Chapter Twenty: The Duke

Kai donned a white buttoned-up shirt and a black waistcoat that clung tightly to his body. The size seems a bit smaller than his overall frame so it's a little tight and showed some detail of his torso while his waist was defined better because of the close-fitting clothing.

The tunics he always wore were loose and comfortable. Although he also used to wear formal clothing, and he also wore one when he met the king earlier, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

Holding a pair of black shoes, Kai dropped himself on the bed. His hand slid inside one of his pockets and grabbed a round, silver pocket watch. It's already quarter to seven, and the banquet will start at eight.

The pocket watch was closed and it was shoved back into the pocket.

With a sigh, Kai raised his head and stared at the ceiling with a blank look.

Honestly, he should've already gone to the castle. It's better to be early than late after all. But the fact that Helix is not doing so well in the other room made it hard for him to leave the inn. If anything happens to Helix while he is absent, things will go awry for real. Helix is very much defenseless right now. Kai really doesn't want to leave.

But if he refuses to attend the banquet, the king might be angered and get suspicious.

Coming here in the capital would lose its meaning if he does not come…

Kai heaved a deep sigh yet again.

His heart is unwilling to leave however he really has to go.

Kai finally wore the black shoes after a while of hesitation. He stood up and faced himself in front of the mirror with a troubled expression. Sure, he does look good. Though his tall stature and well-built body can be a bit intimidating to the smaller ones, well, his face can make up for it…

Slowly, Kai raised his hand and softly touched the mirror with the tip of his fingertips.

'I really keep forgetting… I am not a person of this world. And that I have a home of my own to go back.'

The face that appeared in the mirror was so familiar.

Slowly, Kai raised his hand and touched the mirror with the tips of his fingertips. The plane mirror has a cold surface.

This face is really his. Or is it just similar?

Kai has always thought as to why this body has the same face as his. Perhaps, because the soul has changed, the physical form also adjusted. Or is it just a coincidence that Kai Zein also has the same face, not just the name?

This is not his body, just the same face. But it's strange that he doesn't feel odd about using this body at all.

'Hm…'

Really are so many weird things. But he really does not know anything. The more he thought about it, the more he gets confused.

But well, since there are really no clues that can give him answers to his questions, Kai decided to let it be for now. He pulled his hand away from the mirror and sighed. "I'm not good at solving mysteries." With a final last look in the mirror, Kai finally left his room.

The room beside his is still closed and there were no sounds coming out. There is still some magic leaking out from the crevices of the door but compared to earlier, it's more stable now. What's left is probably just the residue from the outburst earlier. Kai's gaze softened as he continued walking.

Helix will come out once he's recovered from whatever happened. He's also the greatest dark mage, how could something bad happen to him?

Kai has full confidence that Helix will be fine. So with a reassured smile on his face, he twirled his finger lightly and sent a small stream of gentle wind towards the Helix's door as he continued to walk. 'I'll give him my gift later,' Kai chuckled.

'He'll be annoyed for sure.'

But Helix will also be secretly happy.

Kai was aware of Helix's hidden softness.

-

The street is even more livelier than it was earlier in the morning. The people are bustling and crowding the whole capital. Although it is deep in the night, everything was covered with light that made one doubt if it's really night or day.

The kingdom's anniversary starts the moment time strikes midnight.

Everyone is anticipating this grand celebration with joy and excitement in their hearts. So everywhere Kai looks, there's always a smile on people's faces.

Oh, what a nice evening.

That's what Kai is thinking.

But he has a problem…

Because of the busy street, the traffic is really… bad. It's hard to move around and it's so loud in this place. Kai was troubled, he'll be late if this continues. He wanted to look around so that he could find a way out of this tight crowd but he can't even turn his head.

A sighing Kai came up with a solution.

It's not so bad but it would put him in a bit of an awkward situation. But with no way out of this crowd, Kai started to use magic.

Wind slowly blows underneath his shoes. The dust and dirt are being blown away while the people are starting to notice the unusual phenomenon.

"Why is it suddenly windy now?"

"Is this magic too?"

Whispers from the crowd fell on deaf ears as Kai unintentionally stood out when he started to ascend with the strong gust of wind beneath his feet.

Kai finally learned to fly somehow using the convenient power of the wind. It was before he and Helix went to the capital. He based this on one protagonist of a Korean novel he had read in the past. Using the power of the wind to move around, it's easy to do that with the first and second classification magic.

Control over magic is honed over practice and experience though.

Though the people were momentarily surprised, mages are not that unusual in the capital. They were only in awe for a second before going back to the things they were doing after putting Kai's magic to the back of their minds.

The wind, which is Kai's transport to the castle for now, is definitely not stable. Far from it, actually. It wobbled, it swayed and Kai almost fell to his death. But he still survived and landed in front of the castle with messy hair and disheveled clothes.

'And I even tried so hard to make myself look good too…'

With a heavy sigh, Kai brushed his hair with his own hand before tying it back again with the purple hair tie. He also fixed his clothes while staring at the large castle before him. Then he moved his gaze towards the clock tower a few buildings away from the castle. The hands of the clock moved at exactly eight o'clock.

So, no more wasting time.

The soldiers guarding the gate are still the same from this morning. When they spotted Kai heading towards them, they straightened out their backs and bowed their heads. "D-Duke, good evening!"

Kai briefly looked at them before smiling slightly, "Good evening." The soldiers didn't dare offend him anymore after they found out his identity. They let him pass through the gate knowing that this duke will be attending the banquet inside.

So that he won't be ashamed because of his carelessness later on, Kai checked himself one last time. From the creases of his clothes to the hairs that looked out of place. The servant who was already waiting for him so that they could open the door looked at him weirdly. But Kai didn't mind.

Finally, Kai raised his head and firmly faced forward. The servant hesitantly looked at him before opening the door finally.

The smell of perfumes and alcohol mixing all together makes an unpleasant smell for Kai's sensitive nose. The nobles of this kingdom adorning fancy clothes and expensive jewelry are bustling with forced high-pitched laughter and artificial happiness.

They were all laughing and enjoying themselves, but who knows what kind of intent they have within as they laughed merrily all together.

In Kai's perspective, as a reader once and as someone who knew of Helix, this place was a living hell and a war place where people fight with their words.

There is an announcer for those who enter the banquet hall. When he spotted that the door opened and Kai stepped in, he checked his list of attendees and remembered the princess' reminder earlier.

Hair with the common color of brown, yet with a beautiful luster. Jade-colored eyes that glowed brightly under the light and the handsome features of the man who donned a set of expensive clothes.

The announcer fell silent for a few seconds before he regained his mind and shakily announced the arrival of this person.

"Duke Kai Zein, has entered!"