Chapter 338 - 338 Royal Castle Atrium

Looking at the different directions they could go, Marcus thought intently about where he wanted to go next in the royal castle.

"How about we go to the atrium. I have heard that you even grow natural treasures there, and the man who is in charge of it is an acquaintance of mine." Marcus said pointing toward the south where the atrium was located.

Nodding her head and with a satisfied expression Mrazivý said, "Good choice. The Atrium is quite beautiful and full of different wonders. Oh, and you say you know Baron Kental?"

"Yeah, he is the father of one of my sisters' friends, so I have met with him before. He seems like a decent guy, though he did not like it that his daughter wanted to be an adventurer."

Hearing this Mrazivý began rubbing her cheek and had a somewhat guilty smile, and said, "I may be partially responsible for that. When I was sixteen and just about to leave to start being an adventure, I ran into the baron's daughter a few times and talked up being an adventurer to her. I was happy to tell some of the stories I read to someone who seemed so interested, but it looks like she really latched onto it. I mean she was just a five-year-old little girl; I did not think she would take it to heart and want to be an adventurer."

'Sometimes the world really is a small place.' Marcus thought thinking about the small degrees of separation between people

Letting out a slight chuckle Marcus told Mrazivý that maybe she should have been a priest seeing as how she was able to convert people.

"I mean you must be a role model for every adventurous young girl out there. Eventually you may even have hordes of young noble girls coming up to you with swords in their hands begging you to teach them how to be an adventurer."

Taking this moment to get back at Mrazivý for her past teasing Marcus got a good laugh out of Mrazivý and soon the two of them began jovially walking towards the atrium as Mrazivý played along saying she would raise an army of hopeful young girls into the mightiest adventurers.

Continuing on their way Marcus and Mrazivý just made idle conversation, talking about this and that, until they made it to the outside of the royal castle's atrium.

'Wow.'

Looking at the glass building that was attached the castle, Marcus was impressed by its size that was as big as his entire manor.

He could also see rows and rows of different plants even just from outside and a slight flora fragrance was escaping from the cracks in the doors.

"Princess Mrazivý and my guest Baronetess Irene Geist, we are going to take a look around the atrium, and maybe collect a few fruits, vegetables, and herbs." Mrazivý said to the two guards standing in front of the atrium doors.

One of the guards then held out his hand and said, "May I see both of your IDs to confirm you are who you say."

Seeing this Marcus was a bit surprised since so far Mrazivý had been able to walk around completely unimpeded, but it looked like even she had to follow procedure to enter the atrium.

Following her lead Marcus handed over his ID and allowed the guards to look it over.

And as they did one of them glanced up at Marcus warily, obviously cautious about his set of skills that could cause damage to the atrium.

"Here you go, everything seems to be in order. You are both free to enter, and move about, but please make sure your guest follows all of the rules your highness."

"Yes, will do. We are just looking around and enjoying the place. I promise that we will not damage the atrium." Mrazivý said already used to the way the security in the atrium was handled.

'This place must be more important than I thought if the security is this tight. I guess they must be growing some rare natural treasures in here.'

Walking inside the full force of the smell that Marcus had gotten just a whiff of outside assaulted his senses and the sweet natural smell made him feel at peace.

Then there was also the bright light that gave the place a warmth that was pretty much unheard of in this kingdom that was situated far to the north.

'It feels almost like I have walked into the tropics.'

Looking around Marcus could not clearly see the number of plants being grown, from fruit trees to rows of herbs.

"Hey Irene, did you want one of these." Mrazivý said as she went over to a large tree that had some type of fruit growing from it.

It was a long thin fruit that was yellow in color and Marcus had not seen it before.

He wondered if maybe it could only be found here in this atrium seeing as how it was unlikely to be able to naturally grow within the kingdom.

"Sure, go ahead and pick one for me." Marcus said while theorizing how the fruit would taste.

Mrazivý then pulled of two of the biggest looking fruits and came back over to Marcus and handed him one, as she took a bite out of the other.

Taking the fruit Marcus followed her example and took a big bite out of it.

'Mm, tastes a bit like a sourer pineapple with a texture similar to a mango.'

As he was eating the fruit along with Mrazivý, Marcus noticed that there were a number of people watching them, some curiously and others alertly.

"Mraz why is this place so heavily guarded." Marcus said before finishing off the fruit.

"Oh, this place is pretty much the heart of the castle. Most of our produce is grown here, especially during the winter allowing us to have fresh food year-round. That way in case of a siege, the castle could hold out pretty much indefinitely, though that has never happened. Also, there are some natural treasures growing here that kingdom does not want damaged or stolen. But the biggest reason is because if the atrium were damaged, we would not be able to replace the magical formations that make this place possible."

"I see so whoever made this place must not be around anymore then?"

"Yeah. It was made by one of the first king's companions who was apparently a nature magic expert and the first grand archmage of the kingdom. Unfortunately, after she died, no one of the same level of skill in nature magic has risen up, so if the formations were badly damaged, no one would be able to repair them. Therefore, even us members of the royal family need to tread cautiously here." Mrazivý said with a grave expression.

"Ah but we do not need to worry. Just follow my lead and everything will be fine."

After saying that Mrazivý began walking again, occasionally grabbing a fruit or vegetable for Marcus to try.

"And this here is the flower garden. It is pretty much the only place in the atrium not growing some type of produce and is meant to be a relaxing spot in the castle.." Mrazivý said as she opened the doors to a small section of room.