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nMany hours ago, in the Palace of Rosenhyde, the King was busy discussing certain important matters with his Dukes and the other ministers.

nHence anyone who would enter the Palace grounds now to meet him would have to wait until they were done.

nUnlike the other boys from the Academy, Prince Fritzen had returned last night itself so he was fast asleep in his Sycamore Palace right at this moment.

nHowever, another prince had also entered the Palace after being away for a long time yet was unable to meet his elder brother who was currently in the Fountain Hall, the place where important issues of the Kingdom were being discussed.

nSince the matters of the Kingdom took precedence over the rest, including his family, this prince could only wait until the King could complete what he was doing there.

nWhen the Royal Steward had informed him of the King's busy schedule, he decided that he could wait and in the meantime, could meet the other members of his family who must be looking forward to his return.

nThe young prince with luscious blonde hair but emerald green eyes redirected his path towards the Cloud Palace where he knew that he would find his etcher.

nPrince Draco had not seen his etcher for a while so he decided to meet him since he could already sense his fated beast's presence close to his Palace.

nHe could meet his niece and nephew once he washed up so he hastened his pace and moved towards his personal palace at the far end of the palace grounds.

nUpon reaching his destination, the prince found someone waiting outside for him.

nThe white wolf who stood up when he stepped closer, looked bigger than the last time he had seen him.

n'Did you put on weight?' Draco grimaced, circling the etcher who had been waiting for him outside the Cloud Palace.

nAstolfo, the large wolf who was just called fat in simpler terms, growled in defiance but whimpered when he felt the glare coming from his master.

n'That's the fur, Master!' He defended himself, unwilling to admit that he had been enjoying the meals he was served in the Palace a little too much.

nAstolfo had sensed his Master entering the Palace yet did not rush over to his side as he was already aware that this prince liked his privacy.

nThus even after a few years now, only a limited number of people were aware of this etcher's existence.

nNot that Astolfo minded being away from the numerous gawking eyes of others as that would only make it difficult for him to live in peace and quiet which he preferred.

nThe ether did not care about being famous as long as he was given the comforts that he deserved.

nHowever, the first thing his Master had said upon his return was that he was fat so how could he not be miffed?

nDraco patted his indignant etcher's head before entering his Palace, the same place he had not been in for months now.

nLooking at how clean and tidy everything was, he was sure that his servants had been looking after it in his absence.

nThe Prince nodded in appreciation of their efforts before heading to wash up.

nBefore he could step forward, two figures appeared in the room but neither Prince Draco nor Astolfo was startled as they had already sensed who they were.

nSigma and Horace, the Prince's personal guards who were also at the top of the hierarchy in the Black Shadow Knights, knelt before their Master after making their presence known.

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"Rise.

" Prince Draco commanded and the two bowed before they stood straight, following which they helped their Master out.

nSigma rushed to bring out fresh clothes for the Prince while Horace went ahead to fetch warm water for the bathtub.

nAstolfo laid on the ground, watching them rush around as he spoke to his Master during the silent chaos surrounding them.

n'That girl with the etcher was here at the Palace again.' He revealed before yawning loudly.

nPrince Draco was waiting for his subordinates to prepare everything but hearing this made him raise his brow.

n'When was this?' He inquired and the etcher was quick to answer.

nAstolfo revealed about the girl who had come with two of Princess's friends and after having spent the day here at the Palace, they had left soon after.

n'She contacted her etcher while she was here.' He added, explaining how he could sense that other etcher even when they were separated by such a large distance.

nAs always, to beat the heat prevalent in the Capital, Astolfi had been resting in one of the cold Palaces in the vicinity when he sensed that strong mental link between the girl and her etcher.

nHe once again scoffed that even the King's etcher wasn't capable of sensing this aura but he was able to.

nDraco did not care about his bragging beast as he was already used to it by now but focused on another aspect of what had been mentioned.

nAstolfo had mentioned what the girls had been up to and one portion of their day had piqued his curiosity.

n'Does she know about Iris?' He interrogated in the next second and frowned at the answer he received.

nThe etcher shrugged as he could not possibly know what was going through her mind.

nBeing able to sense that brief contact she had with her etcher was already the limit for his current strengths and anything further was not something he could achieve, at least at this moment.

nTo gain answers, the Prince only needed to contact someone else who was aware of the truth about Iris, the Princess's pet cat.

nHowever, he was also sure that the other person would deny having any contact with the child, much less that he had revealed this truth to her as well.

nWhile he had seen that child with this person and also knew that they were connected somehow, no confirmations had been made until now.

nHe had some inferences about the situation but could not make any solid statements until he had evidence in his hands about the nature of their relationship.

nTherefore, he could only assume that she was aware of the fact that Iris was a halfling, the offspring of an etcher and a regular animal.

nOnly a few people in this Kingdom were aware of this truth which had been kept hidden from the rest in fear of the backlash that the Princess might face if word got out about it.

nIt was Prince Draco who introduced Prince Fritzen to the merchant who dealt with exotic pets.

nThe younger prince had selected Iris's picture from the numerous images in the portfolio at first glance, not knowing the truth about its identity.

nNo one in the Palace knew about it as they had never heard anything about the existence of a halfling ever before.

nOnly when the head of the merchant group who was also a close friend of his had informed him about the choice Prince Fritzen had made did he gain awareness of this truth.

nHowever, he had asked his friend to keep this matter to himself as he felt that the others were not ready to hear about this.

nNot to mention that he could not let his beloved niece be at the center of the criticisms from the noblemen of this Kingdom.

nThinking of this, Prince Draco decided that he would have to meet his friend and try to figure out what exactly he had said to the other girl and how he might remedy the damage that had already been done.

nHe would have to wait until tomorrow to deal with this and frowned as he turned towards his men.

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"Report everything that took place while I was away.

" He ordered the two men who had completed their tasks while he had been conversing with Astolfo.

nHorace and Sigma had been in the Capital all along so it did not take much time for them to disclose the important matters that might attract the Prince's attention.

nPrince Draco listened with keen interest as they revealed numerous topics, however, none of them mentioned anything about a halfling.

n'Is she clueless or calculative?' He wondered which one of these was the truth.

nIf she was ignorant about the halfling then none of his thoughts mattered but if she was aware of the truth yet did not spread this news to the others then he would have to keep an eye on what her motives were.

nThe two men in this room did not know what their Master was looking for so they continued reporting everything until they were done entirely.

nPrince Draco was lost in his thoughts but his ears were sharp enough to catch certain aspects that Sigma and Horace had pointed out during their report.

n'Sister-in-law…' He felt a headache arising when he heard the last part of their detailed report.

nIt looked like he would have to visit another Palace before he could meet his niece and nephew as this matter was at the top of his priority now.

nHence, Prince Draco pushed everything else that was on his mind aside and chose to focus on this matter.

nHowever, before he could meet the Queen of the Kingdom who was his sister-in-law, he needed to wash up and that was exactly what he would do next.

n'I thought things would change after the last time but…' He sighed at what his subordinates had informed him as he walked into the bathroom where Horace had prepared everything for him.

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