Chapter 30 – The General and the Goddess Athena

"Are you talking about magic? It doesn't shoot magic. That would be insane, kid. It already flies, and you want it to shoot magic too? Even I'd be scared of the royal family if it did that, hahaha," he laughed.

I took a deep breath, trying to gauge the danger I was in by possessing that phoenix.

He showed me a bracelet, and then a stone emerged from it. I was impressed by it.

"What is this?" I asked, curious.

"You've never seen one of these? Your family has the money for these things; you probably just haven't seen them using it. This is a storage item. We can put some things inside it, but it requires mana to activate. Only mages can use one of these."

Chloe remained quietly behind me.

"I'll use this stone on you. I'll need to prick the tip of your finger, but it will be quick and small," he said, holding a knife. "I'll put a drop of your blood on the stone."

Intrigued by these magical items, I extended my hand.

The Grand Duke Ryan took my finger and made a small cut with his knife. It hurt a bit, but it was quick.

A drop of my blood dripped onto the stone, and it glowed red before fading.

"Great! You've saved me from a mountain of paperwork, kid!" he said, putting the stone back into the bracelet.

I looked on, curious and trying to understand what had just been done.

"What does that stone do?" I asked.

He chuckled. "It's quite simple; it just confirms your lineage's authenticity. We don't want anyone pretending to be an Evenhart and ruling these lands. Your ancestor dropped his blood on this same stone, which has been kept in our vaults. I simply checked if you have the same blood. This is the agreement made with the Founding Emperor, and we honor it to this day. Only the Evenharts should govern their territory, and the Kingdom of Teresia respects that," he explained.

I understood now. So that's why Nikolaus Wolves needs to marry Chloe; only then could he gain the right and support of the Kingdom.

The Grand Duke paused, looking at the little monster hiding behind me.

"I see you two are already taking your first steps together... congratulations, big guy," he said, laughing and winking.

I didn't understand. What did he mean by Chloe and I taking our first steps together? Was he talking about us leaving the castle?

He stared at her.

"Miss Chloe Evenhart, I need to check your face," he said, taking a small square mirror from the bracelet.

"Y-y-yes, sir..." she murmured.

The Grand Duke laughed. "Poor you, kid... you're going to have your hands full," he said, giving me a pat on the shoulder.

What did he mean by that? Why was he looking at me and then at her?

Chloe stepped closer to the Grand Duke.

"As I saw you as a baby and your magic hasn't awakened, I'm certain you don't have the Special Eye, but the procedure must still be done. I'll place the mirror near you, and it will shine, capturing an image of your face," he explained to Chloe, and she nodded.

Ryan took the mirror and positioned it near her. The mirror emitted a small light and then stopped.

"The process is complete. Look at how you turned out," he said, showing her the mirror. It had her exact image on it.

"I... I look a little ugly," she said.

"Don't worry about that; you won't need to chase after a husband, hahaha. It's normal. The magic mirror distorts the image a bit. When the image is transferred to paper, it will come out perfect. How do you think we make illustrated books? Do you think we paint each drawing by hand?" he explained.

The Grand Duke fiddled with the mirror, and Chloe's image disappeared.

"Now it's your turn, little boy," he said, positioning the mirror in front of me and making it shine.

The light shone for quite some time. He stopped, looking puzzled, then turned the mirror toward himself.

"Strange..." he said, staring at the mirror.

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"What is it?" I asked.

"It seemed like the mirror was trying to capture the photo of another person as well, which is why it took so long," he said.

"Really?"

"There must have been some kind of magical interference. A woman even appeared behind you in the photo," he said.

My heart sank at hearing that.

It can't be! Is Athena real?

"I-I-I need to see that photo!" I grabbed the mirror from his hand.

Staring at the mirror, it only had my photo on it.

"There must have been some interference. It seems to have disappeared," he said, taking the mirror back from me.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" laughed the Goddess Athena beside me.

She laughed loudly, pointing at me.

WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?

"I won't tell you. You'll have to find out... my dear General Icarus," she said, moving away from me and heading into the forest.

A chill ran down my spine, but I decided to ignore that goddess for now.

"That was my only task, children. It was quick," he said.

"Is that all? We don't have to do anything else or any kind of ceremony?" I asked.

He laughed.

"That's all. Nothing more. Can you imagine me having to travel by carriage from the Royal Capital to here just for this small procedure? Luckily, I have this Asalon," he said, mounting the winged horse.

I need to clear up a doubt, and I only have this chance!

"Sir, Grand Duke..."

"Ryan. Just call me Ryan," he said.

"Sir Ryan... what if someone else could ride a magical flying animal?"

He looked at me strangely.

"There are other people in our family and some of our knights who ride an Asalon. Is that what you're talking about?" he asked.

