"You know? For everytime I walked around, my neck and hands were hurting me. And then I had to write for three days straight..." She spoke on while not even lifting her head up to see his face. But he was silently happy that she was speaking out about it.
He liked it when Aefia was talkative. She felt more alive and more free then when he first met her.
Seeing her suddenly start complaining about her daily life at the Guardian Realm without a single stop for breathe, made him realize... He had successfully managed to give her a life worth living. Not one where she felt like waking up was a curse.
As his fingers ran through her silky, loose hair, he listened to every single one if her words. Bloodstained bandages rested on the table beside him and her skin at her neck and wrist were fully healed. The skin there smooth and like a newborn's.
Although Aefia's skin was thick from battles and having suffered through abuse, she still managed to keep it looking healthy. It made him think she was well put-together by herself.
"And to even think... You know I wanted to brag about being with you. Openly to that second Aethalgard? But then I kept silent because she might end up taking your magic away." She blabbered on like a toddler.
"Really? Well I could do some good becoming popular in the Guardian Realm..
you know?" He repeated the last phrase to her. She had been using that for every word she was saying, but he wasn't even irritated by it.
"Well you don't want to get killed."
"Oh yeah..."
"Anyways. So that Victoria took me by my hair and then threw me into the wall like I was a trash bag and tried to stab me twice... And now my back hurts for everytime I try to stretch my arms. I literally almost felt like I was dying~." She continued. "My entire body is still aching, I only want to go back to bed but Matthew won't let me. He keeps saying I have to work."
Helio knew she was whining like a kid for attention. But he didn't dare provoke her by even saying a word. If he subjects—
"My sovereign... I clearly remember not saying that. I told you that you need some rest." Matthew burst into the room while holding his clipboard and adjusting his glasses.
"Matthew!" Aefia lifted her head while looking past Helio at the figure standing at the door. Her face flushed a tiny bit red asbshe immediately looked away at Helio. "He has been giving me work every single day. So you tell who you think is trying to overwork me."
"I am certainly clear that you told me to go grab the recent papers as well."
"I did not!" Aefia shouted back at Matthew as she stood up. Because of the height of the table, she was now shoulder-level beside Helio. Then slowly, she let out a sigh and looked out the window. "I wish I could just go back to Earth. I would sleep the whole day for an entire month and not even care to wake up and eat."
"My sovereign. The human biology states that you will not survive leading a life like tha—"
"Matthew! What the fu—mhm!" She clawed at the hand covering her mouth as her anger bursted out.
"I am sorry, Matthew. But it just so happens that she hates being interrupted at certain things... If she doesn't get enough sleep that is..." Helio spoke while climbing down the table to stand beside Aefia. His hand covered Aefia's mouth as she threw more indirect threats at the Honorary Knight in front of the door.
"And Aefia... If I remember clearly... You aren't allowed to openly use curse words at others if you are a Guardian." He stated calmly taking his hand off her mouth. "Besides... You were supposed to sleep." He pat her head like a kid as he knocked her off to sleep with his element. Slowly, Aefia leaned to the side recklessly with her eyes shut.
Matthew seemed stress as he contemplated between throwing the unknown person out of the window and just staying still since Aefia knew who that person was. He watched as Helio slid his arm under her knees and behind her back, lifting her up while she lay asleep, undisturbed and completely peaceful.
"I am sorry... But respectfully speaking, who are you? And how did you get in here?"
Helio offered a gentle smile as he carried Aefia towards a sofa at one corner if the room. He lay her there and walked over to the rack to take her coat.
"Genuinely speaking... I thought the Guardian allows anyone who is a relative a close person of a Guardian to enter this realm too." He answered while placing the coat on top of Aefia as a make-shift blanket.
Matthew stood frozen near the doorway, his hands gripping his clipboard so tightly his knuckles were turning white. He adjusted his spectacles with his thumb, his gaze darting from the sleeping Aefia on the sofa to the ridiculously calm, glowing blonde intruder who just used a sleeping spell on the Guardian of Death like she was a tired toddler.
"Relative or close person?" Matthew's voice dropped an octave as he took in the difference in appearance. "Sir, this is the restricted, third Aethalgard's study room. You do not simply walk in because you claim a close connection. Furthermore, she had injuries that cause her severe pain."
Helio turned around to look at the Knight with complete disbelief. He sat on the armchair rest to the sofa while looking at Matthew with a glare. "I am aware of her injuries," Helio says softly, his smile fading just enough to send a shiver down his spine. "Which is why I am currently holding back from burning Victoria's castle to the ground. And as for who I am..."
He whispered while propping his chin up on his hand the way Aefia almost always does. "I am the person who makes sure she actually survives being your Sovereign, Matthew."
He stared at Helio for three long seconds. His logical mind was rapidly trying to cross-reference every known high-ranking entity across the multidimensional sectors, but the sheer tense surrounding of authority coming off Helio was undeniable.
Slowly, Matthew lowered his clipboard by two inches.
"Her Sovereign-ship has a habit of pushing her physical limits until her circulatory system collapses," Matthew muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose behind his glasses, sounding utterly exhausted. "She refused three health restoration infusions this morning alone, claiming she 'only had time for salt water.' If you have a method of making her comply with resting without her attempting to stab me with a letter opener... I will refrain from calling the realm guards."
Helio lets out a low, smooth laugh, walking past Matthew toward the door. Just because it seemed that someone else had to go through Aefia's sleep-deprived state multiple times.
