Rise of The Anti God

"Elder Ximir? How can I help you?" Reva asked with an inexpressive face upon seeing a handsome man with sky blue hair and a mustache.

She knew he was the elder assigned to look after her matters or accompany her whenever she visited another place as a guest.

Still, seeing him suddenly approach her couldn't be out of coincidence.

Elder Ximir narrowed his eyes and then said in a low voice, "It's nothing much, Your Highness. But..I just wanted to warn you about being more...careful when you are with others. Otherwise, somebody might get the wrong idea. Like if you have to take classes for your students, it's better to take them in the library like other teachers instead of inconveniencing yourself. Please forgive me if you think I am overstepping my boundaries. I only said it out of my duty towards you."

Reva felt her heart jitter for a moment, wondering if Ximir saw something she didn't want to. But seeing how his expression didn't seem that grave, she deduced that he only probably saw Damien going in and out of her quarters all these times.

She already had good control over her emotions because of the ethereal art she was practicing. Thus even if she was really worried about something, it wouldn't show up on her face.

This was even why Damien had to try hard to make her come out with her true feelings instead of putting up a cold exterior.

So she said without a change in her expression, "If you are talking about my student, Damien, then you might have misunderstood something. The reason I don't take classes in public places like the library is because of the presence of others. Not only would I be distracting them, but they also would be like a distraction to the student whom I am teaching or me. I am sure you understand."

Even though Reva didn't like Ximira keeping tabs on her, she knew he couldn't be exactly blamed as her father was the one who assigned him to keep an eye on her.

Ximir looked at her expression briefly to see if anything seemed off, but then he looked away as he said with a smile, "It's my fault for worrying too much, Your Highness. I should have thought about this before."

"It's fine. You are doing your duty, and I appreciate it," Reva said in a fixed tone and continued, "I take it there's nothing else then."

"Of course," Ximir bowed as he stepped aside and gestured to let her walk forward.

Reva walked past him, but at the same time, Ximir furrowed his brows as he mumbled, looking in the direction she went, "I hope you know what you are doing…"

Reva almost panicked inwardly, thinking if she accidentally slipped up or something. But she was relieved to know that Ximir only seemed to poke around and didn't know anything other than that.

Since Damien trusted his ethereal barrier artifact so much, she had faith in its ability as well to hide whatever happened inside.

"Reva. Can I have a word with you?" A refined voice of a man sounded from behind, making Reva get distracted away from her thoughts.

Who else could address Reva with her name alone in the palace other than her father? It was none other than Arthur Xeton who slowly walked towards her with a smile, though inwardly he was feeling angst about something.

Reva wondered what he wanted to ask her since rarely did he ask anything to her. But she does see him being around in places she goes to sometimes but considered it simple coincidences since he couldn't be someone tasked to keep an eye on her, especially considering the tension between him and their father.

"Yes. What is it?" 

Arthur opened his mouth but then paused briefly as if in hesitation but finally decided to ask, "I uh...just wanted to ask about one of your students."

Reva's brows slightly raised before relaxing as she asked, "One of my students? Which one?"

"'The Lightning Prince' as people call him these days. He is quite the genius isn't he, especially in your field?" Arthur asked in a candid tone though he was rubbing his fingers together behind his back in a restless manner.

Reva's brows slightly creased as she wondered why everybody around her was asking or enquiring indirectly about Damien, especially on this day itself, when she and Damien finally revealed their feelings to each other.

Was this a sign of danger for what was about to come? No...I shouldn't worry too much about this. 

Reva felt that she might be overthinking about all this, especially since there was one more controversial secret she had to hide now.

Even if she was the imperial princess, she didn't have the freedom to love whomever she wanted. Even if Damien was hailed as the Lightning Prince and a genius, he was not of royalty or had even a speck of royal blood in him.

The differences in her and his status could not be shortened no matter how much of a genius Damien was. His background and blood would still remain the same.

So if the Xeton Emperor was to catch wind of her relationship with Damien, not only would Damien lose his life, but hers wouldn't get any better as well, though she cared more about Damien's well-being.

"You mean Damien? Yes, he is quite good at what he does. Why do you ask?" Reva asked as casually as she could.

Arthur awkwardly chuckled as he said, "It's the first time I am hearing you praise someone like this. I never thought anyone of your students would be that good to impress you. Well...the reason I asked about him is that I had asked for a favor from him, but he just seemed to have taken a long leave out of a sudden. Do you perhaps know when he might be returning?"

Reva again felt relieved to see that she again worried for nothing and Arthur just was concerned about his mother.

She told him that Damien had already made his return today and that he could find him here whenever he wanted.

"I see. Thank you, Reva. But...if you don't mind me asking....If Damien is a genius in alchemy, why does he take extra classes from you?"