A few moments later, Alice and a mage walked onto the balcony. Alice smiled at the mage and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"You don't want to see me?"
"Of course not," Alice grinned. She turned to Anfey and said, "This is Bensent, Master Douminge's best student." She turned to Bensent and said, "This is Anfey. I know you've been wanting to meet him."
"It's great to finally meet you, sir," Bensent said with a bow.
"You're too kind," Anfey said with a smile.
Baery patted Anfey on the shoulder and said, "I'll leave you to it." He paused and lowered his voice, "Think about what I just said."
Anfey nodded. His reputation preceded him, but that was not always a good thing. With Baery, Saul, and Steger there, he did not have to take the risk.
Alice glanced at Baery curiously, but she did not want to ask with Bensent there. She turned back to Anfey and said, "Bensent is a good friend of one of our mercenaries."
"Really?"
Bensent nodded. "I was a part of the Jagged Rose Mercenary group. I didn't return to my home nation until two years ago."
"You know Shinbella?"
Bensent nodded. "I heard what happened between Manlyn and Shinbella. It was truly unfortunate. Manlyn was the one who invited me to join the mercenary group, but the more time I spent there, the more I realized that Manlyn isn't who he says he is. Shinbella, on the other hand, was righteous and treats everyone with respect. I wanted to warn her about Manlyn when I left, but I knew she wouldn't listen to me." Bensent sighed and shook his head.
Alice sighed as well. "Poor woman," she said.
The young people clearly got along very well. They spoke of everything from lives of mercenaries to the current situation to Douminge's past.
Douminge was downstairs at the feast and could see the four speaking on the balcony. He smiled as he watched them as they were engaged in a long conversation. Alice was in charge of several different provinces, Christian was participating in a war that would decide the future of the world. Both Alice and Christian would one day become rulers. Anfey was the leader of the League and the one who bound everyone together. The three of them together would one day shape the world.
In order to stabilize the chaotic situation, Yolanther had to rely on Alice. Anfey was well respected in the Country of Mercenaries and was Saul's student. Yolanther knew better than to get rid of Anfey and Alice, but if he wanted to choose Grandon or Wester to be his successor, he had to.
Saul was always worrying about the future, but Douminge knew better. He knew that Grandon was hoping to gain Saul's support by marrying Niya. However, Niya and Grandon were separated at the moment and it would not have been hard for Anfey to ruin Grandon's image in Niya's mind. That way, Niya would not have wanted to marry Grandon.
Douminge knew that his students had to maintain good relations with Saul's students. People like him and Saul were powerful, but they were growing old. Soon, they would have to give up the stage for the younger generation. Anfey was cruel, but he would never harm his friends or people who stood neutral grounds.
He noticed that Bensent was already acting more natural and the conversation was flowing without him trying. As long as his students tried to befriend Anfey and his friends, their future would be bright.
After a while, Bensent politely excused himself and went downstairs to rejoin his teacher. Alice remained on the balcony, leaning against the railing.
"What do you think?" Anfey asked her.
"Bensent is a good man," Alice said. "That why I brought him to meet you."
"You're saying the others may not be?" Anfey asked.
Alice shrugged. "He's the only one I know," she said. "My status limited my freedom. I don't know the others."
"You just said Master Douminge inspired you when you were young," Anfey said. "Was that true?"
"Of course it was."
"But you've never said anything about him."
"Because I decided to leave my past in the past," Alice said. "There's no need bringing up my past. Plus, if I keep talking about my teacher, you'd have thought I was threatening you."
Anfey smiled at her but did not say anything.
"When I was young, I thought I was inherently better because I was royal," Alice said. "We have wealth, strength, wisdom. We were born to be noble. Born to rule. I thought the peasants were greedy and lazy, and without us, they would destroy the world. It was Master Douminge who taught me that was wrong." Alice paused and smiled. "I realized some are just unlucky. Even peasants can prove themselves to be great men and women. Master Douminge was a peasant once."
"So was I," Anfey said.
"You are luckier than he was," Alice said. "He achieved everything by himself."
"And I didn't?" Anfey asked with a frown.
"Do you believe that?"
Anfey froze. Alice was right. Without the Heart of Nature, he would have never achieved what he was able to. And without Saul, he wouldn't even know what the Heart of Nature was.
"Master Douminge also gave me my aunt's belongings so I could study from them."
"Princess Victoria?"
Alice nodded. "He gave me some of her diaries and some journals."
"Why did he have her belongings?"
"I'm not sure," Alice said. "I think it was because he was one of her suitors."
"And they couldn't marry because of status?" Anfey asked. Suddenly, as if he had just remembered something, he frowned.
"More like age," Alice said. "What's wrong?"
"Douminge was one of the princess's suitor and Baery killed her," Anfey said slowly.
Alice said. "You're thinking too much," she said. "You really think they haven't worked it out?"
"They—"
"What happened wasn't as simple as we thought," Alice said. "There were people in the Shansa Empire who wanted her dead. They betrayed her."
"What are you talking about?"
"She was the princess regent. She didn't need to go to that meeting," Alice said. "Our spies had already warned her of Baery's ill intents, but she still didn't bring any guards. She also had griffin knights guarding her, but she was still killed. None of it adds up."
Anfey nodded. Alice was right. He was worrying too much. Surely Baery and Douminge had already worked out their differences. "I'll ask him about it one day," Anfey said.
"What's the point?" Alice asked, shaking her head. "Just think. If one day someone asks you about how we met, do you think you would want to explain everything?"
"No," Anfey said. "The past is in the past."
"The past is in the past." Alice nodded in agreement. "So you'll understand they won't want to talk to you about it."
"Why are you talking like you're old?" Anfey asked with a grin. "We're still young."
"For now," Alice said. "Soon, we will grow old just like the others."
"Wait," Anfey said, interrupting her. "Wait. Let's not delve into that. Let's go back to the feast."