Chapter 551: Act 299 – Whirlpool III
“Your Highness, Princess.”
Footsteps stopped outside the walnut door, and then a woman’s voice sounded, belonging to the knight who resembled the senior sister Brendel had seen that day. “Nemeses?” Grifian gathered her hair with one hand and smoothed the wrinkled long dress caused by the earlier dispute with the other.
“And the old minister, Your Highness,” a deep, crisp voice replied.
“Sir Overwell.” Grifian exhaled lightly and quickly composed herself within a few seconds. “Please wait a moment; I am preparing to retire… Alright, you may enter.” The door swung open, revealing the cold-faced Nemeses and Overwell. Sir Wolf seemed to have just returned from outdoors, with his clothes damp.
Nemeses casually closed the door, and Overwell immediately said, “Your Highness, Makarolo and the others have gone to meet the young monarch—”
“You needn’t say anymore; I already know everything, Sir Overwell.” Grifian interrupted him, lifting her head to look at her two close ministers with bright eyes. She had known Nemeses since childhood, and their relationship was more akin to that of close friends and sisters rather than hierarchy. Nemeses had once vowed to become her knight—she was now fulfilling her promise, and Princess Erluin couldn’t help but smile, wondering if her sister remembered the naive vow from long ago.
She then turned her gaze to Overwell. Although in name, Livwz was her and the young prince’s teacher, in reality, the entirety of her swordsmanship and political insight was taught to her by this outsider referred to as a lone wolf. “Teacher, Sister Nemeses, please make preparations; we will leave Ampere Seale immediately.”
Overwell was momentarily taken aback, unable to resist looking up. He had been prepared to deliver a lengthy speech to uplift this princess, but he hadn’t expected his student’s resilience to exceed his expectations. He was very familiar with this princess’s disposition and immediately guessed that something had happened during this time.
With that in mind, the core member of the royal faction scrutinized the room suspiciously, and his gaze quickly fell upon the open window.
“Teacher, you needn’t guess; I have figured it out. I cannot relinquish Erluin’s future nor allow Duke Lantonrand to divide the kingdom. You said that the glorious banner still remains in Erluin, but can I reclaim it, no matter how difficult and perilous the future may be?” Grifian asked.
“How will you know the outcome without trying, Your Highness?” Overwell withdrew his gaze, looking at this princess with approval.
“However, the primary task right now is to return to my territory. There, I will initiate a campaign against the Siphai family and the Temple. I believe the people will stand with us. The Erluin people have never forgotten that they fought bravely alongside the Crusian; only those who have forgotten the oaths of nobility have.” Princess Grifian nodded.
Overwell slightly bowed in agreement, saying, “Then the Temple must have caught wind of our internal differences, but they certainly would not anticipate such a quick split. This is our only opportunity.” He turned back, “Nemeses, how many royal knights can you mobilize?”
The commander of the royal knights, Caderel, was a student of Livwz and a staunch hardliner of the royal faction, and he certainly wouldn’t stand by the princess at this time; Overwell had earlier arranged for Nemeses to enter the royal knights to curb the influence of this commander, but so far, Nemeses only held prestige among the younger generation of knights.
Nemeses lowered her head and pondered, then coldly replied, “No more than thirty percent, and they are all officer cadets graduated from the knight academy, lacking combat experience.”
“That is less than I hoped.” The princess frowned.
“We might seek outside assistance,” Overwell suggested with a slight smile.
“Outside assistance?” A hint of panic flickered in Princess Erluin’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but glance at the wardrobe.
“Earl Ouding seems to greatly appreciate Your Highness’s stance against dividing the kingdom. When I sent him off earlier, he indicated his willingness to support us. He has under him a mercenary company that returned with him from the Black Forest. If we can persuade him to join us, it would not only help our current situation,” Sir Wolf slowly explained the origin of his wet clothes.
“Teacher, can you persuade Earl Ouding?” Grifian’s eyes flashed with surprise, not only because of the unexpected outside help but also because her beliefs were recognized by traditional nobility. Although the influence of Brendel’s side had already shown potential during the War of Toniger, ultimately, this princess still didn’t believe a new rising force had much strength.
