Little Tyrant Doesn’t Want to Meet with a Bad End
chapter-160

“Winstor? He sent you here?”

Right outside SS Saint Paul’s Control Room, Isabella reassessed the black-haired, golden-eyed boy before her in astonishment.

What’s going on here? Was it a misunderstanding? Are these two youths really on our side? Wait a moment, that isn’t right!

“From what I know, Winstor doesn’t have any younger brother. Furthermore, if you’re truly from the Ascart House, there’s even less of a reason for you to be here. I’ve already sent a letter to Winstor informing him that there’s no need to send anyone over.”

“Your Majesty, are you referring to the letter saying that you would be arriving at the Twohorn Port in mid April?”

“Hm? You’ve seen that letter?”

“Of course. In order to be of aid to Your Majesty, it’s necessary for me to gather as much information as possible. Our patriarch has even shown the letter to me.”

Under Isabella’s shocked gaze, Roel calmly reached into his inner pocket to retrieve an envelope bearing a golden seal.

“Your Majesty, this is the token my older brother gave me when he sent me here. Due to the distortions in space and time caused by the teleportation from the Twilight Sages Assembly, the letter is in a brittle state. Please handle it with care.”

Roel presented the envelope to Isabella with both hands while looking at the queen with a warm smile, as if he was aware of the close relationship she had with his ‘older brother’. Isabella hesitated for a moment before receiving the envelope.

Why is this fellow so good at duping other people?

Behind Roel, Charlotte was trying her best to control her facial expression while feeling utterly speechless at the lies Roel was spouting one after another. His ability to weave all of his lies together convincingly was truly worthy of admiration.

You sure are… Thank Sia I put up my guard right from the start, or else I might have been deceived by you too!

While Charlotte was patting her heart in relief, Isabella stroked the familiar envelope containing the letter she personally wrote. She noticed that there were clear traces of age on the paper, resulting in its exterior becoming rather brittle. Barke paper was known to be long-lasting and resilient; it would take centuries to wear it down to such a state.

“… I never thought that such a thing was possible. Was it ‘Academic’ who sent you here?”

Isabella’s suspicions had mostly faded with the submission of evidence, but she hadn’t put her guard down completely yet. Faced with this question, Roel spent a short while thinking it over before shaking his head.

“My apologies, Your Majesty. While I do know the person who teleported us over is a member of the Twilight Sages Assembly, I’m not privy to his identity as I’m not in the Assembly myself. I’ve only heard my older brother mention the matter in passing.”

“Then what does he look like?”

“… I don’t know that either. All we saw was a blurred figure.”

Faced with Isabella’s persistent questioning, Roel could only answer with a slightly distressed frown on his face. Surprisingly, his ignorance didn’t spark further doubts from Isabella. On the contrary, it inspired her trust in him.

The Twilight Sages Assembly was an organization formed by the experts of humankind all over the Sia Continent, united for a single aim. Its members included outstanding figures in various fields and even rulers as well. Because of that, it was not uncommon for some members of the Assembly to carry grudges toward one another. In order to avoid having their grudges interfere with their work, the members tended not to reveal their faces to one another, and they altered their voice while communicating too.

‘Academic’ was one of the veteran members of the Assembly, possessing powerful transcendent abilities. He was known by his peers as an extremely careful and elusive person. Had Roel really tried to describe his looks, Isabella might have chosen to eliminate him right on the spot.

Having cleared her suspicions of Roel, Isabella turned her sights to Charlotte, who bore some resemblance to her in terms of hair color. Roel’s heart skipped a beat at this situation, worried that Charlotte might give herself away. However, to his astonishment… Charlotte turned out to be an even better actor than he was.

As soon as Charlotte met eyes with Isabella, her eyes began tearing up. Her body quivered ever so slightly as she opened up her palm, revealing the gleaming Jewel Trigger in her hand.

“This is the token of my identity, Your Majesty Isabella. Please, on account that we have descended from the same lineage, I ask you to help our Sorofya House!”

