Now...now my old injuries always recur. Let alone running, sometimes I even feel pain when I walk.
"Don't sigh, idiot. How can a bone injury heal so quickly?" Seeing Perlis so dejected, Carly patted her on the back and comforted her, "This is a lesson for you. Don't be as reckless as last time. Otherwise, not to mention Ivar, even an ordinary federal soldier can easily suppress you, okay?"
"Well...I know," Perlis said sadly, "but...but I..."
"Uncle Edward wouldn't want you to do something stupid because you were blinded by hatred."
"But I can't just sit here and do nothing..."
Perlis lowered her head in annoyance, thinking, and as if she had thought of something, she looked up at Carly:
"The ticket for [Star Track], could it really be..."
[Star Track] A suspended rail train between Wilkin and the Federation. It is the fastest and safest way to travel to the Federation.
Looking into Perlis' eyes, Carly sighed softly and said:
"It has been monopolized. Since Charon's rebellion, flights have been reduced to very few. I can't lie to you, can I?"
"Well..." Perlis wilted again and shrugged, "..I don't doubt you..."
"Then just be obedient and don't mess around."
Carly poked Pearlis's face and said with disgust.
"You just know how to get mad at me. Isn't it time for you to grow up?"
Perlis let Carly poke her face, silently lowered her head to look at her knees, and pursed her lips slightly. She didn't know why, but since the battle to retake Charon, she had been hit by all kinds of things. No matter how calm she was, she felt a little tired.
"Oh, why are you silent again? The little white flower I know is that arrogant and reckless idiot. How could he be so depressed by such a small blow?"
Seeing that Pearls was so depressed, Carly felt helpless and distressed. She patted Pearls' back slowly to comfort her.
"Ivar can't run away. Even if you don't make it to this competition, it won't be too late after you recover from your injuries."
"No," Perlis whispered, "it's too late..."
"How could that be?" Carly smiled softly, "Ivar wouldn't..."
"You do not understand!"
Perlis suddenly broke free from Carly's arms, limped to her feet from the bedside, and turned her back to Carly. Her blood-red eyes stared stubbornly at the sunny day outside the window, flashing a faint light.
Looking at Perlis's back, Carly sighed silently. She knew that words could no longer comfort her at this time. Perlis was a contradiction formed by the interweaving of countless lonely and paranoid thoughts. Even Carly could not penetrate the barrier that Perlis had drawn around her obsession.
Who made her like this? Was it Edward? Was it Ivar? Carly didn't know, and maybe even Perlis herself didn't know.
Silence permeated between the two of them. Carly didn't say much, but just accompanied her silently.
However, at this moment, a voice broke the silence——
"Little Princess! There's a letter for you!"
Pace pushed open the door and walked in. When he saw the scene in the room, he was suddenly stunned.
"Uh..." Pace scratched his head awkwardly, "Did I come at a bad time...?"
"No, it's okay."
In front of the window, Perlis turned around slowly, her face returning to its usual indifferent expression, as if her previous emotions had never been revealed.
"Whose letter is it?"
She didn't like to show her emotions to outsiders. She was a [Pure White Flame], a [Blade of the Tower of Babel], not a crying little girl. It was okay for her to act like a spoiled child in front of Carly, but when it came to serious matters, she would not be intimidated by anything.
However, when Pace read out the sender's name, Perlis' heart still trembled slightly:
"Um..the sender...his name is...Aloi Aziz?"
......
1) Bad idea (Part 2)
After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Perlis saw the golden throne standing at the end of the palace stairs: it had a red-gold spear as its frame and a rock as its base. The ancient engravings were inlaid with gold, and it was as dazzling as an oasis in the Visa Desert.
At this moment, the golden throne was empty. Only a ray of light coming down from the dome shone on the red velvet cushion of the golden throne, shining with a luxurious and solemn light.
"this way please."
The guards in golden armor led Perlis and her group slowly towards the golden throne. As they got closer and closer to the steps, Perlis saw a table placed under the steps of the golden throne and four chairs placed next to the table.
Of course, there is also the man with a sharp face who is already sitting on the chair.
[Golden Sand Snake] Aloi Aziz, the first in line to the Golden Throne, the Prince of Wilkin. Just like his father Awada Aziz, Aloi inherited the cunning that is rooted in the Wilkin royal blood. Even Perlis dares not slack off in front of him.
Perlis still didn't know the real purpose of Aloi inviting her to the Temple of Embers. This was a forbidden place for the Welkin royal family. Even the presidents of large business groups throughout Welkin could only catch a glimpse of the Temple of Embers in very rare cases, let alone her, a mere [Blade of Babel].
