41.3. (Un)Bound - Part 3

"Your Majesty, be care---!"

Eager to master the shield, I put in my everything. However, the spell not only breaks its symbol, it goes berserk. The telekinetic wave throws me, Taranah, Liana and four guards away while shattering the mirrors on the wall.

I gasp but, fortunately, I land quite safely on my butt. I quickly look around but it doesn't seem we have any injuries except for a few bruises. Glass shards are all over the floor but we weren't standing near the mirrors.

"Li, are you okay?" I get up as soon as possible and hurry to my friend who is swearing loudly because she sat on her wings which is extremely uncomfortable for a Celestial.

"S-somehow," she wheezes and lets me help her back on her feet. "Damn, Aefener, now you're overdoing it."

"I'm really sorry," I apologise profoundly. "Everyone okay?"

Taranah gives me a thump up but it seems he hit his elbow. The guards are mostly without a scratch because they managed to brace themselves against the impact. I guess Fefnir chose only those more physically fit and sharp for the position.

"Let's call it a day," Liana shakes her head and tries to fix her robe. "Our Emperor is obviously too excited for casting right now."

*****

"Don't be grumpy," Erik pokes my forehead and squeezes next to me on the sofa.

I got home but I still have to process a few emails so I'm sitting with my laptop on, replying to our Celestial community in Thailand. I'm trying to give them some encouragement while thinking hard how to answer their question on how they should manage themselves without me being there.

"Every country would need their representative," I'm thinking aloud. "We can't possibly communicate with every group, it's too time-consuming and simply not effective. I'm afraid I need to appoint officials who would carry out our directives in my stead."

"How many Celestials are there anyway?" Erik gets curious.

"Well, Draconia Offline had over 15 million players world-wide," I say. "Celestials should make at least one tenth of that."

"What? Not a quarter?" Erik doesn't understand.

"Not that many gamers played as Celestials," I explain. "While it's surely attractive to be able to fly, a great majority of people are afraid of heights even in VR and get vertigo. In addition, a high percentage couldn't persuade their brain to control non-existent additional limbs to a functional level. A tail doesn't seem to be such a problem apparently."

"Hmm, so there aren't that many of your race," Erik ponders.

"Clawfangs were the most popular choice followed by the Dragonkin. The Earthborn were also not as numerous since their skill system is very difficult to comprehend," I say.

"Emi certainly has a lot of people to manage then."

"Yeah, I don't envy her that," I nod and have to slap Erik's hand because he's touching where he's not supposed to. "I'm still working if you can't see that."

"You shouldn't be, it's already half past eight," Erik purses his lips.

He's totally right about that, of course. But I have to finish it, they're waiting for my response. Erik wants to pet my wings while waiting but I have to reject him. I wouldn't be able to focus if I was getting his thoughts.

"Will you shower today?" he asks, standing up after he finally gave up his advances.

"Nope," I shake my head. It's a big advantage that Celestials don't sweat much because it's a bother to shower with my huge wings.

"I'll get an early start then," he kisses me and goes to the bathroom.

I'm so focused that I notice only when Luviael sits next to me that the guards let my adjutant in. So much for the privacy in my own apartment. But she stopped by because she means to help me so I appreciate her assistance.

"Do we have some free funds to send them immediately?" I ask her. "They want to establish their own embassy but they don't have much money to rent a house big enough for that kind of thing. Most of them lost their jobs."

"The budget is tight," Luvi sighs. "Her Excellency's company is still making a huge profit but she can't spend it all overseas."

I frown and log into my personal account. I almost faint when I see the amount of money that accumulated there while I wasn't checking. My followers keep sending me donations and I also get a generous salary from Liana because, on the paper, I'm technically the employee of AstraTech. With my Mom's loan already paid in full, it feels weird to become so rich out of the blue.

"I don't need my salary, Liana is wasting money on me," I shake my head. "Why the hell do I even earn as much as some renowned CEO anyway?"

"Because you're working as hard as one? No, even harder," she points out. "Besides, you're the Emperor, not some common director."

But I don't care. I have no use for that kind of money. I don't even pay the rent for this apartment or for clothes and food. So I send a decent sum to the Thailand community.

"Your Majesty, you're so generous," Luviael is moved.

I don't feel generous. I feel responsible. And privileged. I live protected in Liana's skyscraper while my people out there have to struggle every day. We might have been acknowledged as nations but racism towards Draconians didn't cease at all. I get reports everyday saying that employers refuse Draconians and not many landowners are willing to rent them places to live.

"It's the least I can do," I murmur.

