Chapter 64: So Sudden!
“Watch out!”
“Argh!!”
Eli and Alicia braced for impact as Ludwin sat there agape. His head crashed into the carriage wall as it was overturned due to the explosion.
“Protect His Highness!”
“We are under attack! Ready your arms!”
“Watch out, they have mages!” The knights surrounded the carriage, but from the screams that followed, Eli knew they weren’t winning.
“Eli! We need to escape, now!” Alicia said as she blasted open the jammed door. Eli followed suit.
“Your Highness!” Eli reached out her hand to him. Ludwin panicked, but somehow, he still grabbed those tiny hands.
Eli hesitated, wondering whether the carriage was safer. her instinct says no. It would be best to hide in the bushes or use her earth magic than the carriage. The carriage was too obvious.
Alicia leaped out, casting a fireball at the enemy. Offense is the best defense! Or so she thought. Let alone the enemy, she couldn’t even see the street ten meters ahead because it was nighttime, but it didn’t matter. Alicia had enough mana to spare. She had the cheat from the goddess after all.
The explosion lit the surroundings, revealing a shadow that lurked beneath the bushes. Alicia then cast several more fireballs their way.
“Let me help!” Eli summoned several earthen spears and launched them toward the enemies.
“No!” Alicia blasted a fireball her way. She turned toward Elidranthia. Alicia had only one mission in this world. Even if it was for self-defense, even if it was justified, Elidranthia must not kill. That’s what she promised the goddess.
Eli turned to Alicia when she saw her earth javelins were destroyed.
“Just protect His Highness! That’s more important,” Alicia made excuses on the spot. “I will handle the situation here. Leave it to me. Just keep yourself safe. You do not need to kill them.”
“... Okay.” Eli then shifted her focus and raised an earthen wall to protect herself and Ludwin. Elidranthia was suspicious, but her suspicion was dispelled soon after when several arrows embedded themselves into her earthen wall. Alicia might be doing it the wrong way, but an assignment of roles in war was necessary. Eli thought she was just reinforcing that. An explosion soon crashed into her wall, almost breaking it. She then poured more mana into her wall.
“Die!” Alicia then countered with several fireballs the size of a car. Fire spread to the streets. The enemy had picked the perfect and very bold place for ambushes, right in front of the castle, where the lights were dim because nothing was built there.
Of course, knights from the castle saw the commotion. In less than two minutes, reinforcements sallied out from the castle. The empty street before the castle had turned bright as flames spread to the nearby grass.
“Your Highness!” The knights surrounded the caravan, while another group spread out to chase after the assassins. Alicia drew her sword while her other hand was ready with the next fireball. Eli peeked outside her mud wall, her hand grasping for the box with her silverware. It was just steak knives, not swords like the one Alicia had, but it was better than nothing.
“Your Highness! You are safe!” A knight then knelt before Prince Ludwin. Alicia tilted her head. This knight looked incredibly young, probably her peer. But he seemed to hold positions within the army. How?
“Gladius! Thor!” Ludwin peeked beside Eli’s earthen wall. “Don’t worry. They are my personal bodyguards. They can be trusted.”
Eli then poured her magic to flatten her earthen wall back into the soil. Her eyes were still wary of the knights, but they all kneeled down in reverence. None seemed to be aiming for her life.
“Your Highness!” they both kneeled. Ludwin then scolded them. “Not only were there assassins inside the capital, they even dared to attack me, a prince! How could you guys let this happen! They are practically inside my own castle!”
“Yes, there has been an oversight. The road in the middle areas was empty. Somehow the assassins had snuck in from the outer area and waited here, Your Highness,” another knight, this time more aged, answered.
The castle was divided into three parts. The outer layer was where a moat and a bridge connected to the rest of the city were located. The middle part was where administration usually happened. This place was where Alicia had her trials. And the last part was the inner castle. This is where Ludwin was planning to host his birthday party and where the sleeping quarters for royals were.
The middle part was empty during the night, as most government employees were off during the night. Only an occasional guard was posted nearby. Then, the assassins attacked right before the carriage was about to enter the inner castle.
Eli looked around. The enemy had certainly picked a weird place to conduct their assassination. Why now? Why on the road inside the capital? Most assassinations usually happened inside the castle, through poisoning or when the prince was asleep.
Eli then looked at the bodies. None of them seemed to be knights from Althemer. That meant this was probably an outside job. This middle area was the furthest the enemies could reach. But who? Who dared to attack a prince of another nation? Attacking Ludwin meant declaring war.
Of course, her questions remained unanswered. The knights merely summoned another carriage, and they were brought to the ballroom.
