Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 831 - 96: Nicholas’s Choices

Chapter 831: Chapter 96: Nicholas’s Choices

Prince Nicholas was a favored son of the old emperor among his eight sons in the Falar Empire, raised at his side and personally educated from a young age. Starting from when he turned ten, whenever the old emperor handled important state affairs, he would have Nicholas observe by his side, afterwards explaining to him in detail the profound implications of each word and each action. Under such tutelage, the young Nicholas soon became mature and seasoned, completing the tasks assigned by the old emperor to test him with great proficiency, increasingly satisfying the emperor. However, the emperor seemingly aimed to foster motivation for progress, never publicly declaring Nicholas as his heir. Instead, he equally promoted his older brother, the first prince, placing them in a delicate competitive relationship. Thus, Nicholas had to strive harder to handle state affairs with even greater astuteness, to fulfill his father’s growing expectations.

Over the past two years, the old emperor had increasingly delegated state affairs to this son, and Nicholas’s handling of these affairs consistently pleased his father. Without unforeseen circumstances, it wouldn’t be long before the emperor would announce his heir—and that heir was naturally going to be Nicholas. Therefore, with these two years of experience, Nicholas had grown increasingly steady and began to think more and more like an emperor of the empire. In fact, he still held a fondness for Catherine but, as a presumptive emperor, he had learned to prioritize, or rather, he had always known about prioritization. As a noble of the highest rank, not knowing how to weigh and prioritize would never have won his father’s approval. It was just that previously the time had not yet come, but now the moment to make those choices had arrived.

He had to make choices because of changes in Catherine and her adventure team. The original Catherine was a Gold Rank Knight, and although Gold Rank professionals are powerful, they are not exceedingly rare, numbering seven to eight thousand among humans. Moreover, with the strength of a Gold Rank, opposing a nation was not feasible. Thus, Catherine’s influence at that time was not enough to compel him to make significant decisions. Even if he continued to involve himself, as long as he didn’t engage in any drastic actions, it wouldn’t have much impact, at most causing some disappointment in his father, something easily remedied. But he had to temporarily give up two years ago mainly because Pannis’s inexplicable strength was baffling, and without resorting to extreme measures, it was hard to overcome this strange barrier. So, at that time, he chose to step back.

But now, things were different. Catherine had been promoted to a Legendary Rank Master, not just her, but several of her companions had also become Legendary Rank Masters. A Legendary Rank Master is fundamentally different from a Gold Rank professional. Their formidable power makes any nation reluctant to antagonize them. Even Nicholas’s father, the old emperor of the Falar Empire, maintained enough respect for any Legendary Rank Master. Moreover, if there were an opportunity to enlist a Legendary Master for service to the nation, they would be willing to pay a substantial price, as evident from the Legendary Master deemed a bodyguard beside Nicholas, who was in fact a teacher procured by the loving emperor for his son. Therefore, given Catherine’s current accomplishments, even if Nicholas had ascended to the throne, becoming the de facto emperor of the Falar Empire, he could not afford to displease the knight maiden, especially since their current relationship wasn’t tense and Catherine came from an original noble family of Falar, potentially leading to many cooperative opportunities in the future. Thus, it was inevitable for Nicholas’s attitude and thoughts to shift, as political nature had overtaken his individual desires and personality. He was now considering everything solely from an emperor’s perspective.

All of this, Catherine was very clear about. As a knight maiden, she deeply understood the nature of these great nobles, fully aware of what her elevation in rank meant for him. Therefore, from the beginning, she did not avoid dealing officially with Falar. When she saw Nicholas here just now, she chose not to avoid him either, but faced him calmly. Sure enough, Nicholas’s reaction was just as Catherine had anticipated, keeping his original feelings and desires thoroughly confined within, merely exchanging greetings like an ordinary friend.

So, several people followed Nicholas’s lead and settled back into their original seats in the meeting area. Pannis and Muir, seeming to dim their presence, sat behind the girls, not far from Nicholas’s Legendary Master and bodyguard. The bodyguard appeared to recognize Muir’s identity and understood his influence in the Elven Royal Court, thus politely bowed to him. However, for Pannis, and for the failure two years ago, this master bodyguard did not have the political finesse of his employer, unable to act as if nothing had happened, thereby choosing to pretend not to see him. Pannis didn’t mind; he just grinned at Muir, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Please, Master Catherine," Prince Nicholas, after summoning a servant to replace the beverages, asked respectfully, "You mentioned earlier you had matters to discuss with me, may I know what they are?"

