The Dragon King's Heart

The purple hair maid carefully placed the tray down in front of Dante.

After that, she knelt down before him, "Your Majesty, I've brought you the liquor as requested."

Dante nodded as he leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed, "Pour it,"

The maid did as she was told. She uncorked the bottle and carefully poured the dark golden-colored liquor into the glass. Carefully, she handed the glass to him.

"Your drink, my King,"

Dante looked over. He took the glass from her and quickly downed it all at one go. The maid watched as he downed the entire glass.

He then handed the glass back to her, "Another,"

Dante drank the next three glasses without hesitation. He had assumed that the alcohol brought to him was Topaz Gold Whiskey. But unknown to him, he was actually drinking Sundrop Honey.

Both liquors looked almost exactly identical. But the flavor of the liquor would have been telling if it had not been masked with enchantments. Dante could feel himself getting dizzy and fatigued from the drink.

"Give… give me another," he asked for a sixth glass.

"As you wish, my king," the maid said with a coy smile.

She was no longer avoiding eye contact. Seeing as the King had his eyes closed and his senses dulled, she sneakily poured a vial of clear liquid into Dante's empty glass before pouring in more whiskey. She handed it to him which Dante took without hesitation.

He downed it all in one go. The purple hair maid stood up and sat down on the sofa next to Dante. The alcohol was getting to him, he could barely see straight what was in front of him. When Dante turned to his side, he realized there was a figure seating next to him.

The purple hair maid leaned in close and laid her head upon his chest.

"Dante, don't you miss me?" She said with a sweet voice.

He could feel his head splitting in two. Dante brought his hand up to his forehead, rubbing his temples. He shook his head and opened his eyes again. The woman in front of him was blurry, but he could not figure out who it was.

"Who… who are you? What are you… you doing in my room?" His words slurred.

He could feel the woman leaning on him. Dante wanted to move away immediately, but when he looked over again, he saw that it was Laina who was by his side.

"Laina…" he called out to her.

He reached out his hand to cup her face and bring her closer to him.

"Why are you… why are you in a maid outfit?"

The purple hair maid held Dante's hand and looked straight into his eyes with a coy smile, "Dante, I've missed you so much. Let me get into something… a little more comfortable."

The maid carefully slipped away from Dante's grasp and scurried over to the bathroom.

"Don't keep me waiting for too long," he called out.

The maid grinned as she closed the door behind her. She unbraided her hair and removed her maid uniform, revealing a skimpy sheer nightdress. She took off her shoes and socks and looked at herself in the mirror. Once she felt that she was presentable, she slowly opened the door and stood at the entrance.

"My King…" she said seductively, looking over to the sofa.

But there was no reply. Sensing something was amiss, she walked over slowly to the sofa. Had Dante gotten so drunk that he had called onto his side on the sofa?

"Dante, I am ready for you…" she said sweetly as she came up around the sofa.

The skimpily dressed maid looked on in disbelief.

Dante was not there.

She turned to the side and walked over to the bed, thinking he might be over there instead. But he was not there either. Just then, the door to the room opened. The maid was caught completely off guard with nowhere to hide. It was Marius who was barged in.

Seeing the maid, he immediately pointed at her and shouted, "What are you doing in here?! Dressed like this?!"

The maid did not know how to reply at first. But she quickly regained her composure and put on a front. She played innocent.

"I… my King requested for my company," she said as she held on to her arm, letting one of her straps fall from her shoulder to her arm as she continued to speak, "I cannot disobey."

Marius eyed the maid, he began to assess the details in the room. He noticed the pungent scent of liquor. Drawn to the tray of alcohol, he walked over and sniffed the glass. Upon realizing that this was the maid who showed up with the tray in the corridor, he began to put the pieces together.

The King's confidante turned back and barged into his chambers for a reason. As he was walking away, Marius felt something was off. The timely appearance of the maids felt too much of a coincidence.

Feeling as if something was amiss, he decided to turn back to check on his King. Little did he expect to be seeing this sight.

Marius looked at the glass closely. The scantily dressed maid noticed that he was distracted. She tried to sneakily make her way to the door to escape. The plan might be falling into ruins, but she would stop at nothing to make it work.

Tiptoeing, she made her way past the sofa, towards the opened door. Nearing her goal, the maid lowered her guard and awareness. One step more, and she would be out of the room.

But the door slammed shut, making her jump backward. A shadow loomed over her. It was Marius with a devilish smile.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go anywhere," he threatened.

With the glass still in his hands, Marius took a step forward towards her. She took a step back. She avoided making eye contact with him.

"Sir, I… I… was merely following orders," she whimpered.

Marius laughed, holding the glass in front of her, "So you mean to say, when you told me you've brought the King's favorite liquor, you assumed that it would be Sundrop Honey?"

As Marius took another step towards her, she fell to the ground fearful of the aura he was emanating. Tears watered around the maid's eyes.

"It… it was what I was being told. Honest, sir."

He saw through her lies instantly. Marius was seething in anger by the way she was acting. It was all too often that he had seen such an act being put on. Playing the victim.

"Alright," he decided to play along for a moment, "Then what about the spell that had been cast on the drink?"