Born As The Emperor’s Daughter - Chapter 234

“I’m leaving tomorrow.”

That’s not the three words that she wanted to hear.

Alexandra blinked multiple times as he stared at him. Harrison said it in a serious voice and the expression on his face was the same as the tone of his voice. Alexandra had a hard time processing what he said, not believing her ears.

It was silent and the only sound that was piercing through it was the melody the vinyl recorder that was found in the corner of the room was emitting. Despite its gentle, soothing, and relaxing melody, that didn’t help Alexandra at all. Her heart was beating fast yet her mind was processing everything slowly.

She opened her mouth, not knowing what to say and stumbled onto what words she should use in this situation. She was utterly confused and the gentle expression on her face was replaced with a crumpled one, “W-What? Can you repeat what you said?” Alexandra asked him, trying to make sure if what she heard was correct.

Harrison sighed before he spoke once again.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” He just repeated what he have said earlier which she have wanted.

“But why?” Alexandra’s voice was faint and low, it sounded like a whisper and it was quite inaudible to his ears but he was able to read her lips and understood what she has said. He leaned back his seat and uncrossed his legs and crossed it again but this time it was the other leg.

“You remember that my mana is low, right? It was taking too long to recover even though I am in this form, preserving my mana as much as possible.”

That’s because he kept on using it like for an instance, that time when Alexandra was kidnapped. He used a large amount of mana during that time and he kept on using it even when he is at the academy. How will it recover fast? Even Alexandra’s elder brother who used that explosion spell that also used a moderate amount of mana took almost a month just to recover it.

He said that he only has ¼ of his usual mana left and since he is a wizard, I’m sure that even 10 average men with their mana combined wouldn’t be enough. It might not even fill half of it. That’s how powerful wizards are when it comes to magic and mana, she thought to herself.

“What about it?” As time passed by, Alexandra was able to calm herself down and process everything. She was trying her best not to stutter as her voice would tremble but her grip at the sides of her dress was still tight as if she has no intention of letting it go.

“I’m sort of going on an adventure just to recover it.”

“What the hell?” Unbelievable. Harrison going on an adventure? And how is going on an adventure related to recovering his mana? Wouldn’t that just lessen it more? Where is he going anyways? Does Sir Friyedor know about this? Isn’t he a palace wizard? I’m sure it’s not that easy to ask for leave because you’re going on an adventure to recover your mana.

There were many questions inside her head and it would increase as seconds passed by while she remained silent in her seat.

“I’m sure you’re confused and such but I have to do so. I already told Sir Friyedor about this and I have to go through a few days of a sermon from him. Besides, I will use mana but only a small amount of it. I’m going to look for the Fountain of Life,” Alexandra’s eyes widened when she heard what he has said, the last few words.

The Fountain of Life.

People believe that its existence was just a myth but a small fraction of our population believes that it is true. Alexandra is one of those people who believes that it isn’t true until she has read a few books about it saying that people just believe that it is a myth because they still haven’t seen it, nobody was still able to confirm its existence. The portrait or images seen in the book was just based on their imagination.

An image of what it seems like a fountain that looks enchanting to the eyes. Surrounded and protected by fairies and such mythical beings thus making it hard for them to approach it as they would attack the person that would do so. Only a few chosen number of people are being accepted by the fairies and would let them pass.

Take a small sip from it and you would be blessed. It will heal all types of diseases that the person who drinks it has, it will recover your mana, it will make you look younger, and it will make you strong. I’m sure that Harrison was there just to recover the enormous amount of mana that he has lost.

Some believe that it is found in a giant tree. Some believe that it’s found in the middle of the enchanting forest. Some believe that it is hidden deep underground.

It was said that it was made by a certain fairy, a powerful one while some say it was a goddess. But nobody knew the reason why.

A few people who belong in the small population that believes it exists would go on an adventure just to look for it and not a single one of them was able to return. They probably gave up and got lost or they probably were killed or they died.

“But there’s only a small chance that you will find it, there’s not a single clue telling us where that is,” Alexandra spoke in a worried tone of voice. The crumped expression on her face turned into an anxious one, her eyebrows upturned. She was upset and concerned for him as he has to leave and to think that he would go on an adventure just to find the Fountain of Life. There is no guarantee that he will come back to her safe and sound.

She isn’t even sure if he would come back.

