Valerian, The Legendary

235 Cloak & Dagger.

Valerian was engrossed in the book he did not notice that someone has entered the room. Zeenat also did not disturb him, he seemed to be a work of art. She was curious as to what was he reading with such concentration. Suddenly, the serenity was broken as Morgana came inside the room with hurried footsteps.

She spotted Valerian reading a book and Zeenat standing at a distance gazing at him. She sighed and said, “Val, can you not overlook the host?”

The boy replied with a humm. Morgana shook her head and walked up to him and with a quick flash, the book was taken away. Valerian reacted, “Hey, I was about to find out how they pushed back the Valjyrians, Morgana, return that book.”

The princess crossed her arms and said, “You will get the book in your free time, act properly or I will tell Her Excellency Fragrantia that you were disrespectful, and we will see, what happens then.”

Valerian sighed and said, “Fine.”

He turned to the side and walked closer to Zeenat. He stopped three meters away from her and bowed as he said, “Greetings, Prime Minister Zeenat.”

Zeenat smiled faintly and bowed, “Greetings, Your Highness Valerian. Welcome to Centaur.”

Valerian nodded and took out a vail from his magic pouch, he extended it towards Zeenat and said, “This is a drop of vermillion sparrow’s heart blood. It has proven useful in healing all sorts of ailments. Her Excellency Fragrantia is aware of the situation, Morgana informed us. We cannot make up for your loss but we hope this gives you some relief.”

Zeenat was shocked, the heart blood of a vermillion sparrow cannot be obtained by anyone. If the beasts do not offer their heart’s blood willingly then it cannot be obtained. She asked, “This drop of blood is offered by the beast willingly?”

.....

Valerian smiled and nodded, “You can rest assured, your grace, Lumen does not gain anything by lying to you.”

Zeenat was still unable to wrap her head around this when Morgana walked up beside Valerian and took the vial from him. She asked, “How to apply this?”

Valerian said, “Better to mix with water and ingest, this will allow the medicine to work on the complete body. We used this to help Her Excellency Fragrantia once, she is all better now.”

Morgana nodded and looking at a maid she said, “Get a bowl of warm water, quickly.”

The maid bowed and left the hall to bring over a bowl of warm water. Meanwhile, Morgana helped Zeenat to sit and relax. She was too worked up at this moment. The maid returned quickly and Morgana said, “Val, you know how to do it, right?”

The boy nodded and took back the vial and opened it, then the drop of blood was mixed with water, turning it red. Then Valerian raised the bowl in front of Zeenat and said, “Madam Prime Minister.”

He offered the bowl with both hands, it was s sign of respect. Just when Zeenat was hesitating, the boy said, “Your Grace, please hurry, the effect of the medicine will weaken if you delayed.”

Zeenat nodded and accepted the bowl. Then followed by a deep breath she swallowed the entire content of the bowl. A few minutes passed, but nothing happened. Just when she was about to sigh in disappointment, a warm current flowed through her leg, and the muscles began to hurt. Years of damage and depletion had left them atrophied.

However, at this moment they were all squirming as if rejuvenated. Jamal Centaur did not allow her to be treated properly because her leg was hurt during a mission and he said that it was going to be her punishment for a mistake.

Over the years, the damage had deepened and only she knew how much pain she suffered at night when she went to bed. The pain she was suffering at the moment was nothing even close to what she suffered daily. Gradually the pain was replaced by a gentle coldness. Valerian noticed the change in her reaction and asked, “Your Grace, how do you feel?”

His voice woke up the lady and she closed her eyes. With a lot of doubt, she tried to move her leg and found that the movement was so smooth as if it was someone else’s leg. She was shocked and stood up, she could not believe that her body was restored. Not only the pain in her injured leg but also the other injuries and deformities in her back and the better leg were gone.

She looked at Morgana and her eyes were almost tearing, and she hugged her. The princess did not deny and embraced the lady too. She could feel how it feels to get over the ailment that has been defining their lives for ages. Also, she understood that Zeenat had suffered this helplessness for a time longer than herself.

After a few moments, when they calmed down, they found Valerian to be reading his book in a corner. Zeenat smiled and Morgana placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her gaze at the boy. She said, “Valerian Verus, have you disposed of your manners?”

The boy stood up straight and said, “What can I do? This book is written so well.”

Morgana did not listen to him and extended her hand for him to hand over the book. The young man sighed and did so. Then he said, “Congratulations You Grace, I hope you stay healthy.”

Zeenat nodded and said, “Thank you, the credit belongs to you. I do not know how to repay this debt.”

Valerian smiled and said, “The payoff is simple, Your Grace, ally with Lumen. The continent has suffered a lot of damage over the past few years. The ambition that your late father had, caused turmoil and unnecessary deaths. I understand that peace might make the people of the continent soft, but you can organize competitions and a lot of other things.

I sincerely seek your cooperation in this regard, because the sheer number of Valkyrians is enough to take all of us down. I have faced them once, and I do not wish to face them again.”

He did not hesitate and mentioned his fear and hopes for the new rule in Centaur. After all, such things could not be mentioned passively, someone had to take the initiative, and Valerian did not mind being that person.

Zeenat nodded and said, “I understand that peace is needed, and I also support you. But I wonder if you are a suitable person to negotiate this issue. I am not looking down on you, Your highness, but you are still young.”

Valerian smiled and said, “Appearances can be deceiving, Your Grace. I may look young, but I have enough authority to negotiate the terms of an alliance. Although, I do not know what more can a strained nation like yours could want more than consolidating your forces and relieving your citizens of the excess debt they all bear from the reign of the Iron-fist Emperor.

The situation of Centaur is that of a citadel with weak pillars. To support the economy, you will need strength, to make the people feel safe you will need strength. I am here to lend you that strength. Please do not tell me that you disagree with the fact that the news of the duel has already spread across the lands. Another thing is that Lumen is not weak and has dealt with all three neighbors, without suffering any loss.”

Zeenat was quick to catch his words and asked, “Dealing with three nations?”

Valerian nodded and said, “Yes, three neighbors, while Sapientia is under the control of in-laws. The Emperor and Empress there were disposed of off by me and the current Empress, as they lied and tried to deceive us. The Emperor in the northern side, Stella nation is a puppet we groomed when the government there became spineless under the pressure of the berserker. As for Centaur nation, I just won the duel and secured the position of Empress for my friend. This way, Lumen Empire dealt with all the threats and we did not lose anything but gained friendship.

You should not think that Lumen wants to unite the continent, no, we just want peace so that the citizens can live happily.”

His words were sincere and his serious tone was the proof. Zeenat smiled and asked, “What if the Centaur still decided to side with Valkyrians?”

Valerian did not respond to her and looked at Morgana as he said, “If the throne decided that, then the first attack Centaur will have to face will be me, and I will not leave any way out. You can count on that. If the path of peace can be attained by a river or ocean of blood, then I will cross it.”

His aura turned cold and Zeenat shivered slightly, she could tell that this boy would definitely kill them all if they decided to betray the Lumen Empire.