I, Guinevere, am going to crush you, you curry stick, today!

While nodding its head like a chick pecking at rice, it continued to point to its mouth and belly, putting food into its mouth.

She was already beautiful, and although she hadn't fully grown up, she was already a stunning beauty. Her flustered appearance at this moment made Peden momentarily unable to look away. He had been raised with high hopes by his father since childhood, burying himself in rigorous training every day. After being selected to become the king's guard, the only woman he ever encountered was that little princess… Just thinking about that princess who would call for a fight at the training ground at the slightest provocation—a fight that was really just a beating—made Peden's scalp tingle.

Inside the palace, everyone praised the princess, saying they had never seen a more beautiful girl than her. They also added that although she was beautiful, she was not someone you could see as a man. Rather than a dream lover, she was more like a good brother you could drink, eat, and have fun with...

A rumor has been circulating widely recently: Princess is now fifteen years old, and the king has been secretly preparing for her marriage. However, after visiting four or five families who are of similar social standing, the king was completely disregarded and refused their proposals.

One of the youths even knelt down on the spot and cried, "If the king insists on this, let me fight the Picts alone—we'll die anyway, but at least I can die with honor!"

Heaven knows what image the princess had in his eyes...

With such a painful past, the sudden sight of a beautiful girl who perfectly matched his ideal was enough to make Peden momentarily forget that she was a Pickett. He stared at her, unable to look away, and even swallowed hard. The girl seemed to misunderstand, nodding and letting out two soft "ah ah ah" sounds. She then gestured with her fingers and toes for a while, as if telling him to rest in bed and not move around. Then she turned and left the room.

"and many more……"

When he came to his senses, he couldn't help but feel annoyed. Peden, what were you doing? Putting aside the fact that the other party was an enemy, it was only the first time they met, and you were already having some impolite thoughts that violated the code of chivalry... After scolding himself like this, the faint honey scent in the air still made his heart flutter, and all sorts of romantic thoughts kept popping up. Even the pain in his body was relieved a lot.

"No, think of the little princess...remember, the little princess's smile, the smile I saw that day on the training field when I was running for my life and looking back..."

Peden closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. After a while, his mood gradually calmed down, and he realized that he had just broken out in a cold sweat.

This is not normal. There must be something strange about that pink-haired girl... and that talking rainbow squirrel... Just then, he suddenly heard a voice that sounded very familiar.

"So, in your heart, 'Princess' holds such a high position. She's even used to ward off evil spirits... How effective is it?"

"It's very effective; it immediately stops my overthinking."

Peden answered instinctively, then suddenly realized who the voice belonged to. He opened his eyes and saw a strange man wearing black armor, with only half of his face showing, who had appeared in the room at some point. His pair of emerald green eyes, which seemed to speak, were smiling at him.

Those eyes, that look, had just appeared in his memory.

Petden broke out in a cold sweat.

"Little, little, little—Your Highness!?"

“It’s me. And I don’t need to say it so many times. I think even though I’m a bit short, I don’t need to use five ‘small’ characters.” Guinevere said through gritted teeth.

She and Musashi followed Neof, and on the way they bumped into a pink-haired girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old—whose appearance seemed somewhat familiar to her for some reason—they went straight into the room and saw that her father's guard had his eyes closed and was muttering to himself for a long time. Finally, she couldn't help but call out to him.

The two gazes behind her made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Honestly, all I did was spar with you a few times because you were pretty strong. This pitiful look... anyone who didn't know better would think she was a virgin who'd been raped by a bully...

But her gaze fell on Peden's missing left leg, and her expression slowly darkened.

“You are Father’s personal guard, always by the king’s side. Since you are here, it means you are not my elder brother, but Father himself leading the army into battle… is that right?”

