The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 394: Volume Eight: Gathering Storm - One: A Guest Arrives

Chapter 394: Volume Eight: Gathering Storm Chapter One: A Guest Arrives

The letter from Cyprus might have been about official matters, but Komer was still troubled by its contents. Prince Hoffman, Princess Renta, and Tracy were about to visit Caucasus, and that too in the near term?! What did this mean? Were they unaware that the chaotic situation in the Leon Region had already spread to the entire Homer region? The road from Bruce Fortress was closed, so if they intended to come, the only way would be by sea, landing at Mattdam, and then traveling overland to reach Ugru. But to brazenly sail from Cyprus to Mattdam, were they unafraid of being kidnapped by the Nether Sea Pirates, or had they seen through to the fact that an agreement had already been reached with the pirates?

However, these were not the main reasons for Komer’s distress. It all boiled down to the arrival of one person, Tracy! Thinking of this woman, Komer, who believed he could maintain equanimity, found himself involuntarily trembling deep down. The joy and happiness she had brought him, as well as the pain and injury, tormented his seemingly strong heart as if he were enduring the tortures of both ice and fire. Although Komer was certain that he harbored no illusions regarding this woman, the mere thought of confronting her again set his heart ablaze with discomfort, especially considering that her fiancé, Prince Hoffman, would be by her side.

He weighed the hefty letter in his hand, unable to decide for the moment. Regrettably, it was not an inquiry for his opinion but merely a notification. For a lord of minor nobility, the visit from a prince and a princess, accompanied by a county master, seemed to be an unparalleled honor. Although Komer saw this honor as an insult, it could not change the decision. At least for now, Komar had to endure many things he disliked. The kingdom’s support was still crucial to him, especially given the increasingly turbulent situation.

Sitting at the desk beneath the window, Komer carefully folded the letter and placed it on the desk. His mood had gradually returned to normal. While first love is unforgettable, after experiencing many more stirring events, those emotions would eventually become vague and dull. Of course, reopening that old wound in certain situations could still be piercingly painful.

By now, he had gradually shifted his focus to why Prince Hoffman and his entourage had chosen this particular time to visit Caucasus. It was common knowledge that Duke Philip of the Homer region had a strained relationship with the kingdom’s central authorities. Hoffman was clearly aware that aligning with Philip could garner him full support from the Homer region. Still, it also had significant downsides. The kingdom’s high officials would not allow such an alliance to persist, especially with the implication that a woman from the Philip Family might become the new female head of the Romanov Dynasty. This development was intolerable to them, and it would undoubtedly drive the high officials to oppose the marriage. If they couldn’t thwart the union, perhaps they would start supporting other royal successors. As for Princess Renta, it seemed that she appeared every time in the company of her elder brother Hoffman. However, according to information obtained by Komer, Princess Renta was not born of the same mother as Hoffman, and what exactly had made these two royal heirs so closely connected remained a mystery.

If it had only been Hoffman and Renta’s visit, perhaps Komer could have discerned something from it. But Tracy’s presence introduced a peculiar twist. Could there be something odd going on? At this thought, Komer couldn’t help but want to sigh. He had hoped to quietly weather a few months until matters in Caucasus were settled before dealing with other affairs. However, it seemed that hoped-for calm was elusive. The situation in the Leon region was deteriorating, and the private armies of the aristocratic mine owners were losing control of the situation. Perhaps it was time for Philip’s army to take the stage. But what did Tracy’s visit signify this time?

And then there was Vero, still here. This young girl seemed to know something about his past with Tracy, incessantly digging and probing, seeking to uncover something, to the point where even Ilot and Puber had become somewhat fearful of her inquiries, lest they inadvertently reveal something. Yet, her angelic appearance made it difficult to refuse her. This was truly a distressing predicament to endure.

Rebry and the other two waited patiently while their friend sketched against the wall, looking more like a thin and dry mental patient than anything else. His shaggy hair was disheveled, and his somewhat gray-pale face always seemed worn out. He wore an old but still tidy mage’s robe that had weathered many storms. Only the billowing sleeves seemed well-preserved, perhaps for concealing objects, as these sleeves were still deemed important by the mage.

The thin and dry magician’s drawing board was filled with various lines and text, but he still did not seem satisfied, carefully using his strange triangular ruler to measure something in his hands. This process had been repeated several times already, almost every other day. This adept mechanism mage would come here to observe for half a day before spending two days calculating in his room. It was not easy to arrive at a result, but as soon as he returned, it seemed there was always something he had not considered, forcing him to redraw and recalculate for a new round. This iterative behavior was not strange to Rebry and the others, who had grown accustomed to their friend’s cautious actions. Fortunately, they had plenty of time and no concerns at the moment. They lived in the castle, with all amenities provided by the Lord’s Mansion, living an unconcerned and leisurely life. Rebry even thought that he and his companions had acquired an air of mages retained by the lord.