“Ah? W-what?”

The sudden tearful outburst and the accompanying information overload left Isabella dazed for a moment as she tried to sort out the information she had just received. Meanwhile, with a shaky voice, Charlotte began recounting her sob story.

200 years back, when the Sofya House parted with the mass migration army to head southward, there were a few weaker clan members who couldn’t keep up and ended up falling behind. This group of people was eventually captured by the migration army and forced to join the newly founded Austine Empire under the Milton House.

Transcendents who possessed the High Elf Bloodline were naturally sensitive toward money. Aware of this fact, the Milton House forced the captured clan members and coerced them to work for them. However, as the Sofya House had already been pinned with the label of ‘traitors’, they were discriminated against and lived in hardship.

Over the past 200 years, those clan members, who later came to be known as the Sorofyas, lost their spells and heritage, leaving them completely helpless against their captors. The incumbent patriarch of the Sorofya House, Bruce, wished to change the dire straits they were in, and a coincidence led to him hearing about the existence of the Sofya Kingdom from the Ascart House. So, he ordered his daughter, Charlotte, to bring their hereditary treasure, Jewel Trigger, as a token of their house to seek assistance from the Sofya Royal Family.

It just so happened that she chanced upon a member of the Twilight Sages Assembly, who was busily searching for someone in possession of the High Elf Bloodline for this mission, so she volunteered herself without any hesitation. Due to that, she ended up getting teleported here together with Roel, resulting in the current situation.

Charlotte conveyed her story with such powerful emotions that it swiftly won her goodwill and sympathy from the crowd. Even Roel would have believed her sob story had he not known about her true background!

H-how is this lass so good at deceiving others?

The same thought that was in Charlotte’s mind just 5 minutes ago surfaced in Roel’s mind too.

In any case, the stories weaved by the fiancé-and-fiancée in-name worked wonders in winning Isabella over.

“I never thought that the clan members whom we parted from would actually survive…”

Isabella remarked deeply as she thought about the records left by her ancestors.

It was not that she was gullible, but far too many people had fallen behind and gone missing in that arduous march southward led by the Sofyas back then. Just the constant exertion of stamina was already tough to cope with, but there were also many treacherous terrains and terrible weather that one had to overcome. They didn’t have the luxury to slow down for the ill or the weak, so by the time they arrived at the coast, their contingent had been reduced to less than a third.

It was entirely possible for the other two-thirds who were left behind to find a way to survive. However, there was just one final remaining doubt lingering in the back of Isabella’s mind.

“How were you able to control the ship?”

“Vice-Captain Laure taught me the method to do so in his dying breath. I learned it on the spot…”

“What?”

Isabella was dumbfounded.

Captain Jeff and the other crewmates of SS Saint Paul, who had gathered around to listen in on their conversation, quickly stepped forward to vouch for what Charlotte said.

“Your Majesty, I can testify for this matter.

“Me too! I was watching over them from the start to the end.”

“I can testify for it too!”

The goodwill Roel and Charlotte earned from saving them and their mates from the desperate situation hadn’t gone to waste. The shipmates eagerly stepped forward to explain things on their behalf.

Isabella gave the matter some thought before passing a coin over to Charlotte.

“This is an evaluation tool our clan uses to verify our people’s bloodline. I need to determine the authenticity of what you said earlier,” said Isabella solemnly.

Charlotte was a little hesitant. There was no doubt that she was a descendant of the Sofyas, but with centuries sitting between them, she couldn’t be sure if the evaluation tool could really detect her bloodline. However, knowing that there was no way to circumvent this, she eventually stretched her hand out to grasp the gold coin Isabella was proffering to her.

In the next moment, a brilliant burst of light shone through the cracks of her hand, causing everyone in the vicinity to widen their eyes in astonishment.

“What a powerful bloodline she has!”

“O’ great Sia!”

The bright light illuminated the faces of everyone in the vicinity, further highlighting their shock. It was the same for Isabella too, and she finally understood why Charlotte was able to learn how to control the ship so quickly.

