"Prince, what are we about to do?" Lucia followed me, watching as I held the parchment, asking doubtfully, "You began drawing and writing in your room last night. What on earth is this? I hate to admit it, but I cannot understand at all."

I chuckled, telling her, "It's not something magical. It's just a blueprint of the crossbow gun we mentioned yesterday. As Mr. Kasdey didn't provide us with a blueprint, I've drawn one myself."

"You can operate machinery, Your Highness?!" Lucia looked at me shocked and in awe, "Your Highness seems to be proficient in everything. The drawing you’ve done seems so complex. The fact that you could complete it in a night suggests that humans aren't too special."

I laughed sheepishly in silent reply, my advantage being time travel. I might not remember what happened to me, but I remember my past life's experiences. Humans are indeed remarkable. I’m not sure about the strength of your Elf magic, but I am aware of the boundless creativity of humans. Wasn’t there always this saying in all fantasy novels?

Never underestimate humans.

"Are we just returning a book to the elder now?" Lucia and I walked side by side down the street. Mom's still in a coma, and even though I'm worried about her, if she were awake, I wouldn’t be able to proceed with my plans. So Mom, please forgive your child's selfishness for now…I will take good care of you until you wake up.

"That's just a part of it."

We arrived at the big tree Elder's residence, a place I am still not willing to admit is a house… After knocking on the tree trunk, the door opened to reveal the elder with a bitter face, he brightened at the sight of me, hastily greeted me, "Oh! His highness came in person, how esteemed! Is there any good news? Hopefully about our upcoming battle…”

Eyeing the lustrous spears stacked next to the ancient tree, I noticed they were ready for deployment. Despite the Elder's reluctance to join the battle and his hopeful questioning, I clarified, "No, I'm here to return the book and deliver a command."

Placing the book in front of him, I responded, "This command, however, is not from the Queen. It's from me. As a prince, I wonder if I have the authority to command you."

"Ah! For the prince, I am willing to go through fire and water. Even though I'm old, I am ready to give my best," he claimed.

I laughed then handed him a piece of parchment, "I want these devices to be constructed. You guys should arrange the material requirements. You will have to leave in five days. Once you've completed them, just hand them over to me, and you won't have to go. Otherwise, I hope you will bring back good tidings with these spears."

The elder was dumbstruck while taking the plot plan from me. It was indeed remarkable for me to draft an engineering drawing standard on parchment. It showed a blueprint for the crossbow gun, each component and the manufacturing process. Indeed, Kasdey didn’t reveal how to construct one. Knowing the crossbow as a high-end mechanic in their era and that my background was different as I was an engineering student from the military academy that majored in weaponry. Modern people consider these as toys. Anyway, just drawing from memory was tough work.

Yet, what I created wasn't a conventional crossbow, I added gears, chains, and standard magazines to enable automatic loading and firing with the weapon. I'm sure with just one of these, I could kill all the earth-dragons.

"What on earth is this..."

"Ah, you needn't worry about it. It's principles are all mentioned here. All you need to do is find the resources. With your wealth and contacts, producing these devices won't be a major task. I don't require many, just five will be sufficient. The crucial component is the arrow. Make sure to manufacture a steel arrowhead, the more arrows the better, assuring absolute consistency in size... Ah, these spears you have are just fine."

"But... Your Highness, this... these things... it's impossible for me to build five of them in five days! Even if all eight elders pooled their efforts, it wouldn't be possible." The elder said to me, his face full of despair, trembling as he spoke. "This... this is just too much... even if we could produce them, we don't have time for the arrows."

"Just divide the work amongst you."

I shrugged, "One of you makes the wheels, one the crossbow arms, one the springs, and finally, one team does the assembly. It might be difficult for you to produce five crossbows in five days, but surely, ten wheels will not be a problem. That solves the issue, right?"

Just as I was about to laugh, I suddenly realized that in this era, they only just invented crossbows. They certainly would not have an understanding of assembly-line production... What have I done? Have I inadvertently accelerated the development of their society?!

"So that's how it can be done! Amazing! Absolutely amazing! As expected of a prince! Your wisdom is comparable to the goddess herself! Truly worthy of being the Queen's son, so brilliant! Don't worry, we will fulfill your request within five days! If not, we would be failing the trust given to us by the late King! By the way, does this mean we elder folks do not have to go?"

"Just produce for me what I need, and I personally will go out to fight. I'll be waiting for your results. Oh right, almost forgot - the training of those who will operate this equipment is also to be organized by you. When the time comes, I'll take the people along with the equipment. Goodbye."

I touched the headdress on both sides of my head, ensuring that my ears were not exposed before leaving. To be honest, I had no clue as to why, but my mother was always concerned about my ears. I initially thought everyone in the Kingdom knew about my mixed heritage, but apparently, that was not the case.

After bidding the elder farewell, I strolled out onto the streets with Lucia. Despite venturing out briefly before, we were immediately called back with almost no time to explore the nearby area. Now, in the early morning, the hustle and bustle mimicked that of modern cities. The air was filled with the fragrant smells of flowers Elves liked and food aroma, including the smell of roasting meat, which Elves also fond of.

