| Royal Palace(1)|

Merlin thought for a moment before answering, "Your Majesty, I would be honored to have a tour of the palace. I've never seen such grandeur before."

The king smiled and gestured towards a waiting servant. "Very well, then. Gregory will show you around. Take your time and enjoy the sights. About sparring with my son, you can start anytime."

Gregory, a young servant dressed in livery, approached Merlin and bowed respectfully, "Follow me, sir. I'll show you the most wondrous parts of the palace."

Merlin followed Gregory as he led him through the palace. The tour started in the grand hall, which was adorned with tapestries and paintings that depicted the history of the kingdom. Merlin was amazed by the beauty of the artworks, which were unlike anything he had seen before.

From there, Gregory took Merlin to the royal gardens, which were expansive and full of vibrant colors. The scents of exotic flowers filled the air, and the sound of birdsong echoed through the trees. Merlin marveled at the intricate topiaries and fountains, which were crafted with great care and skill.

There he found two familiar faces, they are the Queen and her daughter, the princess. Maids stood in 2 lines of 2 behind them.

The two were sitting silently, enjoying the scenery that laid before them.

It didn't take long before the Queen noticed their presence.

"I didn't expect to have a visitor here today." She smiled, looking at Merlin before standing up and walked towards Merlin. Her daughter, the princess too followed her.

Truth be told, she's the one who ordered king Glayder to bring the boy at the auction to the palace as prison isn't suitable for him.

As the queen approached him, Merlin and Gregory bowed with courtesy, Merlin's eyes fixed on the ground. "Your Majesty," he said, "It is an honor to meet you again."

The queen smiled at Merlin and said, "Rise, young man. There is no need for such formality."

Merlin stood up and looked at her with admiration. She was a vision of beauty and grace, and he felt humbled in her presence.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," Merlin said before looking at the girl by the queen's side which made him bow once again,

"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness princess Kathyln"

Princess slightly nodded without saying anything.

Merlin saw her at the Helstea's Auction House and noticed that she's a quiet-type kind of person.

"It seemed that you're touring the castle, you can continue doing so." The queen gave the permission to continue touring the palace.

Merlin and Gregory bowed one last time before exiting the garden.

After touring the gardens, Gregory led Merlin to the royal armory, where knights in gleaming armor were practicing their swordplay.

>CLing!< >CLang!<

Merlin watched as the knights dueled, their swords clanging against each other in perfect harmony.

As they continued their tour, Merlin was shown the royal library, which housed thousands of rare books and scrolls, and the royal kitchens, where chefs were busy preparing a feast fit for a king.

Finally, the tour came to an end, and Merlin was brought back to the throne room. King Glayder and his retinue were still there, and they were deep in conversation. The king turned to Merlin and said, "I hope you enjoyed the tour."

Merlin smiled, "Yes, Your Majesty", then bowed, "Thank you for the tour. It was an honor."

"Hm, Gregory, lead him to his room" The king nodded and ordered Gregory who bowed in response.

As Merlin left the throne room, following Gregory. Merlin couldn't help but feel weird as to why the King is treating him this way.

From throwing him to prison, to letting him tour the palace.

Little did I know, the Queen played a huge role into making this happen.

.

.

Gregory did his job and showed Merlin to his guest room. It was a spacious room with a comfortable bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. The walls were adorned with intricate tapestries depicting scenes from the kingdom's history.

Merlin thanked Gregory for his hospitality and watched as he left the room. As the door closed, he let out a deep breath and looked around the room.

It had been a long and eventful day, and he was grateful to finally have a moment of peace. He took off his robe and hung it up in the wardrobe, then walked over to the bed and sat down.

>Pomf<

The bed was so soft that he felt like the bed is swallowing him.

'Ah, this is a lot better than prison's bed.'

As he leaned back against the pillows, his thoughts turned to the events of the past few days. He had been arrested, imprisoned, and then released into the care of the royal family. It was all so surreal.

With a sigh, he lay back on the bed and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow would be a new day.

'Staying here for 2 weeks wouldn't be so bad. I wonder how Art and everyone is doing.' He wondered before he slowly fell into his dreamland.

***

The morning sun peeked through the window of Merlin's guest room, casting a warm glow on the walls.

The sun's ray reflected on Merlin's lean body, unbefitting of a normal conjurer. He just came out of the bathroom, covering his lower half with white towel while another smaller towel is hanging on his shoulder.

>Whoosh<

Combining fire and wind, he created warm breeze that quickly dry his body and hair with little effort.

Standing in front of the full body mirror with a comb in hand, he started combing his hair.

He styled his hair into a bang before messing it up slightly with his hand to get a natural look.

>Knock< >Knock<

Hearing knocking on his door, Merlin quickly got dressed and opened the door.

Upon opening the door, he was greeted with a maid, holding a tray of breakfast.

"Breakfast sir" Merlin opened the door wider, for the maid to enter.

The maid went in his room and placed the tray on the table,

"Thank you" Merlin thanked.

The maid bowed then walked out.

>Clack<

Merlin closed the door before turning towards the table,

'Finally, actual food'

Merlin finished his breakfast and decided to head towards the training ground to see if he could find Gregory or the prince there.

As he walked towards the training ground, he saw a group of soldiers gathered around, watching two men sparring in the center.

Merlin recognized one of them as Prince Curtis, the king only son.

Merlin approached the group and watched as the prince parried his opponent's blows. He was quite impressed by the prince's skill and agility, but he also noticed that the soldier whom the prince is fighting with was holding back. The prince's opponent was clearly better than the prince, but he was not trying to defeat him, only to teach him.

After a few minutes, the sparring match ended and the soldiers began to disperse.

Prince Curtis ended up losing,

"You've gotten better, your highness" The soldier complimented as he reached out his hand to help the prince stand.

"But still lost..." The prince muttered, accepting the hand and got up.

"It wouldn't take long before you overtake me, Templar vice-captain, Your highness. You only lack experience." The Templar vice-captain said.

"Whatever. I'll be sure to win next time, Sir Darian." The prince declared before walking out of the Soldier training ground.

His eyes spotted a familiar figure on the sideline that reminded him of a figure standing in the center of a frozen room in the Auction House, with half frozen four guards on the ground.

'Father did say that he'll be my sparring partner until Xyrus start...' The prince thought before walking over to him.

"Good morning, your highness." Merlin greeted the prince with a slight bow.

"Good morning, follow me to my personal training room. We can talk as we walk." The prince gestured Merlin to follow him without wasting time.

"What did you say your name was?" Curtis asked.

"Merlin"

***

A/N: This is a drafted chapter, I can't update like usual. I guarantee you that as long as I have motivation, I will write and this shall not be dropped.

Exam is also near, and life problem always comes knocking on my door.

Also, you can grant me motivation...paypay me ;)

***

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