Inside the Imperial Palace in the North.
The return of the imperial family members wasn’t publicised this time. As opposed to saying that they came back from a holiday, it’d be more correct to say they returned home after escaping death.
The atmosphere inside the palace was extremely grim and ominous. On a table was a cup of tea with steam coming out from it. Freya sat to one side. Her eyes were so red that she couldn’t shed a tear. Because she kept wiping her eyes with her handkerchief, her face suffered friction burns. Nier aggressively strutted back and forth; she littered the ground with broken vases she threw at the ground. Lucia sat in a chair to one side, staring at the roof lifelessly. Tanya silently sat to one side, but her gaze brimmed with fury and murderous intent.
Ying stood to one side feeling completely lost. She was supposed to have found a house and settled down. They called her over for some reason that escaped her. The meeting had nothing to do with her. Looking around the room, all of the women present were related to Troy.
Empress Elizabeth, however, suffered severe wounds as a result of Vyvyan’s beating and was still in recuperation. She was lucky to be alive after being smashed into a cabin. Vyvyan didn’t show any mercy back there. She genuinely intended to kill everybody in her way. Nier and Lucia had to swim a long distance to get back to the ship.
Nier took in a deep breath. Voice shaky and seethed with anger, she roared at Lucia, “Is this the elves declaration of war against humanity? You injured our Empress and snatched my husband away. This is your declaration of war against humanity!”
Nier grabbed Lucia’s collar with one hand and went on, “So, do you know where that bitch, Vyvyan, took my husband or not?! What’s this supposed to mean?! Troy is my husband and my child’s father! He’s not dead yet! Did you not see him come to?! What right does she have to snatch him away?! What right does she have?! We can take care of him as long as he returns!”
“I told you already…” Lucia reached out to press her hand on Nier’s hand in an exhausted and sorrowful manner. Her tears landed on her hand. She softly continued, “I already explained to you countless times that if Queen Vyvyan wants to take His Highness, then it’s impossible for us to find him. We’ll never be able to find her unless she wants us to find her. Troy isn’t your husband alone. He’s also my husband, the father of my children. Moreover, he’s Queen Vyvyan’s son. I didn’t want this to happen, either, but I believe Queen Vyvyan won’t harm our husband. I’m sure she understands mana better than us. They’ll definitely find a treatment method. I’m sure he’s n-”
“How are you so sure? If that was the case, why did she have to hurt Her Majesty and snatch Troy? What, would we actually stop her from treating him? What else could it be besides snatching my husband? I must search for him whether or not I can find him. I must see my husband whether he’s dead or alive. I married Troy; I married him, so I must stay by his side! I want to be by his side even if it’s just his corpse!”
Nier then aggressively wrestled Lucia aside. She looked at the other women around her and, in a serious tone, shouted, “What about all of you? Freya, you’re my husband’s sister. You also love Troy, don’t you?! You love His Majesty, too, don’t you?! You’ve awaited his return for so long, yet that bitch took him away! Aren’t you angry? Don’t you want to see your brother?! Even if we only see his corpse, the only ones who have the right to bury him are us!!”
Nier’s voice turned husky again. She grabbed Freya and sobbed, “He’s in that state for our sake… I don’t know if he’ll be all right or not, but he was alive. I’ll take care of him in any way no matter what as long as he’s still alive. I just want him by my side! Even if he’s dead, I want to bury him and attend his funeral as his wife! I want to see him!”
Freya lips trembled while her eyes were so red that she looked pitiful. Freya, who was renowned for being witty and astute, was speechless. She didn’t even know what to think about. She looked at the women around her with a pleading gaze. Her entire body quivered, but she couldn’t make out a word. She was still just a kid, after all.
Tanya then stood up; in a serious tone, she said, “I shall go with you. Royal Princess, I shall go with you. I am His Majesty’s bodyguard. Now that he is missing, I have an obligation to find him. As you said, you are His Majesty’s wife; so accordingly, even if he has passed on, the only one who has the right to bury him is you!”
“That’s right!” Nier reacted as though she found a bosom friend. She looked at Tanya and went on in a tone of approval: “That’s exactly right. That’s how you should be. This is why I called Ying. Ying can counter that woman’s mana. As long as Ying can counter that woman’s mana, we’ll have a fighting chance, so Ying, we need your help now.”
Nier looked in Ying’s direction. After lingering for a moment, Ying replied, “Sorry, I apologise for being blunt, but I don’t want to be part of this. Although Troy helped me a lot, and I’m very grateful for what he gave me, I am but an outsider. This is clearly your family affair. Queen Vyvyan is also his mother. I cannot interfere with his family matters. It would be wrong no matter who I helped.”
“You…” responded Nier.
Ying waved her hand, and then bowed: “I am very sorry, Miss Nier, but I do not want to get involved with this.”
Lucia stood up and blocked Nier’s path off. In a loud voice, she said, “I really think we can’t do this! I’m sticking to what I originally said! Queen Vyvyan would never harm His Highness! She was just too anxious! Do you still not get it? If Empress Elizabeth could help him, she would’ve attacked Queen Vyvyan without hesitation the same way! Queen Vyvyan is in her most dangerous state right now! If you go after her, not only will you not be able to bring him back, but you’ll even end up dead! Queen Vyvyan is His Highness’s mother, and she’s the authority on mana. We need to trust her!”
“Trust her?! On what grounds should I trust her?! She snatched my husband! S! N! A! T! C! H! E! D! Snatched!!”
Freya looked at angry Nier and softly said, “Royal Princess Nier, I agree we cannot go look for Queen Vyvyan. If we do that, elves and humanity will be totally hostile with each other. Once a war breaks out, it will be enough to destroy the entire North. Would Onii-sama be willing to see his biggest painstaking effort be reduced to nothing…? If the North was decimated, would he really be able to live… even if we did bring him back to our sides…?”
“What the hell are you saying?! Of course my husband will be able to live on if he’s by my side!”
Freya bit down tightly on her lip. She quietly replied, “I am saying… Once Onii-sama requires mana… who among us can provide him with mana…? If Onii-sama had to live with Queen Vyvyan… would it not be pointless regardless of what we do…? Miss Nier… I also think… we cannot… be rash… I think… we… should perhaps go and see Miss Ling Yue… If Miss Ling Yue can provide him with mana…”
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