Chapter 110: M-my name is Charles!
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Suddenly Bonney and Titania saw Eleine do a 360° turn as she starts joking around with Prince Alos, playing around with his words, and even accepting the bouquet brought by one of his servants, calling herself humbled to be in the presence of a Prince, and that he would even admire her.
They walk around the Central Streets of Arcadia, and even settled down on a luxurious restaurant, one a one to one with him, leaving Bonney and Titania out, the same story applying to the Prince's entourage who found themselves coerced to leave at his cold, murderous look.
It was evident that the Prince was on the hunt, and wouldn't wish to lose out this juicy prey, like he did last night with Estrid, however, he found himself drawn into a new sensation he never experienced with any women.
The way Eleine talked with him, without having in reverence his Royal status, made him feel … like a new man, and with his courting words being accepted by Eleine, this boosted his ego, continuing his advances while Eleine played into it.
She too, didn't sit idly only chatting around with the arrogant Prince who she could tell was only interested in her body, like every single men who she interacted in her life, except for the cold, somber Dark King who was a person greater than life in her eyes, instead she formulated a plan to ensnare the arrogant Prince in her beauty trap easily.
As the time passed, and they were interacted, the resistance of the Prince got lowered by the charming beauty who put to great use her trained talents that she would weakly test on Vlad, acting like a great actress playing different roles of women, from the pitiful peasant girl, to the esteemed Princess of a Kingdom.
She was mastering the art of masking one emotion, and was acting on it, performing a piece for herself and Prince Alos who was clueless by the deeper plans this beauty he was spending time with delight had on him.
Slowly the Prince dropped into her spider webs like an insect mesmerized by the pheromones of a beautiful flower without even knowing what was happening to him. His interaction with Eleine seemed to be taken from a fairytale, and all of the Casanova in him vanished, instead making him want to conquer the ravishing beauty on his own abilities.
Her display, secluded from the watch of those who knew her, like Bonney and Titania, who might look strange at her, not understanding what she was doing … resuming to the thought she was still only a "Harlot".
She kept on her faked emotions, that would certainly make Vlad proud as he too was working on settling down his plans and schemes to open the Tomb of Kings without alerting the whole Kingdom of his intentions.
Afterall, Vlad was a person who had at times a dual personality, sometimes he wanted to show off and stand out among people like a Mighty Dragon that would make even the Archangels and Satan tremble in fear, the sole creation of God that was the epitome of creation, the Leviathan.
Still, another him liked to lay low, bide his time and work out on concocting his plans for success. It was a thought that he wanted to maintain throught until he reached the Mausoleum of Great Atlas and uncover his treasure to avoid any pesky Marines or Pirates that might want revenge for him killing their "brethren".
By night, when everyone retreated to their homes, Prince Alos who bursted in the private room of a middle-aged man with golden-gray-hair writing something at his desk wearing a luxurious yet casual outfit.
"What's wrong, son? I heard stories that you've been seen walking with a woman in the Gardens of Arcadia. Who might taken your liking? A young noblewoman?"
"Nothing escapes your attention, Father-sama. She … I don't know what to believe. She did tell me she is from the Province of Eclamur, outside of the influence of Arcadia, of common birth. However, I could feel her shame when looking at me as she spoke about her birth origin, she is a commoner."
"I see, a commoner. Go on, I never seen you so vocal about a girl before. Tell me more about this young lady."
"Eleine von Krahen. This is her name, a woman whose hair is like a dark veil where only the stars are missing. Is hard to describe her beauty Father, but she is as close with Mother's beauty."
The middle-aged man raised his eyes from his paperwork, and gazed at the young adult deeply, and with interest he started hearing the story of this black-haired beauty from the perspective of his son, who was a picky person when it came to women. While listening further to Alos's story made him surprised that his son would speak so positively about a woman.
"You know, son … your mother was also a commoner. Maybe, we of the Briss House have some ingrained spirit that makes us take a liking to the simple yet beautiful flowers.
However, if you are serious about this Eleine girl, as my future successor to the Crown, you'll have to deal with the ire of the nobles."
"Nothing to worry about those fools. Aren't we the Briss one of the Strongest Houses of South Blue? Apart from the Siloriel's in Kaysang no one is our rivals."
The comment of the Prince made the middle-aged man to sneer, before letting his son speak about something else, but he wasn't over in taking him aback.
"I also wanted to tell you that I invited Eleine to the Palace. She loves gardens and flowers, and since we have a great collection of plants in the garden, why not spoil her a bit."
