Road to Durham (3) [Long chapter]

I was standing again, readying myself to greets the assholes. 'He was indeed handsome, as expected of male lead.' Then her eyes following the man behind him. Spotting another hot-fries potato in neat dressing. His posture clearly showing up that he was Ferael personal knights, the chief captain for this journey.

'What was his name again? Edith didn't know, but I am sure, he was part of the story.'

Her observing gaze didn't go unnoticed, his pair of sharp green eyes looking at her red pupils. He seems perplexed and wary by her presence alone. 'Why?...' Surmising his gaze, Edith was able to somewhat guess 'Ahh... is it because the previous Edith behavior ?'

She was looking at him again, but he's ignoring her after the small-smiling gesture. 'Oh, how petty, like his owner.' She clicked.

Hayden from Durham was greeting him along with Isaac, they were uselessly attracting every female customers. Even models in modern time needs to bow down to them. Their smokin hot abs would get woman eyes pregnant in no times. I can understand why this novel was adult rated, the female lead could taste their wild d*cks and she was pretty much beautiful.

'My friend must be jerking off a lot. Why god send me instead my friend, She'll be absolutely happy.'

"Sister, Lets greet his highness the prince." Adam's voice pulling her from the stupor, he was slightly worried because his sister sudden silence appears after the crown prince entrance. He was worried that she would fall in love with him again.

"Don't worry, you're beautiful tonight." 'I need to reassuring her, the Crown prince must be blind if he thinks my sister ugly.'

"Sure, lets greet him."

He held her hand and walk towards the crown prince. By then, the crown prince become aware of Edith movement. His proportional face to frown, Edith knows he was displeased.

"Gree-"

"No need to greet me formally, lets just resume our dinner." He said, cutting her before she said any words.

Edith was speechless, she didn't expect ferael would be this rude. Everyone else too was shocked, Hayden eyes widened while Isaac clicked his tongue.

Adam and Edith kindly smiled, Edith was suppressing her displeasure. If it was the past Edith, she will likely wail and begging on him, bearing the insult with her blinded heart.

"Certainty, Your highness."

"We will do as your highness wishes."

Both Adam and Edith answering his snarky remark, before he could answer. Isaac beats him to it.

"Since we'll go for dinner, lets eat at the same table. What do you think, your highness ?" Isaac asks him, Ferael was a bit taken a back by his cousin question.

Edith was dumbfounded, while Adam felt grateful for the Grand duke consideration.

"Yes, you should join us. We're travelling together, and since His Majesty the emperor informed us about your stay in our land for a few years in the future. It won't harm us to get familiar with Miss Edith and ensure your safety inside the kingdom." Hayden stated, agreeing with Isaac words. He's deliberately watching Ferael reaction, moreover his words weren't exactly wrong either.

The lady arrival in Durham kingdom was through official lines and the kingdom has to secure her well-being at the minimum responsibility. 'Well, there are that reasons too.' Hayden noted it inside his head.

Presented by Prince Hayden reasons and his cousin invitation towards the lady he hated so much, clearly made him wants to leave the room. Meanwhile, Edith mood seems lightened because she knows ferael handsome face looks like taken has taken a lot of shit.

"Of course that would be a great idea." Ferael said kindly, "Only if Lady Edith and Sir Adam agree to it. What do you think, Lady Edith ?" he asks meaningfully.

'Ohhh~ he was obviously pissed right now.'

Remembering his discourteous remark before, she was very much happy to annoy him. If her mere presence get on his nerves, then why don't She just screw him up thoroughly while she still here. Anyway he smoothly believes that Edith was infatuated with him.

"Surely your highness, we're grateful to adhere to your wishes." I said softly, Adam was looking at Edith adoringly.

'Maybe she still had unrequited feelings for his highness Ferael.' "Thank you for his Highness, prince Hayden, and Lord Isaac for extending the invitation."

Adam added, he was smiling amiably.

"Then, lets get seated." Isaac cut the long-standing conversation. Everyone moves to their designated seat. Jack placing an additional seat near his seat for the siblings.

Edith sat on Isaac left side, followed by Adam. While Hayden sat in the opposite directions with Isaac, naturally his right side seat taken by his knight attendant 'Ragnar'.

Looking at the people who seated in the main table, Prime minister Cassady along with Duke Solelia excusing themselves. They are too old to sit along with such blinding sceneries. They rather choose to associate with another knight, after all some of them still a nobleman. Lastly, Ferael sat at the center spot of the table, his knight sat beside Ragnar while facing Adam and Edith was the only woman surrounded by breath-taking men.

The waiter and along with several maidservants serves the meal. There are grilled meat, fish, soup and pumpkin soup, potato stew, and chicken stew. Nothing much to its taste, mainly using salt as its seasoning.

Well, its still edible.

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We started to dine together, while the servant brewing some tea. I ask Selena to bring me a glass of mineral water, I don't want to stay awake for the night since tea had similar effect with coffee. I am forcefully told my brother not to drink any tea, so he can rest early.

'I can't eat too much, it's past 7 a'm already.'

I ate my pumpkin soup and a small grilled cow meat carefully.

