NOVPUBIn the capital city of Herram, the Redmond Administrative Building towers majestically at the northernmost side of the Protoss Royal Magic Academy.
Thin, almost transparent, leaf-like films delicately adhered to the windows, allowing the morning sunlight to filter through them softly and warmly, like strands of golden thread.
The office was suffused with the scent of spring flowers wafting in through the window, a gift from time and nature.
Compared to before, the room felt considerably emptier.
Most of the documents on numerous bookshelves had been cleared. It looked much like an office whose occupant was preparing to move out.
All alone, Lanci sat in his spacious office, fixated on an ancient Protoss tome.
For once, the usually diligent principal was seen leisurely whiling away his time in the office.
The tumultuous Protoss bishop election, which had caused a great stir, was already more than ten days in the past.
These days would also be his last in the Protoss Empire.
"Hello."
At the faint sound of knocking, the door slowly opened, and a fragrant scent rushed in.
Pranay, dressed in a neat Protoss-style suit, elegantly stepped into Lanci’s office, a tray held in his hands.
"Herram Linden flower tea. Please enjoy," he said gently, placing a classically designed tea cup perfectly next to Lanci’s hand.
Lanci closed the heavy tome he was reading, placed it beside his desk, and lifted the tea cup to sample the brew.
The Linden flower tea, seemingly mixed with a touch of honey, salt, and lemon juice by Pranay, left a refreshing taste on the palate without a hint of sourness, fitting perfectly with his mood.
"Pranay, thank you. It’s such a bother to have you bearing with me when we are leaving in a couple of days," Lanci said softly, a slight expression of relaxation appearing on his face as he leaned back in his office chair.
The workload for the three Great Demon Clan members had greatly decreased recently. Only one of them would take on the role of the secretary of the principal at the Protoss Royal Magic Academy each day, leaving the other two to roam leisurely around the capital, Herram.
In a few days, Lanci was heading off with them from the Northern Continent, hence for them it felt like a rare vacation.
If it was the guardian Antanas accompanying Lanci, he would chatter non-stop all the time, like a sparrow beside him.
Whereas Law Breaker Sinola would be quite quiet but extra cautious, and even suddenly calling her name could frighten her into stepping back.
Coexisting with Truth Pullane, however, felt the most natural. Whether it was his work capability or decorum, there was nothing to pick on.
The one on secretarial duty today was fortunate enough to be Pranay.
"No…"
Pranay shook his head,
"I would be more than happy to keep you company, no matter how long."
His handsome face held an ambiguous expression, half-smile half-smirk.
The smile of a demon always looked like this. There was no discerning if it was genuine or merely a facade.
Regardless, it was always more comfortable to be in the company of a demon who could smile, as opposed to one who never did.
"Who are you thinking of, my King?"
Pranay, noticing a satisfied look on Lanci’s face as he sipped his tea, promptly asked.
"Guess," Lanci retorted, being rather free today.
"Talia?"
Pranay ventured.
"...?"
Lanci was taken aback. He didn’t understand how Pranay had correctly guessed, and lifted his gaze to meet Pranay’s.
"Only three females come to mind who you might be contemplating and your expression changes significantly when you think of each of them. If there is a faint hint of sarcasm in your smile, then it’s not your highly esteemed Second Princess- or Miss Sigrid. Hence, most likely it’s Talia."
Pranay explained his deduction to Lanci.
Essentially, he had observed that if his inference was correct, Lanci thought of Talia at an extraordinarily high rate, almost once or multiple times a day.
Although this might not necessarily mean love, it seemed to him like Lanci and Talia were like quarreling lovers.
His only concern was that given Talia’s temper, it might be risky for the King. Sooner or later, she was bound to figure out what was on his mind.
That should be okay, though.
The King being so formidable, it was highly unlikely that anything could go wrong.
Pranay couldn’t imagine a scenario where an argument between Talia and the King would get out of hand.
"..."
Sipping his tea in silence, Lanci pondered.
He hadn’t expected Pranay to deduce all this.
Quickly adjusting his thoughts, Lanci decided to think of something cheerful. He cleared his throat and asked Pranay yet again,
"Guess who I’m thinking of now?"
"Miss Sigrid?"
Pranay ventured, after thinking briefly.
"And how did you discern that?" 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Lanci turned towards the glass of the bookcase and stared at his own reflection, trying to understand where he might have given himself away.
"This time it was fairly obvious, actually. It didn’t require an inference because your smile was so natural,"
Pranay replied with a faint smile of his own.
Sometimes, even we fail to perceive our own smiles.
It was just that Pranay hadn’t expected the King to exhibit such a humanlike expression.
"Is that so," Lanci said, sipping his tea slowly.
Indeed, Pranay has guessed right twice.
Of course, it could be because the personalities of Talia and Sigrid were so distinct.
Regardless of how you looked at it, Sigrid was always an incredibly likable woman.
It had been more than a week since Lanci had last seen Sigrid.
The Bishop’s election that day concluded with the downfall of Duke Morotian.
A few of the mighty forces in Herram had successfully intercepted the Duke and put an end to him.
Although the city suffered some damage during the last day’s battle against Duke Morotian, it was far less than anticipated.
Duke Morotian didn’t want to give them any opportunity to capture him.
