"Did you have a good holiday, Viviana?"
Faust looked at his childhood friend and asked with a smile.
" The holiday was indeed worth remembering. Please allow me to return to my post."
Her voice flowed like a clear spring; simply listening to her cold, calm tone was a form of enjoyment.
Faust nodded. "Of course. Without your company and protection, I truly wouldn't be used to it."
Viviana Roselin.
The Commander of the Kingdom's Palace Guard and the heir to the Roselin family.
As a small nation established only a few decades ago, the Kingdom of Qingxi naturally lacked ancient noble houses with long-standing heritages.
In fact, there were very few nobles in the entire kingdom, most of whom were wealthy merchants who had purchased their titles—there was no other way; if a backwater region wanted to develop, it had to rely on the sale of offices and titles.
Making money wasn't something to be ashamed of.
Faust, at least, didn't think honorary noble titles were particularly precious. A noble without an occult heritage wouldn't be regarded as a "true noble." The more of these honorary elites, the better; he didn't need to grant them land or rewards, and instead, he could continuously extract wealth from this demographic.
But even with so many pretenders, there were true, powerful high nobles within the kingdom.
Viviana's father, Count Roselin, was one such man. He had been a close friend of the King of Qingxi and had gathered a large group of like-minded fellow countrymen to rise up during the War of Independence that swept the entire Empire.
They had conducted guerrilla warfare along the Empire's southeastern border, gradually growing in strength and laying the foundation for what is now the Kingdom of Qingxi.
As the saying goes: A group of companions from Qingxi, settling at the base of the Southeast Mountains.
After the brutal struggle, the only ones who ultimately survived were the old King and Count Roselin. The latter became the most powerful noble in Qingxi outside of the royal family—one might even say the only true power player.
Precisely because of the bond forged in blood and fire, the King placed immense trust in his old comrade-in-arms, entrusting the kingdom's only Palace Guard to Count Roselin's command.
With the relationship between the two "old geezers," Faust and Viviana were naturally childhood friends. In fact, their relationship could hardly be described by that term alone.
Viviana had even been Faust's fiancée.
This was easy to understand. Count Roselin and the old King were so close they practically shared the same pair of trousers; arranging a marriage for the next generation was the most logical decision possible.
I call this a strong union, a multiplication of kinship—do you understand?
However, Faust wasn't particularly keen on it. Don't misunderstand; he didn't dislike Viviana. On the contrary, this childhood friend was satisfactory from every possible angle—it was just a pity she was from Qingxi.
The Prince's heart was set on the vast world! His soul harbored the ambition to swallow the universe! If he only wanted to govern the Kingdom of Qingxi, marrying Viviana would have allowed him to complete the centralization of power perfectly.
But if he wanted to expand and venture outward, it would be of no benefit at all. The Kingdom of Qingxi had quite a few friendly neighbors; they could huddle for warmth or even pursue joint rule. Faust simply could not accept wasting precious matrimonial resources. He had a preference for "foreigners"—it had to be that way.
Thus, the Prince could only vaguely hint that he didn't quite favor Viviana.
The engagement wasn't purely a political marriage; it was more the earnest hope of two best friends. Since the younger generation was unwilling, it had no choice but to fall through.
Though he felt somewhat sorry for Viviana, Faust firmly believed his actions were correct.
The Prince looked directly at the girl's pretty face beneath the hood and said softly:
"Now that I have your protection, I can finally feel at ease. As expected, it just doesn't work without you."
Although the engagement was canceled, it didn't mean his relationship with Viviana had soured. After Count Roselin stepped down, his daughter naturally took over the role of Commander of the Guard.
Loyalty aside, Viviana's devotion was absolutely beyond question. What made Faust sleep even more soundly was his certainty that Viviana liked him; the deep affection of the past ten years was by no means fake.
And the personality of this Guard Commander was quite easy to manage.
"Perhaps that is not the case, Your Highness?"
To the Prince's surprise, his flattery didn't work as usual. Viviana said indifferently:
"I heard you encountered the lady of your dreams at the ball, and now you are searching every street for her, are you not?"
Is this... jealousy?
Faust lowered his gaze slightly, trying his best to observe the expression under the girl's hood. That soft, beautiful face seemed a bit cold.
This was truly rare. Generally speaking, Viviana wouldn't show negative emotions on her face. Moreover, when the Prince usually held his "parties," the golden-haired girl would stand outside the door keeping watch. Why would she mind something like this now?
Faust couldn't figure it out in the short term, so he simply brushed it off lightly:
"You could say that. But mostly it's out of curiosity. The experience of those few nights felt like a dream; I have to at least know who she is, right?"
Seeming to accept Faust's explanation, Viviana nodded with a nearly imperceptible motion and asked:
"Then why do you not simply use a portrait to find her?"
Faust pointed toward the shoe-fitting assembly in front of the palace and said:
"If I still remembered, I wouldn't be using this method to search. I can no longer remember the girl's face or voice at all."
This was the truth. The moment "Cinderella" left, Faust's related memories seemed to have been erased. Although he still clearly remembered the interactions with her, he couldn't recall anything else.
Viviana curled her lip. "To have forgotten even her appearance—can that even be called love? By your logic, even if she stood right in front of you, you wouldn't recognize her!"
Faust maintained a polite smile and said:
"Even so, I want to find her. I surely will find her. Even if I forget again and again, inextinguishable love and obsession will guide me to meet her."
The Prince's words actually broke his character a bit; he had never spoken of love so easily before, and even his sweet talk was usually ambiguous.
But Faust had a reason for speaking this way. Since he knew for certain he was in a [Witches' Feast] script, he naturally had to do his best to play the part... at least for now, he had no intention of defying destiny. There was nothing worth rebelling against in the [Cinderella] script.
Mephisto had already warned him: don't play mind games, don't try to be clever, and don't think the Wheel of Destiny won't crush you.
Faust naturally followed the advice, planning his words and deeds based on his pre-awakened mindset.
Fortunately, this wasn't difficult, because awakening didn't mean immunity to the influence of "Destiny." If he didn't consciously keep his mind taut, it was easy to slip back into that "love-brain" state.
Hearing this, Viviana froze. She slightly raised her snowy-white chin and let out a soft "Hee":
"...Your Highness, it seems you are serious this time."