Saikō no Chitsujo

Chapter 16: Wake

Esdeath rose with a yawn, stepping out of her room into the palace hallways. After the attack, the emperor had insisted she and Arata rest in the castle, an invitation she had accepted whereas Arata had no say in the matter due to his state. Esdeath subconsciously approached his room, Arata's pained groans echoing across the halls as it had throughout the day before, an action that brought about the concern of the palace's occupants. In Roland's terms, it was because Arata had harnessed more of the storm dragon's power than his human body could handle.

She paused by the doors of his chambers, her brows furrowing as his pained howls ceased, the sounds of his heavy breathing replacing them. "Esdeath...san?" Arata whispered, the door opening in reply. "I thought you'd be asleep by now, Arata-san," she spoke in a hushed tone to avoid unwanted attention but even then Arata could sense the worry in her tone or maybe that was simply what he wished to hear.

He pushed himself to a sitting position with a grunt, Esdeath approaching him hastily to hold him up. "Thank you," he whispered, his golden irises shining in the dimly lit room. Taking in Esdeath's black lace night dress with its silk robe, he managed a small chuckle. "You seem lively."

"...your outfit."

She looked at her dress, then back at him with a brow raised, "What of it?"
"For some reason, I remembered that we pretended to be a newly wedded couple."
Esdeath snorted, taking a seat beside him, "I don't think I've mentioned it before Arata-san, but you have a weird sense of humor."

"At least I do not get my kicks from torturing people," Arata whispered tauntingly, grabbing the towel beside him to wipe his sweaty forehead. Esdeath simpered, turning her focus to the door, "I haven't done that in a long time." She glanced around the room, curious at the absence of the maidservants. "The maids on duty, did you ask them to leave?"

"Yes. A colleague of mine will be arriving with a...'cure' for my current problem."

"Cure?"

"Yes..." a shadow outside the room's window caught the attention of the two, "it seems said colleague is here, if you would, General?" Esdeath nodded tiredly, opening the glass windows to let the cloaked figure in. Bowing in respect to Esdeath, the hooded person knelt before Arata, presenting a set of bandages to him, "I have retrieved them, Arata-sama."

The general's brows twitched slightly at the feminine voice, "Bandages?"

"These are no ordinary wrapping clothes, I assure you. These are specially made from a rare danger beast and are used for sealing," Arata explained while the hooded female lifted his hair and wrapped the cloth around his eyes.

"Sealing?" Esdeath shut the windows and took a seat beside Arata on the bed, the consort sparing her a very brief glance, an action the general found amusing,

"The Supreme Order are still humans, after all, there is only so much our body can handle." Arata fastened the wrappings with a sigh, "the seals exist to allow us to draw the power residing in us safely, although limiting the amount we can access."

"Then the one that Hijiri had?" Esdeath's eyes widened in realization as Arata's silence answered her question. "You should get some rest, we have a long day tomorrow, General," Arata suggested, dismissing the messenger.

She crossed her arms with a scowl, "Are you planning on being present at the memorials and investigation?"

"I am. I need to be a beacon of hope to the people at the very least." Esdeath sighed knowing better than arguing with Arata, she asked, "And your bandages?"

"Unfortunately, I can do nothing about them, but there is no problem as I can still sense almost perfectly without depending wholly on my sight. Also," he leaned forward, interlocking his fingers under his nose, "I will need your protection should a conflict arise because in my current state it would be dangerous for me to harness my power."