Chapter 39: Chapter 39 – Adventurer Arc

Aurora and Luke's perspective at the capital.

 

After the trip, the wagon parks near the royal castle where the king and queen live.

Jeffy leaves his seat and then opens the wagon door, helping Aurora out who takes his hand, leaving before Luke.

30 meters in front of them there are soldiers on each side of the entrance holding different weapons in white outfits with a blue sword figure on their backs.

They go through the middle of them alongside Jeffy who escorts them through a white stone-paved path.

The big black door opens and a butler escorts them henceforth instead, "I'll go rest a bit Luke, whenever you need me just call for me."

"Thank you Jeffy," Luke smiled doing a light bow.

"Are either of the guests thirsty or hungry or need to go to the bathroom before meeting the crown prince?"

"I could use some water and go to the bathroom," he looks to Aurora, and winks discretely," same here," she replies noticing her father and understanding the reasoning.

"Of course, please follow me, Justine prepare some water for the guests," the butler tells a maid close by who nods and heads to the kitchen.

"Right this way and the lady's that way," he points at a door a bit further than the men's one.

After a while, both appear from the respective doors and are served with some water in silver chalices.

"The crown prince is ready to welcome you, Luke."

"Understood please, do take me to him."

"Is that young lady coming?" The butler stared at her as she's not on the guest list of today's meetings.

"Yes, she's with me, so the prince shouldn't mind."

"Very well, though I do warn that any repercussions will be targeted at you if he does mind," he said with a serious face to establish the line of responsibility between them.

"It's alright, if anything happens I'll take the punishment," the butler points towards some stairs in front of them and spoke calmly," let us proceed."

The three of them head upstairs towards some long grey stairs that could be seen from the entrance of the castle where they came from with a red carpet on them.

Upon reaching the second floor they head through the right hall, all the way to a door which beyond it has a big living room, where Luke had been received before.

At the outside of the large door, the royal guards with fierce looks stand guard on each side.

"Good morning sir Loid, sir Rudolf, hope you've both been well since our last meeting," Luke smiled softly at them while lightly bowing as their nobles.

"Oh if it isn't the famous healer from the booners, here to heal another acquaintance of the prince?" Rudolf asked in a mocking tone.

"That is likely," Like used to the treatment replied unbothered.

"That young girl is your daughter?" Loid asked curiously noticing a small figure that didn't match the father.

"Yes, sir Loid, she is one of my twin daughters."

"She's way too pretty to be your daughter," Rudolf said making both of them laugh.

"I was wondering what the noise was all about but it seems you gentlemen are just having fun without me," a cold voice was heard behind the royal guards.

Towards the voice, they made space allowing entrance and exit from the large door behind them.

Upon hearing such a voice Luke bowed and said, "your royal highness, it has been a while since the last time we met."

"Indeed, it has," he looks at Luke and then notices a little blonde girl with cold blue eyes looking straight at him while in a dark blue dress, a color unbefitting for her age.

"Come in, let's talk ask the maid to bring tea and cookies for the girl, it seems we have an extra guest today," he smiled as he turned around, then walking further inside the room.

Aurora looked at the entire room noticing many bookshelves and a large round table with 6 chairs two large windows behind them who were at the left of the entrance close to the wall, and a blue carpet with the sword symbol in the middle of the door she passed and the one in front of her.

She turned left facing the men, then they sat on one of the chairs around the table while she stood a bit behind, that table was where the crown prince usually worked among.

"Good morning gentlemen," Luke said with a smile at them grabbing their attention.

"Good morning Luke," two of them said out of courtesy.

"Good morning young one," an elderly one said while smiling at Luke the best he could.

"Happy to see you in good health teacher Mark," Luke directed his eyesight at the old man while he said that.

The man laughed slowly in an elderly fashion making the wrinkles around the eyes visible, and then said," is this young miss your daughter?"

"One of my twins the blue-eyed one, Aurora."

"I haven't seen such interesting clear eyes during my lifetime," upon the elder Mark commented the rest of the men stared at her eyes confirming his statement.

"She truly doesn't look a bit like you Luke, is she really your daughter?" The crown prince asked curiously thinking he may have been cheated on.

"Aurora took her mother Rosaline's side, though I'm unsure about the blue eyes, as her twin sister has green ones, and we both have brown eyes."

"Sounds to me like you were blessed with two future beauties," the crown prince said teasing him making the men around laugh lightly.

"That is so your royal highness," he replied smiling a bit flattered and embarrassed.

"So what do we have the honor of the extra guest?" The prince asked while making a serious expression as not just anyone can walk inside without an arrangement especially a peasant.

