The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 74

The Prince. he actually kissed him!

The spell had worked.

Jiang Yi stared at his own tiny, open palms in disbelief. His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto Felixchen’s shoulder, his small body curling to match the curve of the Prince’s frame.

“What is it?” Felixchen asked, glancing sideways.

“Is the magic really that powerful?” Jiang Yi murmured, his mouth slightly agape, completely awestruck.

Felixchen didn’t quite know how to respond. He felt a bit impulsive about what he’d just done. He gave a clipped “Mm,” then added quickly, “All I tasted was rust.”

“It’s tin, not iron!” Jiang Yi argued back.

“Is there a difference?”

“Of course there is! Tin tastes much better.”

Jiang Yi told a little white lie. As soon as Felixchen looked away, he secretly bit his own finger to test it. He chewed thoughtfully; the taste was strange, certainly, but there wasn’t a hint of rust. He was always very careful to stay dry; he wasn’t about to let himself get rusty.

He proudly relayed his maintenance habits to Felixchen, finishing with a triumphant, “Impressive, right?”

“Don’t misunderstand,” Felixchen said abruptly, picking Jiang Yi up from his shoulder. “I only kissed you because of the spell’s power and… other reasons. It’s not what you think.”

“What other reasons?” Jiang Yi feigned a struggle, dangling his limbs in mid-air. “And what exactly do you think I’m thinking, my Prince?”

Felixchen, annoyed by the chatter, snapped, “Hush.”

“I don’t want to, Prince.”

Jiang Yi’s voice suddenly died in his throat. He stared at the finger in front of him, and as his gaze traveled up, he noticed the slight, subtle upturn of Felixchen’s lips.

He went still. The Prince is smiling.

After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Yi buried his head against Felixchen’s finger and rubbed against it. His watery eyes practically screamed: Please don’t use that ‘hush’ spell on me again.

Felixchen reached out and tapped the space between the soldier’s eyebrows. Because the tin soldier was so small, Felixchen’s fingertip covered half of his face.

Jiang Yi let out a series of muffled “wu-wu” sounds. Looking delighted, he hugged the finger tight and pressed his forehead against it. “I’m here, I’m here! Your most courageous soldier is right here by your side.”

“I know.”

Felixchen’s expression softened. Those eyes, usually sharp and cold as winter frost, now seemed to melt into a gentle spring. The fine lines at the corners of his eyes relaxed, radiating a warmth that he reserved only for Jiang Yi.

“Prince, Prince…” Jiang Yi kept chanting, rubbing his face against Felixchen’s finger until his cheeks were buffed smooth and shiny.

“So noisy.”

Felixchen’s finger was being tugged back and forth as if being polished by a smooth little ball. The noble Prince intended to scold the pesky soldier, but as he looked down, he accidentally met Oden’s eyes.

With an expression that was hard to describe, Oden brushed back his long, golden curls. “Gentlemen, please be quiet. Otherwise, we will be discovered.”

Discovered?

The noble Prince and the clinging tin soldier turned in unison, their faces mirroring the same confusion. Without realizing it, they had reached the palace gates.

A crowd of servants emerged, moving with a jarring stiffness, each one following the back of the head in front of them. They carried treasure boxes of all sizes; some were open, overflowing with gold, silver, and jewels.

“What are they doing?” Jiang Yi whispered.

“I don’t know.”

Felixchen’s eyes swept over the riches. The reflected glare was almost blinding. Even the wealthy Duke had to admit that someone richer than him had appeared.

Though the sky wasn’t clear, there was no wind or rain. The sisters, Natie and Nake, came strolling by, lifting their skirts as they headed to the garden for tea.

The spectacle of moving treasure was so grand that the sisters naturally noticed. Nake, the more spirited of the two, stopped a servant. “Oh, my Heavens! What is the meaning of this?”

The servant looked up at Nake and replied mechanically, “The Princess is leaving the castle. These are her luggage.”

“So much luggage!” Nake gasped, covering her mouth. “It’s a bit rude of me to say, but I suppose one should expect nothing less from the Princess of Ashliya Castle.”

Natie gave an elegant nod. “But why? Has something happened that requires the Princess to leave?”

The servant seemed to jam for a moment. The eyes set in his sockets sank inward, and when he looked up again, his eyes were nothing but deep shadows.

“There will soon be a new Princess in the castle.”

“The castle can only have one Princess, right?” The servant’s neck twisted in a full circle, making a sharp clicking sound like a wind-up toy.

The other servants looked up as well, crowding inward and repeating in eerie unison, “That’s right. The castle can only have one Princess.”

“Which of you wants to be the new Princess?”

Amidst the rhythmic chanting, the first servant leaned close to the sisters’ ears and whispered the question with malicious enticement.

“Ah!”

Nake let out a sharp cry of terror. Natie gripped her sister’s arm so hard her nails dug into the flesh. The servants pressed closer, closing in on the sisters.

Suddenly, as if they had lost their life force, the servants froze. Some were left with hands raised high, some mid-sentence, others stooped over.

“You’re all being a bit too loud.”

The voice came from above. On a towering stone pillar, a long shadow stretched across the ground. A tall, slender figure slowly materialized, standing at the summit.

Incredibly long, silver-white hair fluttered in the wind, reaching all the way down to his waist. His eyes were a rare silver-grey, catching the sunlight from his high vantage point and reflecting a cold, indifferent light.

Felixchen looked down at the huddle of servants with the detached gaze of a superior. His right hand remained suspended in the air, his long fingers twitching as if he were plucking at countless invisible threads.

“See? Now you can’t make a sound.”

Felixchen suddenly clenched his fist. The invisible puppet strings snapped taut. Below, the servants lost all coordination, stumbling and crashing into one another.

“The puppets mentioned in the magic book,” Felixchen said calmly.

The wind whipped his voluminous cloak, making it snap loudly. The corner of the cloak brushed against Jiang Yi’s head. He let out a loud “Wow!”

“The most amazing Prince in the world! How did you figure it out?”

“Through the holy light Oden spread, I could see the threads controlling them,” Felixchen explained.

Saint Oden, floating in mid-air, smiled and nodded upon hearing this. He continued to fly about, shaking his hat. Fine, shimmering gold dust fell from the hat, and gradually, the sunlight grew brighter.

The barrier over Ashliya Castle cracked. The sunlight took on a tangible form, shining down like a pillar of light. Under its touch, the drowsy flowers and trees woke up, their colors becoming vibrantly beautiful. The very air felt fresher.

Jiang Yi took a deep breath, then cupped his hands over his eyes like binoculars to peer into the distance.

“Prince, why can’t I see the threads?”

“Because you lack wisdom.”

“Then what must I do to become wise?” Jiang Yi asked humbly, clasping his hands together. “Please, please tell me.”

“Hmm…” Felixchen appraised the rather unwise Jiang Yi and poked his forehead. “There is one way. Eat more walnuts.”

“But tin soldiers don’t need to eat.”

“Then there is no other way.”

“I’ll eat them! I’ll eat them!” Jiang Yi began to fuss, demanding walnuts.

In the blink of an eye, the two were back to their flirting. Oden, flying back, let out a helpless sigh. “Gentlemen, we should head down.”

Felixchen agreed. He grabbed a handful of invisible threads, looped them several times around the golden bird statue atop the pillar, and then leaped off without hesitation.

The sound of the threads snapping taut was clear in the wind. Using the statue as an anchor, Felixchen and Jiang Yi landed steadily on the ground. His long silver hair traced a shimmering arc in the air, tangling with the invisible strings.

By the time he was standing on the grass, his hair had several knots and a few broken strands, looking quite messy. He didn’t bother trying to smooth it, simply walking forward with composure. Behind him, the lifeless servants hung high from the stone pillar.

“Heavens, what is going on?” Nake finally found her voice. “Master Lorian, this is all so terrifying.”

“Leave this place,” Felixchen said.

Natie and Nake looked at each other, still trembling from the shock. Natie slowly regained her composure. “Thank you for the warning, Master Lorian. We will leave immediately.”

“Once you leave, do not return.”

“We are never coming back,” Nake said, taking a deep breath. “If the Princess hadn’t invited us so warmly that night, we never would have come here in the first place.”

“That night.  what did the Princess say to you?” Felixchen asked.

“She said the scenery at Ashliya Castle was beautiful and invited us to visit,” Nake recalled. “Oh, and she kept asking us if we were willing to stay in the palace.”

“I remember that too. She asked over and over,” Natie added with a weak smile. “I repeated my answer so many times it felt like I was reciting a vow.”

Oden, who had been silent for a while, floated over and handed them a golden leaf. “Hurry along, ladies. This leaf will protect you and ensure you reach home safely. You won’t encounter such danger again.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The sisters clearly sensed the gravity of the situation. Without wasting any more time, they found their carriage in the stables and hurried away, clutching the golden leaf.

The sun reached its zenith, shining through the small hole in the barrier. Felixchen sat cross-legged on the grass, soaking in the light.

He murmured to himself, “A vow… so that’s it.”

“What’s it?” Jiang Yi chimed in.

Felixchen gave him a cold look. “This is all your fault.” If he hadn’t been so worried about this little guy, he would have been as meticulous as usual and spotted the traps.

“Huh? What did I do?” Jiang Yi tapped his own head, then pulled at Felixchen’s hand, whispering, “Prince, let’s not just sit here. Let’s snatch the golden leaves from Oden so we can leave the palace too.”

“Good idea.” Felixchen wanted to leave this godforsaken place as soon as possible and didn’t care about the methods.

“That won’t work,” Oden’s voice rang out.

Jiang Yi jumped, quickly hiding in Felixchen’s palm. “Why not?”

“Because Duke Felixchen is the one the Queen has chosen. Leaving won’t be that simple.”

Felixchen narrowed his eyes. “The chosen one?”

“It’s truly not good news,” Oden said, his gaze lingering on Felixchen for a long time. “In the Queen’s heart, you are already the real Princess.”

“And a Princess is never allowed to leave the castle.”

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