Petrus (The End)
Mi helped Beatrice back to the Twin Towers. Eli spotted her immediately. She looked around in confusion, then quickly walked over and took off her cloak to wrap Beatrice in it: "I'll take you to freshen up."
Mi watched as Eli led Petrus to wash up. Petrus, dressed in Eli's clothes, held a cup of hot tea with her head down and asked, "Aren't you going to ask me what happened?"
“You were just sick,” Eli’s throat tightened, and she continued, “You’re better now and don’t need to rest anymore.”
"Yes, I'm all better. I don't need to recuperate. I'll stay right here and not go anywhere else."
When Lily saw Petrus return, she looked at her as if she had seen a monster. She stared at Petrus speechlessly, while Petrus put her clothes back one by one. When Mi recovered and went to see Petrus again, Lily was gone. She was accompanied by a well-behaved and obedient maid, who was said to have been specially assigned to her by the Queen. This maid did not follow Petrus around closely, but only appeared when Petrus called her.
* * *
On the last day of the New Year's holiday, the nobles of the entire Sun City gathered at Derek's Palace for a ball. King Derek appeared in the hall, arm in arm with Colin, and Prince Ryan introduced each of their companions to him. Betrius, dressed in a red New Year's gown, curtsied to Colin, who returned the curtsy with excellent manners: "Hello, Sister Betrius."
Seeing the drastic change in Beatrice's expression, the King stared intently at her face, confirming she was unharmed. King Derek grew increasingly uneasy. He entrusted the opening dance to Prince Ryan and turned to leave Nyth Palace. In the Derek Gallery, King Derek received another report: "Your Majesty, Severus has not returned."
"Go investigate, investigate again." Derek paced anxiously around the room, issuing order after order like a madman: "Go, bring Mrs. Aldrich to me."
In a small room in the palace, King Derek III and Lady Aldrich sat facing each other. The king's gloomy eyes were almost dripping with tears, while Lady Aldrich kept her head down and remained silent.
"Did you actually give Severus the seed of longevity?" The king stared at Lady Aldrich like a tiger.
"Your Majesty, I, I—" Mrs. Aldrich's fat chin trembled, and beads of sweat trickled down her fleshy body, sliding down her greasy neck.
The king turned his eyes away in disgust: "Tell me, where did the longevity seed go?"
“Your Majesty,” Mrs. Aldridge swallowed hard, and said hesitantly, “the last time I had a heart attack, I happened to have the longevity seeds I was preparing for Severus.”
"So you ate it yourself?" The king stared at Lady Aldrich in disbelief. "You used up a longevity seed."
“Your Majesty, Uncle,” Mrs. Aldridge grabbed the King’s arm, “Uncle, I’ve given you everything, except this life, only this life.”
"How many more longevity seeds can you get?" the king asked, looking at Lady Aldrich's plump fingers.
“Your Majesty, they’re asking for money.” Mrs. Aldrich lowered her head. “Those people are getting more and more greedy.”
“Go, post a bounty for me, and find out where Severus is.” Derek sat down, looking at Mrs. Aldrich. This niece was good in every way—obese, stupid, greedy, obedient—the perfect middleman. Derek had been keeping her dangling the Longevity Seed, and now she had actually eaten one without his permission.
"Yes, Your Majesty, what is the bounty level?" Lady Aldrich carefully observed the King's expression; His Majesty was no longer angry.
"Which level?" The king hesitated. Severus had a penchant for virgins, and nowhere else could compare to the Derek Palace. Furthermore, Severus was obsessed with stargazing; he desperately wanted to get involved with the Queen's crown. Now that he had suddenly disappeared, it could only be— The king thought of the unharmed Beatrice. He had asked Lily, and Beatrice had left for half a day before returning. Severus wasn't so kind as to let go of a virgin he had already obtained.
"Highest level. I want Severus's whereabouts, dead or alive." A wave of panic washed over Derek. Who was causing trouble in Sun City? The adventurers were just watching. Perhaps it was related to the Queen's Apostle. Derek remembered Severus saying he was going to hunt down the Queen's Apostle. Had he been killed instead? Who exactly was the Queen's Apostle? Didn't Severus say he had no connection with the royal family? Derek hoped this was just a personal feud between the Queen's Apostle and Severus.
A guard brought in a box. The king gestured with his hand, and the box was placed on the table. The guard silently withdrew. The king opened the box, took out a swivel, and spread his fingers, letting the swivels fall one by one in front of Lady Aldrich. Lady Aldrich struggled to raise her head, one hand on her chest, and began with difficulty, "Your Majesty—"
The king then took out another ginderry until the ginderry on the table was so abundant that it dripped onto the stone slab on the ground with a crisp sound.
“Your Majesty, I will definitely get them.” Lady Aldrich’s eyes gleamed with greed as she stared at the gold coins, her face flushed.
The king lifted Lady Aldrich's plump chin and patted her fat cheek, saying, "You have already wasted an opportunity." The king stood up: "My dear niece, you should know that everything you have does not come from your husband's family, but from me." The king walked out, leaving Lady Aldrich slumped on the ground. She glanced at the table full of gold coins and then lowered her head to hide her greedy gaze.
