"This is just like my mother."
"What are you saying...?"
"Your hair. The same color, the same length, the same thickness... the touch is the same under my fingertips." Galin placed a strand of hair near his nose, closing his eyes. "The same scent."
"I... am honored."
"Where were you born?"
"I can't remember. I lived in several places before I was ten. But... it should be near North County of Elwynn."
"What were your parents like?"
"My father was a potter. My mother taught children to draw."
"Then they must be refined people."
"I don't know... they just did their jobs."
Crecyda wanted to ask why Galin was probing into this, but she couldn't.
"Did your parents support you? About searching for your husband."
"They both passed away when I was fifteen."
"Oh... I'm sorry. Maybe it's inappropriate to say this, but I have an idea. I hope they weren't your biological parents."
"Why?"
Galin didn't answer immediately but came closer. Crecyda could hear Galin's slow and powerful inhalation around her hair. A mysterious and tense one-way communication. Being fascinated by someone's physical features might not be a good thing. She didn't understand what he was seeking. Like his mother? Developing a nostalgic feeling for a woman he had personally ordered to be imprisoned as a mother was enough to make Crecyda uneasy, especially considering she was much younger than him. Perhaps he had such a peculiar preference. Maybe he had done something similar to every woman who had been a prisoner below. Crecyda didn't want to be special in Galin's eyes. She would rather be just a lowly prisoner. Every sniff from Galin caused a slight twitch on her skin beneath her hair. The entire room fell silent, and all she could hear was Galin's breath and her own increasingly rapid heartbeat. However, the accelerated heartbeat had no romantic meaning, as if her heart was urging her to quickly escape from the current situation.
"This is really..." Galin said. "For decades, I haven't seen another woman so much like her. I've always believed she's the most special woman in the world, and there won't be another person like her. But here you are in front of me. It's so unusual. I don't know what to say, Crecyda. When I saw you in the bathroom last time, I was thinking... maybe the Queen Mother left another daughter somewhere unknown to me, and that's you. Of course, it's not true, but I wish it were. What a beautiful story that would be. Besides searching for a husband, you have a more important mission in front of me. It's destined by the heavens. If you are truly my sister, it would be a miracle, but I don't need a miracle. I just want reality. The reality is that you brought back the scenery and scent I thought I would never see or smell again. You are truly special. I want to thank your husband. I want to thank him for disappearing. Without him, I would never have met you in my life."
"Please don't say that. He didn't disappear for such mundane reasons."
"You must have loved him a lot."
"Yes."
"Tell me about him."
"What would you like me to say...?"
"Anything you like. For example... how did you meet."
"There's really not much to say, just very ordinary, we met by chance."
"What kind of person is he?"
"He cares a lot about people around him. His smile is beautiful. Rarely gets angry. He..."
Galin looked at Crecyda's lowered eyes. Your husband no longer cares about anyone. He will never smile again. He is still not often angry, perhaps because he doesn't understand the concept of anger. Instead of getting angry, he has a more convenient solution – slaughter. You are chasing after a phantom, Crecyda. The man you knew has become a torn fishing net thrown into the center of a vortex, never to resurface. What, are you already trapped in sorrowful memories, Crecyda? I can see the tears under your lower eyelids, but you clearly don't want me to notice them, and that makes me angry. I've said you are like my mother, said you are special, and I have bared it all. But you still won't let me see your tears... no, I don't want to see them. They are shed for him. Put away that sad look, Crecyda, otherwise...
"Did you two ever swear to do anything for each other?"
"We... we did."
"Even killing?"
"He... you could say he has done that. Anyway, he is an officer..."
Galin suddenly felt somewhat resentful. Even with tears in her eyes, she still made clever and even optimistic excuses for her husband.
"Anyway, being able to make such a sincere vow is a beautiful thing. Many women have said the same to me, but I can't judge if they are sincere. Those women who let their fathers spend a lot of money, annoyingly plead everywhere just for a chance to be alone with me, they want to become the queen of this country, so they try their best to please me. But they all fail, it's impossible. There was another one a few days ago."
