MTLNOVEL Chapter 133: Miss you, mwah!
“Xiyang, Ren Xiyang…” Rian’s lovelorn words came out of the communication mirror.
“What?” Ren Xiyang was lying in bed, on his side. The communication mirror was propped sideways on his pillow facing him. In the mirror, Rian was also lying down, albeit on white pillows rather than the dark red pillows on Ren Xiyang’s bed.
The previous nights, Ren Xiyang hadn’t been able to talk with Rian due to sheer exhaustion. After the big meeting dinners, Ren Xiyang crawled into bed and fell asleep right away. So it had been three days since they had last talked.
“I wish I could be there and reach out and touch you…” Rian’s soulful blue eyes stared out from the mirror.
“Oh? And why is that?”
Rian simply sighed sadly.
Ren Xiyang’s lips curled up at Rian’s antics. “There were many times when I wished you were here.”
Rian brightened. “How many times?”
“I didn’t keep count.”
“That means it was so many times you couldn’t keep count.”
Ren Xiyang gave a huff of amusement. “That’s right.”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” Rian said. “Three whole days. We’ve never been separated for so long.”
“We’ve been separated for longer—”
“I miss the sensation of your magic.”
“…Hm.”
“I could stare at your face for hours. You’re very handsome.”
Ren Xiyang’s ears and cheeks felt warm.
Rian smirked and shifted closer to the mirror.
Ren Xiyang, sensing the future danger, wiped the smile that had formed on his face and put on a serious expression. “Yes?”
Rian stared intensely at him. “Xiyang, you’re handsome. The most handsome, extraordinarily handsome, so handsome that wars could be fought over you, except for the fact that you could win any war by yourself. Your warm red eyes are mesmerising. Your long black hair looks so soft and silky, it is heaven to run my fingers through. Your smile is priceless, giving me a hundred reasons to live—”
“Rian!” Ren Xiyang protested, his cheeks burning.
Rian blinked innocently. “Did I stutter? Did I lie? I’m Crown Prince Rian, I never lie, my dear. Oh, I count the hours, nay, the minutes, til I can see you in person again…”
“You should have been the male lead, not Alexius,” Ren Xiyang mumbled.
Rian chuckled, his eyes sparkling with the fun he was having. “We are the male leads of our own story. No, even better, we’ve taken over this story! Alexius is never going to be as good as me.”
Ren Xiyang laughed.
Rian looked very pleased with himself. He gave a dramatic sigh. “The Capital isn’t the same without you.”
“And the Rosewood fief isn’t the same without you.”
“Soon, soon I will be there. Await me.”
“Okay. I’m waiting for a good birthday from you.”
Rian placed a hand over his heart. “Trust me.”
“I do.”
“But first—”
“Yeah?”
“Were there any particular highlights over the last few days? In what way was the meeting so successful that you didn’t have time to talk with me? You must explain clearly!”
Ren Xiyang made a face. “Do you really want me to look over my notes from the meeting, now?”
“I want to hear you talk. Tell me everything.”
It was hard not to feel flattered due to Rian’s interest.
“Alright,” Ren Xiyang said. He magically levitated his notes from the conference. “Let me see…Baltasar’s talk was interesting. The Cordovan fief works with a much smaller budget so they’ve had to prioritise and use additional methods. We could learn lessons from them in regards to promoting development in other fiefs.”
“Baltasar?”
“Don’t be jealous,” Ren Xiyang said absently as he continued to read his notes.
“I said a single word,” Rian whined. “You weren’t even looking at me.”
Ren Xiyang turned his head and looked at Rian through the mirror again. “Is Baltasar better than you? You’re more handsome, rich, strong, and powerful. You’re also the future king. What is there to be jealous of? ”
Rian was momentarily rendered speechless. “Xiyang…”
Ren Xiyang raised an eyebrow. “Enough praise?”
Rian blinked innocently. “Enough.”
“Good, so, can I return to the developments in the Cordovan fief?”
“Yes, you may.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Now, Baltasar gathered the support of other wealthy families and businesses in the Cordovan fief…”
Once they became serious about work, the two of them could talk for a long time, and they did. One topic led to another, which led to yet another.
Governing a fief or a kingdom was complex, with many things they needed to consider. Ren Xiyang and Rian had different styles of leading and different priorities, but they also welcomed each other’s opinions and thoughts. Arguing with each other could be fun, too.
But eventually, Ren Xiyang could no longer suppress his yawns and drooping eyes.
“That’s enough for tonight,” Rian said. “When I come to the Rosewood fief, and while we’re travelling to the Hraun Nation, we’ll have a lot more time together.”
“So you do realise that.”
“What are you implying, dear?”
“Nothing.” Ren Xiyang smirked.
Rian huffed. “You’re doing this because you know I can’t beat you right now!”
“Hm, but when have you ever won a duel against me?”
“There you go again!”
Ren Xiyang snickered behind his notes. Then he put on a serious expression again as he put his notes away.
Rian’s expression clearly said—I heard you laughing!
For a few moments, they looked at each silently.
It was less than a week before Ren Xiyang’s birthday, so they would see each other in person quite soon. Ren Xiyang was sure the last few days would fly by.
“Good night,” Rian said.
“Good night,” Ren Xiyang said.