“You’re able to command the Golden Soul directly?”

“If you’re referring to the golden light in the ship, then yes, I’m able to command it.”

Charlotte’s words left Isabella in a state of incredulity for a moment before excitement began racing through her heart.

The fact that Charlotte could learn how to control the Golden Soul within just a few short minutes meant that her talent was on par with Isabella’s, perhaps surpassing her even. Accounting for the fact that Charlotte hadn’t gone through the systemic training of the Sofya Royal Family yet, if they were to focus their efforts and resources on nurturing Charlotte…

“Child, I understand the plight your clan is in. Let’s head to the flagship together to discuss this matter more thoroughly.”

Isabella patted Charlotte’s head as her heart ached a little to think of the hardships Charlotte and her family had been through. She revealed a warm smile, reminiscent to that of an older sister, as she invited them to the flagship.

Seeing this, Roel heaved a sigh of relief.

Settled!

…

Half an hour later, aboard the flagship of the Golden Fleet, SS Saint Mary, Roel found himself standing utterly dumbfounded amid the resplendent captain’s quarters. Had it not been for the swaying floor beneath him, he would have thought that he was in the royal palace of the Sofya Kingdom.

Despite being on a ship, exquisite artworks were everywhere to be seen. There were crates of gold coins placed casually in the corner like spare change. Gemstones of all colors were placed orderly on the table by color.

It looked like the later-to-be Sorofyas were frighteningly rich even 800 years back.

“The two of you are engaged?”

“Yes, that’s right. My father believes that the military might of the Ascart House is essential to resolve the difficult position we’re in, so the two of us ended up getting engaged to one another.”

“I see… How unexpected, I must say. To think that there would be another engagement between both of our bloodlines… Ah, did Winstor tell you about it? I’m actually engaged with him too.”

(Affection Points +500)

Isabella looked at the two children before her as she felt amazed by the mysterious coincidences fate tended to bring about. At the same time, the two children were also stunned to hear the surprising news.

???

Winstor and Isabella are engaged to one another? What’s going on here?

Seeing how shocked Roel and Charlotte were, Isabella started blushing a little in embarrassment.

“W-well, it’s just a verbal promise from Winstor at the moment. There aren’t any documents to officialize it. That being said, I must say it’s quite surprising that two people who share the same bloodlines as us are actually engaged with one another too…”

Suddenly shy, Isabella gave a soft sigh at this point. She realized that she wouldn’t be able to put on airs before these two children anymore—one of them was a fellow clan member who carried great potential and ought to be properly nurtured, and the other one was the younger brother of her lover.

With such deep ties between her and the two children, she subconsciously began warming up to them.

… Though admittedly, a huge part behind her opening up to them was actually because these two youths were engaged to one another too. This uncanny coincidence left Isabella feeling that there were deeper workings behind this encounter. The high elves and their descendants had always believed in fate, and she was no exception to the rule.

“Big sister Isabella, I often hear my older brother mentioning you…”

Having realized Isabella’s weakness, Roel began preying on her Affection Points by using the intimate familial address ‘big sister’. His sweet calls melted Isabella’s heart, and her head began glowing green.

Needless to say, there was no way a businesswoman as shrewd as Charlotte wouldn’t capitalize on this opportunity. She hopped on the bandwagon, and it didn’t take long before she became a ‘close sister’ to Isabella too.

After the three of them got close to one another, the tone Isabella took with them became much more casual than before.

“Roel, Charlotte, what is the mission entrusted to the two of you that sent you to us?”

“We’re to aid you on your journey to the Twohorn Port. According to the prophecy made by the Twilight Sages Assembly, there’s a high chance that you’ll encounter trouble along the way. Due to the long distance, they are unable to teleport high-level transcendents over, so they had no choice but to send us instead.”

“I see.”

Isabella nodded in response to Roel’s words, before a hint of helplessness shrouded her face. She sighed deeply before remarking in frustration.

“I knew that the delivery of the Six Calamities wouldn’t go smoothly.”