Chapter 326: The Princess's Heart

Since Princess Sylvia had already arrived at Castle Rock, Lorist had no choice but to leave the main force behind and ride ahead at full speed to return to the family's territory. What puzzled him was how Princess Sylvia had learned so quickly that he had rejected Grand Duke Fisablen's demands, causing the marriage alliance between the two families to fall through — surely she wasn't here to confront him about it?

Amid the schadenfreude and well-wishes of Count Kemis, Baron Shaxin, and Baron Fillim — all essentially telling him to look out for himself — Lorist departed with Reddy, Shrade, and a dozen or so guards, riding double on their horses day and night. In just three days, he arrived at Castle Rock.

He had barely dismounted and hadn't even shaken the dust from his clothes when Princess Sylvia rushed over, threw her arms around him, and wept as though flowers were scattered by rain. Lorist hurriedly apologized, "Sylvia, I'm so sor—"

Before he could finish, Princess Sylvia burst into loud sobs. "Ugh... ugh... Big Brother Locke, Horix, he... he's gone, and he wasn't even ten yet... ugh... ugh..."

Huh? Wait, who was Horix? That name sounded so familiar... After thinking for a while, Lorist finally recalled — Horix was none other than the little prince of the Iberian Kingdom. He was supposedly the product of an aphrodisiac potion that had been used to lock the second prince and the queen together in a tower so they could complete the vital task of continuing the kingdom's bloodline. Tragically, because of that very potion, the little prince had been born with a congenital heart defect — meaning his heart hadn't developed properly. The court apothecary had said he wouldn't live past twenty...

After the little prince was born, neither the second prince nor the queen wanted anything to do with him, and he was dumped on Grand Duke Fisablen. The Grand Duke had initially treasured the boy, but once he discovered the child was terminally ill, his enthusiasm waned and he no longer regarded the boy as a valuable card to play. Instead, it was Princess Sylvia who had kept the child by her side, raising him as though he were her own younger brother.

Through Lorist's comforting, Princess Sylvia finally managed, between sobs, to explain why she hadn't attended the Knight Tournament. Horix had died — he'd passed suddenly. The servants had assumed he was sleeping, and no one realized he had slipped away in his sleep. It wasn't until the evening, when the servants thought he had been sleeping too long and tried to wake him, that they discovered his body had already gone cold, without the faintest breath.

Princess Sylvia had received the news while still in Windbury, the royal city, and had been overcome with grief. She had begged Grand Duke Fisablen to postpone the Knight Tournament by two or three months so they could first return to the Eastern Wilderness Province to conduct the funeral and burial for poor Horix — after all, he was the legitimate heir to the Iberian Kingdom. To her surprise, Grand Duke Fisablen refused her request. He reasoned that the dead Horix was merely a useless little prince, while the Knight Tournament was a matter of honor and the future of the Fisablen family — and most importantly, it was tied to Sylvia's marriage. It had to proceed as planned. As for the dead Horix, he could simply be buried according to the standard afforded to a Family Knight, at the discretion of the household steward.

Princess Sylvia was furious, deeply disappointed by Grand Duke Fisablen's coldness and callousness. After a furious argument, she went to find her aunt — the queen of the Iberian Kingdom — to break the news of little Prince Horix's death. But the queen proved even more heartless, coldly declaring that she had no son named Horix. Enraged, Princess Sylvia caused a massive scene and departed with her personal guard and Great Swordmaster Xian Di, returning to the family's territory in the Eastern Wilderness Province to hold a funeral for the poor Horix.

But when Princess Sylvia returned to the Eastern Wilderness Province, she found that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't give Horix a proper princely funeral. Even in the Iberian Kingdom, Horix's very existence was a taboo subject — the queen refused to even hear his name, and the nobles mostly acted as though he didn't exist. Now that he was dead, the queen and the nobles actually felt relieved. No one cared how his remains were handled.

Princess Sylvia had no choice but to handle the little prince's burial in a hasty manner. During this time, she kept receiving messages from the envoys sent by Grand Duke Fisablen, demanding that she return to the royal city of Windbury immediately and show her face at the Knight Tournament... Princess Sylvia was furious and simply ignored the envoys. It wasn't until the last envoy warned that if Her Highness didn't return, the Grand Duke would personally come to drag her back to the royal city.

So Princess Sylvia, having made up her mind, simply ran away from home. She arrived at Rock Fortress in the Norton Family's territory. She figured that only here would her grandfather, Grand Duke Fisablen, be unable to force her back.

