353. Buried Memories Part 3

“I am very much sure they are, seeing you standing here with such immense confidence, Your Highness,” the foreign man accompanying the Duke said with a warm smile. He looked at her kindly, bowing his head with genuine respect as he introduced himself. “Ah... where are my manners? I am Nicola, from the vassal state of Foster Liam.”

Standing in the shadows of the hallway and taking in the entire scene, the adult Ravenna felt the air completely freeze in her lungs. Her eyes widened as a heavy, chilling realization settled over her mind.

She stared intently at the kind-faced foreign man, muttering in a trembling, horrified whisper, “Don’t tell me... Nicola? As in... the leader behind the protests in Nicola Uprising?”

“My youngest is around the same age as you, so I hope you two can meet someday!” Duke Roland heartily laughed as he conversed with the young Ravenna, who merely maintained an arrogant and smug look on her face.

Standing on the sidelines, the adult Ravenna chuckled to herself. “If only you knew that Rexford would become one of my lovers in the future…”

Nearby, Nicola stood silently, taking a slow sip from his wine cup. Meanwhile, Jessica and Ruby Ronin had already rushed to leave the scene, desperately hoping that the princess might forget about them and their blatant disrespect. However, young Ravenna’s dark eyes were already scanning the rest of the crowded banquet hall relentlessly for them.

“Ah... that’s right. I should properly introduce how I came to attend this banquet with Mister Nicola, shouldn't I?” Duke Roland continued, but young Ravenna was totally uninterested. Her focus remained entirely on spotting Aurora or hunting down the Ronins.

“You see, my wife is originally from Foster Liam, and she has been working alongside Mister Nicola here to figure out a peaceful way for the Empire to assert its presence in the vassal state,” Duke Roland chuckled, explaining the situation as he drained another glass of wine. “Which is precisely why we were here to meet His Highness, Prince Nolan. We had a specific favor to ask the Imperial Prince.”

“Elder Brother Nolan? Why him?” Hearing his name sparked young Ravenna’s interest instantly. After the harsh scolding he had given her in the garden just a few hours prior, she was clearly itching for a chance at payback. “Is it something I can’t handle? Why must it be him?”

“You brat, you don’t have a single clue what you are talking about! You don't have any real political influence during this time!” the adult Ravenna yelled fruitlessly at her own past self. She muttered under her breath, “This is certainly not going to lead anywhere positive.”

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“It is nothing much, Your Highness. You know about Hero Luminous, correct?” Nicola spoke up, his tone perfectly smooth.

Young Ravenna scoffed lightly. “Of course. Who doesn’t know about him? The great hero who fought alongside the Saintess to defeat the Absolute Being in the previous era.”

“Yes, you are just as well-read as the rumors say,” Nicola sweet-talked, a polite smile on his face as he continued. “I happen to have come across a unique artifact left behind at his final resting place in Foster Liam. I was planning to trade it to His Highness Nolan in exchange for some important information.”

“An artifact left behind by the great hero?!” Young Ravenna’s eyes sparkled instantly. The mere thought of possessing something that belonged to Hero Luminous, a figure recognized by everyone as the ultimate symbol of heroism was something a neglected, attention-starved girl like her simply couldn’t ignore.

“Hmm... Is the deal so difficult that it must involve Elder Brother Nolan? Can’t you just make that exact same trade with me?” young Ravenna asked with a sharp smirk, her mind already racing with petty ambition. “If I get my hands on that artifact, I can completely pull one over on Nolan. His face will certainly be worth watching when he finds out I snatched this treasure right from under his nose!”

“Hmm... It’s not exceptionally difficult, Your Highness,” Nicola worded his response very carefully, choosing his terms with practiced caution. “You see, a strict military curfew has been placed on Foster Liam in recent months, and our people wish to hold a peaceful gathering to let the Emperor know our stance on loyalty. Therefore, we were going to request His Highness Nolan to help us find a good location within the city, after consulting the security patrol routes and military camps in the archive maps, so we can avoid them and hold our gathering without incident.”

“That’s it? I happen to have recently received official permission to enter the imperial military archives since my master is teaching me military tactics!” Young Ravenna smirked, letting out a haughty giggle. “So I can easily look into those records by myself and mark a safe location for you! Would you be willing to strike a deal with me instead?”

“That is really not a bad proposition, Your Highness. I would be more than happy to agree, as long as our people get to have their gathering,” Nicola finished smoothly.

Thrilled by her sudden victory, young Ravenna excitedly rushed into the crowd to find Aurora, eventually spotting her red hair near the edge of the hall.

The adult Ravenna, having witnessed this entire conversation play out and knowing exactly how that disastrous "gathering" ultimately turned out, felt a creeping, icy dread crawl up her spine. “I really don’t feel good about this…”

“Are we really going to trust something this monumentally important to a mere little girl?” Duke Albert Roland asked in a low voice the moment young Ravenna was out of earshot.

Nicola turned to him, his kind smile shifting into something of a calculated expression. “She is a little girl, which is precisely why she has to be the one to get us the information. It is a massive stroke of luck that we ran into her here tonight.”

“True. Prince Nolan is fiercely opposed to allowing autonomy of any sort to the vassal states... It would have been incredibly difficult to convince him,” Duke Albert Roland nodded in agreement. “We were originally hoping that Princess Serena and Prince Nolan’s faction interests in ancient magic tools would help us secure the patrol data, but this is for the better. We likely would have been rejected by them anyway.”