“Ulfric, stop playing around and get over here!”

  They all turned towards the source of the voice and saw their general sitting with a few visitors on the viewing platform. The uniforms made them out to be members of the royal army.

  Prince Levon watched as the trio approached them. The one who seemed the have the most authority was in full armour except for his helmet as if he had just returned to the camp.

  “General,” they all greeted simultaneously with a neat martial bow.

  The guests had not been introduced so they didn’t greet them specifically, but the prince just saw this as them not putting him in their eyes. He at least had to be considered as a royal guest, but they had not said a word about it. They were unruly and disrespectful, almost every single one of them but what else could be expected of wild border troops.

  “Your Highness, this is Officer Ulfric whose battalion will be joining in the imperial army’s expedition.”

  Sorin followed said introduction with a nod of the head towards the prince whose lip twitched shortly after.

  “I get to meet a legend in the making,” commented the prince and the soldier bowed his head slightly in response.

  The prince had heard about Sorin but had not expected it to be the young man in front of him. For everything they had heard, he didn’t seem to be any type of monster but merely a little unapproachable. Then again, would a man who had seen that much blood be considered friendly in any situation. Clawe simply glanced at Sorin while thinking that he was still as stubborn as ever.

  Even when the initiative was taken by the higher party to make acquaintance with him, he still didn’t show any interest. The Louvarossy soldiers were stubbornly loyal to the Duke and the Ulfric family in the first place. Sorin however, was in a class of his own just due to his personality and not because he was particularly loyal to any cause.

  “Anyway, we’ll have plenty of time to get acquainted on the way to the capital Officer Ulfric.”

  Sorin’s cold gaze shifted to the General naturally waiting for an explanation, but other man looked as if it was his first time hearing this piece of news. Even Clawe was somewhat surprised.

  “Your Highness wants to take part in the expedition?” asked General Kasabien.

  “Oh no, not the expedition. I merely want to look around the imperial capital on a personal capacity is all, and this seems to be an excellent opportunity. My party and I will separate from yours once we arrive.”

  It was already enough getting a few soldiers to the capital without having to worry about the safety of a noble as well. Sorin was not planning on taking a leisurely excursion along the way and would be pushing for the trip to be as short as possible by having everyone on horseback with a change of horses at outposts.

  Conditions permitting, the trip would take twenty days or less.

  “I hope your Highness will be sufficiently prepared,” said Sorin.

  Prince Levon stared at him trying to determine if the words were undermining him or not, but Sorin merely stared back without much of an expression or interest in his eyes.

  “Officer can rest assured, neither my royal guard nor I will slow you down.”

  A few days flew past with Raisa and Lili busy running errands away from Kamaria but she didn’t mind being without attendants especially since she had just visited her mother. After the visit, she found herself wandering in the imperial gardens, having much to think about.

  It was not only when it came to the upcoming banquet but also the Grand Lady’s attitude towards her. There was not a single lady in the palace that didn’t want the Lady Nadira’s attention not just for their natal families but mostly for their children.

  Even the noble families and Officials would never give up a chance to find favour with an old and powerful family like the Shafei house. Kamaria continued staring at the water while trying to organise her thoughts.

  Having someone who was always so neutral suddenly become proactive towards her was a bit overwhelming. It was troublesome to have Lady Nadira’s attention since in turn many other people would start paying more attention to her when she liked her peaceful life.

  The advantage was that most people would not take stupid actions against her or mother since they wouldn’t know if they were offending the Grand Lady or not. It was really a bit of a blessing and a curse.

  “Lalla!”

  The voice alerted the distracted Kamaria and she swiftly turned with the clear intention of attacking someone, but she found her hand was held in a tight grip. She had not even seen the appearance of person, but her hand had accurately aimed for a certain spot but was stopped within an inch of his neck.

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  Even distracted her reaction was very defensive, no scream or anything just an outright attack, like a little animal ready to always protect themselves at all costs. Kamaria looked up at the person who had stopped her, and he smiled.

  “Lalla, careful not to fall into the water. Luckily this big brother was here.”

  She stared at him a little while longer and then rolled her eyes as she stepped away from him. Another puzzling character had been added into the scene, and she was too tired be a gentle little thing.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked and the visitor was immediately excited by the rather casual attitude.

  “Hmm, just visiting. Didn’t my little sister promise to have tea with me some other day,” he playfully replied, patting her head with his fan, very unfazed with her unimpressed face. It was better to see this side of her in fact he could say she was more fun this way.

