Chapter 97 I still underestimated the influence of others…
On the way back on the flying bird, the cold wind was still howling. When Artis held me tightly to his chest, I couldn't refuse because the wind was so strong that it felt like I wasn't wearing any clothes when it passed through my body.
The wind subsided as we approached the residential area. I turned to him and asked, "Artis, did you draw a map of this island?"
"not yet."
“Draw one,” I said. “Aren’t you going to create a kingdom? A map is the first step. Draw this island, the seas and islands around it, and also the entire continent. That way, when you think about things, you won’t just be limited to this island, but to the whole world.”
Three days later, I saw a map of the island. I was amazed by their incredible efficiency.
We quickly found the extinct volcano the Queen had mentioned. A gut feeling told me that this volcano was hiding something.
The sun was high in the sky, and Artis was nowhere to be seen. I rode a colorful, long-tailed bird and, following the map, headed towards the extinct volcano.
Two guards, riding birds, followed me from afar.
The location of the extinct volcano is very remote. I couldn't see it at all from the hilltop where the Queen's tombstone is located. I don't know how the Queen pointed it out to me in her dream. I couldn't find it around my residence, so I could only "trick" Artis into having someone draw one for me.
The colorful long-tailed bird landed on the mountainside of the extinct volcano. I had just stood in the pile of rocks when I heard a few whooshing sounds, and the wind howled, blowing my long hair. I saw Attis riding the colorful long-tailed bird towards me, followed by some guards.
I found it strange that only two guards were with me today. It turned out that the other two had gone to report to Artis and brought more guards back with them.
"What are you doing here?" Artis asked me gently as he jumped off the bird.
"Don't follow me." I was very unhappy.
"This place is remote, and the mountain roads are treacherous. I was worried about you. How did you end up here?"
“When I fell down the mountain that day, I dreamed of the Queen. She was talking to me right here,” I said as I walked forward. “She said my powers would slowly disappear and she would never come to see me again. I was very sad and started crying. I was crying when you woke me up.”
Artis paused slightly. "Is it true?"
“Yes.” I turned around and said, “My powers will disappear, and she will never come back. I’m terrified just thinking about how I’m going to survive here.”
Artis laughed and followed me, "You already have a husband."
I glanced at him and said, "No man has ever been reliable throughout history."
“I’m not an ordinary man, I’m your husband.”
I ignored him and continued walking. "I came here just to find the place where I spoke with the Queen. I hope to see the Queen again."
"You like the Queen very much?" he suddenly asked.
"Yes," I replied.
He suddenly hugged me tightly, so tightly that I could hardly breathe, and I couldn't push him away.
“Thank goodness she’s gone,” he said, holding me tightly and kissing my neck. “Otherwise, what would I have done?”
"It's not the kind of liking you understand." I stomped on his foot hard before pushing him away.
We walked around the mountainside several times, but didn't find anything special. I decided to climb to the top.
I grabbed a vine and stepped into a crevice in the rock face, struggling to climb upwards. Artis followed behind me, climbing much more easily than I did, and even managed to protect me.
"Are you sure you're talking to the Queen and the mountaintop?" he asked. "Why don't you ride a bird up there?"
"Oh right, I forgot." I slapped my forehead, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Suddenly, I lost my footing and was about to fall with a scream. He caught me by the waist with great force, and I grabbed onto a nearby vine to keep my balance and let out a long breath.
Just then, I noticed a hidden crevice between the vines. If the sunlight hadn't shone directly on it, I wouldn't have been able to see it, or rather, it would have been extremely difficult to see. The branches and leaves of the vines were densely intertwined, perfectly covering the crevice.
To climb the crevice, I stepped directly onto Attis's shoulders, pressing down quite hard. He grunted but didn't make a sound. I laughed out loud.
Struggling to push aside the vines and pressing down hard on Attis, I squeezed my way into the crevice. It was quite narrow; even the fat man couldn't fit. I almost couldn't get in either.
Entering the mountain crevice, a breathtaking view suddenly appeared before us, revealing a hidden cave nestled among the mountains.
Could this not be the secret passage the Queen mentioned? I thought to myself, isn't that secret passage at the bottom of the mountain?
He had only taken two steps forward when Artis quickly caught up and grabbed his hand. “Don’t wander off,” he said. “It’s dark here.”
The guards who followed lit tinder, and the cave suddenly became bright, leaving us stunned.
The place was littered with the carcasses of various fish, or what could be called dried fish or fish specimens, most of which I couldn't name.
As you continue deeper into the cave, it becomes brightly lit, with dazzling light pouring out, rendering the tinderboxes you had lit earlier useless.
All the guards gasped in surprise, and I was so shocked that my mouth dropped open.
