"Achilles, what happened outside the palace today?" Princess Rupert looked at the man in front of her with a calm expression. The branches of the phoenix wood in the courtyard hang down like shade, swaying lightly with the wind, like fire-like flowers, weaving into a sea of sunset.

The wind rustled like trees whispering. Achilles glanced at it and shook his head slightly: "After His Majesty left, everything was as calm as ever with Questak. Lord Seychelle is also a retainer and knows how to deal with the current situation, and His Highness Alepf is doing well. ”

"Alef has always been excellent, and if he hadn't had some inferiority to his background, he would have stood out a long time ago."

Achilles bowed his head slightly, agreeing with Her Royal Highness's statement.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Princess Rupert asked routinely.

The wind blew the light veil, and the curtains like snow swept through the pillars, and occasionally a few maids walked far from there.

Achilles withdrew his gaze from a distance and replied, "After the goldenrods bloom, autumn will be halfway over, and after the Star Ceremony, trade will subside for a while. Slave traders, dark believers will also enter a dormant period. ”

"There has been less discussion about that dust storm lately, and the 'communication' of the Chosen seems to have resumed......

"People are guessing the purpose of the Phantom Sea ......"

"The envoys of the Kaulin people have stayed in the palace, and they don't seem to have come for the Phantom Sea......"

As usual, Achilles recounted what had happened in the last few days outside the palace.

Princess Rupert listened silently.

After a while, she quietly asked, "Is it gone?" ”

"That's all, Your Highness." Achilles replied.

"Alright, you go down."

The princess reached out and, as usual, let the man kiss her fingertips.

Achilles gently lowered her slender hands with both hands, and her gaze fell on the other.

"If there's any news from Bein, remember to let me know."

Achilles looked at her and nodded deeply before turning away.

Princess Rupert watched him walk away, his back looming behind a snow-white curtain, and at last he walked out of the porch and disappeared at the end of the court.

A bush shook in the distance, and 'Lady Papamo' came out of it, wearing a maid's robe, which looked a little ridiculous because of her size and size.

She' struggling to climb over the railing, sweeping away the dead branches and leaves on her body, and came to the side of the princess. She placed a recording crystal on the table, pressed her hands on the stone table, stood on tiptoe and slapped it on top of it before turning around. "Ed is not mistaken, this guy really didn't intend to give you the letter, Your Highness the Princess. Not only that, but he didn't even say a word about it—"

"Maybe he forgot."

"How is it possible, Your Highness Princess, don't deceive yourself." She counted on her short fingers, "It's only been a few hours, and even the old cat from the Dwalker family hasn't been so forgetful." ”

"What's that?"

"Oh, a fat, fat cat, but it's nothing, did I tell you about the dragon?"

"You've said it before," Princess Rupert smiled slightly, "Mr. Night Thief." ”

"Then we must have missed some details."

"No need."

"Doom ......"

The princess turned, a faint look of disappointment in her eyes.

She said this in her mouth, but she knew in her heart that the other party was as careful as a hair, and she would never forget such an important thing, and looked down at her fingertips, and couldn't help but feel a little stunned for a while.

A soft glow was emitting from the recording crystal not far away.

The light weaves a picture of a man quickly appearing in the shade of a tree looking down into the field of vision.

It was Achilles, who took out a letter in the middle of the picture and muttered to himself, but there was only an image in the picture, no sound. After a while, the latter put the letter away, put it close to his body, looked left and right, and then walked forward, disappearing at the end of the frame.

After a long time, the light of the picture faded and dissipated like stardust.

A maid walked in from outside and looked at Her Royal Highness the princess with some awe: "Your Highness, as you said, there are some people outside......

"Did they tell you who you were?"

"It's called Eddard."

"Bring them in."

Her Royal Highness the Princess added very seriously:

"Don't tell anyone."

"It was the same when Mr. Achilles asked."

The maid nodded a little cringe.

……

Fang Yu didn't expect that the first thing Her Royal Highness the princess said when she saw them was to get straight to the point.

"I had that girl take away." Princess Rupert spoke very calmly.

She didn't mention 'Afifa' by name, presumably because it was a tacit acquiescence that it belonged only to her sister — and, her own mother.