“Indeed…” Mentioning the serious matter, Peden’s expression turned grave, and recalling the previous battle, it was tinged with sorrow. “Your Highness… the King… he might… he might already…”

As he spoke, he laboriously raised his arm. The girl took a step forward, and seeing his trembling outstretched hand, she offered him her own left arm. Although it was a handguard like a dragon's claw, cold to the touch, Peden looked overjoyed: "It really is Your Highness... Thank goodness, if you're back... the King is saved!"

By the end, the young man's eyes had even reddened.

Guinevere bit her lip, reached out, hesitated for a moment, and placed her hand on his shoulder, patting him gently.

"……I'm back."

P.S.: It seems like the chat and book reviews haven't been working for the past few days, but I don't think you'll abandon Qingbai just because there aren't any chats to read~ I believe in you guys!

This chapter already has over four thousand words in just a few days, so I have the confidence to say it loudly—hand over all your recommendations and monthly tickets—hand them over—come on—come on!!!

Chapter 187 The Current Situation in Scotland

"...The first to notice the anomaly and report it to the King was Sir Balan. As you know, he has always been the most perceptive of all...Sir Balan felt that the Picketts seemed to have been too quiet lately, and based on past experience, he speculated that they might be planning something big, and hoped that the King could respond as soon as possible."

Once he calmed down a bit, Peden finally realized his lapse in composure. He couldn't put his weight on his leg, but he insisted that he couldn't treat the princess so rudely. He struggled to sit up on the bed and looked at the girl with reddened eyes.

"Although many ministers thought Sir Balan was overthinking things, and Prince Pat and Lord Klark also strongly opposed it, the King still listened to Sir Balan's request and ordered him to lead five hundred soldiers into the great forest to stop the Picts' scheme." Perhaps because of the pain in his wound, he spoke intermittently, occasionally gasping for breath.

The Balan he mentioned is Guinevere's first swordsmanship teacher, and now the chief knight in Scotland, renowned for his unparalleled martial arts skills and trusted by many.

The girl inherited the Wind Mark from Terena, but she longed to wield a sword one day more than magic. She pestered Leodogran and other knights who came and went from the castle. Many of them couldn't stand her persistence and had no choice but to teach her some fashionable but not very useful moves. A princess of noble status would never have the opportunity to actually fight with a sword. Only Balan taught her seriously from the basics for nearly half a year.

Six months later, Balan was ordered to guard the northern border and prevent the Picts from invading. Guinevere also gained Leodogran's approval and began to formally practice dual swordsmanship.

Although what Professor Balan taught were the most basic parts, in other words, those were the processes that every swordsman had to go through at the beginning.

A castle in the air, no matter how beautiful it may appear, is ultimately just a dream.

As for these rudimentary lessons, the knights who had been formally conferred titles, proud of their status, were mostly unwilling to personally instruct them. They would leave such tasks to their squires—but who would dare to let their squire educate a princess?

The young girl understood this principle, and therefore always held the chief knight, who had condescended to instruct her in swordsmanship, in the highest esteem. Hearing Peden mention that the enemy dared to enter the great forest with only five hundred men, even knowing Balan's strength, her heart still skipped a beat: "Are they... alright?"

"They stayed in the great forest for five days. In the end, fewer than ten people, including Sir Balan, came out alive..." Peden's expression was very grim. "Looking back now, he truly deserved to be the kingdom's chief knight... But at the time, no one knew how terrible the great forest was. They only thought it was Sir Balan's negligence, and suddenly, all kinds of criticism and abuse came like a tidal wave. Under pressure from all sides, the king had no choice but to revoke his title and lands, but he did not punish him further. He only ordered Sir Balan to offset his crimes with merits."

"And the task that was originally Sir Baran was taken over by Prince Pat, who volunteered to take it over as well."

“Brother…” Guinevere frowned. “Although he is capable, it is still too much of a stretch for him to replace Balan… But since Father has agreed, I suppose Lord Klark should be by his side, right?”

"Indeed. It was because of Lord Klark's assistance that the King decided to entrust this important task to Prince Pat."

