Damien got back to his palace and wasn't worried about the Marlowe Brothers causing any kind of trouble since they wouldn't dare to take any chances to humiliate themselves and their family any further.
He laid on his nice and fluffy bed made for a prince and soon closed his eyes to transfer back his consciousness.
'Phew...that was quite a day…' Damien thought as he opened his eyes and looked to the side to see a rosy-pink-haired beauty meditating diligently. Her aura seemed very calm and tranquil, wondering whether this was the same girl he saw today evening after beating two geniuses to a bloody pulp.
He was happy to see that Valentina had realized the importance of cultivation and how to keep moving forward if she wanted to keep up with the world.
He silently got up to not disturb her and looked at her flawlessly beautiful face, which had a different kind of charm now that she was sitting with her eyes closed.
He wondered how she must have felt when those geniuses tried to create trouble for her and him, who was lying in an unconscious state before.
He knew she was not used to dealing with things alone and was pretty impressed with how she managed to buy time till he got back.
Otherwise, if she had taken the bloody route, then all those four geniuses would have ended up dead, and even he, with his influence as a prince, wouldn't be able to stop the emperor from punishing Valentina.
He would then have to compromise his position as a prince to save Valentina from not only the emperor's wrath but also from the powerful families of the deceased as well.
Then his plans of getting the Pandemonium Needles and other plans related to the Gale Empire would have gone down the drain.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})He knew Valentina must have realized this as well and must have felt a lot of pressure. He could guess that the only reason she could hold back was because of him.
Damien already understood that Valentina had a hard time putting her bestial instincts in check, and even though two of the geniuses ended up in a bloody situation, he was sure that it was the best she could achieve by herself and pretty impressive.
He wanted to pat her head and tell her that she did a very great job protecting him.
He then noticed something and smiled. He saw her sexy velvety lips and leaned forward to kiss them.
Valentina smiled as her lips met his and started to move along with his rhythm. Their lips danced with each other, exchanging their passion and love, and they started to explore the depths of each other's mouths with their tongues.
After having a battle of who could kiss the longest, they separated their lips as they looked into each other's eyes.
"Were you scared?" Damien softly asked as he caressed her cheeks.
She blinked her ruby red eyes as she softly nodded and said, "But only because I didn't know if I was making the right choices. Did I do alright?"
Hearing her ask eagerly, Damien smiled and kissed her cheek, "Of course. You did way better than I expected. I am sorry for not getting back earlier."
Valentina shook her head, "That doesn't matter. I anyway don't disturb you just because some fools wanted to create trouble for us. Your mission is more important, and how is it going? Does Tristen really have a good status for you to bring those powerful soldiers with you?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Damien's expression became thoughtful as he said, "Things are not really looking good for Tristen when I woke up in the palace. But don't worry, I have found a way to turn things around, and soon we will be able to accomplish what we set out for."
"Where are those Pandemonium Needles? Are they located in the treasury?" She asked curiously.
Damien shook his head, "No, I don't think it's in the treasury. Otherwise, at least some should have known. But I have got information from someone who might know where it is. I just have to get that information out from that person."
"Do you need my help? I wish I could be with you in the palace…" Valentina couldn't help but feel that more intensely, especially after what happened today.
Damien sighed, knowing that she was feeling lonely. But before he could say anything, she said with a smile, "But I am happy to protect you while you are gone."
Damien pressed his palms lightly against her cheeks and knew that she found it hard to lie to him no matter how silly it was due to her nature. So, he knew that she wanted to be with him in the palace badly but also at the same time she was really happy to protect him.
That was why he couldn't help but feel bad for her doing all this for him. He hugged her slender body onto himself and laid on the bed.
Valentina smiled happily as she also hugged Damien's body, snuggling up to his chest.
Before they knew it, the two fell asleep in each other's embrace, feeling tired mentally after today's events.
Soon the day passed, and morning arrived, and Damien woke up in Tristen's body. He got up to see a maid standing beside the bed.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Huh, why are you here?"
"Your Highness, I am here to wake you up," The maid said with head bowed.
'Oh, yeah, right. Wake-up calls surely are a thing,' Damien quickly remembered why she was here and gestured to her to leave.
However, just as the maid left, another figure entered his room boldly. And who could it be other than Rhea, Tristen's mother?
"Tsk, mother, what are you doing here so early?" Damien asked in an irked tone as if he didn't like her entering his room so early in the morning.
Rhea smiled, "Don't get so worked up, son. Why do you think I came here now?"
Seeing her nice attitude, Damien inwardly smiled and asked anxiously, "Did royal father say anything?"
Rhea sat down on one of the sofas elegantly and said, "All he said was to tell you to go and see him. But he said that with a smile on his face, and for your father to ask you to meet him after such a long time means that good things are lying in wait for you."
Damien got out of the bed with an excited expression, "Really? This is really good news. Before he refused to even see me but now…"
Seeing how Tristen was getting excited, Rhea said, suppressing her glee as well, "It's good and all but make sure you don't let this chance go to waste and do whatever he says. He should be giving you one last chance to redeem yourself and prove your worth again. If you are able to convince him, then the position of crown prince would surely be yours."
"I should go meet him right away then!" Damien eagerly said as he tried to put on his best robes.
Rhea facepalmed and said, "Oho, not now. What time do you think it is now? He will see you at noon only. You better think of what to say to him in the meanwhile since you would have to choose your words carefully when you are before him."
Damien let out a frustrated sigh, "Okay, okay. I wasn't born yesterday, mother. I know how to talk to my own father. Seriously…"
Rhea wrinkled her brows as she got up, "Hmph, I am telling this for your own good since this is your last chance, and here you won't appreciate your mother's efforts. I am leaving since you seem to know everything."
Rhea left in a huff, and Damien shook his head, thinking that there were indeed amusing characters around Tristen.
Still, he couldn't help but feel that Tristen was lucky to have a mother who did all the hard stuff for him and was sure that it must not have been easy for her to placate the emperor about her son's recent performance.
He knew the emperor was this close to giving up on him before he gave away the position of the crown prince to Kale Gale, the first prince. And because of that, the pressure on Tristen's mother only became even more immense as she had to clean up after Tristen's mess.
But of course, the main cause for that was because Tristen wasn't really alive anymore.
'No wonder you got so spoiled…' Damien mumbled, feeling a bit envious, and wondered how it would feel like to see his own mother. But that thought only stayed in his mind for a second before it became yet another fleeting thought.
Wondering why he suddenly was having such thoughts, he shook his head of such thoughts and came outside his room to go and look for Mina and see if she got to know about the location of the Pandemonium Needles.
