CHAPTER ELEVEN: BLIND

Curious about Ciara's whereabouts, Leonard inquired, to which Clarissa responded, "I have put her to sleep. I gave her water with a sleeping potion." Clarissa then turned to Flower, a look of seriousness in her eyes, and warned her never to discuss what had transpired with Ciara. She made it clear that any betrayal of this trust would result in the same fate as the deceased maids. Trembling, Flower immediately fell to her knees, bowing her head, and stammered, "I will never let her know... I didn't see anything; infact, nothing happened today."

Leonard then ordered his personal guards to discreetly bury the maids and meet with each of their families in secret. Shortly after Leonard and his wife had departed from the chamber, a maid arrived to inform them that a visitor from the Royal palace had arrived. Quick to respond, Leonard instructed the maid to bring the guest in, which she promptly did. To their surprise, the guest turned out to be Elsa.

Elsa was a magnificent bird who possessed the ability to transform into a human form. She held the responsibility of delivering messages for the royal family, especially the Emperor. But unknown to Leonard and his wife, it wasn't the Emperor who sent her but Karl.

"I can't believe it's you, Elsa! It's been such a long time since we last saw each other," exclaimed Clarissa with a smile.

"It is truly a pleasure to see you again, my lady," replied Elsa.

Curiosly, Leonard inquired about the purpose of Elsa's visit. "My Lord," began Elsa, "the Emperor has sent me to ensure that everything is well here."

"Of course, everything is going well here. We have lacked nothing, and there haven't been any problems either. So, I would appreciate it if you could convey to the Emperor that things are perfectly fine and also thank him for checking up on us," replied Leonard to Elsa. Elsa bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment and took her leave to deliver the message.

Once Elsa had departed, Clarissa turned to her husband and inquired about the Emperor's sudden interest in their well-being. Leonard surmised that the Emperor might be aware that the rainfall was not in line with the Lady Agnes prediction, hence the visit from Elsa. Concerned, Clarissa voiced her worries about the possibility of the Emperor wanting to punish Ciara for what had transpired.

Leonard reassured her, saying, "such won't happen because he won't be able to do so. Have you forgotten about the secret that exists between our families? He is also aware that no harm must come to Ciara if he wants to secure his son's future.

***ROYAL PALACE ***

"You're back," Karl said as he watches Gloomrider emerging from the portal. He then removed his clothes, revealing a symbol of a six-headed dragon on his bare back. With a surge of power, the symbol transformed into a shimmering portal. Gloomrider approached, merging with Karl through the portal until the symbol changed to seven heads. Karl donned his clothes and just then, Ethan entered, informing Karl that Llythor had been brought into the palace.

Karl chuckled and replied, "Get prepared; Father will soon call for me."

Llythor was brought back to the palace by his guards, and when his brother Luther, the first prince, saw him, he asked the guard to bring him to the Emperor.

"Llythor, can you vividly explain what exactly happened?" Luther inquired.

"Father, it is the crown prince and he did this to me because of what happened with Aurora, and I've already apologized, even kneeling. I was hunting with my guards when we saw a big boar and started going after it. I should have known something was amiss when my arrow kept missing it. After chasing it for a while, it suddenly disappeared, and then I saw Gloomrider," Llythor explained.

"Are you sure it was Gloomrider you saw and not a demon in his monstrous form?" Laura asked.

"Your Majesty, there is a difference between a dragon and a monster, so I definitely recognize what I saw," Llythor replied angrily as he winced in pain.

"Father, can you call him over to explain how Gloomrider got inside the protected hunting grounds? There's a boundary, and spells around it, so how can he gets in, unless someone created a portal for him to enter," Luthur said, and then Karl entered. He greeted his father and mother, then faced Llythor, who was already angry upon hearing his voice.

"Oh, you are also here, and what happened to your eyes? Did you hit something with it?" Karl asked, feigning ignorance. "Are you trying to say you have no idea of what happened to him?" Luther asked Karl.

"Are you trying to say I did that to him?" Karl asked back, and Gilbert interfered. "Karl, where is your 5th dragon, Gloomrider?" Gilbert asked. "He is where he is supposed to be, within me," Karl answered.

"Apparently, the two brothers here claim that Gloomrider took Llythor's eyes, and they seem to be insinuating that you are the one who planned it and created a portal for Gloomrider to the hunting grounds," Laura said. "Well, I had no idea what you are saying, but I did release him for a bit. I really have no idea he must have gone to the hunting grounds, and you will happened to meet him there," Karl said.

"So, you mean he entered the hunting grounds himself without any help?" Gilbert asked, and Karl didn't reply to him. "He must have followed someone secretly in," Laura defended and everyone turn their gaze on her in astonishment.

"Is he a fly or snake? Or how is it possible for the person he followed in not to have noticed his presence?" Gilbert asked in anger. He was silent for a while and then said, "Lord Jayden sent a message that there seems to be a sign of looming darkness appearing at his side, so I want you to go there and check if it is really darkness or not."

"Your Majesty, how can you send him to such a dangerous place? He is your heir and should be protected, not endangered. I am very sure the Luthur will want to do some good for this realm and go in his place," Laura said shifting her gaze to Luther.

Luther held his fist tight in anger and restrained himself. Gilbert then said, "No, Karl will be the one to go, and do not think of coming back soon."

As the Laura wanted to say more, Karl told her not to, and then he told Gilbert that he would leave for his chamber to prepare for his journey. As he wanted to leave, Llythor asked Karl, "What about my eyes?"

"Your eyes will be useful for my journey," Karl said, and he left. Laura also left in anger. Llythor kept screaming and asked Gilbert to get his eyes back from Karl, but he replied in anger, "Do you think he will willingly give them back to you when I have already punished him? You will have to wait until he is back, then we will discuss it." Llythor kept crying and yelling in anger, and then Luther quickly thanked Gilbert for upholding justice and dragged Llythor out of his chamber.