28. Aged by ten years
"Thank you! Thank you so much, mother!" Asterion was louder than earlier, his excitement touching its peak.
'This is what his future should look like. It's such a relief that that good-for-nothing Ether died. The future of country Nero will be safest with a queen like Vesta.' Lady Krystal thought to herself.
The mother-son duo talked for some more time before they were called to the main hall. Soon King Ignis arrived, wearing a silky red robe, as muscular as he had always been.
But his appearance had changed so much. It was as if he had aged by ten years within the short span of two weeks. The loss of his dear daughter has taken a toll on him, which was clearly visible.
After some formalities, King Ignis was informed about how Ether met the accident and went missing. How one of the guards, who was level four cultivator died from the impact and how she was still missing, signalling she could be dead for days already.