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Chapter 183: The Royal Ball
Clementine was undoubtedly a transportation hub, and there were countless teleportation arrays that passed through it.
After leaving the surroundings of Doru, the capital, Ann quickly found the location of Tumbleweed. She carelessly pushed the decayed wooden door in front of her, but the wooden door immediately fell forward and hit the ground with a loud bang.
The gray parrot exploded into a ball of feathers in an instant, which even startled Ann herself. The reaction of some of the people behind the door wasn’t much better. Except for Jesse that was extremely calm, Oliver, who wasn’t used to detecting his surroundings even drew his Rest in Peace, while Nemo who was half-asleep solemnly raised his right hand.
Adrian calmly put down the teacup in his hand.
Tumbleweed was realistically nesting in a small inn on the border of Clementine. A few pieces of debris occasionally fell from the ceiling, but it was better to have a ceiling than sleeping at the bottom of a bridge. Oliver tapped into the money from Tumbleweed’s team account and bought the largest bedroom in the small inn.
The second before the female warrior entered the room in an extremely heroic way, Nemo was curled up on the sofa, taking a nap in the evening sun. Oliver leaned to one side and played with his lover’s black hair with his fingers.
Jesse was sitting with his legs up at the tea table, happily drinking tea with the knight commander.
“Here.” After the small chaos subsided, Jesse proudly handed Ann a specialty of Clementine Cathedral— There was only one cookie left in the snack box.
When Nemo came to his senses, he couldn’t hold back rolling his eyes. Ann should have had the whole box, but it was late in the evening when the female warrior arrived in Clementine, so Jesse kept stealing a piece of it until he reached the bottom of the box.
Ann glanced at the only remaining cookie in the box buried in crumbs with disgust. Then she looked at Jesse, who still had stains of crumbs at the corner of his mouth with even more disgust.
“Even if I have no problems with leftovers,” she hissed. “I’d rather not have yours. I refuse.”
“Oh,” Jesse nodded blankly, then threw the last piece into his mouth happily.
“I want to talk about that mission, Ann.” Oliver cleared his throat. “Mr. Cross explained a little, and I can probably understand why you want to name us through the guild, but I can’t figure it out at all.”
“Thanks, Cross.” Ann nodded at the knight commander and slammed herself into the other couch while spreading her limbs like a panther. “Tell me, Oliver. What are your questions?”
“Why are you going to see Delia Alastair? It’s okay if you don’t want to say it, but I hope I can learn more. Mr. Dylan gave you a prophecy…” Oliver frowned and paused for a moment. “Gallagher Salter will win, and Alban will usher in its first queen. This doesn’t sound like a terrible disaster.”
After asking, Oliver stared straight into Ann’s amber eyes. Considering Nemo’s identity and the true credibility of Dylan’s prophecy, he didn’t intend to disclose the queen’s name now.
“I have a bit of a bad fate with the Alastair family.” Ann looked up at the dilapidated ceiling and flickered through the topic lightly. “Do you think everything will be fine when that little girl is put on the throne? No, she won’t be able to sit on it. The old codgers won’t accept a queen. They will force her to find a man to become regent. She’s lucky. Maybe she’ll marry a guy with a conscience who’s willing to keep her alive and lock her up. If she’s unlucky, she’ll be quietly killed after a few children, and her husband will be able to take the throne openly. To the old guys, as long as the blood of the Alastair family can continue, others… Whoever has the biggest fist would be the one to speak.”
Hearing this, Ann seemed to be convinced that the queen in Jesse’s prophecy was Delia. Oliver and Nemo exchanged glances, then licked their dry lips. “You want to see Her Royal Highness Delia… Do you want to get her out?”
“Not necessarily, I just want to confirm her situation. Salter is going to launch a rebellion, and the only royal blood that can be used at that time is Delia. I don’t think Prince Eldric isn’t stupid enough that he wouldn’t see this. Right now, he has to cherish his reputation and won’t give up that weight easily, but it’s possible to control her in some ways. I have to confirm that.”
