“Was that wise? I’m already contesting Prince Roland…”

An felt helpless. This clueless girl hadn’t realized she already insulted the Prince ages ago. Not to mention her disregard of him at the restaurant. An was confident that the man was already viewing Sol and an enemy to conquer.

Without interruption, Sol and An returned to the Imperial Villa. Not long after, Prince Elric also arrived. His gaze was furrowed and there was a questioning air about him. After arrival, one of his guards should have made contact with him.

An uncanny feeling overtook him and he summoned another guard. “Look into what happened to my guards. Report back as soon as possible.” The hidden guard genuflected and then his figure blurred from view.

Inside her room, Sol waved off An to go do his business. She was clear that the man escorted her back with heightened awareness. The only thing she could think of that would trigger him like this was that awareness she provoked.

Just as Sol surmised, An was concerned over that spiritual awareness. Technically speaking, that awareness was already past the Spiritual Enlightenment stage for Intermediate Assemblers. The natural laws of the universe would typically prevent someone of that strength from appearing in a lower plane.

The only answer that made sense to An was that the awareness belonged to someone similar to him. Shedding power to descend to a lower plane was rather rare as the super majority of individuals would never sacrifice their power without reason.

That reason is what worried An. He already encountered the signs of an external force targeting Sol. An acted quickly enough to shield Sol’s awareness, however for powerhouses in the Intermediate Assemblers stage, it would be rather simple to scour the city for a single awareness.

An’s figure disappeared from Sol’s room and his spiritual awareness expanded out across the city. It was time to hunt and his prey was formidable this time around. While An was hunting Sol’s threat, Prince Elric finally received word about his hidden guards.

“Dead?! All of them?!”

Prince Elric didn’t even bother hiding his shock. He sent out nearly 20 highly trained men to track and abduct Sol, yet not a single one survived. The image of a particular maid appeared in his mind however he shrugged it off moments later.

Rather than believe a maid had that level of strength, Prince Elric was more inclined to believe that Duke Reviarra sent protectors with Sol. The man was overprotective when it came to his daughter and so it would make sense if he took extra steps.

Despite the intentions of Duke Reviarra, Prince Elric was infuriated over his losses. It wasn’t easy to train nearly 20 men to such a high degree of skill. The resources alone would bankrupt most families. Once you factor in the time needed to bring a talented guard up to spec, it was clear Prince Elric’s losses were substantial.

There was also a hidden fear about the forces behind Duke Reviarra that planted itself in Prince Elric’s heart. The Duke had long been a trusted advisor of the Royal family. One of the many reasons he was trusted so much was that he refused to retain any significant force or power under his control.

It appears it was time to reevaluate the Duke’s trustworthiness. Prince Elric issued orders to the new series of guards and then proceeded to make his way to Sol’s room. His mind continued to spin and he came across a sudden realization.

Duke Reviarra’s power was Sol’s power. Obtaining Sol Reviarra was the same as obtaining the Duke. Hadn’t that been his desire up to this point? Thinking so, confidence reemerged on his face. He stood before Sol’s door and only proceeded to knock after receiving a signal from his guards.

The knock was a hesitant one. His confidence diminished somewhat after discovering the lack of hidden guards around Sol’s room. He questioned himself for a moment, however dismissed the abnormality a second later.

This was Duke Reviarra’s daughter. Maintaining eyes on the girl’s private quarters could be potentially offensive. Perhaps the guards kept their distance? Prince Elric’s knock resounded through the hallway. He remained patient, yet was displeased after the door failed to open.

Prince Elric knocked once more, this time adding strength behind it. Even the dead would awake after such a loud knock. Inside the room, Sol was immersed in practicing The Unchained Queen Beast method.

Her brows furrowed after hearing the raucous knock. It was nearly midnight and yet someone was knocking on her door? Was there any respect left in this world? Sol extended her spiritual awareness and detected multiple signatures surrounding her room.

Surprised, her gaze drifted to the roof. She connected the dots after realizing it was Prince Elric outside her door. The signatures she detected musc have been his guards. Thinking such, Sol relaxed her guard somewhat and opened the door to greet the Prince.

“Prince Elric, what does this Lady owe the pleasure to?” Her curtsy remained fixed in position as Prince Elric had yet to allow her to stand. Was this hazing? Sol felt a budding grudge against the Prince. She was only 9 years old, had a weak body, and had long since informed him that she encountered health issues prior to arriving at the banquet, yet this man is giving her a hard time so late at night?

Despite her inner thoughts, Sol retained an impeccable curtsy. The last thing she wanted to do was give someone in power a valid reason to control her. Any games played with double speak, gestures, or body language can be easily denied.

However the basic courtesies towards Royalty were impossible to flex. Prince Elric remained indifferent to the bowing girl. He wanted her to fall. He needed a reason to make a move however his face turned darker as time passed by. Wasn’t this girl sickly?

He had been standing in the hall for nearly 10 minutes and yet the girl had yet to even shake. Poor Prince Elric had no way of knowing that Sol practiced The Unchained Queen Beast method. Her weak body was transforming by the day and her stamina had already passed the average 9 year old’s.

From the edge of his gaze, Prince Elric noticed groups of maids and guests observing him. He had already stood in the aisle for so long and it was becoming clear to the retiring guests and servants that he was targeting Lady Reviarra.

Prince Elric's expression darkened further. The whole point of doing this in public was to give him a valid excuse. Sol’s impeccable demeanor was ruining his plan for the umpteenth time. He scowled and dismissed Sol from her curtsy.

Not wanting to make more of a show, Prince Elric cut straight to the chase. “Lady Reviarra, this Prince is missing a few guards. Does the Lady have any information on them?” His tone was strict and the undertone authoritative. Rather than a question, he was practically criminalizing her.

Although Sol was aware of what happened, why would she ever admit that? Sol was many things, however stupid wasn’t one of them. Her face contorted with confusion and her finger touched her chin as if in deep thought.

“Prince Elric, this Lady is unaware of your guards, however if we’re speaking to strange occurrences… Thinking back, this Lady noticed many noises during the trip back. This Lady is certain it has little to do with the honorable Prince, nor his exceptional guards. Apologies for being unable to assist the Prince.”

Polite as it was to those listening in, Prince Elric was infuriated inside. Was this not admitting to doing away with his guards and blocking future accusations? Prince Elric no longer wanted to meander around the subject. He dismissed courtesies and, to the surprise of everyone watching, pushed his way into Sol’s room.

The rumors that would grow for his actions did little to inhibit his actions. His goal was to bed the girl and bring her to his side. So why would he care about what others say when they’re indirectly helping him?

Sol was infuriated with the invasion of her personal space. Rather than follow the Prince into her room, Sol remained outside the door in view of the building crowd. Her face was plastered with confusion and shame. For anyone watching the play, it was clear Lady Reviarra was an unwilling participant of the Prince’s actions.

Prince Elric reached his breaking point with the girl’s actions. Up to this point, she was successfully interfering with every attempt he made. This was supposed to be an easy task for him. He was the first Prince for God’s sake.

Don’t most women fight to get into his good graces? Don’t most women swoon over his looks and crave for his power? Why was this girl so stupid? Prince Elric had long since finished staging the play. He grabbed Sol’s arm and dragged her into the room. Taken by surprise, Sol hardly managed to react.

The moment the door closed, Prince Elric grabbed a sack from his pocket and crushed it in front of Sol’s face. Almost immediately, Sol collapsed into his arms. Prince Elric locked the entrance and with the help of his guards, extracted Sol from the balcony and into a waiting carriage.