"Yes?" Silja didn't know who was and she didn't remember seeing him around.
"Hello milady, I'm Darwin Egerton. Im one of the dukes of Northern city Kenton," the man walked over and introduced himself.
Duke? Human?
"Hello...sire," Silja was confused as to why this man wanted to talk to her.
"Well, my lady if you can spare a few minutes…" he was a little hesitant as he asked.
Silja thought for a bit before nodding her head.
"This way please.." he led her to the side corridor.
"I was very shocked when I first heard that king Evan sent his daughter to the north," once they were out of the crowded area the middle-aged man spoke.
Silja and Darwin were walking ahead as Brandon and Mira followed them with some distance.
Silja decided to keep her mouth shut and listen to the men till she could find more about his intention. As she still didn't know anything about him.
"You have grown well, milady. You were still a little girl when I saw you last, but you might not have remembered that" when he saw the girl looking at him with wary eyes, he said.
"Have we met? When was that ?" Silja asked in confusion. She looked at his face hard but couldn't remember meeting him before.
"It was long ago when I visited Atlanea. You were just five years old at that time. But you left a very long impression on me," the old man said with a smile.
"Really?" Silja looked at the humble man. She observed his expressions closely.
"Yes, I visited as an envoy to the North. Even though my purpose wasn't fulfilled, I and your father became good friends after that," Darwin explained.
"Father must have forgotten to tell me about this friend of his in the north," Silja said. Implying that she has never heard anything about him.
"Ohh that's because we gradually lost contact after the north forbade everyone to keep close ties with other royal families," he explained.
He told her many stories about when he visited Atlanea and gradually Silja put a little trust in him. As they walked ahead the man led her to a small open garden. It was in his small courtyard.
There was no one around so they could talk with ease.
"I wanted to reach out to you sooner but I couldn't. Since I wasn't sure about the king's attitude towards you. But what happened today made me think that King Zachary is really thinking about reconciling with humans," he said. Silja gave him a small smile.
"It's tough to maintain a position of duke as a human you know," the old man laughed drily.
"It's alright. I can understand the problems you must have been facing. It's already impassive that you are in this position," Silja said with a smile. She was actually shocked that there was a human duke in the north. It was one thing to give a small position but to give the whole duchy was different. Well even though her mind was telling her to be careful she still felt at ease being in the company of someone similar to her.
"So what do you think is the king's attitude now?" Silja asked.
"Well, I did know why he was suddenly interested in joining hands with Atlanea but he surely put effort into it. He must have told you his motives?" he asked.
And Silja shook her head.
"Hmm...King Zachary likes to play his cards in the dark," the old man nodded.
"What do you think can be the reason, sire? That suddenly he took this step," silja asked.
"Well as we all know Witches from the south and dwarves from the east have deep ties and walk hand in hand. So Maybe joining hands with your father can buy him at least some force and power," the old man elaborated.
"Hmm…well I never knew that even mighty creatures like dragons can be on their knees in front of Witches," Silja said.
"Well in nature everyone is the same. Dragons and witches used to depend on each other in the past but the sudden madness of the last Witch-king ruined the peace of both the lands," sire Darwin sighed.
"If only dragons can restore their former glory, king Zachary is not a bad king to rule the land," he said.
"Not good enough," Silja Stated firmly.
"Everyone is bad. We just need to choose less bad," sire Darwin laughed meaningfully.
"There will be another better choice," Silja lifted her eyebrows.
"You are saying this my lady because you have never tasted the life of this land. But no worries now that you are here you will learn a lot more than it looks to the eye," Darwin nodded his head as he said.
"Problem is much more grave than you mentioned today in court," he added.
"I don't plan to get involved in anything, my lord," Silja shook her head.
"I'm afraid that's not possible anymore," Darwin replied.
"If he has invited you here then it's most likely to make your stay, despite any reason there are very low chances of your return back to Atlanea," Darwin smiled and Silja narrowed her eyes.
"You seem like a smart little one. But still naive and inexperienced in these matters," Darwin has a deeper meaning and Silja felt her heart going in a frenzy.
"We will see," Silja said with a straight face.
She didn't know if the old man was saying it to scare her or something else but one thing was clear that now she has one more thing to look into.
She has to find the purpose of king Zachary in forcing her to come here. She has neglected it till now but it seems a more pressing matter after what sire Darwin said.
They still didn't know what his motives were behind all this.
They talked for a bit and then Silja decided to take her to leave.
"Why don't you stay for lunch, my lady?" Darwin asked but Silja denied the offer.
"It won't look appreciated on your part sire Darwin. Maybe some other time," Silja said politely.
"Let me walk you to the door then," both of them stood up and started to walk out.
"It was nice to meet you, sire," Silja said. She stood facing the door.
"See you soon…" Sire Darwin stopped in his speech as he looked in a certain direction.
Silja followed his line of sight and saw Don standing there looking at them with his narrowed eyes.
After leaving court Donovan wanted to meet his father for some clarification.
But the sly man left in a hurry and refused to meet anyone.
On the way back Garrett informed him about the meeting between Silja and the human duke. He had a bad feeling about it so he hastily changed his clothes and came here.
His dark red eyes swapped on Darwin and the man looked at him unfazed.
"You…" your highness….'
Before Darwin could even start greetings Donovan raised his hand.
"I will escort the lady back to her chamber from here," he walked forward and said before extending his hand in front of Silja.
Silja was as usual speechless because of his sudden arrival.
She looked at Darwin and then reluctantly put her hand on Don's.
She didn't know what he wanted but the look in his eye forced her to obey.
"Then we will meet…"
"We are getting late," he dragged her away in mid-sentence.
"Milady…" Mira panicked and grabbed Silja's other hand. Don stopped in his tracks and looked at the maid and then at Silja.
"Send them back first," he ordered.
"He is someone I know. I'll see you at my chamber," Silja wanted to refuse but she did otherwise. She gave Brandon a look and the man nodded his head and stopped Mira from following them. Don then turned around and started to walk.
On the other hand, Darwin looked at them leaving his courtyard strangely.
"What are you doing?" Don was literally dragging her along as he walked past the almost empty corridor with long strides.
On her asking, he just looked back at her with his stoic face but didn't say anything.
One the way they bumped into a few maids and all of them scooted away to the side instantly when they saw the eldest prince making his way. As they passed by, all the maids bowed their heads respectfully. That confirmed Silja's doubts even more about his identity.
"Wait…" as Don was just about to pull her into another weird corridor which was weirdly empty and dark, Silja stopped him.
She forcefully pulled his hand in anger. And surprisingly Donovan froze in his place as he felt an electric spark running in his body.
###
This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m. If you're not reading ' Mistress of enchanting dragon ' on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very heartbreaking to see pirates profiting from my hard work.. Please support the original author,(Dream_blue98).