Eileenburg (19)
King Derek covets Aileen's Longevity Seeds. According to the laws of the Flower Kingdom, Aileen only needs to offer one seed when necessary. However, Aileen's parents once protected Derek I throughout the Flower Kingdom, granting her immunity. No one can demand she hand over the Longevity Seeds unless she so chooses to. This is also why Aileen is of interest to both the royal family and the Adventurers' Guild. Aileen possesses two Longevity Seeds, and her lifespan may exceed the combined lifespan of everyone in the Flower Kingdom. If she so chooses, she could save two lives.
Since meeting King Derek, Mi stopped going to the palace for a long time. Elaine was oblivious to malice, but Mi was different; she could sense the king's greed and desire. He was definitely scheming against Elaine. Besides the seed of longevity, what else did Elaine have that he would scheme against? Elaine was lovely, but not King Derek's type. The women surrounding him were all voluptuous and alluring, completely different from Queen Angelis. Elaine was no longer on his list of prey. Later, the old coachman passed away, and Mi simply stopped going to the palace. Elaine had no objection to this. Elaine's knowledge had indeed increased over the years; Xiaowei had hired many teachers for her, but her simplicity and passion remained unchanged. Mi gradually became like Elaine. Fried's arrival shattered this tranquility.
Mi opened Yana's letter, and the days and nights in the wasteland, the sandstorms of the borderlands, the cries of Krus's sister, and Zara's figure reappeared before her eyes, as if she were waking from a long dream. When she left the Witch's Forest, El taught her to at least gather some herbs to earn a living. Redstone Town took her in while she pretended to be aphasic, Red-haired Anne gave her a marigold coin that granted her unrestricted access, Liz with the mustache gave her a silver derry and copper coins, Sheila took her in for more than half a year, and Eileen Castle provided her with three pleasant years. Mi put down the letter. Yana told her that Lin City 17 would border the Acropolis within the next ten years, after which the boundary between the Acropolis and Lin City would no longer exist. Qiu hurriedly wrote a few lines, asking her to introduce Fried to Beatrice and, if convenient, to also take a look at Colin for her. Everyone was working hard for the future, except for Mi, who seemed like a parasite. She began to doubt why she had come to the Flower Kingdom. She had hardly integrated into this world, nor had she made any effort for a living; she had let Eileen's kindness go to waste. If there was anything she had to say, it was that she had never felt so good about herself; everyone she met after leaving the Misty Forest had treated her kindly.
The next day, Fried drove Eileen and Mi to Derek Palace as their coachman. On Derek Avenue, they encountered Prince Ryan, who had just returned from his adventure. Prince Ryan, now a mature and composed young man, humbly asked Eileen to go first. Finally, they met again at the Twin Towers, where Ryan came to give Beatrice a gift he had brought from the snowy lands: a snow-white sable fur.
“Prince Ryan’s heart is pounding.” Ailian watched as Prince Ryan’s brown eyes began to change, his brown pupils sparkling, and Ryan’s silver hair made him look particularly handsome.
“He’s a human being, he still has a heartbeat.” Mi looked at Beatrice, who was wearing a white mink coat. She was only fifteen years old, and Mi had to remind Ailian.
“Oh, Mi, you don’t understand.” Ailian glanced at her with some regret, then looked at Petris, who was twirling around displaying the clothes: “Petrice doesn’t understand either.”
Mi didn't speak. Since she had removed the witch's threads from Ailian, her consciousness had gradually returned. Betris presented herself in her best light to Prince Ryan, and showed him the poem she had written for him. Even though Prince Ryan was five years older than Betris, it was clearly Prince Ryan who was in love. Betris was more like a spider weaving its web. Since the Grey Man disappeared, Betris had been weaving her web; her childhood had vanished along with the Grey Man, or perhaps it had disappeared the moment she left Lin City 17.
Prince Ryan politely bid farewell to everyone, and they stood together on the balcony watching as Princess Denise and Hanna cornered him below. The borders of the Sea Kingdom reopened, and Hanna once again adorned herself with jewels. However, Princess Denise's appetite had grown ever larger, forcing Hanna to swallow her pride, which affected her beauty, making her appear somewhat distorted.
"What are they saying?" Ailian asked, looking at the three people whose expressions were becoming increasingly agitated.
Before Mi could even extend the witch's thread, Beatrice dropped a bombshell: "Princess Denise is getting married."
“I remember Princess Denise is a year younger than you.” Mi had no idea when Petrus had become so well-informed. In the Flower Kingdom, girls are considered adults at fifteen, and Prince Ryan, whatever his intentions, waited until Petrus turned fifteen before giving her a gift. In the past, he had always looked after all the hostages like an older brother.
"Henna came specifically to tell me this." Betrius looked down at the figures below, where Prince Ryan angrily dragged Princess Denise away. Henna stood there stunned for a moment, then looked up and met the gazes of Betrius and the other two. After a while, she walked towards them.
“What does this have to do with Haina?” Ailian looked at Haina. “She’s a bit fierce.”
“Haina introduced Princess Denise to the young master of the Lihua Jewelry Pavilion. Since meeting him, Princess Denise has had new jewelry every day. Last month, the Lihua Jewelry Pavilion suddenly closed its doors to Princess Denise.” Beth turned her head and smiled, “Our guest has arrived.”
