After running to Crown Prince Aureus, Yorian led Lykaios to take a stroll at the pretty lake on the eastern side of the palace, but of course, Lykaios was not interested in the scenic view at all.
"Since you are still bored, we should use the rest of the day to take a look outside the palace," his friend suggested.
Just then, a guard came and whispered some words to Prince Aureus. "King Yorian, can I talk to you for a while?" Crown prince Aureus asked the king after the guard delivered a message to him.
"His Majesty would like to discuss something with you." The prince added.
Yorian then nodded before turning to his friend, whose attention seemed to be somewhere else, "Can I leave you to stroll alone for a while?" he asked.
"Of course, take your time," the Wolf King replied.
After the vampire king left with the crown prince, as they were initially supposed to do, Lykaios began his stroll with his right-hand man waiting aside as he had instructed for the man to leave him alone for a while.
Lykaios took a walk around the palace, he came across the garden where suddenly his ears heard some noises coming from the garden. The Wolf king halted and focused on the noise and confirmed that it was not too far from him.
Lykaios made his way to the garden as a strong wave of energy appeared from the same direction. Not being able to stop himself, the Wolf King continued following the voice until he was close enough to realize someone was actually singing, and it was the voice of a woman.
He stooped at the side of the garden, peeping forward. His eyes met a lone figure, a woman with flowing hair singing. Watching silentlyfrom the shadows, he saw as she moved gracefully among the flowers. And as she approached a withered rose, her fingers glowed with an ethereal light. With a gentle touch, she traced the delicate petals, and the rose, once wilted, began to bloom anew.
Lykaios watched, his heart thundering with a mix of awe and wonder. He had seen magic before, but never so close, so personal. The woman's movements were fluid and effortless, as if she were dancing with the very essence of life itself.
She knelt beside a bed of lilies, her hands hovering above the soil, a soft breeze carried the scent of freshly turned earth as the ground beneath her hands began to stir. Tiny seedlings emerged, their delicate green shoots reaching for the sunlight.
"Magic in the human kingdom?" Lykaios mused. Now Grandvest was starting to get interesting.
The woman stood and sat on a bench near the flowers. No matter how hard he tried, Lykaios was still unable to see her face. All he could see was her long red flowing hair before he heard a voice.
"Milady, have some juice. You have been working hard for a while now." The maid who came in with some food for the woman spoke.
Lykaios sneered, working hard? Huh, he had indeed seen her working hard.
It was then that he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. Lykaios turned only to see his dear friend, coming towards him. The Wolf king walked to meet and stop Yorian from coming to see what he had been watching.
"What's interesting there?" the vampire king asked.
"There is nothing interesting in the human kingdom," Lykaios countered back.
"If you say so, shall we go and look around in the capital?" Yorian spoke.
"Not like we will grow gold inside the palace if we stay here," Lykaios countered, as he could not see what was interesting about this so-called pretty place. In his opinion, its reputation was exaggerated by others.
"Sarcastic devil," Yorian commented, loud for him to hear, but Lykaios didn't mind it.
The two went out on their horses and two Grandvest Knights escorted them in case they needed help, especially with Lykaios being new and unfamiliar with the capital.
Yorian led his friend to the commercial district of the capital. Its main street was a mix of large shops and residences, as this part of the market was also where the richest of merchants and the city's business leaders resided.
"As our kingdoms are neighbors, Domara imports weapons from the merchants here sometimes. Their quality is top-notch," Yorian informed.
"I thought if it compared to Alvanova."
"Narcissist!" the vampire king sighed. "Nothing bad in knowing about things here. In the future, you might have some business with this kingdom, so it's good to know the merchant leaders and build good relationships with them. These rich merchants have wide networks and hold great influence."
"I have my ways." Lykaios countered, and the vampire king understood as usual what he meant.
'What a violent guy.'
"Sometimes it's good to try the normal ways once." The vampire king sighed as he continued to ride towards the largest business guild of Grandvest.
"Isn't that why we are here? So, you can try the normal way." The Wolf King teased his friend, who said none afterward.
They entered one luxurious hall after another, and Yorian introduced Lykaios to a few important people before they went to meet the leader of the merchants. Soon, they arrived in front of a two-story office at the most central part of the market district.
The vampire king went inside the lavish wooden building and Lykaios was about to follow, but his sensitive ears heard some curious noises seemingly just an alley away.