Rian blew a kiss at Ren Xiyang. “And mwah, miss you, and have sweet dreams of me~”
Ren Xiyang inwardly rolled his eyes, but he pretended to catch the kiss and press it against his lips. “See you soon.”
After they ended the connection, Ren Xiyang put his secret Rian-only communication mirror away.
It was odd to say, but it was these times with Rian that made him feel young.
Ren Xiyang went to bed and indeed had sweet dreams.
Back in Angio, King Augustus was furious.
Viscount Amethystus and his faction had declared independence, slipping their declaration into the administrative pile of documents submitted to the court, and loudly declaring it as they hastily left the Capital.
Without his magical power, King Augustus couldn’t go and directly kill these traitors himself. Prince Marcus volunteered again to chase after them in King Augustus’s place. King Augustus agreed.
At the same time, King Augustus ordered a battalion of the army stationed at the northern border to head west and suppress the Amethystus fief.
But two days after, intense fighting broke out in the northernmost fiefs as the ‘ethnic minorities’ there wrestled for control from Angio.
After hearing this news, King Augustus dismissed his agent.
For five minutes, swearing and the sound of smashing filled the room.
Then, quiet, before he opened the door with a bang. “Aurelia! This is your fault! Are you conspiring with that Amethystus bastard?!!” He drew his sword and slammed it against the door. “And why haven’t those stupid mages in the mage tower broken the contract yet? Useless! This is a Sedaverian coup!”
Aurelia lowered her head. “Your Majesty, have you forgotten Prince Rian’s concession? If you had agreed and signed the contract variation and paid the subsequently reduced fine, your magic would have returned already. By this point, you’ve wasted more than that amount of gold in terms of replacing items in your quarters—”
King Augustus raised his sword. “Stop talking back to me like that! You should have killed the traitor Amethystus when I ordered you to!”
Aurelia didn’t raise her head. Why? Because she wasn’t afraid of King Augustus’s sword, not when she had magic. And King Augustus should know that.
“Your Majesty, he was not yet a criminal at the time of your order. I had also advised you not to move the army at the northern border—”
“I’m in charge of the army, not you!”
“And because you ‘dealt with’ various mages in the tower, they have even less personnel to conduct contract-breaking research,” Aurelia continued coldly. In reality, she had organised for ‘marked’ mages to go into hiding, but the outcome—less staff—was the same.
King Augustus’s face went red with anger. “Are you rebelling, Aurelia? Do you think you’re so great now? You’re weak! You’re soft! No one would support you! You’ll always be subservient! Following behind your mother’s skirts with your damn creepy eyes—”
“I know what you did to my mother,” Aurelia said coldly.
King Augustus flinched.
Aurelia leaned in. Her gold eyes pinned King Augustus down. “The one most likely to be a criminal is you. Except you would suppress any charge I could lay upon you. Your Majesty.”
King Augustus felt a very unfamiliar feeling.
Fear.
Fear that Aurelia, his weak daughter, could do something to him. King Augustus couldn’t feel lightning magic anymore, but he knew that Aurelia was at the edge of striking.
In the end, half of her blood was his.
King Augustus clenched his teeth and leaned away in the guise of straightening his back. “Tch. What’s the use of a dead body anyway?”
Aurelia’s eyes scanned down King Augustus’s body, from his head down to his feet, and then up again. “What is the use, indeed, Your Majesty,” she said. “I have calculated that there will be a food shortage before the main autumn harvest.”
King Augustus snorted. “And? If you care about it, deal with it.”
“I will, Your Majesty. I plan to request food from Sedaveria.”
“What?! You have magic! Just use magic to grow the crops quickly! Even that damn Rosewood could do that!”
“Your Majesty, then should I stop guarding you then? It will take over two weeks to visit the most affected fiefs.”
“Let the other damned nobles use magic on their crops!”
“I have no power and support,” Aurelia said with a mocking edge. “So I cannot compel them to do that. Only you can, Your Majesty. That would require many nobles leaving the Capital and returning to their home fiefs, Your Majesty.”
King Augustus was paranoid before, and he was even more paranoid now. He preferred nobles living in the Capital where he could easily see them and control them. He didn’t like nobles like Marquis Terra who was always ‘busy on business’; Marquis Terra was still alive only because King Augustus could extract large amounts of taxes from him.
If he ordered those nobles to return to their fiefs, then what if those nobles secretly plotted away from his surveillance? What if they quietly or loudly declared independence like the Amethystus bastard?
And King Augustus didn’t even consider another factor, but Aurelia did—most of these nobles didn’t know any plant/crop growing spells. And the thought of growing crops for commoners would not easily be accepted. Mage labour was expensive; it felt cheaper to obtain food from Sedaveria, especially if it was given charitably.
“Do whatever the fuck you want, you’re not listening to me, anyway,” King Augustus scoffed. He turned and returned to his quarters, slamming the door behind him.
Aurelia’s eyes grew dark for a moment. Then, she turned around and re-assumed her guarding position.
The other guards and servants standing nearby were as silent as they can be, their gazes carefully averted and acting as though they had heard nothing.
Hello, hi. Today’s homework question is a short text response 🤭🤭🤭
Question: What kind of scenes or themes would you like to read about and see next?