Shorter chapter this time.
Giliath demands your power stones!
*
Meanwhile, in another part of the Zemurian continent...
Liberl, Grancel Castle.
It was well into December now, and even snowflakes would drop down on the castle, painting it into even a more picturesque view. The trees on the Terrace were lightly covered in snow.
It was still on the same day that I was currently having my duel with the Jaeger King.
The present time was nighttime, with the same full moon now high up in the sky, lighting up the snow covered terrace outside even more. It was one of the biggest terraces one will see while going through a castle. It connected the first floor all the way to the second floor, where the Queen's residence resided. One needed to pass through this terrace to make it there.
It didn't take long l before a nine year old girl with medium length violet hair walked out of the second floor entrance, only to immediately let out a visible breath of cold air. She could also be seen carrying an orbal lamp with her, wearing nothing but a pretty purple nightgown.
This girl slowly walked across the terrace, crossing over to the lower section of it, and looked up into the sky.
"It really is a pretty moon out tonight...", The girl uttered as she looked up into the night sky, speaking to herself. "But it is quite strange. For some reason I can't seem to fall asleep tonight.", The girl continued to say to herself.
"Lady Klaudia?", A second voice said, suddenly calling out to her. This caused the violet haired girl to blink for a moment, before turning around. She soon spotted a rather old white haired butler approaching her way, surprising her again.
"Mister Phillip? Shouldn't you be watching over the Duke?", The girl asked, who was indeed none other than Klaudia von Auslese, the current Crown Princess of Liberl.
"Haha, thankfully he is fast asleep now thanks to his drinking, so I decided to pay a visit. I didn't think I'd find you here though, Lady Klaudia.", The butler said, who was none other than Phillip.
"I'm having a hard time falling asleep tonight so I thought I'd go out for a nice breath of fresh air. The snow is quite pretty too.", Klaudia happily said, welcoming him.
"Don't stay outside for too long though. It is quite chilly.", Phillip responded, nodding his head at her.
"Hehe, you are right about that.", Klaudia said, letting out a giggle. As she did, she could see her own breath. Her fingers were also turning pinkish red the longer she stood out here. She took this time to lift her head back up, staring into the full moon again. At this time, light snowflakes started to drop from the scattered gray clouds around the castle skies.
"You're thinking about Him, aren't you?", Phillip decided to ask, watching Klaudia as if she was deep in thought.
"You could tell, huh?", Klaudia responded, revealing a smile.
"I've been in this line of business for a long time, Lady Klaudia. Once you reach my age, it's not hard to be able to read someone.", Phillip simply responded, which earned another giggle from her.
"It's already been three years since Brother was last seen. I know we were informed of his existence again, which brought a relief not only to me, but to Grandmother and the others as well. But having Grandmother announced him as Crown Prince during his absence has started to cause a lot of riots. It's hard to quell those nobles down. The last couple of Royal Assemblies haven't been easy.", Klaudia said with a hint of worry in her eyes.
"But Her Majesty is headstrong. She's been putting up a fierce fight with them. It is very commendable.", Phillip said with praise in his tone.
"Hoho, why thank you. I didn't think I'd see you two here. I thought you'd have fallen asleep by now, Klaudia.", An older female voice resounded, only to reveal a third figure. They appeared to be a rather old woman wearing a casual night dress. Cold breaths of air could be seen coming out of her mouth too.
"G-Grandmother?", Klaudia said, having her eyes turn wide in surprise.
"Your Majesty...", Phillip also said, quickly acknowledging her.
"At ease, Phillip. I pardon my intrusion. I couldn't help but hear that you're talking about Naoto?", Queen Alicia said, walking up to the two.
"That's right, Your Majesty. It does beg to wonder what he is doing all the way out there.", Phillip said, unsure.
After Phillip said that, Klaudia's cheeks lightly blushed but nodded her head to confirm as well.
"I do not know myself. He can have his fun for now. And in fact, some of the nobles are secretly relieved knowing the Auslese bloodline is far from being over.", Queen Alicia said, revealing a smile.
"Is that true?", Klaudia asked, interested.
"I asked them myself. But there will be a day when Naoto returns here. And when that happens, we will welcome him with wide arms. After all, he has to attend Jenis Royal Academy with you, Klaudia.", Queen Alicia said with a teasing voice.
"G-Grandmother!", Klaudia tried to retort, only to blush her cheeks again. Klaudia took this time to cough a bit with one of her fists to calm down, only to let out more cold air from her mouth.
"Now that we are in that direction, you taught Brother for a while, didn't you, Phillip?", Klaudia asked, looking over to Phillip.
"I did. He learned swordsmanship from me during my stay in Erebonia. Of that, most of it was travel visits though. However, it would be unwise to learn that the once famed demon of the Royal Army has taken on a disciple.", Phillip explained a bit, only to confuse Klaudia even more. But this earned a chuckle from Queen Alicia.
"Hoho, that is long in the past now, Phillip. I'm sure Naoto is grateful for having you pass your techniques onto him.", Queen Alicia responded. At this time, Queen Alicia became quiet for a moment, only to react as if she had remembered something.
"Oh right, that reminds me. Both of you are turning ten soon, so I was thinking of publicly announcing your engagement to Naoto. It won't become official until you two debut in high society, but we can at least do this part now. What do you think, Klaudia?", Queen Alicia suddenly asked.
This earned surprise from Phillip the moment Queen Alicia asked that. However, the moment Queen Alicia uttered the word 'Engagement', Klaudia's mind started to fizzle for a good moment. At the same time, Klaudia's cheeks turned red again.
"E-EHHHHHH!?", Klaudia yelled out in surprise, causing her voice to carry throughout the castle terrace, and subsequently letting some orbal lights turn on...