The rest of the trip toward the capital was more peaceful. I didn’t run into monsters capable of killing me instantly or anything similar, only a few people who didn’t notice me, some foolish monsters that attacked me, and beautiful scenery.
“Are you sure? We could advance a little farther by flying… we’re still several hours away on foot.” I ask Nanly, somewhat confused.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I can feel the annoyance in her words. “If we keep flying farther, you’ll be detected as a threat because of your speed, This is Snow City!. I don’t want to cause any problems with my arrival, it’s better if we walk and cautiously present ourselves to a guard just like I did in the previous village.” She truly seems reluctant to walk, she’s only doing it because it’s the right thing to do.
Nanly takes out her necklace from her storage bracelet, this necklace has the same functions as my cap, it can change our appearance and makes our presence less noticeable. That necklace is much better than my cap, though it’s still not as good as Brendu’s Mirage Earrings.
We don’t stand out much on the way back, most people only give us a brief glance before completely ignoring us, things would have been very different if we hadn’t equipped these objects.
Some curious ruby ranks tried to look a little longer than normal, but not in an obvious way. Many people try to hide their faces, it’s something common in this world, a small warning from my Imra was enough to stop their attempts. Curiosity disappears when it threatens your life.
We take the nobles’ entrance for several reasons; Nanly plans to reveal her identity to the guards and it’s much shorter, we only have to wait a few minutes.
I take the trouble to create a sphere of mana and Imra around us when it’s our turn, just so the rest of the curious people can’t hear our conversation. It was a great idea, the guard almost shouted Nanly’s name when she revealed her face and identity plaque.
The guard quickly recomposes himself, several curious gazes stop focusing on us when they realize they can neither hear nor see anything.
“Lady Nanly, it’s a pleasure to know you are safe. We have been searching for you for several days, allow me to inform my superior.” The guard almost runs away after finishing speaking, I use gravity around him to keep him rooted like a tree.
The young guard, no older than twenty-one, looks confused, not understanding what is happening, then he realizes I’m the cause. “Lady Nanly has something else to say, there’s no need to rush.” I wink at him, his gaze toward me now cautious, but I don’t care.
“I want to cause as little impact as possible, I want you to contact Guard Milton, he should be at station number two.” The guard looks somewhat confused when Nanly tells him that. “I don’t want to create a commotion in the city, I just want to see my family again as soon as possible.” Nanly’s eyes look like those of a sad and hungry puppy, the guard can’t resist and accepts the request.
“How easy life is when you’re beautiful and powerful.” I make a sarcastic comment.
Nanly rolls her eyes at me. “You say that as if your beauty didn’t stand out too. I really want to know who you truly are, you promised you’d tell me when we arrived at the palace, I know I’ve heard of you before, I just can’t remember where.” She scans me several times from head to toe.
“A simple and humble boy from a loving family with a somewhat bright future… ah! And maybe a little attractive if I wake up on the right side of the bed.” I answer calmly while offering her a bottle of water.
“Then I’m the princess of the Juka Kingdom.” Her response is unexpected, I almost choke while drinking water. At first she mocks me, then begins thinking seriously.
“Are you part of the Juka Kingdom? Do you have some kind of connection to them? You don’t have an affinity for wood or blonde hair. I haven’t heard of any outstanding son around your age, I can only remember the beautiful little princess around your age.” Nanly is rambling now, she’s wracking her brain trying to think.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“The guard is already coming back, apparently he managed to contact Mr. Milton.” I touch her shoulder and point toward the direction where the young guard is running toward us at full speed.
Nanly stops thinking about my relationship with the Juka Kingdom for a moment, this topic is much more important. I’m completely sure that if she kept thinking just a little longer, she would figure out my origins.
“Lady Nanly, I managed to contact Mr. Milton. He’s on his way and should arrive in around ten minutes.” The young guard gives a deep bow, though he still looks at me with some suspicion.
For a moment I considered punching him to make him come to his senses, but I didn’t because it would cause a commotion and I’d probably end up fighting half the city. I simply act like a mature man and ignore him.
