Volume 7, Chapter 66 – Wilting Flower

Blossom had reached the hottest time of the afternoon.

The sweltering weather robbed people of any desire to work or go out. Few maids could even be seen in the Royal Castle’s corridors and courtyards. The peaceful atmosphere would make anyone feel it was time for a quiet nap.

Fia was making her way through the Twilight Palace’s corridors. Entering the basement, the originally muggy air instantly cooled, even soothing her agitated thoughts a little—that was for ordinary people. The current Fia was in no mood for that.

Her expression was grave, her footsteps clicking on the marble floor.

The swap is imminent.

She had seen the memory loss phenomenon in this world’s Anastasia before.

Back in the Land of Exile, when she and Anastasia went to see Duke Herr’s residence, after coming out of an alley, Anastasia had suddenly spaced out and instantly regained awareness. The Anastasia who woke up had forgotten the memory of going with Fia to see the Duke’s residence, appearing confused. Then, after sleeping overnight upon arriving at Baron Yarua’s territory that evening, this world’s Anastasia fell into a deep sleep, and the other Anastasia appeared by her side.

Now, Anastasia had forgotten the memory of cleaning the house together. Probably, after waking up from sleep tonight, the current Anastasia would disappear, and this world’s Anastasia would appear.

This should have been a good thing, but she couldn’t feel happy about it now.

One person’s “revival” accompanied by another’s departure—what unreasonable logic was this?

That’s why, upon returning from the Land of Exile, Fia immediately headed to the underground research lab where Claire was.

She wanted to tell Claire the swap was about to begin and inquire about Claire’s progress.

In just a dozen or so seconds, Fia stopped before a mithril door engraved with an arcane magic circle. She intended to knock, but her hand paused mid-air.

She regained some composure.

No one knew what stage Claire was at inside. If she was in a state like when Fia used [Particle Repair]—unable to be disturbed—knocking would undoubtedly interrupt Claire’s magic, rendering all efforts futile.

It would actually slow down the body-crafting process.

But…

Her outstretched hand remained suspended. Fia opened her mouth, words dying on her lips.

Right now, it’s unknown how much longer Claire needs to craft the body. If she can’t finish before the swap occurs, the effort becomes meaningless.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

If possible, even just a semi-finished product to temporarily house Anastasia’s soul would be better. A complete body could wait until after surviving the swap. Anything was better than being swapped back to the original world. But time waited for no one. Now, there wasn’t even enough time to start making a semi-finished product from scratch.

Moreover, the bigger problem was that Anastasia’s soul was different from a normal person’s. Claire’s magic might also fail.

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Then it would be checkmate. We’d have to follow Claire’s suggestion—wait until later to find the conditions that trigger the swap, then swap Anastasia back.

Anger rose in her heart with no outlet.

How could such a vague possibility be treated as a lifeline? It’s nothing but self-deceiving consolation! I had confidently promised to keep Anastasia here, but now she could only watch helplessly as Anastasia deteriorated bit by bit. What kind of situation was this!

Her hand paused in mid-air suddenly clenched. Fury surged into her arm, the immense power seeking a target to vent on. However, besides the cold mithril door before her, there was nothing else. The air was as still as stagnant water.

Damn it!

The clenched fist ultimately didn’t strike out. Fia retreated a few steps dejectedly until her back hit the solid wall.

Only heavy breathing remained in the dark corridor.

Now is not the time for self-pity. Calm down. Think carefully. What exactly can I do right now?

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, she thought with all her might. In this brief time, how could she keep Anastasia here?

The air grew quieter, even her breathing becoming nearly inaudible.

The answer was: nothing.

If there were a usable method, she would have tried it long ago, not remained inactive until now.

Ultimately, it was all due to lack of time. If she had one more year—no, half a year—she would dig three feet under to drag out every being that had lived since the Primordial Continent era and make them propose possible solutions one by one.

—Though she thought this, her subconscious told her that even if she dragged all the gods and Darkborn before her, they wouldn’t be able to explain it either. This lot couldn’t even stop the arrival of the Holy Sons, so how could they resolve something even her Shining Age self hadn’t seen—swapping souls with someone from another time and space? Helian’s reaction was the best proof. Even the Sovereign who had lived since ancient times didn’t know the cause, couldn’t even comprehend it.

Then what else could I do?

The new question flashed through her mind.

Fia’s expression gradually turned bitter.

If the world was about to be destroyed and people were powerless, the only remaining choice would be to indulge in pleasure, to abandon oneself, right?

In other words, right now, besides spending more time with Anastasia and waiting for news from Claire, there was no other choice.

At the very least, in the end, don’t leave regrets.

Taking an unwilling deep breath, Fia steeled her heart. With a resolute expression, she turned and left the mithril door. She remembered Anastasia was sitting in the living room when she returned.

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However, neither the living room nor the dining hall held any trace of Anastasia.

Worry rose in her heart. Fia immediately sought out Liti, who had been staying in the Twilight Palace, and the other maids. Only one maid said she saw Anastasia return, rest her head on the living room table for a while, wake up, and immediately leave the Twilight Palace. Even when asked about her destination, she didn’t answer.

Anastasia already knew her body was abnormal. Despite showing signs of sudden spacing out, she left the Twilight Palace. She wouldn’t be so unaware of the danger—

No.

Anastasia couldn’t possibly be unaware of the danger. If she left anyway, perhaps it was deliberate.

A bad premonition brewed in her chest.

Recalling what happened earlier in the Land of Exile house, maybe Anastasia wanted to end it all sooner, deliberately going to a dangerous place.

This foolish woman.

