Chapter 206: Undoubted Determination

“A failure? Your Highness Alvin…!”

“Don’t be disheartened. Tell us exactly what happened!”

The reactions of the other three present were mixed… Milin and Iyue pursued the Prince who had slumped into a chair, trying to get an explanation, while Nai Fei Tali pressed her forehead with her hand and remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

“It’s just as you heard… My sister the Queen failed in her trial to break through the barrier.”

“I heard from Nai Fei Tali earlier that even if someone from your royal family fails, there’s no real danger… But looking at your face, was she lying?”

“Oh dear, I never said there was absolutely no danger.” In response to her friend’s suspicious glare, Nai Fei Tali interjected from the side.

“The barrier’s trial does treat members of the royal family specially… But if there were no cost for failure, it wouldn’t be called a trial.”

She paused, then turned to Alvin. “Your Highness Alvin, that wasn’t all you heard, was it? If possible, please tell us everything you know. Look… even my sister, who served as His Majesty’s loyal knight, has turned pale.”

“Your Highness. Please inform me of more details regarding this matter. Although I was once a guard knight of the imperial guard, I do not know the consequences of failing to break through the barrier.”

Despite her younger sister’s sarcastic tone, Iyue’s expression did not change. She was indeed worried about her former master’s safety, just as her sister had said.

“…The palace steward said she had a mental breakdown.” After confirming this from her eyes, Alvin spoke slowly.

“She ran back to the palace, ignored all the servants and knights, and went straight to that girl’s… that girl Lian’s bedchamber. She almost jumped from the balcony there… but fortunately, the knight commander and that girl stopped her together.”

“Oh my goodness.”

“Your Highness. If possible, please allow me to meet her.”

Milin was startled, while Iyue looked at Alvin with a heavy expression and made her request.

“You still want to see her… in this situation?”

Looking at the hero before him, renowned far and wide, Alvin’s inner turmoil finally erupted.

He slapped the armrest of his chair, jumped up, and shouted at her harshly.

“She has always held a grudge against you for leaving without a word back then…! Do you know how much she trusted you? When she was still a princess, she promoted you to her captain of the guard against everyone’s opposition! Later, I did it so you could return to your family…”

“But where were you when the royal family needed you most? If she and Father had been assassinated one day, and you had been by their side, perhaps Father would have been saved… She wouldn’t have suffered that fate, nor would she have fallen in love with that hero afterward! Everything happening now could have been avoided…!”

Iyue stood still, quietly bearing his wrath. Milin wanted to say something, but from the expressions of deep pain on both their faces, she knew there was an inside story she didn’t know and shouldn’t lightly touch.

So she hurriedly squeezed next to her friend, who was watching the scene with a look of amusement, and nudged her lightly.

“Nai Fei Tali… are you just going to watch like this?”

“What else? This is the result of my sister’s own choices. We have no reason to interfere.”

“You’re right. That’s why I must go to Her Majesty’s side now… As one who once betrayed the knight’s oath, I have an obligation to fulfill my unfinished duty. So I beg you, let me see her one more time.”

Iyue fixed Alvin with a resolute gaze. Like when she was a guard knight of the imperial guard, she knelt on one knee before a member of the royal family.

“You were stripped of your knightly status long ago…! What do you think you can make amends for now? This wound has long since become irreparable!”

“I am not petitioning you as a knight or a hero. This is merely a request from me— Iyue, a nameless fairy. I know the mistakes of the past cannot be undone… But I cannot do nothing because of that. I wish to do something for that noble person who gave me a chance when I was most helpless and granted me a place to belong.”

“How shameless…!”

As she gazed at him, Alvin found he couldn’t look away… Looking into her eyes, he suddenly remembered the day his sister the Queen had appointed this person as her knight.

He had been there that day too… And this woman, clad in gleaming silver armor, stood in the center of the hall.

All the ministers, including himself, looked down on this half-elf who bore the blood of a different race and was not acknowledged by the Nair family, casting contemptuous and mocking glances at her.

But bathed in such gazes, this woman raised her head unyieldingly.

Compared to the proud and heroic spirit of that time, the light shining in her eyes now had become deep and calm.

Yet one thing remained unchanged. The will dwelling in her eyes, the unshakable determination for what she held true, had never changed.

Though there had been wavering and hesitation, in the end, it would still follow the direction of that compass, traveling all the way to the end—

“…Sister.”

Nai Fei Tali watched her sister’s profile, her expression growing somewhat dim.

“Forgive the interruption.”

Just as Alvin was hesitating because of Iyue’s resolve, another guard entered the room.

After greeting everyone, he delivered a new message to Alvin, just as his colleague had done before.

“…I understand. Prepare a carriage immediately.”

During this time, his expression kept shifting… And after the message was delivered, he immediately gave orders to the guard.

“You’re going to…?”

“Of course! How could I leave her alone?” His voice grew heavier. Just as the guard was about to withdraw, he called him back. “Prepare a larger carriage. Everyone here will come with me.”

“Understood.”

The guard accepted the order and left, while the three women present all looked at Alvin.

“Your Highness…”

“My sister the Queen has regained her senses. But she seems to intend to challenge the barrier’s trial again.” Alvin explained. “She didn’t tell anyone else. She only took the guard knight commander Waletidina and that girl named Lian and set out.”

“I remember that when she failed last time, the audience ceremony that year was directly canceled, wasn’t it? Does Her Majesty wish to try once more?” Nai Fei Tali asked.

“…Why did she take Sister Lian? She’s not planning to bring her inside, is she?”

Milin was first stunned… then her face filled with anxiety and worry.

“I don’t know. But I’m going to the lakeside to see her now. If you want to come, come along… Sir Iyue, you too.”

Alvin glanced at Iyue, then walked straight out of the room.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s magnanimity.”

Iyue finally stood up from the ground. She looked at Milin and her sister, then spoke.

“It might be dangerous there. You’d better not…”

“Oh dear, does my sister still think of us as children? If you’re going to tell me not to run around like when we were little, then no thanks. Milin, let’s go.”

“I’m sorry, Sister Iyue. I know you’re worried about me… But since Sister Lian is involved, I can’t just stand by and do nothing! Nai Fei Tali, wait for me!”

Seeing Milin run out the door after her younger sister, Iyue had no choice but to abandon her attempt to dissuade them and follow along.