**Chapter 58: A Difficult Choice! Seeking Recommendation Votes**
As summer arrives, warm monsoon winds blow across Arendelle.
Apart from the mountains that are covered in ice and snow year-round, the entire Arendelle is brimming with vitality. Winter wheat has sprouted and grown, and the fields are a vibrant green with spring. Here, spring arrives later than in other places. Since they only sow once a year, the residents of the Frozen Kingdom clearly place a high value on farming, planting some other cold-resistant crops in addition to winter wheat.
On this day.
A group of newcomers arrived in Arendelle. They wore neatly arranged armor and were draped in tattered cloaks. The silver-white, mottled armor reflected light under the sun, and any residents who encountered them would humbly lower their heads.
This was a group of holy paladins from outside.
Unlike the cities they had previously visited, they seldom encountered pleas for help in Arendelle. Even the lowest of the slums merely bowed to show respect. What happened in the City of Wealth did not repeat here, for Arendelle has its own laws, which are strictly enforced.
This is the prosperous Arendelle, home to a great and noble princess!
The paladins’ purpose for their visit was to seek help; very few in this world had the ability to restore the Holy Avenger, and the princess of Arendelle was one of them.
Because she is a divinely favored sorceress, a powerful spellcaster with divine power!
At the dock district.
The young paladin walked through the streets of the dock district. He had developed a habit of visiting the slums in every city he passed through because to him, they represented the civilization of a city or a nation. He liked Arendelle because it was the most vibrant and lively city he had ever seen, second only to Modo, from which news had recently been brought back by his companions. If opportunities arise in the future, he might go see Modo for himself and see if it truly was that orderly and peaceful.
The battle in the Underdark had long since passed.
Although his strength had brushed against the edge of legend, and he possessed the ability of a perfect physique, he still could not break through the limits of legend.
Because he had yet to find his domain: courage, faith, sacrifice, justice, fearlessness, protection, order, kindness!…
He felt a bit lost.
He did not lack courage or faith, and he was willing to sacrifice, but he always found it difficult to pinpoint the core that would allow him to break through. To master the domain power of a paladin, he needed to rediscover his truest self and his most genuine faith!
That was a power imprinted deep within his soul!
The young paladin had sworn an oath of poverty. As one chosen by the Holy Avenger, he vowed to never marry or have children, leaving no wealth behind; aside from weapons and equipment, he would use all his wealth to help the poor. He refused all comforts and pleasures, dedicating his life to fighting for order and upholding justice in the world until the moment of d*ath!
He stood at the edge of legend.
He had a strong premonition that as soon as he crossed this barrier, he would truly possess the power to fight for faith and protection!
At the docks, people came and went.
A young boy sitting on a wooden stump caught his attention. The young paladin seemed to sense something—a pure heart’s power.
So, he walked over.
The young paladin squatted in front of the boy. From his eyes, the paladin saw a trace of envy; the boy was gazing longingly in a certain direction. There stood a noble youth dressed in an ornate wizard’s robe. Noticing the paladin’s arrival, the boy gently turned his head but did not speak. His worn clothing indicated that he came from humble beginnings, possibly the child of a dock worker. The boy observed him calmly, with a hint of curiosity and respect.
A spark of light appeared in the young paladin’s eyes as he smiled and said, “Birth is fate’s arrangement, but the future can be shaped by oneself.”
“Do you believe in justice?”
The boy looked puzzled but nodded gently.
The young paladin smiled; he placed his palm on the boy’s forehead, and a holy, pure power manifested.
—“Holy Baptism!”
—“Holy Blessing!”
…………
In Arendelle, the Royal Palace.
The princess sat on the throne overlooking the scene before her, holding an invitation letter. This letter was from the Southern Coast, from a place called Modo. She gently rubbed her forehead and turned her gaze toward the window, where Princess Anna stood on the balcony, gazing into the distance, her face seemingly a bit haggard. As the first heir of Arendelle, due to the early d*ath of their parents, the princess had always been both sister and mother to Anna. What Anna looked like now was something she did not wish to see.
Yet, she found it difficult to accept that man, even now, for as a divinely favored sorceress, she sensed a lot from him.
bl**d, slaughter, d*ath.
Some things she still could not comprehend, but they were dangerously powerful!
She did not want Princess Anna to become involved.
Outside the door, a guard reported that a group of paladins from other places seemed to wish to meet with her. The princess held a neutral attitude toward the paladins; she had no desire to see them at this moment, so she instructed them to wait. The appearance of the paladins was certainly for something significant; whether good or bad, it was troublesome, and she lacked the energy to deal with it all.
Her greatest concern now was Anna and whether to accept the invitation from Modo.
Because once she accepted the invitation, Arendelle would essentially align itself with Modo, which would signify a stance toward other powers.
On the balcony.
Princess Anna held a delicate cloth doll that resembled Soren, and her expression was somewhat melancholic. The girl fiercely squeezed the doll, murmuring to herself in a voice tinged with tears: “b*stard!… Idiot!… Silly pig!…”
“You have the guts to claim divinity but not the guts to come and marry me!…”
“b*stard!… Coward!… Chicken!…”
“I hate you so much!!!…”
Tears fell drop by drop as the grievances within her heart made it impossible for Anna to hold back her tears. She tightly held the doll resembling Soren as if it would ease her pain. She did not understand why she had cast aside her dignity and pride as a princess for him, yet that cowardly b*stard didn’t even dare to meet her!
She simply felt very wronged.
She wanted nothing more than to leap over and bite that b*stard to d*ath!
The princess let out a soft sigh in the hall. As the mightiest protector of Arendelle, nothing that happened within the palace could escape her perception if she wished it so.
Slowly, she approached Princess Anna.
The girl seemed to hear the footsteps, hurriedly putting away the doll with a flustered expression while hastily wiping her tears. When she turned around, she wore a beaming smile and glanced at the invitation letter in the princess’s hand, speaking with hopeful expectation, “Sister! You will go, right?”
Even with that man treating her this way, she still hoped the princess would stand by him.
“Alas!…”
The princess couldn’t help but sigh, reaching out to embrace the increasingly haggard Princess Anna, softly saying, “Silly girl!…”
………………(To Be Continued ~^~)