As I'm about to finally shut the laptop close, there's a call. Is the work never ending? I pick up and it's one of Thai Celestials that was temporarily chosen to represent them. I don't know her from the game, she was from some guild that wasn't that high in the charts. She's thanking me on behalf of all Celestials living in Thailand. But it's actually me who feels truly grateful. She's trying to hold things together over there without any resources.

"Ryuu," Erik returns, smelling after his favourite soap, and gets seriously annoyed that I'm still working and my adjutant is here.

"Done," I finally close everything and put my laptop on the table. I quickly get up and kiss him. "You smell nice."

"Good night, Your Majesty, Royal Consort," Luvi flees because Erik is giving her very strong signals that she's not supposed to be here at this hour.

"Sorry, are you angry?" I hug my boyfriend because I feel uneasiness coming from him.

"Not at you. I'm angry at people stealing your attention after work hours."

"Erik, this isn't exactly a job with a fixed timetable," I remind him.

"And I know that," he sighs. "But I can be still pissed about it, right?"

"You have my full attention now," I kiss him again and make it into an avalanche of tender kisses. His mood finally brightens and I take him whole.

*****

Once again, I wake up in the middle of the night. My back hurts, my wings are sore and I shiver with restlessness. I feel like crying. My Celestial nature longs for the sky and the realisation that I can't reach it anytime soon is maddening. Will lying next to the windows help? Or will it make it even worse to stare at something I can't have?

I try sitting up but Erik's strong arms capture me. I was so focused on my discomfort that I didn't notice he woke up. His peaceful sleep was probably disrupted by my jarred emotions.

"Don't suffer it alone, silly," he tells me softly.

"It hurts, Erik," I complain.

"Lie down on your stomach, love, I'll give you a massage," he kisses me on my forehead and helps me change position.

His hands always give me pleasure and this time is no different. My wings strop trembling a few minutes into the massage when my poor muscles finally relax. I don't know when I finally dozed off.

*****

Erik's massage last night helped me a lot but when I wake up, I feel sore again. I have to force myself to smile at him and pretend that the relief he gave me didn't last only for a couple of hours. I don't want to worry him more than he already is.

I feel awful. I'm groggy and everything I perceive is kind of veiled. The maids dress me up but I don't bother looking at myself in the mirror. Not even Erik being really handsome in his suit excites me. Luviael waits for us in front of our apartment and tells me something but I don't really pay attention and answer something generic.

"Are you okay, Your Majesty?" Luvi tils her head, noticing the change in me.

"Just tired," I lie and yawn.

"He couldn't sleep well, his wings were sore," Erik sighs.

"I can arrange a professional wellness massage for you," she offers readily. "Today after your magic training?"

"That would be great," I answer but I doubt it'll provide any long-term relief.

We get to the office and someone puts a fresh sandwich and a smoothie into my hands. I chew and sip mechanically, not really feeling any particular taste. Everything is in a haze. There's a meeting and, fortunately, Liana does most of the talking. I say something from time to time, probably not anything clever.

There's lunch. Oh, did four hours pass already? When did the meeting end? I can't focus. My back hurts. I feel my mana strangely disarrayed. I think I might be to developing a migraine but not because of too many emotions around me—because of my back killing me. I close my mind to Erik just in case.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I ask again, wondering how I got to the main briefing room because I can't remember walking in here.

"I was asking whether you wish to look at the candidates for our officials now," Luviael repeats and hands me a tablet.

I take it and realise that I can't decipher any words on the screen. My head is pounding at this point but I don't want to take a break because the workload would be crazy tomorrow. I step aside from the table to stretch a bit, hoping it'll help.

Thoughtlessly, I walk to the window while trying to read the names. A few are familiar but not many. I longingly look out. It's so bright out there, just a few clouds in the sky. So blue. So inviting. So close I can almost touch it but my fingers meet the glass.

It feels almost funny. Is this fragile thing stopping me? Or am I stopping myself? Suddenly, the glass under my fingers cracks. Subconsciously, I must have poured my mana into it. I drop the tablet and it meets the group with a loud thud.

"R-Ryuu?" Erik stands up from the desk, startled. Liana looks up in panic.

I turn back and look at them. Even my beloved boyfriend is in a haze. Erik's eyes widen in a sudden realisation of what's about to happen. But he's too late. He can never reach me in time. Nobody can stop me now.

The glass shatters into pieces and it's beautiful. I carefully steer the shards with telekinesis so that no one gets hurt when the gust of wind hits the room. Then I unfold my wings and jump. I'm free.