Fang Yu was stunned for a moment.

He paused and exchanged glances with the others—mainly Sylvid—and after receiving the officer's indicative gaze, he quickly calmed down, took a breath, and spoke to the princess: "Your Royal Highness, this is a family affair of the Penelope royal family, and I shouldn't interfere. But now you should know that there is no one who is telling the truth about Miss Afifa's relationship with your father......

"You guess I must have suspected that the girl was my father's illegitimate daughter, because ten years ago ...... That's why my father chose to attack my mother, so there were no wandering alchemists at all, everything was just my father's arrangement. ”

Princess Rupert gave a calm gaze to everyone.

"Is that right?" she asked. ”

Fang Yu couldn't help but be stunned for a while.

That's exactly what they guessed.

Most of the dark believers hidden by the side of Her Royal Highness will take advantage of the estrangement between the eldest princess and the king of sand to play and further separate the relationship between the two.

Even such a gap may have been orchestrated by blind followers.

Although the King of Sands, Babartan, has always maintained a clear mind towards the blind followers around him, but for his daughter, he has a different mentality - that is, he does not want Princess Rupert and the Affy Festival to be involved in this incident - with the help of this psychology, Seneman easily achieves his goals unknowingly with the cooperation of the spies around Her Royal Highness.

Even in this plan, the Seven Seas Brigade may not have consciously become a pawn. With the help of their abilities, Her Royal Highness's investigation soon penetrated into the blind followers and became involved in a series of events in Bein Fortress.

And Celestia's investigation progressed so quickly that Barbartan, the King of Sands, had to resort to the last resort - that is, the latter was placed under house arrest in the Kashan Palace.

But as Fang Yu guessed, Princess Rupert would not easily give up the investigation into her mother's death.

So this decision naturally aroused her resistance.

Although there may not be a rift on the surface, in essence, there is a gap between the two because of this matter.

Once the estrangement is created, the blind followers have room to stir up trouble in it.

Especially the King of Sand, though he knows the true purpose of the Blind Followers. But Princess Celestia herself has never known who the betrayer around her is.

But this is a matter between the royal family after all, and it also involves the secrets of many years ago, and the reputation of the princess's mother, and even the current king of sand. He originally thought that even if the eldest princess already knew about it in her heart, she would not necessarily talk about it head-on, and maybe she would avoid talking about it and discuss the current matter with them directly.

Even refusing to admit it, it is possible -

But after he was completely prepared, he didn't expect that Her Royal Highness the princess would go straight to the ground and get straight to the point with them.

Without even any cover-up, she only shook her head lightly and continued:

"That's exactly what I thought at first."

"Especially since I never doubted Achilles, who has been my guardian knight since I was very young."

"He used to be my teacher, and my father doted on me so much, even if he knew the relationship between me and him, he didn't object to it."

"It may seem a little counterintuitive to you Korlings—"

"But I've always hoped that one day I can be a true lover with him, and give his family name to my surname."

"But I didn't expect ...... either"

Her Royal Highness sighed faintly.

Her eyes fell on the record crystal on the table, and she was a little stunned for a while, and said in a quiet tone: "Although I still want to thank you for sending this news." Especially Mr. Parker...... He even risked his life and infiltrated the Kashan Palace. ”

"Not so dangerous, actually," replied the Paparal man at once, "to a true king of the night thieves, it's nothing." ”

"But I heard you were taken in—"

Sky Blue interrupted at the right time.

Our lovely lady Papamo immediately stopped talking.

Princess Rupert smiled slightly, but only a little reluctantly.

"Actually, I already had some doubts in my mind before that...... Because from the moment I saw the girl, I knew that I had guessed wrong. That girl could never have anything to do with my father...... Even," she sighed, and changed her words once more, "but I at least had a slight suspicion of the news that Achilles had sent back earlier. ”

"Of course, I didn't suspect Achilles at that time, I just wondered if someone over there had betrayed us."

"But I didn't expect ......"

