The next morning, Kelan, Leona and I got on our carriage and followed Ally and Lianne who were on their own carriage to the temple located in the capital of Floran. When I got off the carriage, I took in my surroundings and could see how different Floran was from Kassiel.
There were many people who had what looked like a human doll helping them. I could only tell that they weren't real people because the strings attached to them were more visible than the ones on Lucas. The stores here also seems to be selling better gadgets than the items sold at Kassiel. It was clear that Floran wasn't only more advanced than Kassiel, but it was also more advanced than any other nation. Floran probably had greater things than the rest of the world because they have all the knowledge they need to create them.
"Hey, the temple's right here," said Lianne in a cold tone. She was more vigilant towards Kelan and I after she found out our true identities yesterday. I don't blame her, I have trust issues too.
"Am I not allowed to look around?" I questioned, entering the temple after her.
"I'm pretty sure you're not on vacation," came Lianne's cold reply.
"But I have eyes to look around."
"I'd rather you not see anything that happens in Floran," Lianne stopped in front of a large wooden door with flower designs painted in gold, "it would be troublesome if you attack us and know what our homes look like." I didn't say anything to retort. I too probably would've been as cautious as her if there was a risk. Not only that, but we're strangers as well and she has a big responsibility as Nova's apostle.
Lianne opened he door and revealed a large room with a statue of Nova at the end of the room. The walls were white and there were a few white pillars supporting the roof. There was even a working fountain in the middle with fish it in, jumping out of the water every so often.
"Our Goddess is waiting for you at the statue," said Lianne. "Ally and I shall leave now. Don't cause trouble for our Goddess," Lianne glared before closing the door behind her and Ally.
I stood there, dazed from the sight of the room.
"Felix, let's go," Kelan called out to me, already walking towards the statue with Leona trailing behind him.
"Right," I said. The people of Floran most love their Goddess a lot to build such a beautiful temple for her. Maybe the floor was really made of crystals too.
"You're finally here!" Nova appeared out of thin air when we reached the statue, smiling happily. The first thing that I noticed about her was her bright eyes that reflected the joy she felt. Those pair of peach eyes use to belong to William, and now they're Nova's. The sparkly eyes that I've never seen William have was now shown by Nova who now possessed his eyes. I felt like I could only focus on those shinny peach orbs.
"Felix," Kelan whispered, elbowing me in the stomach, "focus."
"Oh, sorry," I apologised.
"Oh?" Nova smiled teasingly, "have you fallen for my beauty? I'm sorry to say but, I already like someone else."
"Of course I didn't fall for you. We have a huge age difference too," I replied.
"Hm, right," Nova held her hand out and a jade pendant appeared in her hand. "Here."
I picked it up and observed it, confused. There didn't seem to be anything special about it.
"This is?" I questioned.
"A jade pendant," Nova gave an obvious answer.
"I know, but what does it do?"
"It's my message to prove that Theodore Kascis is the real descendant of Esper and the true heir to the throne. Break it in front of others and there should be an explanation. If people still don't believe you, just bring up the fact that I swore on my title as a Goddess. If I was really lying then I would've lost my spot as a Goddess and descended back into a normal fairy-elf hybrid," explained Nova. "Now go, I have to go show off my new eyes to my beloved now!"
"Alright," I sweat dropped. Nova's personality seemed completely different from yesterday's. It looks like she's extremely pleased with her new eyes. Just like how people can change when they fall in love, people seem to also change when they're in a very good mood.
When we exited the temple, we spotted a suspicious looking person with a hood on leaning against our carriage.
"Oi, who are you?" questioned Leona with a dagger in her hand.
"We just met yesterday," the mysterious person took off their hood, revealing white hair and red eyes, "do you still remember me?" The male's smirk angered me. He had just killed three innocent villains not long ago, so how can he grin like this as if he did nothing wrong?
"Hey," I grabbed his collar in anger, "you have some fucking nerve to show your face in front of me right after you admitted to killing those three in the warehouse!" I felt like killing him but even if I slowly burned him to death, the pain he would feel could never compare to how much those three suffered. The state he left their bodies in was as if he was mocking their insecurities.
"Shhh," he placed his index against his lips, "quiet down. You're catching people's attention. I didn't come here to cause any trouble this time. Hero Felix sent me here to take you to him." Hearing the white haired male mention 'hero Felix', my eyes immediately widened. I let go of his collar, not only because he mentioned hero Felix but also because of the many eyes watching. "Hero Felix said that he's going to let the prince go," said the white haired male.
"All of a sudden? Then why did he kidnap the prince in the first place and demand for Felix's death if he was just going to let the prince go?" Kelan questioned.
