CHAPTER 17

After the princess and the man they assumed as a high-ranking wizard, the other slaves suddenly exclaimed showing they were surprised at what happened just now.

"That... That's the princess?!"

"Are they trying to prank us?!"

"But it is a sin to pretend that you are a part of the royal family!"

"Then it means..."

The only person who is still calm and collected after all the things that happened right now is the silver-haired young man. He keeps on looking at the spot where the princess was standing earlier. He is also repeating the name she has given to him.

"Alistair..." He murmured to himself.

The silver-haired young man, Alistair, now looks at his hand and closes it into a fist. He is satisfied with the name she has bestowed on him. From now on, he will be called in that name.

'I hope we can meet again, Alistair.'

Alistair let out a soft chuckle after remembering the things that Ramira has done for him.

"Of course, we are going to meet again, Princess Ramira." Alistair murmured to himself.

"Brother, are you telling the truth that you have a name?" The gray-haired slave asked after standing next to him.

"That's right." He replied. "But now, I have a name."

"Are you seriously going to use that name?" The blue-haired young man asked. "I think she did not give too much thought about it."

Right after he said those words, Alistair slowly turn his head and stares at him. His gazes are so cold that it makes him shiver in fear. Not only him but the other slaves who are present in that alley stop what they are doing and quickly shut their mouths.

"Dren." Alistair called the blue-haired young man's name. "From now on, never dare to insult her."

It is only a simple order from Alistair, but Dren feels like the person in front of him will not hesitate to hurt him if he tries to insult the princess again. And besides, this person that they treat as their brother is someone who never spouts any nonsense. Dren did not hesitate to nod his head furiously to show that he understand his order.

"Emir and Raya too. From now on, always show your respect to the princess."

"...Can I ask the reason why?" Raya, the red-haired young man and also the bravest among the three, carefully asked.

Alistair looks at Raya for a moment before answering him.

"Raya, I finally found the person that I was looking for."

"And that is the princess?" He asked again in surprise.

"Yes." Alistair replied without any hesitation.

"Brother, I'm not trying to question your decision. But... Are you sure the princess is the right person that you can choose?" Emir carefully asked.

"Yes." Alistair calmly replied.

"But why?!" Dren exclaimed after recovering from the fear he felt earlier. "It seems like she is a walking disaster!"

Emir and Raya look at their youngest friend first before returning their gazes to Alistair. They already know that Dren loves to run his mouth without thinking about its consequences. It is already obvious for them that Alistair is already putting a lot of importance on that princess. If Alistair will give him a punch, the two of them decided to have a tacit understanding not to help him this time.

As expected, Alistair looks at Dren with squinted eyes. It is already late for Dren to realize what he had said just now. But before can ask for forgiveness, the silver-haired young man is quick to give him a smack on his head making him wail in pain.

"Damn it! That hurts a lot!" Dren complained while holding his head.

But no one paid attention to him. The others are all busy looking in the direction where the auction venue is located. They all heard a faint exploding sound coming from that direction. It seems like the Crown Prince is really determined to destroy that place.

"We have to go now." Alistair said.

The other three nodded their heads and quickly readied themselves to follow his orders.

"Where is Sero?" Alistair suddenly asked.

"He left us." Emir replied with a shrug. "He looked so anxious earlier while we are escaping. Then Sero said he have to go and ran towards the other direction."

"I think I also saw him doing magic earlier." Dren joined their conversation. "He keeps on murmuring words to himself. It's like a magic spell or something similar to that."

Sero is the last slave that the auctioneer is trying to sell earlier. He has an exquisite face that is rare to be seen in this kingdom. He was a slave that was captured last year and he is also the one always waiting for his chance to escape. It seems like he finally found his chance to escape tonight and did not miss it.

"It's a pity that no one sees his face." Emir said. "I bet many people will bid a lot of money for him."

"You're right." Raya agreed. "Sero is too good-looking. I wonder what is his identity before he got kidnapped and sold in slavery."

"Maybe he is a nobleman?" Dren wondered. "You also noticed the way he talks and moves are so refined and calculated most of the time. Right?"

"So what if he is a nobleman? Isn't he still ended up to be a slave like us?" Emir said before shaking his head.

"Is he going to be okay?" Raya asked with a frown. "Although Sero knows how to use magic, his body is still weak."

"That guy is a tough one." Dren said nonchalantly. "You don't have to worry too much about him."

"Dren is right." Emir added. "And since he doesn't want to come with us, then we should accept it and move on. Right, brother?"

Alistair did not say anything, but he also agrees with Emir. If Sero comes with them, then they will accept him as a part of their group. But maybe he has an important reason to leave without saying anything.

"Let's go." Alistair said. "We should find a place away from here where we can rest for the meantime."

"Maybe we can go to the forest?" Dren suggested.

"We can go to an inn to avoid any suspicions." Alistair replied while rolling his arms that was tied with chains for the whole day.

"Oh! Are we going to threaten its owner to let us stay there?" Emir asked in a mischievous voice.

"Do that and we are all going to end up in jail." Raya asked while snickering.

"We will rent a room." Alistair suddenly said which made the other three surprised.

"Are you sure, brother?"

"But we don't have any money."

"Are we going to steal some money from the people here?"

"Just follow me." Alistair said and starts walking again.

Although confused, the three of them follow Alistair without any hesitation and walk out the alley quietly.