26 Chapter 26: Stranger

Lareia woke up with tightness or pressure sensations around the forehead. It was quite unbearable, as she slowly held her head from both sides. She squeezed it, hoping that the pain will go away, but it made no difference.

She let out a groan as she stumbled out of the bed, making a loud 'thud'. The door immediately swung open, revealing the Grim Reaper and Jake with worried faces.

"What happened?" they asked in unison, helping Lareia back to the bed. She leaned against the wall, her eyes were closed, as a frown formed on her face.

"Do you want a glass of water?" the Grim Reaper asked.

"Do you want to eat?" Jake asked at the same time.

They kept pestering her with questions to the point that they started arguing and shouting with each other. She kept on frowning, slowly covering her ears until she snapped.

"ENOUGH!" The room was frozen in a snap, making the two stop and look at the fuming lady in front of them.

"...sorry," they both whispered, looking down as they regret their earlier behavior.

Lareia sighed in frustration and gave them a death glare, signaling them to leave her alone. Having no other choice, they both left as silent as possible, Jake closing the door and making sure it doesn't create a single creaking sound.

The moment they left, Lareia relaxed her tensed-up body and closed her eyes. The cold helped soothe the pain, taking all of her frustration away from her. As she was taking in the peaceful, cold room, the others entered as quietly as possible. Lareia already sensed them, but ignored and enjoyed the silence.

Jake and Sebastian left a teacup set, tea leaves, some cheesecake, a porridge, and milk. Lareia can't help but smile at this kind gesture. She then proceeded to eat the porridge, and brew a tea. After brewing, she mixed some milk into the tea and honey, ta-da! A milk tea and cheesecake for dessert.

When she was all done with her food, she did her morning routine, she wore a plain black long sleeves dress. Out of laziness, she teleported to the meeting hall, where everyone else was.

They just stared at her, waiting for her next move. Lareia took a sit on the middle chair, facing all of them who are already seated at the two sides of the long table.

Valor and Jake at the right side, with the other wolves, and on the other side were Sebastian and Clint.

"Any message from Tranquil?" Lareia asked.

"They canceled the meeting that was supposed to take place in 2 days. And..." Clint trailed off, deep in thought.

"They declared war?" Lareia continued.

"Kind of? They didn't officially declare war, but they attacked some vampires that live near the border. We're currently at a disadvantage since Fel isn't that united, and an elder is currently in a life and death situation. I don't know what to do right now," Clint ranted, clearly stressed, frustrated, and tired. He even combed his hair multiple times, a sign of frustration.

"Figures. Now, may I know who are these other visitors?" Lareia asked, looking at the other wolves.

"Beta Xander, Delta Tasha, and Zeta Jared. They are members of my pack who volunteered to come with me. I hope it's fine with you to add some people in the group." They stood up and bowed at Lareia once their name got called and sat back down. As they are currently in a meeting, they tried to control themselves from doing or saying unnecessary things, especially Tasha, who has a bunch of questions for Lareia.

"Valor and Jake, help Clint to unite the whole Fel kingdom within three days. I will assist you from time to time, but you are on your own for now, since I still have something to talk about with the Grim Reaper. Also, you three wolves will prepare for war with the Fel creatures who can participate as of now. If my guess is right, Tranquil will declare war in a week, so I'll give you five days to prepare. Now, please excuse yourselves, except for you Grim Reaper." As if Lareia was still in the Nether kingdom, she orders them with a voice full of authority. Which the others find wonders on why they are willing to follow whatever she just said. "And I'm dropping the honorifics, but please call me Lady or whatever. Now, leave."

Once everyone left, Lareia looked at Sebastian straight in the eyes.

"Do I know you? You don't have to answer though, since I already have a guess, just looking for confirmation."

Sebastian chuckled, "I may have seen you once or twice, and even talked to you a couple of times, but I don't know anything about you. We know each other, but we are still strangers in each's life."

"Ahh, then I shall proceed to my real agenda. Do you know about my curses?" She asked.

"I know nothing about it. All of your curses are privates ones if I'm not wrong. Only publics ones are recorded in the void palace," Sebastian replied.

"Then, do you perhaps know how to remove a curse by a member of the commandment? You see, I was tricked by this angel. I don't know if I loved him because of the curse, or was it, true love. Well, it was the curse of the commandment of love. Because of this curse, my wrath seems to disappear every single time, so I was no able to unlock my full potential."

"For some reason though, this curse slowly disappeared, but is still there and that made me realize that I was tricked. The curse is just weakened though since I still can't use my magic as much as before. My real question is, what did you do to Remiel and how can I lift this curse?" Lareia stared straight into his soul, with eyes looking for answers. Her eyes were both soft and piercing.

"You knew? I guess you know things as much as a deity knows about each creature, huh. To answer your question, if my knowledge is correct, then all you have to do is fall in love for real. Oh, and I just made the little angel a little bit insane, he'll be fine sooner or later, so don't worry," Remiel playfully answered, a smirk on his face.

"I see... so my life was ruined, because of a curse? An illusion?" she chuckled as tears starts to form in her eyes. "I can't believe I was tricked by a mere angel! Am I that weak? What can I even believe in this fucked up world?! Is pain the only true thing in this world? Someone, please tell me! I need someone to tell me that I can also be truly loved, that I can still put my trust in them, that I can be happy, even just for a while! Please... someone... anyone..."

Sebastian can't do anything as she released everything that was bottled up inside her. At the same time, her wrath overflowed and froze the whole mansion. It breaks his heart, if he can, he would love to take all the pain away from her. Knowing that he is in no position to help her, he just did whatever he can do as of the moment.

Sebastian slowly wrapped his arms around Lareia. It was warm, helping soothe the pain that she felt. Slowly, she calmed down and fell into a deep slumber, succumbing to the warmth and peace in Sebastian's arms.

He can't help but smile and hold onto her gently, making sure not to wake her up from her peaceful sleep. Teleporting to her room, he laid her down on the bed carefully, then tucked her under the blanket. He stared at her face for a couple of minutes before landing the softest kiss on her forehead, earning a smile from the sleeping lady.

"Have a nice sleep, my lady. You deserve it. I'll be here to help you and guide you when you feel lost. I know this sounds funny, but I want to be there for you, even as a stranger. Please don't push me away, and let me learn more about you. I will not promise you anything, I'll just say this once since you're asleep. I am not in love with you, I think, but I will be the stranger in your life. The stranger you can always talk to and the stranger who's always there for you. You don't have to do anything for me, just exist, that's my only request for now."