A Princess of the North II — Ambrosya

Ding—!

The elevator chimed, and I found myself high up above the streets of the Mana Metropolis. I breathed in mana and exhaled wisps of pure energy. I was slowly figuring out how to meditate while moving.

Classy music played in my ears as I looked around. The layering of my senses was very jarring. It was a bit hard to tell what I was sensing with Sight-Sent Senses and my actual senses.

But, I knew I would get used to it eventually.

"Ah, there you are," I heard a familiar voice. King was waving at me from a table for four. Beside him was a beautiful woman whose face was so far the most exquisite I've ever seen in this world. She was smiling gently at me with a twinkle in her eyes.

My eyebrow twitched.

It was clear to me now that King had gotten way deeper than I thought. I walked briskly towards King and grabbed him by the arm.

I pulled him away from the table under the baffled gaze of the princess.

"Caelum, let me explain," He said, expecting my reaction.

"I thought I told you not to mess with the royals!" I yelled at him with a whisper.

This was definitely going to spiral out of control. I just knew it. I had crafted the most delicate situation possible when I was writing [ Evergreen Passage ] and this single move was going to throw everything off its tracks.

"I'm not messing with them! Just listen for a second!"

I gestured at the northern princess sitting pretty just a few steps away, "Then what the f*ck is that?"

"She's not a 'that,' boy," King put on an irked expression, "Can't you just listen to what I have to say? Also, language! Your mouth really needs soap."

"Haaaaah," I sighed, hundreds of thoughts coursed through my brain without delay. "So the second princess of the kingdom of Kyokto is sitting here, protected by your personal organisation, the Information Veil."

I then continued under King's surprised gaze.

"Full name, Rose Ardelia Louelle Ganatria. Age, 26. A genius wizard and songwriter. Pioneer of musical magic."

I paused, pulling the man closer to me just in case anyone would hear what was next.

"Currently being pursued by the Sullied Seven, a group of assassins infamously known throughout the Northern Kingdoms. She should be dead in three days. Killed by a slit throat. Her body would never be found."

"Three— What? Are you sure?!" King gasped, and he glanced behind him.

"At least, that was what was supposed to happen." I bit my lips in annoyance. "You've changed the course of the future."

"Then, isn't that a good thing?" King tilted his head, "Rose would be safe from... Oh... They're going to come after the Information Veil now, aren't they?"

"Yes," I was tempted to cry. "Your faction—and this beautiful tower of yours that you call your HQ—is going to suffer at the hands of C rank assassins. You are outmatched, King. Why did you bring a highly desired princess into your custody?"

King sighed as he gestured for me to sit down. Princess Rose was looking at us worriedly.

"It's a long story," He said after meeting Rose's eyes. "Would you like to tell them, dear?"

I choked.

"Dear?"

Unfazed, much to my dismay, the princess began her story.

"It all started with the assassination of my parents..."

...

I knew most of what the princess had told me.

How Kyokto had experienced a coup d'etat with the assassination of the king and queen. How she had travelled by zeppelin from the distant north and was nearly poisoned. How she arrived within Aelthrie safely, but her guards had fallen one by one to allow her to reach a certain safe haven within the city...

I knew all of those things.

It was just that... when she mentioned her saviour, everything went haywire. I no longer had any prior knowledge of the events that occurred.

So I had to listen. Intently. Despite having already listened to hours of lectures earlier in the day.

"—King had been waiting for me at the end of the alley and I decided to trust him out of pure instinct. Without him and his driving, I would've been caught." Rose said.

I almost scoffed.

'If King wasn't there, I made it so that you would still reach your destination... just missing a limb.' These were the words that I could not voice out.

"After that, it was a blur." Rose then put on an expression of bewilderment, "I just remember that the assassins after me suddenly stopped chasing us."

I nodded. That was probably the result of King's [ Specialisation ], Escape. He was a master at not getting caught. If he was your friend and you needed to flee from the cops, there would be nothing to worry about.

"I see," I started, slowly, "So how did it reach this point? Are you two... lovers already?"

Hearing this question, Rose flushed slightly red, but not a single drop of shyness leaked out of her. She looked like a flower that had finally bloomed. Her beauty at this moment was unparalleled.

Rose was worthy of her name.

"Yes, yes we are." She answered with the grace and confidence of a magic pioneer.

She then put a porcelain hand on King's shoulder. The glitter of her polished nails shone in a multitude of colours in the moonlight.

"King and I... have quite the chemistry despite desiring different things. Our personalities simply clicked the moment we met. I have never met a man more interesting than him."

King held the hand that was placed on his shoulder. His touch was soft, and his grasp was gingerly.

"That is right. I, too, find this princess interesting. I adore her talents and her genius, for there would never be someone like her ever again." He said, putting on the demeanour of a rich man.

One whose connections seeped through the city's cracks like the roots of a tree. He was confident and charismatic, with a subtle aura of danger.

"And that is why we need your help, Caelum."

That same King then lowered his head to me, with the princess of a kingdom following after. Two highly respected individuals were lowering their heads to a teenager.

Oh, what a task this would become.