Chapter 33 I Like You (Part Two) "I so want to tell you how much I like you..."
Her smile was captivating, and I carefully put it on her.
In an instant, she merged with the radiant light of the crown, looking so beautiful she seemed unreal.
"Touching the body of a loved one is taboo in our tribe. When she committed suicide, she chose to die wearing a crown, which was a way of taking away my father's throne. She hated my father for falling in love with someone else and was determined to take back what was rightfully hers. She put the crown on her head, took a deadly poison, and died. No one dared to take the crown away from her. Afterwards, my father was dethroned by his subjects, and his new lover fled at the first sign of trouble. My father died less than two years later, and my brothers and I each became kings on our own islands. Now I will unify my island nation."
She moved closer to me as she spoke, so close that I could hear her breathing.
She suddenly bit her finger and forced the bleeding finger into my lips, saying, "Sucking my finger is perhaps the closest thing we can do in our lives."
I started sucking on it as if by some strange impulse.
The blood had a fishy, sweet, and even strange sour and bitter taste.
Her lips suddenly pressed against mine, through my fingers. "I love you, miss. You have my blood on you, and I will allow you to possess a portion of my abilities. Once you enter my castle, you will have a certain degree of prophetic ability and will be able to touch things that were originally forbidden."
Images flashed through my mind like lightning.
—I drew my last few cartoons in the corridors of the Black Castle with my own blood, and escaped one calamity after another by relying on the prophecies in the drawings.
—With my bleeding arm, I knocked down the semi-circular glass dome on the altar that held the model, snatched it, and fled to the Black Tower…
It turns out that none of this was a coincidence.
She took my hand and swam out of the room, but just as we were swimming out of the sunken ship, I saw five or six beautiful men and women glaring at me fiercely from five steps away from the shipwreck.
"My brothers and sisters have arrived." She released my hand, smiled slightly, murmured a few words, and the diamonds on the golden crown she wore shone brightly.
In just five seconds, a large army suddenly appeared behind her, its figures faintly visible.
I was stunned.
Her brothers and sisters arrived late; she was already the owner of the crown.
Her face held an arrogant expression, but when she looked at me, her gaze softened with tenderness. "Bringing you in here has exhausted me. I am now weak and frail, unable to even walk. My strength is far less than before. If it weren't for the crown, anyone could easily take my life. I can no longer see you. Now I will use my last bit of strength to send you back."
It turns out she wasn't born weak. The accounts in books often differ from reality.
She looked at me intently and said, "How I wish I could keep you here, but my fate is uncertain, and I don't want you to suffer because of me."
She stood very close to me, face to face.
Her hot breath wafted into my nose, "You will forget me, but I won't."
I had a feeling of something stuck in my throat, my nose felt sore, and I wanted to cry but couldn't.
"I so want to tell you how much I like you, but I don't dare," her fingers traced my lips, "I'm afraid you'll be scared."
Almost instantly, I felt myself disappearing, and her voice still echoed in my ears, "We... will never see each other again..."
—
I was walking down a corridor of a strange dream.
Countless images floated past on both sides of the corridor.
I saw the silver-haired man who had been swept away by the shipwreck kneeling before her as an adult, passionately expressing his love for her. She was deeply moved, but as she turned her wheelchair away, a hint of mockery played on her lips.
I also saw her forced smile on her wedding night as the silver-haired man held her tightly.
I also saw her wearing a veil, sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed to the beach by her maid, looking at the endless deep gray sea.
"Do you think I'm lonely?" she asked the maid.
The maid lowered her head in embarrassment.
Her smile made the world pale in comparison. "I'm not really lonely. I'm lonely because she's not here."
I also heard her mutter to herself again, "I want a son."
The last image then floats by—
In the spacious and magnificent room, she sat leaning against the headboard, embracing and kissing a newborn baby, whispering, "I have already chosen a bride for you..." Before she could finish speaking, a group of fierce-looking, armored guards stormed in...
My tears fell, more and more, as if they would never end.
This is the first time I've ever felt like crying in my dream.
The more she cried, the harder she cried.
The more she cried, the harder she cried.
Until my shoulders were shaken violently, and an irritated voice came, "Why are you crying? Wake up."
I cried my eyes out and refused to open them.
Knowing it's a dream, yet unwilling to wake up.
Years later, I walked barefoot in the dark, dilapidated corridors of the Black Castle, never dreaming that I had such a past.
I never dreamed that such a girl would ever appear in my life.
It changed my life afterward.
Everything, it turns out, was not a coincidence at all.
Suddenly, I felt a few hard slaps on my buttocks, and a piercing pain shot through me. I opened my eyes and cried out, "Why did you use so much force?"
"Are you sick? Stop crying forever," came Bernard's impatient voice.
