DITOEFTV react to

Chapter 18

— XVI

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[φίλος ή εχθρός?]

Friend or foe?

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    "Alright, let's get started." said Estella, leaving no time for them to respond.

OVER A MONTH HAD GONE BY — and with time, the princess' condition came to an impasse; she was alive and breathing, but other than that she showed no other activity. If they were to help her regain her consciousness, she would scream and wail in agony, the sound of which was so unbearable, that the Emperor preferred to keep her under the sleep spell to ease her pain.

    'It's been a month..' they thought in sadness, for they hoped that everything would have been better already but they were wrong.

Penelope had been done her own research on the techniques of stabilizing the princess' mana — and it seemed that her divine beast's presence had been the catalyst in her already unstable mana being mishandled by her body, given the presence of her own magical power source so close to her had caused her powers to fluctuate and overwhelm her body. It had been a chore — holding Claude back from ending the life of the magical beast the very instant he found out about this. Penelope had yelled at the Emperor (for the very first time), stunning the servants and the knights, in a moment of desperation: after all had it not been for the beast, the excessive magical power would be absorbed back within the princess; body, instantly ending her life.

    The family was stunned too on how Penelope dared to yell at the Emperor, not because she yelled. They would hear her tantrum loud and clear most of the time, but not lately. Emily was proud of her lady for controlling the situation, but also worried if she would get punished later for her behavior.

To say the palace had been bleary without Athanasia's lively chatter, was an understatement. The absence of her bright smile was more disturbing than imagined — and if she was this distressed, she couldn't even begin to imagine the anguish of those who had been around Athanasia for longer. Lilian York, Felix, the servants of ruby palace ... they all seemed lifeless, functioning just as they had before but anyone could tell there was something very significant lacking about the way they spoke and acted.

    Emily flinched as she saw the servant and they just looked like dolls.

And then there was him — with each day passing — growing haggard with worry. Claude had lost weight, distancing himself from all. He often sat in the rose garden, alone on the table staring at nowhere in particular with gaunt eyes, the food in front of him untouched. Penelope often thought of joining him, but she couldn't bring herself to. So instead she let him cope with his anguish his own way. And as dawn washed over the sky, she would simply approach him, placing a hand on his shoulder to let him know of her presence before reminding him to return back to the palace.

    'My lady, you don't know how to comfort people...' Emily was not surprised that her lady lacked comfort skill. Penelope looked at Emily as if she read her mind huffed a bit.

HOWEVER, just when the royal physicians and all well-read mages from both Obelia and the Inca had given up, a child near Athanasia's age made his entrance. He had a peculiar appearance; long raven hair below his waist, crimson eyes and typical western warlock robes too big for his small (even for his age) frame. He claimed he could treat the princess, which naturally aroused suspicions. But they weren't in a place to bargain, so they let him,