"That's not a problem... So, what exactly happened after that? Why did you..."

Hearing this question, Peden lowered his gaze, looking at his broken leg, and gave a bitter smile: "Sir Balan's defeat also proves the threat from the north from another perspective. In addition, there are various reports coming from the south... Your Highness, I knew you were always right. When the news came back that King Arthur had dealt with the two kings, Lanes and Nero, for a long time and had retreated safely, the king seemed to be in a very good mood. That night, he ignored the doctor's advice and got drunk for the first time in a long time."

"Hmm, oh..." The girl nodded, somewhat puzzled by Peden's sudden change of topic: "But why bring up King Arthur all of a sudden?"

“Isn’t this problem obvious?” Peden shook his head. “Prince Pat has always advocated an alliance with the King of the West. And Your Highness, King Arthur, whom you support, will inevitably become the King of the West’s enemy… In this matter, the choice is more about standing with Prince Pat or…”

Realizing what he was about to say, Guinevere's expression changed: "I've said it countless times, I have absolutely no interest in this throne—"

“But Prince Pat doesn’t think so.” Peden looked at her emerald eyes peeking out from under the dragon helmet. “After he took over the affairs of Sir Baran, he began to win people over semi-openly. He was especially ruthless in dealing with those who had expressed their desire for Your Highness to inherit the throne. If it weren’t for the King watching over them, I’m afraid those people would have already…”

"How could that be? My brother..." The girl instinctively wanted to deny it, but as a member of the king's guard, Peden usually didn't hide the king's decisions from them. Peden had always been neutral regarding the crown prince and hadn't shown any intention of having her replace Pat as heir to the throne. The words "You're lying" lingered on her lips for a long time, but she couldn't bring herself to say them.

Her heart is as clear as a mirror.

The person in front of me was not lying or exaggerating.

Pat, her brother in this life, is truly capable of doing such a thing...

“The king warned him several times, but Prince Pat only showed some restraint on the surface, and secretly continued to do as he pleased.” Peden’s tone was like a bitter smile: “If this continues, the kingdom will be in great chaos. But the king could not bring himself to punish Prince Pat, and after discussing with several ministers, he decided to resolve the matter as soon as possible before it would damage the foundation of the kingdom.”

At this point, Guinevere almost understood why Leod Ogland, whose health had been deteriorating in recent years and who was almost no longer able to fight with a sword, would once again lead his army into battle.

“Father plans to target the Picts.” She closed her eyes and exhaled.

Peden nodded: "Exactly. It would be best if we could defeat the Picts in one fell swoop, but even if things aren't that simple, a war with the Picts would be enough to quell some of the internal turmoil in the kingdom. To achieve the best results, the king has decided to personally lead the army, with Sir Baran as the vanguard and Prince Pat as the rearguard, gathering almost seventy percent of the nobles, and marching in a mighty force toward the great forest..."

That's enough. Just look at Peden's broken leg; the outcome of the battle is predictable. This long narration seemed to have exhausted all the wounded man's strength. He was pale, leaning against the bed, and fell silent for a long time.

Guinevere opened and closed her hands repeatedly, as if trying to say something, but her throat felt dry and hoarse, and she couldn't even utter a single syllable.

"We did not find the bodies of anyone who looked like a Scottish king or prince."

Just then, a voice came from behind. The girl turned around and saw Nioph, holding a wooden staff, walking over and patting her on the shoulder—the purple-haired woman was tall, so the pat was quite natural—she looked up at Peden. This news seemed to reassure him a little. He opened his eyes, his gaze still somewhat conflicted, but finally said, "Thank you..."

Neo smiled slightly: "You should rest first. Twelve said she was going to get you some food, she should be back soon. We don't need to eat, so we can't guarantee the taste of the food... it probably won't kill anyone. Oh, Twelve is the girl who took care of you earlier."

