Chapter 90 Intersecting Passions: Drama is often less exciting than reality. ...

"Lily, this is all I can do to help."

Eva reclined on the couch, her jet-black hair winding down her feet and extending toward the crimson liquid.

The girl held up a gorgeous dress covered in sequins, took out the inner garment, and carefully compared it to Eva's shapely waist and abdomen.

"Don't worry, Mother."

Eleanor dressed Eva in a robe and fastened her belt. Then she picked up a comb and meticulously combed her long hair, then adorned it with jewels and braided them into her hair like braids.

"Oh, how can I not feel at ease?"

Eva chuckled as she enjoyed her daughter's service: "You won't let Ophelia off the hook."

Her words sounded like a plea for mercy, but there was no emotion in her tone.

Eleanor nodded and took the golden crown from the void to place on her head.

“Once you leave, she’ll definitely be vying to become the King of Norlana, so I have no choice but to send her on her way first.”

All these years have passed, and Ophelia still refuses to hand over the exact same poison. She probably will never admit to those dirty secrets in her lifetime.

"Hmm, you want to choose Myrcella as your king? That's not very good taste."

Eva's words made Eleanor pause for a moment.

She stepped back to carefully examine her mother, who was now fully dressed, nodding and then shaking her head.

“No, I’m not going to let Myrcella be queen. Neither she nor Ophelia are good enough.”

A tear rolled down her cheek, and Eleanor looked up at her mother earnestly, saying, "I want to try doing it myself."

"Hahaha, you're coming?"

Eva laughed so hard she almost fell over for a long time before she stopped. "Ha, do you know what you're saying? There's never been a princess who became a queen!"

"I can be the first."

Eleanor paused, and under Eva's deep gaze, said softly, "It doesn't matter if it doesn't succeed. I still have plenty of time and opportunities."

In this life, she killed Andra with her own hands.

Whether Andra sank into the river of blood or returned as a vengeful ghost, many distracting thoughts vanished with the water the moment she plunged the hairpin into her lover's cheek.

She wants to make the world a better place, and the method she uses is not important at all.

If Andra can be kicked aside like a stone, then Eleanor can certainly be used like a tool.

Splash!

Eva suddenly put down her wine glass and stood up from the couch. She pressed her right hand against Eleanor's head and gently rubbed it.

Her mother lowered her head, and her gentle expression reminded Eleanor of their very first moments.

"Smile, don't look so pitiful. You still have plenty of time."

After she finished speaking, she withdrew her hand, and the long couch and the golden wine glass sank into the blood-red liquid.

The surging river submerged Eva's ankles, then suddenly rose to knee height.

"...Mother, I'm sorry!"

Eleanor reached out to grab the hem of her dress but grasped nothing.

Her fingers passed through the illusory image, and the ethereal king turned around with a carefree smile: "Why apologize? I'm glad I've made it to the end of this life—"

at last--

Her voice disappeared into the spreading river.

...

Thump!

Eleanor jolted, her forehead slamming against the hard coffin lid.

Uh... she covered her forehead, got up, and took a look.

Eva in the coffin was emaciated, her body covered with knife wounds, and her right arm had been completely severed and stitched back together.

Her wrinkled face and her still somewhat hunched body, despite the servants' efforts to make her look like a woman in her nineties, made her look like an elderly woman.

This is what people of noble blood look like before they die; they age rapidly as their lifespan nears its end.

Eva isn't that old at all. To put it more scientifically, the toxins probably rapidly depleted the vitality of all her cells, triggering some kind of bodily mechanism.

There are too many things on the Moonlit Continent that cannot be explained by existing scientific knowledge.

For example, the corpse of a person of noble blood can be treated with spices and will not rot or smell for a long time.

Eleanor stood up and bowed deeply to Eva inside the coffin.

She is currently staying in Norlana for a day to keep vigil in the place where her mother died, following Norlana's traditional customs. As a dutiful daughter, she is to bring the body back to Norlana the next day and bury it in her homeland in the presence of many witnesses.

Eva's lifespan has run out, and research into the antidote has once again hit a bottleneck.

