her magic can not be beaten by the commoners. Still, her control over a large amount of mana is the same as before.

Her concentration is always interrupted when mana beasts form. But throughout all of it she has been doing well, and is continuing to improve" 

The King held his chin and started massaging it, looking at her daughter he gave a smile before snapping his finger. Maids came out from a room and slowly made their way towards the princess.

"Bring her to her chambers and allow her to rest" he ordered.

"I'm sorry my dear daughter, but your knight and I have important things to discuss" 

Jiniya pouted like a child. She gave a bow to her father before turning around, she glared at Lyon and suddenly turned away. The Maids lowered their heads before following the princess from behind.

The large hall was silent, Lyon and the King looked each other in the eye. The king stood from his throne and walked towards him, hands behind his back as he got closer to Lyon.

"Has your eye been doing well?"

Lyon took in a deep breath looking directly to his gold-colored eyes. The king looked confused as to why he was glaring at him. 

"Is there a problem, Lyon? i was simply asking about the mana you are placing on your eye to hide its true color… both you and I know that your real eyes are not crimson-red"

"Apologies. My eye has been doing well, concentrating mana to change its color has been a tough task, especially when i'm in combat. But I can still able to control it" 

Lyon replied in a monotone voice. The king placed his hand on Lyon's shoulder, the mana that surrounded him had suddenly turned ominous that Lyon shuddered.

Another familiar voice echoed from the entrance of the throne room. The sound of metal boots walking on a carpet grew louder as it got closer to them. 

"Your Highness, if you put such a terrifying face. then even i would tremble in fear" 

Lyon turned around and immediately bowed his head as he saw who it was. A man with long white hair stood in front of him, the light from the windows on the ceiling illuminated the man's Golden Armor.

"Oh my, you do not need to bow, my dear Lyon"

Lyon raised his head and nodded. The three stood facing each other like three pillars. The king went back to his throne and sat, the man tapped Lyon's shoulder before kneeling in front of the King.

"I am here to report, your highness. 

It seems that the Invidian Palace has been having problems controlling their army, thus their knights have been going rampant in random places. The Commanding Knight, Alister Von Grey, kneeled his head and apologized to me directly.

It seems that the ones who caused trouble at the domain of Marquis Klyden Ilvir was not his men, but people who had stolen a few armors. Of course they will be paying for the ruckus they have caused, everything amounted to 6 million gold coins.

And about the issue with the assassination complaints over at Marquis Leviste's domain. It seems that a few mercenaries had made their way inside the kingdom using the help of some commoners" The man said with a straight voice. 

It was within the span of a week where a few workers at the domain of Marquis Leviste were murdered. When the report reached the King he immediately sent the armies Commanding Knight and his Adviser to clear out the situation.

Commander Arthur Wilheim, the most feared person when it comes to battles. The person who single-handedly destroyed a 1,000 men army from the Invidian Kingdom.

Arthur is also the one who trained Lyon to become the knight he is today. 

Lyon stood beside Arthur looking proud at his mentor. But the king seemed displeased, his face was serious and an ominous mana started leaking from his body.

"This is the second time the Invidian Kingdom has done damage to my borders. Send them a message Arther, tell them that "if another border  is damaged, even in the slightest. I will not hesitate to start a war against them!" remind them of our Weapon that brought the Superbian Empire to their knees" The king shouted, his voice echoing throughout the empty throne room.

Lyon felt a shiver when the king spoke of a weapon. Throughout his whole life being next to the commander, Lyon had not once heard of any kind of special weapon that the Kingdom had.

"Yes, the message will surely reach them… But you see, your highness. Lyon has been doing his best to help out on our southern borders, praising him really make him happy"

The King's terrifying face had made a sudden drastic change when he looked at Lyon. He smiled and gestured his hand asking Lyon to come closer.

The King placed his hand on Lyon's soft black hair and rubbed it like what a father would do to his child.

A nostalgic feeling rushed to Lyon's body, he had not felt that kind of touch for years. The king took a deep breath before letting out a word.

"Lyon, your job may seem very difficult, but do not worry the reward for your service would only continue to grow. Please continue to serve this Kingdom and take care of my daughter… oh yes, the Magic Tournament is closing in. I suggest you enter it to determine who are capable knights"

Lyon felt astounded by the King's praise, it has been a while since he was praised by anyone. He nodded before turning around before walking a few steps. He then kneeled on the soft red carpet flooring and lowered his head.

"I will be sure not to disappoint you, Your Highness!" He declared before standing up and bowing once more. He exited from the throne room with a serious face hiding his emotions.

The King and Arthur watched as he took his last step out of the room. The door closing shut behind him.

"Your Highness, it seems like there is a  traitor among my men. I will be sure to find who it is"

"Arthur, you have seen Lyon's true eyes, yes? tell me how did it look like"

Arthur was shocked to hear the King's question. He took in a deep breath and glanced at the door once more before speaking.

"It was terrifying, it was similar to a void. A place where not a single soul existed"

Chapter End.