Realisation

"Young master, young master, there is good news. The Emperor and Master Thomas have signed a marriage contract between you and the seventh princess!"

Jasmine's voice repeatedly played in his mind. He remembered it was on a casual day when he was running on the mountaintop; Jasmine had come to him bearing a piece of news.

-Gasp!

Raymond woke up with a gasp. Was his mind playing tricks on him or did that really happen? He wasn't sure. There had to be some truth to it if he was having this dream after knowing Sasha's real identity.

Zzzz~

A soft snoring sound reached his ears making him look to his right side where Jasmine was sleeping peacefully. Raymond's lips twitched as he remembered her outburst back in the bathroom when he told her about Scarlett Phoenix.

"Hey, Jasmine! Wake up!"

"Nnnhh~ Master, let me sleep~"

Jasmine slurred in her sleep as Raymond tried to shake her awake. Raymond, bereft of any choice, pinched her thigh forcing her to wake up.

"Ouch!"

Jasmine opened her eyes with a grunt, rubbing her stinging thigh. Feeling her master's intense gaze on her, she turned her attention towards him.

"Master, why did you do that?"

"Who is Scarlett Phoenix?"

Instead of answering her question, Raymond presented her with his own question.

"Eh? Don't you already know? She is the seventh princess." Jasmine tried to avert her eyes.

"Jasmine, stop fooling around!" Raymond chastised her. "Who is Scarlett Phoenix to me?"

Jasmine lowered her head, not daring to face him. Then she whispered in a barely audible voice.

"She is your fi-fiancée."

Raymond blinked his eyes a couple of times trying to digest her words. So that wasn't a dream, it was his mind reminding him of his distant memory.

At that time he had marked everything else as unimportant in his mind aside from training. He didn't care about the rest of the world as he became addicted to the feeling of getting stronger. The only thing that managed to break his focus was his father's death, but that too further drove him to improve himself.

He had ignored all the summons he had received from his uncle. He had ignored his duty to his family. Above all else, he had ignored his promise to his father and hadn't looked after Jasmine after his demise. And now he was sure, in his never-ending list of things he had ignored, this fiancée was also in there somewhere.

"Sigh~ what a mess." Raymond sighed deeply. His eyes involuntarily moved towards Jasmine.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked.

"Hmph, I already told you years ago! It's not my fault if you don't remember it." Jasmine spoke with her head lowered still. "Besides, how am I supposed to know whether you remember about your betrothal or not?"

"That may be true, Jasmine! But you should've reminded me about it when I told you about my plan to leave the empire." Raymond shot back angrily which seemed to have reached Lyla's ears as she fluttered her eyes open.

"It's because of knowing your plan that I held back from telling you about your fiancée!" Jasmine shouted back. "Think about it, Master. Would they let you go off the empire after marrying their princess? The Imperial Family and the emperor would have stopped you from going off to search for Grandpa Theo!"

Raymond thought over her words. She was right in a way. The emperor wouldn't send his daughter with him on some adventure just because he wanted to find his grandpa.

"W-what?"

Raymond and Jasmine turned to their left hearing the shaking voice of Lyla.

"Jasmine, you didn't say anything about Ray marrying a princess right?" She asked with her face turning pale. "Please tell me I heard it wrong."

As if pouring cold water on her head, Jasmine shook her head. "No, you didn't hear it wrong. Master is engaged to the seventh princess."

"Why? What happened?" Raymond asked Lyla looking at her face twisting in different emotions.

"I am wanted by the Imperial Family." Lyla managed to barely speak with her mind in chaos.

"What the fuck?" Raymond replied with shock. What the hell was happening with his life?

"Y-yes. I was ordered to kill the emperor by my father," Lyla's voice was wobbly as she explained about her last mission. "Even though they didn't see my face, I am sure the emperor and his two guardians would easily recognise my aura."

"Ah, just great!" Raymond rubbed his temples in frustration.

"I will just leave if my company brings you trouble," Lyla whispered, her chest tightening in pain at the thought of leaving Raymond.

In response, Raymond bonked her on the head. "Who told you to leave, Lyla? Did I give you my permission? You've already promised yourself to me, there is no escaping now."

