When the old man left the room, I finally took a deep breath. There was something unsettling about him. The magic he wielded seemed to corrode the air, making it a little hard to breathe in his presence. I also realized how careless I had been regarding the church and everything.
It was obvious that they were plotting against me, but I thought that since I was the prince, they couldn't do anything. Turns out, I was wrong.
The next morning, as I climbed out of bed, a knock came at the door. It was Dunken; he stepped in holding a sealed letter in his hand.
"My prince, I received a letter for you," he said, handing me the letter, bowing, and then leaving the room.
The first thing I noticed as I looked at the letter was that the seal had no emblem on it. It was a blank seal. I carefully broke it and opened the letter.
'Meet me in the city alone. I'll make contact with you when the time is right.'
The message was vague, but I understood why it was that way. We had to be careful since we were doing something that could cost us our heads.
Afterward, I went to have breakfast with my mother and the girl from yesterday.
"Come on, we have to call you something," my mother said exhaustedly as we ate breakfast.
She was trying and failing to come up with a name for the girl, who was huddled close to me at the table while I spoon-fed her. She refused to eat by herself and instead wanted me to feed her. She also shook her head defiantly every time my mother suggested a name she didn't like.
"Um… maybe…" she whispered softly, her face reddening with embarrassment. She rarely spoke, so even uttering a few words was a major improvement. "Maybe big brother can give me a name."
Her words caused my mother to crack a smile and stared at me. The girl seemed to have grown attached to me. It felt a bit suspicious at first, but I brushed it off, thinking it was because I looked like a child; she must have felt safe with me.
She stared at me with needy eyes, expecting me to come up with a name for her. Finally, I gave in and thought of something that might suit her personality or appearance. I couldn't come up with anything that matched, so instead, I said the first name that came to mind.
"How about Rina?"
It was a silly name. I thought for sure she would reject it, but instead, a bright smile appeared on her face as she repeated the name.
"Rina~"
My mother smiled at me too.
"I think it's a beautiful name, Perci."
Rina nodded and smiled bashfully.
"Yes, I love it."
After the naming Issue was over with, the three of us ate our breakfast peacefully.
…
A couple of hours later, I ordered Dunken to stay at the palace while I went out by myself. He was hesitant at first, but he had no choice but to comply. The city was bustling with life. No one seemed to recognize me and carried on with their day.
Merchants were shouting at the top of their lungs from their stalls as horse-drawn carriages made their way through the busy street. I stopped at a few different shops to look at the goods they were selling and was left amazed every time. Everything seemed to be made of excellent materials and fine craftsmanship.
This was a peaceful city; everyone seemed happy, and there were guards patrolling regularly to deter thieves and other criminals. I was worried that I might be noticed by one of them, so I always tried to steer clear whenever I spotted a guard. The streets were cleaned with magic, and even the air itself was purified. It had a minty smell to it.
I also noticed families traveling together, looking at merchandise to buy with joyful expressions on their faces.
There were even children playing in the street, though they were usually rushed off by the vendors and guards since they were making a ruckus. It all felt so real. I was truly in a fantasy world, and these were the people I was watching. Someday, I would be responsible for the peace they were enjoying now.
For that very reason, I needed power. Power to protect them and myself. The weight of it all was heavy, but I was determined to fulfill my role. I was no longer a cripple lying in bed; I was now the prince of a kingdom that needed me.
After wandering around for a while, I decided to enter a shop that sold various kinds of baked delicacies. The baked goods here weren't much different from those in my home world. The shop sold bread, cakes, and even donuts. I was actually surprised when I saw all of them.
As soon as I stepped into the store, a sweet scent assaulted my nostrils. The owner, a middle-aged man with a mustache and a beer belly, greeted me as I gawked at the goods.
"Good day, lad. How may I help ya?"
I quickly regained my composure and approached the counter.
"Er… um… good day, sir. Can you please sell me one of those?" I said, pointing to a pastry that looked similar to a cupcake.
"Oh, a round cake," he replied stoutly. "That would be 1 copper coin, please."
