In a private room of a restaurant in the Royal Capital.
Since Shirley had come all the way to the Royal Capital from the Northlands, Cecilia naturally had to fulfill her role as host. A little hospitality was unavoidable. Although Cecilia had tried her best to select meat-heavy dishes that suited the tastes of the Northerners, this was the Royal Capital after all; the culinary style could not compare to the rustic boldness of the Northlands.
“Princess Cecilia, I really can’t wrap my head around it. We didn’t travel thousands of miles to ask for rewards; we came to report a major military situation. Why did His Majesty just dismiss us like that?” Shirley complained to Cecilia, stuffing a small piece of steak into her mouth and chewing angrily.
In Shirley’s eyes, having gone through life and death together made Cecilia her good friend, or at least someone she was quite close to, which is why she spoke so bluntly. This was the habit of Northerners; some might call it passion, others might call it naivety, but Cecilia did not mind.
“Our purpose was to inform my father of this matter. Now that the goal has been achieved, Father surely has his own plans. It does not matter even if we say more.” Cecilia said, resting her hands on the table and looking directly at Shirley. This formal posture made Shirley feel a bit embarrassed about stuffing her face; she quickly swallowed her food and wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.
“Highness, this is a matter of life and death for our Northlands. But I get the feeling that His Majesty… he doesn’t seem to want to do anything about it.” A Ranger put down his fork. “Princess Consort, even if His Majesty doesn’t want to get involved, we cannot force him to do something for the Northlands.”
This sentence, combined with the suggestion Lita had made earlier, formed the complete picture of their current reality. Lita—and the Northlands as a whole—could not overstep their bounds to make a direct decision or resolve this behind the Kingdom’s back, though they couldn’t have resolved it anyway. Nor could they force His Majesty to send troops to the Everfrost Wasteland; the possibility of the Kingdom’s great army invading that Cecilia had mentioned to Kaisa was unrealistic to begin with. All they could do was advise the King and lay the facts before him; the rest was out of their hands.
Shirley had no choice but to accept this. She spoke this way, of course, because she was worried that Kaisa becoming an Alien Ghost and gathering an army would lead to unrest in the Northlands. Although the Alien Ghosts had never crossed the Great Wall, such a massive variable still made her uneasy. Since all of this had been presented to the King, the remaining details were truly beyond their interference.
After dinner, Cecilia personally saw the group to their inn and gave them a solemn farewell. Now that Shirley’s mission in the Royal City was complete, they could rest for a few days before returning to the Northlands. When they finally left, they might not have the chance to say goodbye to Cecilia, and even if they did, Cecilia might not have the time.
This return from the Northlands was a necessity; the turbulent situation was no longer something they could intervene in, and there was such a vital piece of news to deliver to the King. Even if Cecilia had a faint premonition that she might return to the Northlands in the future, rationally speaking, she might never go back for the rest of her life. A formal farewell was necessary.
Leaving the inn, Lita stretched out her back.
“Hah, I’m exhausted. Lady Cecilia, we should be able to go back and rest now, right?”
“You still have unfinished work, Lita. You cannot rest yet,” Cecilia replied.
“Huh? More work?” Lita opened her mouth and let out a complaint.
“That’s right. While it won’t be very tiring, this is actually your most important job.”
Sometime later, at the Imperial Palace, Council Chamber.
Cecilia was a Princess; although she did not have total control over the Holy Knights, they were nominally loyal to the Royal Family and would obey her simple orders. In this regard, Aierteer was no exception.
After a long wait, Aierteer finally stepped through the door. This was the Council Chamber under Cecilia’s jurisdiction; it couldn’t hold many people, but it was still a formal setting. In this formal setting, only Cecilia sat in the main seat, with Lita standing behind her.
Aierteer withdrew her gaze, strode toward Cecilia, and spoke in a deep voice after bowing. “Princess Cecilia, it is late. I do not know why you have summoned me here.”
Finding Aierteer was not easy; Cecilia had to invoke her authority as a Princess. But it was necessary; she had to see Aierteer as quickly as possible.
“You once gave Lita a Trial. Now that Lita and I have returned from the Everfrost Wasteland, I wonder if your Trial still stands?”
Aierteer did not hesitate for a second, replying immediately in a low voice, “I acknowledge that Lita has the qualifications to become a Crest Knight.”
“And the reason? What was the reason you didn’t trust her in the first place? And what was the reason you insisted she go to the Northlands?”
“I did not trust her. That is all,” Aierteer replied.
“So, you used our mouths to ensure the news sealed in the Northlands reached the Royal Capital?”
“Princess Cecilia, I am not sure what you are talking about.”
