Chapter 288 - Meeting and Warning

XXXX Continent, Telmerann Province, inside the Arcenon family household.

After recruiting Valentia as a part of his team, Vanadir and the others then went outside of the meeting room they were just in, moving through the various corridors of the household in order to find someone. After a while, they eventually found the person they wanted to find, with the person they found bowing respectfully in front of them as he said, "Ah. I apologize for not staying near your room. May I ask what the esteemed sirs need me for?"

"No need to apologize," the Ninth Prince said in response to the person's words before answering the man's last statement. He replied as a nostalgic expression surfaced on his face, "Anyways, Quentin, could you lead me to where my mother is? I haven't seen her in quite a long time."

"Ah, the Duchess?" Quentin muttered in response as he tried to recall who Vanadir was trying to find. After a few seconds, he then closed his sense of vision for a bit as he muttered a few incantations as a copious amount of energy strands soon spread out from where he was, heading towards the various corridors at great speeds. Around a minute later, the strands Quentin sent out finally returned to his body, prompting him to open his eyes as he lightly nodded.

"Let me lead the way, esteemed sirs," Quentin said after that, to which Vanadir lightly nodded as he unhesitatingly followed behind Quentin. On the other hand, Dane could not help but become slightly surprised at the level of prowess Quentin had shown when it came to controlling multiple energy strands. With that in mind, he could not help but ask Vanadir through a strand of energy, "Your Highness, the level of control Quentin has over his energy would be enough for him to be well-known throughout the Arcana Tower. Can you ask him the reason why he hasn't joined the Arcana Tower?"

"Oh, I can answer that without needing to ask him," Vanadir replied by sending a strand of his own, a light smile plastered on his face as he continued to follow Quentin from behind. Looking at Dane, he then replied with another strand of energy, saying, "To be honest, he used to be a part of the Arcana Tower. Not only that, but he also had a considerably high level of authority in the tower."

"Do you know what level of authority he had?" Dane asked in a curious tone, continuing to talk through energy strands. In his mind, he had a feeling that Quentin was at least one level of authority higher than him, but after listening to the Ninth Prince's response, his respect for Quentin had shot up to an incredibly high level.

"If I remember correctly, he was a High Executive of the Tower," Vanadir recalled what he knew about Quentin from the past before answering Dane's question through a strand. Noticing that Dane's expression had become frozen after hearing that, he could not help but ask, "Hey. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Dane said with a light yet awkward chuckle in response to Vanadir's words. After that, he could not help but look at Quentin's back with a gaze of reverence before looking back at the Ninth Prince and asking in a mutter, "Is it possible for me to ask him later regarding magic?"

"I don't see why not," Vanadir said in response as he lightly giggled. While that was happening, Valentia, who was passively listening to the conversation of the two this whole time, could not help but ask Vanadir, "What were you two talking about in secret?"

"Dane's just surprised that Quentin used to be a High Executive of the Tower," Vanadir responded to Valentia's question, to which Valentia gave a gaze of understanding before scratching her head for a bit as she recalled something. A few seconds later, she then tapped on Dane's shoulder, prompting Dane to look at her.

With a slightly mischievous smile on her face, she told him, "If you're already surprised that Quentin used to be a High Executive of the Tower, then I should introduce you to the other servants of the family. The strongest one out of them even used to be a Grand Elder of the Tower!"

"…" Dane was instantly left at a loss for words after hearing Valentia's statement. He slowly turned his head to look at Vanadir before lightly coughing to catch his attention. With Vanadir now looking at him, he then cautiously asked, "A-are Lady Valentia's words…true?"

"Uh-huh," Vanadir uttered as he lightly nodded before focusing his attention back on the path in front of him, leaving Dane with a dumbfounded expression while Valentia laughed at Dane's current expression. On the other hand, a light smile crept on Quentin's face as he listened to the conversation of the three, continuing to lead them to where Vanadir's mother was.

…

"We have arrived," Quentin said as the four of them had arrived in front of a white door with exquisite carvings on it. He then asked the three to step back before lightly knocking on the door as he conversed with the person on the other side. After the person on the other side gave Quentin the green light, he looked at the three who stepped back and lightly bowed before saying, "The Duchess has allowed you three to enter her room."

Creak…

Soon after, Quentin gradually opened the door as he then said, "Please enter."

With those parting words, the three of them said words of gratitude to Quentin before entering the room, being greeted by a magnificent sight within. Unlike the somewhat dull meeting room the trio was in a while ago, this room was more exquisite, not only in the materials used to make the room, but its design was exquisite as well.

Two of the walls had large bay windows installed, allowing large amounts of sunlight to pass through the room. The floor was made out of marble, which had a giant fleur-de-lis chiseled at the center of it as well, embossed with what seemed to be gold. Multiple bookshelves made out of exquisite wood could be seen on one of the walls while a finely crafted hardwood table was positioned opposite the bookshelves, being placed near the bay windows.

Behind the hardwood table was a woman in her late 30s, wearing a long-sleeved light gray dress that brought out the mature air coming from her. Add on the fact that her hair, which was jet-black like Vanadir's but had a few light gray strands on the end, was tied into a bun, to anyone that looked at her, they would never think that she was a Duchess, but just a woman that people could rely on.

At the moment, she was looking at a few doc.u.ments with important information on them as she lightly sipped on a cup of tea. But after she heard footsteps gradually resonate inside her room, she stopped looking at the doc.u.ments and placed it on her desk as she turned her head to look at the three with a light smile.

