Herro shrugged his shoulders and began to speak carefully. “The poison remains in your body, so you had better take care not to overwork yourself.”
Feeling some annoyance, Lucius looked sharply at Herro and replied, “Is that an appropriate thing for a grand wizard to say?”
Herro simply replied back with a brief, “My apologies.”
With a sigh, Herro put the potion he had just made this morning on the table. Lucius took it without saying a word, causing Herro to put on a heavy expression that was highly out of character. He wondered to himself what would happen if a better wizard than he was to serve His Majesty.
Herro was the same age as Lucius and had come from a family that had produced grand wizards for many generations before. Under normal circumstances, his path would have been an assignment to the heir of the empire after his debutant. And yet he had found himself on an unusual scheme in which he was assigned before coming to his age. He had had magical powers since he was born, but it had taken him a long time to learn how to correctly use them. It was not long after Herro was assigned to Lucius that his master’s life became threatened, and Herro knew that he was not yet fully able to protect His Majesty by using his powers alone.
So he had begun working on a magical potion that was yet to be completed. It had gone through several trials, with varying degrees of worrisome side effects. One of the trial potions had caused Lucius to become a weak young boy after drinking it, losing his strong normal figure. His blue eyes, the symbol of the royal family, had become light green. Herro had made a new trial potion, to counter the effects of the previous one, and His Majesty’s hand had trembled nervously as he clutched the vial. Herro felt ashamed that his lack of skill had caused such a disaster.
This new potion had, thankfully, brought Lucius’ appearance back to match his real age. Unfortunately, it had resulted in other side effects, such as a high fever that lingered for almost four days. Herro reasoned to himself that there was always a problem or two that needed to be countered, but at least he was making progress. Lucius had never been particularly kind or sweet, but his face seemed to have become even colder than before, like a cold wind blowing in from the very peak of Mount Alphy. He had also suffered from frequent nightmares and had become much angrier in general, which Herro thought was because of the potions too. It seemed like many things had changed. Lucius had also suffered from memory loss while he was in hiding, so Herro didn’t know much about his daily life anymore.
Herro turned to look at Lucius and saw that he was wiping the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief. He waited for a second, and then carefully asked, “Your Majesty, do you recall the Adelion family from the southern lands?”
“Count Vanderas?” asked Lucius. “Do you mean the one who gained immense wealth from trading?”
Herro continued, “His second daughter, Selena, will personally attend the battlefield.”
A dark expression came over Lucius’ face, as he imagined a visit from that precious young count. He turned to Herro and asked, “Did it start again?”
Herro replied, “Your majesty, I understand that you don’t want to do this but I am afraid it is absolutely necessary.” Lucius was the direct heir to the throne and, despite being 20 years of age, was not even engaged to be married. His biggest rival Hart, who had his eyes firmly set on obtaining the throne, was already in talks regarding marriage with the daughter of a very powerful duke.
Herro continued, “The people will support you Your Majesty, and they will be on your side. However, almost all of the nobles have already pledged loyalty to Hart.” There was a short pause, and then Lucius asked, “Herro, am I being too greedy?” Herro knew that Lucius had a hard will, but he often found moments like these quite tiring. If His Majesty were to just give up the throne, everything would soon be over. Herro tried to be reassuring and encouraging at the same time, as he replied, “Your Majesty, please do not say that.”
While Herro and Lucius had been talking, Gemini had been standing still, almost like a statue, in the corner of the room. He knelt down upon hearing the sound of armour, with a face so serious that Lucius started to feel bad. Lucius asked Gemini to stand up while thinking that even though it would be easier to just throw everything away and leave, he did not seem to have that option available. With a sigh, Lucius announced, “Even though I feel alone, I know that I am really not.”
After calming his heart, Lucius stood up and announced, “Herro. I would like to Miss Adelion as late as possible.” Herro began to protest, but before he could utter a word Lucius stopped him with a raised hand and said, “There is also something that I have not told you yet.” Herro looked curiously at Lucius and enquired what it was. Lucius continued, “I was fortunate to have my life saved before by that young lady, but I did not give her any kind of reward.” Feeling relieved that it was nothing more serious, Herro replied, “Well Your Majesty, Gemini and I can certainly take care of that.” But Lucius knew that he had to decline, and told Herro, “No, I can’t treat the one who saved my life in such a way.”
Lucius gave an alluring smile that would have caused a woman to scream if she had seen it. Gemini and Herro glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing; that this was a very unusual expression for His Majesty to have on his face.