Petrus (8)
Queen Angelis rose and left the ball, leaving behind the clamor and excitement. Wen followed her to the audience hall on the second floor. Queen Angelis slumped wearily into her chair. Wen brought her a glass of turquoise cedar wine: "Your Majesty, you need to replenish your energy." The Queen drank the wine and closed her eyes to rest. Wen poured another glass of cedar wine and placed it before the Queen, then quietly left, leaving the room to the Queen.
Denise was indeed unfit for the role of queen. She was ignorant, arrogant, and spoiled by the Derek Kingdom, oblivious to her own limitations. Queen Angus experienced for the first time what it meant for "the queen to end the Derek bloodline." Her foolish daughter would only become a puppet manipulated by others. A few pieces of fine clothing and jewelry from Henna were enough to convince her to promise her brother's marriage. And what if she really became queen…?
Queen Angnes didn't want to think about it anymore. She took out Anne's letter again; the number thirty-six was covered in scratches. Ryan was only fifteen years old and about to embark on an adventure with the adventurers. King Derek was only forty-five, and Queen Angnes was only forty-one. In thirty-six years, Prince Ryan would be fifty-one, the prime of his life, at the height of his power and influence. What could possibly lead to the Queen's ascension to the throne?
Although Segh severed the connection between the Guide and the royal family, and Princess Denise's crown was shattered into pieces, Queen Angnes still couldn't help but worry about Prince Ryan. The child was born with poor health, and the Queen was planning to find a longevity seed to prepare for him.
"Winnie, go and fetch Aris." Queen Angelis put down her wine glass; she needed to find out if the Queen had truly vanished.
“Your Majesty, the Queen’s crown has disappeared from the star chart,” Aris said cautiously. “Unless the star chart changes again, the Queen will not descend.”
"If the star chart changes again, will the Queen reappear?"
“The queen who reappears is not the previous queen. One star map corresponds to only one person.” Aris explained, “Your Majesty, no new star map has appeared, and no one knows what the future holds. The queen will definitely appear, but the timing is unknown.”
"The Queen has been replaced?" Queen Angelis asked. "Is that something that cannot be changed?"
“Your Majesty, the stars are people. Each change in the star map requires a lot of energy and time. The star map is unique and cannot be repeated. When the star map reappears, the stars in the sky have already changed.” Aris continued, “The Queen has definitely been replaced. The new Queen may not even be a member of the Derek family. After all, the Queen is the terminator of the Derek bloodline.”
* * *
The King placed Hannah's hand in Prince Ryan's. Denise, watching her brother and Hannah dance gracefully, couldn't help but hug the King's arm and say, "Father, what do you think about making Hannah my brother's queen?"
"Denise, Ryan's marriage is not up to you or me. It requires the consent of your mother and the Adventurers' Guild."
"Father, Mother always listens to you the most, and the Adventurers' Guild only listens to Mother. Go and talk to her." Princess Denise tugged at King Derek and pleaded.
"Denise, your mother listens to me, but the Adventurers' Guild doesn't," King Derek said to Denise with a smile, his eyes dark as he looked at the empty queen's throne. "Denise, your mother doesn't listen to me either."
"Then kill the entire Adventurers' Guild."
“Oh my, my little princess has such high aspirations,” King Derek teased Denise. “That won’t do. The Flower Kingdom still needs adventurers to protect it.”
“Then drive them all to the border,” Princess Denise waved her little fist. “I will make sure that no one in Suncity will disobey my orders.”
King Derek looked at his youngest daughter in his arms. Her face was exactly like King Derek's, only more youthful. Her eyes blazed with fury, clearly showing her anger at the king for not agreeing to let Haina become Queen of Lane.
“You—” Derek wanted to ask, “Do you want to be queen?” His daughter was far bolder than him; she had enough backing, as long as he supported her, and there was also Severus. The king hesitated briefly, banishing the idea from his mind. No, if the Adventurers' Guild didn't stand with the royal family, the Derek Dynasty would end. The king looked at his youngest daughter: “How much did Hena give you?”
“She made me three new dresses, and—” Princess Denise tilted her head and raised her neck, “Father, do you think my necklace is pretty?”
“This is all you have. It’s not worth selling your brother.” King Derek said to his daughter, looking at her on the dance floor. “Your brother is far more valuable. Come back if you have ten times more jewels.”
"Ten times, how much is that?" Princess Denise asked, puzzled. King Derek recalled with annoyance that his daughter couldn't understand numbers above three, and for her, the largest number was three.
“Wait until you get countless jewels from her,” Derek’s deep, cold voice whispered in Princess Denise’s ear. Princess Denise nodded. This was a good idea; she could get even more jewels. “Father, you’re so clever!”
Bertram and Eli declined one invitation after another, chatting in the background. Eli looked at Prince Ryan and Hena on the dance floor and said, "Look at Hena's dress, it's an old one from last year, the hem is a bit short. I think she's going to set a new fashion trend in Suncity again."
“That’s not bad either,” Beatrice said, glancing down at the hem of her skirt. “The dresses in Suncity are using up more and more fabric, and I see the court tailors looking increasingly unhappy.”
“What are we doing? We only get four new outfits a year. If it weren’t for the New Year’s gift, I wouldn’t even dare to stand up.” Eli was wearing a red New Year’s dress. She lifted the hem, revealing a ring of gray mud around the bottom. “I’m going to wear this dress for seven days! The red won’t be as vibrant after I wash it.”
