Chapter 111 - Day Break

"Are you sure???" Eli pouted with a glint on her eyes, she wouldn't take no for an answer. 

While letting out a charming laugh, he nodded in affirmation seeing Eli's covetous eyes staring at the two cakes. 

"Thanks!" She said while happily looking at the cakes like a little child. 

It was really evident that she was in a very good mood. Leon felt that it was worth all his work when he saw her smile with satisfaction. 

"Do you really like cakes that much?" Leon asked curiously. Now is the time to get some information for his future wife chasing strategies. 

"I do! I love fudge brownies and chewy chocolate chip cookies too." Eli replied cheerily. 

"I used to buy those things especially when I know that I have to pull all nighters. Sugary sweets and coffee at the side of my table kept my brain working!"

"And when I am sad, I go to a restaurant called Jollifly!!![1]" 

"They have the best fried chicken and spaghetti! It's my comfort food."

"After work, I also go to the street food market and buy a lot of street food out there! Like quail eggs, fish balls, calamari, fried chicken skins and many more!"

"Then I pair them with bubble tea!"

"Of course, I still love rice, I eat it on a daily basis! Meals with rice are the best!"

"It's been a long time since I ate those things. So thank you for bringing these cakes home for me!" 

When Leon asked about food, Eli's mouth went on and on until Leon had a rough understanding about Eli's preference. 

"In the future, we'll go to town and explore the street food market for you to try." Leon patted her head as he promised with an indulgent tone.

Eli didn't reply. Although she knew that it would take them a long time before they could freely explore the capital, she still smiled back at Leon. 

She was happy that Leon had those things in mind for her. Being cared for by the opposite sex feels amazing.

"Uhm speaking of which, haven't the others been out for too long? The food will get cold." Eli immediately hid her thoughts and reminded Leon.

"Stay there, I'll call them out." Leon immediately stood up. 

When he reached outside, he first called the furry buddies to go to the kitchen with Little Han, then proceeded outside the cottage. 

As soon as he stepped outside, the blades and Rosea all had a wide expectant grin on their faces.

Leon discreetly raised his hands gesturing a 'keep silent' symbol, then gave a thumbs up. 

Seeing Leon's thumbs up, the blades and Rosea clenched their fist and hissed silently, "Yes!!!"

"Good job boss!" 

"Well done master!" 

"Keep it up, Your Highness!" 

They moughted their words in a low tone so that it wouldn't cause a commotion and attract Eli's attention outside. 

"Thank you all, now let's get dinner."

The rest of the night felt extra happy and warm because all knew that they had made the Madame of the house feel extra special today. 

As they prepared their beds to sleep, Eli, who was still in a jovial mood, asked Leon about the matters on their upcoming deployment. 

"Everything looks fine. Of course, we must be ready before next week, it will be the commencement of the clean up operations. But I will have to go to the temple tomorrow, to search for something about the curse." Leon calmly replied. 

He didn't mind divulging the information to Eli because she was a directly involved party after all.

Knowing that she also wanted to do her part, he would do his best to give her the information she needed about the Spectre and the possible enemy, the Vesalas.

"I see. Will Her Highness be alright? After all, she had just been schemed by the Empress last time. What if something happens?" Eli worriedly asked.

Leon had already explained to her who most probably implanted the curse spell on Queen Tehila's hands.

"I had Blaze and Olivier closely guide her side on top of her personal knights. Don't worry, Blaze is actually a half dragon. Like Baobao, they had a sharper sensitivity in terms of suspicious magic." Leon immediately put Eli's worries at ease.

"Also, I will try my best to find something at the temple too." He added.

"Alright…" Upon hearing that Blaze had the same ability as Baobao, she heaved a sigh of relief.

The curse spell managed to get past the detection of three legendaries that time, only someone like Baobao and Blaze who had special bloodline abilities could detect these anomalies. 

"Curses… hmmm… Would it also help you to access the Farauld Magic Institute's Library?" Eli asked curiously. 

