Chapter 22 - Fulfillment of Promise

"Who are you?!"

The guards pointed their swords towards the female wearing a white robe. She suddenly appeared out of thin air. A blue veil was covering her face except for her blue eyes.

The girl spoke while casually walking towards the imperial family.

"My...my...you should have shown that energy earlier towards that demon,"

Almon stood and blocked her way and spoke coldly.

"Please state your identity. Otherwise, we will treat you as an enemy."

The female smiled, then responded.

"Ten minutes..."

"What?"

"If you continue to block me, your prince will be dead after ten minutes."

The Empress panicked and grabbed the Emperor's hand.

"Let her," the Emperor commanded.

The guards and Almon stepped back, and the mysterious female walked towards them.

"How did you know a demon attacked us?" Almon asked.

"Because I could still feel its disgusting aura lingering on the air. Forgive my late introduction. My name is Louise Von Royalle," the female replied.

"Can you help my son?" the Empress asked.

She did not answer but held the prince's hands and placed a bracelet on it then emitted a bluish aura. Then slowly, the black veins visible on the prince earlier were being gathered and suck by the bracelet. Finally, the people around saw that its color changed to black as well.

"How cruel," she pulled out the bracelet and, in a flicked of her finger, turned it into dust.

Even though the bracelet removed the black veins, the prince did not wake up, and his face was still pale. The nobles were curious, but they could not see what was happening since the guards surrounded the imperial family.

Louise called out.

"Hey elf."

Almon almost twitched his mouth hearing this

"My name is Almon."

Louise, as if she did not hear his introduction commanded.

"Open a teleportation to the prince quarters."

Almon waved his hand, and a teleportation circle appeared and covered the four people.

He stayed behind and appeased the other remaining nobles before sending them home.

***

Prince Renart's Quarter.

The prince was still unconscious as they placed him atop his bed. The Empress could not stop her tears from flowing while looking at her son.

Emperor Walter, on the other hand, kept his composure. He stared at the girl who was with them and asked.

"Louise, was it? You mentioned that you were a bit too late. Are you specifically chasing those demons?"

Louise finally removed her veil, and her face became visible to the couple. After seeing the beautiful look of the maiden, the couple was a bit taken aback.

"Well, you could say that. Those monsters were fugitives. I could not believe that they were already creating havoc. It's giving me a headache," the girl said.

"What would happen to my son?" Emperor Walter asked.

"He should be fine, for now. But, unfortunately, the curse hit his vital organs, especially the heart. He would regain his consciousness for a while, but it would only be for a short time," Louise responded.

"Then what should we do?"

Almon suddenly appeared in the room using a teleportation circle.

"How was it?" the Emperor asked the elf.

"We sent the noble to their own home successfully. So you don't need to worry, your Imperial majesty."

He stared at Louise which face was now visible in his eyes. The elf was slightly surprised, but he did not feel any inferiority. They are creatures with a beautiful appearance, to begin with.

"Who was that demon? Why did he attack only the prince?"

Louise looked at him passively and explained.

"They are called Boruca. We knew them as ferocious, and they survived by eating mana. You have seen what he did earlier, so you should understand what I'm talking about"

Then she continued.

"To answer your second question, it's because the prince had a strong vitality and large mana at his disposal. If you were not a powerful elf, then he might also attack you earlier."

"He was in a hurry. That's what he said."

"Oh, that stupid demon should have felt me. That's why it ran away."

The three look at Louise as if asking why. She shrugged and answered them.

"I was ordered to capture them and return them to their prison."

When the emperor heard this, he opened his mouth to ask.

"Who are you?"

"Didn't I mentioned it earlier? My name is Louise Von Royalle,"

The mysterious female then raised her right hand.

"And I will not answer any more questions. My answers earlier should be able to justify my appearance here."

As Louise stated, the prince was able to gain consciousness for a while, but years past and the curse slowly devoured him. Then the time came when his consciousness did not return to him at all.

Louise returned after years and had the prince transferred to a secret place that she built using her magic. She also promised to help cure the curse of the future Emperor for good.

Emperor Walter became bedridden after Empress Violetha died from sickness. He called his good friend Almon and asked him to look out for his son on his behalf.

When the Emperor left, Almon started to become a stand-in for his son, Emperor Renart, for many years to keep his promise to his good friend and the Welin family's secret.

The lady kept her word and continued searching for the cure, which they found was the Chryssum plant.

Almon asked her one time when she revisited the Welin empire.

"Why would you go this far to help out the royal family?"

"You could take it as our token of apology. Though we could not reverse the damage, those demons and the havoc they caused were part of our responsibility. This is the only thing that we could do for the late and future Emperor of this empire."

Almon caught her words of using 'we' and 'our.'

"We?"

But Louise ignored his curiosity and added.

"Don't worry. We were known to keep our promises. I already gave my word so that you can rest assured."

There was some point in time that he wanted to ask about her identity. But there was something that was preventing him from doing so. And he had this feeling that the question would be an unwelcome one.

And that promised had been fulfilled after so many years. So the elf felt that this would be the last time that the lady would visit the empire.