As the underground lake was alight with the lights given off by the bioluminescent glow fishes that inhabit deep in the dark lake, it wasn’t total darkness after all, with a jerky in his hand as a bait, Aldrit lured them to have them light his way as he swam further into the bottomless lake.
After swimming for a while, he was sent shivers to his spine when he shifted his eyes to the bottom, with his eyes taking in nothing from the deep water, all black as pitch below him. Only God would know the depth of the lake as there was a limit to how deep one could dive, even with the object in one’s mouth.
But far into the deep waters, there was something at the bottom of the lake which seemed as still as a rock, before it slightly squirmed in response to Aldrit’s movement as he swam past above it.
A streak of a flaming light had then shone through a gap, which widened up slowly in the dark. And as if a lid was lifted, a red circle of light was fully revealed from within. From there, a burning aura was beamed from the center as it narrowed into a long vertical line. However, the flame had vanished through the closing gap as the lid closed in once again.
***
The procession had grown in number throughout the journey with travelers who were crossing the mountains around the same time. In ones and twos, they blended into the procession which was being escorted by armed warriors and knights along the road.
With so many variables to consider on a journey through the rough mountain pass, it was considerably safer to move along with the big crowd. It was common for merchants in small sizes or for individual travelers to have information in advance, about the travelling schedules of the large-scale merchant companies to move with them accordingly.
But no matter how big a merchant company could be, it was nearly impossible for them to have warriors as their escort on the road. More so, having the king as a companion meant that their safety on the road was guaranteed, without having to worry about the attacks from wild animals or plunder from the brigands throughout the whole journey.
Those who shoved in their heads under the edge of the wide and sturdy umbrella in an effort to take shelter from the rain were either the small-scale merchants or a party of travelers consisting of two or three individuals. However, the procession was also joined by some unexpected companies along the way. They were without doubt aristocrats, as they all rode in their respective carriages, being served by their own hired attendants.
However, the aristocrats were indeed the nobles who were on their way back to the Hashi Kingdom after spending the whole active period in Holy City as now the dry season has started. But when they happened to stumble upon the Royal procession, they instantly changed their course despite having to go back to where they had come from.
In no time, there were now five new additions of such carriages to the procession. And during almost every break in between, they all gathered around for gossip.
“Though I’ve heard about the Lark incident in passing on the way, I’ve only regarded it as a groundless rumor.”
“So do I. But seeing that Her Majesty is being taken to the Holy City under the knights’ escort with such stringency, the rumor must have been true after all.”
“No doubt it will bring shock to the high society in the Holy City.”
Looking forward to the interesting events that were about to happen in the Holy City, they chatted away with each other. As their queen was bound to become the talk of the society, the nobles from the Hashi Kingdom, who had been crowded out from attention in the Holy City society all along, were now all highly thrilled by the excitement.
With rows of people and carriages tailing behind the procession, it took them four full days to finally cross over the Anotty mountains. And as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, a small force of the warriors from Slan had made a breakaway to ride ahead to the castle to notify their king of the impending arrival of his guests.
After travelling for another two days on the road, they were at last nearing the capital city of the Slan Kingdom and saw a big crowd of people who had come to meet the procession outside the castle wall. The crowd consisted of the diplomats and the guards of honor, who were clad in various uniforms for a grand ceremony to welcome their arrival.
Stepping down from her own carriage, Eugene got onto another one with Kasser as it was a carriage specially prepared for them by the Slan Kingdom. The carriage that was to take them up to the castle as a part of the welcoming ceremony was beyond anything ordinary just from the look of it.
It was a carriage with a white coachwork, drawn by eight white horses. And as for the interior, the wall and the floor alike were also white in color and smelled strongly of a fragrance as if it had been flooded with perfumes.
“This specific material is a specialty of the Slan Kingdom. The hollowed wood would turn white under the sun, and give off a unique fragrance.”, said Kasser as Eugene took a sniff around the interior.
“The scent is surprisingly pleasant although it’s strong… maybe that’s because it’s a natural fragrance.”
As this was a carriage made for a lasting impression, if Jin had been on it before, she was bound to have a flashback of Jin’s memory the moment she stepped on. But nothing had come to her mind so far.
