Graciela had to give Lucy a present because tonight she made her out of the palace. Not only help created plans, but her maid was also willing to buy a special potion. It was a magic potion that could make her physique change for fifteen minutes.
Because of the potion, Graciela could turn into Lucy and go to the capital with the coachman that Lucy had hired. She heard the news about Dexter Petandra founded a magic academy in the capital. The mage also taught there when the king didn't call him to solve problems.
The Kingdom of Canarium was bordered by a dangerous abyss, a place where dangerous monsters live. Only expert mages could handle it when the monster attacks the city. Even though Dexter had put up a safety magic wall, sometimes there were powerful monsters that could destroy it.
"Ugh, I suddenly feel nervous when remembering that Dexter Petandra is the strongest mage," muttered Graciela, who had gotten off the horse carriage.
Now she was right in front of the academy, hoping the man she had to meet was still there. Lucy got information from another maid that Dexter was often working late at the academy. The information gave hope to the crown princess.
At least, the magic academy was an easy place to find. Also, Graciela could tell that she was curious about magic if Dexter suspected her. She just had to say she didn't have time because she was busy and could only visit the academy at night.
After stabilizing her mentality, Graciela stepped into the academy. It turned out that there were still many people even though it was night. She visited the magic academy for her charity speech in the past. However, she didn't know if the place was still crowded into the night.
"Thank goodness I didn't have to bribe the guards," Graciela mumbled as she touched her small pouch of gold coins. "Well, now let's go see Dexter Petandra. I just need to meet him, right?"
Graciela approached one person in the academy hallway and asked about Dexter. Instead of answering her question, the young man frowned in surprise. He must have found it strange to see a girl wearing a mask and looking for Dexter, the strongest mage.
"I can't tell because it's Sir Dexter's privacy. Besides, you look suspicious. Are you an intruder?" The young man narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Feeling that she would not receive any information, Graciela immediately shook her head and intended to leave. "I'm not an intruder. Actually, I'm Sir Dexter's secret guest. If you won't tell me, then I'll ask someone else. Thanks for your time and sorry for my strange appearance."
Graciela quickly left without waiting for an answer from the young man. After all, her appearance was strange and aroused by suspicion. It was a pity because the magic potion couldn't make her change for as long as possible.
"He didn't follow me, did he?" Graciela asked, looking back, even though her legs were still running.
Since she didn't look ahead, she accidentally bumped into someone in front of her. It was even worse because she fell right on top of the person's body. For a moment she was silent after knowing the person she bumped was a man.
Graciela blinked a few times, then darted her eyes on the dark blue-haired man. Soon she realized that the man she was being pressed against was Dexter Petandra. She remembered the man's face because they had met several times.
"Your Highness the Crown Princess?" Dexter spoke with a shocked expression. "Why are you here? I approached you because I felt strange about your appearance, but I didn't know it was you. Sorry, could you stand up first?"
The question, or perhaps the request, made Graciela stand up in a hurry. Then she pretended to cough while fixing her slightly messy hair. She cursed in her heart for meeting Dexter in such an inelegant manner.
"I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't mean to run into you," Graciela explained after controlling her embarrassment.
Dexter smiled at those words. "I understand, Your Highness. You couldn't have bumped into me on purpose. However, what I didn't understand was your arrival. I believe I didn't receive an official letter from the kingdom."
"This is a secret meeting, so I can't write the letter."
"Secret meeting?"
Graciela dared herself to look at Dexter because their conversation would be very important. "First, can we go somewhere quiet? I want to talk about it in private."
"Then I'll take you to my artificial magic dimension," said Dexter, snapping his fingers, and in an instant, they moved elsewhere.
It was a room with a table and chairs, without windows or doors. Still, Graciela could breathe even though there was no place for air to enter. She was secretly amazed by the magic that Dexter had. It was only natural, since the man was the strongest mage in the kingdom.
"Please have a seat, Your Highness," Dexter was the first one to speak, and pulled up a chair.
Graciela smiled slightly as she sat on the chair. She waited for Dexter to sit in front of her before starting the conversation. Unexpectedly, the man sat beside her instead. This shocking incident brought up various assumptions in her mind.
The system window would show a notification after Graciela completed a mission, just like what happened when she met Ashton at the training grounds. However, there was no notification that she had completed the mission, even though she meeting Dexter now.
If that was the case, then it meant only one thing.
"You're not Sir Dexter," Graciela let out with an unfriendly attitude as she glanced at the man beside her. "I'll forgive you if you tell the truth."
The man who disguised himself as Dexter laughed disdainfully. He looked at Graciela as if the crown princess was nothing to him. "So my life is in your hands?"
"Exactly."
