Second Arc (His Art of War) – 6. Unexpected Reunion I

Ophelia walked slowly while hiding between buildings and alleys in Eternal Harmony City. Even though she was wearing a black robe with a hood, she still had to be careful. The whole city recognized her, her hair colour was a symbol of her identity so she had to cover it. She peered at the street before crossing. Currently, she didn't know where she was going, but she had to get out of this city as soon as possible before they knew she had escaped from the castle. After she checked that the street was safe, she ran into the alley across the street. Her eyes looked left and right making sure no one followed her. Unconsciously, she bumped into someone in the alley. She fell, her hood was open revealing her long golden yellow hair.

"Ophelia..."

As soon as she heard her name called, she quickly covered her head with her hood, back on her feet and looked at the origin of the voice. A man wore hunter clothes, his face was unclear because of the hood that covered his head with a black sword tucked in his belt.

The dark aura that covered Angel disappeared, now he was in an alley in Eternal Harmony City. Currently, he was wearing his hunter clothes with a hood covering his head. He walked out of the alley to the street. Once he on the side of the street, his gaze turned towards the Golden Light Castle
'I didn't expect I would be back here again.'

The memories crossed his head, but he immediately threw them. He was no longer the second prince of Asteria, but King of Euphorion. Asteria was his enemy and he had to do what he must do as a King of the enemy kingdom.

He turned and walked away from the castle to a high-class bar in the city. Usually, rumours and information could be found there without even having to ask.
Angel entered a building with luxurious and antique decorations. The bar was full of activity and commotion. Most of its patrons were rich merchants, but there were some nobles scattered around. He was sitting at a table and looked around.

A waiter appeared next to him.
"What would you like to order, sir?"

"Innocent Wine," he answered.

"Forgive us, but we are out of Innocent Wine. How about the others?"

"Stardust Champagne."

"I'll be delivering your order soon, " said the waiter.

Angel leaned back into his chair and started to take in the conversation of the surrounding patrons. But nothing... Although his ears snatched up conversations here and there, it was clear that people were talking about the castle, the king, the prince and the princess but no one mentioned the war against Euphorion.

He kept his ears wide open to listen to his surroundings. Until there was one conversation that caught his attention.
"Do you know who I just saw on my last visit to Zephyrus? Prince Ilex!"

"What? Tell me more about it."

"Yes. A few weeks ago, when a rebellion broke in Zephyrus, I saw him enter the Ironwall city's gate alone without any troops."

"Did he want to meet that Princess of Zephyrus again?"

"Not only met her but he also saved Zephyrus!"

"Our prince saved Zephyrus?"

"Last Zephyrus' uprising was truly devastating. The Slyhelm Town near Ironwall City was captured by the rebels. But as soon as Prince Ilex fired an attacking signal, in just a few hours the rebellion was settled."

"Woah! Our Prince is truly a hero! He deserves to be the next King of Asteria."

The waiter's arrival to deliver his drink distracts him.

"Here your drink, sir," the waiter said as he put his drink on the table.

"Thank you," he answered, then returned to listen to their conversation but their topic had changed.

He took the champagne glass that was on his table and sipped it slightly, his ears trying to listen to the conversation from around him. But nothing...

Angel stared at the champagne that sparkled like a star on his hand.
'Ilex and Princess of Zephyrus... Looks like there is something between them. Could it be they are the ones who made the deal?'

His curiosity prompted him to find out more. He put a gold coin on his table and came out from the bar.

He entered several other places, bars, hunter guilds and restaurants, but to no avail... Finally, Angel turned into an alley, intending to return to Euphorion. He had been searching for information for several hours, if he stayed too long the guards might start to suspect him.

After making sure the surroundings were safe, he started to emit his dark aura but suddenly someone bumped into him. His concentration broke and his Teleport spell failed. In an instant, pain pierced through his body due to the failure but he was still fortunate because his body was still in one piece.

He shifted his gaze to the person who bumped to him, his eyes widened in surprise. A woman with golden yellow hair in a black robe fell in front of him.
"Ophelia..." he said unconsciously.