A Reward.

The Duke led her to a horseless carriage with no front cover, no driver, just the cushioned rear seats. He helped her inside and with a wave of his hand, the car began to move. With no roof to block her view, she was able to see the beautiful gardens and buildings within his estate.

Then they got out the inner estate and were able to see multiple quarters filled with houses surrounded with trees and well-kept gardens.

Many nobles, guards, and servants were coming out and into the chambers and bowed their heads respectfully when they spotted the Duke. Xueling felt a bit shy from the amused and curious looks they were throwing at her.

The Duke squeezed her hand to grab her attention and gave her a comforting smile, she also smiled forgetting that she was wearing the veil and surely, he could not see her.

Suddenly, the carriage came to a stop as an entourage of well-dressed people came forward almost blocking the path. In front were three beautiful women dressed in the finest clothing, with lovely makeup and luxurious ornaments decorating their carefully combed hair.

"Greetings, your highness." The cute woman in the middle said lowering her head slightly. The others followed her with their greetings. "We heard that Your Highness was going sightseeing in the city. We also were heading towards there and wondered if Your Highness would like some company." The cute voice of the woman could enchant whoever heard it. She seemed quite confident and shyly stole a glance from the Duke while completely ignoring the other person seated next to him.

The Duke was getting annoyed. He carefully went through detailed planning the day before to schedule his outing with his beauty to keep her interested throughout the date. And here was an idiot wasting his time.

Xueling, on the other hand, was amused. The girl before them was the same one who had her chained to the tree, the infamous Su Nuan. She let go of a low chuckle that was heard by the people below.

"I apologize for my poor manners, my name is Su Nuan from the Su family, may I know the name of this lady?" Su Nuan scanned the woman in a white dress with a sweet smile. There doesn't seem to be bad intentions behind her words, however, it was clearly a show of dominance.

"There is no need." The cold voice of the Duke came forward and looked at the entourage gravely.

"Move."

He didn't wait for them to respond when a strong gust of air pushed them out the way. The group of people was disheveled and thrown to the ground like flying leaves ready to be crushed. The three beautiful girls received the full force of the punch as they were in the front and were hit hard. They had to use their force magic to avoid being pushed further.

Su Nuan gritted her teeth as she watched the carriage leave the estate. She looked a sorry state, her hair was totally disheveled and her clothes dusty.

"Find who that bitch is!" She could not afford to have another competitor this close to the election's day.

When they reached the gates of the inner quarters, Xueling looked behind her and left a loud laugh.

"Hahahaha that was hilarious." She looked at the Duke with mirth in her eyes.

"Are you happy?" He asked carefully caressing her hand.

"Yes, very much." She replied fast.

"Did I make you happy?" He looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes.

"… Yes?" She knew he was plotting something.

He lifted her veil a little so he could look her face, just him.

"Shouldn't I get a reward?" He looked at her lips, hinting at something.

She was speechless and blushed, but she conceded. She held his collar weakly and was about to kiss his lips when she thought of something at the last second. She changed her route and pecked his forehead instead. She grinned mischievously at the dumbfounded Duke. He was blushing hard, his ears were covered in red. She found it funny and was about to mock him.

"I don't mind this kind of reward, but we should be alone when you... cough… do that." He whispered with reddened ears.

She was the one dumbfounded this time. 'Isn't this the most innocent type of kiss. Certainly, he has done more intimate kissing in front of the servants or scholars back in his residence. Seeing her clueless, he cleared his voice and pointed a finger at her chest.

"What? … " She followed him and then understood that when she kissed his forehead, she pushed his head to her bosom to reach his forehead.

"You shameless!" It was her turn to blush hard. She pushed him out of her veil and turned her head.

He laughed but say nothing so as not to embarrass her even more. He was in great spirits and smiled the whole way, and he was even happier when she never made a move of letting go of his hand.

After a few minutes, they arrived close to the gates of the estate. She could feel the diminishing magical energy each time they moved away from the main quarters and the library.

"This place is designed in a magical arrangement." She said confirming her suspicions.

"Indeed, it is an old arrangement used since the founding of this estate. Each Duchy has its own. It helps gather and store energy, but also prevents enemies from entering."

"The inner circle of the arrangement is your chambers, and the library is the center. Isn't it?"

"Yes." He looked at her carefully, she was getting more and more interesting.

"Do you know the design?"

He looked at her slyly. She knew he wouldn't tell. The design was a secret to protect the people living inside the arrangement from sudden invasions, only the master of the estate could know the secret design and how to break it. He could give special access to others, but he was the one who controlled the flow. These arrays were sophisticated magic, only people with the highest level of magic control could make them and those people were highly sought after. Depending on the design, the arrangement could also help to gather energy, serve as security walls, personal identification, transportation, but some other designs were used as prisons and seals. The ones she studied with her Master could even open spaces and allow the possibility of time travel, but they required a ridiculously amount of energy.

He looked at her deeply. She was so lost in thoughts that she didn't notice when they passed through the main gates.