Seymour did not know how to approach the King and enquire about his state of mind, especially when he was switching his moods faster than anything he had ever seen. Barely a moment ago, he was ready to rip anyone's head off who dared to stand in his way. But now, he had calmed down on his own and it looked as though his anger was all Seymour's illusion.
"Your Majesty, is something the matter? Did something happen?" Eventually, Seymour gathered all the courage in him and voiced his confusion, hoping against hope that his King would not lash out at him for his rudeness.
Seymour was waiting for his King to lose control again. But all he received was a low, amused chuckle and Seymour widened his eyes in disbelief. Though it was not rare for him to see his King laugh, it was the first time he heard his unrestrained and hearty laugh.
Every other time when Seymour had heard his King laugh, it was only sardonic or sinister. It indicated that hell was about to let loose and someone was about to meet his doom. However, this was the first time since he had started working for the King that he was seeing him laugh in delight and Seymour could not make out the reason for it.
"Your Majesty," Seymour exclaimed, his lips too arching up in delight.
"Seymour, were you not asking what had happened for me to lose control before?" Kieran focused his attention on him for a moment. "Let me reply to you now. I saw my Queen just now. I saw Irene and.." Kieran was just about to point in her direction when he noticed her absence in the spot he had seen her previously.
"Where did she go?" He frowned and Seymour followed his line of sight to see no one in sight. Other than the stall owner selling stoles, no one was around. "Irene was right here," Kieran stated and walked towards where Irene had been standing.
"How did she vanish this quickly?" He wondered and looked around, searching for the familiar face. But he could not find her even after looking for long. Eventually, he closed his eyes and tried to track her. But again, he could not sense her presence anywhere around him and his frown only deepened.
Kieran then recalled the conversation he had overheard when he was keeping an eye on his girl and he let out a sigh. 'Did the girl with her not ask her to return home and take some rest? I presume she must have left with her. Why did I not notice her leave the place?' He wondered before he faced Seymour again.
"Irene must have left the place. Otherwise, I would have shown her to you and it would have been easy for us to track her down. Though I do not mind organizing a meeting on the last day of the Mid-Autumn Festival just for her and celebrate her return." Kieran smiled widely and Seymour did not know how to react now. He just stared at him blankly, waiting for his next words, when his gaze fell on his King's hands slowly making their way towards the pockets inside his coat.
Kieran pulled out the pink stole and caressed it gently with a smile. He recalled how divine Irene had looked with the stole around her neck and immediately, his heart was filled with an unknown warmth. It was as though all the happiness he had been deprived of for years had come knocking at his door at once, embracing him tightly.
Kieran could not stop smiling and Seymour was becoming impatient as time passed.
"Your Majesty, who does this stole belong to?" He had just asked the question before the realization hit him and he widened his eyes immediately. Kieran just smiled at him on seeing his baffled look. "Does this stole belong to our Queen?" Even though he already knew the answer, Seymour still wanted the King to confirm it.
"Yes, it belongs to Irene," Kieran affirmed and went back to caressing the stole, leaving Seymour with a lot of questions in his mind.
"Your Majesty, how did you obtain it? Did Queen Irene give it to you?" A visible glint passed through his King's eyes as soon as he addressed the girl he loved as the Queen. "When did you obtain it from her? Why do I not recall it, Your Majesty?"
Kieran let out a chuckle in amusement before he placed the stole back in his pocket. "Seymour, you do know that you ask a lot of questions, do you not?" Seymour did not react and waited for the King to continue. "Although I would like to reveal how I got my hands on this stole, I will keep this a secret for now. Let us just say I used some of my powers to get it."
Kieran just winked at him and started walking, leaving a stunned Seymour looking at his back. But the old Duke immediately came out of his stupor and rushed to follow him.
"Your Majesty, I do not understand. What happened here?" He showed his helplessness, hoping for his King to pity him.
But it was all his wishful thinking. Kieran just kept walking as he took in the sight around him. He was smirking in joy and Seymour realized he would not be getting his answer now.
Seymour could only sigh in defeat and follow the powerful man silently. They covered two streets, looking at all the stalls one by one and had just entered the third street when a commotion broke out.
People started to run around as they screamed for their lives. They seemed terrified as they kept running for their lives. Even the stall owners, who were selling their items with delight and full vigor, stopped their work and began to run, leaving their belongings where they were.
Kieran's pleasant mood vanished as soon as he saw his subjects running around in fear and he frowned in annoyance. "What is happening? Why are the people running away in fear?"
"I am uncertain, Your Majesty. Let me ask someone." Seymour immediately stopped one of the men who was rushing by them. "Would you mind telling us what is happening here? Why are all of you running in fear?"
"We just received information that the King's men are here and every time they come here, someone gets killed. We do not want to risk being killed. So, we are all running to hide from them." The man did not speak any further and ran away from the place, leaving Kieran and Seymour to deal with the situation they had no idea about.
