Finding Stardust

With long strides, he immediately headed to Emma's room. After he arrived there, Therius knocked on the door. Xion opened the door for him, and they looked at each other with murky expressions. 

Without asking details, Xion could already guess what had happened.

It must be something extremely bad.

"So, what now?" asked the young man. He didn't have to ask Therius to find out what happened to Emma's father. No words were needed. Xion was not dumb, and he could kind of guess what happened from his friend's sad eyes. "What should we do?"

"As soon as we land, I want you to take her with you. Never take your eyes off her. Take her to my palace. My people will look after you both. Comfort her when she is grieving, I will be very busy dealing with all this mess," Therius said in a low voice. "Please let me know as soon as possible if she needs me."

Xion nodded in understanding. "I understand."

Before this incident, Xion was actually very excited that they were almost back in Akkadia. That meant he could soon return to his mountain. But now, he was forced to stay in the capital to accompany Emma. He didn't know how long would this mess last.

Even so, Xion didn't mind it at all. He would gladly remain in Akkadia with Emma and Therius to make sure they were both safe. 

***

When Emma finally woke up, it took her a few moments to realize where she was and what had happened. When she recovered her memory, she immediately let out a hysterical scream.

"Fatheerrr... !!!"

Her voice was hoarse. Before she passed out, Emma had been crying for so long that she almost ran out of voice. The girl now felt her strength disappear, and she could barely even get out of bed.

"Emma ..." Xion, who had been sleeping by the bed, immediately woke up. He rushed over to the girl and brought her a glass of water.

"Where am I?" asked Emma in a barely audible voice. Her face looked very sad, and her eyes were swollen from crying incessantly.

"You are at the crown prince's palace," said Xion. He handed Emma a glass of drinking water. "Have a drink first. You must be thirsty."

Emma was about to refuse, but then her reason immediately took over. She received the water from Xion and took big gulps. After she finished the water in the glass, she handed it back to the young man. Xion understood that she was still thirsty and quickly fetched her more water.

He thought Emma must be dehydrated from crying too much and had passed out for a long time that her body didn't get any liquid intake.

Emma quickly finished the second glass of water, and she then put the glass on the bed. She closed her eyes and tried to pull herself together.

But .. what will happen to Haoran if she left?

Where's Haoran now?

"Have we landed in Akkadia?" asked Emma quietly. She opened her eyes and looked closely at Xion. There was intense sorrow in her beautiful eyes, and somehow it made Xion's heartstrings feel tugged.

The young man nodded.

"Yes, we have arrived. We are now in Therius's place. We landed yesterday, and you were immediately brought here. He doesn't want anything bad to happen to you in the middle of this war," said Xion. "There is chaos in Akkadia, but Therius is taking care of everything. So, don't worry. Everything is going to be all right."

War?

Emma swallowed hard. This was precisely what Therius wanted to prevent by taking Emma back to Akkadia and pretending to marry him.

If Therius's plans were good and he could promote peace between the two kingdoms, then why was there a war now? Who started it?

"Xion ... please, tell me," Emma was trying so hard to sound brave. "What happened to my father ..?"

Xion stared at Emma for a long time. He tried to find the right words to say to her.

However, there were never the right words to convey sad news like a loved one's death.

Xion, who was always happy and never wanted to think about serious matters, had been overcome by sadness since yesterday. He kept thinking about how devastated Emma would be when she found out that her coming to Akkadia was in vain.

Ah, if only Therius didn't insist on taking Emma to Akkadia, maybe this girl was still living happily on earth now, thinking that her parents were fine.

Ignorance is bliss.

And who knows, maybe someday medical science on earth would be advanced enough, or a miracle would happen, so that Haoran would be able to recover. Emma could live with him, and they could build a family together.

Or at least, on Earth, Emma had her friends, and she still had a long life ahead of her. As a special human who had various magical abilities, she would definitely be fine living on earth on her own.

Unlike here in Akkadia. On this planet, Emma was not considered a strong person. Her abilities were not trained properly and she was always in danger because of her status as the daughter of Kaoshin and Arreya.

The Akkadian Empire wanted to take her hostage, and some people even wanted to kill her to get revenge on her parents.

If you didn't come home ... maybe you would be happier, Xion thought sadly.

"What ... happened to my father, Xion?" asked Emma again. She bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears.

Finally, Xion was forced to tell Emma what had happened to her father. He swallowed hard and spoke in a sorrowful voice.

"Your father, General Kaoshin Stardust, has passed away."

Emma had guessed that was what happened. She bit her lip even harder because the tears had streamed down her cheeks. She was still trying to stop herself from crying.

At this time, she had to think clearly. She must be able to do something.