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Path to Prosperity - B2 Chapter 46
🕑 Added 2024-09-20 10:00:11 +0000 UTC“First, Percy decided to ignore the meeting and disappeared, and now the princess is missing as well. How could their maid lose Sophia? She isn’t that fast and never threw a tantrum. The little girl is responsible and knows not to worry anyone. So why now?” Paul Reeze cursed softly.
He glanced at his wife, who smiled gently at him. Unlike most people looking for the princess, the duchess wasn’t worried. She stood next to her husband in the clearing of the royal forest and patted his shoulder calmingly.
“The little girl you’re talking about is the princess and she has been under tremendous amounts of pressure since I can remember,” The duchess explained calmly, “You know how Phillip and Reina have been since they lost their firstborn. They’re too worried that something could happen again that they forget Sophia is still a child. Their worries reached a threshold that blurs their vision of Sophia. They cannot even see the tree amidst the forest anymore.”
“I know what you’re trying to say but you better don’t tell anyone else, darling. We don’t want any trouble with the royal family,” Paul Reeze said, turning around to see if anyone was eavesdropping on them.
The duchess and Reina Kain were friends from a young age, but that didn’t mean it was a good idea to openly admit that the king and queen were having issues, no matter what the issue entailed.
“Today is a mess. I don’t think it can get worse,” Paul Reeze grumbled a little louder, which earned him an affirmative nod from his wife.
But the duchess’ head flicked to the left instead of looking at him. She stared into the darkness of the royal forest’s undergrowth and couldn’t hide her smile when she discovered something.
“Why are you smiling?” Paul was interrupted when the bush his dear wife was looking at started rustling. The bush was pushed aside, and two familiar people emerged in the clearing.
“Tada,” The duchess snickered, “Looks like you got a two in one deal right there.”
***
The Duke, his wife and daughter, and the Glacia Knights rushed over to Percy and Sophia, but they weren’t the only ones. There were hundreds of people in the clearing and only a small portion belonged to the forces of the Reeze Duke. Some men and women unsheathed their weapons, thinking something had happened when they saw the Glacia Knights rush to the bushes, while others noticed Percy and the princess.
Only a few people had heard about Percy, which was also why the man who didn’t know him charged forward, ready to attack Percy if he posed a threat to the princess.
Surprise flickered in the Glacia Knight’s eyes when they recognized eyes and they glanced over to their lord to find out what was going on, but Melissa Reeze was the first to speak what was on her mind.
“Why did you not attend the Estate for the meeting, Percy?!” Melissa cursed at him, but her eyes trailed to Sophia hiding behind Percy. Sophia clutched tightly onto Percy’s pants, her eyes filled with fear as hundreds of Gifted charged at them.
Melissa’s eyes bulged, and her attitude changed right away. She smiled gently at Sophia and bowed deeply. However, when she lifted her body, Melissa hissed at Percy.
“In the seven hells…why is the princess with you?!”
Ehh…
Percy didn’t know how to explain it without incriminating himself. He rubbed the back of his head while smiling like a fool.
“You have nothing to say?! Let me help you with a beating!” Melissa spit venom but restrained her violent nature before the princess, “...later. Just you wait!”
Percy shuddered, which didn’t help calm the princess. Tears welled up in her eyes. Percy squatted down and squished her cheeks lightly. Sophia looked into his vibrant, azure eyes, and Percy winked at her. The princess released a faint chuckle, which Percy took as a good sign. He wiped her tears and said.
“Everything is fine, okay?” He said reassuringly, ignoring his doubts and worries as he ruffled through her hair.
At this point, everyone was present to see Percy and Sophia, but nobody spoke. The clearing was deadly silent, and everyone eyes were on Percy, who consoled the princess like a caring brother.
Percy was glad when the princess stopped crying. He was aware that he had been insolent by treating the princess like a little girl and that it was inappropriate to treat the kingdom’s princess like that, but Sophia was a human, a child before she was a princess. She deserved to be cared for.
He got up again but noticed that Sophia didn’t let go of his hand. On the contrary, she grasped him even tighter than before. Percy had seen the Reeze Duke and Melissa before, but he was looking for a gentle face to reassure him that everything would be fine.
He was looking for the Duchess. She smiled gently at him, a tear trickling down her cheeks as she embraced the picture unfolding before her.
“Why do you look like the princess, sweetheart?” She asked Percy quietly, but the entire clearing was silent, and everyone could hear her.
Percy didn’t expect the duchess to call him sweetheart suddenly. For a moment, he thought she was talking to someone else, but that wasn’t the case.
After hearing the duchess ' words, the princess looked at Percy for a moment, and Percy responded by looking back. She tilted her head, and Percy followed.
“We look the same?” Sophia asked, but she didn’t sound confused. There was nothing but happiness in her voice. “You look like me! Heheh~”
Is that fun? As long as it makes you happy, I guess.
