[Throne room]

The room was wide and sparse, with bright glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling illuminating the room, on the marble floor there was a rectangular bright red carpet that extended from the double doors all the way to the base of the throne, there was a row of seats on each side of the room.

A man with lustrous golden blonde hair and strikingly deep blue eyes was seated in a rather gaudy throne made from gold with silver armrest that were inlaid with various gems on the sides. The man was handsome with fair skin and a chiseled Jaw, and a well kept goatee of a beard, in contrast to the throne, his crown was relatively simple only being made from gold without any adorned crystals.

The doors to the throne room opened and the Duke walked in briskly, the king scowled seeing the Duke, while he was curious with how the man managed to walk while basically blind he had chalked it up to be a result of the duke’s great martial prowess that had heightened his senses

Arriving a few meters before the king, He kneeled before him and offered his greeting. He was certain there shouldn’t be anything special that the king would need to talk to him about, plus he doesn’t believe that his target would be able to inform anyone of any information she receives from Gerrick and it would be the words of a duke against the word of a commoner( Gerrick) the odds were on his side.

“your Majesty, you requested my presence?”

He asked whilst taking a bow, Despite how it may seem the Duke was an individual that was loyal to his country and right now he was only trying to achieve his own goal so he has yet to commit any form of treason.

“indeed I have something to discuss with you, I apologize if I called you at the wrong time.?

“No need to apologize, your Majesty, I am your humble servant, loyal to the throne

He was a bit relieved as it seemed that whatever the king called him for wasn’t what he thought it was, so at least that was good, he was certain that the Bush people he ordered to be massacred were not recognized as citizens of the Elderon kingdom however he did kind of commit genocide hence why he needed to look over the laws of the kingdom and if he can be arrested or not.

“It is great to hear that Duke Basterbine, your loyalty to the kingdom is unquestionable”

The king paused before clearing his throat and speaking again.

“recently it has been brought to my attention that we allow the Magic Institute too much freedom. What do you think of this Duke?”

The Duke quirked a brow at the king’s words, the question seemed to come out of nowhere, while he was aware that the mages were trying to summon something, he was also quite certain that the magic Institute and the two magic towers in their control had a rather amicable relationship with the Kingdom.

“your Majesty, I do not fully understand. Could you please elaborate”

He asked, while he generally understood what the king meant he did not want to offer an opinion on a matter that he isn’t familiar with, it’s also to ensure that the plans that the mages are plotting aren’t ruined as that would effect his own goal as well.

“I believe I was quite clear in my Phrasing. Does the magic Institute have too much freedom in this kingdom?”

The king repeated, for the most part the answer would be yes, the magic Institute has been a great boon to the kingdom ever since it’s founding a hundred years ago and it is through it that the Peace between the Mage republic and the Elderon kingdom has lasted. The mages do however get an excessive amount of freedom for instance the kingdom allows independent research and will not interfere in any research conducted as long no noble of the kingdom funds it, there’s also the fact that the mages can operate anywhere in the kingdom as long as it benefits the kingdom or they commit not crimes, they do pay taxes and are subject to same laws as all citizens but aside from that there aren’t that many restrictions on their actions.

“The answer to that question would be yes, your Majesty”

The Duke spoke, it was obvious that the king was somewhat suspicious of the mages and that he suspects that they’re doing some shady that might put the kingdom at risk, this also might be a ploy to find out who is in league with them after the question he asked was one that required the whole noble court to discuss. Also if he had answered no then he would have proven that he wasn’t quite loyal to the kingdom as he thought he was but he didn’t unfortunately now the mages are at risk of being compromised and he might not get what he wants.

“and why do you think so?”

The king’s brows seemed to be lifted up as he leaned forward from his chair.

…….

“Who are you!!”

Gerrick hurriedly asked and he did his best to use his legs to try and get away from the white haired individual, pushing with his legs and scooching on the ground before his back was met with a wall, his eyes darted around taking in the sights of the cave and feeling the somewhat damp floor. His face showed an expression of fear and shock. He was certain that Shian had nearly killed him, but he somehow ended up in this place with a weirdly menacing little girl.

“Where am I?!! What is this place?!!”

He frantically asked his eyes, never stopping to wander around looking for an exit or something to help him escape, but he found nothing. Elia on the other hand looked at him with mild curiosity and interest, for the most part taking him back to the capital so that he may confess to what the Duke had done should be the correct move however she is also interested in the spirit arts that he displayed

“do you want me to answer your first question or?”

She asked with a nonchalant attitude as a chair made of wood quickly formed and she sat on it, surprising Gerrick at the same time, he wasn’t knowledgeable when it came to magic but he was certain that what the girl just did was impossible to accomplish by conventional means, quickly discarding his shock he took a breath to calm himself before answering her question.

“please answer my first question”

He spoke, for the time being he was safe, he did not know where he was however he was certain that he was far away from Shian and thus far from the duke, meaning that he was at least safe, it’s possible that this girl was planning to kill him but her attitude does not suggest that, not to mention that why bother answering his questions if she was going to kill him, and even if she did want to kill him answering his questions buys him time.

“Well, my Name is Kaguya Otsotsuki, I’m something of a foreigner”

She answered, obviously giving him her true name was out of the question and it’s always a safe bet to be cautious around strangers even if they seem helpless, at the very least her encounter with Adam had caused her to mistrust anyone not related to her by blood.

“This place you’re in right now is an underground cavern located beneath Marquis Benneth’s territory, so right now we’re south of the kingdom near the sea”

Hearing her words Gerrick gasped, shocked by her words, Her name definitely sounded foreign not did it resemble any names from the neighbouring countries, however what was more shocking was the words she spoke regarding the location. it did not seem believable that he would be that far away from the capital, even teleportation magic wasn’t that powerful, at least as far as he was aware. He did not know much about Magic, but he was certain it was still not that powerful.

Marquis Benneth’s territory is quite far from the capital, further than most Noble territories are from the capital. Who she was, she was definitely incredibly powerful, which meant  he had to watch his words.

Of course, that was all a lie, and Gerrick would probably come to that conclusion by himself, or at least  she believes he should. Elia did not want to risk anything, if someone was trying to kill Gerrick it would give him peace of mind thinking he was quite far away from the capital, however the lie she told was also to ensure that her own family doesn’t get involved with this whole mess.

Perhaps it was because she never had one in her old world as such she never understood its importance or rather she understood it on a surface level and not any deeper than that however right now the thought of her family being in danger horrified her and she would never put them  in such danger, being the one who is most gifted in her family in terms of magic and strength it was obvious that her duty was to protect her family.

“Does that answer your questions? And don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you”

Gerrick nodded as he let out a sigh of relief and he felt his body become visibly less tense however, now that it has been somewhat established that he is in no immediate danger the next question would be in regards to what she wants from him.

“okay, but why did you bring me here? what do you want with me?”

He asked as he slowly stood on his feet, he could feel that his knees were still a bit shaky, he feared death more than he had thought he did, he couldn’t help but feel like a hypocrite, what right did he have to live? He may have been following orders at the time, but the actions he took were his own. He deserved death more than anyone, and he should have accepted that, yet he clung to life like a cockroach.

“Well for the most part, I was-“

“OH!!! SHIT MY WIFE”

.........

A/N: Oh shit his wife!!

Anyway, merry Christmas, a little belated, but be late than never, I guess.

JJK IS ending this week, and the season has been so hype. I'm kind of sad that the season is over.

I'll  never forgive Gege for throwing away Todo like that.