Pleased with himself as he watched the Grand Plaza erupt into chaos, Ixion found his way to Count Marcus's carriage. He arrived to find it returned to pristine condition.
'Zabaniyah did a great job fixing the door!'
Ixion shoved the bird's cage onto the cushioned seat, sat beside it, and ushered Runa to follow.
The cat woman hesitated for a moment. After a few shaky breaths, she climbed in and sat opposite Ixion.
After slamming the door shut, the King whistled, then said:
"Zabaniyah, return us."
Runa's green eyes filled with confusion at Ixion's nonsensical remark to himself, only for the carriage to suddenly start moving, shooting to its top speed in no time.
"Whoa!"
Runa fell forward onto Ixion's lap. Quickly, Runa righted her wrong and pushed herself upright.
"I apologize, Your Majesty!"
Ixion stared at the girl with hollow eyes, peering at her soul…
"Ah, don't worry about formality when alone with me. I don't care for that stuff."
Runa's face stiffened, but her eyes seemed to relax.
"Pardon?"
Ixion sighed, then crossed his legs and looked at the parrot.
"What do you think his name should be?"
A shrill chirp immediately followed.
"Name should be!"
Ixion reeled back in horror.
"Hey, what happened to your usual line?!"
The grey bird's head flipped to the side, then it chittered:
"Fuck you!"
Ixion breathed a hefty sigh of relief and looked back toward Runa.
"Much better."
Runa looked… confused, dazed, mortified, intrigued, and scared.
As she should be…
Kings throughout history weren't known to be the most respectful to commoners, let alone foreigners.
The only reason a situation like this would have happened in the past would be if a king had ill intentions and saw someone he fancied and wished to use their body.
Yet, as lecherous as Ixion was, he was a prideful man.
It wasn't exactly morals that steadied his ethical compass, but more so if he wished a woman to lie with him, it would be their wish as well.
"Perhaps… Sir Edward Alaric?"
'No, no…'
'That's much too boring!'
"Sir Richard Galvian Dick the Resplendent?"
'That's trying too hard…'
Ixion kicked back and shouted:
"Ah! Runa, help me out here!"
The cat shuddered again, being directly addressed, but her shoulders and ears didn't stiffen nearly to the degree they had before.
While she wasn't comfortable at all, the king's unhinged behavior had seemed to strike a comical nerve in the woman.
"Hmm… combining them both… Sir Edward Galvian Alaric Richard the Resplendent."
Ixion clawed at his head and held his wavy, blue hair back.
"No. That's trying way too hard!"
A quiet gasp escaped Runa's throat:
"Uh."
Ixion dropped his hands to the side and let his bangs fall, then opened his misty blue eyes wide and stared into the depths of the girl.
"You have a suggestion?"
Runa quivered lightly and started rubbing her hands together and tapping her feet.
"Uh… Lord?"
"Lord?"
Runa quickly realized her error upon seeing the king's stoic face.
She'd just suggested a title that was usually reserved for a king or duke… to the damned king!
She'd pretty much said this bird is on the same level as he!
"I-uh wai- I didn't me- no! Um!"
Ixion scowled and began rubbing his chin.
"You're onto something."
'T-that's it!'
"Your name par… — um, what are you again? Whatever! — bird. Shall be Lord of Truth! For you speak no lies!"
The bird squealed.
"Fuck you!"
"Ah! Resplendent! Remarkable! He loves it. We can call you Lot for short."
The bird chirped again.
"Lot!"
Ixion felt like a proud father hearing his son speak his name for the first time.
"Ah… how I didn't even know I longed for this day."
Runa, who'd just gone through a terrible emotional whiplash, was now simply left in awe…
Awe of the crazy man who'd bought her… but also not?
Since Ixion did say she could leave at any moment.
However, she'd be foolish to trust that sentiment, but after witnessing how deranged King Ixion is, it was clear she saw the evident truths that hid within his madness.
Ixion acted like a fool, but an honest one.
After their relatively short drive, Zabaniyah brought the carriage screeching to a halt in front of the Royal Palace's courtyard.