Aurora then bowed light while peerlessly lifting her dress just to the height necessary for a perfect pose startling the men and gathering their attention and spoke," I've come to bargain the kingdom fate with a chess match," she said expressionlessly while taking note of their reactions.

Everyone except Luke who's used to her eccentric personality looked dumbfounded at the little girl's words.

The crown prince regaining his composure replied in a proper manner," I'm always up for a chess match, Lawrence take Luke's to the one that needs the treatment."

"At once your highness," the man got up along with Luke who didn't remain seated for long leading him into a different room through a door located opposite of the one he came in.

The men upon hearing the prince's words made space on the table, taking books and papers out of the way, and the young one placed a chessboard on top of the table.

"You may rise, have a seat, Aurora was it?" He extends the arm in her way while smiling kindly.

"Yes," in a calm manner she replied while walking towards the seat in front of the prince aligning herself with him and the chessboard.

They look at each other while placing the pieces in the right order as they speak.

"It seems you're interested in betting something with your peculiar words, is it a position or a job you seek?"

"I've only come on behalf of my sister Iris's order."

'Her sister ordered Aurora to come? What kind of relationship does their family have? Seems like I should've kept Luke inside the room.'

"What did your sister asked from you?"

"She said many things truly, however, dad mentioned that the crown prince is one who sees the true value of people," upon hearing those words the interest inside of the crown prince grew larger, and the curiosity to his unanswered questions too.

Holding the speech right she continued with her little one-sided talking.

"She said for me to play 3 chess games where sister wrote the result of them in this paper," Aurora took a paper from her dress pocket and placed it on top of the table positioning it next to the board.

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"Then she said I will bet my life on the line to get the prince's attention in the exchange for the control and management of the entire army of the Lumen kingdom."

The young one who's in the direction of the teacher Mark, sitting left of the prince and right of Aurora, a tanned skin man with black hair and dark blue eyes started laughing at Aurora's proposition.

As soon as he finished voice came out through his mouth," I am Ryu, the head of the blue rose family the one titled of strategist, who has commanded 60% of the army whenever it was necessary."

 "In other words, if you were to beat the crown prince at least two times out of three, I'm willing to let you control the 10% on my side, that's how much trust I have in the crown prince chess ability."

 "I the crown prince promise that if in the nonexistent possibility that you beat me, the best chess player in the kingdom that I'll give you a role in the wars to come to manage the 50% part of the army under me."

'This young girl's eyes aren't wavering, her expression remains absolute of this bet,' the old man Mark thought finding it mysterious, so he spoke to halt this joke by them.

"Your royal highness, and lord Ryu, I believe you both are being too hot-headed in this matter, betting the army like that against a little kid."

"It is fine old man Mark, after all, I do value those who live in this kingdom, and if she truly was a strategist prodigy of some sort, I'd be able to focus towards regaining the control of the other factions."

"May it be as you say, your highness," the old man feeling defeated said while bowing lightly.

Aurora turned the chessboard so that she'd have the black-sided pieces," shall we start then, time isn't everlasting after all," she smiled gently being that the first expression since she received their attention.

30 minutes pass and she loses the first game by a small margin.

'It seems like I overestimated this girl,' Mark thought as he drank some tea, 'though for someone so young that was pretty good.'

"How old are you Aurora?" The old man asked curiously attempting to gauge her talent.

"We're currently 8 years old."

'We? Oh, she must've referred to her sister too.'

"I see, it's a shame you'll be giving your life in this bet to the crown prince otherwise I would've taken you as an apprentice," he laughed slowly due to age.

"A shame to serve me?" The crown prince replied with a refreshing smile after the strenuous game.

The old man laughed at such a question knowing fully well no harm would come his way.

'It's been a while since I couldn't get into someone's mind or understand a playstyle fully well, the way she plays is abnormal,' Ryu thought mesmerized as it felt like some moves could have been done differently, and some good chances wasted, but what surprised him was even creating such opportunities.

They placed the pieces back again, and then the board turned resulting in Aurora's taking the first turn along with the white pieces who start first.

This time the game took longer and after 40 minutes it resulted in the loss of the crown prince by a slow margin.

After the game they took a little break, meanwhile, lord Ryu's thoughts started running wild.

'Despite her very close victory her face remains without an expression fully focused, this girl has been blessed with an exceptional concentration by the goddess, not only that, but it felt like she dragged the game longer than it had to be, does it have something to do with that paper? Perhaps her playstyle is still being refined? Maybe there's a chance she's still improving as she plays with someone very good like the prince.'

