The Emperor stood there, stunned and frowning, watching the healers try to calm Eckehard.
What had gone wrong?
They'd been talking so smoothly... Well, it wasn't exactly smooth or easy, but the atmosphere didn't seem particularly bad, even though Eckehard appeared cautious and was clearly struggling to suppress his presence in front of him, seeming somewhat distracted—but it wasn't entirely wrong.
And which woman was he talking about?
"Get back to me with an answer…"
he whispered to the shadow standing behind him.
The shadow vanished whilst Eckehard slept, appearing to have found peace. The substance he had been injected with had no sedative effect; it was merely a substance acting as an aid to help stabilise the mind, dispel delusions and suppress madness. So he asked coldly, looking at the therapists
"Why has he fallen asleep?"
"Forgive us, Your Majesty. His Highness has a strong psychological response to sedatives. As soon as detected the sedatives in his system, he entered a state of unconsciousness and succumbed to sleep."
"What is wrong with him?"
"One of His Highness's traumas has been triggered, Your Majesty. I may be being bold, but Your Majesty must be cautious when speaking to His Highness and avoid anything that might trigger those memories, especially in the early days, as His Highness remains in a defensive and alert state even when unconscious."
"You may leave."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please excuse us."
After the therapists had left, he sat quietly on the sofa. He did not understand why a simple question had triggered Eckehard's trauma… nor which woman he was talking about… As far as he knew, not even half an hour had passed since he'd woken up, and no one had entered Eckehard's room before him…
"Your Majesty."
"The report."
"No anomalies were detected in the Formations in general. But, the Formations of energy readings rose slightly at midnight six days ago, and then dropped within a fraction of a second ."
"Any other findings?"
"One possibility, but His Highness's condition began to improve from that moment onwards."
"It seems we had an uninvited guest... I can now see what triggered the child's trauma."
He muttered quietly, his cold eyes never leaving his son's face; it seemed that, unwittingly, he had made it clear to the child that his abductors were still able to roam freely around him.
Following Eckehard's abduction five years ago, Ludwig summoned every researcher, investigator and tracker of recognised skill from across the continent, and they did not disappoint him; within less than a week, they had uncovered the method by which the child had been abducted from the heart of the Imperial Palace.
Something the world had never known before... a space-time prison.
The entire continent was thrown into chaos afterwards, and Ludwig not only allowed but welcomed them to analyse this phenomenon and search for it—whether it was a skill, an ability, or whatever it might be—because he wanted to find his son.
But the final result was disappointing because, despite all their research, they failed to recreate it; indeed, they failed even to identify any trace, coordinates or clue that might lead him to the kidnappers
You must understand, the concept of opening a spatial pocket is not unfamiliar; there are many artefacts that function as separate pockets in space, such as storage rings and treasure chambers.
However, this spatial pocket is devoid of air, pressure, and even the concept of time itself.
As for the space-time prison these men are using, it is, according to the hypotheses, the result of five years of joint study by the continent's finest minds.
Whether it is an alternative dimension, a gateway to the fourth dimension, or the void between the third and fourth dimensions, in any case, even after five years, there are nothing but mere hypotheses.
Returning to that time, however, despite having at his disposal one of the most powerful empires in the world, he stood helpless; for two whole years he could not find his child, even though he had turned the empire upside down, searched every inch of it, and sent spies and researchers across the continent to comb it thoroughly, without them returning with any results
He breathed a sigh of relief only when they detected some disturbance in a forest near the empire and found his son. Upon investigating that place, it appears it was also a time-space prison, which is why he had been unable to find the boy before.
Unfortunately, the place collapsed shortly after they rescued the last survivors from there, and they were unable to obtain much information because most of the facilities had already been destroyed by the time the knights arrived...
Or rather, the important information had been destroyed before they fled, as there was no trace of anyone in the villa apart from the victims... Well, as hell, he'll believe that. Let's just say that since time immemorial, 'coincidences' have never been a good thing for the Ehrenfelds. It seems someone is playing a game with them.
"Deploy the Second Division around Eckehard. Keep a 24/7 watch over him without letting your guard down for even a second."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
The shadow vanished, leaving the Emperor alone in the room. He approached his son and gently stroked his hair, but said nothing; he merely sighed and left.
A long task certainly awaited him, but more importantly, he wanted to truly understand who these wretches were ... He stopped in the corridor, raised his head and looked out of the window at the moon.
The coldness never left his eyes, yet a faint glimmer of sorrow shone within them, making them seem empty and hollow, like an abandoned abyss.
"It seems to be yet another of your problems, doesn't it? Are you still cursing me? … Very well, but it seems I need more to be able to protect our son."
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