Chapter 263 - Fleeing The Scene
After escaping the ordeal, the venerate aura of the Supreme Elder was all but gone, and all that was left was a disheveled look like the Supreme Elder had suddenly aged a few decades.
Although Leon remained unconscious and soundly asleep, the rise in cultivation did not go unnoticed. Heinrich, Grandmaster, and Princess Faelyn had all sensed it, let alone the Supreme Elder who had experienced it firsthand.
"Are you alright, Senior Haldir?" Grandmaster Don chose his words carefully, sounding the Supreme Elder out. He hoped the Supreme Elder would not become hostile from his loss in cultivation.
"Haa…" The Supreme Elder peeled his eyes away from Leon and exhaled deeply. His face was still a bit pale from the experience. "I"m alright… I just need some time to rest for a while."
The Supreme Elder sounded rather despondent and depressed. There were no feelings of malice towards the prince, only the small trace of lingering fear. This was what he reaped for being stubborn.
"O-Of course, allow me to escort you to the guest courtyard," Heinrich said, feeling slightly guilty for the Supreme Elder"s state.
"That won"t be necessary, your Majesty." The Supreme Elder shook his head and declined courtly. "It"s improper for your Majesty to personally escort me. A maid or servant will do."
"Alright then." Heinrich did not beat around the bush, seeing the Supreme Elder was firm in his decision. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "About my son… Was there any problem?"
The Supreme Elder s.h.i.+vered slightly at the mention of the prince, but he calmed himself down and answered, "His Highness is perfectly fine and seemed to have entered a strange cultivation state. His Highness should be able to wake after he completes his cultivation. I probably don"t need to mention this, but I do strongly advise against any further careless actions of peeking into the prince"s sea of consciousness."
Recalling the experience, the Supreme Elder had never felt so shaken. He did not know what the black vortex he glanced upon was, but it was not a power he could mess with. It contained the force of a Great Law—No, Supreme Law behind it!
In front of this law, he was like an insignificant speck of dust in existence. Nothing could compare to it. Was this even something mortals can comprehend?!
The Supreme Elder had experienced too many surprises since his arrival in the Human Domain. He needed some time alone where he could calm his nerves.
After Heinrich called for a maid to send the Supreme Elder away to his living quarters in the Guest Courtyard, the king turned to the elven princess.
"Princess Faelyn, if it"s not too much trouble, may I trouble you to look after my son for a while in case anything happens?" The king requested.
Faelyn thought that it was strange that the king was making this request to her when any maid will do. Perhaps, the king was still concerned about the prince and was not a.s.sured unless an expert in medicine was watching over the prince.
"I don"t mind looking after his Highness… You can just call me Faelyn, your Majesty." Princess Faelyn thought for a moment before she answered.
"Thank you very much. With that, I am a.s.sured." Heinrich said, before shaking his head. "However, that won"t do. I cannot agree with that. In any case, you are still the princess of a tribe. It is only proper that I show you the basic level of courtesy and recognition deserving of royalty."
Princess Faelyn smiled wryly and said courtly, "As per your wish, your Majesty."
"These maids will tend to all your basic needs and necessity during your stay here. If there is anything you need, feel free to summon them and order them as you wish. They will right outside."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Princess Faelyn soon curtsied in response to the king bidding his leave with the Grandmaster Alchemist after.
After everyone left, it was just Princess Faelyn and the unconscious Leon in the room, while two maids stood outside patiently. Princess Faelyn could not help but heave a sigh of relief. She could relax for a bit.
It was just too exhausting dealing with royalties and n.o.bles with formal speech. She preferred to spend her time among the commoners within her tribe due to this reason. She could speak more freely.
Having some time to think, she could not help but think that the king was giving her preferential treatment. There was this look of approval the king had in his eyes when he looked at her.
Things had also progressed rather smoothly on their trip to the Human Domain. There were some minor scuffles with some young n.o.bles within the Upper District on their way to their accommodation last night, but it was all handled by the general marquis.
Glancing back at the unconscious prince, she found drawn to him. What kind of person was the prince and what kind of secrets were hidden inside his body? She had never seen the Supreme Elder in such a sorry state.
She was also worried about the future. Her father and the elders would not agree willingly to become va.s.sals of humans. There were bound to be disagreements. She only hoped that things do not take a drastic turn for the worse.
If the future was as grim as the Supreme Elder predicted, they should avoid conflict at all costs and work together.
Time slowly pa.s.sed within the small room. Princess Faelyn felt a bit bored and decided to check on the prince"s condition again.
…
Inside his sea of consciousness, Leon felt a bit regretful that the surge of energy ended so soon. Just a little bit more and he would have advanced his cultivation to 9 stars.
"Oh well, beggars can"t be choosers." He shook his head.
