Chapter 645: The Meaning Of True Conquest [Part 1]
Chapter 645: The Meaning Of True Conquest [Part 1]
Three days had passed since Ethan's fateful encounter with the Mermaid Princess.
During this time, Ethan visited the Royal Library and looked around, picking up the scrolls or tomes he found interesting.
On the other hand, Joanne spent most of her time training Princess Ramona. She even taught her how to summon Elemental Golems.
The first Golem that the princess summoned was a meter-tall Ice Golem, and it made her incredibly happy.
She even played tag with it, and her heartfelt laughter spread inside her villa.
Joanne found this scene quite amusing, but in her heart, she could relate to what the Princess was feeling.
She felt the same way when she made a doll move for the first time, but that happened too long ago when she was only three years old. Back then, the only playmates she had were her dolls, and it made her very happy when she was playing with them.
Joanne was a genius, and it was very easy for her to learn the art of magic.
So, seeing the Princess happily play with the Ice Golem made her remember her past. It also made her feel a soothing warmth in her chest, which she never felt before.
Suddenly, one of her dolls informed her that someone was headed toward Ramona's residence, which made her smirk.
"Ramona, we have pests—I mean, guests that will be arriving shortly," Joanne said. "It's best if you unsummon the golem for now."
Princess Ramona nodded in understanding and reluctantly waved her hand to make the Ice Golem disappear.
A few minutes later, the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince of the Magdar Kingdom arrived at Ramona's Villa.
They didn't bring any of their subordinates with them. They came with just themselves as if trying to tell their sister that they meant her no harm.
"Good day, Ramona," Prince Rufus said with a smile before glancing at the beautiful girl with long, blue hair, who was reading a book in her hand. "I hope that you've been well."
"I'm doing well, Brother Rufus," Princess Ramona replied before shifting her gaze to the Fourth Prince, whom she only saw during meals with her father. "Good day to you, Brother Amir."
"And a good day to you, too, Ramona." Prince Amir nodded. "I tagged along with Brother to see if you have recovered from the scare that our Sixth Brother gave you. If something like that happens again, don't hesitate to ask for my help, okay?"
Princess Ramona smiled, but she neither agreed to nor turned down Prince Amir's proposal.
Among her brothers, the one whom she didn't trust the most was the Fourth Prince, who made her feel as if she was looking at a poisonous snake that was only waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
"By the way, can you introduce us to your beautiful friend?" Prince Rufus asked, his gaze lingering on Joanne's face as if trying to determine if he could charm her or not.
"This is my friend, Joanne Valentin," Princess Ramona didn't hesitate to call Joanne her friend, for she really thought of Ethan's sister as her friend. "Joanne, these are my brothers. Prince Rufus and Prince Amir."
Joanne gave the two Princes a sidelong glance before briefly nodding her head to acknowledge their existence.
After that, she resumed reading her book, acting cold and aloof with no care for the politics of the Magdar Kingdom.
Seeing that the young lady didn't seem interested in talking to them, the two Princes didn't lose heart and sat on the couch across from Joanne.
"I've always been fascinated about the story of the Tidebringer," Prince Rufus said. "However, I didn't expect that he would have a sister. Has anyone told you that the color of your eyes and hair looks like a calm sea right after a storm has passed?"
Prince Rufus waited for Joanne to comment on his praise, but the only sound he heard was the turning of the page, making his smile widen.
'Playing hard to get huh?' Prince Rufus smiled internally. 'I love breaking girls who play hard to get.'
Prince Rufus was notorious in the Magdar Kingdom for always hanging out with beautiful young ladies.
However, there had been no talk about any scandals, making everyone think that the Prince was a true gentleman.
However, beneath that gentle facade was a man who sought conquest.
The more beautiful a lady was and the more she tried to play hard to get, the more it fanned the sadistic flames inside Prince Rufus, which he unleashed only in the bedroom as he descended upon his prey, relishing the euphoria of his conquest.
Although he didn't really target little girls because their bodies were still not fully mature for his tastes, just succeeding in charming Joanne, the Tidebringer's sister, made him think of her as his ultimate conquest.
A lady with the power and influence to shake the entire Magdar Kingdom with just a word was sitting across from him, so how could he possibly not feel excited about making her one of his pawns in order to become the next King of the Kingdom?
Prince Amir, who could easily read what his brother was thinking, only sneered in his heart.
Half of him believed that even if his brother's Charming Ability worked on ordinary young ladies, it would prove difficult for him to succeed in charming the Tidebringer's sister.
But he also wanted to use Joanne for his own benefit, so he decided to lend Rufus a hand by setting a time and place for the Second Prince to use his powers over the blue-haired girl, who was giving them the cold shoulder.
Prince Amir was in possession of some powerful artifacts that could drastically boost Prince Rufus' ability for a short period of time.
The place where he was also going to prepare was connected to a leyline, which would amplify any magic that was cast over it.
Even if Joanne had the power to resist Prince Rufus' ability, the preparations he was setting up made him believe that they stood a chance in succeeding in their plans.
Once Joanne had become their puppet, they would use her to force the Tidebringer to cut his support from Princess Ramona and have him shift his support to them instead.
As long as the Tidebringer made his support public, the Kingdom would definitely bend to his will.
"Later this afternoon, I plan to have a small gathering at my residence," Prince Amir said. "I was hoping that I could invite the two of you to join me. Of course, Brother Rufus will also be there to join us. So how about we have a nice little talk and possibly discuss a non-aggression pact in our fight for the throne?
"Of course, we can also talk about alliances if you want. So how about it, Ramona? Can you and Lady Joanne join us later for this discussion?"
Princess Ramona glanced at Joanne because this was something that she couldn't decide on her own.
However, when she saw her friend nod her head, she and the two princes sighed in their hearts at the same time.
"Great!" Prince Amir decided to strike while the iron was still hot and smiled. "We'll meet you two at three in the afternoon in the Gardens of my residence. The air there is fragrant due to the flowers, so I'm sure that both of you will like it."
"I've been there a few times in the past, and I have to agree with Amir's words," Prince Rufus commented. "It is truly a good place to have a nice chat, and get to know each other better."
After staying for a few more minutes for idle chatter, the two Princes finally left in order to make their final preparations.
Both of them knew that they only had one chance to do this, so they would make it work no matter what.
When she was certain that the two pests were truly gone, Joanne closed the book in her hands and stared at Princess Ramona.
Ethan's sister told the Princess a few things that she should watch out for when they arrived at the meeting place.
Princess Ramona listened carefully to Joanne's words until the very end.
"Understood," Princess Ramona said. "I'll do as you say."
"Good girl." Joanne patted the princess's head, making the latter pout.
"You're only older than me by two months, so why are you acting like the big sister between the two of us?" Princess Ramona said sulkily.
"Two months is still two months," Joanne replied. "Since I am older than you, I will consider you as my little sister, so be honored that someone like me is even patting your head."
Princess Ramona moved away, wanting to keep her pride and dignity as a Princess intact.
Joanne giggled because she found this act quite endearing in her eyes.
As for what the two Princes were plotting against her, she wasn't worried in the slightest.
She was even looking forward to whatever they had thought up because she was confident that no matter what kinds of tricks they used, her superior magic and bloodline, would make all their plans fall apart completely.
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A/N: Only one chapter today. Something came up, so I'll just post 3 chapters tomorrow. Good day everyone, and I'll see you tomorrow for the promised chapters.