Who won't be of a heavy heart when he saw for himself what sort of body he had occupied? He would have chosen to be a pauper than the prince he was forced to.
"What will the emperor do if the empress gives birth to a monster?" he asked the knight directly.
"Two princesses died to create a path to magic for you, that child will be executed and the empress will go under a magical test that will explain why she gave birth to such a being," the knight replied confused at being asked such a question.
Liam closed his eyes and exhaled. This was a lot worse than he had thought it was because he might not get to live as the prince he was born as. They will not accept a monster like him in their midst.
At this point, he was only thinking of a way to create a life for himself in this world and if possible, he might have to go over that wall they speak of.
"What is outside the wall?" he asked the knight curiously.
"Destruction. The enemies of magic made so many things that destroyed the earth rapidly and that is what lies outside the wall.
"There are a few survivors of the war out there, which includes those who could not accept the use of magic for reasons they knew alone and those who were less privileged and could make a life for themselves within the wall.
"They are living in a very terrible state. The soil has been destroyed by weapons of war and they can't grow their foods. At this point, I believe no one is alive outside the walls except the beasts and monsters this empire will never accept."
"Why do they hate monsters?"
"They remind us of how evil black magic is and how we could not completely save this earth we succeeded in preserving from the evils of men's black hearts.
"You could say they are a display of the failure of the royal family and they will stop at nothing to preserve the world inside the wall from that evil."
"Could you call this place a paradise?" he asked seriously as that was the only way he would be able to analyze this world with his.
The knight looked at him in confusion and parted his lips to say something but closed his lips and shook his head. "I do not understand."
"Is life here so clean of evil?" he asked because coming to this world, he has seen more evil than he has ever seen in twenty years of his past life.
"It is the best as far as you remain faithful to the royal family. They mean the best for this earth and they are the reason we are alive today.
"Rebels are taken and burnt or sent out of the walls. They mean well to us with all that has happened in the past. So, I think life is clean of evil," the knight replied respectfully.
Liam nodded. He closed his eyes and sighed when he saw a town afar. As traveled down the hill, he believed, he would at least get a bed to sleep in. The town looked busy even from this distance and he could only hope there won't be any more surprises.
He denied it all but when he placed his hand on his face and could feel some weird distortion that was not normal when his vision was tinted, he was forced to believe it.
A human in his past who lived a very normal life has turned into a monster overnight. He could not simply jump out of this body into a normal body that could cast spells and be the ideal prince the whole empire wished he was.
Forced onto the acceptance stage was not easy and he was not such if he had fully accepted that he dreaded seeing himself in a mirror.
*********
"I will take a walk in the streets and return to sleep later," he told the knight after eating dinner in the inn they got to lodge in. "Do not follow me," he ordered when the knight began getting ready to go with him.
The knight nodded most likely overjoyed as he could finish eating his dinner.
Walking out into the evening street, Liam was pleased with the liveliness. He walked out dressed very simple in the simplest cloth he could find among the other clothes the knight prepared for him.
It felt like each town they passed through had a whole different spice to it and he believed it was because of diversity among the people coming together from all over the world.
With the wars fought in his past, he wondered how they made that possible to bring them close in such unified harmony that was beautiful to behold.
He passed by a few busy restaurants and street stalls afterward. The diversity in the street foods he saw, was amazing.
"You must be enjoying the whole view, right?" a familiar female voice asked as he continued taking in all the details, he took note of this world to help him understand it better although there was a high possibility that it would be different from the next town.
You could say he was simply doing it to clear his mind and come to accept all that happened to him and stop being depressed with all that has happened to him which included losing his family to the earth's destruction and the fact that he knew nothing of what the future held for him.
"Have you been stalking me?" he asked her seriously as he glanced at her.
She was really beautiful under the glow of the lamps that brightened the busy street. Her red hair was let down to her waist curly looking so silky he almost could not keep his hands to himself.
"You should not call it stalking," she replied to him calmly as she handheld his and their fingers interlocked.
"What should I call it then?" he asked her.
"I don't know. You rejected me and it had me thinking throughout the night if I was not attractive enough," she replied to him sincerely with a trace of embarrassment in her voice.
"You called me a monster," he replied jokingly. He was shocked by the freeness in his voice as though he was not talking about anything serious.
She laughed. "I am sorry then. You are as moody as a girl. I had to find you to prove that I am attractive enough," she announced lively and smiled innocently when their gaze met.
"You are not as innocent as I thought you were," he laughed at the crazy assumption that led to him missing out on such a feast.