性瘾者

MONA had to be moved to the \'Elf Gate 3\' to be able to meet Gavin Quinzel.

Since her body was still weak, she couldn\'t move on her own. Thus, Tara ordered the little fairies in the palace to bring her there safely. Before she knew it, she was already lying down on a giant leaf bed. Her body was covered by a warm blanket up to her neck.

And yes, the giant leaf bed was floating in the air.

It was embarrassing to be seen by the beings living in the palace in that state. Thankfully, the fairies soon used a teleportation spell. The next thing she knew, she was already in a cozy room that looked like a tea room in Tara\'s palace.

After she arrived safely in the room, the little fairies disappeared to give her privacy.

Mona smiled when she saw the familiar face behind the transparent wall that divided the Spirit World and the Elf Village. "Gavin," she greeted him, then she got up and leaned against the leaf bed\'s wide stem that served as its headboard. "I\'m glad to see you."

Gavin Quinzel, who was standing on the other side of the transparent wall, smiled back at her. "I\'m glad to see you as well, Lady Roseheart," he said, then his face became concerned as he gazed at the leaf bed. "You still don\'t look well, my lady."

"I\'m feeling better now, Gavin," she assured him. "Tara is just being overly protective."

After saying that, she turned to the dark-robed elf beside Gavin.

The elf who noticed her gaze pulled his hood down to show his handsome face. "Greetings, Lady Roseheart," he greeted her with a respectful bow. "My name is Lukas and I am the Messenger of Lord Helstor."

Lord Helstor.

If she remembered it correctly, it was the name of the God of Eternal Darkness according to Gavin.

[It made sense that Gavin is with Lukas.]

"I was wondering how you were able to reach the Elf Village easily, Gavin," she said, then she turned to the elf. "Thank you for bringing Gavin here, Lord Lukas."

"Please just call me by my name, Lady Roseheart," Lukas said. "I am nothing compared to the treasured child of the Cosmic Tree."

She couldn\'t believe the elf was saying that even though he was the Messenger of a god.

The God of Eternal Darkness might not be as popular as the Moon God. But a god was still a god. That made Lukas\'s status higher than hers. But if he wanted her to talk to him casually, she would respect it.

Perhaps, he must be hiding the fact that he was a Messenger from other people.

"I understand, Lukas," she said, letting him know that she respected his wishes. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Lady Roseheart."

"Is it Lord Helstor\'s will for you to help me?"

"I\'ll be honest, Lady Roseheart," the elf said in a serious voice. "Lord Helstor wishes to help Commander Quinzel– his precious child."

Ah, right.

Gods treated the humans that worshipped them as their children, just like how a god would treat their descendants. Apparently, the Quinzels had originally worshipped Lord Helstor before switching to serve Lord Yule instead.

"But Lord Helstor couldn\'t directly help Commander Quinzel because my lord isn\'t as strong as he used to be."

It wasn\'t unexpected.

Gods grew weak if they lost their followers, especially if the humans they considered as their children had forgotten about them.

"Thus, Lord Helstor sent me here to assist Commander Quinzel," Lukas continued. "So if the commander wishes to help my lady, then my lady can consider me as an ally from now on."

It wasn\'t a bad offer.

Elves were Nature\'s children. And she got along well with Nature\'s children even though she was a human because of her ability to control Spirits.

"Thank you for taking care of Gavin, Lukas," she said with a relieved smile on her face. "I\'m pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, Lady Roseheart," Lukas said, then he bowed politely. "I shall excuse myself now. I\'m sure my lady and Commander Quinzel need privacy."

The left said goodbye to her and Gavin before quietly leaving the room on the other side of the transparent wall.

Now, only her and the commander were face-to-face.

"You\'ve found a good ally, Gavin," she commented. "But it seems like you haven\'t told your family about Lukas and Lord Helstor yet."

"To be honest, I don\'t know how to proceed, Lady Roseheart," Gavin admitted while scratching his cheek as if he was shy. "Our family serves Lord Yule now. And according to Lukas, Lord Helstor doesn\'t want our family to worship him again. Apparently, Lord Helstor just needs one of the Quinzels to recognize him once again for him to maintain his power as a god. Since I\'m the next head of the family, Lord Helstor chose me as his "child.""

"What does Lord Helstor want from the next duke of House Quinzel?" she asked seriously. "The chance of gods moving on a whim is higher than the chance of them moving out of goodwill."

