Azure Scepter

Page 79

She blinked and looked at Futia.

Faldia was badly wounded; her deerskin boots and hunting trousers had been torn to shreds in the battle. Her bare, pale feet now rested on the dark gray tombstones, her rounded calves and slender ankles bleeding profusely. The wounds were horrifying, deep enough to expose bone, and warm blood dripped from her arches onto the cold ground, almost forming a pool.

White steam rose from the pool of blood. Futia's smooth and tender instep was so white it seemed to glow, without a single blue vein. Her plump toes, soaked in blood, had a rounded, healthy pink hue.

"Uh, what am I looking at..." Edith shook her head, dispelling the strange thoughts in her mind.

At this moment, she was even somewhat worried that Trier would take the opportunity to kill Feudia, thus turning the poor elf into a enslaved undead.

however--

As Trier approached Futia, he seemed to suddenly remember something. He withdrew his hand, dispelled the "Higher Domain of Decay" behind him, and then methodically used Holy Healing to heal Futia's leg injury.

First, stop the bleeding, then restore the broken bone, then the torn fascia, and finally the superficial wounds.

"Holy Healing can be used like this?" Edith was stunned as she watched Trier carefully and precisely treat each wound as if using a scalpel and forceps.

In her memory, no one had ever used Holy Healing like this before. Paladins usually just grabbed any part of the injured person to use Holy Healing, but Edith had never seen such a patient and careful way of treating each wound as Trill.

Trier looked extremely focused, with large beads of sweat forming on the tip of his nose, but he seemed oblivious to them, as if he were completely absorbed in the treatment.

As the holy light continued to flash, Futia's extremely horrifying wounds were completely healed.

Moreover, it seems that as Fythia was healed, the oppressive and terrifying aura emanating from Trier also vanished.

Edith carefully examined Trier's dusty, weary face. At this moment, the man looked like a tired but resolute warrior who had just gone through a long and bloody battle. The devilishly cold aura he had just exuded was completely gone, as if it had just been his own illusion.

"Could it be because of Futia that I have a prejudice against Trier?" Faced with such a stark contrast, Edith couldn't help but doubt herself. She criticized herself inwardly, "Edith, you are a paladin, you must not let personal prejudice lead you to prejudgment of others!"

Fythia tilted her head slightly, her face flushed, her azure eyes misty, as if too shy to meet Trier's gaze. The elf took several deep breaths, then exhaled rapidly like a deflated balloon, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Edith stared blankly at Feudia's fair and rosy face, but the next moment, she suddenly heard a deliberate, light cough.

"Cough cough."

Edith instinctively turned her head, only to be met with Trier's cold scrutiny. She was startled, a chill running through her as if she had been caught stealing something from behind.

Trier's dark eyes were as deep and unfathomable as a well, devoid of any emotion. He said in an icy tone, "Your Highness Edith, you..."

Startled and harboring a hidden hostility, Edith, in a state of extreme guilt, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. The next moment, as if possessed, she subconsciously recited a line from "The Succubus and the Bishop": "A sincere appearance and pious behavior are merely the alluring sugar coating of your demonic nature."

Whether in battle or in conversation, Edith often has flashes of inspiration, most of which are very subtle. When talking to people, the endless stream of inspiration turns into witty remarks, while when fighting evil, the inspiration turns into subtle and deadly killing moves.

The tactics she just used to limit the Balrog's power through terrain collapse, as well as her past advocacy for reconciliation between the Kingdom and the dwarves of Shining Peak, were all inspired by a constant stream of ideas.

She once asked her divinely inspired teacher Oris what was going on with the overwhelming inspiration that seemed to be imposed from the outside. Her teacher told her that it was a revelation of light, and that he himself often had this feeling after receiving such a revelation.

But this time, the idea looks terrible...

As she uttered this strange line, an awkward, deathly silence fell over the tomb.

Oh no, what am I doing? Did I mock Trier for feigning piety? That's incredibly rude!

Edith immediately felt her face burning, and she lowered her eyes in shame, no longer daring to meet Trier's gaze.

