THE NORTHERN CONTINENT'S EMPRESS

Chapter 27: Something New (2)

A/N: New Update Yippee!

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Empress Helena was staring blankly at the ceiling, she was focused on the small specs of snow that were falling towards her lying form. She was surprised- no, she was flabbergasted to see her mana, the power that she was very proud of, got tainted by this Black magic that they said was harmful to any living being.

She closed her eyes and started to concentrate on the path of mana inside her body. It was moving slower than it used to be, sometimes there were some pains on the paths that would make her involuntarily flinch without a warning. and the first and final destination of the mana... her heart, it was beating harder than it used to be.

It was beating so hard, that Empress Helena could feel the thumping outside her body.

'Black magic... my blue mana... what to do... Mom... Mom will shun me away for this...' Just thinking of her mom's stern and cold expression made Empress Helena feel more defeated than she could possibly feel.

"Lady Pauline... you'll catch a cold if you keep lying there," Empress Helena opened her eyes and found Cale's face in close proximity. She blinked twice before her eyes widened in surprise.

"S-Sir Cale- ah!"

Their heads bumped towards each other, making them flinch back and hold their reddened foreheads.

"I-I'm sorry, I was zoning out and thinking about my current condition that I-" Empress Helena rambled while avoiding Cale's gaze.

"It's okay, Lady Pauline, here, use this to cover yourself, you must've been cold," Cale said and handed her the blanket that he was holding. The Empress doesn't seem to realize the blanket so Cale wrapped it around her body himself.

"O-Oh, thank you very much," Empress Helena thanked him and held the blanket closer to her body.

"Did you already see your appearance?" Cale asked the Empress who took a shaky breath and said yes.

"I can only see sections of my hair turned black, I don't want to recognize what else changed," She said as she looked at the jagged crystals that formed around her.

Her hair with black highlights, her right eye with black iris, and her legs coiled with spider-like web.

'I must've looked so ugly now,' She thought as she closed her eyes tightly.

Cale saw her small actions and couldn't help but look at her appearance one more time.

The new changes don't seem to look that bad at all, in fact, they made the blue on her body stand out and highlight her appearance, however, saying this right now would be rude to the Empress.

"How about we go outside the black castle?" Cale invited her instead. The best way to ease the worry and pain she is feeling right now is to distract her.

"Outside? We are in the Forest of Darkness no? Why do we..." Empress Helena looked at hand waiting in front of her. Empress Helena hesitated before reaching her hands out and grabbing Cale's hand. They slowly walked out of the underground training hall and walked passed the hallways before they reached the entrance of the black castle.

Cale led Empress Helena outside, and they both saw the white fog slowly clearing up while the sun was starting to shine up in the sky. Cale then headed north to go towards the Harris Village where his other comrades reside.

Empress Helena was silent and taking in the new view that she was seeing, her other hand holding the blanket tightly.

When they arrived at the Harris Village, Knight Hillsman, the tigers, and the wolf children all greeted them by the entrance and peered behind Cale where the Empress was busy looking around, not realizing that she was being stared at by a lot of creatures.

"Good morning, Young Master! You're up early today, Do you need something?" Hillsman asked while looking at Cale with a smile.

"Mhm, We'll have breakfast at the black castle, tell the others to clean up and head there soon, Ah, before that, fall in line," Cale said and watched them fall in line before taking the attention of the person next to him.

"This is Lady Pauline, she's the Empress of the North. She'll be around for a while so get used to each other," Cale said and watched everyone enthusiastically greet the empress who was looking at them in awe.

"The Tiger Clan!" She cheered like a little kid while looking at Gashan and the others with shining eyes.

"Greetings Lady Pauline, we hope you have a great stay in the Forest of Darkness," Gashan said with a smile.

"T-Thank you!" Empress Helena smiled and greeted the others as well, the hand that Cale was still holding was squeezing his hand in excitement. He never seen the empress like this before.

When it was time to leave, Empress Helena was cheerful while walking next to Cale.

"The tiger clan! I was so surprised to see them! Cale, thank you! You fulfilled my childhood dream!" Empress Helena said with the brightest smile on her face. This made Cale feel a bit dazed and mesmerized by the Empress.

"It's no trouble at all," Cale managed to say and they went back to the Black Castle together.

When they arrived, everyone at the dining hall looked at their way and greeted them warmly.

Cale led the Empress to sit at the right side part of the dining table and let go of her hand. Cale watched as the smile on the Empress' face went down as she looked at her empty hands before looking back to Rosalyn who was conversing next to her.

They began to eat their breakfast, and after that, she went back inside her room to rest.

Lord Sheritt looked at the back of the Empress before looking at Cale Henituse.

"Cale, the black magic inside the Empress seems to melt into her mana," She said which made Cale look her way.

"Lord Sheritt, what do you mean?" Cale asked with a confused expression.