At this point, Galin grabbed Crecyda's left cheek, forcing her to face him.
"Look at me, look into my eyes and listen to me. Don't always avoid. It makes me very angry."
"Sorry, Prince."
"Did I scare you? Be honest."
"A bit... a bit."
"I was just talking about... yes, another woman who wants to be queen. She came with her maid and sat in my reception room for an hour. You probably don't know how boring that can be. She kept boasting about my achievements, and I praised her education. Time passed very slowly. Very slowly. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't because I promised her father to give her two hours. As a king, I cannot go back on my word. Eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I asked everyone to leave, leaving only me and her."
Galin still didn't realize that his words precisely described Crecyda's current feelings. She also felt that time was passing slowly and intolerably. But the difference was that what she felt was not boredom but danger. Not the visible danger that causes physical harm, but a dense, murky fog that hides unknown dangers behind it. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, facing the wrong person. For the first time in these many days, she truly felt that coming here was a mistake.
"I asked her directly if she wanted to be the queen. She said yes. At least she was honest about that... unlike some who say things like 'just want to serve and be loyal to you, seeking nothing in return.' I then asked her if she was willing to do anything for me for this purpose. She didn't hesitate and said yes, sounding excited. So I asked her to undress. For someone who wants to be the queen, this shouldn't be difficult because sooner or later she would have to expose her body to me. She did it, with joy. Absolute joy. She thought she had reached a level that none of the women who met me before had reached."
Crecyda wanted to turn away, but Galin's hand on her left cheek applied more force.
Looking at her body, I was thinking: will this woman be the future mistress of Stromgarde? No, I didn't see that potential in her. She just looked at me without doing anything, probably not understanding, and walked towards me. How reckless. I stopped her, and she suddenly burst into tears, saying she was cold. You probably think she's too delicate, right? The spirit of Stromgarde is resilience; we can't have such a delicate lady as the queen. But out of consideration for her determination, I decided to give her a chance. 'There's a blanket on the bed,' I said to her, 'you can go get it to wrap around your body. But you can't walk. You have to kneel down, crawl over if you want to get that blanket.' From her eyes, I could see that she was greatly shocked, but she could endure it for a while. She did as I said, crawling on all fours for two steps. I stopped her because even if she reluctantly did it, it would be meaningless. My request wasn't humiliating because I wanted her to experience what it means to bear the burden as the ruler of a country, to understand when to bow. From her eyes, it was evident that she thought I was humiliating her—how absurd and foolish. So, it stopped there. I told her to put on her clothes and leave, never to appear in front of me again because her body and actions disgusted me. Do you know why I'm telling you all this?"
"I don't know. I don't know."
"All these heiresses who think they can become queens are so shallow, foolish. They even have difficulty taking off a few layers of clothes. Perhaps when you first arrived here, you thought I was a bit rude... but that's not the case. I'm just... completely shaken by your spirit. As a king, I have to defend myself with such an attitude. Your loyalty to your husband, your willpower, your courage, everything is admirable. I know you almost lost your life in the refuge valley, but you still came here without hesitation. And, your hair, looking out the window, is exactly like my mother's. What kind of woman are you, Crecyda?"
Although Galin kept staring into Crecyda's eyes, she felt that he seemed not to be looking at her. He was observing and worshipping an idol that didn't exist. Crecyda knew that her expression at the moment was definitely not attractive, but Galin was so immersed in his self-concept that all negative and conflicting things in what he saw were filtered out. He described perfection with language, and all she could see was perfection.
"Don't do useless things anymore. Just thinking about your tenacity being spent on something that won't yield results hurts my heart. You can't bring back your husband."
"Why... why would you say that?"
