In the first month of their Southern travels, O'Neil Andrew Morisette had not smiled while Alanis had refused to greet anyone on their way.
The young couple was challenging each other's patience, just because of one trivial matter.
Oscar faintly recalled that the cause of the incident was the Princess' displeasure of the carriage's seats, which was further incited when he'd then said, "I couldn't possibly transform this place into a bedroom, could I?"
The man thought that his wife liked a bedroom. At the same time, these minor exchanges of sarcasm of theirs had amused the Young Lady nearby. Alanis was a princess and most of the princesses in the world had fiery tempers. Their furious expressions were quite similar, but there was no one to testify to that.
"You must apologize! Do you think I'm some woman who merely attaches her life to a bedroom?" Alanis stared maliciously at the husband who spoke with no concern for others. She then glanced sideways at the Young Lady and was baffled when she noticed that Sasha E. was grinning. She was being scorned! Alanis pictured herself slapping the Young Lady hard. Of course, in front of Oscar, all of these could only be in her imaginations.
"Don't act like a mental patient, you know those were not my intentions!" this was the Prince's answer, and the answer greatly deepened the Princess' emotional wounds. The Princess questioned her husband aloud, "You don't love me, but do you have to demonstrate the truth in front of your sister? You intended for me to be embarrassed! You…"
Oscar rolled his eyes, why was she having these thoughts? Weren't things fine as they were? There was no boisterous woman who applied makeup to her eyebrows, and there was certainly no absurd questions usually inquired by mental patients! The married man lifted his head an gazed upward at the skies, wanting to show the heavens his eye rolls.
From Dulin toward the South, be it Vielonna or Bragg, the routes were no easy trips! Although Vielonna and Bragg were each in different directions, there was only one route from the Capital which encompassed three Provinces. First was the Damorel Province before the path turned slightly towards the East to the Phishella Province. It then continued towards the Southern West to the Province of Kinostras and lastly leading towards the South.
In the ancient city of Yang in Kinostras, the road was split into two crossroads: one led to the highlands in the East, of which its destination was the Bragg Fortress of the Bandel Province, and the other towards the Southern West, ultimately reaching the Music City within a week's time after traversing numerous rural areas.
His High Imperial Highness, together with his family and troops, reached Yang only after running for one month. As the Southern pathway's most important crossroad, Yang was not only a large-scale gathering spot of resources, it was also an extensive military camp. The camp acted as the base for the whole Southern army's reserves while being the largest smelter in the South of the Titan Empire.
Due to the establishment of the smelter, the skies were grey throughout all four seasons in Yang City. With combustion wastes and ash powders being released into the lower atmosphere of the city and being inhaled into the people's lungs, it was no wonder that the Westland presented with the highest rates of tuberculosis and asthma.
Living in such a place was never an attractive prospect. If you happened to have the iron filings in the air enter your eyes and damage the fragile cells of the eye, congratulations! You are now a member of the "Yang's Blind"!
Oscar did not fancy Yang, as the citizens all covered their heads, leaving only their eyes and noses in sight. However, this made the people look like the Southern terrorists. Looking around, you would find yourself in the middle of a city filled with terrorists! The Prince's coachman, Wozakad Elladan, gave a rare smile as he observed the men and women on the streets in excitement, "Thank God! It seems like I'm really back to my hometown!"
That's right! Speaking of hometowns, it reminded Oscar that Yang had another narrow path leading to Narcissus County. Not many people walked the route as it was only recently constructed by the Imperial Guards for the purpose of reinforcements for the destruction of Narcissus County.
His Highness Prince O'Neil strongly believed in the purposes of the new pathway. He was the Marshall of the Guards, Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau Chief, and had familiarized himself with the dirty tactics employed by the Morisette family against the Andrews.
Maybe … Alanis had been plotting something! The Princess should have heard of the famous City of Crossroads but had injured her eyes even before stepping foot into the city. Percy spent half an hour trying to calm the Princess but he failed miserably. At her side, the impatient Prince had no choice but to order his soldier to restrict the Princess from thrashing her limbs about. As a result, the Princess screamed even louder!
