CHAPTER 62: EAVESDROPPING AND NEGOTIATION

While waiting for Dimitri to return, Geoffrey started pacing back and forth in the room. Irwin and Mirea began reading Dimitri’s books. Alicia and Milia looked out the window. Vahn lay stretched out on the long sofa with his feet up, looking completely relaxed, even yawning. Ainsley stayed quiet, stunned and seemingly deep in thought. Claudia, Patricia, and Rosalind talked softly amongst themselves, while Beatrice looked incredibly bored waiting.

Ard and Eva also said nothing and just remained silent. Suddenly, Beatrice stood up. She took out her Carbunkle, then spoke to it. Shortly after, the Carbunkle leaped out the window, crashing through the windowpane, startling Alicia and Milia.

"Hey... what are you doing, Beatrice?" Eva whispered.

"Eavesdropping. I want to know what they’re talking about next door," Beatrice whispered back.

"Huh... why would you do that?" Ard asked.

"I’m bored. We’ve been waiting for ages," Beatrice said irritably, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Good heavens, Princess, acting so carelessly again! What if you get caught?" Rosalind fretted.

"Relax. My Carbunkle can disappear like a chameleon; no one will spot it," Beatrice replied.

Everyone immediately went quiet. Then they all gathered near Beatrice, who had sent her familiar to listen in on the parlor next door, except for Vahn, who remained in his spot and looked very relaxed. A moment later, Beatrice asked for paper and a pen. Irwin immediately retrieved them and gave them to Beatrice. After that, Beatrice began writing down Dimitri’s conversation with the envoy from the Emperor on the paper.

Ard and Eva started reading Beatrice’s writing. It turned out the envoy was saying that the palace mages had detected a great power from the mountains behind Dimitri’s village and had come to check it out. They asked Dimitri to give them permission to investigate there, but Dimitri said everything was over and under control without mentioning that one of Zorax’s seals had come undone, causing half his body to emerge. Then the envoy pressured Dimitri to investigate and report back to them.

Finally, Dimitri gave his report without mentioning Ard and Eva resealing Zorax in the mountain. After that, the envoy also asked Dimitri to search his territory for Princess Eva. The reason was that Prince Edmund had been found and returned to the palace. Of course, Ard and Eva were shocked to hear this, because as far as they knew, Edmund was taken to Fredonia by Abel. Dimitri asked how Edmund returned to the palace. According to the envoy, Edmund was escorted back by an imperial knight and was found at the seaside of the Vernice port.

Ard immediately stood up upon hearing this, his hands clenched into fists. His face looked angry and confused at the same time. Eva turned and held Ard’s hand.

"How could big brother Abel have taken Prince Edmund through Vernice? Did big brother Abel fail? What’s big brother Abel’s condition? I have to go," Ard said, panicking.

"Calm down, Ard. Don’t be rash," Eva said, now standing up.

"Eva’s right, Ard, please calm down. Prince Abel will definitely be alright," Alicia added.

"They’re right, bro," Geoffrey said, standing in front of Ard and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ard turned to look at Eva and Alicia next to him. Then he sat back down, but his hands were still tightly clenched, and he looked down in rage. After that, they returned to reading Beatrice’s writing documenting Dimitri’s conversation with the imperial envoy. The envoy also requested permission to search for Eva in Dimitri’s territory, arguing they were afraid Princess Eva might fall into the hands of the mountain bandits and be killed because they were at war, or be used as a tool to threaten the Orthus Empire, given that most of the bandits came from the Ateras Kingdom.

Eva, reading this, felt annoyed and hurt because she was only being viewed from the Orthus Empire’s political standpoint, not because they genuinely cared about her. Dimitri explained to the envoy that he would personally handle the search in his territory and asked that the Empire not interfere, as Dimitri was one of the empire’s accomplished nobles. The envoy did not argue and left everything to Dimitri, which brought relief to everyone, including Vahn, who hadn’t moved at all and looked relaxed but smiled when he heard Beatrice reading her writing.

After that, the envoy discussed Dimitri’s participation and logistics in the war, such as how many soldiers Dimitri would send to the front lines and so on. Because the next discussion was about war and politics, Beatrice put down her pen and leaned back. A moment later, her Carbunkle slipped back through the window and disappeared into her shadow.

The atmosphere returned to a silent tension. Everyone sat back down on the sofa and contemplated. Then Vahn got off the sofa and picked up the paper Beatrice had written. He read it seriously, then smiled and tossed the paper back onto the table. After that, he turned to look at Ard and Eva.

