Once the nobleman arrived at the front door of the mansion, the carriage door opened, and his guardian knight stepped down, followed by the nobleman himself. A maid was already standing in front of the door, but even from outside, it was clear that she did not appreciate their arrival. Without much regard, she turned away and said,
"Follow ."
The nobleman, already in a foul mood, grew even more irritated. Her indifferent and disrespectful attitude made his anger flare, but he forced himself to remain composed and followed her, his guardian knight trailing behind.
They were led to the guest room, where a man was already seated on the sofa, leisurely sipping his tea, as if he had been expecting them.
At first, they were confused upon seeing the young man. Who is he? But their question was soon answered when the maid bowed to him.
"My lord, they are here."
Aldrian nodded. "Good. You may return to your post."
The maid bowed once more before retreating without sparing a single glance at the envoy from the second prince.
As the door closed, sealing the room for a more private conversation, the envoy remained frozen in astonishnt. Even though they had already knew that the mysterious swordsman was a young man, seeing Aldrian in person was an entirely different matter.
They still couldn’t believe that soone so young could possess the power to shake the entire empire. His achievents were spoken of everywhere, leaving no doubt about his strength. However, how could he have accomplished all that at such a young age? Was he just an old man in disguise?
"Have a seat, gentlen. I doubt you ca all this way just to stand there speechless and waste my ti."
Aldrian’s sudden voice pulled them from their thoughts. The nobleman frowned slightly but still offered a small bow. He had been furious at the commoners outside for their lack of respect, yet here, he dared not act rashly. He knew that with Aldrian’s power, the young man could crush him without a second thought—and the second prince would do little, if anything, in response to his death.
The fact that Aldrian was still willing to receive them as guests, despite their previous attempt to kill him, seed like an act of generosity. They were relieved to be welcod instead of having to beg for an audience like re vagrants.
"My apologies. We arrived unannounced, but we had no choice. We feared that Your Excellency would refuse us before we had the chance to explain ourselves," the nobleman said, while bowing before taking a seat on the sofa across from Aldrian.
There was no drink offered to him, but he paid it no mind. It was only when he finally sat before Aldrian that he truly felt the invisible pressure surrounding him. It was as if he were seated before soone far beyond his rank—a man who stood at a level he could never hope to reach.
And when his gaze t Aldrian’s serene blue eyes, an unsettling sensation took hold of him. He felt as though his entire being had already been laid bare, as if there was nothing he could hide from those eyes.
He lowered his head as sweat rolled down his forehead. Swallowing hard, he tried to hide his nervousness. The arrogance he had shown when speaking about others was nowhere to be seen. Now, he understood without a doubt that a single misstep or offense toward this young man would be no different from signing his own death warrant.
His guardian knight sensed his master’s unease but chose not to question him. Instead, he remained on high alert, watching Aldrian with wary, scrutinizing eyes. Even without Aldrian releasing any aura, the sheer pressure of his presence alone was enough to set off every instinct in the knight’s body, screaming of danger.
This young man was the real deal!
"Do you want to start the conversation, envoy from the capital?" Aldrian’s voice resounded once again.
The nobleman was montarily stunned, realizing he had been rude by remaining silent out of nervousness.
"My apologies, Your Excellency. I was simply astonished by your greatness—I can hardly find the words now that I am seated before you. Once again, I apologize," he said, offering a slight bow before looking at Aldrian again.
"Enough with the flattery. What brings you here?" Aldrian replied.
The nobleman nodded. "Very well. But first, allow to introduce myself, Your Excellency. I am Marquess Xavier Arliando. I have been sent by His Majesty, the Emperor, to et with you regarding the events that have transpired between us in the past few days."
Aldrian took a sip of his tea, closing his eyes as if savoring the taste before opening them again. Yet, he remained silent.
Xavier took this as a sign to continue explaining his purpose.
"We understand that Your Excellency has had so disagreents with us on certain matters, and we acknowledge that we were the ones who offended you. With my visit here, we hope that Your Excellency can forgive our past presumptions and let bygones be bygones. As a gesture of goodwill, we have prepared sothing to compensate you."
Xavier then retrieved a box from his storage ring.
The box was quite long, asuring over a ter in length and about twenty centiters in width. Aldrian’s curiosity was piqued.
Xavier placed the box on the table and pushed it toward Aldrian before opening it to reveal its contents.
Aldrian, observing with interest, slightly widened his eyes as he saw the quality of the item inside.
A high divine grade artifact!
He was inwardly shocked.
Before him lay a guqin—an exquisitely crafted guqin that radiated a hidden yet formidable power. Aldrian could also sense the lingering traces of divine energy emanating from it!
But then, he suddenly felt his mind transported to a mont in ti—a scene where he stood beneath a towering tree, gazing at the breathtaking expanse of the world. A realm of serenity, where nature flourished and countless beings lived in peace.
He also heard the beautiful sound of a guqin playing behind him. The lody was soothing, bringing a sense of serenity to every heart that listened. Even the wind and the surrounding nature seed to respond, swaying in harmony with the enchanting tune. It was as if the world itself welcod the music, showing its appreciation through subtle signs.
The guqin’s lody continued, filling the air with its srizing sound, until it finally ca to a stop. In that instant, the world seed to return to its natural state.
"How was it, Your Majesty? It’s good, isn’t it?" a woman’s voice resounded from behind him.
He smiled and turned his head toward the woman. Though he couldn’t see his own face, he knew he was smiling warmly at her.
What he saw was an extraordinarily beautiful woman with red hair and striking red eyes. She wore elegant red robes adorned with a phoenix pattern, accentuating her graceful curves. Everything about her—from her fiery gaze to the deep crimson of her attire—made her seem like a living embodint of a raging fla.
"You’re good. You’re not far from what I can do," he said.
The woman shyly looked at him.
"Ah, no way. I’m still far from Your Majesty’s level—you’re exaggerating," she said, though the joy in her eyes betrayed how much his complint ant to her.
"This piece is sothing I composed based on Your Majesty’s music—the one you played at the highest level of the Heavenly Garden."
"So that’s why I can hear so resemblance to my style," he replied with a smile.
"Did you ask Vaneris to create this guqin? It suits you perfectly."
"Yes, I didn’t want to disturb Your Majesty, so I could only ask Vaneris to create a guqin that suited —and he did not disappoint. Although it’s not as great as Your Majesty’s Guqin of Origin, I truly love this instrunt," the woman replied, gently stroking the guqin in front of her with tender affection.
This was the guqin she had nad with the intent to follow the path of the man before her.
This was the guqin she had hoped would allow her to embody even a fraction of his brilliance.
This was the guqin she had wished would forever keep her close to him.
"What is this guqin called?" he asked.
The woman smiled. "The Spirit of the Great Path."
The mont she spoke its na, Aldrian felt himself pulled back to the present—back to the room where he now sat, staring at the guqin before him.
It was identical to the one from his vision. There was no doubt.
His heart trembled as he activated his Eyes of Heaven to confirm it.
"The Spirit of Great Path."
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