Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

Chapter 237 Cemetery

"How should I put it..."

Aaron scratched his head and said, "Because I've already died once. Normal people don't come back to life after they die. Although I'm different from normal people, after I died, I have nothing to do with my previous life."

“After I died once in Lucert, I became a citizen of the Kingdom of Doc and became a judge. I had nothing to do with Lucert anymore, and I was no longer the Obsidian Knight.”

When Aaron finished speaking, Joan of Arc's expression changed noticeably, turning pale. It was the first time Aaron had ever seen such an expression on Joan of Arc's face.

“Listen to me first. After that, just as you said, I became a judge. It was a completely new beginning, and I did my job well. Unfortunately, I died again, and I will never go back to being a judge,” Aaron said.

Hearing this, Joan of Arc's expression softened slightly, and she said softly, "Teacher."

"So it's the same here. After I come back, I won't rejoin the Obsidian Knights. I'm an old relic from over twenty years ago, so I'll give the opportunity to the younger generation."

Joan of Arc shook her head and suggested, "Even so, let's go in and take a look, just to see how things have changed here."

"it is good."

*

A young man in Obsidian Knights uniform led the way, guiding Aaron and Jeanne through a wooden corridor. The Obsidian Knights' building looked quite old; when Aaron reached the eaves, he could even feel dust settling down. He felt as if a single punch would cause the wall to collapse, and the corners were covered in dust. Yet, every visible part was exquisitely crafted. The Knights' headquarters was already an old building in his time, and after twenty years of weathering, it seemed worthy of being on the list of protected historical buildings.

Aaron stopped beside the familiar headquarters lobby, because he heard the familiar sounds of pens and paper being scribbled and footsteps moving around. Even though it was past dinner time, the headquarters was still in operation, something that was all too familiar to Aaron and even Joan of Arc.

On many nights before, Joan of Arc would bring her homemade dinner to this place, and this scene was all too familiar to her.

Aaron and Joan of Arc did not step inside. The Queen's late-night visit was too exciting for the Knights, so they simply watched from outside the door so as not to disturb them.

"I didn't expect them to still be so busy after all these years," Aaron said softly.

"After all, they have always been the backbone of the empire."

"In that case, let's not bother them."

After watching from outside the window for a while, they quietly left without disturbing anyone inside.

In the still of the night, as the rain continued to fall, after the young Obsidian Knight left, Joan of Arc said, "I will take you somewhere."

This time, Joan of Arc did not reveal their destination, and Aaron did not ask, because he vaguely understood something in his heart, and simply followed Joan of Arc silently.

They walked forward, and as they walked, the surroundings turned into a wasteland. This was a place behind the headquarters of the Obsidian Knights. Because it was a key area of ​​the Obsidian Knights, no one would come here normally. In front of them was a big mountain, which looked eerie in the dark night, so naturally no one else would approach it.

"If you didn't know better, you'd think you were bringing me here to kill me," Aaron said casually, seemingly because the atmosphere was too quiet.

“I think it would be nice to do other things here,” Joan of Arc said.

They walked to the center of the wasteland. Both Joan and Aaron had excellent night vision, but Joan thoughtfully lit a torch to light Aaron's way, because in Joan's eyes Aaron was no different from an ordinary person.

They finally arrived at the cemetery, where neat rows of tombstones stood before them. All the tombstones looked very old, and there were no markings beside them, but each one was engraved with an epitaph that recorded a glorious resume. Without exception, these were all the tombs of the commander of the Obsidian Knights.

“Shouldn’t there be a grave for me here?” Aaron said. “You may not know, but back then, Aurelia gave me the position of Grand Master of the Obsidian Knights.”

“I know. We later searched through Commander Aurelia’s house and found her last words. In them, she said that after her death, she would automatically pass on the leadership of the Obsidian Knights to you. We checked it, and the letter was written by her own hand and has her seal on it.”

Hearing this, Aaron fell silent.

"Unfortunately, not long after that, news came that the teacher had gone missing. We had no choice but to leave the position of group leader vacant."

"Let's move forward, Captain Alleria's grave is here."

It was a grave that looked no different from the one next to it, except that it looked a bit new and that people often came to sweep the grave. Aaron walked forward slowly and quietly, as if the person in the grave was just asleep and he didn't want to wake her.

He slowly approached the grave and gently rubbed the tombstone with his hand, seemingly lost in thought.