"You think I'm afraid of you? Everyone knows that the Crown Princess doesn't have much power. All you can do is whine at your father."
Graciela was not provoked by the words that have become her daily routine. Since childhood, she had swallowed such cheap provocations and now she had her fill. She would not be angry anymore about people who laugh at her.
"If I could only whine to His Majesty the King, then I wouldn't be this confident. Where do you think this confidence came from?" Graciela spoke with no fear in her face or voice.
Those words caused the mocking smile to vanish from the mysterious man's face. He said nothing and just stared at Graciela for a few minutes. The girl looked like she had something strong that could finish him.
"Did you bring a powerful knight here?" The man smiled again.
Graciela snorted as she answered, "I came here alone."
"It was a bold move."
"Do you know what it means when someone dares to go out alone? It means they believe they can protect themselves."
"However, it can also ask that they are careless."
This meaningless conversation outraged Graciela, so she immediately stood up, intending to leave as soon as she finished her interrogation. "This is your last chance. Tell me, who are you and what is your purpose in impersonating Sir Dexter?"
"There's no specific answer to your questions. I'm just bored and want to pretend to be Dexter," replied the man with a nonchalant shrug.
"Until the end, you still underestimated me, Sir. Since you're being rude, then let me teach you a lesson."
After saying that, Graciela raised her right hand, and a dagger appeared. The man was too slow to know that she had attacked his neck.
"Where did you learn that?" The man was still smiling, even though blood was pouring from the wound on his neck. He directly pressed the wound with his hand and then continued, "You can become an assassin in my guild."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested at all. Now I know that you're from a guild," said Graciela, staring at her dagger, and in an instant, it disappeared.
"If this is the case, then there is nothing better to do than tell the truth, right?"
"Yes, it's better if you still love your life."
The man laughed for a moment, then cast a spell, and his appearance immediately changed. He had black hair and red eyes that spread out with vigilance. His piercing gaze was contrasting with his sweet smile.
"Let me introduce myself," the man said as he stood up from the chair and bowed respectfully. "I am Elton Diospyros, the leader of the famous information guild in the kingdom."
Graciela looked seriously at the man who claimed to be Elton and let out a ragged breath. "So you're the one who's been spying on me for a long time," she said irritably.
"Huh? How do you know about that?"
"Do you think I'm really as weak as the rumors tell? Don't you think that's the acting I made?"
That question hit Elton's self-esteem. After all, he was a great spy because he could infiltrate the palace security magic, which could not be destroyed, except by Dexter, who created a layer of palace security magic.
However, today Graciela felt like she had ruined Elton's career. The current age of the crown princess was twenty years and Elton had been watching over her since ten years ago. The genius Elton had been a spy since he was fifteen.
Therefore, Elton was trusted by the guild leader to spy on a crown princess. He always believed that Graciela didn't have any power. The princess was always naughty and whining at the king. Nonetheless, Graciela proved his belief wrong by attacking him.
"You don't oversee me every day, Sir Elton. It's only natural that you don't know about the real me. However, I dare to say that my strength is greater than yours. The attack earlier was just a warning," Graciela explained again threateningly.
Instead of being scared, Elton pressed against the wound on his neck and laughed so hard that his shoulders trembled. Then he looked up to declare to Graciela, "I don't mind if you attack me one more time, Your Highness. I enjoy being tortured. What a coincidence!"
Graciela let out a rough breath upon hearing those words. Because of the quest, she had to be nice to Ashton, who looked down on her. And now, the quest forced her to face the crazy Elton. The man also considered her weak like everyone else and was not afraid of threats.
"I want to beat you up, but I have more important things to do than dealing with a man like you," Graciela said, pointing a finger at Elton.
A moment later, a magic rope appeared and tied Elton's body to the chair. Graciela quickly explained before the man opened his mouth, "You can't break this magic bond with anything. But don't worry because I'm very generous. The magic will disappear after an hour."
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness. In the future, I will find out more about you," told Elton, still smiling even though the wound on his neck had not healed.
Graciela just snorted and presently left the place. All this time, she had pretended to be weak because of Clarice, her late mother. Before Clarice died ten years ago, her mother advised her not to become a strong princess in the kingdom.
At that time, little Graciela didn't understand the meaning of her mother's words. She could only obey and hide the fact that she had great magic power. After growing up, she found out that her mother died because she was killed by the enemy.
Clarice used to be the strongest queen and mage in the Kingdom of Canarium. However, that didn't mean she could avoid death. The mage from the enemy kingdom used black magic and made her sick for a long time.
In the end, she died after enduring black magic for three years. Now Graciela understood why her mother had such an unusual will. It turned out that her mother was worried the same thing would happen again if she showed her true power to the world.