Lady Aldrich waited in the passageway with the trunk in her hands. The coachman drove up, and Lady Aldrich put the trunk inside. She took a small padlock from her head and locked the trunk before instructing, "Take it to Emile Road." The carriage departed silently, leaving Lady Aldrich's plump figure as a blurry shadow under the streetlights. After a long time, the carriage returned, and Lady Aldrich climbed into it. The carriage then left the palace.
King Derek, on the third floor of the palace, kept his eyes on Lady Aldrich in front of the palace: "Keep an eye on that car and see where it's going."
"Yes." The guard turned and left.
“Your Majesty,” Beth’s voluptuous body pressed against him, “if this one doesn’t work, we can try another one. Please don’t worry about this.”
The king pushed Beth away, frowning in disgust: "That's my niece. Ten of you combined couldn't compare to one of her fingers."
“Yes,” Beth immediately stepped back, softening her voice, “I have overstepped my bounds, please punish me, Your Majesty.”
“You’re not wrong,” the king said, staring at Mrs. Aldridge’s figure in the darkness. “Do you have someone else in mind?”
Unsure of the king's thoughts, Beth obediently said, "Your Majesty, I only know how to sing, how could I know anyone? Your Majesty is not short of people, it's just that those people lack the opportunity to serve Your Majesty."
The king remained noncommittal about Beth's words, and after a while said, "Go to Ellen Castle tomorrow." The king handed Beth a handwritten letter, "And while you're at it, invite little Ellen to come and play for me."
"Do we need to set a time?" Beth took the letter without even glancing at it and asked gently.
"See when Eleanor is free," the king waved his hand. "Don't force her. Let her come over when she's free, and tell her that you have a new musical score for her to enjoy."
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Beth crouched down, and seeing that the king showed no further intention of speaking, she quietly withdrew from the room. A guard brought in a fresh pot of wine, pushed open the door, and went inside. Beth turned and stared at the closed door for a while, then leaned to the side to listen for any sounds from inside.
A maid trotted in, pulled Beth into a nearby room, closed the door, and whispered to her, "Eavesdropping again? Are you out of your mind?"
“I’ve never seen that guard before.” Beth opened the door a crack and looked out through the gap.
“That was sent by the Queen. Didn’t you see the Blue Moon Palace insignia?” The maid pressed her ear to the crack in the door to listen to the sounds outside.
"Close the door quickly, the Queen is coming." The maid closed the door, her back pressed against the doorframe, and they held their breath as they heard a soft footstep.
Inside the room, a guard put down the tray, picked up the wine jug, and poured a glass of clear wine: "Your Majesty, this is a new gift from the Adventurers' Guild."
"What's the use this time?" The king took the cup, drank a sip, and then put it down.
"The Adventurers' Guild says this is good for Your Majesty's health and suggests that Your Majesty drink a cup before going to bed."
"A drink before bed?" The king stared at the guard. "Who leaked my sleeping habits?"
“Your Majesty, Miss Beth hasn’t spent a whole year with us. The servants all have their eyes on Flora.” The guard put away the wine jug. “Your Majesty, there are no secrets in this palace.”
"Where is the Queen?"
“This wine was ordered by the Queen,” the guard replied. “The Queen said Prince Ryan is still too young.”
"Ryan is still young?" the king laughed heartily. "Does that mean Ryan will grow up enough that she won't need me anymore?"
The guard remained silent. The king took the cup and finished his wine. "Go and call Flora over."
The guards had just opened the door when the Queen, accompanied by her chief lady-in-waiting Wen, stood at the entrance: "Your Majesty."
"Go and arrange His Majesty's bed," the Queen whispered.
"Yes." The guard walked toward the king's bedroom, with Lady Wen following behind him.
"What a rare occasion it is for the Queen to grace us with her presence!" The King exclaimed, waving his arms dramatically as the Queen entered. "Play music, welcome my Queen!"
“Your Majesty,” the Queen said, walking to the table and pouring the King another glass of wine before handing it to him, “Acropolis 22 has fallen. It was just sent over. The New Year holiday is not yet over, and this is the second acropolis to fall this year.”
"These matters have always been handled by you, Queen. I believe you can handle them well," the King said, turning his eyes away from the Queen's.
"Your Majesty, the treasury has no surplus funds," the Queen said with difficulty. "The Chancellor of the Exchequer cannot provide any more budget. Could you..."
The king felt guilty thinking about the chest of gold derry he had just sent out: "Your Majesty, do you not know how many gold derry are in my treasury?"
“Your Majesty, you need to issue more titles of nobility.” The Queen opened the documents she carried with her.
“Of course, of course, this is a good way to handle it.” The king took the pen.
“This can’t go on,” the Queen said, looking at the King. “Your Majesty should still speak with the Adventurers’ Guild—”
"Isn't that your maternal home?" the king interrupted the queen, handing back the signed documents. "Just tell them directly."
“Your Majesty, as you know, the Adventurers’ Guild has always viewed my marriage to you as a betrayal.” The Queen stared helplessly at the King. “They are more eager to see me make a fool of myself than to help me.”
“Oh, my dearest Queen,” the King reached out and pulled her into his arms, planting a kiss on her hair. “How could I not understand? If it weren’t for your poor health, we would have had many more children. Look how beautiful Ryan and Daenerys are. Or—should we have another one?”
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