While the Imperial messengers hurried to Angio, the Sedaverian convoy headed for Hraun continued onward at a more leisurely pace.
Count Aegean kept up a full class schedule for Rian, with an array of teachers including himself, knowledgeable members of the convoy, and the noble(s) they were temporarily staying with that day.
Depending on who was teaching, Ren Xiyang might accompany Rian. Or he might ruthlessly abandon his boyfriend to suffer on his own.
Even Duke Blewitt taught. Ren Xiyang attended one lesson, but then conveniently had work to do during all subsequent lessons taught by the duke.
Alyssa Rosewood’s birthday came and went.
During the trip, Rian talked with Florence via communication mirror. She agreed to mention offhandedly that Earl Rosewood had asked her about marriage, whilst remaining vague about what was actually said for privacy reasons, and only confirming that she and Earl Rosewood weren’t getting married.
It didn’t take long for this rumour to spread among the nobles and the common folk.
“I was right, Earl Rosewood likes Lady Florence Sage!”
“So, he likes older women?”
“Sneaky little bastard, asking for marriage!”
When Kel heard the rumours, she immediately turned to Maria in confusion. “Does this mean—”
Maria patted her arm in comfort. “You know how rumours are. I wonder…” Maria had a sudden suspicion that it might have been something else.
“Wonder what?”
Maria smiled at Kel. “Just be patient and wait and see.”
While Rian strongly disliked the rumours, it was a necessary evil. He hoped that his Imperial Mother would hear the rumours and feel that he was pitiful and in desperate need of help to lock Earl Rosewood by his side.
And of course, aside from all the study and meetings and occasional scheming that Rian and Ren Xiyang did during the day on their journey, one cannot forget the debauchery detailed body studying that happened during the night. As promised, Ren Xiyang occasionally did the sneaking.
With new sights every day, time seemed to pass quickly. In a blink of an eye, almost two weeks had passed. The Imperial Messengers reached the Angio-Sedaveria border first, and a few days later, the Sedaverian convoy reached the seaside Aegean fief.
They expected to stay a few days in the Aegean fief, as all the goods in the carts and carriages had to be loaded into the big ships.
This was the first time in a long time that Ren Xiyang had seen the beach: the wide open sea, the wide blue skies, the golden sand, and very importantly, the fresh, cheap seafood!
Count Aegean was in a good mood after seeing his wife, family, and fief. He didn’t schedule any classes for Prince Rian while they were stopping at his fief.
Early the next morning after their arrival, something very unusual was happening: Earl Rosewood and Count Aegean were heading out together!
—And with no Prince Rian in sight!
In a rare scene, Ren Xiyang and Count Aegean got along very well as Count Aegean proudly showed off the kelp and seaweed and fish and pearl-making and food-product-processing setups, while Ren Xiyang showed suitable admiration and appreciation. Together, they bought a huge haul of fresh seafood, greens, and vegetables.
That evening, Count Aegean’s staff set up tables, chairs, lights, and multiple grills on their private beach for a small beach-side dinner party. There was even a small band, playing lively music as the night drew on.
With the summer weather, the evening breeze was refreshing. The blue skies turned gold and pink and orange as dusk approached; but because it was summer, there was still light. Multiple Aegean chefs staffed the grills, preparing succulent grilled seafood with salty, sweet, spicy and sour sauces and deliciously charred sides.
Ren Xiyang also had a cooking grill: he was personally cooking for a certain prince who was unhappy that he had spent the day with Count Aegean without him.
As Rian was eating, Ren Xiyang prepared more food and served him the second round of dishes once Rian’s first plate was finished.
“…Don’t make that expression,” Rian said.
“What expression?” said the deadpan Ren Xiyang.
“The one that makes other people think I’m starving you and forcing you to cook for me, which may I add, was done on your own initiative,” Rian said. “Make yourself some food and sit down.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Ren Xiyang cooked some seafood and vegetables and prepared a spicy sauce for himself. Not long after, he sat down next to Rian to eat. His meal was succulent, fresh, vibrant, and very delicious. It felt like the best meal he had all week.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Po P tjv yffc jiibkfv ab mtbbrf, P kbeiv tjnf ilxfv j rfjrlvf olfo lcrafjv,” Efc Wlsjcu rjlv joafg tf olclrtfv fjalcu.
Eljc’r fsfr rqjgxifv. “Tbe xcbk atja mjc yf jggjcufv—”
“Rb atjcxr.”
“C qlas.”
Eljc rjk atja Jbeca Cfufjc kjr tjqqlis rqfjxlcu klat tlr klof. Lf wfa Efc Wlsjcu’r ujhf, jcv atf akb uba eq jcv kjixfv abufatfg jibcu atf yfjmt.
They were silent until they were out of earshot of the rest of the party.
“Imagine if different events didn’t happen,” Ren Xiyang said. He glanced at Rian. “Tomorrow.”
