Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 335: An unlikely request

Third-person POV

Darius couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He sat stiffly in the hospital’s private conference room, his back straight in the chair, and his sharp eyes fixed on the older man across from him. The king of Elmeria had just asked him for permission to move Seraphina out of the secure hospital where she was fighting for her life, and not only was it absurd, it was also unthinkable and even borderline insulting.

King Vale’s face was tired but still calm, his hand resting on the table as if he were trying to keep his composure, but Darius wasn’t fooled. The request itself was madness.

"Your Majesty," Darius said carefully, trying to keep his voice calm, measured, and polite. "What you are asking of me is beyond strange. Seraphina is barely holding on to life. The doctors have already told me, and her aunt Gianna as well, that we should prepare for the worst. She cannot even breathe on her own most of the time, and yet you want me to move her? To an unknown location? For what reason?"

His jaw clenched as he finished, his words coming out a little sharper than he intended. He forced himself to take a breath and sit back slightly, though his eyes never left the king’s.

Across from him, King Vale let out a long sigh, the sound heavy with frustration. "Haven’t the doctors given up hope on Seraphina ever waking up?" he asked bluntly.

The question landed like a blow, and Darius’s throat tightened, but he didn’t answer. He couldn’t because the truth was, yes, the doctors had given up hope. The meetings and the looks they exchanged when they thought he wasn’t paying attention—it was all there. They didn’t believe she’d wake up again.

Darius kept his silence, his jaw tight, and his hands fisting in his lap.

King Vale leaned forward, the look on his face a bit more serious now. "The person Seraphina needs to see is someone she knows very well, and although this might sound strange, there is a chance, no, a very high chance, that Seraphina will live if she manages to see this person soon, but the longer it takes, the less likely her chances will be."

Darius blinked, confusion washing over his anger. He narrowed his eyes. "Are you telling me you’ve found a different doctor?" he asked slowly. His voice was flat and cold, but there was a flicker of something else under it—hope, maybe, or desperation. "Is that what this is about?"

King Vale hesitated. For a brief second, his lips pressed together, and a shadow crossed his expression. "No," he said finally. His voice was quiet, almost reluctant. "Not a doctor."

Darius felt his chest tighten. His hands clenched harder. "Then who?"

Vale had never imagined he would one day have to beg another man for something like this, much less a prince from another kingdom that was much less than his, but tonight, pride had to be set aside.

He let out a soft sigh and looked across at Darius. "Tell me, Prince Darius... have you heard about my daughter and the situation surrounding her?"

The question made Darius’s brows furrow. He had indeed heard. Everyone had. News had spread like wildfire after the Revernyn tournament that the Elmerian princess wasn’t fully human. The story had crossed borders and reached every one of the seven kingdoms.

Electra, daughter of King Vale, was an abomination. At least, that was what people called her now.

Darius leaned back in his chair, his eyes still never leaving the king. He already knew the gossip, but what did it have to do with Seraphina? Why would a scandal about Electra tie into this strange request to move his fiancée out of the safety of the hospital?

"Are you suggesting," Darius said slowly, "that the person who wishes to see Seraphina... is Electra?"

Vale didn’t hesitate. "Yes. She is the one."

He folded his hands on the table, his voice calm but carrying an edge of urgency. "I do not know why my daughter insists on seeing her, and I do not understand it myself, but Electra is certain. She believes she can save Seraphina’s life."

Darius’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his expression didn’t reveal much else. He wasn’t shocked that Electra wanted to see Seraphina. He already knew about their relationship. What puzzled him was not Electra’s wish; it was the claim behind it.

Save Seraphina’s life? How could she possibly believe she could do that when trained doctors had already failed?

Leaning back in his chair, Darius crossed his arms over his chest and let out a slow sigh. His gaze stayed sharp, weighing every word before it left his lips.

"Your Majesty," he said, his tone firm, "I will speak plainly. I am not surprised that your daughter wishes to see Seraphina. Their... relationship was never a secret to me, but what I cannot understand is why Electra would think she can help her. The best doctors in your own kingdom, men and women trained for decades, cannot bring Seraphina out of this coma. The healers I had brought all the way here have tried every remedy known to us, and yet you tell me your daughter, just because she is not fully human, believes she can succeed where they have failed?"

King Vale’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t look away.

Darius’s jaw tightened, and his voice grew heavier. "Unless you make me understand exactly how Seraphina is to be saved if I grant your request, I will not agree to this. I will not take the risk of putting her life in even greater danger, and I will not gamble with her when her condition is already this fragile."

Vale sat straighter, his hand pressing flat against the table. "I am asking you to trust me," he said. "I know it sounds strange, but my daughter is not asking out of selfishness. She is asking because she knows something we do not. She believes she can wake Seraphina, and I believe her."

Darius let out a harsh breath through his nose, almost a scoff. "Belief does not heal stab wounds, and it does not wake someone who has been in a coma for days. Tell me the truth, Your Majesty. Do you even know what you are asking me to do? If I move Seraphina, if I allow her to be taken to this... secret place where your daughter is hiding, and she dies along the way, that blood will be on my hands, and I would not forgive myself for it. I cannot simply agree to this because you claim to believe your daughter."

Vale’s eyes hardened. "I am not asking you to believe me," he said quietly. "I am asking you to believe in Seraphina. She and my daughter share a bond deeper than anything we can explain, and I can assure you that my daughter wouldn’t be lying about being able to help."

Darius’s throat tightened, and even though something at the back of his mind was telling him to give in, he didn’t want to make a mistake that he would end up regretting.

"My answer stands," he said coldly. "Not unless you give me proof, and unless you can show me something more than faith. Until then, Seraphina stays here, where she is safe."