Pillar of Yita

In fact, Affia was feeling somewhat vexed due to the recent series of events.

Her sister’s situation, and the unsettling atmosphere within the Royal Palace—especially today, which was supposed to be an annual celebration. Yet, perhaps because of her sister, her father did not allow her to participate.

Outside was bustling with excitement, but she could only walk alone into this quiet grove. She originally just wanted to clear her mind, but unexpectedly, a sneaky figure suddenly appeared from behind a tree not far away.

”Who’s there!”

This frightened the Little Princess so much; there was no one nearby, and since she was in a bad mood, she hadn’t brought an Attendant with her. If there was any danger, she didn’t think she could handle an assassin daring enough to infiltrate the Royal Palace on her own.

Affia’s first reaction was that she encountered an assassin—after all, the Penelope Family indeed had many opponents among the Nobles these years. She instinctively took a step back, poised to scream.

But Fang Hong hurriedly pulled down his headscarf and spoke first: ”It’s me, Miss Affia.”

Affia’s mouth widened, and at the last moment, she swallowed her voice back. In the darkness, her eyes sparkled incredulously as she asked, ”Captain Ade?”

Fang Hong quickly nodded, breathing a sigh of relief, thankful that the other party still recognized him.

He had worried that the other party would pretend not to recognize him due to their previous disagreement; no need to pretend, as he looked quite suspicious.

Affia’s eyes had a look of ’how dare you’ as she cautiously looked around, hesitated a bit, and then asked softly: ”Are you here to see my sister?”

Fang Hong’s heart stirred, it seemed the rumors outside were true, the Grand Princess was indeed under house arrest.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked like that.

He nodded again.

Affia was silent for a moment, but soon it looked like she made up her mind. ”I’ll take you to see her.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but feel a hint of joy. He understood—his plan was somewhat unreasonable after all. While the areas around the Royal Palace had been thoroughly explored, the Forbidden Palace was still a blank slate; finding where the Grand Princess was being held was no easy feat.

And with the Royal Palace’s outer defenses being so strict, how would the Forbidden Palace be any less so? Any slip, or a bit of bad luck, could cause a major problem. But this celebration was a rare opportunity, and he couldn’t just pass it up—at least he could take a walk around the palace for future reference, even if he didn’t find the Grand Princess.

To be honest, tonight’s actions were somewhat of a forced march to proceed.

But, he hadn’t expected, wasn’t sure if it was his luck, that he ran into a familiar face upon entering. In this vast Royal Palace, he only knew a handful of people, including the Grand Princess, and he managed to encounter one of them; surely, it must be the peak of luck.

Affia looked at him with a complex expression and said in a low voice: ”Put on your headscarf and don’t speak, pretend to be my Attendant. My sister is at the other end of the palace, we have to go through here. Thankfully, there aren’t many people in the Inner Palace tonight.”

Fang Hong nodded, indicating his understanding.

He looked at this Little Princess again, involuntarily recalling another Affia he had met before.

Of course, between the two, the other Affia was much more adorable. This Little Princess’s previous encounters with the Seven Seas Travel Group were not pleasant, but considering her sister’s situation, she seemed not to care much—perhaps Luo Yu had something to do with it.

Fang Hong thought.

He asked in a low voice: ”Affia, are the rumors about the Grand Princess true?”

Affia hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly.

She sighed and said in a lowered voice: ”I don’t know what my sister did to upset Father, but after she was ordered back to the palace, she was placed under house arrest. Besides Father and a few people close to my sister, not many know about this. However, how did you know?”

”We are assisting the Grand Princess with some tasks,” Fang Hong replied.

Even though the information actually came from Bishop Faris, he certainly couldn’t drag Marlan Temple into it, so he downplayed and avoided the question.

Fortunately, Affia didn’t seem too concerned: ”Oh, I’m aware of that.”

She shook her head gently: ”Well, actually, I don’t really care what you’re working on, but I think my sister must be prudent. I guess... she may want to see you, but you can’t stay in the Royal Palace too long—”

Fang Hong paused slightly, realizing that the Little Princess actually had no idea what her sister was investigating. But he still nodded, as he hadn’t planned to stay long.

However, Affia was thinking further.

The other party claimed to be assisting her sister—she knew about that. Her sister had mentioned in a letter about having contact with the Seven Seas Travel Group. Affia understood that her sister mentioned it because of her previous relationship with the Seven Seas Travel Group, as her sister always respected her opinion.

But she wasn’t an idiot.

Even in Istania, Invokers were common, and the Royal Household often dealt with Invokers from the Adventurers’ Guild, but it was just an employer-employee relationship. Would anyone risk their life to infiltrate the Royal Palace just to meet their employer?