“What in the name of Olympus do you mean he isn’t a traitor?” Hyacinth growled, droplets of water freezing midair.
Leonith sighed. He wasn’t clear on the exact circumstances, all he knew is that Oryath betrayed them in order to spy on Tiamat before he sealed her away in a double-cross. Looking at Hyacinth’s face shadowed with a dark look, he can’t help but wish Keith had explained this better.
As for Perseus and Oryath, well that betrayal had only been the start of what would be a series of heartwrenching events. From Orionith’s memories, he recalled flashes of their clashes. They had bitterly fought multiple times. Oryath had shoved them into caves, sold out their camps, and even went as far as invading the once flourishing center of the world, Uruk.
Oryath led the invasion of Uruk, enslaving the very home they had lived in. The flower shop owner, the people who had helped him as a child began to curse him, and to learn that all this was for a hair-brained scheme?
It’s no wonder that Hyacinth was pissed. Leonith would be angry if he had been the one to almost prevent the invasion, only to be stabbed by Oryath. Actually, he would be a lot angrier if his gift of Mercy didn’t automatically feed that anger to his Corrupted side.
“Silon speaks the truth.” He explained, “I can verify it.”
“Orionith, don’t lie.” Hyacinth pleaded, his eyes shining with unshed tears as he begged through gritted teeth. “I can’t- I don’t-”
“He has the Mark of the Seal.” Leonith pressed on, watching as Hyacinth clenched his fists, the frozen air droplets shaking around him.
Hyacinth shook his head in denial. Two teardrops floating off his face as he squeezed his eyes shut. “No. He wasn’t even there for the Sealing.”
“He has the Mark, Hyacinth. We’ve wondered why we never had the Mark, I know I have and you must have as well. After all, the Seal left a mark on the soul, not the body. We should have had it on us.” He pressed on. “But he has it.”
The droplets sharpened, pointing at him in thin needles. Hyacinth took a deep breath before slouching, dropping the needles of ice onto the hot white limestone that lined the road of the hill. Seeing Hyacinth calming, Leonith relaxed as well. At the very least, Hyacinth did not inherit the poor temper of Perseus.
“Fine, I’ll believe he’s the Sealer, but nothing else. Orionith was always too forgiving to his brother, and I see you inherited that,” He scoffed, his eyes turning to where Keith and Silon stood, talking amiably.
Leonith frowned, aggrieved by this but agreed. It’s clear that he won’t budge. “Of course. Let’s keep going, the King awaits, and there is still much to do.”
Being with Silon was like being next to a healing spring, the mere presence of it is enough to make him calm. The fact she doesn’t doubt him when he says he’s not actually a backstabbing liar helps with that. With a cheerful mood, his ears perked up as Leonith and Hyacinth rejoined them, their faces set in resigned seriousness.
“So, what brought you to Seipodon, Silon?” Keith asks, knowing better than to interact with either of them so soon.
Silon hummed. “I was actually traveling around the Grecic Territory, seeing sights and all that you see. I had arrived in Seipodon wanting to buy some of the Pearl seaweed, but ended up staying because of the disease. I swear I’m so close to a breakthrough!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
At this, Hyacinth perked up, “Have you been able to find out anything?”
“P mjc bcis agfja atf rswqabwr, yea atf mjerf tjr sfa ab yf vfafgwlcfv.” Vlibc rlutfv. “Ccv fnfc ktfc P agfja atf rswqabwr, la’ii bcis yf rajiilcu obg j ofk wbgf vjsr.”
Lsjmlcat ogbkcfv. “Ccv… Qtja jybea Cwjgsiilr?”
“Vajyif,” Vtf rlutfv. “P rerqfma la tjr rbwfatlcu ab vb klat yflcu j Jtbrfc bo Cqbiib.”
Whoever Amaryllis is, the thought of her being stable was enough to set Hyacinth into a better mood. Keith noted as he watched the tension in his shoulders sag down into relief. Seeing this, he allowed the conversation to die down.
The King Palace is a lot larger than it looked from faraway and high above. Large and imposing with carved figures into the side of the roof, gold swirling and patterning like clouds amidst a vast cloudy white sky. The pillars were designed at the top and bottom, with flourishes not unlike a cloud. At the front of the palace were sprigs of mint, planted beside the entrance as a welcoming green cutting through what would have been an otherwise imposing figure.
“We’re here,” Hyacinth announced, stepping in front of them to act as a guide. “The King is familiar with Silon’s efforts, but we’ll need to introduce you both.”
At this, the other looked at Keith, “Don’t do anything. I’d rather not leave the King with clean up duty.”
