Chapter 18 – His Highness Gregory

In the backyard of the Tidis residence, under a large tree with lush foliage, there was a beautifully arranged soft cushion. The elegant Duchess leaned gracefully against the cushion, gazing at her younger son, Eddy, who was resting his head on her lap.

Compared to her elder son, who bore some resemblance to her, the younger son’s features were strikingly similar to his valiant father. However, due to his young age, only his mother, who paid close attention to every detail of her child, could see this resemblance.

Eddy was now eight years old. His intelligence didn’t seem to differ much from that of an average child, except that he often stuttered when speaking, and it was only recently that he could speak fluently.

A year ago, this wouldn’t have been an issue.

At that time, the Tidis family already had an intelligent and composed elder son, who, no matter how critically one looked at him, was the perfect and indisputable heir to the family. Therefore, the fact that the younger son was of average talent, or even slightly below average, wasn’t considered worth mentioning.

The Duchess sometimes even thought that having such a younger son, who wouldn’t have to worry about family affairs and could stay by her side for a long time, was a blessing.

Even when Lin Wei was discovered to possibly possess magical talent, the Duke just laughed and said, “This might be a good thing! As long as we hide it well from that damned Magic Academy, Lin Wei can naturally receive the Empire’s training—not only will he inherit the Tidis family’s army, but he might even take control of the Mage Corps!”

Unfortunately, what no one could have anticipated was that, even though the Duke had prepared Five-Colored Cloud Stones to conceal magical fluctuations, the elder son’s magical talent was still discovered by “that damned Magic Academy.”

When the Duke, who was at the border, received the news from home, his expression darkened, and he crushed the armrest of his chair in frustration.

With two noble children already hiding their talents and joining the Empire’s Mage Corps, the eldest son of the Tidis family, who held significant military power, had now become a member of the Magic World!

This situation not only invited suspicion from the Imperial Family—the eldest son would undoubtedly no longer be able to inherit the family—but now, with the younger son, who could barely speak coherently, how could anyone feel at ease?

After this incident, the Duke’s smiles noticeably diminished.

The sensitive Duchess could easily guess the reason behind this, but being equally powerless, her concerns were more for her younger son than for the family’s future.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, breaking into scattered bright spots that danced on the Duchess’s hair and Eddy’s peaceful face.

The warm sunlight made Eddy drowsy, his eyes half-closed as if he might fall asleep at any moment.

Suddenly, he seemed to notice something out of the corner of his eye, and his drowsiness vanished instantly. “Mother, Father is here!”

At some point, Eddy had become more fearful than affectionate toward his father.

The Duchess watched as her younger son hurriedly lifted his head from her lap, trying to sit up straight, and a look of heartache appeared in her eyes.

She remembered that when Lin Wei was this age, in a similar situation, he would roll into her arms, make a funny face at his father, or run toward him, only to be picked up and spun around by the still youthful Duke, both of them laughing.

Although Lin Wei had grown less lively as he aged, the Duke’s affection for him hadn’t diminished in the slightest. In fact, the Duke personally tutored his eldest son in the study every day, pouring all his heart into it.

It was nothing like the current situation, where the father looked stern and the son was filled with anxiety.

She smoothed her slightly disheveled hair, stood up, and took her younger son’s hand as they walked toward the Duke.

The Duke first asked Eddy the usual questions: “Did you understand everything your teacher taught you today?”

Eddy lowered his head and mumbled, “Yes.”

“Good,” the Duke replied indifferently, then turned to his wife. “Lin Wei arrived in the Imperial Capital yesterday.”

“What?” the Duchess exclaimed, her eyes filling with joy, but she quickly added, “Then why hasn’t he come home yet?”

“He shouldn’t come home,” the Duke frowned as he looked at the lush tree. “He just arrived at the gate, but Pattier and the guards drove him away.”

“Drove him away? Why would you…” The Duchess looked at the Duke in confusion.

Suddenly, the Duke raised his hand in a gesture for silence and strode toward the tree.

The leaves swayed slightly in the breeze, seemingly normal.

“Come down,” he said coldly.

The leaves rustled, and a figure jumped down from the tree.

It was none other than Lin Wei, who had just been “driven away.”

He first smiled and embraced the astonished Duchess. “Mother, I’ve missed you.”

Then he reached out and ruffled Eddy’s hair before turning to the expressionless Duke. “Father.”

The Duke didn’t respond.

Eddy, however, exclaimed with joy, “Brother!” and quickly approached Lin Wei, though he hesitated for a moment before stopping in front of him.

