Chapter 296

Vorbuk headed over to the palace gateway while using his true form. Behind him was the sounds of the prince following him from behind. Every step sounded heavy as the prince was deep in his own thoughts. With the prince behind him it seemed natural to others who saw them.

Not a word passed between the two of them for a while.

The prince, Leo, followed him from behind while calling out to him, "Where are we going?"

"We will take a carriage out of the palace. I need to find someone who will be useful in the future. If she is going to keep watching from a distance... She might as well be put to use." The wolf spoke his thoughts out loud for he prince to hear.

Prince Leo listened as he matched his pace with the wolf's so their conversation would be spoken more easily between each other, "Sylica is the queen of Axania. Though they may be destroyed now because of the god, Chynir, she may not want to help us. The dragons are very cautious about involving themselves in mortal affairs because they have a rule to maintain neutral. Bredret is the only dragon who has personally sided with mortals but that was because he had fallen in love with Celeste."

Vorbuk could hear the worry in the prince's voice as he spoke about Queen Sylica, "I know she might not want to help us but if she does it would greatly help. It is worth catching her for a conversation at the least."

Prince Leo thought about things as they walked in silence to the palace gate. When they arrived the servants quickly rushed to get a carriage ready. Usually the king would request a carriage in advance and board it right outside the palace as to not walk to far. Seeing their king and the prince come to the palace gate directly to ask for one caused the servants and knights to become flustered as they quickly got everything ready.

As a servant opened the carriage door for the both of them he stepped aside. The prince climbed in first as the wolf jumped in after him. Carriages in Theapan for the royal family were special built to have plenty of room. This was because the kingdom was one of werewolves. They felt no shame but rather pride for the beasts that they were. Royal family members in Theapan had their carriages specially built so that they may rest in their beast forms as they traveled by carriage. This fact made the ride much easier for Vorbuk who spent most of his time in a beast form.

Prince Leo gazed at the wolf as it lay comfortably across from him on a wide seat that was made to hold the body of a werewolf beast in wolf form and asked, "Do you know where she is?"

"No," Vorbuk answered honestly, "However do you think I would be incapable of tracking a dragon? They do not come in large quantities like the other races. I should be able to trace where we can meet her."

Click-Clop! Click-Clop!

The wolf could hear the sound of the horse's hooves trotting against the road. His head tilted back to the side so that he could watch out the window as they moved. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the exhausted expression on the prince's face.

Everything seemed peaceful in the kingdom on the surface. People moved happily in the streets and violence had gone down drastically compared to when he previous king ruled. Things were moving smoothly. However every kingdom had its own dark areas. Vorbuk was aware that his kingdom was still newly his and there were still many dangerous areas that needed dealt with. However while watching the way people lived through the carriage window it finally sank in...

Ah, I really am starting to feel at home here... Vorbuk thought to himself with a sigh so quiet that the prince had not seemed to notice.

"Vorbuk," Prince Leo knew the wolf was simply toying with him by asking that question and decided to ask him another one instead, "What are we going to do about the Grand Duke?"

The wolf flicked its ear back at the question and turned to look directly at the prince. It was quiet as they both thought about the Grand Duke, Heket. It was something that they would not be around to deal with while in Drethia Kingdom. Prince Leo was showing concern for the wolf while knowing that they were going to leave the princess behind in the palace. A situation in which the prince knew the wolf had to feel concerned for the princess.

"She can take care of herself," Vorbuk seemed to pause before adding on, "I am leaving Aoki and Chase here with her."

I will also hopefully have a dragon to help her as well soon... Vorbuk thought about the queen of Axania, Sylica. She would be able to help protect the palace if he was able to win her over. There were also others in the palace like Zoe and Priestess Mai residing inside the palace as well. It made it difficult for him to have a reason to worry about her. Unless something unforeseen happened.

"Feeling that there is not a reason to worry and actually feeling worried are two very different things in this situation." Prince Leo said as he understood what the wolf was probably thinking. He often worried about those he cared for. It was a part of being mortal to worry for someone you cared deeply for.

"Hm?" The wolf was confused as he felt the carriage suddenly stop moving.

Prince Leo opened the window and calling out to the carriage driver up front, "What's going on?"

"Your Highness, there seems to be someone standing in the middle of the road..." The carriage driver replied nervously.

The prince stepped out of the carriage while saying to the wolf, "I'll check the situation out. Wait here."

Exiting the carriage he made his way to the front of it. In the middle of the road a girl stood firm in place while watching him carefully with caution. When they made eye contact the prince froze in his place and could not take another step. He knew her well because he had seen her before. A royal would easily recognize someone from another royal family and he could not forget her unique appearance. There was only one royal member of the dragon species.

"Prince Leo of Cadirade greets Your Majesty, Queen Sylica." Prince Leo spoke respectfully towards her as he gave her a respectful bow. Even if her kingdom was destroyed he knew that as a dragon she would still greatly hold onto her pride. If he wanted things to remain calm he had to treat her with respect. No mortal in their right mind would try to anger a dragon.

Queen Sylica stood there as her black and red hair waved slightly in the breeze. Her blue eyes glared at the prince clearly judging his every action and word. She had a pair of thick red horns on her head that curved forward. Her clothes were black and red to suite her figure in color while the design was a dress with long sleeves. It exposed just enough of her chest to be enticing while it cut short on her thighs. A pair of short black stockings covered just the lower part of her legs while a strap on each leg ran up under her dress to connect them in perfectly place.

Any man would find themselves blushing easily over the sight of Queen Sylica. She was someone hard to forget once you'd seen her. Prince Leo could not stop himself from turning red and covering his face slightly with his hand as he spoke to her, "May I ask why you stopped our carriage?"

"The shadow wolf is in the carriage. Correct?" Queen Sylica asked while ignoring the prince's words. "Bring him out."

Ah. Right... I forgot.. Even if Queen Sylica was beautiful her personality was like this. Prince Leo already disliked talking to her. Why did dragons always need to have rotten personalities?