Chapter 18: Hillary!

Chapter 18: Hillary!

Cough!

Gray was suddenly struck by rough coughing. He couldn't help but gasp in shock when he saw blood on the ground.

Gray immediately took out a vial filled with light-green liquid. He opened its lid and took a sip.

Gray only drank one-fourth of the liquid and shut the lid. Gray stopped coughing after that.

His eyes showed fear when he saw the blood on the ground. The next moment, he gritted his teeth in anger and looked in the direction of his next target.

"Your fortunes saved you this time, but who will the next time," Gray mumbled and then left the area. His direction was the Turing Empire.

***

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of continuous metallic clashes rang as Ryan and Victor battled out. It had been three days since Ryan woke up and was bombarded with the news of Kingdoms getting conquered.

The news motivated Ryan to work hard since his enemies were getting stronger. During the raid at the camp, Ryan came across the news of who was the mastermind of the attack on him.

It was the Gestrid family, the second strongest family in the Turing Empire after the Turings. Ryan couldn't find out why they were attempting something like it, but he knew that he wasn't the only one. Many young boys under the age of eight had been captured and experimented upon.

Henry and Loraine wanted to stop Ryan from taxing his body, but Ryan refused to listen. And also, a fortune had befallen him after the events during the battle.

Ryan had somehow reached the peak of the High Knight and could start the breakthrough to the Great Knight anytime. But since there was either death or a successful breakthrough at that stage, Ryan had to train and only attempt it once he was fully confident.

'Release your life seed!'

'Fight to your heart's content!'

These voices were ringing in his heart as the battle continued. It was as if his heart wanted to let Ryan go out of control again.

Ryan knew about the virus, so he didn't listen to the voice in his heart and continued to battle. Once he became a Great Knight, the berserk mode would disappear, so Ryan was waiting for that day.

"Let's call it the end of the day!" Victor suddenly ordered.

Ryan looked confused since it was still day, and he was hours away from before his training came to an end.

"I have to meet someone, so rest today. We will continue tomorrow from where we left off," Victor said. He understood the confusion going through Ryan's head, so he commented.

"I can train by myself," Ryan responded since he wanted to continue.

"I am your master," Victor commanded, and without waiting for Ryan's answer, he left the training arena.

Ryan could only helplessly sigh and also leave the arena since Victor had used his status as his teacher. Continuing further would be disrespectful, and Ryan didn't want that.

***

"Hello, Mother!" Ryan greeted Loraine as he found his mother waiting inside the room.

"Come here," Loraine nodded and gently called him, gesturing for him to sit on the sofa. Her face had a gentle smile, but a hint of sadness was also visible.

Ryan followed his mother's words and sat down on the sofa in front of her.

Ryan couldn't help but raise his eyes in surprise as on the table, there were three portraits waiting for him, and all three belonged to girls.

Two of them were familiar to Ryan because they were his friends from the noble families and they used to play with him in the palace when he was a child, but the third was completely unfamiliar.

"Choose one; it's time for you to marry," Loraine told Ryan.

Ryan was already fifteen this year and was only a few months away from reaching sixteen. Once he reached sixteen, he would become an adult and be announced as the crown prince. It was time for him to marry.

"You already know Serena and Rinny. She is Hillary, the princess of the Great Eagle Kingdom."

Loraine introduced the unrecognizable girl to Ryan.

Ryan was going to refuse her mother, but when he heard who the third girl was, he stopped. His enemy was the Empire, so he needed alliances, and there was no better way to form alliances than marriage.

Ryan had several brothers and sisters who could be used for an alliance, but it would clearly not help if he wanted to battle an Empire. But if he were directly related to the Kingdom, then things might be different.

Ryan didn't feel shy since marriage at 15 was a pretty common occurrence on the continent. His parents also got married at that age.

Now that he hadn't refused, he took a look at the girl. Only the first wife could be queen, so Ryan couldn't just take anyone to be his wife.

From the portrait, Hillary looked beautiful. The natural tone of the people of the Great Eagle Kingdom was light brown, so she had the same skin tone. Her eyes had a hint of innocence in them. Since it was only a portrait, the actual girl might be different, but from the portrait, the girl looked attractive.

"I will meet her," Ryan said, pointing at Hillary's portrait.

Even though he needed alliances, that didn't mean he would readily say yes. Despite marrying only for friendship in another Kingdom, Ryan would still treat the girl as his wife, so he needed to know before making any decision.

"Okay, I will tell your father," Loraine smilingly commented. She then kissed Ryan's forehead and left the room.

If it were other siblings, they would have only been told to marry, but since Ryan was the chosen heir, he had the choice to refuse.

Ryan then took another look at Hillary's portrait and stood up, walking to his bed. Ryan also understood why Victor ended the training so suddenly.

Since Ryan couldn't train with his weapons, he crashed on his bed, and soon fell asleep.

***

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