The kids hugged Nier tightly from all sides and said loudly: "Thank you Sis Nier! Thank you for saving us!"
I looked at Nier"s incomparably blissful smile as she was surrounded by them. It"s truly interesting. The dean stood to one side and encouraged the children to hug Nier. I don"t actually think he needed to encourage them since children like Nier.
The dean looked at me holding water by the side, smiled and said: "Kids, aside from Nier, you need to thank this young man too."
I froze up. You know what happened? The kids hugged Nier tightly, not one of them came over. All of them looked at me extremely fearfully making me feel very upset.
What"s that look supposed to mean?! I wasn"t the one who kidnapped you! I"m the one who marched to your rescue, alright?! I don"t want the credit, but you don"t have to look at me with such hostility! I just happen to not appear in front of you often! I always watch over you from upstairs!
Ah, forget it. I don"t really need to have a group of children surrounding me anyway. I smiled helplessly. I waved my hand to indicate I didn"t really care. I didn"t announce my ident.i.ty either. Hierarchy doesn"t exist in the world of children. Though they will understand it later, I want to let them stay in that harmonious world for a little longer.
Nier suddenly pursed her lips and then looked at the children as she resolutely said: "Kids, that man is your true hero. Without him, I wouldn"t have been able to save you. He rescued you all on his own. He is the true hero in your hearts."
"No, no, don"t say that. I"m not! I didn"t save them!"
I waved my hands in a fl.u.s.tered manner. It looked like the children somewhat believed it, and somewhat doubted it. That can"t be helped. I wasn"t by their side when they woke up after all.
Nier was the one who was with them at the time. Nier looked at me with a complex expression then stood up and walked over to my side. She looked at the children and asked: "How about this then, if you"re embarra.s.sed, I"ll express your thanks on your behalf for you. So what do you want me to say?"
The children exchanged glances with each other. I pleaded Nier with my eyes, but she didn"t budge as if it were a matter of course. I should vanish without a trace but Nier still forced it. Moreover, what could their thanks be? While a card or a thank you is nice, I feel ashamed to let Nier do it on their behalf.
"Mmm, kiss him then, Sis Nier!"
The children revealed a friendly mischievous smile. They looked at Nier and jumped with joy. Nier froze stiff. While you shouldn"t take offense at children"s words, why did you guys have to come up with this?! Don"t you think you"ve matured too soon?! Hey! The girl and boy over there! Let go of each other"s interlocked fingers! You"re beating me too it!
Ah, wait no, I have a fiancée already.
"Hey, isn"t your request a little to… ah……"
Just as I began to shout, I suddenly felt a soft and warm sensation on my cheek……
Inner Court.
"I heard you referred to yourself as the prince"s adopted-sister. Why did I never hear anything about that?"
"That is why I have come to see you today."
The empress, seated behind her table placed her pen down and spoke. Freya was down on one knee with her eyes focused on the empress. She continued: "Your majesty, I am a descendent of the Vestalia household."
"Vestalia? Ah, I know now. Your father displayed incredible bravery and skill at that battle in the Desolate Horse Plains. However, I heard he had pa.s.sed away due to excessive drinking and gambling." The empress looked at her with a mocking smile and continued, "You"re just a fallen n.o.ble now, right? I"m very grateful for your father"s valour, but that doesn"t mean I like you. Put another way, your father caused his own downfall. I have no sympathy for him."
"That is correct, your majesty. I do not intend to plead you. It is just that as his majesty"s adopted-sister, I needed to pay you a visit."
"Is that right? But I don"t intend to accept you as an adopted-daughter. You"re used goods after all. Furthermore, my love is only for my son. I won"t share it with anyone else. My son is my only child. I don"t intend to have a second one. So your trip here was pointless. I won"t accept you."
The empress then picked up her pen and continued, "If my son is happy, you can play brother-and-sister or whatever with him. But if I hear you trying to do things in the name of the royal family, I"ll be the first to take your head. That will be all. If there"s nothing else, you can leave."
Freya looked at the empress and took a deep breath. She then calmly said: "Your majesty, are you not interested in his majesty"s life at the outer court?"
The empress narrowed her eyes and indifferently asked: "Do I need to suspect my son? Why do I need to keep surveillance on him? Are you trying to get me to put him under surveillance? How could I not trust my son? If he wants the throne, I"ll give it to him. I can give up anything in exchange for his smile. How could I suspect my son?"
"That is not what I meant, your majesty. I do not think your biggest concern is his majesty. I can understand his love for you. His majesty will never revolt. He is uninterested in power, wealth and women. But do you not care about the royal family"s lineage?"
"I don"t see how you can offer anything for the royal family"s lineage. I won"t accept you either. The wife that I want for my son is very important. I won"t let you people interfere."
"That is precisely my point. Are you not worried about Nier and Luna, your majesty?" She raised her head, looked at the empress and softly continued, "I think that instead of paying attention to that, it would be wiser to pay attention to Luna and Nier. The two of them are always with his majesty day and night, so it is very likely for them to develop feelings. And once their feelings are developed, it will be too late to give up on them, especially in Luna"s case. I believe that Luna and his majesty"s love is more dangerous."
The empress placed her pen down. She looked at her with an ambiguous expression, like she was smiling yet not: "Freya, right? Didn"t I say that the royal family"s affairs are none of your business? You think I don"t pay attention to what the women around my son do? If that"s your bargaining chip you intend to use with me, it"s not enough. Further, do not use my son as a means to negotiate with me. The elves tried that last time, and they lost half of their population afterwards."
The empress stood up, walked up to her and said: "Did you think that I would ask you to stay by my son"s side and watch the women by his side? I don"t need to because I know how to make them disappear on their own, and I can help my son get rid of some dead-weight while I"m at it. You"re clever and you know who to ingratiate yourself with, but don"t try that with me. I will not make promises to anyone other than my son without deliberation. I won"t kill you because I feel that you can help my son by staying at his side. However, if you think you"re somehow more loyal because of your ident.i.ty as his adopted-sister, I won"t reject."
"You mean……"
"I allow you to stay by his side as his adopted-sister to a.s.sist him. But you must know that you are but just an adopted-sister. And one more thing. If Luna"s relations.h.i.+p with my son crosses the line further and further, use the church to kill Luna, understood? And if any other woman wants to approach my son, kill them all."
"…… Understood."
**New Series is up! Link in comments below!**
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