Chapter 330: Act 98 – The Young Girl’s Weaving (End)
Xi has been saved.
As if by a miracle—
The lively atmosphere in the room took a long time to calm down. Prior to this, almost no one could have imagined that Brendel truly had a way to bring Xi back from such a dangerous situation.
But it turned out that this young and mysterious lord was indeed omnipotent!
After countless thoughts like this, Antinna once again affirmed this conclusion.
She stared blankly for a moment, pulling her gaze away from the young man and feeling as if she had let out a sigh of relief. However, when she saw Xi dully holding the Golden Apple with both hands, and noticed her weak smile in response to her gaze, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh in her heart:
“This silly girl!” The noble lady shook her head, knowing that this time Xi truly sold herself just to help Brendel acquire more money.
When Charles had first told everyone that this was the legendary Golden Apple, not only was she shocked, but Xi was also struck dumb, standing frozen in place as if hit by lightning. The Golden Apple nearly slipped from her hands and rolled onto the ground; had it not been for Medisa’s quick reflexes, it might have become the first Golden Apple in history to be destroyed by dropping.
But seeing that girl with the red ponytail hugging the Golden Apple dumbfoundedly, as if she was holding all the treasures of the world, Antinna knew that this girl was completely hopeless.
She sighed.
Like Medisa, the equally clever Antinna recognized the unusual dependence of this red-haired girl on others. This seemingly strong girl always appeared to be living for the opinions of others.
Yet this noble lady understood that the tragic reality for the other party was that in a world where one could only rely on oneself, in most cases, outsiders’ gazes seldom lingered on others.
Let alone nobles like Makarolo, who would not stop for a moment unless it was for their own benefit. Xi’s sacrifices were destined to go unrewarded; if she could see this as clearly as other members of the Gray Wolves Mercenary Group, perhaps it would be easier for her—but after all, she was Xi, that girl who was both weak and strong.
Antinna glanced at Brendel again, thinking that fortunately, there was still such an anomaly as the lord she followed.
Gentle, kind, and full of humanity, Brendel’s every action seemed to be out of place with the entire noble world. But to say that this young man was not a noble; first of all, Antinna herself could not convince herself of that. She had never seen anyone like Brendel, someone so knowledgeable yet possessing such demeanor aside from nobility.
Everything seemed to indicate that this young man was not only a noble but also possessed an unusual background. This was confirmed by the old swordsman Kuran, who had been captured from the mines.
As the first person in charge of Silver Fir Castle after Brendel left, Antinna had, of course, been in contact with that old Chief of Security at the first opportunity—she was aware of his identity, or rather, she recognized every one of the most outstanding knights under Count Rendener’s command—she had been preparing for Brendel’s plans these past few days.
Old Kuran came from a knightly family, participated in the November War, and had been by Count Rendener’s side for a long time. All the noble daughters knew this. Yet, his unintentional expression of feelings toward Brendel raised her suspicions.
There was no doubt that the old swordsman knew Brendel—
And it was not a casual acquaintance; he knew Brendel’s ancestors, and in her conversations with him, Antinna could fully perceive that Brendel’s forebears were not ordinary.
Of course, perhaps this information was scattered and not considered valuable news in the eyes of ordinary people. But to this ice-cold clever girl, it was enough to confirm that Brendel was indeed someone she could trust, thus forming a complete picture.
Brendel’s identity seemed to be becoming clearer; this young man was from some historical yet obscure family.
Such a rare noble descendant.
Sometimes, Antinna couldn’t help but wonder—was it because she was favored by heaven that she could meet the lord today from Bruglas’ dark room and follow him to become this young man’s retainer?
At least up to now, this noble lady had never regretted it; she only felt incredibly lucky.
But when she glanced at the Golden Apple in Xi’s hands, there was still a hint of envy.
After all, that was the Golden Apple, a legendary item said to change the fate of a person, or even a nation, a product only found in mythology.
Before this, she had never believed that this legend was real. She couldn’t help but contemplate—if the young man possessed such a Golden Apple, he could easily bribe any of the most powerful factions, couldn’t he?
That was an invaluable treasure.
With it, Brendel could win the favor of anyone of high rank. Whether it was becoming an Earl, a Marquis, or even a Duke, it was all completely within reach. Even if it were the supreme Emperor of the Cruz Empire, or the High Priest of the Temple of Fire, if the young man wanted, he could trade this Golden Apple for nearly anything he desired from their hands.
But what puzzled Antinna was—
Brendel didn’t do that. He simply used this apple to save a girl he had known for just a few months. Perhaps Xi had golden-level prowess, but Antinna understood that the value of a Golden Apple likely exceeded just one golden-level subordinate.
