The New Southern City

"Did you hear? There will be sending a noble to rule over the new southern city soon"

"Tch, I used to be in the Parson territory, my family died due to the contaminated water. If it wasn't for his highness, I would've died! He's the only noble I can trust"

"Well, he is the prince, right? It makes sense that he would take care of us"

"Hmph, You think it's normal for nobles to care much for us without magic? Sure they might go about their day without causing us any problems but if you think that they would actively help us for anything other than food and security, you are surely mistaken"

 "My cousin who works at the palace says the prince isn't treated well in the capital"

"WHAT!"

"This is what I mean, the opinions of us commoners don't mean anything. The only one who helps us is hated. Doesn't this show you how corrupt the nobility is?"

"If the prince is one of the good ones, surely there will be others, right? We can't just judge everyone as the same"

"Others? The prince and the empress helped lower our taxes when we had a bad harvest and the prince even came to our territory and used some magic to keep the remaining food fresh. Should we just storm the capital and demand justice for our prince?"

"The capital is full of nobles who all know magic. It will be a death sentence"

"You guys are all acting like the Prince is a saint but what if he had another purpose for doing all of this?"

"What purpose could he have? Even after helping us, the capital still hates him. We also didn't give him any money and our opinions don't seem to matter to those in power. So what would he gain from wasting his time with us? Another purpose or not, All I know is that my family was saved. He is my benefactor!"

"What if the prince is the one who would take over the new southern city"

The whole inn became quiet after this statement was made. The excitement exploded.

"Do you think so? I might move there right now"

"I have been wandering around for a while now, it seems like it's good to find a place to settle down"

"But I heard there are still remnants of the southern tribe, would they cause problems?"

"Who cares, the prince will handle it. We just have to follow him. Is that rumor really true? I could move my family there by the end of the year"

As the voices kept bouncing from one end of the room to another, soon, another voice was heard.

"I actually visited the capital and can confirm that the prince will be taking over the new southern city. This will be a new age for everyone".

The customers stared at the speaker, the figure was in a cloak and had a nice feminine voice. But instead of investigating more, they were more focused on the words they just said.

"The prince will actually take over? No need to hesitate, call your friends and family over. The future of this empire will be in this city"

"Why would a prince leave the capital to live in this city? Is it because they don't like him over there?"

"All we can do is support him in our own way. If the capital does not like the prince, we would gladly take him!"

The conversations continued throughout the night.

Selena got up and kept her cloak tight to hide her identity. She reached her room and sat on her bed. She wasn't sure why she was so impulsive with what she just did but she couldn't help it, this was the first time she had seen people react so positively to Jason.

"I'm not sure if telling them in advance will affect Jason's plans but it should be fine" she muttered to herself as she took another sip of her drink.

She was thinking back to the conversations and a frown appeared on her face. She can't believe that the commoners thought of the nobles so poorly but after hearing them out, it does make sense.

Even in her territory, she hardly ever left the mansion so how could she have such a close relationship with the commoners? I thought as long as they had food and safety, everything would be fine but I guess Jason raised the bar quite high, she thought to herself with a smile.

Jason already spoke to her about what happened in the Parson territory but she never knew he was so involved in so many places. Even the empress is well-received. 

Now that I think about it, the only people who slander Jason and the empress are under the influence of the military faction, it seems they are actually quite well-liked in other parts of the empire. 

"That's great," she said to herself as the door slowly opened.

Jason walks in and greets Selena.

Selena asked how the surveying went and Jaosn began to explain. 

"It wasn't bad but there are indeed some problems. Some of the water sources were devasted due to the war and some of the fertile lands were implicated as well. There is also a huge dead zone of life around the middle of the territory which seems almost impossible to recover. There are also wandering remnants of the southern tribe who were able to escape being subdued", Jason said while slowly rubbing his head in frustration.

Selena came up to him and gently patted his shoulder, "Don't worry my prince, we will get through this. Let's take it one step at a time"

"Thank you," Jason said with a smile on his face.

"Were you fine on your own while I was away?" He suddenly asked.

"Yep, I had a great time actually. I learned so much about you through the commoners" she said with a teasing smile.

"Ah," Jason said while smiling, "So you found out".

 "Why did you help them so much? I don't mean to sound like I'm questioning you but even they knew you didn't get much out of it" Selena asked curiously.

