Elizabeth, Benedict, and Shirley sighed. They all felt a bit sad. Soon, Elizabeth and her friends stepped off to greet the Royal Family's escort. At this point, the fifty-thousand strong army was unnecessary because they were in Alzar waters! Although the political situation was tumultuous, it was all undercurrents. No one was moving publicly. Compared to the Xingyuu Empire, it was like day and night. Despite that, Queen Bethnal did not get complacent and had sent the strongest reasonable escort! Fifteen Royal Guards, one hundred Grand Knights, and several hundred Great and High Knights were present. Altogether, the force was three thousand strong!
A few high-ranking officials from the Zino Kingdom came forth to offer their greetings but Elizabeth bluntly refused any invitations. She was dreadfully tired. The girl boarded the Royal Warship and departed with her friends. General Illion and General Gordon were also onboard, as they needed to report everything directly to the Royal Assembly. Soon, Presharvo Port was off in the distance. Their next destination was Lour Island! Elizabeth wanted to personally drop her friend off.
Realizing that her time with her friends was coming to an end, Elizabeth was particularly gloomy and dispirited. She did not feel like doing anything. Shirley tried to raise her spirits, but the truth was hard to avoid. And so like this, the fleet drew closer to Lour Island. Here, there were many islands of various sizes. The white fluffy snow-covered islands were particularly eye-catching in the blue waters. To Elizabeth, it looked beautiful, but also sad. Lour Island was already quite close to the Zino Kingdom, so the fleet arrived within a few days of travel.
Lour Island was a medium-sized island with a few towns. The landscape was littered with flora, which if it was not winter, would have been a sight to see. Shirley was from was the biggest town called Tino. Although it was called the biggest town, in reality, it was quite small. Only several thousand people lived here. Calling it remote would not be an exaggeration. Boats rarely ventured here. If it not for the resources on the island, then no one would come here at all.
Since the dock was too small, there was no way that the escort fleet could dock properly. Not even the Royal Warship, Excellica, could come close enough. Left without any alternatives, Elizabeth and her friends had to take a boat over. Seeing the commotion, many of the residents stopped to look. However, contrary to Presharvo Port's raving reactions, there was a solid look of contempt and disgust. Although it was faint, when countless people did the same, it was as obvious as day. No one made as much as a peep. Their attitude was truly poor, especially when facing the Royal Family!
Sir Winstin frowned. He could sense the malice lingering in the air. There were even a few traces of killing intent mixed into the fray. Elizabeth and her friends might not notice but trying to hide in the face of a Perception Realm expert was asking for trouble. All the Royal Guards instinctively felt it in their bones as they rowed over. As if on cue, the Royal Guards collectively funneled their auras together and sent it tumbling over to the shoreside. It was a clear threat! If anyone raised a hand against the princess, then a bloodbath would follow! They would not mind eradicating a small insignificant town such as this!
The townspeople were shaken and some stumbled to their feet, paling at the formidable might of the Royal Guards. Sir Winstin snorted in disdain as he glared at the few who harbored killing intent. He marked them all in his mind. His eyes were radiating with the ferocity of ten lions. The frustrations of having failed to protect Lord Korogin came bursting out, though he quickly calmed down. However, that moment of unrestrained emotion was enough to send those few people packing. They ran from the shoreside as fast as they could, screaming in panic.
Elizabeth had no idea what was happening and felt bewildered. As the boats drew closer to the shoreside, the citizens wore incredulous faces. They could finally see each other! There was noticeable confusion amidst everyone. That was not entirely surprising. Although the news surrounding Elizabeth made its way around the known world, Lour Island was simply too isolated. They had not received the news yet. Therefore, when they saw the Royal Escort, their minds lapsed onto a familiar figure and their bellies filled with anger. Instead, Elizabeth's appearance had stumped them. They could never have imagined that a princess would fancy a dump like this…
The Royal Guards paid no mind and carved a place for Elizabeth and her friends to disembark. Shirley was anxiously looking throughout the crowd when a smile blossomed on her face. She caught sight of her two brothers! Wasting no time, she waved her hands and greeted them loudly. The expressions on their faces were absolutely priceless. Their jaws dropped so far, and their eyes grew so round that they looked like travelling performers. The shock in their minds made them stupid! It was so impossible for them to process that they had not reacted as Shirley stood face-to-face with them.
