Chapter 54 - 55: High Duke Oris

Duke Devilia and the others flew for around 3 hours straight before landing in front of a beautiful looking palace.

It looked like a big palace that was shrouded in darkness.

The sky above the palace was covered by the dark clouds that prevented the sunlight from falling over the palace.

They all landed in front of the giant doors of the palace.

"My lady," The guards got down to their knees as they greeted the woman. They stood up after she gestured to them and pushed the heavy door.

The giant door opened with a creaking sound, revealing the interior of the giant palace.

The first thing Ryder noticed was the giant hall that was completely empty. There was no furniture or decoration.

She stepped inside the palace while Ryder and Miyali followed her.

The woman stepped towards the stairs and went to the first floor.

"Is this your palace?" Ryder asked her.

"Yeah. Kinda. My main palace is in the capital city. It's just something casual,' She replied.

She stopped before an old looking door. The door wasn't attached to any wall or a room. It was just a single door standing there.

The door looked even more well reinforced compared to the main door of the palace. It was covered with chains that tightly wrapped around it.

"What's that door for?" Ryder asked.

"It's the pathway between this place and my real palace. I had it made by our high magician craftsman. Good work, I must say," She said with a pleased smile on her face.

She opened the lock that was tying the chains and removed the chains.

She waved her hand in the air as a small key appeared in thin air out of nowhere.

'That must be space magic. Such a high level of magic. Only level 300 or higher players should be able to learn the space magic. She's definitely dangerous.' Ryder thought with a frown on his face.

The woman entered the key in the keyhole of the door and rotated it.

*Click*

With a small sound, the door was unlocked. She turned the doorknob to the left and pushed the door to open it.

The door opened, and surprisingly, Ryder was able to see a room on the other side of the door. 

He walked to the back of the door and looked ahead, he could see Devilia and Miyali, but when he walked to the front of the door, he saw a completely different place inside the door.

'It's definitely a space tunnel. Amazing. The kingdoms outside still use space transportation formation, while the people here are so advanced in space magic,' He thought.

"Let's go," Duke Devilia gestured for Ryder to enter.

"It's alright. Ladies first," Ryder said with an innocent smile on his face.

"What? Are you afraid?" The woman asked with a confused look on his face.

"Hah? Why would I be afraid? It's just good manners to ask women to go first. It's not because I'm worried about the space tunnel," Ryder replied without looking the least bit worried.

"Oh? Is that considered manners at your place? Alright, I'll enter first then," She said with a thoughtful look on her face as she entered the door.

She gestured to Ryder as he came out on the other side.

'Looks like it's safe,' He thought.

"Let's go," He held Miyali's hands as he entered the door together.

As he entered the space tunnel, he didn't even feel anything. He just appeared on the other side of the tunnel in the blink of an eye.

Duke Devilia closed the door and locked it.

"This place looks much better," Ryder commented as he saw the room he was inside. The place was much brighter than the previous palace.

"Come with me. I'll show you to your rooms. I still need to inform other dukes about you. Before we can come to a decision, you can stay here," She said with a smile on her face.

She brought Ryder and Miyali to a beautifully furnished room.

"You can stay here. Miyali will stay with you in the same room since you want her. Take this talisman. You can use it to contact me in case of an emergency. I'll come to meet you when I'm finished with the preparation," She said as she left.

Ryder stepped inside the room. The slightly hesitating Miyali also entered the place after him.

"Oh man, This place only has one bed. It looks like we'll have to sleep on the same bed," Ryder said as he looked towards the bed.

"Do you have a problem with it? I can ask them to arrange for something else if you want?" Ryder asked as he saw the worried look on his face.

"Ah, It's fine. I'll sleep on the ground," Miyali replied.

"Why would you sleep on the ground? Are you worried that I'll do something bad with you? As I always say, I won't force myself on a woman. That's just not me." He said in full seriousness.

"But if you allow me to do it, then I'll do it in a heartbeat," He further said with a smile on his face as he glanced at the girl.

"Anyways, You can sleep on the bed with me. The bed is quite big, and we can sleep without being in contact with each other," Ryder said.

"Ah... alright," The girl still looked hesitant, but she nodded her head.

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While Ryder was discussing the bed distribution plan, Duke Devilia was sitting in front of a big mirror.

She bit her finger and made a strange pattern on the mirror with blood.

The mirror started shining in bright white light. After 5 more minutes, the mirror started showing the image of a person.

It was a bearded man who looked like he was in his 50s. He had a long white beard that covered half his face.

"Devilia, What do you need?" The man spoke on the opposite side of the mirror.

"Duke Devilia greets High Duke Oris. I had to contact you as there is something important I need to talk about," She replied.