10. The Power of Women

Prince Lionel was very sad when he realized he had no friends at all in the mystical hermitage. He got up and walked out of the special treatment room into the backyard trying to find people to chat with. Several times he glanced around but he did not find a single student of the mystical hermitage there.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you sick? I know you're tired after traveling all the way from Zephyra to this hermitage, so rest before your energy drains for tomorrow's study."

Prince Lionel looked at the source of the voice. There was already a cute cat staring at him. He really wanted to hit the cat because she dared to leave him alone without telling him, but if he did, the cat would definitely go and have the heart to leave him alone again.

"Where have you been? Why not invite me? I have no friends here at all. They left me and the teacher said that all the disciples were making offerings at the Ori river."

"It's true what they say. In recent months the Ori River has overflowed. People believe that the river requires offerings that must be given by all disciples of the Mystic hermitage without exception so that they can stop the so much water overflowing and pooling in some areas and making it difficult for the residents here to live and find clean water."

"How did it happen ? Has the forest around hermitage been barren and caused the water in the ground to not last long or the trees are no longer able to absorb the water that comes from the sky? I don't believe their thinking. It could be that the overflowing river occurs because we cut down trees without thinking about the risks that will be experienced by the community. Just look there! The forest is starting to bare and the residents don't seem to care about the environment."

Sweet cat shook her head. She was actually reluctant to hear an explanation from prince Lionel. All she wants to do now is take Lionel to a park and she wants to show her something to do with his kingdom.

"Why are you silent? Are you telling me that you don't want to hear my explanation about the aftermath of the flood?

"Not that. There's actually something more important than your explanation."

"What? Tell me! Never hide anything important from me. What important thing do you want to convey and how important is it to my life?"

The cute cat then walked away from Prince Lionel first to a long bench in the corner of the park. She jumped onto the chair and sat waiting for Prince Lionel to come to her. A few moments later, Prince Lionel arrived near the cat. He tried to look far away, reminiscing about the sins he had committed against his wife, Princess Jasmine.

"I'm so tired of seeing your very unpleasant attitude. You're a boy but a crybaby. You should have realized before everything happened to you, not regret after the incident happened and you lost your wife."

Prince Lionel nodded. He took a deep breath trying to control his feelings so he wouldn't be too sad at the memory of Princess Jasmine. His dream about Princess Jasmine that he just experienced made him think even more about his wife's current fate

"There is more important news that you should know about the kingdom. I hope after this you can think of how to save Zephyra from Sheryl's hands."

"What's wrong with Sheryl? Is he acting up? Was Father completely helpless against it? I think my father still has incredible strength to deal with that woman. She is only a woman and does not have any privileges. Its strength is nothing compared to the strength of the Zephyra warriors."

The cute cat pursed its lips, annoyed with Prince Lionel who seemed to look down on women.

"Don't underestimate a woman. She may seem weak but behind her weakness there is extraordinary strength. Your father, King Gardenio can fall to her knees at the feet of her young wife let alone you. Currently Sheryl only reigns alone in your palace. Are you still saying that she doesn't have any power?"

"What do you mean? What has that woman done in my kingdom and made a great empire like Zephyra crumble just because of a woman."

"Hahaha I didn't realize you were also down just because of Jasmine. If you can be down because of Jasmine, of course your father can do it better. He fell in love with Sheryl. Without even thinking he was even willing to give up his entire palace and territory to that shameless woman. Do you still underestimate the power of a woman? If that's your opinion it's up to you, I just wanted to remind you so that you can think a little about how to save Zephyra from Sheryl's hands.

Prince Lionel was silent. He was eager to see how the current state of his kingdom was, but he couldn't do much. He didn't have any power to break through the boundaries of the kingdom. Seeing Prince Lionel silent, the cute cat then snapped his fingers and a large mirror appeared in front of Prince Lionel. The mirror displayed a view of Zephyra's kingdom which was currently covered in black clouds.

"Is it the Zephyra kingdom? I never forgot the tall building at the very end because it was my room together with Jasmine. But when I see the clouds hanging over Zephyra's sky, I don't seem to know my kingdom"

"Just watch carefully! Don't you see there's something there so you can only see black clouds?"

Prince Lionel narrowed his eyes. He still hasn't figured out the meaning of the sweet cat's saying. Several times he looked in the mirror in front of him and he saw that everything was fine. Nothing changed but when he had mastered his feelings, suddenly the black clouds turned into warriors who were fighting, trying to kill each other and brandishing swords at each other in the palace courtyard. Prince Lionel looked at the cat.

"What is going on in my palace? Where's Daddy? Why doesn't he act at all."

Without saying any answer, the black cat snapped its fingers once again and displayed a sight that made Prince Lionel clench his fists and prepare to punch whatever object was in front of him. His father was at Sheryl's palace when King Gardenio's appearance had changed drastically. He is like a young king with an appearance that makes Lionel's eyes redden. The thing that irritates Lionel the most is, currently his father is making out with an inanimate object that resembles Sheryl while the woman is laughing watching her father in a man's arms.

"He is old but his appearance is absolutely disgusting. Wasn't he ashamed to wear princely outfits just because of a woman? He can act out of his mind like that."

"Do you still want to swear? You don't want to do much to save them? I don't think I can accept what you're doing now."

Prince Lionel took a deep breath. Between wanting to return to the Zephyra kingdom and staying in the Mystik hermitage. Two choices that are equally difficult and he can not choose. Choosing to return is the same as losing the war before competing and choosing to stay in the Mystik hermitage can make him drop the kingdom to its lowest point.