Chapter 18: The Returning Princess and the Princes

Everything has settled, the secrets of Flame Dragon City have been uncovered, and after bidding farewell to the beautiful woman, Vilyric crossed Dragonfall Valley and left the Giant Dragon City directly.

The guild’s tasks would be handled by Miss Nastaia, the Acting City Lord and the client.

This saved Vilyric from making another trip to submit.

The spatial ring gifted by Nastaia had already been investigated by Vilyric; it was quite a nice-quality purple piece of equipment. According to the description, it should have been forged with dragon essence by her ancestor, the first Countess Ella Siniel.

It should be regarded as something akin to a family heirloom, with symbolic significance that surpasses its practical use as a spatial ring.

Though the Acting City Lord didn’t mention it, she likely felt quite grateful for Vilyric’s efforts and had high hopes for her.

Inside the ring, there was a considerable amount of kingdom gold, rare materials produced by Flame Dragon City, some equipment items, and even a purple-grade staff that could amplify healing magic, obviously given to Vilyric as a gift.

With all these items, even as the affluent Acting City Lord, Nastaia truly splurged. This had far exceeded the rewards from the recruitment order and the commission.

Though purple equipment isn’t much for Vilyric, a top-tier player, at least it’s something produced in this world.

Moreover, the power of the artifact “Eternal Staff: Heart of the World” was too strong; it wasn’t essential for Vilyric at the moment, and most of the time it served as a melee weapon anyway.

Using this staff gifted by the Acting City Lord, she might try a role as a true squishy priest.

As for the issue of “Heart of the Red Dragon,” just as Vilyric stated, she didn’t pay it much mind; it was merely a side quest she could take or leave.

But if this matter is indeed related to the “Throne of Immortality,” then the target being the priestess of the City of Courage would eventually cross paths again.

A few days after leaving Flame Dragon City, Vilyric and Xiao Guang found a merchant caravan in another city, catching a ride with their slightly revealed healing magic.

Their next destination was a city known as the Forgotten Land.

It is said that this place was struck by divine punishment for the sin of desecration, turning into a city of the dead overnight. Now, countless dead and spirits wander within, and even the official kingdom would rather keep its distance and let it be.

The caravan’s goal certainly wasn’t the Forgotten Land; they would just happen to pass by that area along the way.

As long as the living didn’t enter the depths of the Forgotten Land, there was no danger, which was common knowledge among the people.

The reason Vilyric wanted to come and check it out was that a certain mouse told her that a powerful vampire had once been encountered in this area, severely injured and at death’s door.

Vampires, those mysterious beings that only exist in novels and comics on the Blue Star, were something the priestess had long wished to see for herself.

However, Plakaka mentioned this was an old tale from a hundred years ago, so Vilyric didn’t have high hopes about whether vampires truly still existed here.

In any case, they’d see how it goes; it was on the way to the royal capital anyway.

Who knows, it might even be some good fun!

……

In the capital of the United Kingdom, the City of Courage.

“Princess is back!!”

In the grand and opulent kingdom assembly hall, the blue-haired girl, Fifth Princess Liliya Meikailande, dressed in a luxurious royal gown and wearing a crown, walked in with elegant steps.

Numerous royal ministers, dressed sharply, lined up on both sides and lowered their heads to welcome the triumphant princess.

“We rejoice, Fifth Princess, for you have vanquished the Beastmen and secured peace in the land. Your wisdom and valor are the pride of our kingdom!!”

Everyone bowed, and their solemn and powerful shouts echoed throughout the hall. While some showed reluctance, they could only follow the crowd and join in the roaring praise.

Everything Liliya had done in the western realm was transmitted back to the royal capital via battle reports ahead of time—rescuing General Layton, leading the charge during the Beastmen’s siege, commanding with poise, and tackling the crisis single-handedly. They reported her infiltrating the enemy nation, burning their supplies, exterminating bandit nests, and driving back a million-strong Beastmen army.

Aside from some undisclosed secrets, the battle reports nearly exaggerated Princess Liliya’s achievements to the utmost degree.

The key was, in a sense, it was all true.

With this great achievement, her prestige among the ministers and the public reached an astonishing height, especially compared to those princes who only knew how to engage in covert rivalry.

A significant portion of neutral factions with real power thus pledged loyalty to Liliya, and some formerly staunch noble factions flipped allegiance. With the current influence of the princess, her brothers could no longer manipulate the council as they once did to sabotage her.

“Everyone, please rise.”

The princess’s crisp and commanding voice slowly resonated, and compared to her demeanor before departing, in just over a month, the young lady had undergone a transformation that genuinely suited a future ruler.

As her beautiful, sharp gaze swept across the powerful and pampered nobles, they hardly dared to meet her eyes and awkwardly averted their gazes—that was the gaze of someone who had killed and emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Many astute nobles couldn’t help but think in unison.

The kingdom is about to undergo a change.

The princess gracefully strode forward, finally arriving in front of an empty throne.

Sitting on either side were three elegantly-dressed men and a beautifully crafted blue-haired girl who appeared to be just over ten years old.

Second Prince of the United Kingdom: Ban Meikailande, age 31.

Third Prince of the United Kingdom: Patrick Meikailande, age 26.

Fourth Prince of the United Kingdom: Devitt Meikailande, age 19.

Sixth Princess of the United Kingdom: Mona Meikailande, age 12.

Including 16-year-old Fifth Princess Liliya Meikailande, all the direct descendants of the royal family of the Human United Kingdom were gathered here.

“My three royal brothers and younger sister, I have returned.”

“Liliya big sister! It’s so good to see you safe! I heard that you’ve been winning battles outside, defeating those Beastmen in style!”

The youngest princess, Mona, immediately jumped up in excitement and hugged Liliya’s leg. She also had long sky-blue hair, being a child of the same mother as Liliya, and compared to the other half-brothers, the sisterly bond between them was noticeably closer.

Though there was just a four-year age gap, since Liliya had passed the rapid development phase of girls, the little one’s height barely reached the Fifth Princess’s chest, resembling a large doll.

Little Mona’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at Liliya with admiration. Her delicate face appeared exceptionally tender, complemented by a matching outfit and a small crown, making her look like a miniaturized version of a princess.

“Hehe, with little Mona cheering for her big sister in the royal capital, winning battles is naturally a piece of cake~”

Liliya affectionately ruffled her adorable younger sister’s head and then raised her gaze, smirking slightly at her three already-adult brothers.

“It’s also thanks to the support of my royal brothers that Liliya was able to achieve this victory. If given the chance, I will surely repay this great favor, so please look forward to it.”

“You’re too kind, younger sister; it’s only our duty as brothers to support you, no need for such gratitude.”

The oldest, Second Prince Ban Meikailande, smiled gently, his demeanor humble and polite, as if he hadn’t grasped the underlying meaning of Liliya’s words at all.

“Tsk…”

Third Prince Patrick merely tilted his head, letting out an inaudible click of his tongue, with a vague expression, and chose not to speak.

“Congratulations, congratulations! Little sister, your triumphant return is indeed a great achievement! Though I’ve always believed in your abilities, I must admit I feel quite relieved now. Come, come, please take your seat!”

Compared to the placid Second Prince and the indifferent Third Prince, the Fourth Prince Devitt appeared particularly warm, though not as much as the little princess Mona, but on the surface, they could still be seen as a harmonious sibling group.

“Hehe… then thank you, royal brother.”

Liliya displayed an equally friendly smile as she approached the seat designated for the Fifth Princess and sat down.

With a clang and a beat, the celebration music began to play.

Next, the rewards for the victorious troops and the routine assembly officially commenced.

   

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