Chapter 32
The heavy scent of medical herbs and iron drifted thickly through the air of the upper quarters of the Ashford estate. Zane walked down the quiet hallway, his soft footsteps echoing slightly against the wooden floorboards until he stopped outside the heavy door. He pushed it open, stepping in to see his brother Arthur lying on a wide bed, wrapped completely in tight bandages from head to toe.
"Why are you wrapping him in bandages when he can regenerate quickly?" Zane asked, crossing his arms as he looked down at Arthur’s motionless frame.
"It’s because his body has received too much damage and almost all of his bones have been broken. It’s a miracle he’s still alive," a voice answered from the doorway.
Gerald entered the room, his heavy steel armor clanking softly with every step he took. The polished metal caught the ambient sunlight spilling through the window.
"Who are you?" Zane asked, turning his head to the side, looking at the armored soldier.
"Ah, forgive my disrespect, my Prince. My name is Gerald, a Royal Guard," he said, immediately lowering his head and bowing deeply in reverence.
Zane glanced back and forth between the guard and the others gathered nearby. "A Royal Guard, huh? That means you three know each other," Zane said, gesturing with his hand towards Maria, Gloria and Gerald.
"Yeah, we do," Gerald replied, standing upright.
Zane took a deep breath, his stomach rumbling loudly in the quiet room. "Well, I’ll leave my big bro in your hands. Maria, can you get me some food? I’m starving," Zane said, turning around and heading straight out of the room.
A few moments later, the wide dining hall of the Ashford mansion was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of freshly cooked meat, warm broth and baked bread. Zane sat down at the main table, devouring a large feast while the other remaining members of the Ashford household stood politely nearby.
"So, you’re saying you’re the head of the Ashford family, she’s your daughter Clara, and that’s your wife? " Zane asked between bites, biting into a thick piece of juicy meat.
"Yes, my Young Master," the head of the Ashford family replied, bowing his head.
Zane set down his meat and poured himself a cold glass, taking a long sip. As he set the glass down, he noticed the young woman standing near the side of the table. "Mmm... Clara, you’ve been blushing for a while now. What’s going on?" Zane asked, taking a sip from his glass of water.
Clara fidgeted with the hem of her dress, her cheeks burning a deeper shade of crimson. "A-Ah ... I have a favor to ask you, Prince Zane," Clara said, looking down at her lap under the table.
"Ooh, you can ask! I don’t mind," Zane replied, shifting in his seat and sitting upright to listen to her attentively.
Clara took a small, shaky breath, nervously clasping her hands together. "I ... I want to ask if I have a chance to become Prince Arthur’s wife."
"Huh?"
The moment the words left her mouth, the entire dining hall fell dead silent. The servants stood frozen in place, and Clara’s mother held her breath. Clara nervously glanced around the room, feeling the heavy stares of everyone looking directly at her.
Silence stretched for a few seconds before Zane burst out laughing.
"Ha-ha-ha! That’s what you were blushing so much about?" Zane laughed out loud, slapping his own chest as he grinned.
"Well, I don’t really know what kind of woman he likes, but if you want him, show him that you care, that you want to be by his side, and that you will never betray him no matter the situation!" Zane said, turning his gaze towards the open window, looking out over the courtyard.
Clara’s eyes brightened as she absorbed his words. "Ooh ... I see. I will try my best!"
"Don’t try, do it with all your heart. Do not give up," Zane said firmly, picking up a fresh glass of juice and taking a long drink.
"Thank you, my Prince," she replied with a bright, relieved smile.
Her mother stepped beside her, smiling warmly, as she gently rubbed her back. "Now you’ve got your answer, right?" her mother said softly.
"Yeah, Mother," Clara nodded softly, her cheeks still warm.
Zane wiped his mouth with a napkin and tossed it onto the table, leaning forward as his expression became serious. "So, how much do you need to rebuild the city and provide food for the people?" Zane asked, wiping his hands clean.
The head of the Ashford family stepped forward, pulling out a small ledger and bowing nervously. "Well, we need at least five thousand gold since half of the city is destroyed, my Prince."
Zane didn’t hesitate for a single second. Reaching into his inventory , Zane pulled out a massive, heavy pouch that landed on the wooden table with a loud, resounding...
CLANK!
"Okay, here, build the city, improve the streets, and secure the city. This is ten thousand gold, keep the rest," Zane said while standing up and leaving the dining room.
The head of the family nearly dropped his ledger in disbelief, staring at the sheer volume of gold gleaming from the mouth of the pouch. "That’s too much, my Prince! Please reduce it," the head exclaimed out of shock.
Zane paused right at the doorway, turning his head back to glare at him with sharp eyes. "What, are you trying to refuse me in front of your servant?"
The man swallowed hard, sweating profusely under Zane’s intense gaze. "Wo-No, my Prince," he sighed, bowing as low as he could. "Fine, I will accept it."
"That’s more like it," Zane said, his tone slightly softened. He paused for a moment before adding, "And when you tell them, say it was Prince Arthur who funded you."
"Huh?!"