In less than ten minutes I sense a presence moving toward us at tremendous speed, when it gets within one hundred meters, spatial mana stirs slightly. The man disappears from his position and appears in front of Nanly, giving her a warm hug.
This man is slightly taller than me, with gray hair and beard, and he resembles Nanly quite a bit, which is normal because he is her uncle. Milton is an honorary knight, he fought fiercely to defend a city from a monster horde and was found mortally wounded after killing as many monsters as possible.
According to what Nanly told me, his son is slightly younger than me, he inherited the same loving personality and sense of justice as his father. If he becomes as strong as his father, he’ll be someone worth paying attention to, because the man beside me right now is strong, strong enough to put me on alert.
“Little one, I was very worried about you. I’m happy to see you safe and sound, I’m glad you were able to come back.” Milton speaks with a slightly shaky voice.
“I’m also happy to see you again, Uncle. It wouldn’t have been possible to return without the help of the young man beside us, even if he looks young, he’s quite strong.” Nanly tries to free herself from her uncle’s embrace, she has nearly been suffocated several times by his strong hugs.
Milton first gives me an evaluating gaze, it doesn’t take him even a second to identify my strength. “Thank you for helping my niece, I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”
The older man offers me a handshake, I accept without hesitation knowing exactly what will happen. He applies a great deal of strength, I don’t hold back either, for several seconds we play against each other, this is common when you meet someone strong and want to measure them without fighting.
Both Milton and I receive a hit to the neck. “This isn’t the time for childish games.” Nanly glares at us. “It’s time to return to the palace to see my parents and future in-laws. Uncle… Emago must come with us, I want to thank him properly.”
Milton stares at me for several moments, his Imra brushing gently against mine, I let him enter just enough to satisfy him, after a few seconds he nods. “Yes, no problem, we’ll all go together.” At that exact moment, a carriage enters my Personal World, it must have been summoned by Milton.
I allowed it to enter so he would realize I had no bad intentions, though he couldn’t see beyond what I wanted him to see. He also didn’t try to force his way further in, that made me trust him a little more.
The carriage carries us through the noble district until we arrive at an enormous castle, it has nothing to envy from my uncle Julius’s castle. The peaks of the buildings look beautiful with the snow decorating them, making everything appear magical and immaculate.
Milton moves away slightly to make some calls when we enter the garden of the castle’s central building. He returns with a huge smile without saying anything, simply inviting us to continue without him for the moment, he’ll meet us later in the assigned room.
The hallways are equally beautiful, filled with decorations and paintings everywhere. I managed to notice some kind of story within the paintings, I didn’t realize it at first, I’ll have to examine them carefully when I have time.
“Are you finally going to tell me your name?” Nanly asks when we sit down to wait in the room.
“You can’t hold back your curiosity anymore? I was planning to introduce myself properly when His Majesty joined us.” I answer while continuing to play with my ice mana, for several days I’ve been creating all kinds of figures, my affinity with ice is much stronger in this climate.
“Nothing will change if you tell me now, I’ve been curious for days and it’s making me anxious.” She presses harder and harder.
“Don’t fall backward when I tell you my name, I don’t want them blaming me for an unexpected death.” I joke with her.
“Weren’t you saying the whole trip that you weren’t special?” She narrows her eyes, judging me with her gaze.
“Maybe I am a little special, but only a little.” I raise my eyes to look directly into hers, stopping my little constructions for the moment. “My name is Maki Vichag. Have you heard it before?” She frowns trying to remember. “My family holds the rank of viscount, we own a small territory in the Timal Marquisate and less than a month ago I won the annual school tournament.” When I finish introducing myself, Nanly opens her eyes in shock.
I only introduced myself early for one simple reason. The door suddenly swings open before she can throw herself at me to grab my shoulders and scold me about something. Through my Personal World I sensed someone approaching, I assumed it was her fiancé, and indeed, her attempt to complain is interrupted by a loving hug from her partner.