Chapter 248 - Hatching Plans (2/2)
”Then again, all of the princes are,” Vanadir said before chuckling. He then looked at Erea and asked her, ”Did that answer your first question?”
In response, Erea nodded. Seeing that she nodded, Vanadir nodded back before continuing, ”As for the prize in the war for the throne…”
”Well, to be honest, this is the first time such an event has been held,” the Ninth Prince said after that. ”Fortunately, the king did not hide anything from us, telling us the rewards of such an event.”
”Naturally, becoming the future ruler of the kingdom is part of the rewards, with the winning prince becoming a Crown Prince,” Vanadir said. He then took in a deep breath as his eyes glistened, remembering the other reward.
”The most important reward in this war for the throne is probably the only reward the other princes participating in this event yearn to obtain,” he said with a slightly excited expression.
”A Legendary-grade weapon,” Vanadir said without hesitation, making Erea and Dane's eyes widen in response. This was the first time Dane had heard of it, while Erea could not even fathom the power a Legendary-grade weapon would have.
Seeing their reactions, Vanadir let out a laugh as he said, ”That was my reaction as well when I first heard it from the king. Any other questions?”
Erea shook his head in response to his question. With that, Vanadir turned his head to look at Dane and ask, ”Do you have any other news you want to tell me?”
With a nod, Dane let out a long sigh before telling him, ”Unfortunately, yes.”
”Not only is the Tenth Prince participating in the war for the throne, but I've also heard that the Tenth Prince has become allies with the Third Prince,” he continued.
Rather than stand up from the sheer shock, Vanadir blankly looked at the outside of the pavilion before taking in a long and deep breath. As he let out a sigh, he let out a wry chuckle before muttering, ”At this point, I'm not even surprised. With the Third Prince and Tenth Prince working together, it's almost guaranteed for them to win the war.”
Noticing that Erea was about to ask a question from the periphery of his vision, the Ninth Prince went ahead and deduced the possible question in her mind as he asked her, ”Are you going to ask me the reason as to why I haven't allied with other princes yet?”
Just as Erea was about to open her mouth to ask the question that came out of Vanadir's mouth, she instantly closed it as she nodded slowly soon after. In response, Vanadir let out a sigh as he said, ”Well, it's not that I don't want to. It's just that the other princes don't believe that I have the capabilities to win the war.”
”Your Highness doesn't have the capabilities?” Erea could not help but mutter, remembering what she saw before she entered the pavilion a while ago. From the aura the Ninth Prince was radiating while he was practicing with his blade, to Erea, she concluded that he already had the capabilities to do so. ”You must be jesting, Your Highness. The power you showed before I entered the pavilion is already quite strong.”
At first, Vanadir was at a loss for words, wondering how such a person he had just met for the first time would be able to say that. Not long after, Vanadir let out a long laugh before softly sighing. He then looked at Erea before saying, ”I guess you're right. I've only ascended to a Rank 3 class just recently, so the news of me having ascended hasn't spread that much yet. Once it does, some of the princes would probably ask me to ally with them.”
”Hmm…” Listening to Vanadir's words, Erea pondered for a bit before asking, ”Wouldn't it be better if the news doesn't spread until the very last moment, Your Highness?”
”Of course it is, but you know how it is. News like this can't be kept secret for long,” Vanadir said, to which Dane let out a chuckle as he replied, ”That's only if you don't have any connections with those that spread the news, Your Highness.”
”You've given me quite a great idea, Erea,” Dane said as he stood up, patting Erea on the head. Sipping a bit of tea from the cup he's holding, he looked at the Ninth Prince and said, ”Fortunately for you, Your Highness, I have quite a few connections with the main sources of news in this kingdom. As long as I bribe them with a bit of the money you've given me, they'll make sure to keep the news of your ascension a secret.”
”As for the alliances…” Dane pondered for a bit before saying, ”You should take the initiative to show your strength to the other princes, Your Highness. Of course, the Highness should only do it in secret, lest the other princes find out. Wouldn't that shock the masses once they find out that you're far stronger than they imagined when the war for the throne starts?”
Vanadir passively listened to Dane's advice before pondering over it. After some time, he let out a long laugh as he said, ”As expected from my advisor, you're a genius.”
He then turned his head to look at Erea and said, ”The same goes for you, Erea. If not for your quick thinking, Dane might not have such a thought like this.”
Being praised by the Ninth Prince himself, Erea scratched her head slightly as a light blush suffused from her face. In her mind, she thought to herself, 'To think that the Ninth Prince actually knows my name…'
After talking a bit more regarding the new idea Dane had, Vanadir eventually looked at Erea and asked her, ”Do you have any other questions you want to ask me?”
”Do I?” Erea asked herself in response, rummaging through her memories in the process. Eventually, she recalled what happened before they arrived at the pavilion. With that in mind, she went ahead and asked the Ninth Prince, ”I do have one question.”
”Do tell,” Vanadir said in response. Erea then took in a deep breath as she pondered whether it was right or wrong to ask such a question. Eventually, she decided that it was better to find it out as she asked, ”Before we arrived at your pavilion, Your Highness, no guards were escorting us along the way. Is there a reason for that?”
Hearing Erea's question, Dane could not help but let out a light chuckle as he muttered, ”I knew she was going to ask this question.”
As for Vanadir, he let out a light chuckle as well as he said, ”Oh that? Quite a simple answer to your question, to be honest.”
”I guess Dane didn't tell you the reason why along the way?” he asked, to which Erea nodded.
Looking at Dane for a bit with a smile, he then shifted his gaze back to Erea as he replied, ”Well, I don't blame your teacher for not telling you…”
”…since it involves the war for the throne, surprisingly.”