Eventually, Percy managed to extract the tiny iron filing. Fortunately, the piece was not too sharp. But the Princess' voice was a totally different case as her shouting and whining had exhausted the men.
"You shouted on purpose! It was like how you sang! There was even a rhythm to it!" Oscar failed to contain himself after lying on the bed.
"Hurry up and sleep!"
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Oscar rotated his wife's body and proceeded to slip his arms around her soft hair and smooth it back.
"Aren't you going to speak?" her lack of response was getting on the Prince's nerves. He then buried his head into Alanis' chest and bit off the buttons on her blouse like a wild boar. When he grabbed onto her pale breasts, his wife started moaning again.
"Alanis, I want you! Alanis!"
The man's voice seemed to linger in the air. With their bodies fueled by passion, there was no need for words. A single look was enough to heat up the room's atmosphere, igniting the passion of the entangled bodies on the bed.
Once the intense lovemaking had reached their climax, their sweat and piercing moans melded together. The Princess' body was entrapped by the man, her husband putting his entire body weight on her legs.
Exhausted, Alanis' panting soon turned into feminine whines. The man was about to withdraw from his beautiful and vulnerable wife when Alanis stopped him. She hugged his waist and said, "Don't go! Leave it inside!" Oscar did not dare to move even an inch as he knew that it was easy for her to be impregnated like this.
"Did you do that on purpose?" Oscar still remembered his question with clarity.
The Princess chuckled, men were all the same; they would not recall the fits you threw, but they would certainly remember how you seduced them.
The young couple made peace and stayed with each other all day long. Even Sasha E. could see the sweetness in their proximity and intimateness. The Young Lady understood that men and women who were once intimate would so preciously treasure their sexual desires even if there was no longer love between the two and that only the loyal pairs of bodies and desires could explain the absurdities of a couple's cohesion.
"You don't love her!"
"I don't love her!"
"Repeat!"
"Enough, Sasha!"
"No! I want to hear! I want to hear the words personally from you!"
"Fine, I don't love her!"
"Ha… now it's better!"
Hehe! The Young Lady often played this game with her brother, that unwavering will would somehow give her the courage to walk alongside the couple until the very end.
The wisdom in the Eastern idioms was very noble and intricate, as they would say… birds of a feather flock together! It really seemed like it. The Prince's group could be split into smaller groups of three: first would naturally be the armored soldiers, who were quiet and would look at you as if they were sizing up wood to be fed into the fireplace, and the second would be the Prince's family members. They loved to sit around while sipping coffee and chit-chatting about the daily occurrences, and the third was the weirdest of them all! It consisted of the two women, Ashfin Kristen and Monia Amerson.
The Faran Princess and the female soldier were the oddballs of the group. In Paul's words, the two were slightly psychologically imbalanced.
Due to her insisting that someone was aiming for her life, Ashfin Kristen had not been outdoors for a month and had requested for matters involving her to be discussed or conducted in the carriage. As for Monia Amerson, the woman wrote His Highness letters almost every single day. Make no mistake, she had zero knowledge of love letters. What she was writing were formal requests to the Supreme Commander for her reassignment. She wrote at least twenty of those until the Princes appointed her to get onto the Faran Princess' carriage.
If Monia were to ask a word, she would discover that High Imperial Highness Prince had been leaving all the letters unread.
It was no surprise that the female soldier would feel overwhelmed as it was her first experience sitting with the royal princess in such proximity. Monia knew that she was a woman but was unaware of the other's gender. When it turned out that both of them were of the same gender, how was it possible for the difference between them to be so huge?!
Princess Ashfin had silky smooth skin and her features young and polished, with no wrinkles or any imperfections whatsoever!
Monia had been admiring the Faran princess the whole time. The female soldier turned to look at her hands which were littered with scars and wounds. Once again, she looked back at the princess who was holding an exquisite folding fan from West Percy. The Princess' elegance further instilled seeds of inferiority in the female soldier.