'Who is this sinister sister that gets to order this girl around? Someone she looks up to? A girl she fears or respects? Maybe the sister is even smarter? Luke feels a lot more reasonable compared to this girl. In fact are they truly father and daughter? They don't even look alike. Children usually take up to their parents, but 8 years old... That's not long enough to even perceive such deep traits.'

'With how unnatural she always remains expressionless, almost like it's not a human being having only smiled twice ever since she got here... Well let's cross that, she's certainly a human, even smells the same way peasants do, but there's certainly something different about her.'

'The dark blue dress, she's wearing colors that are unfit of a kid, clear blue eyes like ice, an initial cold tone, an eccentric proposal, a peerless etiquette, an extraordinary knowledge in a game as hard as chess... A paper with the outcome of the three games... The outcome? The result!? Was this girl possibly blessed by the goddess in a way that's she's able to predict the future for a few hours or something? No that can't be, since not even the Saintess can manage such a feat.'

'Her playstyle is truly different, however, it was not one that would've used such an ability, she struggled in some stages, barely won.'

The sound of a door open and two men returned to the table interrupting his thoughts.

"Welcome back Luke, I didn't know you had such a prodigious daughter," the old man said while laughing in an elderly way quite satisfied with how the games unfolded.

'A prodigy? Did she actually beat the crown prince somehow?' The father let out a small smile without knowing what to reply.

With a very serious expression, the crown prince wrote a letter and signed it with the royal stamp placing it on the opposite side of the letter Iris wrote.

"Your highness!?" Ryu said in a shocked tone confused about what he was doing.

"I'm a man of word, even though I'm not looking to lose, and now I get to play with the white again ensuring my victory."

"After all those who strike first hold the advantage," the old man Mark said while rubbing his short white beard.

"Exactly, that is my style," the crown prince replied convicted of the result being favorable to him.

'Well that is very true, and she already lost once while playing with the dark pieces, and barely won with the white ones,' Mark thought expecting her to lose but putting up a good fight.

Mark then explains to the two who just sat at the table about everything that happened.

Cold sweat drips from Luke's head as he hears it while seated.

'You better not lose Aurora or you'll become a slave to the crown princess never again seeing the sister you adore so much,' he gripped his fists under the table.

'I don't want to also lose a daughter for a job in the army, much less for a game of chess,' he gripped his fists harder as the emotions took a toll inside.

Ryu noticing Luke gripping started relaxing ceasing himself of his worries.

'It seems like her father didn't expect this to happen, so it was indeed the work of the daughters, two 8-year-old kids conspiring while using their father, that's truly fascinating, I'd very much like to meet the other one who seems to be the leader of the two.'

As if reading his mind Aurora said, "my sister is one of the bearers of the white rings, so for that reason, I'm the one who has come in her place.'

"Lord Alfred has chosen a peasant!?" Ryu asked surprised letting out a loud tone without meaning to.

With a cold stare and a cold tone, Aurora replied, "lady Alicia has."

Realizing his indelicacy despite being true, Ryu doesn't say anything else,' it seems I offended her by offending the sister, in other words, she truly does see that girl in high standards, and apparently so does the white rose family.'

To change a little the conversation Luke said, "In fact, a wagon from the white rose family arrived at the same time as the crown prince's, so my wife Rosaline and daughter Iris went with them."

"Was it the first invitation?" The crown prince asked in a semi-serious worried tone.

"Yes ever since she got the ring from lady Alicia," Luke replied calmly while confused about the prince's expression.

"Then there's nothing to worry, despite peasant or noble, they give a fair chance to all who are chosen by the head successor, to learn their swordsmanship."

"I did not know that, but it does cease my worries as I didn't have the chance to go with them."

The crown prince smiles at Luke, "it is but a tradition, but if your daughter accepts she'll have a chance to become truly strong with the sword."

"I'm not so sure she will, she's an ice wizard and loves magic."

"That's a pretty rare element, due to the concentrated lineages we have in our kingdom, there are not that many ice mages."

"How about this daughter, did she inherit your unique light element? Or it took your wife's element?"

"Sadly, she was born very sickly for the first 5 years almost dying multiple times, she survived her illness 3 years ago, but an element did not form."

"Sounds like the goddess blessed her with a good brain instead of magic talent," the prince replied in a way that would cheer up Luke.

"Thank you, your royal highness," Luke bowed lightly showing sincere gratitude.

"Now then Aurora, let's start the third and last game," he moved his rightest pawn 2 steps forward while smiling charmingly.

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