The Kingdom of Aurum, a lake not far from the capital.
The lake's surface looked like glass polished smooth by time itself, reflecting the blue sky above.
The forest on the opposite shore was thick with mist, every leaf still wet with dew that hadn't burned off in the daylight.
Birds occasionally swept past the treetops, their wings shaking loose sounds like scattered silver coins hitting water.
In the shallows, water lilies were slowly closing their milky-white petals. On one lily pad sat a bright green tree frog, its throat pouch inflating into a transparent bubble with each croak.
The lake was so clear you could see several salmon gliding through it like liquid bronze, their tails stirring up fine sand as they moved.
Along the shore, a herd of deer had just finished drinking and disappeared back into the woods.
The shallow water pooled in their hoofprints reflected the sky, like countless sleepy eyes suddenly opening in the earth.
The wind moved through flower clusters, and the lake answered with gentle ripples.
These sounds mixed together in the breeze into a damp coolness that pressed softly against a traveler's warm forehead.
Every time Faust saw this scene, he couldn't help but marvel at the fairy-tale landscape. Now that he thought about it, the description really was fitting.
The Kingdom of Aurum took its name from a river called "Aurum" that flowed through the entire territory, feeding one lake after another.
And "Aurum" was a river with mystical properties, possessing an incredibly powerful self-purifying ability.
In the past, when this land served as an imperial province, the Empire had valued Aurum's purification effects and established weapon forges here, carelessly dumping pollution into the river.
The once beautiful and fertile land was poisoned by wastewater.
The people who had lived on this land watched their mother river suffer such abuse and were heartbroken.
The Empire's rule in the region was also brutal, treating the people of Aurum as cheap labor to be exploited.
So the seeds of rebellion were planted, and when the Empire finally fell into chaos and fractured, the current king and his followers rose up in revolt and set things right.
Decades after overthrowing imperial rule and establishing independence, the "Aurum" had long since recovered its former beauty.
Faust had even played to the kingdom's strengths, building up tourism in Aurum.
It had now become a cornerstone of the kingdom's finances, with travelers coming and going, all captivated by Aurum's beautiful scenery.
If the prince hadn't been so set on conquest, the kingdom could have thrived as a peaceful paradise just from its service industry alone.
Today, however, Faust had come to take a boat tour on the lake.
As for the reason, well, after establishing his status as "co-regent" alongside Eleanor, Faust had done his best to offload his work.
Fortunately, the career officials he'd trained early on were all extremely capable professionals.
Although their leader's sudden hands-off approach made them a bit nervous, as long as he didn't interfere recklessly, these people could still keep the Kingdom of Aurum running smoothly.
Just then, Mephisto offered a suggestion:
[If you have nothing to do, why not follow the river downstream? There'll be a surprise.]
Finally, the blessing had arrived.
The prince of Aurum immediately understood this was a hint from the Fae, so he called Viviana over, boarded the royal boat, and drifted along with the current.
On the pristine white pleasure boat, Viviana brewed black tea and poured a cup for Faust.
"Your Highness, what made you suddenly want to go out and have some fun?"
Although many of the Kingdom of Aurum's scenic areas had been personally planned by Faust, the prince himself had never shown interest in these beautiful sights.
"Didn't I tell you? From now on, I'm going to enjoy life to the fullest."
Faust picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and smiled. "I never really went out for fun before. Trying out some sightseeing isn't bad."
But his constantly bouncing leg gave away that the prince wasn't nearly as relaxed as he seemed. With world conquest as his life's purpose, wasting time was unforgivable in Faust's eyes.
Suddenly stepping back from his busy life of governance, Faust felt restless, even experiencing a sense of guilt.
Truly hopeless.
"That's right, Your Highness. We can retrace the paths we took before. You're thinking the same thing, aren't you? The scent of the marigolds along the shore, how nostalgic."
Hearing Faust's words, Viviana was clearly happy. Although you couldn't see much change of expression on her doll-like face, the joy radiating from within her was impossible to miss.
Only then did Faust remember that a few years ago, when scouting scenic area locations, he had traveled by boat with Viviana.
The pleasure boat drifted along, and the two occasionally exchanged words, but spent most of the time in peaceful silence.
To be more accurate, Viviana appeared very quiet.
Faust looked at his childhood friend. The pale gold-haired girl sat with perfect posture, her magnificent purple eyes quietly watching him.
Her already gentle features appeared even softer beneath the glow of her pale gold hair and the lake's reflection.
But Faust's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help asking, "Viviana, what are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at myself."
"Hm?"
The girl answered, "What does the me in your eyes look like? Stars or mist? Look at the you in my eyes too. It should be spring."
Being hit with such romantic words by a girl as picturesque as a painting, Faust grew nervous instead.
He coughed lightly and asked cautiously, "By the way, Viviana, have you lately... ahem, had any needs? Don't hold back, you have to tell me."
Although she seemed normal now, having already witnessed her unhinged side, Faust knew full well that Viviana wasn't as detached and self-controlled as she appeared on the surface.
On the contrary, Viviana was seriously repressed, so repressed she'd developed "Cinderella," a pure and extreme alternate personality.
Faust was genuinely traumatized. Rather than wait for Viviana to reach a breaking point, he'd rather get ahead of it and help her find relief.
Better safe than sorry, after all.
Viviana paused at his words, then pressed her lips together tightly.
"Your Highness, are you saying you want to do it out here?"
As she spoke, the pale gold-haired girl reached out to undo her collar.
Faust quickly grabbed Viviana's hands.
"I never said that!"
Viviana blinked.
"Sorry, I thought you were hinting at it. Given your habits, don't you usually need a woman every night to sleep? You seem to have been holding back these past few days."
Oh great, turning this on me! I'm the one worried about you losing control!
Just as Faust was refastening the pale gold-haired girl's buttons, a relaxed voice came through:
"Humans, are you about to mate?"
"?!"
Faust and Viviana looked toward the sound. On a branch along the shore stood a graceful figure.
She wore a slightly loose coat, and her white shirt was pulled tight without a single wrinkle. Below her hot pants were round, long, snow-white thighs.
Even a glimpse of her profile revealed breathtaking, elegant beauty, radiating an aura both sharp and clear.
One eye was hidden by dyed bangs, while the other was a crystalline, brilliant golden eye that seemed to have molten gold flowing within it.
Most importantly, her ears were quite pointed, completely different from ordinary humans.
Without a doubt, this was an elf.