LUNA: Alpha’s Soulmate from Another World

Luna began to feel uneasy. She desperately wanted to go to Morgena and see the situation firsthand. Still, she knew that if she forced her to return, it would only worsen the situation. Even so, she worried about Alkrevas. He appeared in the magical video recording where I first met him. Still, Luna was sure that behind what Alkrevas showed, his heart must be in tremendous pain, especially since he had to kill the imperial knights with his own hands. Now the question was, why did Alkrevas do that? Luna decided to ask about it.

“Why do you think His Majesty the Emperor killed the imperial knights?” Mr. Jaxon remained silent, staring out the window, but from his body language, it seemed he had an answer to her question. “Was it dark magic?” Mr. Jaxon glanced briefly at her, enough for Luna to know her guess was correct.

Luna still couldn’t believe that Zyne was a dark magic user. So, he was the one causing trouble in the capital earlier. But if Zyne was a dark sorcerer, why hadn’t the Sorgiere family said anything? Or were they deliberately covering up the truth? Or was there something else? Luna felt a sharp throb in her head. Her thoughts were branching out and becoming chaotic, making her want to close her eyes and lie down. She sat down in the nearest chair and took a deep breath.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned to Mr. Jaxon, asking, “So what should we do, Mr. Jaxon? We can’t-” Luna didn’t finish her sentence when she noticed Mr Jaxon’s body had tensed, and his distant, vacant gaze suggested he was in a mind link with someone. Luna waited in silence, and when he blinked back into focus, she was shocked to see the worry on his face. “Mr. Jaxon? What is it?”

“You need to take shelter immediately.” Mr. Jaxon moved closer, grabbed her hand, and hurriedly pulled her toward the door. They walked through the vast castle corridor, and Luna had to suppress a wince as Mr Jaxon’s grip on her wrist was tight.

“What’s going on? Where are we going?” Luna asked, confused. Her short legs and skirt made it difficult for her to keep up with Mr. Jaxon’s long strides.

“The informant from Veniam Duchy just gave me some news. Regarding your question about Beta Savon… a few days ago, Beta Savon’s group was suddenly attacked on their way here.” Luna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. So, was her suspicion about the letter correct, and was Beta Savon attacked on his way to Veniam? Luna needed to learn how to process this new information.

Mr Jaxon pressed his lips tightly before continuing, “And goblins are currently trying to destroy the border fortress of the Veniam Duchy. I don’t know how they’ve become more aggressive than before. Until now, the goblins have only caused trouble outside the border due to their small numbers, but now their numbers have suddenly increased dramatically.”

Luna gasped, then glanced behind her at the castle staff rushing around in panic. “So I need to take you to a safe place until the situation is under control.”

“What? I-”

“Lady Luna, I know what you want to say, but please understand, your safety is the top priority. If I let you do something to help, His Grace the Duke and His Majesty the Emperor would kill us all.” Luna didn’t know what to say. “So please, don’t be stubborn.”

“Alright, but where are you taking me?”

“To the third floor of the castle.”

“Shouldn’t we be going to-”

“It’s the safest place for you. didn’t His Grace the Duke say so as well?” Luna did recall the Duke saying something similar to her but in a different context. Was this what the Duke meant? Why did the Duke of Veniam have to speak in such roundabout, cryptic ways? How did Jaxon Raylon manage to work with someone like Duke Veniam for so long? Luna and Mr Jaxon began climbing the castle’s third-floor stairs but stopped abruptly. Luna’s brow furrowed slightly when she saw a transparent wall ahead, blocking the area between the second and third floors.

“The third floor is shielded by a special magical barrier created by the empire’s top mage under the orders of the previous Duke. To ordinary people, they wouldn’t even realize that the third floor exists, except for Veniam’s descendants and chosen individuals.” Was that why, when she first arrived at the castle, the servants hadn’t taken her to the third floor-because the castle’s inhabitants couldn’t see it and believed it only had two floors?

“I couldn’t see the third floor before either, and I always thought this castle only had two floors, but with the Duke’s permission, now I can see it.”

“Why is the third floor so heavily guarded like this?” Luna walked closer to the transparent wall and touched it, gasping as her hand passed right through. What did this mean? She turned to Mr. Jaxon, her eyes filled with questions.

