The Regressed Princess - Chapter 70

Chapter 70: Vow of Parting — The little Princess’s Words Were Like a Fine Drizzle; After the Sky Cleared, Not a Single Trace Remained…

The daylight grew warmer, and flowers bloomed in clusters.

The little Princess’s words were like a fine drizzle; once the sky cleared, not a trace of them remained. She and Andra were still a sweet pair of lovers, their mutual understanding a source of envy for all who saw them.

Her Highness had made no suspicious moves. She still allowed Andra to command all the armies and handle diplomacy with the stature of a Prince Consort. That sentence. “It is time to kill Andra” and the specific plans had already been handed over to her three confidants.

Yet, aside from Manzhu, Jīngjí, and Coral themselves, the Princess made no further hints or indications, nor did she secretly provide any convenience. She acted as if she were completely unaware of the matter, leaving them to prepare on their own.

It was strange. Her Highness had always been responsible and even upright in other matters. Would Eleanor truly drown Andra in the seas of Belai as she said? Could she bear it?

Doubt constantly loomed over Manzhu and Coral. They watched as Eleanor and Andra kissed, joked, and played every day like kittens from the same litter, even sleeping curled up together at night.

Was that acting? It didn’t look like acting. When the two walked hand-in-hand through corridors, over long bridges, and across rolling lawns, everyone else in the frame seemed to lose their color.

Eleanor wanted to kill Andra? If anyone dared say those words in front of Andra, only death would await them.

Time passed day by day. When the fields were trimmed with beautiful floral borders and the craftsmen drove the final nail, the Princess’s caravan set out.

The carriages didn’t look luxurious at first glance. Only the one the Princess rode in was slightly more exquisite, but from a distance, they looked almost identical. However, no one would slight a carriage emerging from Enlin. As early as two or three years ago, Enlin carriages had been promoted as a popular product through courier stations.

The wheels and bearings of Enlin carriages featured a special design that greatly enhanced shock absorption. Anyone who had experienced an Enlin carriage could never go back to the old ones; they were truly fed up with the kind of jolting that could split one’s backside. Thus, for the sake of their waists, their seats, and their social standing, nobles scrambled to toss gold coins to order Enlin carriages, lest others think they were outdated or bankrupt.

Besides the carriages, the horses were also in high spirits. Upon arriving in Enlin, the little Princess had taken a liking to a valley. She gave the map to Andra, pointed at the land, and said, “I want to raise horses there.” In the second year, she built a stud farm. Naturally, among the scholars she recruited, there happened to be experts whose families had mastered horse breeding for generations.

And people from the Marigold Chamber of Commerce just happened to meet foreigners secretly selling fine horses somewhere. The stud farm was established with great fanfare.

The news quickly reached the King’s ears. Eva didn’t play dead as usual; she sent an inquiry to her daughter.

You are raising horses.

Horses were strongly linked to cavalry. Several hundred fine horses in Enlin could transform at any critical moment into thousands of charging riders. Eva’s sentence contained neither scolding nor a demand for them, yet it seemed to say everything.

Yes, Mother.

Eleanor wanted to reply just like that, but she patiently continued writing.

Rest assured, I will sell them in a few years. At the latest, in 15 years, these horses and the profits will belong to Nolanna. We must deal with the threat of .

She didn’t specify what threat, just as she no longer confided her resolve to kill Andra to anyone not even Coral or Manzhu.

The number of “reloads” was far too precious. Eleanor didn’t want to waste a single charge to test whether her three confidants and friends would betray her; she couldn’t afford to take that risk. The maximum limit for each reload was six days. If Andra remained still for six days but suddenly struck on the seventh, the entire “petal” would be wasted.

She couldn’t resort to wagging her tail and begging for mercy at the end. If she did, the little Princess who woke up in the next life would likely be a psychiatric patient.

And…

She looked back from the carriage. Coral, who had just stepped out, was frowning deeply, lost in thought. It seemed the scheduled slaughter of these coming days had placed immense psychological pressure on her.

The human heart is complex. The same person might make different decisions on different timelines for minor reasons. As long as the fluctuations in the world-line were frequent and large enough, even a partner loyal for a lifetime might completely turn away on a certain path.

