There was much less to worry about after the situation with Crown Prince Mars was handled expertly by Raven and Mana.
Mars and Astra were almost nauseatingly lovey dovey these days – but everyone else was quite relieved, because them sticking to each other meant that they wouldn't be bothering other people!
King Jaren, Jules and Bella had been very curious about the love potion and its origin – because one of the base concoctions Raven used was not something they had ever heard of – the original love potion that existed in this world was a rather foul thing with erratic success rates and horrendous side effects. What Raven had made the complete opposite – Mars didn't suffer at all, and was fully devoted to Astra nowadays.
What Raven didn't tell anyone (except Mana, who knew about it right from the start) was that one of the potions he'd mixed in the love potion actually came from Azar's beloved elf buddy – and it was something which blended in perfectly with his modified love potion, and seemingly enhanced its positive effects while negating the adverse side effects, but in reality, had a hidden main effect that would only come into play if and when Mars planned or got involved in something that would harm Mana or Raven or Azar, either directly or indirectly, and Mars would suffer a backlash. The only problem was that the effects lasted only for six months.
However, ensuring their safety for six months was not a bad option at all, and Mana and Raven were very grateful to Azar's elf buddy for helping them out yet again! Without the timely assistance of Azar's elf buddy, whom they could only recognise by the s-w-i-l-1-3 that was engraved on everything they received, they would have been nervous even with Raven's otherwise perfect modified love potion. Besides, Azar's elf buddy had helped them out so many times now – Azar's sword, Mana's crown, Raven's sceptre – they possessed these powerful magical tools now and it was all thanks to Azar's elf buddy!
Everyone started getting busier as the dates for the banquets grew closer, and Mana and Raven happily "missed" the opportunity to tell Papa about the backlash. Jules and Bella were told – and the two of them agreed with it whole heartedly. In fact, they even lamented that such a good potion couldn't be modified to have a permanent effect!
Raven promised to work on it – but made it clear that the chances of success were very, very slim. After all, if such a miraculous potion could be made to be everlasting, wouldn't they be able to eliminate all their enemies all too easily and achieve world peace on the side? Wasn't it too heaven defying? They couldn't ask for that much either, could they?
So they simply focussed on the preparations for the banquet instead.
The guests from other kingdoms started turning up one by one in the fortnight before the Emerald Kingdom banquets, and everyone got busy with the meeting and greeting.
As luck would have it, Crown Princess Pica and Head Sage Yue arrived at the same time – exactly a week before the first banquet.
Surprisingly, Head Sage Yue brought some gifts for Mana and Raven and Azar – that was completely unexpected. They were VIP tokens to the Moon Temple which would allow them access anytime and Moon Temple robes that could only be allocated to persons with special status by the Head Sage himself. Head Sage seemed to be living up to his promise to King Jaren of acknowledging Raven properly and giving him the status and the respect he deserved.
Mana and Raven didn't bring up the matter with the heaven sceptre – that was their back up option in case things went badly in the Pearl Kingdom. King Jaren, too, was in full agreement with them on this matter.
This time, Crown Princess Pica came laden with even more luxurious gifts for Raven and Mana and even little Azar. She also brought along Raven's three half-siblings – two boys and one girl.
Raven's siblings weren't even half as good looking as Raven, Mana thought rather uncharitably as she was introduced to the ten year old Rook, and seven year old twins Dawe and Enca.
Rook looked Mana up and down with a critical eye and said, "You're quite pretty, Princess Mana, and we're also the same age. Why don't you marry me instead of my useless half-brother? He's got nothing other than his brains and is fundamentally spineless, you know."
Before Mana could hit the boy, Crown Princess Pica had beaten her to it. She whacked her second son on the head and thundered, "Apologise to Raven right now, you insolent boy!"
Rook shot his mother an aggrieved look. "But Mother…" he began in a whining voice.
Enca immediately spoke up to support Rook. "Mother, Big Brother Rook is right!" she piped up. "Hasn't Big Brother Raven always been cowardly and powerless and useless? Even his magic was incomplete! And he has filthy Pearl Kingdom blood!"
Dawe nudged his twin sister and said quietly, "Mother said that Big Brother Raven's magic is complete now and he has grown to be very powerful."
"I don't believe it," Rook said decisively, glaring at Raven. "Show me your dark magic!" he demanded.
Mana rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you share blood with these imbeciles," she told Raven.
Prince Rook, Prince Dawe and Princess Enca had never been dismissed or insulted like this before. The three of them immediately let out an outraged cry and three tendrils of dark magic burst out of their fingers and attacked Mana.
However, before they could reach Mana, they dissipated harmlessly in the air with a careless flick of Raven's fingers. His eyes flashed a dark, dangerous black.
"Don't ever try to lay a finger on my Mana," he warned sternly. "I may not kill you because we share the same mother, but I can and will make your life extremely miserable if a single hair on Mana's head is harmed!"
The three children looked up to Crown Princess Pica pitifully, expecting her to support them and reprimand Raven.
Completely against their expectations, though, Crown Princess Pica actually clapped her hands in delight and her eyes sparkled with pride as she looked at Raven.
"You've grown even more powerful than last time!" she said happily. "Wonderful!"
Raven merely nodded at her politely.
"Well, now that you've met your Big Brother's fiancée, you should all get some rest," Mana said. "Also, do remember that this is the Emerald Kingdom, and disrespect towards Raven means disrespect towards the royal family of the Emerald Kingdom. The penalty ranges from beheading to deportation, based on the seriousness of the offence."
Rook, Dawe and Enca gaped at Mana in shock.
"This was your first offence, and you are Raven's younger siblings, after all, so we'll be lenient," Mana said lightly. Her eyes hardened and green haze surrounded her, making the three young children from the Obsidian Kingdom take a step back in fear. "However, next time – mind your language. If you can't respect your big brother…"
"I will discipline them properly, little Mana," Crown Princess Pica promised immediately.
The three children looked miserable when they heard that, but Mana had absolutely no sympathy for them at the moment – except Prince Dawe, perhaps, who had still tried to settle the situation rather than jump in.
"You have a better head on your shoulders than your twin," Mana said to Dawe, with a small smile.
The young boy smiled back shyly.
However, Raven stiffened next to Mana, and she immediately turned her attention to him.
Other than Mana, no one else would be able to gauge the slight change in Raven.
"All right, we should leave you guys to rest," Mana said, summoning a few servants. "Hope you all have a nice stay in the Emerald Kingdom. I'm afraid Raven and I need to attend to something urgently in a while, so we'll take your leave."
And she dragged away Raven before anyone had a chance to object.