The Prince in Question Is Not Stable

Chapter 71: The Banquet of Marcus Rile.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Calm your mind. And look into your soul.

Let the silence between breaths calm your mind. Feel the weight of your body sink into the ground, while your spirit rises.

Imagine that your soul is not caged within your body, but it’s in another dimension.

"Hmm..." Marcus hummed and inhaled.

Then he exhaled.

Windows were closed, the day was bright, warmth of the sunlight was draping the woods of his furniture.

"Inhale, exhale," Marcus murmured again.

He repeated the process.

But...nothing happened.

He’s been at it since the night.

But there was no progress at all. Not even the slightest glitch of the mind realm, which he experienced as symptoms earlier.

Inhale...Exhale...Inhale...Ex-

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Marcus murmured.

Orochi said that to get familiar with the mind realm, you have to get familiar with your soul, your mind-body connection.

But the last time he trained, he severed the pain connection, which is probably the strongest link between the brain and the body.

Thinking about it, Marcus has been more and more confused. Because...How does he even do that?

He even thought of going to monks in the north of Krells to train his mind. But that would mean taking off from his professor work for over a year, and another leave will not be tolerated by Matthias, the headmaster.

Whenever Marcus uses his perception, his mind perceives the world as a canvas. But whenever he uses Black Canvas, it doesn’t respond to him. Not even inside the perceived Blank Canvas.

*Knock*

*Knock*

Marcus sighed and stayed still for a while.

*Knock*

*Knock*

He ignored it again. And concentrated on his meditation.

*Knock*

*Knock*

*Knock*

"For fuck’s sake..." he mumbled.

"Come in," Marcus said, opening his eyes from a meditative state. He’s been trying to get into his mind-realm for quite some time, but he cannot just figure it out.

Being in the mind realm felt like a dream to him. A nightmare. But other evidences support the claim of its existence.

He had not moved an inch from his reclining sofa, which is at the corner of his office.

The door opened, and a man with dark blue hair and a similar shade of suit walked in.

"Oh? Graves?" Marcus asked.

"It has certainly been a while, Professor,’ and the tales of your achievements have been spreading like wildfire across the Kingdom of Lunar," Graves spoke, as he stood straight in front of Marcus, as a butler should always do.

Despite being a clearance five magician and sneaking into the academy unnoticed, Graves still knocked on Marcus’s door to take his permission to enter.

"Just some publicity, doesn’t change the man I am," Marcus replied.

"But you’ll have to... for this one," Graves replied, and a magic circle manifested in his hands. A small pocket where he stores his things.

A magic that warped the space on a minute level, by creating a fake state, just like the carriages that feel big from the inside but are smaller on the outside.

He produced two letters. One completely black, the other, completely white.

"What have we got?" Marcus asked.

"Two letters, Professor. One black, one white," Graves replied.

"I’m guessing the black one is bad news," Marcus commented.

"I don’t catch the reference, but yes, you may assume that way, Professor." Graves said.

"What about the job I assigned to you?" Marcus asked.

"I did some digging, observed the knights, our Saintess, and many priests. The closest man I could find to match your description was Ferrey, the high priest." Graves replied.

"Well, that seems pretty obvious." Marcus nodded, but he didn’t move from his place.

He thought for some time, tapping his finger on the handrest of his seat.

"Ferrey. A high priest who is a strategist decides where the Saintess should be and has personal interests." He began.

"But no, he’s not the man we’re looking for, he’s not the kind of man who’d let himself be used," Marcus said.

"Ferrey considers Violet as an asset. He never sees her as a human or a Saintess. For him, she’s a high-priority asset. He wouldn’t let Kingdom, or to be precise, see me as Ymir, together with her. The moment he sees some chemistry; he’ll start to make moves."

"But not yet. When I said that...the person we’re finding should know what her intentions are, I meant it. Someone who sees her as an asset would not know what she thinks. So that someone is desperate, they exist, and our anonymous enemy will try to use that someone."

"You seem to know something, Professor?" Graves asked.

"Maybe, or maybe not. Because what I know doesn’t matter now that everything has changed," Marcus replied.