  “Little sister? Lord Reza, there are so many princesses in this palace that you wouldn’t be short of sisters to adopt. Why trouble yourself with me?”

  “Of course, I’m allowed to choose which little sister I like the most. Come now, don’t you want to see my sincerity in your debut gift? But we’ll have to go outside the palace. How about it?”

  Kamaria couldn’t decipher this enthusiasm. Who would be so excited about giving gifts to someone they barely knew?

  The playful smile had never once left Reza’s face even though he felt a little like he was a trafficker trying to kidnap someone but there was no other way. His interest in this little princess was not unfounded.

  Any smart person needed to have at least one good relation in the imperial family. Out of all the people in their current generation, Reza felt that his interest was piqued by her even before they met so it had to mean something.

  Kamaria on the other hand couldn’t make sense of why so many people were trying to socialise with her. Was this the attention everyone got to bask in after formally debuting into society?

  It was like an official sign for every dog to take a bite of meat. Merely thinking that there were likely other big families or people waiting to approach her only gave her a headache.

  Since the members of the Shafei family were paying attention to her then they had to take responsibility for her headache. They were a readymade shield for her so why not use it?

  “Fine, just be warned about trying anything questionable.”

  “I’m well aware, our grandmother would have me flayed alive.”

  Reza offered his arm and Kamaria looked at him once before carefully holding it. They were walking side by side, but Reza could sense just how cautious she still was which was understandable. It didn’t matter to him; they could get to know each other slowly.

  He was brought back from his thoughts by the distant tinkling of bells. As they were leaving the garden they noticed two people coming towards them dressed in similar colours.

  The clothing of the woman walking ahead was ornate in its patterns from the sleeves of her robes to her cloth headdress but there were few adornments on her body making the ones that she wore stand out.

  Decorated golden cuff bracelets adorned each henna covered wrist, the henna forming patterns that flowed onto her hands. Around her neck upon her shoulders, sat a divine collar necklace of beads and precious stones that caught the light as she moved.

  A simple head chain with an intricate pendant on her forehead highlighted the black line that ran down the length of her nose and chin.

  Ornaments of the staff held by her chimed with each step as she approached, giving her entire appearance an otherworldly aura especially since she was looking down making people unsure whether she had her eyes open or not.

  Both Reza and Kamaria were prepared to bow to her as she walked past but she suddenly stopped and put a hand on Kamaria’s shoulder.

  “Little queen mother,” she said making the surprised duo look up.

  “Kahina?” replied Kamaria.

  “Don’t be alarmed, I just haven’t seen this face in person for so long. Let me have a look.”

  The little princess stood up straight and she could finally see the soul probing and vivid light-coloured eyes of the priestess. The woman gently placed her hand on the side of Kamaria’s face and nodded with a smile.

  “Family whether found or by blood can be a nice thing to have,” she suddenly said looking at them both.

  “Now, let me be on my way. Our emperor should be expecting me.”

  Then she drifted away before they could reply or pay their respects to her. They turned to look at each other curiously.

  Kamaria thought about whether she had ever met the Imperial Oracle in an intimate setting since she spoke as if they were familiar but just hadn’t met in a while.

  The priestess had likely come to give some insight before Khayri’s banquet, but this path was far removed from the emperor’s main palace. Was she trying to meet them on purpose?

  Reza on the other hand was still considering what she had said. What sort of unpolished gem had he discovered for her to be acknowledged by the Imperial Oracle? The priestess that served as the oracle was a respected figure in the entire nation who barely took part in daily mortal matters unless it involved the entire empire.

  Even then, she couldn’t reveal every little matter in her divination otherwise the woman would have been driven completely insane by all the visions.

  Since ancient times, families chose certain individuals outside their immediate family on which to bestow their loyalty.

  The person didn’t have to be a ruler or even anyone famous but someone who could make a difference when it was needed. This type of loyalty was the same for the Shafei family and Reza himself.

  Out of the messy family situations and chaotic harem of the last emperor, his grand aunt had managed to identify and bring up the current ruler and his right-hand man with the support of her family.

  The person Reza chose in his generation might not have been the current Crown Prince but maybe someone even more interesting. With gradual cultivation, this good talent could become great talent even if it was unofficial.

  It seemed his choice of a little sister was not wrong after all and all he had to do was slowly give this little gem a good polish and there was no better time than the present.