First Arc (King of Euphorion) – 28. I Want to Protect Them

Suddenly, Gale burst into the room with a cheerful expression, stopping Cley and Claire's argument, and his reverie.

"Yahooo!" he said excitedly as he approached Angel. His hand waved happily.

The guards standing outside the room looked breathlessly.
"Forgive us, Your Majesty. General Gale barged in before we can report it to you."

"It's fine, return to your duty," he replied.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Then they closed the door and returned to their positions.

Gale put his arm around Angel's shoulders and gave a few pats on it.
"Your Majesty, how are you?" he said casually with a cheerful grin on his face.

Gaia suddenly barged into the room.
"Gale, I told you not to be rude to His Majesty!" he shouted. Frost and Flare followed him into the room.

"Oops... I forgot," said Gale as he released his arm.

The panting guards were seen outside the room again.
"Forgive us-"

He interrupted their words.
"It's fine, return to your duty."

They answered him with a quick bow before they closed the door and resumed their duties.

He turned his gaze to the four elemental spirits that stood before him.
"How was your trip? Is there something important you need to report?"

"No, Your Majesty!" answered Gale swiftly.

"I have," said Gaia. Then he looked at Gale sharply.
"Gale has seduced a woman in Emerald Gate City."

Gale glared at Gaia briefly before returning his gaze to Angel before him.
"That's not true!" he said, trying to defend himself.

He replied to Gale with a disbelief gaze because Gaia never joked around with his words.

Gale approached his desk with a sad look.
"Your Majesty, you keep Frost and Flare with you while I keep traveling throughout Euphorion... I'm so lonely... So I'm looking for another friend. Am I wrong? "he said in an over-dramatic tone, but his eyes locked at the cookies beside Angel's desk.

Angel realized it, so he took the cookies plate and gave it to Gale.

Gale quickly grabbed it and ate it with a cheerful face.
"Your Majesty, you are really kind, I will follow you forever!" he said with a mouth full.

"Let me guess. Is that woman good at making cakes?" he said, his eyes staring at Gale who continued to eat indifferently in front of him.

"She opened a cake shop there and her cake is delicious!" said Gale eagerly.

"Gale, since when did you start to eat human food?" asked Flare curiously. Elemental spirits didn't eat and sleep like a human, as spirits the only one they needed was their master's magic power to maintain their existence.

"There are no rules that an elemental spirit can't eat, right? After all, their cakes are really good!" answered Gale nonchalantly.

"Did you approach her just because you wanted to eat her cake?" he guessed again.

Gale nodded with a cheerful face at first, but then he shook his head with a flat face when he realized he had answered it with a wrong reaction.

He sighed.
"Gale, you shouldn't play with other people's feelings. If you don't have any feelings for her, it's better to reject her clearly. What you do right now is the same as using her."

"Alright, I understand..." said Gale, looking down in guilt but his hand didn't stop putting the cookies into his mouth.

Cley chuckled at Gale's act.
"General Gale, as an elemental spirit, your manners is worse than mine," he said in a teasing tone.

Gale turned at Cley with a displeased expression.
"You are still a kid, you shouldn't tease an adult like me," he said confidently.

"I'm seventeen years old! Seventeen years is an adult for a human!" replied Cley with a defensive tone.

Gaia sighed at both of them.
"Both of you are still like little kids."

Gale pointed at Cley.
"He's a kid, but I'm not."

Cley brushed aside Gale's hand.
"That's not true," he retorted.

"Stop it!" said Claire, trying to stop their fight, but they ignored her and kept arguing.

Angel looked at them and began to smile at their childish act.
'In the past, I also fought with Ilex for little things like this and Ophelia is the one who tried to stop us.' Then he shifted his eyes to the window that facing the North beside him, his gaze looked lonely. His eyes flitted around Luminus City's North gate, yet he couldn't find what he was looking for. Going further, his mind drifted far away through Graywood Village, Euphorion's Northern border, the Death Forest and Southpoint Town until it stopped at the sight of Golden Light Castle.
"Family... Home... Love..." he muttered. He realized he had lost all of it.

Angel was so lost in thought, Frost caught him spacing out.

He averted his eyes back to the room, looking at them.
'That's why I want to protect them. I don't want them to lose everything like me...'He took his sword that was placed beside his desk and walked towards the door without saying anything.

"Your Majesty, where are you going? Are you offended by them?" asked Claire worriedly.

He stopped his steps and turned his gaze to Claire.
"No, it's evening already. I'll have some practise at the training ground."

Claire turned to the nearest window and realized the sun was almost set before returning her gaze to him.
"Forgive me, I forgot to remind you of your schedule," she said, giving him a slight bow.

"It's fine," he answered simply. Then he resumed his steps and left the room.

Frost paused for a moment before finally he also moved to the exit.
"Where are you going?" asked Flare.

"I'll take a short walk," answered Frost, his hand opened the door and he walked out of the room.

Frost chased after Angel and walked beside him.

"Do you have something to report?" he asked Frost without stopping his steps.

"Nothing. But from your expression, it looks like you need a sparring partner," said Frost. Though Angel looked fine, Frost knew he was the type of person who kept his personal problems alone. That's why Frost decided to pay more attention to him.

He was surprised for a moment before he smiled at Frost.
"Fine, besides we haven't fought for a long time."