Chapter 23: A Prince from the Eastern Continent?

Wolf-Howl Castle, Great Hall.

Snap!

The exquisite ceramic teacup slipped from the Viscount’s hand, shattering into countless fragments the moment it struck the hard floor. Boiling hot black tea splashed all over him, yet the nobleman remained completely oblivious, his mind still mired in the report just delivered by his knight.

"You... say that again. A kingdom heir to how many citizens?"

Karen shoved aside the two handmaidens who were frantically trying to wipe him clean and bolted upright from his throne. His rugged face was etched with astonishment, all traces of his previous calm and composed demeanor vanished.

"My Lord, the status blessing upon that Prince shows fourteen hundred million citizens."

Sir Solin spoke respectfully. He was not at all surprised by the Viscount’s clumsy shattering of the teacup; in fact, he felt his master was being remarkably composed. Had it been him, he surely would have fallen off his chair in shock.

"Are you certain you didn't misread it?" Karen asked, skeptical.

It could have been fourteen million, or even one hundred and forty million, but it should never have been fourteen hundred million!

Because the three major human nations on the continent today—the Kingdom of Sosia, which reveres the sun and wind; the Kingdom of Milan, which believes in lightning and earth; and the Kingdom of Rhine, which honors the sun and moon—even if you combined all the free citizens, serfs, and slaves of these three kingdoms and their vassal states, the total would certainly not reach that terrifying figure of fourteen hundred million.

Karen found it hard to imagine how vast the territory, how bountiful the harvests, and how staggering the national power of a country with fourteen hundred million people would have to be.

"My Lord, when I had an audience with His Highness, I secretly counted several times. It was indeed a ten-digit number," Sir Solin replied with a wry smile.

Karen’s expression grew increasingly solemn, as if a dark cloud were hovering over his face. Even in the old days, when he was surrounded by several enemy transcendent knights during the war to suppress the Mason Duchy rebellion, his expression had never been this grave.

He knew well that while his knight was not highly educated and had not read many books, he was at least competent enough to count. This meant that the identity blessing of that person—of that Prince—was indeed genuine.

Yet, even if what he saw was true, could it be the result of an illusion or some form of magic? Although in all his years of experience, Karen had never heard of magic capable of altering a blessing, that did not mean such a possibility was non-existent.

"Hmm..."

Karen sat back down on his throne. His fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest, the beat slow and heavy, as if he were calculating something. Seeing this, Sir Solin did not disturb his master’s thoughts and remained kneeling respectfully on the wolf-fur carpet.

He took the opportunity to secretly shift his weight to the other leg; the first one had gone completely numb.

Time passed second by second.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

A series of light, dainty footsteps shattered the silence of the castle hall.

"Darling~"

Accompanied by a flirtatious female voice, a tall, slender figure stepped into the room.

She was a beautiful woman who looked to be only in her early twenties, dressed in a loose silk nightgown. The neckline was slightly open, revealing elegant, jade-like collarbones and a glimpse of fair skin. She had soft purple hair that cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, the strands shimmering faintly in the candlelight.

Her figure was alluring—a slender waist, subtly curved hips, and long, well-proportioned legs that were hard to hide even under the loose nightgown. Without a doubt, she was an incredibly charming beauty.

Sir Solin merely glanced at her before hanging his head low, fearing that any profane thoughts might surface in his mind. This beauty was none other than his master’s second wife, Viscountess Danielle Martha.

"What sort of urgent intelligence could possibly keep you away from me in our room for so long?"

The Viscountess sat unreservedly on Karen’s lap, wrapping her snow-white arms around his shoulders and breathing softly into the man's ear.

*Hiss!*

Karen felt his entire body go numb, wondering if his aging back could survive this.

"My Lord, the intelligence has been reported. May I take my leave?" Sir Solin asked respectfully, fearing that if he stayed any longer, he would interfere with his master’s... wife’s amusement.

"Go, go," Karen twitched his lips and waved his hand. He actually wanted to keep Solin there, but the pair of arms tightening around his neck made it impossible to speak.

"Alright, alright, there is urgent business now. Besides, you just gave birth, you should be resting properly!" Feeling the mischievous little hand wandering beneath him, Karen hurriedly pushed Danielle off his lap.

"Danielle, Solin reported that a noble Prince has arrived in our territory. His identity blessing is actually..."

Before the woman could lose her temper, Karen hurriedly spilled the information all at once. This Viscount, known for his formidable martial prowess, seemed to view his wife as some kind of man-eating monster.

"Fourteen hundred million!"

The Viscountess covered her mouth with her hand, her violet eyes filled with astonishment. For a moment, she even forgot to scold her husband for his heartless rejection.

"Indeed. Honestly, I suspected Solin had been deceived by some magic or blessing ability. After all, there is no country on the continent with such a population..."

Before Karen could finish, a pale, slender finger gently pressed against his lips.

"Darling, you seem to have forgotten: just because it doesn't exist on this continent doesn't mean it doesn't exist on another," the Viscountess said with a radiant, knowing smile.

"You mean..." Prompted by his wife, Karen wore a thoughtful expression. "That Prince is a prince from the Eastern Continent?"

"Perhaps. After all, there truly is no such massive country on our Western Continent," Danielle said, gently biting her index finger as she thought as hard as she could.

"But during the War of the Gods, the continent was shattered and split in two. One half is the Western Continent where we stand, and the other became the Eastern Continent, drifting into the distance."

"Coupled with the Silence Mist and the infinite Sighing Ice Wall that suddenly appeared on the ocean, there hasn't been a visitor from the Eastern Continent for hundreds of years," Karen sighed softly.

Over these centuries, countless navigators had set sail, dreaming of achieving the great feat of reaching the Eastern Continent to gain fame, status, and the transcendent power that came with rank advancement. Even he had dreamed such dreams in his childhood.

It was a pity that for hundreds of years, all the navigators brought back were tragic accounts of ruin, to the point where almost no one held such hopes anymore.

"Bayes, the world’s first Grand Archmage, once said that anything is possible," Danielle said slowly. "Since the eternal gods exist, what in this world is impossible?"

"Karen, prepare a gift and go pay your respects to that Prince," Danielle said, gently holding her husband’s hand. "If it really is an illusion, he wouldn't be able to deceive you. After all, you are..."

As if in response to her words, a torrent of ghostly green magic suddenly erupted from Viscount Hughes, and the surrounding air began to tremble.

"A Star-rank knight, the Howling Wolf!" The Viscountess gazed at her husband with eyes full of adoration.

It was common knowledge that the Lord of the Black Wolf Territory was a powerful knight who had shone brightly during the "War of the Dragon and Lion." This was also the main reason why she, the only daughter of the noble Martha family, had been willing to marry him. The secondary reason, of course, was that her darling was very handsome.