Destroying My Own World

The morning came and Mykel hadn't closed his eyes ever since because he was busy watching everyone taking care of the dead bodies. The whole imperial area was in a total mess thanks to him and it was always nice to be allowed to create a mess without having to take responsibility for it.

He emptied the bottle while at the same time, a maid knocked on the door, informing him that Elestria had summoned him to the throne room. He then put on his shirt and suit before he left his room and went to meet Elestria.

When he arrived, he was confused when Elestria had a few bandages on her hands and arms. He noticed that those bandages weren't just for a show, but that she was harming herself last night for some reason. Since there were so many people who had gathered. The prime minister, the parliament members, the cabinets, and the others were present in the throne room, so he couldn't say anything.

Everyone was murmuring and staring at Mykel because they had never seen him before. Who he was, what his name was, and what kind of power he possessed that he alone could eliminate the threat that the whole world was so afraid of.

"Silence," Elestria said, and even though she didn't raise her voice, everyone listened to her and stopped murmuring. "As you have heard, this man before me is the man who protected me and killed the White Terror," she pointed out as she stood up.

Elestria walked down the throne and everyone went down to their knees to lower their presence in front of her. Mykel was on his knee as well, and then he saw two feet right in front of him with golden anklets to decorate her smooth and beautiful legs.

"You all might have wondered who he is. His name is Mykel Alester and he's the one who cleared the rift recently," Elestria said as she looked down at Mykel. "I brought him here after I heard about it and I appointed him as my personal adviser and bodyguard, who holds more authority than anyone else in this palace," she added.

That announcement shocked everyone in the room, but none of them dared to say anything. It was enough to say that everyone present in the throne room knew that Elestria's words were absolute. They accepted the decision she made and took it with all their hearts, and it was enough to tell him their loyalty couldn't be broken.

"But of course," Elestria paused with her arms crossed. "My judgement might be biased, and every one of you here is allowed to test him if he's unfit to stay by my side or even stay in this palace," she added.

The moment Elestria said that the sharp gazes were pointing at Mykel. They weren't hostile at first because of Elestria, but the moment she gave an opening, that was when they decided to show their hostility and suspicion toward him.

Mykel was smirking because he never thought he would find someone who was quite charming. He knew that Elestria was different, but he never thought she would be so good at manipulating. He had a hunch that Elestria might have possessed Laufey's cunningness.

"Keep this a secret from the outside world for now. You're all dismissed," Elestria said as she walked back to her throne and sat down.

Everyone bowed their heads and left the throne room, leaving Mykel on his own in the middle of the room with Elestria and Elysande. He didn't move a muscle and it made Elestria curious because she said that everyone was dismissed.

"You're dismissed, Mykel," Elestria said.

"How can I leave when I can smell the scent of blood from your fingers, Your Highness?" Mykel asked and kept his head down. "I planned everything so you wouldn't be harmed, but you decided to hurt yourself. Am I a joke to you, Your Highness?" he added and showed his cold gaze at Elestria.

Elestria's heart skipped a beat when she realized she felt the disappointment that Mykel showed. She never thought she felt like she was in the wrong her whole life, and how it stung quite a lot in her chest. She realized she might lose Mykel and how it could be over for her before it started.

"If my words mean nothing, I don't believe I'm fit to stay by your side, Your Highness," Mykel said as he slowly stood up. "I will take my leave," he added and then turned around to leave the room.

"Wait!" Elestria shouted as she jolted from her seat. "Please stay!" she added and she was out of breath with her heart racing uncontrollably.

Elysande couldn't believe it when she heard Elestria say please to someone. It could be the first time Elestria said that word, and at that moment Elysande knew how amazing Mykel was to be able to make Elestria beg rather than order him to stay.

Mykel stood still and Aevia was standing right in front of him with her arms crossed and couldn't believe it was that easy to sway Elestria. He raised his right eyebrow and smirked at her, showing off his skill to play with people's hearts. The moment Elestria begged was the moment he knew how important he was in Elestria's eyes without having to read her mind.

"I want to make sure that the world knows that I was harmed. I don't want the world to know that I'm unharmed because of you. I don't want the world to know how strong you are," Elestria explained as she walked down the stairs. "I want to keep your existence a secret. I want the world to know nothing about you," she continued and stood right behind Mykel.

"Why?" Mykel asked.

"Because I need you," Elestria answered. "You will be my trump card, something that can make me feel better and at ease. You're the only one that can make my goal come true," she added.

Mykel turned around and stared into Elestria's eyes, he then gently grabbed her hands. He didn't want to hurt her so he slowly picked her hands up so he could see it from up close.

"May I see them?" Mykel asked.

"You may," Elestria nodded her head.

Mykel slowly unwrapped the bandages and saw the cuts that were quite deep. He didn't believe Elestria would hurt herself that bad, and so he counted the cuts on her fingers and palms. There were fourteen cuts and they were still fresh and some of them were still bleeding a bit.

"Don't heal them. I want everyone to see," Elestria said.

"With what you cut your hands, Your Highness?" Mykel asked and carefully closed the wounds and wrapped her hands.

"The dagger you gave me..." Elestria answered as she tried to hold the pain.

Mykel had nothing to say except to show his disappointed expression. Once he was done wrapping Elestria's hands, he excused himself without saying a single word. That made Elestria feel guilty and knew she had done something wrong, and Elysande was standing next to the throne and watching everything.

"I have never seen you like this, Estria," Elysande said as she walked down the stairs and put her hands on Elestria's shoulders from behind. "If the others saw you like this, they would think that you have feelings for Mykel," she pointed out.

"I know, but I can't help it. His aura is different and I can't help but understand his feelings deeply," Elestria answered as she pressed her hands on her chest. "His genuine feelings. I have never seen something like it," she added.

Elysande knew that would be the case, and she didn't like it when Elestria started to act differently. The fact that Elestria started to treat Mykel like he was someone special to her, made Elysande think it would be bad for Elestria in the future. She was thinking if it would be best to create a wall between those two, and that wall would be herself.

Mykel was on his way back to his room, but then someone came out of the corner. The prime minister of the Faelethria Kingdom, his name was Rowen Larkspur, a middle-aged man with dyed black hair to hide his gray hair.

"Sir Alester, may I have a moment?" Rowen asked with his hands on his back.

"Certainly," Mykel answered. "Should we talk somewhere private or anywhere is fine?" he asked.

"Let's talk somewhere private," Rowen smiled. "Please follow me," he pointed his hand at the hallway behind him.

Mykel and Rowen went to a room that seemed to be a meeting room for the people from High Table. The servants and maids prepared cake and tea for both of them to enjoy, and then they left them alone.

"Let me get straight to the point, Sir Alester. I have no issues with Her Majesty's decision, but I need to convince myself if you're indeed worthy to be standing by Her Majesty's side," Rowen said as he grabbed a cup of tea.

"Definitely, how can I help you with that?" Mykel answered as he put the cake aside since he didn't like sweets.

"A game of chess would suffice the base understanding of who you are," Rowen responded and grabbed a chess board from the table on the side. "But there's a twist in this game of chess, Sir Alester," he paused as he set the chessboard. "Neither of us can eat each other's pawns without a reason," he explained. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

"Two nations at war, and we are role-playing as the kings?" Mykel asked.

"Precisely. Would you like to play that kind of game?" Rowen smiled as he pointed his hand at the chessboard.

"Of course. This sounds fun," Mykel smiled back as he turned the chessboard so he could be the black piece. "Let's play," he said.