Since Shirley met with her brothers, Elizabeth and Benedict felt compelled to say hello. It would have been too rude otherwise. Sir Winstin accompanied the princess in all his splendid plate armor. Elizabeth might not have much of a regal bearing, but Sir Winstin did. Moreover, his reputation had more than reached the four corners of the known world. People snapped out of their stupor as they began prostrating themselves in front of this mighty legend! They were quivering in their boots over their previous attitude. Yet, Sir Winstin had the strange feeling that someone was eyeing him… Someone strong enough for him to remain on-guard. For such a desolate place to have such an expert made him baffled.
Meanwhile, Shirly went ahead and slapped her two brothers repeatedly. "Did you hear me? Hello? It's your sister, Shirley! Did you two hit your heads or something? Do you need a doctor?"
"I must be dreaming still…" the younger brother laughed.
"Seems like we both are…" the older one said. "But why does it hurt so much?"
Shirley continued slapping them silly till their cheeks turned red. Even her brothers had a limit to their tempers as the older brother lashed out, "Stop it already! Why are you still slapping us? Will you not be happy until my cheeks swell like a melon?"
"I'm not quite satisfied yet," Shirley replied blankly.
"This isn't a dream… This is a nightmare!" the younger brother cried.
"Who are you calling a nightmare?" Shirley yanked his ear. "I'm your beloved older sister, Shirley!"
"That…" he stared at the people behind her and shivered from head to toe. "Please let me wake up already! When will this nightmare end?"
Elizabeth and Benedict burst out laughing and held their chests in pain from laughing so much. They could see the uncanny resemblance between Shirley and her two brothers. It was indeed very funny! Shirley was so embarrassed that her cheeks were blazing red. How humiliating!
Left without any alternatives, she formed a fake smile as she introduced, "The older one is Charles and the younger one is Robert. As you can see, they're a bit mischievous."
Robert nodded while Charles replied habitually, "My name is Charles. Pleasure to meet you."
Benedict stepped up and offered his hand. "I'm Sir Benedict Hawken."
"And I'm Princess Elizabeth Etuvel Reindel, but you can just call me Elizabeth for short," Elizabeth snuck in from the side.
A Hawken and a princess! Charles immediately foamed at the mouth and nearly passed out. The Hawken Household possessed might that was surpassed only by the Royal Family. Even if Charles knew nothing of the Hawken Household, the Royal Family was here as well! Forget Charles, everyone in the crowd who heard this sucked in a cold breath. Their faces paled to white like the snow around them. It became deathly silent. Only the sound of the distant waves could be heard. If Elizabeth had also revealed that she was the heir apparent… how would these people react?
"Y- Y- You…" Charles was losing his mind. "What did you do?"
Shirley frowned. "I didn't do anything. What's wrong with you two? It's just Elizabeth and Benedict." Everyone nearly fainted at those words. They restrained the urge to rush up and beat her silly. She continued, "I don't see Inari anywhere. He should've been keeping an eye on you two."
"He's taking care of our mother right now…" Robert whispered.
"Mother? What happened to our mother?" Shirley panicked.
"You know our mother is like that… So, she got sick again. However, the town physician said there shouldn't be a problem. Inari said that he would take care of her while we investigated what was happening here," Charles said.
"Thank goodness," the girl replied. She faced Elizabeth and Benedict with a bitter face. "I have to hurry home and see my mother. I hope you two won't take that to heart."
The two shook their heads. "If your mother is sick, then it's only natural for her daughter to be by her side," Elizabeth said. "You're a wonderful daughter."
Shirley felt touched and hugged the girl. "Take care of yourself, okay?"
"I will. Come visit me sometime!" Elizabeth whispered.
Benedict was a bit awkward, being left out, and Shirley realized this. She grinned and pulled the knight into her embrace. Together, the three shared a strange hug. Eventually, Shirly relented and pulled back. Her face was red. She took a deep breath and calmed down.
"Benedict, if anything happens to Elizabeth, I'll beat you until you're red and black, got it?" The knight was stupefied but he dumbly nodded. Why did these words sound so familiar to him? "We'll see each other again," she declared. "I promise it!"
Shirley grabbed her two brothers and began taking heavy steps away. One could sense the unwillingness in her every move. When the three siblings finally disappeared beyond the crowd, Elizabeth closed her eyes in contemplation. A breath later, she opened them again to leave. Benedict and Sir Winstin followed her without saying anything. The Royal Guards orderly filed back into their boats as Elizabeth did. The girl kept her gaze fixed on the town the entire time as they were rowing out. Her heart was heavy. Within ten minutes, they were back on the Royal Warship. On Elizabeth's command, the fleet departed for their final destination, the capital city of the Alzar Kingdom, Algard!