Ashfin's skincare items were kept in a delicate box of the size of a hand warmer, which was made with fine walnut wood and carved with the designer's signature. Monia had initially suspected the contents to be weapons when they were actually perfumes and skin care lotions.
"This is made from Armons shiitakes, it can transform your body's smell to a pleasing fragrance…. Here we have the rose essence of Anna, it's originally meant for facial application but I apply it onto my hands as my skin is more sensitive … This is the rarest! 80 Golden Ti per gram! The purest whale oil of the North Sea! Do you know anything about the North Sea's sperm whale?"
Bewildered, Monia stared straight and shook her head.
Ashfin shrugged nonchalantly but did not hold any contempt for the ignorant lady.
"Sperm whale! The most feared and vicious ocean killer! Rumor has it that the fishermen witnessed a sperm whale fighting with a shark! Its glands are capable of secreting a very special substance and from the substance, people were able to refine an oil ---- ambergris!"
"So this is ambergris?" Monia stared in astonishment. Regardless of how ignorant she may be, she would definitely know of Westland's rarest and most luxurious substance.
"Oh! You can't apply it onto your face!" Ashfin stopped Monia in time.
The Princess picked up the bottle cap and pointed at the golden liquid inside, "What the people love are the ambergris' rarity and preciousness! Most don't know that it smells bad due to overwhelming fragrance! Do you know how my mother uses it?"
Monia shook her head again; how would she know, when she had never even applied a piece of cucumber to her face?
Princess Ashfin smoothly poured a portion of one gram and gently applied the eighty Golden Ti liquid onto the female soldier's eyes.
"Got it? The most effective usage of the North Sea's whale oil lies in relaxing the muscles around your eyes as well as eliminating dark eye circles and preventing wrinkling! Fools in the world still believe that it's a perfume when it's the best eye care product! Hahahahaha!"
Monia stared at the beaming Princess in admiration.
Next, the generous Princess applied each of the luxurious items onto the female soldier once, these were joys shared only among women. Monia had never experienced any burning curiosity until then, and she humbly sought guidance from the noble Faran madame regarding each item's utility.
When former Lieutenant of the Guards stepped out of the carriage with her new look, everyone was dumbfounded! Especially Paul! The King of Assassins was sizing up Monia with a blank look. Although he commented that it was pure insanity, Monia was still delighted by the man's stunned looks.
As safety measures, Princess Ashfin invited the female soldier to her bedroom for them to sleep in the same bed. Monia was unfamiliar with the foreign warmth beside her, but very soon her awkwardness vanished. Ashfin was not as quiet as she appeared to be and her words never stopped. To repay her kindness, Monia also tried her best to come up with conversation topics and was introducing ways to kill most of the time. To her surprise, Ashfin showed great interest in the topic. Within one night, the Princess transformed the army's combat machine into her close companion.
"That is why we can't use logic to reason with women!" Discount Sukhoi's tone was similar to that of an experienced professor when he commented.
"I won't ever divert my energy to women!" those were the Discout's final words but the people who knew him took him as a joke. As the Department Head of the Military Intelligence Bureau Messier once said, 'To train a stupid dog is not a difficult task but to ask General Tove Van Sukhoi to stop seeing women … it's slightly harder than conquering the peak of Alps!"
But to constantly repeat Messier's words would be a little unfair to the Brigadier General of the artillery soldiers. Discount Sukhoi was the first artillery commander in the Guards' history and was piled with unending tasks every single day.
Early in the morning, Torry first tried to get himself free of the two women who occupied his bed. To wriggle your way out of four legs and two pairs of breasts was not an easy feat, but not for the Brigadier General of the artillery soldiers. He did not wake the women and just got off his bed in satisfaction and proceeded to wash off the "battle signs" with a cold shower. However, those red hickeys could not be washed away and Torry could do nothing more than to pull his collar high.