Lorist let out a long sigh of relief. So Princess Sylvia hadn't come storming over in rage because she'd heard he'd rejected Grand Duke Fisablen's demands — there was an entirely different reason. But soon, Lorist began to agonize over whether he should tell her that he had already refused the demands and that Grand Duke Fisablen would never agree to the marriage alliance. Looking at Princess Sylvia's face, so gaunt and filled with sorrow during this time, Lorist wisely kept his mouth shut. He would wait until she was in a better mood before breaking the news of that disagreeable, disappointing matter...

And so, for the next month, Lorist took Princess Sylvia sightseeing everywhere to lift her spirits. They even made a trip to Hilovas Island, to the point that when Count Kenmais and the rest of the reinforcement troops arrived back at Rock Fortress, Lorist didn't even go to welcome them. Count Kenmais was so furious that he wrote a scathing letter berating Lorist for being heartless in the face of a pretty face and forgetting all his obligations for the sake of romance.

Lorist shrugged, entirely unconcerned by Count Kenmais's accusations. In all honesty, he felt a deep sense of guilt toward Princess Sylvia. Perhaps it was because he still hadn't told her about his refusal of the demands. Watching her mood and complexion improve day by day, her smile growing ever brighter and more radiant, Lorist truly couldn't bring himself to broach that thoroughly disagreeable topic...

...galloping across the open sea.

After spending over half a month on Hilovas Island, Princess Sylvia finally felt satisfied and prepared to return to the Northland. During this time, Princess Sylvia was like a young girl who had just fallen in love for the first time, growing increasingly attached to Lorist — which only deepened his guilt further. Humans are not made of wood; Lorist knew full well that Grand Duke Fisablen was a towering mountain standing between him and Princess Sylvia...

The silver moon hung like a full disc against the deep blue canopy of the sky.

Princess Sylvia leaned against the ship's railing, gazing out at the sea. "Brother Locke, I never imagined the sea could be so beautiful. When I was young, Grandfather once took me to a cliff by the shore. That was the first time I ever saw the sea. All I could see were violent waves surging with white foam, smashing furiously against the rocks. The sea was black back then, with enormous waves rolling toward the shore one after another. The wind was fierce that day, and I clutched Grandfather's clothes tightly, afraid to let go. Grandfather said, 'This is the sea — the boundless, endless sea.' That's why I always thought the sea was that fierce, and that going out to sea was gambling with your life...

"I never expected that going with you to Hilovas Island would make me realize the sea can be gentle and calm too. We built castles on the beach, collected seashells, caught crabs, and even played in the water by the shore — it was all so unexpected. Look, Brother Locke, the moonlight shimmering on the sea surface like silver scales, it's so beautiful..."

Lorist smiled and said, "It's July now, the calmest stretch of the Northern Sea. If it were November, it would truly be like what you saw as a child — towering waves, raging surf that fills the sky. Back then, sailing really would be gambling with your life. I once returned to the Northland at the end of November, and the waves were high enough to crash onto the deck. Fortunately, our family's ships are all exceptionally sturdy, so there was no worry about being smashed apart..."

Princess Sylvia's eyes sparkled like stars. "Brother Locke, you're really amazing."

"Uh..." Lorist rubbed his nose in slight embarrassment. Why did he always get this feeling of being a creepy uncle luring a little girl with candy? But being admired and liked by a girl as beautiful as Princess Sylvia did fill him with an incredibly proud sense of accomplishment.

Princess Sylvia moved closer, leaning right against Lorist. His body went rigid in an instant.

"Brother Locke, you still haven't told me about your experience at the knight tournament..." Princess Sylvia said softly.

Lorist gritted his teeth. What was coming would always come. "I'm sorry, Sylvia. Your grandfather made three demands, and I couldn't agree to them."

Sighing softly, Sylvia said, "I knew it. Otherwise you wouldn't be accompanying me everywhere like this, would you? Can you tell me what those three demands were?"

Lorist recounted the three demands without holding anything back.

Princess Sylvia slowly turned around, her bright eyes, brilliant as the stars, gazing into Lorist's. "Brother Locke, don't you like me?"

Lorist immediately began to stammer: "S-Sylvia, I, I really like, like you, honestly. But if I exile them just to marry you, that would be truly un-unfair. They are, are my woman and my children. I am their man and their father, so, so I, I have to be responsible for them..."

Princess Sylvia leaned against Lorist's chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "I, I know, Brother Locke. The fact that you agreed to my grandfather's first two demands shows how much you value me. The th-third demand—I, I don't blame you. If you had agreed to it, I would have looked down on you instead. The fact that you refuse to be heartless and cruel shows true character. I, I really, really envy them..."

