I Was Reborn To Be With You

The Banquet

The banquet ended successfully, guests started to leave the banquet hall and several nobles were still sitting with anxious faces waiting for the right time to speak directly to the King or Prince Louis who was still speaking casually. Arzoo sat not far from the King and just sat without starting a conversation with anyone around him. Arzoo was thinking about what would happen next and he also saw Isolde who was sitting some distance across from him. Arzoo stole glances at Isolde several times but Isolde didn't seem to notice it.

Arzoo thinks why in the past Isolde was always cold and indifferent to him but in the end he was the one who cried for him. Arzoo was still lost in thought when the royal secretary suddenly approached the King and started whispering softly. Arzoo sees it and is sure that the royal secretary is telling the King about the Fire Dragon. Sure enough, the King immediately ended his conversation with Prince Louis and hurried out of the banquet hall.

Prince Louis who is now alone looks at Arzoo and smiles seductively but Arzoo only smiles back and bids farewell. Arzoo turned away from the banquet hall, Prince Louis saw Arzoo leave just stared at him for a moment because the other nobles started to talk to him. It was clear in the minds of the nobles that they wanted to establish a relationship with Prince Louis after seeing that the peace treaty was running smoothly, both in business and in other ways. Prince Louis himself is second in line to ascend the throne at this time, a young man who is rich and handsome with high power is sure that the nobles will be more than happy if they succeed in having a son-in-law like Prince Louis. So why don't they try to get a chance to introduce their daughter to Prince Louis.

Arzoo walked towards the garden near the banquet hall, he was also waiting for the Duke of Abizer to come out of the King's study. Arzoo still doesn't think that he can go back in time and have a second chance to change the future.

Arzoo suddenly felt someone was not far from him, he didn't feel the slightest threat only the feeling that someone was watching him but no evil thoughts on him. Arzoo tried to focus his senses on the person and realized that it was none other than Isolde de Arabella.

In his previous life, Arzoo didn't meet Isolde at the banquet not knowing that Isolde was coming. From the start, Arzoo didn't really like Isolde because apart from Isolde was the Duke who was the former Crown Prince of the Arabella Kingdom who after a prolonged war could be conquered by the Ashley Kingdom. In addition, Isolde's extraordinary abilities make Arzoo worried and feel Isolde is his rival and maybe one day Isolde will attack Ashley Kingdom to take revenge on his Kingdom. But who would have thought that until the end Isolde never once hurt Arzoo or tried to attack the Ashley Kingdom even though Isolde had an extraordinary army.

Arzoo closed his eyes slowly he called out to Isolde, "Duke Of Arabella, Isolde de Arabella. Is there something the Duke wants to tell me?".

Isolde looked surprised to hear Arzoo who immediately noticed his presence and knew that the person behind him was Isolde. It is certain that Arzoo now knows that the person standing behind him is Isolde because this is not the first time the two have met, Arzoo already knows Isolde's power and aura. With the experience of his previous life, Arzoo could use his powers much better than the 15 year old's Arzoo in his previous life. Now even though Arzoo is physically 15 years old, his knowledge and experience is the same with Arzoo who is 20 years old in previous life. Even though his body isn't the same as when he was 20 years old, by practicing it will quickly make it the same as when Arzoo was 20 years old and even stronger.

"Your Highness Crown Prince, sorry for my impoliteness. I just saw you here as I was walking and I thought I'd greet you", Isolde said in a very polite language.

"Duke, you don't have to be so polite to me. Did you enjoy the dinner tonight?", Arzoo looked surprised at Isolde's treatment which was clearly different from when they met for the first time in their previous lives. But Arzoo felt that this was only natural since he had also been unkind to Isolde in their previous life.

Isolde saw Arzoo's face which he had not seen in a long time, Arzoo's face which now looked different from when Arzoo was a child. Subconsciously, Isolde gave a small smile.

Arzoo also saw Isolde's face which still looked immature, he remembered how Isolde's face was back then, a face full of tears and blood. Isolde's face that was like ice turned into a face filled with worry, fear, sadness and affection. Seeing Isolde who was now in front of him with a small smile on his face, Arzoo smiled and looked at Isolde's eyes which were more than one head taller than Arzoo's.