However, a moment later, she quietly raised her eyes and glanced cautiously at Trier.

Sure enough, Trier's expression was strange, and for the first time, there was a flicker of emotion in his usually calm eyes.

The next moment, Trier tentatively replied, "The thick lead powder on a whore's face is not even a fraction of the hypocrisy in your words?"

"..."

Edith's eyes widened in surprise.

Wait, Trier has read "The Succubus and the Bishop"? But wasn't that a novel that was banned by the Church for being "immoral" because it depicted too much eroticism?

Is it a coincidence?

Then Edith raised her head with a serious expression and continued, “You shall ride on steeds crimson with the sunset, galloping toward the desert where the sun rests, and summon the somber twilight moon from the frozen mountain ridges.”

"Unfurl the curtain of stars to complete the ambiguous night?" Trier's expression became even stranger, and the corners of his mouth seemed to twitch slightly.

The code really worked! Trier really did see it!

In an instant, Edith felt as if her heart was filled with flowers, and she felt a surge of joy.

The mysterious and terrifying aura surrounding Trier completely vanished. Looking into Trier's focused black eyes, Edith's initial suspicion and wariness turned into an unspeakable sense of self-reproach.

I almost wronged an innocent person! And someone who also enjoys reading stories!

Although Trill uses necromancy, sometimes you really have to be flexible when facing evil!

Edith defended Trier in her mind, but the next moment she felt she might have been too unprincipled; in another instant, she felt it was a display of quick thinking and exceptional talent...

Edith coughed softly; she wanted to recite a line from the even less well-known *The Revenge of the Count of Garth*, but—

"I didn't expect Your Highness to enjoy reading stories." Noy suddenly interrupted coldly, her gentle and dreamy temperament vanishing, replaced by an unprecedented sternness. "Excuse my bluntness, but the situation is critical right now. Your people are dying from the plague. It's rather inappropriate for you to be talking about stories and dramas now!"

Noi looks exactly like Professor Oris! Stiff and preachy!

No—Noe knows that it's a line from a novel, doesn't that mean she's read it too?

Edith wanted to retort, but the next moment, she was stunned to hear Feudia echoing Noy's undisguised attack.

“Indeed, Noy is right!”

The princess turned to look at Futia in disbelief, a chilling sense of betrayal rising within her—Futia clearly loved watching too!

Why would she do that?!

PS: Today's update

Chapter 158 Sowing discord

"Fodia!" The princess raised her eyebrows in surprise. Although she did not question him, her trembling voice was full of accusation.

—Seeing Edith's eyebrows slightly raised in surprise, Trier was also slightly surprised.

The princess made no attempt to hide her emotions; her bright eyes, like mirrors, faithfully reflected her inner thoughts: from anticipation to wariness, to joy, and now to astonishment. Every change in her emotions was laid bare and honestly displayed to Trier, like beams of light refracting through a prism.

It can be said that Edith's performance completely overturned the transmigrator's impression of her in the game, and even his contempt and disgust for Edith faded a lot.

It's hard to imagine that Edith is a crown princess who has received a formal education as a ruler. She is as innocent and pure as a spotless lamb in a woman's arms, and her tender and beautiful face makes no attempt to hide her true feelings.

Trier sighed silently to himself.

"My expectations seem a bit too high for someone so inexperienced," he thought. "But we can't rule out the possibility that Edith is deliberately feigning innocence."

“Generally speaking, someone being groomed as an heir shouldn’t be this naive, and her head is indeed filled with too many strange and nonsensical things that have nothing to do with her status as crown prince—logically speaking, she should be reading more history, not such a wide range of plays and stories.”

"unless--"

Just as Trier was pondering, Feudia and the princess had already started arguing, while Noy, who had instigated the dispute, stood in the shadows with a smile on his face, and would even occasionally add fuel to the fire.

As he watched the princess busy arguing with her best friend, Trier's suspicions gradually became clear.

“Unless—she herself was born as a sacrifice to resurrect Lothaway.” Trier recalled the various rumors and histories in the game, “Her educators deliberately prevented her from receiving a proper education in order to facilitate manipulation and control.”