“Have we ridden in this carriage before, when we left for our kingdom from Holy City?”
“The dry season was about to come to an end at that time. So, we had crossed past the Slan Kingdom by taking the fastest route as we were in a hurry. We never had the time to make a stop at the Slan Kingdom last time.”
The memory of three years ago seemed almost like a distant memory to him. Yet, he still remembered vividly about how anxious he was throughout the whole journey of taking her back to his kingdom after holding a religious ceremony before Sang-je, as he had agreed on a contractual marriage which she had proposed to him.
However, the whole marriage felt surreal to him for quite a long while, even after a grand royal marriage was held the moment they got back from the Holy City. But now, as he glanced over at the woman who was sitting right in front of him, he could feel a warmth spreading out from his heart, with his mind strongly acknowledging her as his wife. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would be feeling such a way, back in three years ago.
“Then I suppose you hadn’t got the chance to give your greetings to the Sword King as well. When was the last time you saw him?”
“I don’t know for sure. But as the Sword King pays his frequent visits to the Holy City, I suppose you’d met with him during one of your visits.”
“I was asking about Your Majesty, not myself.” Eugene clarified.
“Me? Umm… I wonder when it was. Never since I ascended to the throne. But there was a time when I was sent to the Slan Kingdom as an envoy during my prince years. I bet it’s already been eight years if I remember it correctly.”
“That’s quite a long time.”
The conversation was interrupted when the carriage moved to set off in a procession. Soon, a loud cheer from the crowd was heard from the outside as the carriage entered the capital, after processing past the rampart. When Eugene took a glance out of the window through the slightly drawn curtains, she saw people thronging the streets as well as mailed warriors keeping a tight control over the crowd.
‘King of the Slan….’
Eugene soon felt her heart pounding with excitement as it had been quite a while since her last encounter with one of the characters in her novel. And just like the Desert King, the king of the Slan might also differ in disposition, as opposed to how he was portrayed in her novel. Like turning the page to the next chapter of an adventure novel, she was filled with joyous anticipation.
The welcoming parade then swiftly processed into the castle through the widely opened castle gate. But it was only the carriage that was carrying the guests and the warriors who escorted around it were allowed to pass through another set of doors which led to the inner bailey. Soon, the carriage had eventually come to a stop and its door was opened from the outside. After getting off from the carriage, Kasser had held out his hand to help Eugene step down from the carriage.
As she got off from the carriage, Eugene was taken aback by the number of people who came out just to meet them. She couldn’t help but to feel nervous around them, as it suddenly occurred to her that she was here as a representative of her kingdom.
‘That person…”
A middle-aged man who was standing at the front row of the crowd would never feel the need to introduce himself as the distinct color of his hair and his eyes indicated his status in the kingdom. The man with light grayish hair, had come up to them with a warm smile on his face.
“What a pleasure to have you here, King of the Desert. And my greetings to Anika as well. Welcome to our Kingdom.”
“We truly appreciate your kind hospitality, King of the Sword.”
While she had put on a courteous smile on her face, she was inwardly amazed by the presence of the Sword King as she casted a side glance at him.
The Sword King, who appears to be in his mid or late forties, was indeed a handsome man who clearly stood out in the crowd. More so, the young man with the same grayish hair who was standing a step behind him was also a handsome stripling of a boy. The Prince of the Slan Kingdom was indeed the spitting image of his father. And as for the woman who was standing right next to him….
‘…Anika Gemma.’
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She was the Princess of the Slan Kingdom and also the first Anika Eugene had ever encountered in this world. Eugene felt the tremble in her eyes, looking into Gemma’s jet-black hair. But when their eyes were met for an instant, Gemma had naturally lowered her eyes away from her. One glimpse of her eyes was not enough for Eugene to find out if she was expressing a favor or regret through her gaze.
So far, her encounter with the King, the Prince and the Princess of the Slan Kingdom had not triggered any of Jin’s memories in her mind. Acquainted in the past or not, it seemed like their encounter with Jin couldn’t have been important enough to be etched in Jin’s mind.
“You must be bone-tired from the long journey. Take all the rest you need. The welcoming feast could wait until you recover your spirits.”
“That’s very considerate and thoughtful of you.”
Eugene and Kasser were then kindly ushered into the castle by a servant.