Valerian, The Legendary

114 Interaction.

Valerian and Fortuna spend their time together for the rest of the time. They still had a week to mingle with each other, and the boy, after much care, had begun to feed the dragon/cat with cooked meat.

The lazy cub kitten has become quite energetic. Although she was very moody even now, she was still very accommodating to Valerian, others were just brushed off like air.

One day the little one rode Valerian to the dining hall, she looked at the Emperor and turned her face away. The people were surprised and they did not know what to say, except for Fragrantia who laughed and said, “Looks like you are being disdained, Your Excellency.”

Valerian shook his head and fed the cat before he consumed the food. This was the daily ritual, caring for the princess was the knight’s duty. Tonight was one such night and after the people finished eating, Valerian said, “I will leave for the academy tomorrow, or master might come out searching.”

Fragrantia sighed and said, “Time flies so early, and here I was thinking you will have time to meet with Ignis’s princess consort.”

Valerian was aware that the first prince was going to get engaged to a noble house’s daughter, this topic was the talk of the town for the past few days. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “It is not a big deal, I will meet her when I have time later.”

The small talk continued through a round of desserts, and Valerian found out that he loves sweet things. Fortuna was the same, she loved shaved ice and sugar syrup. After they came out of the dining hall, Azula asked in a soft tone, “Val, you will leave in the morning, how about a stroll in the city?”

Valerian had taken a few trips to the city in the past few days, but he would usually go around alone. Thinking about it, he had not spent much time with Azula in the past few days, he nodded and said, “Let’s go.”

The sun had set and the city was much calmer now. The two people moved around discreetly, they did have Priscilla and Quies following them in distance but they were still out of earshot. Only a silver fur ball would let out purring sounds from atop the silver head of the boy.

.....

Azula smiled and said, “This kitten sure loves you.”

Valerian scratched the back of his head, he said, “Your highness-”

His words were interrupted when the girl flicked her slender fingers at his forehead. She said, “For how long will you address me like that? Am I not your cousin?”

Valerian was surprised and the girl said, “Mother told me about your relationship with us vaguely. She knows that you do not trust many people in the family and are very rigid, but I have spent the longest time with you. Give me some face, alright?”

She watched as the boy stood in a daze and continued, “I admit that I took you along first because of your talents, but you also came along because of the benefits and resources I had to offer, did you not? Don’t you dare act like a hapless child?”

Valerian was embarrassed when she said everything so openly, he looked away from her visage, and kept on walking. Azula knew it was not going to be easy to have this guy acknowledge her status as his cousin and sister. She did not give up and followed him.

After they arrived at the market, where the shopkeepers were gradually closing down for the day, the princess rushed up to a snack vendor, and then she bought two fluffy cotton candies from him. The vendor recognized the princess because of her striking blue hair, he did not accept her money and just asked her to come back when she has time.

Azula was used to raiding shops in the city sneakily in the past so most of the people knew about her and she was also kind enough to help the people in secret. She returned to Valerian’s side and started eating the cotton candy.

The silver-haired boy beside her looked at the fluffy cloud in her hand but resisted his urge to ask her to share some. The fur ball on his head glanced at the cloud as well, but then it went back to sleep. She did not like to eat this thing, it became sticky in her mouth.

Azula was observing Valerian’s expression from the corner of her eye and said, “I have always wanted to share my things with my younger siblings, too bad I never had any.”

Her voice was laced with sadness and pity. Valerian glanced at her and said, “You think these small tricks will work on me?”

Azula looked back at him and asked, “Then what sort of trick would work on you?”

Valerian was too lazy to debate with her and rolled his eyes at her. Azula finished all the cotton candy as they were walking. It seemed as if the stroll was impulsive, but Azula was leading them by half a step. The princess was not a simpleton.

Suddenly Azula stopped in her tracks and said, “We have arrived.”

Valerian cast her a confused gaze and then his gaze fell on a sign hanging overhead, ‘Invictus Telum Copia’

He mumbled, “Invincible weapon store, quite arrogant.”

Azula chuckled and said, “The owner of this store is a third-degree grandmaster forger. His weapons are admired all over the western continent. Even the royal family has to give him a priority when met with. Understood?”

Valerian nodded, thinking that if the royal family has to bow down to this guy, then he must be excellent. Rather than the person, it was his status as a forger grandmaster that got him this respect.

He snapped out of his thoughts and found that the princess had already entered the place, so he followed her quickly. On the other side of the door, a rather common shop setting greeted them. A wooden counter in front of a wall, with some weapons placed in gilded boxes, the wall also had a few things showcased.

Valerian found that apart from looking delicate, the weapons all had a certain alluring vibe to them. He was slightly attracted to them, it was because the craftsmanship of this person was really not something he can describe with words.

As they entered the shop a doorbell jingled and after getting no response, Azula asked in a soft tone, “Senior Gellard, are you inside?”

A deep voice replied to her, “I will be there in a bit, Your Highness, feel free to look around.”

The voice sounded very young, and from the impression of the term grandmaster, Valerian expected this person to be old like Fallax. He looked around and found a few weapons that were certainly to his liking. One of the things he liked was a pair of knives, they had a dragon carved on the side of the blade and the hilt was made of carved wood.

It looked rather simple, but the edge of the blade gave him a dangerous feeling. He asked, “Your Highness, how much such a dagger would cost?”

Azula looked at the dagger and said, “Umm, this is a blade that negates magic, so it should be meant for warriors, around a few hundred thousand teals.”

Valerian sucked in a cold breath, his entire saving was a few hundred teals. To think he was so poor. He sighed, and at this moment, the wall on the back slid open and a burly figure came out. This person had buffed up muscles, with a bald head. When he turned around, Valerian found a thick white beard on his chin.

The person caught his gaze and said, “What are you gawking at, never seen a dashing old man.”

Azula was surprised and said, “Forgive my brother, Senior Gellard, he is young and ignorant.”

Then she turned to look at Valerian and said, “Apologize for your rudeness.”

Valerian snapped out of his daze and bowed slightly, “I apologize for my rudeness, Senior.”

As he bowed the fur ball on his head slid down, and the boy quickly caught it. The cat uncurled and cast him a dissatisfied gaze. Valerian had disturbed her rest and this sin was punishable. However, the boy was quick-witted and patted her gently as he said, “I apologize, Fortuna. I will be careful in the future.”

Gellard found his actions weird, he was about to burst up in rage when Azula said, “Senior, he is punished to carry his magical beast companion on his head. Every time he moves carelessly, he has to apologize to her.”

The old man snorted and said, “You people from the palace are all stranger than the other. Here, your order is completed.”

He pointed at a box placed on the table. Azula smiled and thanked him before she said, “Val, this is your new set of weapons. That short sword is not suitable anymore. That was temporary.”

Valerian walked over to her side, and after placing the cat back on his head, he opened the box in a daze. He could not believe that the princess bought him something from this costly place.