The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

The royal families of two kingdoms went out together, much to the surprise (and delight) of the citizens. Mana and Raven were much loved by the public, and seeing the mysterious King Corvus of the Obsidian Kingdom getting along so well with their own king made people quite happy. They were greeted with polite cheers several times along the way as Rook led them towards the area he had been exploring earlier that day.

Mana, Raven, Azar – and even Rook – were often handed lollipops and balloons by the passing citizens as gifts. Mana, Raven and Azar seemed quite used to it, and they thanked the citizens politely and even started eating the candies as they went.

King Corvus was rather appalled and nearly went to stop the children from eating these random things without checking for poison first, before somehow managing to stop himself. In his Obsidian Kingdom, no royal would dare to eat something handed to them by their citizens so casually – you never knew which of your enemies may be borrowing someone's hand to poison you!

In the Emerald Kingdom, though, it seemed that things were quite the reverse. The royal family was not only very popular with the citizens, but they were also very much grounded and familiar with the public, and often interacted with them. There was no concern of safety or poisoning or anything. In fact, if someone did try to harm Mana or Raven in public – the citizens would probably beat up the culprit themselves before that person could get close to Mana and Raven!

Even King Jaren, who found himself being given a bag of sweets, immediately thanked the old farmer lady who had gifted it to him and popped one in his mouth. The old lady beamed at him, gave him her blessings and walked away.

"Your people really love you," King Corvus remarked to King Jaren. "And they seem to really love Raven as well."

King Jaren laughed and patted Raven's hair proudly. "Of course, our little Raven is such a precious child, how can they not love him?" he asked in response.

King Corvus and Crown Princess Pica exchanged a worried look. Although Raven wasn't shunned in the Obsidian Kingdom like he was in the Pearl Kingdom, he was certainly not the most beloved prince of the Obsidian Kingdom. In fact, most citizens hardly knew anything about him except the fact that he was unfavoured, until recently, when Raven had managed to gain their attention by becoming betrothed to Princess Mana of the Emerald Kingdom and being part of the elite team of young geniuses who built the communication device.

Still, even if Raven was somewhat popular among the masses in the Obsidian Kingdom now, the level of enthusiasm and open affection that he received from the people of the Emerald Kingdom could never be matched by the people of the Obsidian Kingdom. And that being the case…would Raven want to go back with them? And given how protective King Jaren and Princess Mana were, would they allow Raven to stay in the Obsidian Kingdom if the reception was cold…?

They would have to figure out a way around it as soon as possible! At least if the people could treat Raven at par with Rook…but then, Rook's father was the great General Aquila, a national hero, while Raven's father was the much despised Head Sage Yue – a public enemy!

While King Corvus and Crown Princess Pica were lost in their thoughts, Raven suddenly seemed to sense something and stopped.

"Big Brother?" Rook asked in confusion, for the direction Raven was looking at was different from where Rook had been earlier.

Raven, however, fixed his eyes in one direction. Then he took out his black token, and it glowed brightly for a moment, before a red arrow appeared in the air and pointed at the direction Raven was staring at.

King Corvus was stunned. Raven had managed to figure out how to use the black token to find a subordinate token without any training! How was this even possible? Could it really be as Dawe mentioned earlier, and Raven had a fated encounter with an ancient master? How else could he know something like this…? Or, could it be that his fate was so strong that he naturally picked up these things, simply acting on instinct?

"We need to follow the arrow, right?" Mana asked Raven.

Raven nodded. "He's there. I can feel it," he said.

The group rushed to follow the arrow and soon found themselves in front of a small inn. A chubby man, who seemed to be the manager of the inn, was scolding a tall, dark-haired man, who clutched Rook's lost red token in his hand.

"Look, Nemo – I know you're not a thief, and you've been working for us diligently for many years now, ever since my father fished you out of the sea during his trip to the Pearl Kingdom. I also know that you have no memory of your life before that – but this token can't be yours. It looks like a royal or noble token of some important foreign dignitary – and you know we've got important foreigners from all four kingdoms visiting us right now for the royal banquets. It must belong to one of them, and you have to give it back to them. Our Crown Prince and our two Princesses are all going to get married into the royal families of these kingdoms – what will you do if someone comes looking for their token and find it with you? I know you're not a thief, but they won't. I also heard that some of these aristocrats from other kingdoms are really vicious. What if someone wants to have you killed? You have to return this thing, Nemo. Just give it back to whoever you took it from." The manager finally ended his tirade.

"I didn't take it from anyone," the man called Nemo said. "I was walking by and it suddenly appeared in my hand. I may not remember it exactly, but I can feel it in my blood that this is my token, and it will take me to my king."

The man had his back towards them, so they couldn't see his face yet – but the looks on the faces of King Corvus and Crown Princess Pica were enough for Mana and Raven to make an educated guess.