“Look, Princess Denise has changed into another dress.” Beatrice suddenly nudged Eli and said, “Luckily the Queen is wearing her old dress, otherwise I would have been too embarrassed to come out.”
"I heard that the Queen ordered a new dress to be made for you?" Eli turned to look at Petrus, who was still wearing last year's dress, with refurbished deerskin boots peeking out from under the hem.
“I suspect,” Beatrice said, searching through the crowd, “that a delegation from Lin City 17 has come to deliver the hostage of the new city lord.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Elijah pulled on Bertram’s arm and pointed at Hena, who was standing to the side. “I heard that Hena’s family’s ship has not come, and her jewelry box is already empty. This year, she was assigned to the first row again. I think the one who had the accident was Lincheng 40.”
“Don’t say that. It was Princess Denise who arranged it,” Beatrice lowered her head. “I don’t want anything to happen to any of the city lords.”
“Sigh,” Eli sighed, “It’s not that I’m saying this, it’s just that you never care about these things. Look at Haina’s maid, how attentive she used to be, now her face is as long as a horse’s.”
Petrice couldn't help but chuckle. She gently patted Eli, saying, "Don't make me laugh. I'm actually quite flustered."
“It’s alright, it’s alright, Petrus, you can trust me.” Eli hugged Petrus, and Prince Ryan walked towards them with a smile. “Your Highness, good day.” Eli and Petrus quickly curtsied.
"Good day, Eli. Good day, Petrus." Prince Ryan walked up to them. "Just call me Ryan."
“Yes, Your Highness Prince Ryan.” Eli smiled, winked at Petris, and stepped aside to block Haina, who was coming this way. She stood in front of Haina and said, “What, are you the prince’s dog, always following behind him? Don’t you even smell your own stench? It’s suffocating me.”
"You?!" Haina stopped in her tracks, hugged the girl next door, and sneered at Eli, "Eli, you're at least fifteen years old. Why are you always following behind a ten-year-old girl? Don't you feel ashamed?"
“I seem to remember that Princess Denise is not even ten years old yet, and Beatrice will be eleven in two months.” Eli glanced at Princess Denise. “If we’re talking about age, you’re fifteen, so you’re really following behind a little girl who’s not even ten. Aren’t you ashamed?”
"You—sharp-tongued, what good do you think you'll get from being so mean and sarcastic?" Before turning to leave, Hena added, "Don't think that just because the Queen treats Betrice well, she'll treat you well too. Our Queen is the most ruthless person."
Eli glanced back at Petrus, who was speaking to Prince Ryan with her head held high, and walked away. Before leaving, her mother had repeatedly instructed her to cultivate a good relationship with Petrus, as Lord Zara was someone her mother greatly admired. Petrus had arrived in Sun City before her. The first time Eli saw Petrus, she was leading Prince Ryan up a tree, the two of them hiding from the entire royal guard. They spotted her and waved for her to join them. In Sun City, every word and action had to conform to ladylike standards. These girls from neighboring cities not only had dedicated etiquette teachers who constantly instructed them, but also personal maids who followed them closely, always ready to remind them. Petrus had a way of getting Prince Ryan to dismiss his maids and then do things that were forbidden by the royal family. Eli still remembered the excitement of climbing the tree with Petrus. Petrus said she had a wooden house on a Hopea tree in the 17th city lord's mansion in Lincheng. The Hopea tree—that was a sacred tree planted by King Derek I himself in the city lord's mansion! Lord Zara actually built her a wooden house on that tree; no wonder she was the city lord her mother admired most. Eli decided then and there to become best friends with Petrus. They made a pact that if Petrus returned to assume the city lord's position, Eli would become Petrus's advisor, provided Petrus gave her half of the wooden house on the Hopea tree.
Eli walked out of the hall and came to the outer courtyard where the envoys lived. There was a brightly lit building there. She saw the court etiquette teachers going in and out of that tower and quietly approached them.
"Colin, lift your head, sit up straight, don't swing your legs, don't shake your legs." Eli watched as the strictest court etiquette teacher corrected the posture of a seven or eight-year-old boy. The little boy's face was oily, and he angrily shoved the teacher: "We Lincheng 17 can sit however we want. You guys only have peace because of Weicheng and Lincheng, what right do you have to tell me what to do?"
Eli trembled, staring at the figure in the room, tears welling up in her eyes. "Lincheng 17" echoed in her ears. She covered her mouth and squatted down. So the Queen's arrangement was true. But why wouldn't the Queen let Bethris go back? Eli heard hurried footsteps. She stood up. The etiquette teacher stormed out. Two strangers entered through the door and said to Colin, "Colin, you're not studying etiquette properly and you've disgraced Lord Qiu. If the caravan can't get in, you won't receive any supplies."
“I just can’t stand the arrogant attitude of the people from Sun City. They don’t even consider who gave them the right to maintain such etiquette. My mother is right, the people from Sun City are all about putting on airs. When the Sand People come, they’ll be the first to eat them.” Colin leaned back in his chair, sprawling out in a starfish shape just like Qiu.
“Colin, you represent the face of Lincheng 17. You’ve seen it these past few days: you haven’t mastered the etiquette of audience. The King and Queen will not summon you. We’ve already been delayed here for two months, and the official appointment letter for Lord Qiu has not yet been issued. Do you intend to come back with us?”
“Okay, okay,” Colin asked irritably. “Have you seen that Beatrice? Mother said I want her sent back.”
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