The Crown's Entrapment

Lurio left the chamber after checking up on Jayra’s condition. He was tasked to remain in the castle to not only monitor her condition but to also look for the Demon King’s Bloodthread before it could cause too much chaos around the kingdom.

Unfortunately, the problem was that he would be unable to get a hold of it since he didn’t have demon blood himself. It was only Jayra that could possibly catch that Bloodthread and seal it somehow. She had become its host once, and her body would be able to recognize it faster than anyone else ever could.

Right now, his goal was to ensure Jayra’s full recovery so that he could brief her about her history and the Bloodthread, and from there, they would have to try and track the thing down. He sighed deeply, hoping that Jayra would wake up soon.

The wizard was walking through the hallways when he felt a glimpse of dark energy walking by. Alarmed, Lurio followed the boy who had walked right past him, and from there, the boy approached a nobleman.

“Lord Osman!” the boy greeted the man.

Lurio quietly observed the cheerful boy. He saw that Lord Gideon was approaching him, so he inquired, “Who is that boy?”

“That’s Sephiro, milord,” Gideon replied. “I can’t say if he’s a pageboy or a squire of the Great Admiral since he’s more of like a young brother to him, but more often than not, the boy is always with Osman to personally assist him with everything. What is it?”

“I sense a dark energy in him…” Lurio remarked.

“You mean the demon’s Bloodthread is in him?” Lord Gideon burst out.

Lurio turned to the young Commander who, from what he understood, would soon be a part of the Cordon Royal Family.

“I’m not sure yet. It’s hard to distinguish who has the Bloodthread in them,” Lurio sighed. “Our Seer only found out that it was in Lady Jayra because she saw it in a vision. If she didn’t, then I can’t imagine how Lady Jayra would’ve survived…”

“We don’t know anything about Sephiro except that Osman brought him in here two years ago,” Gideon continued. “He saved that dying boy during that one time.”

“The Demon King is looking for the true successor of the Kingdom of Helion right now,” Lurio directly informed, hoping that the information would be helpful to the man. “I believe that a successor is here in Cordon, which is why he let out a Bloodthread here…”

“Right… That devil bastard massacred everyone just so he can manipulate the whole kingdom and conquer the whole world under his feet,” Gideon growled. “His Majesty should know about this…”

“Indeed,” Lurio nodded. Still, he sighed, knowing just how the current situation had affected everyone. “I would like to ask for a private talk regarding this matter, but it has already been an exhausting day for everybody, so maybe we can talk about it once everyone has calmed down…”

“Indeed, but we can talk to Osman now in private and inquire about Sephiro’s origin…” Gideon offered.

Lurio gratefully nodded. He was more than grateful for that initiative, and thankfully, Lord Osman along with the boy were currently approaching their direction.

From there, Lord Gideon promptly introduced him to the Great Admiral, and Lurio kept his eye on the boy even as he showed him a curt bow and a smile. He seemed to be a cheerful boy, but the dark energy within him was something that he simply couldn’t ignore. It was way too strong to be normal and safe.

“Lord Osman, can we have a word with you?” Gideon asked.

Thankfully, Osman nodded. From there, Gideon led the two of them into the King’s private study. He then excused himself to call for King Darius to join them in their discussion.

“I’ve heard of what happened on my way here,” Osman inquired during the lull in the conversation. “How is Lady Jayra doing?”

“She’s away from any harm now, milord. She’ll wake up soon,” Lurio informed. He then gathered up the courage as he directly added, “Milord, if you don’t mind me asking, how much do you know about Sephiro?”

The Great Admiral blinked at him. He looked like he was caught off guard by the question. He also looked quite alarmed.

“I ensure you that Sephiro is a good boy and hasn’t harmed anyone,” Osman quickly defended. Almost immediately, Lurio could tell that Osman was protecting the boy.

“I mean no harm, but I sensed an alarming amount of dark energy within him,” he pointed out.

“What do you mean?”

“The Demon King had inserted his Bloodthread into Lady Jayra, putting her in danger since she wasn’t the one he was looking for,” Lurio explained. “The Demon King’s Bloodthread can only infect someone harboring demon blood, but it will bring death by poison to any person it infected with if it wasn’t the one harboring the energy of aether.”

“Are you saying that Sephiro…”

Lurio exhaled deeply and said, “I’m not yet sure since it’s only Lady Jayra that could even sense the demon’s Bloodthread. I’m only asking about Sephiro’s origin for now. Is he from a demon family?”

“I… I actually don’t know…” Osman hesitated. “Still, Sephiro is an honest boy. Let me talk to him first and inquire about this matter with him privately. You see, that boy had a traumatic experience in that he will sometimes have nightmares of it in his dreams. I don’t have the heart to ask him about it since I don’t want to bring those nightmares back to him, but I suppose now would be the time.”

“If you don’t mind, can you tell me where and how you met Sephiro?” Lurio asked. If Sephiro was the true successor of the Kingdom of Helion, then it would only be a matter of time before the boy’s life would be put in danger.

“He… I found him unconscious by the Dead Sea near Helion’s borders,” Osman recalled. “He… he honestly lost his memory about his past…”

Getting his answer, Lurio quickly grabbed one of the wristbands wrapped around his wrist and instantly chanted a spell on it. He then gave it to Osman and said, “Sephiro’s life could be in danger, but we need to wait for Lady Jayra to wake up first. In the meantime, give this to him to wear, and make sure that he won’t remove this wristband no matter what happens.”

“What is this?” Osman dubiously asked.

“It’s a protection band to be used to suppress the dark energy inside of him while we wait for Lady Jayra to wake up,” Lurio explained. “For now, we have to closely observe him in case the Bloodthread comes for him…”

Lurio could only sigh at his helplessness. It was unfortunate that he was a white wizard, meaning that he didn’t have any dark energy within him to combat this threat.

Osman looked at the band for a bit before he nodded. “I want to ensure Sephiro’s safety. Please help me to protect the boy,” he almost begged. “I’ll do everything in my power just to keep him alive…”

Things were quite complicated at this point. The Demon King was a cunning man, and Lurio could tell that there was more to this situation than things let on… of why the Demon King inserted his Bloodthread into Lady Jayra in the first place…