After I just finished lunch at noon and didn’t know where to go, mom came to the outer court and sent everybody else away. She held my hands and was clearly concerned when she said: “Son, the moon will be full tonight.”
I smiled and said: “It’s alright, mom. I’ll hang in there.”
“I don’t want to let you fight it… Son, I don’t want to see you in pain… It…really hurts. I know you don’t want to destroy this place, but… I don’t want to see you tie yourself up either…”
“It’s alright, mom, it’s alright.”
I know how I handled it last time now. That’s cruel. I tied myself up to my bed. I was in so much pain I was ready to die yet couldn’t move. I could only quietly lie on the bed and wait for the moon to go down. I admire my original self. What a true man. I wanted to smash my head and be done with it after just a few minutes, yet he was able to hold out until sunrise.
Mom pulled me into her embrace and my head was entrapped between her soft valleys again. Mom lightly pat me on my back and in a sobbing tone said: “Son, I can’t hide it from you anymore. You’re innocent. You should’ve been a happy boy. This is all my fault. I was too stubborn and weak at the time. Son, after tonight, I’ll tell you what happened in the past.” The empress gently cupped my face and kissed me on my forehead. She then stood up and walked out looking quite tired.
Can’t you tell me now?!
Luna came in after the empress left. It looked like something was wrong. She looked at me and moved her lips. Her eyes s.h.i.+fted swiftly. I was silently eating some sweets the empress brought with her. These sweets are really good. I didn’t notice Luna’s abnormality, but I soon will be abnormal….
“Luna… Bring water…”
The sweets were nice but they were really dry… It took a moment before Luna reacted and brought me a cup of water, I chugged the water, then frowned and asked: “Luna, is something troubling you?”
“Ah… Yes… Sorry, your majesty.”
Luna looked at me and hesitated for a moment before saying: “Your majesty, I want to know what exactly will happen with you on a full moon night. Why do you tie yourself up…? Sorry… Sorry, your majesty. I… I did not mean to eavesdrop… Sorry!”
I waved my hand, looked at Luna and said: “It’s fine… It’s nothing important… It’s just… Yeah… Well, basically, my mana goes berserk… I think that’s what it’s called.”
“Your mana goes berserk?!” Luna was surprised. She then pressed her hands to her chest and said: “That… That… That is an incurable disease for elves… Because if their mana goes berserk… They cannot come into contact with elven water… It is fine for them to drink it, but when they wash, they would turn into stone, right…?”
I smiled helplessly and replied: “Yeah… Why’s that?”
“It is because your mana is disordered at its most basic form… And you should also be aware that mana concentration levels will go from low to high. The water in the elven territory is granted by the G.o.ds. It is the place with the purest mana. The flow of mana flows through a normal elf’s body, allowing them to control it, and not be affected by the mana in the water. However, your mana is disordered and cannot be controlled. This causes the mana in the water to try and suck it out. The body of elves also require a supply of mana. A body without mana is the same as a body without blood. You could essentially say that you are dead when you are in water.”
Oh, she must mean becoming a vegetable I imagine… I know what that feels like because I’ve experienced it more than once. That means that I’m fine with being in water here not because I’ve got something applied on my body, but because the water doesn’t contain mana.
Luna looked at me and said: “Mana going berserk is a very rare condition for elves… No… I should say that the cause is simple to identify, but it is rare to chance upon…”
“Incest?”
I remember my elf mom married her older brother and gave birth to me. That older brother that should be sent to seen an orthopaedic in Germany and my elf-mom with a severe bro-con tendency got married and gave birth to me afterwards. It sounds like not only are children born through incestuous relations.h.i.+ps p.r.o.ne to genetic diseases a fact that holds true for humans, but also applicable for elves.
