Bishop Philip was an honest man through and through. This was a commonly known fact agreed upon within the church.

  Despite his high standing, he was humble, polite, and diligent. He often spent days on end outside punishing evil cultists, making him the role model of all inquisitors. The list of merits he had in the church ran on and on.

  During the assassination attempt several years back, Bishop Philip successfully found and protected the missing Her Highness Nora and the Ascarts’ successor, Roel. For this key reason, Nora favored him greatly.

  Unbeknownst to Philip himself, he had raked up another larger merit than that, and that was to transmit the image of her and Roel kissing in their unconscious state over to the other two family members of the Ascart House. That incident had given Nora great leverage over Alicia, but of course, the honest Philip was oblivious to it all.

  You don’t know how anxious Miss Alicia was when she heard of the matter! She might be an adopted daughter of the Ascart House, but that doesn’t lessen her bond with her older brother. It’s only right for me to alleviate her worries!

  As an old bachelor who craved for a warm family, Philip was able to empathize with Alicia’s feelings and moved swiftly back then to reassure her. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside to see just how bonded the Ascart House was.

  And today, he was experiencing a similar warm and fuzzy feeling once more.

  Watching as Her Highness Nora spread her wings wide and descended toward the grand city not too far away, Bishop Philip found himself quietening down.

  The other guards were unaware of the true reason why Her Highness Nora would suddenly pay a visit to Rosa City despite her busy schedule. Even Philip himself thought that she was going to sign some sort of secret agreement with Rosa till he saw her staring deeply at the massive city on the horizon, murmuring Charlotte’s name.

  I see…… Indeed, outstanding individuals tend to be drawn to one another. There are few peers of Her Highness Nora who are able to truly connect with her, and even fewer are of the same standing as her.

  It’s no wonder why she was so inconspicuous for this visit. It turns out that…… she’s here to visit her friend! Ahhh, to go out of her way to pay Miss Charlotte a visit despite the inconvenience, it looks like they must be on really good terms with one another!

  Regardless of era, it’s never easy to sustain friendships across borders. This is especially so if one is of notable standing, as it results in the politicization of one’s private relationships. Unfortunately, it’s inevitable that every interaction by a prominent figure will be deeply scrutinized, and in my reckoning, it’s the same for Her Highness Nora and Miss Charlotte too.

  Yet, despite the massive boulders that stand in their way, Her Highness Nora still chose her friend over all else. If I remember correctly, it should be Rosa’s Liberation Day today. Perhaps, Her Highness specifically chose this day in order to drop by and give her friend a surprise. Ahh, what a regret that we ended up holding her back due to some of our conflicting schedules!

  Philip remembered how Nora’s fists remained nervously clenched throughout the entire journey, and he couldn’t help but sigh deeply out of guilt.

  Without any hesitation, he stood forward and cast his bloodline spell on Nora, greatly accelerating the speed of her flight. Knowing that she would be able to reunite with her good friend before the end of the day, his heart swelled up in contentment.

  O’ Sia, how beautiful the bonds between fellow humans are! Surely Miss Charlotte would be delighted to see Her Highness Nora making it in time to celebrate such an important day for her country with her?

  Their friendship would also decide relations between both of our countries too. It isn’t just the reunion of two close friends here; from a long-term perspective, it also reinforces the shared harmony between our Theocracy and Rosa too.

  A sincere smile emerged on the lips of the middle-aged bishop.

  May Sia bless their friendship to be everlasting!……

  Today was not going to be a peaceful day for Rosa City. Under the festive atmosphere of LIberation Day, the mood of the populace soared to new heights. On the streets, crowds were chugging their alcohol down and singing their hearts out.

  Over in the Rosa Conference Hall, the unexpected arrival of a guest brought the mood of the celebration to an even greater high.

  “Uncle Bruce, it has been several years since we last met. Do pardon me for my abrupt visit.”


  “Hahaha, you’re too courteous, Your Highness. It’s our pleasure to have you here in Rosa.”


  “I’m deeply grateful for your warm hospitality. I, Nora Xeclyde, have come here on behalf of the Theocracy to offer our blessings toward the independence of the Rosaians. May the friendship between our nations remain everlasting.”


  At the frontmost observatory of the banquet hall, Nora was currently chatting with Bruce.

  When she suddenly arrived several minutes ago, it caused a huge stir amongst the crowd. Even Charlotte and Alicia, who were immersed in their amicable war of words, stopped right away to look at her, shocked by her arrival.

  However, in view of the occasion, they chose not to confront one another head-on but to observe the proper sequence of events first.

  Right after arriving at the venue, the first thing Nora did was to inform and pay her respects to the organizer of the event, Bruce Sorofya. This was a necessary procedure as it also symbolized a show of respect toward Rosa. Following that, she curtsied gracefully before the guests in the banquet hall to greet them, which, in turn, brought a flurry of excitement to all of the Rosaians present.

  This was the highly esteemed princess of the Saint Mesit Theocracy after all! It was rare enough to even catch a sight of her in Holy Capital Loren, let alone outside of the Theocracy. Her arrival brought about an ‘idol effect’, creating an outburst of excitement among the attendees.

