Zander blinked a few times, unable to understand what Aldrian meant with that expression and those words. Evalina also wondered what Aldrian meant.

"Take care of my disciple. He is a good person. He has already experienced many bad things in the past. I hope you can give him happiness."

Suddenly, she heard his voice transmission, which made her finally understand what Aldrian meant.

Evalina’s face turned red like a tomato, and her head felt as if it might explode. She tried to convince herself that he might have meant something else.

However, she knew that as the strongest cultivator, Aldrian could easily see through things others tried to hide. She did not know the extent of his ability, and it would be too arrogant to assume anything.

Although she felt intense embarrassment, she still responded to what she heard as a sincere hope from Aldrian.

"I will, Your Majesty. I will give Zander the happiness that he deserves."

She answered with full sincerity, even though her face still showed clear embarrassment.

Aldrian nodded with a smile.

"I will visit Duke Seigerfield in the future. Please send my regards to him when you meet him."

Evalina was stunned that Aldrian already knew her identity, but she quickly responded.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Although she still felt embarrassed, deep inside she was truly happy that Aldrian’s reaction was positive.

The first time she learned that Zander’s true identity was the direct disciple of Aldrian the Great, she was truly in shock. It felt surreal that the man she had always seen as special and mysterious was in fact the direct disciple of the famous Aldrian the Great.

She knew that he had grown up in a commoner family, as he had already told her, and she could also see it from his behavior.

Her noble upbringing and a life surrounded by nobles allowed her to easily distinguish whether someone came from a noble family or not, just from the way they carried themselves and spoke.

But that was exactly what made her interested in him at the beginning. Someone who came from a common background yet displayed such extraordinary power. His occasional innocent behavior and natural kindness became another reason she was drawn to him.

She had never liked how those noble young masters acted with their status and power. Compared to them, Zander felt far more interesting and much more pleasant to be around.

As time passed, her feelings gradually developed into something deeper, and those feelings were returned by him. Eventually, they crossed a line and did something that would normally be considered taboo for a noble lady like her.

She had already prepared herself for any challenge that might come for their relationship, especially those from her family. She knew she would need to convince her parents.

But the moment she learned about another identity of her lover, she felt as if she was dreaming.

She had always known that he had a mysterious master guiding him, someone powerful enough to shape him into what he was now. But she had never imagined that his master was Aldrian the Great himself.

If his master was truly Aldrian the Great, then her parents would most likely approve of their relationship, which greatly eased one of her biggest worries. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

However, for the first time, a different kind of worry appeared, one directed toward herself.

Zander, who respected his master as if that figure were his own parent, would surely place great importance on his master’s opinion.

What if his master did not agree with him having a lover?

Although Zander had already told her that his master was not someone too strict regarding his personal life, she still could not help but feel pressured. She was still afraid that Aldrian would not approve of their relationship.

Now that she had finally met Aldrian the Great in person and saw how he supported her, she felt both glad and relieved. Now, there was nothing left that could disturb their relationship.

After interacting with Evalina, Aldrian then turned to look at Zander and approached him. He tapped Zander’s shoulder after standing in front of him.

"I really did not think that you would dare to take a further step in your personal relationship. I have to say, you have truly grown compared to the past," he said.

"You better not hurt her. You have to take responsibility for what you have done, especially since she is a noble lady. Do not forget your roots and your past. Do not let your power consume you and make you hurt others."

Zander finally understood what his master meant. Evalina, who also understood, blushed deeply.

Zander’s face instantly turned red. "Wha... what are you talking about, Master?" he said, feigning ignorance, which only made Aldrian smile more.

"It’s fine. You don’t have to deny anything. I already know everything." He tapped Zander’s shoulder twice, making him blush even more. He really wanted to bury himself just to escape the embarrassment.

Aldrian then looked at Zander’s other friends. "Please treat this place as your own home. Let Zander show you around. If you need anything, just tell him or any of the palace staff."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Edward, Valik, and Froz answered in unison, their posture stiff.

Aldrian then sent a voice transmission to Vars, who was standing in a hidden place not far from them.

"Thank you for your hard work watching over Zander all this time. I will give you a week off. Enjoy your holiday."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Vars answered with full enthusiasm.

Zander and the others then greeted Aldrian’s parents, and they interacted for a short time before Zander brought them to look around the palace grounds.

"You bastard, I still can’t believe that we really befriended someone as great as the sole disciple of Aldrian the Great. I thought we were fellow commoners, but you actually live in this kind of palace," Valik said in a tone full of disbelief as he looked around in amazement.

They had only learned that Zander was Aldrian the Great’s disciple not long after they heard that Aldrian the Great was announcing his third wedding.

At that time, Zander wanted to return after hearing the news about his master’s third wedding. They had already been suspicious for a long time that Zander might have come from the Barisan Continent, based on several clues in the past.

That suspicion was finally confirmed when he expressed his intention to return to the Barisan Continent.

However, the moment they learned that he was the sole disciple of Aldrian the Great came when Edward managed to piece everything together. From the various clues Zander had left behind, he was able to deduce Zander’s true identity.

Zander also finally confessed, as he did not want to keep lying to his friends. That was when everything became clear, and they decided to follow him here.

Zander smiled apologetically at Valik. "Well, it couldn’t be helped. I had to hide my identity as much as possible so I could experience the world more realistically. My apologies, brother Valik."

Valik smiled at him. "Why are you apologizing? As long as you are the Zander we have always known, that is enough. No matter what kind of identity you have, you are still our friend."

Zander’s smile turned warmer. "Thank you."

"I suddenly thought about our past incident with the three noble families on the Orian Continent. At that time, we managed to get out of that situation with the help of various powers of the continent. Do you think your master had something to do with it?" Froz suddenly said.

"Well, I thought so too, but I don’t know... At one point, I asked him about it, but he seemed clueless. Then again, he could have just been feigning ignorance. I really can’t tell if Master helped us or not," Zander said.

"In my opinion, even if your master did not help you, those powers on the Orian Continent must have already known who you were. Otherwise, there is no way they would move so many of their resources just to save a group of adventurers, even if that group included two noble descendants," Edward said, giving his opinion.

"There were many people who saw your performance in the grand tournament of the Barisan Continent. They might have figured out your identity despite your disguise, either from your behavior or other small clues, and connected it to you in the tournament." Edward then smiled.

"That is also why our adventures in other worlds are much more challenging. Not many people know you compared to our home world, so we have to solve most of our problems ourselves."

Zander thought for a moment before nodding and letting out a sigh.

"I think you are right. It might be because of my sword technique that many powers realized it was me. I showed all of my techniques in the grand tournament after all, so it couldn’t be helped."

"Anyway, would you like to have some tea? After arriving here, I think it would be nice to enjoy our time slowly. Later, I will bring you sightseeing," he said with a smile.

"Sounds good. I also want to ask many things about His Majesty, Aldrian the Great," Valik said with excitement.

The others smiled, and just like that, not long after, they were sitting in the palace garden, enjoying their tea for hours before Zander brought them to look around the palace again and even the continent.

---------------------------

On the next day,

Aldrian’s wedding with Angelica would be held in three days, and most of the preparations were already complete. The entire continent was filled with a festive atmosphere, with decorations everywhere and people constantly talking about it.

At this moment, Aldrian was receiving another group of guests from afar, and he greeted them warmly.

"Welcome to the Aster Empire."