The next morning, Avian found herself in a familiar place: the Crown Prince's room. The curtains were obstructing the sunlight, which she was grateful for.
After the long day she had, she did not want to be punished by the glaring sun looking down at her so early in the morning. She heaved a soft breath.
'It's morning already.'
Time flew once she arrived at the Royal Palace.
The previous day was hectic, especially as she arrived at the Royal Palace in the Crown Prince's arms. Carlos had carried her again once the carriage stopped and shamelessly walked through the halls with her like that.
Having no energy to feel ashamed or fight him, Avian helplessly hid her face in his arms. No objections were heard from her even as he took her to his room.
Thinking about that made her groan. Their scandal should be the hot news of the High Society by now.
What made their situation even more scandalous was the fact that the King himself had seen them and naturally questioned Carlos.
Avian was already half asleep, but she heard the answer very clearly.
"Who?" Carlos laughed; mirth was evident in his gaze as he answered his father, "I just picked my treasure up. I am so fortunate; don't you agree, Father?"
The king did not say anything for a while, then nodded. His approval was silent, but everyone understood the implication of that simple gesture.
The King had approved of this person's treatment.
Just thinking about that made Avian flabbergasted. Why would the King approve of her so randomly? The Crown Prince had never introduced an official 'special person', and the King did not seem to care about that.
However, he randomly introduced her as his 'treasure' and, most importantly, the King approved of her regardless of her gender.
That was too abrupt.
As someone who had been engaging in the midst of the High Society for years, Avian Maximilian could tell something was amiss.
"But what is it exactly? I can't tell."
"What are you unable to tell?"
"Fuc-"
"What a crude language," Carlos chuckled at Avian, who almost jumped out of the bed after he appeared from the door, which was connected to the bedroom.
'Darn, I didn't notice that door at all.'
"Bedroom office? I think that's new."
Carlos sat down on the bedside and tenderly caressed Avian's soft hair. "That's right, I built it recently. My workload has been steadily increasing."
A sweet grin crept to his lips, noticing how she did not evade his touch.
"You don't mind my touch?"
"You already know my gender, and I'm in your bed. No point in pretending to be so shy."
'No wonder I like you,' swallowing that comment down, Carlos helped her up before opening the curtains. "You should wake up now. We need to talk."
"About what exactly?"
"You need to prove yourself for me since I'll be your patron, don't you agree?"
Hearing that, Avian carefully sat up. She took a deep breath and then asked back, "You want me to prove myself? Fine. But what does our relationship entail? That's an important part for me to know."
The Crown Prince did not want to waste unnecessary time on saying it by himself. Thus, he grabbed two devices from his pocket and placed them on the silky bed.
Voice recording devices.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally turned them after channeling her Spirit Essence through them.
[Welcome to the Unwavering Dawn. We appreciate your presence with us and your agreement to not share this record with anyone else.
Perhaps you are concerned about the reason this device was delivered to you in such a way, but it is needed.
The current Royal Family has fallen too low.
The three princes are not striving to best each other, which is causing our nation to lag behind with only one hardworking prince. And yet, this prince cannot fulfill all of his duties. Despite reaching the age of twenty-five, he does not have any remarkable achievements.
And worse of all, he messes around instead of having an heir for the future of our Agarish Kingdom.
Our kingdom is being disrespected and disregarded by the neighborhood due to the carelessness of the royal family.
And there is more… but it's nothing I could simply share here. Our meeting will be soon; you'll receive a notice.
Oh, no need to worry much, though. In case you slipped somehow, we will make sure to reveal your involvements and end your whole bloodline. Your precious family members are very important; we know that. Thus, we have no intention of harming anyone unless we are harmed.
You are free to join or decline, but this record shall not leave your grasp.]
Silence filled the room before Avian held her head and pulled her hair a bit. She turned to Carlos, her face paler than usual.
"I can't believe the nobles have thoughts of overthrowing the current king."
"It was a matter of time," Carlos just shrugged. He had expected that; no, everyone in the Royal Family had already expected it.
The kingdom had been too peaceful, which allowed the seeds of greed to sprout through the hearts of most nobles.
"We are not too surprised, but we are undoubtedly disturbed. As we are unable to locate this place or who is the main leader behind them."
"This is big…"
"That's why I need you. Aside from helping you due to our history, I really need someone to be my eyes inside the academy."
The Crown Prince held her hand and lowered his head. Avian could only gasp, wondering how severe the situation was for the Crown Prince to bow his head in front of her.
In reality, despite his need for a spy in the academy, Crown Prince Carlos would never bow his head to anyone. But Avian was different, and he wanted to make sure his whim would not result in him abandoning her in the future.
The two were young and whimsical, in addition to being curious and impulsive. Usually, any relationship similar to theirs will end up with nothing but heartbreak. However, Carlos wished for them to have something more.
"Please prove yourself to me and be my protege, Avian."