Chapter 53 Castile (Part 4) Father; The Rose Knights...

"I'm sorry, I can't help you with your father's illness." The doctor's words carried a hint of reluctance, but this was something that Xu Lingzhao truly needed to be told. She stood there, her mind a jumble of confusion. Helpless? The doctor before her was the best in the area.

"Thank you, this is for the treatment." Xu Lingzhao came to her senses and politely saw the person off. She pushed open the door, and in the dim light, her gaunt father was looking at her. He waved and spoke with some difficulty, "I heard from the doctor that you went to the forest? My child, you're a hero at such a young age, that's wonderful." He stroked the top of Xu Lingzhao's head.

Neither of them mentioned the doctor. Xu Lingzhao sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over it, and the hand that had been stroking her hair gradually stopped. Her father was asleep. She looked at him in the dim light, her nose tingling, and tears slid down onto the sheets. Perhaps the doctor wasn't so good? Perhaps another doctor had a solution?

Xu Lingzhao took care of her father closely. She tried to find other doctors to treat her father, but they all refused. The distance was too far, but the main reason was that they felt it would lower their status to treat commoners.

Hearing her father's violent coughing, Xu Lingzhao stopped brewing the medicine. She poured a glass of water and brought it to her father. He took it, drank it, and tried to sit up in bed. Xu Lingzhao helped him up. For some reason, at that moment, she had a bad feeling.

Her father looked at her, just looked at her, and Xu Lingzhao felt as if her father was looking at another person through her.

A velvet box was shoved into Xu Lingzhao's hands. She looked up, her face blank. "What...is this?"

"Open it and take a look," a hoarse voice said.

Xu Lingzhao opened the box, inside was a ring, a ring set with an emerald. She seemed to know who the giver of this ring was—her mother. For so many years, the two of them had depended on each other, but they had always avoided the word "mother" by mutual understanding.

His father's next words confirmed his suspicions.

“When I was 16, I met your mother. I remember the first time I met her, it was a stormy night. After the banquet, the carriage to pick me up was late. She offered to take me home. She was the most beautiful Alpha I had ever seen.” When the father said these words, his eyes were not as lifeless as usual, but sparkling.

“In the days that followed, she often stayed with me. It was when I turned 18 that you came into my life. Just when I thought life would continue in this peaceful and happy way, she left,” the father’s voice choked up, and his already pale face looked even more fragile at this moment. “I couldn’t find her, but before I could grieve, war broke out, my home was razed to the ground, and I fled in all directions with two maids. On the way to Prague, they were killed by a merciless knight while protecting me.”

"I came to Prague pregnant with you. I wandered the streets in a daze, but the crowd gradually gathered, and the huge cheers seemed to engulf me. Just when I was most helpless, I saw your mother. She was sitting in a magnificent carriage, receiving the adoration of the people. At that moment, I realized that she was not the daughter of a count, but the Queen of Castile. She was with me only to conceal her identity and to let the cavalry trample my homeland."

“She saw me too, and I saw Wang Fu beside her. I knew then that I couldn’t let her know you existed. So when your mother came to me, I just wanted her to give me a legal status to stay in Prague. I swore I would never bother her. She agreed, and that was the last time I ever saw her.”

“I love her, but I also hate her.” Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at Xu Lingzhao. “I’ve wronged you, my child. I’m so sorry for making you suffer so much.” He placed the ring in Xu Lingzhao’s hand. “Your mother was the Queen of Castile. You were her legitimate child. At that time, she and I were legally married.”

Xu Lingzhao looked at her frail mother and burst into tears. So that's how it is. So that's how it is. Although their lives weren't wealthy, they were peaceful all these years. No one bothered them, which was their only advantage. Her father kept taking her to different cities because they were discovered by her so-called mother's husband.

She didn't care about having a legal child. Xu Lingzhao gripped her father's hand tightly, her shoulders trembling slightly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she pleaded, "Father, don't leave me, don't leave me, please."

In her memory, her father touched her face for the last time, saying, "Live on, child. Live on. If your grandfather were still here, if my family were still here, if my country were still here, you would be the happiest child."

Snowflakes swirled outside, and the light inside was dim. Xu Lingzhao cried her heart out, but she couldn't stop her father from leaving her. She held his hand, his warm palm gradually turning cold. Her father leaned quietly against the headboard, his eyes closed, but he would never wake up again.

Twelve-year-old Xu Lingzhao walked through the vast white snow, entered the forest, and came to a place with mountains and water. She picked up a hoe and dug the soil little by little, and the seeds of hatred were quietly planted in her heart.

Her tears fell onto the snow, and she vowed that she would take revenge.