“Oh…” Peden nodded, seemingly not quite used to the purple-haired woman’s inexplicably intimate tone, and said thank you again, somewhat hesitantly.

“Well then, Your Highness—” she said with a hint of sarcasm, “let’s not disturb his rest, let’s go outside and talk.”

"it is good."

After reminding Peden to rest and that she would come to see him again later, Guinevere and Neov left the room. This was the residential area of ​​Tirnano, a vast area that, according to Neov, could accommodate nearly 10,000 people at the same time. However, there were only about 300 residents at present, so it was impossible to verify whether this was true or not.

"We'll take you to your guest rooms first. You all look exhausted, so please get some rest. We can talk about business later once you're refreshed."

The girl and Musashi were both exhausted from their journey, so they didn't refuse her kindness. However, thinking about what she had just heard, Guinevere felt heavy-hearted. Musashi suddenly stopped, and she bumped into his back, letting out a muffled groan, but she didn't feel any pain.

Musashi, as if burned, jumped abruptly to the side: "Your horns—" She then realized that the lifelike dragon horns on her helmet had apparently poked Musashi in the back. Seeing him hop around a few times, gasping for breath, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "I...I'm sorry, I was thinking about something..."

"I know, that's why I stopped." Musashi waved his hand casually. At this moment, the purple-haired woman also noticed the commotion behind her, stopped, and turned around.

"what happened?"

Neof didn't speak directly; instead, she used a mysterious magic to transmit her words directly into the other person's heart, eliminating any language barrier. Under the questioning gazes of the two, Musashi tilted her head, but before she could speak, Neof smiled: "I see. What Miss Musashi meant was that going to sleep with worries makes it easy to have nightmares—"

“This is based on my experience,” Musashi interjected from the side.

"So let's talk things out first, come up with a solution, and then go rest."

"This……"

“I understood some of what you were saying in the room just now. Although I don’t know the specifics, there’s a saying that one person’s plan is short-sighted, but two people’s plans are long-sighted, especially since there are thirty-nine people here.”

Upon hearing this number, Neof chuckled softly.

Musashi looked at Guinevere, who was still somewhat dazed, and laughed: "Instead of worrying alone, why not just tell us your troubles? Maybe we can help you out."

"understood."

The girl hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: "Actually, my brother..."

P.S.: Remember to vote with recommendations and monthly tickets!

Chapter 188 "The Poisonous Soup"

In his blurry vision, snowflakes seemed to be falling from the sky, making the surrounding air rapidly grow cold. He took a deep breath, feeling as if a nail had been driven into his lungs, a burning pain that made him cough violently.

"Cough cough cough...cough!"

With a cough that sounded like he was about to vomit his insides, the knight leaned against a rock and laboriously removed his helmet with one hand, tossing it aside—the helmet, like his finely crafted armor, was now tattered and offered no further protection.

His face was covered in blood, and a claw mark several inches long ran across his left eye, dripping with blood, clearly indicating that he was blind. His other eye was squinting, but his gaze remained fixed.

He was breathing heavily, his left arm hanging limply at his side, while his right hand still gripped a sharp sword tightly, the edges of which were riddled with large and small nicks, looking as if it might break at any moment.

The stench of blood mingled with the wind, and black crystals, like snowflakes, drifted down from the sky, landed on the ground, and began to burn silently. In no time, the surroundings were engulfed in flames.

Black flames trapped the knight in the center, the flames licking the cracked earth, and one by one, dark figures emerged from behind the sea of ​​fire...

"Give me--"

The knight gripped his sword in one hand, bent low, and charged towards the surrounding shadows, shouting, "Get out of the way!"

The spear pierced his left arm, and the sword light burst forth. The shadow spirit wielding the spear was also cut down at the same time. The knight swung his arm and stepped on the eerie black fire, and more shadows surged towards him.

Above his head, amidst the layers of tree canopy, drifting clouds and dim starlight, a gigantic, illusory eye slowly opened, taking in the battle below.

"found it--"

……

"found it--"

The familiar roar of a dragon echoed in her mind, like a resounding bell, instantly rousing the girl's consciousness. She abruptly opened her eyes, a deep, dark red light flashing briefly before returning to its usual emerald green.

That is……

She raised her gauntlet and gently tapped her cold helmet. The scene that had just occurred to her was still incredibly clear: from the air, the raging flames resembled a blooming black lotus, possessing a breathtaking beauty. Wounded knights charged forward, brandishing their swords, fighting alongside hordes of shadow spirits—though their faces, stained with blood and wounds, were now vastly different from what she remembered.

The girl recognized him at a glance.

"Balanqing..."

She sighed. Perhaps because she had been startled awake from a dream, her mind was a jumbled mess, a complete blank, and it was very difficult to think. After about half a minute, Guinevere looked around at the unfamiliar room and finally remembered what had happened before she fell asleep.

After listening to Neof and Peden's accounts from both perspectives, she realized that this matter was probably beyond her ability to resolve alone.

That's why, even though she didn't want to drag Musashi, whom she had only known for a few days but was clearly a kind-hearted person, into the mess, Guinevere didn't refuse since the other party had offered to help, and readily accepted the kindness.

Musashi was also the quick-witted and intelligent type. After hearing her roughly explain the situation, he already had a plan in mind: "I understand the situation. So, what do you plan to do next?"

"Let's go back first... and tell everyone the truth."

Guinevere answered immediately, but seeing the expressions on Neof and Musashi's faces, she felt a little guilty: "W-what's wrong? Isn't this a bad thing?"

“It’s not that it’s bad.” Musashi shook his head. “But in my opinion, the so-called truth is just that the enemy has changed from the Picts to someone else. Even if you tell others the truth, will their attitude really change much?”

“Besides, there are only three possibilities right now. First, your father, the King of Scotland, is safe and sound. Based on your description of him, he should be a wise and courageous ruler. We can expect him to heed your advice and join forces with the Picts here to fight against that god and his minions.” She shook her finger. “Second, your father and brother haven’t returned yet. In situations like this, who usually gives orders?”

“Lord Balan, Lord Klark, or…” Guinevere said several more names in one breath. After thinking for a moment, she understood what Musashi meant: “Apart from Lord Balan… the others may not believe me, or rather, they may not change their minds because of me.”

"As for the third possibility."

“It wasn’t our father, but only our brother who returned safely.” Thinking of this possibility, the girl couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Although Pat wasn’t a truly wicked person, he had always carried a faint sense of inferiority because he had been compared to her by those around him since childhood—and in most cases, he was inferior. This had gradually created a rift between the siblings. The girl wanted to cherish their kinship in this life and tried several times to mend their relationship, but with little success. Finally, to make sure Pat no longer feared her, she took the opportunity of the royal selection ceremony to travel south and leave Scotland.

This move was tantamount to telling Pat that he had no intention of vying for the throne. Pat could have taken advantage of this time to win the hearts of the people and lay a solid foundation. Who knew that he had only been gone for a few months when the North had already suffered a devastating disaster. Even though he knew that even if she had been there, he would not have been able to do much since he had not yet obtained the Sword of Light and the power of the dragon.

If only I hadn't left...

Guinevere shook her head, suppressing her regret for the time being. Fortunately, although the current situation was tragic, there seemed to be a chance to salvage it. In any case, she had finally returned: "My brother has always thought that I wanted to compete with him for the throne. He is prejudiced against me. No matter what I say, he probably won't listen to me."

“In other words, this truth only makes sense if your father, or that Balan, returns to Scotland.” Musashi smiled. “So the first thing we need to do is not go back and tell everyone the truth, but to confirm the safety of the King of Scotland as soon as possible. Of course, this is something that you and I can’t do alone, so—” She paused, then looked at Neof with a grin.