… This guy really likes to emphasize my ‘special’ status huh? He thought about the water collar. He must have adjusted to it since it feels as if it’s barely there but if he reached up touch it… He blinked. His fingers brushed against his neck, not making contact with water. He brushed against it again.
It’s gone.
A laugh spilled from his lips. “It’s gone!”
Hyacinth blinked at him in confusion only for his eyes to scan his face and look down to his neck. Lo and behold, the water collar he had placed was gone. There was nothing left of it, no sign nor mark of a droplet in its wake.
Hyacinth saw this and turned away, flustered. “… It evaporated…”
Keith blinked as understanding dawned on him. That’s right. The water must have evaporated due to the heat of Seipodon.
While he can control water, he wasn’t concentrating on the water collar much, only enough to keep its form. And water did as water did best: evaporate under the heat of Seipodon. With the water turning into steam, he didn’t pay enough attention to stop it from turning to steam and becoming one with the air again.
Simply put, Hyacinth’s attention is equal to his control!
“So does that mean you didn’t want to kill me?” Keith asked, a smile on his face.
A black spear through the chest. Coughing up blood.
“Ah.”
The smile on his face grew strained. That memory… it really would have been better not to remember at all. He’s not sure why but it hurts worse than the memory of him betraying the Heroes of Yore.
Silon glanced at his face and spoke up. “Keith, don’t antagonize him. We’re so close to meeting the King. Come on, the faster you meet him, the faster we can solve this.”
“That’s right,” Leonith added, nodding his head. “Please, lead the way, Hyacinth.”
As they walked into the King’s Palace, a servant stopped them, her eyes sorrowful as she looked upon them.
“Honored guests of the king, I must stop you. His Majesty has fallen ill and cannot entertain you.”
“I’m one of the doctors, these are my assistants,” Silon lied, adapting easily. “We’re here to check up on the King.”
The servant blinked and looked at Silon before another servant came, who recognized them easily.
“Lady Silon! Please, come this way. His Majesty is resting, follow me, quickly.”
And so they proceeded to run after the rushing servant, their steps echoing alongside the bustle of servants in this marble palace. Keith pushed aside thoughts of memories and dislike. Now that they’re here, they can finally start a move on dealing with this threat.
The servant stopped at a door, knocking on it and alerting the king of their presence softly.
“My King, the Fairy Healer, the Guardian, and two assistants are here.”
“Let them in.”
The wooden door, varnished and carved with care, swung open and they were allowed in. Silon and Hyacinth went in first, with him and Leonith following behind. The scent of blood hit his nose strongly, copper lingering at the back of his mouth like a foul cloud. He pricked up his ears, picking up the sound of labored breathing.
It’s clear that the King was not in shape even before he laid his eyes on the man. And even then, he could see that his condition was subpar. Sickly pale skin, and an uncomfortable frown on the face of a thirty-something year old man, black hair sticking to his forehead due to sweat. He definitely looks the part.
Silon got into treatment mode, interviewing him on his symptoms as she pulled out vials of her medicine. Keith couldn’t tell what’s in it beside the overwhelming scent of seaweed.
“When did the blood start?” Silon asked.
“This morning.”
“The stomach ache?”
“Two days ago.”
“Good you haven’t reached the organ stage yet, did you make contact with anyone two days ago?”
Keith gulped as he listened to the questions. This disease is no joke! Organs and blood… He paid attention to what he could smell. Bile too… A seed of suspicion planted itself deep within his thoughts. But he’s no healer, he’s not sure what exactly it could be, after all what’s the connection of a stomach ache to organs and bile?
The king paused. “A young man, black hair and black eyes, completely average looking.”
Leonith glanced around the room, his eyes glowing blue as he searched for traces of something in the air. “Did you notice anything strange about him?”
“He, ah I remember, he was Patronless. And didn’t offer food to the Gods, I figured he was from a different Territory and he only ate the meat. He ate more than twenty plates of meat,shook my hand and asked if he could stay for longer.”
Leonith frowned. “Did you smell sulfur at the time?”
“Sulfur?” The king furrowed his eyebrows. “I- yes. At the time, the man said something had broken in his bag so he smelt of sulfur and apologized.”
At his questioning, Hyacinth narrowed his eyes. “Leonith, you don’t mean to say…?”
Leonith nodded. “It may be.”
Say? Say what? Keith wanted to scream. This isn’t an anime! You don’t need to leave it hanging, just go and say it.
“My King,” Hyacinth spoke up, “That young man may very well have been a demon.”
I do feel like there was a hint earlier on how Hyacinths past self stabbed and killed Oryath?! 👀 Geez, my bad memory. Luckily your story is so amazing, that I don’t mind reading it again from the beginning to check those flashbacks for important hints. It feels like I’m trying to solve a riddle. 🧐 It’s so much fun. 🥰