“You don’t have to worry, I have a clue on where that would be found. I won’t take too long. I would probably take like months but not a year.”

Alexandra just stared at him, not saying anything. The same expression that she has before was still on her face.

“But it’s much better than 5 years of waiting when I was at the academy, right? I won’t take that long, I promise,” Harrison said as if she was reassuring her, not making her worry anymore.

“But tomorrow? Already?”

“I have to. If I take too long, I might run out of mana and that would be bad,” Harrison said. Alexandra just hummed as a response before she opened her mouth to speak again.

“What time are you going to leave? I’ll see you off.”

“In the morning. Probably an hour after you eat breakfast. I’ll visit you in your room tomorrow at that time if you want.”

“You should or I will strangle you.”

Harrison only chuckled.

—

Tomorrow morning came fast in just a blink of the eye.

Alexandra was now standing in front of Harrison who was dressed in an entirely different set of clothing but his cloak was still there. He was wearing a sharp suit or that’s what it looked like to her eyes. He looked like he was going to leave and attend a party but he was actually going on an adventure just to find the Fountain of Life.

He just arrived in her room a few minutes ago, they didn’t say anything and she just looked at him, watching him fix the cuffs of his sleeves as if it didn’t feel comfortable in his wrist.

“Just a moment, let me fix this,” He said.

Alexandra has her arm crossed. Her hair was styled in an elegant bun with red ribbons tying it up. Her white off-shoulder dress with red linings and design reached her knees paired with red doll shoes that have a few inches heel, making her taller than usual.

Alexandra noticed his slightly messy and wrinkled shirt as if something happened while he was on the way here, his collar was upturned and wasn’t fixed. Alexandra approached him as he was fixing his cuffs. “The collar of your shirt is a mess,” She said as she stopped in front of him, his attention was diverted away from his cuffs and to Alexandra who was near him. She reached out her hand, making its way to his collar.

“What are you doing?” He asked her.

“I’m going to fix the collar of your shirt and your shirt is also a mess. Look, even your ribbon isn’t tied properly. What are you? A kid?” She scolded him, trying to hide the sadness in her voice as she remembered that he was here to say goodbye and wouldn’t appear in a few months. He wouldn’t even able to communicate with her even with the mark making it easy for them.

Alexandra recalled that diary entry of Katelyn when she was talking about her feelings on this one man.

— Moving on, this boy was quite eccentric. Even though I told him to stay away from me, he didn’t. He always talks with me and plays with me, I eventually became closer with him and that’s probably when my small crush started to develop. And as we grew older and became closer, so does my feelings. I try to hide it and decided to not tell him as to not break the relationship that we have.

When did mine all start? Was it when he always accompanied me every day when I was alone in that palace? Was it when he would always bring me gifts like books and such? Was it when he held me closer when I cried because I almost died? Was it when he handed me his coat and made himself my pillow when I was kidnapped? Was it when he held me tight in his arms as he saved me from that guy who was threatening to throw me to the sea?

Why and how did it develop anyways?

Is it because of his cheeky and eccentric personality? Is it because of that charming yet mischievous smile of his? Is it because of his voice? Is it because of his looks? Is it because of his captivating eyes?

But I have encountered so many people that have captivating eyes like his. I have encountered so many people who have a much better personality than his like Arthur and Prince Julian who rarely visit the palace. I have encountered many that has a much cuter and sweeter smile. I have encountered so many people that are on par with his looks.

Amanda’s voice and words echoed inside her head.

— “…You see, when you fall in love with someone, you don’t care about anyone aside from them. You only want them and only them. You’re falling into an illusion that you can’t love anyone aside from them. That even if they break your heart and tell you to go find someone other from them, you’ll still find yourself falling in love with them over and over again. If hate is a sword, love is a destructive spell.”

Alexandra stopped, the movements of her hands stopped and she wasn’t fixing his collar anymore but she didn’t separate from him. She only kept her gaze straight, staring at the ribbon of his shirt which wasn’t tied properly and she decided to fix it.

“Alexandra? I can fix the ribbon by myself,” She heard Harrison’s voice.

— Then I learned the fact that the man that I was in love with even up until now has died on the battlefield. That was the most heartbreaking thing. I don’t know what to do. I should have told him, I should have told him about my feelings. I was dense and naïve, I didn’t know.

“I like you.”