Chapter 581 Albert's Story

Aiwass stared closely at Prince Albert who had broken free of his illusion and returned to his original form.

He was initially worried about his public opinion, but he soon discovered that Prince Albert didn't seem to care about those things.

Perhaps it was because he was a deceitful bard himself, so he could distinguish between truth and lies; but it was also possible that he really didn't care about those things, or was indifferent to Isabel.

Originally, Aiwass had a good impression of the identity of "Yunus". After all, in the game, he firmly protected the protagonist group, was funny and hilarious,

The more Aiwass spoke, the angrier he became—not at Albert himself, but at the fact that Isabel still remembered him.

She was actually willing to give Prince Albert a chance to come back.

If it were Aiwass, he wouldn't even be given this chance.

Even though Aiwass now suspected that Professor Moriarty had ulterior motives, using him, Julia, and his elder brother as pawns in a greater cause, and might be the mastermind behind the murder of his biological parents. He even suspected that he might be connected to a hostile god like Huan Tiansi who had his eye on Aiwass... Even so, Aiwass still held a deep respect for his adoptive father.

Regardless, he did manage to raise himself—not only that, he also delayed the time it took for the Flame-Bending Butterfly to burst out of Yulia's body. Otherwise, Aiwass would have had no chance of saving Yulia at all.

He would remember what Aiwass liked to eat, and when Aiwass was infected by the power of the Tao and frantically researched the Way of Transcendence, he even kept Aiwass at home for two months instead of going to school. When Aiwass was sacrificed to the Shadow Fiend and lost his vitality, he would also invite Bishop Mathers, the highest-ranking priest in Avalon, to heal Aiwass and teach him divine arts.

Even though he is now deeply involved in the professor's conspiracy, Aiwass still firmly believes that the professor is a much better father than Prince Albert.

- In a sense, there was a reason why Isabel was so fragile, frightened, and self-deprecating when Aiwass first met her, and why she escaped from the Glass Island with Prince Albert and never returned.

Even - Aiwass once suspected that Isabel was so attached to and trusted him because she put herself in the position of "father".

Because Aiwass is the first person of the opposite sex who will protect her, guide her, educate her, and love her. He is also stable, smart, handsome, reliable, and has mature life experience, worthy of trust and entrustment.

——And these were originally what her father should have done.

From this point of view, Edwards's inexplicable anger towards Prince Albert was more like a father's accountability... like an adoptive father's accountability to his irresponsible biological father.

“…I’ll be back.”

Prince Albert took a deep breath and whispered, "I will definitely go back."

"Unlike Sherlock - he's here to help you solve your problem, whereas I'm here to inform you of this."

Aiwass's tone also softened a little.

He raised his glass and clinked it with Prince Albert.

At the same time, Aiwass warned: "It's not that I forgive you... because I have no right to blame you. Whether to forgive or not is Isabel's final say. Even if I cannot understand or personally disagree with her forgiveness, I will respect her personal wishes.

"—But as a man, I look down on you. His Royal Highness Prince Albert... or rather, father."

Prince Albert shuddered at the mention of "father."

He showed a clear sense of discomfort—clearly, he wasn't used to being addressed like that.

He looked at Aiwass, opened his mouth, and finally closed it like a dead fish.

Generally speaking, as a son-in-law who is directly approached by his father-in-law for a private chat, it is impossible for him to be as tough as Aiwass...especially when the two did everything before they were married.

But Prince Albert didn't even dare to ask Isabel about her situation. Their positions had completely reversed.

He clinked glasses with Aiwass again and then drank the wine in his glass.

"...Do you want to hear my story?" Prince Albert whispered.

"I'm not here for therapy."

Aiwass nodded: "But I do want to know more.

"I wait for you to convince me, father."

"…I'm afraid not."

Prince Albert smiled bitterly and said, “That’s not a very convincing story that people would agree with.

"At that time, I didn't have any particular ideas or anything to do. In other words, marriage wasn't even on my radar..."

He pursed his lips and replied, "Because I didn't actually want to marry Yini at that time."

Aiwass knew that Inneris was the name of Isabel's mother.

"I know she's very beautiful and noble... Although she's a half-elf, it's said her mother is a celebrity in the Theocracy, and her bloodline is quite pure. She's the most beautiful person I've ever seen. But... she's too old.

“Though she appears to be in her early thirties, she is said to be two hundred years old—half Avalon’s age.

"I was only a teenager at the time, and she was my Elvish language teacher, as well as my instructor in musical instruments and painting. We would go horseback riding and play polo together, and she even taught me to play the harp. She was so calm and collected, and she knew so many secrets. Back then, I idolized her...

"My mother—you know, Her Majesty Sophia. She's actually quite a strong person, and she insists her children do things according to her wishes. She's not only the monarch of Avalon, but also the monarch of 'Du Lac.'"

Prince Albert sighed.

...I don't feel that way, Aiwass thought.

He just thought Queen Sophia was a very kind old lady...she even knitted a scarf for Aiwass.

It's a very soft and warm scarf.

"...I didn't feel any love from my mother, only pressure and criticism. It was like I couldn't do anything right...like I was stupid."

Prince Albert smiled bitterly: "Of course, it was later proved that... I am indeed not very smart.

"But Ini is different. She's very gentle... She's younger than my mother, and more beautiful. I don't know if it's just the aesthetic I developed as a child, but I think half-elves are more beautiful than both elves and humans.

