"What are you doing here?" Daniel looked at the girl standing on the other side of the door. He hadn't expected to see her here, especially not at this hour.
"Sorry for bothering you at a bad ti, but this is the only chance I have to talk to you," Leia said with a hint of embarrassnt.
She didn't want to be here either. She knew she shouldn't be disturbing him, especially after a day like this with so many things happening.
But she had no other choice. Starting tomorrow, she wouldn't be allowed to leave the palace. Even tonight, she had to co up with several excuses—like wanting to thank Daniel—just to be allowed out.
"You better have a good reason for coming," Daniel said, looking into her eyes. He saw the distress and helplessness in them.
He stepped aside and gestured for her to co in. Then he told her to sit down and went to make at least two cups of tea.
It seed he wasn't going to sleep any ti soon.
"Here you go." It didn't take long to prepare the tea. He poured two cups and returned to the room. Their inn room was a full suite with two bedrooms, so there was plenty of space.
"Thank you," Leia said as she placed her cup on the table beside her, then looked at Daniel seriously.
"Alright, tell what you wanted to say. Just don't let it be sothing stupid." Honestly, Daniel had no idea what this girl wanted.
He figured it might be related to Lorena or the battle tournant, but he wasn't sure. He was also a little curious how she had found out where they were staying.
But after thinking about it again, it wasn't all that strange. She was a noble guard—it wouldn't be hard for her to get such information.
"First, I wanted to thank you for all your help. Without you, we really wouldn't have been able to save the young lady. We might've even seen one of the Seven Calamities summoned," Leia said as she bowed slightly in her seat to show her respect.
And she wasn't lying. She hadn't expected it to be the work of a Corruption Worshiper at all. Not even in a thousand years would she have guessed the young lady was imprisoned under the founder's tomb.
Without Daniel's help, nothing would've ended this easily.
"You're welco. But I hope you explain your problem quickly—I'm tired."
Leia wanted to speak but hesitated. The problem wasn't simple, and she doubted Daniel would even be willing to help.
"Do you know why the Duke wants to hold that tournant?" she finally sighed and decided to just explain. At worst, Daniel would refuse.
"To find a husband for his daughter? I've heard the Elthanor Empire has weakened badly, and the Duke probably just wants to maintain his power and position," Daniel replied. That was actually Kayn's explanation.
He himself didn't have enough information about the world's politics to offer a solid opinion.
"That's exactly what outsiders believe. It's the illusion and rumor the Duke spread so no one suspects the real reason," Leia said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh? Then what's the real reason?" Daniel asked curiously, surprised by what she said.
"The Duke wants to get his daughter away from the empire as quickly as possible and for a reason no one would question."
"But why? The way you said it doesn't sound like he's doing it to protect her." Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"There's a secret about the young lady that the Duke has kept extrely hidden. Only a very few people know… The young lady possesses a Pri Bloodline," Leia revealed her mistress's greatest secret.
She didn't know whether what she was doing was right or not, but it was the only way she could think of.
"A Pri Bloodline? Are you joking?" Daniel felt like he must've misheard.
Leia shook her head in response. Her answer was clear. Daniel didn't know how to react.
A Pri Bloodline!
It was similar to how people received classes and natural talents from the Mother System. A Pri Bloodline was also a gift from the Mother System.
But they were far rarer and more powerful. Their importance and value couldn't even be put into words.
How did they work? To so extent, like an innate talent. But people with Blessed Bloodlines didn't receive classes.
This gave them so limitations, but also a unique set of advantages. Bloodlines contained the power of laws and, in a way, acted as sources of law within the body.
This source was sothing any mage or warrior would kill for. As far as Daniel knew, Blessed Bloodlines were ranked as Common, Rare, Celestial, Ancient, and Pri.
Pri was the highest rank, and the number of people ever born with one probably didn't even reach ten.
"So the Duke wants to hide his daughter's bloodline?" Daniel asked in disbelief. He could understand why soone might want to do that, but his instincts told him it wasn't that simple.
"No. The Duke is obsessed with the throne and will do anything to get it. Most noble families support him, but he doesn't have the power to actually take it."
"The current Emperor is an S-rank Climber, while the Duke is only half a step away from S-rank. There's no way he can beat the Emperor, and it seems like he's reached the end of his potential," Leia explained.
"And? What does that have to do with his daughter and her bloodline?" Daniel asked more seriously.
"It's simple. The Duke wants to take the young lady's bloodline and make it his own. I don't know how, but he seems to have a way to bind it to himself or sothing like that," Leia said angrily.
Even though the Duke had raised her, she couldn't accept such injustice and twisted intentions.
"I see." Daniel closed his eyes for a few monts. This was more complicated than he expected.
He hadn't thought the tournant was just a cover, or that Duke Will Heart had such a plan hidden all along.
Honestly, he felt a headache coming. Why was he always getting caught up in these crazy things? He was starting to miss the ti before he awakened.
"What do you want to do?" Daniel opened his eyes and asked. Even if the Duke's actions were evil, there wasn't much he could do to stop it.
"I don't know. I just thought… if I told you, maybe you'd find a way to help."
"Are you stupid? We're talking about a Climber who's half a step from S-rank. You and I couldn't even beat a high-level B-rank," Daniel said, feeling like there was sothing wrong with this girl's reasoning.
When he saw Leia lower her head, he sighed again and thought for a mont. But no matter how much he thought, he couldn't co up with a solution.
Besides, this had nothing to do with him. The only reason he wanted to find and save Lorena was for his own goals—he didn't actually care whether she lived or died.
"I can only give you an idea of what to do. The best option is to get this information to the Emperor. He'll probably stop the Duke," Daniel said.
"I thought about that already, but it won't work. The Duke has heavily restricted communication with the capital. And if the Emperor finds out, he'll probably slaughter the entire Duke's family—including the young lady," Leia sighed.
"In that case, the only way is to have your lady enter the tournant. If she can catch the eye of one of the two S-rank judges, she might be saved," Daniel offered another idea.
"Wait, that might actually work?" Leia asked, surprised. She had never considered that.
"Does the tournant rulebook say the Duke's own daughter can't participate? I don't think so. If she has the strength, that's the only path."
"Thank you! You've helped again!" Leia's eyes lit up. This plan might really be possible. She stood up and bowed again.
She even thought about hugging Daniel, but managed to stop herself. His idea might really work.
"You're welco." Daniel gave a small smile. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry—he hadn't expected this girl to get so excited. It was obvious Lorena ant a lot to her.
"I have to go tell the young lady as soon as I can, so I'll leave for now. Goodbye!" She turned toward the door and was about to leave when sothing ca to her mind. She turned back to look at Daniel.
"By the way, the Grand Mage, Mr. Atlas, said if possible, please visit him at the city's Magic Tower tomorrow."
User Comments
0 comments from readers