Lykaios halted and focused on the noise and confirmed that it was not too far from him.
A familiar wave of energy he had felt before just a while back appeared from the same direction.
'I can't be mistaken…'
Not being able to stop himself, Lykaios entered the alley next to that lavish wooden building, walking at first before it turned into a full sprint.
He stopped at the other end of the alley upon spotting a mysterious woman in black surrounded by a few men. He heard her warning the bunch of men that she would burn them.
Her voice sounded soft, but her aura said something else. But since she was wearing a hat, he could not see her. He stepped towards the group, wanting to confirm his doubts.
Before Lykaios could reach any closer, everyone surrounding the woman caught fire, and this created chaos.
Coincidentally, the woman in black ran in his direction in a hurry and bumped into him, causing her hat to fall down. But thanks to that, he could finally see her eyes.
A pair of cat eyes.
Not just her voice, but even her eyes were a perfect match for anything he had ever come across.
Without hesitation, he put that hat back on her head and dragged her towards a random silent alley, ignoring her empty warning.
Lykaios concerned her against the alley's stone wall and smirked at her silliness, about not knowing who he was and even daring to threaten him.
"My anger can burn this entire place. Do you want to see it?"
This much was effective enough to intimidate her and shut her mouth from sprouting nonsense.
"W- What do you want?" she asked.
Instead of answering her, Lykaios removed her hat and stared deeply into her eyes. He was sure those were the same pair of eyes he couldn't see the other time. The lower of her face was covered in a veil, the same as that mysterious woman he had seen in the garden.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"A curse witches!" came her reply.
He could see through what scheme went through her tiny brain.
'Still trying to scare me huh, little kitten?' he chuckled softly and commented, "Interesting!"
Just as he raised his hand towards her veil to take it off, she said something that startled him.
"This tattoo…?"
His hand halted before he could touch her veil and the expression on his face changed. The mocking smirk on his lips disappeared as he turned silent and stared at her. Reflecting on her surprised eyes, he could see his own eyes turning darker, flames seemingly burning within them.
His voice was cold and threatening as he repeated, "Who are you?"
Before she could answer, they were interrupted by the yells about capturing the witch and Lykaios heard her mumble under her breath, "I need to run away."
Lykaios stepped back and let her go. After she left, he looked at the hat in his hand and realized she had forgotten it. There was something she was trying to hide, and the way everyone was searching for her. He was sure she was in trouble. But why?
The way she burned those people, he was sure she held some power, but was she really a witch?
"Doesn't seem like it," he mumbled and held that hat up as he checked it. "One should always return someone's thing if they left it behind."
He walked towards where she went on the other alley. He saw the mob of people going the same way. Before they could enter the alley, he stood at the entrance, blocking their path.
He didn't know why but something about her made him want to protect her.
He warned the mob to return, but they didn't seem to take him seriously, so he had to set an example.
Not blinking even once, he beheaded the silly man in front of him, not a tinge of regret in his eyes as killing someone was not a big deal to him.
Feeling scared, when the mob retreated, Lykaios saw a young woman running. If he is not mistaken, she should be the right-hand maid of the mysterious woman.
The young woman looked at Lykaios and then the hat in his hand, and she stepped towards him and bowed. "My king, the princess hat." The woman said.
The Wolf King forwarded the hat. The young woman accepted it, and she entered the alley behind him.
"So that's her…?" Lykaios concluded.
He saw her in the garden in the palace, first then the market, and now the hat belonged to the princess. Which means she is the infamous curse princess.
At that exact moment, Yorian, the Vampire king, arrived along with the Grandvest knights accompanying them.
"What are you doing here?" Yorian asked, his gaze dropped to the beheaded body on the ground. They have been looking all over for him but here he is enjoying his day.
"You and your sword don't like to rest." The vampire king commented. Spilling blood is all he does. Lykaios is more of a vampire than a werewolf.
"Sometimes I wonder if you are half just like me." The vampire king added. As he is half Vampire and half Werewolf, he won't be surprised if Lykaios turns out to be one too.
It will be understandable, after all, his own mother was a werewolf.
Lykaios said nothing. His eyes wandered across the alley where he saw the young woman going towards where the mysterious woman in black was heading and felt relieved.
"Let's go," Lykaios instructed, and they left the place.
On the way back, although Lykaios appeared calm, he had many questions in mind which answers he needed to find out.