After the surge of energy ended, he realized he could leave his sea of consciousness whenever he wishes. However, he did not decide to leave immediately.
The black vortex was no longer devouring energy greedily, but six streams of energy continue to flow towards it in a steady motion.
"Something feels a bit different about my cultivation… Receiving such a large intake of wood energy, I expected my cultivation to lean towards the wood element, but that doesn"t seem to be the case. My awakening cultivation feels… uniform."
Inside the black vortex s.p.a.ce where his soul core now resides, there was a ring of grey energy circulating around his soul core. It was not Grandmist energy, but a type of neutral energy without any distinct element.
However, Leon had an instinctive feeling that it can become any elemental energy he wants it to be if he wills it. He was not sure how he knew, but after gaining some comprehension into the law of nihility, his mind had gained a greater sense of clarity.
The distance between virtual and reality seemed to have blurred and there was an elusive yet omnipotent feeling of being able to bend the world according to his will.
"I should return and test the extent of my newfound abilities." Leon decided.
Exiting the sea of consciousness, Leon"s perception returned to reality. But before he opened his eyes, he decided to keep it close and studied the surrounding with his divine sense.
He could feel the presence of someone touching him. It was the elven princess, Faelyn.
"What kind of situation is this? What the heck happened while I was out? Why is she in my room alone with me? Where are the others?" Questions flooded his mind.
"Oh, she"s holding my arm now… what does she want to do?"
Not knowing that the prince had regained consciousness, Princess Faelyn cluelessly held the prince"s left arm closer to her face and inspected a faint scar that she had failed to detect previously.
It was the scar left behind by the Body Rune engraving process last night. The Golden Ointment had closed the wound, but a faint scar was left behind.
A refres.h.i.+ng ball of green light began to light up on Princess Faelyn"s delicate finger as she used it to trace along the scar line.
The scar disappeared almost immediately.
"Oh, she"s removing my scar. How thoughtful. She seems to be skilled in medicine. Did my father ask her to look after me because I suddenly pa.s.sed out?" Leon thought.
Leon silently did self-introspection on himself and failed to find any problem with his body. He was perfectly healthy.
"I guess she should be done now… hm?"
Princess Faelyn did not place Leon"s arm back down even after a while had pa.s.sed. She appeared dazed and there was even a slightly envious look in her eyes as she traced along Leon"s skin.
"How can a guy have such nice skin?" She thought.
Although Leon"s skin was not as fair as her, it was elastic, silky smooth, but also packed with hidden explosiveness underneath.
She could tell that these were very st.u.r.dy arms, despite its delicate appearance. Looks were deceiving.
She was confused by the contradiction between st.u.r.diness and delicateness. She did not know it was possible to achieve both things.
"How can this be? How did he do?"
She took a glimpse at Leon"s "sleeping" face and continuing her investigation.
Meanwhile, Leon was feeling conflicted in his heart.
Even if placed in the entire Divine Realm, the beauty of the elven princess could be ranked amongst the very top.
Logically speaking, any guy would die happy if they were being felt all over by such a level of beauty, so where does this conflicted feeling come from? Because such a beautiful princess was secretly a pervert?
"This is considered hara.s.sment, right?" He thought wryly.
"Not good, I can"t continue pretending like this."
Leon felt like his heart was continuously being tickled. He was not immune to this level of beauty. His little brother was getting a reaction. If the princess notices the rising tent, he will lose all his face.
Right then, his eyes decisively snapped open and got up.
"I must say, princess, are you trying to awaken the dragon?! Why are you so touchy?"
Leon stared straight into her emerald eyes.
Princess Faelyn froze as her brain got short-circuited in response. Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.
"Hey!"
Leon waved in front of her.
"Ah?"
Princess Faelyn snapped back to reality and her eyes widened as she registered his previous words and realized that Leon had been pretending to be asleep for some time. Recalling what she was doing, she was so surprised for words, she could only yelp.
"Ah!"
"Are you alright?"
The princess had stumbled backward with a deep crimson flush on her face. Her heart was beating like crazy and her mind was in chaos. She just wants to find a hole to crawl into. The embarra.s.sment was killing her!
"I… I should go!"
The princess fled the room like a frightened rabbit no sooner than the words she uttered. Leon could not help but chuckle and shake his head wryly.
"What happened? I heard a scream and the elven princess running…" Heinrich returned to the room in an unnaturally timely manner. He was pleasantly surprised to find his son waking up so soon.
Apparently, the king had been camping around nearby.
Recalling the elven princess fleeing with a flushed face, he seemed to have understood something and a wide smile crept on his face.
He intended to discuss this matter with his son beforehand, but it appears that there was no need. His son was already making his move.
The beauty of the elven princess was irresistible. Why wouldn"t his son want an elven wife?
"Nice one, son."
The king gave his son a thumbs up.
"What are you talking about?"
Leon was speechless.