"I know soone, but I think forty is still too young," Matchmaker said after looking at his small booklet. "Would you mind if she was fifty, perhaps even sixty years old? I think that age is just right for your tastes."
"Hmmm..." Prince Edward rubbed his chin, looking extrely serious as he sincerely considered Matchmaker’s proposal.
anwhile, the corner of Chuck’s lips twitched repeatedly. Edward was a prince! Hooking a royalty up with either a fifty or sixty-year-old woman was insane!
Of course, big age gaps were not uncommon within noble families. A twenty-year age gap was generally overlooked. However, the problem was that the woman whom Matchmaker planned to introduce to the prince would have an age three tis that number!
"What do you think, Alex?" Prince Edward asked. "I think sixty is just about right, no?"
"Yes." Alex nodded. "I think sixty is good. Right, Chuck?"
"Excuse ?!" Chuck almost shouted. "Now you ask for my opinion? Of course, it’s a big NO!"
The young man didn’t hesitate to form an X with his arms, trying to put a stop to this nonsense. If his fiancee, Princess Xenia, were to discover that he played a part in her brother hooking up with a sixty-year-old woman, she would probably divorce him even though they weren’t married yet!
"Calm down, Chuck." Prince Edward tried to calm his friend down. "The age gap is only forty years."
"Excuse you?!" Chuck almost wanted to take the prince to a psychiatrist. He was saying nothing but pure nonsense! "Just? Just a forty year age gap?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"Chuck, age is just a number." Prince Edward smiled.
"B*tch! You want to knock so sense onto you?!"
... Is what Chuck would have said if he could afford to offend the prince. However, he couldn’t say such words to any royalty of the kingdom where he belonged.
In the end, the young man glared at Matchmaker, wanting to understand how he could even say such things to young n like them.
Matchmaker blinked once, then twice, before looking at Alex with concern.
"Hey, is your friend alright?" Matchmaker asked. "He thinks sixty is old, even though it’s fairly young. Even I think it’s too young."
"Definitely." Alex nodded in agreent.
"Hey. Are all three of you crazy, or am I the crazy one here?" Chuck asked, wondering if he had suddenly jumped into another dinsion all of a sudden. How co the people around him were speaking an entirely different language!?
In the end, Alex burst out laughing before patting Chuck’s shoulder. "Calm down, Chuck. Matchmaker here is soone who specializes in matchmaking elves with humans. So, when he says that sixty is still young, he ant it in Elven years."
"That’s right." Matchmaker grinned before pointing at his ears. "If you still haven’t noticed yet, I’m a Half-Elf. Although my ears are almost like that of a human, it’s still quite pointy at the tip. See?"
Chuck finally realized he had misunderstood what was happening. However, while he had finally breathed out a sigh of relief, Prince Edward and Matchmaker resud their discussion.
While this was happening, the troublemaker glared at Alex, who raised both of his hands in surrender.
He was guilty as charged, and he had no excuse for it.
"By the way, do you have anyone at least a thousand years old?" Prince Edward asked in curiosity.
"I see. I’ve sensed that you like older won, but it turns out your strike zone reaches the four digits, huh?" Matchmaker grinned. "I know a few, but they don’t live in human lands. Most of them reside in the Kingdom of Faelarun. If you don’t mind traveling there, then I can probably arrange a eting or two."
"I’ll be going to Faelarun in five weeks. Is that enough ti for you to set an appointnt?" Prince Edward inquired.
"I will need so downpaynt for traveling expenses, as well as my matchmaking services," Matchmaker answered. "If you have the funds, then I can leave as soon as tomorrow to hook you up."
"How much?"
"Only 200 gold."
Prince Edward didn’t hesitate to pay the amount in full. In his eyes, this much was only pocket change. He had even half-expected the Half-Elf to ask for a thousand gold coins. After all, that was still within the prince’s budget.
"Good. I like big spenders." Matchmaker grinned as he accepted the money. "By the way, what’s your na?"
"Edward," Prince Edward replied.
"Very well, co back to the Thirsty Maiden Inn after two weeks. I’ll give you an update by then."
"Thank you!"
