Chapter 87 A Tremendous Change in Life Where exactly did things go wrong in this life?
Sigh... Eleanor tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter how hard she tried, so she got up and hugged her pillow.
She pressed her chest with a wry smile.
I didn't feel anything when I poisoned Attila; my mind went completely blank. But I couldn't sleep when I got back.
If Ophelia's people weren't lying, then that vial of poison was a slow-acting toxin that required long-term, gradual use to take effect.
If the frequency is not high, it will take one to two years to poison a person of noble blood, and the effect is not quite the same as the toxin that Eva was poisoned with.
But Eleanor wasn't in a hurry. Since the person was in her hands, she had plenty of time and means to extract the various poisons and then hand them over to the medical team for analysis.
Eleanor sat on the bed taking deep breaths; her heart was still racing.
Is it because she's getting married tomorrow that she's so excited?
Pfft.
She couldn't help but chuckle in the darkness: It's still early. Tomorrow is the departure day. It will be several more months before we arrive at the Hetuya Royal Court to officially get married.
rustle.
As soon as Eleanor got out of bed, a servant handed her a glass of water.
She took the water glass, took a sip, and suddenly asked, "Who's keeping watch outside tonight?"
The attendant lowered his head and replied in a low voice, "It is Lord Manzhu and Lord Jingji. You are leaving tomorrow, and the two lords are worried."
Eleanor nodded. The servant was actually explaining why the guards tonight were two young noblemen.
After all, Manzhu and Jingji are no longer the little boys they used to be. With Manzhu's current status, she no longer needs to keep watch for the princess.
There was quite a commotion at Manju's house recently. It's said that Manju's mother insisted that Manju stay in Norlana and that Thorn go to Hertuya with Eleanor.
Indeed, the head of the family originally hoped that Manju could become a prince, and later he hoped that after the princess married Andra, Manju would remain in Enlin as the current city lord.
Unexpectedly, the cooked duck suddenly flew away, twice in a row.
In this incarnation, Eva is still alive, and Norlana maintains the facade of peace and prosperity.
The princess was to marry a princess of Hetuya whose reputation was not prominent, and she was also quite a bit older than the king, so it was highly unlikely that she would become king in the future. In the eyes of others, this was a complete downfall.
While Eleanor was lost in thought, the servants remained obediently kneeling in place.
The princess looked up from her reverie and whispered, "Let Manzhu come in to see me. You stay outside for now."
"Yes." The attendant nimbly withdrew.
Less than a minute later, Manzhu lifted the curtain and knelt on the carpet where the servant had just been kneeling.
Seeing Manzhu's actions, Eleanor choked up.
Over the years, Manju has held a position equivalent to a general in Enlin. How come she has returned to the capital and is no longer the same as she was six years ago? No, she is even worse than she was six years ago. She wasn't this distant back then.
She took a soft breath, patted the bed, and said, "Sit next to me, the floor is cold."
"Yes." Manzhu's voice was restrained. She moved slowly in the darkness and sat down on the edge of the bed almost silently.
Eleanor was silent for a moment, then pressed her right hand to her chest, where the mark from her past life was throbbing with pain.
She had a purpose in calling Manzhu over at this critical juncture.
Gesha.
In the darkness, Eleanor untied the ribbon on her nightgown and opened the neckline.
"W-what are you doing?" Manju stood up abruptly, leaning forward as if to cover Eleanor's collar, but then stood awkwardly in place, not daring to move forward.
Eleanor sighed, her voice unusually sincere in the darkness.
"Manzhu, the person I truly want to marry in this life is you."
"......"
The loyal guards stood frozen in place, as if Medusa had turned them into stone.
Eleanor spoke at breakneck speed: "I will marry Hetuya first... After everything is over, will you marry me?"
For months... no, actually for six years, she's been thinking about one thing.
There is a long way to go between killing Andra and leading more people to happiness. Since she is unwilling to take the plunge, what means should she use to maintain the stability of Norlana?
Hertuya will never allow Nolana to develop in peace, regardless of whether Andra is there or not.
Therefore, she wants to win over Hetuya.
So what do we need to do after we take it down?
She wanted to continue her relationship with someone who understood her and was loyal to her, and Manju was a good candidate who could help her maintain stability in the army and the largest family in Norlana.
Manju, please help me one more time.