Inside, there were huge corals, several meters tall, including red, white, green, and purple corals, all sparkling. The ground was also covered with all kinds of seashells, most of which were open and filled with colorful pearls of various sizes. Each pearl was dazzling and eye-catching.
Artis suddenly reached out and touched the cave wall, a strange expression on his face.
Upon returning to my residence, Artis was nowhere to be found, and I took a nap.
When I woke up, it was already past midnight. I yawned and had just sat up when Artis came up to me. "Are you hungry? You've been sleeping for so long?"
I shook my head and asked him, "Are you busy with that cave thing?"
He smiled. "I shouldn't have said those things to you before."
"say what?"
He suddenly pulled me into his arms, saying, "I shouldn't have said you didn't have a dowry, it embarrassed you."
I remember now. On the morning of my wedding, I met him, and he said he had married a wife with a generous dowry, which was a veiled insult to me, implying that I had married Daio empty-handed.
“I’ve almost forgotten,” I said.
“I was so angry back then. You chose Daio and abandoned me.” He hugged me tightly. “At that time, I only wanted to hurt you. I’m sorry.”
He hugged me for a while, then, as if remembering something, I gently pushed him away. "You mean, I have a dowry now?"
He smiled and said, "Isn't that cave you found part of your dowry?"
“That cave is priceless. The coral and pearls inside are practically priceless on the mainland.” He said, handing me a cup of hot water. “Moreover, I suspect there might be mineral deposits hidden beneath or around the cave, such as gold or diamond mines, and there’s a high chance of finding rare coal. Coal is something only the upper-class nobles can afford, and it’s much more convenient than firewood.”
How did you know?
"I touched the cave wall and found that the soil was very unusual. Based on past experience, it should be the location of a mineral deposit."
“This is a gift from the Queen to your families,” I exclaimed. “She doesn’t want you to be poor and destitute.”
The queen was also a member of their elven royal family. She probably didn't want her own kind to kill each other too cruelly, so she gave these people of the same origin a way to live, and a brilliant way to live at that.
From that day on, some of the strongest members of the tribe were sent to mine. Daio was also surprised and asked me about it. I described the scene that day to him.
Daio stared at me for a long time, then left after saying, "I lost out."
From that day on, I frequently went to the volcano to watch the tribesmen mine, ostensibly out of curiosity, but actually to explore the hidden passages at the bottom of the volcano. However, each time I was followed by several guards, preventing me from properly investigating. I felt frustrated, yet helpless.
A month into his marriage, his three mistresses began to appear before him, dressed in their finest attire. Before, they had always kept their distance.
It seems that the elves are extremely law-abiding.
“If you don’t find a way to keep me, I might get snatched away,” Artis sometimes joked with me.
He is still living in my room, even though it has been a month.
I scoffed. What kind of method is that? It's just keeping a man in bed, isn't it? That's a low-level tactic. Besides, I never even considered keeping this man.
He can go wherever he wants, I don't care.
But two weeks later, when he didn't go back to his room at night for the first time, I still felt a little disappointed.
I sighed inwardly and slept in the rocking chair for the night.
Perhaps because I'm used to being pampered and protected, I feel a little uneasy when they suddenly disappear.
I woke up in the early morning and had just put on my robe when the door opened and Attis walked in.
"You slept in the rocking chair all night?" he asked, frowning.
"How could that be?" I chuckled.
"How did your pajamas end up on the rocking chair?"
"I just changed my clothes and tossed them on the bed." I remembered that I always threw my pajamas on the bed, but I still said it without batting an eye.
He didn't say anything more, but instead took my hand and asked, "Want to come on the patrol with me?"
I shook my head. A hint of disappointment flashed across his face. "Alright, go have your breakfast first."
I nodded.
I could smell a faint perfume on him, along with the scent of hidden desire.
I suppressed my vague unease and sighed inwardly. I had underestimated the influence others had on me.
"Humans are emotional beings." In the quiet, cold midnight, I said to the fireplace, "I'm not made of wood. He treats me so well every day. What if one day I actually sleep with him, develop feelings for him, and have a child? What should I do? Compete for his favor with his mistresses? Can I win?"
What should I do when my superpowers completely disappear and I'm no longer of any use to him?
I remember that day when I told him about the disappearance of his superpowers, he paused slightly and asked, "Is this true?"
He only married me because of my superpowers.
I know perfectly well that I'm not pretty. That's why the men here keep reminding me that being the chief mistress is already a huge achievement, and that's only with supernatural powers.
I didn't sleep all night; I spent the whole night looking at maps.
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Author's Note: This is the first update today. Thank you all for following the story every day! Please leave lots of comments, muah!
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