Pillar of Yita

This is too fantastical.

After she eliminated those inconceivable possibilities, only one remained, although she had heard some rumors in the past. In Istania, for a Princess, it was nothing special. Were such things not common among Nobles?

Indeed, it must be that kind of relationship.

But, after all, he was the Invoker...

Thinking of this, Affia turned her head, giving Fang Hong a curious glance. The latter was slightly startled, completely unable to understand what her look meant.

However, Affia didn’t speak further, and he was too embarrassed to ask, so the two walked silently one behind the other.

As he had thought, with this Little Princess leading the way, the journey was smooth. Most of the Guards in the Royal Palace were dispatched outside to maintain Order, leaving only some servants, and how could these servants doubt that Affia, the Princess, would bring an outsider into the inner palace?

They were only questioned once or twice by the guards at the Forbidden Palace of Grand Princess, but Affia said she was visiting her sister, so the guards didn’t stop them, allowing them to enter.

Outside the hall, Affia stopped, saying, ”My sister is inside, you go in and find her by yourself.”

”Aren’t you going in together?” Fang Hong asked, somewhat surprised.

Affia blushed and snapped, ”Why would I go in?”

Fang Hong was confused, realizing she was staying to keep watch for him, but why the blush?

He didn’t think much, only recalling a previous misunderstanding with this Little Princess, and it was indeed true that Istania had a strict Level system. Although this didn’t mean that her thinking was correct, one couldn’t blame the Little Princess entirely.

It should rather be said that Istania itself is like this, and such societal norms need time to change here.

Thinking of this, he apologized, ”About what happened before...”

”Humph.”

Affia hummed slightly, frowned, and interrupted him.

After pausing, she softly asked, ”...By the way, how’s Luo Yu?”

Fang Hong didn’t expect the Little Princess to still be concerned about this matter, secretly amused in his heart, before mentioning that Luo Yu was not currently in Quistack, which caused the Little Princess’s face to show a disappointed expression.

...

Entering the hall, due to being under soft imprisonment, it seemed that the Grand Princess didn’t have many people left by her side.

Perhaps Affia was aware of this earlier, as she brought him in, automatically avoiding the Spies left by King of Sand, Barbaltan.

In any case, Fang Hong didn’t encounter any servants inside the hall. He walked through the hall and corridors, arriving at the back courtyard. When he saw the Grand Princess, she was alone in the courtyard admiring flowers.

The celebration outside the Royal Palace seemed to have begun, and the noise faintly reached the deep Forbidden Palace—from that direction, one could vaguely see the firelight. The Grand Princess, in plain clothes, stood under a pavilion, staring at a cluster of Sufang Flowers in a daze.

The white flower clusters reflected Silver Moonlight and formed a unique painting with the moon-white pavilion under the tree and the girl within. The Grand Princess, upon hearing the noise, turned her head and saw Fang Hong walk out from the shadow of the Sufang Tree, slightly startled, her beautiful eyes subtly lit:

”Mr. Ade, why are you here?”

Fang Hong looked around and frankly said, ”Affia brought me here.”

The Grand Princess, after a brief thought, responded, ”Mr. Ade, you’ve come for your companions, haven’t you?”

Fang Hong was a bit amazed—although his intention might not be hard to guess, the Grand Princess, despite her predicament, seemed unaffected, quickly grasping the core issue, which was indeed impressive. Others might first marvel at how he infiltrated this place or how he met Affia, right?

If slower, they might even actively ask him about it.

But the Princess showed no such interest, instead demonstrating the same Keenness in observation as during their first meeting.

Fang Hong didn’t deny, nodding slightly.

The Princess said, ”Thank you.”

”Why thank me?” Fang Hong was puzzled, ”Isn’t the Grand Princess aware of my purpose?”

The Grand Princess slightly smiled, ”Mr. Ade snuck into the Royal Palace for your companions, which I’m aware of. But leaving Bain was surely to fulfill your Duties and responsibilities, right?”

Fang Hong was truly astonished.

”How did the Grand Princess know I was in Bain?”

”Let’s talk about the Seven Seas Travel Group first,” she smiled, ”Mr. Ade certainly wouldn’t be more concerned with me, right?”

Fang Hong was silent but didn’t deny.

The Grand Princess slowly recounted what had happened before:

”At first, I received an order from Father, requiring me to return to Quistack, and because Mr. Ade went missing due to my mission, I felt obliged to take responsibility.”

”More crucially, I wasn’t clear on the stance of Arcanists or whether they would attack Mr. Ade’s companions again, so I didn’t dare leave others in Tansnier. When Father’s order arrived, I had no choice but to bring Mr. Ade’s companions back to Quistack.”