CHAPTER 128 COMPLETED
Special Side Story: An Unfinished Tale (9)
“Melvin, imagine slowly moving the healing energy gathered in your hands to your chest. Next, move it to your toes, then gradually up to the top of your head.”
“Ugh, it’s not working, Mother.”
“That’s okay. If you keep practicing, you’ll get used to it quickly.”
After returning to Pritan Castle, I taught Melvin how to use healing energy, just as Lady Poina had taught me before.
He couldn’t pick it up immediately, but he seemed relieved, as if confessing a long-hidden secret had lightened his heart.
“Why did you hide that from me?”
“I… I was just a little scared. Michaela told me that if Father and Mother knew, they would worry.”
Melvin muttered, looking a little downcast.
I held my son gently.
“Melvin, from now on, you must never hide anything from me.”
“I promise.”
Seeing Melvin smile shyly, I couldn’t help but smile too.
Oh dear, I realized I was far too soft with the children—it could get me into trouble.
Just as I resolved to find a stricter tutor, Milla came running over, her face pale as snow.
“Your Majesty, Queen! Please save our Ben. His Highness Miklok… he’s doing something to our Ben…”
What in the world was she saying now?
“Why Ben?”
I wanted to hear more, but trembling in fear, Milla couldn’t say a word.
I immediately went to find Mik.
To my surprise, he was in a small greenhouse attached to Michaela’s quarters.
Mik had his daughter hidden behind him and was glaring at Ben, the eldest son of Duke Clamens, with a drawn sword.
“Your Highness Miklok, what on earth is going on?”
I quickly stepped in front of the terrified Ben.
“How dare that brat!”
Mik shouted in anger.
“He kissed Michaela!”
Panicked, I quickly glanced at Michaela. Come to think of it, she wasn’t wearing her usual veil.
I gently pressed down Mik’s hand holding the sword.
I understood his anger, but seeing the King of Pritan acting this way over an eight-year-old boy wasn’t appropriate.
Reluctantly lowering the sword, Mik glared coldly at Ben before turning to Michaela.
“Michaela, what should I do with him? Tell me what you want. I’ll do exactly that.”
“I just want Father to calm down a bit. And apologize to Prince Ben.”
“What?”
Mik’s handsome face froze in shock at his daughter’s unexpected words.
“Ben did nothing wrong. I only kissed him when I wanted to.”
“What? So today isn’t the first time?”
I hurriedly grabbed Mik’s hand before he could get angry again. Then I looked at my daughter.
“Michaela, you need to explain it so your parents can understand. Otherwise, Prince Ben will be in a very awkward position.”
Michaela let out a light sigh at my words.
“It was the dragon’s breath.”
The sudden change of topic made Mik and me exchange glances.
“Right. It’s been fading recently.”
“Yes. Thanks to Prince Ben.”
“What?”
“Two years ago, Prince Ben accidentally kissed me when he fell, and from that moment, the dragon’s breath started to fade.”
Only then did Mik and I understand the situation.
The dragon’s breath, a hereditary ailment of the Pritan royal family, disappears entirely when true love is encountered.
Benjamin Clamens, eldest son of William and Milla.
Our daughter Michaela’s match had been astonishingly close all along.
After leaving the princess’s quarters, Miklok headed straight to his office but couldn’t focus on work.
Most of all, he found it difficult to stop glaring at Duke William, sitting closest to him.
“Let’s end today’s meeting here.”
“Eh? We just started!”
Duke Zenon, the chancellor, immediately objected, but Miklok didn’t listen.
“Then let the capable chancellor continue the meeting in my place.”
With that, he left without a second thought.
The complaints of the nobles and the chancellor rang in his ears, but he found them all annoying.
‘Maybe some fresh air will help.’
He stepped into the garden, but the breeze did nothing to calm his boiling temper.
‘Damn it.’
At that moment, Queen Lea’s head maid, Adel, came to him.
“Your Highness Miklok, this is a message from the Queen.”
Miklok took the note from Adel, his eyes widening.
“The Queen is waiting for me here?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lea had summoned him to the tallest bell tower in Pritan Castle, a place he had never visited despite being the castle’s lord.