She retrieved many kinds of poison from Ophelia and her servants, but none of them were the same as the one that had been in Eva's body.

With the support of King Norlana, the scholars experimented on death row inmates and eventually developed a drug that did extend Eva's life by several years, but this effect was far from sufficient.

Eleanor sighed and leaned against the coffin, continuing to ponder.

Eva died in this life on a campaign, not in a sickbed, and most importantly—Attila also died.

Eleanor felt a little relieved about the situation: Attila might become even more insane after the poison took effect, and Eva had averted that risk early.

However, Hetuya still had some remaining matters to attend to...

"Eleanor, my love!"

A panicked voice came from afar.

Eleanor immediately rubbed her eyes, only to find that they were full of tears, red and swollen, and there was no need to pretend.

She straightened up, supporting herself on the coffin, then collapsed back onto it with a whoosh.

This coffin doesn't have a lid!

Eleanor quickly turned her body away to avoid accidentally slapping Eva's face, which had just been made up.

When Alisa walked in, she saw her wife carefully arranging the dried flowers beside the corpse.

Alisa's bitter heart softened slightly, but fear still urged her to come to Eleanor's side.

She took her wife's hand and asked in a trembling voice, "What should we do now?"

Good heavens, it's only been a few days! My mother and mother were both killed by my sister! Then my sister was caught red-handed by King Nolana when he came to deliver grain, and they both died together.

With so many people dying, Alisa was completely devastated.

Oh no, war is about to break out at this critical juncture.

"What's so scary? You are the only king of Hetuya."

Eleanor's voice was very calm as she hugged Alisa and patted her shoulder.

These words filled Alisa's heart like an inflating balloon, making her feel inflated.

That's right, she's the only legitimate daughter, who can object?

Alisa felt a little guilty for a moment. Her reputation wasn't bad, but it was basically transparent.

Not to mention compared to her older and younger sisters, even standing next to Aguno, she has decades less of hard work.

She had never imagined that she could inherit Hetua, and even after marrying Eleanor, she felt a sense of shame that "this wife was married on behalf of someone else, and who knows who she will belong to in ten or twenty years."

Now, I am the only king of Hetuya!

She leaned against Eleanor's chest, feeling her chest and cheeks burning.

Wait, there's also Nolana next door!

The fear of war extinguished the flame in my heart.

Alisa asked hesitantly, "Wife, what's the custom of saying this over there? Will there be a war? The King and Grandma seem to have died of old age, it has nothing to do with us!"

Even if we take a step back, King Nolana still died in Hetuya.

They came to see their daughter under the guise of delivering grain, and after being hacked to pieces like this, who would believe she died of old age!

Attila could have covered up the fact that he killed King Hetuya, but if he had successfully usurped the throne, he would never have admitted to murdering his own family.

But now, in order to ensure the legitimacy of her succession, Alisa will not help cover up the real murderer.

This brings us back to the point.

The whole story sounds like this: a wicked daughter kills her mother in order to inherit the throne, and also stabs her mother and the neighbor who comes to visit her sister-in-law.

Following this logic, the next King of Norlana will definitely fight Hetuya under the pretext of avenging his mother.

They don't care that the murderer is dead; whoever inherits Hertuya should prepare to have their throat slit and eat razor blades!

Alisa watched her wife nervously. Eleanor's hand moved slightly upward, stroking her cheek, and she said, "Indeed, whichever of my sisters succeeds to the throne, they will all have to declare war on Hetuya."

"Oh my god!"

Alisa looked like the sky had fallen; she had no desire to fight.

She wasn't afraid of fighting, but she was terrified of losing! Being suppressed by her two sisters for so many years, and the wives she married never having a high opinion of her, directly led to Alisa having no confidence in her own abilities.

Eleanor scrutinized the top of Alisa's head; she knew that this princess, rumored to be weak and useless, possessed considerable fighting prowess.

Because someone who is really useless in other aspects and only likes hunting and fighting happens to have a blue-purple name.

