Volume 5, Chapter 9 – The Gray-Haired Girl and the Fire Cat’s Holy Son

“W-Welcome, Your Highness, the Eldest Princess.”

Just as Fia had anticipated, when she arrived at the main city gate of the Yureidon territory after finishing [Rain of Serenity], she was met by Count Yureidon and a group of other nobles, their faces etched with reverence and sycophancy as they bowed deeply to welcome her.

Perhaps because they had only just received news of her arrival and their preparations were rushed, some nobles hadn’t even straightened their clothes. Their hair was a mess, and the collars of their formal attire were wide open—a state of dress that would have gotten them thrown out of the royal capital if the Royal Guard had seen them. Not only that, but their clothing was also predominantly gray, indicating a standard of living vastly different from the nobles of the capital.

“This is my first time in Yureidon territory… I feel like the houses here aren’t much different from the Cold Night next door. They’re all so low.”

“Life is hard.”

Liti and Milu, following behind Fia, whispered to each other as they looked around.

Just as the two little ones said, the situation in Yureidon territory was not good. The castle area on the mountaintop was for the nobles, while the rest of the mountain was covered in rows of low wooden houses for the commoners. The people on the streets wore exceptionally simple clothes, either short linen shirts or coarse cloth sleeveless tops. The ground wasn’t paved with stone slabs, and with people coming and going, the streets were filled with dust.

She remembered that before her departure, some of the nobles seeing her off had called Count Yureidon a country noble with looks of disdain. Now it seemed that the prosperity of Blossom truly far surpassed other parts of the elf country. The development of Yureidon territory was on par with a human nation, and even a bit behind the Milcandis Holy Kingdom.

With a smile befitting a princess’s etiquette, Fia gave a slight wave of her hand.

“There is no need for a ceremony, Count Yureidon. I have only come to restore the disaster-stricken Yureidon territory, not for a vacation. Let’s keep everything simple.”

“A v-vacation,” the Count, with a slight paunch and the look of a forty-year-old corporate drone, gave a wry smile. “Even if Your Highness were truly on vacation, you wouldn’t come to a remote place like ours. If you don’t mind, please stay in my castle during the restoration of the ley lines. I will host you and the Third Princess here with the highest standards of etiquette.”

Pausing for a moment, Count Yureidon wrung his hands, looking rather embarrassed.

“I heard from the messenger who came to announce your arrival that you intend to restore the damaged ley lines in the territory. May I ask when Your Highness will begin? I’m not sure if you noticed on your way, but because of the damaged ley lines, even the sky has become erratic, switching between day and night. Everyone in the city is very anxious.”

That’s probably the effect of [Rain of Serenity], Fia answered in her head. She had been using the spell continuously on the way to the castle. Thanks to that, the three chattering old men had, for the first time in a long while, remained silent, as if they had lost the ability to speak.

Fia smiled and replied.

“I have already restored the damaged ley lines in Yureidon territory on my way here. Over the next two days, I will need you, Lord Count, to send people to carefully inspect the recovery situation. If there are any missed areas, I will go and fill them in.”

“The l-ley lines have already been restored? Then the subsequent aid supplies…”

The slightly overweight Count’s face turned grim, but in just an instant, he resumed his original fawning expression. He bowed slightly, stepped aside, and made an inviting gesture to Fia.

“To have the renowned Eldest Princess personally restore the ley lines is truly a blessing for Yureidon territory. The power you have shown has already surpassed His Majesty. In the future, Your Highness will surely lead Silvar to become an unprecedentedly strong nation on the World Tree Continent. I will send people to inspect the recovery of the surrounding ley lines shortly. Your Highness must be weary from your journey, please rest in the castle first.”

“Mm, thank you for your hospitality.”

After the simple pleasantries, Fia stepped onto the carriage with Anastasia’s help. The local nobles, led by Count Yureidon, walked on either side of the carriage.

However, just as Fia stepped onto the driver’s seat, an extremely abrupt commotion came from ahead. Fia subconsciously looked up and saw a group of guards surrounding a tall figure wearing a hood, completely shrouded in a large black robe. It seemed this tall figure was unwilling to make way and was thus being treated as a ruffian by the spear-wielding soldiers.

In this world, when royalty traveled, pedestrians on the side of the road had to kneel. To stand stiffly in the middle of the road was a capital offense punishable by on-the-spot execution.

Seeing Fia’s questioning gaze, Count Yureidon’s brow furrowed. He quickly craned his neck to look ahead, not forgetting to shout and ask what was happening. In response, a short figure who looked like an adjutant hurried over to the Count and whispered something to him.

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In an instant, the Count’s face fell.

