Infinite Evolution: My Idle Evolution System - Chapter 267

Chapter 267: Eastern Vanguard Fortress
“How…” Yuna murmured despondently. “How could this be? How could you not have placed a spell on me? If not… if not, then what is wrong with me?”

After a moment of thought, Cassius smashed one hand against the other. “Perhaps what ails you is not an external sickness, spell, or whatnot, but rather, it’s genetics. Yes, you’re simply born stupi—”

“I’m not stupid, you shtupid jerk!” Yuna exclaimed, pounding on Cassius once more, even harder this time.

“….”

The Vice Fortress Master—who had been trailing behind in a soured mood—widened his eyes in astonishment at the sight of the 12th Princess. To see even one emotion visible on her usually reserved expression was rare, let alone so many at once. It was almost unbelievable.

‘Just… just what sort of relationship does the young Princess have with this boy?’ he wondered, his mind swirling with various thoughts. ‘Are they just friends… or…?’

If it was anything more than that, there could be internal turmoil in the Kingdom in the coming days. After all, Yuna Mistalore was a Royal Princess—and a favored one at that—whereas Cassius was an unknown figure from even more unknown origins. Many of Yuna’s suitors would, without a doubt, be displeased by the news of a potential scandalous affair.

‘I would do well to remind her to remember her position on our return journey,’ the Vice Fortress Master thought as he followed the squabbling pair through the Boundless Gorge’s slitted entrance. ‘We can’t have any more internal conflict in the country, especially not when our relationship with the other Island Kingdoms is on shaky ground. Adding internal conflict would only further sow the seeds of chaos.’

With that in mind, the Vice Fortress Master approached the pair sometime later. He subtly warned the Princess of the dangers involved in her ‘ambiguous’ relations. He also gave Cassius a few sharp looks, clearly conveying a message that went something like:

‘You best learn your place while you’re ahead.’

And like that, the return journey came to a sudden close.

Yuna Mistalore had not learned of the supposed ‘spell’ placed on her, and no matter her prodding, Cassius always gave her the same answer. Eventually, however, she changed the subject to how in the world he had managed to survive so long in the Boundless Gorge. As a response, all he said was:

“It must’ve been the work of Fate, because once I barely dispatched the few remaining Early Rank 3 Nightmares, no more came out. And through my special constitution, I no longer needed to eat. Thus, in the end, all I did was wait. I waited around for my princess in shining white armor to come and save me. And then, what do you know? There you were, garbed in white and trying to pierce me with your shiny white hair!”

He, of course, received a few more beatings for that one. But the topic was successfully avoided for now, which had been his aim from the start.

However, as soon as the group of three arrived at the Eastern Vanguard Fortress and ascended several floors, Cassius was made to explain himself again. This time, the explanation was given to the Fortress Master himself. A few… comedic details were naturally left out, but all in all, what he told the stern old man was the same as what he had told Yuna.

The Fortress Master highly doubted the details of the story, as Nightmares in the Boundless Gorge were known to replenish very quickly. That was unless too many Nightmares had been killed in the short term for their reserves to fill back up and unload again.

Yet, even with his special eyesight abilities, the Fortress Master observed the young lad to be at the 9th Stage Apprentice Slayer Realm, which aligned with what he already knew about him. This also coincided with the belief that Cassius was nowhere near strong enough to deplete the Nightmare reserves by such a ridiculous amount.

If only it were so easy to thin out the Nightmare forces in the Boundless Gorge. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have needed to send out units like Platoon #42 to buy the powerhouse Slayers some time to get there and finish the job.

‘Seems like my disguise skills of the Diamond Rank and above work on my Slayer cultivation as well,’ Cassius thought with a small smirk as he left the Fortress Master’s office, Yuna by his side. ‘But I’m not so sure the same trick will work on the Mistalore King—someone whose strength is so great that he might be almost as strong as the Crestmore Vampire Duke.’

Cassius could still vividly recall the ridiculous power contained within the body of that force of nature.

Such power was not something he was anywhere near capable of contending with…

Not now, not tomorrow, possibly not even a year later.

A sigh escaped Cassius’s lips as he shook his head and subtly looked at the girl walking beside him. ‘It seems the East Fortress Master doesn’t know about her… unique racial traits,’ he thought, covertly observing her distinct features. ‘I do wonder if her father even knows what she truly is. Considering the xenophobia of the Mistalore Kingdom, it’s highly likely he isn’t aware. Moreover, it’s obvious that he favors her, which would definitely not be the case if he knew her identity.’

In conclusion, he figured only the mysterious woman who gave birth to Yuna knew what she truly was.

Curiosity got the better of Cassius, and he prompted a question. “I know that your eldest brother is the son of the King’s first wife and that your eldest sister is the child of your second aunt, but what about you? Who’s your mother?”

Yuna turned in his direction, and without stopping her stride, answered, “I don’t know my mother. According to Father, she left us when I was very young. But when speaking of her, he always has this fondness in his gaze—one that makes me wonder what she’s like. My mother, I mean.”