Joan of Arc stood silently behind her, her hands clasped together, without saying a word. Although she was a very selfish woman, she did not want to disturb her at this moment.

In the end, he said nothing. He felt he should offer something at the grave, but he had nothing on him. Fortunately, Joan of Arc handed him a bouquet of flowers, red maple flowers, a specialty of Lucerne.

Logically speaking, this flower should only bloom in autumn. In autumn, the forest is covered with red maple leaves, and this flower blooms at that time, making it indistinguishable from the others. However, it is now the hot summer, and the fact that Joan of Arc was able to give him this bouquet at just the right time shows that she had been preparing for a long time.

"Thank you," Aaron said softly, accepting the bouquet of flowers.

Joan of Arc felt a slight stirring in her heart, as if a warm current was flowing out from within.

This bouquet was clearly prepared especially for him by Joan of Arc, because the color of the red maple flowers is very similar to the color of Aurelia's hair, and there are many red maple flower decorations in her home, many of which were even chosen for her by Aaron.

***

They stayed in the cemetery for a long time. When they came out and walked onto the street, it was already late at night, and a carriage was waiting for them outside.

"Nowhere else to go, huh?" Aaron looked a little tired after getting into the carriage. To his surprise, there was no coachman in the carriage. Joan of Arc was sitting in the coachman's seat, and she was driving the carriage herself.

“That’s all, let’s go back and rest,” Joan of Arc said.

"Back to the palace?"

"No, I want to rest somewhere else."

"They're not going to a hotel, are they...?"

Joan of Arc smiled, a rare occurrence for her that night: "Teacher, guess."

Aaron initially thought they were going to a hotel, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was unnecessary. She was the Queen of Lusset, and all of Esgard belonged to her; why would she bother with such a troublesome thing?

But as the carriage gradually slowed down, Aaron began to find that the surroundings were somewhat familiar. Although the buildings and shops had changed, the layout and structure of the buildings, as well as their location in Esgard, remained the same. Aaron quickly recognized the place that Joan of Arc had brought him to.

"We've arrived, our home." Joan of Arc stepped down from the carriage and looked at the two-story house in front of her.

This is the house Aaron bought after he and Joan of Arc ran away from their apartment in the city center. Back then, the Queen and Princess lived on the second floor of this house. It was at the height of its prosperity.

Fortunately, the house was not destroyed in the first air raid and was also preserved during the subsequent war. Although the building was somewhat damaged, it has basically remained as it was back then.

“The old man who lived in our various units back then, who was also the landlord, died five years ago. He was lucky that he didn’t die in the war, but his son died in the war. He died alone in his wife’s arms. A year later, his wife also died. Before she died, I came to see her.”

"Is that so? I don't know if it's lucky or unlucky, but I feel like he liked me quite a bit back then."

"Perhaps that's the case."

Joan of Arc produced the key: "After his death, I bought the entire neighborhood, and now it belongs to the royal family."

"Won't this violate any laws?" Aaron asked. In the Kingdom of Dok, it was common knowledge that the royal family owned their own land, but openly, the royal family could not compete with the people for profit; this was written into the law.

“Obviously, empires and kingdoms are different systems, and as emperor, this request can be met.” Joan of Arc arrived at the door and unlocked it with the key.

"The layout is basically the same as before, and no changes have been made. Someone comes to clean regularly every day. I have already notified them today that no one will come, and there is no one monitoring us nearby. It is very safe here. Let's stay here tonight."

Aaron walked into the room and turned on the light. With the advancement of technology over the past decade, electric lights have become quite common, and the small house was now filled with them.

Aaron rubbed the furniture, looking at its layout, and was surprised to find that it was exactly the same as it had been years ago. He quickly realized that this was not something that could be easily done by memory; it was as if someone had drawn the layout of the room back then and then replicated it one by one.

“I don’t remember all of my memories from back then, but luckily I have the Book of Omniscience. I can keep having the same dream over and over again. Those dreams are very important to me. To a large extent, during the war, it was those dreams that kept me from collapsing and getting lost. In those dreams, this house always appeared many times, so I gradually memorized the layout and then found someone to make a one-to-one replica.”

Aaron looked at Joan of Arc, slightly lost in thought. These were clearly very sad words, but her expression was surprisingly calm.

“It’s alright, it happened many years ago, and I am now the happiest person in the world, so I will no longer be sad about it,” Joan of Arc smiled.