Jason walked over and grabbed a drink, sat down, and took a sip.

"I told you before but I don't really care for this empire. It gave me everything and made me lose everything. The fall was too much for a mere 10-year-old to handle. Filled with depression and resentment, I wanted revenge. But letting myself get swallowed by that darkness should be a choice I willingly make myself, not one that's forced on me due to my helplessness".

"I felt like I might regret it so I held back. And even though I lost everything, I still had my mother who still loved me despite being a disappointment and I still had my mysterious fiancé who was engaged to Jason Kadence, not The crown prince".

"One of them is an empress who lived to take care of the empire despite having a powerful faction continuously slander her name in the capital and the other is someone with a mother who broke against the status quo and constantly researched many ways to advance the magic of our empire by leaps and bounds. The only two women in my life both seem to care about this empire very much, unless that changes, I have no reason to not do my part in taking care of this hypocritical country, right?"

"I had the power to help those commoners so I did. It's nothing more than that. I also realized just how hypocritical nobles are and they would bite a hand that fed them if it meant they could advance in life. In comparison, I feel more at ease helping the masses who know how to appreciate the little things and aren't too involved with complicated politics" Jason said while a small smile appeared on his lips.

Selena smiled after hearing him explain. This truly is a man who can become either a saint or a devil. I'm so glad he chose to stay on the side of the empire, but those fools in the military faction keep trying to push him to the brink. If he wasn't being considerate of his mother and...me-" she paused and blushed again at the idea of having such a strong impact on Jason's decision-making, "He would've destroyed everything just like in Lance's vision!"

Her smile grows even more as she thought more about Jason's words. This man doesn't pretend and isn't a hypocrite. He's quite honest with himself and those around him and he has the power to easily change the lives of anyone, whether it's in a good way or bad. Yet he still chooses to take care of the wishes of his loved ones. But what about his wishes, what does he want to do in life?

It seems that after what he went through, he has been robbed of such basic feelings and had to suffer under the burden of trying to protect the little he has left.

Selena sighs, "My poor man!" she mutters to herself while getting up and sitting by Jason's side. She gives him a side hug and tells him "Thank you once again for making it this far Jason, let's make sure tomorrow becomes a success and secure a bright future for both of us"

Jason smiles, "Thank you milady, I won't let you down". The two kept making small talk while enjoying the warm atmosphere.

Slowly, the next day dawned and the two departed towards the New Southern City.

"This will be a very busy day," Jason says to Selena as they approach their first stop.

"Welcome your Highness, This is our farm," a local farmer said as he introduced himself and his farm.

"Let me take a look" Jason says as he starts inspecting the farm.

The farm is huge and a great percentage of the food comes from the farms in the area. This was one of the farms that was implicated due to the war, farming is still possible but the harvest will be lower.

Selena follows him but keeps quiet while Jason is busy. She doesn't know much about farms but she realizes that the soil seems much more dry than usual. 

"Have you noticed?" a voice said which brought Selena out of her thoughts.

"Yes... The soil doesn't seem right" She answers.

"Exactly, this is quite the problem because it can't be solved by normal means but I have an idea that might work. I'm not sure if I can pull it off by myself though..." Jason says while looking at Selena.

"Do you need me? I will gladly help" Selena says while pumping her fist.

Jason starts to rub his chin, "I think if we were to mix water magic and healing magic, it would have a rejuvenating effect on the soil and plants. This will help revert it back to its condition before the war", he explains.

Selena was shocked, she didn't consider such a method. She now understands how he could not only master her mother's magic but also implement it in such strange ways. His creativity is off the charts, it's almost as if the magic was meant for him.

"I got it, the mana needed might be costly so just like the lake, you are unsure if you can handle the entire farm right?" Selena says

"You're quick to catch on, it's exactly as you said. So, should we get started?" He says as he pulls on her hand to go deeper into the farm.

The two of them then start using their new magic on the soil. There is a visible difference between the soil from before and the soil now. After a long time, they were finished. The farmers looked at the work and then fell to their needs. 

"My prince, My princess, Thank you so much. We are forever in your debt. There is not much we can give you but we will never forget your grace"

"Please stand up, we are just helping out. I will be the lord of these lands soon enough so it's only natural for me to offer some help. Just do your part in making sure our territory ends up prospering and you will be repaying my favor just fine" Jason says in a gentle tone.