Everyone in the room was shocked, eyes wide as they stared at him in utter disbelief. Yet, seeing the calm determination on Zane’s face, not a single person dared to speak a word.
A few moments later, out in the main hallway, Zane met up with Maria as she walked towards the courtyard.
"Maria, we’re leaving tomorrow," Zane declared.
"Okay," Maria replied calmly, accepting his decision without hesitation.
Zane then stood up and went for a walk around the Ashford house. He passed the inner gardens, ascending a small path, leading to a quiet cliff overlooking the entire estate and the surrounding territory.
"My potential, huh ..." Zane spoke while looking at his hands, sitting on a small cliff that offered a view of the whole city, resting underneath a tree that produced a cool shadow.
He leaned back against the rough bark of the trunk, watching the distant smoke clear from the city skyline.
"It seems I have a long way to go. Entering the Academy, maybe I can learn more about different types of magic classes and gain knowledge about this world as well," Zane sighed, plucking a small stick from the ground, putting a small stick in his mouth. "This tree shadow is really cool," he said, lying down with his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky, crossing his legs.
The cool breeze rustled through the leaves above, casting flickering patterns of light and shadow over his face. He stared up at the passing clouds, his mind drifting back to the terrifying encounter on the battlefield and the dream that followed.
"But what was that when that woman changed form? It was as if I read her emotions... Huh, whatever," he said, lifting his right hand into the air and looking at it with one eye closed, framing the afternoon sun between his fingers.
"For now, the most important thing is to get stronger. Yeah, status window."
[STATUS WINDOW]
[NAME: ZANE WILLIAM]
[MAGIC CLASS: MASTER OF ALL CLASSES]
[TALENT: INFINITE GROWTH]
[ATTRIBUTES]
[STRENGTH: 800,000]
[DEFENCE: 750,000]
[AGILITY: 620,000]
[STAMINA: 1,800,000 / 1,800,000]
[FATIGUE: 1,000,000 / 1,000,000]
Zane stared at the glowing blue letters hovering before his eyes, taking in the absurd numbers listed on his attributes.
"With these crazy stats, I was defeated by that ... crazy," Zane muttered, looking at his status window with a faint, bitter chuckle.
Far away from the Ashford estate, deep within the grand palace of the capital, sunlight streamed through tall stained-glass windows onto a massive wooden desk piled high with official documents and reports.
Knock ... knock.
"Who is it?" Sofia asked while sitting in a chair holding some papers, her eyes never leaving the reports on her desk.
The grand wooden doors creaked open slightly. "It’s Princess Freya, looking for you, my Princess," a maid said, bowing as she held the door open.
STEP ... STEP...
Princess Freya entered the office, her long royal dress trailing elegantly across the carpeted floor. She paid little mind to the formal atmosphere as she walked over and sat down on a couch near the side tea table.
"It seems you heard the news too, little sister," Freya said while receiving a cup of tea from the maid, taking a delicate sip from the fine porcelain cup.
"Yeah, they met earlier than expected, and I didn’t expect Arthur to be defeated though," Sofia replied.
" Well, we all know that Arthur’s strength relies on his intelligence, strategy, and judgment, even if he is a little strong," Freya explained, placing her teacup gently back onto its saucer.
"Well, that’s true. So what brings you here?" Sofia asked, finally setting her documents down and looking up at her sister.
"Isn’t it obvious? I want to know how much you know about Zane, because according to news I received, he was stronger than Arthur, which is surprising because he hasn’t entered the Royal Academy," Freya said while standing up and walking towards Sofia, stopping just before the edge of the large desk.
Sofia let out a slow breath, leaning back against her tall leather chair. "Well, the truth is Zane is even stronger than me. And as for the Royal Academy, he is on his way there, but I don’t know why," Sofia said while shaking her head softly.
Freya turned her eyes towards the large arched windows that overlooked the bustling royal city below. "Is that so? Then do you think he will cause trouble for Arthur to become the next king?" Freya asked, looking outside through the window.
"Well, like I said before, Zane is not interested in becoming the kingdom’s king, so he may help Arthur," Sofia replied calmly, her tone filled with absolute certainty.
For a few moments, the room became silent. The only sound was the faint scratching of a feather quill against parchment and the rustle of leaves outside.
"Leon is entering the Academy too," Freya broke the silence, breaking the calm atmosphere.
"Yeah, I know."
"He will be happy to see him, though, which brings me to a question: why did Father push him away?" Freya said, turning towards Sofia with a sharp, inquiring gaze. "I know you know something, so what’s the secret?"
Sofia stopped writing for a fraction of a second, her hand hovering over the paper before she resumed her steady strokes. "There is no secret. It’s just that someone in the family did it, and it’s not Father, because he has been watching him in secret," Sofia said while writing.
"I see. Well, things are going to be interesting since we are going to have a competition next year," Freya said while leaving the room, her heels clicking rhythmically against the stone floor until the heavy doors closed behind her.
Sofia set her pen down and slowly leaned back, running a hand through her hair. Looking up at the intricate fresco painted across the ceiling.
Sofia sighed. "It seems everyone is scared of Zane now," she said while looking at the ceiling.