Arvin stood in silence for a moment on the terrace of the shelter house, letting the gentle breeze touch and caress his face. His eyes observed the surroundings intently, then he immediately activated his detection magic, releasing waves of mana in all directions near the shelter house.
Alright, no one is watching me here. Arvin thought after ensuring the surrounding area was completely clear of people.
Not wanting to waste much time, he immediately activated his invisible magic. His physical form vanished completely, blending with the surrounding air.
With calm and highly relaxed steps, Arvin walked away from the shelter house terrace, heading toward the Victoriaz Kingdom palace.
As he walked through the bustling capital in the busy afternoon, Arvin observed his surroundings. Many people were still passing by to finish their work, some adults were seen chatting happily on street corners, and children were engrossed in playing cheerfully.
It turns out that it's not only the people of the Astoria Kingdom who possess morals. The people here have them too. Arvin praised inwardly.
His sharp eyes never strayed from the backs of the hands of everyone he passed on the streets. Almost all of them bore the white contract symbol, while a few others had the blue symbol.
Currently, I have five Life-and-Death Contract symbols. he stated inwardly again, referring to Allen, Alrain, Ordion, Alvein, and Alrian. And soon, those symbols will increase with the addition of my prospective spouses.
Recalling those names, Arvin's steps slowed down slightly. He suddenly remembered Princess Elenora's words from some time ago regarding a purple-haired youth.
As far as he could remember, there was only one student at the Astoria Academy who had strikingly purple hair. Furthermore, that student always approached and talked to him without any hesitation, even though Arvin constantly gave him a cold and indifferent reaction.
It seems I must ask him about this later after my business is finished. Arvin decided in his mind, saving the crucial topic for later.
Without realizing it, his casual steps had brought him in front of the palace's main gates. However, the youth's steps halted. The giant gates were tightly closed, with four heavily armored royal soldiers standing strict guard in front of them.
Ah... damn it! I forgot that the gates leading into the palace are always tightly closed like this. he complained in annoyance to himself. Why did I even forget such a simple thing?
Not wanting to feel frustrated over a mere gate, Arvin immediately walked around, tracing the palace's outer walls. He looked for a secluded spot to sneak into the palace courtyard without raising any suspicion.
Upon arriving at a completely deserted corner of the wall, he observed his surroundings once more to ensure the area was truly safe with absolutely no one passing by.
Feeling secure, the youth looked up, staring at the towering top of the wall.
Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap!
Using his blink magic in rapid succession, Arvin's invisible body moved upwards extremely fast. The moment his feet landed smoothly on top of the wall, he immediately jumped down into the palace grounds, using wind magic beneath his feet to slow his falling speed until he landed without a sound.
After successfully landing perfectly, Arvin walked forward again while observing his surroundings carefully.
Why is this palace courtyard so quiet? he asked in his heart, feeling strange because he did not see the usual activity of soldiers or servants.
Upon reaching the palace doors, Arvin slowly opened them little by little so as not to cause any creaking sounds that could attract the attention of the palace's occupants.
When the gap in the door was slightly open and wide enough for his body size, he immediately slipped inside, then quickly closed the door again with great care.
Ensuring that the door was tightly shut, Arvin began to explore the grand palace hallways to find the location of the library and take what he genuinely needed to take from there.
However, just a few moments after he started walking...
"What did you say?!"
A fairly loud and stern man's voice suddenly echoed from the direction of one of the rooms.
"You're saying Orvion died in the tournament and his corpse is missing?!" the voice exclaimed again, this time sounding even more filled with disbelief. "Are you joking with me, Lionias?!"
Hearing Prince Lionias's name mentioned, Arvin instantly halted his steps. He immediately turned and approached the source of the voice.
There, he saw the king and Prince Lionias standing face-to-face, talking in the palace hallway.
"It's true, Father!" Lionias answered quickly, his voice sounding terrified as he faced his father's sharp glare. "I wouldn't dare lie to you."
The Victoriaz King scoffed harshly.
"Just forget about that commoner's corpse!" the king replied sternly, completely unbothered by the disappearance of Orvion's body. The king then looked at his son with a piercing gaze. "Are you certain that the four spouses of that Vedegra descendant who participated in the tournament are humans with illogical powers as you reported to me?"
Lionias swallowed his saliva, looking into his father's eyes with the obedience of a son.
"Yes, Father, that is the truth! The powers of all four of them are absolutely terrifying, especially Arvin Vedegra's!" Lionias replied again, still haunted by the horror in the arena. "He was able to stop that terrifying fight between his two spouses barehanded."
Hearing his son's account, the king clenched his right fist tightly while gritting his teeth. He was visibly holding back immense anger and extraordinary worry toward the real threat posed by that Vedegra descendant.
"We must change our plans!" the king decided with eyes full of cunning. He stared straight at his son. "Summon your slave and order him to approach Arvin Vedegra! No matter what, your slave must succeed in marrying that Vedegra descendant!"
Lionias, hearing the command, immediately gave an obedient nod. "Yes, Father."
Out of their line of sight, Arvin, who had been standing there and eavesdropping on the entire conversation, became highly curious as well as intrigued by the plan the king had just devised.
Interesting! Hahaha. he exclaimed in his heart, feeling highly enthusiastic to find out exactly who this slave ordered to approach and seduce him was.
In his form that was still completely invisible, Arvin immediately followed the footsteps of the prince who began walking down the palace hallway.