"Anything with one of these runes won't be able to leave the premises," Princess Evelyn tapped an intricate stamp on a set of scrolls.

"Everything else you'll be able to bring out." She motioned to a few other scrolls. "But know that while only you can unlock and read the scrolls, that doesn't mean you should leave them lying about haphazardly."

"Understood," Duncan replied. Despite his large appearance and reputation, he had a surprisingly soft voice.

The Royal Chamber of Knowledge they were in was far below the ground. It was a runic-sealed sanctum holding precious texts, forgotten spells, and untold history. The air was cool and preserved by ancient artifacts, safeguarding the knowledge for future generations.

Evelyn gazed over toward Duncan. She noted him rubbing at his left forearm.

"The engraving procedure yesterday wasn't too bad, I hope? I know getting a promise tattoo isn't the most pleasant experience," she said. "But Julius is the best runic mage I've ever encountered, so I trust in his ability to engrave a promise tattoo better than any of the elders."

As Micah predicted, Duncan was voted in without any issues because of the miserable state of his reputation, yet reputable family background. It helped that one of the voting members was no longer of this world. And to Evelyn's luck, Duncan had a decent head on his shoulders; that was all she needed to help her complete all the required work.

"No, it went fine. I'm not new to receiving a promise tattoo; I've had one done on my coming-of-age to access my dukedom's inner library," Duncan replied. "It just feels funny now and then."

Evelyn chuckled.

"We've outlawed the practice of promise tattoos, but look at us," she said. "Still having them done, despite the dangers and the laws we ourselves passed."

Duncan sighed. "During our ancestors' time, getting a promise tattoo wasn't nearly as dangerous. And if they're not done, we wouldn't be able to access these ancient chambers. The knowledge would be lost."

"That is true," Evelyn agreed. "Times have certainly changed."

Her gaze moved toward one of the shelves within the Royal Chamber of Knowledge, recalling what she had discovered regarding the state of the infected lands.

Knock. Knock.

Evelyn glanced at a clock, realizing she had spent nearly an hour down here with Duncan.

She walked over to the heavily runed metal door leading back into the palace and opened it.

"Princess Evelyn, your scheduled meeting with the Rothmere Kingdom's diplomats is to begin soon," the attendant on the other side reminded her.

She nodded.

"Thank you, I'll be there shortly," she said.

She sighed, her brows furrowing as she recalled the recent diplomatic challenges.

The two kingdoms had been in a bitter trade war in recent years, each trying to gain an economic advantage. As it stood, the trade war was creeping toward a blowout real war.

The root of the conflict lay in the land's infection having spread and limiting the available trade routes across the continent. Rothmere had taken advantage of this and implemented heavy tariffs on goods passing through its territory, making it difficult and costly for merchants from Evelyn's kingdom to access lucrative markets beyond Rothmere's borders. In retaliation, Adovoria had imposed similar tariffs on goods coming from Rothmere, causing tensions to escalate.

The trade war had far-reaching consequences for both economies. Prices of essential goods soared, causing hardships for common folk and straining diplomatic relations between the two kingdoms.

To complicate matters further, there were whispers of smuggling and black market trade, with both sides accusing the other of underhanded tactics. Admittedly, Evelyn was well aware that at least one merchant guild from her kingdom made quite a profit with all the restrictions in place.

She knew that resolving this dispute was crucial because, otherwise, war was on the horizon, and Adovoria was not in the best position to engage in battle. This, unfortunately, also made negotiations even more difficult.

"Ah, there is one other matter," the attendant continued. "Julius has asked me to inform you that Luca Frey has arrived at the palace, requesting an audience."

"He has?" Evelyn's eyes widened. "In that case, push out the meeting with Rothmere's people. I will meet with Luca first. Ah, and please have one of Christian's cakes delivered to us."

Like many others, Evelyn had heard of the massive apology cake that Chase Daylan had presented to Luca Frey. She even knew that the pastry chef that he had the cake made through was one of her own.

"Pr-princess Evelyn, but the meeting with Rothmere has been set for weeks," the attendant stuttered out.

Evelyn waved her hand.

"Yes, and they can wait a little longer. Send tea and cake to them as well while they wait. Tell Julius to set Luca up in my office."

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She understood her attendant's confusion. A couple of days back and she would have shared his bewilderment at her actions. However, knowing what she knew, the urgency of finding a resolution and setting up good relations with the Rothmere Kingdom took a backseat to meeting with Luca Frey.

She closed the door on the perplexed attendant and wandered back inside the chamber toward Duncan.

"Duncan, I have other matters to attend to. While I'm gone, see if you can get through some of this paperwork," Evelyn tapped one of the massive stacks on one of the tables. "At any mention of some territory or individuals, I recommend referring to the locked scrolls. It'd be good for you to get acquainted with our intel on other regions."

Duncan nodded.

"I'll be sure to get familiarized with everything. However, what about that door?" Duncan asked. "You've walked me through all the separate rooms except for that one."

Evelyn didn't need to look toward the most intricately sealed door to know immediately which one he was referring to.

"Only the reigning crown can enter that one," Evelyn replied.

"That's you, I presume?" Duncan asked.

Evelyn nodded solemnly. "But keep that to yourself."

She wasn't yet officially crowned, as her father was still alive. For political reasons, his condition needed to be kept under wraps for a bit longer. However, nearly all of his responsibility had been passed over to her a few days ago, as his days were clearly numbered.