Oliver stared at the female warrior in leather armor in silence.
“If she doesn’t want to leave, then let her be in this matter. She’s old enough to choose her own life, and I won’t interfere.” Ann smiled coldly, rubbing the muddy spots of the leather armor with her fingers.
“But if she wants to leave, I… will die for it.”
Is Ann Savage really Andrea Alastair? Nemo also looked at Ann quietly.
He did have this notion, but it was also possible that Ann was just simply acting at the behest of the surviving princess. She would use uncommon combat spells and had surprisingly strong survival instinct. Compared to a princess, she was more like a soldier.
According to the records of the Abyssal Church, most of the female members of the Alban royal family were extremely delicate, and at most they could only master some special techniques of the Laddism Church. It was impossible for them to come into contact with combat spells. Princess Andrea was only eleven when she “died”. Except for the small number of ritual spells, as well as conventional painting, music, and etiquette classes, the young princess should know nothing else.
Ann was definitely hiding something, Nemo thought, but it didn’t matter. In a sense, the female warrior saved his and Oliver’s life, so he definitely didn’t want to draw a line cautiously at this time.
“Don’t worry, I know your inconvenience, Nemo. If I really want to get her out, I will do it myself and will not drag you down.” It seemed that Nemo’s eyes were misunderstood. Ann pulled the corners of her mouth. “You just need to help me see her.”
“If you didn’t help us in the first place,” Nemo sighed, “Oliver and I would have been packed off to Alban’s army by bounty hunters. Oliver would have been sent to jail, and I… In my dazed state at the time, would probably be executed outright.” At that time most of his abilities hadn’t awakened yet, and “this body” was still able to be destroyed.
“So there is nothing inconvenient. I’m always happy to help.” Nemo’s tone was very serious.
Ann bit her lower lip and smiled gratefully at him.
“I think so too, but as the leader of Tumbleweed, I have one condition.” Oliver took the conversation.
The room was very quiet for a while.
“When you were away, I spent a lot of money in our public accounts,” Oliver continued cautiously. “You… Don’t be angry.”
Ann slapped Oliver on the head with a slap. “Okay, okay. I was originally afraid that you would mess around without planning, waste all the money, and drag down the entire team. Let me make it clear. With you as the leader… I can rest assured.”
“Where there’s excitement, there’s me,” Jesse put down the snack box and announced happily. “Don’t exclude me from such a fun thing.”
Adrian simply nodded and didn’t speak.
“Thank you,” Ann said with a serious expression and lowered her head sincerely. “Then let me talk about the information I got.”
“The Alban Royal Family will hold a big ball the day after tomorrow. It’s said that all members of the royal family will be present at that time— This ‘all’ includes Ettram and Delia.”
“Wait. Stop.” Nemo hurriedly interrupted. His expression was a little frightened. “Didn’t Ettram just pass away?”
“Though dead there are many ways to use a corpse.” Ann waved her hand casually. “Only a few people know about Ettram’s death. Yes, I have my channels— In short, most people don’t know about it yet, and Eldric absolutely blocked the news.”
“Why?”
“In order to label the Salters as rebels,” The female warrior sneered baring her teeth. “The corpse can last for a few months at most. If Gallagher doesn’t act, Eldric can take the opportunity to completely reshuffle the forces in the palace, and once Gallagher moved his hand… The emperor would still be ‘alive’, while he’ll be label as a pure rebel, which would be more convenient to deal with. According to the style of the Mad Dog Marshal, he will definitely act.”
After spouting out all the information in a single breath, Ann picked up the teapot and poured herself a few sips of herbal tea while wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
“But these have nothing to do with us— As long as we get into the ball, we can take this opportunity to get in touch with Delia.”
“But if you really take Delia away,” Nemo raised his hand again, “if Gallagher has no royal blood to support, wouldn’t it be a loss?”
