First Arc (King of Euphorion) – 4. A Trace From The Past

He followed the kids to the city hall gate.

"Is your father here?" he asked.

"Yes. Come on follow me!" said Cley as he pulled Angel's hand again. They walked to the side of the gate and walked among the bushes until they saw a hole that big enough for a man to pass through.
"We can enter through here."

Angel looked at the hole surrounded by thorny plants. Then he turned his gaze at Cley and Claire.
'That's why their bodies are full of scratches.'

"Come on," said Cley. He ducked down and started to crawl.

But Angel stopped him and helped Cley to get up.
"Rather than crawling, how about we enter in another way?"

Cley looked at him with a confused expression.
"How?"

He carried Cley and Claire in his arms and focused his dark aura on his feet. In a blink, he managed through the fence with a single jump.
"There," he said as he put them down.

Both of them looked shocked, but after a while, their expression turned excited.
"Sir, teach me how to fly like that!" said Cley in excitement.

"I'm not flying. I just jumped over it," he explained.

"Sir, can you take me to the clouds?" said Claire shyly.

"No, you get me wrong. I can't fly."

"Sir, teach me how to fly! I will give all my toys to you!" whined Cley.

"I told you, I can't fly."

They kept whining as they pulled his clothes repeatedly. While he could only stand with a puzzled expression since he never experienced something like this before.
'What should I do? I never handled a kid before, I never read a book about how to handle them either.'

A loud woman's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Cley! Claire! What are you doing?!"

He turned his gaze to her. A woman in her thirties who wore a simple dress in a dull colour ran towards them. In a glance, he knew that she was from a noble family from her gesture.

She quickly pulled Cley and Claire away from him.
"Who are you? What do you want?" she said in an unfriendly tone.

He bowed to greet her.
"Good Afternoon, madam. My name is Zel. I'm looking for someone named Chay Fadington."

Her eyes widened in surprise after she saw his face more clearly.
"Your Highness?" she said out of blue. But then she gasped and quickly closed her mouth with her hands.

Angel frowned in confusion.
"Your Highness?" He wasn't Prince anymore and this was the first time he was in this kingdom.

She bowed politely.
"Forgive my impudence, sir. My name is Avira Fadington, Chay Fadington is my husband. He is already waiting for you." She ended it by giving him a gesture to follow her.

He nodded with a puzzled expression and followed her.
'Chay Fadington is waiting for me? Why? I never met him before.'

They walked through an unkempt yard into a shabby white mansion, down a gloomy corridor to a room that was full of scattered books. They stepped inside.
"Chay! Chay! We have a guest!" she shouted. Her gaze swept around the room.

Suddenly someone appeared from a pile of books beside them like an undead rose from his grave. His face and black hair looked messy, his glasses almost fell.
"What guest?" he said in a half sleepy tone.

Cley and Claire giggled at him.
"Dad, you look like an undead," said Cley.

Avira sighed heavily.
"Chay, mind your manners. It's 'him'!"

Chay quickly fixed his glasses and looked at Angel deeply. After a while, a smile spread across his face, his eyes trembled in emotion.

Angel bowed to greet him.
"Good Afternoon, Sir Chay. My name is Zel, I'm-"

"No, no, no! I already know why you come here. You want to ask me about Prince Lucian, right? " said Chay as he stood up and approached him. His eyes still stuck to Angel.

"How do you know it?" he said in confusion.

"I know---Of course, I know... You can ask me anything. I will answer it," said Chay. He paced back and forth to observe Angel in detail as if Angel was a rare animal.

'What's wrong with him? How did he know I was coming? Is he an expert magic user? But why can't I feel any magic power from him?' A magic user could feel the flow of magic power in another magic user's body. Angel cleared his throat in awkwardness.
"Sir Chay, can we talk properly?"

Chay realized his rudeness.
"Ah! Yes, of course! Where's my manner? I'm just too excited to see you. Come and sit," he said as he took Angel to an old couch near them.

"Thank you." As Angel sat, a slight puff of dust flew from that old cough.

"Chay, I will bring the kids to call the mayor," said Avira with a slight smile.

Chay answered her with a simple nod. Then she took Cley and Claire with her to leave the room.

Angel turned his gaze to Chay.
"Sir Chay, can you tell me what happened to Prince Lucian ten years ago?"

Chay took a long breath before starting to speak.
"At that time, Prince Lucian was just turning seventeen years old. He was a kind person and loved by his people. The king gave him a mission to investigate the strange sound near Pearl Gate City's forest. But, suddenly a mysterious shadow blocked our way. That shadow moved very fast. In an instant, our entire army was defeated. "
The more Chay continued to speak, the more he lost in his thoughts. His eyes started to glisten with tears.
"The situation was very chaotic. The prince immediately took me away and told me to hide. He said I only became his burden since I couldn't fight. I watched him fighting with the shadow from a distance. And the shadow covered him with a dark aura. After that, he died. "

Chay looked down with eyes filled with regret.
"I still clearly remembered his screams to this day. I was there, but I couldn't do anything to help him, I was his assistant, but I could only watch him die in vain. "

"I don't think he died in vain," he said out of blue. Somehow there was a strong urge which pushed him to say that.

Chay quickly raised his head and gave him a displeasure expression.
"Didn't die in vain? You know nothing about him! You didn't know how much effort he put on to studying and trained to become a king like his father! But, he died before he could take the throne before he became a king! " he said in a displeased tone.

He returned with a straight face.
"But you're alive, so his sacrifice is not in vain," he said in a calm tone. As if he clearly understood Prince Lucian's feelings. Chay could only remain silent after hearing his words.

"He was a prince. It was his duty as a royal family to protect his people. He died in an honourable way, you shouldn't say he died in vain or are you trying to disgrace him?" he added. His expression and tone remained unchanged.

Chay looked surprised as he stared at Angel deeply. His eyes filled with emotions that he couldn't be described in words. Also with happiness, sadness, joy, regret. But one thing for sure, the burden that was pressing on his heart all this time suddenly felt lifted.

Angel frowned at Chay who looked spacing out again.
"Sir Chay? Are you alright?"

Chay cleared his throat and tried to get his thoughts.
"Ah... Forgive me. I lost in thoughts again," he said with an awkward smile.

"Do you remember anything else about the mysterious shadow?" he asked.

Chay thought for a moment.
"I didn't remember his figure since he moved too fast, but I remember his eyes glowing in red when he attacked the prince."

He just opened his mouth to ask him more about the shadow but Chay interrupted him.
"Oh... And also, after he killed the prince, I saw him holding a dark crystal and said 'wrong prince'," added Chay.

Angel's eyes widened in surprise. His heart was pounding faster. Unconsciously, he clutched his chest.
'The dark crystal... Prince Lucian also experienced the same thing as me.'

He tried to calm himself down for a moment. But then he realized, Chay stared at him for a while.
"Sir Chay, is there something on my face?"

Chay's expression turned awkward.
"Oh, no, no---Of course not. It's just...Somehow, I could feel you're similar to him," he said in a panic.

"Do we look alike?" asked Angel again.

"Of course not. Except for your sharp eyes and hair colour, your face and other features are completely different from him, but still... It feels like... I'm talking to him right now..." said Chay. As he stared at him deeply.