"Right. If he was just going to let his highness go, then he should've never troubled his highness in the first place," said Leona.
"He's not letting the first prince go for no reason. He said that he's doing it as a thank you because Cyrus's heir plans to announce to the people of Kassiel that the first prince is the true heir to the throne," the white haired male clarified.
"As a thank you? What does him announcing the true heir to the throne have to do anything with his highness's kidnapper?" Leona asked, pointing at me. Both Kelan and I looked at her with a 'you wouldn't understand look'. "What the hell are you two looking at me like that for?!"
"I heard that you claimed to be the first prince's most loyal subordinate, but you're not really close to him are you?" questioned the white haired male.
"What do you mean by that?!"
"If you were close to him, then you would've seen hero Felix and how he acts around the first prince too," replied the white haired male.
"How he acts around his highness?" Leona was confused.
"One word," Kelan held up one finger, "fruity." Leona's face paled in realisation.
"I will not let him do anything to his highness!" Leona exclaimed. Her arm muscles seemed to become stronger as she picked both me and the white haired male up then threw us into the carriage, before picking up Kelan and throwing him in the front. "Go," she said calmly, sitting in the seat opposite of me and the white haired male as if she didn't just throw us.
It took us a while to get back to Lianne village, but as soon as we arrived, we all rushed to where the warehouse was.
"Your highness!" Leona kicked the door open and inside we saw hero Felix and Theodore drinking tea with each other.
"Ah, hello everyone," smiled Theodore.
"Your highness! Are you alright?" Leona immediately rushed to Theodore's side and glared at hero Felix.
"Yes, I am alright Leona," Theodore replied before turning to look at me, "I believe we should head back to the capital now?"
"Why not stay a little longer?" hero Felix asked Theodore with a closed eyed smile.
"No, we're leaving," I hurriedly said. There's no way we're staying in this warehouse any longer. Leona and Theodore doesn't know what was in here before, however I who knows felt sick in here.
We got back to the carriage and found the white haired male was missing.
"Don't panic," said hero Felix, "I sent him ahead to get ready for your announcement."
"What announcement?" questioned Theodore.
"It's a surprise for you," replied hero Felix. "Now go."
Hero Felix wasn't lying. When we got back, the gates were surrounded with people and I spotted the white haired male standing next to the king who was in front.
"Welcome back Cyrus's heir. I didn't think you'd be back only one day after," the king greeted me.
"I came back with his highness too," I said, getting out of the carriage.
"What?" the king was surprised, staring at Theodore who was getting off the carriage. "So you didn't lie to me," he said to the white haired male.
"I wouldn't dare to," smiled the white haired male.
"Your majesty, is there a reward for successfully bringing his highness back?" I asked.
The king raised his eyebrow, "of course. What do you want?"
"I would like to make an announcement to the people of Kassiel," I was straightforward.
"Why?" the king questioned.
"I would like to announce my innocence to them myself," I lied.
"Alright. I approve," as soon as the king said that, the wind started to lift me, Theodore and the king on a high platform where the king then announced that I would be speaking.
"First of all, I will not ask for an apology from those who have wronged me," I spoke into the sound projector. There was no reason to ask for any apologies. The ones that had tried to kill me themselves had already died by my hands. "Secondly, I would like to say that the true heir to the throne is the person standing behind me, 'Theodore Kascis!" I then took out the pendant and broke it.
After the pendant broke, a hologram of Nova appeared and started explaining everything. Even after the sound projector was cut off, Nova's voice was still heard loud and clear.
"I swear on my title as a Goddess that everything previously said is true," Nova's words made the truth undeniable. Everyone was completely silent, knowing that no one could retort. Even if Nova wasn't Kassiel's Goddess, she still had a title that wasn't any less than Esper's. Not only that, but she also swore on her title; meaning she was dead serious. The people could only stare at Theodore and the king in silence.
"Justice for the true heirq" a male yelled, breaking the silence.
"All hail the real king!" a woman shouted.
"Justice for the true heir!"
"Crown the real descendant of Esper!"
"Glory to the true heir!"
The shouts of the citizens overwhelmed the voice of the king who was trying to protest, while I stood there silently like a shadow.
Theodore is now going to get what he deserves. I may have not created a king, however I crowned one. It was like I indirectly placed a crown on Theodore's head. The one who will sit on the throne will not be a snobby bastard like Owen, but someone who can truly lead the nation.
Somewhere amongst the crowd, Wren stared up at the sky. While the others were shouting and screaming, she was completely silent. 'This wind... he's close', was what she thought in her head.