Dawn of the new adventure

King Charles' inner thoughts: "I'm glad he said that; if he had claimed to follow the path of the Sovereign, one day he would have turned into a ruthless monster, living to satisfy his ego. To prevent that, I would have to kill him here..."

King Charles: "Very well, you are free to chart your own course. I was only obligated to find and inform the heir we expected by adhering to the tradition upheld by the past kings. But if you do not wish to forge your own path and succumb to the ruler's energy, you must learn how to control that energy."

"Control the energy? Is that possible?"

King Charles: "Certainly, you can feel and manipulate the aura, can't you?"

"Well, I guess what manifested when your bloodthirsty desire was evident was the aura. So yes, I can see it, but I didn't even know that what I used in the tournament was aura. It appeared on its own when I gave in to my emotions and seemed to take control."

King Charles: "The reason is, when faced with weaker individuals, what emerges is the desire of the ruler to destroy and rule, seizing you and strengthening you, but you lose your mind and logic. However, when you learn to use your aura, this won't be a problem."

"Thank you for everything; I will definitely repay my debt to you one day."

King Arthur's inner voice: "Does he feel indebted to me? I can use this. If I can bring the only person with unlimited strengthening capacity to my side, I will have overwhelming authoritarian superiority among all the kingdoms."

King Charles: "Do you want to repay your debt? How about marrying my daughter, then?"

"W-what!?"

King Charles: "Hahaha, or do you not want her? She is the most beautiful girl in the kingdom and should be around your age. Of course, I won't force you to marry her, but I would be happy if you got to know her; she's a bit introverted."

"I think I can do that."

King Charles: "Enjoy your time here until you recover and start aura training. I've called my daughter to show you around the palace, so make sure to get along with her. I'll personally train you in aura until you say you wish you had died in that tournament."

I can't escape from this guy, can I? Anyway, the idea of receiving training from the person who is one of the strongest individuals and the king of Drynsoll doesn't sound too bad, I guess.

A girl entered the room, looking very beautiful with blonde hair, blue eyes, ample breasts, and a lovely figure. She approached the dining area until she was a few meters away, then bowed to greet the King. Even if he's her father, he must show respect to him after all, he's a king.

King Charles: "Here is my daughter Emily, welcome my little darling."

Emily: "D-dad!"

She was embarrassed and blushing because he addressed her like that.

"So, you'll be in charge of him; he's under your care."

I smiled at Emily and stood up from the dining table. Despite my smiling gaze, she was avoiding eye contact and blushing even more. I guess she's truly a shy person.

"Alright Charles, thank you for everything."

I shook Charles' hand.

King Charles: "By the way, there will be a royal ball tonight, and many nobles will be present. I don't know why you participated in the tournament, but even if you came in second, it would be good for you to attend this ball to enhance your prestige."

Nobles will be there? I can use this opportunity to gather some information about Aiden. I could explain this to Charles, but slave trading constitutes a significant part of the kingdom's market, so he might not have precise information, and besides, I want to handle this myself. If the King takes action, the news will spread rapidly, and I might not see Aiden again.

Emily's inner thoughts: "Is this man addressing my father by his name? Even I have to call him 'King' when we're not alone! He's having a meal with my father and addressing him by his name. Moreover, they have a considerable age difference. Or... could it be that my father wants to marry him to me?!"

"I will attend, but I don't think I have suitable clothes for the ball."

King Charles: "I knew you would accept my offer, so I've already given orders for your clothes to be prepared."

It's quite unsettling how easily he can understand what I'm thinking or decide. I guess that's one of the perks of governing a vast country with hundreds of thousands of people for years.

King Charles: "Well then, enjoy yourself. I have things to attend to as well."

Emily and I left the King's room together. We walked along the corridor, but Emily didn't say a single word; she continued to look down and walk.

"Your name is Emily, right? Did your father give you that name?"

Emily: "N-no, my mother did."

"It's a beautiful name. Mine is Daichi. Where is your mother?"

Emily didn't respond and became visibly sad. When we reached the end of the corridor, we encountered a small flower garden. I put my hands on the railing of the garden and looked at the flowers.

"It's a beautiful place."

Emily: "D-do you like it?"

Emily's mood seemed to brighten again.

Emily: "T-this was my mother's flower garden. She used to take care of these areas. But now, only I and the servants take care of it. Did you know, she planted all of these; these flowers are called moth orchids. They are pure white and very beautiful, just like my mother."

While Emily talked about her mother and the things she loved, she became quite talkative, putting aside her shyness. I had focused so much on surviving that I had truly forgotten how to live. It seemed like I had forgotten the existence of love and beautiful things.

"You must have inherited your beauty from your mother. I'm sure she would have been very happy taking care of these flowers."

