Chapter 713: Integration

The new king of Vinito had only one daughter, he was not dissatisfied, he loved his wife very much, and he loved his daughter very much, he was not the smartest of the merchants, and he lacked courage, so to speak, quite mediocre, so when they mingled with a group of thieves, he would rather suffer a little loss in the trade than follow them, but he was not an idiot either, and as the undercurrent beneath Vinito's calm surface became more and more turbulent, he also had plans to leave Vinito, for example, the fortress of Cape di was good, which was said to be controlled by the council of merchants- He didn't want to be one of them, but with the gold and connections he had gathered over the decades, it shouldn't be difficult to take his place in that quiet and rich city. But that thought came to naught when he was picked out by the girl with the jeweled eyes from a group of terrified merchants like a not-so-rotten apple.

He knew that the people of Crefa despised him because he was just a puppet, and he knew that Vinito's people hated him, and because he was just a puppet, he was a meatloaf sandwiched between the discus pans and baked back and forth, and he felt like he was making a scorched sound no matter who he was facing at any moment. His daughter was his only consolation, and he had to see her every day, no matter how busy she was, and for this little comfort, he even dared to quarrel with the dangerous red-robed warlocks.

It's just that he's been busy with a new question all day today— Ironically, the people of Vinito considered him a traitor to the state, and although they themselves did not dare to say anything to the Crèches, they were quite justified in accusing him, and they even wanted to use this as a weakness to blackmail him into doing things for them for free and without compensation, and what they demanded was the route of the Crefa, the one that would keep merchant ships safe from pirates and thieves, and they had sailed this route before, but at that time, it was very expensive— And now, they believe that the Crane has usurped their country, and they should make some compensation to them, and they want to command the Crane at a price that is so cheap that they almost abandon the bottom line......

It's ridiculous, it's really ridiculous, Vinito's puppet king laughed on the spot, he was also a merchant, how could they think that he would risk being humiliated, tortured or even executed on the spot to beg for a reward for a group of people who looked down on him, hated him, and mocked him? He rejected them, and threw them out, intimidating them with the Warlocks and Knights of the Crèche, and how comical it was when the evil words of these men were shoved down their throats with fear, and he almost had to let his daughter appreciate them— At this thought of this, his heart ached again, and he drove them out, and soon after, he heard that they cursed him in the streets, and his daughter, who they said that because of her father's sins, she would become a prostitute and a beggar with no place to go, and that she would go about in exile and be torn apart and devoured by wild dogs. Alas, they did pierce the hearts of this father, and the king quickly threw them into prison, and then raided their home, and in their mouths he had become a vicious treacherous villain, a tyrant who had betrayed the country, a despicable impostor, destined to die a bad death, and why should he show mercy to them because he was a fellow Venito.

"You should have done this a long time ago. A red-robed warlock of Kriffa said this, indeed, after this time, the situation of Vinito had subtly calmed down again—and then there were people who came to see the king, also for the route of Kriva, but this time they did not come with only their tongues, boxes of silk, boxes of jewels, and tens of thousands of gold coins, all of which were their sincerity, and only hoped that His Majesty would mediate on their behalf. Originally, they didn't have to pay so much, and the law of Crèsa was two out of ten, but it undoubtedly included bribes for the king, and the king did not hesitate to accept it after a moment's hesitation, he expected that he might not die a good death as they had cursed, but before he lost his usefulness, he would find a good husband for his daughters, and then let them leave Vinito forever.

But it was for this reason that he suddenly and desperately wanted to see his daughter, who he would never disturb in the past when everything had fallen asleep in the middle of the night, but today he walked hastily through the dark corridors, not even noticing the attendants and maids who did not salute him.

Outside the door, he calmed his breath a little, kicked off his shoes, let his feet barefoot on the somewhat cold and damp stone floor, and walked into his daughter's room. As the king's only heir, his daughter's room was extremely luxurious and spacious, including three rooms, a small hall after the entrance, a side room for bathing and cleaning, and a bedroom on the other side, the door of the bedroom was open, the king frowned slightly, was this the lady's negligence, or was it a naughty wind? He was worried that his daughter would be hurt by the cold wind of the night, so he hurried over. But to his surprise, the long windows on both sides of the room were tightly closed, and the curtains hung low, leaving only a glimmer of cobalt blue skylight, and the rest of the room was wrapped in darkness.

The king raised his hand, spun the ring on his hand, and a faint white light poured out of the inlaid fluorite, and then he saw a man who was not supposed to be here at all.

"Your Excellency!"

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"Shhhh The girl with jewel eyes raised a finger to her lips: "Don't be so loud, Your Majesty, if it weren't for my spell, your daughter would have been woken up by you." ”

The king felt only his knees weaken, he had seen how the vicious dragontooth knights and the bloodthirsty red-robed warlocks groveled before the maiden, even if some fools said that they were only bewitched by her beauty, but when a strong man saw something he loved, his first thought was only plunder, especially since these people were from Grenada- Because he had always been timid, he probably knew more about danger than anyone else, so although he didn't want to go to Grenada, he knew Grenada and its people well. He didn't feel at all that this girl was really as soft and fragile as she looked, and she had nothing but inexplicable charm.

