System's POV

Arthur smirked before patting his no-good grandson’s shoulder.

“You’re just like me when I was your age,” Arthur said. “Bold and unyielding. Very well. Just do whatever you want to do. For now, I’ll just follow you.”

Thirteen wanted to say that when Arthur was his age, he was just the “Yes Man” of his wife, Lady Callista.

But since he was currently on good terms with his old man, he decided to just nod his head to make Arthur happy.

“Of course, I inherited my style from you, Gramps.”

“Hahaha! Of course. Where else would you have gotten that attitude from?”

After that brief exchange, Thirteen approached Siri, who was only observing them from afar.

“I will keep my promise and hand her over to you,” Thirteen said. “But you also have to promise me that she wouldn’t be harmed in any way. Aracelle is my tool. Do I make myself clear?”

“Your tool?” Siri arched an eyebrow.

“I am Zion’s tool,” Princess Aracelle replied before Zion could even say anything. “Is there a problem with that?”

Siri’s eyes widened in shock, not expecting that Princess Aracelle herself would call herself the teenage boy’s tool.

Even Stella couldn’t help but give the princess a second glance. Though they weren’t familiar, she had seen how arrogant the latter had been when they were inside the Mobile Fortress.

‘What kind of juice did Zion make her drink for her to be this obedient?’

That was what Siri and Stella were thinking at the moment because the princess had changed drastically overnight.

Well, for them, only half a day had passed.

But for Princess Aracelle, she had spent nearly four days with Zion, and that was enough time for her to fall from her pedestal.

“Understood,” Siri replied. “I will not harm her. But what if she tried to escape or harm me instead? What will I do then?”

“Will you harm her?” Thirteen asked while glancing at the Princess, who was still holding his hand. “Would you try to escape?”

“If she does anything to me, I will fight back,” Princess Aracelle replied. “Then I will return to your side, I promise.”

The teenage boy nodded before shifting his gaze to Siri.

“You heard her,” Thirteen said. “So make sure not to damage my goods, okay?”

Siri didn’t know if she should be impressed or be dumbfounded by Zion’s casual remark on a Princess of the Majin Race.

Of course, the young lady wasn’t aware that Zion had already rubbed shoulders with a Majin Prince, two Majin Princesses, Laplace Demon, The One, and the God of the Apocalypse, Metatron.

Being surrounded by so many wholesome beings made dealing with Princess Aracelle very trivial in comparison.

“Very well, I will trust you with this—but just once,” Siri said. “I will not put shackles on you, but you better not do anything funny, or else.”

Princess Aracelle scoffed, once again showing her arrogance that had cooled down after spending time with Zion.

The only one she treated differently was Zion, and perhaps Sherry, whom she learned was engaged to him.

“Are you going to leave now?” Thirteen asked Siri.

“Yes,” Siri replied. “The sooner we leave, the better.”

The young lady glanced at the people who had been paying close attention to their discussion.

Thirteen didn’t bother to talk in private because he wanted people to see and hear that the Princess was no longer going to be in his custody.

Siri was one of the “unknowns” of Pangea.

There was no record of her in the Central Government’s databases, and the investigation of the Cygni Coalition also didn’t yield any results.

Because of this, they would have no clue where Siri would be taking the Princess, who once again crouched down to give the back of Zion’s hand a kiss.

“I’ll be back soon, Zion,” Princess Aracelle said after making her promise.

“Good.” Thirteen nodded. “Safe journey, and I won’t mind even if you escape halfway.”‘

The princess smiled faintly and nodded her head.

However, there was a stubbornness in her eyes that made Sherry feel that Zion might have really made the proud Majin Princess truly obedient to him.

After bidding goodbye, Siri summoned a giant Greater Bird of Paradise, which made Princess Aracelle nod in satisfaction.

Colorful and majestic birds were the symbol of House Pavareth, and the royal family preferred to use these birds as a mount whenever they had to travel but had no intention of transforming into their true forms.

“We’re going now,” Siri said. “Sorry, Stella. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

Stella nodded. “Take your time.”

Princess Aracelle gave Zion one last reluctant gaze before the Greater Bird of Paradise took flight and flew northeast.

Thirteen then glanced at the spies of the families within his 69th Battalion and gave them the ‘you guys already know what to do, right?’

As if understanding what he wanted to say, all of them nodded and excused themselves so that they could report to their employers.

He needed this information to spread as fast as possible so that the Cygni Coalition would feel great regret when they heard about the beautiful princess whom Zion had captured during their special operation.

‘Zed, follow them and keep Aracelle safe,’ Thirteen ordered.

‘Are you sure you don’t need me here?’ Zed, who was hiding a distance away, asked.

‘I’ll be staying in Casimir City for a while in order to prepare for Prince Xylen’s debut as a masked hero,’ Thirteen answered. ‘I won’t do anything reckless for a week.’

After confirming that Zion wouldn’t go and raid any cities under the Jinn’s control, Zed flapped his wings and immediately caught up with Siri, who had already gotten a head start.

“Did Zion change his mind?” Siri, who recognized Zed, asked.

“No,” Zed answered. “He asked me to look after the princess and take her back once you’re done with her.”

Hearing that Zion had sent a Rank 8 Sovereign to protect her, Princess Aracelle couldn’t help but sigh as she placed her hand over her chest to calm her wildly beating heart.

‘Why didn’t I meet you sooner?’ Princess Aracelle asked with regret. ‘But maybe this is also good. If I met you in Gomorra, I would have ignored you, just like the rest of the men who are only after my beauty.’

The young lady then looked at her pinky finger and saw a pink string faintly fluttering in the breeze.

This was one of the hidden bloodline abilities of House Pavareth.

A string that only they could see, tied to the person whom they had vowed to serve for a lifetime.