The relationships within elf families were more like friendships.
No one would force young elves to do things they didn’t want to do, which made elven personalities rather carefree.
Humans, however, were different—especially soone like Young Master Eoryun, who was the future heir.
The pressure he bore was imnse, and the amount he had to learn was staggering.
But what did that have to do with him, a re elf?
Elves didn’t have any ill intentions—they were just here to watch the drama unfold.
Before they even had ti to settle into their seats, hurried footsteps echoed from the entrance.
The people in the hall turned to look, and a knight with a grim expression entered.
The knight struggled to compose himself, trying to keep his emotions in check.
He placed a hand on his chest and saluted the city lord. "My lord, the prisoner in the dungeon—the one claiming to be the queen’s brother—has presented a token."
Bearnard straightened up upon hearing this. "Oh? Bring it here. Let take a look."
The knight stepped forward and took out a silver token from his pocket, covered in incomprehensible inscriptions.
Before Bearnard, the city lord, could react, Darius—who had been observing—suddenly jumped up, took the token from the knight, and examined it closely.
Staring at the familiar inscriptions, Darius had a bad feeling.
He couldn’t help but rub the characters with his fingers, trying to dismiss the dangerous thought forming in his mind.
But reality was clear—as soon as he saw the token, the ominous suspicion that crept into his thoughts was correct.
"This is a huge ss..." Darius muttered.
Bearnard who is curious, also walked over.
The mont his gaze landed on the token, he shuddered, nearly losing his balance.
"I was just speaking casually before... I didn’t actually want sothing to happen up there."
Illiya didn’t understand.
Based on their reactions, he had a vague guess.
He hesitantly asked, "...Could it be that sothing has happened to the king?" His words were dangerously disrespectful.
Darius’s expression was grim. "That’s my guess. When the king was still the crown prince, he once jokingly said that if this token ever ended up outside, it would be a sign that sothing had happened to him."
Illiya wanted to say sothing but ultimately remained silent.
"Of course, there’s also a chance that I’m wrong," Darius countered himself. "Maybe the king just misplaced the token, or he was joking at the ti."
Bearnard interjected, "But the prisoner used this token as proof of his identity."
Darius: "...Bearnard, sotis, keeping your mouth shut is a virtue."
Bearnard, realizing his mistake, lowered his head in apology. "You’re right."
Regardless, they had no choice but to make a trip to the royal capital.
The next morning.
The City Lord of Haneulseong City stood at the city gates, clad in a flowing purple gown that reached the ground, with a thick matching cloak draped over his shoulders.
In his hand, he held a longsword, symbolizing his status as a knight, exuding an air of elegance and strength.
He were here to bid farewell at the city gates.
Illiya stared wordlessly at the neatly assembled knight order standing behind the City Lord.
He was at a loss for words.
Help.
If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought they were setting out to capture a criminal rather than seeing soone off.
Forcing himself to ignore the presence of the knight order, Illiya kept his gaze firmly on the City Lord, not looking away.
"My Lord, you really don’t need to escort us any further. If you keep following us step by step, people are going to get the wrong idea..."
The City Lord’s straight posture imdiately collapsed, and his entire deanor underwent a dramatic transformation—from an elite warrior to a carefree rogue.
"If you had told earlier, I wouldn’t have gotten up so early."
Illiya: "..."
Darius: "..."
Drow: "..."
The City Lord sheathed his sword with a casual motion.
"Well then, I won’t see you off any further. Safe travels, and stay safe."
With that, they turned around and led their knight order back into the city.
Illiya watched the City Lord’s swiftly retreating figure in silence.
"The City Lord is truly an amusing human."
"Agreed. Sotis, I wonder if my uncle’s way of thinking is just different from everyone else’s."
The familiar form of address, the familiar voice—it was hard for the elf not to associate them with a particular person.
"So why is the esteed Young Master Eoryun here?" Illiya asked in shock.
Eoryun clicked his tongue. "Isn’t it obvious? My uncle told to go to the royal capital to broaden my horizons instead of staying in the City Lord’s Manor and getting in his way. In other words, he just didn’t want disturbing his slacking off! Can you believe this?"
Illiya: "..."
I don’t know what kind of person the City Lord is, but you’re ruthless. You’re exposing all of his secrets!
And just like that, their party gained another mber on their journey to the royal capital.
After a week of rushed travel, they finally arrived at Areuseon Kingdom’s royal capital.
The prosperity of the capital was incomparable to Haneulseong City, which was rely a border city—despite the fact that Haneulseong City sat atop a vast deposit of top-tier magical crystal.
The entry inspection for the royal capital was even stricter than that of Haneulseong City.
Not only did they have to provide their nas, race, and their level as a mage or swordsman, but they also had to list every city they had passed through on their way here.
Of course, the entry fee was another major hurdle—it was two to three tis higher than in other cities.
For those who couldn’t afford the fee, unfortunately, they would be barred from entering.
As luck would have it, just as Illiya finished paying, he heard a commotion at the adjacent paynt station.
"Wasn’t the entry fee just 100 silver coins last year? Why is it suddenly 300 now?" A man asked with a troubled expression, his voice tinged with distress.
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