The Fateful Encounter

The wine produced with fruits developed with the prana farming method had proven to be extremely effective. I myself took part in the experiment and after a few months of drinking and bathing in prana wine, I grew my skills a level further.

Taking out the UID from my pocket, I used my prana to activate it and checked out my current stats.

[Name: Alagarassi Luna y Salvador]

[Age: 22]

[Abilities:]

[Gunslinger – Knight-Commander Rated]

[Swordmaster – Knight+ Rated]

[Prodigy – Knight-Commander Rated]

Smirking in self-confidence, I nodded to myself and made a mental note of how much I've grown in the past six months.

I had practically gone up an entire level while doing practically nothing but drinking wine, bathing in the dregs left behind in the processing of said wine as well as going to the shooting range to try out some techniques.

It's worth noting that some people have gone their entire lives without even leveling up from the Knight rating onwards.

The most eye-catching growth is for the Prodigy skill affinity. I already had the learning capacity exceeding that of geniuses of the old order but now I've even gone a step further than the giants whose shoulders I stood on.

To give an example of how broken the prodigy skill is, it would probably take an extremely talented individual to reach the pinnacle of skill level in whatever endeavor they strove towards. I could do the same in practically four months.

I wanted to ascertain my theory by jokingly picking up the violin but after six months, I not only mastered the violin but the piano and singing as well.

Initially flabbergasted by the ease in which I picked up the violin, I made careful notes on my growth, and in a few weeks, I was able to come to a conclusion – I was a genius among geniuses.

I know, I know. There's not need to be conceited, right? But fuck that noise, man. Despite being a bastard child in name, I still felt as though I was at the top of the world. It felt good, really fucking good.

I sniggered to myself until a soft voice brought me back to reality.

Hearing the stir behind me, I spoke knowingly. "Good morning, Princess." I smiled and caressed her head. "Did you have a good sleep?"

Slowly stirring from her slumber, a pair of blue eyes that shined like a sky full of diamonds met my gaze.

The lovely figure took her time in getting up and stretched while yawning. "Mmm. Good morning, Mistress." She lightly pecked my cheek.

Wiping her saliva off of my face, I scrunched up my face in mockery. "You slept like a man who ran a 3-day race! I think you even snored a bit."

The truth was, Patricia Everett Windsor was every bit as perfect sleeping as she was awake. I had no idea how she maintained her looks while rolling around in bed but the fact of the matter is that she woke up as beautiful as when she went to sleep.

With her slightly messy blonde hair draped around her shoulders, she looked extremely beautiful. Of course, I was confident in my own beauty as well but this and that are two different things.

I stood up from the bed and opened the curtains. I was greeted by the gentle light of the midday sun and the light illuminated Patricia as she stared at the space behind me with a face filled with reverence, awe, and desire.

She immediately shook her head as if prying herself away from the opened maw of sleep. She looked at me and said in a soft voice, "It's really not fair. You're too beautiful."

I gently chided her and playfully tapped her head with my finger. "I am aware."

She laughed at me and after exchanging our plans for the day, I left the princess's residence on my own.

Unfortunately, I had lost Joshua in the divorce with my family but I liked walking anyway. I felt a little bit regretful because it was fun to see myself reflected in Joshua's pure and innocent eyes whenever I made fun of him.

The sight of my crimson eyes glaring at him must have given him a fright or two but that's all in the past now.

I heard he left the Salvador Family's service after I myself had left but I don't know where he was at the moment so I left that thought at the back of my head.

It's been more than 25 years since the world slowly started to transition from the old order to the new order but a lot of things have stayed the same.

Walking at a slow pace, I observed the shops and sights around me. People were walking with their families or lovers in tow. Some couples had a child between them while some younger couples simply spent the time blushing at one another.

"What a pathetic sight. It is cute, for the most part, however." I muttered to myself.

I had no particular direction in mind but walking through the city of Seoul was a healing experience even for me who had practically seen it all.

I didn't dress up in particular as I was clothed in the simplest designer clothes that I picked up a few years back but I still felt the heated gazes of the men and women around me.

Some men were being chided by their girlfriends for staring while the wives of some men were drooling and muttering 'ara ara' under their breaths, much to the exasperation of their husbands and children.

This was a common sight for Alagarassi in the past as well but I was aware of how beautiful she was in the first place. You could dress this body up in rags but a fashion magazine would probably pass that shabby look as some new fashion trend that people would soon follow.

It was honestly quite troublesome.

I was seriously walking without a care for the world but a huge digital billboard in the middle of the street left my mouth open in surprise.

It was a memorial – specifically for one of the most important people in the world: The Empress herself, Artesia Romanov.

She wasn't a particularly tall woman. If anything, she was somewhat average. She had prana-enhanced golden irises that stood out even in the dead of night. Her raven black hair was beautiful even without any styling and her beautiful body stood out even among the most beautiful women in the world.

A famous late-night host once said of the Empress: "She is simply the perfect woman."

I remember the stories about how she and her childhood sweetheart were the most perfect couple in the world. They had everything in their grasp. Power, fame, and even the adoration of the masses but a mishap turned the world upside down. Her lover was a shell of his former self and Artesia herself died.

It was honestly a heartbreaking tale that was reported on every major news outlet in the world.

Her picture on the billboard was beautiful. I was mesmerized by her smile but I was also plagued by the feeling that she looked familiar as if she was someone I knew on a deep level.

Frowning to myself, I turned around only to come face to face with a handsome dark-haired man who was also staring at Artesia's visage.

The man was tall and he had an extremely well trained body. He was neither overly bulky nor thin but he was at the very middle point between the two.

He stood as straight as a spear and his brown eyes and his effortlessly cool black hair stood out even among the metropolis of a nation whose culture revolved around beauty, among other things.

I felt that I somehow knew him as well but after glancing at him and being caught unaware, I simply passed by him, clutching my scarf to myself.

Before I could get away, a deep and raspy voice called after me.

"You."

I turned towards the source of the voice and smiled wryly. I nodded at him and asked, "Yes?"

The man simply stared at me before muttering "nothing" and he left as swiftly as he came.

What the fuck is his problem? Whatever, not my problem. I shrugged and went my way.

After a few minutes, I finally reached my destination. It was a simple shop with nothing inside of it.

The shop mainly dealt with small-scale trading and the rustic smell of wood made me feel comfortable. It was an interesting trick but not something that could shake me.

An array of different products covered the wall. There were used luxury bags in one corner, a motley crew of assorted miscellaneous trinkets was scattered all over the place.

The item that I needed would probably be kept in the back, so to say.

I approached the counter and a gentle-looking old man greeted me.

The old man in front of me adjusted his bowtie and said, "The sun is quite lovely today, isn't it?"

Perfunctorily, I uttered the return phrase. "The moon is lonely so the sun must keep chasing it."

The man smiled and gave me a slight bow. He pressed a button underneath the counter and said, "Welcome to Grander, mistress. Please follow me."

"…."

Back at the city proper, a handsome man in black muttered to himself. He was confused and his emotions were all jumbled up in chaos.

He couldn't process what he just felt from that beautiful woman from earlier.

He clutched at his chest as a low whirring sound seemed to come from the place where his heart should be.

"How long should I suffer for my sins?" He calmed his breathing as he stared at the Empress's image who seemed to be smiling down at him.

"How long are you going to play with me like this, Artesia?"

The man closed his eyes in frustration as he went through the crowd of people that seemed to open up a path wherever he stepped.

The Fateful Encounter – End.