Tianlan was a little curious when she heard this, and couldn't help asking, "Your Royal Highness Princess, how did you see it?" ”

Princess Rupert looked at Fang Yuan: "Mr. Eddard might as well guess?" ”

Fang Yu pondered for a moment, but he was not thinking, he was just affirming the idea in his heart. After a while, he raised his head, met the gaze of Her Royal Highness the Princess, and replied very firmly: "I guess Miss Afifa should look exactly like the Princess." ”

Except for the box, Luo Yu, and Sylvid, everyone looked at their leader in surprise.

And the princess's eyes flashed with a hint of brilliance.

"Few people have seen my mother's girlhood," she replied quietly, "even in the court, there are only a few images of my mother after she got married, and some of the earliest ones are from the time she met my father. ”

"But in the third year after my mother's death, my father received a gift of great significance—"

"It was the Chosen One, she seemed to be the leader of a group of adventurers named Golden Tulip, and on the occasion of leaving this world, she had someone give me a recording crystal to my father. Inside, it is a video left by my mother's post-girlhood in her adventure party. ”

"And that's probably the only record in the world related to my mother's girlhood." She paused slightly: "In this royal palace, only me, my father, and Afifa have seen this image. The girl in the image...... She looks exactly like Miss Afifa. ”

"Huh?"

Sky Blue cried out in surprise.

Princess Rupert also asked, "Has Mr. Ed seen the crystal too?" ”

Fang Yu shook his head.

"That's not right," Azure muttered in a low voice, "Brother Ed, how do you know?" ”

But Her Royal Highness the princess was very calm: "But Mr. Ed, you must have come to tell me about it, right?" ”

This time, Fang Yu nodded.

Then he began with everything that had happened in Bein Fortress, about his conversation with Bishop Farris, about the Emerald Star, about the plan between Count Nurman and Barbartan, the King of Sands. Talking about the Eternals, talking about the creation of the elves, talking about the dragon soul crystal and that absurd alchemy trend-

Finally, I went back to Istania, to the other Miss Afifa.

"So," Her Royal Highness the Princess asked, after hearing this, "that girl is the 'creation' of my father and the mystics?" ”

"Exactly...... That's a replica of your mother. ”

Fang Yu hesitated for a moment before saying this.

"But she is not my mother," Her Royal Highness shook her head, "although she may be exactly the same on the outside, but on the inside is a completely different soul, that girl is quiet and restrained...... And my mother, who was passionate and determined in her girlhood, will definitely accomplish whatever she believes it will do...... It's not that kind of character, and it won't be an adventurer. ”

"And my father, the king, must have fallen in love with my queen mother like this—"

Fang Yu was speechless for a while.

Count Nurman had told him not long ago that there was no such thing as eternity, and since then, he had vaguely guessed that the plan of Barbartan, the King of Sands, might have failed.

They created a shell of a former princess, but as the alchemists of yesteryear had with it, they were unable to create a soul to match. And the passionate and brave soul of the past has long since left this world forever with the passing of that beautiful and determined man.

It is doomed, and people can't bring it back from the old days by any means—

Perhaps this is the reason why every name around you is worth cherishing, because once you miss it, you will only have endless regrets.

Fang Yu involuntarily turned his head to look, just in time to see the noble lady's gaze, he couldn't help but hold the other party's hand. An unrealistic wish suddenly arose in his heart, hoping that he could hold on to this moment forever until the end of time.

Sylvide smiled slightly.

But the Sand King's plan failed, and some did not.

From the moment Afifa was taken away, Fang Plover had already guessed this, and the Sand King Babartan wanted to leave a 'clean' future for Istania in order to avoid the tragedy of his lover from repeating itself on the land. He wanted his children to no longer live under the machinations of the dark believers—but how could the Seneman look like a fool as a 'servant' of the blind followers?

Judging from Achilles' dark chess, the blind followers may have known about the Sand King's plan.

Fang Yu was not at all optimistic about the plan of the Sand King.

Even as DeLand argues, this plan could not only fail, but even have more serious consequences.

The fragments of the Emerald Star in the illusory sea may be the root of everything.

and—the mystic maiden.

"Your Royal Highness Princess," Fang Yu breathed a sigh of relief, he originally thought that it would take a lot of twists and turns, but he didn't expect it to be so smooth.