The farmer starts to cry softly and his wife joins him while repeatedly saying thank you. 

Selena smiles, she loves scenes like this where she sees just how special Jason is.

Jason then directed her to move to the next area.

There was a river that spanned many miles. They arrived at the center and saw many workers inside the lake all trying to clean it up with various tools.

Jason arrives and they say,

"Your Highness, forgive us for not welcoming you properly" they quickly said.

"It's not a problem, I see you are working very hard here. I believe I can be of assistance" Jason says.

The eyes of the workers sparkled, "We don't deserve your grace, your highness"

"Enough, the source of the contamination is here right?' Jason says as he approaches the lake.

"Yes, Your Highness".

Jason then enters the lake and then carefully inspects it. Due to pollution and contamination, many objects are stuck in the bed of the lake. The combination of the objects makes it quite difficult for people to pick them up.

"This is a little more tricky than if it was poison," Jason says.

"How?" A curious voice asked which made Jason jerk his head in its direction.

"Milady, you followed me here?" Jason asked.

"Of course, I told you that I'd be by your side, so why would it be harder?"

"All you have to do with poison is purify it, even though it's more dangerous than what's going on here, it's at least straightforward to solve if you have the capabilities of doing it. This problem is just busy work, we have to collect all the trash and then clean the lake" Jason says while rubbing his head in frustration.

"So we need to bring all the objects back to the surface right?" Selena said while thinking of potential solutions.

"Yes, that will be the easiest way" Jason answers while also thinking.

Then after a while, Jason comes to a realization. He looks at Selena again,

"I might need your help again, Selen,a" He says in a softer voice than usual.

"You should rely on me more, don't worry, I'll do whatever you say" Selena confirms.

Jason smiles, "I'm thinking we could increase the density of the water in this specific area, this will help make the objects float back up"

Selena thought about it calmly and then realized it made sense. Magic like increasing density is very complicated and was one of the harder parts in my mother's research but they both naturally learned it.

"Let's get started then," Selena said while pumping herself up.

The couple goes to the part of the lake with the most buried objects and injects their mana to increase the density of the lake.

After a while, the objects slowly start to float up. 

The workers were in shock, they hardly ever saw nobles and when they did, they would never use their precious magic for them.

After being successful, Jason and Selena went around different areas of the lake and helped move all those objects back to the surface. 

The hardest part has been completed and the rest can be handled quite easily by the workers.

The workers thanked them on their knees and swore they would forever do anything the Prince commanded.

"It's no problem, I am the future lord of this place, It is natural for me to help. Just continue to help out the territory to pay me back" Jason says with a smile.

The atmosphere was quite lively and the final goodbyes were said before departing.

"I never knew my mother's magic would feel so fulfilling," she said while she walked with Jason.

"It's quite incredible, soon, we will let everyone know just how important it is to expand our options in terms of our magical capabilities. It's unfortunate that it's hard to do with the emphasis on war" Jason says with a frustrated look.

"It's great the southern region got conquered so now we only have to focus on the Thorkell and Voraine empires. If we could just stop the war with at least one of them, we will have more than enough breathing room to change how we teach magic" Jason says.

Selena pauses, Talking with Jason always makes her think about things she never considered before. It's very interesting.

"Do you have a way?" Selena says.

She knows she is asking something crazy. How could he stop a war with an entire empire that we've been fighting since the first emperor? But Jason also gives off this feeling that he could do anything

Jason smiles, "I have a card I could use. It won't stop them from having conflicts with us in the distant future but it could definitely stop them from doing anything to us for at least the next decade, if not more. This could drastically change the way we do things" 

"Oh, what way is it?" Selena asked.

"I'll keep that a secret for now. It has something to do with that cousin of mine, her idea is quite right on the mark" Jason says with a sense of mystery in his voice.

Selena tries to think about all the things Ivory has told her but she can't pinpoint exactly what could stop a war. She eventually gave up after they arrived at their temporary manor.

"Tomorrow will be a big day, we will go visit the place that might become the biggest landmark and the future of this entire empire," Jason says with a proud smirk.

Selena was shocked to hear that this place could have such a thing. After some more small talk, she prepares to head to bed. If what Jason said is true, Tomorrow might be one of the biggest events in her life.

She slowly drifts to sleep as the night slowly turns into day.