Of course, if one were to multiply the other side of the equation by a hundred, it might be possible.
Of course, the answer to this question seemed simpler on Brendel’s side; he merely understood the principle that “a common man without guilt can suffer from the possession of precious things.” Perhaps this noble lady believed he had a large family to shield him from the storm, but Brendel knew full well the state he was in.
Moreover, he had never intended to engage with those decaying noble systems like Erluin. He was here to change the fate of this ancient kingdom, not to collude with those people.
Brendel knew that with his foresight of history, he could live comfortably in this world, but that was not his goal.
Especially after witnessing the performances of people like Makarolo and Grudin, his confidence had been steadily increasing.
As for the Golden Apple, Brendel didn’t care. If it could be cured, he wouldn’t even mind using ten or a hundred Golden Apples to save Xi’s life—of course, if he had them.
But Antinna didn’t see it this way, nor did Xi.
The girl in question was currently holding the apple dully. She certainly knew the value of this apple; when Brendel was negotiating with Makarolo and others, she had seen Livwz, Makarolo, and Bud’s desire for this apple.
She couldn’t help but think, in the eyes of the Grand Commander, who would be more important—herself or this Golden Apple?
But the answer to this question hardly needed pondering; she thought that even if there were a hundred more of herself, Makarolo would still choose the Golden Apple without hesitation.
But why did the young man make a completely different choice?
Xi didn’t understand, thus she looked at Brendel in confusion—who at this moment was talking with Medisa and Charles, completely uninterested in looking back—
“My Lord,” Medisa was the first to voice her doubts, “I think I understand your intention, to use the immense power of the Golden Apple to restore Xi’s lost life force…it’s just…”
The silver elf girl frowned, “This approach seems a bit like drinking poison to quench thirst.” She used a term unique to the silver elves to express “drinking poison to quench thirst,” but it at least made Brendel understand.
“This is a last resort, my Lord,” Charles explained beside her: “Better to delay than to face it immediately; perhaps in this meantime, we can find some other way.”
The young wizard said, then he glanced at Xi on the bed with a cheeky smile, unable to restrain his teasing nature: “But using the Golden Apple for this might infuriate those who long for the apple…”
“That really is…” The young man pondered for a while before finding an appropriate term: “A bit of a waste.”
The red-haired girl listened to Charles’ words and instinctively lowered her head. After regaining her senses, it seemed even she felt that it was somewhat of a waste; after all, she was holding a mythical Golden Apple, and it was actually being used on her.
This was simply unbelievable.
Xi felt that even in her wildest dreams, she had never imagined such a thing.
But when Charles saw the girl’s reaction, he realized he had misspoken. He hurriedly said, “Miss Xi, don’t think too much. I’m not saying this is a waste— it’s just, um, the Golden Apple is worth a fortune; I think…” The young wizard thought for a moment, then chuckled, saying, “I suddenly remembered something the Lord said last time that fits the situation perfectly—”
Everyone turned their gaze to him.
Charles quickly shrugged: “Alright, I mean—if this Golden Apple counts as compensation, Miss Xi, you might need to ‘offer yourself’ to repay this debt.” The young wizard’s attendant said with a cheeky smile.
“Offer myself?” Xi was taken aback.
“That’s what I mean. You understand,” Charles said while stepping backward, trying to evade the sweep of Brendel’s sword hilt. However, as a wizard, he clearly couldn’t evade an attack from a swordsman of the same level at such a close distance, so almost as soon as he finished the first half of his sentence, he let out a “Whoa!” and collapsed to the ground, clutching his belly.
Brendel was furious at his careless tongue and dealt him a harsh blow, thinking that at least this fellow should lie on the ground for a good few minutes before getting up. And the silver elf Medisa glanced at Charles rolling on the ground, rarely showing a ‘serves him right’ expression.
As for Xi, who finally understood Charles’ words, she held the Golden Apple and lowered her head, her face turning red all the way to her neck.
Brendel glanced at Xi, concerned that this girl might overthink it, and said: “Don’t pay any attention to this fellow. But if you truly wish to repay my investment in this Golden Apple, you should live well. Remember what I said—and you are my most important fighting force.”
He took a breath: “I think soon, Duke Toniger will face a great battle.”
Xi was momentarily stunned, keeping her head down and not daring to raise it, only nodding vigorously.
Brendel wanted to say something more, but at this moment, he felt Medisa tugging at his sleeve from behind. He turned back to see the silver elf princess frowning and asking:
“My Lord, since the Golden Apple can only resolve a temporary crisis, do you have any real solutions in mind?”
The young man was momentarily taken aback, about to shake his head, but at that moment he heard the voice of Otales in his heart suddenly say:
“I have thought of a way, young one.”
……
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