Ixion opened the door and stretched out his hand.
"After you."
Runa, easing up by this point, slowly scooted out and hopped down. Ixion soon followed, with the bird in hand.
"Zabaniyah! Return the count's carriage!"
Before Runa could even catch a glimpse of their mysterious driver, the red and white carriage sped off.
Ixion watched the carriage kick up dust, then swerve around the corner and disappear. He turned his head to the front entrance.
"Ah… and to what do I owe this greeting?"
Andrea, alongside two other chancellors, Se'van and Cecelia, stood with ragged looks upon their faces.
Andrea's curly hair was matted, and her shoes had a little mud caked on them from when she tried chasing him.
"Your majesty… I think you know why we're 'greeting' you like this."
"Oh. Oh my. I didn't know what I did was wrong. But thinking about it… You're right. Why in the world did I say for Count Marcus's carriage to be returned! I should at least have stolen that horse!"
Chancellor of War, Cecelia, a fierce woman with long, burnt amber colored hair held back by braids, stepped forward.
"Ixion…"
The moment she said his name directly with no honorific, Runa, and all the onlookers who'd been not so subtly watching gasped.
"Answer honestly. Are you an enemy?"
Ixion stepped forward toward the woman with an aloof countenance. The woman he'd spent years fighting with side by side on the front lines.
"Enemy? Enemy of what?"
"The state… I know you've given up on the world and our kingdom, but are you actively trying to bring about the end you seem so sure will pass? For what? To prove you were right that our struggle is futile? It's nonsensical. What happened, Ixion? What happened to your kindled heart?"
'Ah, she's saying the silent part aloud…'
Ixion knew very well that this was the sentiment shared by all his followers.
The usually quiet Se'van stepped up and put a hand on Cecelia's shoulder.
"Cece, that's enough. Let's continue this inside. We do this every week, and you know how it ends!"
"No… I'm through with this all. I swore fealty to a stalwart prince who stood proud and bold in the face of ruin. Not this hollow shell of a man who brings street trash playthings to the palace. I'm done trying to hold onto his shadow."
A shrill screech sounded throughout the air in Praxian.
"Fuck you!"
Ixion looked down at the cage in his hand, then up at Cecelia.
"The Lord of Truth has spoken… fuck you, he says."
Cecelia remained quiet as she drew her rapier.
Andrea and Se'van pleaded with her to calm down, but the woman stepped forward in resolute defiance.
Ixion sighed, then cocked his head to see the formed crowd around the courtyard entrance.
"Runa, take Lord of Truth and go stand with Andrea, the tall woman right there; she will protect you."
Runa, absolutely lost, being caught in the midst of a foreign rebellion, sauntered over with the cage in hand.
Cecelia let her pass, then took a stance facing Ixion.
Ixion laughed, then turned to address the crowd forming a circle around them.
"My noble Chancellor of War has requested a public spar once again! Be entertained at your own risk!"
The moment Ixion finished his sentence, his eyes locked in on a man with a bowler's hat, tattered brown shirt, and rugged brown boots.
Using his immense speed, Ixion blitzed toward the man, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye, and gripped him by the shoulder.
The man screamed in agony as Ixion gently caressed his soul.
"Argh!"
Cecelia rushed after Ixion, but it was much too late.
"Let him go!"
Ixion held his arm to the man's chest, then reached inside his Essence and ripped out his Soul.
A moment later, Ixion shattered the Soul in his grasp and reconfigured it into an invisible blade.
The man's body slumped lifelessly to the ground, with no apparent injuries on his body. But his eyes were hollow, and the luster of life gone.
'Ah… your soul makes a terrible sword.'
The man Ixion just killed was a crook he'd seen on one of his previous outings — a man with a tainted Soul.
As the crowd around began to scream and flee in terror, Ixion spun around and swiped away Cecelia's attack.
As Cecelia's blade swiveled to the side, she dropped and sent a steel and reinforced backheel toward Ixion's stomach.
Ixion jumped back, caught Cecelia by the ankle, and held her still.
"You've gotten better."