Walking down the halls, with Illumia and Mandy following me, I intended to find Mada, wherever he was, but he didn't seem to be in the palace, so I saved him for later; besides, Suscila was probably heading towards if she wasn't already with him; if I wished for my seduction plan to work, it would be best to keep my distance away from her for a little while, though since I've only got a two-day window, I, unfortunately, didn't have the opportunity to allow her feelings for me to fester.
This means, depending on how aggressive I am when asking her questions about her sister, Cordelia, it could backfire, causing her to realize what my plan was all along, which isn't too big of a deal really, just less than ideal.
'Actually, maybe that's better? I'll have one less admirer, but if I do that, Mada will marry her, which will make the Ancient Asura and Immortal Ocean clans allies through marriage. If that happens, Mada and Echo will be forced to side with the Immortal Ocean clan, and while I don't really care about Mada, I'd prefer if Echo wasn't an enemy.' Thought Elif while fanning himself with his Quạt tay as he walked through the halls, lightly flirting with the passing maids by either winking or blowing them a kiss.
"Hmm, yeah, having another admirer will be fine; not too big of a deal. Though considering she's a descent of an Immortal Hegemony, if she gets too annoying, I might be forced to kill her." Muttered Elif softly while nodding his head, earning him a look from both Mandy and Illumia, who overheard him, though they opted to stay silent.
Since I've already decided on what to do with Suscila, I was going to talk with someone to pass the time; there was still sunlight left in the day, and while I could just cultivate for the remainder of the day until tomorrow, I decided against it, I cultivate every night, I don't have the opportunity to speak with so many people every day.
However, before I could decide on who to speak to, it was made for me as I saw Hayat, the heir to the Phoenix Clan, and Spica, his cousin, walking toward me, though only one smiled at my presence while the other frowned.
"Prince Elif, it's great to see you after so long; how have you been?" Asked Hayat with a friendly smile while wearing his usual Phoenix robe as he approached Elif.
"I wouldn't call four years a long time for us cultivators, but I've been doing well; cultivation has been going smoothly, and I've recently made a major breakthrough, though I think I'll keep it a secret for now. I can't have everything about me being known to the public." Replied Elif lightly with a slight smirk as he glanced at Spica before shifting his attention to Hayat, who nodded in understanding.
"You don't need to inform me why, Prince Elif, as the heir; I've also got plenty of things I must keep secret lest others use it to take the title of the heir from me." Said Hayat with a wry smile.
"Either way, congratulations on the breakthrough. It must've been rather important for you, of all people, to keep it a secret." Added Hayat, his words causing Elif to raise an eyebrow.
"Hmm, what's the supposed to mean, Hayat?" Asked Elif curiously as he eyed Hayat, who gave him a confused look.
"He means to say you keep nothing secret about yourself, your Highness; anyone with a little bit of spirit stones and connections could learn everything about you. All the way from your favorite foods to your cultivating schedule, and despite incessantly telling you to conceal some of your actions, you've never heeded my advice." Stated Illumia softly, though you could sense a bit of annoyance in her tone as she glanced at Elif.
"Oh, that's what you mean? However, what is the point of concealing my daily actions? The only thing I would bother to keep hidden would be my techniques and fighting style, but they would eventually be found out one day." Questioned Elif curiously as he glanced at Illumia and Hayat, neither knowing how to respond as he had made good remarks.
"It's not always about keeping things concealed, your Highness; sometimes it's about making the illusion that your enemies haven't found everything about you." Said Illumia, using her eon's worth of wisdom to advise Elif, though just like previously, he ignored it.
"I understand what you're saying, Illumia, but does it really matter? For me, does it matter? Only those who are worried about their enemies would bother to keep things hidden; there is no one within my generation that I deem worthy enough to attempt to keep things hidden." Stated Elif pridefully as he glanced at Illumia, who sighed and reluctantly nodded her head while Hayat awkwardly stayed silent, though Spica seemed to have her own words.