"Now that you understand that this is a misunderstanding, you must know that your father is in danger right now, and that the plans of the blind followers may even threaten the kingdom. The only chance now is for us to take Miss Afifa and join you to persuade His Majesty the Sand King to change his mind before it's too late—"

But Princess Rupert shook her head slightly.

"I understand all this, but it still doesn't mean that I can choose to forgive."

"Why," Fang Yu was taken aback: "Your Royal Highness, your father is not a murderer, but the real murderer is preparing to recreate everything in the past again. ”

"Mr. Eddard, what I can't forgive is what my father thinks in his heart—because whether or not the soul in that 'Afifa' is the same as my mother's, it is not my mother."

Her Royal Highness sighed lightly: "That's just another person, my father is not looking for my mother, but a substitute. The reason for his failure is not that he did not find his lover, but that even this replacement is not perfect. ”

"But the one he really ought to love should be Afifa," she replied softly, "that is the only memory my mother has left for him, that is his daughter, the one who really worries about him day and night...... It's the people around him. ”

"What a king should remember should not be the past, but the present. And the reason why I investigated my mother's death was precisely to find out the black hand hidden in this sea of sand, so that everything in the past would not be repeated, but not to recall the past. The best memory of my mother is that the future of Istania, a peaceful country in which she lived, will be even better—"

"And the silver ship will depart from here and connect with that new world. That's the tomorrow she has in mind, and the adventure she yearns for. ”

"I don't want my sister," Princess Rupert said in a low voice, "Afifa, live in a future full of shadows. ”

Fang Yu listened to this passage quietly.

The others didn't say a word either.

He understood that what Princess Celestia was talking about was only Afifa, but in fact, she also had herself.

Because she is also the blood of the king of sand, the princess.

But she was an older sister, and he saw in this eldest princess something called steadfastness, just like her queen mother.

But did the King of Sand really not love this daughter, and if he hadn't, he might not have fallen into this huge trap because of this. The king was haunted by the nightmares of the past, and could not shake off the sorrow for what had happened ten years ago, so he could not make the right judgment as he did when he was young—

But for his children, he never let down.

Fang Yu subconsciously thought of the celebration of the Star Ceremony.

On top of the celebration, the Lord of Sands, Barbartan, said to his eldest son.

He may not be a good king anymore, but he must be a good father.

It's just that after listening to the words of Her Royal Highness the princess in front of him, Fang Yu didn't know how to speak for a while. Deres asked him to rebuild the bridge between Her Royal Highness and her father, which might not have sounded difficult—but when it came, he found out. As an outsider, what can you use to reconstruct the relationship between the two parties?

He thought it was just a misunderstanding, but it seemed far from a misunderstanding.

The blind follower may see more accurately than he does, so he will attack here.

But after saying this, Her Royal Highness turned around, slowly picked up the crystal from the table, and handed it back to them.

She paused for a moment before she spoke, "I can't leave the Kasan Palace, because as soon as I leave, Achilles and those behind him will be on alert. I'm worried that this will fall short and lead to the worst-case scenario being premature. ”

Princess Rupert let out a sigh of relief: "But you say that I am the only one who can persuade my father to change his mind, but in fact, it is not true, there is another person who can do the same thing...... Take Aphifa, my sister, and bring her back to my father. Maybe she was the only one who could convince the man and make him change his mind......"

"And that girl, in fact, I have already sent someone to check, she is no longer in the Kasan Palace, and may have been taken away by the blind followers, perhaps in the hands of my father. If you want to find someone, you can bring her back with you. ”

"By the way," she said suddenly, "I apologize to her on my behalf." She didn't know anything about it, and I shouldn't have implicated her in such a thing as this happened. ”

And Fang Yu held the crystal in a daze, and was stunned for a while.

As for the matter of Afifa, he was actually prepared, and the blind followers took Afifa away, so naturally they would not let her stay in the Kashan Palace.

With Achilles intervening, it would not be difficult to get him out of the palace without knowing it. And it was probably discovered that Her Royal Highness would believe them without being too suspicious.

It's just that......

"Your Highness the Princess?" He was still a little incomprehensible.

But Princess Rupert only said quietly:

"He's my father, Mr. Eddard."

"And I want him to live."

……

Wonderful Book House