Artillery soldiers were a totally new branch. Due to their exceptional performance in the battle of Sajio Mountain, the Imperial military placed great emphasis and attention on the branch as if it was raising a newborn.
Torry's job scopes were not that different from the other officers' either. He was required to monitor his division's operations, be cautious of the relationship between hierarchies, attend to his men's morale and condition and organize daily drills or filling up the cannon bases.
Drills were conducted in the evening under normal circumstances when the Prince's troops would be done for the day. Torry would then scout around the base camp for an open space and adjust for his troops, which consisted of merely six cannon trucks, to test several cannon launches.
The stories of High Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette, documented in a book called the "Sajio Mountain Battle Recordings", had spread to all cities and towns of the Empire. The civilians and soldiers both adored and respected the heroes of the battle. If it was not for the assistance of the local troops, the Prince's base camp would have probably been flooded by curious people.
The drills in Torry's artillery branch were like this; the Brigadier General would choose the location with the least people, but requests from colleagues could not be rejected. Therefore, there would always be a crowd of military officers spectating all around the drill site. While the cannons fired may not appear as grand or fearful as in the battlefields, the officers still felt nervous whenever the artillery soldiers gave the signal to prepare to fire.
The military told us that this thing could kill a thousand-man troop in two minutes! This was no warfare weaponry! This was more like a slaughtering machine!
Unbothered by the men's snickers, Brigadier General Luke Citel and his five Commanders thought that they were more fitting to be the so-called slaughtering machines than the cannons due to their rich experience as professional soldiers. Long before Discount Sukhoi's artillery soldiers joined the Southern Special Combat Brigade, they had considered the possibilities of mixed combat. Although the terrains in the South posed great limitations towards the artillery soldiers' mobility, they could bring surprises to the battlefield as long as the ground troops had cleared the road beforehand or had found a suitable base in the mountains.
When the troop journeyed past the rural towns while bearing the proud flag of the Golden Lion of Morisette, the frightened civilians were asking, "Where are these monsters coming from?"
"Are they from Deiss?"
The Prince's eyes widened, he hated the question and ordered the knights to hang the fellow on a tree and to give him a lashing.
The troops of the Military Intelligence Bureau's First Special Combat Brigade indeed had the appearances of monsters, they had no organized formations and were just strolling casually on the spacious road. Some knights walked the bottom path, some traversed through the woods while the rest hung around in the farms. But do not be deceived by the scenes before you and believe that they were simply fooling around! Surrounding High Imperial Highness Prince and the Her Highness Princess's carriages, the scattered knights had in fact fallen into a formation of solid defense.
These knights were all equipped with different gear and it was as clear as day to everyone that they did not have a uniform distribution of battle prowess. The variety of gears encompassed bows as tall as a person, shotguns as long as two individuals, hammers as thick as sunflowers … among the soldiers there were those who could shoot down soaring eagles with a wave of an arm, those who were capable of capturing fresh fish upon diving, those who caught tigers and wolves alive, and those who fought against bears and dogs with their bare fists …
"But wait! Do you think this is a circus? Telling everyone that my men can deliver fatal blows to anyone will do!" Luke Citel corrected at the end.
The scorching hot sun brought much trouble to the Prince and his men. Although it was still sunny when they had first departed from Dulin, there was no end to the rainstorm in Damorel Province. His Highness Prince O'Neil had initially planned to visit the former Damorga Prison. Unfortunately, his plan could only be saved for another date as they were behind schedule.
Due to the constant struggles with Damorel's downpour, the troops were starting to get exhausted, but they had to pick themselves up as it was still a long way to the South.
Upon reaching the Phishella Province, the Guard's Third Region Commander welcomed the Prince and his fellow troops with open arms. The Lieutenant General resupplied the Marshall's team with generous portions of high-quality horse food and snacks. They were still busy eating the eggs from Phishella even when they had reached the crossroads of Yang!