"So you’re the third prince of the Fredonia Kingdom and the second princess of the Orthus Empire, huh?" Vahn said, smiling, looking at Ard and Eva.

All eyes immediately turned to look at Vahn, who continued to stare at Ard and Eva with a cynical smile on his face. Claudia immediately stood up and stood in front of Ard and Eva, who were sitting.

"Big Brother, they are not who you think they are," Claudia said.

"It’s alright, Claudia. It was bound to come out eventually. You’re absolutely right. I am the third prince of Fredonia. My name is Arden Larsen Fredonia," Ard said, standing up next to Claudia and holding her shoulder while looking at Vahn.

"And I am the second princess of the Orthus Empire. My name is Evangeline Juliana Orthus," Eva added, also standing up, flanking Claudia.

"Hey, hey... why so serious? I’m just asking and confirming. So, what do you want from me?" Vahn asked casually, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I want to ask for your help to take all of us across to the northern continent, if you are willing," Ard said, staring at Vahn.

"Hmm... I see. And the payment? My services aren’t free, are they, Prince?" Vahn asked casually.

"Big Brother... why does it have to cost? We’re asking for help because we’re cornered... please don’t..."

"Silence, Claudia! You know yourself that I’m absolutely disgusted with any member of a royal family who arbitrarily belittles people like us. Don’t defend them," Vahn snapped angrily, cutting Claudia off.

Hearing Vahn yell at her, Claudia immediately fell silent. Then Vahn shifted his gaze back to Ard and Eva with a cynical smile.

"Come on, Prince. What’s the payment if you’re going to ask for my help?" Vahn said sarcastically.

Ard and Eva fell silent because they didn’t know what they should pay for Vahn to help them. Seeing everyone silent, Vahn stood up, then approached Eva. He immediately looked closely at Eva’s face and raised his finger to her chin.

"Hmm... the Princess of the Orthus Empire is beautiful too. How about this? I’ll ask for payment: she accompanies me for a night? We’ll have some fun, Princess," Vahn asked with a malicious smile.

"Hah... don’t you dare," Irwin shouted.

"Yeah, don’t be disrespectful," Milia shouted, preparing to draw her sword.

"Let go of Eva," Pyria shouted, suddenly changing back into an Elf.

"Hey, hey... all of you want to cross, right? Or how about this? I see a lot of beautiful noble women in this room. How about all of you serve me and my men so that we’ll be enthusiastic about our job of taking you across? What do you think, Prince?" Vahn asked, glancing at Ard sarcastically.

Geoffrey, Ainsley, Rosalind, Beatrice, and Alicia drew their swords, but Eva immediately raised her hand to calm them down. Then she looked at Vahn with a serious expression and a slight smile.

"Alright, if I can pay for it just by accompanying you for a night, I don’t have a problem. Let’s go," Eva said.

"Huh?" Ard immediately turned to look at Eva in shock, as did the others.

Vahn’s smile disappeared. He immediately scrutinized Eva’s face in front of him, without blinking and with a serious look. Then he lowered his index finger, which was on Eva’s chin, and stepped back. A moment later,

"Hahahahaha,"

Vahn burst into loud laughter, making everyone in the room confused and fearful that they would be heard in the next room where the imperial envoy was still present. Suddenly, Vahn put his hands on Ard’s and Eva’s shoulders simultaneously.

"Alright, I’ll help you. Sorry, I was just testing you because you know, I’m just a bandit and a pirate. I hate nobles and royal family members who keep suppressing the common people for their own interests," Vahn said.

"I apologize, but I am not like that," Ard replied.

"Yeah, I know. You two helped my whole family on the mountain and helped this village. I was just making sure whether you had other motives or not. Sorry if I was rude. I’m not used to being polite with the royal family," Vahn said.

"No problem. So, do you still want me to serve you?" Eva asked.

"Hah... of course not. To me, you’re still a kid. Like I said, I was just testing you," Vahn answered casually.

"W... what? A kid?" Eva asked, her face flushing as she became furious.

"Calm down, Eva," Ard said, knowing Eva was about to explode.

"He called me a kid... a kid, Ard... a kid," Eva shouted, her face red, pointing at Vahn, who was already sitting back down casually, stretching his arms out and resting one foot up.

Meanwhile, the others turned away and desperately tried to hold back their laughter, except for Claudia, who felt relieved nothing happened, and Mirea, who was patting her shoulder. Ard struggled to calm Eva, who was still ranting at him, gesturing wildly with both hands.