Immortal Kingdoms

Princess Veronica jumped in shock, not having expected to bump into the man from her nightmare in the depths of the Imperial Palace. From her reaction, four level 45 saints jumped into action, surrounding Leonardo and Juvia while maintaining their distance from the quivering Veronica.

Looking at their reaction, Leonardo's gaze went cold but his smile was ever-present as he said, "Do you really want to go through this again? Don't say that your aunty told you o do this, that excuse is sickening."

Of course, Leonardo spoke to Princess Veronica, who was too frightened to speak or act. However, Leonardo's words brought her back to her senses and she shook her head while trembling.

The guards almost couldn't believe their eyes as they watched the all-proud and cold Princess Veronica quake in fear. One must know that she was Queen Adeline's favorite relative, no one dared make her suffer any grievances be it past, present, or future. Nonetheless, she was acting as though she saw a devil incarnate.

"I am an old friend of your little princess, you can drop your hostility before someone gets hurt now," Leonardo then directed his lifeless gaze to the four saints. Specifically, the two in front, as he didn't even bother looking back at the other two.

Leonardo knew that this Princess Veronica was in no state of mind to spend time around him, so he decided to take the initiative and walk past her in the opposite direction of wherever she was headed.

Juvia looked curiously from Leonardo to Princess Veronica and vice versa, wanting to ask about their history. However, she knew that for one, she didn't have the qualifications to question Leonardo. Two, this isn't the right time or place. Three, Leonardo always kept the matters of the house inside the house and the matters outside of it outside.

"W-wait a moment!" Just as Leonardo and Juvia were pulling the distance between them and Princess Veronica's entourage, she called out for Leonardo with her yet to stabilize, melodious voice. Apparently, this woman was already traumatized after the last experience.

Leonardo could only blame their weak personalities on Queen Adeline and her pacifistic approach to the world of cultivation as a whole. Nonetheless, Leonardo turned back and gave this princess a silent look.

A moment passed, but she wasn't saying anything, merely looking from her imperial guards to Juvia, seemingly wanting to say something yet not knowing how to say it.

Leonardo understood her meaning and said, "Juvia, you can head back as I will have this private conversation with Princess Veronica,"

Without a question or hesitation, Juvia nodded her head with a faint smile, walking over to the guards as she said, "Hey guys, mind escorting me back to the open courtyard? I might get lost otherwise."

The imperial guards were also smart enough to read between the lines, and since Leonardo was also a mere human non-cultivator, he wouldn't be able to harm Princess Veronica with her protective items on her body. Hence, they sheathed their weapons and left together with Juvia.

Princess Veronica struggled to calm down before holding Leonardo by his sleeve and dragging him deeper into the palace. As they walked, she said in a whisper-like voice, "This is a huge trap, we can't talk here!"

Leonardo's eyes flashed with surprise, wondering what kind of a trap this was and for whom it was set up. However, he didn't care as he had expected this much after offending Lexus and indirectly admitting to sowing discord between the two domains of the humans and the elves.

This is also an opportunity to test how far is Queen Adeline willing to go for hum. In any case, the more hostile they are to him now, the more of an excuse he'd have to strike back at their powers. The only question remains is who would strike first, especially with the knowledge that someone from a supposedly opposing faction to him had appeared.

Leonardo wasn't stupid, he guessed that they weren't opposing him, but rather opposing House Hestia. This matter gave him some worry as he didn't know how things were going on Nier's side. She briefly explained that House Hestia became the target of multiple powers, but even they had no idea how many of them there were or who they were.

Since they dared make a move on one of Nier's private planets in the middle realms, they most likely enacted a scheme to divert her attention. As for how dangerous that scheme was, he didn't know.

There was also the chance that she wasn't trapped but simply busy running around the upper realms and was unaware of these pests sneaking into her planet. Nonetheless, he was determined to clean up the mess.

Very quickly and quietly, Princess Veronica brought Leonardo into a private hall that wasn't so spacious. Inside the hall, she closed the doors and activated some formations on the side panel, illuminating the room with a flash of silver light as countless inscriptions linked up on the walls and the ceiling.

With all of that handled, she sighed in relief and looked back at Leonardo who was eyeing her calmly with his hands tucked away into his pocket.

She blinked curiously, "Aren't you worried that I isolated you from your guardian to kill you?"

As she asked, her aura began to visibly fluctuate. Although she wasn't a saint yet, a non-cultivator was nothing more than an ant to a fourth-cycle mortal cultivator.

Leonardo eyed her with some interest as he asked in return, "Are you that naive? Even if I was to lie down in the middle of the streets and sleep, no one would dare kill me; in fact, Adeline would waste no effort to make sure I wasn't killed within the borders of her Imperial Capital."

Leonardo found a decent chair in the room to take a seat as he relaxed and shot his second question, "So, what trap are you talking about?"

The moment he sat down, spatial fluctuations rippled from the table in front of him as a delicate assortment of fruits arranged on a transparent plate appeared on the table. Acting somewhat surprised, Leonardo picked up a string of grapes before popping them into his mouth.

Princess Veronica's tough act deflated as she sighed, realizing that this guy wasn't so easily tricked. She hoped to scare him into revealing his background because just as he said, her aunt said that it was an existence they couldn't afford to offend, not as a ruling power, and not as a domain.

Although some speculations revolved around the domain behind the Sky Mountains, those were simply speculations based on surface clues.

"I'm really curious about your origins though!" She decided to be open and direct about her inquiries, taking a seat in front of Leonardo.

She didn't say, but these formations were capable of detecting lies based on heartbeat, mental fluctuations, blood circulation, and breathing. Hence, while it seemed like she was simply curious, she was actually interrogating him.

Leonardo didn't seem to sense any of this as he responded with a faint smile, "My origins? Nothing great really, just some backwater place as far as it could get from the cultivation civilizations"

​ Leonardo's sincere expression caused Princess Veronica to gape in shock, mainly because the formation didn't react negatively to his answer. However, she quickly realized the loophole in her question. His origins didn't matter as much as his current status and the organization behind him.

She wanted to press further when Leonardo waved his hand impatiently, saying, "Aren't you going to tell me about this trap House Erudite is tossing my way?"