"Excuse me, have you seen a brown-haired woman pass by here today? She was wearing a black dress?"
"No, sir."
Rion asked the many people he met on the street, but none of them had seen Odette. Even so, Rion didn't want to give up. He continued down the road and hoped to find Odette.
***
At the Baster Inn, the news about Rion and Odette became the talk of everyone there. The news began to spread through the mouths of the guests who had left the inn to various places.
"I didn't think the king would do something like that. Even though I really admired him, because I thought he was a very loyal man. Wow, I'm utterly disappointed," said the female staff who was gossiping with Jacob and her other friends last night. Call her Serena
"Your Majesty, how could you do this to me?" Trish came to Rion. He opened the door to his room and asked a question that made Rion confused."I thought we'd been very close, but how dare Your Majesty do this to me," Trish said again, which made Rion look at him strangely."What do you mean?""I was told by Knight Erina that you came to see Her Highness, Queen Cristela, then you said that you wanted to marry Odette. Is that true, Your Majesty?""That's right," answered Rion, flatly."Your Majesty, that breaks my heart.""..."Trish saw Rion staring at him with a strange look mixed with disgust.
Amy looked straight ahead and had a very serious expression."Maybe… that's because we really miss His Majesty the King, who was cheerful, always smiling and friendly to everyone," she said as she imagined the figure of little Rion. He always ran in the palace corridors cheerfully.Then she remembered the adult Rion who always smiled when Queen Rose was still alive.The death of Queen Ahana, his mother, turned Rion into a quiet and very cold person. Rion was like a block of ice, but then Rose came to melt the ice. Rion became a warm man after Rose came. However, it didn't last long.Being trapped in a conspiracy made by several people, Rion lost Rose. After Rose's death, Rion was no longer like ice but he was like a zombie, there was no life in his eyes. He was al
"BROTHER!" Anwen opened the door of the king's room violently. It made Rion and Trish who were inside, startled. The two men glanced at each other in confusion. Anwen closed the door and walked quickly to the king's table."Brother, what have you done to Miss Ody?" she asked to the point. It left Rion stunned, while Trish was confused about Anwen's question.Anwen and Rion looked at each other questioningly."Did she tell you anything?" Rion asked."She didn't tell me anything. I just heard the gossip about you and Miss Ody yesterday morning. Is… the gossip I heard true? Did you do that to her?"Rion was silent. He didn't know how to answer Anwen's question. He was surprised that the gossip of him and Odette at the Bas
"He-help me, I-I can't breathe," Aiden said breathlessly."Help you? I once helped you, and instead of thanking me, you took the throne of Naturi from my father and treated us like servants. I'm so sick of you. Now die!" Guen raised her knife to stab Aiden, who was leaning back on the chair, trying to get as much oxygen as he could."No!" Aiden caught Guen's wrist. Guen was surprised. "P-please d-don't do th-this to me… haha… HAHAHA," Aiden stuttered, before finally bursting out laughing."Are you… just faking it?" Instantly, her body trembled.Aiden stood up and quickly twisted Guen's hand. "What did you think, honey? I'd die with just poison like that, hm?" he said near Guen's ear as he squeezed the girl's hand firmly.
Odette stared at Trish intently. Was it true that Rion would fire Trish? The knight was always loyal to him at all times. Would he really fire him all just because Odette wouldn't get out of the carriage?It seemed impossible, but then… Odette remembered Rion also always threatened to fire her.Meanwhile, in his mind, Trish recalled Anwen's words before he went to pick up Odette."Miss Ody is an empathetic person. She pities others easily. If you have trouble persuading her, then make her feel sorry for you."After she thought for a long time, Odette finally decided to get out.When Odette got out, she immediately became the center of everyone's attention. It was as if she was Princess Cinderella, who had just gotten o
Odette was stunned. Her eyes opened wider when she saw the scene before her. Hundreds of lit candles lined up neatly and beautifully to form a path. Not only that but candles were also seen scattered in several parts of the garden.It reminded Odette of the sprinkling of stars in the sky. But the thing that caught Odette's attention the most was Rion. He was standing at the end. The man sat in a chair that was on the side of the table, surrounded by candlelight."Miss Ody, we have arrived," said Anwen. She then released her hand, which had been holding Odette's hand. "Now go and meet my brother. He has been waiting for you for a long time. All your questions will be answered by him."Anwen took Erika and Erina away from there. They left as Odette was standing unmoved. She looked straight at Rion who was there.