The currency in this world wasn't hard to grasp:
100 copper coins = 1 silver coin
1000 silver coins = 1 gold coin
I quickly took out my coin pouch and handed him the copper coin. Just as I exited the store with the cake in my hand, I came upon a familiar figure waiting outside the store. It was Veyric.
"Let's go," he said simply, already limping off with his cane.
I hastily followed behind until we came to a carriage drawn by a lizard man. Lizard men were a type of beastman. They were large and covered in green reptilian scales from head to toe. They had long pointed claws and a face the shame of a lizard. They were the best carriage drivers for carriages that might come under attack, similar to war horses in my world.
The dodo bird mostly specialized in speed and was primarily used by nobility and merchants to get from one place to another quickly. They weren't used for combat since they could be easily targeted and killed during battle.
The lizard men, on the other hand, had thick skin that would be hard to penetrate. Plus, though they weren't sentient, they still possessed higher intelligence than other beasts. I stepped inside the carriage and sat face to face with Veyric.
"Where are we going?" I asked as the carriage began to move.
"We're going to my mansion. You're going to meet the high elf I told you about."
I nodded in response. After a while, we arrived at a huge mansion that would put many modern buildings to shame. Outside the mansion, servants lined up and bowed their heads to greet us.
I followed behind Veyric as he led me into the mansion, and as soon as he stepped in, he began shouting.
"Liora!" His voice traveled through the vast space.
Immediately, an elf girl appeared at the top of the stairs. For a second, I thought I was staring at a goddess. She had long white hair and a body that would put most models from my world to shame. She wore a sheer white dress that left almost nothing to the imagination.
Her skin was like porcelain and had a golden glow, amplifying her majestic appearance.
She exuded an aura of absolute dominance, like a queen gazing at her subjects with confidence and scrutiny. For a moment, I thought I should bow, but that thought disappeared in an instant as the tips of her pointed ears twitched and turned a deep shade of red. She dove off the stairs as if she were taking flight and landed in the arms of the old man.
She pinned him down on the floor and locked lips with him in a passionate kiss. She moaned wildly, like a carnivorous beast, almost tearing off his clothes in the process. The old man tried his best to ease her off him.
"Darling, Ahh" Veyric said softly, sweeping a strand of her white hair that had fallen onto her face. "We have a visitor. Hahh." The old man sounded as if he were out of breath.
"I don't care! I don't care! I want to ravage you right now. I can't hold it any longer! I want to feel your shaft stirring in me, pounding me until I can't take it anymore!" she shrieked needily, her entire face turning a deep shade of red as her fingers worked in harmony to try to open Veyric's belt.
I was left speechless. A wrinkled old man who looked like he was on his last legs was being straddled by an elf girl with a beauty akin to a goddess. I must have been dreaming.
She pinned Veyric down, ready to have her way with him, until Veyric clutched his chest and began coughing wildly. It seemed the excitement was too much for the old man to handle. He began wheezing loudly.
"G-get… hhrk… the hhrk maid," Veyric wheezed, looking like he was in his last moments.
I couldn't understand a word he was saying, but apparently, the elf did. She began screaming hysterically for a maid named Gloria. The blonde maid rushed onto the scene and cast a spell over the old man. An incantation in the shape of a spiral formed as she cast her spell, indicating she was using wind magic.
It looked like her spell was doing the same job as an inhaler, supplying the old man with oxygen. When the maid finished casting her spells and Veyric seemed to be doing much better, the elf immediately wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to. I should have been more considerate," she cried, and Veyric gently stroked her white hair, trying to calm her down.
"It's fine, honey. It makes me happy that you have the same passion for me that you did all those many years ago. I'll work something out for you tonight. My fingers might be wrinkly, but my tongue is a high-performance machine."
A red blush appeared on the elf's face as she bobbed her head up and down quickly. Personally, I was a little disgusted; I didn't need to hear that shit. Bile rose in my stomach, but throwing up now would only make things worse for me, so I swallowed it down.
"Oh darling, I almost forgot! We have a visitor," Veyric said, turning his attention to me.