Arzoo and Isolde felt a feeling that was hard to describe right now, a different but also the same feeling. An overwhelming feeling of longing by the two of them, a feeling that could somehow arise.

Arzoo smiled which made his face look even cuter making Isolde who saw it as if his heart had stopped beating for a while. Isolde just woke up when the butler greeted Isolde and Arzoo.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Grace the Duke of Arabella," said the butler politely.

"Ah, what's wrong?", asked Arzoo looking at the butler who looked like he had just run around with sweat dripping down his already wrinkled face.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty The King is meeting with Duke Abizer and Concubine Eula is also there. It seems there is a big problem in the Abizer Dukedom", said Butler telling the news he got from his subordinates.

"Hah, I thought. Concubine Eula must be have interfered at that time", said Arzoo quietly, Arzoo was only talking to himself but Isolde and Butler also heard it albeit quietly.

"Hm, Your Highness?", said the butler confused.

"Oh no, no. I think I have to meet the King now", said Arzoo realizing that what he was thinking he actually said.

"Your Highness, I think it would be better if you didn't come there", said Isolde politely.

Arzoo was confused as to why he couldn't meet the King now when there was a big problem in the Abizer Dukedom and for sure Concubine Eula would definitely interfere. But in the end Arzoo just asked Isolde so he wouldn't be mistaken as in his previous life, "Why would I rather not meet the King now?".

Isolde looked at Arzoo and in a soft voice, he said, "Because it will make things difficult for you, Your Highness. I don't really know the problems in the palace but power struggles in the palace are bound to happen. In a palace without a Queen, concubines become the most powerful and as humans are very natural to want to have more power. If you come now, then Her Highness the Royal Consort will feel you are interfering with her power when the Royal Consort wants to show her existence and that's not good. You don't need to add to the Royal Consort's discomfort towards you".

Arzoo was silent and thought that if what Isolde said was true, even if he didn't meet the King now, the final decision that Arzoo would go on the search for the Fire Dragon would definitely happen. If Arzoo came to meet the King when Duke Abizer who was very pro to concubine Eula reported the Fire Dragon matter then they would think he was too eager to show his existence. It would indeed be better if he pretended not to know and waited for the King to summon him himself. Even so, Arzoo doesn't know whether what will happen in the future is the same or not so he has to keep an eye on what is happening around him.

"Duke is right, I don't think I need to meet the King now either" said Arzoo with his sweet smile.

Isolde's face that was frozen like ice melted even more seeing Arzoo's sweet expression and couldn't hold back a smile.

Arzoo saw Isolde was very happy because in this life, he could see Isolde smiling gently at him. Arzoo who became more and more happy finally smiled wider and subconsciously tugged at Isolde's wide sleeves in a slightly spoiled manner.

"Duke, are you staying at the Palace or returning to your residence?", asked Arzoo who unconsciously became sweeter and gentler.

Isolde couldn't hide his happiness and smiled, showing a few teeth. Isolde grabbed Arzoo's hand which was clasping his sleeve and said very softly, "I haven't decided yet".

Butler who saw Isolde and Arzoo who looked very close and also heard how the two were talking to each other, immediately took a few steps back to give both of them some privacy. Butler felt very strange with Arzoo who seemed to show a different side of himself than usual but Butler also felt happy because Arzoo could look like a teenager in his age.

Arzoo looked a little surprised by Isolde's treatment of holding his hand but compared to the shock, Arzoo was so embarrassed that his ears turned red. Arzoo said with a bit of awkwardness and embarrassment, "Um, do you want to accompany me to see the fireworks that will be lit in the middle of the night. They are peace fireworks. Later the duke can stay at the palace".

Isolde was about to say yes but Leone came and greeted Isolde and Arzoo politely but it was clear that Leone didn't really like Arzoo, "Your Highness Crown Prince, Your Grace the Duke".