Rion immediately told Odette about what happened. He also told her that when he went out of their room, he suddenly met someone he knew. Then, he rushed to the room because he felt dizzy, and his memory ended when he entered the room and closed the door."I think I had a relapse and maybe..." He paused his sentence for a moment. "The one who did that to you was one of my personalities."His words made Odette's eyes widen."What are you saying?" Odette could hardly believe her own ears.'How did it happen? Which alter did that?' From what she learned, Rion's alters represented Rion's desires and feelings.Of Rion's five alters, Odette had only ever met the dog, Bee, and the alter that appeared the most was Lucifer. It seemed u
Odette walked down the corridor with quick footsteps. She didn't turn to see the people who were looking at her questioningly. Right now, she just wanted to leave the palace as quickly as possible."Miss Ody?" Anwen, who saw Odette passing by, was about to approach but was held back by Queen Cristela, who was standing nearby.As Anwen looked at Queen Cristela questioningly, the queen glanced to the right, as if telling Anwen to look in that direction. Anwen followed the direction that her grandmother glanced at and saw her brother. He was running fast after Odette."Stay here and watch quietly," said Cristela, and Anwen nodded."ODETTE, STOP!" Rion's shout brought everyone's attention to him, as well as the woman he was chasing.
“Doctor Ody.”“Mia?”Mia smiled and sat beside Odette.“I know you’re feeling scared right now, but we can definitely handle it properly,” Mia said reassuringly.“You’re not afraid of him?”“When Bee was born, and I saw him for the first time, I cried because I remembered when Alvin was born. At that time, I didn’t want to see his face because I hated his father so much. Every time I remembered that, my heart hurt, and I felt bad for having such a thought. Alvin doesn’t know anything, so why should he be hated?”“Mia...”“Bee doesn’t know anything either. He’s a sweet child with a heart as pure as an angel. Why should I be afraid of him?” Mia smiled, then looked at the sky. “Since my parents died, I don’t have anyone anymore. People who should be called family actually treat me like trash. Perhaps even tr
“Odette!” Hans finally came. He quickly approached Odette, who was struggling to get away from one of the firefighters who were holding her and preventing her from getting closer to the flames blazing the house.“Senior, help Bee! BEEE!” Odette let out a hoarse cry.Then Hans was stunned to see Bee being carried out by the firefighter. “Bee?”“Baby, Honey.” Odette immediately dragged her wobbling feet to approach the child, carefully taking him from the firefighter. “It’s okay, Honey. Mom is here. Mom is here.” She rubbed Bee’s back and kissed him as she hugged him so tightly. It wasn’t long before Bee suddenly lost consciousness.“B-Bee? Bee!”“Let’s take him to the hospital!”Odette and Hans rushed into the car and took Bee to the hospital. Arriving at the hospital, Bee was handled by the doctor immediately.“Bee…
In the palace garden, Rion, Trish, and Anwen sat together while enjoying dessert.“What?” Anwen and Trish were shocked to hear of Rion’s plans to retire and leave Panthera.“Are you serious, Your Majesty?” Trish asked hurriedly. “What’s wrong? Why so sudden?”“It’s not sudden. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.”“Then what about Panthera?”“There is you.” Rion casually said it as though it wasn’t something serious, then cut the cake in front of him before eating it in delight.“What?” His eyebrows raised a little upon noticing the sharp gaze from Anwen and Trish. The two of them couldn’t believe what the king had just said.“Your Majesty, your joke isn’t funny at all,” Trish said flatly.“This isn’t a joke.” Rion took a deep breath and then looked up at the sky.
