"Valeriana Kerrigan—the first human to have ever attended academy and joined the Celestial Circle."

♣

Chapter Forty-Four ♣ The King and I

She rose from the reverent greeting and erected her back, trying to look like a dignified woman.

I'll show that Corvan! She determinedly clenched her fists.

Although she was expecting something grand, he was a much simpler man than she first thought. He was a handsome man in his mid-thirties, human scale. The soft, golden hair on top of his head was brushed back and tied into a low ponytail. His eyes, a mesmerizing gold, looked kind and benevolent.

Valeriana saw Edeltraud bow to the king before he turned and left, closing the door behind him gently. Both of them were silent for a few moments and she caught the man staring at her with wide eyes, looking more shocked than she expected.

Lord Aeron did warn her that she looked a lot like his deceased wife, but she never expected this to happen.

"I'm sorry. May I?"

"Huh? Uh, sure."

Needless to say, she saw tears welling from the man's eyes before he suddenly came forward and embraced her.

Hesitantly, she circled her arms around him too. "Are you alright, sir king sir—uh, er . . . sire?"

He reluctantly pulled away from her. He looked down at her, placing his calloused hands on her shoulders before realizing what he just did. "Oh, please pardon me."

"That's alright," she told him. "I guess."

"Goodness." He breathed. "I can't believe it." He then cleared his throat. "As you may already know, I am—"

"His Royal Majesty, King Laedin von Seigmond de la Rosellevienne, twentieth king of the Valemnia!" She recited, saluting him playfully. "My name is—"

"Valeriana Kerrigan, I am well aware," the king said and laughed. "I've been informed that Lord Aeron and Headmaster Kylon came with you?" He looked around. "I don't see them here at the moment, though. Where are they?"

"They left without saying anything. I was too caught up in my own world to notice." She sighed.

"Well then, I want to welcome you to Valemnia. Please pardon the suddenness of dragging you here. It must've been very hard on you."

"Well . . . I don't want to call it kidnapping but . . ."

His face contorted in concern. "I'm really sorry. I'll try doing something about this situation, should it be repeated in the future. Even so, I do not directly control the affairs of the Celeste Dispatch Division, as that is the job of Lord Aeron."

"That man has a lot of responsibility. It makes me doubt sometimes if he really even does it."

"He's a competent man, Valeriana. His quick wit and wisdom got him where he is now. Though he may not seem like it, he is very dedicated and spares no effort in the name of his work."

"I never knew that."

"Looks can be deceiving, or so many would say." Laedin nodded. "I am taking you were traumatized? Your arrival here didn't have the very best welcome and you were taken here due to a very unfortunate circumstance."

"I've pretty much recovered though . . ."

"You must miss your family?"

"More than anything." She nodded. "But Lord Aeron allowed me to write letters to them, and I received a package from my mother yesterday."

"I'm glad," he said, smiling, but then he frowned again. "Were my people harsh towards you? If they treated you badly, I ask for your forgiveness in their place."

"You're being too humble, Your Majesty." She stared at him admiringly. "You do not have to ask for forgiveness in their stead."

"The actions of my people are my responsibility." He firmly told her. "Anyhow, the Court Leader suggested that if you were to graduate successfully from the academy, you will become our world's ambassador in hopes of cooperating with the human race. Are you in favor of that?"

"I'm not exactly sure." She shrugged. "What's it for, anyway?"

"There are times when demons escape from the Holy Gates," he told her. "They cause havoc in your world, although not normally seen by your people. You, however, are able to see and sense their presence. You are unlike any other."

"I don't know the reason to that, as well. But, I think I'm not the only one like that among my people like you think I am."

"Why do you say so?" he asked.

"I mean . . . there are a lot of these psychic people with cool mind-powers and stuff—uh no . . . I mean, those scary spiritual thingy about seeing stuffs like ghosts."

A knock came booming three times and Edeltraud entered once again. "I brought Your Majesty and guest some tea. Dinner will start in approximately thirty minutes, so please wait patiently until then."

"Thank you very much, Edeltraud."

Edeltraud stared knowingly at the king before simply nodding his head and bowing before leaving. "Please pardon my intrusion."

Once the man left, Valeriana turned to Laedin. "You know, sire, that man kinda acts like one of those cool butlers you see in a movie."

"I'm sorry. I can't quite catch on."

"A movie . . . it's . . . never mind."

"Edeltraud's been there for me ever since I was young. He's my most trusted friend and servant."

"That's awesome!" She gushed. "Like one of those—"

She stopped short when she caught the man staring at her. It was then that she realized she was acting a bit too like her normal self. She exchanged glances with the king who then smiled at her genuinely and nodded for her to go on. She felt sort of glad that he wasn't displeased in any way.

"Go on, child." The king told her softly. "It's a rare sight to see a youth with so much energy."

She awkwardly laughed. "I'm sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "I gotta ask something though . . ." She then told him. "Your Majesty," she added hastily.

"Please don't address me by my title. I prefer not being reminded that I'm a king every once in a while. Work's been stressing enough as it is," he replied.

"Er . . . alright . . . sir."

He laughed softly at her reluctance but made no further comment.

"Geez," she grumbled, suddenly reminded of Corvan's attitude and how he preferred being addressed by his title all the time. Feeling aggravated, Valeriana unconsciously made faces.

"I'm sorry, my dear," the king apologized. "If you really do prefer calling me by my title then I have no protests. I want my guests to be comfortable in my presence and that doesn't exempt you."

"What?" Her attention snapped towards the man before her. "Uh, no . . . my mind was wandering a while ago," she stated.

