Despairing Circumstance
On the way to the Imperial Palace with the four sisters, the young boy thanked Liu Yue and shyly added, “I almost hurt you back there. I’m very sorry about that. I didn’t think you’d notice me. I slipped due to fear. I never intended to hurt you.”
Liu wagged her tail: “I know. The shocked expression you wore when you fell down told me that you didn’t deliberately jump down. However, do not mention this when you see my father; else, whether or not you can leave the Imperial Palace alive will be a question mark. My father is gentle, but he won’t forgive anybody who hurts us.”
“Understood.”
The boy seemed to be conscious of King Troy’s impression. But nonetheless, he didn’t get a chance to change his clothes. After all, the four sisters don’t have male clothing. Daisy indifferently scoffed, “Liu Yue, don’t tell me you’ve developed a good impression of this fellow. You sure are putting in all the stops for him. To be honest, I don’t want to bring this suspicious fellow to Father whatsoever. I don’t believe a word he says. He talks about a never-before-heard-of nation and a person none of us has ever seen; not to mention his unbelievable story. He’s dangerous no matter how you look at it.”
Perhaps Daisy startled the young boy with her sword when they first met. He revealed his fear of Daisy when she spoke. His voice was so soft it was practically inaudible. He didn’t even dare to look at her: “I didn’t… I’m not…”
Daisy didn’t hesitate to shout, “You shut up.”
The young boy immediately shut his mouth. His gaze stopped on the sword hanging at Daisy’s waist for a moment. He seemed to be eager about something. Vera pursed her lips into a smiled and warned,, “Daisy has been practicing swordplay since childhood, and she’s incredibly serious about it. If I were you, I’d obediently follow Daisy’s orders. I wouldn’t have delusions about escaping. Daisy won’t hurt you as long as you don’t provoke her.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” declared Daisy.
Daisy didn’t have a positive impression for her uninvited guest. In saying that, Vera already discerned Daisy’s true thoughts. As opposed to saying that Daisy didn’t like him, it’d be more accurate to say she was afraid of him. Although she always practiced swordplay, she never killed anyone before. Daisy acted haughty when she wanted to kill him; in reality, she was actually quivering. If there wasn’t someone around and it wasn’t for her father’s sake, she wouldn’t have dared to swing down at him.
Vera was quite mindful of him. Actually, curious would be a better word. Her curiosity was mostly attributed to the fact that the female ruler she never met shared the same name as her. She really wanted to know what Queen Vera wanted, and she wanted to know how she was as a person, which was why she wanted to see her father and fill him in.
The young boy was genuinely frightened. He even moved closer to Liu Yue to avoid Daisy approaching him. Liu Yue sighed again: “We’re only taking you to see Father. As for whether or not he gets involved is none of our business.”
Liu Yue didn’t hate the young boy. To the contrary, she sympathised with him after hearing his story. Staying loyal to someone not by your side, forging forth with no regard for the hardships to fulfil a promise was basically how her mother was depicted. She really wanted to help him. Never before had she seen a man cry. When she saw his gaze and heard his voice, she didn’t think he was lying. With that said, they couldn’t change her father’s decisions. All they could do was lead him to their father. As for what their father decided to do, that was beyond them.
Nona was completely clueless as to what happened. She didn’t have the slightest interest in the male. Though Princes often fall down from the sky, the Princess wouldn’t be touched to see the Prince in torn and tattered clothing – not to mention falling down from a tree – would she? Nona only went along due to her sister, Vera, telling her to.
The four sisters went up to the main door of the Imperial Palace. The guard saluted them, but their gazes were on the boy in tattered clothing. The girls filed in, but when it was the boy’s turn, the guard didn’t hesitate to grab him by the neck and literally kick him out. The guard aimed his gun and brayed, “If you don’t leave and continue messing around, then don’t blame me. You want to sneak in with the Princesses? You think I’m blind? Go away.”
Vera told the guards, “Let him in.”
The guards turned around to look at Vera in disbelief. Liu Yue nodded: “He doesn’t harbour any ill will. He’s just a boy who accidentally became an envoy. He just wants to see my father for business. Let him in. It’ll be fine.”
“We cannot do that.”
While the four before them were the daughters of their King, they had an obligation to keep their King safe. Whatever the case was, they couldn’t see the boy harbouring good will. There were no envoys who’d present themselves that manner. Not even a poor nation would come see the monarch of a nation dressed in such unbecoming fashion. Though the four sisters were smart, they were still kids. If they let him inside and something were to happen, the guards would be the ones who were punished.
