The Kingdom of Qingxi, a lake not far from the royal capital.
The surface of the lake was like a piece of glass meticulously polished by time, reflecting the azure of the firmament. The forest on the opposite bank was steeped in mist; the leaves were all adorned with dewdrops that had not yet evaporated from the daylight. Occasionally, a bird would skim over the treetops, its wingtips shaking loose a string of watery sounds like shattered silver.
The water lilies in the shallows were slowly closing their milky-white petals. The lake water was so clear that one could see several salmon shuttling through like liquid bronze, stirring up fine sand as their tails swayed.
A herd of deer had just finished drinking and departed from the edge of the woods; the shallow water gathered in their hoofprints reflected the sky, like countless misty eyes suddenly opened by the earth.
The fingers of the wind plucked at the strings made of flower clusters, and the lake water responded with gentle ripples. These sounds were kneaded by the breeze into a damp coolness, lightly applied to the traveler's slightly feverish forehead.
Every time Faust saw this scene, he couldn't help but marvel at the scenery that resembled a fairy-tale kingdom. Thinking about it now, it truly was so.
The name of the Kingdom of Qingxi originated from a river named "Qingxi" that ran through the entire territory, feeding one lake after another.
And "Qingxi" was precisely a river possessing mystical properties, endowed with an extremely powerful self-purification ability.
In the past, when it served as an imperial province, the Empire valued the purification effects of Qingxi and established weapon-forging factories here, frantically discharging pollution into the river.
The once beautiful and fertile land was defiled by wastewater. When the people living on this land saw their mother river being so desecrated, they felt an unbearable pain. Moreover, the Empire's administration in the local area was quite brutal, treating the people of Qingxi as cheap labor to be ordered around.
Thus, the sparks of resistance were buried, until the time of the Empire's turmoil and fragmentation, when the current King and his party resolutely rose in rebellion to set things right.
Decades after overthrowing the Empire's rule and establishing independence, "Qingxi" had long since restored its past beauty.
Faust had adapted to local conditions, vigorously developing the tourism industry in the Kingdom of Qingxi. Now, it had become the pillar of the kingdom's finances, and the passing travelers never failed to linger, enchanted by the beautiful scenery of Qingxi.
If it weren't for the Prince's insistence on striving for hegemony, the Kingdom of Qingxi could have become a secluded paradise just by running the service industry.
And today, Faust had come to the lake for a boat tour.
As for the reason, after establishing his status as "Co-Regent" alongside Usewood, Faust had handed over as much work as possible.
Fortunately, those he had trained early on were all technical bureaucrats with extremely strong professional capabilities. Although the leader's sudden hands-off approach made them slightly uneasy, as long as he didn't mess around blindly, these people could still govern the Kingdom of Qingxi in an orderly fashion.
Just then, Mephisto gave a suggestion:
[If you have nothing to do, you might as well drift down the river; there will be a surprise.]
Fine, fine, fine, the blessing has finally arrived.
The Prince of Qingxi immediately understood this as a hint from the spirit. Thus, he called Viviana, boarded the royal small boat, and drifted along the river current.
Aboard the snow-white pleasure boat, Viviana had brewed the black tea and poured a cup for Faust:
"Your Highness, why did you suddenly want to come out for a visit?"
Even though many of the scenic spots in the Kingdom of Qingxi were personally planned by Faust, the Prince himself had never been interested in these beautiful sights.
"Didn't I say it? From now on, I'm going to enjoy life to the fullest."
Faust picked up the teacup, took a light sip, and smiled: "I haven't gone out for spring outings much before. Trying to tour the mountains and waters isn't bad."
However, his constantly twitching leg betrayed the fact that the Prince was not all that comfortable. With world hegemony as his life's goal, wasting time was unforgivable in Faust's eyes.
Suddenly stepping down from a fulfilling administrative life, Faust felt uneasy all over, and even felt a sense of guilt.
Truly beyond help.
"That's right, Your Highness. We can retrace the paths of the past. Is that what you were thinking too? The fragrance of the marigolds on the shore—it's truly nostalgic."
Hearing Faust's words, Viviana was quite happy. Although hardly any change in expression could be seen on her doll-like face, the joy radiating from her from the inside out was truly hard to ignore.
Only then did Faust remember that a few years ago, when inspecting sites for the scenic areas, he had traveled by boat with Viviana.
The boat drifted all the way. The two occasionally spoke, but most of the time they were in silence.
To be precise, it was Viviana who acted very quietly.
Faust looked at his childhood friend. The pale-blonde girl's sitting posture was dignified and elegant. A pair of magnificent purple eyes quietly watched him. Her already soft and beautiful features appeared even more gentle against the backdrop of her pale-gold hair and the lake light.
But Faust's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but ask: "Vivian, what are you looking at?"
"I am looking at myself."
"Eh?"
The girl replied: "What does the 'me' in your pupils look like? Is it stars or mist? You should also look at the 'you' in my pupils; it should be springtime."
Being confessed to with such poetic words by a girl who looked like she stepped out of a painting, Faust instead became nervous. He gave a light cough and asked tentatively:
"By the way, Viviana, do you... ahem, have any needs lately? You must not hold it in; you must tell me."
Although she seemed normal now, Faust, having already witnessed her crazed side, knew that Viviana was not as ascetic and indifferent as she appeared on the surface.
On the contrary, Viviana was truly suppressed to the extreme, to the point of repressing a pure and extreme personality like "Cinderella."
Faust truly had a psychological shadow. Rather than waiting for Viviana to save up a big outburst for him, it was better to proactively help alleviate it.
Prevention is better than a cure, after all.
Viviana was stunned upon hearing this, then tightly pursed her lips:
"Your Highness, by saying that, do you want to have sex in the wild?"
As she spoke, the pale-blonde girl reached out to unbutton her collar.
Faust hurriedly grabbed Viviana's hands:
"I didn't say that!"
Viviana blinked: "Sorry, I thought you were hinting at it. According to your habits, don't you usually find it impossible to sleep every night without a woman? It seems you have been enduring these past few days."
Oh boy, the villain sues first. What I'm afraid of is you being unable to endure it!
Just as Faust was re-fastening the pale-blonde girl's buttons, an unhurried voice drifted over:
"Humans, are you going to mate?"
"!!!"
Faust and Viviana followed the sound and saw a graceful figure standing on a branch by the shore.
She wore a slightly loose coat; the white shirt underneath was filled out plumply without a single wrinkle. Beneath her hot pants were rounded, slender, snow-white thighs.
A fleeting glimpse of her profile was enough to see a breathtakingly regular beauty, exuding a piercing yet clear temperament.
One eye was covered by her tinted bangs, while the other was a crystal-clear, bright golden eye, in which it seemed as if molten gold was flowing.
Most importantly, her ears were quite pointed, completely different from ordinary humans.
Without a doubt, she is an Elf.