268: Evil Black Magic

Evil Black Magic

At this moment, Imbert hurried inside the chamber, and he was alone. The knight captain found Arlan sitting on the bed, with his back facing the door, and Oriana's hand on the prince's head.0

Oriana separated herself from Arlan upon seeing Imbert.

"Sir Loyset! Good you came! Something is wrong with His Highness!"

Though she was flustered, her worry for Arlan was more dominant than her embarrassment. She expected to get some answers from him. Afterall, Imbert was Arlan's righthand man so he must know best  about his liege's condition. 

Wordlessly, Imbert walked towards Arlan. 

"Your Highness, you should lie down." 

The knight helped the prince lay in bed. The entire time, Arlan remained in a stupor, unresponsive like a broken doll. 

Once Imbert made sure Arlan was comfortable, he gave Oriana a deep stare. "Stay by his side."

Oriana followed him as he turned to leave. "Sir Loyset, what is going on? Why is Highness in a catatonic state?"

Imbert didn't turn to look at her but spoke, "Just do as you are told. I will be guarding outside. If anything changes, seek me out." 

It only made her more confused. After the knight left, she returned to Arlan's side. From his steady breathing, he had drifted to sleep, but there were frown lines on his forehead, proving that it was not a restful one. He looked exhausted with beads of sweat forming over his face and neck. 

Oriana touched his forehead but there was no fever. She went to the washroom and brought a basin of water and a clean cloth. She wiped the sweat away from his face and neck and continued to sit on the bed, no longer caring about royal etiquette and whatnot.

'This evil feeling…should be magic. Something doesn't feel right. I need to talk to King Drayce or Lord Yorian.'

Oriana stood up and went to Imbert. "Sir Loyset, please look after His Highness for a bit. I will ask for assistance from the Megarisian delegation."

Imbert didn't stop her. Once she left, he entered the room and went straight to Arlan's bed. He pulled the prince's right hand out from under the quilt and checked his wrist. 

A surge of anger briefly appeared on Imbert's cold face, having his guess confirmed. By the time he looked at his liege, his gaze returned to its usual calm but it wouldn't be wrong to say it held  pity for the prince. He tucked Arlan's hand back under the quilt and returned to guarding outside the door, standing on the same exact spot as earlier, as if he had not moved in the first place.

—-

Oriana ran straight to the side garden gate which was connected to the guest mansion next door. She crossed the gate, only to be stopped by the palace guard on the other side. 

"Halt!"

"I-I am an attendant of the Crown Prince of Griven," she wheezed. She was grateful that she was wearing a uniform with the crest of the oak and thistle embroidered on its lapel. "I need to— I am here to see Lord Yorian upon orders of the prince. Please let me pass."

The guard frowned. "At this hour?"

"Yes, it is an urgent matter."

"Are you looking for me?"

Oriana heard the familiar voice and nearly burst into happy tears at the sight of the silver-haired elf. Relief washed over her body, before worry began to gnaw her insides once more.

"My Lord, please come with me!"

"You can go," Yorian ordered the guard before walking towards Oriana. "What's the matter?" 

She caught her breath and straightened her body. "Lord Yorian, something bad happened to His Highness."

Yorian raised a brow, wondering what bad could happen to Arlan that would merit such a reaction from Oriana. 

An injury? With a Dragon's physique, normal injuries would heal in no time, and rather than seeking Yorian, Oriana could patch up the prince's wounds on her own. If there had been a fight with another supernatural being, it would be impossible for the sensitive elf not to sense the fluctuations of magic.

"I mean, I am not sure how to explain. Can you come and check on him?"

"Alright." 

Imbert didn't stop them from entering the prince's bedchamber. Before Yorian could even step past the doorway, his expression crumpled. 

Black magic.

Yorian felt a faint trace of magic that didn't belong to Arlan. The unfamiliar, dangerously evil magic made him feel disgusted.

"What happened, Lord Yorian?" Oriana asked as he was blocking her way from entering the room.

"Stay here, I will be back," Yorian said, and in a moment, a strong gust of wind forced her to close her eyes. He was gone by the time she opened her eyes. Oriana was shocked, but thinking about it, she pinned it to the elf running back to the other building at the speed of wind.

As she waited for Yorian's return, Orian entered the room. She lit the lamp on his bedside table, offering dim light aside from the illumination offered by the moon. She then went to sit by Arlan's side and observed his pale face. 

'I hope it is nothing serious,' she prayed in her heart.

Not even a minute later, a strong gust of wind appeared within the chamber. 

Oriana turned to look behind her and found Yorian with Drayce and Seren. She immediately stood up from the bed and bowed to the King and Queen of Megaris, not questioning how they entered or how they could arrive swiftly. Both Drayce and Seren were wearing sleeping gowns under their robes. It was obvious they came as fast as they could

All Oriana had in her heart was gratitude that they came on short notice. 

Since some time had passed, the trace of magic surrounding Arlan had mostly dissipated. Still, Drayce and Seren felt discomfort the moment they appeared inside the chamber.

Drayce hurried to go towards Arlan, but Seren exclaimed. 

"Dray, don't touch him."

Drayce's hand stopped midway. He looked at his wife and observed her gaze. Though her veil hid her face, it was obvious from her stern tone she had sensed something really unpleasant. In fact, she stumbled backwards, as if Arlan was making her nauseous as well frightened.

"What's the matter?" Drayce asked as he hurried to support her. 

"I-It's really evil," she said, her own voice trembling in fear. "Do not touch him…" 

"It's alright. Calm down first. It's just black magic—"

"Dray, I have faced black magic before but this…this one is terrifying…" she mumbled. "Zaria's black magic felt evil, but compared to this one, Zaria's magic is nothing. It's like comparing a small candle flame to a burning house."

Seren had an ability to see the nature of one's magic— whether it was good or evil but she could guess the extent of evil as well.

Drayce and Yorian at most could tell that the faint trace of magic belonged to a witch with a darkness attribute, but Seren could tell that it was black magic, a magic so corrupted that she could not even imagine how cruel and evil its owner was.

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