"You can now open your eyes, "Evelina and Alexander slowly opened their eyes. It was like they were wandering in their dream.
Alexander dilated his eyes. If he was not mistaken, the setting was in the Kingdom of Diamond. It was in the Forbidden Forest.
"Where are we? Are we in my kingdom?"
"No, but we are precisely seeing what is currently happening in your kingdom, "
Alexander couldn"t believe it with his eyes. He was observing what he had been hearing in the kingdom - the Forbidden Forest. The Forbidden Forest was a place for fools and unfortunate people, seeking for more power and wisdom. Alexander never believed the rumors that were circulating, because he thought that it was simply a myth and nothing more significant.
The Forbidden Forest was just as what they have said. Cold, dark, ancient, and haunted. The only thing that caught their attention was the exceptionally huge Olive tree. It was as tall as a skysc.r.a.per.
She broadened her eyes in awe, "Are we seeing an extraordinarily huge Olive tree?" Evelina curiously asked.
His right hand supported his jaw, "If I am not mistaken, it barely exceeds 8 to 15 m (26–49 ft) in height. This tree is no ordinary. I am thinking that it must have special treatment. I admit it"s difficult to grow a tree that tall. Even I, could not grow a tree that enormous," Alexander retorted
"The Forbidden Forest. Have you ever heard of it?" Alexi glanced at Alexander
"Yes, I have. It is said that only people who are unlucky enough would go there fearlessly," Alexander answered back.
"Do you know that the place held immense power?" Alexi asked,
"Well, all I thought was that it was a myth and nothing more. I have no time to dwell on those unclarified stories that much. I was so in demand with my work that I never looked into it," he paused, "Alexi, do you mind if I ask you something?"
He immediately brightened his eyes, his eyebrows twitched, "Yes, you may,"
"What is your connection to this curse? Are you an ally or a foe? Why do you know about my relationship with Evelina?"
"It"s a long story, but I"m telling you that I"m an ally and mean no harm to you,"
"Why do you always say that? Stop beating around the bush. We want some answers, Alexi," he countered.
"Alright, but I want everyone to know that I"m a good man and I don"t do unlawful deeds," he cleared his throat, "I promise you that I will tell you when the right time comes. I hope you guys understand, "
Evelina exhaled deeply, "Alright, we are not forcing you then. We respect your decisions, " she glanced at Alexander. She pushed him with her elbow, implying for his response.
"Well, I just hope you won"t deceive us, " he lifted his index finger, an indication of warning him, "Keep in mind that you said that by yourself. You must keep your promise, Alexi, " Alexander coldly said with a straight face.
"You can rest a.s.sured. I am a man of my word, " he replied, smiling at him. He paused for a few moments as a thought came across his mind, "Now, let"s continue where we left off, "
He pointed at a certain place, "That is the man I"m talking about, Alexander, " he glanced at him, "That man has been using your ident.i.ty, "
"Do you know who that man is?" Evelina retorted, prying about the ident.i.ty of the man.
"That man is my brother... Please don"t misunderstand me. Well, I am your ally. Even if he is my brother, I don"t share a bond with him from what he has done to me and everyone...including you, "
Her eyes widened, she was still in the middle of processing the information, "What? Really? That man is your brother?"
Alexi poked her forehead, "Idiot! I just told you that he is my brother!"
"Do you have some resentments against him?" Alexander asked.
"It"s not what you think… He was kind and benevolent. I would always look forward to him because he was a great brother and all," he avoided eye contact.
Evelina ambled towards him and patted his back, "But what?"
Alexi dodged her touch and strolled to another direction, "Let"s not talk about it. It"s a different story. I"m still not comfortable tackling regarding this matter," he exhaled deeply.
Alexander strode towards Evelina and grasped her soft and gentle hands that were like a field of peonies, "Let"s not force him. He is still holding onto the past,"
"Alright, then," she retorted
Alexander placed his right hand on Alexi"s shoulder, "By the way, can you unveil to us the name of the man who has been using my ident.i.ty all this time?"
"I apologize for the inconvenience. Notwithstanding our relationship status, I still uphold the right to decide what is best for me and for everyone. I still have to keep a low-profile ident.i.ty and a need to cover my real name. I cannot tell you anyone"s name. I will just give you their codename, " he paused for a few moments of silence, "You can just call him in the name of Olezka, "
She thought of the name, pondering that she heard of it somewhere, "So, he is a saint?"
Alexi smirked that would seem he was teasing them, "No. It is certainly the irony of it. He is a completely different man with a different ambition—conquer and annihilate the Heavenly Kingdom and hold the immense sovereignty of all the kingdoms, "
Alexander twitched his eyebrows, stroking his chin, "So what if he has ambitions to conquer the world? Is it bad to dream big? Why not give him a chance? With that, he will be given the chance to realize whether he was suitable for the position or not, "
Evelina beamed her eyes as well as her smile, implying that she nodded in agreement.
Alexi clicked his tongue, "No, it is not what you think. He has been conspiring dangerous actions and deeds that would go against the will of the Heavenly Kingdom. You wouldn"t understand. There are legislations and you guys know that," he then added, "He has been using dark magic that is forbidden. Alright, I will just tell you a few details on the topic of that man. He is a man of Heavenly Kingdom and has been colluding the Demon world and the people in the mortal realm,"
Alexander tilted his head up, "By mortal realm, you mean… us?"
"Yes… The thing is… Alexander, you are not from the mortal realm,"
"What?! Then what am I? If I"m not human, that means I am… an immortal?" He loudened his voice from shock
"Yes, you are," he replied nonchalantly
"I thought the earth was divided into two dimensions? I never thought that the other dimension would be filled with people who are immortal!!" Alexander bombarded him with questions.
"Alexander, calm down," Evelina caressed his back.
"Alexander, the main reason you were able to go to Sapphire was that you are an immortal, a descendant of the Heavenly Kingdom,"
"So that means… I am aging and he on the other hand will not age?"
"I am sorry to tell you, but yes."
"But, why am I a savior of the curse? Am I still a human?" Evelina asked consciously
Evelina could not believe that she just married an immortal. "If I"m going to age, I will look like an ugly old hag! Alexander will just remain as handsome as he was. That would be a complete misery!" She was trembling. Evelina seemed to burst in tears at any moment.
"Evelina, in your case, I"m afraid you are indeed an immortal. Your parents together with your families were all immortals but then there was suddenly an event that made them end up as mere mortals,"
"So… I am still a mortal?"
"To be exact… yes, but in your innate state, you are an immortal,"
"How come we"ve forgotten our memories back then?" Evelina asked, delving into the matter deeper.
"It"s because your shadow was annihilated and was stored in a magical lamp,"
"So… when we kissed, the shadows in the lamp came out?" Alexander asked, probing even further.
"In that case, I don"t know what just happened. I sincerely apologize for being irresponsible in guarding you. I should have delved into it further,"
"This dimension is filled with immortal people. You don"t need to be surprised,"
"What about Ruby? It is our neighboring country! What does it have to do with the curse?"
"I don"t have any recollection of it at all. All I ever knew was that we have to go to the Ruby Castle and Evelina, you have to obtain something from that castle in order for you to regain your family"s ident.i.ty and to save the world,"
"Really? What kind of item should I obtain in order for me to save the world?"