Even though Laura was a beginner 5th order, when facing this kind of killing intent, she felt her entire body tremble. Her legs were weakly shaking, her teeth were chattering. Her heart was beating wildly. Her whole become had become stiff.
"Did the Deep Sea palace Empire send you here to deal with me?"
"No....No..." Laura desperately shook her head.
Aditya realized that his killing intent was harming Julia, so he quickly suppressed his killing intent while pulling Julia directly into his embrace.
"I am sorry. Are you okay?" Aditya asked with a guilty look. Even though he had not focused his killing intent on Julia, just being near Aditya was enough to make her suffer.
Huff! Huff!
"I am fine." Julia was breathing heavily. Without caring about Laura, the goddess closed her eyes feeling the comforting warmth of his embrace.
"I swear on the Mermaid Goddess, I have not come here with the intention of harming you or anyone from the Istarin Empire. I only came here to talk with you." Laura was relieved that Aditya withdrew his killing intent.
"If you're here to talk then why did you sneak in? You could have just surrendered to my troops and my troops would have let me know about it." Aditya still did not trust this beautiful woman.
"I am sorry this was a mistake on my part. I originally had come here to enjoy this city." Laura then took out two bags which were things that she bought while touring around the city.
"Alight, I believe in you. What do you want?" Aditya checked on Julia to see if she was okay. Seeing that she had calmed down, Aditya slowly pulled her away from his embrace.
"There are many things that I want to talk about. Can we find a place to talk? I don't think standing on a rooftop and having a conversation with the Istarin Emperor is a good idea." While speaking Laura looked at Julia. Seeing how gentle and caring Aditya was toward Julia, Laura felt a little jealous. Only if she had found someone who loved her like this. Laura soon shook her head. For her love was never an option.
Laura was a beautiful woman. She looked like she was only around 20 years old but her real age was over 100+ years. She had deep blue pupils. Her long silver-white hair reaches down her waist. Bangs covered her forehead and long strands of hair fell from both sides of her face.
Laura had blood-drop earrings which only made her look more beautiful. She was wearing a white long dress that covered her whole body.
Laura has to be one of the most beautiful women that Aditya has ever lied his eyes upon. In terms of beauty, she was even more beautiful looking than Julia's mother Sophie. While Julia still had that youthful vibe around her, Laura had the charm of a mature woman.
"There is a restaurant around 500 meters from here. I think we should go there." While walking around with Aditya, Julia had seen this expensive-looking restaurant. She was planning on going there with Aditya later.
Scene change____
"Welcome to Heaven Paradise" As soon as Aditya, Julia and Laura entered the restaurant they were greeted by a 16-year-old waitress.
"Can you please take us to a private room?" Aditya asked.
"Please come with me." While following Aditya and Julia to the second floor, Laura couldn't help but look at the people who were eating on the first floor. This was her first time on human land, she was curious about almost everything. If Aditya and Julia weren't here, she would have asked the waitress many questions.
The waitress leads the trio to a private. Aditya gestured for Laura to sit on the opposite chair facing him. After sitting down, Aditya seriously looked at Laura.
"What would you like to eat?" Unexpectedly Aditya offered her the menu. This surprised Laura as she wasn't totally expecting this.
After taking the menu, Laura flipped through the pages. There were pictures of some dishes which looked very tasty but in the end, she could not decide what to order as everything on the menu looked very tasty and yummy.
"I can't decide what to eat. Your Highness can order anything for me." Laura said with a fake smile. The main reason Laura handed the menu back to Aditya was that she could not read what was written. The sea and the land used different alphabets. While everyone in this world spoke the same language, the people of the sea used a different writing method.
Of course, Laura couldn't really say it to Aditya. She did not want to embarrass herself. This is why she returned the menu to Aditya.
After taking the menu from Laura, Aditya put it on the table so that Julia can also see the menu and give suggestions.
Aditya might not have known about it but Julia knew that Laura could not read what was written. She did not say it out as she did not want to embarrass Laura.
"We're ready to order."
"We would like ..."
After they ordered, Aditya then turned to Laura. "Miss Laura, you can speak now."
