Zoe looked at Ariana in surprise!
'Your Highness what do you mean by reward him? The emperor will surely reward him heavily for saving your life. You want to reward him even more?'
She knew it was just a pretence to give her crush something from her side which she cannot do openly however she kept quiet. She would do anything for her savior who gave her a proper life.
Ariana took out a small light blue crystal and gave it to her.
"Take this. I think this would be a suitable reward considering he's going to breakthrough his rank soon."
Ariana looked at the crystal in surprise but quickly calmed down and put it in his storage ring.
She knew what the crystal was and knew how valuable it was however she wasn't surprised. Considering how much she loved him, it was a normal thing.
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Darius had joined the army when he was 18 years old.
He quickly became a rank 3 warrior from being a complete mortal within just 2 years.
This made the higher-ups pay more attention to him.
The soldiers in the army did not always have to go on missions or stay in their posts on the border of the empire.
Soldiers get to return from their posts from time to time.
On one such occasion when he was back in the capital, he got the mission to escort the eldest princess of the empire. He was 20 years old at that time.
Since then he was called back to escort the princess many times.
Gradually he was seen as an important confidant of the eldest princess and thus after he became a Lieutenant was told to stay in the imperial capital instead of going to the border until he was given further orders.
Army officials, meaning those who held ranks in the army starting from the rank of Lieutenant, had their own residences in the imperial capital.
He being a confidant of the eldest princess had his residence near the imperial palace.
So it didn't take much time for Zoe to find his house.
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Darius was cultivating in his room.
His residence wasn't anything special, it had 2 rooms plus a bathroom and a kitchen.
He had been greatly motivated to practice cultivating and increase his rank quickly so that he could protect Ariana better.
"I think I can become a rank 6 warrior in two days" he thought to himself.
"Knock - knock!"
He suddenly heard the sound of knowing from his door.
He quickly got up from his bed and went to open the door.
'Did some other soldier come to see me?' he wondered.
Upon opening the door he quickly recognized Zoe, the maid who accompanied Ariana.
"Princess Ariana wants me to inform you about something, can we talk inside?"
"Of course! Of course! Come in."
Soon they went into one of his two rooms. It had a table and 4 chairs.
After they sat there, Zoe said with a serious face.
" Princess Ariana will be leaving for Valoria Province tomorrow. His Highness Julian will also be present. You need to go with Princess Ariana as her guard."
Darius was a bit shocked that she would be leaving so soon after she came back, but quickly replied, " I understand. "
"His Majesty, the emperor, had said that they both needed to go in disguise. So you too have to be in disguise. Wear normal clothes and look like a guard of a young master of a small family. Understand?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah, I understand. " Darius replied.
"Alright, I will come to get you tomorrow morning. "
"Yes!"
"One more thing. Princess Ariana said that she is alive only because of your help in the forest and thus she is rewarding you with this." Zoe said with a smile and took out a small light blue crystal from her storage ring.
Darius was shocked seeing it! It was an energy crystal!
Absorbing energy from the air through cultivation took time. However one could easily absorb the energy present in an energy crystal.
One small energy crystal had a lot of energy in it. It would be like him absorbing one year's worth of energy in a short time!
His hands shook as he took the crystal. He knew it must be very valuable! Every major family fights for such crystals.
He looked at Zoe gratefully and said, "Please inform her Highness that I am extremely grateful to her and will protect her to the best of my abilities."
Zoe chuckled and said, " You deserve it. I think you will be able to become a rank 6 with this by tonight right?"
"Yes! Yes, of course!"
"Alright, I will be going now."
Soon Zoe left.
Darius kept looking at the door for a while. The princess' face came to his mind.
"I must break through Rank 6 tonight and must not let her be in such a dangerous situation again like that day. "
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