Pillar of Yita

Princess Rupert stopped here: ”Of course, it’s not just that. After witnessing enough tragedies, I’ve recognized the blood and tears behind the slave trade. Now, my father and I have forgiven their past sins. But even so, many people privately despise the kingdom’s decree, which is absolutely intolerable.”

She looked at Fang Hong: ”Mr. Ade, I’m saying this to you partly to show my stance. The ban on the slave trade was proposed by you, and in that sense, I am your natural ally. Secondly, to apologize for Affia’s childish remarks, but she is inherently kind-hearted, even more naive and innocent than me, her elder sister.”

Fang Hong listened and was silent for a while before asking: ”But this still doesn’t explain what this has to do with us?”

The ”Stargate Declaration” was signed by various governments, including clauses prohibiting the slave trade, and it should be intervened by the Stargate Port — in this era where commercialization is gradually penetrating every corner of Eteliria, people are increasingly only concerned with their own interests, thus such rhetoric has gradually gained considerable traction.

But Fang Hong didn’t mean it that way; he was just trying to understand why this Grand Princess needed to leverage their identity.

Princess Rupert, hearing this, merely curved her eyes slightly and gave a polite smile:

”Please wait a moment, let me show you something.”

Saying this, she gestured for a lady to come over and handed her a box, instructing her to deliver it to Fang Hong.

Fang Hong scrutinized the box, a dark wooden box just two feet long, the wood seemed to have been eroded over a long period, the paint surface was quite mottled, and the workmanship was quite crude, unlike the exquisite royal artifacts he had seen used by the princess before.

Under the signal from Princess Rupert’s eyes, he opened the box, finding it neatly packed with several pages of parchment. But only one or two pages were in relatively good condition, while most were already damaged, dry as if they might crumble at any moment.

The parchment bore some winding symbols and characters; at first glance, Fang Hong felt a sense of familiarity, but upon closer inspection, he found that he did not recognize these symbols and characters, feeling as if he were reading a Heavenly Book.

Most of these characters and symbols were already faded, and at the edges where the parchment seemed moldy, making them even harder to decipher. Moreover, behind the written characters, some pages were purely diagrams, somewhat resembling an array, yet entirely different from Alchemy.

After examining them, Fang Hong looked up, puzzled, at the princess.

”This is an Abyssal Sea transcript, of course, not the original, but a copy penned by generations.” Princess Rupert seemed to anticipate his expression and answered.

Fang Hong, upon hearing this, almost dropped the box in shock.

Ever since leaving the Hall of Thousand Doors, he had specially learned about the ’Seventh Decree’, which stipulated that the Invoker must not have any level of contact with Eteliria’s cultists, cult organizations.

Nor must they collect Blight Objects, summon the Evil God, have any communication with the Dark Realm (Dark Saints), or perform any Holocaust Rituals related to living beings.

Among the Blight Objects category, the Abyssal Sea Scroll and its hand-copied versions ranked third on the list.

Fortunately, for unknown reasons, the Ancient Alchemy derived from the Abyssal Sea Scroll was not listed among the prohibitions. Otherwise, after leaving the Hall of Thousand Doors, he would have been even more hesitant to meet with the military.

”Why is Princess giving me these?”

”Because this is evidence.” Princess Rupert replied unhurriedly.

”Evidence?”

Princess Rupert gently placed her hand on the saber:

”Not long ago, my guards rescued an escaped slave in Bargo, who was carrying this box. But it obviously wasn’t his; he stole it from a group of slave traders—

I came to know someone has been smuggling in Tansnier. He also told me these slave traders were staying in Tansnier, not long ago they met a group of mysterious people there, from whom they received a batch of such boxes. I had him describe the appearance of those contactors, and as it happens, I know one of them.”

The smoke in the hall wafted gradually, carrying a faint fragrance. Princess Rupert paused:

”About a year ago, a group of sky pirates attacked the Garden of Illusions in the Silver Sand Sea...”

She shifted the topic to an event further back in the timeline.

The Garden of Illusions is the Penelope Royal House’s garden, where the Star Flowers used to brew ’Gold Wine’ raw liquid are cultivated, and it also keeps some of the Penelope Royal House’s secrets, always one of the most confidential places.

Due to shifting sands, the location of the Garden of Illusions in the Silver Sand Sea changes yearly; only the Penelope Royal House knows its patterns.

Thus, in all of Istania, only a handful of people know its true position in the desert.

”...So I’ve always believed the attack on the Garden of Illusions was no coincidence. Someone in the Royal Court betrayed me and my father, this person could even be someone close to us.”

Princess Rupert’s tone suddenly became much more solemn, carrying a hint of tranquility: