CHAPTER 1716: HELPING THE DUKE

Nothing other than dealing with urgent matters came to mind when Princess Davina told him that the two of them had somewhere to be. Perhaps there are problems that arose from the mission, which both of them, as participants, needed to handle.

But the way she looked right now, it doesn’t seem to be a formal matter.

Had that been the case, she would’ve worn something more imposing and awe-inspiring.

She was even wearing perfume, one that smelled sweet and fragrant.

"Did you take so long to dress up?" Rex asked innocently.

Princess Davina cast a sharp look at him, "What did you say?"

"Don’t take it the wrong way, you look exceptionally good. Different compared to normal."

"Hmm... How different?"

"I’m not sure. Maybe because I never expected you to have this kind of feminine side?"

"Are you implying I normally looked manly?"

Behind her, the two servants could only sigh—as there’s no saving Lord Rex from this one.

He said the wrong things.

’Just compliment her... Drop what you were saying.’

’Say she’s beautiful and be done with it. You can at least think that much...’

"Of course, not," Rex thought for a moment, recalling how most of the times—Princess Davina never wore a dress or something close to it, like the other, like April and Althea do. "But you normally don’t lean toward the sweet type. More like the scary, imposing type."

Hearing this, the two servants could only rub their faces in shock.

A vein bulged on Princess Davina’s forehead.

It’s not that Rex was wrong to say that, but there are things one doesn’t need to say out loud.

Before Princess Davina had the opportunity to say something, Rex looked down at his clothes.

Perhaps the servants had been quietly observing his preferences, for the clothes they prepared suited his taste almost perfectly. The color scheme intentionally mirrored Princess Davina’s, and his top was, for once, a sleeveless dark emerald shirt that fit him to the skin.

Of course, there’s a robe to go with this, but he didn’t wear it.

Seeing how thick the material was, Rex felt hot even before he wore it—so he left it behind.

"Am I underdressed?" He asked curiously. "You’re obviously dressing to impress someone."

’It’s you, Lord Rex! You!!’

Both servants could only scream inside their minds at Rex’s thoughtlessness.

His mind must not have been in good condition with his wounded body and exhaustion.

"Let’s not waste any more time and depart," Princess Davina swallowed her words and turned around.

It felt like she was going to explode if she heard Rex saying one more word.

Moments later.

Rex, along with Princess Davina, departed.

Both were escorted heavily; a convoy that befitted the Duchy of Castillon.

Each group inside the convoy was led by a Master Eternal Spirit—and more than that, Rex could feel a faint trace of another entity following them from the dark. Another expert, perhaps a Divine Spirit like Princess Davina.

Inside the carriage, Rex looked around in confusion.

Other than the seats lining either side of the carriage, there was a polished table on the left and even a plush sofa in the center-right, right beside the door. The interior was spacious enough to host a dozen people.

It was remarkably large, considering that from the outside, the carriage appeared regular in size.

System, this carriage is bigger inside. How?

Scanning...

Notice: the carriage has traces of power from a Minor Law of Space.

Cool. Is it Duke Lorcan’s?

Just as he thought about Duke Lorcan, he remembered that he hadn’t been informed about how it was progressing in the Sky City. Last time, Duke Lorcan went there to probe and find out the situation before asking for Devo.

And Rex was eager to know how it went.

But as he looked at Princess Davina across, he smiled acutely.

Is she angry at me? She’s sitting all the way there.

Rex was sitting on one side—with the driver on his back, while Princess Davina was sitting across the carriage, almost as if she was intentionally sitting far away—from him. He didn’t feel like he had done anything to make her angry at him, but who knows?

"Have you heard fro—"

"Don’t talk to me."

"..."

Before he could even finish his question, Princess Davina already shut him down.

He suspected that she was angry at him, but not, it was certain that she was angry at him.

Princess Davina eventually sighed.

Even though she was angry, she knew what Rex was going to ask and couldn’t help but swallow her emotions, "I’ve heard back from Duke Lorcan, and he said the situation up there is complicated. None of the patriarchs gave any information about the Tridans. And the Tridans also didn’t heed the duke’s request. He can’t bring Kaelthar to exchange in these circumstances."

Hearing this, Rex rested his arms on his thighs and intertwined his hands together.

It was more or less as he expected.

Considering Sky City’s reputation and how others were talking about it, he expected retrieving that stupid spirit, Devo, to be a challenge. I’ve tried reaching out to him several times, especially since our bond should be stronger now that we’re in the same realm as per Amanir’s suggestion. But even then, I can barely sense him.

Rex rubbed his forehead.

Since Duke Lorcan couldn’t succeed, he’d have to make him move after healing Nivellen.

Of course, expecting that he got hurt like this in the process, Rex had already prepared a backup plan in case everything went awry. He didn’t rely on Duke Lorcan fully and has a plan of his own to rescue Devo.

But first things first, he needed to heal Nivellen and recover properly.

Even so, I should still keep my end.

"How long are you going to call him ’Duke Lorcan’, instead of father?" Rex leaned back and stared at Princess Davina, who was surprised that he brought it up. "Do you hate him that much to be unwilling to call him father?"

"What’s..." Princess Davina threw her face away. "What does that have to do with you?"

Although she said that, there was no conviction in her question.

Princess Davina knew that it was a stupid question.

"Is it because of that woman? What’s her name again...?" Rex pretended to think. "Oktary? Okalin?"

"It’s Octavia."

"Right... Octavia. Why did you disapprove of her anyway?"

"I don’t want to talk about her. Why are you even bringing her up?"

Rex kept staring at her despite knowing that his intense stare was making her feel uncomfortable, but he didn’t care. He promised Duke Lorcan to help, and he’s going to. "I’m guessing arriving at our destination is going to take a while, so why not... talk?"

"Do you really want to talk about this?" Princess Davina met Rex’s gaze.

"Hmm... Let’s assume that I’m curious."

"Did Duke Lorcan set you up for this?"

"And what if he did? Are you going to be angry at me? Avoid me?"

No use in hiding the obvious.

Rex would only make it harder for himself if he tried to cover up the fact—that Duke Lorcan asked for his help regarding this matter. Besides, Princess Davina is not dumb, so she could easily know that I’m doing this for Duke Lorcan.

"Alright..." Princess Davina turned to face him properly. "What are you curious about?"

"For starters, why do you disapprove of her? From how Duke Lorcan spoke of her, he sounded really infatuated with her, which means she’s been good to him."

"Yes, and that’s the problem. Octavia has Duke Lorcan by his heart, and he became weaker because of it. I don’t like to see him acting weak and docile whenever he’s around her. He was supposed to be the respected duke of the empire. His status alone is a testament to how fierce he was in the past."

"And is that so wrong?"

"Of course it is! Look at how our house has fallen. It’s all because he was too occupied by her."

"Hmm, I guess you can’t be good at everything. You’re strong—and respected, and to compensate for your talent, you’re lacking in other parts," Rex sneered, finding that her inexperience made her grow this animosity towards Octavia. "What kind of man doesn’t have a soft spot for his woman?"

"I understand that, but this is excessive. He’s overstepping."

"Excessive? Then what about me?"

Rex tilted his head and locked eyes with Princess Davina; his lips curled a little into a smirk.

Such a question caught Princess Davina off guard.

"If Duke Lorcan is excessive, then what am I? Did you forget already?" Rex scoffed, throwing her own logic back to her. "I risked my own life to win you against the crown prince during the Nameless Dragon tournament. Not only did I almost die, but I’m pretty sure I also offended the crown prince."

Hearing this, Princess Davina unconsciously clenched her fists.

Rex caught that reaction.

It was clear that she was beginning to doubt her resolve, but was unwilling to back down.

"That’s different. Besides, Octavia clearly only wants Duke Lorcan—because of his status," Princess Davina continued—but her gaze was lowered to the floor, uncertain. "All I want is for Duke Lorcan to have someone who truly loves him for who he is."

"I see," Rex nodded his head. "Is that why you disapprove of our engagement?"

"What do you mean?"

"I entered the Nameless Dragon Tournament because you’re the duke’s daughter. If the prize had been your sister Lilian’s hand instead, I’d still have participated. So, is that why you wanted to keep whatever between us transactional? Because you don’t believe anything good can bloom?"

Princess Davina looked down.

She understood what Rex was trying to say.

No matter how two people met, there will always be a chance for something good to bloom.

Even if Octavia wanted Duke Lorcan because of his status, so what? As long as Duke Lorcan was happy with her and she didn’t use him as a tool, then there shouldn’t be any problem because the position of a duke is tied to Duke Lorcan.

It was who he is.

Princess Davina also realized that she was drawn to Rex because he was the prophesied one.

And if that was the case, she was exactly the same as Octavia.

"I’m not saying to accept Octavia blindly," Seeing how troubled Princess Davina was by the realization, Rex stood up and sat beside her. "All I’m saying is that go meet—with her. See if she really has feelings for Duke Lorcan or not, see her personality for yourself, and then you can make a decision."

Rex held her hand gently, giving her strength. "Besides, I’m sure you can feel how desperate he was for a companion. It’s going to make it worse if he keeps going like this."

Eventually, Princess Davian receded.

She turned her hand over, clasping Rex’s with her other one, and gave a firm nod.

"Okay... I’ll take your advice into mind."

"That’s good enough for me."

Rex looked out of the window, watching the terrain pass in a frenetic blur.

In truth, her thoughts were clouded by bias—after all, Octavia wasn’t her mother. It was only natural. The wounds of her family’s loss were still fresh: her mother was gone, and her brothers had only recently perished. Welcoming someone new into that emptiness must have unsettled her deeply.

Just like back then when I moved in with mom.

That being said... It seemed I’ve grown a lot since back then.

Rex recalled back when he was also still biased towards Humans, damning every single Supernatural.

Now, he could even give advice to Princess Davina, who has a problem related to it.

Once the conversation died, silence enveloped the carriage again.

Rex and Princess Davina felt comfortable in the moment, dwelling inside their own minds, almost like they were soaking in the serenity of the moment. Both were so occupied that neither realized that their hands were still connected intimately.

Even until they arrived at their destination, their hands were still united.