Chapter 92 Eliza's burning, golden-red eyes...
No sooner had the war ended than King New Belai ordered his servants to replace all the carpets in the palace with new ones.
She walked around the room with her hands behind her back, and no one could smell a trace of blood.
"Okay, sister, stop spinning."
Eliza rubbed her temples. She hadn't slept well for days either, but what could she say when she saw her sister so anxious?
"Little Eliza, are you really going to marry that pirate?!"
King Belle stopped and grabbed his sister's hand, squeezing it tightly.
Eliza's eyes relaxed slightly, then she sighed helplessly, "How can I not marry him?"
My sister is always like this... Before, in order to ensure victory, she secretly signed a contract with the Pirate King without Princess Eleanor's knowledge, and now she wants to go back on her word? Isn't this pleasing neither side?
To be honest, the situation of the naval battle can't be kept secret for long. Once Princess Eleanor is done with Hetua and Norlana, she will definitely find time to write to inquire.
This is betrayal!
Eliza knew in her heart that her sister was taking advantage of Princess Eleanor's kind nature and her dislike of disrupting other countries' stability.
If it were someone more ruthless and indifferent to human life, they would definitely turn Belle into a complete mess.
However, she had no right to reprimand her sister, since she was also aware of the decision.
Princess Eleanor's plan was good, but the timeline was dragging on for too long... the longer it drags on, the more problems arise.
The two sisters were extremely insecure.
Those blueprints and plans were indeed excellent, but how could spending so much effort building new warships and training new crew members compare to the ease of using someone else's strength against them?
Now, with the help of the Pirate King, they have easily captured Baley, and will have plenty of time to build new ships to repay the princess for her support.
Things were going well, except for one small problem—according to the agreement, Eliza had to marry the legendary, unpredictable, bloodthirsty, and cruel pirate king.
King Belle held his sister's hand anxiously and said, "How can that rotten face be worthy of you? I heard that Scarface roasts live people and has no mercy for pretty girls. Even the people at the port have no good words about her!"
So what? You already agreed before, why are you saying all this now?
Eliza wanted to argue back, but she couldn't avoid getting married. Wasn't her sister just making things difficult for her by saying these things before the wedding?
But seeing her sister's sad expression, she could only swallow her hurtful words.
The two sisters held hands, speechless with emotion.
Even though outsiders believed that the king didn't want to marry off his sister because he was afraid that the pirate king and his sister would follow in the footsteps of Princess Nolana next door and use their future daughter to usurp the throne.
Eliza still believed that her sister was at least 60% sincere towards her.
"How about we renege on our debt?"
King Belai said in a very fast voice, "I—I can cede the nearby islands to her! No...not too close ones won't do, I'll cede the furthest Kaka Island to her, and let her declare herself king."
Eliza was somewhat shaken; using territory as a bargaining chip was no small matter.
It is in some ways much easier to own enough islands to establish oneself as a true, recognized king than to wait for one's wife to give birth and then have the child claim the title.
This condition is like a gamble, betting on whether the other party can defeat Bele in their lifetime and gain everyone's recognition.
Eliza thought for a moment and then shook her head: "It's too dangerous. We don't know much about her. This person only took three years to climb from a lowly sailor to her current position; who knows what will happen in the future..."
She couldn't always hide under her sister's wing over the years.
Eliza regarded Princess Eleanor as a role model and tried to learn a little from her.
She held some positions in the Chamber of Commerce and assigned her subordinates to collect intelligence from all over the place, just like the Marigold Chamber of Commerce did, and then summarize it on her desk, which she would carefully analyze every day.
No one knows who this suddenly appearing "Scarface" is.
Her true name and true origins are hidden in the darkness; all that is known is that she is a noble bloodline of the Hetuya.
Pirate Island was too close to Baylay, so Eliza collected many legends about the Pirate King, piecing together an image of him as extremely brutal and powerful.
These stories certainly contain embellishments, but they also reflect a degree of truth.
While all the stories praise Scarface's abilities and condemn her unpredictable personality, they also mention that she possesses an extraordinary charm.
Eliza also extracted one key element from the vast amount of intelligence: [Pride].
She was an exceptionally proud person. Perhaps she had been deeply hurt by something in her youth and was severely defeated by reality.
So when the scars scabbed over, this arrogance seeped into the body, shaping an irreversible soul.
She had a feeling that the pirate king might refuse all conditions and insist on marrying her, simply because they had agreed in the beginning that he would marry the princess, and to object would be to slap him in the face.
The older sister didn't think that much about it.
She seemed to have convinced herself, and stood up, stretching her limbs as she encouraged herself: "Leave it to me. If she doesn't listen to reason, I'll just have the guards chop her up!"
King Belle said with a ferocious expression, "The people over there at the port are all my men. With just one order, they can burn all those pirate ships in the port to the ground!"
“What?” Eliza jumped to her feet.
She quickly went over her sister's plan in her mind: kill the pirate king and her confidants...it seemed quite feasible.
After all, the pirates were even more disorganized than the Baelorian royal family. They were completely united under the banner of the Pirate King, and most of them would scatter like birds and beasts if that banner fell.
My sister has taken over the Bayrak fleet, and the remaining elites can easily handle a group of pirates.
The only concern is credibility, but who would keep their word with pirates?
Eliza felt a surge of excitement as she thought about it: If they could reclaim the territory occupied by the Pirate King and then distribute her treasure among the major powers in the country... wouldn't the situation in the country stabilize immediately with both land and money?
Eliza and her sister exchanged a glance; they were both tempted.