  Amidst this commotion, the golden-haired princess finally found herself with some time on hand to face her fated rival.

  Standing on opposite ends of a standing table, the graceful angel met eyes with the noble elf. The collision of their stares sparked an inconspicuous mana pulsation in the surroundings.

  The two of them were Origin Level 4 transcendents, and they represented the highest talent of their respective lineages too. After a quick assessment of their opponent, they realized that they were equally matched in terms of disposition. Realizing that she couldn’t overwhelm the other party with her presence, Nora decided to change her strategy.

  Her lips inched upward as she began making her way toward another one of the notable figures in the banquet hall.

  “Uncle Carter, you arrived ahead of me. How was your journey?”


  “I’m flattered by Your Highness Nora’s concern. I was able to fare perfectly fine even on the frontlines, so there’s no way anything could happen to me now that we’re at such a safe location.”


  “That’s a relief. It’s my duty to take care of you while Roel isn’t around, or else my father will berate me for negligence.”


  “Hahaha. Prince Kane is truly worrying over nothing……”


  The cordial conversation Carter and Nora had with one another amidst the pleasant music made Charlotte’s face turn pale. The wine glass in her hand trembled a little as she felt something plummeting in her heart.

  She could still console herself that the good relationship between Carter and Alicia was due to their father-daughter relationship, but the fact that Carter was greeting Nora affably as well made his stance perfectly clear.

  He has no qualms with Alicia and Nora. The only one he is opposed to is me.

  This realization heaped even greater pressure upon Charlotte, causing her breathing to become a little heavier. She quickly took a sip of wine to calm down her lurching heart.

  Perhaps it was due to him noticing the irregular reactions of his daughter, Bruce also walked over then, and using the excuse of wanting to organize a meetup between the veterans of the war from both sides, he pulled Carter away with him. That concluded the interaction between Nora and Carter.

  Bruce shot a discreet glance toward his daughter and sighed deeply in his heart.

  He, too, was able to discern the polite but distant attitude Carter was taking toward her, but there was nothing he could really do about this. For his daughter’s sake, he couldn’t even fault Carter for that; on the contrary, he had to try his best to build good relations with him.

  The two patriarchs departed from the banquet hall together while trading pleasantries with one another. Nora casually made her way back to Charlotte’s side. Having managed to one-up Charlotte through Carter and curb the latter’s ambitions, her footsteps were much lighter than before.

  “I never expected us to meet again under such circumstances, Miss Charlotte. I must say, you look a lot younger today.”


  “.……”


  Nora hadn’t even bothered trying to conceal her hostility right from the start. Her words rendered Charlotte silent, not knowing how to respond at all.

  It couldn’t be helped, since Charlotte had indeed disguised herself as an old woman to deceive Nora during the escape. To the esteemed princess of the Theocracy, being taken for a fool was indeed a great humiliation. She had expected such an outcome from the start, and she was prepared as well.

  She closed her eyes slightly and took a deep breath. She allowed Roel’s profile to linger in her mind for a few moments before she opened her eyes once more and reverted back to her usual graceful self.

  “It’s a pleasure that you could join us here tonight, Your Highness Nora. You look stunning in your dress too.”


  “Feigning ignorance, are we? It was indeed my naivety that allowed you to slip away right under my watch back then. Very well, I’ll let it slip.”


  Nora casually picked up a glass of wine from a waiter’s plate before gazing at the crowd in the banquet hall, seemingly searching for a person. A long time later, she finally asked.

  “Where is he?”


  “.…… At our home.”


  “Our home? Do you mean the kidnapper’s den?”


  “Your Highness Nora, you appear to be harboring some misunderstandings here. Roel and I are an engaged couple. All of our properties will be placed under our shared ownership. Naturally, my home is his home too.”


  “Hah, an engagement contract, you said? Charlotte, it looks like I’ve really overestimated you. Even up to this point, you’re still thinking of relying on a flimsy piece of paper?”


  “That’s our beginning, a promise our ancestors made a hundred years ago. It’s the article of evidence that tied our fates together. What reason do I have not to rely on it?”


  Charlotte had a beautiful smile on her face as she spoke about the engagement contract, without a trace of the disappointment she revealed just a moment ago. Despite what Nora and Alicia had said, the hundred-year-old engagement contract was still her greatest edge. Unless Roel openly testified against Charlotte’s mistakes and annulled the engagement, neither the Ascart House nor the Xeclyde House would be able to easily make a move on her.

  As long as Roel acknowledged that he had willingly followed Charlotte back to Rosa—perhaps even claiming that he was the one who raised the idea—her actions could only be criticized as thoughtless. That was also the reason why everything was still peaceful before Roel made an appearance.

  A layer of frost cloaked Nora’s sapphire eyes. She was silent for a moment before she suddenly posed a question quietly.

  “Charlotte, the two of you entered a snippet of history together, am I right? If so, there’s a question I have to ask you. Answer me…… is Roel injured?”