Does the Eternal Duke truly exist?
Is the succession of the Eternal Duke genuinely passed down through generations?
The giants... do they all truly not know that the Eternal Duke has not been replaced for a very, very long ti, and has always been the sa person?
And.
— Would the absence or presence of the Eternal Duke really make such a big difference to them?
A race indifferent even to their own life and death.
Would they be so persistent and concerned about the existence or nonexistence of the Eternal Principality?
The answer, of course, is no.
"It was probably from the mont when the Eternal Principality was invaded by the Mist, that Duke Midas realized... from the very start, he was the one who was not needed,"
The people of the Eternal Principality do not fear death at all, which also ans they will not actively flee from death—in other words, the ancient giants of the Eternal Principality were a race dood to extinction from the beginning.
The mories passed down between generations of the Eternal Duke, the "burden" they wrestled with themselves to shoulder, were rely unilateral struggles.
"Since they are not afraid of death, they would not appreciate the Eternal Duke for ’continuation.’ In other words... everything the Eternal family has done was rely to desperately carry the torch for this dood nation."
The giants were like a group of poor students who had long given up on their college entrance exams—the kind that didn’t even plan to take them. And the Eternal Duke was like the head teacher chasing after them, yelling at them to study hard.
A repetitive job, full of exhaustion and heartache, and without any aning. But, as a "mission," it had to be done.
If it weren’t for the collapse of the grand barrier, perhaps the "Skeleton Duke"... that is, Duke Midas, might have taken hundreds or thousands more years to realize this.
Of course, perhaps he already realized it. Just like those farrs who "would rather believe that there is a wolf in the valley," he would rather consider the mission he shouldered to be aningful.
"It was nothing more than self-deception,"
"Elle" said calmly, "This nightmare... is the sa."
Traversing the sea of wheat fields, nearly without any barrier... "Elle" arrived before a dense forest.
"Defu—"
"Elle" stopped before the dense forest, shouting, "Are you there?"
Soon, a wildcat, like a shadow, appeared silently on a branch in front of "Elle."
She leapt down with agility and grace, walked to "Elle" with her cat-like steps, and gazed at Elle with eyes filled with doubt, astonishnt, and expectation.
"It’s , Defu... I am Annan,"
"Elle" squatted down and stroked the wildcat’s chin with the back of her hand, revealing a calm smile: "I have co to save you."
Upon hearing this, the other party almost without any hesitation visibly "relaxed."
"Boss, you finally ca..."
Defu complained, nudging Elle’s stomach with her head, then licked her hand, "But... why is it Elle’s body?"
"Let’s not worry about such a trivial matter. Just rember—keep playing your role as a wildcat, don’t speak unless necessary, and don’t leave this forest. At midnight, gather in the center of the wheat field to the east... Do you have a way to tell ti in the forest?"
"It’s a piece of cake."
Defu said lightly, "This is part of my profession... I’ve also morized most of the star patterns of this world."
"Alright, then, goodbye."
"See you at midnight."
After Defu spoke, she turned and leapt without sentint, directly onto the treetops. She made no sound, not even a rustle—she disappeared into the dense forest with a few jumps.
[... She just left like that, is such a short conversation enough to put her at ease?]
Elle asked with confusion and a bit of self-doubt.
[And why, when she heard your na, did she choose to trust you? Isn’t this my body after all?]
"That’s because I am trustworthy,"
"Elle" said nonchalantly.
She countered, "So do you trust , Elle?"
[Of course, I trust you, you’re my secret keeper...]
"With that in mind, feel free to trust completely. You can always trust Annan Winter,"
"Elle" said, and she passed through the forest—
Once again, without any transition, she directly encountered another wilderness. This was also where Longjing tea saw Elle previously.
Approaching side by side from the distance was Selicia, accompanying the "teacher."
"Elle" hurried forward with strides.
Upon seeing Elle, Selicia also paused for a mont and seed to relax imdiately.
And "Elle" displayed a cool, smile devoid of warmth, spreading her arms to embrace.
In that instant, Selicia felt a sense of déjà vu with Elle’s smile... but before she could figure it out, the two girls were already warmly embracing each other.
"Mr. Solomonik," Annan whispered in her ear, "I am... Annan Winter."
— It was as if whispered by a demon.
In that mont, past fears surged to her heart.
Like ice water mixed with ice cubes poured from above, chilling to the bone.
