"Richard!"

While he was busy enjoying the various grapes around the pool, his name was suddenly called — but this time, the voice sounded childish, almost identical to his own.

Richard turned around only to find the little red-haired prince emerging from another doorway and walking toward him.

"Your Highness…" Richard greeted him, though not as formally as he had greeted the Empress.

It wasn't easy for him either, since the little prince was, after all, just a kid in his eyes.

Of course, the young prince was still innocent and couldn't yet distinguish levels of formality in people's greetings.

Just like the last time in the palace, the prince looked at Richard with curious eyes.

"I heard you defeated my uncle who's in the World Realm," said the young prince.

"Your uncle?" Richard was a little surprised until he remembered that the man called Bear — the one he had robbed — was actually the Empress's older brother, which meant he was indeed the little prince's uncle.

"I guess I was just lucky," Richard replied with a smile.

"Even if it was luck, the fact remains that you're as strong as a World Realm Magus. You're clearly my age — how are you already that powerful?" the little prince asked.

Richard gave a wry smile at that.

"It's hard to explain. I trained like everyone else, and eventually, my power reached this level," he said.

"Can you teach me how to grow stronger as fast as you did?"

Richard: "…"

"Your Highness, I can't really say much about that. All I can tell you is that you must continue to train and sharpen yourself."

At this point, Richard could only say something cliché — better that than staying silent and looking foolish.

"Sharpen myself?" The young prince seemed to ponder over his words for a moment.

"Yes, you have to keep sharpening yourself," Richard answered, hoping the boy would go off somewhere to "sharpen himself," whatever that meant.

And the young prince began nodding repeatedly.

"I suppose I really am not sharp enough… maybe because I've always lived under protection," he muttered.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Thank you for the advice," he said before turning around and leaving.

Richard felt relieved that he finally left.

How would he go about "sharpening himself"?

That wasn't Richard's concern.

The young prince surely had powerful hidden protectors following him wherever he went, so there was no way he'd actually be in danger — even if he ventured into a forest full of beasts.

Splash! Splash!

As the sky began to darken, the Empress finally surfaced from the pool, her body drenched. But with a few subtle movements and a gentle flick of her hair, she effortlessly repelled all the water from her body, even drying her gown in the process.

Whoosh!

She leaped gracefully and landed by the poolside.

"Richard, wait for me outside. I'll go change first," said the Empress before heading toward the doorway ahead of him.

She wasn't joking when she said she was returning to the capital.

The king likely won't change his decision, and from what I've seen, the Empress isn't the type to yield easily — unless she has other business in the capital, Richard thought.

After that, he exited the Empress's castle, waiting on the terrace, where he saw many maids gathering. Some were putting on Sky Armors, making Richard realize that the Empress's Sky Armor Knights were actually her own maids.

Not long after, the Empress appeared, wearing an elegant long black gown, her crimson hair flowing freely down her back.

"Ride with me in my carriage," she said to Richard.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Richard replied, following her into the largest carriage.

However, one thing puzzled him — the little prince wasn't coming along.

That only strengthened Richard's suspicion that the Empress was going to the capital for other matters.

The Empress's carriage was more like a luxurious lounge, with a pair of long sofas facing each other, a small table in between, and several cabinets filled with various types of wine.

The Empress sat down first, of course, before inviting Richard to sit across from her.

Since he was still a boy, she seemed to decide against serving any of the wines. Instead, she took out fruits and snacks from her Storage Artifact.

"You must have heard about me leaving the palace," the Empress suddenly said once the carriage started flying at tremendous speed.

Her words caught Richard off guard.

He instinctively nodded, not daring to deny it.

"Are you returning to the palace, Your Majesty?" Richard asked, no longer feeling it inappropriate since she had brought up the subject herself.

"No. I'm only attending the closing banquet of the tournament — an important guest is arriving, and it wouldn't be proper for me not to attend," she replied.

"An important guest?" Richard hadn't expected to hear that.

"Your Majesty, who won the tournament?" he asked, curious about the result since one of the finalists was Gray.

"Luca, of course. But I heard it was a fierce fight. The man named Gray apparently made it difficult for Luca to win easily."

'How did he become that strong?' Richard couldn't help but wonder.

If that was the case, then whatever Gray obtained from Wren must have been extraordinary — or perhaps perfectly compatible with him.

"And who is this important guest, Your Majesty?" Richard asked again.

"The Lord of Crimson Veil…" the Empress said seriously, showing that this was someone she dared not take lightly.

Richard nearly swallowed hard.

Ever since he had become hostile toward Prince Charles, he had viewed the prince's teacher — the Lord of Crimson Veil — as an even greater threat.

To think that man was now coming to the capital.

"Your Majesty, just how powerful is that person?" Richard asked again.

Of course, the power of the Order of Crimson Veil was immense, but the Lord's position was always inherited by a new generation, not some ancient being from eras past.

Even so, compared to the king, the standard to become the Lord of Crimson Veil was certainly higher.

"He's definitely in the Lord Realm — that's all I know," replied the Empress.

At that point, Richard thought it might be best to summon the Fire Spirit Queen to the capital.

He was worried that Prince Charles would become reckless with his master around — meaning he would need a supporter of his own.

And the Fire Spirit Queen was certainly a far stronger ally than the Lord of Crimson Veil.

Unfortunately, he had left Athena in the capital, so he needed to arrive there first before ordering her to send a message to the Queen.

Still, he believed he had enough time. The important thing was for Athena to return to the Purple Rose Village and deliver the message.

The Fire Spirit Queen could practically reach the capital in no time at all.

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