Chapter 123 Beware Of The Prince (2)

Sure, I could tell that he had some agenda, but it wasn't as bad or inherently deep as I had imagined.

I could tell that he just wanted to form a good relationship with us, which in my books wasn't bad as long as some limits were crossed. o

"BAMM!!" A guard burst through the door and hurriedly knelt in front of King Ameal.

"What is it" King Ameal replied with a drastic shift in tone and character.

"The messenger we sent to the territory of the Sloywoth kingdom just arrived'" The guard hesitated ".... But he is not in good shape".

Instantly, King Ameal's eyes snapped towards me and stared at us "I am sorry Mr Wyatt, but it seems like I won't be able to entertain you for much longer" He explained. A deep sigh escaped his lips.

"Don't worry about it. Handling troublesome matters as a king is unavoidable, especially in cases like this" I didn't need anyone ringing a bell in my ears to tell me that now was the time to take my leave.

Another man raced into the room and laid down flat on the floor.

"My king!!" I stared at the man. His clothes were tattered and mildly burnt. His bloated face was riddled with injuries.

"What happened to you" King Ameal spoke. His expression looked more dangerous than before

"It's the Sloywoth kingdom" The words painfully escaped from the man's lips " When I went to deliver your message to them, they beat me till I was wounded before they threw me out".

"Let's go" I conveyed to the two women close to me. No one objected. Thankfully, they sensed the gravity of the situation and understood that this isn't something that they want to be involved in.

Although for some reason, Nina seemed hesitant to leave.

Soon, we left the villa, walked past the gates and found ourselves walking along the busy snowy street

"You seemed hesitant to leave" Instead of leaving it up to my imagination, I asked her.

She was silent. A breath of white fog escaped her lips as she answered "Remember when I said that the reason I was almost killed is that I needed information for my book".

"Yes" I nodded. I vividly remembered asking what kind of book she was writing, for her to put her life in danger like that.

"And I kept quiet" Nina spoke with a blush on her cheeks "The book I am writing contains everything that has happened since the beginning of the emergence of the Moonlight's ice" She paused "Well, not everything as I am still in the process of editing somethings".

"So, you are like a historian?" I asked.

"Yes".

"And you are writing this book for what reason?"

Her blush got deeper "… For myself….. And maybe, for anybody who comes along it and is interested in what happened during those times".

I nodded. I didn't know whether to applaud what she had said or berate her that her actions for such a self-given task were too extreme.

I did neither. "So where is this book?" I questioned.

"It's back at my workplace" She responded. "I work at the former branch library of the Mage tower".

"Mage tower?"

"Yes. An institute that helps train mage-ranked ascendants" She responded before she paused "Haven't you heard of it?".

"I have" I answered. I have listened to Mad John explaining how he heard that my ship was fortified by the mages at the Mage tower.

However, I couldn't ask him for clarification because his understanding of the matter was limited.

I turned to stare at Nina "And what about the other ascendants" This might be a good time to learn some things "How do they cope here?".

She stared at the snow crumbling beneath our feet and answered "Like other places, they have their institutes like the 'Warrior ranks' have a place that teaches them how to use the swords and develop their bodies. While the 'Hunter ranks' are in-between, mostly joining the Warrior's institute or Mage tower. Whichever one matches their taste and path".

I noted. It made sense, even with my limited knowledge.

"However, because of the Moonlight's ice, both the Mage tower and the Warrior's institute have either become abandoned or turned into a shell of their former selves" Annabelle said, ear-dropping in on our conversation.

'Yes, you are right" Nina replied to her with a smile.

…....…..

"I know" Annabelles responded. Her lips curved into an irritated smile

Prince Wyatt's eyes darted over the figure of the two women. 'It seems that they still aren't comfortable with each other presence' He thought.

"Since you went so far to write that book, let's go get it" Prince Wyatt changed the conversation.

"Really?" Nina's eyes beamed with happiness.

"Yes" Prince Wyatt replied. After all, he was in the mood for a tour, which was cut short yesterday night for an obvious reason.

"Alright then, let's go".

"Ahem! " Annabelle cleared her throat intentionally. "I will be going back to my inn for now. I will come to meet you tomorrow so that we will find a way to know the situation of the ship"

Her attention was placed on Nina before she shifted it over to Prince Wyatt.

Unsurprisingly, she was still not pleased by the woman's appearance. Sure, she knew that Nina was here to stay, and that was why she needed to go back to her inn and think. Or for better words, 'restrategize'.

However....

"Don't worry, I have time today. We can do that immediately after we are done" Prince Wyatt replied. He already had plans of starting his teacher-student lesson today so that he could finally start focusing on getting stronger by himself.

He was still weak. So weak that he felt his newly gifted gifts were wasted on him. And that is a problem he needed to fix.

Without even giving her a chance to refuse or complain, Annabelle, swallowed her words of dissent and walked along with them.

"Since everyone is onboard" Prince Wyatt turned his head towards Nina with a smile on his face "Lead the way".

Nina nodded with a thankful expression as she glanced at Prince Wyatt. She was still previously looking for a way to get back her book, so his words had pulled out a boulder away from her heart.

No one except herself understood what that book meant to her.

And so, with a sudden spring in her steps, she marched forward and led the way. Although the route towards the library wasn't far from where they were, it took them about 35 minutes to get there by foot.

As ascendants, the journey didn't tire them. And Prince Wyatt took the opportunity to appreciate the scenery. It was something that he could never get tired of.

"What's that?" Prince Wyatt saw the crowd gathering around a building from afar, and couldn't help but mutter.

"Hmm!" Nina squinted her eyes at the scene. A foreboding feeling suddenly arouse in her heart. Her eyes widened as she noticed the familiar signboard hanging on top of the building.

Even from a distance, they could see it. From the broken signboard to the ashen black dust scattered on the ground. "Oh no!!" Nina gasped in belief as she shot forward towards the crowd.

She pushed through the crowds with enough force to send them staggering towards the ground. several murmurs and whispers made their way into her ears, but she disregarded them as she stood in front of her bookstore.

"No!" Her face was clouded in disbelief as she stared at the burnt building in front of her. Her legs gave up, and she fell kneeling first on the snow. "No" She muttered again, silently. Her voice was laced with a tone of doubt.

Meanwhile, Prince Wyatt chased after Nina together with Annabelle who hesitantly chased after the two of them. They both watched as Nina slowed down and collapsed kneel-first in front of the building.

Prince Wyatt walked forward with a frown. His face was devoid of any laughter as he walked up to Nina and asked "Is this your library?".

Nina nodded her head. Streams of tears began to roll out of her eyes. She could tell that nothing in the building had survived the fire.

'It couldn't be them, right?' Prince Wyatt thought. He gritted his teeth in irritation, already guessing about the people responsible for causing such damage. 'Is this because I didn't kill them'.

"It's destroyed" Nina cried. Her weeping voice reached his eyes.

'No' He shook his head 'It had to be'.

"Do you have any idea who did this?" Annabelle questioned. Her Captain's various changes of expression had already given her the idea that he knew the person that burnt the building down.

"I do. But, I am not yet sure" He responded. Prince Wyatt placed his hands on Nina's shoulders. Nina raised her head and looked at him.

"Get up" He spoke. "Let's get back to the brothel" But in his eyes, for the first time, she saw it seething with rage.