"Do you have to go?" King Harth asked.
"…"
"I'm the king of the Alzar Kingdom so if there's a chance…"
"…"
King Harth closed his eyes and sighed. "Very well. If you're that determined, then I shouldn't try to stop you. I will pray for your good fortune instead."
Five people walked up, prompting Elizabeth's eyes to widen in surprise. Leading the pack was a young Lord Korogin Highguard, the then Master of Strategy and aide to the crown. Perhaps it was before the stress of managing the kingdom had gotten to him, but his hair was devoid of white. It remained a vibrant and healthy brown lustre. Seeing him in person again left a sombre taste in her mouth because her actions had inadvertently caused his death. The other two were also familiar figures, a young Auntie Christina and Sir Winstin. Sir Winstin looked the same as usual, which was somewhat strange, considering Lady Christina looked completely different. Compared to her present appearance of an older and experienced Brigade Commander of Fortress Fallinard, she looked like a young lady with a certain innocence and curiosity. The steadiness and boldness of a military commander was completely absent. The three of them led the way while two others trailed behind in deference. It was those two that gave Elizabeth a shock!
Her foster parents, Roan and Victoria, were the two that showed up. Her father kept his muscular frame, owing to his decades of farm work, that exuded explosive power and masculinity. He was the definition of a working man. Of course, compared to apex Perception Realm Masters like Sir Winstin, he had a long way to go, but against people of his realm, Roan was definitely a tough nut to crack. Elizabeth suppressed the urge to giggle because she noticed the scar on her father's right arm was missing. Her father was never good at dealing with animals, and when she was younger, her father got a nasty scratch from one of their roosters. Naturally, her father was livid and that very same night, they had rooster soup. That was where the scar came from.
Her mother was a lot younger and lost most of her wrinkles too. Elizabeth remembered that her mother's hair used to be more greyish white, a sign of advanced age. However, her mother currently had a glowing and lustrous set of white hair, kept in a fashionable hairstyle. She was even more beautiful than Elizabeth remembered. Her mother must have been gorgeous when she was in her prime. And there was the wooden bracelet on her mother's wrist that her father spent months carving out to propose with. It had many tiny engravings and inscriptions which showed the delicate and difficult work that went into making it. In New Havens, where metal and gold were practically non-existent, a wooden bracelet like this was probably the most intimate a proposal gift could be. By the time Elizabeth's little sister was born, her mother stopped wearing it as much.
The sight of them made Elizabeth cry ugly tears as her memories of New Havens came flooding back. Her eyes clouded up, her cheeks turned red, and her smile went wide. If she could run up and hug them again, she would. It was like she was transported back into the past, reliving her sixteen years of life again. She made so many memories with her father, mother, brother, and sister that she could talk about their stories of hours on end without repeating them. Joy, anger, sadness, frustration, jealousy… Their tiny farmhouse contained a wealth of experiences that she would never forget one second of. Everything disappeared so fast that she could not even say goodbye… Her life was gone in a puff of smoke like that, transient and illusionary as it was. Her whole world was gone. She thought she would never see her family again and even her dreams seemed to be occurring less and less, so this final gift was enough to overwhelm her with complex emotions.
This must be from when I was a newborn, Elizabeth realized. She lived on New Havens for as long as she could remember, and she had no recollection of meeting anyone from the Alzar Kingdom, aside from her aunt. Her memories must have been jostled to the surface because of the Featherwind Sect's attack.
"We've brought them as you requested, Your Majesty," Lord Korogin said with a bow.
"Spare me the formalities, Korogin. We're friends, aren't we?"
"I cannot do that, Your Majesty."
King Harth sighed in annoyance. "We're on New Havens right now. There's no one around, so stop acting so stiff. This is an order from your king!" Ignoring his stiff subordinate's face, he walked up to Elizabeth's parents with a wide smile and shook their hands. "You must be Roan and Victoria, right? I am King Harth Etuvel Reindel of the Alzar Kingdom. Since we can be considered half-family now, you can call me as Harth," he laughed. "First off, I must thank you for your cooperation in this matter. I'm sure you must have many questions and doubts so feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them."
"We don't know how it is on the surface, but there must be other safe places that you could bring her to. There shouldn't be a need to ask us, so why us?" Roan asked.
"The situation is a bit complex…" King Harth smiled wryly. "I will spare you the details, but you're really the best option that I have. The Alzar Kingdom and I have no ulterior motives. We will do nothing to interfere in New Haven's freedoms."
"Are you sure you want to leave this child in our care?" Victoria asked. "It should be a long time before you reunite again. Are you okay with this?"
"Lady Christina will be responsible for providing any financial support that you'll need, as well as providing me with reports. If you have any questions or concerns, you can defer to Lady Christina, and I will reply promptly. I will do everything in my power to ensure your livelihoods remain as usual."
Victoria shook her head. "That's not what I meant. You know what I mean, so why are you dodging the question?"
King Harth spread his hands helplessly. "Of course, I'm unhappy about these arrangements too. Why would I willingly hand off my child to another unless I had no choice? However, this is for the best. She'll only be in danger staying by my side. Rather than letting her live a life of fear, it's better to live a life free of worry, isn't it? What I want is irrelevant. This is the least I can do for my child. Does that answer your question?"
"Aren't you bothered by how we'll raise her? We won't be able to give her a princess's lifestyle, so she'll have to live and work like a farmer like everyone else," Roan added. "We'll treat her exactly like our own."
"…It can't be helped. I won't ask for special treatment, so please treat her as your own."
"When do you plan to take her back?" Victoria asked the key question.
"Around her sixteenth birthday, when she's grown old enough to tend for herself. I will let Lady Christina and you two ahead of time when I plan to do so."
"…Will we be able to see her again?"
"You are more than welcome in the Alzar Kingdom, should you decide to visit."
"I see…" Victoria was clearly saddened with that answer but said nothing else.
Seeing his wife like this aggravated Roan. He spoke with a sharp tongue, "Don't you think you're being too unreasonable here? You want us to take care of your child as our own and we agreed to that. We would happily let her join our family. And now, when she turns sixteen, you want to take her back from us with no questions asked? We don't want to go to the surface, nor are we interested. We only want to see her. That's our right as her parents, don't you agree? If you want to handle this in such a one-sided manner, then we would rather not deal with this. You can find another family!"
Who cared about the Alzar Kingdom or the monarch in front of him? Right now, it was just a battle between two men! He was about to take a firm, aggressive step forward to size up King Harth in the face when Sir Winstin stepped in. The Royal Guard radiated such a stiflingly strong aura that drenched Roan's back in sweat. Despite being almost sixteen years younger, Sir Winstin possessed the same frightening edge as he did in the present.
"I cannot permit you to come closer," Sir Winstin said plainly.
"It's fine, Sir Winstin. You can step aside."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Turning to face Roan, King Harth replied, "I intend to have my child inherit the throne of the Alzar Kingdom after me. Because of this, it will be difficult for me to arrange a meeting between you two. I understand that it is unfair to you, and I must apologize in advance."