"The empress's letter evidently shows that we've been played." The pope looked at his a.s.sistant, clenched his teeth and angrily said: "Of course I know! I thought that prince that appeared out of nowhere wanted to negotiate with us, but he ended up tricking us to steal the evidence from us! Castor has definitely betrayed us! G.o.d d.a.m.n it! This sowing discord plan of theirs is too sinister. If it wasn't for the empress's letter of negotiation, I would've been played!"

"It looks like the prince doesn't have any direct evidence. He tricked us." The a.s.sistant turned around and revealed his face which was that of a merchant. He clenched his teeth and said: "It's all my fault. The prince found out all of our secrets from me."

"It's not your fault. We weren't prepared for it. We underestimated the prince. He's not an ordinary person. He's not calm, but his proactivity and insanity is no less than the empress. He's her son all right…… But don't you want to do something to that Valkyrie?"

"To the Valkyrie?!"

The merchant froze up. He then revealed an expression like he'd been enlightened. He wore a debauched smile, "I've used it on many women, but never on a Valkyrie. To be frank, that drug is so powerful it could completely destroy a Valkyrie's dignity and make her a dog wagging her tail as she begs us."

"Let's do this then. Since the prince has evidence against us, we'll be offed sooner or later, so why not get one step ahead of them? All that'll be left is to see if Castor is willing to cooperate with us. If they can, we'll be able to make the empress drink a pot-worth."

"It's just that we don't know where the prince has suddenly gone off to without a trace. Could he have gone to the elves' side?"

"Ignore him. Go and prepare."

"But that Valkyrie might not eat the food we prepare."

"Did you forget? The first toast which is a toast to the empress must be drunk? Plus, didn't she eat a fair bit on the evening banquet the first day? I don't have any other ways to stall for time anymore. The evidence is in the prince's hands, so just do it. Oh right, feed her some anaesthetics as well just in case the drug can't control her. We can't beat a Valkyrie."

"Understood."

I prepared my stuff back inside the imperial elven capital. I don't actually have that much stuff to prepare. I chose the most ordinary clothing to hide my ident.i.ty as the prince to avoid alerting the enemies. I left my gun behind for safety purposes since guns are taboo for elves. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" they say.

I don't have any weapon now because I don't know how to use a sword either.

But I have weapons mom specially prepared for me, and that's these small bottles. Inside of them is pure mana. One of them is fluorescence light. Once scattered, it will create a bright blinding light all around the vicinity in an instant. One of them is fire. It's extremely terrifying if you toss it at someone. It's like napalm. And then there's this shock one which can knock away everyone who comes close. To be honest, I think it would be better to use it as a stun grenade than to pour it on myself.

I have a few bottles of each type. These are similar to the weapons elves use. It's just that these have been blessed by mom so their purity and potency are much more than just several times stronger compared to normal mana potions.

Mm, there was mom's kiss too. That is now weighing me down with anxiety. The things mom did to me became scarier and scarier the last two days as the time for me to leave came closer. Mom also had lapses where she'd be temporarily infatuated. I'm very concerned. Mom truly does love me, but I'm starting to suspect that it's become a disorder.

Okay, my weapons are ready and now I need to sort out my daily necessities. As for food, I can just eat the foods mom prepared for me on the way there. There doesn't seem to be any magic that would allow me to store items in an inventory. But mom's a living, prancing refrigerator, so I don't think there's an issue with expiry dates.

Now a steed…… I kind of regret letting the white deer king go now. If I didn't let it go, I would be able to travel between the elf and human nations in a single day. Unfortunately, I don't know where the white deer king went, nor was I sure if I would see it again in future.

If I could meet it again, I might be able to ride it after we negotiate it.

My luggage is pretty much sorted. I placed my backpack to a side and went into a daze as I looked at the book by the side. I think using magic is quite addicting. I managed to flip a leaf the first time I used it and now I can use it to open the book in front of me. It's only a very simple spell, but this is all I can do at present.

But I can't go wrong with practice. I'll be able to use magic on full-moon nights this way. However, my urge to destroy and kill on full-moon nights concerns me. If I get high while using it at the time, I think I'll lose my ability to reason and control myself. Mom was the one who said I could destroy the entire imperial capital on a full-moon night. I trust mom's judgement when it comes to magic.

Luna and Freya should be ready now too. Though Luna said she didn't want to go back and wanted to stay by my side, I could see that she really missed home. Recently, she's been telling Freya about her hometown as well as her past. I'm interested in my birthplace too so I really want to go and take a look.

But I haven't dared to say to mom "I want to go and take a look at my birthplace", because I noticed mom pressed her hand on her dress whenever I mentioned it…… As the day for me to leave came closer and closer, mom's actions also got weirder and weirder……

I need to be cautious at all times……

Freya watched Luna who was sound asleep and sighed. She reached her hand out to dim the green fire. She sat on the edge of the bed and went into a daze as she looked at the pearl in front of her.

"Brother, do you love Lucia?"

"Of course. Of course, I love Lucia."

She would never forget the smile on her brother's face. She would never forget his bliss he was proud of and the deep love he had for his love when she asked him that question. That was the bliss of a man who loved a woman. That was enough to prove just how pa.s.sionate he was about Lucia. His expression that was as gentle as water and his shy look had never been shown to anyone else before was something special only Lucia could make him show.

That's right, that woman had her brother's everything.

Her majesty told her to kill Lucia with poison, but she knew her brother would be in agony and very sad if she killed Lucia. She was his sister. He rescued her and she still needed to rely on his strength.

If she wanted to revive her household, then the empress would be the better option for her to rely on.

But she could never forget that sweetness. She thought she was using the prince, that he and she were just using each other for their own ends. But the prince truly treated her as his sister.

He was the first person to care for her. His hand was warm like her father's.

Freya clenched her teeth. She picked up the awl by the side and made a hole in the "pearl" in front of her. She then slid a simple ribbon through the hole.

She was not going to do something that would make her brother sad.

Freya solemnly wore the poison around her neck. It would never be a poison again. It would be just a simple pearl.

   l