A husky sigh.
Albert carried Zoey on his back, wondering why she would fall asleep even though it was still morning.
"How is she so light? Did she eat enough yesterday?... Uh, why am I thinking these unnecessary thoughts?" he thought as he climbed the stairs to the King's Chamber.
Albert was not aware that Zoey was only pretending to be asleep.
"Teehee, it's my best shot to make him my loyal pet..." she thought, her eyes closed with a smirk Albert didn't notice.
She was planning to bite Albert's neck, inject him with her virus, and make him a zombie to be her servant.
With her ability to infect others with just a bite, there were times she struggled to control her zombies — for instance, when her summoned zombies infected others who were not yet under her control. Luckily, she had the ability to pull them under her authority through her blood, which could seduce and command zombies.
She slowly opened her mouth, ready to bite him.
"Heh, even though I've changed the way I see the past, I'm still chained by my softness. Zoey... huh. She is a person to be a King who will lead this Kingdom. Maybe I can trust her a bit as a King, at most," he murmured with a smile, wondering why he worried about her despite how unreadable she was.
Zoey, ready to bite him, stopped and rested her eyes, closing them without knowing why she had stopped.
"Boring bastard... Never in my life has anyone thought of trusting me when they discover my true nature. I am a creature full of deceit and disguise," she thought as Albert carried her. Her hands clenched, not in anger but in intrigue and excitement, and she grinned.
Albert arrived at the King's Chamber and opened the door with his foot, since it was unlocked.
At the same time, Lina was busy with preparations for tonight's important event: the official announcement of the new King and the emergence of the second High Sovran in history.
She was in her guild's office, located on the right side of the underground base of the castle. Her guild was the Spy Guild; she was the guild master. Their sole duty was gathering information for their clients, and they also conducted secret monitoring of every alliance chief of the Kingdom.
She wrote with a white quill, then folded the paper and put it into the mouth of a Copyniur, a creature with human-like hands, a lizard face, and green rough skin. Anything it swallowed was stored in its brain: it could memorize clearly the color, size, type, taste, and more. Trained to write, it could then reproduce the letters it had swallowed like a printer.
This creature was used often in every business and task that involved producing copied materials for efficiency and speed, mostly books and official laws and declarations.
Lina stared at it as it wrote at a fast pace, filling each sheet.
"There are a lot of things I must do... If Albert wins. Never in my life have I worked without rest; I couldn't even believe that things are now slowly changing the way they should be," she thought, remembering the events that had happened.
"Yet I lied to him. We already know all about the generals of Abaddon. I am scared of the consequences if he finds out about the thirteenth and fifteenth ones; those three generals are quite related to him," she thought with guilt when she remembered telling him they didn't yet know the identity of the three other generals, because of their connection to Albert, which could lead to his despair.
When she finished the papers, she folded them and tied them with a royal strand.
Outside her office stood her personal assistant: the man who had carried Albert when he was captured by them.
Back to Albert.
He arrived at the chamber and saw, in front of the door, the same maid who had guided him into the King's hall.
"Oh my... Great Ones, what can I do for you?" she said in a soft voice, bowing her head.
Albert smiled. "I'm grateful for your mindfulness. May you open the door for me? Our hardworking king is going to take his rest," he requested.
The maid opened the door without a second thought, though she wondered why the king was being piggybacked by High Sovran Albert. She decided it was not her problem.
"It's kind of embarrassing carrying her disguised as a man. People might think I'm an opportunist seeking a good relationship with the King to gain favor. Not to mention, I suddenly became a High Sovran," he thought anxiously as he entered the chamber.
He slowly laid her on the bed.
"I wonder why he would consider trusting me even though he has a position on par with me," she thought, curious.
She couldn't stay in her act of being asleep; she glanced as Albert left. She wanted to ask him something.
Then she used her power: the Zombie Realm.
She reached her hands into the air, and in a blink the whole room transformed into a new environment.