With that responsibility came access to the innermost room of the Royal Chamber of Knowledge. It was behind that door that she learned one of the most treasured and guarded secrets of their kingdom.

To her surprise, there were but two scrolls in the secret chamber. They were old yellow silk scrolls with the oracles' names long faded away from the scroll's edges. One of these two scrolls predicted Luca Frey's appearance and his importance in Adovoria's future.

***

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Princess Evelyn's heels clicked against the polished marble floors.

What could Luca have come to discuss?

Even before her father's health had begun to deteriorate, she had been brought into the know regarding the House of Arkangul and the subsequent Frey family's importance to the Octavia lineage. Their family was the sword and shield to hers—or perhaps more accurately, they were the poison and dagger, working from the shadows. They toiled tirelessly to protect and ensure the safety of Queen Aurelia Octavia's descendants.

The relationship was amicable and lucrative for both sides; however, it was shrouded under a curse at its core. No one protects another for generations out of sheer goodwill.

That's where Luca Frey came in. In one of the two scrolls, accessible only to the reigning crown, a prophecy was outlined regarding the appearance of a child with phoenix eyes from the Arkangul family.

Phoenix eyes were something Evelyn had learned about when she first gained access to the Royal Chamber of Knowledge. They were rare and typically found in individuals born to notable parents. The child often displayed unusual stride in their talents as well.

The prophecy regarding this specific individual had a few stipulations in place, but at its core stated that once the child grew into adulthood, the debts of House of Arkangul to House Octavia would be fully paid. However, the House of Octavia would not be at a loss; the prophecy also suggested that he would bring House of Octavia to a bright new era.

Thus, Princess Evelyn didn't understand why her father never appeared to showcase as much interest in the prophecy and Luca Frey.

Perhaps it was because Luca was adopted and not of blood relation to the House of Arkangul? However, as Evelyn saw it, being blood-related hardly guaranteed a family. And having seen Micah's interaction with his brother, they were obviously family and thereby fulfilled the condition of the prophecy.

Alternatively, Luca had a poor reputation for playing distasteful jokes; perhaps that was why her father never paid him any mind. However, in that regard, given the unusual behavior observed by Luca as of late, Princess Evelyn was confident that he was the foretold child.

"Ah, Luca! I was wondering when you'd come by!" Evelyn entered her study.

Luca was seated at a small table beside the large pond, where the colorful fish Micah had gifted her swam.

"And I see you brought your bird?" She smiled broadly, noting the small curious little bird sat atop his head, as usual. Given its golden eyes, obvious intellect, and how cautious Micah behaved around it, she suspected it to be another phoenix-eyed individual that had shapeshifted into the form of a bird.

She walked over and took a seat across from him. "What brought you here today?"

"Cake?" he said, followed by a happy tweet from the little yellow bird.

Evelyn laughed brightly. "Well, if cake helps me get to know you better and we become friends, I don't have any qualms about it being your motivation to stop by. Besides, you and I both know just how exceptional our pastry chef is."

Knock. Knock.

"Ah, speaking of cake…." Evelyn smiled.

The room's door opened, and a pair of maids rolled in a silver trolley with a sizeable white-frosted cake and tea. They set the cake and tea on the table between them, bowed, and left the room.

"Don't eat the cake," Luca said with a serious expression and proceeded to cut himself a slice.

Evelyn blinked in surprise and brushed her long red hair behind her ears.

"Did you want to eat it yourself? I don't mind—I can always have Christian make another one for me."

"What? No. That's not it." Luca appeared alarmed. His face gained a slight red tint. "It's poisoned. Or at least I think it is."

He lifted the slice of cake and examined it as if it were a branch from the Humton Forest.

Intrigued, Evelyn propped her elbows on the table and rested her face in her palms, observing him. She couldn't help but be amused by Luca's methodical approach.

Just what is he checking for exactly? Can he actually gauge with his eyesight alone if it is poisoned?

"The cake on its own looks fine." He poured himself a cup of tea and inspected the liquid as well. "The tea is fine on its own too."

He then took a slice of the cake and plopped it inside his cup of tea.

PSHHHHH!

Evelyn drew back and sat up straight in her seat.

The water in the teacup had bubbled and turned an almost black hue.

"Hmmm." Her eyes narrowed at the reaction.

I'll need to see who's in charge of purchasing ingredients and who they've been in contact with. Only someone very knowledgeable about poisons would have been able to create such an advanced activating poison.

"Peep!"

Luca smiled at the bird and cut himself another slice of cake.

"As long as you don't mix the two, it should be safe to eat," he said, and the bird jumped off his head and began to nibble on the cake slice.

"Is that so?" Evelyn smiled and cut herself a slice as well.

"Now that the cake part has been taken care of, I'd like to discuss the current state of The Order and what might need to be financed for our borders to be properly secured." His golden eyes met hers. "I have come into a bit of money thanks to Lady Sedna Ozeryn and would like to help Adovoria using these funds."

"I'm all ears." Evelyn's smile brightened as she savored a creamy and soft bite of her cake. She had been so busy that she had forgotten to eat until now yet again and thus was pleased that she didn't have to toss the cake away.

I was right to think that meeting with Luca took priority over meeting with the Rothmere diplomats.