"You are a young man, Alos. There's no need to report me with everything you are doing. Take an example of your older brother Gunos, he didn't even request permits to build his "Briss Royal" and did it behind my back."
"And that was the last drop in the cup before you lowered his position to the Crown Succession."
"As a King, I need to make the best decisions for the future of the Kingdom and our family. By how lazy, greedy, and gluttonous your older brother is, it would be obvious he would run down the Kingdom to the grounds, or allow another noble family to get strong enough to threaten our existence like how your Uncle did it with the Lithens."
"So you have nothing against my choice of allowing Eleine at the palace?"
"No not really, in fact I am curious about meeting this young lady myself."
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On the other hand, at the Briss Royal, inside Vlad's private room while the black-haired man was at his desk writing certain details from the shared story given by Eleine who returned bearing fruits in her lap and bosom.
"Do you keep up with the story? Or want me to slow down, Vlad?"
"Keep going, you know I can keep up with your pace any time of the day. Now, surprise me more, my actress."
*Giggle* "You make me sound like a cruel bitch right now, reminding me that I played too much with that foolish guy. Now, with his body language, you taught me how to read."
Eleine, who returned from a successful day in Arcadia, was lying in Vlad's royal sized bed on one side, revealing her large bosom and inviting tights, even her armpits as she was supporting her head using her right arm could raise the blood in people with divergent sexual desires, kept on sharing her story about Prince Alos.
She made sure to tell the man of her desire about the incident that happened in the afternoon while he was busy dealing with his particular dealings with Knut, not shying away from telling the girls about his paths of reaching his targets.
"This guy, he initially wanted to play the playboy card with me, as if he was some indubitable man, but he was just a small man based on his sets of beliefs. What can I say, he tried a lot to win me over, and, guess what, Vlad."
"Let me guess, you also slept with him?"
"NEVER! I don't intend to sleep with no man, apart from you. I am only yours." replied Eleine while jumping from her lazy cat position and landing in front of Vlad who stopped writing as he threw that ironic question, getting taken aback by this woman's dedication to him.
What else, even her persistence in getting in his bed, was something commendable, but deep down was the root of something darker.
"I see … Ease down, is not that I doubt you. Ahem, its not good to get awkward when you are still half-way with the story."
"Then please, make up for your injury."
Looking at Eleine as she pouted while staring at him, even requesting fees for his insults that it made him roll his eyes.
Yet, to get things over with, he extended his left hand, gently grabbing the woman's chin and guiding it closer to his face, then kissing the plump limps of the beauty resulting in her getting flustered and rosy in her cheek like a virgin maiden.
"Satisfied?"
"Maybe one more?" added Eleine as she touched her lower lip with her slender finger, only to see Vlad shake his finger, wanting to return back to the subject of the story at hand.
"After the story is over."
"Alright… what isn't a woman doing for her own desire."
Vlad only laughed a bit, but in a dry manner, before he resumed to write on a sheet of paper various information that Eleine was sharing concerning Prince Alos, and it could be stated that from his pauses in writing.
He was impressed when she told him she managed to smooth her way inside the Royal Palace.
"Now, that is something I didn't expect. For you to be so proactive, since you would usually laze around, shopping and reading news journals."
"Hey, don't paint me in the posture of some lazy girl. I have my own reasons for not acting at times, and it is centered around my interest and what I would get.
This is a great example, of what I would do to get in your good graces."
"Maybe it might end with something great for you. However, can we stop for a bit? I have to send a call to Knut and tell him to stop approaching the Royals."
With the dial snail on the desk, it didn't take long for Eleine to hear the voice of the feminine man who she met in Sorbet Kingdom, acting so happy to get the call.
"Sir Knut, sorry for disturbing your night, but I want you to postpone approaching the Royal Family with my idea for the shoot-out. There are some conflicts in my schedule, hopefully it will not trouble you."
"Ahh, mister Vlad, there's no disturbance whatsoever, in fact its a pleasure. No need to worry, we'll do the photos when you feel well, without carrying yourself stressed out. I want you in the best shape, so your allure will be transmitted even by the picture."
"I see. Thanks, for understanding me."
"But of course, mister Vlad. You can approach me when you have certain problems in Arcadia, as long as I can help, I will gladly do it."
"Much appreciated. Have a pleasant night."
"Ahhhh, the same to you my gentleman."
There was some moan coming from Knut when he heard Vlad's collected goodbyes, while his voice also turned more feminine, making the black-haired man look with an annoyed expression at Eleine, who couldn't help but throw him a mocking expression.