Hurrying there, he found his wife, her long platinum hair flowing freely in the wind.
She struck him as even more beautiful and mysterious than ever.
“Lea, why here?”
“Come here, Miklok. The wind feels amazing.”
He immediately took her hand and stood beside her.
Indeed, the wind from the bell tower had a wildness the garden breeze couldn’t match.
He looked down at the castle.
Pritan, his kingdom he had raised with devotion, stretched endlessly to the horizon.
He wrapped his arms around his wife from behind, careful not to let Pritan’s notorious strong winds harm her.
“You didn’t know, did you? When the Pritan army returned from expeditions, the Duchess of Clamens and I would always wait here.”
“Why?”
“From here, we could see you and the Pritan army arrive first.”
Understanding Lea’s intentions, he bowed his head and kissed her hair.
“Next time, just sit comfortably. The Pritan army and I always return victorious.”
“I know. But I just want to see you as soon as possible.”
Miklok smiled warmly, tightening his embrace.
Leaning happily against him, Lea gently stroked his arm.
“Mik, are you upset because of Michaela?”
“Upset? No, I’m just troubled, thinking she forced herself to endure Prince Ben’s kiss to erase the dragon’s breath quickly.”
He felt guilty, knowing he had passed this problem to his daughter.
But Lea laughed softly and looked at him.
“Mik, that’s your misunderstanding. Do you think our daughter would endure a kiss from someone she dislikes?”
“Of course not.”
“Exactly. She’s just like you—there’s no way she’d tolerate something she dislikes.”
Lea nodded confidently, but Miklok still looked doubtful.
“Could it be… Michaela really likes Ben?”
“She told me herself. She said she likes him because he’s handsome.”
“What?”
Miklok asked in disbelief. Ben resembled both his father William, with a sturdy build, and mother Milla, with a round, cute face—but handsome? That was hard to agree with objectively.
“Maybe if it were Oscar, I’d understand. But Ben?”
“She likes him, so he seems handsome to her.”
Lea’s clear explanation put his confusion to rest. Miklok would have objected even if Michaela had liked Oscar.
“So you must never show displeasure at Ben, if you don’t want Michaela to dislike you.”
“Hmph.”
Miklok grumbled and buried his face in Lea’s hair, genuinely displeased with the situation.
“Isn’t Oscar refusing to return to the Harun Kingdom?”
“Yes. Since he betrayed Princess Margaret, the royal family won’t spare him. The Ozcal family has already been destroyed.”
Lea paused. Seeing her stepdaughter and older daughter treated as tools for profit and then die miserably reminded her of the cruelty of the previous Ozcal Marquis. Her anger flared again.
“For such a family, being destroyed is deserved. Mik, I want to bring Oscar to Pritan.”
“Oscar?”
“Yes. His ability to explore underground is a type of magic, right? We have many 3rd-circle or higher mages, so we can quickly find him a mentor.”
Recalling how she had struggled to control her healing power, Miklok nodded.
“Alright, if Oscar wants to come, we’ll bring him.”
“Thank you, Mik.”
Lea quickly kissed his cheek. Miklok turned to face her.
“How’s Melvin’s training going these days?”
“Very well. Lady Poina will visit Pritan Castle soon, so we can have him evaluated.”
“That’s good. Then we have nothing to worry about now.”
He looked into Lea’s eyes.
“Yes. From now on, only happiness remains.”
Her dazzling smile made Miklok almost dizzy; a surge of heat rose within him.
“Lea.”
He reached to caress her cheek, but she grabbed his hand first.
Caught off guard, he stepped closer to her.
Lea wrapped her arms around his neck and, on tiptoe, kissed him passionately.
“Lea!”
Responding eagerly to her sweet provocation, Miklok lifted her in his arms. She was always astonishingly bold and fearless.
Lea whispered admiringly,
“Mik, how can you stay this handsome all the time?”
“Born with it.”
“I love you. I love you more than you can imagine.”
“Not more than I love you.”
Miklok claimed her lips again with fervor.
The notorious winds of Pritan swept around the castle’s highest bell tower, but they could not cool the heat flowing between the two.