“I already said I would settle the people he brought. Why is he still pestering me? Tell him that the person in this carriage is the Eldest Princess of the Empire. If he bothers me again, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I only agreed to take in the refugees because that girl begged me so pitifully. Now he’s pushing his luck.”

“Yureidon, you go back on your word.”

Seemingly hearing the Count’s resentful voice, the man hidden in the black robe retorted with a low growl. He ignored the spears pointed at him by the surrounding soldiers and walked straight towards the Count. And at that moment, as if afraid of something, the Count waved his right hand in a fit of rage.

“What are you standing around for? He dared to stop the royal carriage! Kill this insolent fool for me!”

No one disobeyed the Count. Dozens of spear-wielding soldiers thrust their weapons at the black-robed man in unison. However, there was no sound of piercing flesh. Instead, a series of clanging sounds, as if striking solid scales, rang out.

“Wait.”

Standing on the driver’s seat of the carriage, Fia frowned and intervened. She recognized the man’s voice, and [Wind of Exploration] told her that the Count was no match for him. However, as if he hadn’t heard, the Count yelled at his men with an even louder voice.

“Are you not going to eat? Kill him!” ¹ Why are you so weak? Go kill him!

“Her Highness told you to stop!” Anastasia stood up at once, drew her mithril sword, and pointed it at the soldiers. “Those who defy a military order shall be executed!”

“Uh…”

For a moment, all the soldiers were at a loss. As vassals of Count Yureidon, they couldn’t disobey his orders. But on the other hand was the renowned Eldest Princess of the Empire. They could only stand frozen in place.

Knowing he couldn’t win against Fia, Count Yureidon had no choice but to look up at her on the carriage and plead urgently.

“Your Highness, the Eldest Princess, this man stopped your carriage. He should be beheaded—”

“Shut up.”

Before the Count could finish, Fia cut him off with a frown. She turned to the man who was walking towards them, surrounded by soldiers, her doll-like features showing a hint of helplessness.

“Radric, how did you become human?”

“Hmm?”

The man called Radric paused his steps. He threw back his hood and face covering, revealing the noble visage hidden beneath—not a human face, but the head of a giant dragon covered in black scales. This was none other than the Moon Dragon Radric, who had attacked Fia in Aurora City after being corroded by a Seed of Chaos. Although their sizes were vastly different, both his voice and his mana level matched Radric’s characteristics.

Radric’s relentless momentum vanished in an instant. His gaze flickered back and forth between Fia and Count Yureidon, finally settling on Fia.

“Elf princess? You’re with him?”

“No, I just arrived today. You’d better explain why you’re in Silvar. If you cause a disaster in my territory, I will not let you off lightly.”

At this, Fia glanced down at the nervous Count, who was backing away step by step. Without needing a signal from Fia, Anastasia had already jumped off the carriage and grabbed the Count’s shoulder to prevent him from escaping.

“Count Yureidon, it seems you and Radric have some sort of agreement. Why don’t we sit down and discuss it seriously?”

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“Th-th-that is natural… Please, come to my castle—”

“Go to your castle, and be caught in your traps? Elf princess, don’t fall for his tricks. Come to our residence. It’s a good thing you’re here. I have something to show you. Perhaps I can repay the favor I owe you from before.”

Lifting his proud dragon head, Radric cast a contemptuous look at the Count. Without waiting for Fia’s reply, he took the lead and walked in front of the convoy.

Although I don’t know the details, dragons like Radric are straightforward, and Count Yureidon seems to be hiding something. I should probably hear Radric’s side of the story.

Without another word, Radric soon led the soldiers and carriages to a district filled with broken rubble and collapsed beams. This place was even worse than the slums of Aurora City. There were not even a few simple wooden sheds to be seen. Most of the emaciated people were lying on pieces of cloth laid out in the ruins to sleep.

Although it was winter, these people were sleeping in the open. Not only that, but their bodies were covered in filth and frostbite. They could only rely on hugging their children and their belongings for warmth. Fia could see the curious eyes of the children peeking out from the gaps in the adults’ arms.

In addition, there were many injured people around. They either had their arms wrapped in bandages or had dressings on their ears and legs. What was most surprising was that only a very small portion of them were elves; most were beastfolk. They looked as if they had traveled a long way to flee here.

“This is the place.” Radric stopped, looking back at Count Yureidon with unfriendly eyes. “You still haven’t delivered a single thing you promised us. I saw you and those nobles in the castle dividing up the food and winter clothes. If you can’t give us a portion, then return the items to Tilulu.”

“Th-th-this… It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that it hasn’t arrived…”

Halfway through his sentence, Count Yureidon lowered his head and fell silent.

Anastasia’s brows furrowed tightly, just short of walking up and grabbing the Count by the collar.

