The Flower Of Eternity
Chapter 39: Phoenix

The journal of King Xavier:

Something very strange happened today.

I was working in Dong-gung as usual while trying to steal all the customer conversations to find the latest news related to the empire. While Anna who was feeling tired had first gone to the room and slept. Suddenly one of the customers called me and asked me to speak Schiereiland. I couldn't see his face clearly because he was wearing a robe and covering his head with a hood— and he just kept his head down and didn't look at me. I thought he must be drunk because he said that he knew me and said that he was my father-in-law. He must have been really drunk, because first, I didn't know him. Second, I married no one but Anna, and her father had already died because of my father's murder. Anyway I'm undercover to be Riz. Riz's wife is Diana Vinogradoff whose father is also dead.

At first I was willing to just leave her, but she held me back and showed me something that made me freeze for a while. Something he kept in a box. I can't possibly mistakenly recognize him. That thing—if indeed I mistakenly recognized it— is very similar to the Grimoire hourglass. The hourglass that Elle said had long since disappeared. When I was about to touch her, she immediately closed the box, then whispered to me:

"not yet. I will soon give this to you as your wedding gift, my son-in-law. For now, try to stay alive for the sake of my daughter. And for your daughter she's carrying. Protect both of them if it's true that you love my daughter, if you need to risk your life for them. Instead, when you are in danger, I will protect you by risking my life as well."

Alright. He must be just a drunk stranger. Because Anna is not pregnant. He would have told me the good news if it were true.

But there are things that still bother my mind until now. The man, after I looked closely, had the eyes of a Dragon. Like the Orient Dragon Trackers. Like Alexis's. And somehow, right after he left Dong-gung, I realized that his face looked familiar. And when I ran out to chase after him, he was gone.

I might be drunk too. Or maybe it's just the effect of fatigue. The problem...

The man was very similar to the late King Edward.

***

That afternoon, in accordance with his promise with Reina, Anna—in the form of Eri— met him by carrying a Wind Dragon hairpin that was clean from his blood stains. But this time Anna didn't come alone. Leon, who was also dressed in traditional Orient clothing, also accompanied him in the form of Ren. Anna introduced him to Reina.

"So this is your fiancee?" Reina asked before they set off towards the Steel Dragon making grounds. She looked at Ren's face, then smiled.

"Yes, Sire."

"What's your name?" Reina asked Leon. Her voice remained as calm and graceful as ever, yet she looked at Ren like she was looking at a sparkling new gem.

Leon replied in Ren's voice, "My name is Sato Ren, Sire."

Anna hid a relieved smile as Leon managed to introduce himself with the perfect Ilbon tribal accent.

"More..." Reina said slowly, as if calling a lover, "Do you want to work in the Palace?"

And with that offer was Leon— as Ren— was hired as a Palace wizard who specifically served the Queen Mother. That way, so far everything has gone according to Anna's plan. And after that they also left for the Steel Dragon manufacturing site.

Leon knew during the trip Reina did not stop looking at him. And although he had to act as Eri's fiancee by holding Anna's hand all the way, Leon deliberately repeatedly glanced at Reina while spreading a seductive smile for her.

"Don't over-imagine your role." Anna's whisperer in Schiereiland. "You're silent, too, it's tempting enough for him."

Leon laughed, whispering, "Please don't be jealous, my fiancee."

Anna grunts. But in his heart he was grateful that he could still joke like that with Leon. So that he did not feel too tense during the trip.

The Steel Dragon Reina Project was implemented in a place not far from the Sun Palace. Inside the hills of Shina. Reina dredged the contents of the hill and made it a workshop where the mechanics and technicians she worked at lived, ate and worked there. To get inside, they boarded a vehicle like a subway that had never existed in any kingdom. Anna inwardly acknowledges Orient's remarkable technological advances and beyond her imagination. During the subway ride, Anna had to refrain from showing her curiosity by observing the engine control room and the workings of the train. He wondered what would happen if Ludwig was taken into the carriage. Had he managed to negotiate with Haru and signed a peace treaty with Orient, the first thing he would do was to let Orient technology enter Imperial or learn Orient ways of building high-tech vehicles.

Just a few minutes passed when Anna resisted her desire to be in the train because Eri should have been used to seeing all this advanced technology, suddenly the train stopped.

"We have arrived, Sire." One of the guards informed.

