Volume 2, Chapter 28 – A Moment of Peace

The sunset painted the distant sky a reddish-orange, but thick clouds were gathering, and the air had become muggy. The yellowish earth and the faint rumble of thunder in the distance foretold the coming of a summer downpour.

If it had been yesterday, the heavy rain would have surely made the people in the sanctuary feel even more despair. It was easy to catch a cold after getting wet in the rain, and there were no antibiotics in this world. Once a cold developed into a fever or even pneumonia, the mortality rate would be extraordinarily high. But for the people in the sanctuary at this moment, the thundering rain, besides making them a little nervous, could not bring any more negative emotions.

On just the first day, Fia had displayed a miraculous efficiency in cleansing the chaos. The chaos in the western district had been completely cleared. Only a sliver of chaos remained in the northern district, clinging to life. People could already move into the houses near the sanctuary without worrying about the chaos counterattacking—people had discovered that wherever the firestorm swept, the chaos would not return. Although they didn’t know the reason, it didn’t stop them from moving into the houses with roofs.

Thanks to this, the survivors rescued from the ruins received proper care. Most of them were just too weak to walk from hunger, and their injuries were not so severe that they couldn’t stand up. After receiving nutrients and a good rest, they were already able to get out of bed and do small tasks like bringing water and food to the medical staff.

“Each person can only take one, no snatching others’ candy.”

“The little ones who get the candy will have to give out dinner to the injured adults. Those who do a good job can come back and get another piece of candy.”

“Okay~”

“We promise to deliver it!”

Upon receiving the candy distributed by Liti and Fia, the children in the sanctuary patted their chests and promised, like they were fighting over their own food, and flocked to the food distribution point where Estelle and Anastasia were.

There weren’t many children in the sanctuary, but they were a group that was criticized by some. Children couldn’t serve as labor in a time of disaster and would also consume food. Some people were not fond of them. So Liti came up with the idea of using candy as a reward to have the children deliver dinner to the injured. This kind of work was not difficult and could also reduce the frequency of the children being given the cold shoulder, enlivening the atmosphere of the sanctuary. It was a win-win situation.

“Princess Liti is simply an angel.”

“How can an elf be an angel, you fool?”

“I heard there are also elf angels in the Elf Kingdom. But compared to Princess Liti, I think Lady Fia is more like an angel. Lady Fia can not only create food for everyone but also has glowing wings behind her. That’s a real angel.”

“Six wings belong to a divine messenger, right? Princess Liti is an angel, and Lady Fia is a divine messenger. That way, we don’t have to argue.”

“Nonsense, Lady Fia is an angel!”

“Princess Liti is!”

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The argument grew louder, almost to the point of becoming a fight. If not for the soldiers who were maintaining order, who quickly separated the two groups of children, it would have turned into a brawl in no time—the children’s ages ranged from seven or eight to fourteen. In the World Tree Continent, the age of adulthood for humans was fifteen.

Liti, who was watching from not far away, wrapped her fingers around a purple strand of her hair and showed a troubled smile.

“To be called an angel… Sister is the angel. I’m just basking in sister’s glory, which is why I can give them candy.”

This girl is clearly very happy.

Seeing Liti’s shy expression as she turned her head, Fia couldn’t help but complain internally. Liti might have genuinely thought that “sister is the angel” in her heart, but her saying it out loud clearly had an ulterior motive. She was deliberately saying it for the soldiers standing nearby to hear.

As proof, the soldiers who heard Liti’s words all showed expressions as if they had seen an angel. The fervor in their eyes was so intense they were just short of lunging at her and swearing their loyalty.

Very happy with the soldiers’ reaction, Liti jumped up and wrapped her arm around Fia’s, her cheek affectionately pressed against Fia’s body. The expressions of the soldiers around them immediately became even more fervent, so much so that Fia felt the air had become sticky.

If I weren’t an elf princess but a man, the soldiers’ gazes would surely kill me. Fia couldn’t help but think this. This younger sister of mine is too good at playing with people’s hearts. When she grows up, she’ll definitely be able to string along several men at once while still being seen as an innocent maiden.

Since Liti isn’t causing any trouble or bothering anyone, I’ll just leave her be for now.

After observing her for some time, Fia was now certain that Liti loved being called “pitifully cute” and “innocent and kind” by others—even though she wasn’t that kind of person at all.

