So Naive

Nonchalantly he kept aside the bright red skimpy fabric and rustled through inside. For some reason, he didn't look straight inside the chest. Unfortunately for him, all he felt was the softness of various fabrics. He closed it down a bit frustrated.

'She must have something that can unlock the crystal.' He thought to himself. But where else could she keep it? He had already sent Shaoming to the main house of Ans. He was unable to find anything suspicious there.

Could it be he had to hand the anklets to her for her to be able to find the key to the element? The floor-mounted wooden rack only consisted of numerous numbers of potions stacked next to each other along with some basic necessities.

There were some unusual potions and elixirs in existence. But would she be naive enough to bring them with her? No matter what he couldn't leave any stone unturned. Keeping to camphor chest exactly where it was previously placed at he approached the rack.

'Amethyst Veil Potion' - A calming potion to cover one's anxiousness. No, it couldn't be the one. He kept the potion back at the rack after sniffing the smell.

He opened another potion. From the soft rosy hue, he could immediately guess that it was the Mirage Elixir. Great for illusion magics. But again there's no way it could unlock the elemental key.

The sixth element was fiery yet ice-cold at the same time. Only if both properties coexisted in a potion it could be capable of releasing the element.

Even after going through the entire rack, he couldn't find any with such properties. However, he was certainly impressed. As a clan that has long fallen from the royal family's favour, it would have been impossible for them to accumulate such rare herbs and spells to brew any of these potions. Not to mention the brewing potion required quite a high level of skills. He himself couldn't guarantee that he would be able to brew them without having the privileges he currently had as the crown prince.

He wished he could extend a helping hand to her and even appointed her in the castle. 'Such a waste of talent' He murmured under his breath. Then again he had sacrificed countless things he wished to have. A peaceful life for example. For what he dreamt of achieving it was all worth it.

He glanced at the sleeping woman once again. No, she was too skilled. If he just left like this, all she needed to do was to perform a revelation spell and she would discover his footprints inside this room.

He extended his palms bringing them closer to his body and focused on his inner energy to gather at a point. When he felt the warm flow of energy on his palm, he chanted the divine incantation to remove any traces of his existence from the entire room. If he wanted to, he could stay here for a while longer and no amount of revelation magic would be able to find that he ever entered this room.

He walked towards the window to leave. However, just as he was going to jump out, he changed his track. His legs seemed to have a mind of their own, as they made him go closer and closer to the bed.

He looked down at the woman. She was deep asleep, completely unaware of the presence of a strange man inside her room in the middle of night.

"Tch…so naive. How would our fight be equal? You are making this too easy for me." He whispered in a barely audible voice. His hand reached out to her face, brushing away the disobedient brown locks. The soft texture tickled his palm.

He stared at her for a minute or so. An Feng seemed wise. Then why was he foolish enough to entrust the future of the entire An Clan to her?

He shook his head as he entertained the thought in his head. Removing his hand from her forehead, he hastily left. As if he was being aware of a tiny hint of reluctance deep inside his heart.

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Lanying stirred on her bed. Groggily opening her eyes, she stretched her hands reflexively. Her eyes immediately turned to the window panes. The sun was barely out. Then how come she felt as if she had slept for a long long time? She didn't expect to have such a good sleep in a foreign place.

But it was far from 8. She could guess this even without the Solstice dial. Even if she takes longer than usual to dress up and freshen up. It would still be too early to enter the orientation.

Well, she could probably use this chance to investigate a few matters. Sitting in a meditative pose on the bed, she closed her eyes, concentrating on her breath.