Eleanor was silent for a while, and finally, just as Alissa was about to despair, she touched her cheek and said, "I...we just won't let them succeed to the throne, I'll send someone to kill Ophelia."

Alisa was deeply moved, never expecting that her wife would be willing to kill her own sister for her sake.

She asked eagerly, "Great! You'll send someone to kill Myrcella too, won't you?!"

Her hopeful voice asked so quickly that Eleanor almost couldn't catch her breath.

The wife's surprised expression was so obvious that Alisa immediately lowered her head and remained silent.

That's true, there's a big difference between sisters of the same blood and sisters of different blood.

Eleanor paused for a moment before continuing, "I will not kill Myrcella; I will persuade her to abandon her idea of ​​succeeding to the throne."

"But if she doesn't die, how will our children inherit the rights?"

Alisa called out anxiously for half a sentence before Eleanor covered her mouth.

Alisa was frightened by her wife's disgusted look. She shrugged and stammered, "I'm sorry, you go first, you go first."

Eleanor tapped her nose and said slowly and deliberately, “I will place Myrcella under house arrest in Enlin and take you to the capital first. I will also announce to everyone that one of our children will become the king of Norlanna, and the other will inherit Hetuya.”

"But this is against the rules; the nobles will definitely—"

Eleanor's fingers moved from Alisa's nose to her lips and pressed down on her mouth fiercely.

The wife's amber eyes flashed with a dangerous light as she suppressed Alisa, saying, "I'll make them agree."

If someone else had said that, Alisa would have definitely retorted, "How is that possible?"

His wife raised her eyebrows, her gentle eyes exuding a sharp charm that captivated him.

Alisa wrapped her arms tightly around Eleanor's waist and cried out, "Oh, my darling, I can only gamble with you this once! Hehe, we'd better have two kids soon..."

As she spoke, she began to undo Eleanor's belt and then passionately leaned in to kiss her lips.

"Wait a moment!"

Eleanor pushed them one by one with great force, and Alisa, not daring to hurt his wife, had no choice but to obediently fall to the ground.

Eleanor straightened her clothes and looked down at him, saying, "You better use your brain and think this through. You'll be useless after I give birth to the baby!"

A cold sweat rushed to the top of her head. Alisa forced a smile and said in a trembling voice, "Honey, you wouldn't say that if you really wanted to hurt me."

hehe.

Eleanor lifted her shoe and kicked her in the waist, neither confirming nor denying.

Suddenly, amidst Alisa's playful expression, she raised her right hand high and slapped it across Alisa's face!

"What did I do wrong again?!"

Alisa jumped up in anger, but before she could even raise her fist to retaliate against her wife, she was slapped hard on the left cheek.

Eleanor's amber eyes were bloodshot as she screamed into Alisa's ear.

"Have you forgotten where you are? You bastard, get out of here!! Or I'll kill you first—"

......

Drama is often less exciting than reality.

After the actors playing Eleanor and Alissa finished their reconciliation dance, they jumped off the stage hand in hand, leaving the space for the final segment.

The Pirate Queen rose from her seat. Perhaps due to time constraints, she forgot to applaud the actors and strode onto the stage.

"Gentlemen, many of you have questioned my will several times these days, and my will is—"

She was as concise as ever, her red hair reflecting the torchlight, and her upturned lips revealing her gleaming white teeth.

"Support former Princess Bajrakitiyabha in reclaiming the throne!"

How could this be? Everyone couldn't help but buzz with excitement.

The former princess has already placed a bet with the Marigold Merchants' Guild; they should be supporting the reigning king!

Andra didn't explain to them; she simply announced her decision and ordered everyone to cooperate. After saying that, she walked straight off the stage.

However, some clever people have already vaguely guessed her thoughts.

It's very simple; it's a question of maximizing profits.

Supporting King Belai might only yield some obsolete warships, expand the sea areas of influence, or lead to a non-aggression pact.

However, the princess's side not only includes the princess, but also a princess.

The play and the newspaper news they had just witnessed gave them a glimmer of inspiration: if both the princess and the king were dead, wouldn't the princess's child...?

The Pirate King wants to seize the throne of Bayreu!