The Magician's Journey

  I swept my gaze around the crowd, smiling and nodding at everyone without saying a word. I knew it was time for Sulina to speak up. Sure enough, Sulina smiled happily and leaned in close to me, pulling on my hand as she said, "His name is Alik Solrens, his father is a general of the Rox Empire, and his mother is also an imperial noble. Alik is a mid-level archer, not particularly remarkable but decent nonetheless." Sulina had hidden the fact that I was a magician, apparently intending to save it for a crucial moment when it would have an unexpected impact.

  I stood beside Sulina, saying nothing. The more low-key you are in front of these old foxes, the better. Speaking too much will lead to mistakes and being caught out.

  Sulina said to me again, "Dear, this is my father's younger brother, my uncle, Prince Lorenzo. He loves me very much." I slightly bowed to Prince Lorenzo and said, "Your Highness, nice to meet you. Please take care of us in the future." Prince Lorenzo smiled all over his face and said, "Good, good, good! Not bad, young hero, a talented and handsome young man. Let's get closer in the future." He then turned to Sulina and said, "Dear niece, I'm hosting a banquet at my mansion tonight to entertain you two. You must come!"

  Sulina smiled and politely declined: "Thank you, Uncle, for your kind intentions. Alik is not used to being on a boat, he's been seasick for over a month now, look at his pale face. Why don't we wait until he rests for a few days and recovers before meeting with you again? Okay?" After that, she lovingly took out a handkerchief and wiped my forehead, which didn't have any sweat on it, and I also cooperated by pretending to be weak.

  After a set of empty formalities, I and Suliina boarded the carriage heading to the palace, with the crowd cheering along the way. The scene was filled with joy and harmony. On the carriage, I followed Suliina's lead in waving at the crowd on both sides, but whispered to her privately: "Do you think they truly love you, or are they just extremely curious, coming out to see what kind of man you've found?" Suliina shot me a displeased glance: "Don't talk nonsense. As the future queen's husband, you should be happy about their enthusiastic welcome." I chuckled and shook my head.

  Sulina arrived at the palace and took me directly to meet her mother, a well-maintained but worried-looking woman. She was indeed identical to the painting I saw in Sulina's residence in Darlington Port, except that her expression looked less serene.

  It seems that Sulina's mother had known I was an imposter all along, and her attitude towards me was somewhat cold. Even the superficial courtesy and politeness were almost non-existent; she just nodded at me and then ignored me. However, when she saw Sulina, her expression immediately changed, and she warmly pulled her over to sit beside her, gazing at her repeatedly.

  I stood there awkwardly, neither sitting nor standing. Sulina saw my appearance and covered her mouth to laugh, beckoning me over and saying: "Alik, come sit next to me, let's have a good chat." Her affectionate gesture made the queen feel quite surprised, but seeing her daughter like this, she didn't show any obvious opposition.

  Sulina pulled her mother's hand, somewhat spoiled and explained: "Mom, Alik saved my life, in Darin Port, I was careless for a moment, caught by someone, fortunately, he helped me come back safely, and I begged him for half a day before he agreed to follow me back to help me." The queen's face showed some enthusiasm, and she said to me: "I didn't expect it to be like this, so thank you very much, young man." I didn't want to argue with her either, after all, she was an elder, so I just smiled and slightly bowed to her, sitting down beside Sulina.

  The queen was delighted for a moment, but soon her worried expression floated back onto her face. She said to us: "Sulina, you shouldn't have come back. Now the guards outside the palace are all under your uncle's control, and his people almost surround the palace. The only space left for the loyal guards of your father is inside the palace. You could say that I'm almost under house arrest by your uncle."

  I and Sulina did not expect the situation to be so severe, looked at each other, and continued to listen to Queen Wang tell us the bad news: "If you get off the boat early, you can take a small road to gather loyal generals of your father's army to remove your uncle. But now everything is too late, I sent people to deliver messages to you were all ambushed and killed by your uncle. Alas, are we two mothers and daughters going to die at your uncle's hands?" As she spoke, Queen Wang's eyes turned red and she burst into tears.

  Sulina comforted her mother for a while, and then bid farewell with me. The two of us walked side by side in the garden of the palace. The palace garden was very large and had beautiful scenery, but neither of us had the heart to sightsee.

  "It seems the situation is quite dire, Princess. Do you have a way to resolve this crisis?" I asked as we walked, but my mind was racing with thoughts. Alas, having just narrowly escaped the pursuit of the undead mage, it seemed we were now entangled in a seemingly hopeless political struggle. If Serina couldn't smoothly ascend to the throne, her uncle would undoubtedly take control and wouldn't spare their mother-daughter duo. And as for someone like me, a small fry, I'd likely be killed off without hesitation.

  Sulina shook her head and said, "We should be trapped here now, but as long as we think of a way to contact my father's generals and gather troops to enter the imperial capital to help me, everything can be solved. The key now is how to get the message out."

  Here is the translation:

  "Let's not talk about that, I know Uncle will first try to prove you're a fake, and then he can take over the throne in a legitimate way. As long as this straightforward path isn't blocked, he won't rashly start a coup, after all, that would make many of Father's loyal forces oppose him, and also lose the people's hearts, leading to war and division. What he wants is an intact kingdom."

  When I heard her words, I finally put my mind at ease a little, but then Surienna's next words made me worry again. She suddenly blushed and asked: "I suddenly thought of a question... There must be many eyes in this palace that my uncle has planted. If we can't reveal our true intentions, how are the two of us going to sleep tonight?"

  I thought and thought, looking at Sulina tentatively asking: "Or... we still sleep in one room, but you sleep on the bed, I'll make a bed on the floor?"

  Sulina thought for a moment, then as if she had made up her mind, pulled my hand and walked towards her bedroom, saying: "If you're going to pretend, do it convincingly. You don't have to sleep on the floor either. Tonight, we'll sleep together."