Chapter 665: Act 27 – The Princess and the Princess I
“Brendel, should I ask Romaine to…”
“No, no need, Freya. I’m used to it. Let her be happy; she knows her limits—oh, and just help me keep an eye out so she doesn’t come running to me with a red forehead crying again later.”
This conversation took place against the backdrop of the lush woodland path in the Glace Forest, where a long convoy passed through scattered patches of light; knights clad in golden-red battle robes marched in orderly fashion—except for one. The Business Lady was wearing bright, shining armor and wielding her azure spear, shouting and running around the convoy with no regard for her image.
This was the second time she had done this since Monday, but fortunately, the knights were already familiar with this ‘adorable’ ‘Countess’; as long as they kept their distance, at least they wouldn’t be knocked over by her, right? Even if the Business Lady was a bit clumsy, she wouldn’t run into a coach, would she?
Freya glanced back and couldn’t help but let out a slight sigh. She had thought that once she went to the Royal Knight Academy, Brendel would at least be able to rein in Romaine a little. But it seemed now that this was just a wishful thought.
So far, there hadn’t been a successful precedent for restraining this young lady.
She looked at Brendel, nodded to him, and then lowered the curtain before driving her horse up to Xi’s side. The Mercenary Miss surveyed the surroundings with a somewhat familiar gaze; unlike Freya, the Southlands felt like home to her.
“Xi.”
“Miss Freya,” Xi turned around and replied respectfully.
“Xi, I’ve told you many times already, just call me Freya. I’m not a noble; before becoming a knight, I was just a countryside girl from the South like you,” Freya frowned.
Xi felt a little embarrassed: “Freya, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have given the azure spear to Miss Romaine… I didn’t expect her to be so…”
She suddenly found it a bit rude but couldn’t find a better word to describe Romaine’s current state. Freya noticed her discomfort and comforted her, “It’s fine. She’s not really a young lady; it’s just how she is,” she sighed weakly, “I really admire myself for surviving this long with her when we were kids… but Romaine is actually a good person, just a bit childish.”
Xi looked over in that direction, unable to help but agree deeply.
However, she turned back, her gaze inevitably landing on the direction of the coach.
Brendel lowered the curtain. After nearly a month of observation, he had basically confirmed the state of the Holy Spear Astra. The spear in Xi’s hands was clearly not the complete form of the legendary spear known for felling stars; the spear was sealed with multiple seals, one of the possible scenarios he had thought of long ago.
Brendel just didn’t know whether these seals were intentionally set by Avina to help Xi master Astra smoothly or if they were left by someone else on the spear.
But there was no doubt that even under heavy seals, the Holy Spear Astra lived up to its name.
Its attack power exceeded that of the Sword of Earth by more than double, and its accompanying skills were terrifying. The key was that as a divine artifact, Astra had a unique divine domain, a terrifying ‘Unbeatable Fate’ so powerful that even Brendel had never seen anything like it in his lifetime.
However, Brendel had not revealed this secret. On one hand, he really couldn’t find a good way to explain how he could directly see the attributes of an item—which was a task for high-level astrologers and alchemists in Vaunte, who had to conduct numerous experiments before confirming the purpose and usage of any magical equipment.
On the other hand, the azure spear was better the weaker it was for the current Erluin; the lower its profile, the better.
The Business Lady’s antics with the azure spear were actually something he endorsed. After all, everyone knew her nature; by taking it out so openly, it would make people less suspicious that it was a genuine item.
Who would use the azure spear as a toy?
Even William probably wouldn’t dare to be so loud. However, recently Brendel felt increasingly uneasy, subtly suspecting that Avina’s reappearance might directly threaten him.
He anxiously turned his attention back to the siblings in front of him. Specifically, it was the first heir of the Kingdom of Erluin and his sister, the Half-Elf Princess.
Since the Holy Spear Astra recognized Xi as its master, more than a month had passed, and the climate south of Ampere Seale had been growing hotter by the day. Ever since the battle of Ampere Seale, the princess’s faction had managed to conduct both open and covert activities at the harbor fairly smoothly, but the ultimate fate of the azure spear had been somewhat unexpected.
The Budans suddenly decided not to take Astra away; according to William, they believed this legendary artifact might be more suitable for staying in Erluin. However, Tanyia had mentioned that the Budans might send one or two wizards to the kingdom to study the power of the azure spear.
