What? I Actually Reincarnated As Stepping Stone In Another World?

Capital of the Balka Empire, Arkham

A middle-aged man in golden armor stood before the throne, his sharp facial features radiating a fierce fighting spirit.

His black eyes conveyed the majesty of an extremely powerful warrior, yet he bowed respectfully to the figure on the throne before him, as if everything belonged to that person.

"Report to the Emperor, the crown princess has been found!" the man declared respectfully.

The figure on the throne opened his eyes upon hearing the news, and his gaze immediately fell upon the man in golden armor.

"Has she been found?" the Emperor asked, leaning lazily on his throne and studying the man below him.

"Yes, Emperor," the man in golden armor replied with unwavering honesty.

The Emperor nodded, not appearing surprised by the news.

"Well, thank you for your hard work, Alverd." The Emperor spoke lightly to the man in the golden armor.

"No need to thank me, your majesty! It is my duty!" replied the man in golden armor with respect and unwavering commitment.

"Well, you can go back now," said the Emperor in a lazy tone.

"Yes, Emperor!" responded the man in golden armor respectfully. As he turned to leave, he briefly glanced at the side of the throne above him, as if he had sensed something there.

However, he saw nothing unusual and quickly exited the throne room.

As he left, there was a sudden space fluctuation beside the throne, and an old man in servant's clothing appeared.

"Butler, what do you think?" The Emperor on the throne asked in a lazy tone. It was as if he already knew about the sudden appearance of the butler beside him.

"The princess has been found, Emperor."

"And she was found in Duke Asvold's territory," he said.

The old servant immediately bowed his head respectfully and informed the Emperor on the throne of the details.

Immediately, the Emperor on the throne smiled slightly at the news, his interest piqued.

"So Lucia was saved by the heir of Duke Asvold?" asked the Emperor.

"That's right, Emperor," replied the old servant with respect.

"Heh, just like that. It seems that this heir is not an ordinary figure. I would be interested in meeting him," mused the Emperor.

But his tone quickly turned menacing.

"However, if you interfere in my business, it won't be as simple as killing you, even if you are Duke Asvold's heir," he said with strong killing intent.

Immediately, he turned his gaze towards the butler beside him and said lightly, "Investigate all the information about Duke Asvold's heir."

"I feel that this kid is not as simple as he seems on the surface."

Hearing this, the butler bowed respectfully and said, "As ordered!"

"And also, don't let the news of the crown princess' kidnapping spread out." The Emperor said in a lazy tone.

"Yes, Emperor!" The butler replied.

"Alright, you can go." The Emperor leaned his back on the throne and closed his eyes.

The butler bowed respectfully and soon disappeared into the void.

"It's not time yet." Whispered the Emperor.

...

In a luxurious bedroom

Arthur sat at his reading table, relieved that he had prevented Abel's chance in the future to meet Elena and Lucia.

Upon returning to Duke Asvold's mansion, he ordered three guards to take Elena to the medical room, but her condition required more than a first-rate potion.

In addition to punishing the guards who had mocked him earlier, Arthur freed all the human slaves he found in the illegal trading place. He paid for their needs and sent them back to their hometowns.

However, he couldn't do the same for slaves of other races, as they were from different continents.

Instead, he employed them as servants or bodyguards in his old mansion.

Arthur noticed that some of them were Elementals, but he didn't have time to investigate because of Lucia's previous troubles.

Overall, having servants and guards from other races was advantageous due to their exceptional abilities.

"Not bad; I had a great harvest today," Arthur mused as he leaned his chin on his hand.

"But there are likely other characters who will aid Abel in the Balka Empire that I haven't discovered yet."

"I've marked them all, but I'm pressed for time since the core awakening ceremony is in two days." He frowned at the thought.

Suddenly, Arthur remembered something and clutched his chest.

He felt the painful feeling of being with Lucia as they exited the underground room.

At first, he was, of course, acting, but the second time, he felt a slight stinging feeling towards his heart that caused him to feel a little pain at the time.

Of course, he didn't take it seriously and thought that it was just a normal reaction.

However, he had noticed that his heart sometimes raced so quickly that it caused a slight pain in his chest. He was uncertain why this was occurring.

He grew increasingly cautious as he suspected this sensation was related to the formation of the core around his heart.

However, he dismissed this idea since he had read about it in a book and asked his guards if such a reaction was normal before the awakening ceremony.

And the answer he received was that there had been no such reaction before the day of the awakening.

Of course, this made Arthur frown and try to figure out the reason for the pain.

Suddenly

"Thump! Thump!"

"Argh!" Arthur was immediately in pain and clutched his chest hard.

He fell out of his chair and lay curled up on the floor.

"What is this?!"

"Damn! it hurts!" Arthur continued to clutch his chest and scream in pain.

Arthur writhed in agony as the pain in his chest intensified, causing him to cry out loudly.

"Arghh!!!" he screamed, curling up into a ball and clutching his chest.

*Knock!*

There was a sudden knock outside Arthur's bedroom door.

"Young master!" Runa's panicked voice could be heard outside the door. "What happened? Why are you screaming like that?"

Despite Runa's pleas, Arthur remained silent and continued to scream in agony.

Overwhelmed with fear and concern, Runa begged Arthur to open the door.

"Please open the door, young master!" she cried.

Gradually, the pain subsided, and Arthur's cries turned to gasping breaths, leaving a tense silence in the room.

"Young master, are you alright?!"

Arthur slowly opened the door, revealing his disheveled appearance. His face was pale, and his hair was in disarray. Beads of sweat lined his forehead and neck, and exhaustion was evident in his purple eyes.

Runa rushed to his side, examining him for any injuries.

"Young master, what happened?" she asked, her tone laced with concern.

"It's okay, Runa," Arthur said, shaking his head and speaking without changing his facial expression.

Seeing this, Runa wanted to say something immediately, but Arthur covered her small lips with his finger and said softly, "Trust me."

Hearing her young master's gentle voice, Runa could only nod quietly and not inquire further. After all, if her young master said that it was okay, it must be okay.

"Alright, you can go back, and don't worry about me," Arthur said, rubbing her hair and wiping away the tear marks on her cheeks.

"Um!" Runa nodded her head as if she understood.

Just as Runa wanted to turn to leave, she remembered something and looked at Arthur.

"By the way, the girl that young master brought will wake up soon, and the doctor asked me to tell you," Runa said while holding her chin and looking at Arthur carefully.

She didn't know who the girl was, but she wouldn't ask her young master. After all, all she cared about was her young master's well-being.

Hearing that Elena would wake up soon, Arthur nodded and said softly to Runa, "Well, thank you, Runa."

"You're welcome, young master!" Runa smiled happily and turned to leave.

Seeing Lucia leave, Arthur quickly entered his room, closed the door, and locked it.

Soon, he walked slowly to his bed and lay down.

"What is it? Why is there such intense pain all of a sudden?" Arthur, who was still a little breathless, asked in his heart.

He still remembered the pain that had suddenly appeared earlier. His heart felt like it was being ripped out by a knife.

However, he did not know why he was feeling this kind of pain.

"It must be related to the awakening in the next two days." Arthur clutched his chest and took a deep breath, letting it out.

He could only use that excuse for the pain in his heart that suddenly appeared.

Soon, he shifted his gaze towards the window and looked at the calm night sky.

"I hope there is no serious problem."

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I didn't expect that writing one chapter would take so long zzzzzzz

Well, it looks like the climax will happen soon...

stay tuned!