"You might not know that I have been aware from the start what the betrayal of ’Winter Reverser’ was all about... I also know that you haven’t seen him in a long ti. It must be uncomfortable being avoided by the teacher, isn’t it? Do you have no idea why he is avoiding you?"
It was a soft, warm whisper.
"Elle" narrowed her eyes slightly, her lips curving upward.
And Selicia started shaking uncontrollably, her complexion changing rapidly.
Elle’s elegant voice rang out, "Follow my orders, and I will give you a chance to see him again—do you believe ?"
"...Yes, I believe you, Your Highness."
"Call Your Majesty, I have ascended to the throne. If I wish, I can pardon you too... Of course, I suppose you would prefer to see your teacher again, wouldn’t you?"
"...Yes."
—She succumbed.
"Then co with for now; I have so tasks for you. Say goodbye to this ’substitute’... It won’t take long, about two or three hours. You should arrange a ti to et again."
The two girls embraced affectionately, whispering to each other.
Elle’s body was soft as if she had lted away... and Selicia was like a quietly blooming, tender flower, securely catching the butterfly.
But the middle-aged scholar who bore a striking resemblance to the "Winter Reverser" didn’t hear any of their whispers.
"A friend of yours, Selicia?"
The middle-aged man asked curiously.
The girls had just finished their embrace.
Elle elegantly turned around and curtsied to the man, "Hello, sir... I am Elle Angelo, daughter of the painter Amos."
"Oh, I’ve heard of your father!"
The man exclaid enthusiastically, "I didn’t expect his daughter to be so beautiful and adorable... You can call ’Teacher.’ I am this child’s teacher and also her father."
You’ve heard jack shit.
Amos doesn’t even have the surna Angelo...
Elle raised her eyebrows, her understanding of this nightmare deepening.
But... a teacher, huh?
She looked at Selicia with interest.
Under Elle’s gaze, Selicia seed sowhat ashad—her body trembled, and she quickly asked the "Teacher" for leave.
Then she left with Elle.
"Rember... when you go back at six, continue to play your roles as both student and daughter, and try not to break character. At precisely midnight, reach the very center of the wheat field to the east, where the Angelo ho is."
Once the "Teacher" had left, Annan instructed Selicia.
"...Yes."
Selicia complied.
She looked puzzled and asked her forr sovereign, "So my coming here now is..."
"Convince your crew mbers to maintain their roles, to never break character... or they will die. Just keep playing until midnight, then everyone is to gather at the wheat field—don’t co too early, if you’re early just wait outside the field, but don’t co too close; and don’t be late either."
Elle raised her eyebrows with a smile, "I won’t give you reasons that will help you convince them. Can you persuade them on your own?"
"No problem..."
Selicia nodded and whispered, "But I don’t know where they are, so maybe..."
Elle nodded, "But I do. I need a map; let mark it for you... Before that, co with . It’s a good opportunity to learn how to convince them. We must split up; otherwise, we won’t have enough ti... I certainly can’t persuade your sailors."
"That’s not an issue, my sailors absolutely trust —I don’t think there will be any difficulty," Selicia replied confidently.
It was only when she talked about her sailors that a glimr of light could be seen in her eyes.
"Simple trust... What use is it in the face of desire and fear?" Elle mused thoughtfully.
They crossed the wilderness and suddenly found themselves on the outskirts of the city. The golden-haired girl grinned cunningly and hailed a taxi—the destination was the ho of a wealthy magnate.
That is, the dwelling place of the wandering child.
And after they arrived, unsurprisingly...
—They were stopped by the doorman.
So Elle took a deep breath.
She called out loudly:
—"Kade, co out!"
In less than half a minute, the magnate dressed flamboyantly like a peacock and full of incongruity ca tumbling out of the main entrance, rolling and scrambling.
He practically sobbed, ordering the security to clear off to one side.
After seeing Elle and Selicia, he paused for a mont, but quickly focused his attention on Elle.
"I am Annan."
Elle declared calmly, "I have co to save you all."
The wandering child imdiately let out a sigh of relief, "Boss, you’ve finally co... I knew you would... Please help , my scalp is all numb..."
His reaction was exactly the sa as Defu’s.
This left Elle silent and puzzled.
But this ti she did not ask; she just quietly observed.
Really... it was just a na.
Annan—
Was he truly so... trustworthy?
Elle fell into thought.
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