"According to Lukas, the more I feel grateful to Lord Helstor, the more the God of Eternal Darkness grows stronger," the commander explained. "It\'s not a bad deal. I\'ll get as much help as I could from Lord Helstor since he clearly stated that he only needs my positive feelings. I\'ll make sure that Lord Helstor wouldn\'t be able to make me do his bidding just because he\'s looking out for me."

She smiled, satisfied that Gavin was being smart about the situation. "Still, be careful. Lord Helstor is still a god."

"I understand. Thank you for worrying about me, Lady Roseheart."

She just smiled, then she turned serious. "Did Nikolai send you here?"

The commander smiled awkwardly before he explained. "It\'s not like I only came here because His Majesty ordered me to, my lady," he said. "I\'m also worried about you and the royal twins."

"Where did you learn that I\'m carrying twins?"

"Madam Hammock told me," he explained. "The madam is also worried about you, Lady Roseheart."

"How\'s Nikolai?"

"His Majesty… is in a bad mood."

Nikolai being in a bad mood was probably Gavin toning it down.

[Knowing Nikolai, he definitely went lunatic after I ran away from him.]

"Gavin."

"Yes, my lady?"

"Did Nikolai order you to get rid of my babies?"

Gavin\'s face turned grim, then he avoided her gaze.

Her heart sank once again.

[Nikolai ordered Gavin to kill my babies, huh?]

As if it wasn\'t enough that Nikolai tried to kill her babies, he also had to give Gavin such a cruel order!

"Lady Roseheart, it seems like I have to defy His Majesty for the first time in my life," Gavin said when he looked into her eyes again. "I can\'t do it. I can\'t kill the innocent royal twins. Most of all, I can\'t hurt you that way." He smiled nervously while scratching his cheek. "This may be impudent of me to say but I sincerely see my lady as my younger sister. Thus, I see the royal twins as my nieces the same way I see Rufus\'s child."

She was touched.

In fact, she almost cried.

Gavin was a childhood friend but she didn\'t expect that he would choose her over his loyalty to Nikolai. But maybe it wasn\'t because of their friendship. Perhaps, Gavin was just too kind-hearted to carry out a cruel order even if it was for the emperor.

[I mean, I don\'t see Gavin as a saint. He had killed so many people at war. Some of them were even innocent and young. But to think that he cares about my babies more than his duty as Nikolai\'s Paladin…]

"Lady Roseheart, I will not carry out His Majesty\'s order," Gavin said determinedly. "I will do my best to stop him from reaching you. So please stay in the Spirit World as long as you need to. I will protect you and the royal twins even if it means betraying the throne."

She shook her head. "You don\'t have to go that far for me and my babies, Gavin. Even if it\'s you, Nikolai will kill you if you stop him from chasing me."

"I will put my life on the line for you and the royal twins, my lady."

She smiled and sighed. "I can\'t let you do that, Gavin. You\'re my friend, and you\'re the future of House Quinzel. Moreover, it will be a huge loss to the empire if we suddenly lost the commander of the White Lion Knights."

The commander fell silent for a while before speaking again. "Then, I will talk to His Majesty first and convince him that the royal twins won\'t harm you, Lady Roseheart."

Mona smiled and nodded even though she knew that Nikolai wouldn\'t change his mind. Still, it was better than Gavin directly disobeying the emperor\'s command. "Gavin, thank you for being on our side," she said sincerely. "Take care of yourself."

Gavin smiled and bowed. Then, he sighed and spoke as if he was talking to himself. "It would be nice if His Majesty suddenly lost his memories," he said in a passing. "Perhaps, His Majesty wouldn\'t be this angry…"

That made Mona think.

Erase the emperor\'s memories?

[I have the ability to do that…]

***

"I THOUGHT you were going back to the Royal Capital to talk to His Majesty or something."

Gavin, who was sitting on the windowsill while admiring the beautiful Elf Village, turned to Lukas who entered his room without knocking. "Lukas, I know this is your house and I\'m just a guest," he said. "But let\'s not forget our manners. I would appreciate it if you knock first before entering my room."

He was annoyed by the fact that Lukas interrupted his thoughts. Before the elf entered the room, he was reminiscing the life that he lived as Kim Won-shik.

His memories with Go Areum weren\'t someone else\'s memories.

He was Kim Won-shik.

In this world, he had been unconscious for only three months.

But during that time, he had spent more than twenty years in Korea as Kim Won-shik. His feelings and his memories were all real. Moreover, he deeply fell in love with Go Areum. She didn\'t reciprocate his feelings back then, but it was because he was too passive.

Now, he gained confidence as Gavin Quinzel. Once he returned to Earth, he\'d confess and do everything he could to make Go Areum love him.