“The items haven’t arrived, yet you’re dividing food and clothes with the nobles? Did you embezzle the supplies the Empire allocated for disaster relief?”

“A-absolutely not! Those were my own things! The Empire’s aid supplies haven’t reached me yet!”

“Nonsense! On my way here, I saw with my own eyes the supplies being transported by dragon carts! It’s been two months since the Abyss appeared. How could the Empire’s supplies not have reached you yet!”

Faced with Anastasia’s questioning, Count Yureidon’s gaze darted about. The other nearby nobles backed away, as if to distance themselves from him.

“The part that has arrived, I… I’ve already given it all to the victims.”

“Then why did you say before that the items hadn’t arrived?”

“That’s because—”

Continuing this would get them nowhere. Fia decided to speak up directly. She gave an order to Nagg, who had also alighted from the carriage behind her.

“Nagg, take Count Yureidon back to the castle and find out the whereabouts of the imperial aid supplies. I want to see the ledgers.”

“Yes.” Nagg bowed respectfully to Fia, then turned to the Count like a gentleman. “Lord Count, please come back to the castle with us. We are the administrators of the Third and Twelfth High Elf Towers, so please do not do anything pointless.”

“You…”

Faced with Nagg’s invitation, Count Yureidon went limp as if his bones had been removed and collapsed with a thud.

Fia chose to ignore this, letting Nagg carry the Count towards the castle. Then she looked at Radric, suppressing her displeasure with the nobles as much as possible, and asked in a calm tone.

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“Now, can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Your words are more effective.”

The dragon-headed Radric cast a look of admiration at Fia. Then he looked towards a simple wooden hut in the distance. A gray-haired girl of about twelve or thirteen was peeking out timidly from the doorway. On top of her head was a pair of beast ears with white stripes. Fia didn’t need to ask to know that this girl was very shy.

“Tilulu, you can come out now. This is our benefactor, who saved our lives before.”

◇

At almost the same time, in a district not far from Fia, several beastfolk wearing linen cloaks were gathered in an inn room. They sat on the floor, their faces grim, as if discussing an extremely important secret.

“I felt the fluctuation of high-tier magic from the north. Silvar may have sent a high-tier magic caster to deal with us. It’s either an administrator of the Three Main Towers or Yelido himself. Schain and his group of idiots have brought big trouble to the Cold Night.”

“Isn’t that perfect? The declaration of war was issued by their Royalist faction, and the alliance with Alfrieg was their private decision. When they suffer a crushing defeat, the tribes that support them will hold them accountable. Right, Nola?”

The woman’s words made everyone look at the girl named Nola. However, this petite, red-haired girl with fiery cat ears was already lost in thought, completely unaware that someone had called her name.

Her companion frowned and waved a hand in front of the girl’s eyes.

“Nola, Nola! You’re spacing out again!”

“Ah… Ah?! I’m sorry!”

“Is the burden of being the Holy Son so great? Ever since you became the Holy Son, you’ve been spacing out like this. You’re our pillar of support. Don’t back down at a critical moment.”

“Sorry, I just noticed something…”

After saying this, the girl with fiery cat ears fell into a daze-like contemplation again. Her companions looked at each other, and then one of them put on a mischievous grin. She nudged Nola’s shoulder with her own and, as if flirting, blew a fragrant, warm breath into her ear.

“Thinking about that little lover who only appears in your dreams again? I’ve told you so many times that such a woman doesn’t exist, yet you’re still pining for her. So many years have passed. If your relationship was really that good, she would have found a way to look for you. You’re the Holy Son now, not some unknown nobody. Everyone in the Cold Night knows your name, Nola. Countless people want to pursue you and can’t. The one you mentioned, was her name Lorena? Or Craya? Anyway, some-ya woman. If she really existed, she would have come to curry favor with you long ago.”

“C-Clora is not that kind of person…”

Although she denied her companion’s words, Nola’s voice lacked conviction. As the main character of the story, she couldn’t remember the girl’s name at all. Even these fragmented memories only came back after she became the Holy Son and obtained the divine weapon. That was why her companions always laughed at her for having a non-existent person as her dream lover. What was even more ridiculous was that the other person was a woman.

Unlike the open-minded view on marriage among the elves, among the beastfolk who only respected strength, only marriages between a male and a female were respected. If two people of the same sex fell in love, at best they would be scorned and ridiculed; at worst, they would be considered possessed by demons and publicly hanged.

“See, you can’t even say her name. Instead of being infatuated with that kind of woman, why not pay more attention to me? I can warm your bed and give you hugs. If you want, I can even help you with your physical needs, you know? Of course, it has to be in secret.”