The only risk now is that the assassination attempt fails.
The number of crew members allowed to enter the palace is at most a hundred or so. Even if the pirate king is a noble blood, how could a noble or even an illegitimate daughter who once ran away with her tail between her legs possibly fight against a hundred and defeat the entire royal guard by herself?
Knock knock.
A servant knocked on the door, and after receiving the king's permission, knelt on one knee and announced loudly, "The pirate Scarface has arrived at the palace gates with his men, requesting an audience with Your Majesty!"
"Alright, alright, let her in!"
King Belle rubbed his fingers excitedly and shouted, "Let General Orisa come here, everyone get ready!"
"yes."
......
"Please put your weapon on—ouch!"
The polite guards were shoved aside by the first mate, and nearly a hundred pirates filed in. None of them put down their weapons; hammers and axes hung steadily at their waists, and some even gripped the hilts of their knives, gritting their teeth as they walked in.
The remaining few hundred men stayed outside the palace as ordered by the pirate king.
They stared menacingly at Belle's guards, seemingly unafraid that these fully armed elite troops might kill them all here.
The menacing pirates were led into the hall.
A minister stood in the doorway, blocking the pirate king's view. She said gently, "You seem unwilling to lay down your weapons? Then please stay here and speak with the king."
Andra knew without turning around that they were trapped in the corridor, with guards constantly rushing out from both the left and right passages.
Her people were blocked in the middle, and the only way forward was the reception hall.
Andra looked up and saw King Belial sitting in the very center of the hall. Her throne was against the wall, very far away.
The hall was surrounded by curtains, and the guards stood openly on the scarlet carpet, looking less like they were welcoming distinguished guests and more like they were awaiting an execution.
Despite the perilous situation, Andra's smile grew even brighter.
“Ahem, my dear minister,” King Belai hesitated, struggling to find the right words.
"You can call me Scarface."
Andra smiled and took a step forward, easily pushing aside the old minister blocking his way with a single finger.
"Uh, Scarface, this is our first official meeting..."
For some reason, King Belai felt a bit panicked.
She leaned back in her chair, put on a gentle smile, and said, "Perhaps you appreciate the territory more than my willful sister?"
The ceramic cup that served as a horn was on her right. If she smashed it hard, the guards on both sides would draw their weapons at the same time and wipe out the pirates!
...That was the original plan, that's correct.
Behind her veil are the nation's most elite warriors, and there's no way they could let the Pirate King escape!
However, with just one glance, just seeing the red-haired youth appear at the door, King Belle had the illusion that he was being targeted by a venomous snake or a ferocious beast.
No, the sense of danger that felt so real wasn't even the feeling of a human facing a giant bear, but rather the feeling of a leaf trembling in the wind being trampled by a wild elephant!
Despite having made ample preparations, King Baley pressed his body against the throne, sensing a powerful urge that "choosing the wrong path will lead to death!"
Should we...should we smash the cup?
Her pupils trembled violently, shifting away, unable to meet the eyes of the person at the door again.
King Belle only had one life, and he dared not smash the cup despite the screams emanating from his entire body.
She relaxed her muscles and gave the other person a fawning smile: "There's also gold...you, you can take more too."
"Oh."
Andra's cold laugh landed on the ground, and an atmosphere of fear spread and froze in the air.
She took another step forward, and the guards closest to the door were so frightened that they drew their spears and blocked her way.
The tips of the spears in their hands trembled incessantly, as if trapped in a powerful magnetic field.
"Stop talking nonsense, I only want the princess."
Andra raised his face, his intense malice shattering the last shred of resistance in King Belial.
......
Queen Balaine ultimately lacked the courage to smash a white porcelain teacup; she survived.
No one blamed her, because those who faced the Pirate King at the time felt they had lost memory of those few minutes, only feeling cold sweat running down their backs.
King Belai locked himself in the palace and left the matter of sending off the bride entirely to his ministers.
It would be extremely disgraceful for a princess to marry a pirate, even a pirate king.
The Belén royal family is not planning a grand wedding; the process will be even simpler than that of a high-ranking noble's daughter's wedding.
Belle's wedding was not about elaborate ceremonies, but rather about extravagance.
Even if the former King Baelai embezzled his niece's dowry, the current King Baelai could easily make up for it with a great deal of jewelry from the national treasury.
That morning, a great many jewels were transported out of the palace, and the wedding procession stretched all the way to the port, where all the valuable jewels were loaded onto the Black Lotus and the two pirate ships next to it.
The onlookers all looked grim: no one saw this as a carefully prepared wedding ceremony; it was clearly a hasty plunder, the king paying the pirates a death sentence.
When the pirates opened the empty chests symbolizing the monetary gifts with smiles, everyone's eyes welled up with tears.
Princess Eliza was still beautiful. Wearing a white veil, she rode a pure white horse towards the Black Pearl.
Clatter, tap-tap. Clatter.
The horse was blindfolded and led by a sailor. Just as its hooves were about to land on the footboard, a tremendous force came from the side.
"Get down, you're not allowed to ride this horse."
The indifferent—extremely indifferent—voice sent a chill down one's spine.
Eliza knew instantly who had said those words—her future wife and master.
Is this the intimidation Princess Eleanor was referring to?
She held down the white veil on her head, but a gust of wind suddenly blew it away, carrying the veil that symbolized happiness towards the sea.
Eliza instinctively looked up, wanting to sigh and also wanting to do something to please this notoriously cruel pirate.
But she saw those eyes.
Those burning, golden-red eyes.
Andra...?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