"Don't, don't cry, S-Sylvia. It's, it's my fault." Lorist fumbled in a panic.

Princess Sylvia lifted her tear-streaked lovely face: "Kiss me..."

Under the silver moon's watery light, Lorist and Princess Sylvia embraced tightly and kissed. In the shadows beneath the dock, Great Swordmaster Cindie let out a long, wistful sigh. After a good while she finally spoke: "Sylvia, the hour is late. It's time to go back and sleep. The sea wind is cold—be careful you don't catch a chill."

The two sprang apart abruptly. Princess Sylvia's face was flushed crimson from Lorist's passionate kiss, shy and adorable. She covered her face and ran back to the cabin. Lorist, still unsatisfied, shot an unhappy glare toward Great Swordmaster Cindie in the corner, but received only two soft laughs in return.

When they returned to the Northland, Princess Sylvia said to Lorist: "I'm going back to my family's domain. Brother Locke, you agreed to my grandfather's first two demands for the sake of the Visabrun Family. But that third demand concerns my personal interests, so it should be my decision to make. I'll go speak with my grandfather and set things straight. That demand should not become an obstacle to the marriage alliance between our two families."

After Princess Sylvia left, Lorist finally relaxed. He took the opportunity to inspect the family's territories before making his way back to Bedrock Castle at a leisurely pace.

Fatty Shi, who was busy beyond belief, rolled his eyes and said, "Off gallivanting with a beauty—must be nice to live it up like that."

Lorist laughed: "With you around, I can afford to relax. So tell me—what important matters have come up in the family's territories?"

Fatty Shi set down the folder in his hands. "You forgot? Er's getting married. August tenth is his big day."

"After the wedding, Er will take his new wife to Morant City to visit his uncle and those younger brothers and sisters of his. I promised him three months off."

Fatty Shi grinned menacingly. "Wonderful. We need to send him a generous gift. Besides, when I got married, that guy kicked up such a fuss I almost couldn't save face. I've been holding that grudge ever since, and now I finally have my chance to get him back. Haha, just watch me — I'll make sure he regrets it."

Lorist wiped the sweat from his forehead. The man really could hold a grudge. His kids were already eight or nine years old and he still remembered the embarrassment from the wedding! Not that Lorist planned to intervene — it was all in good fun and everyone knew their limits. Nobody would actually make Er unable to save face.

"Anything else?" Lorist asked.

"I've got two pieces of good news and one piece of bad news," said Fatty Shi.

"What?"

"Ovidic and Dolores have successfully advanced to the Gold rank, my lord. The two remaining knight estates on the Red Plains now have owners too. That's the two good pieces of news. The bad news is that Jim failed his advancement. The apothecary says he'll need at least six months of bed rest before he recovers."

This… Ovidic and Dolores advancing to the Gold rank was certainly good news. Ovidic, a former bandit, had been unwaveringly loyal ever since he pledged himself to Lorist, earning deep trust and confidence — so much so that Lorist had entrusted him with command of the Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion. Reaching the Gold rank was a further step forward for him.

As for Dolores, he had followed Lorist northward from Dawn Academy, becoming the founder and commander of the War Chariot Corps. His contributions over the past ten years had been enormous, but his Silver-rank cultivation had made him increasingly unremarkable among the Norton Family's growing and increasingly formalized military forces. Now that he had finally advanced to Gold rank, becoming one of the Norton Family's sixteen Gold Knights, and as one of Lorist's most trusted men, he would surely receive even greater responsibilities going forward.

However, the joy of Ovidic and Dolores's successful advancement was somewhat dampened by the news of Jim's failure. Fatty Shi sighed, "Jim was too hasty. He sustained serious injuries in the Haneyabada Kingdom and attempted his advancement as soon as he had barely recovered. If he had spent another half year solidifying his foundation, his chances would have been much greater. My lord, you should go see him. When I visited him a few days ago, he looked absolutely despondent."

Lorist nodded and was about to say something when he heard hurried footsteps outside, followed by Tager's voice: "My lord..."

"Come in!"

Tager was slightly out of breath. "M-My lord, an urgent dispatch has arrived from the Iberian Kingdom. On the thirtieth of June, the four central duchies and the Fissaburian Family launched a joint invasion of the Melein Duchy. Because they had blockaded the roads, our intelligence agents in the Iberian Kingdom only received word half a month ago. However, the latest reports confirm that the allied forces captured Meishan Castle on the twenty-third of July. Duke Melein led his troops in a breakout but was killed at Mount Lifadema. The Melein Duchy has fallen."

……(To be continued.)