Chapter 120 - 40. Friend

Chapter 120: 40. Friend"Prince?"

Fisher knew about the affairs of Schwali. The current Queen ruling Schwali was the biological sister of the previous Schwali King, who had a son. Nonetheless, the position had been passed on to his sister instead of his own son.

If it were someone else, they might conjecture that there was a myriad of family discord and struggles involved, but that was unlikely between the Queen of Schwali and the current Prince.

The previous King of Schwali was too incompetent and quite the libertine, hosting grand feasts for both men and women in the court. Such scandalous behaviors were even known to Fisher in Nali, so in reality, the current Prince had been raised by his aunt, and their affection was deep, with mutual reliance.

After the king died, the then-young Prince ceded his position to his aunt, who had remained unmarried her whole life and pulled Schwali back from the brink of collapse with an iron fist. Moreover, she devoted herself to nurturing the Prince, clearly designating him as the future ruler of Schwali.

Thus, the Queen of Schwali’s decision to send the Prince to Nali for the visit was a testament to how much she valued this visit.

"Yes, he will be accompanying the scholar group here, and I’ll collaborate with Saint Nali University to host an academic conference. After the conference concludes, my elder brother will host him at the Golden Palace, and that will mark the perfect conclusion of this visit."

Elizabeth nodded, addressing Fisher,

"I’m informing you ahead of time so you can prepare in advance. However, I believe you can handle any academic difficulties they might present."

"I understand..."

While Fisher was lost in thought, she slightly closed the distance between them, her faint church incense mixed with her body fragrance interrupting his thoughts,

"Let’s not talk about this anymore. Today is the celebration of the Gedelin Festival, and I have other tasks tonight, so I barely found time to come here. I heard Saint Nali University has planned many activities and invited many students’ parents to encourage the attendance of the Royal Family, which requires me to roughly participate in all the activities."

"During this time, I can’t be without someone to protect me; is such a heavy responsibility something you can undertake, Mr. Fisher?"

Elizabeth extended her left hand towards Fisher, her mild yet vacuous pale-gold eyes reflecting Fisher’s figure as she quietly watched him, seemingly waiting for his response.

It was just past noon, and Elizabeth had matters to attend to in the evening, likely not staying here long, so it would be just right to return after attending the activities with her.

"I understand, Your Highness’s safety is my responsibility."

Actually, it was clear to any fool that talk of safety was just a pretense; she was merely inviting Fisher to join her in the activities.

Upon receiving Fisher’s affirmative response, a slight ripple of pleasure finally stirred in her calm eyes.

In front of them, the statue of the Mother Goddess benevolently watched over the not-so-spacious hall; Elizabeth tidied up her dress and stood up, softly extending her right hand to Fisher, clearly intending to take his arm.

According to etiquette, it was optional for a lady’s companion to offer his arm, but doing so suggested a closer relationship.

However, when it involved members of the Royal Family, particular attention had to be paid to etiquette, as every slight gesture could be interpreted as a signal by those inclined to see it, so such ordinary gestures were generally avoided by the Royal Family.

But Elizabeth intended to do so.

She smiled faintly, her closed pale-gold eyes swirling with a dangerous allure.

The Royal Family’s reserve prevented her from being too overtly fervent, but could this also cause other ladies, who did not know their place, to dare to approach Fischer?

Ladies from Nali would hardly dare, but what about those from Schwali? From Kado? From the Northern Realm? Natives from the South Continent?

Elizabeth couldn’t care less, but it was time to deepen the signals about this gentleman’s allegiance, even if such an action was somewhat overstepping for the Royal Family.

Fischer looked at her slightly overstepping motion with some confusion; despite keeping a respectful distance from the elder princess, she had silently maintained a safe separation previously.

Why did it seem like after their last parting at the Royal College, the elder princess had begun to press him more closely?

But now that the princess had spoken, Fischer had no choice but to take her right hand and let her rest it within the crook of his arm.

As soon as she took hold, Fischer felt her fingers casually pinch the muscle of his forearm. When he turned his head to look at her in puzzlement, Elizabeth merely appeared nonchalant, as if it had been an accident.

Elizabeth smiled, her gentle, hollow, pale-gold eyes shining with a hint of amusement, as gracefully captivating as an angel embodying all of Nali’s beauty.

She thus spoke to Fischer,

"Let’s go, Mr. Fischer."

"Ah, Isabella, can you check if the button on the back of my dress is done up?"

On the campus, all afternoon classes had been cancelled, so many students were happily wandering in front of the academic buildings to see what activities were scheduled.

At a bench on the nearby road, Milica was frettingly looking back at her attire, fearful of any inappropriate dressing.

