Reborn as the Third Prince: To Build and Conquer my way to Royalty.
Chapter 36: To be like Zani.

Chapter 36: To be like Zani.

"Sorry?"

Sylus quickly withdrew his hand.

The girl in question did the same.

Now having a closer look at her, Sylus realized the girl was not who he thought she was.

True, she had beautiful white hair, similar to Erica’s, but that was about it.

While Erica had piercing red eyes, the girl’s own were pearl blue—calm and understanding.

She also wore a black dress that extended all the way to her upper thighs, allowing her black boots to show through while still leaving enough room for her skin to be exposed.

On her arm, she had long white sleeves with black patterns drawn on them. Her shoulders were exposed, but her arms were still covered.

To add to it, she had a red ribbon tied to the side of her head, alongside her black... horns?

That immediately caught Sylus’s attention.

’She is a witch?’

Sylus was intrigued.

From the books he read in the library, there was a kingdom toward the far south that consisted of witches, known to have horns on their heads. It was called the Kingdom of Fiona.

They are not exactly loved by society due to their involvement in the war; as such, they always kept to themselves.

To think a witch would come to Astrodial to participate in the Five-Star Exam.

The witch girl didn’t say anything.

Instead, she reached into the box, picked up her permit, and walked away.

’Seems she’s not the talking type.’

Sylus scrutinized her for a while.

"My lord, I find it strange that a witch would come to Verdenez to take an exam. This kingdom isn’t the only one hosting a Five-Star Examination."

Zani’s cautiousness was valid.

The Kingdom of Verdenez and the witches have a bad relationship.

The Verdenez Kingdom loathed the witches for starting a war a long time ago, and the witches despised the Verdenez Kingdom for assisting the elves in taking back their land and people.

Over 100 years have passed since then, and the hatred still runs deep between the two kingdoms.

Sylus sighed.

"Whatever the issue is, I doubt they are dumb enough to start anything. It’s nothing to worry about."

He reached inside the box.

’Besides, if something truly was wrong, the system would have alerted me.’

...

A while later, Sylus had made it inside the hall where his exam was going to take place.

Unlike the rest of the other halls, this was less crowded, just like Zani had said beforehand.

Zani couldn’t follow him inside, so instead, she waited at the entrance, alongside some servants and siblings who were also waiting.

Her back relaxed against the wall, and her arms were folded.

She closed her eyes as well, all in an effort to avoid the gazes that were glued to her.

Everyone who knew Sylus also knew Zani to be his Mystero.

Not just that—beauty. She was able to attract not only men but also women as well.

Ladies have argued Zani to be more trustworthy than their spouses in the love letters mailed to the castle.

Though Zani made sure to never read them for her mental health.

While she was waiting, one of them found the confidence to approach her.

She was a cute girl, wearing a warrior’s outfit with armor covering her arms and thighs.

The girl stood in front of Zani, rubbing her thighs together as she began.

"Uhnm... La-Lady Zani... w-wonderful weather we’re having... heheh, right?"

As soon as those words left her mouth, she quickly covered her face in shame.

Zani opened her eyes.

"Weather—"

She surveyed the sky for a while.

"I guess so."

The fact that Zani replied gave the girl an unimaginable boost of confidence.

She slanted forward with excitement—

"I—I have other questions! Please answer me!"

Zani was a bit taken aback by her forwardness.

"S-sure..."

"How do you know what Prince Sylus needs when he needs it? Is there a special class you take to understand his daily routine? How many times do you have to check up on him? Are you always supposed to be stronger than your enemies? How do you know when he is going to be attacked? How many days a week does he get assassinated?!"

With each question she asked, the girl pulled closer.

Zani couldn’t help but wear an uneasy look.

The people who happened to overhear it also had the same expression as well.

It took a while for the girl to recognize what she was doing, and when she did, she quickly backed up.

"I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be so pushy!"

Zani averted her gaze.

"No, it’s alright."

"It’s just, I... I serve the young master of the Dahin household. My lord father serves the king, and every time, my lord always mentions how he wishes you were his servant rather than me. He says I can’t do anything right, and he’s not wrong."

"I assure you, my loyalty lies with the prince; I don’t want your master."

"No, no, that’s not it." The girl waved her hands frantically. "Who would pass up on the chance to be with Prince Sylus?"

Zani then lifted a brow.

"So what seems to be the problem?"

"I...I want you to teach me how to be more useful to my lord."

Zani could clearly see the determination in the girl’s eyes.

She was contemplating it for a while, but eventually she gave in.

"I think if you want to be useful, as you said, then understanding your master is the first step to doing that."

The girl moved closer again.

"Is that what you do with the prince? Please show me an example. What do you understand about the prince?"

The urge to simply walk away overwhelmed Zani for a while.

She sighed.

"What I understand about Prince Sylus?"

The girl nodded her head.

"I guess he tends to forget to eat once he starts researching; he also doesn’t like spicy food, and he is always careless about himself. Not to mention, he is also very stubborn at times, and somehow twice as caring."

As she listed them out, she dropped a finger for each one.

"...He likes to sleep in as well, mainly because he sleeps late. Does that help?"

Zani soon realized the girl was also blushing, her hand covering her face.

"Was that hard to understand?" she asked.

The girl shook her head and then slightly raised it. "I am just embarrassed, is all."

"Uhn? About what?"

Before the girl could respond, the crowd in front of the hall began to rumble with racket.

As both of them pivoted their heads to review why everyone was suddenly murmuring...

They saw Sylus stepping out of the hall.

.....

[A/N: If you’d like some additional Chapters, please see below incentives which will be added 1st of the new month:

200 powerstones: 1 additional Chapter.

100 Golden Tickets: 2 additional Chapters.

100 privilege unlocks: 1 additional Chapter.

Castle and above: 3 additional Chapters.]