After being reunited, Prince Alaric asked Matthew, and Leah, if the survivors of his Kingdom could stay in the town of Lont.
The teenagers were very surprised to find an adult who was not affected by the curse and hadn’t been turned into a crystal statue. Celine was currently wearing a veil, so none of them were able to see her face. She just stood to the side and listened to Prince Alaric’s and Matthew’s discussion.
She had already observed the teenagers that had arrived at their doorstep and sensed that all of them were in the Gold Rank. Although this was nothing special for the Elves, for the Humans, this was a great achievement for their age.
‘Too bad that they still fall short compared to the young warriors of the Elven Race,’ Celine thought.
Even though she was an Elf, she would gladly snap the neck of any Elves that dared to point their weapons at her. Celine had no love for her race and there were only a handful of Elves that she truly cared about.
As for everyone else?
All of them could burn in Hell.
“Of course they are welcome to stay,” Matthew said with a smile. “They can stay for as long as they want.”
“Thank you,” Prince Alaric replied.
He then took Paul, and his ragtag army of teenage boys and girls, to their temporary residence. Lont still had houses to spare, and letting a few hundred children stay wouldn’t be much of a problem.
While Prince Alaric was getting information from Paul and the survivors of his Kingdom, Matthew, Leah, and Celine, returned to the Ainsworth Residence to discuss their next course of action.
“Are you sure that everything is going to be fine?” Leah asked. “I know that they are Prince Alaric’s people, but they might have other thoughts if they spend a few days here.”
Matthew held his wife’s hands and looked at her with a devilish grin. “I know what you are thinking, but I am not worried. Also, this is a good opportunity to test the Crown Prince’s character. A few days will be enough to see what his real colors are.”
Celine smiled from behind the veil covering her face. She had not interacted with Matthew frequently, but she approved of the latter’s way of thinking.
‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,’ Celine mused as she thought about James and William.
James was an opportunistic bastard. William was the same. Matthew was an angel compared to the two of them, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be devious. As the future Lord of Lont, Matthew had been trained to be a good judge of people.
However, even with his knowledge, he still couldn’t see what Prince Alaric’s goal was. Of course, he understood that the Crown Prince wanted to liberate his Dynasty, but that was impossible at this point in time.
Matthew wanted to know what their distant cousin would do if he had acquired enough manpower to form a small private force.
—–
“So, Arslan was left behind,” Prince Alaric sighed. “This is quite unfortunate. I just pray that he hasn’t been killed. That would be a great loss to our kingdom.”
Paul and the rest of the teenagers lowered their heads in shame. They knew that if Arslan hadn’t held the enemy back, they might have already been captured or worse, dead.
“Don’t worry, we will have a chance to stage a comeback,” Prince Alaric stated. “We just need to wait for the right opportunity. For now, rest here in Lont. You are safe here.”
Paul hesitated for a brief moment before voicing his thoughts out loud.
“Your Highness, what is the deal with this town?” Paul inquired. “Why do they have a Millennial Beast as their Gatekeeper as well as Wyverns patrolling the skies? From what I observed, there is nothing special about this town. Can you please enlighten me?
The other teenagers also thought the same thing, but they were too embarrassed to ask their Crown Prince this question. Fortunately, Paul took the initiative. All of them waited for their Prince to tell them why this Town was protected by so many powerful beasts.
Prince Alaric smiled as he looked at his people. Frankly, he also had the same questions when he arrived in Lont. Only after spending a few days inside this crude, and quiet, town in the countryside did he understand why this place was special.
“The previous Lord of this town is Lord James Von Ainsworth,” Prince Alaric smirked. “Do any of you know him?”
Paul frowned. The name sounded familiar, and he was sure he had heard the name before. The other teenagers were also on the same page as him. For some reason, they felt like they should know who James was, but they couldn’t recall why he was familiar.
“Ah!” the pretty girl, Aria, who was now Paul’s second in command, exclaimed when she remembered who James was.
“Lord James! The Undefeated Barbarian that challenged all those who wished to marry Lady Erza many years ago!” Aria’s eyes widened in shock. “Y-Your Highness, are you referring to THAT Lord James Von Ainsworth?”
Prince Alaric nodded. “You are correct, Miss Aria. The previous overseer of this town is none other than Lord James who turned the Zelan Nobility upside down due to his wish to marry Lady Erza.”
Now that James’ identity was revealed, the teenagers remembered the stories that were told by their parents about the Bastard Barbarian who whisked away the Jewel of their Kingdom. James was a legendary figure in the Zelan Dynasty because he was the only one who managed to win the heart of the Undying Witch, who was a member of the Aoife Family and who was one of the Guardian Families of their Kingdom.
“The teenager you saw earlier, Sir Matthew, is his grandson,” Prince Alaric said. “He is the current Lord of Lont. However, that is not why this town is special.”
Princess Aila who was listening from the side clenched her hands together. The image of the handsome Half-Elf who had fearlessly fought on the Peak of Cavalry flashed before her eyes.
William’s image had been engraved inside her mind because there was a time when she wished that the one he had fought for was her instead of Brianna, who was considered to be a Princess in the Northern Tribes.
“The person I am talking about is currently not here in Lont,” Prince Alaric said softly. “However, I believe that if we want to reclaim our Dynasty from the Elves, the one who will lead us to victory is none other than him.”
The majority of the teenagers that had heard their Crown Prince’s words were quite doubtful. None of them believed that a single person could fight against the Elves and help them reclaim their Dynasty.
Prince Alaric knew that they were thinking. He would have had thought the same if not for the fact that he had seen with his own eyes what William did. The Minotaur Race was the Guardians of the Zelan Dynasty. It would not be easy to make them submit to a single person, for they were very stubborn and wouldn’t yield to anyone.
However, William was able to do this. Even Erchitu, the Great Warrior that was second only to the two sons of King Minos, had sworn fealty to him.
This had shocked Prince Alaric to his core.
In the past, Prince Alaric had asked Erchitu to become his Beast Companion, but the latter refused. The Giant White Ox told him that he wouldn’t yield to any mortal men and would only bow down to his Sovereign, King Minos.
This was why Prince Alaric found it hard to believe that the Millennial Beast and its subordinates had sworn their allegiance to William, who was not even a citizen of their Dynasty.
“Listen well and remember his name,” Prince Alaric said with a serious expression. “The one person that might be able to create a miracle and drive off the foreign invaders from the Southern Continent…. His name is…
“William Von Ainsworth.”