The faint light, and his increasingly fading eyesight, prevented the king from really seeing Afra's face, but Afra's power was never released by tangible matter, and the king's heart suddenly calmed, and his mind told him that it was not true, but he sat down uncontrollably on his knees, letting all vigilance and precaution fly away from him.

"Your daughter is lovely. Afra said. This is true, the king she chose was quite mediocre even in appearance, but his daughter may have inherited her mother's face, with a round face, fawn-like eyes, delicate ears and lips, and a beautiful rosy skin, she may not have a gorgeous face when she grows up, but she will certainly be very endeared and cherished.

"Your Excellency," pleaded the king.......

"Don't worry," said Afra with rare kindness, "I'm not going to do anything to her, though there is something she needs to do. ”

"Don't, please, don't," said the king, weeping, "can't the others, or me?, let me go, she's still a little child, she can't do anything, she'll do something wrong, delay your time, your honorable lord, let me go, let me go." ”

He waited in fear, but in the darkness, Afra was silent for a while, and then shook her head, her movements were so subtle, but as an old father, the king was the first to notice it, and he fell to the ground and wept, but in his cry, in addition to sorrow, there was also this decisive hatred. If she really wanted this little girl to die, or fall into a situation worse than death, even if this man was just a mortal who couldn't even lift a short sword, he would definitely look for any opportunity he could find, just to give her a fatal blow.

Afra heard her own voice, but it was strange, it was a voice that was unfamiliar to herself, maybe it was because it was too gentle, "I didn't want your daughter to do anything dangerous or anything else that made her feel miserable," was she comforting the old mortal?" I just found a husband for her. ”

The king's weeping stopped, and though it may have been the beginning of a painful ordeal, he could still feel hope growing in his heart: "A husband?" he asked, choking up, "but my daughter is only eleven years old." ”

"Eleven years old does not prevent the marriage contract," says Afra, "especially for the king." Dear Your Majesty, your daughter will become a queen. ”

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I must be crazy, thought Vinito's puppet king, perhaps I was just dreaming for a long time, otherwise how could it be so absurd, not only would his daughter be Tara's queen, and when her children came of age, they would be able to inherit the kingdom after the merger of Tara and Vinito, but also that Crefa's agent, a dangerous and noble man, would be willing to answer his questions from late night until dawn.

But the letter in his hand was not a fake, it was stamped with the seal of King Tara, and since he became king, he had seen the exact same pattern on old papers and scrolls more than once, except that the wax on the letter was different, and that was because Tara's royal family had been replaced by another family, and after a while, King Tara's seal would also be added to the family's emblem, and perhaps the symbol of his daughter, if it was true that Afra said, they could have one or many children.

But Afra said this, in the darkest hour before dawn, she stood with her head held high, and a blue-white light emanated from her, and her countenance and expression were so beautiful and so sacred, and the light in her jeweled eyes was so intense that it seemed to overflow her socketsβ€”she held out a hand and pointed to his daughter, and said that she would have three sons and a daughter, and that her eldest son would inherit Vinito and Tara. Somehow, it occurred to the king, and she reminded him of the gods, and though he had never seen a single demigod, that's what Afra had told him, and he bowed his head after the first sight and prostrated himself on the ground, almost fainting in honor of being illuminated by her glory.

The king stood up blankly, his cheeks still taut with tears on his cheeks, he raised his hand to rub them off, then opened the rolled parchment, and once again read the letter carefully and in detail, it was the new king of Tara's own handwriting, and it could be said that he had shown absolute sincerity, and as he said, it was a good thing for them, as well as for Vinito and Tara. Although the man, at the end of the letter, hesitantly told King Vinito that he was in his thirties, his former wife had died many years ago, and he had no children, legitimate or illegal...... If possible, his children would have been born to King ViΓ±ato's eldest daughterβ€”a promise that could not have been better for a loving old father.

The king of Vinito folded the letter and let out a long sigh.

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Afra leapt off Keo's back and threw herself into the arms of the dark-haired guardian standing in the courtyard, she looked up at the golden morning light that was chasing it, knowing that the time for replacement was coming, she seized this last bit of time, buried her face tightly in Cremar's chest, and greedily sniffed his scent, it was the same body, but Afra always felt that she could smell the scent of her soul.

"What's the matter? Afra, are you in any danger?" the otherworldly soul asked worriedly, gently stroking Afra's hair and back, the girl's fingers were deeply embedded in his back, almost deep into the flesh, but this pain was almost negligible to it now, and what it didn't understand was why Afra's emotions suddenly became so violent and chaotic, like a whirlpool in the deep sea, her tense limbs reminded him of the first time he saw Afraβ€” It's like it's going to be destroyed at any moment, or to be destroyed.

But Afra just hung her head and remained silent.

The soul of the other world could already feel the feeling of fallingβ€”its time was running out, and it looked to the other side of the courtyard, where Kerry was standing under a laurel tree with dense foliage, and he was looking at it, bowing slightly, indicating that it had received a distress signal from the soul of the other world.

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Kerryben reached out and took Afra from the lich's hand.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" the former undead asked.

"Yes," said Kerryben, "but not you." ”[.]