"There is still one more day before I have to visit the Krisen Kingdom," Damien said as he got off from the bed in his mansion in Luton Town. He was thinking about the things he would have to do tonight.
It was early morning, but Valentina was already up since, for a while, Damien was not sleeping much due to his new routine of cultivation.
They also did dual-cultivation to increase their cultivation during the night until they became tired and cultivated independently.
Because of Damien's cultivation, he did not need to sleep six to eight hours daily like a normal human. His ethereal energy could help rejuvenate his body while his soul energy can recharge his mind.
Thus, he would be fine even if he didn't sleep for a few days or if he didn't eat for a while.
Valentina furrowed her brows and asked, "That stupid emperor asked you to marry that princess?"
Damien had told her what he would have to do as Tristen based on the order the Gale Emperor gave him, and Valentina obviously didn't like it.
She protested against him going, but when he said that he wouldn't get the Pandemonium Needles, she had no choice but to water down her objections.
Damien sighed, noticing the subtle grouchiness in her words.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Don't worry. Nothing much would happen. After all, I am participating as Tristen and not as Damien. In fact, I have made some plans to see whether that princess will play along with my plans. In the worst case, after I get the Pandemonium Needles, I will just escort her back to her kingdom and explain the situation to her," Damien said in an assuring tone, but inwardly, he had no idea how things would turn out since he had no idea what kind of a person Princess Yuria was.
According to gossip, she rarely stepped out of her palace since her father wouldn't let her wander out, fearing for her safety.
Damien wondered if her father was too extreme or if he was resorting to such decisions because of how twisted the cultivation world was.
After all, from a logical point of view, being inside the palace would be the safest place for her till she becomes strong in her own right.
Damien also heard that she was seventeen years old and about to turn eighteen soon, because of which her father was arranging this competition with a subtle hint of marriage talks.
Damien knew the Gale Emperor was sending him to bag the princess so that he wouldn't have to worry about the Krisen Kingdom anymore since the alliance between them could only be beneficial for both parties.
So he wondered what would happen if he was to fail to get her hand in marriage, though that thought didn't last long since he didn't care about it.
Still, Damien had to inwardly admit that he was curious why the Gale Emperor was maintaining a safe stance against the Krisen Kingdom and also why the Krisen Kingdom was rising in power this fast.
"How are you going to find out if she will follow along or not?" Valentina asked, feeling less upset since, after imprinting upon Damien, she could feel Damien's love for her, thus mitigating her greatest inner fears.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})If it was before, she would have been a lot edgier about the whole thing.
That was also why she didn't feel as bad as before when she saw Damien with Lily at that time.
However, she still disliked Damien loving someone else because of certain insecurities. She still hadn't come to terms with Damien and Lily's relationship but knew that there was nothing she could do about it since she had learned over time how protective Damien was when it came to someone he loved.
This was especially true since she could feel Damien's soul because of the Eternal Bond of Sacred Arts she was practicing. Even without that, she would have realized since the whole reason Damien even left the Rong Empire was mainly because of Lily other than to improve himself and broaden his horizons.
She had merely been ignoring the thing between Damien and Lily in her mind since Lily was not here now. But thinking about what would happen when they reunite made her feel uneasy.
Damien could feel her uneasiness, but just like Valentina, he was putting off till it was the right time to talk to her about him and Lily. He was also less worried since he noticed how Valentina's uneasiness was lessening the more time they spent with each other.
He answered Valentina's question, "I will be going out tonight to sneak into the Krisen Kingdom."
"I—"
Damien interrupted with a smile, "And I also want you to come along with me so that my entry and exit through the royal palace would be smooth. Your invisibility and your mask should come in handy."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})He knew she was about to say that she also wanted to come with him and he anyway decided to ask her to come.
Valentina beamed, feeling excited about tagging along with Damien for forcing their way into the royal palace of Krisen Kingdom.
She was feeling quite bored staying cooped up inside a room with walls surrounding her and needed a bit of adrenaline to set her mood right.
"However, remember that you have to be very careful, and of course, I will be too since this would be the first time we are trying something like this. The Krisen Kingdom is the most powerful kingdom in this empire, and so their defensive capabilities could be similar to the imperial one. If we make one mistake, we could have an army of cultivators chasing our tail," Damien said in a cautious tone.
Valentina stretched her hands as she nodded, "I got it! I will just follow your lead." She then tilted her head and asked, "But what are you going to do once you get inside?"
"I will try to meet her and see if she is the kind of person I can talk sense with and also what her kingdom's true stand is against the Gale Emperor. If they are neutral, I guess it might make things harder," Damien said in a thoughtful tone.
"You are going to try and meet the princess? Wouldn't that be dangerous? She would be heavily guarded," Valentina said with a light of worry in her eyes.
She already learned how well protected the mansions and palaces of noble people could be. Even she wouldn't dare to trespass alone into heavily protected places with her short-lived invisibility.
Damien nodded, "I know this plan is absurd and probably foolish. But given how short a time we have, there is no other option unless we have more time. For the past week, I had to concoct those pills and cultivate. Otherwise, we could have gone about this another way."
He then smiled and continued, "But don't worry. That is where you come in. We just have to knock out one of the guards, and I will disguise myself as one of them."
Valentina fisted her hands together with an excited smile, "That should be fun. But still, would that be enough to get to where the princess stays?"
Damien's smile only grew wider hearing that question, and Valentina didn't ask anymore, seeing that Damien had already prepared for that.
Indeed, Damien had made preparations, especially when Farah Gale, the wife of Kale Gale, was helping him out.
And the reason for that being was that she didn't want Kale Gale to win the competition, making Damien feel unsure whether to be surprised or not, learning that the Gale Emperor had also given the same task to Kale Gale...to obtain Princess Yuria.
Obviously, the Gale Emperor was keeping his options open by giving the same opportunity to Kale Gale.
But Damien wasn't worried since he knew Kale Gale wouldn't be able to beat him in alchemy except for the fact that Kale could concoct a Rank 5 Pill due to his cultivation while Damien would only be able to concoct a Rank 4 Pill.
However, that didn't matter considering their age difference, and he knew other factors would be considered for the final decision to declare the victor.
Apparently, Farah Gale had given him a special artifact in the form of a dagger that could let him bypass the outer defensive formation of the Krisen Royal Palace.
But the rest would depend on him, which Damien had already planned with the help of Valentina.
He also learned that she and Kale Gale would be tagging along with them tomorrow and proceed towards the Krisen Kingdom together, representing the Gale Empire.
Damien wasn't worried they would impede his plans since they would get separated after reaching the kingdom.
However, for now, Damien followed his usual routine waiting for the night to arrive so that he and Valentina could quickly fly towards the Krisen Kingdom and execute their plan!
