Emery surprisingly found the possibility of the Logress Prince marrying Gwen to be quite disturbing. As for the reason…
He understood the two individuals would make a good match, as they both were from a royal family of one of the seven kingdoms. However, he just couldn't picture her marrying the guy standing in front of him.
Though his mind was filled with countless thoughts flying around, Emery still managed to keep his composure as he said, "You should just go and ask her yourself, prince."
Arthur nodded his head slowly when he heard Emery's words. "Yeah... Maybe I should."
He was silent for a while and Emery could see the former seemed to think of something else.
"Merlin, I heard from my source that the relationship between Lioness and Cantiaci is in critical condition."
Even though Emery had somehow guessed the development between the two kingdoms after he left, he still showed a surprised expression for a second before giving his piece of thought. "I guess, you have more reason to go and meet her."
In his mind, Emery subconsciously hoped the prince could be a good protector for Gwen and the Lioness Kingdom as whole - something he himself was incapable of due to various reasons.
Seeing Arthur was about to say more, probably his next question, Emery had already interrupted him by saying, "I need to be leaving now, prince."
In all honesty, Emery didn't want to discuss any topics regarding the Lioness Princess anymore. Hence, he just made excuses to Arthur and left, taking Morgana who was standing beside him and had been listening ever since.
Right after they exited the Camelot Palace and reached outside, he and Morgana walked into [Spatial Gate], returning home.
This time, the home they arrived at was the estate given by the Quintins to him.
Contrary to all expectations, the first thing Emery did when they arrived was checking his garden, which was located at the back of the estate.
Elated feelings enveloped him, as he saw the plants planted in the garden were growing nice and strong. Two dozen plants of various types could be seen covering the entire backyard of the estate, creating a verdant and lukewarm spectacle to the eye.
Looking at the plants, which appeared lustrous under the sunlight, Emery once again concerned about his cultivation.
One of the main problems that occured as the aftermath of solving his dark core problem was his inability to use [Fragmentation]. The loss of this ability would certainly greatly impact Emery's progress in apothecary, something he definitely didn't want to happen.
When the dark shroud arrived and covered the blue expansion, Emery and Morgana had dinner together. It went on in a quiet atmosphere until Morgana decided to break the silence.
"You didn't seem too concerned when you found out about Meave. But after hearing about the princess, you were strangely troubled."
Emery, who was about to take another portion of food, stopped his action when he heard Morgana's words. He slowly put the cutlery in his hand down and looked at her. The two were silent until a sigh escaped Emery's mouth.
Morgana and her directness; in the last six month, Emery had gotten used to the Fey bloodline connection, especially since he purified his blood and the connection between them had grown even more deep and profound. Both of them knew they could tell the other party's feelings and thoughts, albeit vaguely.
"She's a good friend of mine and she might be in trouble. That's why I'm troubled."
Hearing Emery's explanation, Morgana tilted her head to the side. "Then... why don't you help her?"
Emery fell silent, before shaking his head and picking up the cutlery again. "No... I would only bring more trouble."
The red-haired girl who sat opposite of Emery stared deeply at him for several seconds before saying, "Liar…"
Emery only smiled at her words and didn't explain, as the two went back to their dinner.
After finishing the dinner and doing the dishes, Emery returned to his room with countless thoughts in his mind. In order to stop his restless heart, he decided to cast [Nature Grasp] and cultivate.
The night passed quietly.
…
Apparently, Luna wanted Emery to visit, as the latter rarely came to the estate given to him. Thus the next morning, he received an invitation from the Quintins to come to their estate.
Bringing Morgana, who was also invited together with him, Emery got the opportunity to see the Akavi warriors, who had been integrated under the Quintins' care. He smiled as he watched the usually ferocious Akavis become disciplined and orderly.
At the moment, there were three dozen of them already. Their addition, as well as the mercenary guards dressed in grey, made the Quintins a force to be reckoned with.
Emery, Morgana and Luna were chatting casually while they were having breakfast, when Kastan suddenly entered the dining room and handed Luna an envelope. She quickly opened the envelope and Emery could see the shocked look on her face as she read the letter inside.
"What happened?"
Luna jerked her head upwards when she heard Emery's question. "Merlin, my men at the border have just reported the Cantiaci soldiers just crossed the border last night. In estimation, there were a few hundred of them. It was a march that sneaked into the kingdom under the cover of the night; those people were definitely looking for trouble."
Hearing this, Emery was quiet. After a while, he asked Morgana to release the messenger bird given by Gaious, telling Arthur about the situation and hoping for him to give assistance.
Emery's action brought confusion for Luna as she asked, "You asked Longress for help? Even if they could help immediately, they would still need at least two days to arrive, Merlin. Who knows what will happen in two days?"
Truthfully, Emery was conflicted. He wanted to help, but he already promised himself to not get involved. And right now, he did exactly what the latter stated.
"I'm sure there are many people protecting the princess. They should have enough time." Emery replied to Luna to reassure her, while in fact he was reassuring himself.
He then added, "Moreover, this is the Lioness Kingdom's territory. It won't be that easy for the Cantiancis to do what they want."
-
As the hours passed, the expression on Emery's face changed more and more, different from the one he had shown at the beginning.
During the day, a commotion suddenly ensued, when someone wearing a bloody uniform tried to barge into the estate, catching the attention of people inside. Walking out to see what had happened, Emery was surprised to recognize who the trespasser was.
It was none other than Minister Fantumar's son, Abe Fantumar. What surprised Emery was the young man came with wounds and bruises all over his body, as if he had gone through a difficult battle to come here. It also surprised him Abe knew about this place.
The moment Abe saw Emery, he also recognized him and hurriedly spoke despite his breaths being ragged.
"Emery... You must… rescue the princess."