“You never made a move against Lita, and you didn’t even proactively contact her. You were waiting for the day she would come to you. After that, you had actually begun to trust her, but you deliberately waited for an opportunity to test her identity and force her to show her sincerity.” Cecilia spoke unhurriedly, her gaze never leaving Aierteer’s unchanging expression.
“After that, you logically put forward a requirement—for her to go to the Northlands. You knew that if she went, I would inevitably follow her. Then, once I reached the Everfrost Wasteland, it was highly likely to alert that person. Even if nothing happened, it wouldn’t have mattered; you would have just acknowledged Lita then. But if something did happen, it would fall right into your lap.”
Cecilia rose slowly from her seat and walked up to Aierteer. She looked into Aierteer’s eyes, her words clear and powerful, emphasizing every syllable.
“I will ask once more, Aierteer. From the moment you met Lita, you were already plotting this—using a Princess to bring news that should have been sealed in the Northlands to the Royal Capital. Yes, or no?”
Aierteer sighed. “Yes.”
Lita’s brow furrowed. ‘This woman… she knew all along what existed on the Everfrost Wasteland?’
On the first day of Lita’s trial, the impartiality Aierteer displayed was mostly real, but in truth, she was steering the conversation toward putting Lita through an evaluation. As the most respected figure among the Holy Knights, she had every reason to keep the details of the evaluation in her own hands. Once she confirmed Lita posed no threat, her plan could be executed. She hadn’t expected things to spiral into such chaos, but it didn’t change the outcome. After all, no one can account for every single factor; adapting to the situation is the norm.
“Very well. Aierteer, you are also aware that Lita is not an enemy of the Kingdom, and neither am I. But you, who claim to do everything for the Kingdom, consistently concealed this matter. What is your true intention?” Cecilia’s tone grew heavier. Even facing Aierteer, who had existed for an unknown length of time, she showed no fear. Instead, she was as cold and stern as Aierteer had been during Lita’s initial interrogation.
“The Traitor Kaisa spoke of… what exactly is your intent?!”
Aierteer narrowed her eyes, then lowered her gaze. “Because I am a Traitor, His Majesty does not trust me.”
Cecilia did not answer, but gave Aierteer a questioning look.
“Highness, have you ever noticed that even though I am the Kingdom’s final shield, His Majesty never entrusts me with important duties? I can only fill my life with trivial matters,” Aierteer countered.
Cecilia still didn’t answer, but she could tell whether Aierteer was telling the truth.
“Highness, I did use you, but this message was never meant for His Majesty. It was meant for the world.”
Cecilia’s face darkened, instantly understanding the meaning behind Aierteer’s words. When they discussed things in the Northlands, many people had heard the reports from her and Lita regarding the situation. Along the way, rumors had spread, and the truth had already seeped into the public consciousness. Most importantly, Shirley had brought two Rangers to the Royal Capital to see the King. Even if the matter wasn’t common knowledge yet, anyone paying attention would know. Even if the King suppressed the news, and even if the details became distorted during transmission, the truth had already leaked out during the journey from the Northlands to the Royal Capital.
As for the motive behind that… there were too many possibilities. Aierteer having ulterior motives, Aierteer being devoted to the Kingdom, Aierteer being indifferent… Cecilia could think of many answers, but she didn’t have enough time to judge which was true.
Cecilia took a deep breath, pushing the messy thoughts aside for the moment. Now was not the time to ask about such things. There were questions she had been concerned about for a long time that she might be able to get answers for from Aierteer.
“Then let me ask you something else, Aierteer. What is the deal with the Heir of the Bloodline? And why is the Golden Tree called ‘Golden’?”
“Highness, that is not for me to say.” Aierteer shook her head.
“You admit that you know about it, don’t you?”
“That’s right, Highness. I do not deny it, nor could I.”
“Then why remain silent?” Cecilia countered. “Is it because of your ulterior motives? Or is it because I am not qualified to know these things?”
Even though she knew she was being unreasonable, if she didn’t ask in this atmosphere, she might not get another chance. After all, Aierteer wasn’t exactly a clever person; Cecilia hadn’t seen through her goal before only because she lacked the most critical clue about what was on the Everfrost Wasteland.
However, Cecilia’s hopes were dashed. Or rather, her expectations were met as Aierteer had no intention of telling her the truth.
“Highness, it is not because of ulterior motives, and you are indeed qualified to know. But… I do not have the standing to reveal these truths to you.” Aierteer spoke, looking at Cecilia’s slightly raised brow and letting out a long sigh. “If there is anyone who knows the significance of these things and has the standing to tell you, there is only one such person.”
Cecilia knew the answer, but she asked anyway. “Who is this person?”
Then, she received the expected response.
“His Majesty.”
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