Chapter 64 Like a Fairy Tale: Is She... Actually Perfect?

The bells jingled as Scarface respectfully presented a carriage and two fine horses to bid farewell to the group as they embarked on their journey home.

Andra tossed the reins of the chestnut horse to Manju and calmly stepped into the carriage.

As she opened the car door, she glanced back and thought she saw Coral and a few slaves flash by in the crowd.

Oh well, Eleanor is safe anyway, so let those people be wherever they want.

She got into the carriage, sat down next to the princess, and asked with some curiosity, "Your Highness, how did you persuade her?"

It wasn't difficult to persuade Scarface; anyone in this situation could have squeezed him dry.

But she, standing to the side, saw it clearly: when Eleanor took out the parchment, Scarface looked at it for a moment, then fell into deep thought with a serious expression, before bursting into a wide smile.

She beamed with joy after hearing just a few words of explanation from the little princess... This suggests that the princess's scroll must contain some kind of information that could immediately bring in a lot of benefits, and it must be simple and easy to understand.

Andra could also guess some similar information, such as resources like mines.

There's no way we'll find gold or silver mines; once such veins are discovered, they'll only be controlled by kings, great lords, and the church.

The mines in Norlana are likely iron or copper mines, or they may be valleys with abundant high-quality stone.

But such a wonderful thing couldn't possibly belong to a little princess who had just turned 10, and who would be willing to share a mine with a businessman? Even the two of them combined couldn't hold onto it.

If Scarface dares to secretly mine without King Norlana's knowledge, he'll be hung on the city gate tower first thing the next morning.

Andra pondered for a while downstairs, and once in the car, she stared at Eleanor with curious eyes, hoping the little princess could answer her questions.

Eleanor took a sip of tea, put down her cup, and said, "I discussed some simple business collaborations with her, such as jointly developing a business association and a commercial platform, and I can also provide her with some blueprints to avoid some taxes."

"I see." Andra nodded imperceptibly, but felt a little uncomfortable: she could tell it was just a perfunctory response.

When she first boarded the carriage and saw the princess, she clearly felt that the two should be closer.

So she spoke without thinking, and the image of Eleanor leaning against her and gesturing happily in her mind had already appeared.

Was it just an illusion?

Andra glanced at Eleanor, who was leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed, and breathed a sigh of relief.

It must be a hallucination. The little princess has only known her for a short time, so naturally they wouldn't have such deep feelings for each other.

The boy smiled slightly, thinking with amusement: Perhaps in the princess's heart, she is a Hetuan who is very similar to Mysera, and who likes to dance with swords and ride horses?

But that's alright, she'll let Eleanor see her clever side, and then—

Rustling, rustling.

More illusions peeled away from space and appeared before Andra's eyes.

She seemed to see a bright young girl meticulously tidying up the snow-white papyrus on the table, drawing some characters and symbols that she couldn't understand.

That's Eleanor.

Andra turned her gaze to the face of the girl who could be called "Eleanor's sister." The slender young woman's eyes sparkled as she cheerfully addressed her, "Andra..."

What is she saying?

Andra squinted, trying to get closer to the phantom—

Bang!

A tremendous force struck his head, and Andra clutched his forehead as he silently slumped back into his seat.

"Hahaha."

Eleanor chuckled softly and handed her a handkerchief from her waist. "Andra, you seem a little distracted today?"

The little princess spoke gently, and Andra blushed, explaining sincerely, "It's probably because of last night's dream."

This was just an excuse; she didn't want the princess to think that she was bored during their "date."

Eleanor's laughter suddenly stopped, and she turned her head to look at her without blinking.

"Dream, what kind of dream did you have last night?"

Hmm, I need to think about that carefully.

Andra pretended to recall carefully, and after a few seconds slowly said, "I can't quite remember, but I saw you on the table fiddling with some very white and flat papyrus, smiling and talking to me."

She summarized her hallucination, adding embellishments, "You also—"

"How are you?" Eleanor leaned forward, moving closer to her in the warm carriage.

The little princess's focused gaze brought a smile to Andra's face.

"Oh, people only care about those they like~"

The old women on the grasslands once said to her with a smile, "Oh my, my little princess, you are so beautiful, many girls will fall in love with you in the future."

Back then, she was so small, but she stood with her hands on her hips and loudly replied, "I don't want a lot of girls, too many people are too annoying! I only want the most noble, the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the most gentle, and the one who loves me the most!"

Hahahaha.

"Hmph, you might as well wish for several!"

Andra began to understand why the nuns were laughing so exaggeratedly. Even the Great Mother Goddess would be astonished by this string of wishes.

Actually, she was a little ashamed before she met Eleanor... no, after she grew up two years.

A person should know their own limitations. She had never met a girl who was perfect in every way, not even someone who was nine-tenths flawless. She was only mortal; what right did the Great Mother Goddess have to lift a lover who seemed like a god from the River of Blood?

But perhaps there are truly wonderful girls out there.

Andra looked at Eleanor, who was propping her head up with her hand, and a gentle joy welled up in her heart.

She didn't know Eleanor well enough. At first sight, she recognized her beauty, and upon seeing her again, she recognized her gentleness. This little princess was of noble birth, yet she retained a kindness towards all those of lower status than herself.

Her attitude towards swordsmanship was naive, but naivety was also part of her perseverance. Eleanor didn't need to practice swordsmanship diligently, but she didn't slack off during these days.

As for intelligence—Andra had heard of the little princess's intelligence from many people.