I stood up angrily and slapped him, but he dodged quickly. I grabbed a vase and smashed it against the wall with a bang, startling the maid on night duty outside the door.
"My lord, what has happened? We're coming in."
The door was being banged on loudly.
I coughed, choking back tears, and the door was pushed open. Two maids rushed in—but headed straight for Bernard…
At that moment, my eyes widened.
Benoit has actually become Benoit, wearing a pure white belted bathrobe, which I changed into before going to bed.
I looked at myself again. The light yellow women's nightgown and the bare feet exposed beneath it were my own—there was a small mole on my big toe.
Bernard also noticed something was wrong.
We stared at each other in shock.
We didn't even notice just now—we switched back.
***
"There are currently three solutions. First, open all the reserve granaries and distribute sweet potatoes and potatoes to the common people. Second, expel all the migrants from the territory. Third, Your Majesty, use your private treasury to purchase grain from outside and provide relief to the common people." A senior general stood in the middle of the imperial study and spoke eloquently. "These three solutions are the conclusions I reached after discussing them with my subordinates many times. You can choose one of the three, or you can use all three at the same time."
In response to the famine caused by the snow disaster, some generals had already announced their own plans before the lords could even come up with theirs.
Bernard, dressed in a thin black coat, sat in the main seat behind the desk with a cold expression. I forced a smile and sat on his lap, hooking my arms around his neck and snuggling against his chest—there was no way around it, the person was back, but the persona couldn't be ruined; I had to be the same as he was before.
This makes me feel very awkward. I've never been so "seductive and shameless" before, but I can't help it.
When I try to get off Bernard's lap, Bernard pinches my waist hard, so hard that I dare not move.
“I disagree,” Byrne stepped forward and said. “My lord, once the grain reserves in the granaries decrease, some mid- to high-ranking leaders may defect. They will feel that there is no security here.”
I understand what that means. Loyal servants only exist when there's profit to be made. Even if the loyal servants themselves don't eat, their families still need to. In dire circumstances, loyal servants have no choice but to leave. Generals, guard leaders, and others receive monthly salaries and rations. Opening up all the granaries would mean a reduction in their income. And once that reduction occurs, they might be tempted by others with lucrative offers.
“I agree with driving away all the refugees, as this would alleviate the depletion of food supplies,” Byrne said, “but I strongly oppose opening all the granaries.”
The other generals and officers began to discuss in hushed tones. I listened for a while, and everyone was discussing the first two options. No one was discussing using the lord's private treasury to buy grain.
"You stingy bastard," I said, giving him a cold look.
It was obvious that he was always stingy, and the generals and officers never even considered using his money.
"Meeting adjourned," he said suddenly.
I was stunned for a moment, and so were the others.
"I will deliver the solution to everyone by midnight tonight at the latest," he added.
It's a complete one-man show; they don't listen to anyone else's opinions.
The large bronze doors of the Imperial Study were pushed open from both sides, and generals and officials filed out.
"Have you really come up with a solution?" I jumped off Bernard's lap and straightened my long skirt. "Don't try to fool me. Why don't you open your private granary and buy some food?"
Bernard flipped through the documents in his hand and completely ignored me.
"Changing the weather is the best solution. You should first look up information on this or contact the remaining members of the Elven race. Perhaps they have a solution."
If the snow disaster is not resolved, no matter how much food or money we have, it will eventually run out.
He continued flipping through the official documents.
“I dreamt of your mother twice. The first time she told me about the snow disaster, and the second time was last night…” I watched as his thick, slightly drooping eyelashes trembled.
I covered his official documents with both hands and told him about the contents of both dreams. Of course, I omitted things like "my son wants to marry you" and "I've already chosen a bride for you."
He burst out laughing after hearing this, laughing uncontrollably.
"What are you laughing at?" I suppressed my anger.
His laughter stopped, but he said with a half-smile, "Looks like I almost had two mothers."
"What do you mean?" I asked, my face turning red.
"Isn't that so?" The smile that curved his lips was captivating.
Some things don't need to be said outright; the ambiguity in them can make you incredibly embarrassed.
"Yes," I turned my face away, deciding to just give up entirely, "Do you want to call me 'Mom' right now?"
His captivating smile deepened. "No."
“Your previous judgment was wrong,” I tried to change the subject, “say that I realized the secret to saving you from the Black Tower because my potential was unleashed by extreme fear.”
“I can’t be right about everything,” he said, a faint smile playing on his pale blue eyes, “but extreme fear can indeed unleash potential, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to beat the long-haired maid who guards the tomb.”
There was a knock on the door of the Imperial Study, and Lady Zhen appeared carrying a bowl of dark soup.
A note from the author:
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Thank you everyone for following the story!
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