Although he couldn’t understand the Budans’ intentions, this was all secondary for Brendel; time was pressing, and he couldn’t wait for new emissaries from the wizards to arrive at Ampere Seale. After sending William off, he and the princess left the harbor directly, passing through the Royal Knight Academy and heading straight for the Duchy of Toniger.
The princess was eager to see her close friend Margadale, and he himself had to start preparing for the future of Erluin.
After a week of travel, the coach finally approached the banks of the Glace River.
For Brendel, this essentially meant returning home. In half a day, he had already met several old members of the Bronzesteeldragon Mercenary Corps, and Sue could finally meet her father—Retao, the Bronzesteeldragon. It was Brendel’s first time seeing the strong bar owner’s daughter crying.
The meeting between Kargris and his father was, of course, another scene altogether. Since Brendel had gained formal acknowledgment, Sir Minate naturally lifted the awkwardness of imprisonment. However, this stern noble still did not seem to agree with his precious son’s ways and scolded Brendel’s commander of the White Lion Corps harshly.
This naturally became a topic of laughter for the young people from Toniger.
However, regardless, returning to one’s hometown was an exhilarating experience for everyone. Yet no one would forget the heroic souls that remained forever in Ampere Seale.
Brendel silently pondered these trivial matters until the princess gently spoke. The Half-Elf Maiden looked up at the young man opposite her; the dappled sunlight outside the curtain fell upon her face, casting uneven glimmers of gold across her beautiful features, as if wearing a natural veil that added an air of mystery.
But Princess Grifian’s expression was very calm. After considering, she quietly asked, “Mister Brendel, the royal spies have news that Count Rendener seems to have met with Duke Anlek, just as you speculated. To counter us, they might form an alliance. Although Duke of Lantonrand and the Highland Knights agreed to send troops to fight, I am still a bit worried…”
“Worried about what?”
“I’m worried about Anlek, Mister Brendel. My father is very familiar with him. The Anlek family has run their stable highlands for generations to subvert the kingdom. And today’s Duke Anlek is undoubtedly the most cunning heir in their family’s history,” the princess replied softly, “High Priest Wood told me he had evidence to prove Anlek colludes with the Everything Returns Society, but throughout the entire war, he only revealed himself with the eagle swordsman Dejyar at the end—”
“After the war ended, he hurriedly left Ampere Seale before the temple could catch him off guard but didn’t return to his territory; instead, he went to Magitan to ally with Count Rendener.”
“He never fights an unprepared battle, so I suspect he must have some scheme.”
Brendel nodded. This was actually one of his concerns. Before the princess received the news, Wood had already written to inform him about the events leading up to Anlek’s escape, but he sensed that the temple seemed to be concealing some key information. One vital point was that Brendel knew a knight regiment from Cruz had secretly entered Erluin but did not know precisely which regiment it belonged to.
This knight regiment clearly wasn’t here to deal with him and naturally wouldn’t be directed at the kingdom’s first heir to the north, leaving only Anlek as the remaining possibility.
But why would Anlek garner such crucial attention from the temple? Even if he colluded with cultists, that would merely be a joke. To be honest, how many noble families in Erluin were not in league with cultists?
While very few like Duke Anlek directly interacted with the Everything Returns Society, more or less, the major noble families had some unscrupulous miscreants as well.
If the temple wanted to use this excuse to deflect blame, Brendel truly had no desire to listen.
Anlek must have some scheme; the issue was what that scheme was. Count Rendener’s primary goal was undoubtedly him and the princess, and war between both sides was inevitable. Although the Temple of Fire was looking for trouble with Anlek, they didn’t necessarily plan to overlook him and the princess.
The Cruz people suffered a great loss at Ampere Seale, so they might seize the opportunity to retaliate. Moreover, the crux of the matter was that the situation between the north and south had grown stable, making it unlikely that the Temple of Fire would welcome the princess quickly unifying the Southlands.
Furthermore, Wood’s letter also mentioned that the imperial high-ranking officials were eyeing the azure spear with great envy; if it were confirmed that this artifact remained in Erluin, it could cause significant trouble.
This was the real big problem.
He considered that the urgency was to eliminate the alliance between Anlek and Rendener first. However, trying to uproot the Anlek family’s influence in the Anlek Highlands in the short term was evidently unrealistic; instead, Count Rendener himself was the weak link in this evil alliance.
But, solely relying on him and the princess wasn’t enough.
…
(PS: The God of War is back! Another three-in-one ten-thousand-word chapter; you know what that means! Lastly, I also like you, Nicole-chan~~) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