Tomorrow was the death anniversary of the four late Rosewoods, and thus marked Ren Xiyang’s transmigration into this world. In some sense, it was also Ren Xiyang’s death anniversary, and both their secondary ‘rebirthdays’.
Rian understood. “But they did.” he smiled. “I think the original novel is wrong. I believe I must be the main character. The Goddess has blessed me.”
Ren Xiyang: “…”
Rian leaned in as they walked, causing their hands to brush.
A tingle went through Ren Xiyang’s chest. “…I’ve been thinking.”
“Yes?”
“What’s the practical change, if we were to hypothetically get engaged and married?”
“We would be irrevocably recorded in history as husbands.”
Ren Xiyang made a wry expression. “True, there wouldn’t be scholars debating whether we were simply good friends.”
“I would share my gold with you.”
Ren Xiyang brightened a fraction.
“As my consort, you’ll have more power and responsibilities. You’ll also be in charge of kingdom-wide initiatives and projects, not just Rosewood fief ones. You would be able to implement whatever you want across the whole country.”
Ren Xiyang frowned. “Hm.”
“—And of course, we can have public displays of affection that make everyone else jealous,” Rian said smugly.
Ren Xiyang abruptly turned around. “Race you back.”
“!!—I’m going to win!”
Across the beach, Count Aegean noticed the two boys racing back. Then he noticed Prince Rian ‘sneakily’ push Earl Rosewood into the water, and Earl Rosewood retaliating with a water attack.
Count Aegean wanted to make everyone close their eyes. Boys! It was so hard to maintain Prince Rian’s reputation, and yet, he was doing things like that in public!
King Augustus stood at his windows, overlooking the castle and the surrounds. His muscles were tense.
The contract variation handover at the border was complete. His agents were bringing the contract to the Capital secretly and quickly.
At the same time, a convoy of calvary and noble mages with his precious gold had departed from the Capital, headed for the Angio-Sedaverian border.
He would have preferred that Prince Rian’s nominated person came to his castle directly, so that he could hand the gold over immediately. That way, he could get his magic back right away…and possibly his gold, too. Unfortunately, King Edric had vetoed the idea. King Edric only agreed to send the contract variation and the nominated person to the Angio-Sedaverian border, and King Augustus’s people had to meet them there.
Worse than having to deal with Prince Rian’s annoying face was dealing with King Edric. In that negotiation, King Augustus was in a less-powerful position.
After all, King Augustus’s restricted magic wasn’t King Edric’s problem. If King Edric’s people dropped the contract variation at the Angio-Sedaverian border and King Augustus’s people weren’t there to pick it up then it was King Augustus’s fault.
King Augustus could’ve signed the contract variation earlier if he had gone to the Angio-Sedaverian border personally. But he wouldn’t, couldn’t leave the capital. If he left, the traitorous Prince Marcus would come in and take over the capital.
King Augustus didn’t trust the Sedaverians. His original plan was to stay put in the capital, and to get his hands on the contract variation and check that all the terms were in place before sending out the gold. If he sent the gold out earlier, and if King Edric had made a ‘mistake’ that rendered the contract unsignable, then sending that gold early would have been a waste, and it could also alert insurgents!
In the end, he compromised, sending out the convoy with the gold once the contract was handed over to Angian agents at the border.
Aurelia had said that the Angian agents at the border could immediately check the contract before it reached the capital. And if it was correct—and it appeared so—then sending the gold now would mean his magic could return a few weeks earlier.
The convoy was strong, with soldiers and mages. It would take them almost three weeks to reach Sedaveria.
In fact, the big convoy was a decoy.
There was a second, much smaller group of people carrying a second set of 15,000 gold coins to pay off the contract, who had left a day before. They should take less than two weeks and should arrive at the border not long after the contract variation reached King Augustus’s hands in the capital.
He knew that the big convoy would alert insurgents. So he made sure that it would. And then, by the time those insurgents prepared their forces to attack—thinking they’d get him before his magic returned…
Well, he’d prove them wrong.
His mind was filled with glorious scenes of him with his magic back, crushing treasonous nobles. And once he was done with them, he’d deal with Sedaveria.
King Augustus’s eyes were dark.
A group of Angian men were clustered in Baron Gelu’s study, in his manor house in the Gelu fief. Prince Marcus, Marquis Fluvius, Baron Gelu, and others were staying there for the night, still on their way to the Amethystus fief.
They could have reached the Amethystus fief earlier, but Prince Marcus had been gathering more and more troops along the way in order to better suppress Viscount Amethystus when the time came.
Marcus also hadn’t expected the complexity of the logistics chain, but that was the problem right now—
One of Marcus’s men was knelt with one knee on the floor and was delivering a crucial update: a large guarding team surrounding a carriage and caravan were seen leaving the capital, heading towards the east—towards Sedaveria.
“—We strongly believe that they are carrying gold.”
There was a ‘thump’ in Marcus’s heart.
“So the bastard is really paying off the contract. He’s really going to give gold to the Sedaverians,” Marcus said darkly.