"They do have some magic books touching the surface of the mysteries behind the curses. However, I can't go there so openly as it would immediately alarm the people who had been wary of me. Besides, only the temple was able to extensively study the counter attacks for these curses." 

"I see.. Then how are you going to the temple without alarming the others too.." 

Leon smiled playfully, his eyes squinted sexily that Eli couldn't help but gulp for a moment. He answered in a low magnetic voice, "Didn't you remember, I used to go out with silver hair?"

Upon Leon's reminder, Eli recalled the memories from Elise and answered understandably, "Oh, I forgot about that. In Elise's memories, you had silver hair and crystal blue eyes! There's that moment also that you suddenly approached me in the flea market. You were also disguised with the same appearance as last time."

"Crystal Blue Eyes?" Leon raised his brow in surprise.

"Whenever I disguise myself, I always had silver hair and brown eyes. This is to thoroughly hide my Seirende identity. How come you saw through my crystal blue eyes?"

Eli paused for a while, she thought of the possible reasons why she and Elise saw Leon's true eye color. 

"Errr.. I don't really know. Maybe because our body is of Asani decent?" After thinking for a while, she attributed the strange realization to the abilities of the Asani. 

"That is quite possible." Leon deeply thought so too. After all, the mysteries of Asani descent are deep. They had barely scratched the surface.

"Alrighty then, rest early so that you would have a good state of mind tomorrow for your mission." Eli said softly. 

She also made a mental note to do her own research tomorrow about the curses. After all, she had the most powerful resource book in the whole Prasinos - the book of knowledge!

--

Day break. 

Leon woke up upon hearing Eli's distressed groan. 

Highly alarmed, he immediately got up and lit the room. He hastily walked on Eli's bedside to see her pained expression. 

Eli's face was pale and she was perspiring with cold sweats. There was a deep frown on her face as she kept letting out distressed murmurs. Her body was also frozen stiff. She was having a terrible nightmare.

Leon softly called her name out as he gently shook her awake, "Eli, Eli… Wake up. I'm here.. I'm here.."

However Eli didn't respond and her body became colder by a few degrees. 

He was immediately overwhelmed in panic. He bent his body down to lift Eli into a sitting position and shook her awake more vigorously this time. 

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Eli finally let out a heavy pant and opened her eyes in extreme fear. 

She was shivering intensely and it took her a good few seconds to realize that she was already out of the hellish nightmare. 

"Leon.. Leon!!" In great panic, she called out with a quivering voice. Tears were uncontrollably rolling into her pale cheeks. 

"Hush, I'm here, I'm here…" He took her trembling body in his embrace and soothed her mood by gently tapping her back. 

"Leon!! Leon.. Help me up… We need to see Her highness. Please bring me to the palace…" She called out in distress. 

Everyone in the cottage was already awake. Even Little Han was startled by Eli's breakdown. He also started to cry.

Baobao, Wisey and Rosea immediately knocked to enter the room.

Leon immediately had Rosea get a glass of water while he asked Baobao and Wisey to temporarily soothe Little Han outside the bedroom.

"Leon…Her Highness… Your mother was crying.. She was in danger.."

"She was seized by armed knights… in front of a white hall.."

"There's a guillotine…"

"His majesty… your father… he was devastated…"

"He took his life away…"

"And Leon… there were bodies…"

"Mangled bodies… Fifteen.. No! Seventeen bodies..."

"I saw Blade and Olivier among them…" 

"And you… you were the only one barely standing alive… your arm.. it was lost!"

"There were many wolves.. Surrounding you and the bodies…"

"Leon.. Leon, don't go to that mission… I need to see Her Highness right now..."

"Please Leon.. Please…" 

She was crying in devastation, deeply panting, shaking while mouthing these sentences with great difficulty. 

Even after being comforted by Leon, she kept insisting on meeting Queen Tehila and stopping Leon from going to the mission.

She was one hundred percent sure that the dream wasn't just a random nightmare. 

It was a premonition!