“Who knows?” Ann said indifferently. “If he dares to rebel, he must have the confidence to rebel. The first thing he could is denounce the illegitimate son of the first emperor, and it’s also fine to pull a little bit of royal blood from his own family tree. In short, as long as he successful kills Eldric, he has room to maneuver. Anyway, according to his style, this war will not last long. It makes no difference.”
The female warrior didn’t mean to intervene in this struggle at all. It might be that he thought too much. Nemo simply shook his head.
“Get into the ball…” Oliver frowned. “To infiltrate the palace ball, isn’t something that could be easily done.”
“It’s not difficult.” Ann showed a mischievous smile. “Everyone’s faces are qualified, especially disguised as an aristocrat’s lover. Cross needs some attention, but you three are ready-made pure faces.”
The expressions of Oliver and Nemo became quite complicated in an instant, while Jesse tuck back his hair with the words “thanks for the compliment” written all over his face.
“Anyway, I have a way. I can take care of it. There’s nothing wrong with you guys keeping it that way.” The female warrior patted her chest. “I just need to take care of Cross, and the rest will be easy.”
“But what if…” As soon as Oliver opened his mouth, Nemo forcibly covered it.
“Just do it. Please, Ann,” Nemo said solemnly, pressing Oliver’s mouth tightly to prevent any bad negative prophecies from leaking out of it.
Ann’s movements were very fast.
Tumbleweed arrived near Doru, the capital of Alban, the next day. The female warrior planned a hidden route in advance. They didn’t teleport directly to Doru but was stationed in a town near it.
“Delia will be guarded by a lot of soldiers that night, but that’s not the point. The guards guarding her are very easy to handle, the problem is this girl.” Ann picked up a color portrait and tapped her fingers. “Rosa, the illegitimate daughter of Duke Earley, Delia’s half-sister. This girl is a real socialite, simple and lively, and very sticky to her sister. At that time, she’ll probably be running around Delia, and we can’t predict her actions at all. Prince Eldric gave them countless magic jewelry and most likely intends to use that girl as a mobile alarm.”
“Nothing should happen just talking to Delia, but this girl… Using any form of spell on her may arouse Eldric’s vigilance, so I need you to do whatever you can to keep her under control the natural way if she plans to run towards Delia. What’s with that look on your face Oliver? I’m not asking you guys to be horny and seduce her. She’s just a very talkative girl. Just chat with her. Speak bullshit, pretend to be mysterious. You both can improvise. In short, hold her off and give us time to take care of the guards and get to Delia alone.”
“I… We’ll try our best.”
“You guys just have to remember this information. It’s not much. It’s the identity we are using to infiltrate. I have already changed their guest list.”
“When did you change it?!”
“Don’t worry about that. Anyways, the four of you have to enter as the lovers of Duke William Helms.”
“Duke William Helms? And who is this Andre Helms?” Nemo turned page after page of the parchment in his hand.
“That duke is from Garland and is a distant relative of the Alban royal family. That guy usually likes to travel and never participates in public activities of high society. God knows where he’s gone now. The royal family generally symbolically sent him an invitation to give him some face.”
Ann shook the parchment in her hand indifferently and replied without thinking.
“There’s no such person as ‘Andre’. I made up a distant relative of the duke. Alban’s aristocrats don’t know much about Garland, so it won’t be easily revealed… Hey, you don’t think that someone will buy an absurd thing like ‘the Duke didn’t come but sent just a few lovers to eat and drink for free’? There must be at least a nominal ‘nobleman’.”
“But where are we going to find such a—”
“Oh, that.” Ann scratched her ears. “I’ll do it.”
“…Andre is a male name.”
“I know.”
The author has something to say：
I don’t now where this passerby duke is but he’s unaware about the biggest situation that would be the peak of his life.
Passerby Duke: ?????
————
Actually, thinking about it, Nemo and Ollie weren’t so unlucky either.
If they didn’t meet Ann in the first place, or Nemo let the grey parrot kill Ann, the two protagonists would really be GG.