Lyla's eyes reddened hearing the possessiveness in his voice.

"Darling~ why are you so good to me?" She jumped into his arms, placing her buttocks on his lap.

Raymond wrapped his hands around her back and rubbed it soothingly. As Lyla nuzzled into him, his thoughts wandered towards his father.

'Just why, father?' He wanted to yank his father's spirit from the afterlife and ask him face to face. Why did he sign this marriage agreement? At that time Raymond was just a boy with a broken core, there was nothing that made him worthy of the princess. So why did his father make this arrangement for him?

Since his father had agreed to this marriage, he couldn't just run away from it without giving any proper reasons. That would bring shame to his father's name— something that Raymond wouldn't even want to happen in his dream.

'Argh! Fuck it! I will just come clean with Scarlett and ask her for forgiveness!' Raymond decided.

There was no point in mulling over it further. Raymond knew he was in the wrong for ignoring her for all these years. According to the empire's custom, he should have sent her gifts on every special occasion. He was also duty-bound to court her properly and made attempts to get to know each other better before the marriage.

He had done nothing of those sorts. He wouldn't be surprised if she attacked him once he told her his real name. A small smile appeared on his lips thinking about how feisty she was.

Soon his smile turned into a frown as he found himself in a dilemma. Should he break off the engagement and go on his way? Or should he just take Scarlett with him?

Would she be even willing to come with him? She was the princess of this empire, it would ruin her father's reputation if she ran off with him.

Raymond was sure, the emperor would never allow her to go outside the empire let alone with someone who was in the company of Lyla.

No matter how much he explained about Lyla's previous circumstances, they wouldn't believe it without any proof.

Raymond was blaming one of the dukes of the empire. There was no way they would believe his words without solid proof. And all that Duke Denver had to do was deny his accusations and Raymond wouldn't be able to convince the emperor just with his words.

'Who the fuck wants him to live to deny my words? If Lyla doesn't kill him soon, I will flatten him myself!'

Raymond clenched his fist harder. Duke Denver's living days were numbered. The first thing he wanted to do after leaving the Capital was to find the duke and kill him off.

Zzzz~

Jasmine's snoring sounds echoed out in the quiet room. She was dozing off still sitting on the bed. Raymond flicked his finger on her forehead, making her startled.

"Wh-what?!" Jasmine looked around in confusion.

"Nothing, go back to sleep. We will talk in the morning."

Raymond told her as he looked at Lyla in his arms. She was also sleeping with her ear pressed to his chest and a blissful smile on her face.

Seeing the peaceful expression on her face, Raymond thought she looked really beautiful when she smiled.

'There is no way I am going to abandon her for Scarlett.' Raymond made a firm decision.

*******

-Knock! Knock!

"Coming!"

Jasmine answered as she got dressed for the day and opened the door. An Imperial Guard in his glistening golden armour was standing outside the room.

"Err…mister, how can I help you?" Jasmine asked, puzzled at seeing a guard this early in the morning in front of their room.

"Does Ray from the mercenary guild live here?" He asked.

"Yes, he does," Jasmine said and she noticed the envelope in his hands. "Aah, if you're here to deliver something then you can give it to me!"

"And who are you?" The guard asked. He needed to make sure the letter reached the right person.

"I am his wife!" Jasmine huffed. "He is taking a bath, you can wait if you want or you can hand it over to me."

"Alright! Make sure you give it to him with the seal intact!" The guard warned her as he handed the envelope to Jasmine and walked away in a hurry. He had patrolling duties to do or else he would have waited for Ray.

Jasmine closed the door and looked at the envelope curiously. Her eyes widened looking at the Phoenix shaped wax seal on it. She carefully placed the letter on the writing desk and called for Raymond who was in the bathroom with Lyla.

"What is it?"

"There is a letter for you, Master!" Jasmine added. "And it is from the Imperial Family!"

-Splash!

-Thud!

Raymond hurriedly dried himself off and opened the door. He took the envelope and tore it apart.

He had a strange expression on his face as he read the contents of the letter.

"What happened, Master? What does the letter say?" Jasmine asked.

"Well, Scarlett has invited me to Phoenix Festival as a guest of honour."

"..." Jasmine.