Speaking in a seductive, mature tone, the girl with greenish-blue hair wrapped her arms around Nola’s neck, her movements as fluid as a snake’s—a venomous snake.

Nola frowned repeatedly and pushed the green-haired girl away with great determination.

“Don’t make that kind of joke. I don’t like it.”

“Sorry, sorry. I forgot you don’t like people joking about your dream lover and your mother.” The green-haired girl sighed helplessly. “So, you said you noticed something just now. Anything that can catch your attention must be unusual. What did you find?”

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“I think I saw Cla… Cla… Claire…” In an instant, Nola’s cat-like vertical pupils lit up. She stood up in excitement, her voice several pitches higher. “Yes! It’s Claire! I remembered her name!”

“Alright, alright, I know you remembered. So, you saw this dream lover named Claire? Where did you see her?”

“Well…” A blush crept onto Nola’s slightly wild face. She sat back down, lowered her head, and answered shyly, “In a… a dream… I dreamed she appeared in this city. Ying, I want to stay here for a few more days. Maybe I can really meet Claire. After so many years, I wouldn’t remember her name for no reason. There must be a clue about her here.”

The green-haired girl called Ying didn’t answer immediately. She looked at the others sitting around them. Seeing that no one objected, she swayed her green snake-tail behind her and tapped her chin with her forefinger in thought.

“After all, she’s Nola’s savior and magic tutor. Although I don’t believe such a mysterious woman exists, Nola’s magic couldn’t have been learned from birth. Someone must have taught her. If we can pull such a person to our side, she might become a great help for us in capturing Yureidon territory in the future. We happen to have a deal to make with the fat pig Count here soon anyway. It’s fine to stay a few more days.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m just thinking about the Cold Night.”

The half-snake girl waved her hands repeatedly.

“With a behemoth like Silvar next to us, even if the Cold Night is unified under your hand, Nola, it will never be able to develop. Silvar won’t allow a neighboring country to rise. Therefore, it is necessary to win over the strong. That Claire is at least a Fifth-Tier powerhouse. Not to mention she could teach more people the strange magic you use, giving us a foundation to fight Silvar. First of all, just having her by your side to let you fight with peace of mind is a profitable deal.”

“That sounds too utilitarian.”

Nola gave a wry smile.

“Utilitarian? You can’t win without being utilitarian. Nola, our future enemy is Silvar, the one that beat the Holy Kingdom half to death. Don’t harbor any illusions or useless kindness.”

As if scolding Nola, the green-haired half-snake girl poked the back of Nola’s head with the tip of her tail.

“Alright, back to the topic at hand. The commotion earlier means that Silvar has already reacted and is mobilizing a large army. At this time, those idiots from the Royalist faction won’t have time to pay attention to our movements. We need to find Tilulu and bring her back quickly. I’ve already investigated that the fat pig Count here is the one hiding her. He probably wants to make her his wife. Whether we use force to snatch her or buy her over, we must hurry. If people find out that Tilulu has been defiled by an elf, our plan will be indefinitely delayed.”

The Cold Night was now nominally ruled by the Lionfolk, but everyone knew that their position was illegitimate. They were not the true royal family of the Cold Night. The true royal family was the White Tiger of the Tiger-kin.

As a new force in the Cold Night, the Holy Son Faction had the weakest foundation among the three major factions. Even if the Lionfolk who started the war were defeated, the biggest beneficiary would be the Regressionist faction, not the Holy Son Faction. And once the Regressionist faction gained the upper hand, the Cold Night Kingdom would eventually fall apart and return to a state of tribal communities. At that time, it would be extremely difficult to unify them again.

Therefore, in order to gain an advantage after the war was lost, Nola and her group had to obtain the support of the true royal family of the Cold Night, the Tiger-kin. Only then could the Holy Son Faction seize the banner of righteousness, gain the title of “Honor the King, Expel the Barbarians,” ² This is a famous historical political slogan in chinese and win the support of the majority of the tribes.

And Tilulu was the surviving heir with the orthodox royal bloodline. Although the Holy Son Faction had other royal members scattered among the common folk to choose from, Tilulu was the only one in the entire Cold Night who was young and had lost both her parents. Nothing was easier to control than a young child. Having Tilulu as a puppet king, with Nola and the others pulling the strings behind the scenes, couldn’t be more perfect.

Nodding lightly, Nola looked at the map spread on the floor, surrounded by the group.

“There’s no time to lose. We’ll investigate Count Yureidon’s castle now and take action after dark.”

“Mm, I agree.”

“I agree as well.”

Quickly reaching a consensus, Nola’s group rolled up the map. After confirming with their ears that no one was outside the door, they left the room one by one to begin their investigation of the castle.