Pretending To Be Gilead's Prince and Master Wizard

-ALEX-

Damn these piles of paperwork that I have to complete before the day ends. My suffering will continue until next week when I will exert my effort to stay sane throughout the rest of the week.

I put my back against the chair, rubbed my forehead gently, and exhaled a long, exasperated sigh. A title such as this can cause me pain from time to time.

While my back is resting comfortably, I tried to close my eyes for a bit. Maybe, all I need is a few minutes of a nap to clear my mind. And by the time I am awake, I can resume my work in a jiffy.

Yes… that's what I will be doing at the moment. 

When my eyes were closed and my mind was drifting away from reality into somewhere else, some annoying creature decided to open the door without my consent and barged into my room with a loud crash.

"Alex!" came in the voice of my noisy friend Lucas Iscariot.

I swear I could feel the blood burning hot upon my face and some smoke coming from both my ears the moment I heard his voice.

"Have you not heard of knocking?" I asked without opening my eyes in irritation. "It would be better if you left me alone, even just for a little while.""

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Lucas replied, annoying me even some more. "It's an emergency and we need your help!"

But still, I didn't bother to open my eyes and remained comfortably relaxed in my seat.

"And what is it exactly that makes it so necessary to disturb my peace right now, Lucas?""

"Krisella," Lucas said almost in a whisper, as if it will answer everything I am curious about.

Then my eyes suddenly shot open as panic replaced the irritation that I had felt earlier, and I snapped my head toward Lucas' direction.

"Say, did something happen to that dummy?" I wondered, being careful not to openly express my intentions to the fellow in front of him for fear that he might misinterpret my meaning.

"That is why I want you to come over and see yourself,"

I breathed in a sigh as I wondered, what has that dummy caused this time? The last time Lucas acted in this manner was when Krisella returned late to the castle for the first time.

It may be something so serious…

"Fine! Since you have already disrupted my sleep, I will take a look at it," I muttered, my face crumpling a little.

I got up and went with the lad to whatever part of the palace he would take me to. When I saw myself entering the prince's chamber, I was in awe and my jaw dropped.

"Bloody hell! Why is Krisella tied up in a bedroom chair right now?" I shockedly asked, begging for an explanation as fast as possible, my eyes staring at the unconscious Krisella.

Lancelot, who is currently standing at Krisella's right, turned to look at me before shoving a paper bag right in my face and belting out an explanation.

"I found these in her belongings," he replied, as if that would be sufficient enough as an explanation as to why the girl is being tied up at the moment.

I snatched the bag away from Lancelot and immediately scanned what's inside the damn thing. But the moment I saw its content, I was astonished for a split second before I found my voice once again to speak.

"Why, this is…"

Lancelot further explains that those candies are the same that are used by those who want to victimize a lady into accompanying them without having to force them. Though they have less alcohol content than those, they could still have the same effect on someone who has an insufficient tolerance for alcohol.

I immediately understood Lancelot's point. The Magic Army had once raided a warehouse full of those things being manufactured illegally. And I thought we already raided all of them.

Even though Krisella can't see this in her condition at the moment, I took this opportunity to throw the sharpest stare towards her direction. 

Krisella, you fool! What were you thinking back then?

If she happens to be awake by now, I will surely give her a good smack in her forehead.

"But what I didn't realize is that such measures were required to secure her in a chair like this," I said, softening my gaze. She is indeed adorable when she sleeps like this.

Wait, what the heck did I say just now?

"Uhmm... that is actually because," Lucas replied as he looked at Lancelot in a daze, his cheeks flushing. The latter, on the other hand, looked pale as ever, as if all the blood had been drained from his face.

"Krisella ... she almost stole his first kiss..." he continued, his look at the archbishop extending his apology for embarrassing him in my presence. "She... she rushed forwards towards Lancelot earlier like a hungry animal and pouted her lips."

"Good riddance, please stop already." I interrupted. "No need to go into further details, geez."

I actually don't know if I will laugh at the archbishop or feel pity for him.

"And the reason why you have to disturb my sleep in my office is because…?" I asked once again, making sure to not forget the fact that my sleep was disturbed earlier.

"We'll need a lookout as Lancelot and I make the necessary potion for Krisella to sober up instantly," Lucas kindly inquired, hoping that I would agree to the request.

"And why can't you just use magic to cure her?" One eyebrow is raised towards him.

"Because healing magic is only used for healing severe wounds and fractures, remember?" Lucas also arched one eyebrow at me. 

Geez, I forgot. So much for being the captain of the magic army!

"Whatever. Do what you must do as soon as possible so that I could go back to what I was doing a while ago,"

I waved my hand dismissively at the two while heaving out a frustrated sigh. Lancelot and Lucas immediately went for the door.

"Make it quick, if possible!" I added before they totally left the room and locked the door after.

Now, going back to this dum-dum over here, what shall I do in their absence?

I drew the bedroom chair closer to her bed, my body facing the sleeping lady. As my elbows were planted on my thighs, I hoisted my head on top of it and carefully studied her face.

It seems that things between us have been awkward ever since that evening in my room. I was very aware that it was entirely my fault, and so I tried my best to stay as far away as possible from this young woman. 

I would only see her when we have training or it's an emergency. It should have been easy for me to do so but I also don't understand why it's causing me to feel a heavy burden inside my chest.

It's as if… I'm missing something… or something like that.

"Hmm?" 

After hearing Krisella's voice murmur something, I returned to reality within seconds. Her amber eyes are now open, her cheeks are still beet red, and she looks at me as if she still can't decipher who this individual is seated before her.

"You look like someone I know..." she said, stumbling through her words, but I was still able to comprehend what she was saying.

I smirked, deciding to play along with her. She won't remember this anyway as soon as she goes back to her senses. 

"Who could that person be?"

"The jerk that's annoying me so much…" she said, her eyes slightly drooping. "...yet I can't learn to hate despite what he's done to me."

That last sentence alone caused my heart to achingly throb for her while I was stunned for a while. My mouth wants to say something, yet no words came out of it.

Since she will not recall any of these the moment she awakens to her normal self, I decided to take this opportunity to place my hands on her cheeks, gently grabbing her lips for a quick kiss, my face feeling immensely hot.

Yet it did not last for an entirely two seconds when I heard the creaking of the door, thus making me pull away from her in a heartbeat.

"The potion to cure her drunk state is already done!" Lancelot replied enthusiastically after entering the prince's chamber through teleport, Lucas standing beside him as the door was locked. But seeing my face still red, and Krisella already awake, he couldn't resist asking the matter. 

"Alex? Are you alright? Did Krisella do something odd?"

"N-nothing," I immediately responded. "Just hurry with the potion already!"

After everything was done, I stormed out of the chamber and slammed the door behind me. I just wanted to rest, for heaven's sake. How did things turn out to be this way?