Anna couldn't hide her surprise when she saw the place. What he imagined when he heard that Reina built a workshop in the hills of Shina, is a large cave with a ceiling of rocks and soil as the floor. It's a dirty, narrow place where he'll be oxygen-deprived. But in fact, he did not see the ground or the rocks. The place looked like a large room, like a vast Palace hall, yet everything was made of metal like steel. And Anna was still figuring out how they could still breathe freely even though they were technically inside a giant metal tube inside the hill. Even the air there is not stifling and seems cool like the air in the hills.

The pupils of his eyes widened even more as they reached the Steel Dragon manufacturing site. Anna had never seen such a row of war vehicles before. The Orient is completely ready for war. If Reina managed to control everything, then the entire world was definitely in her grasp. Anna herself was not entirely sure that the power of the Wind Dragon could blow away all those Steel Dragons.

Anna immediately turned her head towards Leon beside her who was now tightly grasping her hand. Not because of his role as Eri's fiancee, but Leon is trying to convince Anna not to lose her confidence when she sees their enemy so ready to destroy Imperial. Leon doesn't have to say everything. His way of staring at all the Steel Dragons before them, was enough to make Anna know what was on Leon's mind.

They have to succeed. Anna's negotiations with Haru must not fail. Because if they failed, whatever they were preparing up to now, it would not necessarily be able to hold Reina and her Steel Dragon army.

"Welcome, Sire. Phoenix is ready to be tested today." Yi-Zhuo bowed, welcoming the presence of the Queen Mother's entourage. As he stood straight back up, his eyes met Eri's eyes. He grinned wide.

"Phoenix?" Leon asked. Because it was a bit inappropriate for Anna to ask. There is a possibility that Eri should have known about Phoenix, so if Anna— in the form of Eri— does not know anything about Phoenix then it can cause suspicion.

Reina turned her head towards him, a charming smile expanding on her face as if she had long been looking forward to that moment, a moment where she could show off one of her masterpieces to the new handsome man she met, "Phoenix is my backup plan. From the very beginning I had prepared an alternative if the power of the Wind Dragon could not be used. So I designed a similar vehicle, which is smaller, but can be controlled and flown without the power of the Wind Dragon."

"With magic?" Ask Leon.

"No. With technology and science. Oh, you wouldn't understand me even if I explained it."

They also conducted the first test flight of Phoenix. Yi-Zhuo is the one who will drive the Phoenix considering he is one of the people who designed the Phoenix as well as because he has a lot of experience driving a wide variety of war vehicles that his father had created. For a while, Anna seemed to hold her breath. His heart is beating fast. He does not like to pray bad things even to his enemies, but for that time he wished the Phoenix could not fly at all or at least the Phoenix managed to soar high then the engine broke down and fell down beyond repair. But of course that's not what happened. Phoenix managed to fly, exiting through the air door on the ceiling that led directly to the outside of the hill, circling the other hills of Shina in a smooth motion like a firebird made of steel, then it reentered the place and landed perfectly without the slightest damage.

Next, they were about to test the Wind Dragon's strength in the hairpin that Anna had handed to Reina. Of course Anna handed over the Wind Dragon hairpin that had no Wind Dragon heart core in it. But at that time Anna— in the form of Eri— had been wearing Princess Seo-Hwa's hairpin, hairpin Xavier giving. So as Reina stood facing the dozens of Steel Dragons in front of them, as Reina raised her hand, Anna was the one using the power of the Wind Dragon.

"And now, we will try to fly the Steel Dragons that we have created over the years with all our blood, sweat and tears." Reina announced as she raised the Wind Dragon hairpin high before all her workers. He then put the clasp on his hair. With Leon's magic, the hairpin looked like it was shining brightly so everyone was convinced that the power of the Wind Dragon was really in it.

Anna initially thought it was impossible for the wind to lift dozens of steel vehicles of enormous size. It is not as big as a real dragon. But still the vehicles are large enough to accommodate several people in it. It will definitely feel very difficult and heavy when trying to lift everything.

But Anna was wrong. As Anna used the power of the Wind Dragon to lift those dozens of Steel Dragons, Anna did not even have to bother. All perfectly lifted with one wave of his hand. All those Steel Dragons flew and could be controlled very easily by him as if all of them only had the equivalent weight of a fowl feather. Anna could fly all those Steel Dragons as easily as breathing.

As everyone in the room applauded the success of Reina who controlled dozens of Steel Dragons of her creation by using the power of the Wind Dragon as they believed it to be, Anna turned her head towards Leon who was also looking at her with a mixture of astonishment and horror.