Only when he saw his brother open his arms did he confidently throw himself into the embrace.

The Duchess examined Lin Wei from head to toe, confirming that he hadn’t lost any weight since leaving home a year ago. Only then did she relax, holding her eldest son’s hand and asking him every detail about his life at the academy.

Lin Wei answered her one by one.

The Duke watched this heartwarming reunion, which he hadn’t seen in so long, then turned and left, leaving the courtyard to the mother and son who had been apart for so long.

—

While Lin Wei first made a show of arriving at the Duke’s residence during the busiest visiting hours, only to be chased away by the Chief Guard and his men, and then sneaked back into his own home, Haitie was walking through the bustling streets of the West District of the Imperial Capital, looking at the strange shops along the way.

Even if Duan Yu had come out, he wouldn’t have been able to see much, so he stayed at the inn. Meanwhile, Daniel, who had initially come out with her, was captivated by a small shop selling rare gemstones and insisted on staying longer, leaving Haitie alone.

Thus, Haitie wandered through the lively West District alone, filled with excitement. She was wearing a crimson gown today, her long, wavy red hair adorned with tiny, sparkling crystals that shimmered softly in the sunlight, complementing the small gemstones embedded in her cuffs.

The West District was a paradise for merchants, but there were few nobles who actually walked its streets. Therefore, when Haitie appeared in her noblewoman’s attire, she attracted quite a bit of attention.

This young lady seemed to be full of curiosity about everything here, as if she had never been out before. She moved from one shop to another, her flowing skirt making her look like a beautiful butterfly flitting about.

—

“Last night, Lady Lavis danced three times with His Highness Bolan—the nobles are saying that the Imperial Family is about to welcome its first Princess Consort. My sources also say that the Lavis family’s business has been closely tied to His Highness Bolan recently…”

“Lavis…” The man with narrow eyes tapped the table with his right index finger and scoffed. “The Nightingale family—a family that maintains its status through marriages. Their daughter’s marriage will determine their stance.”

“That’s a rather foolish stance. She should have married you instead.”

“On the contrary, this Nightingale Marquis is the smartest and boldest head of their family in generations.”

“Why do you say that?” The young man sitting across from the narrow-eyed man looked increasingly puzzled.

“You’re clever, but you haven’t been in the Imperial Capital for long,” the man said with a somber expression. “As my father grows older, his heart softens… It seems he believes my dear brother would make a better emperor.”

If Lin Wei had been there, he would have immediately recognized the two men conversing on the second floor of a street-side tavern. One was none other than the man he had served in his previous life—His Highness Gregory, the Crown Prince of the Imperial Family. The other was the Crown Prince’s chief strategist—Sars Angel.

However, at this time, Sars was still just the son of a minor noble from the south, having only recently been brought to the Crown Prince’s side. He still retained the carefree and frivolous demeanor he had brought from the south. “It’s nothing to worry about—he’s no match for you. It’s just a pity you can’t marry Lady Lavis… Tsk tsk tsk, I saw her last night, and I swear I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my life!”

Gregory let out a low, cold laugh. “A nightingale must have a good voice—I have no interest in that kind of caged beauty.”

Sars propped his chin on his hand. “Greg, it’s not like I’m saying this for no reason. Even Bolan is about to take a Princess Consort. Haven’t you considered it?”

Gregory remained silent for a long time, and Sars suddenly noticed that he was looking out the window at the street below.

Following Gregory’s gaze, Sars spotted a girl who stood out conspicuously on the street.

She was holding the hem of her crimson gown as she stepped out of a shop and made her way through the crowd toward an elderly flower seller with a basket of flowers in front of the tavern where they were sitting—her steps light, her demeanor carrying a purity and innocence that seemed out of place on this street filled with money and trade. She looked like a beautiful red butterfly that had accidentally wandered into the human world from the forest.

From the vantage point of the two men upstairs, they could see the girl take a bouquet of white flowers, her blue eyes curving with joy as she closed them, lowered her head, and deeply inhaled the fragrance of the flowers.

When she opened those beautiful eyes again, it inexplicably felt as if the entire world had awakened with her.

“I take back what I said earlier—” Sars coughed. “Lady Lavis isn’t the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

Gregory noticed the change in Sars’s wording from “woman” to “girl,” and a faint smile appeared on his lips, quite different from his earlier cold smirk.

He watched the retreating figure of the girl in the red dress. “Which family’s daughter is this? I’ve never seen her in the Imperial Capital before.”