She remembered that in both the first and second lives, Coral had high praise for Andra. To Coral, the best path for her little Princess was to marry a powerful Royal daughter and there was no doubt Andra was powerful enough. Perhaps Coral even thought her current actions were wrong and wanted things to return to the “proper” track of Eleanor marrying Andra and being happy for a lifetime.

Of course, all of this was mere speculation. But as the only person with all her memories, she had to keep every thread firmly in her own hands.

The vanguard of the caravan set out in an orderly fashion. They had arranged all affairs, large and small, in Enlin days ago. The route would take them through several major city-states of Nolanna, then along the waterways to Belai.

Coral had reminded her that, as a Princess of Nolanna, she should submit a parchment scroll to the ruler of Belai before crossing the border to maintain etiquette. Ideally, the King of Nolanna should write a state letter so she could travel with diplomatic status.

Eleanor shook her head and said, “We are going to Belai to see the sights. We won’t necessarily disturb the ruler… it won’t be too late to submit it once we enter the capital, Philli.”

She had to maintain a flexible plan because she was completely in the dark regarding Belai’s current situation; she had to be prepared to turn around and leave at any moment.

In the first life, Belai had been a tough nut to crack. Andra’s easy victory was actually built upon her fierce military strength and the years of effort by Eleanor and the shipwrights. In the first life, Belai had been shattered in the war; their nobles either died or went into hiding, and the royal family, like startled birds, acted like ostriches after offering a princess from a side branch. No one jumped out to shout slogans of “restoring” the country, so naturally, no one emphasized Belai’s glorious history to the rulers.

Furthermore, back then, Eleanor thought some of Belai’s policies were absolute rubbish and abolished as many as she could once it was in her hands. The Belai of the past was merely a footnote following Andra’s sword; she didn’t need to pay attention to dead nobles or the gasping royal family.

But this life was different. She had only a few hundred hand-picked guards with her, and the primary purpose of going to Belai was no longer a swift conquest, but to kill Andra. Thus, she had to focus on Belai’s local situation first, lest she be caught up in some Belai political struggle right after the assassination and end up killed by a sword… that would be too ridiculous.

Bells swayed in the wind, their clappers already removed; only beautiful light and shadows flickered as they moved. After a month of long-distance travel, the caravan finally arrived at the border between Nolanna and Belai.

The scenery here was entirely different from the border of Hetuya. There were no deserts or plains; the air was thick with moisture. Green plants filled the eyes, looking like an infinitely stretching oil painting under the clear sky.

Clack. The carriage stopped. The door swung open, and a pair of hands reached in.

“Come,” Andra’s silhouette appeared before her.

Eleanor instinctively reached out. Her wrist was grabbed, and she was swept into a firm embrace. Rows of tents came into view as they turned; this meadow was the spot everyone had chosen for today’s camp.

The setting sun dyed the clouds a magnificent golden-red, matching Andra’s flowing hair. The handsome youth carried the Princess across the lawn, charging directly into a vast, romantic sea of flowers.

“Eleanor, look!” Andra’s eyes sparkled as she laid the girl in her arms down among clusters of light pink flowers.

Eleanor’s black hair spread out in a swirl, dotted with wild flowers of pink, lavender, and pale blue, outlining her graceful figure. Her moon-white skirt unfurled slowly, transforming into a lily that bloomed more joyfully than any other flower in the field.

“You are so beautiful.”

Andra couldn’t help but lean down, pressing a passionate kiss to her lover’s face. Her blood flowed from her heart in all directions until her palms were burning hot. She couldn’t help but steal a look at Eleanor in the gaps between the kisses.

The girl’s eyes were brimming with emotion, but this light scorched Andra’s nerves like a wildfire, causing the hand stroking the fabric of her clothes to stop instantly.

What was I just about to do?

Andra bit her lip in slight frustration. It wasn’t even dark yet! Her mind seemed a bit abnormal, swept away by an unusual emotion that made her want to do something dangerous to Eleanor. She quickly clasped her left hand with her right and rolled over to lie on the grass beside the Princess.

