Chapter 65: Before Leaving
At the end of October, the central region of Ethanbel was hit by a rare heavy snowfall. The entire royal city was blanketed in snow, and the weather turned unusually cold. People were so reluctant to step outside that they huddled in their homes by the crackling fires, cursing the wretched weather—obviously the Church must have made some disgusting move again.
With the Royal Academy’s vacation approaching, some students from the countryside had already secured early leave permits. Daisy had packed her bags long ago; summoned by her father, she was preparing to return to the Emerald City. Initially, she told Sara that there were matters at home, but Sara could see she was unhappy. After relentless probing, Daisy finally admitted that her father wanted her to go back and get engaged to someone.
“What? You’re being married off to some wild kid you’ve never even seen?!”
Sara was outraged, stomping her feet and yelling, “Does your family even know anyone from the stuffy nobles of Ethanbel? Why are they playing this ridiculous marriage game… Or wait, is the other party from the Silgaya royal family? Is that why they’re so anxious to cozy up to them and just pawn you off? Daisy, why did you even agree to this! You’ve been in the royal city all these years, who’s even written to check on you?”
“Really… If they didn’t care, what if you’ve found true love here? At least they should’ve discussed it beforehand! What’s this—notification? Or an order? Oh, they only remember they have a daughter when it’s convenient! What’s wrong with your family? Are they merchants? If they are, they should be paying attention to this year’s harvest instead of these shady dealings!”
“Sara…”
Daisy’s family couldn’t hear these words, but they nearly brought her to tears: “Stop it, the more you say, the sadder I get… I know you mean well, but things have been tough in Silgaya these past two years… More than half of our land has been taken by the Currency Exchange… They say it’s a loan, but the agreed rent has never been paid! We even have to front our tenant farmer’s living expenses… My father feels he has no choice but to find someone to rely on…”
“So they’re sacrificing you?!”
Sara couldn’t stand seeing Daisy’s weak demeanor; her anger intensified.
“No choice, my sister is still young… I’m the only one left… And that guy, I’ve seen him before… He’s the eldest son of the Nalanda Merchant Association president… We’ve exchanged a few words when we were younger…”
Daisy’s face was full of grievances, her eyes were red from crying, and with a quivering lip, she spoke reluctantly, but there was a sense of acceptance in her tone.
Girls are always like this; many things they might not want inside, yet they allow themselves to be pushed around. Sara, irritated by such boundless cowardice, stepped in front of Daisy, staring straight into her eyes: “Daisy, you know, it’s exactly because you’re always like this that no one respects your feelings or wishes. They know d*mn well you won’t refuse them, not even a little bit, let alone make it hard for them.”
“No, Sara, listen to me…”
Daisy tried to explain but was cut off abruptly by Sara: “This is your lifelong happiness! You don’t have to say anything to me; talk to yourself instead. Ask yourself, is this really what you want?”
“Go home, follow your father’s plans, get engaged to a stranger, and then marry. If the wedding date approaches, you might have to drop out of school next year! The herbalism you dream about? You’ll have practically no chance to practice it anymore. You won’t get to learn from the outstanding herbal masters here. You’ll end up at home, raising kids, with everything from then on resting on a man you know nothing about, whom your father has some connection to, gambling on whether he’ll treat you well. Think about it.”
“I… I…”
Facing her friend’s sincere and serious gaze, Daisy felt a bit flustered. She had never seen Sara like this. Stammering, she hung her head, unable to look her in the eyes anymore, nervously saying: “I don’t know… I can’t think of what to do… If I don’t go back, my father will definitely send someone to find me… I’ve never defied him; he’ll surely be very angry…”
“Find you? And then what? This is the Royal Academy; can he really barge in here and drag you back?” Sara didn’t believe it.
“He… he would… You don’t know my father… When he’s angry, he can do anything…”
Daisy choked up, tears streaming down her face, her hands trembling: “He’ll beat me to d*ath…”
Sometimes, a person’s character “flaw” might just stem from the pressure and influence of the closest people around them over countless nights.
Seeing Daisy terrified like that, Sara suddenly understood.
“Then let’s go talk to Sophia.”
She comforted the crying and distressed girl: “Let’s ask her if she has any good solutions. If all else fails, we can write to the Winter City and ask that imperial princess to protect you.”
Sara wrapped her arm around Daisy’s shoulders, and as she said this, her expression turned quirky, a smirk creeping up her lips: “I don’t think the princess would refuse. For her, it’d probably be a piece of cake.”
…………
On Longdoll Street, in the Vilo Garden mansion.
“Get out, get out! You clumsy little wretch, you’re about to spill the medicine all over me! I’ll do it myself!”
In the upstairs bedroom, Grandma Claire, looking haggard as she lay in bed, waved her hand dismissively at Barry, who was absentmindedly holding a bowl of medicine. She called to Ryan, who was tidying up some medicine scraps in the room: “Ryan, cough cough, stop fussing around. Go downstairs and bring me those letters I just received. I want to see who sent them…”
“Okay, Grandma, I’ll go right now!”
Ryan darted out of the room upon hearing her, and Grandma Claire leaned back against the bed with Barry’s support. She managed to drink the sticky half bowl of medicine and handed the empty bowl to Ryan just as he rushed back into the room. Bursting in, he wore an excited expression, waving a letter in his hand: “It’s a letter from Winter City, from Little Shay!”
This made both Grandma and Barry freeze in surprise, and Barry hurriedly approached, reaching for the letter, but Ryan skillfully dodged him. He walked to Grandma Claire’s bedside, saying, “I’ll open it!” While excitedly tearing open the seal, he grabbed the letter without even thinking about reading it, staring blankly in surprise.
“Is it really from Little Shay? What does it say?” Barry lunged forward again to snatch the letter, “Are you just going to stand there staring?!”
Ryan had probably skimmed the letter and let Barry take it. Looking at the eagerly awaiting grandmother on the bed, he smiled: “She says the Valen Empire situation has settled for now, and by the end of the month, she will arrive in Order Royal City. Grandma, you can rest easy now…”
…………
In the Valen Empire, Shanter Castle.
Caw—
A pitch-black raven circled wildly in the snowstorm, its loud caw echoing through the blustery wind. In a warm room with a crackling fire, a petite girl in a nightgown sat cross-legged on a large fur sofa, holding a letter. Bathed in the light from the lamp on the table, she meticulously re-read the contents of the letter over and over. After a long while, she tossed it into a nearby coal-burning brazier, turning to gaze out the window, releasing a deep breath.
“Chain of Divine Lock…”
The girl murmured, her delicate face flickering in the firelight, revealing no discernible expression.
“It actually covered the entire Holy City. Have we truly reached a dead end…”
“Angel…”
