Chapter 68: Sulina's News

  Adrian, a port city of the Rox Empire and an important military harbor, has a superior geographical location with a deep-water port that never freezes all year round, making its strategic and commercial status surpass that of another imperial port, Daling Harbor. Coming to this city, I thought of Hans who had long passed away, he was going to show me the way here, now I finally saw the city, but Hans has disappeared from this world. Thinking of these things, I feel a little inexplicable sadness.

  Looking at the crowds coming and going, suddenly I feel a strange sense of loneliness, as if everything around me has nothing to do with me, I don't belong to this world at all, all the prosperity is also irrelevant to me, I am just a lonely soul independent of the worldly affairs. That moment's feeling made me a bit absent-minded, even when Evan called me for half a day, I didn't react.

  Evan poked me hard and woke me up from my daze: "Hey, what's on your mind? You're so spaced out." I shook my head vigorously and composed myself, saying: "Nothing, just thinking of an old friend, feeling a bit down, lost in thought for a moment." Evan furrowed his brow and said: "I'll go make some preparations for our departure. Why don't you take a stroll around the market and see if there's anything we need to buy? Let's meet back here at noon." I nodded: "Alright, it'd be a waste not to explore this bustling city."

  After saying goodbye to Evan, I found a passerby and asked for directions to the market. I walked leisurely in that direction. Adrian is indeed a prosperous port city, gathering people of different ethnicities from all over the world. The market is located in the center of the city, with a large scale. I wandered through the crowds, listening to various languages, sometimes stopping by this store and sometimes lingering in front of that stall. Gradually, I walked to a slightly more open area, where I saw a hotel-like place next to a shop on the side, with two floors, decorated very luxuriously.

  Who would buy a house in such a bustling marketplace and not use it as a storefront? I walked over curiously, and just as I reached the entrance, a guard-like person blocked my way and asked, "This is the office of the Kingdom of Krielan. Are you looking for someone or here on business?"

  "Ah, the Kingdom of Kriel, isn't this where Sulina set up her office? I smiled and took out the ring she gave me when we parted ways. The guard's face changed immediately upon seeing the ring, and he bowed respectfully, leading me to the backyard. A dark and thin middle-aged man received me, and after I showed him the ring again, he bowed respectfully and said: 'Your Highness, Prince Solence, Trei awaits your orders.' Prince? I was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly remembered that Sulina had made me a prince when she ascended to the throne. At the time, I hadn't paid much attention to it, but now being addressed as such, I realized that I was actually some kind of prince."

  I sat down, took a sip of the tea that the servant had brought in, and caught my breath before saying: "Is there any news about Serina?" The middle-aged man named Terry said "wait a minute" and turned around to retrieve an envelope from behind him, handing it over to me and saying: "Congratulations, Your Highness. Her Majesty the Queen gave birth to a baby boy last month. This is a letter from Her Majesty for you. There's one at every port, with instructions to hand it over to you as soon as you appear."

  As soon as I heard the news, I immediately opened the letter in my hand, and Sulina's handwriting appeared before my eyes. She first said many words of longing, then told me that she had given birth to a boy, hoping that if I knew about it early, I would give him a name. As for the surname, according to the agreement, it must still follow Sulina's surname, Sulina's full name is Sulina Anrunan, so our child will also be surnamed Anrunan.

  I let out a sigh in my heart, oh no, I don't know if my father finds out, will he slap me with two big slaps and make me unable to take care of myself? Fortunately, our family's bloodline won't be cut off because of this, isn't there still Furei? But thinking about having a half-elf son with Furei in the future, I wonder if my father will agree... Alas, as a son, I'm also a mess. Having a son would mean he'd have to take his mother's surname, and finding someone who can marry me is already difficult, but then we'd have to have a half-elf child... thinking about my father's furious expression when he finds out, my heart couldn't help but tremble with fear. Hmm, I need to think of a way to deceive him.

  I indulged in wild thoughts for a while, and then continued reading. Perhaps it was because the child couldn't share my surname that Sulina repeatedly mentioned wanting me to name the child, maybe she still felt guilty and wanted to use the naming of the child as a way to find some balance in her heart. To be honest, I didn't feel particularly uncomfortable about this matter, personally speaking, whether the child shared my surname or not made no difference, would they not be my child if they didn't share my surname? I smiled and shook my head, continuing to read on, Sulina described the child's various adorable traits and asked me to visit them soon, between the lines it was clear that she loved the child dearly and missed me.

  I asked Terry for paper and pen, spread it out on the table, and wrote a letter to Sulina. I told her about Freya's affairs in detail, hoping she wouldn't mind, and that I still deeply loved her. I also told her that I would go with someone to explore a ruin, and after returning, I would stop by her place to visit her and the child. And I hope that when the child grows up and inherits her throne, we can still live happily together. Finally, I named the child: Hail, meaning son of the sea.

  I finished writing and put the letter in an envelope, handing it over to Terry. Then I said to Terry: "I have something to do at sea, can you help me arrange a slightly larger and more stable boat?" Since I found this office and had convenient conditions, I would still like to take advantage of it. Evan definitely couldn't find a big ship, and I, who was originally prone to seasickness, didn't want to drift on the sea in a small, not-so-sturdy flatboat. In the face of nature's power, a small boat drifting in the waves is purely betting with one's life, and I'm still young, so I don't want to die. So it's better for me to solve the problem myself.

  As expected, when I brought Evan in front of the huge ocean liner, Evan was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out and he didn't even mention the ship he had rented. He just kept saying: "It's great to have a queen, oh, why haven't I encountered such a thing?" I rolled my eyes at him for a long time in anger.