Interestingly, just as the children were divided into Liti’s faction and Fia’s faction, not all adults fell for Liti’s act. There were also people in the sanctuary who liked Fia, a girl with a cold expression and immense power.

Especially when Fia unfurled her six-petaled light wings, her appearance, which was like that of a divine messenger, filled countless people with a sense of worship. Some people even secretly regarded Fia as a Holy Son who had a connection with the gods. Most of these people were the ones who had followed Fia to cleanse the chaos during the day. After witnessing Fia’s brutality with their own eyes, Liti’s innocence and kindness seemed incredibly fragile. If they could marry an elf princess like her, they would surely have a status that was second to none. More importantly, they would gain an incredibly strong sense of security.

Of course, what was more important was that both princesses possessed looks that could topple nations and steal people’s hearts. In terms of looks, although the average elf was already very good-looking and it was rare to find an exceptionally ugly elf, Fia and Liti’s looks were top-of-the-line even among elves.

Fia couldn’t help but sigh while poking Liti’s forehead with her finger.

“You, you should really learn to restrain yourself. Most of these people are married men.”

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“Eh? What are you talking about, sister?”

Liti raised her rose-colored innocent eyes and blinked in confusion.

Fia didn’t answer. Instead, she pinched Liti’s small nose, which made Liti let out a cry of pain. Her eyes red with tears, Liti protested.

“Yo-you should be happy, sister. Everyone likes me, but I only like you, sister.”

“I never told you to do that, Liti. And what you’re saying can be easily misunderstood.”

Fia’s face was filled with helplessness. She subconsciously glanced at the long line of people who were waiting for food, and the people nearby all lowered their heads, pretending not to be looking at Fia. Most of them were the people who had gone with Fia to cleanse the chaos in the city during the day. They were in the line for food not because they were hungry (they had already eaten a meal earlier) but to get closer and take a look at Fia, who was supervising the order. When it was almost their turn, they would leave the line and rejoin it again.

Although Estelle was also respected, she had the qualities of a lord. People were well aware of a lord’s authority and dignity. Compared to Fia, who was an elf princess, she naturally had less mystery and a feeling of closeness.

It took Fia five minutes to figure out the purpose of these people who were maliciously lining up. As for how Fia figured it out, it was because a soldier was pulled out of the line by his wife, who was grabbing his ear. Before the woman left, she gave Fia and Liti a complicated look, which made Liti quietly mock Fia that her sister was no better; they were both seductive vixens.

This incident made Fia realize that being popular wasn’t always a good thing. She could understand the feeling of a man who saw a beautiful woman and couldn’t help but want to take a second look. But if it were to ruin a family’s harmony, that would be a problem.

To prevent a similar incident from happening again, Fia quickly left the food distribution point with Liti and Anastasia—although Anastasia had the Sinner’s Brand on her face, her perfect figure and elegant demeanor still attracted a lot of people.

It was worth mentioning that when Fia’s group of three left, another group of people showed a look of disappointment. They were the people who wanted to get candy from Fia and Liti. In this world, candy was a rare commodity. Only nobles could afford to enjoy it. The only sweet things people could get were honey and fruits. So when people saw that the children could get candy by delivering food to the injured, they also thought they could get candy by working.

To this, Fia chose to pretend she didn’t see it. The candy she had was something she had requested from the church before they left. Her purpose was to enrich Liti’s diet. Although Liti seemed to have gotten tired of candy, considering that there wasn’t enough candy to be given to everyone, it would be troublesome if they ran out of it when they needed it. So it was better for the adults to be patient.

The three of them walked along the desolate streets they had cleared this morning. At this time, they could already see soldiers salvaging supplies from the ruined houses—money, food, jewelry, and even bows, swords, and magical items. Although they were the private property of the people of Oro City, now that their owners were dead, they had become the private property of the lord and would be used as a part of the city’s reconstruction.

The reason Fia had not just burned the entire city with a large fire to clear out the chaos after rescuing the people was to preserve the property in the houses.

Seeing Fia approach, a few people dressed as nobles who were commanding the soldiers to move supplies ran over. They were all young individual, and among them were two women who looked like officials. All of them showed a look of goodwill and genuine respect.

“Good evening, Lady Fia.”

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“Lady Fia, do you need me to accompany you?”