"No... what if someone had another type of flying animal? What if someone had an animal like the Asalon and it wasn't from your family?" I asked.

The man laughed but then turned serious.

"If someone else were riding a magical flying animal... besides us? I think that person would have serious problems," he replied.

"Are you sure? Even if they were a good person?" I asked.

"We couldn't take the risk and would handle the problem... our way. We have a monopoly on the air and will continue to have it for many generations," he said.

I swallowed hard.

“Don't worry, kid. No one will emerge to threaten us, and we'll keep you safe. We're not called the Kings of the Air for nothing, hahaha.”

"You're right..." I say, trying to hide my anxiety.

"Besides, it would have to be a powerful creature to pose a threat. I doubt there's a magical animal large enough to defeat our Asalon groups," he told me.

"True... you're right..."

"See you in five years, kids. Don't forget the rule! If you awaken the Special Eye, notify the Royal Capital immediately! Now, goodbye, lovebirds, hahahahah," said the Grand Duke on his Asalon. The creature flapped its wings and flew away.

Lovebirds? What does he mean by that?

As soon as he was out of sight, disappearing into the sky, I sighed in relief after all that tension.

I’ll be in danger if they find out the truth about the phoenix. No one can know how big she can get... or how powerful she is. If that happens, they'll come to our door to take her before she reaches a size that could threaten them.

I would never use Cylla for such purposes, but now I have serious problems. What will I do about her size? How will I keep a bird hidden that will grow so large it could swallow an entire ship?

"It's finally over..." murmured the voice behind me.

I set those thoughts aside and faced the little monster.

"You were all scared back there. Where's the girl who kept dragging me around?" I asked.

"I promise I won't drag you anymore... I understand that doing that isn't good."

"About time you realized, Miss 'Duchess'," I said, laughing.

She made a face.

"Don't call me Duchess... I never wanted to be one," she said.

"Too late, you were born into it, and that responsibility fell into your lap," I said, walking away.

Leaving the little monster behind, I made my way back to the castle.

"Wait for me! I waited for you," she shouted.

I sighed.

"Then come on."

Chloe caught up to me and walked by my side.

"Co-could you help me be a Duchess... I got nervous, but you managed to talk to him."

"Me? No... that's your job. Besides, you're the heir to the throne, not me."

We continued walking side by side.

"I think it will be hard for me..."

I looked at the little monster.

"I also think it will be hard for you."

She glared at me.

"This was the moment for you to support me! You were supposed to say it would work out if I tried hard!" she complained.

I just laughed.

"Am I your boyfriend? You'll have to seek support from your husband at times like these," I said, teasing.

Chloe turned red.

"Don't talk about husbands! I don't want to hear more about marriages!"

"Alright, I won't talk about it anymore... I know you went through a traumatic situation because of an engagement."

She calmed down.

"Thank you... Nate."

I was surprised she called me that.

"’Nate’ is what my mother calls me. Why are you calling me that?"

"Y-You're my friend, so why can't I call you by your nickname?" she said, turning her head away and huffing.

Makes sense... but did I become friends with this little monster? When did that happen?

"Am I your friend? I don't remember that..."

"O-of course you are! You were my first friend..." she murmured.

Oh! I better not tease her about this, she really doesn't have anyone because she's been locked up all this time.

"I see, I'll accept being your first friend."

Wait... do I have friends? I don't think I have a friend in this world. Does Sifu count? No... he's just my teacher. Wait! I'm as lonely as she is! Damn...

"You're also my first friend..." I murmured.

She looked at me, eyes wide.

"Really... I hadn't realized that," she said.

"Me neither."

We continued walking, approaching the castle.

"In that case, let's do something to remember the beginning of our friendship," Chloe said to me.

"Do what?" I asked, confused.

"Do this!"

The little monster kissed me on the cheek.

WHAT!? WHAT DID SHE DO?

I stood there paralyzed when she did that, a bit in shock.

"D-don't get any ideas... it was just a kiss between friends..." she said, blushing, and then ran off.

I continued to stand there, surprised, watching the little monster run away.

"HAHAHAHA!" the Goddess laughed beside me.

I just stood there in shock, looking at Athena.

"Seems like you stole her heart... tell her later how you stole mine... though with me, it was by shoving your hand into my chest and ripping it out," she said to me.

"Fuck you, Athena. It was just a kiss between friends..." I said, but I couldn't convince myself of that last part.

The Goddess laughed even more.

"If you say it was just a kiss between friends... who am I to deny it, hahaha."

I ignored her and kept walking, knowing I had many problems to solve in the future.

"It will be a pleasure to be by your side throughout this new life of yours, General Icarus," said the Goddess Athena to me.