It was no wonder, for she was wearing a traditional black church dress, a complex garment with many dressing concessions, even the order of the layers of the skirt mattered; each time Milica wore it, it felt like undergoing a test.

But her father was visiting the school today, necessitating her wearing this traditional formal attire.

Nearby, Isabella and Moli leaned over to help her check, then said,

"Don’t worry, before we came out, we made sure everything was checked and in place; there are absolutely no oversights."

Milica finally relaxed and patted her chest,

"Ah, my dad always likes to nitpick about my clothes. He always says that wearing clothes untidily is very disrespectful. My goodness, if he tried wearing a robe with eight layers inside and out, I bet he would get a headache too."

Isabella and Moli both laughed; their clothes, though formal, were probably not as complicated as a Church’s black robes.

"By the way, have you seen today’s activities? There’s a poetry recital, and I heard there’s even a poetry competition, judged by Lady Lao Fang!"

"And there’s a lot of food too, Moli, let’s go check it out together."

Moli was secretly drawing something in her sketchbook. Upon closer inspection, she was meticulously recording each complex layer of Milica’s black dress from inside out in her sketchbook; her drawing was incredibly realistic. Even though Isabella and others had seen it many times, they still found it amazing.

"Hey, sure."

Before, when the poetry was mentioned, Moli wasn’t moved, just silently writing and painting, until Isabella winked and mentioned the food, then Moli looked up at them.

That adorable look made Milica and her dormmates unable to suppress their laughter,

"Ah, Moli, why do you never gain weight no matter how much you eat? So cute."

Milica rubbed Moli’s cheeks and started horsing around with her dormmates.

Just then, in the bustling school, a profound and mysterious fragrance suddenly wafted to Isabella’s nose. Following the scent’s trail, she saw, unknowingly when, a woman with beautiful black hair, elegant and striking like fine wine, standing by the school pathway.

The lady was dressed in a black dress, her posture elegant yet lazy, with one hand lightly touching her red lips, seemingly taking in the school surroundings.

In less than a second, the lady seemed to have noticed Isabella’s gaze. She smiled and looked over, her deep purple eyes enchanting like the Milky Way, causing even Isabella to blush uncontrollably, instinctively wanting to look away.

"Excuse me, are you students here?"

"Ah?"

The black-haired lady slowly walked towards Isabella and the others, and as the three girls’ gazes met hers, she made an apologetic expression,

"Sorry, I’m Renie, and I got a bit lost. I wasn’t sure where to go, which was really troubling, so I wanted to come over and ask for directions."

"Lost? Oh, are you a family member visiting today? Can you tell me where you need to go?"

Hearing Milica’s warm words, Renie laughed.

In the corner of her eye, those deep eyes briefly swept over Moli sitting next to her, seemingly noting something; her gaze lingered on Moli for a while before slowly moving away.

Moli’s body twitched slightly; in that moment, she felt as if something terrifying had set its sights on her, but when she looked up, all she saw was this gentle, smiling black-haired lady.

"That’s wonderful, I’m actually looking for someone named Fisher Benavides, can you tell me where he might be right now?"

"Ah? Mr. Fischer?!"

"Ah, Professor Fisher?"

Isabella and Milica exchanged glances, and Milica, looking a bit concerned, asked,

"Um, sorry, but what is your relation to Mr. Fischer?"

Renie’s deep purple eyes unchangingly observed Milica for a second, seeming to confirm that there was no threat in her presence, then her expression became more animated.

Her cheeks flushed, and her pale fingers unintentionally curled a strand of her black hair as she avoided their gaze and said,

"He’s... he’s a friend."

He’s a friend my foot!

Upon seeing Renie’s shy demeanor, Milica immediately sensed that the lady might likely be Mr. Fischer’s love interest!

Huh?

Could it be... could it be that Mr. Fischer likes this type of lady?

Though she indeed was beautiful and seemed gentle and good at taking care of others, Milica felt she was totally unsuitable for Mr. Fischer!

Not suitable at all!

Milica puffed her cheeks, temporarily at a loss for words. Meanwhile, Isabella, smiling, waved her hand, continuing the conversation,

"Ah, Mr. Fischer might also be participating in this afternoon’s activities; if you don’t mind, why don’t you come with us to the school event venue? Perhaps you might meet him there."

Renie smiled and clasped her hands, appearing timid and shy, portraying another captivating charm with her sisterly, beautiful appearance, making even Isabella admit that the lady in front of them was truly beautiful.

"I really appreciate your help; without you, I wouldn’t know what to do.."

Facing Milica’s uncomfortable gaze, Renie seemed innocently unaware of any ill-intent, oblivious, like an angel. However, those devilish eyes had sharply scanned everyone nearby, filtering through information as if filtering what annoying activities Fischer had been up to behind her back.