性瘾者

GAVIN suddenly felt like Death itself was breathing at the back of his neck.

He immediately opened his eyes and found the source of his discomfort.

That was when he saw it.

A pair of glowing red eyes were glaring at him.

[His Majesty…]

He subconsciously let go of Lady Mona Roseheart.

If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead by now. Since Emperor Nikolai was a little friendly to him, he almost forgot how scary he could be.

[But what is the emperor doing here?]

"Gavin, do you know how long you\'ve gone missing?" Emperor Nikolai asked when he probably noticed that he looked confused. "Three months. You\'ve been missing for three months."

To say that he was shocked would be an understatement.

[I\'ve been unconscious for three months?]

His gaze subconsciously fell on his now skinny arms.

Now he understood why his body felt light and weak. He had been unconscious for three months. It was a miracle that he was still alive. Where did he get the sufficient nutrients needed to keep his body alive while he was reliving his second life?

That was when he remembered that he woke up inside the coffin.

[The coffin. It has the energy of Lukas\' Darkness attribute. Did Lukas put me inside the coffin to supply me with enough nutrients?]

"Gavin, it seems like you just woke up," Lady Roseheart commented while looking around. "Were you unconscious in this empty basement all this time?]

Empty?

He turned around to look for the coffin where he was probably "sleeping" on for the past three months. But much to his shock, the coffin was already gone.

"Gavin, let me check on your condition first."

He turned to Lady Roseheart again.

For some reason, he could still see Go Areum\'s face in her. Of course, Lady Roseheart and Go Areum had the same face. But what he meant was he found it hard to differentiate the two now. It seemed like his mind was still in the gutter.

[It can\'t be helped because even though it has only been three months in this world, I spent my other life in Korea for more than twenty years.]

And the last memory he had was when Go Areum took her own life.

[Areum-ah…]

He felt gutted again as he clenched his hands tight. Although he was aware that the one in front of him was Lady Roseheart, he couldn\'t help but think that she was Go Areum. He felt emotional as he remembered how he failed to save her.

[Areum-ah, I\'m sorry I was useless…]

His left hand subconsciously reached for Lady Roseheart\'s face…

… but was forced to stop when His Majesty Emperor Nikolai suddenly grabbed him by the wrist.

The emperor\'s grip was enough to bring him back to his senses.

He was thinking of a lame excuse as to why he was acting that way when all of a sudden, he felt his body stagger.

"Hey," Emperor Nikolai said as his grip around his arm tightened. "You\'re so weak."

He was about to say something but then he heard a familiar voice.

"Brother!"

Gavin smiled when he saw Rufus approaching him. "My baby brother…"

Then, everything went black.

***

[Three months ago…]

"MONA, what do you mean when you said that Gavin has been cut off from this world?"

"Your Majesty, when you assigned Commander Quinzel to be my personal knight while I\'m at the palace, he vowed to protect me with his life," Mona explained to Nikolai. But since Glenn and Rufus Quinzel were also in his office, she had to address him formally. "A knight\'s vow creates a thread that connects him to the person that he gave his vow to. That thread is tied to my soul to his. And that thread was suddenly cut off earlier."

"What does it mean if the thread was cut off, Lady Roseheart?" Rufus asked nervously. "It doesn\'t mean that my brother is dead, does it?"

Glenn looked horrified by Rufus\' question, then the knight turned to her with hopeful eyes. "Lady Roseheart, it\'s not like that. Right?"

"I\'ll be honest with you," she said, then she addressed the three men with her gaze before she spoke again. "Usually, the thread only gets cut-off when the other person is dead."

Glenn gasped loudly.

Rufus looked like he was about to cry.

Only Nikolai remained calm as he sipped his tea. "\'Usually,\' she said," the emperor said. "But we\'re talking about Gavin here. I don\'t believe that he\'d die easily."

She nodded in agreement. "I also don\'t think that Commander Quinzel is already dead," she said, giving hope to both Rufus and Glenn. "But I\'m certain that his soul has separated from his physical body. That\'s also one way to cut the thread that connects his soul to mine."

"Lady Roseheart, if my brother\'s soul is separated from his physical body… isn\'t it dangerous?"

"It is dangerous," she confirmed with a firm nod. "An average person would die if their soul is separated from their body for a whole day. That\'s why we need to find Commander Quinzel as soon as possible."

"Lady Roseheart, the commander is not an average person," Glenn said carefully. "How long do you think he\'d last…?"

"I think Commander Quinzel could last at least one week, and two weeks at max," she said. "But it\'s only if the cause of his "comatose state" is natural."

Nikolai raised his eyebrow at her. "Are you saying that it\'s possible that someone forcefully pulled Gavin\'s soul from his physical body?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said. "If that\'s the case, then that person may extend Commander Quinzel\'s life span by supplying him with enough nutrients to keep his physical body alive."

The silence that ensued after that ended when Rufus\' pocket watch rang.

"Excuse me. It\'s a message from Amber," Rufus explained while pulling the pocket watch out of his pocket. "I asked my wife to look for my brother\'s traces so we could get a clue as to where he has gone to."

