The Bride of The Hexodar Kingdom

Still lying in Lia's arms, Prince Aerus' hands moved in the air, sometimes wanting to reach her face but finding failure, and sometimes reaching his target. When his fingertip touched Lia's moist cheek, a fragile and very pure smile spread across his thin lips.

"You like Neil, don't you? What is Neil looking like?" It might not be that obvious, but right now there was still quite a bit of mist lingering in Prince Aerus's eyes, which erupted from a corner, then rose and started to take root in various directions. Fingers of mist that coalesce and then actually form a barrier film in the eye, almost like a cataract.

Lia's brow furrowed. On top of her confused face, her eyes were now combing the entire surface of Prince Aerus' skin. Various lives had appeared, finally emerging from the binding buds, or perhaps from the fused embrace of darkness. It was almost indistinguishable between death and life, making Prince Aerus almost fall into death until he was finally able to endure.

Should she answer Prince Aerus' question? And on which side should she stand now? Neil's supporting and adoring side or not?

Drawing memories from the past, in the thin traces that almost hide. Finally, Lia ventured to answer. "Neil… he's hard to describe. I'll never find the right words for him."

In a very short time, the tip of Lia's memory had been swept away in a wave of longing love, which she had always aimed for Neil. Her regret deepened as she remembered the opportunities she had missed.

She should be able to get along with Neil. But if so, what would happen to Prince Aerus? From then on, Lia had this question running around in her mind over and over again, and seemed to demand her to do it endlessly.

Last night she seemed to want to strangle herself when she missed a golden opportunity. Then at the same time, Lia thought that she had to sort out her feelings for Neil. She wanted to determine if she wanted Neil and whether her feelings for Neil had been love or admiration.

In the years that she had passed, she would never think twice about liking someone. And sometimes she could become so blind, that it caused a lot of harm to herself. Love and liking, all blurred and then melted together with an obsession with something, which had nothing to do with it at all.

Sometimes Lia didn't understand whether she really wanted a lover or she just wanted to have a place to hide.

"You're silent. Are you thinking about Neil again?" Prince Aerus coughed, his chest heaving very heavily as if he were having trouble breathing. His very strenuous effort showed how bad his condition was now.

He saw that his hand was now holding his chest, the place where a new rash had been created. This made Lia widen and almost choke in shock.

"What happened? How come?" Lia touched Prince Aerus' chest, examining the surface of his moist and pitiful skin. She looked up, then shouted at Hamdi while her arms wrapped around Prince Aerus' body again. "Hamdi, Hamdi, why are there more bruises? Even though I always respond to his words. Hamdi!"

Couldn't hold it in any longer. Even if later Hamdi should be caught seeing some parts of Lia's body, then that's not a problem. Now he had to hurry to re-examine Prince Aerus' body.

Pulling the blanket around her own body, Lia pointed at the new bruise that had been created on Prince Aerus' chest. Her heart was pounding like it was going to eat her whole life.

If she thought about it, Lia would also never know the reason why she could be so worried about Prince Aerus, and why it looked like that she was responsible for the prince's condition. What caused Lia to be like that?

"I always answer questions and also respond to every word he says. But suddenly he coughed, and new bruises appeared on his chest, Hamdi. You must have forgotten something. Think again about what you have missed? You must have missed something."

Hamdi's head jumped, as he recalled all the materials that the royal nurse had given him. While still undergoing a probationary period, Hamdi must receive health training, both practical and written. The goal was that if something untoward happened to the royal nurses who were escorting the journey, then all pilots were expected to be able to carry out light and heavy rescues at critical times.

It was in times like this that knowledge was needed. But so often the important things would be forgotten when needed. And that applied to Hamdi today. It could be that it happened because Hamdi forgot, due to memory that had been eroded by time. But it could be that Hamdi forgot his training because he was too stressed, too burdened with the ambiguous safety of Prince Aerus.

"I haven't forgotten anything," said Hamdi, uncertainly. He frowned as he looked at the bruises on Prince Aerus' chest, which had formed like the tip of a forked root. "Prince, can you hear me? Do you feel uncomfortable? Prince?" Hamdi looked like realizing something.

A long pause was taken. Both Hamdi and Lia seemed to be trapped in a time that had stopped. Their gazes were only on Prince Aerus, who was still drooping weakly.

"She likes another man. She never looked at me properly. She likes another man." Prince Aerus' answer sounded short at first, but later it began to improve into various topics that were not related to Neil.

"I am the prince of Hexa. Dad looked after me when I was little, he pampered me and gave me a lot of love. But Lia likes Neil." With the overlapping of various topics, it was as if Prince Aerus was dividing his brain into pieces. Each brain had very strong impulses, so they jostled each other to be expelled first.

"I was asked to find a mate, and my father's treatment became harsher. I got the nickname of a crippled prince because I was thought to be infertile and unable to produce children. Some even speculated that I was an illegitimate child. Lia, you shouldn't be looking at other men right? I kiss you with all my heart and hug you warmly. But why are you covering your hair? Do you hate Neil?"

Lia frowned. She had a hard time digesting every word of Prince Aerus, which did not correlate with one another. At this rate, Lia doubted that she would be able to make an appropriate response when Prince Aerus was delirious.

Biting her lower lip, Lia gently stroked Prince Aerus' face, smoothing his golden hair which was limp and messy with sweat, which was tangled with weakness and pain. Lia's eyes dropped to give her more attention, more trust she wanted to build.

For the time that passed in a complicated manner, Lia asked, "Prince Aerus, what exactly do you want from me?"

Trembling, Prince Aerus' pupils twitched tragically. His breathing became a bit weak and hard to detect. The urge of various emotions tickled his heart or perhaps punched him hard.

Still, in Lia's warm embrace, Prince Aerus looked straight into Lia's eyes. His weak voice clashed with his slightly choked breath. "I want you to pay more attention to me. I want you to be willing to be my mate."

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