Damien relaxed his expression and said with a slanted smile, "Royal father praises me too much. I got lucky to come upon a senior alchemist expert who was kind enough to impart some knowledge to me. From that day onwards, I realized where my real interests lay and how I could use them to empower our empire."
The Gale Emperor's gaze focused, "Hmm, I wonder if this senior you bumped into is the famous Alchemist Azrael?"
Damien maintained his gaze as he said, "I can't be sure since nobody has seen his face before. But does royal father still bear a grudge against Alchemist Azrael for what happened in the Rong Empire?"
The emperor wrinkled his brows, "Grudge? Hmph, why would I bother to hold grudges against such characters? He is just one person, and as someone who has a whole empire with countless people and kingdoms to manage, why would I waste my precious time over him? We already built a better building for the Eternal Zephyr Merchant Guild in the Rong Empire, and our profits only increased after that incident due to attracting people's attention to what happened. If anything, I should thank him for helping the guild go through a rebirth."
Even though the Gale Emperor seemed nonchalant about what happened, Damien could notice the hidden resentment in his words aimed at Alchemist Azrael, who was none other than himself.
He couldn't help but inwardly chuckle, seeing how such a lofty existence like the Gale Emperor could only helplessly swallow down his indignation relating to the whole incident that happened in the Rong Empire.
After all, how could a ruler of an empire want to do nothing when one of the branches of the guild that belonged to his empire had been destroyed top to bottom and their reserves looted as well?
The only reason he hadn't made any moves against Alchemist Azrael was not that he knew the guild was in the wrong but because of Alchemist Azrael's identity and status in the Xeton Empire.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Forget about him for now," The emperor continued and said as he took out a blue pill in his hand, "Tell me. Were you the one who really concocted this pill?"
Seeing the blue pill Damien had concocted, he nodded, "Of course. I concocted it recently only."
The emperor curled his lips, "Good. Then I suppose you wouldn't shy away from an alchemy competition, would you?"
Damien was a bit surprised, but he still said, "Of course, not. I am prepared and confident enough that I am unbeatable among other young alchemists out there."
The emperor raised his brows, "Oh? Then you should have no problem in visiting the Krisan Kingdom and participating in their upcoming alchemy competition."
"The Krisan Kingdom? Isn't that the most powerful kingdom in our empire?" Damien asked in a low voice while thinking why the Gale Emperor wanted him to go to this kingdom and participate in an alchemy competition.
The Gale Emperor nodded, "Yes. But their power has been growing so fast recently that it has become a cause of worry for me. I feel like they are hiding something...something which is the reason for their sudden boost in their power and wealth within the last dozen or so years. I had constantly been monitoring their rise in power and the happenings in their kingdom as well. But, still, I couldn't find anything concrete."
Damien had heard about the Krisan Kingdom, which was not only the most powerful kingdom in the Gale Empire but also a sight of attraction, rumored to be as elegant as the imperial capital without losing out to anything.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})In fact, he was also surprised why an empire like the Gale Empire would sit still and do nothing to suppress a growing tiger.
He would have visited such a kingdom if it were not for his situation. But seeing that the Gale Emperor was paying attention to this kingdom meant that they were truly powerful enough to pose a threat to the Gale Empire and even Damien wondered how this kingdom became so powerful in a short period of time.
Otherwise, the Gale Emperor would have taken some actions to cull their increase in power since most rulers never wanted a second tiger to hold influence in their territory.
Damien couldn't understand what was stopping the humongous and lofty Gale Empire.
And Damien felt that this Krisan Kingdom had something that kept the Gale Emperor from making any moves personally. And this something should be no small matter according to his speculation.
Damien slightly shook his head and asked, "Okay. But I don't see how this is all related to me participating in their alchemy competition."
Damien truly couldn't understand why the emperor would ask him to go there. It was not like he could spy on them openly with his identity.
The Gale Emperor smiled as his eyes glossed over, "Of course, it does. This alchemy competition they are conducting is not just a simple competition. I have received an invitation from the king himself saying that he might let his most precious daughter marry the man who wins the alchemy competition."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Damien was flummoxed. It seemed as if the Gale Emperor was setting him up with a princess.
The Gale Emperor saw the slight confusion in Tristen's eyes and said, "There's nothing much to be confused about. Someone with a great taste in women should have heard of Princess Yuria, especially when you tried to create a ruckus to meet her."
The name struck a chord in Damien's head as he scoured through Tristen's memories.
Her name was included in the Ten Moons of the Gale Empire, and surprisingly she was in the first position.
The others in the list were mostly from the imperial capital, while the second one was the wife of Kale Gale, whom he had recently married.
However, rumors say that the gap between the first and second positions was not something that the latter could overcome.
From Tristen's memories, he also found that Tristen had tried to meet up with Princess Yuria after hearing about her drop-dead gorgeous beauty, especially when she was said to be the most beautiful moon of the Gale Empire.
However, he was not allowed to make an appearance because the Gale Emperor himself forbade him from making a fool out of himself by visiting that kingdom. And because of that, Tristen protested but wasn't able to persuade the Gale Emperor at all.
And now it was the Gale Emperor himself offering him a chance to go to the Krisen Kingdom.
The emperor continued, "It's high time you had a proper fiance since even your elder brother got married. Considering your picky taste in women, I have chosen the best for you. But it would be up to you whether you are able to obtain her or not. Even if you win the alchemy competition, it doesn't mean the Krisen King will let you marry his daughter."
Damien was at first surprised that the Gale Emperor was so generous to Tristen to let him have a shot at obtaining the most beautiful girl in the empire. Even if he had concocted some unique pills, he was still far from proving himself to be an excellent candidate to be the crown prince for now.
Usually, the best girls are married off to the best candidates to become the heir to the throne. So, he wouldn't have been surprised if the Gale Emperor had told about this competition to some other competent prince.
The only reason he could see was that since this was an alchemy competition, the Gale Emperor would need a prince with excellent prowess in alchemy.
But hearing that winning the competition was not sufficient, Damien knitted his brows and asked, "What does royal father mean?"
The Gale Emperor explained, "Apparently, the Krisen King is very protective and fond of his only daughter that he wouldn't force anything upon her. The only reason he is even keeping this competition is to see whether his daughter, who is also said to be an alchemy genius, would take a liking to someone. Since the potential winners could only be from powerful families, the Krisen King is hoping to gain an alliance to strengthen his kingdom. But of course, his daughter matters to him more, and he wouldn't force anything on her because of his interests."
'Such a kind and a good father. She must be quite lucky,' Damien mused since he knew most of the people in the Krisen King's shoes would have already married off their daughter for benefits or alliances.
"So in the end, I have to impress her as well other than winning the competition?" Damien asked.
"Isn't that your forte? Seducing innocent girls left and right? I am sure it would be a piece of cake for you. To further your motivation, I will grant you the thing that you need the most and more."
Damien's eyes glinted as he looked at the meaningful smile on the Gale Emperor's face.
"I will give you the Pandemonium Needles you seek for and bestow the title of the crown prince to you. But remember, if you don't hold the title of the crown prince, then I wouldn't be able to give you the Pandemonium Needles," The Gale Emperor said with a veiled glint in his eyes.