The gentle father turned into a small mound of earth, and Xu Lingzhao carved his father's name—Xu Yuesong—on a stone.

The snow fell heavier and heavier. Xu Lingzhao stood in front of the grave for a long time, unwilling to leave. From then on, her world seemed to turn gray. What kept her alive was revenge. She not only wanted to take back everything that belonged to her, but also wanted to kill her mother with her own hands, and move her father's grave to the imperial mausoleum so that her father and mother could be buried together.

Later, she returned to Prague, where no one knew her. After her differentiation at the age of 15, her appearance and figure changed accordingly.

Her father not only gave her the ring that could confirm her identity, but also this plain silver necklace. He said that his child would definitely differentiate into an Alpha, and if she met an Omega she liked, she could give this necklace to him.

Xu Lingzhao raised her hand to wipe away a tear from the corner of her eye. It was getting late, time to sleep. Becoming a knight was the first step in her plan, and it had gone relatively smoothly.

For the next three days, Xu Lingzhao went into the forest as usual to hunt insectoids and obtain crystal cores. In her spare time, she would help Granny Masha chop wood. With swift strokes of her knife, the wood was split in two.

Lucy squatted down to the side, her childish face slightly raised, "Sister, you're amazing. I want to become an Alpha someday."

"Why?" Xu Lingzhao glanced at her. Lucy was very cute and would probably differentiate into an Omega. "If you differentiate into an Omega, someone will protect you, teach you knowledge and etiquette, and you can also find a high-quality Alpha."

Lucy pouted and frowned. "But that's so boring, there's no freedom. I want to be like my sister, unafraid of the Zerg! I can knock down thugs with one punch."

These words surprised Xu Lingzhao. Lucy was just a child, but she had her own ideas. She thought that the Knights had a place called the training camp. If some people wanted to train their children to become excellent knights in the future, they would send them there. Even if Lucy really differentiated into an Omega, she could still become a military doctor.

It seems there's another matter to discuss with Grandma Martha today. She'll pay for the tuition; she hasn't spent much money on her own over the years, and she still has some savings.

The next morning, Xu Lingzhao got up early. Yesterday afternoon, Beth sent her a letter. The letter was very brief. It said that she would come to pick her up tomorrow to go to the Knight Camp. This year's Knight Selection Tournament had ended, and she would be the first knight to arrive at the Knight Camp.

When Beth saw her come out, a genuine smile spread across her face. Xu Lingzhao casually asked, "What's making you so happy?"

"I won't tell you." Beth deliberately kept him in suspense, but the next second, Xu Lingzhao's words made her freeze instantly.

"At the Knights' Headquarters, there's someone you like." Xu Lingzhao nodded thoughtfully, her gaze lingering on Beth's face for a few seconds. "You seem to be wearing makeup today."

“Sir Knight, you are so clever.” Beth shrugged. She hadn’t intended to hide it anyway. Miss Viv wanted to win over Xu Lingzhao, and Xu Lingzhao was in the Knights’ Headquarters. The person she liked was also in the Knights’ Headquarters, so she would have more opportunities to meet him in the future.

Xu Lingzhao got into the car and straightened her collar. "Miss Viv, how are you feeling?"

“Miss, she’s recovering quite well, but the Duke has ordered that she is not allowed to leave the house for the next two weeks.” Beth looked worried. “And recently the eldest young lady has returned,” she lowered her voice, “and she has never gotten along with Miss.”

Xu Lingzhao nodded. The young lady Beth mentioned must be the person Viv was talking about who wanted to kill her.

At noon, the carriage finally arrived at the camp gate. Beth said to her, "Good luck, Knight." Then she ran off in a flash. Xu Lingzhao walked through the camp with her meager belongings. She was wearing faded clothes, which made her stand out from her surroundings. In particular, she heard people talking, "Look, that blonde one, that's the one Duke Gene sent in. She doesn't look that great, but she is quite pretty. There are quite a few Alphas here who like Alphas."

Xu Lingzhao was looking in the direction of the conversation when a person appeared before her. His knightly attire was different from the others, especially with a golden medal on his back. She spoke first, "I am Feng Sui, the Knight Commander of the Rose Knights. Welcome to the Rose Knights. Come with me."

Her words were brief, but there was no arrogance in her tone; it was a businesslike attitude. Xu Lingzhao followed behind Feng Sui. The leader of the Rose Knights was a female Alpha.

Feng Sui led her to the dormitory and pointed to the bed closest to the inner door, saying, "This will be where you sleep from now on. There are two sets of knight's clothes on it." She pointed to the three small cubicles in the room, "That's where you change clothes. Hurry up, we need to set off to pick up the Queen's concubine."

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Author's Note: [Exaggerated praise][Exaggerated praise]