Percy suppressed a wince. He expected reassurance from the duchess, but her words were like a fierce hammer strike. The tension in the clearing increased and didn’t subside for several minutes. Some men and women, probably servants of the royal house, approached Sophia and tried to take her away – they threw vigilant glances in his direction, and some froze in their tracks when they saw his azure eyes – but the princess didn’t follow them. On the contrary, she ordered them to stay back while happily talking to Percy, comparing their facial features.
“We have both azure eyes!” She exclaimed.
“That’s correct,” Percy responded and cursed inwardly because everyone glared at him, “...your excellency…”
“Don’t call me that! You didn’t do that earlier either,” The Princess demanded in her high-pitched voice. Percy felt like cursing even more when Sophia exposed him, but he nodded, “As you wish.”
The princess was satisfied and compared their features again.
“You have black hair as well!” She tried to reach for his hair, but the princess wasn’t tall enough. Percy squatted down next to her again, allowing the princess to ruff through his hair, “And it’s soft just like mine, too!”
Percy smiled at the princess as she giggled happily.
“Your smile is very nice!” She declared happily and compared them again, “I was told to have a bright smile, too. You and I have nice smiles!”
Percy was certain the princess would have continued comparing their features if they hadn’t heard a desperate scream from the side.
“Sophia!!”
The sound of clanking armor and footsteps reverberated through the royal forest as a young woman burst through the bushes. Hundreds of knights and other esteemed men and women rushed behind the woman, but they weren’t as desperate as the young woman.
The woman looked like she was in her mid-20s, but Percy had been too often mistaken about people’s age. He always forgot to consider the slowed aging of Gifted. The higher someone’s Tier and their mana purity, the slower someone would age after reaching maturity. At least, that was the norm.
Thus, the woman was probably in her 30s, maybe even older. She had vibrant emerald eyes like Percy had seen only once before, but he paid more attention to her other features. She had long, silky black hair like Sophia and equally flawless skin. She was thin but more lean than skinny. Instead, the woman was well-trained but not too much to influence her aesthetics. Still, the mana coursing through her showed Percy clearly that she was a ferocious tiger. She was beautiful but dangerous if angered…or searching for her cub.
“Sophia!” She screamed again, her eyes trailing across the clearing until she found the princess.
“The fun is over,” Sophia murmured before smiling and waving at the woman, “Mom!!”
The ferocious tiger was none other than Sophia’s mother. The Queen of the Kainesh Kingdom.
It’s time for me to scrap together every bit of etiquette I have. Being an insolent brat before the queen would get me killed right away.
Percy had to suppress a shudder as he got up. He stepped away from Sophia and left the daughter-mother to reunite. He felt like running away for a moment, but the queen, and probably dozens of present Gifted Ones, were faster than he was. It was only obvious, but escape wasn’t an option anymore.
“My little baby! Are you fine?” The Queen asked Sophia worriedly. She appraised the princess intently, turned her around to check her back as well, and didn’t stop with her appraisal even after she was certain Sophia was fine.
“I’m feeling better than ever, mother!” Sophia reassured with a smile, which crumbled when the Queen stared sharply at her daughter.
Sophia broke into cold sweat and stammered something to save her hide, “But the Kainesh Lion is hurt! And I am only fine because of some potions!”
Seeing the worry return to the Queen’s eyes, Sophia proceeded to tell her mother what happened.
She fled from the palace because she was tired of the morning classes and ended up in the forest. Since nobody knew the royal forest better than her, the princess was fine. Until the Dwarven Wolves arrived, that is. She summoned the Kainesh Lion to protect her, but she collapsed after a few minutes due to the strain of summoning a monster stronger than the Cardist. The rest was history.
Percy didn’t know how long Sophia’s story was, but he had to acknowledge that the little girl wasn’t bad at storytelling. The Queen’s expression changed often, and she inspected her daughter’s well-being again after hearing about the Dwarven Wolves. She ushered something to the knights behind her, and Percy saw them spread out and return to the forest.
The poor souls are going to have a long night.
Percy thought, but he was pulled out of his train of thought when the Queen’s emerald eyes landed on him. Sophia finished her story and pointed at Percy to tell her mother what a nice time she had playing with him.
“I am not sure what you have been doing in the royal forest, but I consider it a great fortune. Thank you for saving my daughter–....” The Queen was about to say more but the whatever she wanted to say was stuck in her throat. She froze in her tracks and looked at him for the first time.
The Queen stepped closer until a waft of her perfume reached him. Percy tensed as she reached out for him. He expected something bad to happen, but the queen didn’t do anything. Her trembling hands stopped before she could reach his face.
The Queen noted his black hair and was glued on his azure eyes for a while until Sophia pulled her out of a trance.
“We look alike, don’t you think so, mom?” The princess giggled, but it was almost like Sophia was the only one who couldn’t perceive the tension in the air.
The queen swallowed hard, “Are you…Percy?”
The duchess joined the queen, who looked over to her friend for affirmation.
“Yes, that’s Percy,” The duchess answered with a knowing smile,
“He’s the one you were supposed to meet this morning.”