In comparison, Grifian valued Brendel’s personal contribution as a golden-ranked swordsman far more. Indeed, a seasoned mercenary company capable of returning from the Black Forest would play a much more significant role amid the stormy situation in Ampere Seale.
Moreover, standing behind Earl Ouding was an ancient family and a large number of nobles with the same political aspirations; this was a massive support. Gaining the goodwill of this force was truly invaluable for the perilously fragile power of the princess’s side.
However, hiding in the wardrobe, Brendel scoffed at this, knowing that Overwell and the princess still wanted to rely on noble strength. Of course, there was nothing wrong with that; the shackles of thought were not easily broken, and moreover, the kingdom indeed needed capable individuals to govern. Brendel had to admit that among the nobility in this world, there were far more knowledgeable and talented people.
King Obergo VII had established the Youth Guard and set up academies to select talent from local areas to break the old nobility’s monopoly on power, but now this was just the beginning, and Erluin was already engulfed in war. Yet the future Erluin would still benefit from this, as a large number of outstanding talents selected from the Youth Guard would invigorate the kingdom, bringing about a revival period for this ancient realm for over a decade.
Had it not been for the interruptions caused by the Second and Third Black Rose Wars, perhaps that regent, the princess, could have slowly steered the derailed cart of the Erluin kingdom back onto the right track.
Thinking of this, Brendel couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.
He continued to listen to the cold voice of Nemeses outside, saying, “The secret passage leads outside the city, but the nearby areas on land are under the control of the Temple. Further south is Duke Anlek’s territory. The academy’s students have previously plotted escape routes, and the only conclusion is that traveling by water offers a chance to escape Ampere Seale.”
“But we don’t have a ship,” Overwell replied.
“Even with a ship, it’s useless; a storm is about to hit the Crescent Sea, making it impossible to set sail at this time,” Nemeses added.
“No, we might have a ship,” Grifian suddenly recalled something. A hesitant look crossed her face, and both Nemeses and Overwell looked at their princess curiously. The royal family had arrangements for spies and some secret escape routes everywhere; if there happened to be a merchant ship waiting here as a pre-arranged secret, they wouldn’t be surprised—there’s an old saying among the Erluin people, the king’s secrets are the most numerous—though not entirely accurate, it conveys some truth.
However, unexpectedly, after hesitating, Grifian suddenly said, “Allow me to introduce a guest to you.”
“A guest?”
Nemeses raised an eyebrow slightly, but Overwell showed a look of realization after a moment of surprise. Princess Grifian bit her lip, curled her finger, and tapped the wooden table, saying, “Come out, Mister Brendel. I hope you will honor your promise and wholeheartedly help us leave this place.”
Brendel hadn’t expected the princess to put him forth at that moment, but he was only surprised for a moment before quickly returning to normal. The two outsiders outside seemed to be close ministers of Princess Grifian; her allowing him to show up now indicated that at least this princess recognized him as a member of their circle.
He exhaled and opened the wardrobe door to step out.
“It’s you!” Nemeses raised her eyebrow slightly.
Overwell also raised an eyebrow but didn’t rush to speak. Brendel felt somewhat awkward; why not? It was a situation with a man and a woman alone in a room, and she was a princess of a nation; outsiders were bound to have some conjectures—besides, he had indeed done something not so honorable before, albeit due to an impulse—yet as is the saying goes, a guilty conscience leads to blushing, and Brendel couldn’t help but feel a bit flushed.
He couldn’t avoid chuckling awkwardly, saying, “Sir Overwell, good to see you again. I heard you met me before, but unfortunately, I had yet to meet Sir.”
He was referring to the incident where the Wolf Knight had secretly followed them. This wasn’t something the princess had informed him of but was instead a reminder from the young female dragon. Coupled with some details inadvertently revealed by the princess in her letter afterward, Brendel could guess who he had encountered.
In fact, there were not many capable of moving freely around the princess; Makarolo was still in the southern mountains acting as a mercenary leader at the time, so he certainly wouldn’t have appeared in Ridenburg.