"To think that we would meet each other under such times," the woman said all of a sudden as she let out a light chuckle. In response, Vanadir looked back at the woman with a light smile before replying, "It truly is surprising. It's great to see you again, Mother."

After that, Valentia took a few steps forward before respectfully bowing towards the woman as she lifted her skirt slightly. She then looked at the woman with a gaze of respect before saying, "It is my pleasure to meet you Duchess Iridescia."

"It's my pleasure to meet you as well, Valentia," the woman said as she lightly nodded in response to Valentia's greeting. She then looked at the remaining person who has not introduced himself yet, prompting her to say with a light chuckle, "It seems you have a shy one with you, Vanadir."

Since he was indirectly called, Dane had no choice but to take a few steps forward as well before giving a respectful bow. He then pondered over what he was going to say, making sure that it was as formal as possible. After a few seconds, he then said in the most respectful way he could, "My name is Dane Grossezauber, the advisor of the Ninth Prince. I would like to give my sincerest greetings to…uh…"

"Iridescia Arcenon," the woman said before standing up from her seat and making her way towards where they were. She then continued with a light giggle, "A Duchess of the Seraph Kingdom."

"Ah." With the woman introducing herself to Dane, he hastily apologized as he said, "My sincerest apologies for not recognizing you, Duchess Iridescia. I should have read up on this before coming here."

"No worries, no worries," Iridescia responded to Dane's apology with a light chuckle. She then replied, "I'm not someone who wants to go through the usual pleasantries anyway."

"Anyways, with that being said," she soon said not long after, appearing in front of Vanadir before hugging him tightly. While doing so, she then asked Vanadir, "What's my handsome son doing in this place? Shouldn't he be preparing for the war for the throne?"

"Mother…I can't breathe…" Vanadir said amidst the hugging, feeling like his internal organs were shifted from the hug. After being released, Vanadir took in a few deep breaths before asking in a slightly complaining tone, "Do you really have to do something like that every time, Mother? You do know how hard it is for me to breathe when you hug me like that, right?"

"Can't your mother hug you after not seeing you for a long time?" Iridescia lightly pouted as she responded to her question. She then turned around before imitating the sound of one lightly sobbing. She then said, "I guess my son doesn't want to see me after all…"

"…" Vanadir could not help but be at a loss for words as he soon let out a long sigh. He then looked at Dane and Valentia for a bit before sending each of them a strand of energy with a message attached. After reading the message contained within that strand of energy, the two of them lightly nodded at Vanadir before silently leaving the room, leaving Vanadir and his mother alone.

Scratching his head, Vanadir then told her, "We're the only ones here, mom. You can stop keeping up your facade."

"I'm glad you knew what was on my mind," Iridescia let out a playful giggle as she turned to look at her son with a gaze of love and concern. She then asked, "But seriously though, what made you come here to see me?"

"Can't I just come and meet you without a reason?" Vanadir said in response, prompting Iridescia to hug once more, only letting go after Vanadir tapped on her arm three times. Taking in a few deep breaths, Vanadir eventually said what was on his mind, telling her, "After you left the royal palace to head back here, I felt quite lonely from that point onward. The only thing I could do was distract myself with other things."

"Why'd you leave the palace, mom? Is it because you had a disagreement with dad or something?" he asked not long after, to which Iridescia shook her head and said plainly, "Not at all. I was just bored with always being in the palace."

"As expected," Vanadir muttered as he let out a long sigh. He then looked at his mother with a slightly sad gaze as he said, "You could've told me the reason why you were leaving, you know?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Iridescia said as she let out a soft chuckle. She then went ahead and hugged Vanadir, but this time, filled with love and care. After releasing him from her grasp, she looked at him and asked, "So, what brings you here, Vanadir?"

"I recruited Valentia to be a part of my team in the war for the throne," Vanadir unhesitatingly replied to her question before asking, "Do you think Valentia would be a great fit, mom?"

"I don't see why not," Iridescia said in response to her son's question, trying to recall what she knew about Valentia. After a while, she told him, "She's well-versed in fighting, as well as healing. Taking into consideration the other person you brought along with him, it's turning out to become a solid team as long as you have a strong tank."

"Speaking of tanks, do you think that person from the Astelia family would be a good fit for my team?" Vanadir asked not long after, to which Iridescia tried to recall who Vanadir was talking about. Soon after, she lightly nodded her head before replying, "If it's that guy, then I'm pretty sure he'll synergize with your skills quite well. Do you have any other members in your team?"

"I recruited another one, and she's a student of the mage I brought along with me," Vanadir responded to his mother's question before letting out a chuckle as he continued, "She's actually a rare type of mage, able to control two spells at once and even fuse them as one."

"Oh?" Iridescia uttered as she raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised that her son was able to snag such a person like that. With a slightly suspicious gaze, she looked at her son and asked, "Did you…perhaps…bribe her into joining you or something?"

"Why would I do that, mom?" Vanadir said in a way that felt like he was being wronged. He then continued, "I recruited her the normal way, asking her if she wanted to join or not, that's all."

"Heh…" Iridescia uttered as she looked at her son with a mischievous smile on her face. Just as she was about to ask Vanadir more about his team, a thought related to what they were talking about surfaced in her mind as she looked at her son and said, "Ah, right. I've obtained news that your brother Arshe is secretly killing the team members of your other brothers."

As a slight killing intent radiated from her, she then continued, "I want to remove your brother's chance of fighting in the war for the throne so badly, but people like me can't intervene in such matters."

"Always make sure that your allies don't die under his schemes, okay?"

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