Chapter 6

“Welcome, Archmage Vera.” Lucian turned toward the door just as his guest entered. “I was beginning to wonder if you would be late to the meeting, but it seems you simply have a penchant for arriving precisely on time.”

The grandfather clock had let out a small chime indicating the turn of the hour, just as the door had opened for Vera.

“I'm a busy woman.” Vera sat down in the chair obviously provided for her without waiting for permission. “And I've spent enough of my time waiting for others already.”

“That's certainly something we can agree on.” Lucian stepped toward the table and took his own seat. “Which is why I plan to get right down to business.”

The meeting room was one he often used when speaking to important guests. It was smaller, making it less suitable for a large strategy meeting, but the size made it a more personal affair, which was why he had picked it for the meeting.

Although it saw less use than other meeting rooms, when he did choose it, that often meant his goal was substantially more important than usual.

It was the very same meeting room where he first met the leader of The Golden Coast trading Guild, Alma Vastelle. She had become somewhat of an ally after their trade deal, though the distance to her home kingdom made keeping in touch a difficult prospect.

Still, Lucian felt it was only fitting that he use the room for his first real discussion with Archmage Vera, as she held the potential to become a powerful force in the Almekian Kingdom.

But whether that force would be for or against him was still undetermined.

“I must say.” Lucian moved a piece of parchment, placing it just in front of himself. “I was shocked to see you return after so many years.”

“Not as shocked as I was that you recognized me. You know how many nobles I had to meet to find one that remembered me?”

“Can you blame them?” Lucian made a show of checking the page in front of him. “According to the records, it was said that you were 34 years old when you left. That was 7 years ago, yet you don't look to have aged a day.”

Lucian didn't need to verify such simple information with the paper. Nearly everything he needed was already stored in his memory.

However, making a show of having someone's personal information on hand could have some beneficial effects. It could make others feel as if they're being judged, like a job applicant when the interviewer was inspecting their resume right in front of them.

Depending on the person, it could be a good way to find cracks in their story or personality. Lucian often used a similar tactic on his ministers, to varying degrees of success. Some cracked, others didn't.

And clearly Vera fell into one of those categories.

The Archmage shrugged. “Guess I've been blessed to age more gracefully than most.”

“Blessed? Maybe you're right about that.”

That immortal, Lutz, Lucian thought. He didn't say what Vera’s ancient magic can do, but it's obvious her body doesn't match her age.

I really need to get her on my side. Whatever power she found could be instrumental to closing the gap between me and the God's Acolyte.

Vera moved her gaze from Lucian before he could continue with the next line of questions. She was staring over his right shoulder, where a certain girl was standing.

“Didn't think you cared much for white hairs. Did you change your mind about them?” Her tone contained just a hint of edge.

“I was only ten years old when you left. Maybe I've changed in more ways than you realize.”

“Your looks certainly haven't, even if you have grown up.”

“Thank you very much. Perhaps I have also been blessed in the same way as you.”

Even when he was a child, it was obvious that Lucian was destined to draw the eye. With his long, golden hair, sculpted face, and tall body, he was everything a girl imagined when thinking of her prince.

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And Lucian was precisely that, a prince. But even if he weren't royalty, he would have no problems with women. He was just that out of the ordinary when it came to his appearance.

But those who truly knew the young prince understood that looks were only skin deep. Because beneath that thin veil of beauty, he was ugly to the core.

I'm not the same prince she remembers from seven years ago.

If she knew the prince's true personality, then she no doubt hates me. Perhaps enough to try and get rid of me.

No, there's no ‘if’ to it. A world-class mage who sought and found ancient magic would not be fooled so easily.

She knows. Vera definitely knows the brutal nature of the former prince.

But she doesn't know that I'm not that man, and I can't tell her. Not that she would believe me, considering what she must think of me.

“What about you?” Vera asked, looking at Emilia. “What do you think of him now?”

“He is everything that I imagined.” Emilia shook her head. “No, that's not true. He's even more than I could have dreamed, which is why I decided to give my all for him.”

Vera narrowed her eyes. “A white hair guard answering before even receiving permission?”

“Not long ago, I would have asked for it. But I've grown, too. Prince Lucian trusts me to answer, so it would be rude of me to ask him to verify that trust each time.”