Betelgeuse, Alpha of the Orion constellation.Betelgeuse D. Panther was the star in the hearts of Odette and Rion.“Bee...” Odette kept smiling as she watched Bee’s sleeping face. When the boy was asleep like this, he became very calm.Somehow, every time she looked at Bee, she was like seeing Rion’s figure when he was small.“Mom… Zzz…”“Mom’s here.” Odette chuckled when she heard Bee calling out to her. She remembered Rion also calling her name in his sleep. Indeed, Bee really was the son of Arion D. Panther.“Sweet dream, Honey,” she whispered and kissed the boy’s forehead.She then got off the bed then left the room, walking towards the living room. When she arrived, she saw Mia was busy with piles of fabrics that needed to be sewn.“Mia.”The young woman stopped her activities and turned her head naturally.&ldqu
“Drystan,” Rion called the young man again, and this time, Drystan cast his gaze at him.“Is my father…?” Drystan wanted to ask about his father’s condition but couldn’t finish his sentence. The words stuck in his throat as though, deep down, he had already guessed it.“Did you already know about this?”Drystan nodded with a faint smile, but sadness was evident in his eyes. He told Rion that before going to the capital, he went to Bosa with his father. When his father found out that Aathreya was dead, and so did Rion, he decided to take that step.“He regretted that he never gave any happiness to Odette. If you died, Sister Odette would definitely suffer a lot, and he didn’t want her to suffer anymore. I told you that my father deeply regretted all the things he had done in the past, and now he had proven it. That’s it, I’m leaving,” Drystan said in a self-deprecating man
“Big brother?” As Anwen saw Rion’s fingers moving slightly, she rushed to kneel beside him, followed by Dario.As Rion’s consciousness returned, Dario’s consciousness actually faded.“When… when you meet your sister-in-law, tell her that I’m sorry,” Dario said while looking at Rion wistfully.Anwen was silent. She didn’t give any responses, as she wasn’t sure if there would be a chance to see Odette again or not.Dario’s eyes quivered. They slowly closed before opening again, closed again, and opened again. This continued until his body slumped to the ground helplessly. Luckily, Anwen immediately reacted and supported his back.Dario’s eyes were still open, and he looked in a daze at the cloudy sky above him. At this moment, he had sunken into his trove of memories of Odette.‘I DON’T HAVE A FATHER! MY FATHER IS DEAD!’The image of Odette
Rose sat by the river while Rion lay on her lap, enjoying every second of their togetherness.“Rose, I’m sorry,” Rion said as he looked at the woman, holding her hand, which stroked his forehead gently.Rose smiled gently. “You’ve said it 100 times.”“I am so sorry.”“You’ve said that a hundred times already.”“Since you left, I couldn’t breathe properly every day, and something invisible kept tightening my heart.”“Yes… You’ve said it, and Lucas also told me.”“Lucas?” Rion got up and looked at Rose questioningly.“Yeah. He said Trish told him about it.”“Trish?”When Rose told him everything Lucas had told her, Icarus arrived at the Rose Garden. Anwen was surprised to find Dario and Saintess Angela there.Dario hopped onto Icarus’ back and carried Rion down
Aiden was finally gone as his body was destroyed from within by the combined power of Rion and Aathreya. However, although Aiden was dead, the problem wasn’t really over because Gerald’s soul had already left his body and resided in Rad’s body instead.At the moment, Gerald was floating in the air, under the purple eye that still stood firm in the sky. He raised his hands to activate the Divine Eye, but Icarus came and breathed out a powerful flame, forcing Gerald to move away to escape it.“Narine?” Anwen muttered when he saw the little fairy on the back of Icarus flying towards her.“Get the king onto Icarus’ back,” said Narine briskly.“What?” Anwen and Trish felt puzzled.“Just do it if you still want to meet the king!” Narine exclaimed in a bit of a hurry as if she was being chased by time.Roul, who was listening to their conversation, nodded to Trish as the man lo
Swoosshh…The wind blew against the leaves of the shady trees while the blooming rose swayed gracefully and gave off a sweet fragrance. Several butterflies flew around and perched from one flower to another, showing off their stunning wings.Odette walked among the roses while looking right and left. That place reminded her of the Rose Garden in Green Castle, or… was she actually in the Rose Garden?Her gaze swept around the area, looking for the Green Castle building, but no matter how far she looked ahead, she didn’t see the building anywhere.Tap!Her steps came to an abrupt halt when her eyes fixed on Rion’s figure, who stood a few steps away from her. The man was wearing a charming white cloak with gold thread fluttering slightly. For some reason, Rion looked more handsome than usual.“Rion?”The man smiled gently at her.Seeing that, Odette couldn’t help but feel an endless joy