Chapter 40 A Promise is Made "Just now... consider it a deposit..."
Oh dear, what will we do about the upcoming war?
Eleanor tossed aside her pen and lay down on a pile of draft paper.
She has grown into a beautiful and slender young woman, but unfortunately, her dark circles are quite alarming.
Logically speaking, she had already reformed Enlin in her previous life, so she could follow the same path in this life without any difficulty... what a load of rubbish!
Eleanor pushed herself up from the table, gathered the messy draft papers together, and took a deep breath.
Seven years! It's been seven years! What kind of life has she been living for these seven years?
We're rushing to meet the deadline, constantly rushing to meet the deadline.
From agricultural products to chambers of commerce, to postal communications and even basic education, they truly have everything under control and dare not overlook a single aspect.
She did indeed recruit quite a few capable helpers in advance, based on the little bit of memory she retained from her previous life.
But most of her helpers were inexperienced young people who were busy following her around, and it took them several years to finally train them properly.
"Hudora~ Hudora?" she called out instinctively to her most capable assistant.
Coral came over from the next room and said, "Manager Hudora just came back from collecting taxes and was called away by Andra to discuss supplies."
Oh, the hunting party's supplies and equipment...
Andra was not a prince in this life. Although some people might speculate, Eleanor always denied it outright, decisively shattering their delusions.
Without her status as a prince, Andra, as a foreign princess, could no longer become the commander of Norlana's army.
Of course, this difficulty did not stop Andra at all. She still managed to secretly organize her own armed force through her extraordinary abilities in her daily work.
Hunting team...
"Coral, bring me the hunting party's report."
"yes."
Eleanor took the report and turned the pages one by one.
That's quite impressive, Andra!
She looked at the records in the report and sneered.
The hunting team officially has only 500 members, but Andra has been rotating these "permanent members" for several years, constantly moving them into different positions and then transferring them back at any time.
The postman at the post station, the teacher at the technical school, the hunter with a special permit... the soldier maintaining order.
With such a large group of people coming and going from the hunting party over the years, who do they truly believe in as their leader—the princess or Andra? It's really hard to guess!
Eleanor wasn't angry.
After all, Andra was a hostage of an enemy country, and he basically only had two options: to flee or to return home.
If Eleanor were to go to Hetuya, she would probably do the same thing: recruit some capable confidants on the other side and bring them back with her when she returns home. It's only human nature.
Moreover, she is currently using Andra's power to achieve her goal.
This group of people were all elites trained by Andra. She needed them to accomplish a great task with Andra—to help her rise to power, and also... to assassinate Attila.
This idea is so exciting to even think about.
Attila actually came to Eva's 50th birthday party? What a great opportunity! It might be the only chance to get rid of this major threat ahead of time.
Eleanor touched the pendant on her chest; the first petal was exceptionally smooth, with only a faint trace of blood remaining.
All of this is thanks to those assassins; to reverse the situation twice in seven years is already a blessing from heaven.
She only has one divine grace left in this life, and from now on she will have to complete the game in one life.
"Coral, have you packed everything I asked you to pack?"
"They're all here."
Coral placed a wooden box on the table. After hesitating for a few seconds, she asked, "Your Highness, I can understand everything else, but your blueprints are very important... Why do you even need to keep the fortune-telling information in the same box?"
She knew this was a momentous event; the battle for the throne required her to risk her life.
If Princess Myrcella's uprising fails, Princess Eleanor will probably have to go with her.
Therefore, Coral wholeheartedly agrees to preserve the most valuable blueprints and notes, as these treasures should benefit future generations.
As for the fortune-telling information she mentioned, it refers to the story that Princess Eleanor fabricated to create hype.
Her Highness told the talented people who had come to her aid: She possessed a very special ability, which allowed her to glimpse a part of a person's future through their past.
With the attitude of "better safe than sorry," everyone told His Highness in great detail about their age, identity, former residence, and other information.
These messages are neither useless nor particularly private.
But if something were to happen to Princess Eleanor, what use would they be other than being used as leverage against her?
Eleanor nodded. "Oh, that notebook? I just slipped it in. If anything happens to me, you can take it out and burn it."
Coral tapped Eleanor's head with her finger. "Your Highness, rest assured, I will not live if anything happens to you. Alright, I'll call everyone you need to summon right away."