There was much more to do, but for now, I simply wanted to take a stroll down the streets with Lucia closely following behind. After the last incident, there was a layer of awkwardness between us. Maybe she was worried that I was upset and she felt guilty since she had a share of responsibility for my mother's illness.

Despite nearly being burnt alive by the Queen, the first thing Lucia did when she came around was to kneel vigilantly by my mother's bedside - her loyalty outranking mine. I was mostly busy drafting designs last night and had left the responsibility of taking care of my mother to Lucia.

Comparatively, Lucia was still in discomfort. Even though I stressed that none of this was her fault, if anything, it was due to my impulsivity. However, she would regularly kneel by my mother's side to keep her company. Last night, the physician diagnosed that the chaotic magic within my mother had stabilized, and she would regain clarity once fully awake. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was not ready to suddenly step up as the Elf king if anything unfortunate befell my mother, especially as I have not experienced political strife yet. But fortunately, it seemed like my mother would likely live for hundreds of years given her current state.

I reached out and held her hand. Lucia looked up at me, a tad surprised. I smiled at her and said, "We've got nothing else on for now, and my mother's condition has also stabilized. Now, let's just take a walk down the street."

She looked at me, then turned away... this time, her expression wasn't wrought with confusion like one who had just woken. Instead, it was overtaken with bashfulness. Seriously, what's there to feel shy about at this point? You've already felt... uh-uh, can't go there! Normally Lucia wouldn't hesitate to hold hands or hug, so why is she acting so odd today?

It's not like she got burnt once...

But still, Lucia held my hand firmly.

As we strolled down the streets, I curiously took in the surroundings. The design of Elf Kingdom was quite reasonable, especially the areas near the palace. While the elders' homes were fittingly large trees, common households resided in wooden houses covered with green ivy, showcasing Elves' love for the color green.The streets were paved with stones, laid out tidily and extremely clean, unlike the hustle and bustle of human cities where domestic animals ran amok. Elves loved cleanliness. Those walking on the streets, although their clothing might not be luxurious, were always pristine. The clothes they wore were slightly European in style, showing off their exquisite body lines and necks and chests as pure as moonlight.

Even the ordinary elf girls, with eyes as clear as lake water, could still tug at people’s heartstrings with their every action and their every smile. Ah, the elves were indeed beautiful...

“Um... Prince... When we're outside, it would be better if we don't hold hands... I shouldn't be seen in public...”

Lucia, standing beside me, anxiously said, "Everyone can recognize you, Prince. If they see you holding my hand, it might bring trouble to you... Moreover, I'm in charge of intelligence, if I appear in public... Ah!"

"Careful!"

I pulled Lucia into my arms as a carriage sped past us.

"Oh, that was dangerous... What was that person thinking? Was there something so urgent?" I grumbled, then lowered my head to look at Lucia, who was nestled in my chest, and asked, "Are you alright, Lucia?"

“Mmh...”

Lucia nodded weakly, then lifted her head to look at me. A bitter smile appeared on her face. "Why... why is it that no matter how much I try, it is always Traui protecting me? Whether it was in the past or now... why can't I protect Traui no matter what I do... I've tried so hard, really... why... why can I only cause trouble for Traui and not...”

Lucia’s gem-like green eyes filled with bitter tears as she clung to my arms, sobbing: “Why... why am I always causing trouble for everyone… whether it's the Queen or Traui… I... I only want to help everyone... How can I be the Prince's fiancé when I'm like this... I... Why…”

I was slightly stunned. I hadn't realized Lucia was worried about this. She regretted, she felt guilty, and she took all the responsibilities upon herself. Lucia was a protector, the captain of the Shadow Force in charge of our safety, yet she had led me into danger. How foolish of me not to have realized this earlier, to have been pondering about why Lucia was upset, to have failed to comfort her.

I was truly unfit to be King, for I was the one least attuned to people's hearts.

"I think Lucia is very strong...Lucia could do anything I asked of her, Lucia is always there to protect me at all times. I think this Lucia is very impressive… really…"

I touched my head, forcing a smile, “I don't have any magic, but Lucia can fly in the sky like a bird… she truly is amazing. I respect Lucia a lot. I feel safe with Lucia beside me, I can sleep soundly at night knowing she's watching over me… If it weren't for my mother and Lucia's surprise attacks…I'm not that powerful, I've always been relying on Lucia.”

"But... but... I am your fiancee... I can't always... rely on the Prince... I have to protect the Prince... but I always end up putting the Prince in danger..." As Lucia cried, her tears flowed freely. Elf's tears were like pearls, but I believe they tasted as bitter as bile. Lucia wanted to protect me, she wanted to be with me. Lucia's feelings were true, she was truly in pain.

"That's alright, since you're my fiancee; we should protect each other. As a man, isn't it my duty to protect my wife? Lucia, there's no need to hide. You've done nothing wrong. You are my fiancee. It has to be said one day anyway. Why be bothered by other people's stares now? I've always felt honored to have Lucia by my side!"

"Prince!"

Lucia suddenly threw herself into my arms, weeping uncontrollably. I held her, laughing bitterly. If I had such a great talent in the past, I probably wouldn't have been single.

Ah, that's it. That day, in front of everyone, the candidate for the Elf Prince's fiancee was revealed to the public...