After tipping his hat to the three teenagers, Matchmaker left with a smile on his face. Brenda then returned to refill the orange juice of the trio before heading to other tables to take the orders of her custors.
"You seem to know this place very well, Alex." Prince Edward eyed the young man after drinking his fruit juice. "Have you also used Matchmaker’s services?"
"I only heard about this place from an acquaintance." Alex smiled. "This is the first ti I’ve co here in the flesh."
Alex wasn’t lying. While he might have visited the Thirsty Maiden Inn a couple of tis in the ga, hoping to spot so important characters who could be recruited, this was the first ti he had co here in real life.
Still, Prince Edward was quite happy with this trip. He finally got to experience what it was like visiting the places commoners frequented without a regint of guards escorting him.
The rowdy yet lively atmosphere made the prince smile. This was a world he had pined to see for himself for a very long ti. Now that he had experienced it, his heart longed to do it more often.
However, he understood that his responsibilities prevented him from doing what his heart desired.
So, he was truly thankful to Alex for inviting him to this trip.
An hour later, the three finally left the inn. They already had their fill of the sights and sounds it had to offer.
On their way back, they once again used the secret passage the nobles used to leave the academy.
Of course, the Headmaster and so of the staff were aware of this secret passage. But they never did anything about it.
They believed that students, especially nobles, deserved to have an outlet from the pressure of daily life. This was why there was an unwritten rule—they might turn a blind eye to students using this passage to head to the city, but these students must not do anything that would disrupt the locals.
Those who abused their authority as nobles would be given severe punishnt when they returned, making them understand that there were rules to be followed.
Since Prince Edward couldn’t really return to his dormitory wearing the clothes of a commoner, Alex took him to the clocktower to change.
He was only brought to the ground floor and didn’t go up all the way to the clubroom.
Although Alex was tempted to recruit the prince to his clubroom, the latter was now the president of the Lionheart Society. The sa club that almost disbanded due to Alex’s blackmail.
After Prince Edward sat at its helm, the organization had undergone a massive overhaul. Thanks to his efforts, the abuse of authority done by the nobles had finally decreased drastically. This was done by imposing harsh punishnt on those who broke their club’s rule.
"Thank you for allowing to take a breather, Alex," Prince Edward said with a smile after he finished changing. "I hope you and your friends continue to help us in the sparring matches tomorrow and onward."
"Of course," Alex replied. "I already talked to Charles, and he agreed to take my place in the sparring match tomorrow."
After that, the prince finally bade goodbye and left with spring in his step.
"I didn’t expect Prince Edward to be so easy to get along with," Chuck said after the prince finally disappeared from their sights. "He always seems upright and serious whenever I see him."
"That’s because the King and his peers have high expectations of him," Alex replied. "When you are in that position, you must always strive to beco better. Perhaps Princess Xenia could do whatever she wants precisely because she isn’t in line to rule.
"On the contrary, candidates to beco the future King must bear the weight of that crown."
Chuck chuckled. "You speak as if you truly understand what it’s like to be a prince. Hey, Alex. Are you really a prince? There have been rumors going around that you are an exiled prince from sowhere."
"Oh, you’d be surprised when you learn the truth." Alex smirked.
Chuck blinked. "A-Are you really a prince?"
"No comnt." Alex patted his friend’s shoulder before bidding him goodbye.
He would visit Fran first and give her his gift before he returned to the dormitory to look for Lavinia.
Chuck only looked at his friend with a calm gaze, trying to see through the mystery that covered Alex’s identity.
An identity that had already been repeatedly investigated by the influential people from the three kingdoms of Avalon, Solara, and Faelarun.
And yet, beyond his appearance in the Floating Islands of Thaloria, no one had discovered his origin. It was as if he had just appeared in their world out of thin air.
———
A/N: Thank you for giving ti to rest everyone. I will resu writing 2 Chapters on the 27th, and will carry it on up to the next month.
Privilege Chapter prices will remain as it is up until the end of May. And if you still haven’t checked out my newest novel "My Kingdom Building Done Right!" Now is a good ti to catch up.
Thank you everyone, and I’ll see you all in the next Chapters!
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