Daisy raised an eyebrow. As her father’s daughter, she had never been refused before. She exclaimed, “This is our order! We’re our father’s daughters. How could we possibly harm him? You want to stop our guest that we want to take care of?! Hurry up and let him in!”
“We are very sorry, Your Highness. While you are very smart, this boy is most definitely not your friend. He has been sneaking around the Imperial Palace and loitering, trying to enter the Imperial Palace. If he really had business, why would he be sneaky? Why not come straight in? Your Highness, you are just a child. Do not trust strangers so easily!”
“Who are you calling a kid?! You’re directing an insult at me! You’re insulting me!! I’m telling Dad! Actually, forget that. I’ll fight you right now!!”
Daisy hated being called a child more than anything. Daisy wanted to grow up as soon as possible so that her father wouldn’t treat her as a kid. That was why she awfully loathed being called a child. Vera was very, very, very, very strongly against being treated as a child. That was a taboo to her for she considered that a jab at her breasts that weren’t developing so well, especially when she stood next to her sister, Nona. Vera disliked hearing, “You are still young, or you are still a child.” She found that very offensive. It was something she couldn’t forgive.
“What happened?”
When Daisy drew her sword to attack the guards, the four sisters turned around upon hearing a voice. Luna looked at the four sisters with a smile: “His Majesty has finished his meeting. I thought you four would be interested in the hour His Majesty has before dinner, so I came to find you, but are you having an argument with the guards? Sister Ying will be hard to overcome.”
“I already heard the disturbance.”
Ying joined the not-so-fun party. Daisy obediently piped down upon seeing Ying. Ying was one of the few people Daisy had no confidence against in battle. Furthermore, Ying wasn’t as gentle as Luna. Actually, you might as well say that expressionless Ying was someone all four sisters were slightly afraid of.
Correction: Besides Nona.
When Nona saw Ying, she cheerfully smiled. She greeted Ying in a loud voice, “Good afternoon, Sister Ying.”
“Don’t call her, you idiot!!”
Liu Yue virtually wanted to cry aloud. Ying was her father’s bodyguard. A personal bodyguard would be wary of bringing an outsider into the palace without permission, particularly without informing Ying. They were faced with a virtually insurmountable wall: Ying.
Ying gave Nona a nod: “Good afternoon, Princess Nona, Princess Daisy, Princess Vera, Princess Liu Yue. Have my guards offended you? Please allow me to apologise on their behalf. Nonetheless, I still wish to know what happened.”
Ying swept her gaze over the four sisters. Besides Nona, the other three backed down fearfully backed down, while the young boy was practically ready to flee. Only fearless Nona filled Ying in on what happened.
If it was possible, Liu Yue wanted to give her silly stupid sister the boot. If they refused to speak, the idiot behind them didn’t speak up. If they asked Luna to call their dad after Ying left, then it would work out. If the boy caught the attention of Ying, he’d never get inside. Ying was their dad’s personal bodyguard; she wouldn’t let strangers approach him. Plus, Ying wasn’t as close to the four sisters as Luna was. Luna would likely comply with their requests if they acted cute. As for Ying, they couldn’t see the possibility of getting close to the girl with a face akin to a sheet of paper.
“I see.” Ying nodded and then exchanged eye-contact with Luna.
Put on the spot, Luna smiled. She told the four girls, “Bringing people into the Imperial Palace without permission, especially to see your father, is not allowed, particularly since the boy’s background is unknown. I am not suspecting you girls. It is just that a strange boy we have never seen from an unknown nation should be inspected before being permitted into the Imperial Palace…”
“How long will that take?”
Ying indifferent replied, “Around a month. We need to confirm the authenticity of his story. If we have to interact with that nation and there are many matters, it could take even a year.”
“No!!”
The young boy’s sorrowful protest gave the girls a fright. Therefore, the guards aimed their guns. The people around looked in his direction. The young boy dropped to his knees and bowed his head. He continued, “I beg you… Please… My master… My Queen… She can’t wait for so long… There is someone after her life. Someone is trying to usurp her throne… I have nowhere to go. I can only plead King Troy… Please, please believe me. You can take my hands and then let me in. I promise not to harm anybody. You can cut my hands off if you like. All I ask is that you allow me to speak. I beg of you! Please… let me in… Let me in…”
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