"Welcome, welcome back to Wilkin, Miss Perlis Halfgard."
Seeing Perlis walking towards her, Aloi stood up gracefully and bowed, his pair of red-gold eyes slightly narrowed on his handsome face.
"Or... you prefer to be called... [Pure White Fireworks]?"
"... whatever you want."
Perlis sat down opposite Aloi, and Pace and Carly also walked slowly to the table. They all stared at Aloi closely, and seemed to have no good impression of him.
"You brought a friend, Miss Perlis. To be honest... I'm surprised..." Aloi's voice was a mixture of a breath and a whisper, blending in perfectly with the atmosphere of this ancient and solemn palace. "I heard that... [Pure White Fireworks] has always been a loner..."
"Accident? Not necessarily?"
Perlis glanced at the stools where Pace and Carly were sitting, her face expressionless.
"Your guards must be exhausted after half a month of surveillance in the suburbs. If you don't let him get the message out, he will be killed by the federals, right?"
"Is that so? Miss Perlis... Thank you for the reminder..." Aloi smiled softly, staring at Perlis with his red-gold eyes, "Then... why didn't the 'Federalists' kill my poor guards? If I remember correctly, the power of the 'Federalists' is well-known far and wide..."
Hearing this, Perlis turned her head slightly and rubbed her injured wrist subconsciously. All these actions were seen by Aloi, and he glanced slightly, revealing an expression that seemed to be a smile.
"Because the 'Federals' have their eyes on us," Carly suddenly spoke up, her icy blue eyes flashing with disdain. "If a venomous snake is stared at right at the vital point, even if its fangs are very sharp, it will be somewhat afraid, right?"
"Ah... Indeed, Miss Carly," Aloi bowed his head slightly, "I'm sorry, but I'll buy you a drink."
Aloi leaned back slightly in his chair, and he clapped his hands. A butler came out from the shadows and placed four glasses of white cocktails on the table. Perlis and Carly didn't even look at the glass of wine, but Pace, who had been silent, picked up the wine very naturally and took a sip:
"Ok!"
"It tastes good, right?" Aloi winked at Pace. "The base liquor is vodka from Thebite. I spent a long time choosing it when I was thinking about it... But it turns out that the snow wheat from Wanren Mountain... It always has a unique flavor..."
"Indeed! This wine is great!" Pace praised sincerely. Seeing that Perlis and Carly were looking at him with resentful eyes, he felt a little strange. "Why? It's really good?"
"Ahem, let's talk business... Miss Perlis," Aloi cleared his throat and turned to Perlis, "I heard... Miss Perlis wants to go to the Federation?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Can you tell me why?"
"Is there anything in Wilkin that the [Golden Sand Snake] doesn't know about?" A rare hint of teasing appeared on Perlis's face. "Don't beat around the bush, Prince Aloi, show your fangs."
"Wow... this is very hurtful, Ms. Perlis," Aloi pretended to be sad, "I sincerely want to make friends with [Pure White Fireworks]."
"No one would want to make friends with the infamous [Blade of Babel]," Perlis smiled softly, "not to mention the dangerous venomous snake."
"Viper won't politely invite you to his home, right?" Aloi reminded.
"As long as the fangs are still there, your intentions are unpredictable, but it's worth guarding against," Polly said bluntly, "Besides, if you really just want to politely invite me to sit down..."
Her blood-red eyes swept across the shadows beside the stairs, and under the shadow of the huge stone pillar, Perlis caught a glimpse of a golden light.
"Then there's no need to press your fangs against my throat."
"As expected of the Pure White Flame, it's extremely sensitive..."
Aloi nodded approvingly, his red-gold eyes flashing with a strange light.
"Please forgive those guys in the shadows... [Wilkin's guards should always accompany the prince], the old saying always leads to some unpleasant misunderstandings... just like this one..."
"Put away your winding snake body, [Golden Sand Snake]," Carly's icy blue eyes examined Aloy, and a few blue lights flickered on her fingertips, "Let's get straight to the point."
Hearing this, Aloi stopped talking. He slowly lowered his head, pondered for a while, and then spoke again in a voice that was almost a whisper:
"I can provide you with tickets for the Star Track Line."
"Of course, after all, aren't you the monopolist?" Perlis said, staring at Aloy with her blood-red eyes. "So, what do you want from me?"
