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The owners of the voices were none other than the scions of the royal family. The raspy and low-pitched voice belonged to Prince Olaf while the high-pitched voice but low magnitude voice belonged to Princess Candice.

Both of them appeared quite regal in their formal garb as they argued back and forth under the guise of debate. 

From the familiarity of their facial structure even someone meeting the two for the first time could deduce their blood relationship with each other in a single glance. It was as if they had been crafted from the same mould. The physical resemblance between the two bordered on the edge of being identical like that of identical twins.

The pair of siblings had in fact been born to the same mother and had totally inherited her genetic traits but the way the two carried themselves brought about all the difference.

The pair of siblings had in fact been born to the same mother and had totally inherited her genetic traits but the way the two carried themselves brought about all the difference.

While Prince Olaf appeared to be haughty and stoic, Candace was diametrically opposite to her big brother. She had a sweet looking face and gave off a similar vibe to everyone who came into contact with her despite the difference in the stature between them.

Although Candace looked like a soft woman, she was anything but naïve. While discussing the affairs of the state, she was just as sharp and calculative as her elder brother.

After reaching an impasse with her elder brother during their conversation, she picked up a few documents and began to flip through them. 

The few pages of paper grabbed all her attention as a helpless smile appeared on her face as if she found something to be equally frustrating and exciting in those pages.

"What are you enjoying so much that you decided to ignore your elder brother like a peasant at a street stall?" asked the wronged Prince Olaf as he stared at his sister with curiosity.

"It\'s about that dark mage who has recently come to power in Byzantium city. I happened to get some first-hand information about him through an informant of sorts."

"Oooh~ you have my attention. Let\'s see what this mysterious dark mage is capable of." Prince Olaf attempted to grab the papers from Princess Candice\'s hands, but the attempt proved to be futile as the latter had seen it coming.

"Fine, tell me what it says then. Being your elder brother, I at least deserve to know what you are getting yourself into."

This time Princess Candice offered no resistance as she wanted to discuss the situation with her brother as well because the events mentioned in the intelligence report were straight out of fantasy.

"This mysterious dark mage arrived in Byzantium city followed by a huge group of people and took residence on an uninhabited island a few months back. At that time, he was believed to have reached SS rank. In those few months he not only changed the entire structure of the uninhabited island, but also turned it into an impenetrable fortress. In a matter of months, he developed enough to threaten the top family of the city. In the final war between the top family and him, he ended up unleashing SSS rank magic in order to wipe out the entire opposing force sinking the uninhabited island in the process."

"Oh...to be so young and so powerful at the same time, I don\'t think that is possible. Maybe he is an old monster pretending to be young. Dark mages are certainly capable of pulling that off."

"But I don\'t think that\'s the case."

"Pray tell, why?"

"Because his actions hardly reek of old age. Unlike those cold and calculative bastards, he seems to have some semblance of sentimental attachment for his close acquaintances."

"If that\'s the case, then this kind of talent is good enough to be the foremost in the whole continent. After all, there are no mages his age capable of unleashing SSS rank magic in the entire continent. He is definitely worth it to be groomed by our royal family."

"He definitely is. Maybe you can take him under your wing, brother." suggested Candice as she sighed at the emergence of such a talent.

"I do find his mysterious persona quite intriguing, but I don\'t have enough to waste in such frivolous activities. The western border is on the verge of collapse. Our forces are spread out too thin to stop any spy from reaching our ranks. Taking advantage of our limitations, the enemy keeps on ambushing us without rest. So, I have been tasked to eliminate the pointless friction by meeting up with the field commander of those Vikings and to strike up a deal. I hope to keep it peaceful, but it doesn\'t look like he\'ll agree to my suggestions until I perform a show of power." Prince Olaf\'s words contained excitement even though he looked like he was being forced to go to the frontier.

Princess Candice scrunched up her little nose at the mention of the Vikings. She had always hated them. They called themselves a nation of warriors but were too afraid to even launch a frontal assault. Their only capability was harassing the soldiers positioned along the western frontier so as to keep the Hina Empire on her toes. But whenever the conflict between the two states had the potential of escalating into a full-scale showdown, they always backed out knowing the strength of the Hina empire.

"Good luck with those cowardly people. If I were in your place, I would have wiped out their entire camp to make my point. That\'s the only way they will take you seriously since they want to avoid a war at all costs." suggested Princess Candice with a sadistic smile.

"My good sister, I would have definitely agreed were it not for the change in their military might. You know that the Vikings provoke any all forces that they share their borders with, right?" asked Prince Olaf like a teacher instructing his student in a gentle manner.

"Of course, I do. What do you take me for?"

"Well, they have just defeated the Teutons and have managed to absorb a good portion of their remaining military strength. So, the situation is different this time. They might not necessarily back away from a frontal war. Therefore, I have been asked to act a bit diplomatically so as to avoid a conclusion that might lead to war between our empire and their faction."

While Prince Olaf was in the mood to discuss the situation from a geographical and political point of view, Princess Candice had already lost all interest in the military situation on the western frontier.

She turned her head back to the papers in her hand and scoured through their contents with a zealous light gleaming in her irises.

The intelligence she had received was very potent as it included the fact that the sugar production was in fact Zach\'s brainchild. Even in the entire Byzantium city, there were only very few people who actually knew about it. Not even all of the people in Windsor family were aware of the situation even though their family was the greatest producer and supplier of the product across multiple states.

Obviously, Princess Candice had used that product as well when it was brought to the royal family as a gift by someone. Being a woman, she was fond of desserts and the possibilities that such a product brought to light were practically endless. She had wondered what kind of person could have come up with such a thing. Now that she knew that the source of it all was a dark mage so young, she couldn\'t help but be more interested.

At first, she had believed that sugar would be a rare product available to the elite populace and the upper society only, but she was incredibly surprised to find that it was the most common commodity there could be. It was being sold at a price comparable to that of salt and common household goods. She wondered why the dark mage opted to make it a low-end product when he could have just as easily made it into a luxury by producing it in low quantities and making it available to the masses all across the empire.

  While Princess Candice was busily studying the intelligence report, Prince Olaf couldn\'t help but advise his sister based on his own findings.

"Even though the Byzantium city isn\'t very large compared to the other major cities of the empire, it is still a complex hodge podge of powers that are constantly struggling against each other. Once you are there, you need to be careful about who you take under your wing lest you end up offending the Smith family."

"Brother, do you take me for a fool?" Princess Candice seemed a bit angry at her brother for treating her like a fool. Of course, she would take action only after careful deliberation considering that the goal of her visit was the Smith family this time.

Stumped by her question, Prince Olaf had no words. He had only said what he said out of worry for her. To remedy the situation, he didn\'t waste any time before responding curtly in the negative.

""Of course, I don\'t. Who can claim to know you better than I do?"