However, it was impossible for those eggs to satisfy the knights' appetites. Whenever they came to the woods, all men would hunt for food under the lead of His Imperial Highness Prince. Feigning their excuse of attempting to capture wild hares or foxes for the Imperial Princess and ladies, the men wanted nothing more than additional ingredients for their dinner.
Among the team members, Le Fou was the most passionate about hunting. The seven-year-old male clouded leopard had given Alanis headaches countless times. Bearing similar genes to the huge predatory beasts, Le Fou's teeth and claws made it an infamous destructor in the palace.
As a grown male, it was natural for Le Fou to mark the Princess' bedroom and its compound as its territory, peeing around the area for its strong male scent to linger. To the Princess, all she could smell was the disgusting stench! So, the enraged Alanis had ordered the Imperial doctor to perform a ligation surgery on her pet. Although Le Fou was unaware of the details, it did get rid of its bad competitive habits, ultimately transforming itself into a tame bobcat.
Nevertheless, there were limits to how obedient it could be as it was a leopard by nature! As a result, Le Fou could not ignore the creatures it met in the deep woods. It tended to disappear halfway only to barge into the knight's camp base another day.
Just as Oscar had predicted, little Le Fou presented its preys before its "mother". Of course, Alanis ended up screaming and shouting! Le Fou was not a fool either. After a few attempts, it realized that its behaviors were not received well by Alanis and thus changed its target.
Oscar was a man, a soldier! He was really fond of Le Fou. He thought that having the leopard by his side was a good thing as Le Fou could warn the troops of any changes in their surroundings. For the people it knew, the pet leopard would lower its alertness and acted as if nothing happened; as for individuals it was meeting for the first time, its muscles would tighten in preparation for leaping onto potential enemies.
Oscar would always keep a piece of chocolate candy in his pocket as Le Fou loved it. Whenever it returned to the base camp with prey, the Prince would throw the candy to him, and this satisfied the leopard a lot. During such times, you could extend your hand to pat Le Fou's head and caress the patterns on its back. But remember! Don't ever touch its abdomen and throat unless it was being friendly with you while lying on the ground.
Huge beasts would always have their weaknesses and they would never allow any stranger to come into contact with their most vulnerable spots.
The Military Intelligence Bureau Special Combat First Brigade was also an exceptionally vicious beast! The knights were just like killer animals. It did not matter if they were advancing or setting up camps, they would guard their stations all the time. Their heads were wrapped in black and their features were covered with cloths, leaving only their eyes visible. Whenever these eyes of various colors shone or shrank in unison, it signified that someone's luck was up!
"Marshall! We've caught him!" said 'Fire Eyes' Ash while ordering his subordinates to throw their captive onto the ground.
"He had been tracing our team since a week ago, all the way to Yang!" the Scout Leader added on.
"Who are you?" Oscar sized up the spy with caution. He trusted his judgment that the fellow was definitely a spy.
"Pft!"
Oscar avoided the glob of saliva. The young Marshall rolled his eyes in exasperation, he did not like to deal with dull men.
"Hand him over to Edward. And! Don't annoy me with these matters anymore!"
Diener Edward had zero tasks and had been discussing the human anatomy with the Poison Doctor Percy. However, it was challenging for the two to come to an agreement as Edward was accustomed to torturing minds and bodies from the outside whereas the Poison Doctor Percy focused heavily on pathology and drug reactions.
"Sir, the Marshall asked me to hand him to you!"
"Put him there!" Edward answered as if the subject was a lifeless object.
"Oh! Okay!" 'Fire Eyes' Ash scratched his head. He was a little scared of the gentleman's tiny room, which was occupied by countless cutting tools in all shapes and sizes. There were the narrow ones for the respiratory tract, thick ones with saw teeth for the head, crescent-shaped ones for the knee and sickle-shaped ones for shaving bones. Ash retracted his lingering stares not because he was uncomfortable, but because he had no knowledge of tools other than those few.
Deiner Edward touched his victim with icy cold hands. His victim shivered but gave away no doubts from his eyes.
"What other orders do the Marshall have?"