Oh, that was smart.

Amber Quinzel had the ability to see the residue of one\'s Mana.

[That\'s a useful ability.]

"Ah, Amber said that she followed the residue of my brother\'s Mana in our estate," Rufus said while reading the message in his pocket watch. Then, he raised his head and turned to her. "Lady Roseheart, my wife said that my brother\'s traces disappeared in the library that only the heir of our family could get in. But Amber also said that it seems like someone has tried to erase my brother\'s traces. Apparently, a substance that resembles a Darkness attribute has covered the residue of my brother\'s Mana."

The Darkness attribute, huh?

She was suddenly reminded of the elf that Gavin Quinzel met in the Forest of Impurity. It seemed like the commander was hiding something from them.

"I guess it has something to do with the elf that we found in the Forest of Impurity," she said, then she turned to Nikolai. "Your Majesty, I\'ll go and meet the Cosmic Tree."

"I\'ll go with you, Mona."

"You know you can\'t, Your Majesty," she said while shaking her head. "The Cosmic Tree only allows me to meet her. My Mother Tree won\'t talk if I bring anyone with me."

Nikolai frowned but in the end, he let out a sigh. "Alright," he said. "But don\'t take too long, Mona."

Mona smiled and nodded. "I\'ll return as soon as I can, Your Majesty."

Unbeknownst to her, she would unintentionally break that promise.

***

THE COSMIC Tree was located in the space between the living world and the Spirit World.

Thus, Mona had to be in her Spirit form to be able to meet her Mother Tree. Once she got there, she felt a sense of relief to see that nothing had changed.

The place where the Cosmic Tree lived was called \'Elen.\' It was a vast and beautiful garden where the trees, the plants, and the flowers that grew there couldn\'t be found anywhere on earth. To be honest, it wouldn\'t be an exaggeration to say that Elen was a paradise.

"Mother Tree, it\'s an honor to meet you again," Mona said while looking up at the beautiful white tree with jewel-like leaves. "How are you?"

The Mother Tree, also known as the Cosmic Tree to most people, laughed softly. "I\'m still the same, my dear Mona," she said in a warm and motherly voice. "But I know you didn\'t come here just because you miss me."

"I missed you, Mother Tree," she insisted, followed by a gentle laugh. "But it\'s also true that I have another reason why I\'ve come here to see you."

"I know, child. I know."

She smiled, already expecting that the Mother Tree knew why she was there. After all, she was the Cosmic Tree that knew almost anything and everything happening in the human world. "Mother Tree, I need to find him."

Of course, she was talking about Commander Gavin Quinzel.

She thought she and the Cosmic Tree was on the same page. But she was surprised when she realized that they had different people in mind.

"Yes, I know that you need to find Novak– the child that holds the key to a parallel world where you and your daughter could live in."

To say that she was shocked to hear that would be an understatement.

"Hmm?" the Cosmic Tree said as if she was wondering about her reaction. "My dear Mona, didn\'t you come here to ask me how you\'d be able to escape this world with your daughter?"

She shook her head. "Mother Tree, I\'m here to ask you to help me find Commander Gavin Quinzel who seems to be cut off from this world."

"Hmm. Is that so?" the Cosmic Tree. "But my precious Mona, this is not the time for you to worry about other people. Isn\'t the life of your daughter more important than the life of a commander who doesn\'t need your help anyway?"

Mona was now confused. She was there to find Gavin Quinzel. But after hearing what the Cosmic Tree had to say… "Mother Tree, please tell me how to escape this world with my daughter."

***

GAVIN frowned as soon as he opened his eyes.

He could tell that he was in his room already. But instead of Rufus or other members of his family, he was actually greeted by Lukas– the elf and the Messenger of Lord Helstor.

"What are you doing here?" Gavin asked, still frowning. His body hurt like hell but he was also worried that his family might see Lukas. Moreover, he didn\'t like how this elf didn\'t even tell him that he\'d be stuck in the Forbidden Graveyard for three months. "I almost died, you punk."

Lukas just scoffed. "The coffin that serves as your supplier of nutrients wouldn\'t have let you die. It is a divine item sent by Lord Helstor for you, Commander," he said. "Now that you\'re awake, let\'s proceed with the next step."

"What "next step?"" he asked, confused. "I still have a lot of questions regarding what I saw–"

"We don\'t have time for that," the elf cut him off rudely. "Lady Mona Roseheart has met with the Cosmic Tree. If we don\'t move right away, she\'ll take everything away from you."

"I don\'t like how you\'re speaking like Lady Roseheart is an enemy, Lukas," he said coldly. He respected Lady Roseheart a lot. And he wouldn\'t let anyone disrespect her, especially not in his presence. "Do you want to die?"

"Lady Roseheart will be your enemy if you wish to save Go Areum," Lukas said bluntly, shocking him. "I\'ll show you the future that Lord Helstor has seen, Commander."

Gavin was even more confused. [Lady Roseheart is going to be my enemy?]

***

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