Plan
“Raul… Raul, come here! Come here!!”
Raul turned around to look toward the pillar that Vera was hiding behind. Vera desperately called out to him in a stifled voice. He gave her a helpless smile. He then turned back to Ying.
In front of Vera were the guards responsible for the inner sections of the Imperial Capital. Ying was in the midst of appointing posts. Raul didn’t want to let Ying mistake him for being absentminded; he wanted to perform well.
Raul didn’t hate Vera. He was happy to stay by her and watch the wilful girl run about. He was cognisant of the fact that she was his sister. As her younger brother, he didn’t hate obeying her whims. In saying that, he couldn’t allow her to be too wilful at the time. After taking care of her for so long, Raul figured his sister out. He, therefore, knew that, if he ignored her, she would eventually give up.
“Raul! Hurry up and come here!!
Vera didn’t quit this time, though. In fact, she wore a stern look that contained a hint of irritation in addition to a touch of pleading. That countenance was totally different to her usual look when she wanted to play.
“Does she genuinely need me urgently? Would it be better if I go over? If Vera has an urgent problem, I should help her as I’m her brother,” thought Raul.
“Raul.”
Ying’s voice caused Raul to jolt. He looked up to see Ying’s somewhat unhappy expression. She shut the document in her hand: “Pay attention when I’m speaking.”
Raul apologetically bowed his head: “Sorry.”
“Vera is looking for you, head on over.”
Raul looked up at Ying with surprise. Ying gave him a small nod. He was surprised Ying noticed Vera before he did. Ying repeated, “Princess Vera is looking for you, so hurry over.”
“Roger!”
Raul quickly squeezed his way out of the crowd and ran over to Vera. Vera, grumpy, gave him a frown. The first thing she did was chide, “How come you were so slow?!! You saw me calling you, yet didn’t come over. What were you doing?! I have urgent business!”
“Chief Ying was speaking. We cannot just up and leave now, can we…?”
Raul wore a helpless smile. Though Vera was the smartest among the four sisters, he always judged she was the most wilful among them. He provided her with an irrefutable reason, yet Vera looked as though she didn’t buy it. She folded her arms: “Father entrusted you to me; therefore, you are no longer Sister Ying’s subordinate. Henceforth, you are to immediately appear before me when I call for you, understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Raul was aware it would be futile for him to say anything else. Nevertheless, he noticed Vera wasn’t in a good mood. He queried, “Your Highness, are you looking for me for something?”
“Yes. I heard you have dragon blood in you, correct? Can you transform into a dragon as Grandmother Sylvanas does?”
Raul nearly dropped to his knees upon hearing Vera’s question. Raul never intended to tell anyone he was Troy’s illegitimate son for it was considered a dark part of Troy’s history. Liu Yue was crowned the next monarch for the North a decade ago; however, his appearance would lead to uproars with the arrangement. Thus, schemes would brew. Raul, himself, had no interest in becoming the King of the North. He just wanted to be able to go home to protect his dragon kin when the time came. From his perspective, the dragon race was in a much more perilous situation than the North.
“Say something. Didn’t we already find out you’re a dragon when we were at Queen Vera’s place?”
“Oh, mm, yes. Yes, I am a dragon. I can also transform into a dragon. With that said, if I transform into a dragon now in the Imperial Capital… I will cause quite the commotion…”
“Can you spit fire the same way Grandmother Sylvanas does, then? Can you spit flames that could melt gold?”
“It seems Vera isn’t informed,” thought Raul, letting out a breath of relief. “Fire… is not my specialty. Mm… I am a different type of dragon to Queen Sylvanas… I have always lived in icy lands, so… I lack proficient control of fire…”
“As long as you can spit fire, it’ll do. Come to the flower garden at night. I’ll wait for you there at night.”
Raul was left with a confused look. He questioned, “Princess Vera, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Don’t ask so much. You’ll find out at night. There won’t be anybody in the flower garden at night, so transform into a dragon there.”
“Will I not affect the White Deer King…?”
“Umm… she should be able to understand, I guess…”
========
Current time in the flower garden.
Freya told Luna, “Tell Queen Vyvyan and Empress Elizabeth that the letter has been written. I am sure Onii-sama can understand… Empress Elizabeth and Queen Vyvyan should have set off by now. I doubt the crown will be repaired in time unless I buy time.”
“I do not think that stalling is a good idea. Freya, what would happen if they manage to repair the crown? Would that not essentially mean nothing happened?”
“Can it really be repaired? The crown was made with Queen Sylvanas’ power, humanity’s perfect materials and the elves’ artisan. I am not trying to disparage the Consorts, but Consort Lucia’s mana is far inferior to Queen Vyvyan’s. Consort Nier lacks any sense for aesthetics. Consort Ling Yue, mm… I don’t think her tail counts as decoration.”
Luna giggled behind her hand: “But there are still the girls. The girls seemed to want to repair the crown. How about having some hope in them? Freya, I watched the girls grow up. I must say they have done many things beyond my expectations, which is why I think we should let them have a try.”
The hint of Freya’s jeering was visible in her gaze. She was confident there were very few who could surpass her wits. Freya didn’t have much confidence in the girls. She always felt they had too minimal experience; she considered them pampered kids. When their turn came, it’d still be on her to toil for the North. Hence, she didn’t believe the four girls could succeed. Nevertheless, she, too, thought she wouldn’t have to be blamed if the four apologised.
“Let’s leave it to them, in that case. I don’t believe that they will succeed, having said that. We should inform King Troy beforehand so that he can be prepared.”
“I think it would be better not to inform him… Otherwise, there would be no need for the four sisters… King Troy is currently taking a stroll with the White Deer King. I think it is better for us not to disturb him.”
“Luna, do you consider the White Deer King a steed or Brother’s pet? I think he is giving too much attention to the White Deer King…”
“Heh, who knows…”
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