The ceiling became a high expanse of sky. The ground turned into vast earth full of grass. Mountains rose in the distance.
Her Zombie Realm was a realm where her mind was tied to it.
As she activated it, Albert, who was about to leave, was shocked and speechless; the first thing that came to his mind was that he needed to be ready to fight whatever had triggered this change.
"I don't know what's happening, but I'm sure it's not an illusion. It's similar..." he thought, as he could still feel and smell the fresh wind and see clearly as day, this was no illusion or dream.
Zoey stood, waiting for him to face her, silent, with her left hand on her waist.
Albert still faced the sky, then turned back quickly when he saw her. He snickered and manifested a spear in his right hand.
"What are you up to now?!" he shouted, pointing his spear at her.
"Chill! Don't be like that, moron... By the way, your weapon summoning is kind of sick, though," she said, waving both hands, impressed by how he manifested his spear out of nowhere.
Albert calmed down and demanded an explanation.
"There is only one thing I want to ask you, okay? No ill reasons behind it," she said, assuring him she wasn't planning anything.
"Look, you might be the king of the only kingdom that is the source of income for all the villages. But remember that you still don't show any kind of determination to take things seriously.
So, what is it that made you come this far?" Albert said, holding a spear that looked like the broken one he had created in the sacred forest.
"I just want to clarify your damn reason for being formal to me and always addressing me as King, even though you've become a High something. And another thing, are all men in this world as good-looking as you?...
Don't misunderstand me and speculate dirty scenarios, 'cause it's displeasing if I could see your thoughts, you know," she asked, using her power to get answers. Her additional question came from curiosity about the men in this world.
Albert was flustered; she was the second woman to tell him he was good-looking. "I'm flattered, my king. You are the second person to compliment me; I'm humbled by your kindness," he said, smiling and bowing.
She was irritated that he ignored the first question. "Hey, so your mom and I are the only ones who pointed out that you're blessed with a sh*tty face? Scram, you fool!" she said in a boyish voice.
Albert corrected her: the first person to say it to him wasn't his mom, whose face he didn't even remember and now couldn't hope to see, as they were now on their journey in the afterlife, but Lessa, his dear friend who loved him and who had died by his own hands.
"Ohh, my bad... Let's not be too personal, maaaan!! Will you now answer my first damn question?" she said, scratching her face, guilty when he mentioned that first person, then raising her voice.
Albert faced the ground and sighed. "At last, you have taken an interest in our world.
Why would I, huh? It's a simple thing to answer, but not that important, though.
Even though I have been officially announced as a High Sovran to influential people, there is a later task given to me by the former king, a mission that is pulling me from becoming a full-fledged High Sovran.
High Sovrans are completely independent individuals; that's why I can't act as if I'm on equal footing with you. I must first complete this contract to gain my authority as one," he answered, explaining why he still acted like a loyal citizen to her as a King.
"But worry not, my King. When I finish it, you will surely see what I am like in front of you without looking at your position... Oh great King," he declared, looking at her with confidence.
Zoey felt insulted. "Piss off, bastard." She deactivated her power after hearing his answer and raised her middle finger at him.
Albert didn't understand what it meant.
Then, as the room returned to normal, she lay down on her bed. Albert said nothing as he left the room.
"Why am I dissatisfied with his f***ing answer? I should've bitten him... Well, it's not that he answered me incorrectly or lied; it's just that no one ever thinks of trusting me without using my mind-control ability," she thought, rolling to her left and looking at the ring she had when she was summoned, feeling uneasy.
Back in her world, everything felt like a play in a movie; she felt like the only living one. But now, with people she couldn't control like Albert and Lina, it was the first time she had to talk with people who were not under her control. Their emotions, words, and actions were new and felt real, hard to respond to and she struggled to communicate properly with them.
Meanwhile, after leaving her, Albert went to the underground where the prisons were located. He entered one and muttered, "Cage Spell."
A cage emerged from the ground with a person inside: the Doctor.