Chapter 200 - 196: Dangerous

Ryder entered the beautiful palace of High Duke Oris and walked through the Red Carpet.

He was being escorted by one of the maids when a woman came to him in a hurry.

The woman was wearing a long white dress that perfectly covered her body, highlighting her figure. There was something wrapped in her waist that seemed like a Golden belt, but it seemed to match the style.

Ryder recognized that girl as Felina. She was the girl that he had seen before. She was High Duke Oris' daughter who had come to the Palace before to give him the invitation.

"Your Highness, You're here. I apologize for not being there to escort you. I thought that you would come after the others in the afternoon, but you're the earliest," the girl told Ryder as she greeted him.

"If I had known, I would be waiting outside," she added.

"Don't worry about this. I just wanted to greet High Duke Oris as soon as I can," Ryder said with a subtle smile on his face.

"Where is he?" He asked Felina.

"He's still getting ready. I'll take you to him," Felina replied.

"It's fine. Let him get ready," Ryder responded as he shook his head.

"How about I show you the Palace in the meantime?" Felina suggested.

"Sure. If there's an interesting place here, I would love to see it," Ryder replied.

Felina started escorting him and took him to a beautiful crystal garden.

It was amazing as the ground seemed to be a big crystal that was purple in color. There were various crystal flowers coming out of the ground. 

"Interesting," Ryder muttered as he walked in the crystal garden.

'How did Divinity Developers come up with this idea? It's indeed pretty,' Ryder thought as he walked closer to a light green crystal flower.

"Your Highness, Stop."

He was about to touch the Crystal when Dale stopped him.

"Your Highness, you would be injured if you touch them," Miku reminded Ryder as she pointed towards the Crystal. "These should be Red Crystal Flowers. They are only door looking, but they can be deadly if someone touches them."

Ryder glanced back at Felina, wondering why she didn't inform him that this place was so dangerous, but then again, he was a prince; maybe she thought that he knew.

Felina, on the other hand, started clapping.

"Amazing. Your Highness is indeed knowledgeable. He was able to recognize that these are not the Red Crystal Flowers, and thus he went ahead to touch them. I expected nothing less," Felina said with a smile on her face.

Miku and Dale looked at her in confusion.

"Only my Father and Master Rale had ever been able to recognize it correctly before. Now there's a third name in that list," Felina said as she started walking ahead.

She touched the Red Crystal Flower with a beautiful smile on her face.

"This is not the Red Crystal Flower. This is the Face Changing Crystal Flower. It disguises itself as a Red Crystal Flower to keep itself protected," Felina explained to Miku and Dale.

"That's right. I recognized it, but I can only praise you for being alert for my safety. Keep it up," Ryder took the credit for his ignorance while telling Miku and the others to keep protecting him in the future. 

He didn't want them to think that he knew anything and let him die. That would just waste one day for him.

Ryder also reached out his hand to touch the flower. It had a smooth texture, and as soon as he touched it, he could feel something. It was as if his happiness was increasing somehow.

He removed his hand. He could feel that this was like some kind of drug flower that had the person who touched it the feeling of ecstasy. Touching for some time was fine, but if he touched for a long time, he might get drunk just from it.

"Thinking about it, May I ask if Master Rale won't be here? It's unusual for him to not be with Your Highness," Filana asked Ryder.

"He's back in the palace. He won't come today. He's a little unhealthy," Ryder replied as if it was a fact. "It's not serious, but I forced him to rest. He should be fine after a good rest, according to the Physician."

"Oh, Ok," Filana nodded her head.

"Let me show you another great place then," Filana let out as she started walking towards the exit of the garden.

As they were walking in the corridor, Filana saw another person. It was a maid that was walking towards them.

"You're here? Is father ready now?" She asked.

"Yes. Master should be in the Great Hall now," the maid replied.

"Oh, Good." Filana nodded her head.

"Your Highness, Father, is ready. Do you wish to meet him now or continue the trip?" she asked Ryder.

"I came here for High Duke Oris, that's the main thing," Ryder replied in short.

'Alright. Understood," Filana nodded her head. 

She changed her direction and escorted Ryder and his team to the Great Hall.

Ryder was brought inside the Great Hall of the Palace, which was almost as big as the Great Hall of Ryder's Palace. It seemed only a little bit smaller.

There were many seats placed all around the Hall in circles, making it seem like the seats were arranged as if a big round table was between them.

Four of the Seats were bigger in size than the others, and one was even bigger than the four.

Ryder assumed that the biggest one must be for the Royal Prince, that was himself. The other four were for the High Dukes.

High Duke Oris was sitting on one of those chairs when he suddenly noticed Ryder.

He stood up with a smile on his face.

"You are here. If I had known about this, I would've told the others to come in the morning as well. Filana, Did you write the wrong time in the invitation?" High Duke Oris looked at Filana as if her mistake made Ryder come here before time.

"It's not that. I was just getting bored at the Palace. Also, it doesn't matter if I'm early," Ryder responded as he walked closer to the High Duke.

"Anyway, Congratulations on your Birthday, High Duke Oris. I wish you a long and prosperous life so that you can keep our people safe with me," Ryder let out as he congratulated the High Duke while keeping his Princely dignity.

"Thank you," High Duke Oris responded.

"Please have a seat. The others should be here soon," he told Ryder.

Ryder nodded his head as he walked over to the biggest throne in the room and sat on it. Even though he wanted to respect the High Duke, he needed to give respect to his position as a Prince too, or it might return as a trouble for him in the future. Miku and the others stood behind him as they were part of his entourage.

High Duke Oris sat on the chair next to him. A maid came and served the wine for them.

Ryder took his first sip when he got the question that he was expecting.

"Rale didn't come with you? Is that guy neglecting his duties?" High Duke Oris asked with a frown.

"He's back in the palace, and I commanded him to stay here. If he comes, then that would be neglecting his duties, but as long as he's in the Palace, he's following my orders," Ryder replied casually as he took another sip.

"I don't understand. He shouldn't leave your side when you're outside the palace. It could be dangerous for you and for our Empire if something happened to you while you're outside. Why would you tell him to stay back?" High Duke Oris inquired.

"Because he wasn't healthy. We were sparring as a practice. While I was serious, he was not attacking me seriously since he was worried about harming me. He ended up getting injured. I told him to rest back home. He wasn't willing, but he can't refuse the commands, and I won't let him leave injured," Ryder replied as he casually smiled.

High Duke Oris was about to follow up with another question when Ryder changed the topic.

"I only see 26 seats. Have you only invited High Dukes and Dukes?" Ryder inquired.

"Yeah, those are the only ones I invited today. I couldn't invite Marquis since there needs to be a proper hierarchy," High Duke Oris replied.

"Oh, understood."

Soon, people started arriving. The ones that were arriving were Dukes. All the Dukes greeted Ryder and Oris as they arrived. 

They started taking their seats, and they were served wines as well.

Devilia also arrived. She was wearing a beautiful green dress.

"Greetings, Your Highness," She greeted Ryder. She also greeted Oris.

"Devilia, You're looking as beautiful as always. It's good to meet you again," Ryder replied as he smiled.

He talked to her a little more before she went back to her seat.

Soon, all the Dukes were there. The other High Dukes were still not there.