Chapter 47
The winds of the North, carrying shards of snow, crashed against the city walls, emitting a low, mournful wail. From afar, the entire snow castle looked as if it had been sprinkled with shards of diamonds.
From the icicles on the city gates to the snow on the fortress roof, everything gleamed with a cold luster in the dim light of the midnight sun.
Li Jia and Winslow lay on the edge of the Peacock Chariot, looking at the geographical landscape of the North.
Hera had Doreen raise the chariot's shields a bit, leaving two windows large enough for the two of them to lie down.
Li Jia couldn't help but sigh, "The Northern Territory really is a land of ice and snow everywhere."
“You’ve lived in the North for years, how come you act like you’ve never been here before?” Winslow retorted.
“That was when I was very young,” Li Jia replied. When she transmigrated, she was already in Olitz.
“Actually, I am also from the North, but I damaged my brain before. Doreen told me that we were orphans in a monastery, relying on each other for survival, until we met the God and came to the Hot Springs.”
Winslow gazed at the snowy landscape of the North, lost in thought, and muttered, "I'm also quite curious about what kind of life I had in the North before."
Li Jia empathizes with Winslow's confusion: you are a participant in something, and even someone knows that you were involved, but you yourself are unaware of it, and you will feel inexplicably angry.
"Didn't Doreen tell you about your time in the North?" Li Jia asked, patting Winslow on the shoulder.
Winslow shook his head: "I asked her, but she wouldn't say. Perhaps those days were too hard for her to recall. Since that's the case, I don't want to know either."
“I’ve lived for far too long. Over the centuries, the inhabitants of the North have changed countless times. There’s no need to delve into it.” He then took a deep breath and said, “What’s right now is the best. Why think so much?”
Li Jia nodded. Live in the moment; the more you know, the more painful it becomes.
Just like her, she was originally a hardworking office worker, but after dying, she came to this other world, had a system, and was able to truly live her own life.
Li Jia lay in the hospital, her body covered in medical instruments. In the last moment before her consciousness faded, she smiled. She was free.
She no longer needs to worry about food and clothing, her frail health, or the constant moving around. She also doesn't have to fret about being laid off at thirty, or what to do about retirement if she's lucky enough to live to sixty.
She was completely free.
Ordinary people have suffered so much that they can only truly live their lives when the countdown is almost over.
This world is already terminally ill. When students learn they are sick, their first reaction is not to worry about their health, but to be happy that they can finally take a leave of absence to rest.
Only when a person completely loses the future can they truly possess the present.
——
As the name suggests, the North is located at the northernmost part of the continent, covered in snow all year round, and cold is the defining characteristic of this region.
On the peacock chariot, Li Jia grew tired of the scenery and asked Hera for the Fate Scroll to examine.
Before handling a case, you have to look at the case file; that's the standard procedure.
Hera pulled out the Fate Scroll and handed it to her. The entire world was filled with white, so bright that even at night, no lights were needed. It was a beautiful, dazzling white.
The world is full of wonders.
The person who initiated this thread is: Mois Chescot
She is the crown princess of the Stuarts of the North and the only direct descendant. Her mother is the eldest princess of Stuarts. The old king had no sons and passed the Stuarts line on to his only daughter.
The eldest princess married the king's husband, Mel. After their marriage, she gave birth to Moise, who died of a fever. The whole country mourned. The king's husband used the excuse that his daughter was too young to rule the northern border for decades.
During this time, under the pretext that the princess needed someone to take care of her, he married Fran, the eldest princess's childhood friend, as his second wife, and she became Moise's stepmother.
This time, Moise is going to break the bond between Fran and Mel.
Hundreds of years ago, the North was not yet civilized. Women were enslaved and maids, forbidden from attending school or engaging in commerce. Once they turned eighteen, they were forced to marry, or they would be ridiculed as old maids, bringing shame upon their families.
One day, a red light descended upon this place, a blessing from the gods.
The North underwent massive reforms, granting women the same right to education as men. Furthermore, a strict rule was established: if a girl in a household was not sent to school, the guardian would be imprisoned.
Newborns are registered every year to ensure that every child has access to education. Of course, tuition and other expenses are waived. As for where the money comes from, no one knows.
Under the pressure of the gods, those who were dissatisfied were suppressed. For the next two hundred years, the reforms proceeded more and more smoothly. The old king made his only daughter empress, and no one in the cabinet dared to oppose him.
Because female law enforcement leaders are present in a 1:1 ratio in Stuart, if a male leader dares to oppose him, the female leader will roar with even more force than he does.
The commander of the Stuart army's highest-ranking corps is a ruthless female admiral: Catherine Saint-Lanfina.
Hearing Catherine's name in the North evokes only fear and trembling; she has led armies in battle for many years and is only twenty-six years old at most.
Compared to those petty villains who prefer to hide in the corners, the people of the North admire this decisive and ruthless Iron Lady far more.
After reading the marriage proposal, Li Jia said, "It's quite unusual for a stepdaughter to propose marriage to her father on behalf of her stepmother."
This is not Li Jia's fault. It seems that no matter what world or era, stepmothers, stepfathers, stepchildren, and mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships are always topics that are criticized.
Ultimately, the worldly conclusion is that women are natural enemies.
