Three days passed, and Arthur's state of health hardly improved. He was bedridden all day. He coughed more and more blood, and frequently had a fever.

The doctor visited him daily to administer the tonic that helped relieve the pain and lower the fever.

Luana and Angus took charge of fulfilling his responsibilities in his stead.

Seeing that the emperor's condition was getting worse, they decided to inform everyone of the seriousness of the matter, including the citizens.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

The next morning, Luana went to the office. She was dressed in a white lavalliere shirt, black pants, and a pair of black suede lace-up boots with small heels. She had gathered her hair into a high ponytail.

After she was done doing what she had to do, she picked up the mage's journal and started leafing through it.

'Right now, there's only Lucas, Uncle Angus and dad who know that I can read this writing,' she thought.

As she read the book, she saw that it contained all the informations regarding brewed potions, poisons, spells and curses that the mage himself discovered.

"Hmm ?" she stopped in front of a page that intrigued her.

┌─────── ∘◦❁◦∘ ───────┐

Today, I finally got to
concoct a new deadly potion
that I called Alickina.

It was under the orders
of the Grand Master
that I did it.

It took me months and
months to prepare it,
and the ingredients were
very difficult to find and

Unlike normal poisons, this potion doesn't kill
instantly, but after
a long period of time.

The symptoms it displays
are hardly similar to those of poison, but rather to those
of an illness. So, it's almost impossible to suspect that a person has taken it.

These symptoms are: fatigue without cause, fever, strong cough of blood,
dizziness, excruciating pain, incredible weight loss and finally, death.

This potion can only
be cured by a single plant
called Klefasse, which only grows in the center of the
Neldor Forest.

It's almost impossible
to find it.

└─────── ∘◦❁◦∘ ───────┘

Luana put the book down and sighed heavily.

'So, if I understood correctly, someone administered a deadly potion named Alickina to mom and dad. But when ? And how ?' she thought.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. It was Gardner.

"Good morning, Your Highness," he greeted, bowing.

"Good morning, Gardner."

"Your Highness, Lady Taliny is here to see you. She says it's very urgent."

Luana stayed silent for a little while.

"Send her here," she replied.

"Understood," the butler said before leaving the room.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

A few minutes later, Lady Taliny entered the office.

She was wearing a nice dark green, long-sleeved velvet dress with a pair of brown ankle boots. Her hair was styled into a pretty little bun.

"Good morning, Your Highness," she greeted, bowing.

"Good morning, Lady Taliny."

"I apologize for coming like this, without an invitation. But once I heard the news of His Majesty's illness, I came running," she said worriedly.

"You don't have to apologize, Lady Taliny. Don't stand there. Sit down," Luana replied, smiling.

The young girl sat down on the armchair in front of the princess.

"How is His Majesty doing now ?"

"His condition doesn't reassure us much. There's no improvements," Luana replied sadly.

"What's that damn disease ? What did the doctor say ?"

"Well... Unfortunately, it's not a disease... Someone attempted to murder my father..."

"What ?! But... How ?!" she asked, shocked.

"We don't know when or how yet. But we're sure that whoever wants to murder my father is the same person who murdered my mother."

"Your mother ?! The late empress ?! Murdered ?! My god ! I thought she passed away because of an illness !"

"This is what we believed too, unfortunately. Until two weeks ago."

"I can't believe it..."

A moment of silence settled between the two girls.

"Your Highness, I believe it would've been better to keep the emperor's illness a secret, and not tell everyone about it," Asminah said determinedly.

The princess looked at her silently.

"Don't take it the wrong way, Your Highness. It's just that His Majesty is a very important person to all of us. Exposing his illness like that is going to be an opportunity for his enemies to attack," she added worriedly.

"I know," Luana replied, smiling.

Asminah looked at her in confusion.

"What ? Do you mean that..." she asked hesitantly.

"Exactly."

The young girl stayed silent for a little while.

"I see. Now, I'm reassured," Asminah replied, smiling back.

Luana opened the book again to see its contents, while Asminah drank the tea that was brought by Gardner.

"You have a very pretty handwriting, Your Highness," she complimented.

Luana looked at her, an expression of pure shock on her face.

"What did you say ?"

"Your handwriting is very pretty. You're the one who wrote that diary, right ?" she asked.

"Can you decipher its contents ?"

"Yeah. Why ? Is it encrypted ?" Asminah asked, confused.

"Well, yeah."

"Can't you read it ?"

Luana stayed silent for a moment.

"No."

"Would you like me to help you do it ?" she asked, smiling.

Luana looked at her for a long moment.

"Lady Taliny-"

"Mina... Call me Mina, Your Highness."

"Alright, Mina... Can you tell me how can you read what's written here ? We tried by all means but without any results."

Mina sighed. Then, she raised her hands to remove her medal necklace from her neck and put it on the desk.

"That's the secret," she answered.

"What do you mean ?" Luana asked, confused.

"You see this necklace ? It's our family's treasure. It's a blessing that has been passed down to us from generation to generation."

"A blessing ?"

"Yes... This necklace allows us to decipher any magical writing. It also allows us to generate force to protect ourselves in extreme cases."

"Wonderful..." replied the princess, amazed.

"When my parents got sick, they gave it to me so I could protect myself while waiting for their recovery," she added.

"I see... By the way, how are they now ?"

"Much better. Especially after His Majesty's delivery of the medicine," Mina replied, smiling.

"Delivery ? What delivery ?" the princess asked, confused.

