NOVEL NEXT Chapter 228: Prince Rian can now get married in the Rosewood fief! But alas…
On the day of Prince Rian’s birthday, the people living in the Capital woke up with a sense of anticipation.
There was a festival-like atmosphere in the air. Stall owners and craftspeople had set up stalls to sell little items and trinkets and delicious street foods that they would only sell at festivals. Musicians and entertainers were on the streets, preparing for their acts. Restaurants sold Prince Rian’s favourite dishes. Furthermore, there was a discount on all Azure-Rosewood products to commemorate Prince Rian’s birthday.
Anticipation built over the early morning, and soon the streets were filled with people, but for a clear blocked-off path down the centre of certain roads.
First came the sounds of horns and trumpets. Second, the sound of many footsteps.
Then, the waiting people could see them! Crown Prince Rian’s birthday parade!
Crown Prince Rian rode upon a big and mighty white horse. He was dressed in a white shirt, sky-blue military jacket, and dark blue cape, shimmering with embroidered snowflakes. His long white hair fluttered in the wind, and delicate pink petals and sparkles of light flowed down gently, creating a dreamy-like atmosphere.
“All hail his Highness!”
“Happy birthday, your Highness!”
Crown Prince Rian looked around and smiled, and when he waved, the cheers and squeals of joy became louder.
But for some people, the person next to Crown Prince Rian deserved even more attention (not that they would dare say so out loud). For, riding on a big black horse just a step behind Crown Prince Rian was the elusive Earl Rosewood!
Those who worked with Earl Rosewood saw him regularly; but outside of work, for the majority of people, Earl Rosewood was rarely seen. The Capital locals heard that there was a legend in the Rosewood fief: spotting Earl Rosewood ‘out in the wild’ meant good luck.
Today, Earl Rosewood looked just as dashing as Crown Prince Rian, albeit in a different way. He wore black attire, with a deep red cape. His long black hair was mostly tied up, swaying behind his head. His expression was calm, cold, yet there was a feeling of warmth around him.
Little did the people know that the feeling of warmth wasn’t in their heads; Earl Rosewood was a moving temperature-controller.
Although Earl Rosewood didn’t smile, his appearance alongside Crown Prince Rian made the prince’s friendliness a lot more genuine.
It came down to how Crown Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood interacted with others. Crown Prince Rian’s initiatives had far-reaching impact, but he led the initiatives rather than worked ‘out in the field’. This made Crown Prince Rian seem like a distant figure, further exacerbated by his royal status. His friendliness felt more like benevolence from above, than the friendliness of peers. Meanwhile, Earl Rosewood interacted with people directly, and developed deeper connections; the people could feel Earl Rosewood’s personal care and dedication.
Crown Prince Rian’s friendship with Earl Rosewood show that the prince was indeed human, and that the prince could indeed be truly friendly to others, and that the prince also wasn’t unbeatable.
(If seeing Earl Rosewood was good luck, then seeing Crown Prince Rian acting childish in Earl Rosewood’s presence was double good luck.)
Together, Crown Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood were an enviable pair of good friends, powerful and handsome. The sight of two dashing long haired young men started a new small long-hair trend among the fashionable young men.
The parade ended at the Imperial Palace, where selected guests gave Prince Rian birthday gifts and attended his birthday lunch banquet.
At the end of the lunch, Crown Prince Rian provided updates on the Royal Healers’ Association, the Royal Agricultural Development and Food Security Program, and the National Centre for the Support, Research, and Treatment of Rare Diseases And Conditions. He also officially announced the new education initiative, called The Royal Scholarship Excellence Fund.
Crown Prince Rian was truly dazzling and powerful, displaying his extensive reach and leadership at such a young age.
Someone joked to their friend—“What kind of centre or initiative is His Highness going to set up next? At this rate, His Highness might finish everything he wants to do and change about the kingdom before he even becomes king!”
At the end of the day, after guests had left the Imperial Palace and after Rian had dismissed his servants, Ren Xiyang sneaked into his quarters.
Rian’s eyes lit up. “Time for my secret birthday present?”
“Hm.”
Rian tilted his head and closed his eyes and accepted Ren Xiyang’s greeting kiss. He reached out and took Ren Xiyang’s hand.
“I can be married in the Rosewood fief now. But alas, you’re not yet officially 18,” Rian said sadly.
“You’re not planning for us to be officially married on my birthday,” Ren Xiyang said.
“Of course not! It’s important to spread out holidays and special events throughout the year,” Rian said. “So, what are you giving me?”
Rian truly didn’t know. When he first developed the mind-link, they used it a lot, and they had to figure out how to send thoughts that they wanted. But now, after frequent practice, they had tuned the mind-link’s strength perfectly, and they didn’t have any stray talk or accidental thoughts anymore. And sometimes, they didn’t need to use the mind-link at all—a certain look at each other was enough.
Rian looked meaningfully at the bag that Ren Xiyang was carrying; unfortunately, Ren Xiyang had shielded it well.
“Let’s get to bed first,” Ren Xiyang said.
Rian’s eyes widened. “Oh?” He smirked. “What does Yangyang have planned for me tonight?”
“Fun in bed, the adult kind,” Ren Xiyang said. “Don’t worry, I won’t play with your body too much, lest you use it as an excuse when you’re defeated by me at our display duel later.”
“I’m young and full of vitality,” Rian boasted.
Ren Xiyang placed a hand on Rian’s shoulder and pushed.
Rian acquiesced. Given his sleeping attire, it was easy to undress completely. He then sat on his bed, like an obedient husband, waiting for his gifts.
