The ocean-going vessel sailed across the sea. Zhaoyun held onto the cold railing, gazing out at the boundary between sea and sky where top and bottom blurred into one. As the ship gently heaved, her stomach churned along with it, leaving her feeling dizzy and nauseous.
Even after drifting at sea for half a year, this sensation was not easy to get used to.
“Your Highness, are you feeling alright?”
The envoy's voice sounded from behind her. Zhaoyun turned around and waved her hand casually.
She was fine herself, but she hadn't expected Ambassador Zhang Lan, despite her advanced age, to handle the changing conditions at sea even more easily than she did.
“I'm fine,” she said, shaking her head.
Zhang Lan bowed slightly and said, “Your Highness, we should arrive in a few days.”
“I understand,” Zhaoyun nodded faintly, her tone carrying an indecipherable emotion.
She was originally a princess of the Dayong Dynasty, having crossed the vast ocean to forge an alliance with the Western Holy State.
If the purpose of this trip was achieved, she would remain here. But if it failed, in the words of her mother the Empress, there would be no need for her to return.
“Do you think His Majesty Sylvester will agree to an alliance with us?” she asked.
Zhang Lan first nodded, then shook her head. “He definitely will, but...”
She trailed off mid-sentence. Even though the Holy State had weakened somewhat over the past century, it still held the position of hegemon on the Western Continent, and the stronger a nation was, the higher the price one had to pay to align with it.
However, another empire on the Western Continent was also rising rapidly now, becoming a regional hegemon in just a few short centuries.
For them, this was a favorable prerequisite. Only when facing a powerful rival would a nation need the support of a strong ally.
And as long as it could quell its internal rebellion, the Dayong Dynasty was undoubtedly the best choice of ally for the Holy State.
The Dayong Dynasty was on the other side of the ocean. Whether it was strong or weak, it posed no threat to the Holy State, and the same was true in reverse.
Therefore, they were natural allies.
This was a question Zhang Lan had pondered countless times along the journey. Yet as their arrival drew near, she too began to feel nervous, her conviction even starting to waver.
“He definitely will... will he?”
Zhaoyun's voice was calm, making it impossible to discern her emotions at that moment.
In truth, from the moment she boarded the ship... no, from the moment she learned she would be sent to another country as a hostage princess, her heart had already sunk to the absolute bottom.
Though she was the Third Princess, her birth father was merely an unfavored male attendant, meaning she had never caught the eye of her imperial mother either.
Over the past six months, she had even fantasized countless times about the alliance failing, exhausting the last breath of life from that decaying empire—even if the price she had to pay was her own life.
...
Lu Li's schedule had grown much busier recently. That girl Julia had even specifically asked Dean Soren to keep a close watch on him every day, under the grand pretext of making up for missed classes.
Sure, he had missed a few days of class, but he had also inspired the army and won a war! Wasn't that enough to balance the scales?
Lu Li refused to accept it. She was just being completely unreasonable!
“In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the captives by the river... the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God...” Holding a crucifix, the theology professor spoke in a devout voice.
This opening passage described God descending before the prophet. Lu Li had read it no fewer than ten thousand times; it was utterly dry and boring.
Honestly, the professors' lectures were nothing more than repeating stories of God's benevolence over and over. If it was just about explaining benevolence, he could probably make it sound much more interesting if he gave the speech instead.
For instance, the Old Man above didn't even like apples, yet He still planted an apple tree in the garden.
Because that was the choice He gave you: whether to follow God's will, or to become your own god.
See? Now that was God's benevolence.
Lu Li grumbled inwardly while enduring the agonizing wait for class to end.
Still, compared to Amore, he didn't seem to have it that bad.
Ever since the day Lu Li forgave Amore's crimes, the Templar Knights had re-evaluated her, particularly regarding her psychological state. Although they ultimately concluded that she was fiercely loyal, that loyalty was restricted solely to His Holiness himself.
This result made the knight order very dissatisfied. Although in their eyes loyalty to His Holiness was equivalent to loyalty to God, one couldn't only be loyal to His Holiness.
During testing, Amore had displayed resistance toward remaining loyal to God. Consequently, she was ordered to stay at the academy for advanced studies and was forbidden from leaving without permission until the day she graduated.
And because of her rebellious attitude, she had been assigned far more classes than Lu Li.
The moment class ended, Lu Li saw Amore clutching a thick stack of textbooks, striding over to his side at high speed.
This was the once-daily “replenish His Holiness energy” time.
Not long ago, when Lu Li had just returned from Northland and saw Amore, he was almost startled out of his wits by her appearance.
The girl's originally smooth, silvery-white hair was as dry as a clump of tangled weeds, and her once bright eyes had lost all sparkle, looking as though she hadn't slept a full night in ages.
Because she hadn't seen him for days and couldn't replenish her “His Holiness energy,” the girl had ended up in this state.
And when Amore saw him, she had immediately thrown herself at him while crying and laughing, refusing to let go no matter what, as if terrified that if she unclasped her hands, he would run off again.
Lu Li felt helpless; he hadn't expected her to feel so aggrieved. In the end, he simply requested a day off from Dean Soren and obediently let her hug him to replenish her “His Holiness energy” for an entire day.
Right now, heedless of the gazes around them, Amore slammed the books in her arms heavily onto a nearby desk, then wrapped her arms around Lu Li's arm and took several deep breaths.
Anthelia's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. She could hardly bear to watch. Amore's behavior was sheer sacrilege; it was only because His Holiness didn't hold it against her that she got away with it.
“That's enough!” Anthelia said.
Hearing this, Amore reluctantly let go—not because she actually listened, but because her next class was about to start.
Only after the silver-haired girl's figure disappeared through the doorway did Anthelia whisper with an expressionless face, “Your Holiness, you spoil her far too much.”
Her tone was dripping with jealousy.
Lu Li picked up his coffee and had just taken a sip when he nearly choked to death upon hearing this resentful murmur.
Yet on second thought, he realized he truly hadn't paid enough attention to Anthelia recently. After all, she was the chief knight at his side!
He turned slightly and took the initiative to open his arms, pulling the girl into a hug.
“Anthelia, you've worked hard during this period. You must be very tired too, right?”
Rate on N.U.