Ash shook his head, "Sorry sir, the Marshall said nothing!"
"Well then, what do you think?" the diener promptly got himself a blade which was seven centimeters long and two centimeters wide.
"Me? I think this guy may be the bandits' spy!"
"Let's confirm our guesses then!" Edward turned to face the captive. His face which was marred by scars was filled with anticipation.
Piercing cries echoed through the hotel where the Prince would be staying temporarily. All the staff hid. Only the soldiers and the Prince's friends were busying themselves.
Oscar lifted his head from the book and frowned upon hearing the painful cries, one after another.
The empathetic Kirk quickly explained, "The ladies have gone outdoors, they have been invited by the local farmers. You don't need to worry a thing."
Oscar relaxed his gaze and immersed himself in his tasks.
"Reporting!"
"Results are out?"
"Yes, Marshall!" Fire Eyes Ash wiped away the sweat from his forehead, "A spy of the Southern thugs, but that fellow wasn't sure where his people would be."
"Oh! Let's wrap it up then!" Oscar waved about and called at the Scout leader, "You don't look good, have a good rest!"
A pant could be heard from Ash before he answered, "Yes!" It seemed that even the veteran Special Warfare officer was affected by Edward's ways.
"Now throw these things away!" the Diener Edward last instructed as though he was treating a piece of old cloth.
On the troop's last day in Yang, His Imperial Highness Prince rose from bed very early. He consoled his complaining wife and proceeded to prepare for the move.
The Lieutenant General dispatched to take charge of the campsite in Yang was not young. In the living room, the lonely man was waiting for the Prince and the Commission Officers coming from the central part of the Empire.
The day's plans were like this: His Imperial Highness Prince was to represent the royalties and Imperial Guards and inspect the metal smelter of the central camp. The inspection would be in the morning, followed by lunch in the afternoon and a final review in the evening. After the reviews, the Prince would be on his way.
First Lieutenant Kirk Douglas was circling outside Oscar's bedroom and this greatly bothered the Prince.
"What happened?"
The great swordsman came up to the Prince with high spirits, "Marshall, there's a letter from General Murat!"
"Oh! My Red Tiger!" Oscar cheered. He had been waiting for this day, "Pass me the letter!"
Kirk brought the Prince a big envelope and stared at the Marshall in anticipation.
Oscar scanned through Murat's handwriting. Satisfied, he folded the letter, "Discard it!"
Yes, Marshall, but … did General Murat say anything?"
"Yep! Your uncle says the Red Tiger is all fine. This bastard Alan really left my Red Tiger behind to defend the rear of the Northern army, but Murat was far smarter! He led everyone back through the other direction!"
"Hahahaha!" First Lieutenant Kirk laughed loudly, not minding his position. At the same time, he was also a little concerned, "This … Isn't this defying battlefield commands?"
"Whose commands? Mine?" Oscar's eyes were glinting dangerously, "Kirk, I'll have you remember that there are only my commands here, nobody's else! Understand?"
"Yes, Marshall!" Douglas hastily stood to salute. "Marshall, do you still have any orders?"
"Let's go now to see what the Yang camp is hiding!"
What the Yang camp was hiding? The question was straight to the point! The citizens of Yang City had been complaining about the harmful particles and combustion wastes in the air but had never seen any smelting furnaces. What they had seen were only heaps of minerals and all sorts of rare metals transported by the Empire's military trucks.
The Yang campsite was situated in the valley to the West of the city. The huge military camp was comprised of three divisions, which were the standard establishments of a corp. However, the corp was not part of the Guards' battle formation but merely a part of the Titan Empire's Production Group.
Hidden within the valleys, the Yang Production Group dug numerous caves into the firm hills, Other than the furnaces, there were ventilation and irrigation systems. At the side of the military camp, there were a few warehouses that were heavily guarded. Upon Marshall O'Neil's questioning, he was only informed that this was the military's Second Secret Warehouse, storing the expensive and durable metal bows and arrows. Oscar checked the warehouse records and exclaimed, "Oh! Four thousand six hundred bundles! Fifteen arrows each bundle!"
