While Queen Carolina was speaking with the Captain of the imperial shadow guards of the Sapphire Kingdom and the Imperial Supreme Mage of the Sapphire Kingdom, King Jaren was striding towards his room with a strange sensation in his chest. The two little dragons were sitting on his shoulders like little guardian angels, and they had stopped chattering, as if sensing the indescribable feeling welling up in King Jaren's heart. Nonetheless, their presence and their weight on his shoulders were very reassuring for King Jaren.
Mana and Raven were right behind King Jaren as well – ready to protect their Papa. King Jaren caught sight of their determined little faces and smiled to himself. Since when was it the children and the grandchildren's jobs to protect their Papa and Grandpapa? Should King Jaren be the one protecting his babies and grand babies?
Not that he was complaining, because King Jaren was actually basking in the affection of his young children and the two dragon babies that were his beloved grandchildren.
The little group walked towards the imperial guest chamber where King Jaren had been staying during his time in the Sapphire Kingdom. He had originally planned to use the royal array to return to the Emerald Kingdom for the day and get the royal pendant for Alya – and then come back and they all could head to the Amber Kingdom together. However, given the current situation, King Jaren felt that he should stay back and help Queen Carolina to settle things here to the extent possible.
And something told him that he was about to receive a big shock.
Jules and Bella came running and skid to a stop when they reached King Jaren, Mana and Raven. The two teenagers had clearly run all the way from where they had been speaking with Queen Carolina.
King Jaren frowned. "Why are you two here? Who is accompanying Queen Carolina?" he asked.
Jules and Bella exchanged a glance.
"The Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage are with Mother," Bella replied. "Mother also said that she will be joining us soon. Don't worry, Papa."
King Jaren smiled. Two more protective kids of his, he thought warmly.
"All right, then," he said. "Should we wait for Queen Carolina or should we go ahead?" he asked Jules and Bella.
This was the Sapphire Kingdom, after all – and if Queen Carolina would prefer that they wait for her instead of barging into the room, then King Jaren would definitely wait.
"Mother didn't say that we should wait for her or anything," Bella said. "But do you think we should wait, Papa?"
King Jaren tapped his chin thoughtfully, and the strange sensation in his chest flared, making him wince.
"Papa, what's wrong?" Raven asked immediately, rushing to him.
"Nothing, my boy," King Jaren murmured, shaking his head and reaching out to pat Raven's head.
He didn't expect at all that Raven would grab his hand and send a diagnostic spell into his body to check what was wrong with him.
King Jaren watched Raven fuss with a fond smile on his face.
"What's wrong? Were you able to find anything, Raven?" Mana asked worriedly, coming up next to her young fiancé.
Raven frowned and shook his head. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong," he said. "But…" he hesitated.
"But what?" Jules asked, biting his lip anxiously. Bella immediately took his hand in her own and squeezed his fingers to reassure him.
"You sensed something, didn't you, Raven?" Bella asked softly. "What is it? Could you tell us?"
Raven sighed and nodded, and then he looked up at King Jaren. "Papa," he said quietly. "Your heart is in a mess, and it is affecting your magic. What are you feeling right now?"
King Jaren was taken aback by the accurate diagnosis of the young boy. Then he tapped his chin in a speculative manner and took stock of himself. It didn't take him long to realise that Raven was right – his heart was indeed unstable, but King Jaren had no idea why! Why would his heart feel like this? What was the meaning behind this strange sensation in his heart?
King Jaren really didn't have the answer for that…
"I don't know," he said helplessly, looking at the worried faces of Mana, Raven, Jules and Bella. "I do feel a strange sensation in my chest – but I don't know what it means or why I am feeling like this. Other than Dora, my heart has never moved for anyone, so there is no reason for it to…"
King Jaren's words were cut off when the garden in his secret space suddenly flashed in his mind. He staggered and clutched his head.
"Grandpapa!" the two little dragons cried out in alarm at the same time.
King Jaren doubled over, one hand clutching at his head and the other at his chest. His breath came in heavy gasps, and to the amateur eyes of Mana, it looked like he was getting a heart attack.
Jules and Bella immediately supported their Papa from both sides.
"What's happening?" Mana asked fearfully.
"Disturbance in Grandpapa's secret garden," Alya said.
Disturbance in King Jaren's secret space? How was that possible? The only time there could be a disturbance in the shared secret space of a couple would be when they were fighting each other seriously or there was a rift in their relationship – but Queen Dora had died over ten years ago, and King Jaren's secret space had already shrunken because of that. Now that he was alone in the secret space and only Azar and Alya were permitted to wander in and out of it other than himself – how could there be a disturbance there?
"Azar will go in and check," the little black dragon said, and he disappeared immediately, diving into King Jaren's secret garden.
Everyone waited anxiously for Azar to return – when several minutes passed and there was no sign of the little black dragon, Mana and Raven started panicking.
Just then, with a small pop, Azar appeared.
"Grandpapa's secret garden is getting bigger," he said.
"How is that possible?" King Jaren cried hoarsely, leaning weakly against Jules and Bella. "My Dora is long gone…"
Just then, Queen Carolina arrived, along with the Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage.
Seeing King Jaren's state, Queen Carolina rushed over immediately.
"What happened to King Jaren?" she asked worriedly. "Should we call the imperial physicians?"
King Jaren shook his head and took a deep, shuddering breath.
Then he blinked in confusion and looked at the Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage of the Sapphire Kingdom.
He seemed to have sensed something, Queen Carolina realised, and so did Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage.
The Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage looked at Queen Carolina for further instructions. Both of them wanted to show the queen pendant they had found in the dungeon from where the cursed living ghost corpse had disappeared, but at the end of the day, the decision was not theirs to take. Both the Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage would follow whatever orders would be given to them by their reigning monarch, Queen Carolina.
Queen Carolina was in a dilemma for a moment. Should she bring out the queen pendant and show it to King Jaren right now? Even though he was clearly not feeling well at the moment? Or would it be better for her to wait for some time and then show it to him when he was feeling better?
While Queen Carolina was still worrying over the issue and weighing the pros and cons of the matter in her mind, the decision as suddenly taken out of her hands. The king pendant of King Jaren flashed suddenly, illuminating the corridor with a brilliant emerald light.
Queen Carolina realised that there was no point in hesitating any more. She looked at the Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage and gave them the instruction that they were waiting for.
"Show it to King Jaren," Queen Carolina said, gesturing with her fingers at the Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage.
The Captain of the imperial shadow guards and the Imperial Supreme Mage immediately stepped forward and brought out the glass cage box which held the queen pendant – well, the suspected queen pendant – and manoeuvred it so that it floated to King Jaren and hovered at his eye level – this would ensure that he would be able to see it clearly without having to touch it.
King Jaren's eyes widened in shock the moment he laid his eyes on the pendant in the glass cage box.
"How is this possible?!" he cried out in an agonised voice which stabbed into the hearts of everyone around him. "How can my Dora's pendant be here? How?!"