Chapter 26: The Prince Who Never Forgets His Brothers While Chasing Girls
In contrast, Shadow replied to him in a very calm tone, “I guess we’ve opened a breakthrough!”
“Sir, what’s wrong?” Hank, noticing something was off, asked.
Although they hadn’t found Ailia yet, they had at least managed to make some progress with the Elven Race, which should be a good thing.
“Nothing, just thinking about other matters,” Shadow casually replied.
He was actually pondering about that Mori from earlier.
Mori didn’t quite give off the vibe of a typical merchant.
While he acted very much like a merchant, there was something subtly different about him.
Hank realized that Shadow wouldn’t explain himself further.
Even though Shadow said he came to the Elven Race to find Ailia, Hank felt that the other party’s intentions might not be so straightforward.
There must have been other reasons for this trip.
Regardless, as long as they could find Ailia and ensure her safety, that was what mattered.
Hank kept himself from overthinking.
He just needed to remember the purpose of his visit to the Elven Race.
Inside Mori’s small courtyard.
After Shadow and the others left, Shadow sat quietly in his seat, admiring the portrait of Airael.
No matter how many times he looked, he simply couldn’t imagine that this beautiful woman was from the Human Race.
Having seen many exquisite beauties among Elves, he could confidently say that none could compare to the one in front of him.
If it weren’t for her ears being human-shaped, he would definitely consider her an Elf.
Suddenly, Mori looked at the portrait of Airael as if struck by a revelation.
Although this portrait depicted a human, who could say for sure that she had no ties to the Elven Race?
For instance, there are half-Elves.
Some half-Elves looked exactly like humans.
If she was a half-Elf, many things would suddenly make sense.
In Mori’s view, this woman was incredibly beautiful, and her deliberate visit to the Elven Race surely indicated some connection with them.
So, the idea of her being a half-Elf became a reasonable explanation.
Having found an answer regarding Ailia’s identity, Mori tucked the portrait away and headed inside.
On the way, he called for his butler—Jim.
In the living room, Mori sat on the sofa and handed the portrait to Jim for him to see.
Jim took the portrait, opened it, and was slightly taken aback by what he saw.
“How is it? Beautiful, right?” Mori said, looking at Jim.
“She is indeed very beautiful. I didn’t expect there could be such a stunning woman among humans,” Jim replied.
“She must have some Elven blood in her veins,” Mori speculated.
“A half-Elf?” Jim nodded, clearly agreeing with Mori’s thoughts.
“Someone has entrusted us to find this woman. Just for news about her, the reward is two thousand gold coins.”
“Two thousand gold coins just for information about her? She must be quite extraordinary,” Jim remarked.
“Indeed, and the person looking for her is also quite something,” Mori added.
“This task seems risky, but the reward is substantial.”
“Let’s send someone to investigate. If we can find her, it’s a profit; if not, it’s no loss for us, we aren’t short on coins,” Mori decided.
“Understood!” Jim replied, then left the living room with Airael’s portrait in hand.
……
Time passed, and before long several days had gone by.
After days of sailing, Rolt and his large fleet finally arrived at their first destination, Bruz City.
On the Nick Kingdom side, everything was prepared in advance due to prior knowledge, and many noble families had gathered in Bruz City.
The army stationed in the military camp was spread throughout the city, maintaining order.
No matter what, they couldn’t lose face in front of the Elven ambassador.
When the fleet arrived, Georges, the son of the northern duke, came to the dock to greet Rolt and the others.
It could be said that all aspects of how they treated Rolt, the Elven ambassador, were done quite well.
Naturally, Rolt was very pleased with this.
He had never imagined living like this before; for a moment, he felt a bit lightheaded.
After arriving at the designated accommodations arranged by the Nick Kingdom, Sally noticed Rolt still seemed a bit dazed and said, “Mr. Rolt, please don’t forget the mission entrusted to you by Your Majesty.”
Sally was aware of the essence of this envoy mission.
Therefore, she couldn’t help but feel displeased with Rolt’s current demeanor.
Not to mention anything else, don’t you realize that acting like this is embarrassing for Your Majesty?
Just as Rolt sat down on the couch, he felt a bit uncomfortable hearing Sally’s words, but thinking of her status, he managed a friendly smile, “Of course, I remember the task entrusted to me by Your Majesty. I will not let her down.”
As he spoke, his expression turned serious, presenting a somewhat fitting demeanor.