“I will not let the assassins have their way. We shall conduct my birthday party as if nothing had happened,” Ludwin said.
“Um… Is that so? Then, if you could excuse us, we are hardly presentable in this attire.” Eli then nodded, trying to ask the knights and Ludwin for a ticket back to the academy. Of course, Ludwin refused.
“Of course not. I am the crown prince of Althemer. There is no way I would send my benefactor home after such meritorious deeds. I shall have my maid present you with some of our wardrobe.”
“But…” Eli whispered. Most clothes here were handmade. Even for princes, there was no way he could suddenly have dresses in her size, right? There might be some maid dresses in the castle for Alicia, but Eli’s dresses were handmade.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ludwin said. “I will ask the palace maid to alter Charlotte’s clothes for you. The quality will be guaranteed.”
Charlotte is two years younger than me! I am not that small!
Eli was fuming at how Ludwin assumed Charlotte’s dress would fit her. Alas, her path out was blocked, and she had to attend his birthday party, not merely as an attendant, but possibly as the star of the show.
Soon, Eli and Alicia were kidnapped to an empty room. As expected from royals, they produced a dress that matched Eli’s size almost immediately, and to her chagrin, she arrived at the birthday room without delay.
“Greetings, my noble friends and mages alike. There was some disturbance in the castle. But as you can see, neither I nor Althemer was unharmed.. Allt hey could do was to destroy some cobblestone int he courtyard. We have shown those infidels that the Althemer empire remains untouched. It was all thanks to the power of the Althemer empire and its loyal followers!” Eli stared wide-eyed at how Ludwin made a propaganda speech right at his birthday.
“Please, enjoy your meal today in the knowledge that the Althemer empire remains steadfast and secure!” Ludwin said, and maids began going to tables after tables, serving them food.
Parties inside the castle do not follow a standing banquet where guests are expected to stand the whole time and pick their own food. No, maids came to them, bringing plates and food to be served to the tables, ranking from the highest to the lowest.
As Elidranthia was a count’s daughter, she got her own seat. But Alicia, being a commoner, had to sit the furthest back, spectating from a distance. Or at least, that’s what was supposed to happen. But somehow, a special seat for Alicia was placed beside Elidranthia.
Then, instead of dining with the dukes’ children at the very front, he came over to Eli’s seat.
“Eli. Did you enjoy the music? We have the very best from the empire.” Ludwin tried to break the ice as he nonchalantly sat beside Elidranthia.
“Eli? I’m not sure who you mean, Your Highness. My name is Elidranthia Shadowstep, daughter of Count Shadowstep.”
“And I am Alicia! The best mage of Shadowstep!” Alicia puffed out her chest. Eli eyed them enviously. Those had really grown. Eli grabbed her by the shoulder.
“Alicia. If you don’t know etiquette, just stay silent!” Eli cast a death glare at her.
“Hahaha! You certainly are. You have shown me that you certainly have some skill despite being a student!” Ludwin laughed. “Well, I might just be a dark mage, but I won’t lose in terms of the service I can provide. You can see my illusion show later.”
Then Ludwin winked at Eli. Eli felt a shudder. Her body trembled as she gazed at the frontmost seat, usually reserved for royals and dukes’ daughters and sons. They were eyeing Eli. Ronya, from the Duke Bron faction, and Margareth, from Duke Luca, had especially harsh gazes.
Meanwhile, Charlotte, the princess, and Joseph from Slane wore curious looks.
“Most of you probably know I am a mage since I attended the mage course, but I should probably make this official. I am a triple mage with water, fire, and dark. Since I am most proficient with dark magic, I shall show you my best light show for you all!”
Then, a ball of light appeared from Ludwin’s hand. It floated to the ceiling, and it began flashing in various colors. Ludwin wore a proud look as his disco ball changed colors. Yeah, with how it changed color, the floating ball of light from his hand looked like a disco ball.
Everyone except Eli clapped their hands. Even the commoner mages admitted it was impressive for a dark mage to manage an illusion of that scale, but the girl Ludwin wanted to impress the most wore a sullen look.
He didn’t know that Eli hated disco parties!
Such is the woe of a prince who tried to woo a girl who had lived in the modern era. Eli had a prejudice that disco parties, especially from the rich and socialites, were a den of evil, where illegal transactions such as bribery and drug dealing often took place. Despite the innocent disco ball, misplaced in a well-lit ballroom, the mere reminiscence of that ball soured her mood.
The prince’s birthday party then came to a close, but Eli’s trouble didn’t end there.