"If this conjecture is correct, then the roles of the King and Auris in the entire Plague event become intriguing: they may have known all along, which could explain the delayed arrival of reinforcements in the original history, as well as Auris's unscathed escape."

Trier narrowed his eyes slightly, as he suddenly remembered an unsolved mystery from the game's history.

In the Age of Insects version, a mind flayer player who was keen on archaeology unearthed a tattered parchment scroll in the ruins of Xia Ting, on the outskirts of the capital of Alco.

The description of that scroll was not the usual one: "A parchment scroll, sturdy and durable, suitable for writing." Instead, it contained a rather riddle-like description.

"Since the kingdom returned to the material plane from the dream world, the death of the eldest son has become a miracle on which the Lorinman family lives. For greater glory and power, the last king turned to his ancestors, but he forgot that he was also the eldest son."

After finding that unremarkable parchment scroll, the mind flayer started a shareable legendary quest chain called "Uncover the Truth Behind the Fall of the Kingdom of Orko." Due to its generous rewards and shareability, the quest chain caused quite a stir, but it made no progress until Trier's journey.

“Edith is the sacrificial lamb,” Trier thought. “The sacrifice was made to Lothaway, and the sacrificer was the king, and perhaps Oris as well.”

"Of course, this is just speculation. But if we follow this line of thought, then if I were the king, I would definitely keep instilling the spirit of sacrifice in Edith. If this reasoning holds true, then Edith's decision to risk everything to fight the Balrog just now makes perfect sense..."

"Moreover, from this perspective, her decision to massacre the city might not solely be due to impatience and inexperience..."

For the first time ever, Trier felt a pang of pity, but he quickly dispelled this feeling of weakness.

“The plan remains the same, but the weight of persuasion and manipulation should be increased appropriately,” Trier thought. “And to achieve this, the first step is to sever the relationship between her and her guardian.”

With this thought in mind, Trier glanced at the princess.

Despite being a legendary paladin, Edith was rather slender. She stood gracefully at the edge of the shadows, her cool gray hair falling to her temples, and her slightly furrowed brows framed somewhat youthful features. In any case, Edith was undoubtedly a pure beauty, and her mere presence seemed to brighten the tomb.

Suddenly, a distant shout came from the rain overhead: "Your Highness, Your Highness..."

—Someone is coming to find us.

Edith didn't respond immediately when she heard the call. She paused for a moment, then grabbed Fythia's wrist and said, "Fythia, stop fooling around. I have something important to tell Trier."

Before her best friend could respond, she turned to Trier, tidied her slightly disheveled hair from the battle, and then said quite seriously, "What do you think of the zombie plague currently ravaging the southern duchy?"

“The plague spreads through food, so we should block food transport as soon as possible. I think Hult has already conveyed this message to Lord Oris and to you.” Trier looked up. “However, it seems that Lord Oris does not quite agree with this simple, straightforward, and obvious method.”

“The teacher must have his own considerations. He is a divine revealer, and gods do not make mistakes…” Edith subconsciously defended.

Futia coughed softly, then tugged at the edge of Edith's pure white wool smock.

The princess realized that this argument was somewhat untenable, so her voice grew softer and softer, "Of course, his treatment of Hult was indeed not very... fair."

Trier took a small step forward and said in a seemingly gentle tone, “By the Radiance above, with your wisdom, you are surely able to analyze the reasons and advantages and disadvantages—Your Highness, I think your sudden question is not without reason. May I ask, is there anything I can do for you?”

Sowing discord is a rather delicate act. Too direct a statement will only arouse the vigilance and resentment of the person being provoked. Therefore, good provocation should be in the ambiguous and hazy zone between stating the facts and making malicious comments.

However, even the best provocation can lead to resentment from the person being provoked. Therefore, after the provocation, the conversation should quickly return to normal topics.