“No…”
Luna shook her head, then looked at me and said with disbelief: “It is due to transfusing a large volume of blood… And it would have to be a case where more than half of a person’s blood is transfused. The person’s original blood and the blood that carries mana come into conflict with each other which leads to mana going berserk… In other words…, you once had a large volume blood transfusion… There are no kids that are born with the condition where their mana goes berserk. Normally, an elf who loses half his blood would already be dead… So, it is basically impossible to have that condition… The only time and examples where that happened were back in the days in cruel black magic experiments…”
I was stunned. No way. I remember mom told me that my mana going berserk was a condition I had since I was a child. Did I get a blood transfusion as a kid? Who did I get a blood transfusion with? And elves can transfuse half a person’s blood at once?
“Are you positive?”
I looked at Luna. I didn’t completely buy her story. It’s not that I don’t believe Luna, but I’m seemingly an exception to the rule so…
“I… I do not know too much… Because…blood transfusions and the such…are only done by dark elves… For us…it is a taboo…”
Luna looked at me while trembling and begged: “Your majesty, I beg you, please do not make me mention black magic… Mentioning black magic is blasphemy…”
“Don’t you feel that my existence is blasphemy then?”
“You are half-blooded… Perhaps that is why your mana goes berserk…”
What Luna mentioned and my current situation is completely different. She said the elven prince must be a pure-blood, while I’m a half-blood. Mana going berserk is a condition that derives from blood transfusions. It can’t possibly be innate, while I was born with the condition. This completely contradicts Luna’s knowledge. I don’t think Luna would lie to me because ignorance and lying are different. Luna shared with me what she knew, but it looks like our knowledge conflicts with each other.
Luna looked at me and asked again: “So, your majesty, what happens to you on full moon nights?”
I smiled meekly, touched my head and said: “I don’t really know how to describe it. My whole body hurts on full moon nights… And I get really irritable like I’m going to explode.”
Luna nodded, then nervously looked at me and said: “That is mana going out of control… Your mana is disordered which must be why it goes out of control on full moon nights. If it is not treated, it will cause your body to explode… However, your mana is not as concentrated as royalty…”
“I told you I’m the elf prince…” I maintained my meek smile and continued: “How do you know so much, Luna…?”
“I… I have already been sacrificed to the shrine… I would not have been captured here had it not been for the war fifteen years ago…”
Luna sighed, then looked at me and said: “Your majesty, if you do not mind, I will help you suck your mana out tonight. That will ease your pain a bit.”
“No! No! No!!”
I remember how mom did it last month and resolutely rejected her.
“No… I did not mean that I wanted to have intercourse with you, your majesty… But if you do not release it, your mana really will go berserk. You could potentially destroy the imperial capital if your mana goes out of control and you release it.”
Luna waved her hand, lowered her head and softly said: “I know my place… I know what I have been through… I know… I know it all… Your majesty, please believe me! I do not have any ulterior motives. I merely… I merely do not wish for you to suffer… That is all.”
Luna’s body s.h.i.+vered a little. She lowered her head and I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell from her tone that she was sobbing.
“Only her highness could suck away that berserk portion of your mana. I have tried before. Just licking your lips will hurt as if my organs were being torn apart. I remember I was in so much pain I pa.s.sed out that night.”
Not even Lucia was able to handle the berserk portion of my mana. How much pain would Luna be in if she were to suck it out. I wouldn’t reject her if she could suck it out without having to deal with any consequences. But just licking will put her in so much pain she’d pa.s.s out. I’m afraid Luna would die if she sucks it all out.
“It’s fine, Luna. Just tie me up tonight. It’d be nice if there was a drug that could knock me out. I don’t think you can handle my berserk mana, so don’t worry about it. I can get through it this time if I got through it last time.”
I smiled, extended my hand out and scrubbed her head. I then stood up and looked at the flower garden outside the window. I chuckled softly and said: “I have to return to the elves soon. You should pack. I’ll take you home. Your home is with the elves. I have a responsibility to send you home.”
“……”
A gentle voice responded to me from behind. A pair of arms gently wrapped themselves around my waist. I stood still in place. The warm touch on my back was lightly moist. From behind and while choking on her tears, Luna softly said: “Thank you… Your majesty… Sorry… Your majesty…”