It's been two years since my trip with Emi on the steam train, shortly after the official presentation of the steam train to the world. During this period, both Emi and I turned eighteen. In that time frame, nothing particularly interesting happened.
I used to visit Emi regularly, at least five times a week, or she would come to visit me herself. Additionally, over these two years, my territory has grown significantly and has become one of the powers in Solaris. My army has also strengthened considerably, becoming a force to be reckoned with should Solaris face any threat or enter into conflict.
Furthermore, Aizen and Penelope, two residents of my territory who joined the army, began dating about a year ago. I found out about it during a visit to the barracks when Aizen enthusiastically told me about all the events that led them to fall in love. Well, I won't go into details, but all I can say is that it seems Penelope finally realized what she had in front of her all along.
I was genuinely happy for them. After all, they are my friends, and there was no reason not to celebrate this news. Additionally, Liam was making a serious effort to win the heart of his love interest. I was surprised to learn that it was the princess of Arcolia, as I had no knowledge of the connection between them.
According to Liam, he is the only one who remembers Sara, as they met when they were very young. At that time, Liam fell in love at first sight with the person Sara was at that moment—smart but also playful. According to him, that essence hasn't changed much over the years when compared to the person she is today.
I can say with certainty that the past two years have been rewarding and peaceful, and I inwardly wished that this peace could last forever. However, unfortunately, that wasn't possible. Although I spent these two years on the surface relatively peacefully, deep down, I was constantly wondering how long it would be until the other continent attacked us. Nothing relevant has been discovered in the past two years regarding that continent.
This made me even more apprehensive. Why did they only appear once? Their main goal seemed to be to kill me, so why didn't they come back to attack again? Do they not know I'm alive? All these unanswered questions were driving me mad.
In the end, all I could do was wait for answers while preparing in every possible way for whatever lay ahead in the future. And regarding that, I didn't spend these two years idly.
Over the past two years, the firearm I developed underwent extensive improvements and was mass-produced. Additionally, I created a smaller, compact, short-range version, similar to a pistol from my previous world. I also dedicated tireless efforts to enhancing the ships in this world, incorporating advanced weaponry and technologies, although I was hopeful that nothing bad would happen.
However, my prayers were nothing more than mere hopes. I received a letter from the king, and now I'm aboard a train heading to Solaris. Speaking of trains, almost every kingdom now has direct rails to their cities, making everything incredibly faster. Correspondence arrives quickly, and even deliveries have been expedited in the last two years.
Furthermore, as for Storne, I haven't had much news from them in the last two years. All I know is that a new king was crowned and now rules Storne. I have no idea who this king is, but since there haven't been any issues in recent years, I decided to simply ignore the matter.
But thanks to that, rails have also been installed leading to Storne, as it would be strange if all the kingdoms had train technology and Storne did not. I just hoped they wouldn't cause any more trouble.
Returning to the main subject, the contents of the letter are as follows, apparently, they managed to capture a spy from the other continent and informed that interrogations will begin soon. The letter also mentioned that it would be important for me to be present, as this is a matter related to me, considering that it is no secret that the initial goal of the other continent was to eliminate me.
With all these thoughts in mind, I head towards the kingdom of Solaris. As soon as the train arrives, I disembark and make my way to the palace of Solaris. By the way, the kingdom has also expanded in the last two years, although it is nothing impressive; the territory of the kingdom is considerably larger compared to what it was two years ago.
As I walked through the streets, I took the opportunity to buy some snacks, as I hadn't eaten anything before leaving home. As soon as I saw the letter, I became quite apprehensive. I mean, I was literally stabbed, and it's hard to forget something like that.
"Oh, Prince Ren, are you visiting Princess Emi today?"
As I approached the entrance of the castle, I came across two guards who were guarding the place. Recently, everyone has been calling me a prince, since I am married to Emi. The wedding took place a year ago, and practically all the nobles and royalties attended the party. On that day, I was also bestowed the title of duke. On the wedding day, Albert made a joke that from that moment on, I was truly a prince, and this joke caught on.
In the end, I really didn't care about it and simply ignored it. Probably because of that, people seemed to understand that they should address me that way. Although it was a bit strange at first, after a few months, I simply got used to being called that way.
"I have matters with the king. Could you please inform him that I've arrived? I'll be waiting in the waiting room"
Upon hearing my words, one of the guards nodded and entered the building. After that, I bid farewell to the other guards and headed towards the waiting room. It seemed like today would be a long day.