Lukas just shrugged, then he sat on the edge of the bed. "What\'s your next plan?"

"You\'re a Swordsman, aren\'t you?"

"Yes, I am. What about it?"

"Cut me. From here…" he said to the elf. Then, he pointed at his left shoulder to his right ribcage. "To here. Make sure it\'s deep and would leave a scar."

He didn\'t care about having another scar since his body was already covered with it.

"Why do I have to cut you in that specific manner, Commander?"

"That\'s His Majesty\'s signature attack when he\'s pissed but he doesn\'t have the intention to kill," he explained to the elf. "And if he wants to kill a person, he\'d behead them."

Lukas fell silent for a while before he laughed like a lunatic. "Ah, I see your plan now," he said while nodding. "Do you want Lady Roseheart to think that His Majesty attacked you for failing to bring her back to the palace?"

"I\'m glad that you\'re sharp."

[It\'s a tricky move but I have to be bold if I want to succeed.]

"Commander, aren\'t you underestimating the relationship between His Majesty and Lady Roseheart too much?" the elf asked. "Are you confident that Lady Roseheart won\'t question the fact that His Majesty hurt his precious cousin? His Majesty treats you better than he treated Princess Nichole when the Princess Royal was still alive."

He laughed at the elf\'s concern. "Lukas, His Majesty tried to kill his own children. If I were Lady Roseheart, I\'d think that His Majesty had lost his mind and would kill anyone who gets in his way."

"Oh, you have a point."

Gavin stood up and faced Lukas properly. "Now, get your sword and do your best to harm me," he said. "My body, even without Mana, is sturdy so you better use your full strength, Lukas."

"Of course, I\'ll do it properly," Lukas said happily, then he stood up and opened his palm. A few moments later, a sword materialized. The elf grabbed the hilt tight. "It\'s not every day that I get the chance to slash the commander of the White Lion Knights after all."

***

"ERASING NIKOLAI\'s memories is too much, isn\'t it?" Mona asked Tara worriedly while the two of them were having tea in the queen\'s garden. "Despite everything that happened between us, I still don\'t want him to forget the precious memories we had together."

Tara let out a deep sigh. "And it\'s not like erasing Emperor Nikolai\'s memories will solve your problem," she said while shaking her head. "That man is obsessed with you, Mona. You have to take his love for you if you decide to erase his memories."

"Huh?" she asked, surprised. "I know that I have the ability to erase other people\'s memories. It\'s the ability that I gained when I summoned Marina, the Water Spirit who could wash away memories with her water. But do I have the ability to take one\'s feelings away?"

"Oh, you don\'t have it?" the queen asked casually. "You have the potential to do so since you have the Light Spirit with you. I can teach you if you want."

"That sounds tempting," she said hesitantly. "But taking one\'s feelings away, especially if it\'s love, sounds cruel."

"You have to be cruel sometimes," the queen said. "Especially if you\'re dealing with a lunatic like Emperor Nikolai. I\'m telling you, Mona. That crazy man won\'t stop chasing you even if you erase his memories."

She wanted to laugh it off but she couldn\'t.

After all, she knew that Nikolai would really do what the queen feared.

[Taking Nikolai\'s love for me sounds cruel but it also sounds effective.]

She was grateful that the only man she loved in her life loved her back.

But Nikolai loved her too much. She wasn\'t happy with the fact that he loved her more than he loved their children. Although they mutually agreed to conceive a child, Nikolai immediately changed his mind when he found out that her pregnancy was putting her life at risk.

"Mona, you know that Emperor Nikolai won\'t let you go easily, don\'t you?" Tara asked seriously. "He tried to kill your babies. He\'s out of his mind."

She bit her lower lip but she couldn\'t deny what the queen had assumed.

Their conversation was interrupted when a little fairy the size of an adult\'s thumb appeared. After the little fairy said her apologies, she flew towards Tara\'s ear and whispered something. The horror that flashed in the queen\'s eyes made her nervous.

"Mona."

"Is it Nikolai?" she asked nervously.

"No, but that lunatic is involved," the queen said while shaking her head. "The elf that helped Commander Gavin Quinzel reach one of the Spirit World\'s gates is here again. Apparently, he needs our help because the commander is heavily injured."

Her heart thumped against her chest hard. "Injured?"

Tara let out a deep sigh before she answered. "It seems like Emperor Nikolai almost killed Commander Quinzel."

Mona\'s heart sank.

[Nikolai, how long are you going to keep me disappointed?]

***

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