"Now the letters," Marcus said. "Could you read them out, since I’m trying not to move from this place?"

"Certainly," Graves broke the seal of the black letter; it was a royal seal. He opened it and started reading its contents.

"It states..."

"To Count Marcus Rile, Head-Professor of the Lunar Academy,"

"By the authority vested in me as the first Prince of the Lunar Kingdom, I extend this formal invitation. The events that transpired within the County of Crescenda have not gone unnoticed. In a moment where the Kingdom stood at the edge of calamity, your actions did not merely preserve lives; they changed the course of what might have been irreversible loss."

"It is not often that a man steps beyond the expectations of his station and redefines them entirely. For this, you have earned not only recognition but the attention of the Crown. You are hereby invited to attend a formal banquet to be held within the Royal Palace, on the evening of the seventh day from this notice."

"The gathering shall be convened in your honour, alongside distinguished members of the court, nobility, and representatives of the Covenant."

"Your Presence is expected. Should you require accommodation, escort, or any provisions for your arrival, they shall be arranged under the authority of the Royal Family of Celeties."

"..." Ymir furrowed his brows, but he didn’t move his head.

"So, what the letter states is that there’s a banquet, where I’m the main guest, and I’m invited?" he asked.

"That will be the correct interpretation," Graves replied.

"And, no one asked me if I wanted a banquet or not?" Marcus continued.

"...That...will also be correct," Graves replied, but this time, in a slightly lower tone.

Ymir exhaled a deep sigh and said.

"Alright, I don’t think it’s avoidable since it’s an invitation from the first Prince himself. If it were from the royal family in general, the Queen’s designation would’ve been used,"

"Certainly," Graves nodded.

Banquets are such a hassle. And since his time in this world, Ymir never attended any. But Marcus is a count, and an invitation from the first Prince, even if he’s known as Transcendent, will be considered as dishonourable, and hence...it is unavoidable.

"What’s the other letter about?" Marcus asked.

"This one," Graves held the white letter in his hands.

It had a seal made of violet coloured wax.

He didn’t tear that seal; instead gently removed it from the paper of the envelope.

He took out the bright white page with the design of purple orchids on its edges. A letter that was written in handwriting that seemed better than the Royal invitation.

"Is from the Saintess," he said.

"Oh?" Marcus was intrigued.

"I actually intercepted this one. Turns out the high priest reads every letter she receives or sends, which our saintess never really sent in front of me. But it’s safe to say that this is an untouched letter," Graves said.

"Hmm, read it," Marcus said.

"But ... I believe it’s for your own to read," Graves was reluctant.

"Don’t worry bout it, just read it."

"As you command, ’Professor’"

"The Saintess says," Graves opened the envelope, straightened the paper.

"My Dear Ymir," Graves paused. "Oh, it looks like a love letter."

"Hm, hm, continue," Marcus said.

"I know it’s the work and political aspects of the royalty that have been keeping you busy. And I’m also a little disappointed in the fact that you not only did not say your goodbyes a year ago and left with just a note, but I’m also feeling sorrow for you not meeting me in Crescenda."

"But I know you love me and ..."

"..." Graves paused.

"Why’d you stop?" Marcus asked.

"Uh... I think there’s some... error here?" Graves squinted his brows.

"What does it say?" Marcus asked.

"It says that...But I know you love me, and the next time we meet I’ll cut your head off and place it in my room so that you never think of leaving again..."

"..."

Marcus finally got up. He didn’t care about his meditation now.

He walked towards Graves, took the letter from his hands, and read it again.

"What the..."

"It really does say that," He mumbled.

"Maybe this is how our Saintess expresses her love," Graves blurted out his thoughts.

Marcus just looked at him.

"You cannot be serious?"

"No, my Prince, I’ve seen this type of love," Graves replied.

"Are you sure this was written by her?" Marcus asked again.

"I can vouch for that, your highness!"

Marcus stared at the beautiful handwriting and couldn’t believe the words conveyed through it.

"This is giving me chills", he murmured.

"..." Graves didn’t say anything. ’You weren’t scared while facing a Marquis-ranked Demon, though...’ he thought.