Seeing someone else coming close, Arzoo's reflex to immediately try to release his hand from Isolde's grasp, Isolde was reluctant to let go but he finally let go.

Leone who saw Isolde and Arzoo's hands felt a little shocked and looked at Arzoo and Isolde's hands alternately after their hands parted.

Isolde glanced at Leone and quickly Leone immediately stood up straight again and told what happened, "Your Grace, there is a problem. Just now there was a messenger notifying that a group of pirates were attacking and it seems that a kingdom from across the sea is participating in this attack." .

Isolde was shocked, and so was Arzoo. In his previous life, Arzoo didn't meet Isolde and didn't know what happened then, he only met Isolde during the hunt the Fire Dragon in Abizer Dukedom.

_

In the King's study now there were four people, the King sat in his chair and the royal secretary stood beside him. Concubine Eula was comfortably sitting on the sofa while Duke Abizer was standing in front of the King's table.

"Your Majesty, as I told the royal secretary that a dragon has appeared in the Abizer Dukedom's territory. Based on the report I got, the dragon has destroyed three villages and there is a possibility that it will continue to increase", reported Duke Abizer worriedly.

"What about the local military forces?" asked King Akshant.

Duke Abizer quickly replied, "Local military forces were also become a victims, many of them get injured so that the general who led was forced to order the troops to retreat and was only able to evacuate some civilians".

"How many civilians were successfully evacuated compared to those who didn't?" asked the King as he looked at the letter in his hand.

Duke Abizer looked even more worried, "About 2/3 of the entire population was evacuated and retreated with the military forces".

"Who is the general in charge of guarding the territory?" asked King Akshant who was still reluctant to look at Duke Abizer's face.

Duke Abizer sighed and said with more confidence than before, "General Raidel, Your Majesty. He's one of the generals of the commoners who now leads the troops in the northeastern region of the Abizer Dukedom. He's very unreliable and often mixes with the homeless and farmers, so not many want to have anything to do with him."

King Akshant was silent and stood up from his seat, then he walked towards the bookshelf and took a book. The king sat back down but this time he did not sit in his work chair but sat on the sofa. Concubine Eula who had been sitting on the sofa was slightly surprised by the arrival of the King sitting in front of her and reading the book he had just picked up.

King Akshant who is in his 40s still looks handsome and very dignified, since he was young many women have liked him and wanted to be his wife even after King Akshant married Queen Arete. Not only women who want to marry King Akshant even men want to marry him, the nobles even happily give their sons to King Akshant if King Akshant wants but everyone knows how much King Akshant loves Queen Arete even after becoming King and married to the concubine Eula, everyone knew that no one could ever rival Queen Arete in King Akshant's heart.

Concubine Eula was one of the many women who fell in love with the young King Akshant and wanted to marry him but King Akshant always refused proposals from concubine Eula and firmly would not take concubines either female or male. Even when after marrying Queen Arete, The young King Akshant chose to leave the palace and chose to live in the Chase Dukedom. It was even said that the young King Akshant would replace his father-in-law as the Duke of Chase. But fate said otherwise and concubine Eula who had supporters from the Abizer Dukedom was finally able to marry King Akshant after King Akshant's coronation and become his concubine.

Concubine Eula always hoped that even though she couldn't become queen at least she could get the love of King Akshant but even when Concubine Eula was pregnant and gave birth to a son, King Akshant didn't show the slightest bit of love for her which made Concubine Eula hate Queen Arete and her childrens more.

In order to get the position of concubine, Concubine Eula risked everything and even did not hesitate to destroy the lives of others or kill those who became her rivals. During the selection of concubines, King Akshant seemed more willing to include men as his concubines which resulted in many second sons and the children out of wedlock of nobles who happily became the king's wives. In the Kingdom where it is legal for men to marry other men because it starts with the history of a King in the past who fell in love with his knight and wanted to legally marry him until finally, with various struggles, it was finally achieved. Now it's perfectly normal for a man to have a male wife. But not for women because women have the responsibility to continue their offspring so it is not allowed to marry other women.

