A Degenerate's Tale

Once the meeting came to an end, the Spirit Knights left one by one. Zwei gave Earl one last friendly smile before leaving. He had a good impression of her. Without a doubt, she was a rare beauty. Unfortunately, his hands were too full to go after her right now.

His goals for the Elven Kingdom was almost fully achieved. Alea was essentially his and good progress was being made with Saryll. In just 2 or 3 more years, he would be leaving for Ari's academy and his life would spice up a lot then.

"My Queen, it's time for me to leave now." Abelis gave a deep bow as he prepared to leave.

"Your Highness," Earl called the man before he left.

"What is it?"

"Thank you for standing up for me earlier."

"It's no problem at all. You are pretty much a part of our family already, haha!"

With that said, Abelis left to tend to his duties leaving Saryll and Earl alone in the meeting room.

The meeting room was a large, circular room decorated extravagantly with red carpets and gold details. A gorgeously detailed chandelier hung from above, illuminating the entire room. In the middle of the room where they sat was a round table carved out of stone.

This style of interior was not of elven style but rather, one used to show a display of wealth with meeting with ambassadors.

​ "Your Majesty, I noticed that one of the seats of the Spirit Knights were missing."

"I figured you would ask. That seat belongs to Drei and that man is in prison for life." Saryll said with a complicated look on her face.

It was the first time Earl was hearing this piece of information. Curious, he continued pushing. "May I ask why?"

Saryll sighed and spoke. "Where do I start with this... I'll answer your question first. He was the one who attempted an assassination on Alea, almost killing Abelis in the process. It's a long story.

Drei and Vier are brothers from the ancient noble family of Arianne. The family is very powerful, being one of the top families in the Kingdom. They were also born in the same generation as me. You probably know where I'm going to go with this.

Back when I was a princess, Drei desperately wanted my hand for marriage. I did not reciprocate his feelings and married Abelis instead. Years later, the product of our love, Alea was born and I had forgotten about Drei.

However, the same could not be said about Drei. The man kept his feelings hidden while keeping the facade of a loyal Spirit Knight under my command. His feelings for me bordered obsession and he could not stand the sight of Alea- who was the product of my love with Abelis.

One night, he sneaked into the palace and attempted assassination on Alea. Luckily, Abelis noticed in time and blocked the attack with his body. Now, Drei is imprisoned for life to suffer for his crimes..."

Saryll ended her dialogue with an exhausted look on her face.

Earl took in everything Saryll told him. Unknown to him, his hands were clenched to the point of becoming pail. His nails dug into his skin and bright red blood dripped out. It was something that happened in the past and yet he was incomparably enraged.

Some vile man had targeted his Alea and Saryll and that person was still alive?

"Relax..." Saryll noticed Earl's hands and gently held his wrists.

Earl looked down and saw his bloodied hand and the worried look on Saryll's face. He relaxed as she said and slowly unclenched his hand. A soothing sensation soon overcame him as his wounds closed slowly. This was Saryll's Healing Magic.

He took a deep breath and asked. "Can I kill him?"

"Not when he still has the blessing of the Spirit King."

"How does that work?"

"Every year, the winner of the Elven Youth Competition is blessed by the Spirit King. That gives one qualification to become a Spirit Knight and per the Spirit Agreement, once one becomes a Spirit Knight, it is held until the blessing of the Spirit King disappears."

"The Spirit Agreement prevents us from killing him, huh?"

"Correct. Trust me, I want him dead more than you do."

"I am not bound by the Spirit Agreement though."

"Not exactly. It will affect me since I was the one who told you."

Earl could only sigh at this conclusion.

"The higher you are, the more secrets you will know and the more frustrated you will be with people. This is a part of adulthood that you will be exposed to more and more in the future."

"That just means... we should cherish the time we have right now more, right?"

"You are right." The Queen smiled. "On that topic, let's go to my office. I'll make sure you enjoy your time as my aid thoroughly."

"The look on your face is scaring me, Teacher."

"No?~"

"I know you're up to something!"

"You're just imagining it, hehe."

Later that day, Earl was subjected to the task of finishing piles of Saryll's mundane administrative papers whilst she laughed in the background at his sufferings.

"It's finally over..." Earl let out an exhausted voice as he placed the last paper away.

Saryll was seated next to him, also finishing papers of her own. The white sunlight from the window shone down on her hair, giving it a tinge of gold. Unsurprisingly, she looked very cool when she was concentrated.

He smiled to himself and left his seat to prepare tea for her. Aria had recently taught him a better technique to make tea. He felt his body relaxing as slowly poured hot water into the teacups. The smell of fragrant tea filled the room and removed the fogginess of his mind.

Once done, he held the two cups of tea and went back to the table, placing one in front of Saryll and one for himself.

The Elven Queen was thoroughly submerged in her work and did not notice the small gesture from him. Soon, she was done with her work. A small smile came on her face when she noticed the steaming hot tea in front of her.

"When did my student become this considerate?~"

"Since I'm working under you, I naturally have to suck up to you." He smugly replied.

Saryll held the cup and narrowed her eyes smilingly. "I suddenly want to throw this at you."

"Please don't."

"Of course not. I must enjoy this tea that Earl made for me." She said while lightly enjoying the fragrance of the tea.

"Your attitude changed too fast, Teacher."

"It's good..."

"You're welcome."

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