At the same time, Elizabeth was sitting in her own room alone with the completed Holy Reingolian Medallion twirling in her fingers. Due to the previous chaos, she had no time to properly deal with it. However, the Imperial Princesses had returned the snake half of the medallion when they sent their letter. Traditionally, half of the medallion was given to the heir apparent, while the other half stayed with the current monarch. When the heir apparent ascended to the throne, then they would receive the full medallion. Technically speaking, Elizabeth was already half a step away from becoming queen! The last step was to be crowned by the Royal Family, the Royal Assembly, and the Grand Nobility Households.
But she did not feel at ease. Her position was precarious, dependent on many factors outside her control. She could see this clearly from the Imperial Princesses' own situation. They were supposed to be the new Twin Empresses after Emperor Lianghu's death! Unfortunately, the circumstances were too sudden. The stage could not be set, and the players turned into the pawns. Now, the Four Great Nobility Families ruled instead! Now, the Xingyuu Empire was on the verge of a civil war.
Strictly speaking, was Elizabeth not in the same situation? With the death of both King Harth and Lord Korogin, she had effectively zero connections to the upper echelon of nobility and royalty of the Alzar Kingdom. She was practically an outsider. Perhaps Lord Korogin had left measures in case Elizabeth was saved, but what use did they have? Korogin was the lynchpin. People were afraid of moving against him before but now, the gears of ambition were turning again. It was a matter of time before those plans reduced to ash! She realized the only way to achieve her goals was… strength! Regardless of anything, power decided everything! That was the law of the jungle… of the world!
She was staring at her hand, the one that unleashed that massive attack that ultimately killed Cardinal Shaolong and Emperor Lianghu. A thousand questions were swirling in her head. To be honest, she still did not believe General Illion's story. How could she know magic? It was a preposterous story. But… When she thought about it seriously, there were unexplainable discrepancies.
Think about it. When she returned to New Havens to find her family, underneath the flying island were three massive magical circles! It was on a scale that far exceeded the abilities of the Ten Dawns! According to Aunt Christina, one of the functions of the spell was to hide the island. This prevented anyone from discovering its presence, even after half a millennium of residing above the Windigo Ridge! Otherwise, New Havens would have been discovered a long time ago. The calamity that befell her would have arrived much sooner! Instead, that spell protected and secured them more than five hundred years of peace. Anyone could tell how monstrously powerful it was!
Moreover, the island was flying! Flying! Elizabeth really did not consider it since it seemed natural to her. She grew up living there so why should the island not be flying? But the world was far more mysterious than she could ever imagine. From all her months here in Sor, she had a basic grasp over the limitations of Arcania or technology. Ten Dawn Nassandra and Tengon even mentioned it! The power to merely levitate an island of that size was already far beyond the prowess of the Ten Dawns or even the Conquestian! It was large enough to house a town!
If the power required was equivalent to an ocean, then the Ten Dawns amounted to a drop. It was a monstrous amount! Now, to keep it anchored in the air for a prolonged period, that was an entirely different question altogether. Even a thousand generations of Ten Dawns would be insufficient! Yet, the reality was there for all to see. It was possible! Elizabeth herself was testament to the prosperity of New Havens! So, just how was it done? Who could have accomplished such a frighteningly incomprehensible feat? She had no clue, but one day, she would go back to properly bury her family and investigate!
Elizabeth thought that if such an incredible magic existed on New Havens, perhaps she had subconsciously learned it. That was not entirely out of question. No one understood Arcania completely. There were plenty of unexplainable things in this world! Thinking up to this point, she closed her eyes and focused. After a few minutes of absolute silence and tranquility, she could sense… something. But what was it? Was it what Arcanists called Magical Perception? Or was it something else entirely? That feeling lasted for an instant before vanishing.
Before she could ponder on it more, a knock on the door came. "Your Highness, your friends have awoken," Sir Winstin said. Elizabeth smiled, brushed away her thoughts, and left with the knight.
