048

Alex, now finished with the method to cure the royal family from their curse, decided to get a few hours of sleep. He lay down on the bed and went to sleep, only waking up 5 hours later. He sighed and left his room, looking for the King. He didn't find the king; however, he did find the oldest princess, Rose. She seemed to be nervous about something and was impatiently waiting for someone. When she saw him, she quickly rushed up to him and asked,

"Have you completed it? Please tell me you can cure our curse."

"Yes, I have finished. Is there something wrong?"

"Mhm, please come with me."

She grabbed my arm and dragged me through the door. Inside was a young man and the king. They both were talking, and each of them seemed surprised about our sudden intrusion. The king's eyes lit up and he asked,

"Ahah! Lucifer, are you done already?"

"Mhm, I've finished it."

"I see, I see. I'm sorry, Leo, however, I will have to postpone this discussion for another time."

"Your majesty, I believe that wouldn't be a good idea."

"Oh? Why do you think that?"

"My father is on his way already, and I doubt you would want to offend him."

"Ha! Hahahahaha! Do you think we're scared of you and your kingdom!? Leave, and don't come back unless you bring your father with you!"

"…"

"I won't ask again, boy!"

"Tch! Very well, your majesty."

The young man bowed down and left the room. On his way out, he gave Alex a nasty glare and winked at Rosa. Rosa simply gagged, and Alex laughed at her reaction. He then sat down and asked the king,

"I see you have your own set of problems."

"Haha! That is correct. Now let's get started."

"Just wait a moment. I would like to discuss my reward."

"Sigh! What would you like? A noble title? One of my daughters' hands in marriage? Or maybe you would like a large sum of gold?"

"N-no, I'm fine without all of that. Instead, I would like to own a portion of the Blue Sky Lake."

"…"

"Uhm, that might be a little hard."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"It's not completely owned by the royal family. Instead, it's co-owned. We own around 25% of it while the other 75% is divided among a variety of nobles."

"Mhm, also, Lucifer, the young man you had a quarrel with, his family also owns 15%."

"I see, could I have a map of the lake?"

"Mhm, I'll bring it for you right away."

The old man stood up and left the room. While he was leaving, he flashed a suggestive smile at his daughter Rosa. Her face became flushed and turned very red. She then looked at Alex nervously and asked with a stutter,

"S-s-so, h-how have y-you liked the c-city so far?"

"It's been alright. However, I will have to leave for a while soon. So I would like to get this sorted soon."

"I see, don't worry! Although we might not own the area you want, I believe we can negotiate for it."

Rosa stood up and sat down next to Alex. Her face was still flushed red, but she continued. While she was about to reach her hand over to his, the King opened the door with a map of the lake. He stared at his daughter Rosa, let out a small chuckle, and asked,

"Did I come back at the wrong time?"

"Dad!?"

"Hehe, I'll come back another time."

"No, it's fine. Can I see the map?"

"Mhm, here it is. The areas are marked by who owns the area."

Alex began to study the map, looking for a specific spot near one of the coasts. He finally found it, but his expression was grim when he noticed who owned it. He sighed and said,

"It seems like this will be difficult."

"Hmm?"

"The Blackened family owns the area I want."

"I see, I could try and negotiate it for you. That would be very helpful, however, I don't have enough time for that."

"I see, I'll try and finish up quickly."

"Alright, if you can't, we can discuss some other terms. Don't worry, I will at least cure you before I leave. Although the spell has a one-day cooldown, so I might not be able to cure your daughters immediately. It would have to wait until I come back."

"Very well, I will go talk to the Count now. If you could, please make sure my daughters don't do anything stupid in the meantime?"

"Huh?"

"Gerld! Please bring Lily here!"

"Why would you need me to watch them?"

"While Rosa has been fine, Lily, well, she's been too excited."

While Alex was confused, he saw a guard bring in Lily. She was trying to get out of his grip, but she was unable to. She kept screaming,

"Hahaha! I'm going to be able to experience life! Haha!"

"Oh, mass hysteria."

"Mhm, I hope you can keep an eye on them. Don't worry, I will also assign guards. I just want someone near their age."

"All right, I can do at least that much."

"Thank you. Gerld, prepare yourself! We're going to Count Blackened's house for a discussion! Make sure to inform him!"

"I'll get it done, my lord!"

The king then stood up and left with the guard that brought Lily. Alex sighed and looked over at Lily, then he said,

"Please sit down and calm down."

"…"

"Sister, please just calm down."

"Tch! Humph!"

She sat down, however, she refused to sit still. She kept shifting her sitting position, and her eyes were fixated on Alex. Although Alex knew that she would bring him some trouble, he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Her eyes that were once dull of any life had transformed into eyes with life. While Alex was staring at her, the door opened and a few more people came inside the room. It was two guards, and also Laura. Alex had completely forgotten about her and felt a little guilty about it. Laura looked at Alex, who was trying to avoid eye contact, and said,

"You totally forgot about me, didn't you?"

"N-no, I didn't. I-I was just too busy—"

"You forgot about me! Humph, I would like to have you know I have been trying to improve myself for you. Although it wouldn't have mattered as you will just forget about me again."

"No, it won't. I promise I won't forget about you."

"Sigh! Anyway, I'll get everyone some refreshments."

"Thank you, Laura."

Laura, still displeased with Alex, decided to just ignore him. Alex wryly smiled at her reaction and looked back at Lily. She had calmed down and said,

"I'm sorry you had to see that unsightly display. I-I've been too excited about having the time to fully live my life."

"Don't worry, I believe it's good you're expressing yourself."

"Hehe~ thank you."

"Grr! Sister!"

"What? It's not like he's your boyfriend."

"…"

"S-still! Y-you already have someone you like!"

"So? I recently heard that he got married."

"…"

"Humph!"

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A/N

Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoyed today's chapter! Have a good rest of your day or night!

If you like this book so far you should check out my other work, A Last Wish!