IRM Chapter 71

A girl with black hair and black eyes… The Earl and his wife only harbored a bit of doubt, but Ji Chi was different—no one understood better than him whom this girl represented.

His cold, deadly glares shot biubiubiu toward the young master.

Brandon broke out in a cold sweat, feeling he must have been cursed by a wizard today, otherwise how could he keep getting caught by the tail one after another?

How could the King not understand these young men’s thoughts? He wasn’t angry anymore either, and looked at them with a half-smile. “I must have a chance to see what kind of girl she is, to so easily capture your hearts.”

The King was just teasing them with a couple of remarks. He knew well that saying more would be pointless. He looked up at the large crowd of guests he hadn’t yet received, and said to his children, “Why don’t you take Her Highness, Ji Chi, and Mr. Brandon to stroll through the gardens? Young people all enjoy the scenery there.”

His hint was quite obvious. Even the rather slow-witted Second Prince furrowed his brow slightly, but the little Princess still had that easygoing demeanor, obediently nodding lightly.

The King turned his head to look at William, hesitated for a moment, then said as if bestowing a favor. “You go along too. Keep an eye on Louis so he doesn’t embarrass himself too much.”

William felt no joy at all; his stiff smile could barely be maintained.

How could he not know the King’s calculations? As a warrior, Louis obviously deserved the best—only what he looked down upon could possibly be given to oneself… It had been this way for so many years that he had almost gotten used to it.

But this time, William’s gloomy gaze lowered, the corner of his eye reflecting a section of black dress hem. This time, when he finally had a chance to obtain the person he thought about day and night, how could he willingly give her up to the brother he had detested since childhood?

He took an imperceptible deep breath, collected himself, and when he raised his handsome face again, it was full of gentle and steady smiles. “Very well, Father. Then let me lead everyone to visit the most beautiful flower bed in the palace. It’s the masterpiece of an Elven Archmage, most suitable for appreciation under moonlit lanterns.”

The King nodded with satisfaction. He glanced at his second son again and sighed lightly. If only one could assemble a person’s character at will…

William led the way, and Ji Chi was the first to follow him.

He was impatient to stay in the palace any longer. The high and mighty nobles inside were smiling reservedly while casting mocking, disdainful glances his way. In their view, Ji Chi wasn’t anything special—ordinary talent was merely icing on the cake; the bloodline flowing through one’s veins was the most precious thing.

This was a belief the nobles had always upheld, along with their centuries-old instinct to exploit commoners.

Saintess Coralie was also annoyed by people’s stares. Her blood-red pupils swept over those unfriendly faces, like a blood moon from the Dark Night Forest rising in the hall. Those people inexplicably shuddered and hastily averted their eyes, but soon they were holding their chins high again, as if everything just now had been an illusion.

Lilith snorted, and the demon’s broad bone wings spread out behind her. The black wing membrane blocked part of the light, making the bright hall considerably dimmer.

This was intimidation from the Demon King’s Castle. The nobles suddenly realized that they had gotten used to oppressing small demon creatures without backing on the streets, obviously forgetting that the Demon King’s Castle was also one of the top forces on the continent—that Dark Night Forest which one would never dare enter in their lifetime was merely the Demon King’s Castle’s back garden.

The King’s smile became a bit stiff, but he didn’t speak out to rebuke this impolite behavior. He merely gestured for William to lead them away while lightly tapping his scepter and instructing servants to add several more magnificent magic lamps to the hall.

The Earl and his wife didn’t join the younger generation either. At the moment of brief parting, the Countess took out her handkerchief and gently wiped away a drop of cold sweat from Brandon’s temple, smiling as she said to him, “Be good and follow Their Highnesses. Don’t cause trouble. I’ll discuss other matters with you after the banquet.”

The young master fidgeted with his fingers, his back turning cold.

The simple-minded Louis couldn’t understand subtle hints as usual. He said attentively to the Countess, “Teacher, please rest assured. I’ll take good care of Brandon. I wish you and the Earl a pleasant evening at the palace.”