Laura took a deep breath and then started. "The reason why I came here is that I heard that the Istarin Empire has a powerful and capable alchemist."
"Ohh...?" It was not a hidden fact that the Istarin Empire had powerful alchemists working for them. Even the Thera King and the Empress of the Storm Isle Dynasty had asked Aditya about this mysterious alchemist. Other than Duke Sarlus and Duke Zayne, not even the nobles of the Istarin Empire had met Julia. Her identity was very mysterious. Only the people who worked in the royal palace and were close to the Emperor knew about Julia.
"I will be honest, the tournament will start soon. With my powers, I can make it to the semi-finals or maybe to the finals if I am lucky. But the chances of winning in the finals are 40%."
"Hold on, are you telling me that besides you, there are other 5th-order cultivators in Deep Sea palace?" If it was true then the whole Istarin empire was in danger.
Laura looked into Aditya's crimson eyes trying to understand what he was thinking. After a moment of silence, she calmly replied. "Currently the Deep Sea palace has several 5th-order powerhouses. Those old fools have cultivated more than 200+ years to reach the 5th order."
"I see. You can go on with what you were saying before." Aditya acted calm on the surface but inside he was anything but calm.
"As I was saying my chances of winning the tournament and becoming the next Ruler is 40%. Not more than that. The reason for my low chances has something to do with a certain powerful man. His cultivation is in Mid 5th-order."
"A mid 5th-order?" Aditya felt his blood run cold from her words. If a beginner 5th-order was this powerful then what about a mid 5th-order?
"Since during the tournament we won't be allowed to use any artifacts, armor, pets, and powerful weapons, we have no choice but to rely on our strength alone. To win I will also have to reach mid 5th-order. For that, I will need a 5-star or 4-star cultivation pill that will improve my cultivating speed. With the pill, I will be able to reach mid-5th-order before the tournament."
"Miss Laura, why would we give you a 4-star cultivation pill?" Laura was from the enemy side. Just because she did not show any hostility to Aditya did not mean that he was going to give her a 4-star cultivation pill. At the end of the day, Laura was his enemy and he was Laura's enemy.
"I wonder if your highness is interested in forming an alliance with the Deep Sea palace Empire in the future." By promising to form an alliance with the Istarin empire, Laura wanted Aditya to give her a 4-star cultivation pill which would help her break through the mid-5th order.
"Miss Laura, what if you betray us? Who knows, maybe you're just using us to gain power. And later when you sit on the throne, you might change or show your real colors. That would be a loss for us." Aditya was interested in Laura's offer but he did not trust her enough.
Laura also knew that the Istarin Emperor wasn't going to agree to her request. Why would Aditya believe in a stranger's promise? Laura was like a stranger to her. On top of that, she was also from the Istarin enemy side.
"How about this? Both of us will sign a soul-binding contract. If the first party betrays the second party, the soul of the first will be destroyed and the first party will be killed." Laura looked very serious about this alliance.
"Miss Laura, before I agree, can you tell me why you're so interested in forming an alliance with the Istarin Empire? Even though the Istarin Empire is very big, you should know that the Deep Sea Palace is way stronger. If both of our Empires fought, the Istarin Empire will lose." Aditya wasn't charmed by this woman's heavenly beauty or anything. When it came to business or politics, Aditya only cared about his interest.
"Your Highness, I am the adopted daughter of the former Deep Sea Palace king. I have long wanted to sit throne and fulfill what my father started."
"Which is....?"
"To end the racism in the Deep Sea palace Empire. Unfortunately, my father could not accomplish his dreams. I have inherited his dreams. I want the Deep Sea palace Empire to become a place where racism and discrimination do not exist."
"That's a very noble dream you miss Laura." But then Aditya's eyes started getting colder. He coldly smiled at Laura and asked. "I am not a child who would believe in this made-up fantasy. I want to know the reason why you decided to ask the Istarin Empire for help. I am sure you also had other choices."
Laura bit her lips while lowering her head. The image of a throne on which an old man was sitting flashed before her eyes. "I want to change the Deep Sea palace kingdom. For thousands of years, we have been hiding under seawater. I want to change that."
Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!