“Trier.” The princess’s eyes flickered, and she turned her head slightly, seemingly unable to meet Trier’s gaze. “You were stripped of your inheritance by the Duke of the South, but your father’s followers remained indifferent. These nobles abandoned honor; they would do anything for personal gain. Think of the unfair treatment you suffered in the past—the ridicule, the indifference…”

Trier couldn't help but smile faintly—he was trying to sow discord between Edith and Oris, but Edith, in turn, was also trying to sow discord between him and the nobles of the Southern Duchy. Although the idea was good, the princess's specific words were far too clumsy and blunt.

This overly direct and blunt statement reveals her purpose: Edith clearly suspects the Silent Whisperers' connection with the local nobility, and she wants to seek their help.

“Your Highness, you suspect that there are some connection between the local nobles and the Silent Whisperers, is that right?” Trier took another step forward slowly.

Sister Noy burst out laughing. She rested her chin on her hand and looked at the princess, who was clearly not good at stirring things up, with amusement.

Suddenly, a flushed blush crept onto the princess's cheeks. Her lips parted slightly as she shifted her gaze, while soft, indistinct sounds emanated from her throat.

After a long pause, Edith stammered, "I'm sorry, I...I'm sorry."

"Why apologize?" Trier took another step forward. He could now smell the faint burnt smell on the princess from her fierce battle with the Balrog. "Your Highness, don't be nervous. I understand your situation perfectly. Let me guess, you feel like you're caught in a web of intrigue, and you want to break free, but you don't know where to start."

Dong Dong... Dong Dong...

With his extraordinary senses, Trier heard Edith's heartbeat suddenly quicken.

“Yes, you’re right.” Edith’s gaze sharpened again. She took a deep breath, seemingly transforming back into the unwavering warrior she had been in the bloody battle with the Balrog.

She took a step forward and then said quite sincerely, "Trier, I need your help. Many corrupt nobles in the Southern Duchy have intricate connections with the Silent Whisperers. Could you help me identify who our enemies are?"

"And what is Lord Oris's opinion?" Trier did not answer directly.

Edith closed her eyes, as if making some kind of decision. After a moment, she reopened her emerald-green eyes: "He thinks all those nobles are the lackeys of the dead, because almost all the local nobles are going against the investigation team."

The footsteps overhead grew closer; the people outside were practically right above the large hole.

“I understand.” Trier deliberately paused for a few seconds, and after the oppressive atmosphere had built up slightly, he suddenly said in a somber tone, as if telling a ghost story in a cemetery at midnight, “Aren’t you worried that I might also be a cultist of the Silent Whispering Society?”

As Trier spoke, he took another step forward, and shadows washed over Edith's face like a tide.

The princess's heartbeat remained unchanged. She looked directly into Trier's eyes, then suddenly smiled: "My ancestor Laurence once said: 'Everything is like a blade clashing; there is risk in everything you do, isn't there?'"

She tilted her head slightly, sweat dripping from her hair: "I'm willing to believe you. Your Excellency Trier—are you willing to believe me?"

PS: First update, one more to come.

Chapter 159 Inspiration

Although Edith is clearly not good at lying or instigating, she seems to be very good at persuading people with sincerity.

For a moment, even Trier, whose mind was as cold and hard as steel, softened slightly.

As the battle ended, the torrential rain seemed to come to a close as well.

The bright moonlight shone on the princess's cool gray hair, where sweat and rain mingled, shimmering like pearls and gems set in her hairnet.

At this moment, Trier and Edith were very close, close enough that Trier could smell the faint fragrance of hair through the burnt and bloody smell, and close enough to see the faint blue veins under Edith's slender neck.

Trier lowered his head slightly, looking directly into Edith's eyes.

The princess's eyes shone with sincerity and genuineness. She gently removed her gauntlets, tossed them to the ground, and then extended her warm, soft left hand.

Trier took a deep breath, instantly banishing the thought of shaking hands.

"Edith must have a lot of charm, maybe even extraordinary charisma. No wonder she was able to bring about a reconciliation between the Kingdom of Orko and the dwarves of Shining Peak," the time traveler thought.

In the game "Azure Scepter," the Charisma attribute doesn't just refer to physical appearance or attractiveness; it's defined as an individual's ability to influence others and external things through their will. This is why Charisma is the primary attribute for sorcerers when casting spells.