"Hehe! If everyone were to have one arrow, they can kill one army!"
The military camp Commander smiled and answered, "Yes, Marshall. It's sufficient!"
"Now this is a real country's warfare reserves! We've mentioned the Morisette royalties' concerns many times, but if the people were to witness this warehouse filled with arrows, they would definitely have a different picture of the war. In fact, the essence of Titan's strength lies at this spot!"
Looking at the warriors guarding the warehouse, they were brought here by the demanding military system. They had been forced to undergo harsh training to serve the Empire's army.
As for the warehouse! Warehouses in the Empire's camp would usually only store two kinds of things; first would be the weaponry reserves, second being the nation's food reserves. These two items were the foundations for long defensive battles or the launching of wars. Without food and weapons, would there be any point in talking about war?
On the lands of the Titan Empire, there were a few other large military bases like the Yang camp, which specialized in production and construction. Their purposes differed with some specializing in machinery, some in production while others in food reserves. Under normal circumstances, most bases would function similarly to the Yang camp, simultaneously handling the manufacturing of military items, transporting resources and providing training to the Guard's army reserves.
After having their faces blackened by the cinders and smoke, Oscar and his officers finally exited the valley, which appeared to be shrouded by layers of black mist.
"Oh! It felt like a walk in hell!" Oscar could not help but exclaim while he was getting into the carriage.
"Hehe! Of course! The Pinehill Peak back at home's much better!" Torry connected with the Marshall's words but soon came to a realization that he had gone out of line, "Oh! I forgot, the Pinehill Peak has retired!"
Oscar patted his old friend on the shoulders, "Everything will be fine!" and he said no more.
The lunch gathering was held in the hotel. Yang City was facing a problem as their statuses could not match those of the two powerhouses of the military. According to the Capital's customs, there was no one from the city who could sit alongside the Empire's two royalties of the highest statuses. In the end, the experienced hotel owner figured out a solution. He set up two long tables in the dining hall, one for the guests from the Capital while the other for the local officers.
It was obvious that Prince O'Neil was satisfied with the hotel's arrangement. He got to sit with his family and not the weird local officers with heavy accents.
Served with the local dishes of the Kinostras Province, lunch was scrumptious. A small shining golden bread, of which the people called it "Nuke", was also served. Nuke was an ancient unit of measurement, but here it symbolized the baker's exceptional skills.
Other than the sweet bread, the main course garnered the most attention. The dishes included eggplant with minced meat, roasted duck, pigeon pickled with red wine and bamboo shoots served with fresh strawberries.
After the meal, the Prince and his men rejected the local's drinking offers. In the past few days, they had been drinking so much that they were tired of it. Furthermore, the water smelled of ashes and rusting metals.
"This was imported this morning!" the mayor of Yang reminded softly.
Oscar pondered, it would be impolite if he was to reject again. So, he encouraged his family and friends to try the drink and luckily, there was no awful taste.
Looking at His Highness Prince drinking in satisfaction, the local officers all laughed in relief.
It sure was strange! His Imperial Highness Prince had initially planned to head toward the Yang camp's field, but the accompanying Alanis was seen covering her eyes again. The officers who had enjoyed the previous spectacle gathered around the Princess again in hopes of hearing those feminine screams of hers once more. This time, their Marshall had learned his lesson. Oscar immediately discontinued the military review. He then accompanied his miserable wife to board the carriage and head back to the city's hotel.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course!" with his fingernails, Oscar removed the culprit - a vexatious eyelash from her eyes. "It's this which went into your eyes!"
"Oh! Thank god!" said Alanis while patting her chest.
"The one who should be thanking the gods is me!" Oscar observed the lone eyelash in scrutiny, "It's this which ended the absurd performance!"