Eleanor placed one hand on the blanket, like a tentative cat slowly reaching out to the human she had her eye on.
Manzhu's vision blurred in the darkness as she saw the little princess lying on the edge of the bed, making a weak plea.
"If you'd like, I can—"
"Your Highness!"
Manzhu moved. She didn't run, but she didn't move forward either. She knelt down on the ground with a thud.
Manzhu lay even lower than her princess, her forehead pressed against the carpet, her voice filled with sobs.
"If Your Highness wishes, I will... obey Your Highness's wishes."
Eleanor's heart sank; Manju was surprisingly resistant to the idea.
Why did this happen? She wasn't angry, just surprised.
Manju, in her first and second incarnations, never spoke to her in such a tone.
Although she never asked Manzhu if she was willing to marry her, the feeling that Manzhu had given back then was clearly that she was willing.
What went wrong in this life?
Splash... splash splash.
She seemed to hear the sound of the ocean waves rising and falling beside her ears, and the incredulous expression on Andra's face as she drowned flashed in her eyes.
She moved her lips and asked softly, "Is it because of Andra?"
Thump!
Manzhu did not answer, but the sound of her forehead being pounded said it all.
Manju lay on the ground trembling, not from fear but from shame—shame that her answer would hurt and upset the princess.
A sharp pain shot through Eleanor's chest, and the mark on her chest seemed to burn like hellfire in her veins.
Yes, why was she so arrogant, thinking that Manzhu and the others wouldn't blame her?
She introduced Andra to everyone around her, making Andra their companion.
So what if he said "I will kill her" at the beginning?
Coral watched Andra come and go from the palace every day; how could she not have any interaction with her?
Manju goes without saying; the two of them participated in both hunting and patrolling, and occasionally took charge of the Royal Guard.
What makes her think that they and Andra won't become friends or develop any relationship? And what makes her so arrogant as to ignore the pain of losing a fellow human being?
Countless memories swirled in her mind, and Eleanor's vision blurred with pain. Suddenly, she understood Manju's feelings.
Love and loyalty are both conditional.
She was no longer the wise and virtuous Angie from her first life, who deeply loved the great Anya, supported her ailing body in handling government affairs for decades, and was ultimately betrayed by her.
She was no longer the pitiful and respectable princess in her second life who wholeheartedly supported her beloved older sister and married into the Hetuya in order to protect her country from collapse.
How should I put it, she is like this now?
It was too dark for Eleanor to see the mirror beside her, but she knew perfectly well how ridiculous, horrible, and despicable it was that she had just told Manju, "The person I want to marry is you."
The last person to hear this sentence is dead, drowned in the vast sea.
She was no longer the beautiful princess, but an unpredictable and vicious monster who had been plotting to kill Andra since she was ten years old, to kill the lover who trusted her wholeheartedly.
How incredibly stupid must a person be to believe in a monster disguised as a human?
"I'm sorry, Manzhu. Please pretend I never said that. You've worked so hard all these years."
The little princess lowered her head, lay prone on the bed, and kowtowed firmly to the opposite side, just like Manzhu.
"Your Highness!" Manzhu cried out mournfully, "Please, at least spare the thorns..."
"Hahaha," Eleanor chuckled bitterly.
She sniffled and shook her head, saying, "Don't worry, I swear on my life—I would never lay a hand on you. I... I had my reasons for killing Andra."
"Your Highness, please don't cry."
As Manzhu spoke, she began to sob, and the two people in the darkness trembled uncontrollably.
After crying for a while, Eleanor stopped crying.
She reached out and ruffled Manzhu's hair, sighing as the other girl trembled with restraint.
"Please believe me."
“Yes, Your Highness,” Manju replied immediately.
"......"
"......"
The two remained silent in the darkness for a long while.
Finally, Eleanor waved and said, "Goodnight, go back to sleep."
Manzhu hummed in agreement and slowly moved out.
Once everyone had completely left the palace, Eleanor dragged the blanket around her as she turned over in bed.
She looked up at the ceiling, slowly raised her hand to her eyes, and silently shed tears in the darkness.
She misses Andra so much... so much.
Every time she reaches out her hand, she feels that her lover will suddenly take her arm from the side and kiss her cheek with a smile.
If only I hadn't killed her... right?
No, it probably won't be much better.
Andra is dead.