Once the call was over, and he made sure that Knut wouldn't act on his plan for entering solo inside the Royal Palace, seeing Eleine's mocking expression, and even hearing her comment, made him freeze like a stone statue in front of the young woman.
"Mrrr, "my gentleman", I never expected you to be into men. This conflicts with me because I heard Titania mention you killed a pirate because he gave you advances.
Don't take me wrong. Just a bit of healthy teasing. Besides, is there a reason for you to collaborate with this Knut guy? He gives me the vibe of a effeminate man, quite inoffensive, to me, but you? Haha.
*Ahem* Sorry."
She wasn't wrong about Knut and his sissy appearance and manner of talking, and he wasn't irked by Eleine's teasing. He returned the favour by pointing at her imperfections.
"You still have to grow before judging me and my decisions. And no … I am not sexually interested in men. Only this idea makes me sick.
As for Knut, he is a guy with a plethora of connections that will prove to me useful, at least for Briss, since he is taking pictures of the Royal Highness, whatever his name is."
"Probably Alos, the guy I was talking about."
"It could be, but it is none of my concern. Still, I give you that, your sharpness got in check this time with regard to this Prince Alos, and how swift you were in changing plans to capture him emotionally."
He still compliments the young woman on being sharp, remembering one of his thoughts of kidnapping some member of the Royal Family, how couldn't she since the two were sharing a similarly twisted mind, and Eleine pointed out how Vlad resumed on using the "Sissy" to get in the high graces of the Royal Family.
Eleine who told him the entire story, and her observations, watched Vlad as he was thinking with his watch over the city of Arcadia to relax his strained eyes from the constant writing and line connecting job done at the same time.
"A decent city, but it's fully drowned in corruption and secrets. The power structure of this Kingdom also is evident, and it's resting on a sensible balance that could be toppled any time once you take away the decisive factors of their ascension."
"Like the thing you found in the Temple?" asked Eleine, aware of the story Vlad shared with the girls yesterday, about the small-sized being that stood barrier against his aspirations.
"Power is just a factor. Everything can topple down in a domino effect or like a castle of cards, destroying one foundation element. A Kingdom to be thriving needs the Rule of Law, the immune system of a country.
How one does that also matters, if you are Tyrannically, the people might Rebel initially, but as you settle them down, they will adapt, however always will there be someone to scheme behind you."
"Education, the brain of your nation, that is so overlooked by everyone in this world. In fact, I can see on a grand scale that the World Government wants a raisin of the people's minds, a stupidification process that doesn't align with the progress in technology that we as humans would achieve step by step."
"... Master? You are ranting again about political subjects. Ahem, you told me to stop you in case you are going down the rabbit hole. But to make you feel better, I understand what you are saying."
"... Again did I go into my memories? My apologies. Just looking at this place reminds me of certain old memories that I can't shrug off."
"It's okay. You are not wrong, this place isn't half-bad. Compared to the snowy Everfall, or the shithole that was Jade Town … we reached a different World in itself. People live in other conditions."
"And yet there are places like the Slum even in this "Different World"."
"... Correct."
Turning around at Eleine standing behind him, he extended his hand and caressed her face, later raising on his feet as he towered over the young woman.
"Done with the cheap talk, my Eleine. You've done excellent. Now, if you can allow me some rest."
"Okay, but don't forget what you told me."
A slight warm smile appeared on his cold face, and lowering himself down, he kissed the lips of the brunette beauty, letting her depart with a peaceful heart that she satisfied at least the basic "needs" and also earned her rewards.
Reaching the end of the story by midnight with Vlad who didn't exit from his private chamber to the understanding of everyone else, the trio of Titania, Eleine and Bonney were accustomed with his owl-like lifestyle, where they even jocked at times he was never sleeping finding him working day in and day out on concocting his plans.
The mother and son, who were new to the group initially wondered if Vlad was alright since the Duchess herself got scared senseless when she went in the night at the Kitchen to drink some water, only to wake herself with Vlad seated quietly at one seat and drinking coffee, thinking about something.
Nevertheless, in the following morning, they understood why the night monster didn't sleep, when in the main room, at the chair central to everything else sat the tall black-haired man wearing casual clothes, while next to him was a set of children's clothes that would fit a boy 9-10 years old.
"I've been thinking a lot since my talk with Eleine, and since she would visit the Palace today, I would also join this visit myself."
Everyone summoned in the main room was initially confused, but he continued explaining himself.