"Then...we had sex. Only once."

Prince Albert tightened his grip on the wine glass. "Generally speaking, half-elves aren't very fertile. But that time... maybe it was just a coincidence. Or maybe it was fate... after just one time, she became pregnant. As I said, half-elves have very low fertility, so she wanted to keep the child."

"I think……"

Aiwass seemed to understand something: "That child is Isabel, right?"

"Well. Anyway, for the sake of Du Lac's reputation, we had to get married urgently. I loved Yini, but I was too young at the time... I was only sixteen or seventeen, still in high school. My friends all knew Yini; they knew she was my teacher and that she would be my wife.

"They would make a fuss—perhaps out of jealousy, because Yini was really beautiful. At the time, I was very concerned about my reputation, and a little foolish... I felt ashamed, not proud. So in front of others, I would act... as if I wasn't that familiar with Yini, or even deliberately treat her coldly.

“…It was much later that I realized this would hurt her.”

Albert murmured, pouring himself another glass of wine.

He picked up the glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Then he poured himself another glass of wine and said in a slightly drunken tone, “But when I realized it, it was already too late.

“—Ten years ago, she died.

"As I expected, the curse wasn't caused by the blood of Du Lak, but by my brothers and sisters who wanted to kill others. So I gave up my right to the throne long beforehand... but that person still wanted to kill me.

"I was supposed to go back to the Temple of Silver and Tin, but something happened and I was delayed three days. But when I returned, Yini suddenly broke apart in front of me.

"—When she embraced me, she suddenly opened like a flower, curling outward. In an instant, she lost her breath, and blood gushed out like a fountain. I felt warm, yet also icy cold.

"Such a bizarre death, one can tell at a glance... she was cursed. And the curser was extremely powerful, only able to curse a fourth-level transcendent so quietly.

"At that time, the curse hadn't yet begun to 'spread' to my relatives. Ini was the first non-immediate relative to die, but her death wasn't attributed to the royal curse. Instead, it was determined that she was accidentally killed by the curse caster while attempting to assassinate me under the 'royal curse'.

"Because I hadn't been back to the Temple of Silver and Tin for a long time, the assassin probably thought I had returned and came to steal my hair. But he ended up killing Ini instead. Our hair is the same color and length. Only outsiders would have been unaware that I hadn't returned yet... This mistaken curse also excluded the curser, or those who colluded with the curser, from the royal family.

"Little Issa was only nine at the time, and me? I was only 25 – I was still studying and hadn't graduated from university yet."

Albert said in a hoarse voice: "At that time, I was even two years younger than Detective Sherlock today."

"So, you won't seek revenge?"

Aiwass asked back.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. "I didn't even know who the enemy was. Even my wise and powerful mother was at a loss as to what to do. What could a helpless me do? I was just a student. I wasn't even a transcendent at the time."

"So you chose to run away."

"...You can understand it that way. Indeed... in the end, I ran away. Out of fear, out of confusion. I just wanted to escape the quagmire of slow death... even if it was just to die in the sun. I just wanted to do something so that when death came, I wouldn't realize I hadn't done anything in time.

"—I'm only twenty-five! My entire life up until now has been nothing but school and taking care of Isabel. I haven't even seen the world outside of Glass Island... At least, I want to go out and see it. Even if I die out there, even if I help someone... I don't want to go to school meaninglessly anymore. Death could come at any moment, so what's the point of studying?

"So I planned for two years, learning extraordinary skills. When I was ready, I took my good brother Yunus and ran away."

"…But I did…I did ignore Isabel. Or rather…"

Albert paused and replied, “Because when I see her, I will think of Ini. I will think that I didn’t even have the chance to say sorry to her… and I will feel very painful.

"Perhaps the person who cursed Ini was a lousy assassin, but Isabel was indeed cursed. It would have been fine if I died before her, but what if she died before me? Curses don't work in sequence... I used to dream of Isabel suddenly breaking apart in front of me, and then I'd wake up in shock.

"...If I can't do anything else, at least..."

——At least I don’t want to see it.

Albert poured himself another glass of wine, but found that he had already finished it.

His cheeks flushed, and his voice was low and a little tearful: “I’m not here to help others find their daughters… I just saw Anastasia and thought of Isabel.

"But I didn't dare go back... Faced with the curse, I chose to escape; when the curse was lifted, I returned. Then I..."

Albert was choked up when he said this.

He remained silent for a long moment before whispering, "I came to the Church to find Ini's mother and say sorry to her... I'm relieved that you're taking care of Isabel. So I think... maybe I can die now."

"If she blames me, I can also give her my life as compensation. Perhaps we'll have a chance to meet again in the dream world... Of course, someone as incompetent as me will probably only become the cornerstone of the world. But I think she might become a singer of the Song Tiansi, or an apostle of the Twin Mirror. She's also very good at painting, and she might be sent to the Amber Forest, or become a memory imprinted by the Lingbo Tiansi.

"I just...want to say sorry to her."

Ini's mother?

Aiwass's eyes widened slightly, and a strange premonition suddenly occurred in his heart: "Her Royal Highness Princess Ineris... What is her last name?"

"——Flowers."

Prince Albert answered without hesitation, "Her full name is Inerys Blossom."

Update completed!

My frozen shoulder is acting up. I went out for some moxibustion today... It might be this late tomorrow too. It's been so annoying these past few days.

(End of this chapter)