Chapter 134: Secret Bakery

Amelia POV

Amelia had to admit, the princess was right about this place. The food so far had been incredible. It was actually hard to maintain vigilance while still trying to blend in and eat like the rest of the customers because she just wanted to eat the entire time.

Of course, she still had her duty. She had made sure to research every location they had visited that day. She didn’t like surprises, boring was best. Boring is what kept her charge alive.

At the moment, Princess Reinera was disguised as Grace, a first-year enrolled at Goldencrest and Amelia was officially there as a teaching assistant. All at the behest of the headmaster who did it out of respect for the princess’s privacy and protection. At least that was what they told everyone who asked.

Thankfully, this restaurant was famously known for being backed by some of the most powerful people in the entire region. It arguably, might have been the safest location to eat at in all of Heston.

Of course, she had to jinx it. Because soon after they arrived at the Golden Wheel and started to eat their first course, Amelia spotted an unexpected surprise.

It was the same boy from last night. At first, she thought she was seeing things, but then she noticed that the boy had noticed them as well. They locked eyes for a moment, that seemed to stretch longer than it really was. She saw the matching confusion and surprise coming off of his face, and it seemed genuine as well.

Probably not on purpose that he’s here then, she assured herself. Most likely, it was just a coincidence.

She took a quick look at the people he was eating with. There were five others, all older than the boy, whose name she still hadn’t found out. She normally would have investigated last night after their interaction, but she had to deal with planning this last-minute excursion to the city.

The five of his friends were all busy stuffing their faces full, much like the princess next to her. She didn’t blame any of them either. The bread was mouthwatering good, it was better than many of the things the palace chefs made.

However, just as she was about to return to looking at the black-haired boy, who was now talking to the older girl across from him, she recognized one of the other boys. Tall, blonde hair, and electric blue eyes that almost danced with lightning. There was no doubt, that that was Derek Zenith.

Derek Zenith was the prize jewel of Duke Zenith’s household. A perfect lightning affinity, was intelligent, poised, and according to all rumors, a very nice young man. A rarity from someone with his pedigree and talent.

Once she recognized Derek she put together who the rest of the table was. Their group was well-known to people who paid attention. Next to the Zenith prodigy, was a pale lean young man. That was most likely Kyle Quincy, a person who was said to become one of the youngest Grand Scholars in the Empire.

On the other side was the girl who the black-haired younger boy was now arguing with. Aubrey Crysalia, the sole daughter of Fiona Crysalia, better known as the Crystal Tyrant. Very talented in her own right, having the perfect crystal affinity inherited from her mother.

Next to her was someone who was in contention, along with Derek to win the entire Intra-School Tournament. Edgar Crow was born a commoner but quickly proved his worth and power within the first year of his enrollment. He didn’t have a perfect affinity, but he did have something that was more terrifying.

Raw skill and instinct. When it came to hand-to-hand combat, there weren’t many other students his age in the entire Empire that could touch him. She knew that Derek was technically stronger according to rumors, but if she had to choose someone to bring into battle with her, someone like Edgar Crow would be her choice without a doubt.

Then on the other side of the younger boy, sat someone Amelia was very aware of by pure reputation. Lily Violet was the next head of House Violet, there was no doubt to anyone who paid attention. Even her father knew and encouraged it. Just this last summer, Amelia had heard the news of the young psychic negotiating several new deals with many powerful groups, vastly expanding their already large holdings all by herself.

Putting aside that she was the inheritor of one of the most wealthy families on the continent, she was a prodigy in her own right. While not suited for direct combat, Amelia would say that she was potentially the most dangerous out of their entire group. Everyone knew how scary a decent psychic was, but one of the best in her generation? That was downright horrifying.

And then there was the insolent cake boy. Who the hell was the cake boy to be hanging around with the group who would grow up to become some of the most influential people in the entire Empire? It didn’t make sense.

It almost made her angry in some ways. Many people have tried to join their close-knit group, but have all failed. Where did he go right where others went wrong, to be sitting next to them eating and even arguing with them like they were old friends?

She was lost in her own head when she spotted Aubrey Crysalia get up from her seat and head in their direction. Amelia immediately went on guard, wondering what the girl could want with them.

The tall brunette walked up to their table with a friendly smile and looked at Reinera who was still eating her bread with great enthusiasm. “Heya! I’m Aubrey and I came over because Julius mentioned that he shared some cake with you the other night.”

Reinera ripped her head away from her bread and took in the tall girl who had approached them. She was clearly taken aback and didn’t know what to do. “Pardon?”

“Julius said that he shared some cake with you last night and I was wondering if you wanted to join us at our table,” the girl asked with a smile.

Reinera looked around and spotted the same young black-haired boy from last night sitting at a distant table with both hands on his face, clearly embarrassed. However, she could recognize his hair as well as the fact that the girl mentioned cake. There was only one person who she ate cake with last night.

Stolen story; please report.

After a moment, she finally turned to look at the older girl. “You want me to sit with you guys?” She asked, confused at the offer.

“Yeah, why not? You guys seem to just be getting started, we can wait until you guys catch up. It’s not like we are going to get full anytime soon,” she said with a chuckle.

Princess Reinera took a few moments to mull it over and then turned to Amelia with a pleading look. “Can we?”

Amelia frowned, she didn’t know why Reinera had wanted to join them so badly. Amelia was pretty sure that she had no idea who the group was and who the person she was talking to was. Reinera made a conscious effort to not pay attention to who the important people were.

It was a tricky situation. If it was anyone else she would have denied them right out of the gate. However, she was very hesitant to decline this group. Offending the future scions of several great houses was not a smart idea.

It was also potentially very beneficial for the princess. Becoming friends with this group could garner more political clout than she could hope for. It was a big reason why Amelia had supported her coming to Heston.

Finally, Amelia looked at Reinera and reluctantly nodded her head.

Julius POV

He couldn’t believe that she really just did that. However, what was more unbelievable was that the two girls said yes. Why would they say yes?

However, a more scary factor came to mind. Did she think he had more cake? Was she there to ask for more?