"So, why did you want to live in Durham kingdom all of a sudden ?" Prince Hayden asks after swallowing a mouthful of grilled meat.

"Well... it's for personal reasons, I want to lived by myself and tried what I can do. I heard that Durham Kingdom had a well-known musical academy too."

I halted my busy hand and look straight at Prince Hayden direction, smiling shyly. Ragnar was eating his dinner, unperturbed. While I could see Ferael bodies shook the moment I stated my reasons.

"Do you mean Hephaestus Academy ? Do you want to seek a musical teacher ?"

"Not in particular, but yes. I want to see the academy, but my age was unsuitable to get an admission, so I'll probably look for a mentor." I said excitedly, I know my reaction might be excessive because I could see Ragnar and Isaac gazes peering on me.

"Aren't you already good with the instrument ?" Isaac commenting on my remark. I could see he was asking me meaningfully, reignites our last memories of each other.

"Ohh, so you've heard miss Edith performance, Lord Isaac ?"

"Yes..." He nodded.

"How come, I didn't know my sister could play an instrument ?" Adam chimed in a beat.

"You're busy, brother. So you didn't have a chance to see me playing ones."

I was laughing sheepishly, and tried to divert the discussion. Prince Hayden asks me back and forth like where do I plan to lived or what I plan on doing in the future. He's vaguely promoting their bachelor, after all Edith is in marriage-able with her looks alone she could easily win over a single man.

Isaac on the other hand calmly eating his grilled fish, sometimes he joins the talk and asking me random things. I was overjoyed to known that Prince Hayden and Lord Isaac engrossed in this small talk, even when the crown prince tried to avert some subject by discussing a topic he judged I wouldn't know.

"I learned that Durham kingdom has managed to raise the health issues problem by distributing potion at the cheap price ?" Ferael asks

"Yes, it's a tedious work. We're degrading the potion made by the priest, so it can be used by the commoner. It's a miracle for the potion to work for mild illness." Hayden sighed

"Well, its still a great success to reach that level. Since our Glacia empire haven't reach the holy region for the past years, our land still suffers from an unfortunate disease."

I was attentively listening to their conversation, I don't quite understand about potion related things and hearing them leave me guessing that the potion might be made from herbs and miracle force like divinity, maybe ?. But, most of the earth disease comes from an unhygienic environment and lives condition in this world was much more severe for commoner. Moreover, this public issues never been mentioned inside the novel.

'It was a Romance oriented novel after all.'

I was lost in thought, seemingly digesting their conversation.

"Does lady Geneivre had her thought regarding this matter ? I've seen you contemplating it."

That was a raw ball he's throwing to me, I turn my head to the right side. A stoic face greeting my eyesight, he was Isaac. Lifting his cup of tea, he was allowing me to speak intuitively with his body language. Moreover, everyone attention is on me.

"Actually, I don't have much on my mind. Since illness differ from each other, and hiring a physician was of course not a solution for the commoner." I said almost in whisper.

"But, for all I knew... a clean environment affects people greatly. For example, last year rainy seasons many people caught in a flu and most of them was commoner who passed away because they couldn't stand the fever."

That was when people in the town making a ruckus because of a beggar corpse had been found one after another when people was caught in masses flu. Not only in Silendria but I heard the capital experiencing something same.

"If I asked to draw the red dots as the victim in the towns map, I could roughly guess that the most filled place with a red dots will be centralized, and it happens to be one of the dirtiest place in that town...."

"A slum."

I was sipping the water inside my cup when The grand duke continuing my words.

"Is that true Lord Isaac ?" Hayden was tried to confirm my words. Ragnar on the other hand looking bemusedly at me, while Adam and the unknown chief knight strangely looking at my directions.

"Yes, the flu disease last year brought many victims. I was reducing the patients by building a medical center for emergency treatment at that time, but the physician couldn't cure the frequents fever every time and many of them eventually passed away. They said the illness was a bit different from the usual flu" His thoughtful expression resurfaced.

"Lets say what you said was true, but why does the illness still spreading despite the distance ?" It was Isaac who asking, he was seriously taking Edith advice.

"Well, in my opinion. There must be another variables, something like another cause of illness. Maybe by the substances that living on the filthy areas and passed to human by animal in direct contact, or it caused by the human carelessness by touching the germs unsciously."

"In another means that to build a healthy environment by rebuilding the slums' area along with the vicinity area, making sanitary system by building a public toilet and establishing landfill areas for recycling the waste." All I've spoken was an urgent matter to rebuild, since common people throw their feces indiscriminately. It's a bit worrisome.

"Of course, it's a long term project." Edith continued, after lost in her own mind. She looks at everyone who sat stilled on their chair. She tilted her head, meeting her sparkling brother eyes.

"It's rare for a woman to have so much insight nowadays, I am astounded Lady Geneivre." It was Ragnar whom spoken. His profound smile was rather strange.

Then

A callouses hand reach my unraveled hair, putting it back behind my earlobes. I was momentarily in daze at his gesture, diving inside his clear golden eyes almost hypnotizing me.

"Indeed, that was interesting Lady Geneivre."