“No, you should go about your business. I’m just taking a walk. The city’s reconstruction is all up to you.”

Fia smiled and declined the nobles’ offer. The nobles, however, looked very nervous.

“It should be up to you, Princess Fia. Everyone is a witness to your divine power. If not for you, I would have surely died in the carriage.”

“That’s right. That’s right. There are only a few princesses who are as powerful and gentle as you on the entire continent.”

Died in the carriage… Could these be the lower nobles who were against Estelle’s rule?

The ones who had met the chaos ambush and then escaped in the carriage, almost getting killed by chaos.

Fia hesitated for a moment.

Although it was only natural for them to come and thank her since she had saved them, considering their character, they might also be people who were just trying to curry favor with her. Not to mention their shortsightedness and selfishness were despicable. Fia didn’t want to deal with these lower nobles.

After tactfully refusing the nobles’ invitation and gifts, Fia quickly left with a smile on the nobles’ fawning faces.

They were truly an unpleasant group of people.

“Sister, you didn’t like those people just now?”

Reading Fia’s thoughts from her expressionless face, Liti asked cautiously.

Fia pursed her lips.

“Of course not.”

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“There are many such nobles in the royal capital, you know. Count Lafaria and Count Reinhardt are both opportunists who only care about money. Although they are not likable, their territories are very wealthy, and they have good relationships with several of the queen consorts and ministers. They can get to my father through the Minister of Military and Political Affairs and the queen consorts and create baseless rumors. Many things in the royal capital are decided by them. If you can’t get used to them, sister, you’ll definitely have a lot of trouble when you get back.”

Since Fia had an indifferent expression on her face, Liti had no choice but to emphasize it patiently.

“They belong to Prince Shayne’s faction and have always been on bad terms with you, sister. Before, you always kept your meetings with them to a minimum. And because you did everything perfectly and had father’s trust, they couldn’t criticize you. But when you go back this time, you’ll not only have to deal with your amnesia and the matter of Sister Claire but also speak up for Sister Ana. They will surely point fingers at you. They might even use the fact that you’ve been putting off your engagement as an excuse to cause trouble for you. Sister, you should train your patience a little. You can’t show your dislike for someone on your face. Smiling and talking with people you don’t like is also a part of being a noble.” ¹ Liti… do you think anyone there can restrain her?… smh

“Prince Shayne?”

Fia’s eyes widened slightly. Along the way, whenever she had free time, Fia would study magic, so Anastasia hadn’t had a chance to tell her about the matters in the royal palace. This was the first time Fia had heard about the different factions.

Anastasia explained in a low voice.

“Prince Shayne is His Majesty’s younger brother and also has the right to inherit the throne. He was given the title of Prince of the Northern Frontier by His Majesty and lives in a remote part of the barren lands to the north. Under normal circumstances, he should have given up on the struggle for the throne and enjoyed the stipend of the royal family. But he has been training his troops and hoarding provisions, which makes one wonder about his intentions.”

“So, that Prince Shayne is in close contact with the nobles who hold power and is always coveting the throne?”

“Exactly.”

“Ahaha,” Fia waved her hand dismissively. “They’re just gnats. No need to pay any attention to them. Scheming against them is unnecessary.”

It wasn’t that Fia was incapable of hiding her thoughts. She simply didn’t do it because there was no need. They didn’t have the leverage to make her go to the trouble of doing so.

“But sister, they have a very powerful army. The reason you didn’t want to deal with them before was that you knew they had a lot of power. If you offend them at a time like this—”

“Liti, you’re worrying too much.” Cutting Liti off before her anxious voice could fall, Fia smiled and gently patted Liti’s head. “Don’t worry. I have my ways.”

“Indeed. With the strength Your Highness has displayed, defeating a Moon Dragon alone and killing a Despair Demon General with a doppelganger ability, there is probably no one in court who can threaten you besides His Majesty. And if you add Miss Claire’s forbidden spell, I don’t think Prince Shayne can stir up any trouble. No… Miss Claire alone is enough to intimidate all four corners of the world.”

“I’m not planning on leaving everything to Claire. Well, those things can wait until we get back to the royal palace. Let’s talk about the matters at hand first,” At this, Fia’s expression turned serious, as if she were discussing something important. “Anastasia, did you encounter anything suspicious today?”