The man turned into a non-stick pan again.
ridiculous.
Blood relatives or nominal friends and relatives can submit a marriage proposal.
Li Jia then asked, "Whether the parents are divorced or not should not concern the children. If the Queen and the King are unwilling to dissolve the marriage contract, then it's all for nothing."
"There's a reason for this, so we came to take a look."
Upon reaching their destination, Hera led her down from the peacock chariot.
The castle is nearby, its walls built of ice rock unique to the North. Despite a century of wind and frost, they have not faded in the slightest. From a distance, they look like an ice dragon lurking on the snowfield.
The two characters "Northern Frontier" hanging above the castle were cast from melted ice crystals and then cooled. Tiny ice flowers still clung to the strokes, and when the wind blew, fine ice shards fell down, refracting a rainbow of colors in the air.
As the group approached the capital's gate, which was heavily guarded, a small sign stood nearby. Li Jia walked over, glanced at it, and read it aloud.
"Those who trespass into the northern border."
"To die in battle is the only way to rest."
What a powerful motto!
Li Jia has always felt that these plaques represent the subjective attitude of a country or a city, just like a local tourism slogan.
It makes this place memorable.
"This was written by Admiral Catherine."
The guard next to her saw Li Jia standing there dumbfounded by the plaque and said proudly.
The group concealed their faces and figures and successfully entered the city. The streets were covered with compacted snow, which made a soft "crunch" sound when stepped on, as if the earth was humming.
Due to its geographical location, the houses on both sides are mostly pointed-roof wooden houses with thick snow covering their roofs, which look like fluffy snow mushrooms from a distance.
The market was the liveliest place in Stuart Castle. Vendors, wrapped in thick animal skin coats, called out their wares in front of their stalls, while frozen jerky hung on the racks, its surface covered with a layer of white frost.
"Would you like to try a hot wheat cake first?"
Winslow tugged at Li Jia's sleeve and pointed to the stall on the street corner.
The freshly baked hot wheat cakes exuded a fragrant aroma, and the hot broth in the rough earthenware bowls steamed, quickly condensing into tiny water droplets in the cold air, clinging to the diners' eyelashes.
The children ran through the snow in their snow boots, holding small animals carved from ice, their laughter as crisp as ice beads falling to the ground.
Li Jia and Winslow ran to the stall and got a skewer of candied hawthorn. They each took a bite, and the sourness of the hawthorn blended with the sweetness of the rock sugar. The two flavors mingled in their mouths, and even the chill in their chests dissipated.
"tasty!"
Winslow mumbled something, took out a few silver coins and threw them into the stall owner's hand. Li Jia took two more strings and turned to hand them over at the street corner.
Hera was standing in the snow, her clothes covered in snow, but a smile appeared in her eyes when she saw the candied hawthorns.
Doreen accepted the candy without expression, her fingertips touching the candy shell as she gently exhaled a puff of white breath and whispered, "Thank you."
Hera and Doreen travel to different places on official business, while Winslow and Li Jia are just travel buddies.
However, Li Jia was genuinely curious about where Hera should start with this marriage proposal. The initiator was her stepdaughter, and neither her stepmother nor her biological father had spoken up. If they had a good relationship, wouldn't that be like breaking up a loving couple?
"So, is our Temple of Marriage about to encounter its first unbreakable fate bond?" Li Jia chewed on a candied hawthorn, biting into the hard core in the middle, which hurt her teeth. She decided not to eat it and handed it to the side.
Hera took the remaining half of the skewer and took two bites.
"That's not necessarily true. If one party has no interest whatsoever, the engagement letter simply cannot be formed and presented to His Majesty," Doreen explained.
Li Jia thought about it and agreed. If anyone could bring it up without the knowledge of the couple, wouldn't that be ridiculous? Besides, it would create too much work for them.
Therefore, there is an implicit condition for proposing a predestined relationship: at least one party must have the willingness to resolve the predestined relationship, even if it is only 0.01%.
But love is something that can't withstand even the slightest barrier; once such thoughts arise, the cracks will slowly widen.
Li Jia wiped her mouth: "Then where do we start? Should we ask our stepdaughter directly or the couple?"
Winslow said confidently, "Since His Majesty brought the two of us here, it means he already had a way to judge. We're just there as an accessory; let's just have fun."
Li Jia also went out with Hera to handle some matters, and she knew that Winslow was telling the truth.
Just like in a team fight, the two DPS characters unleash their full power, while she follows Winslow to the back door to pick up kills – it's incredibly satisfying.
From the masses, to the masses.
To understand the truth of a matter, you can never listen to what others say, but you have to see for yourself. This is what Li Jia learned from Hera.
Those in high positions should experience this firsthand.
"Your Majesty, don't you feel tired?"
Li Jia looked at the woman's profile and asked, "As a goddess, Hera doesn't need to toil and travel, but she is willing to travel back and forth to the mortal world again and again to seek justice for women and children."
She could have hired many servants and entrusted these tasks to them.
Hera's gaze fell on a woman not far away, who was warming herself in front of a meat soup stall while holding her child. Hearing this, she gently shook her head, her voice gentle yet firm: "They have faith in me, so I must do something for them."
The wind blew through the snow on the roof again, and the soft "crunching" sound came again. This time, it sounded like an echo of her words.
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