"Hah…. Mmm... ehe… heh," Wendy mumbled in her sleep as she unconsciously tried to reach out for something.
William who sat beside the bedside caught her hand and held it firmly. Perhaps feeling the familiar touch, a smile appeared on Wendy's face as she continued to sleep.
"You're such a handful," William said softly as he brushed away the strands of hair that blocked the sleeping girl's face.
< The spell inside her had finally stabilized. Right now, 65% of her Sea of Consciousness has been invaded. >
'Understood.'
William sighed as the internal struggle in him waged on. After putting a tracker on Charlotte, the System had been monitoring her every move. However, she still hadn't met anyone that the system had deemed suspicious.
Because of this, William still couldn't do anything aside from making sure that the girl that was holding his hand wouldn't suffer any harm.
He had already steeled himself for this scenario, but when it actually happened, he still felt bitter in his heart.
Minutes passed…
Hours passed…
After three hours, Wendy sleepily opened her eyes. She had a good dream, and it made her feel refreshed after waking up.
The first thing she saw was a sleeping Half-Elf's face in front of her. It took a moment for the gears in Wendy's head to start churning. Half a minute later, her eyes widened when she found herself lying in the young man's embrace.
Ironically, her hands were wrapped around William as if she was holding a hug pillow. The boy, on the other hand, had his arms wrapped around her in a protective embrace.
Wendy didn't know what to do at the moment. A part of her wanted to stay in William's embrace and let this moment last a little while longer, while the other part of her wanted to plant a kiss on his lips.
She was afraid that if she took the initiative to kiss William, the latter would wake up and the feeling of warmth and security she was experiencing would disappear.
Fortunately, before she could finalize her decision, the boy's eyes opened. Blue eyes met green and the two stared at each other for a long time before William pulled her closer to him and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Did you have a good rest?" William asked. Although he tried to hide it, there was a tinge of worry in his voice.
"Yes," Wendy replied as she breathed in his scent. "I always sleep well when you are around."
"Then sleep here with me tonight."
"... Un."
The two embraced each other for a while before reluctantly separating.
"Will."
"Yes?"
"I had a good dream, but I can't recall anything about it when I woke up," Wendy said while fixing her messy hair in front of the mirror. "Even so, I have a feeling that you were in that dream as well."
William crossed his arms over his chest and gave Wendy a smile. "I don't know what your dream was about, but if I was in there then that means that it was an awesome dream."
"... Although I can't recall much of my dream, I have a feeling that your expression in that dream of mine was a very sad one. It was as if you lost or had forgotten something very important."
The smile on William's face stiffened when he heard Wendy's reply.
"It's just a dream," William said as he walked towards the girl who was currently fixing her hair in the mirror. William then gave her a light hug as he tried to bury the anxiousness he was feeling in his heart. "Just a dream, so you don't have to think too much about it."
"Un…," Wendy replied as she placed her hand over William's.
------
In the Far East where the Kingdom of Freesia was located...
"Sidonie, the Hellan Kingdom seems to be having some difficulties right now," the King of Freesia said with a serious expression. "Because of this, I've decided to send you there as my envoy."
"Understood," the Third Princess of the Kingdom of Freesia, Sidonie, replied. "Will I be going alone?"
"No. You will be accompanied by four teams of Aerial Cavaliers. Also, I will give you full command over them. Do what you see fit in order to help our allies. We mustn't let the Hellan Kingdom fall. The moment they fall, it will be our turn next."
"Don't worry, Father," Sidonie replied. "I will support our allies to the best of my abilities. When will I be leaving?"
"You will be leaving by midnight. Prepare the things that you need to bring. Don't forget to take your maidservants along with you."
"Understood. Be careful while I am away, Father."
The King of Freesia smiled, but he was standing at least ten meters away from his daughter. Any closer would make it impossible for him to resist the effect of her powers.
Princess Sidonie, like always, was wearing a veil. Not only to hide her beauty, but to protect anyone from being ensnared by her powerful charm. No one is safe from it. Men, women, and even some Beasts under the Centennial Rank, wouldn't be able to resist her.
Although the King felt reluctant to let her leave the kingdom, his advisers had strongly suggested that they send her to the Hellan Kingdom as his representative. This was a way to show their support, and help them understand that Freesia hadn't abandoned them.
After Princess Sidonie left the room, the King's expression became serious as he called upon his trusted subordinates to update him of the current movements of the Two Dynasties.
This upcoming war made him feel anxious because the decisions of the Two Dynasties were too sudden. Although there was an unwritten rule between the four major powers in the Southern Continent that they wouldn't attack each other, no treaties had been signed to enforce it.
This unwritten rule had lasted for a few hundred years, and Redmond Val Freesia, the current King of Freesia, thought that it would last for a hundred more before the Southern Continent was once again embroiled in strife.
His advisers had already mentioned that there was something fishy about this war, but their spies hadn't discovered any credible information about why the Two Dynasties suddenly made an alliance and teamed up to attack the Hellan Kingdom.
Naturally, King Redmond was aware of the series of unfortunate events that had happened to their staunch ally in the West. Even he thought that the back to back events seemed to have been planned by someone hidden in the shadows.
"The only thing we can do is prepare for war," King Redmond said softly as he stared towards the West. "Since this war is already inevitable, I need to make sure that Freesia would not suffer too many casualties."
King Redmond wanted to help the Hellan Kingdom survive the storm that was slowly creeping on its borders, but they were just too far to offer any real assistance. All he could do was send his daughter, Princess Sidonie, with their prided Aerial Cavaliers to at least tell King Noah that they were in this war together.
'I just hope that we are not being used as a chess piece by some Higher Power,' King Redmond thought with a frown. 'Because if that is the case then this whole farce will have a very tragic ending. Not only for the Hellan Kingdom, but for everyone that lives in the Southern Continent.'
----
Princess Sidonie walked towards her quarters with even steps. The maidservants following behind her had been unable to resist her charms and were now her loyal subordinates. If she wished for them to die, they would gladly stab their hearts in front of her with smiles on their faces.
If Sidonie wished it, she could easily bring down an entire nation on a whim. However, she didn't have any interest in dominion over the Southern Continent, what she wanted in life was very simple.
To find someone that would make her understand the true meaning of Love, which was something that was far beyond her reach.