Originally, Liu Xuan's wish was to arrive in the capital of this country at sunset and watch the medieval prosperous city gradually disappear into the moonlight under the faint red glow of the setting sun, and welcome the bustling night market of another world.
But in reality, when the princess's convoy arrived in the capital, it was already pitch black outside. And due to the cloudy weather, there was no moon in the sky at all.
Furthermore, for the sake of the princess's safety, the streets leading to the palace were sealed off, and there was no crowd at all.
This made Liu Xuan feel extremely regretful.
However, soon Liu Xuan's regret was compensated elsewhere. Because there was going to be a small banquet in the palace tonight, where besides Princess Laina, Alice and himself, the three regents of the kingdom would also be attending. For Liu Xuan, who was very curious about the political situation of this kingdom, it was an excellent opportunity to learn more.
Of course, his identity as the Demon King must be kept well hidden.
The banquet was held in the dining room of the palace where the princess resided.
The palace was a two-story building made up of white columns in European style. The palace was not only spacious horizontally, but also vertically. Liu Xuan looked at the pattern on the ceiling and felt that it was at least seven or eight meters high. The decoration of the palace was also very luxurious, almost to the extent of being described as magnificent and dazzling. The columns and walls were decorated with golden patterns, and vivid oil paintings were hung on the walls.
Liu Xuan had never been to a palace or similar place in the real world, so seeing this for the first time was quite novel. Of course, in order not to appear too impressed, Liu Xuan kept his surprise in his heart and only showed a slight expression of surprise on his face.
They arrived in the living room, where besides General Kale whom they had met before, there were also two other men. One was an old man with white hair and the other was a middle-aged fat man. After seeing the princess, they both knelt down and greeted her in unison, saying:
"The guilty ones are here awaiting the presence of the princess."
"No need, get up. Being captured by the orcs is their wrongdoing, and it has nothing to do with you." Princess Laina said, and then walked up to make a gesture of helping the white-haired old man, "And Dean Radov, with your age, you should hurry up and find a seat."
Only then did Liu Xuan notice that the white-haired old man, dressed in a white robe, was holding a staff in his hand. From the princess's address, this person was Radov, the chief mage and dean of the Magic Academy mentioned earlier. However, Liu Xuan was not sure if the staff he held was an ordinary cane or a magic wand.
"Thank you, Princess," Radov, despite his old age, expressed his gratitude respectfully.
"As for me, Duke Pante, I also thank the princess for her mercy." At this time, the fat man who was speaking should be the Grand Chancellor Pante, the chief minister of the king. He was a middle-aged man who had already become quite obese, with a pair of small eyes that seemed even smaller on his chubby face. He was dressed in medieval noble attire, with a red robe and black long sleeves.
After the two men stood up, Radov and Grand Chancellor Pante quickly shifted their gaze to Liu Xuan.
"Princess, who is this person?" Radov asked the princess.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce him. His name is Liu Xuan. He is the person who rescued me from the orc tribe this time." The princess pointed at Liu Xuan, but her expression was very serious, completely devoid of the playful tone she had in the carriage.
As far as Liu Xuan remembered, ever since she met General Kale, the princess had become much more serious.
After the princess spoke, both Radov and Grand Chancellor Pante showed surprised expressions on their faces.
Radov's reaction was even more intense. The white-haired old man, leaning on his staff, walked towards Liu Xuan with an excited but still steady pace, and said with a somewhat aged but still powerful voice, "I didn't expect young people nowadays to be so talented at such a young age, rescuing the princess from the orc tribe. It's truly remarkable."
After speaking, Radov had already walked in front of Liu Xuan, with a kind and benevolent smile on his face, and then reached out his hand towards Liu Xuan.It seems that the other party is expressing friendliness towards oneself. Liu Xuan thought so and shook hands with the old man in a friendly manner.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Liu Xuan replied politely, but he didn't notice the momentary surprise on the old man's wrinkled face.
But that was just a moment, and Rada's expression immediately returned to normal.
"You are really ambitious and talented."
He praised, as if nothing had happened, but there was a slight sweat on his face.
Of course, no one present noticed this.
Then, after the princess took her seat, everyone else sat down as well.
The dining table in the restaurant was rectangular. As the host, the princess sat at one end of the long table, while Liu Xuan and Alice sat on one side of the long side of the table. The three regents sat on the other side of the long side of the table, with Duke Pent and Headmaster Rada sitting directly across from Liu Xuan and Alice.
After the regents sat down, various apologies and words like "May the Goddess of Light bless Princess Laina" were spoken to the princess. Liu Xuan found it quite interesting and speculated that the "Goddess of Light" might be the belief god of the human beings in this world.
However, interesting as it was, Liu Xuan's stomach started growling.
After all, it was already dark when they entered the capital, then they arrived at the palace, and it was probably already close to nine o'clock.
Looking at the dining table, Liu Xuan found that dinner hadn't been served yet.
Liu Xuan guessed that Duke Pent and Rada and the others must have already had dinner before coming, so they probably weren't hungry.
But Liu Xuan, Alice, and the princess hadn't had dinner, and Liu Xuan guessed that they were probably starving by now.
Sure enough, Liu Xuan saw the princess resting her chin on her hand with hunger on her face.
"Why hasn't the meal been served yet?" Liu Xuan couldn't help but ask Alice quietly.
Alice quickly replied, "Perhaps they need to test the food for poison after dinner is prepared, so it takes some time."
"Testing for poison?"
"Yes. Since it was discovered a year ago that someone had poisoned the princess's food in the palace, the dining process for the princess has become much more complicated."