Hena pushed open the door and walked in. She first stared intently at the white mink coat hanging to one side before turning around and forcing a smile, saying, "Petrice, aren't you going to introduce us?"
Mi disliked the aggressive Hena. She stood up and said goodbye to Petrus, "Miss Petrus, your friend has arrived, and it's time for us to take our leave." Eileen looked at Mi and then at Petrus, but still lifted her skirt and followed Mi.
Haina reached out and grabbed Mi's arm: "Who are you? How can you be so rude?"
Bertram walked angrily to Hena's side, and knelt down to give Aileen and Mi their luggage: "Good day, Ms. Aileen; good day, Ms. Mi." Then she stood up and said to Aileen and Mi, "This is Miss Hena, the 19-year-old daughter of the 40th city lord of Lin City."
Ailian and Mi stood to one side waiting for Haina to bow. Haina glared at Betty, shook off Mi's arm, and ran out. Ailian's eyes widened again as she asked, "What happened to her?"
Bertram remained silent. These hostage daughters from the neighboring city would eventually marry at eighteen, and Queen Angelus had asked Hena several times, but Princess Denise hadn't given her a definite answer. As her ambition became increasingly clear, the nobles who had initially shown interest in her stopped extending offers, and Hena's temperament grew more and more eccentric and unpredictable.
"She won't hurt you, will she?" Mi was a little worried. Women blinded by jealousy often act in unexpected ways.
"No," Petrus said to reassure Mi. "I always have a maid with me now, I'm never alone. I only let the maid go to rest today because you came to see me, Mother." Mi knew that the man in gray had still hurt Petrus. Even after forgetting about the man in gray, she kept the maid by her side, even making sure someone was there when she slept.
“The driver who brought us here today is from Lincheng 17. He will deliver your things on our behalf.” After thinking for a moment, Mi introduced Fried to Beatrice.
"Mom, are you not coming anymore?" Beatrice grabbed Mi's arm and checked the skin that had been scratched red by Hena.
“I don’t know how Lord Qiu arranged it. Their letter to you should have explained it.” Mi looked at the young girl in front of her. Perhaps it was because Mi often came to see her, or perhaps it was because girls change a lot as they grow up, but now Bai Cuisi no longer looked much like Zara. She looked more like Mi, somewhat thin, and her black hair was tied into a braid that hung down in front of her chest, just like Mi’s, instead of being coiled on top of her head like other girls.
"Are you leaving?" On the carriage ride back, Eileen leaned on Mi's shoulder. Ever since Fried arrived at Eileen Castle, Eileen had noticed that Mi would often drift into a daze, seemingly lost in thought.
"I—" Mi looked at Ailian, who was hunched over like a kitten, and didn't know what to say. Although Ailian was almost forty, she still looked like she was in her early twenties; age was completely invisible on a long-lived person. Since regaining consciousness, Mi had been very confused. What exactly was her relationship with Ailian? They were definitely not lovers, but the idea of mother and daughter was a bit...unclear. Also, Mi felt like she had given Ailian the wrong impression; she had just strung together the bubbles of happiness in Ailian's mind and set off fireworks in her head. Ailian should experience real lovemaking. Mi hesitated for a moment and then said, "If I were to say, I want—" Mi stopped again; she didn't know what she wanted.
Ailian didn't speak, resting her head on Mi's shoulder. Mi didn't check on Ailian's consciousness anymore. She was confused; she didn't know what state she was in. She had seen everything in the Flower Kingdom, and she knew what the Longevity Seeds were all about. She felt she had been wandering for far too long, so long that everything on Blue Star, everything about Mi, felt like a past life. But what about her former job? What about her life?
Back at Eileen Castle, Mi gave Fried a long leave: "If you have anything to give to Petrus, just go and give it to her. Petrus knows who you are." Fried bowed and left Eileen Castle. Mi watched Fried's departing figure. She didn't understand why the royal family was still holding Petrus captive so long after Zara's death, and why Yana and Qiu, after so many years, still cared about the former city lord's daughter, writing letters and arranging for people to help her. Mi felt that this was full of intrigue, but it was something she, as an ordinary person, couldn't understand. She had never understood politics. The women of the Flower Kingdom were more power-hungry than the men. Queen Annis had completely replaced the king in ruling, and Haina's desires were written nakedly on her face. And Yana of Lin City 17 was, Qiu was too, and now even little Petrus was using herself as bait. They had clear goals and acted decisively. They made her admire them, but also made her afraid.
Mi gathered up all the scattered witch's threads. She grew increasingly silent, sometimes sitting in the courtyard staring blankly at the distant sky. This winter in Sun City was unusually cold; the sky was an unusual grayish-white, and the sun's rays had lost their warmth. She heard that wool prices had skyrocketed this year, with even the coarsest felt cloaks costing twice as much as in previous years.
"Ailian, has anyone frozen to death in the city?" The north wind howled, and Mr. Mi felt as if the cry of the Siberian jay was right next to his ear.
"No, no." Ailian hugged her. "Xiao Wei has been going out to look around. The Queen has arranged for people to patrol, so don't worry."
No matter how worried Mi was, it still snowed in Sun City. This was the first snow Mi had seen since entering the Flower Country. It was a real six-petaled snowflake, and the entire Sun City turned into a snow city.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