Marquis Fluvius’s eyes deepened. “It would appear so, Your Highness.” He glanced at Baron Gelu.
Baron Gelu lowered his head. “Our window of opportunity is now limited.”
Marcus frowned in thought. If they could intercept the gold delivery, then the contract wouldn’t be fulfilled. “Detail the troops for me,” he ordered.
The kneeling man gave a firm nod. “Yes, Your Highness. The carriage and cart are accompanied by the Second Imperial Calvary Division and three noble mages: Duke Helios, Marchioness Vulturnus, and Duke Ignis’s eldest son, Lord Orsen Ignis.”
Marcus snorted. “You’re dismissed.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” The servant bowed to the other nobles and quickly left.
On the one hand, such a group wasn’t easy to intercept, certainly not by ‘bandits’. On the other hand, such a big group made it clear how important their cargo was. However, his father wasn’t stupid. He had secret agents. So, if the big convoy would take three weeks to reach Sedaveria, then his agents may take half the time or even less.
For a brief moment, Marcus entertained the thought that his father had his magic back already but was just pretending. He dismissed it right away—King Augustus would never be able to stop himself from showing off his power.
Marcus turned to Marquis Fluvius. “And I suppose your people have still been unable to determine the research at the underground tower,” he said, with a slight mocking edge.
Marquis Fluvius bowed his head submissively. “No, Your Highness. We have attempted multiple approaches, but Princess Aurelia and Viscountess Venenum have not let a single new person in.”
“You should see whether your people are as good as you think or not,” Marcus said snidely. He glanced at Baron Gelu. “Viscount Gelum’s youngest daughter has become Aurelia’s lady-in-waiting. Aren’t they your cousins?”
Baron Gelu made a dissatisfied face. “The Gelum family has always thought they were better than the Gelu family,” he said.
Marcus snorted contemptuously. It was true, since the Gelums were Viscounts, and the Gelus were only Barons.
Marcus made a dismissive motion. “Once everything is complete, I’ll personally make Aurelia release the information.” She was obedient to the king, anyway.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Marquis Fluvius said.
“Your Highness, what should we do now? Do we continue pushing after Viscount Amethystus?” Baron Gelu asked.
Marcus strode over the table with the nation’s map laid out. There were multiple little wooden figures on the map, representing different groups.
“Baron Gelu, you can continue after Amethystus. I will return to the Capital. In the meanwhile, Marquis Fluvius, get some competent people to carry out ‘plan 4’, making sure everything is ready when I reach the Capital.” Marcus smirked. “Everyone needs to know that His Majesty’s powers will be returning in three weeks.”
Prince Pollux had a bitter taste in his mouth: as the days passed, he still hadn’t called to sign that contract to not harm King Augustus.
He didn’t attend morning court, but he lived in the castle. He should’ve been a threat. But he didn’t even appear in King Augustus’s eyes.
Aurelia must have never brought him up to King Augustus, either.
Everyone seemed to think he was harmless. Or maybe they were waiting to see whether his plans would actually work or not.
He couldn’t tell if Aurelia was allowing him to do as he wished, or whether she was using him as a weapon while keeping her hands clean.
In the end, Pollux decided that he didn’t care. Aurelia had her plans, and he had his. It was a good thing that their plans complemented each other.
Pollux felt that he was almost ready. Now, he had to wait for the right moment.
Ren Xiyang: Am I in love?
Rian: Yangyang loves me!
Ren Xiyang: By the way, I spent the whole day with Count Aegean without you.
Rian: Yangyang doesn’t love me!
More art from whoislikeaparadox!
A very beautiful and dangerous dance 🤭🤭🤭
Thanks for the chapter! I LOVE the machinations going on in Angio.
Thank you! I’m trying my best to do the Angio scenes but they’re hard 🤣
Thank you for the chapter! Oho, regicide by an underdog in the cards! Not that I’d complain, I have not seen a worse combination of paranoid and stupid/naive in a long time. No wait a minute…that actually sounds like my mother-in-law 🤦😅😭
Thank you for reading! And… 😅😅😅😅
why are people so talented 😭
If only I had time T_T
“And they were just roommates.”
Wawww Is there any artist in here who could draw them with hanfus!!🥹🥹
🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
I think it would be cool if Ren Xiyang was wearing hanfu and Rian was wearing some European…the contrast could be interesting 🤔
dayumm…..BYE I’LL GO LEARN HOW TO DRAW REAL QUICK!
😆😆😆😆😆 you and me both!
Lady Florence, you heartbreaker! Hahahaha. Ren cooking for Rian, such a picky eater (both of them)! King Auggie, “I’m so sneaky” while everyone else in Angio is planning to remove him from the throne… Our dear writer has been busy…
Great writing! ❤️🤣❤️🤣❤️🤣
Hehehe, thank you!!
eheh i love Ren Xiyang and Count Aegean hanging out (๑˃ᴗ˂) sea-side places are the best
Yeah!!! It’s a mini beach episode~
Thank you for the chapter and your hard work.🥰
Thank you for reading!