Anna knows what that means. The power that Anna was holding right now, was a power that could determine the future of the world. If the power of the Wind Dragon fell into Reina's hands, then surely all that Reina wanted, Imperial and the entire world, would fall into her hands. They can't linger there. Before Reina realized that the hairpin she was holding had no Wind Dragon power, they had to successfully execute their plan. Anna must successfully meet with Haru and negotiate with him so that a peace treaty can be signed immediately instead of having the world destroyed with the existence of dozens of Steel Dragons belonging to Reina.

***

"Leon, I want you and everyone in Imperial to believe that I will fail to negotiate with Haru." Said Anna.

At that time they were in Eri's room and Leon had already used magic to prevent their voices from being heard outside. The night is so late and Leon will soon meet the Wolf troops at their headquarters—which was originally a vacation home that Xavier bought for Anna. But Anna asked him to discuss for a while with her because there were a lot of things going on in his mind and he needed a friend to discuss them.

What they witnessed this afternoon at the Steel Dragon manufacturing site was a serious matter. Not only did Reina turn out to have prepared an alternative form of Phoenix, but also the fact that Reina had dozens of Steel Dragons ready to be flown in to destroy Imperial.

Although it was Anna who was currently holding the power of the Wind Dragon, it did not rule out the possibility that the longer they were there, the risk for them was even higher. It is possible that one day Reina will realize that the hairpin she is holding has no Wind Dragon power and that in the end Reina will justify all means to wrest that power from Anna.

"Whatchu mean? Why are you so pessimistic?" Leon asked who had been standing leaning on one side of the room while watching Anna being restless back and forth throughout their return from Reina's workshop.

"Think of the worst, Leon. That way we will be better prepared if the worst happens. We'll be better prepared to fight the Orient."

"Your Majesty, you don't like to fight. You hate bloodshed."

Anna doesn't deny it because Leon is right. Anna wanted as much as possible to avoid bloodshed. Steer clear of war. That's what he's been working on all this time. Any leader wants his country to be safe and peaceful without having to go to war with any side. But the plan doesn't always go smoothly. Unless there's another way...

"Leon, about Aletha..." Anna paused for a moment to work out what she was about to ask, "Would Aletha be able to point out the future, if the future contained the truth?"

Leon frowned confused by the question.

So Anna tried to explain it with an analogy, "I mean, for example you see the sky cloudy and lightning striking. Do you know what's gonna happen next?"

"It's raining?"

Anna nodded. "Persis like that. Is Aletha able to point out the truth that is happening in the future?"

Leon was silent for a moment, "You want someone to see what hasn't happened yet, but it must have happened?" he guessed Anna's mind.

"really. It's some kind of cause-and-effect relationship." Said Anna. "Other example, if I were to show you that an apple that was still hanging on a tree, would be on the ground. It hasn't happened yet, but it will. Dan—“

"Your way of making sure is to make a few things that support the incident." Leon cuts him off, begins to understand Anna's thoughts.

Anna nodded back with more enthusiasm. "So I just cut the apple from the stalk to fall on the ground. Then the future I say is a truth, not a lie or a mere wishful thinking."

"I see what you mean, but..." Leon paused for a moment to think, "That's kind of hard in this case, isn't it? It's not as easy as cutting an apple from the tree."

"Indeed right. But—“

Anna's words were cut off by the sound of knocking on the door outside Eri's room. Anna immediately hints at Leon to wear her ring. Anna also wears her ring so that they re-make the form of Eri and Ren. Because it would be far more reasonable and less suspicious to find Eri and Ren in Eri's room than Tsarina Anastasia and Grand Duke Winterthur.

Anna opened the door to Eri's room and found some of Reina's bodyguards standing in front of her room with tense faces.

"What's wrong?" He asked me tightly, like a Torakka who did not like his night being interrupted by the palace guards. Leon in the form of Ren stands behind him, being protective. It was certainly quite natural for anyone because Ren's status as Eri's fiancee was already known by all residents of the Palace.

The head of the bodyguard bowed before them, "Mother Suri is waiting for your arrival in her room."

Anna looked confused. Reina obviously didn't say anything about the evening meeting. It was very late anyway, what did Reina call him for?

"Why—“

"Sorry Torakka, not you. I mean, Mr. Ren." The chief of the guard said. This time he stared past Eri, staring at Ren. "Please come with us, sir."

***