“That's a weakness that can be targeted by someone devious enough to exploit it. If you said the wrong thing, it could throw a sensitive meeting completely out of order.”

“Thank you for the warning. I will be sure to not cause him any problems.”

Vera turned back to Lucian. “When I heard you made a special division of royal guards consisting of only white hairs, I didn't expect that you would give them so much autonomy. Did your opinion of them change so drastically?”

“It's no secret that I don't like how white hairs are treated,” Lucian said. “Even if they can be dangerous when enhanced, that doesn't mean they should be considered outcasts.”

“Hmm…” Vera turned to another girl, one who sat in a chair just to Lucian's right. “You even recruited a dark elf. Aelia, wasn't it?”

“Yeah, that's right.” She responded with her usual, curt tone.

“Don't see many of your kind this far from the caves. In fact, you're only the second one I've seen since I left the castle seven years ago.”

“What? You want an autograph, or something?”

“An autograph…” Vera lowered her face to hide her expression. “...hahaha…”

Aelia gave her a strange look. “What's gotten into you?”

Vera’s laugh fades, her face rising to meet the dark elf. “Sorry, it just reminded me of something. You dark elves are a strange bunch.”

“Yeah? Well I gotta say you're outdoing me a bit here with that poorly hidden laugh. You trying to start a competition with me?”

“Oh, no. I've learned my lesson already.” Her playful demeanor fades. “But it's strange enough for you to have so much power in a human kingdom, don't you think? To me, it seems another weakness ripe for attack.”

“They're welcome to try. But I wouldn't recommend it.”

Vera looked back to Lucian. “The nobles I remember from seven years ago would hate to be spoken down to by a dark elf. You must be building up quite a lot of resentment, no?”

Lucian shrugged. “I don't mind being disliked because Aelia says the truth about someone. It’s an easy way to filter out those who are already looking for a reason to hate me.”

“Is that why you keep her around? Even going so far as to give her some of your territory?”

“No, I keep her around for many reasons, the most obvious being her strategic and tactical genius on the battlefield. But as for the land I gave her, that was simply me fulfilling the agreement we had with the dark elves centuries ago.”

“After the war? I don't remember the history books saying anything about giving them land.”

Lucian raised his right hand, and Emilia placed two documents into it.

Without even looking at them, he slid them across the table, toward Archmage Vera.

She picked them up, her eyes scanning their contents. “A signed agreement for a land transfer as a reward for fighting alongside us in that war? It's just a copy, but…”

Vera focused on the other document. “A page from Earl Folmarv’s diary, claiming to have borne witness to the agreement with his own eyes. If that's true, then the dark elves were denied the spoils of war that they fought for long ago.”

Vera looked back up to Lucian. “I assume you have the originals?”

“The dark elves have the original signed agreement. But Earl Islude does have his ancestor's diary. I've seen it myself, and I can confirm its authenticity.”

“Now isn't that something?” Vera smiled. “The nobles conveniently left that part out.”

“People often carefully pick out the details they like when spreading rumors.”

“Speaking of rumors.” Vera's gaze fell on the most exotic girl in the room. “I heard something about one of your new friends. Something about being the daughter of the Fairy Queen.”

“You were correctly informed.” Minerva answered with no change to her expression.

“From what the books say, the fairies have some unknown magic. As a mage, I'd be really interested to see it in action.”

“Harboring doubts about my origin?”

“Most people can be easily fooled.” Vera smiled again. “But I'm not most people.”

Just in front of Minerva, the wooden table began to move. It wasn't the planks that had suddenly come to life. Rather, it was something growing from them.

Minerva reached out and plucked the small vine that had grown from the wood. It continued to wiggle slightly between her two fingers, as if it were alive.

For the first time, Vera showed clear surprise. “That was no normal use of magic. You manipulated the mana inside the–”

She cut off her words.

“Inside the wood? Yes, I did.”

Vera's smile returned. “Now this is getting interesting.”

Although Lucian still hadn't got a full grasp on what Vera knew about him or what she ultimately wanted, he had built the groundwork he needed to dig the truth out of her.

Now, Vera. Let's find out why you really came back to my kingdom.