"She won't stab you while she is asleep," Helio spoke, placing a firm, reassuring hand on Matthew's shoulder as he passed him to reach for a chair. "Leave the recent papers on the desk. I will make sure she reads them after she gets twelve hours of sleep. If you try to wake her up before then, knight... I will be the one throwing you out that window."
Matthew blinked adjusting his glasses once more as Helio stepped back towards the sofa, pulling the chair right beside Aefia's resting head, sitting down to watch over her as he promised.
"Understood," Matthew sighed softly, placing the stack of reports quietly onto the far corner of the desk. "I shall schedule her recovery period for thirty days... Per her request."
As the heavy wooden doors clicked shut behind Matthew, the room fell into a heavy, peaceful quiet.
The distant, chaotic winds of the Guardian Realm hummed outside the stained-glass windows, but inside the private chamber, it was entirely warm and still. The only sound was Aefia's shallow breathing.
Helio reached out, his long fingers gently brushing a loose strand of hair away from Aefia's sleeping face. Something about today felt like it had been one of the best days Helio had ever seen that she lived.
He leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead.
She is just like a cat. High-tempered, and feral. And precisely always cute whatever she does. He chuckled to himself as he melted ovee the sight of her sleeping face. Like an angel fell out of the sky.
The rest of the day went that day. And it seemed to be true that the third day was always the best day.
***
Aefia stared at the chaos in front of her desk. It was honestly a life-action drama happening, which she felt interested in. In fact, it was solely about her.
"I say, that the Sovereign wears a bright colour so she shines well." Matthew explained while holding a hanger drapped with a pretty white gown, more in an ivory scale with golden trims and silver embroidery at the ends. The gown had full-sleeved which looked kind of tight.
"No! I know what suits her and what she feels comfortable in! And if she is to work a full day without a proper rest, my choice looks better." Helio argued while holding up another hanger. It was a deep cerulean gown with a waist-height coat made out of sequins. They could describe it as from post-World War ll era. With people chasing those skirts which presumably gives them the 'hour-glass' look. Pairing them with coats with thick belts on top.
Except, this one ends slightly below the knees. The inner dress was already collared and had a short sleeve if she ever wanted to discard the coat, but otherwise... The dress just happened to be of Aefia's liking.
However, choosing one side would not solve the problems.
"Guys... Stop that." She stood up from her desk while pushing away the last bit of papers into one corner. "I already have a dress of my choice."
Both Matthew and Helio frowned but waited to see Aefia's choice. Slowly enough, she stood up while holding a hanger up.
"I like wearing comfortable clothes... So I choose these." She stated while brining to her shoulder-height and dusting it. It was her usual favourite straight leg trousers. With full-sleeved high-neck pleated shirt dress the same ivory colour as the gown. At the collar was a dark cerulean ribbon.
It was the combination of both their choices and fitting Aefia's style. She waited for their comment whether she should swap it for another one. But it seemed that both of them were pleased.
"Well for a sixteen-year-old, I would say that surely does match you." Matthew remarked while hiding the gown behind him while using his fingers to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
Meanwhile, Helio just smirked at Matthew while throwing away the hanger he was holding and folded his arms.
Then there was choosing jewelry. Although she didn't like much, she went for a head accessory to hold her hair up in a half-up and half-down. The silver edges of her hair fell like liquid mercury at her back. Every movement caused her hair to cascade down like a waterfall. And with the dangling flower accessory on her head, she looked like she truly owned the throne she was occupying currently.
Besides that, she looked completely radiant—health and mood wise. She was practically skipping with every step she took. Maybe it was the environment, or maybe—just maybe—because Helio was overseeing every stressful thing.
Once every hour, he would make her stand up and round her table ten times before making when sit back down and resume work. Then during meal times, he would force feed her. Followed by a restorative nap and then a small amount of time to dump out about whatever was stressful.
It gave Aefia a joy in work. And it made her focus better with solving the mystery behind Seraphina's death.
***
The sound of shoes hitting floor was louder than usual. Within seconds, Aefia burst out of the cramped up workspace to find Helio standing in front of the fountain behind her castle.
She immediately smiled and hoped the last three steps onto his arms as he caught her mid-air and spun her around before letting her back on her feet.
"How long do you intend on staying this time?" She asked. It was three weeks past the previous time he came around. And every week, he tried his best to pay her a visit.
"The usual. Three days." He answered back while parting her hair slightly to press a tender kiss on her forehead. "How is work?"
"Foul. I want to come out more often but just can't." She made a pout while stepping out of his space. "Matthew has been trying to keep me up in the routine you set but it just hits different when the original does it."
Helio laughed while burying his face in her hair. "You were practically running like you hadn't seen me in ages."
"Hasn't it been 'years' since you left?" She tagged along in the joke.
"Oh really? Aren't you going to ask how 'war' was?"
"'Felix' must have been a difficult territory to handle."
"It was." He slowly pulled back to tame her hair back down. Then took her hand to take a walk along the garden. "Your brother is quite hard to look-after if his sister isn't around."
"They say elder sisters are like second mothers."
"I won't lie... But you are proof." He slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.
They stayed silent for a while, walking blankly towards the open field of marigolds. During spring, they looked incredibly pretty. They danced with the wind as both of them sat down in a clear patch of grass.
"You know what Matthew did?" Aefia begun while leaning against his shoulder.
"What did he do?"
"He tried to take your advice and bring a pet. But it just so happened that the racoon hated him."
"A racoon?! A literal... Racoon?!" He asked in shock.
"Yeah. And he even got scratched by it. Luckily the ones in the Guardian Realm aren't rabid." She laughed softly.
"I am telling you... He just likes to act dumb sometimes." He leaned his head on top of hers.