Loving The Mad King

Will You Marry Me?

In one room, several staff of the Baster Inn were chatting and gossiping about all the guests at the inn. Their hot topic for the night was Odette and Rion.

"Hey, hey, I have some really shocking news." Jacob, the man who greeted and ushered Odette and Rion into the room, arrived impatiently. He wanted to share the gossip with all his friends.

"What's the matter, Jacob?" asked one of the staff, staring at Jacob. She was curious to know what the man had to say. Her curiosity was shared by all the staff who were there.

"Ohoho, you won't believe it, but it's a fact." Jacob sat down in one of the chairs at the side of the table that his friends circled.

"What is it? Why are you making us so curious?" asked the man sitting opposite Jacob. "Come on! Spill the tea!"

"Listen carefully," Jacob said in a whisper as he stuck his head out to get closer to the other person. The other people sitting around the table did the same so that they were gathered in the middle.

"We just have two new guests."

"So?"

"The guest is His Majesty King Arion D. Panther, and he came here with a girl. It seems that the girl is his lover," said Jacob.

Everyone who heard him felt shocked and was in disbelief.

"Hey, don't talk nonsense. How could the king come here without an escort? And we all know that until now, the king has not been able to forget the late queen," said a female staff member.

"That's true. For the sake of forgetting his sadness over the death of the queen, and avoiding the matchmaking that Her Highness Cristela always arranged, the king rarely returns to the palace, and spends more time on the battlefield," another female staff chimed in.

"Tsk, you guys are so naive. The weather is always changing, let alone a man's heart, and do you believe the rumors that after the death of the queen, the king has never been close to any woman or touched any woman? I don't believe it," said Jacob. "No man is that strong. He must have his s****l needs."

"Hey, hey, watch your words, if someone else heard you and then that person reported you to the palace, you can be punished." The blonde-haired female staff warned Jacob.

However, Jacob and his other friends didn't really pay attention to the warning she gave.

Jacob added, "It seems impossible for the king to resist the temptations of all the beautiful maids who serve him in the palace."

The man in front of Jacob gave his opinion. "But what about the rumor that after the queen died, the king had s****l perversions with Knight Trish?"

The two female staff who were there couldn't help but sigh at the words the men were gossiping about. Very strange, but usually the women were the ones that gossip the most.

"Hmm… the rumors could also be true."

"By the way, Jacob, are you sure that the person who came is really the king? I mean, maybe it's just a person who looks like the king."

Jacob pulled himself up and sat with his back straight.

"Even though he said his name was Renald, I still believe it is the king. I've seen King Rion when the palace held a hunting party, and I came to see the archery and horse-riding competitions that were part of the party. I could see the face of the king, while he was sitting on his oversized chair," he explained.

"I feel like asking to see if he's really the king or not, but because this inn's motto is 'to serve guests with all our heart and don't ask too many questions', I can't do that. If you don't believe me, you can see him in the room. He is staying in room number 8," he added.

***

Rion and Odette sat opposite each other. Odette sat on the edge of the bed, while Rion sat on the sofa and stared at Odette intently. It made the girl feel nervous.

"W-what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Rion looked straight at the girl.

"Odette, do you want to marry me?" Suddenly he spoke in a flat tone. His words were so shocking and unexpected and they made Odette glare at him.

For a moment, the girl felt half of her consciousness leave her. She heard nothing but the sound of rain on the roof.

"W-what did you just say?" She must have misheard him.

Rion? Asking her to marry him? Yeah, right!

"Let's get married," Rion said it very flatly, far from romantic, and it sounded hollow.

"Y-you… are you delirious? Or have you… taken the wrong medication?" Odette really couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Rion closed his eyes for a moment, then looked back at Odette. She looked very surprised by what he just said.

The man spoke softly, "You said you could handle Lucifer."

"So?" Now it was Odette's turn to look closely at Rion. She felt that Rion asked her to marry not because he really wanted to get married, and her guess was right.

Rion raised his left hand, and Odette saw a circular pattern with intricate pictures in the center of the circle. She furrowed her brows. "What's that?"

"A seal."

"Huh?" Odette looked at Rion questioningly. "What seal?"

"When Lucifer appeared, I told the mage Raoul to apply a seal that made me unable to use mana. I was worried that Lucifer would use that power to harm people," Rion explained. "It's better to seal my ability to use mana so I won't cause too much damage when Lucifer overtakes my body."

Raoul was the leader of the mage knights in the north tower. Before Lucifer appeared, Rion could use mana which was the energy within the body that allowed one to use magic.

Even though he could use mana, that didn't necessarily make Rion a wizard who can manipulate natural elements, use spells; curse people to stone, frogs, or monkeys; teleport to disappear, fly, and other various other abilities that real wizards can do.

Mana only made his speed and power while fighting increase. The reach of the attacks he carried out became wider and more dangerous.

When Aiden returned with magic power capable of controlling monsters, Rion guessed that for six years, Aiden had been gathering strength for revenge. If one day, he and Aiden met again, and Aiden returned to control the monster from Randle, it would be impossible for Rion to face them without using mana.

Rion was still looking at Odette who was confused. He then explained everything, including his goal of marrying Odette. He wanted Odette to be Lucifer's charmer. It would be even better if Odette could make Lucifer disappear, as well as all the other alters inside him.

Before he disappeared, Aiden said that he and Rion would soon meet, and at that time Rion would lose the throne of Panthera. If Panthera's throne only included palace luxuries, Rion would not be so worried. However, the throne of Panthera included the entire territory of Panthera, along with all the people who live in that kingdom.

If Aiden succeeded in occupying the throne of Panthera, then Aiden would surely make all the people miserable. In short, the fight between Rion and Aiden would determine the fate of all the people of Panthera.

"So, you asked me to marry you because you wanted me to handle Lucifer?" asked Odette, just to be sure.

Rion nodded.

"I don't want to!" Odette refused outright.