"That's incredibly arrogant, Prince Elif, and while you're very mighty, do you truly believe someone who can match your power doesn't exist?" Asked Spica curiously with a slight frown, causing Hayat to glare at her, though before he could say anything, Elif beat him to it.
"I don't believe Spica; I know no one can match my power." Replied Elif lightly as he glanced at Spica, who was staring at him defiantly.
"Well, if that's the case, I know there exists someone who can defeat you." Declared Spica as she stepped forward, eyeing Elif in the eye, one of the incredibly few women alive that isn't captivated by his purple eyes.
"Ho, now that's an amusing lie, though I hope who you're referring to isn't that fool Comet. You saw what I did to him last time, and that was when I was merely eight; I'm about to be sixteen now and far more powerful than previously in more ways than one." Said Elif with a slight chuckle as he stared Spica down, finding her remark amusing.
"H-How about we all calm down; we don't want to get on each other's nerves right before such an important day." Stated Hayat with an awkward smile as he grabbed Spica by the shoulder, forcefully pulling her back and defusing the situation.
"I'm perfectly calm, Hayat, well, not perfectly. I had spoken with a fish earlier, and she was rather vexing, though I've mostly calmed since then." Commented Elif softly, with a slight frown at the mention of Suscila before suddenly smiling.
"Anyways, It was fun talking with you, but Mother and Father have just returned from their little outing." Added Elif as he waved his Quạt tay at Hayat and Spica while walking away, eagerly heading for the royal throne room.
"T-The Emperor and Empress have returned?" Muttered Hayat in slight surprise before shaking his head and glaring at Spica, giving her a vicious lecture while continuing down the hall.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who sensed Mother and Father's return, as I sensed Elaine already standing before the entrance to the throne room, seemingly waiting for me; picking up my pace, I navigated through the palace halls and quickly arrived, finding Elaine standing right beside the door alongside Maxim.
"Brother." Said Elaine with a beautiful smile as she, like always, ran and leaped into Elif, forcing him to hold her in her arms.
"Where have you been lately, Elaine? I've noticed it's been rather difficult to speak with you?" Asked Elif with a lovely smile as he held Elaine like the princess she was while looking down at her face.
"Ah, sorry about that, Brother; I would've loved to be with you, but I've also been working on a present for you." Replied Elaine sadly as she wrapped her arms around Elif's neck while looking up at him.
"I suppose that's fine, but you'll have to give me a little something in return." Said Elif with a sensual grin as he looked at Elaine's lips, which didn't go unnoticed by her, causing her to smile softly.
"Hehe, anything for you, Brother." Muttered Elaine as she licked her lips and, without hesitation, planted her lips atop Elif's, the two kissing passionately while entering the throne room.
Only when Elaine and I reached the stairs before the thrones did we finally part our lips along with a string of saliva connecting between the two of us before it broke off, and while I was tempted to dive back into Elaine's wonderful mouth, Mother interrupted us.
"Now, did our two beloved children come to see their parents or not?" Asked Maria softly with a light smile as she and Marcus sat on their respective thrones while eyeing Elif and Elaine.
"Eh, well, since we are cultivators, only a month apart is equivalent to merely a few seconds, so…" Remarked Elif mischievously as he looked at Maria and Marcus before reaching down to Elaine's lips, only for the two of them to be lifted into the air against their wills.
"Alright, enough, you two; go and do that in a more private setting, will you?" Said Marcus with a shake of his head as he looked at his floating children before waving his hand, causing Elif and Elaine to be gently placed on the ground.
"Hehe, so, how was the trip? Did you manage to acquire Brother's present?" Asked Elaine curiously as she hopped up the stairs while Elif just walked normally.
At Elaine's question, I saw Father grab his head while Mother awkwardly looked away, which was enough for me to deduce Mother made things unnecessarily difficult.
'Mother, what did you do?' Thought Elif with a slight shake of his head as he sat down on his throne while Elaine happily sat on his lap