What if she's not dead? What if she's still alive—
Eleanor pressed her hand firmly to her chest: whether Andra was dead or alive, she was determined to take down Hetuya.
Once we find a way to take down Hetuya, Princess Andra's identity will no longer be of any value.
To achieve this goal, I need—
it hurts!
She curled up in the darkness, the pain in her chest intensifying, her breathing becoming rapid.
She seems... she seems to be suffocating!
Eleanor stretched out her hands and struggled aimlessly in the darkness, unable to make a sound.
*Slap*
Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from behind and wrapped around her shoulders. The strong embrace was unusually warm, and the stinging pain in her chest quietly dissipated.
...Andra?
"Your Highness Eleanor."
Thorn's fingers gripped the girl's slender wrist, gently pulling her arm back into his embrace.
She stroked the princess's soft hair and whispered, "I'm willing to do anything for you."
The person behind her steadily supported Eleanor's body, their lips slowly moving down her neck...
......
The city-states on the plains converged into great powers, while the scattered islands did not yet have this idea; each larger island harbored the ambition of becoming its own independent nation.
There is an island, smaller than Aita, located on the angle between Belair and Aita.
It, along with two smaller islands nearby, perhaps only big enough to build a stadium, forms a tiny country called Lodima.
This country once belonged to a large pirate group, but it easily changed hands a few months ago.
As fate would have it, the former Pirate King ran into the regular army of Baelai while passing through the area and was killed in a naval battle.
The pirates had no concept of respecting the crown prince.
The second and third leaders, along with the pirate crew members who had previously joined, flocked to the island like sharks smelling blood, eager to join in the festivities.
After an extremely bloody battle, Captain Scarface of the Black Lotus successfully seized the golden crown and became everyone's new Pirate King.
Although some captains were indignant, believing that this guy was not a proper pirate at all, but a smuggler who had only entered the business three years ago.
The new pirate king thought they made a lot of sense, so he personally dealt with the friends who still had questions using pirate rules.
In the end, her caravan gained several large ships, and those who had questions would never have any more questions in their lives. It was truly a cause for celebration!
No matter how much slander the dead may have, the living adore Scarface.
She was much more generous than her predecessor, the Pirate King, and showed no stinginess whatsoever in burying gold underground for hundreds of years.
Scarface once bluntly stated: "Only gold coins that are spent are true gold coins."
Besides being generous, she also had excellent judgment; the money she made from smuggling alone made the entire fleet incredibly wealthy.
At the same time, the new Pirate Queen also changed the business model. She no longer went out to "fish" all day long like her predecessor. Instead, she drafted transaction rules with various chambers of commerce and collected protection fees based on time and frequency.
By paying enough money, you can get a flag from her. When you encounter pirates, you can hang the flag to avoid a terrible attack.
The Pirate Queen often leads her crew out on voyages, laden with valuable cargo, and along the way, she eliminates any pirates who refuse to submit to her or disobey her rules.
For a time, the entire sea became quieter because of this sea monster.
The sun sets, and the boats return to shore.
The Black Lotus returned fully loaded once again, and the sailors jumped off the ship one by one, walking barefoot on the beach.
At the end of the harbor stands a semi-circular wooden building. Half of it is covered by a rain-proof roof, while the other half is pieced together from rain-resistant stone slabs.
The building's design is quite unique, clearly imitating the newly built grand theater in Norlanda. Although it's a budget version, the theater built on the island can truly be described as extremely luxurious.
Everyone quickened their pace and rushed over, their faces beaming with excitement.
Hey, Scarface is always so generous with news from afar~ What kind of interesting performance will he have today? It's really exciting!
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A note from the author: Tips.
In the Moonlit Continent, the noble bloodline follows a system of succession by the youngest son, with younger sisters considered more valuable than older sisters, while in common society, the eldest daughter is valued more. This is the theoretical framework, but in practice, the differences are vast.
Generally speaking, the eldest daughter can still receive some preferential treatment in terms of resources. In cases like Attila, who is far superior to Alisa, Attila is even more "valuable" (even so, Attila does not have priority in inheritance).
Another very special case is twins.
Whether twins are auspicious or inauspicious depends entirely on the judgment of the local clan elders or family heads.
At the same time, only the firstborn sister is considered a complete person, while the secondborn sister is treated as her companion. (In practice, if the older sister has limb defects or other problems, the younger sister will be raised as the older sister.)
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