"Rhine City hasn't changed much," Jason said, looking at the street beside him.
In truth, Jason had barely explored the area around Rhine City. Both in his previous life and this one, he was a homebody. If he hadn't needed experience, he would probably have shut himself away in the palace these past few years, training until he reached Saint-level.
"Where should we go first?" Veronica looked around.
"Let's get something to eat first." Jason had originally planned to go straight to the palace, but he sensed someone following them.
The person behind them made little effort to conceal himself, simply trailing them. Veronica sensed him too.
Once they reached a private room at an inn, a young man slipped inside while the food was being served.
"Your subordinate Bannadini was ordered by His Majesty Maisiji to escort Your Highness Jason back to the palace." The young man dropped to one knee as soon as he entered.
"Get up first. Have a seat." Jason wore an approachable expression.
Bannadini rose but did not sit.
"What has happened in Rhine City lately?"
"The rivalry between His Highness Barek and Princess Lucy has grown increasingly fierce. There have been several clashes outside the city recently, and they are still fighting in secret. His Majesty does not want the matter to escalate. Mo'ernazha sent word ahead that Your Highness would be returning. His Majesty ordered me to make sure I escorted you back to the palace as soon as I found you, without letting you linger outside."
"Then let's go." Jason suspected nothing. He was an idle man who devoted himself to cultivation and had no desire for power; no one would go to great lengths to deal with him.
The palace had not changed at all.
Without even stopping at his own courtyard, Jason was taken straight to the emperor's study.
"Father."
"You're back. You left for over six years. What a carefree life you lead." Maisiji's tone was ominous.
Jason wasn't angry. After all, he had been away from home far too long this time. In the original story, Linley had only spent three years in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Still, there was a reason Jason had been able to stay away so many years.
"Father, this is Veronica, my girlfriend."
"Oh? You had a girlfriend for company, so you didn't want to come home?" Maisiji looked at Veronica. "Are you from the Baruch Clan?"
"Veronica greets Your Majesty. I have already left the Baruch Clan." Veronica had been raised as a young lady of a prominent family, after all, and her manners were not lacking.
"Mm, I heard." Maisiji seemed to recall something and smiled. "The Rhine Empire cannot get involved in the Baruch Clan's affairs. Since you've already left, you can stay in the Rhine Empire without worry."
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
Maisiji turned back to Jason. "Don't get involved in Barek and Lucy's affairs. Let them settle it themselves. Go see your mother. And go see the empress and apologize. You left without a word last time, and she was furious."
"So you still remember you have a mother." Aidem a was just as she had always been, carefree and dressed like a girl of seventeen or eighteen.
"Mother, this is my girlfriend, Veronica."
"Hello, auntie."
Aidem a glanced at her and frowned slightly. "A young lady from a prominent family-why take up the ways of those crude warriors?"
Aidem a didn't know who Veronica was, but she had always been perceptive in certain respects.
For instance, Veronica's every move showed the noble etiquette she had learned as a child, yet the calluses on her palms and the outlines of her muscles beneath her clothes were also visible.
The corner of Jason's mouth twitched. "Mother, Veronica and I have faced hardship together. Besides, both her talent and her background are excellent."
"All right, all right, I can see that. But when you left, you said you would give Lisa and Aisha proper status."
Under Veronica's suspicious gaze, Jason licked his lips uneasily. "Who are Lisa and Aisha? Mother, I don't know them."
"The two maids the empress gave you."
"Huh?" Jason remembered who they were. Seeing that Veronica's gaze had turned fierce, he hurriedly explained, "I just said that offhand. I never touched them."
Aidem a shrugged. "You'd better talk to the empress about it. She was the one who gave them to you. They've lived in your courtyard all these years; you can't just let them marry someone else."
Veronica regained her composure. "I can accept it."
"You can't." Jason shook his head desperately.
"I can."
"Veronica? Where is your home?" The empress was more like a mother to Jason than Aidem a was.
"I'm from the Fenlai Kingdom. My parents died when I was young, and my clan has been wiped out," Veronica said simply.
"I'm sorry. From now on, think of this place as your home." The empress was taken aback. She too had noticed from Veronica's bearing that she was unlikely to have come from an ordinary noble family.
Veronica smiled. "I know my status isn't worthy of His Highness Jason. I heard he was betrothed long ago. I can be his lover."
Though she said it with a smile and wasn't facing Jason, it made him feel as though he had fallen into an icy abyss.
The empress smiled and glanced at Jason, then at Aidem a beside her. "There's no need to worry about that. Lisa and Aisha are my people. Jason hasn't come home in six years, and both of them have long since given their hearts to others. It's just that Jason never came back, so it wouldn't have been proper to let them marry outright."
Jason, who had been hanging his head just a moment ago, raised it at once.
Aidem a raised an eyebrow. "Lisa has liked your elder brother Barek for a long time. As for Aisha, she and an instructor in the palace have fallen in love over the years."
Jason couldn't tell Lisa and Aisha apart at all. "Then why didn't they say so when the empress gave them to me?"
Aidem a said angrily, "Because they were the empress's personal maids! They're not like certain irresponsible people who leave whenever they please, without even saying goodbye, and don't come home for six whole years."
"Uh." Jason lowered his head again.
After the meal, Jason took Veronica back to his courtyard.
He had already seen the empress's maids at her residence. After the two of them knelt before Jason, he announced that he was giving them their freedom.
As for the courtyard, its former maids and guards had all been reassigned. The empress had temporarily found a few people to clean it.
Linda stretched, found a room, and went to sleep. The palace had no shortage of perceptive people. Knowing Linda was a Level Nine Magical Beast, they had set a separate table for her, filled with everything cats liked to eat. She had just eaten a little too much.
Jason lay on the bed and suddenly felt a little estranged. He really had been away too long.
First, I'll give myself a month off. These past few years, I've really been away from human society for too long. Then I'll ask about that "holy land." I think it was called "Bloodshadow Valley." Hopefully it's a little better than Mist Valley.
Jason knew about Blood Blade Castle, where he had previously taken his talent test. It was a place where some of the Rhine Clan's experts lived, but as a member of the imperial family, he naturally had no need to stay there.
There's also a weapon. I'll see if the palace has any good materials. If I have to, I'll spend some money. I don't need to worry about the craftsmen's skills. And there's magic too. I have affinities for six elements, and there are corresponding spells for all of them except destruction. I'm stuck at the threshold of the eighth level now, so I should spend some time learning the basics of the other elements' magic first. Jason lay on the bed, letting his thoughts wander.
The door was pushed open.
"What is it?" Jason looked at Veronica.
"Can't I come in if there's nothing?"
"Uh." Jason sat up and saw the scantily clad young woman.
In the moment he was stunned, she had already come over to him.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me the great second prince of the Rhine Empire has never even been with a woman? I heard you didn't leave home to travel until you were eighteen." Veronica was already lying on top of Jason.