"I wish you a safe trip, Your Highness."
"Thank you."
With that, we shared a courtesy and boarded the carriage. As soon as the door closed, Alexander immediately put on a wicked expression and opened his mouth.
And whatever came out of that damned mouth I bet it wouldn't be something pleasant.
"'You have the most beautiful smile.', Oh my, I didn't know that my little Damian was all grown up."
My lips trembled uncontrollably.
'What the hell is he spewing about?'
Unsatisfied with my reaction, he continued his blabbering with his idiotic smirk intact.
"'Nobody in this world makes me happier than you do.', Where did you learn such sweet flattery, oh, my dear brother?"
I always despise his smile but for the first time my hatred doubled and my hand felt itched; I wanted to punch him in the face!
However, an unexpected voice jumped in, it was Chislon.
"Even just standing by and doing nothing; His Highness successfully made a girl fall head over heels for him. Prince Damian's charisma is something else."
I was dumbfounded and looked at Chislon in disbelief; I felt betrayed!
'I can't believe he teamed up with Alexander to bully me!'
My brows furrowed in confusion, since when did these two suddenly get so close?
"Oh! Oh! I totally concur with you, Count Andreas, it looks like it won't be long before we receive a wedding invitation."
Tsk, at this point I didn't give a damn about them. I took out a book and started to read, but Alexander asked something that caught me off guard.
"But Ian, how did you know her name was Leticia? Neither of them mentioned her name."
My hand that previously flipped the page came to a full stop. Ah, it seemed I made a mistake.
I lifted my head and his golden eyes fixed on me. We exchanged glances for a few seconds before returning my gaze to the book below and continuing to turn the pages again.
Even though my heart was pounding in panic, I spoke as calmly as I could.
"Is it strange for a Prince to know the name of a noble?"
"Hmm, it's nothing strange actually, I'm just surprised you know someone who hasn't debuted in the noble society."
I decided to ignore it because Alexander would definitely get suspicious of me if I kept making excuses. With that, I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want my cover to be exposed.
But, what was even more annoying was that this damn handsome bastard didn't know how to give up.
"Are you sure it's not because you are into her?"
I raised my head and snapped at him.
"Are you crazy? This is even my first time meeting her!"
"Hmm."
Yet, he just hummed. However, suddenly his expression and way of speaking changed; there was no playful tone in it.
"Honestly speaking, she isn't a bad partner, though, if you can marry her, then you will have two Dukes on your back."
–Thud!
I closed the book and heaved a deep sigh as it flicked on my nerves. I was not fond of where this conversation led.
"I have no intention of using her to gain power and if I marry her it will be because I love her."
Marriage my ass, I wasn't even sure if I was still alive or not. The only thing I had in mind was how not to be killed by you, dammit.
Not to mention that Duke Gustav had always been in a neutral faction for generations. If I were to marry Leticia, wouldn't that mean I was dragging Andarc into the succession war?
That wasn't fair in my opinion.
Also, I didn't think Leticia wanted to marry me either, seeing how she ran away after hearing my compliment proving that she was disgusted by me.
Nevertheless, Alexander let out a grin.
"So you do fall for her, huh?"
I eyed him expressionlessly. I was tired.
"Whatever."
I opened the book in my hands and began to read.
"Heh, you're not fun."
Likewise, I still hear his voice pricking into my ears, even so, I brush it off like thin air.
"Ahem!"
Count Andreas cleared his throat to alter the atmosphere.
"Uh, the weather is really nice outside."
I glanced at the window next to me and the picturesque city came into view.
Syna, the main port located in the southeast of the Chrono Empire in the Njord region, was of great importance for both domestic and international trade with the southern Kingdoms.
Boosted by its trade as well as its tourism because its prominent features had made Syna become one of the most prosperous cities in the Chrono Empire.
An outstanding trait of Syna was the windmills that lined up near the docks. Initially, Syna suffered from regular flooding due to being built on lowlands.
Fortunately, the issue was sorted after the Arcanist Tower invented windmills and used them to pump out excess water and help control the floods.
"Yes, it is."
Luckily, we rode a less fancy carriage to escape the attention. However, my brows furrowed upon seeing the overcrowded street and I turned to Chislon who was sitting next to me.
"Is the city overpopulated, somehow?"
The Count chuckled and shook his head.
"That's because a festival will be held tomorrow."
"A festival?"
"Yes. They commemorate the day the windmills were built as a token of gratitude for never having another flood."
"I see. Now I understand why you rushed this trip."
Chislon smiled.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
So the schedule was, we were going to visit the Arcanist Tower today, and tomorrow we would spend the day just enjoying the festival. It was indeed a nice idea.
Shortly after the carriage stopped and Fedel's voice was heard.
"Your Highness, we have arrived."
The door opened and we stepped outside. Alexander positioned himself beside me and asked, while Count Andreas spoke to the guards.
"Are you still mad at me?"
I turned to him and our eyes met.
"No, why would I? I'm just a little annoyed by the way you're treating her like a political tool, that's all."
Alexander patted my head.
"I see. I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. I'm fine now."
I removed his hand from my head.
"But, let me ask you something, do you like her?"
I couldn't help but look at him in resentment. Not him brought this question again.
"Aren't you too persistent?"
"I'm just curious you know and she–"
I patiently waited, yet he didn't continue his words and I confronted him.
"She what?"
"Never mind."
The thing that came to mind was Alexander knew about Leticia's disappearance. Not only that, I thought, he also knew about the future of this world.
But I had no idea what his 'real' identity was.
"Let's go."
Chislon's voice interrupted my train of thought and we followed him.
"So?"
Tsk. I clicked my tongue inwardly. As expected of the protagonist of this world, his tenacity was boundless and so I responded anyway.
"I do like her–"
It was the truth. I indeed like her, she was my type. Still, somehow it hurt my conscience, I felt like a pedophile.
"–but love is something out of the picture for me. Well, at least for now."
As I had my hands full with my objectives, I would put everything aside.
"I see."
Only then did he stop bothering me.
–Drrrtt!
The gate wide opened and revealed a gigantic garden. I scanned the surroundings, it was filled with rare flowers and plants that you wouldn't find easily in the Empire.
In the middle of the garden stood a huge tower and at the top of the turret hovered a mana boulder that radiated blue light while under the Tower's feet, there was a big water fountain.
The Arcanist Tower was established in SOL 107. Divided into four Divisions: Alchemist, Elementalist, Herbalist, and Engineering.
I knew it seemed hard to believe, but the technology here almost surpassed the modern age. Maybe if they lived in my previous world without a doubt they would have won the Nobel Prizes.
"Will we be able to meet the Elders?"
I asked Chislon out of curiosity. Yet, he shook his head.
"The only one who can meet the Elders in person is His Majesty himself. No one in the Arcanist Tower ever met them, including me."
I wonder why they were so mysterious, even Alexander refused to talk about them. However, I found it a bit surprising and weird at the same time.
What I meant was, usually when an organization held such great power or influence, they would start a rebellion to overthrow their ruler and take the throne for themselves like most of the fantasy stories.
Nonetheless, even after standing tall for over 400 years, no sight of them trying a coup or anything related to it. On the contrary, they kept making various contributions to the Empire.
'I don't know what it is, but I think the Empire and the Arcanist Tower are hiding something.'
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om