"Hey, better to live a miserable life than to die!"
Eleanor watched Coral's retreating figure and chuckled to herself. Never mind, she doesn't deserve to say that.
Eleanor sat back down at the table, picked up the notebook Coral had tossed aside, and continued memorizing.
When she was reborn for the first time, most of her memories from her previous life quickly faded away.
The second rebirth might be the same, so she wanted to try to resist by repeatedly memorizing the texts, to see if she could bring the important memories over intact.
......
About an hour later, the key personnel who participated in the meeting entered her study one after another.
The direct participants in the operation were mostly martial artists.
Besides the familiar faces of Manju, Thorn, and Andra, Salin and Elsa also listened in along with the other talents recruited in recent years, including the most important protagonist, Mycelia.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have discussed this many times."
Eleanor rose and stood in the middle of the crowd, announcing loudly, "We are to return to the capital with Myrcella in the name of celebrating her birthday. As for why we chose this time, it is because—my mother, Eva, is about to pass away."
Everyone listened with serious expressions.
Eleanor has engaged in numerous attempts to deify herself over the years, but she has always been realistic in front of her true allies.
"You must all be wondering how I can be so certain about my mother's death date. This information came from someone who, through the large-scale purchase of medicines by the palace and some other clues, basically deduced that my mother had been poisoned by a strange poison several years ago."
Boom!
A bolt of lightning struck, and everyone's expressions varied.
Andra, in particular, blinked her bright eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
“Our plan is simple.” Eleanor sketched out a rough flowchart on the painting with a brush.
“We need to focus on visiting these families during the birthday celebrations…” Among them are Manzhu’s family and the family of Misella’s fiancée.
"Your Highness."
Eleanor paused here, and Manju seized the opportunity to say softly, "My mother's request is truly outrageous. If you are unwilling..."
"I do."
Eleanor nodded gently and repeated, "I really am willing. If you are not willing, you can talk to me privately."
"Your Highness, how could I refuse!" Manzhu's voice revealed a hint of emotion, but an eerie atmosphere permeated the study, so she quickly shut her mouth and continued listening to the lecture.
Eleanor began to describe the second phase of the plan: many people would hide in batches in buildings and secret passages provided by different supporters.
She didn't give a detailed explanation, but those who came to listen could guess some of the details.
Fighting for the throne is not something that can be done by simply taking a few friends on a day trip to the palace. Eleanor and her allies provided Myrcella with considerable military support, and everyone in the group was a skilled fighter.
If such a large group of people were to stay in the capital at the same time, it would definitely attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.
If Wang doesn't die anytime soon, he might be able to find some time to arrest his two rebellious daughters and take them to the Red River together.
Therefore, Eleanor and Myrcella only had about a hundred followers on the surface, most of whom were prominent nobles.
As for the remaining helpers, they used different methods to infiltrate the capital, such as taking secret passages.
The third step is even simpler.
When the king dies, the bell tower in the capital will ring out a full nine times.
Once Mysella hears this signal, she must immediately lead her entourage to the palace to succeed to the throne as the legitimate young princess.
If Ophelia prematurely announces her accession to the throne or produces a decree unfavorable to Myrcella, then take the opportunity to beat her severely and force her to accept it.
The whole plan was simple and brutal; the most crucial part was actually the date of the king's death.
They lacked the ability to storm the palace, capture the king, and kill him; they could only wait for Eva to die of natural causes. Therefore, Eleanor's task assignments were entirely based on the assumption that "the king would die suddenly after his birthday."
If Eva can hold on for another month or two, then everyone will basically have a large-scale, publicly funded multi-day trip, which is a complete loss.
Even so, no one questioned the princess; everyone assumed that what the princess said was absolutely correct.
After confirming that everyone had no objections, Eleanor waved her hand and said, "Alright, let's proceed in order. Myrcella, you're the first one to go today."
"Yay!" After listening patiently for a while, Sister Wang cheered and rushed out as soon as her younger sister let go of the dog leash.
As soon as the protagonist left, the others took their leave one after another. Even Manju only whispered a few words to Eleanor before leaving the study to make preparations.
In the end, only Coral and Andra remained in the room. Andra stared at Eleanor, her face saying, "I have something to talk to you about."
