Serene city, Spatial boundary part - 2
[Raspburg Duchy of Lyondyll empire]
A tall and bald fatty had his brows furrowed as he was wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. What remained on his hands seemed to be specks of blood from an earlier undertaking.
In front of him lay a dead body with a hole piercing through its chest right where its heart was supposed to be.
The fatty kicked the body, which shot towards the side and hit the wall as a bloodied and terrified face was seen.
It was Lark.
The man who took the task to kidnap the princess when the emperor was away on the orders of this fatty and failed the task as the princess escaped, and now, he faced the consequence at the hands of his master. Yes, he was the Duke of Raspburg Duchy of the Lyondyll empire.
He was in his office as he disregarded the dead body and came behind his table, and sat down comfortably on his enormous chair. Some words were uttered in his rough voice,
"Clean this up."
*BURP.*
"Lowly hearts such as these ruin my taste buds, bring some young ones,"
He bellowed out as two people appeared out of the shadows, one took the dead Lark and another came forward as he kneeled with a hand on his chest, he said,
"My lord, things have been much harder. The emperor seems to have noticed that the disappearances are related to us."
"Humph! so what, the plan is on its final stages. Once we bring that thing, the emperor will be useless.We just need a bit more time. Then I, Marcus Von Raspburg will be the new emperor. Keep bringing me fresh meats." The Duke of Raspburg bellowed again.
The man in dark nodded, "As you wish, my lord."
After saying this, he disappeared into the dark again with his companion.
In the dark, a sharp light passed through his eyes as he muttered, "Just a bit more, a bit more, and I will finally be able to accomplish my goals."
___________
This day, Carsina and Zane arrived at a spot a few hundred meters away from Serene City. Away from the eyes of people in the bushes.
Carsina grumbled, "Do I really have to wear these."
"Do you seriously think we won't make a commotion if we appear in our real looks." Zane replied
Carsina grumbled some more, "Ugh! I can't deny that, but still..."
"Okay, listen, We don't have all day. I will accompany you until we reach the spot and finish our business. After that, we go our separate ways. Understood?"
Carsina was silent as she looked into Zane's deep golden eyes. She sighed and nodded her head. As much as she wanted to spend more time with Zane, she had to go back and inform her father of Duke Raspburg's treachery.
Zane and Carsina entered the city gates in disguise, Zane wore a long coat and hat with a thick shawl around his neck, and Carsina wore something similar to him. As Lyondyll empire was inclined a bit towards the northern part of the central continent, it was cold here in this part, most of the time.
If they appear in this appearance, people will think of them as merchants from other cities as most of them appear in this type of outfit.
They walked into the city as they looked around. Carsina was a princess and could barely get out of the palace whenever she wanted. As most of the time she went out, she moved in a carriage, and the farthest place she had traveled was the outskirts of the capital. She looked around as Zane did the same, whereas Carsina was doing this out of curiosity, but Zane was making his analysis,
'It seems that not everyone is overpowered like that old hag, I mean, teacher. Although a few auras are a bit stronger, no one here is strong enough to threaten my life. The least powerful ones are normal humans without even a trace of mana.'
"So, where to?" he called out.
Carsina turned around, held his hand, and started running, "This way!"
The princess ran and entered an alley and kept crossing many alleys along the way with Zane in tow. They finally slowed down when Carsina was leading Zane towards a dilapidated pub, which read
"Seven petals pub."
"You have been here before?" Zane asked
"No, the farthest place I have been to apart from the Palace is the capital city boundaries." replied Carsina
Zane asked again, unbelieving, "Didn't you seem a little too familiar with these alleys, and how the hell did you get into that forest then?"
Carsina shook her head, "Please don't doubt me, Sir Zane, this is indeed the first time I have been so far from the capital. When I was little, I was asked to memorize each and every establishment of the Shadow Guards. And as for me being in the forest.....There was certain enchanted item those bastards used. It was a mass teleportation space scroll. It caught even my guardian mage off guard."
Zane was still looking at her as if he wanted to ask something, but before he could, the princess said, "Please wait until we reach the place."
Zane nodded and followed after the princess as she entered the old pub. There were a few drunkards lying around and an old man cleaning a glass at the reception, but Zane's eyes constricted when he saw them. 'They are not on the level of the so-called disaster class, but they are 6th class mages and knights, but that old guy' Zane gave the old man a cold look as he thought, 'Atleast an eighth circle mage.'
From Carsina, Zane got to know that there are 11 ranks of power for both mages and knights. They were -
for mages From first circle to the ninth, then the rank of Archmage with Grand Magus at the top
For knights, similarly, there were those with one aura manifestation to 9 aura manifestations, then came the rank of knight king with a divine knight at the top.
The old man cleaning the glass looked up towards the disguised Zane and Carsina and smiled and asked,
"Welcome, what would you like to have?"
Carsina held Zane's hand and approached the reception as she uttered a few words in a hushed tone so only the old man and Zane can hear
"A knight's sword is made of blood and sweat."
Hearing what she said, the old man widened his eyes but immediately corrected his expression so that no one can notice the change.
He came out from reception and led us towards the back door as he said,
"Of course lady, the finest wine we have is at the back. If you may come with me to see if you like the stuff my humble shop has been preparing."
He smiled the same way as he did when he welcomed us in. Zane and Carsina followed him a for a while until the reached a simple room without many furnitures or decorative items.
The only decorative item would be a red flag attached to the wall which descripted two golden swords crossing each other over a silver shield.
The old man turned around and knelt on one knee with both his hands crossed on his chest,
"I Edward, the deputy chief of nighthawk team of the Shadow guard greet the Luminous Moon of the empire."
The title of the Luminous Moon of the empire is usually for the most influential and noblest lady of the empire, which can normally be considered the Empress,
The mother of the nation but in the absence of the Empress, Carsina has inherited her mother's title.
Unlike Carsina's usual behavior, facing the man she seemed dignified and cold.
Zane was a bit shocked to notice the sudden change but when he recalled that Carsina was a princess, her current demeanor was indeed suitable for someone of her status.
Carsina asked, "Has my father returned?"
"Yes, your highness. His majesty returned from the conference a few days ago and has asked all the Shadow guard posts to look out for you. Should I prepare a carriage for you, your Highness?"
Edward asked. Carsina nodded and replied, "Yes, but prepare it as discreetly as possible."
"Oh, and please prepare accommodation in the city and everything my guest here asks for."
She said as she pointed at Zane
Edward nodded in reply as he raised his head and looked at Zane. He was shocked, Zane was the most handsome person he has ever seen amongst the younger generation of the empire's nobles.
He definitely won't mistake him for a random nobody as the aura Zane emitted carried an air of authority something which can't be found in commoners. He has ever felt this kind of aura when he was in front of the emperor.
"May I ask who this young master is?"
Carsina smiled, "He is my savior."
{Author's note - sorry everyone I have made some recent changes to the chapters. Please revisit those if possible}