Chapter 171 - 72. Like a cat

Chapter 171: 72. Like a cat Not only could the Royal Family not control the political situation, allowing the nobles to grow powerful and oppress the people, but the people also had no platform to voice their grievances. This caused deep resentment to accumulate, resulting in six uprisings within a mere five years. If it weren’t for their powerful army, it’s likely that Schwali would have undergone drastic changes by now.

It was only after the accession of the new Queen that this situation began to improve. However, the obstinate noble power was not so easily overthrown. They were like worms embedded in every part of the state machinery, making simple repairs far too inadequate—it required a complete overhaul.

Therefore, what Mr. Fisher meant was probably to eradicate the nobility, which would also solve the problem of Prince Luosang, whether regarding the sheep-man or the political issues. Of course, this was merely a joke.

Luosang paused briefly, then with a face flushed from alcohol, he laughed. He glanced at the New Party official beside him but did not respond to Fisher’s jest, instead, he brought up another topic,

"I heard that you came from the Royal College but did not join the Griffin Party. Instead, you became a free scholar?"

"I don’t have that kind of talent; it’s just unfortunate."

"Haha, that’s not your loss, but Nali’s. I also heard your relationship with Princess Elizabeth is quite unusual. Before coming here, the Griffin Party suggested to our King that I marry one of the princesses within the Golden Palace to stabilize relations between our two countries, but both the Golden Palace and I refused."

Fisher was somewhat surprised to hear this, not that the Golden Palace had refused—currently, Elizabeth was the commander of the Royal Army, and it was clearly unrealistic for her to marry a prince from another country. Moreover, Elizabeth always disliked arranged marriages; otherwise, she would have married during her university years, without the need to be entangled with him for so long.

And Isabella had always been under Elizabeth’s protection, sheltered from hardships since she was young. Elizabeth would never agree to her entering into a marriage alliance.

At the thought, Fisher’s gaze flickered.

Because during his time at college, he had truly been moved by Elizabeth and had been determined to distance himself from other ladies to marry her.

But after experiencing some things at college, after long consideration, Fisher had hesitated.

Elizabeth was a woman who would achieve her goals by any means necessary, and Fisher was very clear on this point, whether it was in matters of love or anything else...

This was also why Fisher ultimately decided to stay away from Elizabeth, even though he knew that she would not let things go easily.

He still remembered that at the graduation party, the Princess had warned him with a tranquil smile,

"If any lady from Nali marries you, neither of you will be happy. Only I can bring happiness to you."

The warning in her words was nearly explicit—if any other lady from Nali dared to be with Fisher, she would undoubtedly shatter their family, by any means necessary.

But all that was in the past now; she was no longer the 22-year-old girl of those days, and he was no longer the bookish scholar whose life revolved only around study.

Seven years had passed, and it was not until recently that Elizabeth had spoken in front of the carriage, somewhat guiltily, saying, "She had reformed and would not be like before." These words made Fisher feel like he had returned to his university days when his heart was moved by her.

Only this time, there was someone else by his side.

"I’m rather curious about Prince Luosang’s reason for rejecting the proposal?"

Fisher poured himself a glass of wine and swallowed it with relish, washing away the thoughts that had arisen in his mind with the liquor.

Prince Luosang also poured a glass, gazing at the clear wine, he said,

"To pursue a love of my own."

"Oh?"

Facing Fisher’s curious look, Luosang tapped his chest openly and said,

"You know, I can’t marry any female from the nobility, lest the situation painstakingly managed by the Queen and me breaks in an instant. So, in matters of love, the Queen has granted me much freedom."

"What I detest most is homosexuality! Ever since I was young, I vowed to find a lady of my own. It doesn’t matter what her status or identity is, my only requirements are simple: she must be a lady, plus I must like her—that’s all."

Mr. Fisher felt a great deal of sympathy for the prince, cursed with a father who was famously perverse throughout the Western Continent and dared to bring a crowd of gentlemen into his son’s room to "play games."

Prince Luosang was only ten at the time. If Mr. Fisher had returned to his room after a day of learning and witnessed such an "enthusiastic atmosphere" of hellish imagery at the age of ten, he guessed his reaction would not have been much better.

That incident left a deep psychological trauma in Prince Luosang’s heart, which Mr. Fisher could see.

The two of them, one thinking about Elizabeth, the other about his father’s sordid deeds, were both preoccupied, so they drank merrily, even Mr. Fisher vaguely felt the buzz of intoxication.

Time passed slowly with pouring drinks, drinking, and casual chat until their conversation nearly drifted to what lay above the sky, whether other continents beyond the Outer Sea remained undiscovered... When Mr. Fisher and Luosang wanted to pour more drinks, they discovered that the prepared beverages had somehow run out.

Mr. Fisher looked back and saw that Nali’s New Party members were either drunkenly slumped or collapsed, with one or two sober fellows still embraced by scholars from Schwali, discussing some life aspirations.

"Mr. Bazaar, I can’t drink anymore..."

"Don’t call me Bazaar, call me brother..."

It was probably a conversation like that.

Ken coughed and instructed the servants to separate the inebriated scholars from the New Party officials and then carry them back to their own lodgings to rest.

It was good that Mr. Fisher was there to hold up appearances; otherwise, Ken wouldn’t have known who would handle these matters if everyone got drunk together.

Prince Luosang put down his glass. His complexion was still as flushed as when he started drinking, but even though he had just gulped down a significant amount of alcohol, it was as if it hadn’t affected him at all.

Who knew if he was really drunk?

Mr. Fisher wasn’t sure either.

He saw that at this moment, the Prince stood up, stretched his muscular body, turned back with a smile toward Mr. Fisher, and said,

"Mr. Fisher, I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I look forward to your academic conference next week. Our scholars have prepared many arguments; I hope you are ready."

"I will be fully prepared."

Prince Luosang smiled, threw his removed clothing over his shoulder, and headed toward his dwellings outside. He planned to go to the restroom first to take care of his physiological needs, and afterward, when he stepped out, he saw a mysterious woman skulking in the hallway.

The woman had long brown hair and wore a waiter’s attire, with a decent figure, holding something in her arms whispering,

"You little rascal, daring to sneak into my room, hmm? Do you want me to rub your belly?"

"Meow~"

Luosang’s vision was somewhat blurry; he furrowed his brow and called out "hey," startling the figure in the distance.

The figure turned around abruptly, and a delicate, beautiful face with a bit of panic entered Prince Luosang’s sight, like a white lotus leaping out of water. Her eyes were clear, holding a small cat in her arms, making the two of them appear alike in that moment.

The girl was as adorable as the cat.

That’s what Luosang thought. He was about to say something when the girl, in panic, ran away with the cat, leaving Luosang standing there dumbfounded. He looked down at his body and realized he hadn’t put his clothes on yet.

Maybe it was his appearance that had scared her?

He chuckled and shook his head, not chasing after the girl but instead keeping the image of the girl in his mind.

The girl who was as cat-like as a cat.