"Just call me Catherine, Your Highness," Catherine replied with a faint smile, "We have been friends since our time at the Knight Academy, there’s no need to call me ’Master,’ it creates distance."

Catherine’s words left Nicholas feeling subtly touched. When they met at the ball two years ago, he had warmly called her Catherine, but she had sternly insisted he address her by her surname, making clear that they weren’t familiar enough to address each other by first names. Now the situation had changed, and the same issue of addressing had a different take. Nevertheless, Nicholas was not surprised, as it has been said, changeability is the hallmark of nobility. So, he just smiled and nodded, saying, "That was indeed my mistake, Catherine, but for the sake of fairness, perhaps you might consider changing the way you address me too."

"Thank you, Nicholas." The noble-like smile made Catherine look somewhat strange; however, the girls familiar with her understood that it was merely a mask for her, so they silently watched her continue, "Before we get onto the main subject, may I boldly ask if your visit to the Mountain Watching Fortress this time is for another trip to the Butte Plateau?"

"That’s not the case," Nicholas shook his head, "I don’t have plans to visit Butte recently. If you just arrived in the city today, seeing me was actually quite the coincidence. The day before yesterday, I received news that there was a minor issue with a batch of trade goods from Butte. The Emperor sent me to handle it. You know how the Empire places great importance on foreign trade. However, this small issue turned out to be just a misunderstanding and was very easily resolved. According to the original plan, I was supposed to leave by noon since there are more troublesome matters waiting for me in the south, but I decided there was no rush in this half-day period and wanted to understand more about the thoughts of the people, so I altered my schedule to leave half a day later."

"Hmm, it was a coincidence?" Catherine’s gaze flickered as she lowered her head, seemingly deep in thought. Nicholas waited patiently beside her, not hurrying her along. After a moment, the knight girl raised her head to continue, "No wonder, since yesterday we haven’t encountered any trading caravans along the way. It was probably because of your presence here."

Nicholas was momentarily startled, his surprised look not seeming feigned, but whether it was genuine or not, given his status, was hard to tell. After a second of surprise, he gave a bitter smile, shaking his head with a helpless expression, "It seems it is indeed because of me. I suspect it was Lord Eyre, trying to please me, who secretly issued the order. He had done this before when the Emperor personally inspected this place; he ordered that no freight vehicles enter or exit during the Emperor’s stay in the city to ensure the Emperor’s safety. Probably he has issued the same order again, and both cities were notified, so to avoid having the freight vehicles stuck outside the cities, they likely decided to temporarily halt their departures. I really apologize; did this cause any inconvenience for you?"

"No, not at all, it just cleared up a small puzzle I had earlier," Catherine said. "It seems you are greatly beloved by your subordinates, Nicholas."

"It’s not to my credit," Nicholas humbly said. "It’s all due to the Emperor’s effective governance. These people merely haven’t had many opportunities to meet the Emperor, so they extend their admiration for him to me."

"Ding dong," Muir clearly hadn’t touched the Flaron Harp, but its strings sounded a clear note, seemingly unable to stand the ongoing conversation between the two. He coughed lightly and joined the discussion, "Perhaps I don’t fully understand your human customs, but time is very precious. We elves do not like to waste time, especially on important matters. So, could we please enter into the main topic at hand quickly?"

Everyone present knew Muir was talking nonsense; if any race in the Yarran World was known for wasting time, elves would definitely be among the top three, but no one pointed out this lie. Catherine smiled at Muir, apparently expressing gratitude, and continued, "This is Mr. Muir, the Chanter from the Yeda Temple. Since Mr. Muir is in a bit of a hurry, I’ll keep this brief. We came here from Butte, and the reason, as you’ve just mentioned, is that issue in the south that you’re waiting to handle."

"Oh?" Nicholas once again perfectly expressed his surprise, "You’re also here because of those recent tragedies? Ah, I see now. Rhea’s major Guilds sent information requesting that we cooperate in temporarily securing the scene, and that was probably in anticipation of your arrival." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation or monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)