"Bonney you will transform me again into my child form, since I prepared my clothes. Meanwhile, Eleine I want you to learn this whole scenario by heart, without any mistakes when you are telling the story to the Prince or whoever is asking you about origin, name, brother."
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Before they knew, the new plan was set in motion, and as hours passed and the time was approaching for Eleine to appear at the entrance of the Palace's gates.
From the carriage that took her there, the Royal Guards who were informed on her visit apart from being shocked by her beauty as she was wearing a decent dress that told them she was a young lady of humble origins, they saw another young boy getting off the carriage watching with amazed eyes, full of the brightness of youthfulness.
"Woww, sister, look at the Royal Guards! I always heard stories about how mighty they are. Look, they are right here. Greetings to two misters."
Certainly, there was a warm, pleasant aura around this young boy wearing a budget suit that was slightly oversized for his size, but he was wearing it with a wide smile on his face, as he approached them, greeting them respectfully.
Such a scene made the day of the Royal Guards even better, how couldn't it be when an innocent child would come around to bring you flowers or greet you with a silly smile.
"Charles, don't bother their Excellencies. What if you offend them with your excitement?"
"B-But, sister. It was always my dream to become a Royal Knight." called out the black-haired boy with his excitement lowering down, showing an adorable and cute side to the Royal Guards, who couldn't help but break in smiling.
The boy was truly, the black-haired woman's brother based on his beauty, a boy who had trimmed hair, looked slightly lean, whereas the dimples in his cheeks gave him that childish, innocent charm.
"No, no, it's alright, there's no disturbance from the young man. Hopefully, you continue to work hard and you'll for sure become a Royal Knight." said one of the older Royal Guards, a man in his mid-40s who got reminded of his son back home, who had the same aspirations.
"Still, it's not something commoners like us can afford to disturb the Royal Guard."
"You should be Lady Eleine?" asked another Royal Guard, who the Royal Captain notified of the Guards to be on watch in case a woman matching the black-haired beauty standing before them appeared.
"That would be me, sir Guard. I received the invitation from his Royal Highness, Prince Alos."
"We were waiting for you, my Lady. His Highness is waiting for you at the reception room. Please, follow me." added the Royal Guard who asked for Eleine's identity as he signaled with his hands for "make way" before stepping inside the inner zone of the Palace.
"Come little Charles. Let me present you to his Royal Highness, and His Majesty."
"Right away!! Take care, mister guards. Have a great day." called the young boy, who waved his hands at the Royal Guards as he sprinted inside the Royal Palace without anyone to lift a finger and stop him.
"Bye, bye, young boy. Luck be with you."
The boy grinned childishly, showing signs of great agility for a boy his age, building up the idea of a hardworking boy who worked hard for his dreams from a young age. A point the Royal Guard guiding Eleine inside the Palace noticed, making him ask the woman next to him.
"The young sir, could it be, your brother, my lady?"
"Yeah, my little baby brother, Charles. I don't know if I upset anyone by bringing him, but it was always his dream from little to meet a Prince or the King."
"Haha, no harm done."
Eleine only released a small giggle and couldn't help but get scared by how great this scenario that Vlad built in only one night worked.
What's more, she was even dumbfounded deep down by the childish faces, reactions, and emotions someone as sombre and distant as him could showcase, serving her as a reminder that she was only just a child, when it came to the art of acting and infiltration.
The shamelessness Vlad put on a display of mastery to get his way around, extended even when he arrived inside the Palace having to stand in front of a young adult with blonde-gray-hair, wearing aristocratic clothes with the Briss House symbols engraved on his attire.
He was all smiles when seeing Eleine being accompanied by the Royal Guard, but when Vlad showed up from behind them, looking with an ever-so curious expression, he was confused for a bit, until he remembered that Eleine mentioned she had a little brother.
"My lady, I am pleased to have you around this large and dull place. And, you, young boy, who are you?"
"G-Greetings, t-to the Light of the Stars, h-his Royal Highness! M-my name is Charles! I always wanted to meet you." greeted Vlad acting like a shy boy, even getting rosy as he struggled to talk with the young adult, building up an innocent appearance.
"Ohh, how could I not share the same feeling with one of my future subjects." …
'Little shit, why the fuck are you here? Could it be that you are here to mess with my attempt at winning Eleine's heart?'
"T-Thank you very much!"
"For nothing. Come raise your head. Don't be so nervous around me, I won't bite."
'Hooh, young man, but I do bite.'
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