In the main treatment area, physicians were baffled over the three's miraculous recovery. It was not on the level of Elizabeth, of course. If it were, then these physicians would seriously consider changing occupations or retiring. One case was enough for one lifetime. However, it was still an impressive case. Rousing a consciousness was arguably the hardest part of treating someone. The consciousness was intangible. How could you treat it? There were many cases of comatose people, who refused to awaken, despite their body making a full recovery! Even Iris, the White Healer, did not have certainty in succeeding!
Elizabeth stepped into the room with a small group of Royal Guards behind her. The guards radiated a certain pressure that made everyone kneel. Fear and reverence were flashing through everyone's eyes. It was a procession worthy of the heir apparent of the Alzar Kingdom! Elizabeth sighed. She wanted to say something to discourage them as it was simply too embarrassing! However, her mood brightened when she saw her friends! It felt like a massive weight was lifted off her shoulders!
"Elizabeth!" Shirley shouted merrily while waving her arm. Her wounds opened again as she winced in pain.
"How are you feeling, Shirley?" Elizabeth asked.
"As you can see, it'll still be some time before I can move again."
"I'm sorry… If it wasn't for my impulsive actions during the fight with the emperor, you wouldn't have had suffered such injuries. I… nearly got you killed."
Shirley gave a gentle smile. "You didn't mean for anything bad to happen. All that matters is that your heart is in the right place. That's all. Besides, all of us are fine!"
"Shirley…" Elizabeth cried. For such a forgiving person to exist, it was nothing short of a miracle!
"Speak for yourself," Freon snorted on the side. "I nearly crippled myself with the recoil. How are you going to repay me?"
"Huh?" she was confused. However, the Royal Guards shot Freon piercing gazes, as if tempting him to say another filthy word. The next would be his last.
"It was a joke!" he nervously said. He cleared his throat and changed topics, "What happened after we passed out? No one told us anything yet. And how are you perfectly fine and healthy?"
"Oh…" Elizabeth scratched her head awkwardly. She really had no idea how she recovered so fast. It made her feel awfully guilty, seeing as her friends were still in such pain. But there was no helping it! Not even the physicians who treated her knew how it happened!
"The fact that you don't know makes me really want to clobber you…" Freon groaned. "We're on a ship now, right? Are we headed back to the Alzar Kingdom?"
"That's right. This is what happened…" the girl explained everything.
"I'm starting to remember a little," Freon mumbled.
"To think so much has happened…" Shirley said.
"Your Highness," Sir Lorenzo said, standing up from Benedict's bedside. He bowed towards Elizabeth. "I haven't had the chance to properly thank you for all you've done. You saved both me and my brother. The Hawken Household will never forget this!"
"No, it's your brother who saved me several times! In fact, Shirley and Freon too… They've all done so much! I really can't begin to thank them for all they've done!"
In an act that surprised everyone, she bowed herself! For royalty to bow before anyone, it was enough to send tremors across the world. After all, they were at the peak of the world, the undisputed rulers of all! Royalty stands, while nobility kneel, and commoners grovel! That was a common saying! Sir Winstin hurried to pull her back up. In a time where chaos reigned, her every act was under intense scrutiny. A single mistake could set everything off! However, she did not budge. She could not! If she did, it meant she was belittling her friends!
"Thank you, Your Highness," Lorenzo said, glancing at Benedict expectantly.
Benedict opened his mouth, but he had no idea what to say. All along he said nothing, because of that. Rather than letting the moment turn awkward, he quietly mumbled, "I'm glad I could protect you."
Since it was quiet already, Benedict's voice could be clearly heard. Elizabeth felt her heartbeat race for an instant. But that was all. That feeling subsided as quickly as it came. When it left, Elizabeth was momentarily dazed. Her cheeks were slightly blushed. Huh? Why am I blushing? she wondered confusedly. What just happened? Despite her confusion, everyone else in the room caught wind of this undercurrent and sent peculiar gazes toward both Benedict and Elizabeth.