Chapter 580 Then Don’t Come Back
Yunus opened the bottle of wine for Aiwas himself.
As he poured the wine into the crystal glass, the fragrant, sweet and intoxicating aroma filled the not-so-big bedroom.
The midday sun shone into the crystal red wine from the side, casting a colorful blood-red spectrum on the table.
Aiwass sat across from him, his chin resting on his left hand, the fingers of his right hand gently tracing circles, touching the cold wall of the glass.
A slight chill seeped through the crystal to my fingertips—this was clearly a bottle of wine that had just been taken out of storage.
"Mr. Yunus, is this the wine you brought?"
Aiwass asked.
Yunus smiled cheerfully, "Of course not... How could that be? This is Mr. Maxim's wine collection - of course, it's not stolen, it's with his permission.
"I asked him to treat you with it, and he readily agreed. It's truly an honor... Thanks to you, I've been able to drink such fine elven wine."
"I remember that one of the reasons the 'Holy Tree' series of wines tasted so good was because the vines were also connected to the Holy Tree itself. In a sense, this could be considered wine made from the fruit of the Holy Tree—and in another sense, the elves were merely children of the Holy Tree."
Aiwass said with a smile: "So what we drink can be considered the blood wine of the elves."
“…Oh, you…”
"—Well, cheers then."
Aiwas interrupted Yunus.
He raised his glass, his eyes narrowed slightly and his gaze was deep: "Your Highness."
Yunus restrained his smile slightly, picked up the wine glass and clinked it with Aiwass's, making a crisp sound.
He looked up and took a sip of his wine.
When he put down his wine glass again, his somewhat messy, dull golden hair naturally fell from his temples.
——The bald man who originally looked funny, clumsy and kind has now become a completely different person.
He was at least half a head taller than Yunus and more robust. His deep-set features and somewhat decadent face should have made him quite handsome. He could vaguely see traces of Isabel's features.
But his hair was not only dry and dull, it even had some white and light gold spots... He looked like a long-haired stray dog that hadn't had its hair groomed for a long time.
He had a wisp of beard, but it wasn't a full beard, just a ring around his mouth. His skin was, needless to say, rough, far less fair and soft than Yunus's, like a baby's. His pores were enlarged, like an alcoholic's. His cheeks were even slightly sunken, and he had noticeable dark circles under his eyes... even a hint of redness under his eyes. It wasn't from crying, but from lack of sleep.
If it weren't for his relatively clean skin and hair, he would have been mistaken for a streetwalker. But even so, his aura would have made him look like a farmer or hunter.
The only thing that made people feel that something was wrong was his still calm and deep oily green eyes.
Those eyes were not cloudy, but looked very young.
"That's just right."
Aiwass, however, showed no surprise at all. He simply raised his glass again. "This is more like a decadent poet who plays the piano and sings on the street. Or to put it another way—you look like you're going to become the Lich King. This scares me a little."
"…When did you discover it?"
Yunus—or rather, Prince Albert—was silent for a moment and then asked.
His voice is low, hoarse and magnetic, a rare bass.
From the rough texture of his voice, you can tell that he has been smoking for quite some time.
As Aiwass took out the necklace from his collar, he said softly, "You looked at it too many times. And you didn't hide your eyes at all.
"A bard shouldn't know what this treasure looks like. Nor should he have any memories of it."
"So that's the reason?"
Prince Albert pondered for a moment: "It seems that I am not mature enough..."
"--certainly."
Aiwass interrupted him.
Seeing Prince Albert look up in surprise, Aiwass smiled like a fox: "This is a lie - an excuse to fool you."
"...What about the truth?"
"I knew from the beginning that Yunus was Prince Albert. I also knew that the real Yunus died while saving you.
"—and from that day on, 'Albert du Lac' died."
Aiwass said meaningfully.
What died that day was not only the identity of "Albert du Lac", but also the lazy and rebellious young prince.
Because of his arrogance, he got into completely unnecessary trouble, and because of his carelessness, he lost his chance to win and ended up in jail.
Given Prince Albert's character, even if he died due to his own negligence, at most he would just stick his neck out and say, "Today is my failure." He would never admit even a single mistake until his death.
But the one who paid the price in the end was not him, but his most cherished friend, the mediocre poet Yunus, who was always happy and carefree but often had some profound insights into things.
At that moment, he knew what regret was.
Suddenly, Prince Albert laughed.
Because his teeth were a little yellow, his smile was not good-looking, and he even looked as vulgar as a country woodcutter.
But he spoke in a steady voice with a glass island accent:
"...A prophecy? That's really unreasonable."
"Almost. It's a prophecy, too."
Aiwass nodded.
Prince Albert looked up. "Just like those magical things you usually do? Because you saw the future, you plan to change it?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Aren't you afraid that the future you've changed will become worse?"
Albert raised his glass and asked, "Whether it's a prophet or an astrologer, although they can foresee the future, they dare not change it."
"That's because the altered future is entangled with too many causes and effects, just like a single event involving many powerful individuals. The future that was once clearly visible becomes impossible to see. And if someone who is accustomed to seeing the future suddenly loses this power, they will naturally become terrified."
Aiwass said in a clear and calm tone.
"...That's how you see it."
Prince Albert looked at Aiwass for a long time before he gave a wry smile and patted Aiwass on the shoulder: "You're better than me, kid."
"--certainly."
Aiwass did not accept the compliment, but replied without hesitation or hesitation: "Of course I am better than you.
"At least I will never miss my mother's funeral - if I have the chance. I will also never leave my daughter alone and go out to do justice.
"Even if I am cursed and die, I will die before my daughter. Because even if my life is only used to protect her from a curse, it is still valuable."
He stared at Prince Albert and said word by word: "So, why did you run away?
"You should know Isabel's character. If she hadn't become stronger now, if I hadn't cleared out her enemies... if Xingbi hadn't attacked at that moment, giving us the opportunity to strike back. Have you ever thought about the pressure she would have been under if she had been left to rule all of Avalon alone?"
"You didn't strengthen her will during her childhood of confusion. You didn't stay by her side to encourage her when she was terrified by the curse. You didn't pass on experience and skills to her after she embarked on the path of transcendence. Your mother died, the country was without a master, and you still didn't return. You handed Avalon over to your introverted nineteen-year-old daughter, along with those covetous rebels—even me.
"You just abandoned your own daughter and came to the Theocracy to care for someone else's daughter. What? Do you think this is justice?
"...Or do you think this is a kind of 'dedication'?"
Faced with Aiwass's questioning, Prince Albert remained silent.
He just lowered his head to pour himself a drink, and then poured some for Aiwass.
Looking down at his movements, Aiwass' tone softened slightly, but the content was sharper:
“Isabel said she would ascend the throne on her birthday.
"—I don't need to tell you when her birthday is, right? If you don't come that day, you won't have to come back again."
At that moment, Aiwass saw Prince Albert's pupils finally tremble.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
