8 — Depart for Eldoria

In a cold sweat, Duke Ramsel gulped, swiftly turning his head to glance at the figure behind him.

The sight of a wrinkled-faced man dressed in a knight's uniform caused him to frown.

How dare a mere knight hold his sword at me!

Despite enjoying her uncle's frightened expression, Cynthia coughed to clear her throat.

"Let him go."

The knight nodded, sheathing his sword.

"I apologize. I hadn't realized it was you, Duke Ramsel. I was concerned when I saw the princess, who seemed to be troubled," Hans said, bowing.

"You can leave," Cynthia ordered.

The man obeyed.

"You better behave yourself, Duke Ramsel. Or else, I cannot guarantee you will be saved by me next time from a knight who happens to pass by."

The princess's words struck the man with anger, but he couldn't let his feelings show.

Although he was the late Queen Irina's younger brother, Duke Ramsel Jihan, he could not afford to offend the royal family despite their shared bonds. 

After all, their relationship ended the day his sister died and when her niece started behaving coldly toward him for reasons he did not understand, clinging to her so-called brothers instead.

"I apologize," he said, bowing and then turning around to leave Cynthia alone in the garden.

"Finally, some peace!" The silver-haired young woman exclaimed, her lips curling into a bright smile.

*** 

Lucian removed the white gloves from his hands with his teeth and glanced at the knights who stood at the entrance of his study hall, their eyes twinkling.

A soft smile appeared on his face.

"What are you looking at?"

"You have been granted the title of Duke! All those years of hard work paid off!" Dylan exclaimed, unable to suppress his joy.

"I'm so happy for you, Your Highness," Adrian, opposite to Dylan's cheerful attitude, said in a composed manner.

The rest of the knights congratulated the prince, now titled the Grand Duke of Erion, a land far from the capital of the kingdom of Selvarys, at the edge of the sea. 

No title mattered to Lucian; however, he was delighted to be able to leave the palace of the king soon. The coldness of this place could not be expressed in words. 

Although he was confused about the king's actions, Lucian was ready to fulfill any request the king made in exchange for leaving the castle, whether it was slaying a thousand monsters or staying on the battlefield for another decade.

"Your Highness."

A servant appeared at the door of the prince's office.

The dark-haired young man, dressed in a dark shirt with metallic curvy patterns, raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to speak further.

"The king requests to see you in private."

Lucian's heart raced with excitement. It was one of the few times his "father" called for him. But his mind overtook his emotions.

He surely will make his request now that he has granted you the title of grand duke.

He shook off his inner voice and nodded, following the servant who led the way to the king's throne room.

"You can leave," Lucian said.

The man bowed before disappearing down the hallway.

Inhaling deeply, the dark-haired young man knocked on the door.

A faint "come in" was heard, the king's voice muffled by the large golden wooden door.

Lucian creaked the door open and peeked inside, hoping to analyze the situation before facing the king.

King Valerian was seated among the numerous couches in the vast space. A table with two cups of tea was set on the dark wooden table, and a dark-green-haired lady stood beside the king, holding a white tea kettle decorated with flowery patterns.

"What are you waiting for? Come in."

With quick steps, Lucian entered the hall. Once he stood before King Valerian, he bowed in greeting.

"Take a seat."

"And you, leave," the king ordered the servant who had finished serving the tea.

Once the maid had exited the room, the king continued.

"I hope you like the title."

Lucian scoffed internally. Did the king ever care about his preferences?

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then, get ready," Valerian said, taking a sip of his tea.

"Pardon, Your Majesty?"

"Get ready to depart for Eldoria," Valerian's face twisted into a frown.

He didn't expect the man who fought in the war for a decade to be idiotic, clueless about the matter he was addressing. 

"Your Majesty..." Lucian hastily pulled out a magic stone from his pocket. "Look at this! I found it," he said, pursing his lips, desperately hoping to change the king's mind.

"And?"

Lucian frowned.

"Your Majesty, we can now create other magic stones. I don't know how this stone ended up inside my sheath, but now that we have a sample, it won't take us long to create more. The reason other kingdoms couldn't recreate these precise magic stones was that they didn't have enough funds or magicians or access to them. But here, we have a magic temple, where mages from all over the world come, so we could..."

Lucian paused to catch his breath.

"So we could avoid this marriage alliance. We shouldn't get involved with that kingdom. They might betray us," he said in a last attempt to change the king's mind.

Valerian clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"What in the world is going on in that small brain of yours, Lucian? Do you think I haven't thought it through?" The king grabbed the piece of rock from Lucian's palm and placed it on the table.

Confused, Lucian stared at his father blankly, unable to comprehend his statements. 

The king already attempted to create magic stones in the past. But how did he manage to get a grasp of those gems? 

No one from either kingdom had been able to pass the sinkhole, a magic spell was cast upon it, not allowing anyone to enter.

It was the work of a powerful magician, but no one was strong enough to break it. Unable to reach what they coveted, the kingdoms decided to cease the war, exhausted from the long, fruitless battle. They had tried magicians from all over the world, but it was in vain. No one succeeded in breaking the seal. 

"Leave," the king ordered in his usual distant and formal tone. "You should reach Eldoria within half a month. By then, the wedding preparations will be complete," Valerian said, sipping his tea and glancing at Lucian, whose shoulders slumped in resignation. 

A smirk crossed the king's lips. 

That's exactly how you should behave. Do you think you can do as you please just because you survived the battlefield? I, the king, am still alive! My successor will never be an illegitimate child born out of wild luck!