Mr. Jaxon stepped closer, and they continued walking up the stairs, passing through the transparent wall. Luna glanced back briefly at the wall before looking ahead again. “Is there something the previous Duke wanted to protect?”

“More precisely, he wanted to keep a secret.” They arrived on the third floor, and Luna admired the elegant and beautiful interior. Unlike the cold atmosphere of the other floors, this one felt warm and homely, not at all like the stiff, classical style of the rest of the castle.

“This way.” Mr. Jaxon led her to the only large door at the end of the corridor. As Luna got closer, she could see the intricate carvings of the Veniam Duchy and imperial emblems on the door. Mr. Jaxon cleared his throat softly as Luna paused to touch and admire the beautiful carvings. Luna turned and saw him smiling at her as he opened the door. “Please enter, my lady. This is the safest place for you right now.” Luna nodded and stepped inside, her eyes widening at the room’s interior, which far surpassed any other in the castle.

“This is the main chamber of the previous Duke and Duchess, the only room on this floor. Aside from the protective magic, the former Duke also ensured the room was enchanted with a preservation spell, keeping it clean and free from dust despite the passage of time. So the room is exactly as it was when the Duke last left it and sealed the magical barrier. This is the safest place for you; if anything bad happens, such as an enemy entering the castle, they won’t be able to find you.”

“Even dark sorcerers won’t be able to see it?”

“I’m not sure about that, but if they realize part of the castle is protected by magic, they won’t be able to enter easily.” Luna walked around the room, which she guessed was a sitting area.

“His Grace the Duke has also set up a food storage room over there.” Mr. Jaxon pointed to a door. “So you don’t need to worry if you get hungry.” Was this like a bunker? But instead of being underground, it was on the top floor. Luna muttered in amazement.

“I’ll take my leave to monitor the situation.” Luna turned to Mr. Jaxon and asked when he would return.

“I’ll check on you after sunset.” Mr. Jaxon bowed and left, closing the door behind him. Once she heard the door shut, Luna walked over to the sofa and sat down, still in disbelief that there was such a room in Veniam Castle. When Duke Veniam had mentioned the third floor, she hadn’t thought much of it, but now her mind had changed.

Luna groaned and stretched her aching muscles. She noticed that her wrist had turned red but ignored it. Slowly, she stood up, intending to check out the bedroom, but as she walked, she passed by a wall with a fireplace. Her steps halted when she caught sight of a large painting out of the corner of her eye. Her head turned slowly, and her face went pale as she took in the painting more clearly. In the painting, there was a woman of striking beauty. She wore a red coat with black accents, perfectly fitting her figure, with medals and the Veniam Duchy insignia pinned to her left chest.

In her hand, she held a beautiful sword. Her posture was elegant and graceful, with a soft smile and warm eyes adorning her stunning face. Her brown hair was styled perfectly. Unlike most portraits of duchesses Luna had seen on the internet or those of past empresses in the imperial family halls, this woman’s appearance was straightforward. Yet, that simplicity made her beauty stand out even more.

Luna stepped closer to the painting. Her entire body trembled, and her heart raced. Her body’s response was, of course, due to the realization that the woman in the painting-who she guessed was the former Duchess and Duke Veniam’s mother-bore a striking resemblance to her, except for the colour of their eyes. If people didn’t know better, they would surely assume there was a connection between Luna and the Duchess.

“This… why is this… could this be the reason for Duke Veniam’s reaction when he first saw me?” Luna extended her hand and lightly touched the surface of the painting. Despite their similar appearances, Luna couldn’t deny that the former Duchess was more beautiful than her and carried an air of authority that only a high-ranking woman could possess.

“Is there an explanation for all of this?” she asked again. Then, one by one, the Duke’s cryptic words replayed in her mind, and Luna stepped back. She turned, intending to leave the room, but stopped and reconsidered. She could ask Duke Veniam for an explanation later, once the situation had settled and they met again. She needed to hold back and avoid acting impulsively or forcing Mr. Jaxon to contact the Duke.

Luna walked away from the painting and entered the bedroom. She decided to lie down, rest, and process everything that had happened, hoping that her pounding heart would calm down as she relaxed. Luna glanced at the painting one last time before continuing on her way.

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