"I see. What caused you to make such a face? Not that I'm prying. You looked sort of . . . amusing," he said, deliberately flashing a comforting smile to give her a sense of peace.

The king wasn't at all flamboyant. There was something strange about him that made her feel somewhat at ease and secured. Perhaps it was because he reminded her so much of her late father.

"It's just this annoying someone from the academy," she answered.

The king tilted his head to the side and gave her a look with knowing, twinkling eyes. "A boy, I presume?"

"Why's that important anyway?" She blushed.

This was sort of turning awkward; like confessing your love life to your parents.

"It's a very important factor, trust me," he told her.

"Yeah, well, yes."

"Aha!" He snapped his fingers. "I knew it."

"It isn't like that!" she told him, back snapping straight. "I mean . . . he's really irritating. He gets on my nerves. The only reason I'm thinking about him is because he's too arrogant compared to you!"

"Reasons. You will not feel the need to compare anyone to anything if they aren't important. My dear, it always starts like that," he said, laughing. "Ayslia and I were like cat and dog the first day we met."

"That can't be true." She frowned, a red tint tainting her fair cheeks.

"I thought so too. But there's a thin line between love and hate, you see." He leaned back and sighed. "All those bickering, all that exchange of offending comments, calling each other names and such, that happens right?"

"I guess," she muttered. "But that doesn't mean—"

He said, laughing. "Deny it as you like," he told her. "Perhaps you are harboring what we like to call adoration."

"How can I adore that guy?! Anyway!" She dropped the subject and shifted towards another instead. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Why yes, of course."

She cleared her throat. "I was brought here because the Court could not ignore that I can see and hear demons. Why was it such a big thing for them? For a mere human to see their enemies? And why do you keep me here?"

"That's not just one question, my dear," he said, chuckling.

"Oh, sorry. I got excited."

"Not a problem. The decision of having to negotiate with your people had just been recently thought of when you came here. Valemnians did try to get in touch with humans, although for some reason, those that were sent out disappeared without a trace. Before you were brought to Valemnia, the gates were firmly closed. Occasionally though, there are demons who manage to slip past the gates due to my weakening. The protection of this kingdom rests entirely on the condition of its monarch. With my current state, Valemnia is most vulnerable."

"Why?"

"Because it is during these times when the next-in-line is supposed to take over that the kingdom is at its weakest."

"What's the relationship of it from keeping me here?"

"I think it's best to have an ally in your world in case another battle breaks out. Although, there has been no another battle for the last century or so. Still, my concern is that there's a big possibility that the gates will be broken. I cannot risk disturbing the peace that currently exists in the human plane."

"And the gates?"

"It's not that big of a deal to fix it," he answered. "If that ever happens, I'll have my men attend to it immediately to prevent the too much leaking of the power pressure into your world. However, those malicious creatures will have enough time to go through."

Valeriana's face creased with worry. "And I'm supposed to do it?"

"You'll receive help from us, of course." He reassured her.

"What makes you think I can do this?"

"If it's you, I'm pretty much certain you can do it. After all, you managed to defeat Lady Courtney, take the position of fifth-ranker in the academy, and even defend it for the first time against one well-known skilled student, didn't you? You even earned the title of Roaring Tiger to symbolize your prowess in the battlefield. I believe that if there's anyone who's fit upon receiving such an important task, it's you."

She grew flustered at his compliment and rubbed the back of her nape. "It's just a stroke of luck, really," she said. "I never knew I got such a cool pseudonym."

"Well, I must wonder why they named you so."

She stared at the king in shock. "How the heck do you know all of that?"

"How can I not know? Lord Aeron's been making a progressive report to me about you. Besides, even if he did not, I'm certain I would've heard sooner or later."

"Agh." She sighed. "That old man . . . he's really behind every little thing that's weird going on."

"I agree. Lord Aeron has a lot of schemes going about, but they're not harmful in anyway. At such an age, he tries to find things that will amuse him."

"My meeting with you was his plan."

He said, chuckling. "I knew there was something that I had to expect. Things were different if the Court Leader himself arranged meetings such as this one. Although, I did not quite expect this." He referred to Valeriana with a smile. "To say the least, being shocked was an understatement when I saw you."

"He did predict that," she told him.

"He did? Well, you looked so much like my late wife, it's bound to be predictable."

They both went silent.

"It must've hurt a lot to lose her so suddenly." She looked at him with sad eyes. "I know how it feels like to lose someone you love." Her gaze dropped to her white shoes underneath her gown as the death of her father came to mind. "But it's not important."

He disregarded her last comment and asked, "Who did you lose?"

She reluctantly looked at him. "My father," she told him. "Just two years ago."

"Then the wound is still fresh, I presume?"

"Two years is a long time," she said, smiling at him. "I'm over it. Besides, my father told me that I should not cry for him when he dies since the one I'll be shedding tears for is myself and not the dead. It's absurd right? He says the weirdest things, yet, he makes sense in a lot of ways."

His brows creased at the familiarity of her words. "Your father has such wise words. I know of someone who is dear to me that would've probably told me the same thing—if only he was here during that time."

"Oh, I see." She bobbed her in understanding. "Where is he now?"

"I unfortunately do not know." The king shook his head sadly.

Booming knocks came. What followed was a solemn voice that Valeriana was only introduced to a few moments ago.

"Your Majesty, dinner will be served in five minutes. I am here to fetch you so as we don't run late. The food will get cold."

Did that much time pass already? The girl was sure they just started talking a while ago . . . time sure flew.

"I see." The king motioned for Valeriana to stand up and offered her his arm. "Shall we, my dear?"

"Thank you very much, kind sir."

"No problem at all." He patted her good-naturedly on the arm.