"He no longer exists. Something that doesn't exist is not worth your effort. You should have a better life, Crecyda. Stay. I can't make you the queen, I just... hope you stay. Support me. Look, I've said so much, hiding nothing from you. The queen mother has been gone for so many years, and I experience a loneliness that ordinary people cannot comprehend. Before I saw you, I thought I could never escape this cold loneliness. Being with you makes me feel secure. In fact, just ten minutes before I entered the room, I went through a series of very annoying things, but as soon as I saw you, they disappeared from my mind. I can give you everything you want. Give up the meaningless search and waiting, stay with me."
After "he no longer exists," Crecyda didn't really hear the rest. She wanted to ask if he knew what happened to Renner, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Perhaps it was the danger that had been around her that prevented her from saying it. She knew Galin wouldn't want to hear about Renner now. Such words would step into a trap and get stuck in the mud.
"You've been silent for a long time. Does that mean refusal?"
Crecyda couldn't feel how long she had been silent. He no longer exists—she knew she would eventually hear something like this, but she was never mentally prepared, even if this news was so vague. What does it mean not to exist? His entire being? Or is it separating him from others and making him Renner's unique trait?
"You must tell me," Crecyda grabbed Galin's sleeve, "about Renner, what you know..."
Galin suddenly pulled his hand back, stood up, took two steps back, and his gaze still didn't leave Crecyda, but the worshipful look disappeared. Crecyda knew she had said something she shouldn't have—yet how could it be her fault. She saw Galin put his right thumb to his lips suddenly and then quickly put it down.
"I haven't forgotten. You came to Stromgarde for this. You two are the same. Waiting for someone who will never come, what's the point... there isn't any. Can you not be too much like her in this regard, Crecyda? I get it. I've said so much, revealing my loneliness to you, it's all foolish. You want to know what happened to that person, right? You want to win it. Since you've come this far, endured so much pain, you shouldn't refuse to do a little more for your husband, right?"
Unconsciously, Crecyda stood up. Sitting on the bed was a submissive posture, and it was inconvenient to react to unexpected situations, especially when she didn't know what Galin would do next.
"I command you to take off your clothes, now. You've undressed for him hundreds of times, there's no reason to refuse this time. If you want to know what happened to him, just do it. Quickly. After this, I'll decide what you need to do next."
Crecyda recalled Galin's narration just now: how he treated the lady after she undressed. But she felt that what she was facing wouldn't be crawling to grab a blanket—perhaps something worse.
She was terrified. At this moment, she felt like she was back more than ten years ago: in a narrow, dim interrogation room, two investigators mocking her expressed concerns about Renner, deeming it just a fantasy of a woman doing dirty business. Back then, she didn't utter a word, just silently endured, but she was different now. Knowing about Renner in this way would insult him and the courage he gave her—the courage that supported her to come this far.
"I can't do this."
"You refuse? Is this all you're willing to sacrifice for him?"
"No, for knowing his current situation, I'm willing to do anything. But it has to ensure that what I do will yield results. How do I know you're not just playing with me?"
"You have no right to refuse. Who do you think you're talking to?"
Galin kicked the empty table beside him. The tabletop separated from the table legs and smashed into the corner of the wall. At this moment, Crecyda knew that the unsettling but strangely stable communication between the two had come to an end. He was showing madness, and she was enduring his madness; she tried to suppress her displeasure, and he didn't blame her for the suppression. All of this was about to transform into uncontrollable chaos. From now on, Galin had reasons and motivation to do anything to her, but she would also do her best to defend herself. The hope of getting information about Renner from Stromgarde might be cut off here. As she thought about what nearby objects she could grab, urgent knocking sounded at the door. Someone outside said:
"Prince Galin, are you in there? Mr. Jorgen has something very important to discuss with you."
"Let him wait," Galin didn't turn around.
"He said it's very important... to the point of being urgent. If you don't come out, he'll come in."
Galin exhaled a heavy breath and turned away. Crecyda could hear him saying outside, "Keep an eye on her." As Galin's footsteps gradually faded away, she placed her hands on her knees, sat back on the edge of the bed, let her body lean down, and buried her face in the pillow. She didn't cry.