Dark Moon Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 72. An Elite Soldier in The King's Chamber I (Patreon)

Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 72. An Elite Soldier in The King's Chamber I

Meanwhile in the White Moon Castle's king chamber. Rose turned her body from side to side restlessly on the bed. Every now and then, her eyes glanced at the door, hoping he would come soon. It was past midnight already, but Angel had not returned from his study room. Rose realized she should be glad Angel was late today. So she could sleep earlier and avoid awkwardness between them. Surprisingly, her worry disturbed her heart. Her worry even made her wonder, was his schedule this tight? Wasn't this too much even for a king like him?

'Stop thinking about him and go to sleep!' she warned herself and closed her eyes. Alas, her thoughts kept bothering her and keeping her awake.

- Tak.

A faint noise alerted her. She turned to the source of the sound to make sure it was Angel, but what she found was someone else.

Rose gasped. She thought it was an intruder. Reflexively, her hands searched for something that could be used as a weapon. But then she remembered something. Angel once said that there was a lot of magic formation in this room. So no one should be able to enter there without his permission. Since this person entered this room without activating the magic formations, she guessed it was one of his confidants and she was right. As soon as that person took off his hood and exposed his face which was covered by a mask, someone immediately crossed her mind.

"Rai, is that you?" she asked doubtfully. Her hands opened her blanket as she started to get out of bed.

This time it was Angel who froze in shock. He chose to go back to his room instead of the study room since he thought he could change his clothes directly in the bathroom but he didn't expect Rose hadn't slept yet.

"Rai, answer me," said Rose again. Since he didn't answer she took a candle holder as a weapon.

Since Rose thought he was Rai, Angel decided to play it out. It would be strange if a king entered his own room wearing a mask and a hunter's clothes. He turned to Rose and smiled.
"Yes, it's me, Rai. Good evening, Your Highness. Did I wake you up?" he asked politely. Since Rose had been with him lately, he changed his voice slightly to avoid her suspicion.

After making sure her guess was correct, she put the candle holder on the table.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in confusion. A frown on her forehead.

"The king ordered me to pick up some things here and deliver them to him," he replied.

It sounded strange to her since Rai was an elite soldier. Taking something in a private room like this was not his job but as a servant. But she guessed Angel asked Rai to do this little work since Cley and Claire were already asleep. Also since those were important items, Angel could not order the servant or maid to take them.

"Why didn't I hear you come in?" she asked again. She glanced at the door once every few minutes and only closed her eyes less than half a minute ago. Strangely, he suddenly appeared near the sofa out of nowhere.

Instead of answering, he let out a small chuckle.
"If you can hear me when I come in, it means that I'm a failed elite soldier, Your Highness." Even though it was a made-up excuse, his Black Devil army was indeed trained to be able to do it to that extent. Since they were more like assassins than real soldiers. He could also do that because he often did his own investigations. Some were too sensitive and important for his soldiers. Some were too urgent and required his fast response, just like what happened today.

"I see..." Given how his troops had sneaked into Ironwall City, she could accept the reason.
"May I know what the king is doing in his study room? Is there something that needs his attention?" she asked curiously.

"There's nothing urgent, Your Highness. He's just working as usual," Angel answered.

"Then why did he summon you?" she replied. She remembered Angel said that Rai was on a secret mission. She guessed the mission was related to her kingdom and was quite curious about it. Unfortunately, Angel didn't want to tell her, so she tried her luck by asking Rai.

"Forgive me, Your Highness. This has something to do with my mission. I can't tell you," said Angel. Despite Rose's curiosity, Angel decided to keep his mouth shut before he arranged everything to confront Ilex and Ivetta. Ilex's plan was a bit complicated. He also prepared several alternatives to ensure Angel's death. After all, Ivetta's whereabouts also played an important role in Ilex's plans, unfortunately, Ilex didn't mention anything about her.