Rolt’s attitude eased some of Sally’s concerns, but she still reminded him, “As long as you remember, it’s fine. Additionally, I want to remind you that your current identity is the ambassador sent to the continent by Her Majesty. You need to pay attention to every word and deed at all times.”
At this moment, Rolt understood that it was indeed his earlier behavior that displeased Sally.
He felt a little anxious.
Would Sally report his behavior to Her Majesty?
Thinking about it, Rolt felt he should flatter this Elven general: “I’ll be more careful moving forward. It’s my first time in such an important role. If I make any mistakes, please do let me know, and I’ll correct them promptly.”
Sally felt it would be inappropriate to criticize him further after he said that, and she developed a bit more fondness for him.
“You don’t need to be too intentional about it; just be natural.”
“I understand.”
Once Sally had finished her admonishment, she left the room, leaving Rolt alone inside.
That evening, the King of the Nick Kingdom held a grand banquet to welcome the arrival of the Elven ambassador.
At the banquet, many human nobles flocked around Rolt, eager to extract some information from him.
Some questions were rather tricky.
For instance, what does the Elven Queen think of the younger generation of humans? Was there an unspoken agenda behind this visit?
However, Rolt, who had become the head of the Elven Merchant Association, was no simple figure.
No matter how nobles tried to pry, he skillfully dodged the questions, simply stating he came carrying the goodwill of Her Majesty.
Besides, those close to home know their own affairs.
When it came to Airael’s opinions, he genuinely had no clue.
The only secret he had was that, technically, he wasn’t really an ambassador of the Elven Race; he was merely sent by Her Majesty to engage in trade with them.
Of course, Rolt wasn’t foolish enough to disclose this point.
Regarding Her Majesty’s goodwill, that was obviously gold coins.
Aside from Rolt, another focal point at the banquet was the Elven general Sally.
The gazes of many noble youths were glued to her.
But Sally completely ignored their attention; anyone who approached her was swiftly dismissed with a few words.
She exuded a high and cold goddess persona.
Her gaze was constantly fixed on Rolt.
It was both a form of protection and surveillance.
Due to Rolt’s earlier performance, she feared he might embarrass himself at the banquet, so she felt doubtful about whether he could handle those wolfish noblemen.
However, Rolt’s present demeanor forced her to admit she had underestimated him a bit.
After pondering, Sally decided to shift her gaze away from Rolt.
Staring at him the entire time was tiring, especially with some pesky flies buzzing around her.
Clearly, she had conveyed her refusal to engage, yet there were still those who attempted to approach her, like moths to a flame.
While these humans wished to admire her beauty, they were unaware of the age-old wisdom: beauty is only to be viewed from afar, never to be violated!
Just as she allowed herself to relax briefly, someone approached her again.
And it was a familiar face.
This familiar face was none other than Georges, the duke’s son who had previously greeted them.
Naturally, accompanying him was Prince Crown.
Sally didn’t want to show a frosty demeanor toward Georges, so her expression softened a little.
Georges and Crown approached, and with a friendly tone, Georges said, “Good evening, General Sally.”
“Good evening,” Sally replied.
“Good evening, General Sally. My name is Crown, and I am the prince of this kingdom,” Crown chimed in, offering a smile, appearing very cheerful.
“Good evening, Prince Crown,” Sally’s attitude became even friendlier.
Whatever the case, he was a prince; some courtesy was due.
“What do you think of us humans here, General Sally?” Crown was genuinely pleased with Sally’s friendly demeanor and began to engage in conversation.
After a moment of contemplation, Sally provided her reply: “Very good, and quite prosperous.”
“Is that all?” Crown looked somewhat disappointed.
“I’m sorry; I don’t know much about humans,” Sally admitted.
“My apologies; that was too forward. If General Sally is willing, my cousin Georges and I would be happy to be your tour guides these days, showing you the beauty of the human world.”
As he spoke, Georges gave Sally an approving smile.
In his heart, he appreciated that his royal cousin hadn’t forgotten his manners.
Everyone has an eye for beauty.
Even if they can’t embrace it, a beautiful encounter is a memorable thing.
Not only do princesses have a dream of a noble knight, but these “knights” also have a dream of a beautiful princess, and perhaps more than one.
“I’m sorry, Prince. I’m on a mission and may not be able to spare the time,” Sally coldly shattered their idyllic fantasy.
“If that’s the case, then what a pity,” Crown looked visibly dejected.
Georges also felt downcast.
Their beautiful encounter evaporated.
Sally, however, was completely indifferent to their reactions.
She had seen plenty of such fellows.
