In the judgment hall, King Nestor and Alex stood facing each other.
Nestor: You're still as sure of yourself as ever, I see. But don't do anything foolish—one wrong move could cost you your life.
With a slight curl of his lip, Alex replied:
Alex: I know. And if this is my last day, why not make the most of it? Unfortunately, it's only knights here today. I would've been quite a hit otherwise! But anyway, if you want me to tell you where the princess is… let me think.
Alex raised his head, touched his chin, scratched his hair, then said:
Alex: Ah, right! I'm not involved in her kidnapping or the attack. Let's not forget that I actually fought to protect her.
King Nestor looked at him, full of hatred, and thought:
(Nestor): (This boy… I don't understand him. He doesn't even flinch. It's stronger than me—he has a talent for getting on my nerves.)
Alex: Am I annoying you, Your Majesty? Let's keep it simple, then. What do you want to know?
As he said that, Alex displayed a calm so disconcerting it bordered on arrogance.
The King then asked, in a controlled tone:
Nestor: Do you know what it's like to truly care about someone, boy?
Alex: Personally? No. But I'm aware of the feeling.
Nestor inhaled deeply, then demanded:
Nestor: In that case—where have you hidden her? What condition is she in?! Speak, you insolent brat!
(Alex): (So, here we are—back at the start of this ridiculous adventure.)
Alex lowered his head first and took a deep breath. The gesture made his long ponytail fall forward. Then he raised his head and said:
Alex: Could you tell me what exactly you expect from me? I already said it—I did nothing. I don't know where Melty is.
He turned his head slightly and continued:
Alex: And she's the one who kicked me in the balls before running off.
That pushed the King to his limit. His expression completely changed as he shouted:
Nestor: Boy, this isn't a joke! Where have you put my beloved daughter?!
With a cold azure gaze, Alex said:
Alex: I have no idea. But if you want to see her again, release me, and I'll go find her. I'll bring back your precious daughter.
A moment of silence followed—then an exhale, and a subtle hand motion from the King on his throne before he said:
Nestor: I see now… you wish to test me. Then—cut off his head!
(Alex): (Well, I'm screwed. What the hell do I do now? I thought that bluff would work, and now what?!)
One of the executioners raised his axe and began to bring it down. Alex shouted:
Alex: Stop!!!
With a flick of the King's hand, the executioner froze. The King asked:
Nestor: Have you finally decided to tell me where my daughter is?
Alex: Hmm… nope!
Nestor: Then you're wasting my time.
Alex: Seriously though, I can find her—if you let me go search for her.
The King glared at Alex, then said:
Nestor: Your problem, boy, is your insolence.
He lowered his arm to signal the executioner. Slowly, Alex felt his end approaching and thought:
(Alex): (He calls me insolent? That pompous bastard! He thinks I'm going to die here? He's dreaming.)
As the axe came down, a smile appeared on Alex's lips.
Then suddenly, the ground shook violently. While everyone lost their balance, Alex calmly took the opportunity to vanish.
Nestor noticed and shouted:
Nestor: He's gone! Find him—now!
But because of the tremor, none of the knights could keep their footing, and they all stumbled. A moment later, the shaking stopped, and the knights rushed out to search for Alex—but none of them found him.
At that moment, Ella—who was in her room—heard a knock at her window. When she opened it, she saw Alex hanging outside.
He simply said:
Alex: Hey. Mind if I come in?
Completely stunned, she asked:
Ella: Alex? How on earth did you get here?
Alex climbed in slowly and answered:
Alex: What do you mean? You're the one who helped me. You're really talented, you know—casting such a large-scale spell, that's worthy of a great mage.
As he said that, Alex stood up, glanced around Ella's room, and added:
Alex: You've got a pretty big room—at least three times larger than mine. And you're in the new palace too—it's way nicer than the old one.
Listening to him talk, Ella asked:
Ella: Have you even thought about what you're going to do now?
Alex stared off into space for a moment, thinking, then said:
Alex: I'm gonna take a nap, then figure it out later.
Ella, surprised by that answer, exclaimed:
Ella: What?! And where exactly are you planning to do that?
Alex looked to the side in a dumb sort of way, pointed his finger, and said:
Alex: Well, in that big bed right there.
Ella's face twisted in shock at what Alex had just said. Alex immediately threw himself into the bed and said:
Alex: Ah, yeah—and you should change clothes too, you're still in your nightgown.
He wasn't wrong—but this time, Ella just stopped thinking and said to herself:
(Ella): (Where does this guy even come from?)
Then there was a knock at the door, followed by a voice:
Tanya: Ella, are you there? It's me, Tanya. I want to talk to you about something.
Hearing that, Ella asked Alex:
Ella: What do we do now?
Almost asleep already, Alex replied:
Alex: Figure something out.
And then he fell completely asleep.
Faced with this situation, Ella took a deep breath and thought:
(Ella): (This is such a pain. Why did I get involved in all this again?)
She walked slowly toward the door. Fortunately, her large room worked to her advantage: her bed was in another section behind a small sitting area that led to the door. Even though there wasn't a wall separating the spaces, the bed was tucked behind part of the wall, out of direct sight.
(Ella): (Alright… just act natural.)
She grabbed the handle, exhaled sharply, and opened the door. But as soon as she did, Tanya rushed in and headed straight toward the bedroom, saying:
Tanya: Ella, you won't believe what just happened! Out of curiosity, I went to see Alex's trial since you wouldn't wake up—
As she headed toward the bedroom, Ella followed, trying to stop her—but Tanya moved too fast and came face to face with Alex, fast asleep. She froze, turned toward Ella, and asked:
Tanya: Ella… care to explain this?
END OF CHAPTER
Author's Note:
Alright, this time I'm giving you this chapter as a gift. I got a lot of grief over it, but I finally finished it. Still waiting on your comments.
This was Ben. See you soon.
NEXT CHAPTER: The Princess's Assassination Attempt (Final)