Chapter 97 - More Planning

Cladis had to return to the Academy tomorrow. There was nothing he could do for the remainder of his two months there.

‘Is it necessary to have him worry about it?’

After thinking about the task she’ll give to Narwin and knowing Cladis will hear about it from him, Ella decided to tell him the least amount of information she could for now, “By the time you return from the Academy, the drought will make itself known. Once the drought is dealt with, the plague will begin.”

Thinking about when the Dreaming Princess appeared and the disasters that followed, Cladis covered his eyes as he suppressed the groan that came. Droughts that came after the appearance of a Dreaming Princess were different from the usual ones. If the plague was also in that dream, then it was very likely that it wasn’t one that he had learned about.

“Just hearing those words makes my heart stop. A drought and a plague? If they were in your dream, it must be a severe plague. And then?”

“What comes next can be dealt with after we deal with these first,” answered Ella to put an end to this conversation.

He was about to ask her to tell him everything but stopped and nodded. She was right. His shoulders felt heavy from the burden of just these two events. Cladis feared that he wouldn’t be able to solve these issues. At such a time, he had to return to the Academy. However, he couldn’t lift his feet to go.

‘Is it really a good idea to let her handle this? Shouldn’t I tell his Majesty at once?’

Cladis was troubled by the upcoming disaster coming from the title Dreaming Princess. It struck him more strongly than any imagination. He now felt the reality of it. His confused eyes met with Ella’s unshaken ones. Her eyes were unbelievably calm. She must have more burdens on her shoulder since she knew more about the truth.

‘Her eyes look certain it can be solved,’ thought Cladis.

“Do you know a way to solve this?”

“I know. I saw it in the dream. I’m prepared to meet with someone who knows how to solve it.”

Ella masked her true feelings to make herself look more trustworthy. Just like how she spoke about the grains as if she had known about them for a long time despite never seeing them before, she lied without a hint of it on her face. If he found out that she didn’t know much before meeting the one who holds the key to everything tomorrow, Cladis was going to run straight to the Emperor. He was the crown prince, after all. In the book, he was also a man of righteousness.

Cladis now had fallen in love with a woman, who he would do anything for. However, he wasn’t going to do that when the empire’s people were at risk. Because of this, Ella had to put the mask tightly on her face as she understood his position.

“If that’s the case, what you must need is someone who can do the work in your place,” said Cladis.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Then Narwin is a better fit than anyone else. I’ll tell him to do whatever you wish him to do. Is there anything you need besides sending Narwin to you?”

“Actually, there is one more thing.”

His expression became serious, and he looked at her. She almost laughed at Cladis, who seemed eager to give everything to her. However, she thought about how disappointed he will be by what she will say, suppressed her laugh, and answered, “You must leave early tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

Ella almost felt like patting his head as he immediately became disappointed. Although she disliked him and still wanted to bully him, she also was thankful that he trusted and respected her choices even when it was hard to. Because he was attentive to her words and reacted to them, she felt a bit closer to him. But now wasn’t the time to grow weak at such a sight, so she had to get a grip on herself.