Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 158 Meeting with the Crown Prince (First Update)
"..."

Inside the castle were many winding stone staircases, designed to hinder the advance of invaders. But at this moment, only a young girl, guided by a servant, was walking step by step toward the very heart of the castle.

Despite having endured many hardships, when the girl was finally about to approach the future King of France, she couldn't help but clench her hands tightly, her heart pounding. Winter had only just passed, but she already felt warm all over.

Excitement, tension, unease... and a touch of unreality and unreality.

……

Since she was thirteen, she has gradually been able to hear some voices in her ears. The whispers seem to be saying something to her, but she can never hear them clearly. She can only vaguely hear words like "Crown Prince", "mission", and "restoration of the kingdom".

It wasn't until a few years ago that she finally seemed to understand what those voices were urging her to do: "to help the crown prince restore the country."

"But I'm just an ordinary country girl. I can't ride a horse or fight. What can I do?"

The country girl spoke in confusion, but the voice beside her did not answer her.

After a long time, she finally decided to fulfill her mission. Perhaps it was her piety, or perhaps it was the impulsive enthusiasm of youth, that made her want to see the vastness of the world and unwilling to spend her life in a small village.

So when she was sixteen, she secretly ran away alone to the outpost of Vaucouleur next to the village, a French outpost that moved between England and France. The local commander was Robert de Bodricoule, a nobleman who held military power but was not keen to interfere in the war between England and France.

For Robert, the outcome of this war only determined who the King of France would be. He was a nobleman with his own fiefdom, subjects, and army; who the King of France was was ultimately unimportant. But when he learned that a little girl had actually claimed she would save France, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

“Slap her a few times and take her back to her father.”

The lord gave his soldiers such instructions, and the little girl, forced to return home, had to face the ridicule of her fellow villagers, who pointed at her and said...

"Look, that woman will revitalize France and the monarchy."

That period was the most helpless time for Jeanne. No one understood her. She continued as before, herding sheep, weeding, spinning, doing everything a country woman should do. Her parents even arranged a marriage for her, but Jeanne refused to comply. The only things that kept her company were the occasional sounds of voices.

“Go to the Crown Prince and have him crowned as King, in the name of the King of Heaven.”

The whispers spoke thus, but they never taught Jeanne how to do it; they merely urged her on.

Six months later, the girl who had failed before persuaded two young men from her hometown to come to the Vokulir stronghold again, accompanied by them.

"Why are you here again?"

This time, the commander merely frowned but did not immediately send her away. The previous failure had made Jeanne less impulsive. After half a year of reflection, she had made considerable preparations. Facing Robert, she spoke calmly.

"In the name of God, I will help the crown prince be crowned king. After these great things are accomplished, I will marry and have three children. The first will become the pope, the second the emperor, and the third the king."

Jeanne's use of the terms "pope," "emperor," and "king" is actually a classical allegory, referring to royal power, papal authority, and peace. However, Robert, standing before her, did not understand Jeanne's words.

Robert immediately replied, "Since they'll all be big shots in the future, I'd love to have a son with you, then my net worth would increase a hundredfold."

“No, noble Robert, God will make it happen.”

Jeanne insisted.

Ultimately, Jeanne persuaded Robert, or at least he remained skeptical, to send six soldiers to escort her across British territory. After a journey of more than ten days, they delivered Jeanne to Chinon. And now, she was finally going to see the Crown Prince; the mission spoken of by the voice that had echoed in her ears since childhood could finally be fulfilled.

Unbeknownst to others, Jeanne clenched her hands, her lips moving in silent prayer.

……

"Crack..."

Before a large wooden door, two servants worked together to slowly push open the heavy door. Behind the door stood a large group of well-dressed courtiers and nobles, arranged in two rows, revealing a passageway in the middle. At the end of the passageway sat the Crown Prince, who sat on the head seat.

He was a tall, adult male with a straight nose, wearing a red robe and a round hat that covered his hair.

Looking at the prince in front of her, Jeanne felt a surge of joy, but then a voice rang in her ears.

"not him."

She froze, then looked around. Among the many nobles and courtiers, everyone who met her gaze bowed their heads in respect. Finally, she locked her gaze on someone in the distance of the crowd.

Hidden among the crowd was a man who didn't appear very tall, even somewhat short. Looking at the man, Jeanne immediately realized that he was her king.

She walked over excitedly, knelt down in front of the man, bowed her head and closed her eyes, clenched her hands, and then said.

"I have finally found you, my king."

"Om..."

Immediately, gasps and whispers arose among the nobles and courtiers. The man before him could only chuckle awkwardly as he looked at Jeanne. The "Crown Prince" who sat on the throne stepped down and respectfully addressed the man.

"Your Highness, it seems she is indeed real."

……

A few quarters of an hour ago.

"Afterwards, I will switch identities with one of you, both to prevent her from being an assassin and to test whether she is real or not."

Facing a large group of courtiers and nobles, the Crown Prince spoke.

……

After this brief test, the Crown Prince and Jeanne entered a secret chamber in the castle and began to talk. What they discussed remains unknown, only that they spoke for a long time, lasting one or two hours. So much so that the later English playwright Shakespeare, in his play *Henry VI*, offered his own malicious speculations.

"He listened to the woman's report so closely that it went into her clothes; otherwise, how could the conversation have lasted so long?"

However, after the two emerged from the secret chamber, Charles looked around at all the nobles and courtiers before him and said...

“A few days later, she will lead my army to Orleans in my name.”

(End of this chapter)