The two of them sneaked out of the wine cellar. For both Julius Caesar and Princess Eleanor, this was their first time doing something like this. Neither of them felt much fear—what they felt was nervousness and excitement. In each other's eyes, they saw the same thing.

At this moment, Eleanor's astonishing skills became apparent. Along the way, she was always the first to sense the presence of the guards, and when they encountered magical barriers, she could easily break through them, leaving Julius Caesar in awe. After all, for someone who could only cast low-level magic, these things were a bit out of reach.

For the first time, Julius Caesar felt a desire for power in his heart. No matter how many times Martin had talked about it before, he never felt anything. But this time, watching Eleanor overcome every obstacle while he could only follow silently, Julius Caesar's pride was stirred.

Leaving the royal palace was easier than expected. Eleanor's advanced water-type illusion—Phantasmal Water Mirror—could refract light and create illusions. Of course, to a certain extent, it could also make one invisible. With Eleanor's current magical power, she couldn't manage full invisibility, but causing a little chaos was more than enough.

“We're finally free! Silly Beibei, you have to keep me company and show me around, okay?”

“Ugh... Who's Silly Beibei?” Julius Caesar was firmly against this nickname. If the old man found out, he’d laugh his head off—not that he had many good teeth left anyway.

“You, of course! I already told you my name, but you won't tell me yours, so I had to give you one. You're so silly, and you're from the Oaken tribe, so your name is Silly Beibei!”

Eleanor spoke with righteous confidence. Actually, it wasn’t her fault—being a princess, she was used to getting whatever she wanted and giving orders. Even though she was joking, that feeling still came through.

“No way, I have a name, and it's really cool, but...” Seeing the hopeful look in Eleanor's eyes, he rolled his own: “Hehe, I'm not telling you, I'm not telling you!”

“Hmph, I don't care! I’m your lifesaver, you know. A man should know how to repay kindness.”

That was true. Without Eleanor, with his own abilities, Julius Caesar would have spent his whole life in the royal palace.

“Fine, I’ll take you out to have some fun—as payback for what I owe you.”

Actually, neither of them wanted to part ways. Two kids of the same age but with completely different backgrounds naturally had endless things to talk about when together. Eleanor told Julius Caesar funny stories from the Dragon Palace, while Julius Caesar shared the old man’s tales of magical knights, heroes, and princesses. As they walked and talked, they unconsciously drew closer and closer.

“Is the place you live really that fun? Take me there, I want to meet that strange old man too.” Eleanor’s curiosity had been piqued by Julius Caesar. As a member of the royal family, she vaguely knew these stories were about a race called humans on the continent. They were powerful, but if what Julius Caesar said was true, it meant a human could actually survive under the sea—which was impossible. Besides, the place they lived was the legendary Bermuda Death Sea, the most mysterious and dangerous forbidden zone of the sea tribes.

“Well...” No wonder the old man said women were trouble and could easily make men lose their heads. Even though he was still just a boy, the old man had strictly forbidden him from telling anyone about this, let alone bringing anyone into that sea area. Although they always bickered, in Julius Caesar's heart, he still saw the old mage as his father—he just didn’t want to say it out loud.

Even though she was always cheerful, Eleanor wasn’t an arrogant princess. But she was still a princess, and no one had ever treated her like this before. She was waiting.

“How about next time? I have to get the old man’s permission first.” Even though he saw the look on the girl he liked, Julius Caesar was still Julius Caesar, and he gritted his teeth and said it.

“Hmph, I want to go now! If you don’t take me, I won’t talk to you anymore!” Eleanor’s princess temper flared up.

Julius Caesar might seem carefree, but something had been deeply engraved in his bones since birth. After spending time together, he realized that this girl he liked for the first time was not as simple as she seemed. For a palace maid, she knew too much, but Julius Caesar didn’t want to ask more.

“Even though we haven’t been together long, I’ve been really happy. Thank you again for saving me.” With that, he gave a standard noble’s bow, turned, and left. He hadn’t been home for a day and a night—the old man would be worried.

Watching Julius Caesar’s departing figure, Eleanor’s nose suddenly tingled, and it felt like something was about to fall from her eyes. Actually, Julius Caesar wasn’t feeling much better.

Maybe it was just because they were both kids.

Chapter Three: The Princess in Search of Freedom (Part Two)

Julius Caesar didn’t look back. He was afraid that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to refuse any of her requests. But his heart felt empty. Suddenly—

“Hey, brat, are you looking for trouble?!”

“So it’s a useless Sheo kid, and you dare block a noble’s way? Tired of living?!”

Before he could figure out what was happening, a barrage of curses came at him, and a whip lashed toward his face. Even though he was distracted, his quick reflexes allowed Julius Caesar to dodge swiftly, but the whip still grazed his face, and the sharp pain instantly cleared his mind.

“Well, kid, you’re pretty fast, aren’t you?”