The Countess chuckled softly. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

She left arm-in-arm with the Earl. After walking some distance, she sighed softly to him. “This child is really good. Even in a quagmire like the palace, he can still maintain his original heart.”

The Earl couldn’t help but recall Louis from many years ago. Back then he was just a half-grown child who could already carry a war hammer and run into the Earl’s manor every day to get beaten. The Earl  smiled helplessly. “That must be because you taught him well.”

The Countess smiled smugly with narrowed eyes. “Of course. If Brandon weren’t a mage, I could train him to be a fearless warrior too.”

As the Countess spoke, she thought of her son’s slight frame. She glanced at her equally refined and slender husband beside her and pursed her lips. “Never mind… That delicate thing—he can shout about being tired just from running ten laps around the manor. I really don’t know how he grew up.”

The smile on the Earl’s face froze. He closed his mouth without speaking, guiltily touching his nose, feeling his knee had also taken an arrow.

The flower bed carefully cultivated by the Elven Archmage was indeed extraordinary. Richly colored Gaia chrysanthemums, fragrant and elegant Elven orchids, noble pure-white Paradise flowers… All representative flowers of the Demon Sword Continent competed in beauty in one place. Light green wood-element magic arrays were hidden in the grass, allowing the delicate flowers to bloom freely.

The seven people walked silently among the flower beds, each lost in their own thoughts, unable to muster even the slightest desire to appreciate the beautiful scenery before them.

Louis was the first who couldn’t hold back. He moved close to Brandon’s ear and asked in confusion, “Didn’t you tell Teacher about buying the greatsword?”

Brandon’s eyes widened. He quickly pulled him aside to a corner, looked around, and said in a small voice, “Keep your voice down! How would I dare tell her! If she found out I wanted to learn to be a warrior, with her training standards, I wouldn’t survive a single day, okay!”

Louis recalled. “It wasn’t that bad. Just ten broken bones and minor internal bleeding. Drink some medicine and sleep one night and you’ll recover. Teacher wouldn’t actually kill you.”

Your standards are really low enough…

The young master’s face turned pale listening to this. Little mages were pampered terribly—breaking a finger could make them tearfully show it to their parents. He could hardly imagine how much broken bones would hurt!

William saw Louis just leave them like that and inwardly sneered at the fool. He looked sideways at his sister and very naturally instructed, “Catherine, take Mr. Ji Chi to view the palace fountain. Saintess Coralie and I have something to discuss.”

Saintess Coralie looked at William with ambiguous meaning, then turned to look at Ji Chi.

Ji Chi was also looking at her, his eyes questioning whether she needed help. Saintess Coralie shook her head gently and smiled at him. “See you in a bit.”

After the midterm training, the little mages’ understanding of each other had deepened considerably. Almost a single glance was enough to know what the other was thinking. Ji Chi saw her slightly bent fingers—a defensive posture ready to take out a summoning scroll at any time—so he nodded and left with Catherine reassured.

William watched Ji Chi’s retreating figure with an uncertain expression. Taking advantage of the moment he turned, he concealed the displeasure in his eyes and asked Saintess Coralie with a smile, “You have a very good relationship. Will you advance to the Combat Academy together afterward?”

Saintess Coralie thought of someone’s disastrous magic grades and unconsciously curved her eyebrows, routinely backstabbing her teammate. “Hard to say. Maybe someone won’t even advance to second year.”

William found Saintess Coralie’s smile dazzling. This smile obviously wasn’t for him, but for that lowly commoner… Anger gradually grew in William’s heart. Fine if he couldn’t compare to his own brother, but could he not even compare to a commoner?

How laughable—the King’s least valued son was actually the one most like him. Both were identically hypocritical.

William lowered his eyes and sighed. “I really envy you all. Like in our Royal Academy, it’s very hard to find friends like that. Though they have bright futures, they rarely open their hearts. I’m always alone at the academy.”