"His Majesty ordered a special medicine for my parents' illness and he had it delivered to our house. I'm very grateful to him for saving them."

Luana smiled sadly at this statement.

"I see..."

Mina took the necklace and put it in Luana's hands.

"Your Highness, take this. It will help you decipher the book and find a cure for His Majesty," Mina said with determination in her eyes.

"But I-"

"Please, Your Highness... I would never know how to thank him for his kindness and generosity. At least let me help you find a cure for him. This necklace protects anyone who wears it from any kind of magic. Take it. Even if you don't use it yourself, the person who does, will have a better chance of saving His Majesty," she added with a smile.

"Mina..."

Luana hugged the young girl tightly.

"Thank you... Thank you so much..." she whispered to her.

The two young girls parted after a little while.

"Okay. I have to go now. Thank you for welcoming me, Your Highness," Mina said happily.

"Luana..."

"Sorry ?"

"Call me Luana from now on," the princess said, smiling.

"I'll never dare, Your Highness-"

"We're friends now. So it's normal that we call each other by our first names."

Mina looked at her in admiration.

"Ok... Thank you, Luana," she said, smiling.

After that, she left the office.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

After lunch, Luana went to the knights' training grounds to look for Lucas. She took with her the mage's diary and the necklace that Mina gave her.

Arriving there, she saw several knights in combat gear, training together.

Some of them were sharpening their swords while others were discussing attack techniques.

A little bit further in the training field, she saw Lucas training an apprentice knight by fighting him with a sword.

He had a cold, neutral expression on his face. Just like the first time she met him.

His fighting technique was very graceful and agile. Tiredness wasn't showed on him at all. Unlike his competitor who was sweating heavily.

After a few minutes, the fight ended with the captain's victory.

The young apprentice fell on his knees on the ground, out of breath.

Lucas approached him and helped him up. Then, he put his hand on his shoulder to encourage him.

"Train a little harder and you'll be as strong as I am, or maybe a lot better," he said.

"T-thank you, Captain," the apprentice replied with a small smile.

Lucas nodded and turned to pick up his things from the bench. And there, he saw Luana.

A big smile spread across his lips as he walked towards her.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," he greeted, bowing.

"Good afternoon, Captain. I hope I'm not disturbing you," she said hesitantly.

"No, not at all. I just finished now," he replied with a smile.

"That's great. I needed to talk to you about... Um..." she stopped, hesitant.

"Hm ?" the young knight hummed, confused. 

He turned around to follow Luana's gaze. And there, he saw the other knights with their hands on their cheeks, staring at the princess in admiration as if she was a blue moon.

"Our emotionless captain is smiling... And to a girl..." said one of them, a big smile on his face.

"I never imagined that he was capable of it," replied another one.

"It's clear that our captain is madly in lo-"

Lucas gave him an icy glare that silenced him immediately. Then, the young captain turned around to the princess.

"Your Highness, I think it's better if we go somewhere else to talk. Is that okay with you ?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course."

The two young people moved away from the training field while the knights remained glued on their spots, petrified by the murderous gaze of their captain.

Once away from the field, Luana and Lucas stopped walking and faced each other.

"I wanted to show you this," she said, handing him the book.

"Have you discovered something ?"

"See for yourself," she replied, giving him the necklace.

Lucas looked at her, confused. Then, he put the necklace around his neck and opened the book on the page she marked for him.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"It's... Unbelievable," he said, amazed.

"You can read it, right ?"

"Yeah... But... How ?" he asked, puzzled.

Luana explained to him what Lady Taliny told her.

After that, the young knight began to read the page that she showed him.

"So, if I understood correctly, His Majesty was poisoned by a potion called Alickina that Abras made himself," he said.

"Yeah. And the only remedy for this poison is this plant that is in the Neldor Forest."

"I've never heard of this forest before. Nor of this plant."

"Me neither. But maybe by searching in books, we'll find answers."

"Yeah. It's very possible."

Lucas took the necklace from his neck to give it back to Luana, but the young girl refused.

"Keep it for now. I don't need it since I have almost the same powers that are in it," she said.

Lucas hesitated.

"But you said this necklace protects from all kind of magic. You need it-"

"Right now, I'm not in danger. So just keep it," she replied, smiling.

The captain stayed silent for a moment, then he sighed.

"As you wish, Your Highness," he replied, smiling back at her.

At that moment, the two of them heard some voices that were a bit far away from them.

Following them, they found themselves at the palace gates. Luana was surprised to see thousands of citizens standing in front of the main gate.

"Long live Emperor Arthur !" cried one of them.

"You''ll be healed very quickly, Your Majesty !" added another.

"We pray for you, Your Majesty !"

"You'll be fine !"

"Don't lose hope ! We're wholeheartedly with you !"

Luana's eyes watered as she saw that scene unfold in front of her. She knew she wasn't alone and that there were a lot of people who supported her and her father.

'I'll save you, Dad. Don't worry,' she thought.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

In the middle of the night, in Arthur's room, the latter was sleeping peacefully after having dinner and taking his dose of tonic.

Suddenly, the patio doors that leads to the balcony, slowly opened.

A man dressed in black from head to toes entered the room and approached the emperor's bed.

Arriving in front of him, he took a dagger and positioned it above Arthur's chest.

"Die... Arthur..." the assassin whispered.

Before he could move, he felt the presence of a sharp blade at his neck.

"Not that fast... Duke Slater," a voice said from behind him.