"Yes, I understand! But why did you add those last words?!" Princess Sanolina replied, turning her flushed face to the side. Yet, she suddenly felt sadness and tightness in her heart, as if she wanted that person to be her future husband. But she brushed those thoughts aside with superficial words.
Susan saw her mistress's state and said, "Your Highness, why do you think the King and the Prince summoned you?" Susan was trying to change the subject.
"Perhaps something related to the kingdom? Honestly, I don't know what Father and Uncle are thinking. I don't trust Father either, but as for Uncle, that's different because he is an intelligent and talented person who has made many inventions to elevate our kingdom's economy to heights after much stagnation. So, he wouldn't summon me for something like just a party!" Princess Sanolina said, adjusting the crown on her head.
The First Prince was very close to her; they played together as children, and her mother had also breastfed and raised him when he was a child, as per the will left by the previous king's concubine upon her death. It was strange for a concubine to leave a will entrusting the upbringing of her son to the concubine of her husband's son, the king! Instead of letting the current queen raise him, as the king's sole younger brother. The king didn't object and took his young brother himself to his concubine's fiefdom.
The king respected his father's concubine, as she had raised him too when he was a child, and he considered her in the place of a mother, which made him take her will seriously.
'Even though the Prince is only a year older than me, he has achieved many things for the kingdom, making him beloved and respected by all the people of the Luciana Imperial Kingdom, whether commoners or nobles, they all respect my uncle! I've heard his fame has spread to other kingdoms! But what have I done? After my mother's death, I stayed in the fiefdom surrounded by servants, guards, and refined comfort, enjoying the luxury of my kingdom's wealth, but I made no significant effort to alleviate its crises or think of something to help it grow!' Princess Sanolina thought to herself sadly, but she remembered Xiao Peng's smile again in her mind. 'Why does he keep appearing so frequently in my mind today? It can't be that I've fallen in love with him! No, no, push these thoughts out of your mind, Sanolina, you shouldn't think about this, we are never equal, and even if I accepted him, my father wouldn't! Ah, what are you saying, Sanolina! Accept whom?!'
That sadness disappeared from the Princess's face, and her cheeks became redder with every passing moment as she remembered that "vagabond's" smile. Fortunately, Susan didn't notice that change, or she would have lectured her mistress.
'I wonder if we'll meet again? I wish to meet you again... No, I don't know why I'm saying this, but I long to meet you because of a strange feeling!' Princess Sanolina said while playing with a strand of her hair.
…
After a continuous hour of the carriage journey up that mountain, the carriage stopped before massive walls. In the middle was an ornately decorated gate. Behind those walls stood a huge, ancient palace that inspired awe just by looking at it. The Princess's guards stood on either side of the carriage, their gazes stunned by the palace's enormity. But their shock increased greatly when the trumpeters behind them began playing that beautiful, majestic tune.
At that moment, the sound of huge wheel rattling echoed from behind the gate, wrapped in long, massive chains, sparking from continuous friction with the wheel.
A hundred knights in golden armor were turning the huge handle and pulling the gate to flip it backward, allowing the royal carriage to pass over it so it wouldn't fall into the giant circular chasm dug behind the walls.
Neigh!
That sudden sound and vibration caused the horses to panic, so they soon bolted madly over that giant gate, crossing the chasm at high speed.
"Ahhh!" Susan screamed in fear, clinging tightly to the Princess.
"Don't be afraid, Susan!" Princess Sanolina said, embracing Susan with one arm while the other held the crown on her head to keep it from falling.
"Your Highness!" shouted the golden-armored knights responsible for lowering that giant gate.
"Save the Princess!" one of the Princess's personal guards shouted and ran, followed by many knights in golden suits, chasing the carriage drawn by the panicked horses.
The horses were running directly towards the palace's main gate with no intention of stopping, but intent on crashing. This made the guards worry more for the Princess's safety.
"Should we intervene?" a voice suddenly rang out.
"No, there's no need for that!" another voice replied to him.
"Alright!" said the first voice quickly.
At that moment, several figures appeared atop that colossal palace; their forms were transparent, making it difficult to discern their gender or age. There was only that crest bearing the image of a black crown studded with purple jewels on the left side of their chests.
They all looked down, specifically at the person who appeared on the path in front of the carriage and stood before the palace's main gate. His appearance suggested he was merely a young man, wearing a high-quality brown suit with a coat and fine black trousers. He wasn't wearing any hat, revealing his blond hair combed in a forward spiral; his eyes were red, radiating coldness.
"Your Highness, the First Prince, move aside! This is very dangerous!" the knights shouted upon recognizing that person's identity.
"No need to worry!" the Prince stated while remaining standing in the path of the four horses, not moving from his spot.
"No, this is dangerous!" shouted one of the golden-armored knights.
"I told you there's no need!" the Prince stated coolly, looking at those horses heading towards him and saying: "They are only feeling panic and want reassurance from someone! They don't want to harm anyone, so don't frighten them more and stop! That's an order!"
"Your order!" At the Prince's words, no one dared to disobey his commands, and all the knights stopped running.
The frenzied horses didn't stop but continued increasing their speed, determined to crash into the palace's main gate. Seeing that, looks of worry appeared on the knights' faces, and they wanted to move to catch up, but the Prince's orders were absolute. They could only pray silently that they wouldn't hit the Prince and cause him serious injuries or, worse, kill him!
"Why are you running so fast? No one is chasing you! So why don't you calm down now?" the Prince asked those frenzied horses and said: "The energy you waste running due to fear is a loss of energy not used in building and developing the kingdom! You are only running from your fear? But what then? Will you keep running your entire lives? It seems the tortoise was right: nothing is worth running for!" The Prince didn't say anything after this, merely extending his hand as if asking for the horses' agreement.
"Your Highness!" the guards shouted when they saw him do this loudly.
Those speeding horses approached the Prince, but upon hearing his talk and those words, and that hand he raised towards them, they suddenly stopped running.
…
"What?!" one of the guards shouted in surprise.
"It's the miracle everyone talks about regarding the Prince! That he can talk to animals!" another knight spoke.
"Talking to animals? That's impossible!" another knight replied.
"No, it's true, and it was confirmed today!" spoke the knight who had earlier mentioned the Prince's ability.
..
"Are they fools? It's clearly an ability from the Dominator Path!" a transparent figure atop the palace laughed.
"They are ordinary humans, so it's natural for them to think that!" another transparent figure next to the speaker explained.
The figure in front looked at the Prince with cautious expressions, remembering that this Prince was not easy at all, and thanked the gods that he wasn't his enemy, otherwise he would have been eliminated long ago.
'The Prince has developed again! He's a real monster!' the transparent figure in front spoke. He slowly raised his hand and opened it, revealing a ball of threads the size of an adult human head emitting a very destructive and chaotic aura.
'But perhaps he's not more of a monster than the creator of this energy ball! To be capable of creating such a highly destructive energy ball with immense power, contrary to its appearance, and being only at the first level, this makes him like an ancient monster returned from hell to reclaim his throne! Perhaps he will be a strong contender to rival the Prince's talent!' that transparent figure thought, looking at the energy ball Xiao Peng had thrown towards him earlier with terrible admiration.
….
After the four horses stopped running and finally calmed down before the Prince, the door of the royal carriage opened, and Princess Sanolina descended, followed by her maid, who felt dizzy.
---
End of Chapter ~ To be continued