Northguard.

Though it was called a Kingdom, ‘Queendom’ would be a better term to use. Because, since the beginning, the country had always been in the reins of women. There were no Kings- only royal consorts. The reason? Because of the special second property the Heera family had- a property that put them on the very top of circlers, a property only compatible to women.

Northguard.

As it’s name suggest, the sole duty of the whole Kingdom was to defend against the calamity that hides in the North. It had defended well since its foundation, and it would continue to defend for centuries to come. But this strength to stand against anything came with a hefty price- a price of death, a price of exhaustion.

This price made them the sturdiest nation there was, and also- the most stubborn of them all. Stubbornness was the common trait of the Northguardians. And the royal family- was anything but an exception.

“Preposterous!”

The Queen Mother slammed her fists on the table. Rage was written all over her face. But it did not negated her beauty even by a little; if anything, it added to her charm.

Adrian, on the other hand, was chewing his food maintaining the utmost etiquette. Of course he did not miss the opportunity to enjoy the scene of the raging woman before her.

“How dare you even propose this!? And you had the audacity to call this a deal?!” She continued.

Meanwhile, Adrian finished the delicious meal before picking the glass of cherry red wine from the table. He stirred it and took a sip before turning to the Royal lady before her.

“You and your Nemphis are the only ones getting benefits.” She did not stop. “And how did you even think that we will accept such a ridiculous offer?!”

Adrian finished the cup of wine, licked his lips and gently put the glass of wine back to its previous position.

“Are you done, your Excellency?” He finally spoke.

She exhaled a long sigh. “Long story short, we are not accepting it.”

“Are you sure?” He looked into her dreamy eyes. “You will be getting one third of the land.”

“I…” She hesitated but… “I am still not willing.”

“Don’t forget that your status will also be much higher. You know how strong is the Empire.” He smiled. He had yet to move away his abyssal eyes; they were still staring into her dreamy ones.

“This…” She hesitated again. “But my Kingdom and my people comes first, everything later.” But she prevailed yet again.

“You also know that once we can conquer ‘that’, Highfort will become the new most impregnable fortress in Ervilia- completely cutting off the ‘second’ tag.”

“Hmph!” She snorted. Even this action of her was a sight to behold. “As if it’s easy to conquer that place.”

“It isn’t?” He raised one of his brows.

“Hmph!” She snorted again, crossing her arms. It emphasised her perfect mounds even more. “So what if you are the son of Emilia? You are just a brat.”

Adrian only smiled in response.

“Sir Ernic, your High King, sieged that place twice. And at both of the cases, he suffered terrible defeats. The previous King, Vert did not even give it a try.”

Adrian took a piece of fruit from the table and took a bite as he kept listening to the Queen mother.

“Even Sir Charles Greatwoods, the greatest ruler to have ever been begotten by the Confederation- failed.” She sighed, a look of sadness evident in her eyes.

“How about this?” He looked into her purple eyes again. “If you accept the proposal, all of their defensive machinery will belong to you.”

“Ah…” She was taken by surprise. His offers were getting better and better. But she shook her head aggressively nonetheless, composing herself. She looked at her wine glass.

‘Is it poisoned or something? Or am I getting weaker.’ She shrugged.

She scowled at Adrian. “And again with that? What did I say just now? Even the mighty ones before you could not do anything. What can a mere brat like you do?” She scoffed.

“Did you forget it already?” He finished the fruit. “It was conquered once before.” He smiled.

“How can I forget?” She knitted her brows. “Of course it was Sir Charles Greatwoods who did that. But it was a failure nonetheless. The Empire took it back in less than a week.” She sighed again.

“That’s the whole point. It’s not completely impregnable; so, I can do it. And even if it was impenetrable, so what?” His normal smile turned into a smug one. “I am very good at penetrating.”

Her cheeks turned red for a moment, creating an instantaneous but divine scene. She only scowled at him in response.

“Anyways, I leave it to you- if you want to accept it or not.” He stood up. “After all, I have a habit of doing those doing things those hu… ahem… people call impossible.”

She raised her brows as she looked right into his eyes. “Tell me honestly, the incident at the Hunt… was it you?”

“Yes.” It did not even take a moment for him to answer.

She began to contemplate. Adrian turned around, ready to leave.

Before he could take a step forward, a charming voice came from behind.

“I need time.”

Adrian’s lips bent up to a smirk. He turned around; his face- nonchalant.

“Take all you need. Just know that a time might come when I won’t even need you anymore. What will you do then?”

She pondered for a few seconds. He was right.

“What do you want then?”

Adrian inwardly smiled. “Compensation, of course.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “I will let you know soon. But you better keep your end of the deal.”

“Relax.” He bowed. “Along being the most talented man in Ervilia, I am also the most trusted.”

“Tsk.” She clicked her tongue. ‘Shameless.’

“See you soon.” He bowed one last time before leaving the room. The Queen Mother stayed in the room, contemplating.

Adrian hopped on the carriage.

“Should we embark?” The old man asked through the small window.

“Of course.” He smiled. “The journey is only beginning.”