Aaron remained silent. Although she was now the Queen, one could imagine the immense pressure Joan of Arc faced in those days when she was surrounded by enemies and everything was uncertain.

"Yes." Aaron nodded.

“Take a shower first. The clothes are all prepared, made according to the teacher’s figure,” Joan said. Apart from their changed appearances, they were doing the same things they had done many years ago in this house.

When Aaron came out of the bathroom, he was wrapped in a towel. Sure enough, he saw a new set of clothes on the stool by the door. It wasn't a uniform, but rather ordinary clothes from Lucerne. Judging from the style and taste, it must have been chosen for him by Joan of Arc. Aaron put it on, and it fit him very well. The material was also very comfortable. He wondered what brand it was.

He went downstairs and found that the lights in Joan of Arc's room were off. He drank a beer at the table and then went to his own room and closed the door.

The second floor.

In the room on the second floor, Joan of Arc was not asleep. A small lamp was lit on the table, and there was a glass of red wine on the table. This was the fifth glass of red wine she had drunk while Aaron was taking a bath.

After a long fifteen minutes, Joan of Arc still hadn't done anything. She had envisioned all sorts of possibilities during those fifteen minutes when she planned to bring him here, but in the end, she decided to give up.

After all, it was because she had brought him to her grave before that.

Although she didn't feel threatened by this, because no matter what, the dead can never compete with the living, Joan of Arc knew this all too well, at the same time, the living also seemed to be unable to win against the living, just as her teacher had said before, once the white moonlight dies, it will become the white moonlight forever.

At least for tonight, Joan of Arc was unwilling to tarnish her beloved, but that was all for tonight; after that…

Joan of Arc drank another glass of red wine.

She felt a little anxious.

There are still ten hours until dawn tomorrow. Ten hours later, they will appear in a completely new way. The teacher has already come to her side. She is confident of victory, but she is still anxious. She knows in her heart why.

Because the teacher has a fiancée in the Kingdom of Dok.

In fact, while Jeanne and Aaron told the truth, such as her thorough investigation of him, they did not tell the whole truth. For example, besides him, she conducted detailed investigations of everyone around him, not only the Iron Earl and Freya, but also Simon and Zane.

Joan of Arc knew a great deal about Freya. To be honest, generally speaking, Joan of Arc did not think Freya was her match at all. In every respect, Freya was far inferior to her.

Unfortunately, in the battlefield of emotions, strength is not the only factor in determining victory or defeat; this is not a game where being stronger than the other party guarantees victory.

This had already been demonstrated in her own case. Back then, Joan of Arc was probably no match for the leader of the Obsidian Knights in any aspect, or even for most of the women of Esgard, but she was the ultimate victor. Therefore, she knew very well that she could not underestimate Freya.

She actually knew back then that the teacher was very soft-hearted.

Yes, if he weren't soft-hearted, how could she have had the opportunity to take advantage of him, and how could she have stayed by his side forever? But this soft-heartedness is sometimes a good thing for her, and sometimes it's a weakness.

Chapter 238 Worries

Based on the intelligence we have now, there might be one possibility.

When the teacher came to the Kingdom of Dok, during the most difficult and impoverished years of Aaron's life, he spent some time with a girl named Freya. Even if they developed some strange feelings for each other during this time, it was not a big deal to Joan of Arc.

Although she had been away for a long time, Joan of Arc knew very well about her teacher's past and what had happened in the Kingdom of Dok. He had experienced too many such upheavals in his life, his only happiness was destroyed time and time again, and he was plunged into the deepest despair... In such a tragic life, if someone could take care of him like Aurelia, or rather... be taken care of by him, it would be normal for feelings to arise.

Joan of Arc sighed softly.

Joan of Arc felt no hatred towards this, only jealousy, and would not send assassins from the Ninth Bureau from afar to kill her.

Contrary to her feelings of disgust, Joan of Arc even felt a sliver of gratitude.

Secondly, there was another matter that lingered in Joan of Arc's mind.

Joan of Arc remained completely unaware of what actually happened at the end of the Lusset War, only able to speculate.

Although she had sworn in her heart countless nights that she would do anything as long as her teacher was alive and could still appear before her, now that her teacher was truly standing before her, she should have no regrets, but...

Joan of Arc sighed softly.

What exactly happened back then?

It should be noted that what happened was something she couldn't discover even with the Book of Omniscience.