Under the scorn of the moonlight, a motion caught in the blur moved toward the Knightdom. The person placed their hand on the handle, looking left and right before sneaking what seemed to be a barrack from a separate hall.
Once they entered, the room was as good as dead. Only a single candlelight was lit by the bed was seen. It had them wondering if they had chosen to enter the right room.
"You should have been sleeping at this hour," said a deep calming voice from behind the door.
The voice, and the footsteps that were approaching, none of it startled the person wearing the cloak.
They kept their head low, taking their sweet time as they peeled their hood back, revealing neatly braided hair of brown.
"What are you doing here? An archer might not have to think twice if they catch you sneaking in a military ground like this, Miss Lilian."
Felix scratched the back of his neck timidly as she refused to acknowledge his question. But then, the woman's shoulders shook slightly and Felix started to see droplets of water falling onto the floor.
"Miss... Lilian?! Are you hurt?!" Felix asked in a sense of panic yet he was not sure of what of what to do.
But Lilian York just acted and threw herself at him, clutching his shirt as she wept.
"Emerald Palace has never been so quiet without Her Highness and Sir Magician's presence," she said between sobs.
The knight froze in one place, for the longest time until his arms grew sore from leaving in the air. Slowly, but surely, he tested the water by lowering his palms faintly onto her trembling shoulders to give comfort.
"It is difficult to fall asleep, not knowing where she is or how she is doing," Lilian York added quietly.
"Would it... Bring you comfort if I were to let you know where Her Highness was?" Felix asked Lilian pulled away from the hug so hard that she pushed up away.
"Do you know where she is?! Tell me where— mph!"
Felix's right hand clasped tightly on Lilian's mouth. The other, he placed on his lip, telling her to keep her voice down. "Please do not get me in trouble more than I already am, Miss. I am already suspended from guarding His Majesty."
The head maid nodded slowly and Felix found himself releasing his hand only to unconsciously wipe away her ears with the back of his one fingertip.
"Why are you suspended?"
Felix's hand froze and his eyes went a tad wide. He made space with the maid before replying, "Duke Ezekiel Alpheus was overstepping the boundary. I tried to stop him from entering His Majesty's chamber and we had a small... Battle, mostly was just a warning on my part. Yet, after getting sliced up twice, he refused to yield and I could not show any sympathy either."
The knight rubbed his face with frustration. "His Grace seemed to be... Strangely Enraged, not by the wound, but by the words I've said about Her Highness and Sir Magician. He suddenly caught me off guard with his strength. And I had to have His Majesty coming to give me aid so that I could live."
"You can't be saying that His Grace was trying to really... Kill you, right? This is Ezekiel Alpheus we are talking about. A man who wholeheartedly loves and cares for the people of Obelia."
"I don't know, Miss Lilian," he said as he shook his head. "I am in no place to judge. But let us put that matter aside and come sit by the table first then we can... Talk?" he asked as he offered her a hand as an invitation.
When she put her fingertips on his palm, Felix squeezed her hand gently as an advance reassurance.
Felix pulled out a chair for her to sit down and when she did without any dispute. He, then, went over to get two empty glasses that could easily fit in his huge hand without any problem. His other fingers laced on the handle of the teapot.