Saintess Coralie didn’t feel anything wrong at first and nodded indifferently.

“So I think the most important thing between friends is companionship. Some are destined not to go far—it’s better not to spend too much effort on them,” William said pointedly.

Saintess Coralie found it very boring and kept nodding, but after a moment she figured it out. She looked up at the gentle and considerate First Prince, gazing at him for a long time. When a blush appeared on William’s face, Saintess Coralie smiled. “You’re right. I really don’t need to spend too much effort. At times like this, one sentence is enough.”

William’s lips curved up as he waited gently for her to speak.

Saintess Coralie’s eyes were full of malice as she stared at him, enunciating each word: “Mind. Your. Own. Business.”

William’s mind went completely blank in an instant.

On another side, Catherine led Ji Chi to the fountain at the side of the palace.

The fountain under the moonlight was extremely gentle, reminiscent of that clear Silver Moon Spring in the forest. Clear water sprayed toward the full moon under magic’s influence, accompanied by the lingering sounds from the palace, making it seem even more quiet and peaceful.

Catherine introduced emotionlessly, “This is the palace fountain, located on the northwest side of the palace, covering an area of 2,100 square meters…”

Ji Chi: “…” Perhaps you know Chloe?

Ji Chi immediately stopped her. “It’s okay, if you don’t want to talk you don’t have to. I don’t mind.”

Catherine looked at him, or rather past him at the guard following behind, then began reading in monotone. “Ah, esteemed guest, how could I not want to speak? It’s my honor to introduce the palace to you.”

Ji Chi thought about it and felt the two of them shouldn’t torture each other anymore. He rummaged through the magic pouch in his pocket and pulled out two potions—ones he had casually made in the dormitory. They were [Fine] grade invisibility potions that could shield one from most people’s sight.

Ji Chi handed one bottle to Catherine. “Here, need it?”

Catherine looked at it calmly, took it, and said flatly, “Is this a gift for me? Guest, you’re really too thoughtful. Thank you for your gift. I’m truly so moved.”

Ji Chi looked at her speechlessly and tilted his head back to drink it all in one go.

The cool potion had a slightly sweet taste. It slid down his throat, working within his body. Before long, his figure dimmed and dissolved into the water-like moonlight, impossible to find.

A trace of shock finally crossed Catherine’s eyes. Her calm expression gradually became animated, light appearing in her eyes.

She looked at the small, delicate potion in her hand and without hesitation pulled out the stopper and drank it down.

The guard following at a distance was ordered to protect the Princess but didn’t dare get too close and ruin the “good thing,” so he could only wait behind the flower bed.

Night wind blew across the flower bed, stirring up fine dust that had settled on the leaves, making the guard’s eyes hazy. He couldn’t help rubbing his eyes, but in just that instant, the two people by the fountain disappeared.

The guard was alarmed and hurriedly ran over with his sword drawn.

The night wind continued blowing. Except for ripples on the fountain, nothing remained. The guard looked around in panic, his face gradually turning pale. He finally moved, stumbling toward William’s direction, completely failing to notice the small hole torn in his shirt at his chest.

The now-invisible Catherine stood in place, looking somewhat wistfully at the guard running away. “Ah, what a pity. Just a little more.”

In her hand, a silver blade seemed to be tempered with moonlight, sharp and cold.

Catherine casually hid the blade in the folds of her dress. She showed Ji Chi a smile, her deer-like eyes full of spirit. “This gift is really quite good. I’m very happy, so I’ll spare your life.”

Catherine bent down to stir the water in the fountain, saying indifferently, “You should know, all those who might become my betrothed die very miserably. Oh right, a few days ago Father still wanted to betroth me to Brandon.”

“He’s so passionate—I had originally planned to let him die in flames, but now I’ve changed my mind.” She turned to look at Ji Chi and said softly, “I remember he’s your friend, right? So shall we make a deal?”