"Oh yes!" Alanis approached her husband cheerfully. "Since the weather is so hot, those soldiers participating in the review must hate us! But things are fine now, they will definitely treat us with respect again, or maybe… they might have already fallen asleep somewhere!"
The young Prince suddenly embraced his alluring wife. Without any words, his lips found their way to his lover's chest. Separated by the chest brace with supports made of whalebone, Oscar outlined shapes of his lover's nipples with his lips.
"What's wrong?" the Princess gently caressed her husband's hair, her eyes watery.
"Alanis, I want you! Alanis!"
There, the young couple was at it again!
"That's funny! Such frequent contact! Why is that Her Highness Princess hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy?"
"Percy! This is none of your business!" Sasha E. mumbled lowly. She had been carefree like the other until the nosy doctor decided to butt in.
Percy instantly shut his mouth. Sitting beside the Young Lady was Fenrar Donaute who was holding Sasha's hand while caressing the Young Lady's hair with the other hand. In most's eyes, Sasha was still a child.
The officers sat obediently in the spacious guest room of the hotel, waiting for His Highness Prince and Her Highness Princess to put their abrupt love affairs to an end. However, they seemed to be unbothered by it, or rather it was much better compared to the military review.
"I can introduce my daughter to you!" Brigadier General Luke Citel who sat opposite the Young Lady spoke, "Of course, if you don't mind another clumsy and illiterate brat by your side."
Sasha seemed bored, "Is it Trinity? I like her a lot, but she's in University Town! Isn't University Town at least seven hundred kilometers away?"
"Things will be better as long as you're patient!" Luke Citel was attempting to console the grumpy Young Lady who reminded him of his daughter, resulting in him being protective of her most of the times. "Trinity is currently processing her transfer application, so she can't leave my side. There are a few prestigious academies in Viellona as well, she'll be rendezvousing with us there."
"Wait? Again, you want me to wait!" Sasha E. sighed helplessly. "Ah … how I wish Aeolia's here!"
Nobody spoke this time. As Aeolia had been assigned a confidential task by His Imperial Highness Prince, the soldiers and servants would never speak of the Countess at this timing.
"Why is it taking so long?" Discount Tove Van Sukhoi was losing his patience.
"What are you referring to?"
All of a sudden, footsteps of the Prince sounded. Oscar, who was dressed neatly, appeared in the men's line of sight.
Torry unconsciously peeked at the clock above the fireplace, and this action of his brought laughter to the knowing men.
Oscar blushed in embarrassment and had the sudden urge to kick his Brigadier General of the artillery soldiers.
"Alright! Everyone, get your preparations done! We'll be leaving in ten minutes!"
The soldiers and servants left the place one after another. Oscar grabbed his sister's hand.
"Finished your tasks?" Sasha stared at her brother blankly. "Did you know? This isn't the Southern travel I've imagined it to be, but rather a torturing test of my will. I'm afraid that there might be a day when I'll intrude into your bedroom and stab your wife a few times."
Oscar pulled the Young Lady into his embrace, "To be honest, Sasha, before you stab Alanis to death, you have to be careful too. My wife isn't taking this lightly either, she might want to stab you as well."
Sasha was baffled by her brother's statements. Did she and Alanis really have to resort to battling against each other, like how men always did?
"My sweetheart, I have a suggestion for you, oh no! A suggestion for the both of you! You two can totally change your mode of interaction!"
Sasha pushed her brother away. She knew that Alanis intended to leave her strong perfume scent on her brother, was that something only female beasts would do?
"I used to get along well with Alanis! But that was before you married her! How do you expect me to face her now, what can I say to her?"
Oscar was speechless and only proceeded to hug his sister tighter. However, Sasha's heart no longer throbbed, and she was increasingly unsure of what her desires of his hugs meant. Reality had always been cruel and just like the faraway overlapping shadows of mountains, nothing could be done to alter their appearances.
Sasha had doubts. In fact, she had been doubting the whole time, would there really be a day when her dreams would come true?
There were only a few days left until they reach Vielonna. Ahead of this route, where would their destination lie?