In matters of marriage, the Ashley Kingdom has clear rules, especially for nobles, such as each noble being only allowed one legal wife and a maximum of 3 concubines. For nobles who do not inherit his father's position, it is allowed to take a male wife as his legal wife, but for those who inherit his father's position, the legal wife must be a woman. If a man or woman is registered as a wife, then their position as nobles will follow their husband and should not be higher than their husband even though before marriage their position was higher, and there were many other regulations.

Concubine Eula put down the book she was reading earlier and looked at King Akshant who was reading the thick book seriously, "Your Majesty, what are you looking for I have already read the book, maybe I can help you find it".

"Hm, then. What dragon appeared in the Abizer Dukedom, from its features I feel I've never seen it before", said King Akshant who was still focused on his book.

Concubine Eula seemed pleased with King Akshant's answer and immediately got up from her seat to take a book from the pile of books on the table not far from the sofa and picked up a book that looked very worn and no longer worth reading.

Concubine Eula placed the book on the table in front of King Akshant and elegantly flipped through the pages one by one until she arrived at the intended page. There is an image of a very strong dragon with wings that spread widely in red with a bluish purple line and combined with gold and black colors that blend together to make it look very strong and dashing. Even though the picture looks dull, the colors and shapes of the dragon are still clearly visible. Its head has a combination of red and gold colors with sharp curved horns of black with blue color that faintly blends with black. His sharp, pointed teeth and fierce-looking eyes with a fiery red color and a dazzlingly bright gold color were the focal point.

"From what I heard earlier, most likely the dragon in question is the legendary Fire Dragon which is rumored to have disappeared for tens of thousands of years ago even hundreds of thousands of years ago. However, there is a possibility that this is indeed an ancient Fire Dragon because some books say that Dragons can hibernate for a long time like more than hundreds of years and it is very possible if they hibernate even thousands of years", said Concubine Eula showing the image of the Fire Dragon.

Duke Abizer who had been standing at the side finally got up the courage to speak when Concubine Eula saw him and seemed to give him a code to speak, "Your Majesty, if what Her Highness Consort says is true then we cannot stay silent and must find the dragon as soon as possible".

"Sure, of course we have to catch the dragon but I will ask you, who is capable of capturing the dragon?", said King Akshant.

"Your Majesty, currently there are many talented young nobles such as Your Highness Crown Prince who has the power of Blue Fire or the Duke of Arabella who is also famous for his prowess", said Duke Abizer who seemed to want to praise but also had other intentions.

King Akshant glared at him which made Duke Abizer instantly shrivel in fear. In the Ashley Kingdom, the Duke Of Abizer has enormous wealth and is the financial supporter of the kingdom but in the military field the Duke Of Abizer is far from strong. The Duke of Abizer, which is directly adjacent to the Celesine Kingdom and the Paloma Kingdom, gets a lot of military power from the two neighboring regions, the Chase dukedom and the Holy Land as well as from the royal army. Of course, the Duke of Abizer couldn't solve this Fire Dragon problem on his own and confidently brought Arzoo's name to join the Fire Dragon hunt which would surely be very dangerous. But having Arzoo participate in the hunt for the Fire Dragon will definitely increase his popularity in the eyes of the public and nobles. The king knew that now the nobility and society of Ashley kingdom had been divided into two camps between those who supported Arzoo and those who supported Aron. The king wanted to use this moment as well to give Arzoo a chance to prove himself to the general public that he deserves to be the Crown Prince and King in the future.

"Your Majesty, the Fire Dragon Hunt is very dangerous not only against the Fire dragon but also there will be a lot of danger along the way so may I suggest that it would be better if we let Aron as the prince to replace the Crown Prince. As the Crown Prince, Prince Arzoo should take care of himself and must not be in danger. So, the dangerous thing should let Aron to do it," said Concubine Eula cautiously.

At first glance, one would think that Concubine Eula was really worried about Arzoo but Concubine Eula's goal was to encourage King Akshant to send Arzoo to join the Fire Dragon hunt.

King Akshant clearly knew Concubine Eula's intentions and chose to think about it first and discuss with Arzoo.

_

To be Continued