Previously, it lacked a sense of reality, but today it has stirred up a corner of the truth: how could someone who is not clever enough possibly make a merchant who has suffered huge losses smile with a roll of parchment?

Is she... actually perfect?

As Andra gazed into Eleanor's amber eyes, a vague feeling suddenly arose within him.

I hope she can belong to me.

"My little princess, one should not be too greedy."

In my memory, the old woman sat on a straw mat and slowly told ancient legends.

The oldest king of mankind, the Sun Queen of the Golden Age, called herself the Sun. She conquered all the tribes in the world at that time, and then challenged Gaia's eldest daughter, Yang.

She pointed directly at the sky and mocked the sun: All your power comes from the Great Mother Goddess. If you descend from the sky and abandon the boundless divine power bestowed upon you by the Mother Goddess, you will find that gods are weaker than humans—you will submit to me!

Yang Weiwang's arrogance stunned him for six breaths.

Then the sun fell from the sky, and He lost His divine fire and transformed into a tiny baby.

The baby rolled on the ground, growing a year older with each roll, and the ground spewed forth bright red lava, which later became the great volcano and the Valley of Desolation.

After undergoing eighteen tumbles, Yang grew into a slender young woman.

She looked at the Sun King, who held a long sword, and stretched her hand towards the sky. Her sister Anara stirred up a fierce wind, and her sister Felia brought her a branch.

The wind sharpened the branches into sharp spearheads, and the sturdy spear fell into Yang's hands.

The young woman weighed the weapon, which had been created from nature, in her hand, and nodded slightly to the King of Mankind.

The Sun King, without fear, met the maiden and raised his forged iron sword—

Andra knew the ending of the story; it was a chapter of war and poetry, blood and fire, life and death.

The gods witnessed the end of the sons of man... and their future.

Romantic myths and the flames of the past have faded away together.

Looking at Eleanor's face beside her, she couldn't help but empathize with the Sun King's fervent emotions in the story: I wish—that beautiful thing could belong to me forever.

Whether it's the sun, the moon, the stars... or you.

"I dreamt about what happened next..."

She turned to face the girl, whose face was as hazy as a crescent moon, and whispered, "You hugged me."

Andra softened her voice; she saw the emotion on the girl's face.

Eleanor believed it.

Every detail of her expression showed that she completely believed these selfish confessions.

The boy's heart pounded.

What could be more joyful than knowing that the person you like also likes you?

She squinted her eyes and slowly leaned forward, her rosy lips gently approaching the little princess's soft lips.

Wow, that's fast! They've only known each other for less than a month.

This is so slow! They've already met for many days.

Andra's mind drifted to the poems of the god of love.

She once made a bet with her friends that the legends of Cupid were all made up, and that Cupid, who descended to earth, would not fall in love so quickly.

He is a high and mighty god, how could he fall in love with a girl's shy smile and a flower?

She watched as his lips drew closer—and she believed it. Love is just that irrational.

"......"

In the split second before their lips touched, Andra even had the illusion of transcending countless years.

It felt as if a single breath would transport him to years, decades, or even longer into the future, so that he could stand atop the high city wall with his beloved Angie and spend a wonderful night with his people.

Snap.

The touch of the lips was unlike that of lips, and Andra couldn't help but open her eyes.

At the last second, the little princess shyly turned her face away, her lips landing precariously on her soft cheek.

"Really..." Eleanor grumbled softly as she shrank into a corner, her face flushed with embarrassment.

~

Andra did not approach any further. She straightened up in a good mood: Her Highness the Princess did not shout for Manju and Thorn to come quickly, which was itself a form of coy refusal.

"I'm sorry." She bit her lip, her eyes and brows full of smiles.

The little princess leaned against the carriage without saying a word for several minutes.

Andra obediently leaned against her, his hands on his knees, not daring to move.

If she and the princess had known each other for many years, she would definitely have invaded His Highness's territory with the most forceful attitude, and would not have hesitated to give him a kiss.

But now... Andra glanced at the still childlike little girl next to her and couldn't help but blush.

......

Clang, clang.

As they waited quietly, the carriage crossed the streets and entered the royal city, heading onto a relatively unfamiliar road.

Andra glanced out the car window and realized that the road outside wasn't the way back to the palace. She turned around and asked in surprise, "Your Highness, are you planning to take a different route back today?"

Eleanor shook her head; her complexion had returned to normal, and the fiery blush had completely faded.

The little princess's tone was slightly distant: "No, I want to see my mother."

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Author's note: I forgot if I mentioned this before, so I'm writing it down now~ This chapter mentions Gaia's daughters.

Yang—Gaia's eldest daughter, goddess of light, fire, and creation (pronunciation varies slightly in different countries; she shares the same name as the sun and means "wheel of light").

Felia, the goddess of flowers and stars, prosperity and harvest.

Storms, Adversity, and Reversals – Anara

Incidentally, the story of the Sun King and Yang ultimately ends with the king's death, though different versions of the story have different endings.

For example, the official legend of Hetuya is that the sun fought a hard-fought battle for six days and six nights, and pierced the king's heart at the first light of dawn. He finally acknowledged the sun king's courage and strength, and after his death, he led him to the kingdom of the gods.

The legend of Norlana tells of how, after the death of the Sun King, Yang returned to the heavens without hesitation. He was resurrected by An, the second daughter of Gaia and the goddess of life, death, cycles, and reincarnation. He eventually passed An's many trials and became a demigod, staying by An's side.

However, later scholars mostly believe that the Sun King was assassinated by his daughter, who used mythology to cover up her evil act of killing her mother.