Emily's face had turned red again. Is this girl a traffic light? The scent of the flowers was so enchanting that I got lost in it for a while.

Emily: "T-thank you."

"Oh, what are you thanking me for?"

Emily: "N-nothing! Let's continue exploring; I have many places to show you."

I toured the entire palace with Emily. There were dining halls, training grounds, hundreds of rooms, and hundreds of servants. Additionally, there were powerful-looking soldiers and guards everywhere. I spent almost the entire day with Emily, and she seemed more comfortable around me now. The sky was getting dark, and the ball attendees were starting to arrive. I returned to the room where I rested to put on my formal attire.

When I entered the room, Lilith was still asleep. Her fair skin on the white bed seemed like an angel. I approached her a bit more and examined her face. I gently tucked the hair on her face behind her ear to see her face better. She had long black lashes, small ears, and a petite nose. I don't know why I hadn't examined her so carefully before; maybe I was too busy developing an interest in her. What about now? Could I be interested in her now? I'm not sure, but one thing I am sure of...

"You are very beautiful."

I noticed the clothes Charles had prepared for me on the table next to Lilith, and there was a long white dress that clearly belonged to a woman. She must have had it prepared for Lilith. Due to all these events, I hadn't had the chance to spend time with Lilith, and we couldn't meet much because I had assigned her to help the villagers. Tonight, I'll make sure to talk to her a lot.

I took the clothes and started changing in front of the mirror next to the bed. I would have preferred to change in a cabin, but it shouldn't be a problem since Lilith was currently asleep.

Daichi was unaware, but Lilith had been awake since he entered the room.

Lilith's inner thoughts: "What did he do? Did he touch my face? He fixed my hair, inspected my face, and said I looked very beautiful! Ahh, I'm going crazy! Could he actually like me? Really? What is he doing right now? Since he took the clothes, he must be changing his clothes. Wait a minute, is he changing his clothes!? I mean, is he, uh, naked right now? Well, I'll just take a quick look. After all, he touched me while I was sleeping, so I can look at him, right?"

While Daichi was changing, Lilith secretly watched him. Daichi didn't notice her as his back was turned.

"I've built quite some muscles. Look at these muscles! I guess all that effort paid off. Look at these abs, and the size of my biceps, hahaha!"

While looking at his muscles in the mirror, I realized Lilith was watching me, and I was still looking at the mirror naked. I quickly put on something and turned around.

"YOU PERVERT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE ASLEEP!"

Lilith: "I-I wasn't looking, I didn't see anything!"

"DIDN'T YOU SEE ANYTHING? ARE YOU TRYING TO HURT MY FEELINGS? COME HERE!"

Although Lilith claimed not to have looked, I knew she did. I had to punish her for this behavior. I got up from the bed, and she tried to escape, but I grabbed her wrist at the last moment and pulled her onto the bed, joining her wrists above her head to prevent her from escaping. We were both on the bed, and while standing on top of Lilith, I could see all of her skin and worried expressions. Her hair was messy, her eyes were wide, her cheeks were flushed, and she looked at me with embarrassment. Is she embarrassed? For the behavior she just exhibited? Wait a minute, the current position we are in. I'm holding her wrists to prevent her from escaping, and I'm on top of her. Also, I'm not wearing anything, just a partially buttoned-up pair of pants. Our faces were so close that I could hear and feel her breathing on my face. Realizing the situation, I quickly moved away from her and continued getting dressed.

"Y-Your clothes are there, I'll be waiting for you at the door after I put on my clothes. Get dressed and come."

Why am I stuttering? Damn.

Lilith: "A-Are we going together?"

"N-Not unless you don't want to come?"

Lilith: "N-No, I want to. I'll dress up and come right away."

Oh God, how many times have I stuttered today?

I waited at the door for a while, and finally, Lilith came out of the room. I was shocked by the sight. Unlike my black clothes, she had a pure white long dress that hugged her entire body, showcasing her slender waist and long legs. Her long black hair cascaded over the white dress, resembling a beautiful winter night. Her emerald green eyes sparkled like jewels. One must be crazy not to admire Lilith's beauty. I was so mesmerized by her beauty that I couldn't say anything, just staring at her.

Lilith: "H-How do I look?"

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Lilith: "Wh-what?"

Her entire face was flushed, and the words just came out of my mouth all of a sudden. I, too, was embarrassed and blushing because of what I had said.

Lilith: "Y-You look very handsome too."

Really, how do I look? I put on a few pieces of clothing, but I'm not sure how I look.

"Thank you. So, shall we go, my lady?"

I bent down and offered my hand to her.

Lilith: "Daichiii!"

I think I managed to annoy her. I'm quite good at this.

Lilith: "Oof! Let's go!"

Lilith suddenly took my hand and started pulling me along quickly.

"W-Wait, slow down a bit, I'm going to fall!".