Eleanor turned her head and instructed, "Coral, have Hudora and Dr. Parna come to me in a moment."
"Yes," Coral readily agreed, giving Andra a glare as she left.
"Want to go somewhere else?" Andra reached out her hand to Eleanor.
In his early twenties, Andra was no longer a naive teenager.
She easily surpasses 1.9 meters in height, and her muscles are remarkably well-proportioned due to her daily, unwavering training. Her swordsmanship is beyond question; her mentor, hailed as the greatest swordsman in Norlana, declared two years ago, "I have nothing more to teach her."
The tall young man approached Eleanor, his eyes fixed on the girl's slender wrist.
Snap.
Eleanor waved her hand away as usual and walked on her own.
The two walked through the corridor one after the other, climbed the tall tower, and gazed together at the distant wheat fields.
The square-shaped gold and blue colors complement each other, and the wind blows, filling the air with the "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound of a bountiful harvest.
Eleanor took a gentle breath into the breeze: only by immersing herself in such an atmosphere could she resist her instinctive urges.
Even after all these years, she still feels attracted to Andra.
She feels happy whenever she sees Andra, and she can smell a reassuring scent whenever she gets close to Andra.
Over the years, her relationship with Andra has not been easy, because every time they get close, she has to actively keep her distance to avoid the two of them being attracted to each other like the two ends of a magnetic pole.
"Your Highness, won't you praise me? I've been working very hard lately." Negative Pole moved closer to Positive Pole, and Andra's hand rested not far from hers.
"...You did a great job."
Eleanor offered a reserved compliment, but inwardly she was unconvinced: she knew Andra's true strength all too well.
Others might need to put in 120% effort to achieve this result, but Andra... there was no incentive to lure him in. He put in at most 30% effort at work, and the other 70% was spent on side jobs.
"Haha, Your Highness, you're being so perfunctory."
Andra smiled helplessly, "I really tried my best~ There are always bandits to kill outside, and wild beasts in the deep mountains are easy to escape. Recently, even the city lord of Mihir City has been praising it, saying that the security there has improved."
You still dare to mention Mishield... Eleanor was even more exasperated.
The city lord, whom they worshipped in their previous life, has become cunning and treacherous in this one.
She refused to openly support Mysella, but instead couldn't forget Andra, whom she had only met twice, and wished she could become her close friend despite their age difference.
To prevent the city of Mihir and Hetuya from joining forces to attack Enlin, Eleanor forbade Andra from contacting the nearby city lords under the guise of diplomacy, though she had no say in their private exchanges.
They fell silent.
The atmosphere wasn't stiff; instead, it was relaxed and harmonious.
Ta-da.
Andra's fingers, which were reaching for the back of her hand, were snapped back. She wasn't annoyed, and asked with a smile, "Your Highness, do you really want to marry Manju?"
Eleanor withdrew her hand and said coldly, "Yes, so what?"
"......"
She had considered that Andra might cause trouble, threaten, say harsh words, or even secretly hit Manju with a stick.
The tall young man merely narrowed his eyes, staring at her with an ambiguous smile, and naturally changed the subject.
"Then Your Highness must have some special task for me today, right?"
Eleanor looked at her confident, smug expression and really wanted to punch her in the eye socket.
She paused for a few seconds, then turned around and said seriously, "I'm considering something that would be beneficial for both of us. It's very risky, and it's understandable that you're hesitant to do it."
Andra chuckled and leaned against the railing with a carefree air. "Oh? What's the matter?"
“I need you to kill Attila.”
"......"
There are many people named Attila, but only one will be specifically targeted and killed by Eleanor.
Andra opened his mouth, but didn't ask why.
What reason is needed to kill Attila?
"Your Highness, your mission is truly dangerous and terrifying; one wrong move and someone could die... What reward will I receive?"
She leaned closer, supporting herself with her hands, and Eleanor didn't push her away again.
Their foreheads were almost touching, and they could smell each other's breath.
What do you want?
Before Eleanor could finish speaking, a pair of long, slender arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
Golden-red sunlight streamed down, intertwining romantically with the dark, heavy clouds.
The struggle for touch was a little long, and after a while... their bodies, which had been pressed together, separated slightly. Andra licked her lips and gave a seductive smile.
"Just consider this as a deposit."
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