Worry in her heart outweighed impatience. Fia immediately rushed out the door. The Royal Castle was under Royal Guard surveillance everywhere. If Anastasia left through the main gate, the guards would certainly record her whereabouts. If she didn’t want Fia to know where she went, she would definitely go to a place with weaker surveillance.

A word popped into her mind.

The Holy Tree.

Golden twin wings materialized behind her. Fia instantly gained altitude. But before she could fly towards the Holy Tree, the figure she was searching for appeared in her field of vision.

A cascade of golden hair flowing like a waterfall, and a lavender dress adorned with forget-me-not flowers.

Anastasia hadn’t gone far. She was standing motionless under a lush tree outside the Twilight Palace.

Fia immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She dispelled [Flight] and slowly descended beside Anastasia.

Eyes devoid of focus, vacant, merely standing there without emotion, like a soulless shell—all indicated Anastasia was in a spaced-out state. Fia walked step by step towards Anastasia, calling out softly.

“Anastasia.”

“Ah…”

Whether the call had an effect or Anastasia happened to wake up at that moment, the emotionless eyes gradually regained consciousness. She looked at Fia in surprise.

“When did Your Highness come…” Before she could finish, Anastasia paused slightly. A bitter smile appeared on her lovely face. She supported her right arm with her left hand, the atmosphere quite fragile. “Did I space out again? It’s already this bad, huh? I can’t even remember cleaning the house with you.”

“You remember?”

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“Mhm.”

Anastasia nodded gently.

“While resting in the living room, I had a dream. I dreamt I directed you to clean the dilapidated house in the Land of Exile, made you an unappetizing lunch, and finally held you, crying my heart out in an undignified way. That actually happened, didn’t it?”

“Mhm.” Just nodding seemed lacking. Fia looked back at the magnificent, grand Twilight Palace behind her. “Why did Anastasia suddenly come out alone?”

“I just wanted to take a look. The Twilight Palace in my world has vanished. No, there was no ‘Twilight Palace’ there, just ‘the place where the Crown Princess lives.’ Since coming here, I haven’t had a proper look at the place I live with you. Suddenly feeling nostalgic, after all, the Blossom in that world has been devoured by Chaos. Was I spacing out here for a long time? Making you come look for me. Sorry for worrying you. My legs just brought me here unconsciously.”

Stop talking.

Fia thought this in her heart, but the words that came out were different.

“It’s too hot here. Let’s go back. We need to fill our stomachs to have strength for Claire’s magic. Maybe tonight, or tomorrow night, Claire will be ready.”

“Okay.”

Anastasia took a small step forward with Fia, then, as if noticing something, rather slowly withdrew her foot.

“What’s wrong?”

Faced with Fia’s tilted-head inquiry, Anastasia supported herself against the tree trunk with one hand. Her lovely, gentle face wore a troubled expression and sweat.

“I… I don’t think I can walk…”

Sensing the unwillingness on Fia’s face, Anastasia smiled again.

“It’s not as bad as you think. I just stood too long and ran out of energy. I’ll be fine after resting a bit back in the Twilight Palace.”

“I’ll help you back.”

Originally, Fia wanted to say ‘carry you on my back,’ but given the height difference between her and Anastasia, it would be difficult. She was also afraid that while walking, Anastasia might suddenly lower her arms, becoming that vacant-eyed state again—that would make her chest tighten.

“My deepest apologies.”

Another apology. Anastasia shakily placed her arm over Fia’s shoulder, using Fia as a support to take a step forward. However, her body could no longer support her. Even with Fia’s support, she sank downwards.

Why insist on forcing yourself to be strong in this state?

Impatience rose in Fia’s heart. She abruptly picked Anastasia up in a princess carry. Anastasia gasped in surprise. Ignoring her, Fia maintained the princess-carry posture, walking towards the Twilight Palace. Along the way, occasional Royal Guards and maids cast surprised glances, but Fia ignored them all. Only Anastasia, embarrassed, buried her head against Fia’s chest, her hands also clinging tightly to Fia’s neck out of shyness.

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Whether it was the intense sun or Anastasia’s condition, Anastasia’s body temperature was slightly elevated, as if she had a fever.

Then, on their way to the Twilight Palace, the two encountered an unexpected person.

An elf with water-blue hair tied up in a bun, possessing the traits of a mature woman from any angle.

It was Yulisha.

“Dofi? This is… Anastasia? What are you two doing?”

The moment she heard Yulisha’s voice, Anastasia’s entire body stiffened. She struggled slightly, trying to get down from Fia’s arms. Unfortunately, she had too little strength; the struggle looked more like squirming.

As for Fia, under normal circumstances, she would have stiffened with embarrassment like Anastasia. But now, she had no mood for that. She bowed slightly to Yulisha while holding Anastasia.

“Good afternoon, Mother Yulisha. Anastasia isn’t feeling well. I’d like to take her back to rest first.”

Yulisha looked Anastasia up and down. Although Anastasia showed no external injuries, her sweat-covered appearance and pale complexion were enough to indicate something.

She raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Is everything alright? Should I call a healer from the Elf Tower?”

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of Anastasia.”

“That’s good then. I won’t disturb you further. Remember to visit your father after Anastasia has rested.”

“Okay.”

Though I sensed this day might come ever since Dofi brought Anastasia back, I didn’t expect it to actually become reality. Yulisha sighed inwardly. She waved at Fia and continued forward with her maids.

“Your Highness… I…”

Anastasia looked up at Fia’s face from below. Shyly, she opened her mouth but didn’t say anything useful.

Fia responded with a helpless smile.

“Let’s talk after we get back.”

“Yes…”