"Prince Jason and Princess Vanessa left the academy?" William frowned as he held the beautiful princess of Freesia in his embrace.
"Yes," Princess Sidonie replied. "They left two days ago. According to Grandfather, he sent the two of them to inspect the different outposts of the Kraetor Empire. But, I feel that there is something more to this news than meets the eye."
Princess Sidonie hadn't seen Prince Jason and Princess Vanessa since the day the conference was held. The two had disappeared from the eyes of the public, and even their close friends were not notified by their departure.
William closed his eyes and pondered, while patting Princess Sidonie's, long, reddish-brown hair. The Prince of the Kraetor Empire and him had never been on good terms with each other since he had placed the Collar of Wisteria on Princess Sidonie's neck.
The Prince had also provoked him several times, which almost led to a brawl between the two of them. The Half-Elf knew that Princess Vanessa was dead set on Prince Jason. As someone who was also on the receiving end of such intense love, William admired the feisty Princess of the Kraetor Empire.
Deep inside, he wished that Princess Vanessa would succeed in putting a collar on Prince Jason's neck, so that the latter would leave him alone. Now that both of them were gone, William didn't have to put any extra effort in dealing with Prince Jason's schemes, which had started to become annoying.
"I guess I should visit the Temple and pray for Princess Vanessa's success," William said with a smile. "It never hurts to have the Gods on your side."
Princess Sidonie smirked, but didn't say anything else. She already knew what William was thinking, and she, too, wished for her cousin's success.
"I would greatly appreciate it if you don't treat us like air," Lilith commented with annoyance. "You asked us to come here, and all you've done is publicly show your affection to each other. Are you that bored with your life?"
Kenneth, who was seated a meter away from Lilith, could only smile wryly. Although he didn't mind William being touchy with his lovers, he felt that it wasn't appropriate for the Half-Elf to rub it in their faces.
William lightly tapped Princess Sidonie's back to tell the latter to get off his lap so he could talk business with his guests.
Princess Sidonie sighed and reluctantly rose from her special seat. She then sat beside William and glanced at the Silver-haired elf and Amazon Princess with a scrutinizing gaze.
"I asked both of you to come here today to ask about your plans for the future," William stated. "Kenneth, you've already delivered my mother's message. Aren't you going back to the Silvermoon Continent?"
Kenneth shook his head firmly. "Master told me to keep an eye on you. Don't worry. I won't get in your way, or your lovers'. I'm just following your Mother's orders."
Kenneth stressed the word Mother to William to prevent the Half-Elf from having a comeback. He knew that if he used this approach to his Ex-Roommate, the latter would be unable to turn him away.
Just as he expected, William only sighed before shifting his attention to the Amazon Princess.
"What about you?" William asked. "I already said that I'm not interested in going with you to the Ares Empire to become your tribe's stallion. I still have to prepare for my match with Rebecca."
"I know." Lilith nodded calmly. "My mother received an invitation to the Misty Sect, so I'll be going there as well. We can talk about the details of your visit to the Ares Empire after you've dealt with your Ex-Fiance."
The corner of William's lips twitched. He had clearly stated that he refused to go with her to the Ares Empire to become their Stud Horse, but Lilith just brushed it off as if it was not set in stone.
Her stance on the matter gave William a headache. According to the books he had read in his world, Amazons were a race of warriors. They recognized strength more than anything else, and would actively seek strong partners to have offspring with.
Back then, he was still half in doubt about the authenticity of the claims in the book he read, but now, he was sure that most of what was written there was true.
'I don't want to experience death by snusnu,' William thought as he stared at Lilith who had a nonchalant look on her face.
"I know what you're thinking, but it isn't as bad as you think," Lilith said. "I'll just share you with a dozen of my sisters. I won't let the entire tribe have their way with you."
William pinched the bridge of his nose because there seemed to be some sort of miscommunication between him and the Amazon Princess in front of him. It was as if they weren't talking in the same language, and the latter kept on insisting on her ideals without a care about his input.
"She reminds me of you back then," William commented as he glanced at Princess Sidonie.
"We're not the same." Princess Sidonie firmly shook her head. "I did it out of love and lust, but she's doing it out of need. Frankly, I find this approach very despicable. She's not giving you any room to maneuver and is forcing her wants on you."
'You did the same.'
William, and Kenneth, said in their heads. Princess Sidonie had schemed her way into William's heart, while Lilith was taking the straightforward approach to pin him down on the bed. Although the reasoning of both girls were different, their end goal was the same.
William sighed as he stared at Lilith with a fed up expression. "Your Mother, Empress Andraste, will be going to the Misty Sect as well?"
Lilith nodded. "She wanted to wait for you here in the Kraetor Empire, but there were things that she needed to do in the Empire so I stayed here in her place. Both of us would like to talk to you in private after your battle at the Misty Sect."
"Fine." William nodded his head. He decided to give up and just handle this issue at a later date. "Just promise me that you won't bother Sidonie again. I am also busy training in seclusion, so you won't see me in the academy much.
"The same can be said for you, Kenneth. Although my mother had asked you to watch over me, there are some things that I can't share with you. I hope that you understand."
There was no use talking to Lilith because her view wouldn't change. However, talking to Empress Andraste was different. As someone who held the responsibilities of an entire empire on her shoulders, William believed that the Amazon Empress wasn't as shortsighted as her daughter.
As for Kenneth, he didn't have any problems with his ex-roommate because the silver-haired Elf had a good head on his shoulders. Although he was sent to spy on William, he didn't divulge any of his secrets, and simply reported stuff that wasn't too important.
Because of this, William still had a good impression of him, so he didn't want to sour their relationship.
Lilith and Kenneth nodded their heads. They also didn't want to push William too much because they knew that it could backfire on them. The only thing they wanted from him was a promise that he wouldn't avoid them intentionally, and the Half-Elf agreed to fulfill this promise.
After their meeting, Kenneth and Lilith left William's room with satisfied expressions.
Princess Sidonie watched them go and sighed in relief. Now that William had spoken, she could rest easy that they would not be bothered by their non-stop pestering again.
"Darling, I know you're busy, so I won't trouble you much, but there is still something that I have to tell you," Morgana said after he swapped with Princess Sidonie. "There is one more annoying Elf that is looking for you. Her name is Pearl and she claims to be Charmaine's elder sister."
William frowned when he heard this piece of information. All of the Elves under his command had been stripped of their memories by the Arcane Lich, and been 'programmed' to be loyal to him. After their brainwashing was finished, the Lich had returned their memories, but their personalities were no longer the same.
Even with their memories, they thought that they were in the wrong and very stupid to stand against William during the war. Because of this, they had remained loyal to him and were doing their best to atone for their sins, by offering their servitude.
In truth, William didn't care much about this back then. They were the invaders, so whatever happened to them, he didn't give a damn.
Unfortunately, William's heart wasn't made of stone. After his lovers had convinced him to free the Elves after a few years of servitude, the Half-Elf's treatment of the Elves became more lenient. He wasn't feeling guilty about the brainwashing part.
The thing he was worried about was how the Elves would once again integrate with the Elven Society after their personalities had completely changed. William had long thought about this, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The brainwashing was done, and the Arcane Lich had said that it was permanent. No one could reverse the outcome, so Charmaine and the rest of the elves would have to slowly adapt to whatever circumstances they faced in the future.
Although he felt hesitant, William agreed for Pearl to meet with Charmaine.. He was also curious to see how his personal maid would treat her older sister, who hadn't participated in the war of the Southern Continent.