Their movements shifted from an ambiguous embrace to a pure, shared gaze toward the sky. She pressed against Eleanor’s shoulder so that the Princess’s hair would cover her more.

“Eleanor,” Andra turned her face, her lips brushing her lover’s earlobe almost imperceptibly. “Let’s get married in two years.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she smiled helplessly. This wasn’t the original plan. From the moment she first headed to Nolanna, she had the intention of marrying the Princess; naturally, the sooner the marriage happened, the better.

Back then, she didn’t know what Eleanor looked like or what her personality was; she only had the concept of a “Nolannan Princess.”

If the Nolannan Princess isn’t too repulsive, it would be best if I could marry her when she is sixteen.

The customary marriage age in Nolanna was generally between 16 and 20. Once she successfully married the Nolannan Princess, she could use her status as Prince Consort to engage in all sorts of activities quite openly. She couldn’t wait for Aguno’s natural death; twenty years was the ultimate deadline Andra had vaguely set in her mind.

Twenty years. She had to seize a country within twenty years, be it Hetuya or Nolanna!

But later… Andra took Eleanor’s soft hand, feeling the temperature and the tremor as their skin touched.

Love. An uncontrollable love surged from the depths of her heart. She wanted to give Eleanor the best of everything; she didn’t want it to be this bedraggled or rushed.

Marrying at sixteen… what could she bring Eleanor then? Hetuya certainly wouldn’t be willing to provide much of a bride-price. All she could give was the money she had earned following Eleanor these years… what did that amount to?

Consequently, the wedding would surely require Eleanor to pay out of her own pocket. The Marigold Chamber of Commerce and the nearby nobles would all want to save face; they would surely present the little Princess with magnificent gifts and maintain an extravagant display.

But those they were too meager!

She didn’t want to marry Eleanor as a Prince Consort. Her first wedding with her lover should be witnessed by the entire nation, blessed wholeheartedly by the priests of the great temples under the gaze of the gods.

I want to marry you as the King of Hetuya.

She looked at Eleanor’s tranquil face, her eyes burning with ambition. But the flames of ambition couldn’t burn away the helplessness of reality. Her romantic notion from just now was erased by a more urgent thirst, setting a two-year deadline.

Twenty years? No, she couldn’t accept even ten more years. It was too late. That was simply too late.

She had been by Eleanor’s side for these past six years. Andra always stayed ahead of others; her steps were faster and firmer. She could always move toward victory and become the lone Alpha in the pack.

But Eleanor was different. She was completely different from everyone else—and from her. Eleanor’s eyes seemed to see the future. Wherever her footsteps went, miracles bloomed everywhere.

Will I be left behind by Eleanor?

Sometimes Andra even felt a slight fear. She wanted to face her heart, to fully embrace and possess Eleanor. She wanted to spread her wings with her and fly together toward a glorious future.

She had many, many wishes. Even putting those wishes aside Andra looked at Eleanor’s beautiful silhouette and suddenly her cheeks felt hot. She closed her eyes, not daring to look further.

Even putting all my ambition aside, I want to go to the sea of flowers with you.

Tap.

Eleanor suddenly raised a finger and flicked her lip.

“Alright, wipe your mouth.”

They lay in the center of the setting sun, surrounded by silence. Eleanor looked at the sky wordlessly. The area around her seemed to turn into a blank space, replaced by the Andra of the past… and her own past self.

“Eleanor, over here, over here.”

The beautiful youth smiled shyly under the moonlight. She took her hand, their hearts pounding so hard that they couldn’t even find the right place for a kiss.

“Keep your voice down… are you sure no one else is here?” “I’m sure. Mmh, come a little closer, my Princess…”

They rolled into the dew-covered grass with laughter, entrusting themselves to each other. There wasn’t a shred of hesitation in Andra’s golden eyes, nor in hers. They were single-minded.

Silence eventually passes. In reality, there was no chirping of insects, nor the meticulous exploration of green lovers. They lay on the grass, watching the sunset gradually fade as the glass-like sky bled from golden-red into a mottled deep blue.

Just as Andra thought Eleanor wouldn’t answer the question, the little Princess spoke softly.

“Alright.”

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