"Ah... Is this a pure exchange of interests? The people of the Federation are really inhumane..."
"Isn't this what you want?"
“Hahahaha, you are worthy of being Miss Perlis. I have learned a lot today.”
Aloi slowly raised the white cocktail in his hand, his handsome face filled with a half-smile.
"But before I make my offer, could you please tell me the story about this drink?"
"Hey...you..." Carly wanted to interrupt Aloi impatiently, but Perlis stopped her with her hand:
"Speak, Prince Aloi."
Perlis stared at Aloy's red-gold eyes, her face still as calm as frost and snow. This made Carly a little stunned. In her impression, Perlis rarely faced someone so calmly and rationally.
After looking at Perlis for a while, Aloi chuckled and continued:
"You know what? The time and effort required to make a good cocktail is no less than that required to conceive a brilliant short story... In addition to the exquisite conception, it is even more... The base liquor produced in Thebit... Maltose produced in the farm in the north of E-Tran... Fresh red bud fruit grown in the autumn field... What a wonderful combination... Isn't it?"
Aloi held the wine glass in the air and looked at the delicate texture of the liquid inside through the light above the dome, as if he was appreciating a work of art.
"However, even with such a perfect match, there is always a lack of the last piece of the puzzle... I spent a full six months traveling around the world just to find this last piece... I tried using cherry blossom leaves from Dila, green olives from the Federation... I even got green-skinned bananas from La Vatino... but none of them were right... No matter what... they were a little off..."
"Later... when I returned home exhausted, the white petals flying all over the sky gave me an incomparable fresh inspiration... how pure... how beautiful... have you heard of poetry? [The pure white from the stars fell into this green, and Wilkin's outline was outlined in white]... how holy..."
Perlis looked down at the white fragments in the wine glass in front of her, and she suddenly realized what they were -
"So... I crushed the cute little white flowers I picked from the flower field and mixed them with this unique cocktail. In the end, I made her appear in front of you in such a dignified and gorgeous way..."
Under Perlis's gaze, Aloi took a sip of the cocktail in his hand and sipped his lips in intoxication.
"you..."
Perlis wanted to say something, but Aloi continued to talk:
"Over the years, I have traveled around the world, and together with my brother Akkaya Aziz, I have built stairs leading to the Tower of Babel... the Chamber of Commerce of I-Tran... the Grand Hotel of the Holy Trident in Thebite... the dock of Dila... Wilkin's venom has flowed into the veins of the continent of Ademir, and has continued to spread."
"However, there is always a key step missing on the road to the Tower of Babel. After Akkaya was killed by the [Red Shadow], I searched for that step even more frantically... the step that could make Wilkin's Way become this peerless cocktail..."
Under Perlis's stunned gaze, Aloi slowly shook the wine glass with the straw and picked out a piece of wine-soaked rubbish.
That fragment was a white flower from the vast sea of flowers.
"What I want is... you, [Pure White Firework] Perlis Hafurgard."
Aloi slowly rolled the fragments of the white flower into his mouth, chewing it with great obsession. He looked at Perlis's face, and his red-gold eyes blossomed with lust.
"Become the Queen of Wilkin, and you will get everything you wish for from under the fangs of the venomous snake..."
......
1) Bad idea (Part 3)
one day ago.
......
"Are you..are you sure? Little White Flower?"
In the living room of Perlis's house, Perlis was stubbornly packing her things for going out. Behind her, Carly and Pace were looking at her with worry on their faces.
"I'm going." Perlis replied without turning back.
"...You should know that Aloi Aziz is a..."
"I know," Perlis turned her head, her blood-red eyes flashing with determination, "but I want to try."
Seeing that Perlis was so determined, Carly covered her head with her hands in great pain. She glanced at the letter from Aloi in her hand again and sighed.
It was an invitation letter, dated the next day, and the location was the Embers Hall in downtown Wilkin. The fancy golden font left traces on the parchment, like some kind of totem.
"....Miss Perlis, please be sure to arrive on time. Under the blessing of the Lord of Embers, everything you wish for will come true."
The name of Aloi Aziz was clearly visible at the signature of the envelope.
Aloi Aziz, a member of the royal family of Wilkin, the second son of Awada Aziz, the king of Wilkin, [Red Gold Snake], the prince of Wilkin, this long list of titles combined together to form the red-gold snake pattern on the cover of the letter. This pattern symbolizes absolute power and strength in Wilkin, but in Carly's eyes, this pattern symbolizes threat.
Faintly, a fang dripping with venom appeared in front of Carly.