Overwell smiled slightly at this remark, “Mr. Brendel’s swordsmanship progress is truly unexpected. I was still skeptical when I heard you were approaching the elemental domain, but seeing the reality before my eyes confirms that indeed, there are geniuses in this world.” He complimented Brendel but swiftly changed his tone, asking, “However, I want an answer to why Mr. Brendel is here at this moment.”
“Teacher,” Princess Grifian’s face reddened slightly, not out of shyness, but from the tension of fearing being exposed, “Mr. Brendel has long become my knight; he is my spy. He came to Ampere Seale this time to help us in secret. You already knew this matter earlier, but tonight, I asked him to come here because he has a ship that would be just right for our needs.”
“If I’m not mistaken, Mr. Brendel arrived at Ampere Seale on a ship from the territory of Toniger, right?” the Half-Elf Maiden glanced at him.
“When did I have a ship? Do I look like I turned into a ship captain?” Brendel was slightly taken aback; indeed, he had arrived by ship, but that ship was an outright merchant vessel. With the storm approaching, no merchant vessels would dare to set sail, and the relationships between the commercial associations in Toniger and Ampere Seale weren’t close enough to that extent. He hadn’t expected the princess to spin such a plausible lie, yet he indeed had a way to acquire a ship—not by buying, borrowing, or renting, but by stealing; the Naga tribe was naturally adept at this—they specialized in piracy—oh, rather, sea piracy.
He thought it through, quickly clarifying his thoughts, and nodded. The princess’s explanation seemed seamless, but had a huge flaw. Who would expect a split within the royal party? Moreover, news of the Lionmen initiating war had only reached her desk an hour ago; her claim to have arranged it ahead of time would easily fall apart.
However, at this moment, Overwell’s focus was still on Brendel and the ship he had in hand. He glanced at Brendel, reluctantly accepting the princess’s statement, and then asked, “But even if we have a ship, it won’t matter in the storm; does Your Highness plan to pass through the Ampere Seale Strait into the Wall of the Dead? That route would involve coastal waters of Duke Anlek’s territory, and he would surely deploy the navy to intercept us.”
“No, no need,” Grifian shook her head, “In the collection of the Temple of Andelfuler, there is a figurehead from the age of my forefather Eke, said to be made from the teeth of a sea demon whale, the figurehead of the goddess Martha. It’s said that ships fitted with this figurehead can calm storms.”
“That is indeed a good method,” Overwell’s eyes lit up, “But the vault of the Temple of Andelfuler isn’t that easy to access.”
“I will ask Margadale for help; as for who will infiltrate the temple…” Grifian cast her gaze toward Brendel.
“Me?” Brendel was taken aback; he did know of the legend involving the figurehead, but he wasn’t sure if it was true. Of course, obtaining this thing would be good—not just to deal with the current situation; currently, if they encountered a sea demon whale, there would be no need for such trouble. However, he was preparing for the future trip to the Land of Storms, an area south of the Loop of Trade Winds, beyond the goddess Martha’s domain, which contained a massive dungeon where one could acquire level seventy gear and quest items to reforge a bronze body.
Storms ravaged the area outside the Land of Storms year-round, and it was also forbidden for the Naga tribe; without the Naga’s sea demon whales, the only way to navigate that realm would be to obtain items to calm the storms, such as the tranquil holy water, the figurehead of Martha, or dangerous forbidden spells capable of controlling the weather.
Brendel certainly didn’t want to cause complications during this time; he silently noted the information, then nodded.
Grifian seemed pleased with Brendel’s attitude, unable to resist offering reassurance, “Don’t worry, Mr. Brendel; Margadale can move freely within the temple, and getting into the vault isn’t that troublesome. Wealth isn’t that important to the saints; it’s just that ordinary people can hardly enter. Your task will be merely to assist her and bring the items back. Moreover, right now, you are the only one who can act freely and gain Margadale’s trust.”
Brendel thought for a moment, realizing the princess’s words indeed seemed quite reasonable, so he feigned nodding, but in his heart, he was thinking that he could seize the opportunity to touch base with Margadale; that nun princess should currently be gathering information within the temple.
…
(Alas, if updates are slow, I won’t play cute anymore…) (To be continued. If you like this work, please support it with a recommendation vote or monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
