At dawn, the palace was brightly lit. Many people were walking in the corridor, reporting various news. Princess Laura, wearing a casual dress and with her hair untidy, hurried to the king's room.
Accompanying her were the minister in charge of court ceremonies, Marquis Francisco, and her martial arts teacher, the great swordsman Salmeron. Because the guardian knight Tavares was seriously injured and the staff member Liu Pengfei was imprisoned, she suddenly felt empty around her. For a moment, she even thought that it would be a good thing if the brother who made her upset was still by her side at this time. At least they could face this moment together.
Master Salmeron seemed to sense the princess's emotions and said, "Your Highness, you must keep your heart calm at this moment. Just like the first time you held the sword in your hand, some things may seem like a challenge, but in fact, as long as you face it, everything will go smoothly."
"Yes, teacher," the princess replied, "you are the only one I can rely on now."
"No, Your Highness, although I am willing to protect you forever, I hope you can rely on no one. The road to becoming a king is lonely. If you cannot endure this loneliness, you will not be able to shoulder this responsibility." The serious middle-aged man gave his warning, but it did not make the princess feel any better.
"I understand." The princess nodded.
They hurried to the door of the king's room. The guard pushed the door open, and a strange smell of potion hit them. The king was lying on a big bed, and three people stood beside him. They were Emily, the high-level wizard of the Healer's Tower, Finch, the priest of the Temple of Nature, and Isaac, the royal physician and alchemist.
When the three of them saw Princess Laura coming in, they all went up to greet her.
The royal doctor Isaac said, "Your Highness, I'm afraid the time has come. His Majesty's life has come to an end. He will return to the embrace of the God of Nature in an hour or two."
"Is this moment finally coming?" Princess Laura's eyes turned red and tears appeared in her eyes. Although she had imagined this scene more than once and hoped that she could be as strong as a real queen, she still could not control her tears from flowing down her cheeks.
"Yes. Your Highness, we have all tried our best, but there is no life energy left in the King's body. It's like a candle that is about to burn out. No matter what we do, we can't prolong the existence of that flame. In fact, even if it has been delayed until now, it is already the effect of the potion." Emily from the Healer's Tower explained.
"Now you have a choice. That is whether to use the dying potion." Isaac pointed to a crystal bottle that was being warmed by magic flames on a table. There was some bright red potion rolling inside.
"What does this potion do?"
"Pain brings clarity. If His Majesty the King takes this potion, he may be able to gain a moment of clarity, but the price is that he will have to endure the pain of being cut by a knife all over his body throughout the process," Isaac explained.
"If he is not allowed to drink the medicine, he will leave like this, right?" the princess confirmed again.
“Your Highness, leaving in peace and without realizing it may not be a bad thing,” said Priest Finch.
The princess wiped her tears with a handkerchief, took a deep breath, and then said, "Let him drink it. As a king, it would be disrespectful to him to die in silence. As a father, he should bless and warn his daughter at the last moment. As the heir of the throne, he should see who the crown is passed to in the end."
Priest Finch sighed softly.
Isaac said, "As you wish, Princess."
He took the crystal bottle from the magic circle, walked to the king, stuffed a funnel into the king's mouth, and poured the dying potion into it.
When the potion was finished, he removed the funnel and waited with everyone else for the potion to take effect.
About a minute later, the king's whole body began to turn red and hot. He suddenly twitched, black blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, and then he let out a low roar.
The king's eyes widened, his breathing became very rapid, and he cried out in pain one after another.
"Can't we reduce his pain? For example, make him feel no pain." Princess Laura asked.
"Your Highness, pain is an important part of the effectiveness of this medicine. Without the pain, I'm afraid Your Majesty will immediately fall into eternal sleep." Isaac said regretfully.
After a while, the king began to get used to the pain and was able to concentrate. His eyes began to move and looked at the people standing beside the bed.
"I... I am..." The king began to speak, his words clear enough.
"Everyone, please go out. I think these last moments should be left to me and my father." Princess Laura said.
Everyone left the room as instructed and closed the door, leaving the princess alone in the room.
"It seems we have no time to waste. Am I going to die?" The king raised his head with difficulty and said to Princess Laura.
"Yes, father. Unfortunately, you don't have much time."
"You are the only one here. Where is your brother Javier? Is he still alive?"
"Alive, he was taken away by Metatron. But I didn't intend to kill him. I just wanted him to stay by my side quietly."
"Is that so? Did he and his mother take refuge in the Tower of Shining Wings?"
"Father, a lot of things have happened since you fell into a coma. The Tower of Shining Wings was destroyed, Saint Sasso died. The queen was assassinated, and my brother's whereabouts are unknown."
The king showed a look of astonishment on his face. It was obvious that the princess' words had exceeded the dying old man's limit of thinking. "Ahem, it seems that you are much more capable than I thought. I don't know what you did specifically, and I don't have time to know. I just want to give you a piece of advice. The balance of the kingdom is very fragile, and there is an empire outside that is ready to pounce on you at any time. You don't have the capital to play with fire."
"Are you saying that the Empire will take this opportunity to attack us?"
"Oh, it hurts. I must kill the person who gave me this potion. Listen, the young emperor is more ambitious than you. Not only him, but also those damn nobles in the country. Arias, or someone else. In short, my daughter, your road may be more difficult than mine. But it has nothing to do with me. I am tired and I have to go to accompany my wife, the poor woman you killed."
"Father, is this the last thing you want to say to me? Not even any specific suggestions?" Princess Laura pursed her lips into a straight line.
"No, no, the king is a person who deals with messes all day long, you should learn this. You have already had a very classic start, my queen, hahahaha..." The kingdom laughed here, as if choked, suddenly stared with his eyes and fell silent, and then everything returned to silence.