Ren Xiyang opened the briefcase, and Rian was not disappointed that night.
Hehehe, he even thought of making a secret little industry selling these toys…
To the surprise of no one, Earl Rosewood defeated Crown Prince Rian at their yearly display duel.
The spring days passed.
Prince Alexius had his birthday, and not long after was the grand final of the duelling tournament.
Lady Cassiopeia Schauss and Duke Schauss announced their new Infectious Diseases Research Centre, which was three times as large as the reference-healing clinic, pulling in and funding over 20 healers and researchers to work on developing antivirals and vaccines.
Ren Xiyang and Rian did one last push in their research projects before the academic year ended. In a blink of an eye, it was time for their final presentation and report at the Imperial Magical Academy.
For his presentation, Rian only presented one map table. It was taller and wider than before, now encompassing the Hraun Islands too, as Prince Haldor Firestone had agreed to place weather-tracking sensors on the islands. Accompanying the map table was a big ‘dashboard’, as Ren Xiyang had called it, which showed over a hundred different dials, representing weather measurements from many locations around Sedaveria, the Hraun Islands, and the surrounding sea.
“With this map table and dashboard, we can see, at a glance, the weather around Sedaveria and the Hraun Nation at this moment,” Rian said. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperation of Sedaverian nobles and of Prince Haldor of the Hraun Nation…”
After Rian acknowledged everyone involved, he picked out a few locations and read out their temperatures. Then, he changed the topic to forecasting. “Over the year, I have been tuning the spells that carry forward the natural progression of winds and rains given current conditions. I can confidently say that this map table can predict the weather over the next few days.”
Rian switched the mode of the map table from “nowcast” to “forecast”. The movements of the clouds and the light on the table sped up as they predicted a day’s weather in a span of two minutes.
Rian smiled to the audience. “Tomorrow’s weather will be warm and sunny, with only faint wisps of clouds in the sky. The day after will be a little cooler, with cool winds blowing from the north.”
The audience were noticeably interested.
“However, the best prediction is for the next day, with increasing errors over the subsequent days. Weather prediction is also best for the Capital, which is centrally located in Sedaveria and thus relatively centrally located in regard to the weather collecting stations. In order to improve predictions, international collaborations are required. Weather patterns are global, and it’s not enough to merely look within our borders. Beyond the academy, I will continue to work with the Hraun Nation to map out the eastern seas, and further talks with other nations.”
“What about natural disaster prediction?” one examiner asked. “I recall that you promised us this.”
“Indeed, I’ve focused on the weather, and so this map table can only aid in predicting weather-based natural disasters, such as storms and flooding. High temperatures and dry conditions could also signal possible fire risk. In the last few months, Sedaveria has luckily not had any of these disasters. However, we can set the map table up with certain conditions to produce a large storm. Allow me to demonstrate.”
Rian changed the mode of the map table, such that changing the various dials on the dashboard changed the conditions on the weather table. Then, he let it run. Before the audience’s eyes, they could see white clouds condensing and swirling, forming a hurricane that swept in from the coast and through the southern fiefs.
Those from the southern fiefs felt a bit disturbed. Prince Rian’s map table was too realistic!
“Interesting. But what about earthquakes?” the same examiner asked.
“Detecting earth movement is an entire new project, as they are not directly caused by weather,” Rian said.
The examiner accepted this answer.
Rian continued to answer a few more questions, but overall, the reception was good; afterwards, he also had people express interest in their own personal map table.
For Ren Xiyang’s presentation, he presented several potions and two potted magical plants. “The aim of my project was to conduct targeted magical synthesis through the process of genetically modifying plants. This year, with the help of colleagues at the reference-healing clinic, I was able to produce two genetically modified magical plants, which became the key ingredients in the new potions. This potion converts coarse hair into fine vellum hair. You may better know it in its manufactured cream-formulation, which is now on the market. Meanwhile, these potions help reduce scarring, each with a slightly different formulation to work on the face, hands, feet, and other body parts.”
Given that the skin composition was different on different parts of the body, it was important that the scar-removal (i.e. scar-to-normal-skin) potions were tailored. For safety reasons, these potions weren’t as strong as the reference healing method and wouldn’t completely remove scars, but they still did a decent job and could reduce the required healer-time for the final touch-ups.
Ren Xiyang then went on to explain the process of genetic modification, applications for the new magical herbs in other potions, and potential for future work.
He didn’t talk about the testing of the non-magical hormone potion that he had developed; after some successful tests on cis men and cis women (with the potion applied externally), the potion was going to go to even bigger trials. Because it affected many parts of the body, not just the skin locally, it was going to take longer before it could go to market properly. However, people who signed a waiver could already use it, provided they were also monitored by a healer regularly.
“These potions seem quite cosmetic,” an examiner said pointedly.
“And yet, they are useful,” Ren Xiyang said.
In the audience, Rian bit down a smile. Because Ren Xiyang had just thought to him—I’m too lazy to call you (examiner) hypocritical.
“However, I haven’t mentioned that my colleagues at the reference healing clinic have also been working on developing other spells,” Ren Xiyang said. “However, you may appreciate, that testing potions that could, say, restore damaged nerves, is not easy as testing a cream that only affects the skin.”
“A potion that could restore damaged nerves would be an achievement,” the examiner said.
“Thank you.”
The other examiners asked proper questions about the research process, instead of providing comments.
Ren Xiyang gladly stepped off the stage at the end of the answer segment.
Not long after the presentations were over, Ren Xiyang handed in his report—
—And so, the three years of the academy finally ended.
Ren Xiyang: If you ever sign me up to three years of education again—
Rian: No plans, no plans!
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